Programs that work on the 755P

[holvoetn]

Thanks for the excellent reply.

I noticed on some forums a lot of reset and hang problems increase over time.

Some say that the software needs to be wiped and reinstalled similar to Windows after a year or so.

Any thoughts on that?

Bill

First, Welcome to BrightHand

755p is running PalmOS. If you are a bit careful on what you install or mostly run the native applications there should be no reason to wipe the SW and reinstall on a frequent basis.
Though, in case it is needed, it is fairly simple to do provided a certain procedure is followed (basically the same steps as for upgrading).

My 680 (have it already for 1.5 years) is rock solid. I can not really recall I ever had to reinstall it except for the usual self-inflicted case (I experiment quite a bit with SW).

On the other hand, reinstalling on a yearly basis is not a bad thing per se. It gets rid of unused preference settings which otherwise might give problems if some rogue program causes a conflict.

[r0k]

Thanks for the excellent reply.

I noticed on some forums a lot of reset and hang problems increase over time.

Some say that the software needs to be wiped and reinstalled similar to Windows after a year or so.

Any thoughts on that?

Bill

Whenever you upgrade to a new Palm, you wind up orphaning all your old applications. This is part of the routine "upgrade" procedure. This is normally the only time you need to wipe and reinstall. However, because Palmos is not a modern "protected kernel" os, there is the possibility you must do this more often. The reason? Third party apps. When you install them, if you are lucky there is no problem. If you are sort of lucky, there is a problem right away and you can delete the new app. If you are very unlucky, there is no apparent problem and when problems do show up, you aren't quite sure what caused them. This third case is when you format and reinstall the OS and add apps one by one or a few at a time.

In summary, Palmos is not subject to self bloating like Windows. However, because it is not designed to "protect itself" from badly written third party applications, you may find yourself doing a wipe and reinstall at an inopportune time.

I know this might sound bleak at first, but there are third party apps to get around even this. Grab nvbackup and schedule it to do automatic nightly backups to sd card. Now if you decide you need a hard reset, the recovery process is more like 45 seconds than 45 minutes. Oh, and you have the backup with you instead of on some desktop hotsync machine. The good news is if you don't install anything, there is very little likelihood for instability to creep in. The good/bad news is that because there are thousands of Palm applications, you will find yourself installing them throughout the life of your device. Do so carefully and take careful note when you install something, make sure you do your backups and you will get along fine.

[Bill_K]

Thanks for the excellent replys -

You guys have mentioned to be careful about 3rd party apps - that is precisely why I went with the older palmos - more apps to choose from.

My specific interest is in applications regarding timers, customizable alarms, and data entry specific to segments of time.

BTW, how do I be careful of third party apps? How to tell if I'm about to put some bad Mojo in my phone?

Thanks in advance, Bill

[rbjones]

You went from the TX to 755p...can they both be maintained on the same computer? separate desktp software required? ...not worth the trouble???

[jigwashere]

Welcome to Brighthand, rbjones!

They can be on the same computer using the same desktop software, but you must use different hotsync names.

[Scott_L]

I've used the same HotSync ID on every one of the dozen or so POS device I've owned and HotSynched multiples to the same computer - and still do. I disable all conduits except the PIMs, NoteStudio and ThoughtManager. There's no applications backing up or getting installed during my synchs. What I suppose makes it work well for me is that I use the "Synchronize the files" option on my primary device, but toggle settings to "Desktop overwrites Handheld" when synching all other devices. This allows me to keep contacts, calendars, and memos (plus the other 2 apps) up-to-date on my alternate devices and 3 computers w/HotSync installed.

The only drawback is that I can't make changes on an alternate device and synch to my primary. Actually, I can, but won't unless an alternate becomes primary during a repair.

Sure, I have to think before I synch, but I try to use the ol' noggin' once in a while to keep it from stagnating.

[Adam Helberg]

You went from the TX to 755p...can they both be maintained on the same computer? separate desktp software required? ...not worth the trouble???

I use two devices with the same UserId and different SyncID with UserName.

Adam

[rbjones]

Re: Programs that work on the 755P

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You went from the TX to 755p...can they both be maintained on the same computer? separate desktp software required? ...not worth the trouble???

Thanks fellows for your stories. I have had a Tx for several years. It has several dictionaries, Epocrates Rx, Merck Medicus, etc on it, and has tried to die several times. I therefore purchased the 750p which I like but have not had the guts to load the software and try to synch. I feel silly carrying both a pda and a smartphone around, but I need the pda more than I do the phone. I have more than one computer and could synch them separately, but it would be easier to do it all on the same box. I hope I can eventually get smart enough to complete the transfer of everything to the 755p. Cheers.