Trying to get out of the box running

[nyspur]

I will be getting an M500 as a present. I see there are upgrades to the operating system. Do you have to get it running with v. 4 before upgrading to v4.1? Should I upgrade anyway? And I have XP at home, NT at work. Any issues I should be aware of? Just concerned that I get off on the right foot.

And, while I'm at it, what are the "must have" accessories--and the ones I can do without.

Thanks

[Telyx]

You will be OK with the Palm Desktop and Palm OS versions your unit comes with. The upgrade to Palm OS 4.1 (for the device itself) will cost you, but you can download the latest Palm Desktop version for free (you might have to provide the serial number of your handheld, though).

The only issue I can see is that Windows NT doesn't support USB, so you'll have to use a serial cradle if you want to sync at work.

"Must-haves" might include a freeware program called Filez 4.0, great for moving/copying programs and databases to/from the expansion card, maybe MSMount or McFile (which trick the Palm into thinking part of the expansion card is really RAM and allow you to store program databases for older programs on the card also), and maybe a third-party launcher which "sees" programs on your expansion card, like Launcher III, LauncherX, SilverScreen, etc.

You'll have to be the judge as to what you can do without... try some programs and see how often you use them, and if you get tired of them you can always delete them. Personally, I had AvantGo for a little while but hardly ever used it, but other people really like it. (AvantGo lets you grab online content and HotSync it into your Palm. I used to read Scientific American Online that way.)

[nyspur]

Thanks for the input. I've downloaded both 4.1 upgrades but am not sure if I should install. Are they worth it? I presume I have to do the regular inatallation and then upgrade. Correct?

[JohnKes]

If you scope around PalmBlvd you will find that many people get into trouble when they try to upgrade to OS4.1 It is not worth the risk for my wife's m500. It won't install from a WinXP PC, either.

The upgrade allows you to use SD cards >32MB, plus a few useful SD card utilities. There are two OS4.0 patches you can install that do the same thing without risking a DEAD(!) m500.