by Lord Omlette.
Created 2003-12-30 178 BMT.
Updated 2004-04-25 980 BMT.
For Christmas, Kayul & Megha were nice enough to get me a Palm Zire 71. The basic idea was to replace my Palm m100. Although the m100 did a decent job of keeping my notes n phone numbers current, it wasn't perfect. It was really annoying to have to take the batteries out to recharge them. Also, when I saw a comment on Slashdot that said the camera built into the Zire 71 was perfect for taking notes in class, I was hooked. I needed one of these. GodDAMNit, I'm such an idiot for falling for the hype. If there is a question that is not answered here, you can go check any of the many other sites that have nothing but good things to say about the Palm Zire 71.
I was able to get hotsyncing to work on my XP machine only after I created a special Administrator privileged account and ran the hotsync.exe under that account's profile. I removed the account's special access to the program files directory, the windows directory, and the registry, so I have no idea why the fuck it could possibly need administrator privileges. This is a massive security hole, windows applications absolutely should not need Administrator privileges to do anything. The problem is not just w/ hotsync.exe, as Palm Desktop refuses to load Photo Desktop and the Quick Installer w/out Administrator privileges. palmusbd.sys will blue screen your machine if there are any other users logged onto the box (remotely as in Win2k or w/ fast user switching in XP), so I have to make sure no one else is logged in before I hotsync. palmusbd.sys also doesn't work with Dual CPU machines, so I have to make sure hotsync.exe has its processor affinity set to CPU 0.
All in all, it seems Palm's software was written by rank amateurs. If a system's security is only as good as the weakest link in the chain, then Palm Desktop is the weakest link in my system's security.
No matter how many times I set my preferences, the application will randomly lose at least one of them the next time I turn on the PDA.
The sample images loaded onto the PDA were taken elsewhere, they are placed there specifically to fool you. The camera only works indoors and you have to hold it steady (and your subjects have to hold still) for a full 5 seconds. Now I could be wrong, but I'm willing to wager that any disposable camera will be easier to use and provide better image quality. The way the focus just sort of happens and the grainy, washed-out images remind me alot of my Game Boy Camera. However, images taking w/ the GB Cam are eminently recognizable after the fact. The same is not true of the Zire 71. To actually HotSync your images, you must open up Palm Desktop and click on the photos viewer, otherwise HotSync will not move your images. Incidently, the photos viewer has an image sharpen tool that will usually make the photo come out nicer.
It has a focus of 3.6mm, if that means anything to any of you.
Is it fully charged or is it about to die? w/ a battery meter that flips back and forth every five seconds, no one knows! It's a wonderfully fun game of PDA Roulette, just remember to hotsync every five minutes or you could lose quite a bit of data when the Zire 71 suddenly refuses to start.
Palm's website is difficult to navigate, and no matter what you send them using the support form, they will automatically respond in 15 minutes with an email describing how to uninstall and reinstall the desktop software. The Dual CPU hotsyncing problem is described in numerous places on the internet and in usenet, yet they continue to insist that there is no problem. Palm adds insult to injury by following their automated emails w/ a survey to see if we were satisfied by the support we received. (Needless to say, 'we' were not!)
When I sent in my Zire 71 to be repaired, the phone monkey got my address wrong and repeated calls to the company were met w/ "We can't change the delivery address." I told them to use the address specified on the enveloped and attached to the PDA w/ tape and they responded "We can't change the delivery address." Unsatisfied doesn't begin to describe it.
Palm truly does not deserve your money. Don't buy the Palm Zire 71, and if you see anyone else considering it, talk them out of it.
"Palm Zire 71" is Copyright © 2004 Lord Omlette. If you know otherwise, hollar.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen
-Ludwig Wittgenstein
-added 2004-05-08