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| July 2001• Vol.7 Issue 7 Page(s) 32 in print issue | |
Out Of The Box Palm Devices Set Up With Ease |
Jump to first occurrence of:
[PALM]
 Congratulations, it’s a bouncing baby .
. . Palm device! Before you can start
loading your life into your new handheld, you’ll have to set it
up—something the manufacturers have tried to make as simple as possible.
The two primary tasks you need to perform to get your Palm functioning are
to power it up and install the various software components that let you
synchronize the Palm and your desktop PC. Power Up. Prior to using your Palm
device, you’ll have to fully charge its battery, a chore that takes about
four hours. (NOTE: Some Palms run on AAA batteries. If this is the case
with yours, then you won’t have to let it charge for four hours. If you
use rechargeable batteries in your Palm, make sure they are
nickel-metal-hydride instead of nickel-cadmiums, which don’t work well
with the Palm’s memory system.) Once you’ve charged the device
completely, you can easily keep it fully powered by slipping it into its
cradle for a few minutes each day. A full charge can last up to a month
with normal use.Before you can begin charging, you’ll need to get the cradle wired up. Insert the AC adapter cable into the back of the cradle. Make sure your computer is shut down and connect the cradle to the PC’s serial port. Plug the AC adapter into a wall outlet and slip the handheld into the cradle, making sure that the cradle light comes on. While the Palm is charging up, you can busy yourself with installing and familiarizing yourself with the accompanying software. Install Your Palm
Software. The Palm comes with a CD-ROM stocked with software
and help notes that let you set up your desktop PC to work with your
handheld. With the software CD-ROM, you can install the same main
applications on your desktop—Address Book, Date Book, To Do List, Memo
Pad, Expense, E-mail Connectivity—that are installed on the Palm. You’ll
also be installing all the necessary programs, such as HotSync and conduit
software (which determines how data is handled during HotSyncs), that let
the two computers transfer information back and forth to each other for
backup and file-sharing purposes.To install software, first exit all open programs on your PC, disabling virus scanning and any other software that runs in the background. Make sure the HotSync cradle is connected to your computer and that the handheld is not in the cradle. Insert the software CD-ROM into your drive, and when the initial splash screen pops up (double-click or open the Palm Desktop icon under My Computer if it does not start automatically), click Install. Click through the next few screens where you’ll be given a number of options, such as whether you wish to perform a typical or custom install and whether you wish to synchronize your handheld with any existing Personal Information Manager (such as Outlook) you currently use.
The CD-ROM also contains a number of other software items, text documents, and third-party products that you can install. To get at these products, double-click My Computer on your desktop and right-click the Palm Desktop CD-ROM icon, selecting Explore from the pop-up menu. This gives you access to the various items on the CD-ROM (such as games and network programs) without triggering the autorun feature. Once you’ve installed the software and rebooted your computer, you’ll can access the Palm’s main applications on your desktop PC. Turn On
Your Palm. Once your Palm is charged up, it’s time to peel off
the protective sheet covering the screen and push the start button
(usually green and located on the top or side of the Palm). If the Palm
acts erratically, try a soft reset. (Press the Reset button on the back of
the device.) You can also try charging the device longer, making sure the
light on the cradle is on while the Palm sits in it.When you start the Palm for the first time, it launches you into a calibration, or digitizer, screen where you are asked to tap specific places on the screen. This helps calibrate the screen with the Palm’s inner mechanics so it knows how to interpret taps (you can always reset the calibration if it seems off by launching Preferences and choosing Digitizer from the pick list). After this, a Preferences screen will launch, letting you set options such as time and date, customize features like sound, and select whether you wish to have the Palm automatically shut off after a period of inactivity. If all goes well, you should be up, running, and ready for more in-depth looks at some of the Palm’s many features and functions.  by Rich Gray
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