AtTeal Newsletter Issue 03 - PalmOS Software by TealPoint Software; Programs and Accessories for Palm, Visor, and CLIE

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TealTalk

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Back Issue #1

Back Issue #3

Inside TealPoint
What we're doing when we're not writing newsletters

Here in development, we've now finished adding native SD/MMC support into TealDoc. Next in line will be TealInfo, though we might be able to squeeze in a new utility product we've been considering. (Mum's the word... but keep an eye out on our Beta test page at www.tealpoint.com/beta.htm) Also, some changes and improvements in the VFS-handling and maintenance code will be carried over to TealMover and TealMovie, improving functionality and compatibility.

We've also just completed an intermediate update to TealPhone. This new version (3.40) adds support for dialing integrated phones, phone accessories, and digital phones though cables or the IR port.

Teal Talkback
What You're Telling Us

"Thank you for making TealDoc compatible with the VisorDeluxe... I also like all the improvements with the new TealDoc. You give better features than your competitors and good value for the price. Keep up the good work"
- Norma A.

"I have to say that the bimonthly newsletter is very good. Keep doing it like that. This is really costumer [sic] relationship management. Thank you."
- Dietmar S.

"Just bought an M505 Saturday. I can't imagine *not* having TealMover! Swell software!"
- Michael B.

"I like the newsletter a lot. Can I get it nicely formatted in HTML like you've got the back issue as?"
- Robert K.

[ You bet. We're working on that right now. Check up on the newsletter page where we'll soon be adding a option to change your subscription type from text to HTML. Thanks! - editor ]

PalmOS Version-o-Rama
Continued from Previous Page

PALM OS 3.3
While improvements to the operating system were being steadily released on new devices, it wasn't until OS 3.3 that Palm delivered on the promise of upgradeability by widely releasing an OS upgrade kit. Appearing on the Palm Vx and available as a free downloadable upgrade, OS 3.3 included all the improvements in previous versions, as well as full OS support for the 16-shade grayscale capabilities of all modern handhelds (the original Palm III and original Pilot and PalmPilot models only support 4-shade grayscale). While some programs had managed to add limited 16-shade grayscale support by directly manipulating the Palm hardware, OS 3.3 added support for the extra shades in all the system drawing, text, and interface routines, allowing more complex apps to easily support them as well.

Oddly enough, development on OS 3.3 reportedly ended with its release. Possibly due to scheduling challenges in releasing the Palm IIIc on time, OS 3.5 was instead developed based on the code of earlier versions, and was probably developed in parallel with OS 3.3. While 3.5 duplicates all the additions found in 3.3, this has the odd side-effect of leaving OS 3.3 an "orphan" OS of sorts. While not generally an issue, there have been rare reported conflicts, crashes, or other unintended "features" with some apps running under OS 3.3 that does not occur on earlier or later OS versions due to the differences.

PALM OS 3.5
A gargantuan improvement to Palm OS came with the premiere of OS 3.5 on the Palm IIIc. Swelling in size from roughly 1.2 Megabytes to about 1.7 Megs, 3.5 was chock full of internal additions and modifications to the drawing routines to support color. For the first time, it also had real interface improvements, including a new pop-up icon bar for menu items, larger alarm dialogs, and masked record support.

Under the hood, other changes included a new Notification Manager to allow future programs to react to system-wide events, such as a wireless antenna being raised or the display mode changing.

>> Continued on Next Page...