spare brain damage

[redbird]

My PalmPilot, the device I refer to as my spare brain, seems to be seriously broken.

It's had a bad habit for a while of losing the screen mapping: that is, where I tapped wasn't where it would read the input as coming from. This is more than annoying when the area needed has been mapped off the edge of the screen. I'd been dealing with this by keeping a close eye on it, and redoing it every day or two whether it seemed to need it or not. And, when that failed, a hard reset would fix it. (Once, dropping it on the floor fixed it.)

Today the hard reset didn't solve the problem: in fact, it left me with a machine that believes the date to be 2 October, and I can't get to the part of the screen that should tell it to set the date to today. Running a Q-tip around the edge didn't help, though it picked up significant dirt. Dropping the thing didn't work.

I think I'm going to be spending more money I don't have, to replace this: but I'll be getting the cheapest usable solution (I want a PalmOS device, and while I'll accept low-end--I'm not using the 8 MB I have on this Vx, and I don't have color now and thus won't miss it--under the circumstances I don't want to go on Ebay or any such and pick up someone else's used machine, lest I find myself where I am now except poorer).

There's a paper address book around here somewhere, and all the data are safely backed up on my hard drive.

Comments

[avram]

Fortunately low-end is lower than it used to be. The cheapest Palm model is $80. Only 2 megs of RAM, but if you need more than that, you can get the 8 meg model for $100.

[baldanders.livejournal.com]

That's exactly how both Velma and my PDAs went south.

Velma just got a reconditioned Visor in superb shape for around a hundred; I don't know its specs, but I'm sure she will.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

I went to the Handspring website and ordered a reconditioned Neo (basically the same as the Deluxe, which I'd been using for two years), with a coworker, so we saved on shipping. Does Palm do reconditioned ones?

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

i'm afraid I gave up on Palm/Handspring machines after my fourth one died. I really liked them, but I have very dry skin, so I emit voltage like a Van de Graaf generator. I kill electronics alarmingly easily these days - the Handsprings with their exposed contacts were inherently doomed.

I fried two of them in two days whilst staying at the Paramount in Manhattan. They had some amazing carpets that would cause me to strike arcs over half an inch long to exposed metalwork. The poor little Handsprings stood no chance.

[mneme]

My sympathies (OTOH, I've gone through something like 4 or 5 different palm models since the Palm III came out, and that's not counting the various times I've ended up having to get a palm or visor or Handera warantee replaced (yes, I've ended up dealing with the warantee replacement departments of all three companies); and only in one case was the machine I was moving off of working (and by working I mean it had a minor case of the issue you are referring to)).

Good luck!