For Christmas, Santa gave me a [Palm TX](http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/tx/) to replace my five-year-old [Sony Clie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLI%C3%89). It was more cost effective than a Microsoft Pocket PC device or an [iPhone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphone), and it’s backwards compatible with my tried-and-true software.
Unfortunately, the [Palm Desktop](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Desktop) software doesn’t work so well on [Windows Vista](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista). It appears to work, but fails in subtle and non-obvious ways.
– Each time I hotsync, it repeatedly backs up all programs and databases, which takes a long time. _Solution_: I gave user write access to the folder where it was trying create the backup.
– CSV import of multi-line Note fields is broken. I used this feature to import addresses from MIS2PALM. _Solution_: I upgraded to [MIS2PALM version 4](http://www.mis2palm.com/), and configured it to export in vCard format. Palm Desktop properly imports multi-line Note fields from vCard format.
– CSV import forgets field-association. It used to remember this. Again, I’ve switched to vCard format, so this doesn’t get in my way anymore.
– HotSync > FileLink doesn’t work.
– The Beta Palm Desktop that’s supposed to be compatible with windows Vista hung on startup.
I had gone through a tedious download, uninstall, install process to try the beta out. I had another tedious process to uninstall the broken beta, and then I installed the previous Windows XP version, which I downloaded from the website to save time (I didn’t have the Palm TX install CD with me at the time). This was a big mistake, I realized several days later, because the downloaded version was missing several features such as the Media, Note Pad and VersaMail plugins to the Palm Desktop. So, I had to go through another tedious uninstall, reinstall process. Amidst all of this, the Desktop conveniently forgot some of my customized preferences, which required yet more time.
What a rant… maybe my experience will help someone else figure out how to solve some of the issues I’ve faced.
I really do like my new TX. It’s faster than my previous Clie. It has built-in bluetooth, which allows me to share contacts with my wife’s cell phone, or with other people. The built-in WiFi allows me to read the [mobile edition of the Deseret News](http://deseretnewscom/mobile) and the [Salt Lake Tribune](http://m.sltrib.com) with the Blazer browser. It’s not good for much more than that. If it’s handheld web browsing that I had wanted, I would have asked Santa for an iPhone or a [Nokia N800](http://www.nseries.com/n800) internet tablet. For me, the address book, the calendar and the [Plucker](http://www.plkr.org/) e-book reader are the most needed features.