Do I Really Need ActiveSync?

[Paula]

Here come the newbie questions... 8O

In preparation for the arrival of my PPC from the States, I am taking advantage of the free ebooks on offer from both Palm and Fictionwise. I have downloaded the PC and PPC version of the palm reader to my PC and want to place the PPC reader on my SD card. I read the instructions and they mention needing ActiveSync.

Do I really need ActiveSync if I have a card reader?
Can't I just unzip the PPc reader on the PC then move it to my SD card under the peanutpress folder?

Paula :)

[Wiggin]

Well... "technically", you are correct. You can copy the Palm Reader to the SD card directly... BUT, you need to make sure you have:
1) The correct directory structure (for the apps and books) on the card
2) The correct exe / cab file to copy
3) Know about editing your Reg File (tread carefully!)
4) Know where to manually copy Palm ebooks on the SD card
:)
If you know all those things, then give it a whirl.
But, then again, you might just plan on using ActiveSync, since it will take care of all those items above for you! :way to go:

Oh, and I almost forgot... you're going to need ActiveSync for just about EVERY other communication task between a PC and the PPC. Soooo, it's pretty tough to avoid ActiveSync :D

Good Luck!

[Paula]

Thanks for the help.

From what I've heard about ActivSync I'm not looking forward to using it. :?

Happy Holidays :D
Paula

[dMores]

activesync is your friend.

you don't need to set up anything, just connect as a guest. this'll let you copy data to and from the ppc, and you can browse the file structure.

to install a program without activesync you need to get the program's .CAB file. unfortunately, most programs are delivered as EXE, for they include a windows installer as well. what you can do is just run the exe on your desktop, then look in the installation directory for any .CAB files in there. if you're lucky, you'll just have one. if you have a generall installer file, you'll see 3 or 4, because there's a specific .CAB file for any of the processors (ARM,MIPS,SH3 or something like that).

copy the .CAB file to the memory card you're using, and on the ppc start file explorer, and click on the .CAB file. it'll install the program.

copying your ebooks is no hassle, since they're just documents.

[PetiteFlower]

Activesync is NOT that bad. It has problems sometimes, and yes those problems can range from seriously annoying to completely disastrous, but 99% of the time, it works correctly.

When you get your PPC, just follow the instructions that come with it for setting up AS. I would NOT reccommend connecting as a guest; you are going to want to sync your data and you might want to use it to back up data as well, if your PPC doesn't come with Pocket Backup. It's not hard, you'll do fine :)

[Paula]

Thanks Everyone. I am getting the h2215 and I think it comes with the backup utility. As soon as it arrives I will be bombarding you with questions.

Merry Christmas
Paula :D

[PetiteFlower]

Just remember to read the instructions and search the boards here....most of your questions will probably have the answers available here somewhere :) If searching doesn't help, then of course by all means bombard away :)