I'm coming from a pc background, so in my eye's rom / flash = storage, and all the rest ( ram ) is for the program's themself. My conclussion is the same as Jason's ... 64 is enouf ...
After installing a lot of stuff on it, this is my layout: Storage 14mb ( free 9, in usage 5 ), program 47 ( used 15 mb, free 31 mb ). And to be honest, the reason why my storage take's up so much space is becouse wm2003 is refusing me to move it any smaller ( forcing me to keep those extra mb's wasted After a softreset i regain memory up to 36mb free ... not bad. And i havent even bothered tweaking the memory ( like removing the wifi program that take's up 2mb of ram and is always there ).
But i installed a small appl called smallmenu plus, that give's me the option to close any task's still active ( and i have the nice habbit of closing those suckers every time i finish with a program & it doesent need to stay in memory ).
For instance, TomTom route navigation only uses 7 or 8mb. Maybe i'm fortuned that i live in a small country but i have yet to see any program using more then that ...
OK, stupid question, but how do I install to the flash ROM instead of RAM.
I've got a new XDA IIs and its supposed to have 96 megs of flash ROM so I'd rather not waste it.
Is it that "storage" bit on the installer instead of "main memory"?
Thanks.
(Oh, don't worry, I've backed up the RAM as well as all my contact details)
Yep ... pick "do you want to install to default location" and answer no. Then you get a drop down list with "Main Memory" aka Ram, Storage ( aka the Rom in the device, SD storage or CF storage ( aka memory in your expansion slot's ).
I've been installing programs to FLashROM from the first PPC I had; the iPAQ 3870 w/48MB and 20MB of it user-accessible. I always thought this was the best way and was one of the reasons I chose it. The biggest problem I have noticed is that some programs do take a performance hit but most of them that I have used aren't really noticeable.
It's also a shame that there are PPC manufactures out there have used FlashROM that you can not actually run programs from. It would also be nice to see a PPC with 128MB of user-accessible FlashROM and not just a protion of it.
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I know there's a considerable difference between RAM and an SD card, but I can't help but wonder why PDA's come with such tiny (comparatively) amounts of RAM. If I can get 1Gb for about $65 imagine what large vendors could get due to economies of scale. I'd gladly pay $100 for 1Gb of RAM. That's because of the large number of programs that insist on being in RAM versus a storage card.
Or maybe another solution would be for vendors to wise up and use storage cards more often. The best vendor I've seen is Softmaker, which allows you not only to install to a storage card, but they even let you choose the sunbdirectory on the storage card! That's how it should be done.
Everyone else defaults to the root. Then I have to move the folder, tweak all the regisitry entries, and modify the shortcut link. And don't even get me started on the brain-dead behaviour of ActiveSync. Thank goodness for programs like MightSync (which needs some work, but does make things better).
But back to the idea of having a safe place that will survive a hard reset. I was installing some GPS software the other day (new toy! Woot! ) and of course sent it to my SD. Big mistake, the fat monster wants to be in memory. No amount of uninstalling, reinstalling, registry tweaking, or soft resets would help (it turned out to be something different altogether). I eventually did a hard reset to eleminate any crud I may have introduced. By having a Sprite backup on my SD as an executable, I didn't spend 7 hours reloading my iPAQ (I know because I learned the hard way how long it takes). The 4155 comes with a special version of Sprite that can create an executable version of the backup. Man that was beautiful!
Of course, SD cards can go-south. So as a backup of the backup, I copy the .EXE to my hard drive. But even beyond that, I keep a text file (on laptop and SD card) that has the exact sequence of programs to load, and all the settings that I made. Hopefully things will never get to that point.
I know there's a considerable difference between RAM and an SD card, but I can't help but wonder why PDA's come with such tiny (comparatively) amounts of RAM.
Price and battery life RAM is comparatively expensive, and it eats a freaking large amount of battery power. I forget the exact battery numbers, but one of our hardware guys showed me once and adding more RAM drastically reduces the available juice in your PDA.
Ok.. so explain to me why I need so much rom, again... when a flash card does effectively the same thing. I do not agree this accessment... you can replace rom with a flash card... you can not make up for loss of ram without butchering your device and voiding your warranty. GIVE ME THE RAM...
And while we are at it... I also do not understand the concept of a touchpad on a PocketPC... I thought the whole display area is effectively a touchpad...
Someone has really got to explain to me what Hp is thinking... not only with the Hx4700 but the rest of their current line... and Dell... well I can't blame them they are just probably following Hp's lead... Thank god for the Loox... Asus... and Toshiba....
Someone has really got to explain to me what Hp is thinking... not only with the Hx4700 but the rest of their current line... and Dell...
Why can't they at least give us a 128MB RAM option. 128MB ROM is great and really should be standard but high end systems need more RAM. I wonder how many are waiting until HP/Dell to come out with 128MB RAM VGA systems? $650 for a 64MB system is ridiculous. 64MB has only been standard now for 4+ years.
The problem here is that the "ROM is better" arguement works only in theory, and has more "what-ifs" than a meeting of the alternative history society.
IF we were starting fresh, and IF MS had implemented it right, and IF the publishers allowed better ROM installs and IF people were informed as to how to use it and IF apps like SIPs worked correctly from ROM and IF system DBs could be stored in RAM... IF IF IF IF IF.
Back in the real world though:
Activesync shared my documents are stored in RAM (big!)
System data is stored in RAM and you can't move it.
Start menu shortcuts are stored in RAM.
System config (date, user info today screen info) is stored in RAM.
The registry is stored in RAM.
Shared DLLs etc are stored in RAM.
Many apps such as today plugins, SIPs work only in RAM
Many apps store large amounts of data only in RAM no matter where you install, if you can even choose install path (eg PI, tomtom, etc)
Vast majority of users don't know what ROM is, and just go with default install.
Every OEM calls 'ROM' something different making instructions etc difficult.
Unless pretty much EVERY one of the above issues (and probably a few more I can't remember) are resolved, you still need proper backups/restores. It's all well and good saying "yeah if everything was perfect more ROM would be better", but we live in the real world where things are very different. As is, right now, more RAM is much much better.
I don't buy the battery life thing as an arguement against 128MB RAM. My PPC has 128MB RAM, and depending on what I'm using my PPC for I get anywhere from 6-14 hours continuous usage.
ROM storage can be expanded in very large amounts via SD/CF cards. I don't think I'm too unusual with a combined additional 1.5GB there. Who here has the ability to add an extra 256MB of RAM if they need it? You can add ROM til the cows come home, but unless you go with a one off small but expensive PPCTechs 2x upgrade, they RAM you buy is the RAM've got til the end.
High ROM/Low RAM configs are, imo, only ideal for the ivory tower guys in the here and now.
Re: Why Many New Devices Are Coming with 128 MB Flash ROM and 64 MB of RAM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Ever wondered why many of the new high-end Pocket PCs come with twice as much Flash ROM as RAM? Here's why: Flash ROM, while slower than RAM, is permanent storage – meaning that if your device loses power, your data is still safe.
I agree completely with mr_Ray, which is why Jason's statement is so misleading. Your data is only safe if you save your DATA in ROM.
Jason then goes on to explain how he stored his PROGRAMS in ROM. Storing programs in rom does not make your data any safer (and these programs often default to saving your data in RAM), and does not make your programs any safer, as you lose your shortcuts and registry settings.
To actually make use of the large rom require quite a bit of skill and customisation. Why Jason can defend such a backward move is not really clear. It may be because he knows a lot we dont about the next pocketpc OS, where the current setup would hopefully make sense. If he does he should just say so e.g. "I know the current ROM/RAM split is currently useless, but I know in the future you WILL appreciate it. I cant say more, but you know NDA's" Instead we get poor justifications about the current (very little) benefits of the Dell setup.
Of course, with the trend towards not providing upgrades to the next OS (which has also been "explained" in the past), it makes very poor sense to buy a pocketpc with upgradability to a future OS in mind.
After a softreset i regain memory up to 36mb free ... not bad. And i havent even bothered tweaking the memory ( like removing the wifi program that take's up 2mb of ram and is always there ).
) and of course sent it to my SD. Big mistake, the fat monster wants to be in memory. No amount of uninstalling, reinstalling, registry tweaking, or soft resets would help (it turned out to be something different altogether). I eventually did a hard reset to eleminate any crud I may have introduced. By having a Sprite backup on my SD as an executable, I didn't spend 7 hours reloading my iPAQ (I know because I learned the hard way how long it takes). The 4155 comes with a special version of Sprite that can create an executable version of the backup. Man that was beautiful!
Re: Why Many New Devices Are Coming with 128 MB Flash ROM and 64 MB of RAM
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