Regarding the OmniGo

Logical@aol.com
XXX, 1 Dec 1995 15:07:25 -0400 (EDT)

<<I asked HP support and they told me that while the applications reside in ROM, that the operating system resides in RAM. I really find the 1 Meg claim to be very misleading when the Z has so much more RAM available. >>
Not quite true... The applications and operating system (GEOS) both reside in ROM, and execute directly out of ROM. The only RAM used by the OS and applications is for storage, and immediate data that the program is using... The code is never loaded into RAM, so it takes less memory to execute...

<<I am curious whether there would be a way to load a better font, assuming one could be developed, into the unit's ROM. >>
Try keyword GEOWORKS. The GEOS operating system uses a derivative of the Nimbus-Q scalable font engine. On my BBS for example, I have over 280 fonts for GEOS available for download... Replacing the system font however, is another matter, and you'll have to talk to one of the GW engineers to see if that is possible... :)
<<I know it seems like everybody is complaining about the unit but it is what it is and it is a superior organizer - especially for somebody like me who wanted to get a unit primarily to quit scribbling a dozen notes a day on random paper scraps. But I intend to write a letter to HP about the limited available RAM - based on how the Z manages its 1 Meg, the OGO should be billed as a 512K unit, or HP should offer a sweet deal on SRAM. >>
The OmniGo has 1MB of RAM. It is divided up as something like 512KB for "RAM" (immediate stuff), 450KB or so for storage (try performing a warm boot, and deleting the sample files if they are stored in the ramdrive... Performing a warm boot will delete "state files" created by applications you have run, thus freeing up up to 100KB of space...)., and the rest is video memory... There numbers may not be totally accurate, but I can't remember the exact ones off the top of my head... Comments Steve?

I'm sure you'll also find that GEOS applications tend to be MUCH smaller than desktop counterparts, and probably Zaurus counterparts... So adding 3rd party software shouldn't take a huge bite out of your storage space. Apparently, the data files created by HPs applications are also pretty efficient space-wise, so you should get more bang for your byte... <GRIN>

-L