Besides all this, Palm OS version 1.0.6 hides a little graphic surprise, an "Easter egg" as they're known. I won't say anything more except that no matter what it looks like, it's not a bug. If I tell you more, the engineers will kill me!

If you are a Pilot 1000/5000 user, chances are that you are also using Pilot Desktop 1.0. Well, if you are using Windows 95 on your desktop PC, you can give up that habit. Go to the Palm Computing website and download the PalmPilot Desktop 2.0 Personal Edition software. Upgrading will let you use the version of the PalmPilot Desktop that PalmPilot Personal organizer users have enjoyed all along. It also upgrades your version of the HotSync Manager software, which is better at backing up databases from third-party applications than previous versions. You will probably also want to further upgrade the software by downloading the PalmPilot Desktop 2.1 upgrade, especially if you are running Microsoft Office 97.

PalmPilot Personal and Professional users
If you check your Palm OS software version as explained above, you should be running Palm OS version 2.0 or higher if you have a PalmPilot Personal or Professional organizer. You'll also notice that it will make a distinction between the Personal and Professional versions. The difference between the two, of course, is that the Professional version includes the TCP/IP and Mail functionality that is not found on the Personal version.

If you are not already running the Palm OS version 2.0.4 software, download it from the Palm Computing website and install it. Compared to any one of the earlier versions, it gives you the most benefits, including longer battery life and improvement of screen sensitivity regarding cursor placement and highlighting text. Also, if you use any third-party applications on your PalmPilot organizer that create alarms, version 2.0.4 will make sure to kill any of them if you decide to delete any of those applications. If they are left behind after deleting the application that created them, they will cause a fatal error on your PalmPilot organizer, forcing you to reset.

As prescribed above, if you aren't currently running PalmPilot Desktop version 2.1, you should go to the website and download the upgrade. Most currently available PalmPilot organizers come with version 2.1 on the included CD-ROM, but no matter if you are using it straight from the disk, you should download the upgrade from the website and install it. What the software from the CD-ROM does not include is a fix for a problem with the Expense application when generating expense reports in Microsoft Excel.

Palm III users
Palm III users won't find much in terms of upgrades just yet since it is so new, but what you will find on the Palm Computing website is the key to activate your HotSync Network Connection functionality. I talked about this at length a couple of months ago, so I won't waste my breath explaining its features. Just so you don't waste your own time in downloading it and trying to get it to work, you will only want it if your desktop PC is connected to your company's network and there are others using Palm III organizers or PalmPilot Professional organizer users who have Network HotSync software installed.