On Wed, 28 Nov 2001 14:57:04 -0600 (CST) "Brian" <lxy at cloudnet.com> wrote: > I just bought myself a new Handspring. My first problem is that it came > with a USB cradle and I want a serial. New cradles cost $30. I figure > there can't be too much difference between the two cradles. There is a major difference, and it has to do with the way the Handspring is built. The USB cradle is little more than a plain set of wires that connects the Handspring (which is *itself* the USB device) to the computer or USB hub. The serial cradle contains a set of electronics that essentially mimic a USB hub (or USB root adapter) with a serial interface. There is no practical way to hack the USB cradle to a serial cradle. > I want a serial for > several reasons, most notably to use it as a VT220 terminal. This might also be a problem.. I have *heard* that the Handspring serial cradle is a very non-standard RS-232 implementation. With PalmPilot devices, it has usually been possible to connect a serial modem to the plug on the Pilot serial cradle, and use it to communicate. Due to the design of the Handspring serial interface, this is supposedly not possible on a Handspring. If a modem can't be connected, I don't expect that the serial interface will support terminal function either. Good luck with this, and let me know what you discover. Bill