Re: Neo Visor/Evo 1.4MDK 9.1 - won't sync first time w/out entering Pilot Settings

["Paul M. Bucalo" <pmbuc adelphia net>]

Before I reply in kind, let me thank you for responding! I really
appreciate this....

On Mon, 2003-09-15 at 13:58, David A. Desrosiers wrote: 
> > Closing gives me an error message that the connection to '/dev/pilot' is
> > not present. It doesn't matter if I use /dev/ttyUSB1' instead of the
> > symlink, same result. Once I accept this error message, pressing the
> > hotsync button on the cradle makes the connection and I am able to sync
> > for as long as Evo is up and running. Sometimes, it lasts for as long as I
> > am booted up.
> 
> 	A couple of things:
> 
> 	1.) Don't use devfs. Nobody is using it anymore, and the problems
> 	    with it are vast and many. If you must use it, statically create
> 	    device for your Palm handheld in /dev/, and make sure it remains
> 	    persistant through reboots.

While I don't wish to be argumentative, I find this comment strange.
Mandrake Linux and the 2.4.?? kernels are not just implementing devfs.
Documentation indicates this is a new advancement, not old practice. In
Mandrake, it seems to be pretty much 'de facto', now. Am I missing
something here?

If I did stop the daemon from running on boot-up, I might have to make
some system changes to make sure current devices continue to work,
right? Would this end up being more hassles for me? I am still a bit of
a newbie.


> 	2.) Don't use hotplug for the visor driver. Blacklist it in the
>             /etc/hotplug/blacklist file, so it is not loaded by the daemon
>             itself. Add 'visor' to /etc/modules.conf, and let it load once,
>             and remain loaded, at boot time.

I'll blacklist visor from hotplug. I already load the visor module in
'/etc/modules.conf'.

> > I have tried entering setting directly in Gnome Control Panel, but the
> > same issue stands. I've noticed that the /.gpilotd directory is empty.
> > Shouldn't I be seeing a configuration file in there?
> 
> 	If you can run gpilotd-control-applet, and configure your Palm (not
> as root, of course) and save that configuration, it should be put into
> ~/.gnome2/gnome-pilot.d/, not ~/.gpilotd. Make sure ownership and
> permissions permit that, of course.

I checked and permissions are OK. Still don't see why I should have to
re-enter the control applet to get Evo/Gnome Pilot to function on a
sync, though. Devfsd is allowing the first connection to be made, but
only after I re-enter the info into Evo's 'Pilot Settings'. It's fine
thereafter.

> > Someone must be in a similar situation and found a way to have Evo
> > remember its sync settings.
> 
> 	Evo just calls the gpilotd applet as required, it doesn't actually
> "sync" itself. It just reads the gnome-pilot data through a series of
> conduits configured within Evo itself.

I realize that. :0) I was trying to get to the point without an excess
of words. Should have been more clear. It's the reading of the
gnome-pilot data that appears to be failing. Why else would re-entering
the data through Evo be the only way to get that first sync to work?

> 
> > The others work, but I need the functionality of Evo and that is my
> > preference.
> 
> 	Oddly, I found the opposite results. I can't do with Evolution, what
> I can do with pine, for example (with the power and flexibility of mail,
> that is. Of course, pine doesn't do calendaring, so that's a different
> issue).
> 

My needs for Evo are for a full-blown PIM. At this point, it appears to
be the best available in Linux at no cost to me. When KDE releases their
new PIM soon, I hope to be able to see a choice. I like Evolution's
Outlook-like operation, would prefer a full CRM package, but it's quirky
and purposely designed to work best with a Gnome environment. Right now,
my laptop is under KDE, but soon that will be XFce4...

> 	Many people have Evolution working with their Palm handhelds,
> without too much trouble. I'm sure your issues are just local configuration
> related.

I have always suspected as much. The problem is I don't want to
re-engineer my Mandrake set-up. When I start to do that I end up with a
cascading effect that is mind bending for a newbie to sort through.

If you think of anything else based on this reply, please let me know.
Thanks for your help!

Paul