In this edition of Letters to the Editor, one reader is concerned that Windows NT4 doesn't support USB connections, and another wonders whether it's possible to use a Palm device to send email from remote parts of the globe.

USB and Windows NT4
I have heard that Windows NT4 does not support USB. Most of the new Palm devices have USB connections from the cradle. Do you know how to get around this issue? I am looking at this from a corporate point a view.

Thanks,
Janette
Woolworths

Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz responds
Yeah, we've had problems with USB and NT. But Windows 2000 does support USB. Obviously, Windows 98 machines work well with USB, and although I'm still not a fan of Windows ME, the USB part seems to function pretty well (although some games, particularly my favorite, Tribes, runs very poorly on ME). I do think this is an important question, and I forwarded it to both Palm and Handspring personnel to see if they had any more in-depth advice. First, here's what we heard back from Palm:

Currently, all of our Palm devices support both USB and serial connections. While we cannot respond to unannounced new products that have not been released, the products for this year will support both USB and serial connections. As for future products 3-5 years down the road, they may or may not support both serial and USB.

While enterprise customers might not immediately upgrade from Windows NT to Windows 2000, that will change by the end of this year or next year since Microsoft will eventually stop supporting Windows NT to force everyone to migrate to Windows 2000.

And here's Handspring's answer to the same question:

NT 4.0 requires a serial cradle which we sell separately for about $30. That solves the problem of NT 4.0 compatibility.

Getting email to the Third World
I have a Missionary friend who is located in a Third World nation. Email is not available. Is there a way, using the Palm device, that he could uplink/downlink to send and receive messages?

Thanks,
Bob Steele

Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz responds
Presumably (and this is only a guess), your friend could use a satellite phone and connect that to a Palm device. The only gotcha is that satphones are pretty darn expensive to buy and use. We'll publish this in our Letters to the Editor column and perhaps someone out there will have a more complete answer. If anyone can help Bob out, please send a note with details to info@palmpowerenterprise.com.