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FAQ

Q.  Can I read documents or e-books directly off the CompactFlash card?

A.  Yes. Kopsis Inc. has released a version of the FAFileMover software which includes a CSpotRun plugin, that will allow CSpotRun to read documents directly off the CompactFlash card.  I have personally read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, a 500K document, from the CF card in my adapter, even though I only had 90K of RAM available in my Visor! They have also released VFSHelper, which allows VFS-enabled applications to  read directly from the compactflash.

Q.  How Do I use CSpotRun to read documents or e-books on my compactflash card?

A.  Launch FAFileMover, and navigate to the document or e-book on your CF card you want to read.  Tap on the document, and a dialog box will appear giving you two choices: Cancel or CSpotRun.  Tap on CSpotRun, wait 3 or 4 seconds, and your document or e-book will appear in RAM. Please note that this will only work for documents that are in a format readable by CSpotRun (often called doc files).

Q. Will the FlashPlus adapter work with non-memory CompactFlash cards (modems, ethernet, etc.)? 

A. The FlashPlus adapter has been designed to work with memory cards only, using the FAFileMover drivers.  The limitations of the Springboard slot do not allow the use of other types of compactflash devices.

Q. Can you ship Overnight? If so how much? 

A. Because we are a family operation and I have a day job, overnight shipping is an "exception" process and is therefore problematic, and in some case slower than simply using first class mail, so we do not offer overnight shipping.

Comment: I'm currently deciding between the Memplug, the FlashPlus, and the standard 16meg Flash. I'll be making my decision soon. 

Hint: If you do not anticipate needing more than 16MB external storage, if you only plan to store documents or databases that you will read (and never make any changes to, such as bookmarks or annotations) on your memory module, and if you do not care about cost, the standard 16MB Flash card is a great option. The Visor sees it as though it were internal ROM, so it will probably always have a speed advantage over CF. We now have VFS support for CF cards.  This will allow applications that incorporate VFS support to read and write files on the CF card, but accessing the CF card is slower than accessing the 16MB flash module.  From a cost standpoint, however, there is no comparison. A FlashPlus adapter with a 64MB card at current prices (7/23/02)  could cost you as little as $80, versus $49.95 for the 16MB flash module, so with CF you are getting four times as much memory at less than twice the price. 

Q. What is the difference between the Memplug CompactFlash adapter and the FlashPlus adapter with FAFileMover?

A.  If I understand correctly, the Memplug CompactFlash adapter will not work with any Visor models but the Prism, Platinum and Edge.  The FlashPlus will work with all Visor models.  Although the Memplug comes with some built-in applications, VFS support in FAFileMover allows a very wide range of applications to use the FlashPlus adapter.

 [Last updated July 23, 2002]