How to hot sync a Palm OS PDA with a Windows 7 computer.
Since the release of Vista and now Windows 7 there have been issues with hot syncing Palm OS devices. This is a driver issues and not a software compatibility issue limited to Palm OS PDA with USB connections syncing with computers with 64 bit registries. If your computer is 32 bit then you should be able to hot sync normally no matter which connection method.
Since companies like Access (the new owners of Palm OS), Aceeca and others have a vested interest in supporting Palm OS/ Garnet and as new PC computers are now Win 7 which default to 64 bit we can assume that the 64 bit drivers are on the way. In the mean time If your computer or laptop is Vista or Win 7 and is 64 bit then you have some options to use.
1) Blue tooth If your Palm is Blue Tooth capable then you set up a BT connection between your computer and your Palm for hot syncing. If your computer is not Blue Tooth then there are blue tooth dongles available. This is my favorite method and as such I have not experenced the problem others have had.
2) Serial If your palm has serial connection then you can connect to your computer through a serial port and the hot sync works. If your computer does not have a serial port(most laptops) then you can get a serial to USB cable and connect to your computer through the usb port and it works (go figure ). If your PDA does not have a serial connection check with the manufacture to see if a Serial connection is available.
3) Virtual PC XP Mode: I have not actually tried this yet and and do not know how to set it up, but I do know it works. Windows 7 has a free add-on that will allow you to create a virtual XP machine. Note this may only be available for the business and ultimate version of Win 7.
All of the above solutions are only stop gap and every one should contact your Palm providers to pressure them to build the necessary 64 bit USB drivers ASAP. I use win 7 and Vista and really like them both.. One can assume that with in 2 Years windows users will be all using Win 7. Though the benefit is not as obvious as other recent PC improvements 64 bit is here to stay and will soon be the new standard.
To summarize, if you want to buy a new computer and you need to support palm OS devices then then it is possible but for the time being you will need to consider some work around.