What is the latest version of Chrome?

The latest released version of Chrome is version 1.1.1.

The version of Chrome I have says version 3.5, your web site says the latest version is 1.1. What is this pile of junk?

An early OEM version of Chrome was labeled with the version number 3.5 (to match the OS). That was done just to confuse you. The 3.5 and 1.0 versions were identical except for the name. Best thing to do is update to the 1.1 version.

What is required to run Chrome?

Any handheld that can run PalmOS 3.5, PalmOS 3.5 or better, and about 24k of RAM (or about 22k of ROM, 2k RAM, see ROM).

Why do I need PalmOS 3.5? How can I get it? What is this pile of junk?

Chrome is tightly integrated with the color system that exists (only) on PalmOS 3.5. Look 3.5 is really good, you are going to want 3.5 anyway!

Palm has released PalmOS 3.5 as an upgrade, it is available here:

PalmOS 3.5 Upgrade

You might also take a look here:

Palm Software Downloads

Of course all the new Palm handhelds are shipping with PalmOS 3.5 (or 4.0), so if you are buying a new device, make sure it has PalmOS 3.5 or 4.0 installed. Why?

Does Chrome work with PalmOS 4.0?

Yes.

When I use the Screen Settings option to change the number of colors, the color scheme on my handheld changes color. How come?

Yes. PalmOS has a color scheme preference for every color mode your handheld is capable of displaying. When you switch the number of colors being displayed (the color mode), you also switch the color scheme preference used. You can setup different color schemes for each of the different color modes.

I have a Palm m404 and it seems it uses the same color scheme in 65536 color mode and 256 color mode. How come?

Right. The m404 is a 16 bit color device with PalmOS 4.0. PalmOS 4.0 uses the same color scheme when in 65536 color mode as it does when in 256 color mode. If you change your color scheme when in 256 color mode, then switch to 65536 color mode, you will have the same colors.

I have a Palm m404 or Handspring Prism, with 16 bit colors, but Chrome defaults to 256 color mode. Should I switch to 65536 color mode?

In most applications, there is really no difference between 256 color mode and 65536 color mode. The system only uses about 30 colors to draw the menus, buttons, etc..

Actually, there are some disadvantages to running in 65536 colors all the time: it may make things a little slower and it drains the battery. Applications that really use the high color mode will switch to that mode when they need it.

Does Chrome work OK when burned into ROM?

Yes.

Can I use Chrome with my Handspring Visor?

Yes. No. Probably. Maybe. If you have a Visor Prism or Visor Edge, yes, Chrome is for you. If you have a Visor Platinum, probably Chrome is for you. The newer Platinums come with PalmOS 3.5.2, which is great for Chrome. We've heard a rumor that some of the very early Platinums come with the older 3.1 OS - no good for Chrome (read on). If you have a Visor Deluxe or the standard 2MB Visor, then no, you cannot use Chrome. These devices have an older version of PalmOS.

Early Visors shipped with PalmOS 3.1 installed in non-upgrade-able ROM rather than the Flash ROM used on most of the newer Palm devices. If you have one of these devices, you will not be able to upgrade the OS to PalmOS 3.5. Sorry.

* - check the OS version on your handheld is 3.5 or better

Can I use Chrome with my Palm IIIe?

No. The Palm IIIe handheld (like the Visor) uses non-upgradeable ROM rather than the Flash ROM used on most of the Palm devices. So far, the IIIe OS has been 3.1.

Can I use Chrome with my Visor Prism?

Yes.

Can Chrome sparkle up older black & white software?

Yes. Software that does not take advantage of color can still get a face lift from Chrome. The key is what we call the default foreground and background colors. Software that is not color aware draws in black on white. When running on a color or shades of gray handheld running PalmOS 3.5 or better, these applications draw in two colors that you can specify with Chrome.

The default background color is just the Form Fill color that you can change by tapping pretty much any where on the screen other than on one of the controls (for example, tap between the Title and Menu labels. By changing this color you change the value of white in black & white software.

The default foreground color can be set by changing the Control Foreground color. You can change this color by tapping on the OK of the OK button, or the Control of the Selected / Control button pair.

So, if you want your trusty old shoot 'em up to draw red on green, tap on OK and set the color to red, then tap between Title and Menu and set the color to green. Do not forget to tap Apply to send your scheme to all the applications.

What do I do with the chrome-<something>.zip file?

If you download Chrome from our web site or from one of our partners' sites, you'll receive a file with a .zip extension. This is a zip file, and in contains the .prc program file which is installed on the device, as well as the user manual and other great stuff.

To get at all the goodies, you first need to unpack the .zip file. To do this you will need a tool that can read and unpack zip files. If you do not have such a tool (most users do, but...), you need to get yourself one. For Windows users, we recommend WinZip, which is available at http://www.winzip.com (download here). For Macintosh users, we recommend StuffIt Expander for Macintosh, which is available at http://www.stuffit.com (download here). Unix users, unzip(1) will work just fine for you.

Once you download and unpack the .zip file, read the README.html file inside for installation instructions.

What's up with these .zip files, where are the .sit files?

In the past, twinkletwinkle.com has provided all our products in both .zip and .sit packages. The latter being popular with Macintosh users. This is proving to be a little time consuming, and our download statistics suggest not many users are downloading the .sit files anyway. As a result, we would like to try phasing out support for .sit files. Zip files are well supported on Macintosh by the excellent, and free, StuffIt Expander tool (see above), so we hope this will not be a burden to our users.

If you would like any twinkletwinkle.com product packaged in a .sit file, we would be happy to make it for you, just contact twinkletwinkle.com support. If we get a lot of these requests, we'll know we are making the wrong decision.