Thanks, Don. I think the architectural change might have something to do with the fact that pretty much the same platform is used for their Windows Mobile devices, which DO need a permanent USB connection for use by Activesync. But I think it's messy that it works this way for the Palmos devices.
Of course, the error that is displayed when you get a kernel panic doesn't actually call it that. It just says your beloved Mac has suffered a nasty error and needs to be restarted - all in a small subset of the world's languages. But no matter which way you cut it, it's a very unfriendly thing - more like iCrashed!
