When stroke victims played virtual reality games in which they imagined they were diving with sharks or snowboarding down a narrow slope, their ability to walk eventually improved, researchers reported in a small study. Doctors called the findings promising, especially since the patients had all had strokes more than a year earlier, a time frame when further recovery is unlikely.

Global shipments of handheld computers fell for the fifth consecutive quarter, squeezed by surging demand for devices that combine cellular telephones with palmtop organizers, market research firm IDC said on Wednesday. Shipments of 1.9 million digital organizers in the first quarter were down 12 percent from the same period last year and 31 percent from the fourth quarter, IDC said. By contrast, the worldwide converged mobile device market kept up its torrid growth, with shipments rising 135 percent year-over-year, its third straight quarter of triple digit growth, to 8.4 million units.

Smart Box Design announced the launch of the newly updated Triples game, a remake of its popular 9 Men’s Morris “capture and defend” strategy game for Palm OS devices. Triples, or M

NS BASIC Corporation announced support for Windows Mobile 5.0, Microsoft’s new platform for handheld devices. NS Basic/CE will run on all Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone Edition devices. NS Basic/CE is a VB-like development tool. It allows you to create applications on a Windows desktop computer which will run on Windows CE devices. A unique feature of the development tool is that it can also be used to develop on the device itself.

Dell will offer a Windows Mobile version 5.0 software upgrade for the Dell Axim X50 handheld family later this year. The new software is expected to enable users to take advantage of several new productivity and multimedia enhancements, like updated Microsoft Office programs and Direct3D Mobile support. It also supports persistent storage capability, helping to protect against the loss of personal data and applications when batteries discharge completely. Dell Axim X50 customers will be able to purchase the upgrade, expected to ship during the third quarter, on compact disc.

So, you say we don’t send you enough silly links. You tell us we’re too serious, writing too much about useful stuff. OK, so there!

For the month of May, PalmGear.com is giving away a dream vacation that you design yourself! Purchase any software and enter the code VACATION into the Site-wide Promotional text field at checkout. You will be automatically entered into the drawing. Every purchase gives you another opportunity to win.

palmOne and Telefonica Moviles Espana, the largest mobile carrier in the Spanish market with more than 19 million clients, announced an agreement for the distribution of the Treo 650 smartphone in Spain. The Treo 650, which is scheduled to be available from Telefonica in late May, combines a compact, full-featured quad-band mobile phone with email, a Palm OS organizer, messaging (SMS and multimedia messages), management of office documents and Web access, as well as a digital camera. palmOne and Telefonica Moviles also have customized the Treo 650 with movistar applications and services.

Consilient’s training division announced a new course for system administrators on BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.0. The new course is designed to provide system administrators with hands-on technical training on the new features of BES 4.0. The course is open to organizations using BES 4.0 for MS Exchange, Lotus Notes, and Novell GroupWise. Consilient’s training course provides a comprehensive technical overview enabling system administrators to upgrade to the latest version of BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The training course covers features of BES 4.0 including “cradle-less” provisioning, improved wireless security and how to activate the more than 70 different IT policies associated with BES 4.0.

Hoping to revive its notebook fortunes, Sony unveiled a laptop that can connect to the Internet pretty much anywhere in the United States. The Vaio VGN-T350 comes with an integrated cellular module that can connect to Cingular’s network. The service costs $79.95 a month for unlimited use, but it obviates the need to seek out an available hot spot to connect to the Internet. WiMax technology one day will likely provide similar blanket coverage, but it will take some time to build a WiMax network. Consumers can also opt to pay $49.95 a month for 50MB of data a month. A switch lets users alternate from Wi-Fi to cellular connections to conserve cellular time.