Microsoft mends ways with Pocket PC.

Byline: Julio Ojeda-Zapata

(W/ sidebars: CPT-POCKETPC-PALM:SP, CPT-POCKETPC-HANDSPRING:SP)

If you plan to buy a Palm handheld computer, Microsoft begs you to reconsider.

The software giant, which all but rules the personal-computer market with its Windows operating system, has been a laughable also-ran in a handheld market dominated by the easy-to-use Palm OS.

So-called Palm-Size PCs from Microsoft's hardware partners have been ridiculed for their use of Windows CE, an alternative to the Palm OS that clumsily attempts to make stripped-down computing devices more Windows-like.

Now, Microsoft swears it has mended its ways. It has dramatically streamlined its mini-OS so it's less confusing and time-consuming to use. And it has unveiled a catchy new moniker, Pocket PC, to identify the …