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Epoc Digest Wed, 04 Sep 2002 Volume 01 : Number 066
Sent to: 573 subscribers
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In today's Epoc Digest 18 messages:
==============================
- The Fanzine ... An Offer
- Mako battery and minor repair
- Re: Psion repair in North America...
- Init and Data Strings in One
- Re: Broken penholder
- Dream 5mx colour screen?
- PDF reader
- RE: All PDF Fanzine contributions
- NetBook os 158 and WiFi
- Magazine format
- Re: POP-block / SMS
- Re Outliner/ List Maker
- Psion vs Trio vs Zaurus
- Pinnock to US
- Re: EPOC DIGEST V1 # 065
- POP-block, O2, Psion, Digest address, Battery life,
- Re: Coloured Screens and Battery Life
- NASA style, nConvert, Dream, netBook, Battery time....
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Sep 2002 22:23:05 +0100
From: "Simon Wolf"
Subject: The Fanzine ... An Offer
First let me reply to Rolf's comment in the last digest regarding my comments ... I didn't mean any offence to Andy and his idea and offer to put together a fanzine is much appreciated by myself and other subscribers of this digest. However, the last few weeks have only seen a discussion about the format and my email to Andy offering both help and some suggestions has yet to be answered and the conclusion I reached from that is that perhaps he is very busy at the moment or perhaps he is simply (and understandably) having second thoughts about running this himself.
On a more general level, I am more than happy to take on some of the work required to put this fanzine together - I have spare time and my private life is pretty stable at the moment so I can commit some time with some certainty. In addition I have run web sites in the past and know both what is involved and how time consuming the work can be. Therefore I would like to offer the following ...
1. I can set up a web site that can be used to host archives of the fanzine and can also be used to coordinate work. For example, the site could be used to list ideas for articles which need an author, list articles that are currently being written (and show who the author is), maintain the distribution list and send out the fanzine, etc.
2. I can manage who is writing what articles and chase people up to see how things are going.
3. I can compile the articles and convert the final document into a PDF file.
What would still be needed are volunteers to write articles, submit news items, etc. and people to proofread the fanzine. Also, ideas for articles or other content would be most welcome.
I would like to propose that if people are interested in adopting this approach then email me direcwith your comments and ideas. This is just a way to compile feedback quickly and easily rather than having to use the digest for this feasibility study. I will then send an article to the digest next Monday (9 September) which will summarise the feedback. Therefore everyone will know what the situation is.
Unfortunately I cannot start work on the fanzine itself until the very start of October since I will be away from mid-September until the end of the month. However, assuming that there is a favourable response, this would give people time to think about articles that they would like to write or other content that they would like to submit. From the start of October we could start compiling the first issue for a target release date at the end of October. One factor that we must also bear in mind is that there is a finite amount of things that can be written about so we need to avoid having a few massive issues followed by either slim issues or repeats of old articles.
Anyway, let me know what you think and please note that I am not trying to take this project over, I am just offering my services to try to get things going.
All the best.
Simon
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 00:52:17 +0100
From: "Jaan Sass"
Subject: Mako battery and minor repair
Date: 3 Sep 2002
From:Jaan
Subject: Re: Mako battery and minor repair
Hi Everyone
I just wanted to ad my 2 cents about the Mako' battery. I have owned my Mako for about 2 years and use it primarily for work and reading. My wife will inherit wants I begin to use the psion 7 I recently acquired.
Admittedly charge my machine daily and have experienced no issues with my batteries.I did when I initially purchased it but followed some suggestions to drain the batteries and then to fully recharge. This cured it. I use my machine a lot during a day and can have alot saved on my Mako and love Mobipocket and PDF+. I have noticed the more I have saved on my mako the faster the power drain also I use nswitcher and have a couple of programs open which has the same effect.
One of the rubber feet fell off. I have the rubber piece and was wondering if I should glue it back what kind of glue should I use ?
Anyway it has been great reading and learning from everyone.
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 02:21:14 +0100
From: "Mike Fellhauer"
Subject: Re: Psion repair in North America...
>From: Jim Watson-Gove >
>I checked the URL and it failed.
>Either the place has gone away or (I hope) they have their site down >temporarily for some reason.
Must have been a website/server glitch, or a problem inbetween you and them.
I just checked, and http://www.410palm.com/ is up and running.
If you still have trouble, try http://207.236.238.149/
Mike
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 03:15:45 +0100
From: "Gary Y Reyes"
Subject: Init and Data Strings in One
>Date: 2 Sep 2002 21:25:34 +0100
>From: Rolf Brunsting >Subject: Re: A general question on "strings"
Rolf,
Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation on how to set up Init and Data Strings. I will try out your suggestion.
What I need is actually an Init and a Data String (combined) to connect over HSCSD only. GPRS is not something that I am considering yet. If I do so in the future, then I will have to do what you did in your story - set up another string for this connection.
Again, many thanks for the help.
Gary
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 04:37:39 +0100
From: Sinisa Hristov
Subject: Re: Broken penholder
> From: Itamar Engelsman
> Answer to: Sinisa Hristov
> Re. Broken penholder - As it is an internal mechanism I don't think you will need glue. Put a flat object (knife, credit card) between the outer case and the serial link underneath the RS232 sign and twiggle it around a little, both in and out and try to widen the gap. You will hear suddenly a little click and your pen will work again (take care not to damage the black strip on your credit card !).
Thank you, Itamar, but that doesn't solve my problem.
By "broken" I mean it is genuinely broken,
i.e. the black plastic part that locks the pen
is in two pieces now and I have to glue them together (or find a replacement).
What kind of plastic would that be?
Regars,
Sinisa Hristov
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 05:06:29 +0100
From: "Walker, Jan"
Subject: Dream 5mx colour screen?
<<To: "Stephane Sage"
Subject: Dream 5mx colour screen>>
<<Jan (Walker), who are these D&G PDA Upgrade people ? Maybe they would also be interested to look into the matter.>>
Stephane: D&G Upgrades can be accessed at: http://www.pda-upgrade.20m.com/
They have been doing quality upgrades (memory increase and battery replacement on the Revos; memory increases on 5mx) for about 15 months now. The digest users who have used them have all had strongly enthusiastic recommendations for us. The company is run by former Psion engineers. I HOPE they read this and can offer a package of colour and memory upgrades all at once. My only concern would be screen quality and battery life. I would hope for no more than a 20% degradation of current battery life.
Jan
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 07:27:20 +0100
From: "Philip Bister"
Subject: PDF reader
David Lir wrote:
"There is a free PDF reader for EPOC available at www.mbrainsoftware.com ; also Adobe Acrobat is a free download for Windows and the Mac. Is there some problem with expecting a prospective reader to install such a free program? "
In reply to David:
No - there should be no problem at all. I was was simply pointing out that recipients of the magazine would need an Acrobat Reader installed for the benefit of anyone that is unfamiliar with the pdf format.
Regards
Philip
http://www.philipbister.ukonline.co.uk
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 07:41:00 +0100
From: "Neil Thompson"
Subject: RE: All PDF Fanzine contributions
OK so we know what format we want it in, we even know what size would be acceptable and whether we should compress it or not but does anyone know what content we want?
I have to agree with Steve on this and I think that it is time to stop talking about the technicalities and get on with it.
As I have said before I will happily contribute the web space, the means with which to mail it out, a domain name and contribute articles but won't have time to run it.
Andy are you still up for this?
Who else wants to contribute? If there aren't more than 6 people willing to do so then it is not worth starting. I suspect that this is why Palmtop magazine struggled in the past to meet it's deadlines, it had very few contributors (Steve, Pete and Steve - you know who you are!).
I vote for action or drop the subject.
Yours Controversially!
Neil
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 08:43:47 +0100
From: <mark
Subject: NetBook os 158 and WiFi
Hello all,
Has anyone on the list got a WiFi card to work with a netbook using os 156 and ethernet drivers or os 158? If so which one the ? netgear dose'nt, the list includes cisco 340 which is not made anymore its now a 350 ?this anygood. In os 158 it also mentions Orinoco cards?? Any suggested suppliers.
all the best,
MW
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 09:19:15 +0100
From: "J. Hamwee"
Subject: Magazine format
For what it is worth, may I comment that in my experience EPOC machines are not quite suited for viewing html or pdf files.
On the other hand, assuming that most readers will be using Psions, EPOC includes two built in tools that could be quite suited for this particular job: a Word file with a (multilevel) outline for navigating, or better still, a Data file.
Data offers great flexibility for viewing, navigating, searching, embedding of objects, etc. Another advantage of Data is the possibility to produce and upload files of any size as and when material becomes available. Provided a consistent field format is maintained, recipients can build up a cumulative store of information by merging files when they find material relevant to their own particular interests, and discard the rest if they so wish. Furthermore, I believe that Data is the same program on all EPOC models, whereas Word on the S5 classic did not include the outline feature.
Regards
Joseph Hamwee
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 13:18:50 +0100
From: "Thomas F. VAN DER ZIJDEN"
Subject: Re: POP-block / SMS
Hi group,
Rolf, thank you for your answers. I am sorry I wasn't quite clear, but I really meant it: Tiscali NL _has_ a POP-blockade. The guy who mentioned it to me got some funny messages from Outlook, he logged in with Telnet and got the message 'acces to POP server denied from this IP address'. 12move (which is now also a Tiscali company) actually warned its members beforehand by written notice. Of course, they have an SMTP block by IP as well and their 06760 number is not accessible from foreign countries, but that is indeed old news. Not being able to use another dialup number to collect your mail and not being able to use Tiscali's dialup number makes it very complicated to get your mail when abroad. Do you have a paid subscription? I would be very interested to know if that's blocked or not, but the 'free' subscriptions are definitely blocked. Good luck with your complaint at OPTA, by the way! If you succeed, the French can continue with their 0866 numbers and ART and the British with their 08xx numbers and their telecom authority. ;-)
Re: SMS
OK, final note: I got a message from a Dutch user of the Dutch O2 network, who used the deal with SFR. He used his Dutch O2 message centre. Same situation, same deal (with SFR), same set-up of message centre (i.e. the centre of mine/his home network). The SMS's between 19h and 20h are not on his bill and the rest of the SMS's are, at the tariff O2 advertised on its site. Both O2 and Ben are in with SFR's deal. Matter solved. No more silly stories accepted from Ben. I am convinced that this is just a simple screw-up by Ben. Now if I can only convince the buggers... ;-)
Yours truly,
Thomas van der Zijden
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 15:14:18 +0100
From: Astrid Stappenbeck
Subject: Re Outliner/ List Maker
Re Outliner/ List Maker
To David Lir
Have you tried two rather new programs called MyNotes and TasMan ? There have been numerous updates for MyNotes in recent weeks and there are probably more to come, So if you have any special wishes you might find a receptive author. For updates you can also check www.psionpage.ch which is in German but always up to date with the latest developments. Links to the programs as follows:
MyNotes 1.92 at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ian_and_aida/epoc.htm
TasMan 3.02 at http://www.neilthompson.co.uk/psion/start.htm
(I don't mean to sabotage any attempts for a myList app but maybe it's already invented???)
Astrid
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 15:35:22 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Psion vs Trio vs Zaurus
David,
<<Besides the machines you mentioned there is the Jornada HPC line.>>
<<If I were going to go back to the Palm I'd get a Treo - especially if I wanted it for its wireless email or cellphone features.>>
The Treo and the Zaurus are the most appealing to me. Both are non-WinCE machines and have attractive features. The Zaurus is quite attractive (to me) because of the open OS (Linux). I see eventual development of much software, much like it used to be said of Psion.
With that said, I have cooled off (ignoring a demo Z at Santa Rosa Good Guys going for $200), I've decided to stick with Psion until the last dog is hung.
The memory upgrades for the 5mx and Makos at www.pda-upgrade.20m.com (D&G?) looks very attractive. I could upgrade all of my machines for the cost of a new toy PDA. I hope that Pinock stays in business and hope they will repair US Psions when Psion folds their US shop.
Couldn't find hide or hair of that Canadian outfit that supposedly repairs Psions.
jim - oakland
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 15:35:26 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Pinnock to US
I did some feasibility checking to see if Pinnock and the outfit that does battery and memory upgrades will deal with people from the US. Pinnock says yes but that the shipping with a courier is prohibitively expensive (70-80 GBP). The post will do it for 10 GBP they say but tracking is not possible.
I have routinely shipped my Psions to Psion USA by post without tracking without a worry and have dealt with private individuals in England and France without a glitch.
Is this conservatism and caveat emptor on the part of Pinnock or is their a problem in the UL postal service?
It's good to know that the service is available towards the day that Psion stops maintaining the units.
jim - oakland
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 17:23:57 +0100
From: "Steve Hodgson"
Subject: Re: EPOC DIGEST V1 # 065
Rolf,
> << In that case maybe one format to consider would be more like a
> digest (HTML format??????) with emailed summaries of > articles
each
accompanied by a hyperlink to the complete article >>
>
> I don't think is the way to go for a number of reasons.
Cool - I can probably agree with all of those, just mainly wanted to
raise some alternatives to all-in-one downloads. For me, PDF is
probably an ideal way forward for a complete download. I like the idea
that I don't _have_ to read it on my Psion as might be the case if it
were a Psion-native format such as Data or Word.
At the very least an all-in-one format will pass the washroom test
without requiring an IR equipped mobile phone ;o)
Thomas (retro-computing),
I thought I was one of the few people to still have slide rules around
the place! I even picked up a giant Faber Castell a couple of years
ago that looked like it could have computed those NASA trajectories.
At the point when I finished my high school education one could very
occasionally see some still in use. It's interesting that my Psion
machines are slowly sliding into the retro-computing category now. I
was recently playing with a HP200LX and wondered at just how capable a
machine it was and how simple things were back when I bought my first
Organiser II back in the 80's. One day I will have to do actually do
something with all these old gadgets!
Regards,
Steve Hodgson
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 18:05:42 +0100
From: Itamar Engelsman
Subject: POP-block, O2, Psion, Digest address, Battery life,
Answer to: Thomas F. van der Zijden
Re. POP-block - In the UK I use Freeserve, Demon Internet, Compuserve and Vizzazi (GPRS) and all allow me to check all mailboxes. Certainly a good reason not to use Tiscali. But as Rolf wrote, all ISP's nowadays allow the use of their SMTP server only when logged on via their own network to avoid the sending of SPAM.
Re. O2 - Is Vodaphone using O2 in Holland ?
Answer to: Rolf Brunsting
Re. Psion - For sake of good order, I feel neither betrayed nor hurt. In the end it is a machine, a tool and nothing more. Today I drive a Mercedes, tomorrow it might be a different make, before it was a Volvo. I was only asking in reply to Peter's opinion.
Answer to: Mike Fellhauer
Re. Digest address - There was most definitely a message about the address change on the digest. Sorry you missed it (the old address is still checked occasionally, but will soon be discontinued).
Re. Battery life - Sometimes new machines use less power. The same phone battery on my Nokia 7110 kept me going for about a day, on my new 6310i well over 3 days.
All my outgoing e-mails have been sent by Psion email and don't need to be checked by Norton Anti-virus.
Bye,
Itamar Engelsman
London, United Kingdom
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 21:25:56 +0100
From: Rolf Brunsting
Subject: Re: Coloured Screens and Battery Life
Dear Gary,
<< I have been playing around with a Treo 90 with colored screen for about 2 weeks now and have had to charge it only 3 times so far -- including the initial charge >>
A "colored" screen triggers the image of Handspring factory workers busy colouring in Treo 90 screens using crayons (only joking).
The difficulty with a Treo 90 comparison is that:
a) The Treo uses a 160 by 160 pixel screen while that of the 5mx is 640 by 240. Add the fact that each pixel is actually a red-green-blue triplet and a 5mx colour screen of the same type has 18 times the number of elements.
b) Another aspect is the surface area of the screen as this determines the physical size of each pixel. The smaller the pixel the brighter the backlight needs to be for the pixel to be easily visible.
c) Screen surface area also determines whether you can use the more efficient side lighting.
d) New and/or improved technologies are introduced with the smaller screens as they're easier to implement. What's currently available in 640 by 240 pixel colour screens may be one or two steps behind the Treo's screen technology.
e) A retrofit implies that you're working within the constraints of the 5mx design. Which inevitable reduces the choice you have.
f) Another constraint is costs as a retrofit needs to be attractive compared to the purchase of a new PDA.
g) The Treo 90 is a new design, benefiting from the improvements that have been made in the power consumption of electronic components.
--
Kind Regards,
Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands
*++++++++++&
Date: 4 Sep 2002 21:29:35 +0100
From: Trygve Henriksen
Subject: NASA style, nConvert, Dream, netBook, Battery time....
Greetings!
Thomas F. van der Zijden wrote:
> I have just been given a free fax machine. It uses thermosensible
> paper. It looks nice next to my free answering machine. That one
> still uses microcassettes. I put my slide rule next to them and my
> room looks like NASA in the sixties ;-)
You know, NASa was recently looking for batches of i8086 processors...
NASA never uses current technology, but relies on 'tried and trusted' stuff...
Those Thermosensitive faxes aren't dead, either.
(And my Organiser II Printer uses similar paper, so I just saw a roll in half :-)
The microcassettes are also current technology, particularly in dictaphones and answering machines... (Not to mention that several of my computers use them )
If you have a manual for that slide rule, I wouldn't mind a peek...
(The one I've got is pretty basic)
----
Kevin Collins wrote:
> To David Lir (> ):
>> I've just been demoing nConvert and I've found that it
>> fails to be launched from ExtraBars;
> I'm a registered user of both, just tried, and found no problem
> in launching nConvert via Extrabars... maybe remove and
> reinstall the shortcut? Did you leave it "visible"?
I tried it on my netBook....
I have registered versions of both, so...
When I try to open nConvert, it always tries to do the last conversion I did...
(an automatic conversion of an .RTF file)
I'm using EB V1.20F and nConvert V1.01
I'm not certain which program is at fault...
Neither author have replied to any emails lately...
(I have a few other issues on nConvert, and he wrote that he would release a new version 'soon')
---
David Lir wrote:
> It's 28', made of wood(and fibreglass) and was built in
> Poland(or am I way off target here?) some years ago...
> A nice boat, but a tad too small for me..."
> Actually, I dare say his dream is as wide and as clear as
> the sea and the sky - and is made of self-reliance, a dash
> or two of adventure and most importantly: a whole lot of solitude!
> What you have described is his *boat* ;)
You obviously haven't met Owen...
I'm pretty certain that he would be happy as long as the boat's afloat, whether it be on the ocean, a small lake, a channel, or pond...
He doesn't sound like he's looking for solitude, either, when he tells Psioneers nearly to pop by...
---
Itamar Engelsman wrote:
> Re. S7 upgrade - Thanks for the details, I think I'll keep my S7 as
> is in working order. With a 128 Mb Cf disk I am "in business".
There's no real danger. If it doesn't work with a netBook ROM, you only need to replace the old S7 ROM module to get it to work again...
(I REALLY doubt that timing problems can damage the electronics)
---
Mike Fellhaue wrote:
> Well, older machines did use less power...not only less CPU
> power was required, but also less memory to keep refreshed.
You're darn right...
The Psion S3 series gave 60 - 80 Hours on 2 x AA cells,
The MC400(laptop size) gave 60 - 80 Hours on 8 x AA or up to 20hours on a 7.2V/1000mA rechargeable paclk.
On the Org II, a 9V PP3 battery lasts for months...
If you can get hold of an old Palm that uses AAA cells, you'll find that they can last for weeks.
When I think of it, the only place the trend is the other way is mobile phones...
My Nokia 2110(may it rest in pieces) gave a theoretical 48Hours Standby time on the standard battery, and the 'big pack' at 7.2V/1800mA gave up to a week.
My Siemens M50 have a 3.6V/650mA battery rated for up to 260Hours...
> If it was the case of wanting a machine for longer battery life I'd still be
> using my Siena...
You know, I don't have a Siena in my collection yet...
Do you still have yours?
:-)
Trygve
http://home.c2i.net/trygveh/english/
*++++++++++&
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