Epocdigest V1 # 254

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Epoc Digest Sun, 18 May 2003 Volume 01 : Number 254

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Sent to: 785 subscribers

In today's Epoc Digest 15 messages:

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- Route Planner Millennium GPS problem

- Re: Emulator and RMR software

- Psion - Mac

- Sent to Coventry

- Re: Favorite App

- Re: TubeRoute

- Re: PCMCIA Flash drives.

- Re: Accented characters on the Mako / Revo

- Re: Nokia Cardphone II

- Re: nConvert

- Re: Psion Wap Browser & GPRS # 242

- Re: Software Licence Fees

- Email problem

- favourite app?, Dixons,

- Alan Morris: Photography on Pcs - OT # 252 (2)

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 20:52:34 +0100

From: ABlake3459

Subject: Route Planner Millennium GPS problem

Hi all,

I have a Psion 5mx linked to a Garmin 12XL for GPS.

With Streetplanner it all works fine, the cursor following my position on the map very accurately once I have calibrated it.

On Route Planner however, when I switch on, the position indicator is always about 100m off my true known position & there appears to be no means of adjusting/calibrating this, as there is with Streetplanner. That leaves me with a frustratingly inaccurate starting point which never corrects itself however far I drive.

Am I missing something obvious or can someone please suggest a solution?

Andrew

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 21:21:04 +0100

From: Chris Cooper

Subject: Re: Emulator and RMR software

Vlad Kuwrote:

> RE: Epoc Emulator

* Some apps just won't run on the emulator, I'm afraid. You can get some WinOPX's but my experience is that eg. Money, Collins, DCLFuel, most RMR Software and MANY others won't run unless you get a special copy for the emulator (Phoneman for example).

RMRTask is one program that will run on the emulator without needing a special version - I'm using it right now.

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 21:38:48 +0100

From: ealasaidandsimon

Subject: Psion - Mac

Just noticed that John Montgomery has at last got an OS X version of his freeware JavaPsionLink programme up and running

http://website.lineone.net/~john.montgomery/psionlink/ for those of us with psions and macs... this version is a big improvement over the old version, it includes incremental backups, a few file converters, as well as file upload and download.

Simon

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 21:56:28 +0100

From: Timothy H.D. Williams

Subject: Sent to Coventry

On Saturday, May 17, 2003, at 05:48 PM, Gary Jenkinson wrote:

> (reading BSc (Hons) Disaster Studies

> at Coventry University)

Is Psion Ltd. one of your study projects?

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 22:10:31 +0100

From: Keith Giles

Subject: Re: Favorite App

For me, it's gotta be Biklog5 - never, never, never delete!

Happy Cycling,

Keith

Sunnyvale, CA

http://home.attbi.com/~ohsix827/

Thought For The Day: Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.

All my outgoing e-mails have been checked by Norton Anti-virus.

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 23:57:27 +0100

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: TubeRoute

Dear Jack,

<< TubeRoute OPL(GPL license) ... >>

I've just downloaded and installed TubeRoute and got strange results for the very first route I planned. This is a route I've taken many, many times (Heathrow Terminal 4 to Finchley Road) as I've worked with a company at Canfield Place, just around the corner of Finchley Road tube station.

The funny thing is that TubeRoute seems to be convinced that there is no route with a single change while there is such a route:

- Heathrow Terminal 4 to Green Park on the Piccadilly Line

- Green Park to Finchley Road on the Victoria Line.

TubeRoute says that the first change is at Turnham Green where I have to switch from the Piccadilly Line to .... the Piccadilly Line.

The route option also gives the strange result that the 'shortest' route is actually longer than the route found with the route option set to 'any'. The shortest is:

- Heathrow Terminal 4 to Turnham Green on the Piccadilly Line

- Turnham Green to Kings Cross St. Pancras on the Piccadilly Line

- Kings Cross St. Pancras to Finchley Road on the Metropolitan Line

Which is longer in both distance and number of stops than the one supplied with the route option 'any':

- Heathrow Terminal 4 to Turnham Green on the Piccadilly Line

- Turnham Green to Green Park on the Piccadilly Line

- Green Park to Finchley Road on the Victoria Line.

I'll do some additional testing but it's not encouraging to see TubeRoute stumble at the first hurdle.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 23:57:37 +0100

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: PCMCIA Flash drives.

Dear Owen,

<< I would like to know where to find solid state PCMCIA flash drives and what capacities are available >>

Why don't you check the web sites of such companies as SanDisk, Kingston, Dane Elec, Lexar and Viking for their product range and local representative?

<< I would assume that a PCMCIA flash disk is cheaper than an equivalent CF... >>

I doubt that they are much more economical than CF cards because they are no longer produced in large numbers.

<< ... 1.2Gb, would be better as that would have room for all the charts at the same time and 2Gb or more even better if it's possible to install WindoZe on the flash drive and make it bootable >>

They're not bootable in a laptop because the PC-Card slot is not a dedicated disk drive. They are bootable in industrial PCs, like PC101 modular systems, where they are used instead of a hard disk in a dedicated slot.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 23:57:46 +0100

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Accented characters on the Mako / Revo

Dear Owen,

<< This may be old news to everyone else, but I just discovered it by accident. Even though it's not marked on the keyboard, the five keys z, x, c, v, b on the left bottom row of my Mako keyboard can be used with the Fn key to type accented characters ... >>

This is described in the Help function under the section "Accented characters".

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 23:57:53 +0100

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Nokia Cardphone II

Dear Darryl,

<< Am trying to get this to work with my netBook and the PCMCIA card pod but keep failing with "No Carrier" >>

That's an easy one - GSM, HSCSD and GPRS are digital transmission systems which don't use an analog data carrier like a modem. When you use carrier detection in your modem profile for the CardPhone II the Psion will wait for the signal that the data carrier is there. When the CardPhone II doesn't set the DCD line when a connection has been established the Psion will wait until the time-out, disconnect and signal that there was no data carrier. In other words, remove the checkmark for carrier detection (DCD).

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 23:58:01 +0100

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: nConvert

Dear Owen,

<< How do you uninstall nConvert? There are so many little parts of it installed which all have their own line in Add/Remove.d I've never been able to figure out which belong to nConvert and which belong to other Neuon applications. It's all rather messy >>

There's an entry in the Add/Remove utility called "NEUON - nConvert 1.01". I trust this entry refers to the main deinstallation script, allowing you to remove nConvert completely. The other entries are there to give you the opportunity to deinstall nConvert components you no longer need.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 23:58:08 +0100

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Psion Wap Browser & GPRS # 242

Dear Mark,

<< I have the same with vodafone contract, as far as I am aware there is no workaround, something to do with the phone not needing to dial in like you have to from the psion using *99# ... See previous digest posting from me on this subject and Rolf Brunsting explanation >>

You asked about using Psion's WAP browser as an alternative to the phone's browser at the same standard rate of your mobile network provider. The probable reason why that doesn't work is because you'll be using the phone as a wireless modem so that the connection will be treated as a data connection and charged accordingly. This doesn't mean that Psion's WAP browser won't work via a GPRS connection.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

*++++++++++&

Date: 17 May 2003 23:58:17 +0100

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Software Licence Fees

Dear Phil,

My apologies for the delayed response.

<< I have been told by a software developer, a well-known EPOC developer, that the only obligation of the vendor is to take the money - support is not their responsibility ... >>

This wel-known developer is very much mistaken. The sale of software is no different from selling cars, furniture or groceries. It's therefore covered by legislation such as the Sale of Goods Act which says that the seller needs to support the product. Customer support is certainly not a charitable activity.

<< This is important as software *is* property and so *is* transferable. Shareware registration fees don't change this - the registrations become the property. >>

I'm sorry, but that's not the case because the software remains the property of the developer (Intellectual property rights). When you really want to own the software you'll have to buy the rights to the software from the developer. Buy an application, be it shareware or commercial, and you obtain the license to use the software. The reason why a shareware developer has to think very carefully about what (s)he mentions in the license agreement.

<< I believe the additional registration fee is only required for additional use on an additional machine. This has long been the case with mainstream computer software >>

Not necessarily. There are license agreements which allow the same application to be installed on the purchaser's desktop and laptop computer as long as the software isn't used concurrently on both computers. Other license agreements recognise the increasing use of computers in domestic environments and allow the application to be installed on dad's laptop as well as mum's desktop and the desktop of the kids with a maximum of (say) five installations.

<< Certain software companies (not EPOC or SIBO, I believe) have even tried to prevent people putting their programs on a backup (I jest not) because this means duplicating the program >>

This dates back to the time of physical copy protection schemes which prevented the purchaser from making copies of the developer supplied diskettes. Such schemes have a number of negative side effects for the purchaser and the courts have ruled that they are too strong a measure. What follows from these rulings is that the purchaser should not be prevented from making safety copies of the developer supplied data carriers (tapes, diskettes, CD-ROMs, SSDs, etc.).

<< So if you want to pay again obviously you can, it's your prerogative to use your money as you think fit, but most developers are too honest to accept a second fee for the same software (if they know) >>

It's clear that the original purchaser wasn't allowed to sell the software to you when the license agreement mentions that the license to use the software is non-transferable. The license agreement becomes an integral part of the contract that is each software sale and the original purchaser has broken the contract (s)he has with the developer. But the non-transferability clause means more than that. The clause says that the license to use the software is an exclusive, one-to-one, relationship between developer/seller and purchaser/user. A developer is therefore not allowed to put an existing license in the name of a new person as this also breaks the one-to-one relationship.

What the developer(s) you've contacted therefore should have done is to treat you as a new user of the software. That is, they should have asked you to register as a new user and to pay the normal registration/license fee. An unpleasant state of affairs when you've already paid a sum to the original licensee. What the developer(s) have done instead is to shy away from an unpleasant situation and put the existing license in your name at no extra charge.

I can understand why the developer(s) did this, but it's still unacceptable. Say that I registered the same application you bought second-hand. What happened was that I outgrew the application and needed to switch to another one. And what I did some time after the switch, was to wipe the application from my Psion, complete with registrations details, as the non-transferability clause in the license agreement didn't allow me to sell the license of what had become useless software. What I now find, by reading your message is, that the application is not only sold second-hand but that the developer accepts this by simply putting the registration/license in the name of the new user. In other words, I find that the non-transferability clause I accepted as part of the contract doesn't mean what it says. Which is a clear case of misrepresentation by the developer. This entitles me to contact the developer and demand that (part of) my registration fee is refunded. And when the developer declines it allows me to go to court.

Let's therefore not talk about these developers as being "too honest". They acted dishonestly because of (a) the misrepresentation that is the non-transferability clause in the license agreement and (b) by fully accepting breaches of contract. They effectively reward the people who violate the license agreement as the original purchaser gets part of the license fee back, the second hand buyer gets a license at reduced cost while the people who do honour the license agreement always pay the full fee.

I'm therefore interested to know the names of the developers who accepted that you bought their software second-hand, even though the software license was covered by a non-transferability clause. This information allows me to come up with a counter proposal to the normal registration when I'm interested in buying the license to one of their applications. A proposal in which they either accept a license that's based on non-transferability at a reduced fee or one in which the non-transferability clause is null-and-void at the normal fee. This information will also be interesting to other EPOC Digest subscribers and to EPOC users in general. It allows them to come up with proposals similar to mine or to stay clear of the applications by these developers because of their dubious business dealings rather than their software development skills.

But what I'm very interested to know is the name of the "well-known EPOC developer" you refer to. The person who apparently doesn't know the basics of the business (s)he chose to operate in. Having the nose to smell new software business opportunities is one thing. Having the skills to develop the software to meet these opportunities is another. But you can't operate as a software supplier without knowing and meeting the business requirements you have meet as a software supplier. This person either needs to fill a knowledge/skills gap, get somebody else involved in the business to fill the gap, or get out of the software supply business very, very quickly.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

*++++++++++&

Date: 18 May 2003 00:58:58 +0100

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: Email problem

Some time ago this was already discussed, the problem that the email program suddenly closes down due to an email in the mailbox. Today I had the problem again and solved it by entering the mailbox via the PC and deleting the offending email(s).

However, if I would be traveling, using my Psion exclusively for emailing, I would not be able to do this. I tried to log into my freeserve account via the WEB program of the S7 but it failed to recognise the mailbox details and password.

Does anyone know a way to enter the mailbox of Freeserve UK in a different way but the email program on the S7 ? Would Opera be better for this than WEB ? And if via Tellnet, what would be the protocol to follow ?

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

*++++++++++&

Date: 18 May 2003 00:58:59 +0100

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: favourite app?, Dixons,

Answer to: Jack

Re.: favourite app? - For me it is the email program. I do ALL my emailing on the Psion. From the third party programs I think it is Route- and Streetplanner that I could not do without. Together with my GPS it saved me many times in strange cities and countries.

Answer to: Dan Siegel

Re. Dixons - If they don't sell it, they don't know about it I suppose, certainly not a pimply teen. Psion are not bankrupt but as we know do not produce palmtops for the general consumer anymore but instead target with their few products left the business market.

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

*++++++++++&

Date: 18 May 2003 08:01:54 +0100

From: vlad a

Subject: Alan Morris: Photography on Pcs - OT # 252 (2)

> EpocDigest wrote:

> ...would it be better to request that they be

> rescanned, which would introduce a few problems? > I have a few Windows editing programs available.

It is ok to reduce size and/or resolution to the required parameters. These depend on the usage you intend to make of your image. For a scale of original to usage of 1 to 1: 300 dpi for print, 72 or 96 for web, 150 for inkjet-printing. Do NOT use resampling, just reduce size and/or resolution.