Epocdigest V1 # 384

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Epoc Digest Fri, 21 Nov 2003 Volume 01 : Number 384

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Sent to: 793 subscribers

In today's Epoc Digest 15 messages:

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- Backups, dream machine 5mx, Symbian porting and migration, Readingagenda files

- Reading agenda files without a psion

- Interesting bug in OS

- POS

- Attn: Andy Hayes & Idris Crumlish

- Re: Internet versus Web

- Re: fLoad

- Re: ISP lockup

- New Communicator. Planned overtaking of Psion by Nokia. Pocket PC licensing costs.

- PsiWin - access denied

- Psion back in the USA ?, Routeplanner with GPS,

- Net(Lowe)Book bug?

- T610 Modem Settings?

- Re: EPOC DIGEST

- Re: dream machine 5mx replacement

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 13:43:15 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: Backups, dream machine 5mx, Symbian porting and migration, Readingagenda files

Answer to: Andy Hayes

Re.: Backups - Thanks for your answer but it is not a solution. The FONT files are loaded into memory BEFORE the start-up of the OS after a soft reset and as they are in memory you can't move them or close them by hand. The only way is to delete them and than to a soft reset again which would mean 2 soft resets for each back-up (one to delete and one to reinstall them) which would not be a practical solution. At the moment I just skip them.

Answer to: Gilles G. CASANOVA

Re. dream machine 5mx - Have a look at the Nokia 92xx series and the Ericsson P800.

Answer to: Martin Maxwell

Re. Symbian porting and migration - Would the basic programs like Agenda, Sheet, etc. be transferable or upgradeable or not ?

Answer to: dnl [we all use full names here, more friendly]

Re. Reading agenda files without a psion - If you have a back-up file on your PC you should be able to open it with the emulator without problems. If not, ar eyou able to copy it to your PC ? Do you have any back-up at all ?

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 13:52:45 +0000

From: Martin Maxwell

Subject: Reading agenda files without a psion

Answer to: "dnl"

Subject: Reading agenda files without a psion

Dear dnl,

>>>Now I have discovered that it is not possible (or I am not able to do so) to convert an Agenda file to any other type of file, PsiWin will give me the same error each time: "Unable to load converter". Does anybody know if there is any PC utility that would read those files? <<<

The best "PC utility" I know for your kind of problem is simply the v5/Eikon Emulator (a.k.a. WINS). It is a little bit tricky

to install and set up properly, but the result gives you a fully functional Eikon user interface and apps. You can even choose screen size from half VGA, full VGA and SVGA. I you search around the forums I am sure you will find instructions on how to install it and set it up. I think it is still available for download from Psion Teklogix, but it's a hefty download. You should download the OPL SDK version.

Kind regards

Martin Maxwell

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 14:02:00 +0000

From: Mike Woodward

Subject: Interesting bug in OS

Reply to: Itamar

I also keep a copy of drive C in a folder on my CF card, except I call it

'Copy of Drive C', so I don't get confused.

I delete & refresh the contents on a regular basis & it asks me if I want to

skip each 'Read Only' file, but it never crashes.

It's still a pain to then go back & manually remove the Read Only attribute &

delete each file & associated directory, so I decided to remove Read Only from

all the original files on drive C, I have not had any problems in the 6 months

since I did this.

I have a Netbook rather than a Psion 7.

You are not taking much of a risk by trying the above, as you have a copy of

all the files.

Mike

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 17:10:46 +0000

From: Christopher Marwood

Subject: POS

Hi all,

I spoke to POS this morning and thought a couple of things would be of interest.

They expect to have reconditioned 5mx units in stock in "8-10 weeks", all of which will be equipped with the improved screen cable.

They will now repair the Ericsson MC218.

My mention of the rumour of a colour Revo was not denied, I was simply referred to their website. Old news, I know, but they could just say it was nonsense, if it was.

As for my own 5mx, its started switching off when knocked (unless mains cord is attached) and if you shake it it feels like something heavy is moving around inside. I was (of course) advised to send it in for an £80 service, but has anyone else experienced this?

All the best,

Chris

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 17:31:23 +0000

From: Saj T. Jumaani

Subject: Attn: Andy Hayes & Idris Crumlish

Hi,

I have already mailed you the Palmtop User Magazines 5 issues from 1-5 (Andy Hayes), and the Proporta hardcase for S5 (Idris Crumlish) just this evening. So sorry for the delay, was very these past few weeks. Apologies for posting this message here. I've lost your emails guys.

Saj

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 20:27:46 +0000

From: Marcus von Cube

Subject: Re: Internet versus Web

Andy,

>What is the difference between the Internet and the Web? It threw me completely! I now know the answer though. Any guesses?

Let me guess!

The Internet is the IP based worldwide network of networks (of networks ...) comprising all the transport an routing technology and the connected systems, ranging from mainframes to print servers or client PCs or PDAs connected only temporarily.

The internet *hosts* the worldwide Web. The Web is characterised by servers providing information ("web pages", documents) and a common addressing scheme (URL, Uniform

Resource Locator) which allows to "link" from one document to another. This way, information is connected, weaved into a web.

The most common servers talk "HTTP" which translates to "HyperText Transfer Protocol". Hypertext is the historic name for linked information. But HTTP is not the only protocol and HTML (HyperText Markup Language) not the only document form. URLs are so smart to contain

the transfer type as part of the destination description and MIME types allow user agent software to identify the content type of a document and hand it over e g. to a multimedia player or Acrobat Reader.

Marcus

http://www.mvcsys.de

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 21:09:48 +0000

From: Korbinian

Subject: Re: fLoad

Hi Itamar

> I noticed the 3 fonts loading before

> the shell came up. However, if I open Word or

> Sheet the fonts are not available. Am I missing

> something or is this program not to use the fonts

> in the resident programs ? Can anyone help ?

The idea to select other drivers is not bad! If you use 'print via PC' you can install the (as gdr-file) installed font also via PsiWin. Then this font appears in Word too and if you select it, it will be correctly printed on screen.

btw: In Data the gdr-file-fonts are shown always correctly.

Hope I could help!

regards

Korbinian

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 21:09:53 +0000

From: Korbinian

Subject: Re: ISP lockup

Hi Astrid, hi list

> Still very annoying - after three weeks of smooth

> connections I had thought my provider had overcome

> his infection (or whatever) and three days ago -

> failed connections, freeze ups and throw outs -

> #&$#%!!!

Funny! Me the same some days ago! Luckily only once. Although the error seemed to be corrected. Haven't had any error since several weeks too!

(My provider is freenet.de, the same as yours if i remember correctly.)

regards

Korbinian

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 22:03:49 +0000

From: Stephane Sage

Subject: New Communicator. Planned overtaking of Psion by Nokia. Pocket PC licensing costs.

Hello to all.

Read today in palmtopmagazin.de (German):

- Nokia is about to launch a follower to its 9200 series, this time with tactile screen (which they most decidedly refused to have up to now). It seems SonyEricsson have convinced them there was a market there: already 1 million P800 sold...(source: The Register)

- There are strong rumours that Psion is to be overtaken by Nokia, the latter becoming thus a major party within Symbian (with more than 30% of the shares)(source: The Register)

- Microsoft has recently urged its licensees for Pocket PC on smartphones to double their production (and, hopefully, sales) from 50 000 to 100 000 in order to further implement it on their devices. Current cost: from 8,40 $ to 14,40 $ (as compared to average manufacturing cost of 120 $). Symbian invoices 5 $ (plus some more fees on 60 and 70 series).(source: Reuters)

It looks as if we should soon be presented with a successor to the 5mx...which will help us escape from the clutches of the Redmont monster.

Greetings from Grenoble (France)

Stephane

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Date: 19 Nov 2003 22:05:29 +0000

From: Alan Morris

Subject: PsiWin - access denied

I have occasionally have the problem that has just occurred again, while backing up a 5mx with PsiWin 2.3.3. on Win98.

After the main run has finished, I get a 'PsiWin Problem Report window'. It says that 'There was a problem backing up the file'

'C:\.......\FileName because access is denied'

There were a large number this time, just over 3 minutes worth. These files open as normal on the 5mx.

Anyone any idea what is happening?

Doing another backup, that takes just over 3 minutes, and there are no problems.

Alan R Morris, G4ENS.

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK.

Using a Psion 7 & Nokia 6210e.

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Date: 20 Nov 2003 10:07:20 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: Psion back in the USA ?, Routeplanner with GPS,

Someone reading the digest sent me the following info :

Psion clamshell-style handheld competes with bigger portables

11/17/03

By Carlos A. Soto, GCN Staff

LAS VEGAS—Psion Teklogix Inc. displayed its new Netbook Pro handheld at Comdex yesterday and boasted that it will let users collect and check data with the same performance as a larger portable but not the heft.

“Presently, field workers have to make due with consumer-oriented personal digital assistants or bulky laptops,” said Norbert Dawalibi, president and chief executive officer of the Mississauga, Ontario, company. “The task-oriented design and feature set of the Netbook Pro meet the demands of mobile work forces today and well into the future.”

The company unveiled its new clamshell-style handbook in mid-October and began sales at the end of last month. Measuring 9.2 by 7.2 by 1.3 inches, the Netbook Pro is about half the size of a typical notebook, slightly larger than a standard PDA and weighs 2 pounds. But the 800- by 600-pixel resolution and color SVGA screen lets the handheld display Web pages and applications in the same detailed format as on a notebook or desktop PC.

The handheld also has a keyboard that is large enough for touch typing a lot of data quickly.

The $1,500 Netbook Pro, which runs the latest version of Microsoft Windows CE .Net, has a 400-MHz Intel XScale PXA255 processor with 32M of flash memory and 128M of synchronous dynamic RAM.

It also comes loaded with Secure Digital Input/Output, Universal Serial Bus 2.0, Compact Flash and PC Card expansion slots for adding IEEE 802.11b, Bluetooth, Global System for Mobile Communications or Code Division Multiple Access wireless services.

The entire article may be viewed at http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24181-1.html

Does this mean a second trial of Psion to hit the USA market ? I do hope they learned their lessons of the past !!

Re. Routeplanner with GPS - A colleague of mine this week rented specially a Mercedes E240 as it had a navigator in the car. He had to travel from Cologne area to Breckerfeld in Germany. So he entered starting point and destination in the program and started to drive. After about an hour and a half of driving over small roads instead of high ways he phoned me to check on my Psion where the hack he was and what route the car was telling him to drive. Unnecessary to say that he had programmed the shortest route instead of the best route and was stuck in the "middle of nowhere". It took him quite some time to reach his destination. The great advantage of route (and street) planner is that you see the map and can judge yourself whether that is the best route to follow or to try a different one. I would not want to change ! (traveling next month to Paris area having to find 2 new addresses <G>.)

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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Date: 20 Nov 2003 13:44:01 +0000

From: Rick Cowap

Subject: Net(Lowe)Book bug?

Hello All

I have a NetBook (from David Lowe) that I'm very happy with (The screen cable has lasted for more than 6 months !)

It does, however, have a strange bug.

When I type uppercase "CY" into word or jotter it actually writes "CY?"

This is not the case with my 5mx

Not the end of the world I know, but I'm curious if anyone else has this.

I'm running EPOC v1.05 (450) English (UK) ASCII (Release 158)

Rick

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Date: 20 Nov 2003 14:08:27 +0000

From: Steve Morton

Subject: T610 Modem Settings?

Can anyone point me to where I can find the Sony Ericsson T610 modem settings to put in my 5 Mx via Infrared.

I think this might have been discussed on here before, sorry for the repeat.

Regards

Steve

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Date: 20 Nov 2003 15:28:18 +0000

From: Jonathan S

Subject: Re: EPOC DIGEST

I've been using Psions for ears, but my netBook is gradually unravelling, and so I'm thinking of buying something else. It'll prob be a Tungsten T3 with a keyboard, but I was just wondering about using powerpoint. I seem to remember seeing something about suitable software/cables that allows one to project a powerpoint presentation directly from the T3 to a projector, which would be great, as I do a fair bit of travelling to present, and it would save a lot of hassle to leave my laptop behind. Does it ring any bells with anyone?

Before I commit to the T3, any other ideas? I've thought of pocket pc, but don't want to give Mr Gates any more cash than I have to, and even thought of buying another netbook (expansys still have them), but the support is getting much less now.

I'd probably buy TomTom's maps again, and a big SD card (though I gather there was problem with these in the T3, now supposed to be cured)), and perhaps a travel adaptor for cars and/or overseas.

Any suggestions, or comments would be gratefully received.

Jonathan Shapiro

Health Services Management Centre

Birmingham

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Date: 20 Nov 2003 23:33:34 +0000

From: Alan Morris

Subject: Re: dream machine 5mx replacement

"Gilles G. CASANOVA" wrote:-

> How about a fast "5Mx" (with touchscreen and able to run ER5

> native apps) with cellphone capability and colorscreen ( and

> usb interface ) ? Do any of the available phone sets come

> close to that ? Which come closest ?

> I have to change my phone, but get puzzled with the large

> offering and compatibility issues !!!

This a problem for many on this digest. Earlier this week I went into a mobile phone shop to ask about the SonyEricsson P810, which has (if my memory is correct) been briefly mentioned here.

They did not recognise the model, but told me that the P900 was the replacement for the P800. They printed out a page from the SonyEricsson website for me. I then went into WHS and saw 'mobilechoice' (what has happened to capitals and spaces???) magazine with the P900 on the cover. I bought a copy.

A two page review indicated that it was a great phone as it has the 'firepower' ??? and looks good. It has Symbian OS v7.0 and a video recorder for the camera. It's as good as an original Play Station for games. WOW!!!

Apart from mentioning Opera the other apps, if any, are not mentioned; but they say that if it's PDA functionality that you want, then this is the phone for you.

Later I looked on the web site ( www.sonyericsson.com ) but was unable to find any details about the PDA functions.

Very small screen size (resolution) only 86% of a Revo screen and 43% of a 5mx, but it's 65,000 colours. However the magazine still says that the phone is too large.

Dream machine 5mx replacement? Probably not, but maybe almost close to a Revo. It it's got the apps then it could replace my Revo+ and phone, but not my 5mx.