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Epoc Digest Mon, 12 Jan 2004 Volume 01 : Number 423
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Sent to: 792 subscribers
In today's Epoc Digest 14 messages:
==============================
- Re: Opera on nB
- Agenda & Contacts on D
- American mobile phones
- Reinstalling PsiWin and Backups
- Re: nB US AC adapter (4 Jim W-G)
- Re: Backups Again (4 David L.)
- Re: ebook
- Where to put OPH files
- looking for a simple macro for searching into .box data files
- Re: Database / Digest Re-send (RELATABASE)
- Printe and USB
- Re: Multitasking
- Dana Keys and PCMCIA to CF Adapters
- OPX old and new...Deleting Icons from removed programs
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Jan 2004 23:12:24 +0100
From: Alan Morris
Subject: Re: Opera on nB
Daniele Squarci wrote:-
>>> Alan Morris wrote:
>>> I find the nB is unstable requiring apps to be closed
>>> and many soft resets. Never saw this with the other EPOC
>>> machines.
>
> This is not the case with my Malaybook. It is solid as a
> rock, just like my Revo. My only app problems are limited
> to Opera that is buggy and doesn't like java sites. Have
> you by any chance added the memory expansion to your nB?
> There are reports of stability problems if it was
> installed incorrectly.
Thanks Daniele for your comments. I bought a David Lowe nB some time ago, but did not use it as my S7 worked very well. I also use every day a 5mx, Revo+ and 3mx without any problems. Until the S7 power skt became loose, (until I mend it I charge the battery in my nB.) then I changed over to using the nB, installing the same apps as already on the S7.
The nB came without a memory expansion. Today a 32Mb DIMM arrived from David. So I'll have to backup and remove the batteries so that I can install it. Maybe then the nB will be more stable.
Ciao
--
Alan R Morris, G4ENS.
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK.
Using a Psion netBook & Nokia 6210e.
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Jan 2004 23:12:50 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Agenda & Contacts on D
Thanks to Scott Lloyd in Texas (who supplied us with power supplies), my wife and I are now up and running with our MBooks despite the fact that the power supply I ordered from Psion UK before Xmas still hasn't shown up (carrier's fault I'm sure - not Psion's).
I've decided to use my 128 meg flash card to hold all my data - plugging it into the unit I'm using at the moment.
The biggest problem is upgrades to Agenda and Contacts.
Is there away to run agenda and contacts with the data files located on the Flash card so they will move with the card when I switch machines? I suspect not. I do know I can click on the Agenda file in the Documents folder on the flash and access Agenda on the card, but I want to access the valid agenda from the silkscreen icon.
Has anyone had problems, mechanical or other, from using drive D for primary data storage. I have instituted a daily incremental upload to PsiWin and a monthly complete upload (move the Internal and D backup folders from the EPOC folder and forcing a full backup to clear renamed and deleted files). I have had corrupt file problems in the past shuttling a card between my 5mx and my Classic 5 - always when saving to the card on the Classic.
The MBook is wondrous indeed.
jim - port townsend
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 00:00:54 +0100
From: Darryl Kempster
Subject: American mobile phones
Apologies for the off topic post but I know a lot of our members are from the States so just wanted a quick bit of advice.
I have just secured a year's contract with Lord of the Dance (Irish dancing extravaganza for those of you who don't know!) Will have to get a US mobile phone contract when I get over there next week so wanted to ask if anyone had any recommendations on networks or handsets? My R520m is triband so will work over there but do you have to buy a handset when you get a SIM card? And which network has the most coverage?
The show will be playing everywhere from Alaska to Florida, with a spell in Canada as well so will need to have coast to coast coverage.
Am bringing the netBook so will also have to be Psion compatible.
Many thanks
Darryl
Off list replies welcome.
PS If anyone lives in the towns we're playing and wants to catch the show I'll do my best to get guest passes.
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 00:02:37 +0100
From: Christopher Holly
Subject: Reinstalling PsiWin and Backups
I finally just wiped my Windows XP partition and started over, hoping for a brief period of stability. When I reinstalled PsiWin in the same directory it had been (in a separate Applications partition), I was hoping my previous backups could somehow be reassociated with the machines they came from. Is there any reasonable way to do this? --
Chris Holly
830 S. Fess Ave.
Bloomington, IN 47401-4946
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 04:07:53 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Re: nB US AC adapter (4 Jim W-G)
David Lir,
<<That's why I was asking - I was going to offer a 'loner' in case the wait was going to be a very long one.>>
Thanks David. Great bunch here - lot's of offers to help.
I'm back to being dangerous. Yesterday I moved everything (data files) over to my flash and today I cleared out C drive on my 5mx and MBook. Backed up the flash last night on my WinDoz machine (via PsiWin) and don't want to update the wrong version of the data file. Only one version now (not counting PsiWin backup folder) - the one on the flash card. If I do my incremental backups regular and the card goes fizz, should be able to restore just fine and keep on keeping on.
Took my wife over to Widbey Island via the ferry today to a Greek-Italian restaurant for lunch. Popped the flash in my 5mx and worked on stuff over and back on the ferry. Was a good boy and left it in my pocket while I had Italian and she had Greek. Popped the flash back in the MBook now that I'm home and continuing to "work" without missing a beat.
I'm charging this puppy often - not really discharging the machine all that much. My feeling is that they do provide a docking cradle and many users user the puppy as a desktop with occasional portable use (I fall in the later category) so the power system design should be taking that into account. Am I at risk if I don't deep discharge the battery from time to time???
jim - having fun with mbook in port townsend
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 08:16:58 +0100
From: Chris S Handley
Subject: Re: Backups Again (4 David L.)
Hello David,
Sorry if I offended you. That wasn't my intention, and I hope the following answer explains my previous post.
Subject: Re: Backups Again (4 Chris H.)
David Lir wrote:
> The limitations of textual communication are becoming all-too
> apparent with this thread. I will write my last message on
> this subject and *gladly let you have the final word* in
I don't see the need for anyone to "have the final word", at least unless it is an argument - which I hope it has not become...
>> It sounds VERY much like you have totally misunderstood
>> Profiles in FastBackup, because you do NOT need to use
>> Profiles to backup multiple folders & files!
>
> Boy, you must think me very stupid.
Not at all! It is just that I have learnt the hard way that when I have repeated trouble understanding a user's problem, it may be necessary to consider that they have got some serious misunderstanding about my software - most usually from my not-so-great documentation :-(
This was exemplified by a recent correspondance, where someone had trouble solving the error "Backup folder does not exist". It eventually became clear that the user didn't really understand files & folders, contrary to my expectation that this is something nearly every user would have a reasonable grasp of.
So when I repeatedly failed to properly understand the problem you were having, I looked closely at what I was assuming, and the simplest answer seemed to be that you were misusing Profiles. Certianly that made one of your previous posts (seem to) make totally sense.
Since you have made it quite clear that I was mistaken suggesting you might be misusing Profiles, I can't think that I can get any further without you attempting to re-explain your original problem as simply as possible. Feel free to email me privately, if you'd rather not fill the Digest further with what is probably a minor issue.
> though I should mention that if I do select Profiles
> from the Action picklist on my 5mx and then choose Edit
> Action I am given the choice to choose the 'active profile'
> and my single configured backup is listed as #1 in the list,
> strongly implying that (without having ever touched the
> Profiles feature on my 5mx) my default backup is considered
> by the program a Profile, indeed as the 'active profile'
I am glad to hear that my GUI design isn't completely obscure, because thats exactly what it was supposed to be implying. The current (and possibly only) configuration of FastBackup is indeed really the currently active profile.
This also has the benefit that additional profiles can be created, without first having to convert the original configuration into a "profile".
> Did you think that I was creating and running Profiles for
> each folder or file?
Well, it seemed quite possible that you might have one Profile for "C:\Documents\", and another for (say) "C:\System\". It wouldn't be the easiest way to use FastBackup, but by using "run all Profiles" action it would achieve the same result as specifying a Contents of "Documents\,System\" .
Of course, I was fairly horrified that you might be doing this, hence why I did not jump to this conclusion immediately, and why I then made sure I clearly stated it should not be used for that purpose (since if you had managed to totally misconstrue my documentation, non-explicitly stating it might not be enough).
I might also point-out that not every user's first language is English, and this increases the number of people having problems. While you don't sound foreign, that doesn't always mean very much when using just email!
> I have also created and run (as
> a test) a 3rd profile that duplicates one of my FlashBack
> 'subset' profiles perfectly. This backs up only a select
> subset of the folders, subfolders and files found on C to a
> profile-specific folder on D. It worked great (I've since
> deleted it) and a quick check showed that, once run, its
> associated backup folder had the identical configuration of
> files and folders within it as the similar FlashBack
> Profile's backup folder. So as I see it, a FastBackup Profile
> can be used either to run a complete (incremental) backup of
> an entire disk to a specific folder (on another disk) or to
> backup only a subset of folders, subfolders and files on a
> disk to a specific folder - and that's exactly how I use
> FastBackup - and it works great for me.
I am very glad to hear it, as that was exactly how it was supposed to be used. But with several complaints about FastBackup's non-standard (but internally consistent) GUI, I have to be open to the possibility that other people may not find it as intuitive as I do.
The second release of FastBackup (just a few days ago) attempts to make it as easy as possible, short of a radical rewrite of the GUI (that to be honest I am hoping someone else will do, since I won't:-).
>> you do NOT need to use Profiles to backup multiple folders &
>> files! You only need it if you are using multiple disks
>> simultaneously, which is a fairly unusual need.
>
> And (taken from FastBackup's help file)...
>
>> There has been much more interest in backing-up several
>> disks (e.g. both C & D to E) than I expected. Therefore the
>> ability to manage & use multiple "profiles" was added"
>
> All this gives me the impression that you see Profiles as
> something that should ONLY be used for backing up multiple
> disks - which is a far too limited and limiting view of what
> Profiles in ANY backup program can and should be used for,
I perfectly agree with you. However, to avoid confusing users with my documentation, and to avoid possibly confusing you with my last post, I made the simplification that this is all Profiles are good for.
In fact, right at the end of Profiles section of the current release of FastBackup, I do mention that Profiles can be used in a different way. That may or may not be in the original release of FastBackup.
Regards,
Chris Handley
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 11:13:37 +0100
From: PRAR
Subject: Re: ebook
At 22:36 10/01/2004 +0100, you wrote:
>Date: 9 Jan 2004 21:53:33 +0100
>From: Astrid Stappenbeck >Subject: Re: eBook
>
>Hi,
>
> > ... and also there didn't seem to be a way of paging down at my own rate. >Given time I might get used to the autoscrolling but in the end I just >uninstalled it. <
>
>Well, you can either page down manually by pressing Enter or Space (up >with Delete) or tap on the bottom (upper) half of the screen; you can do
>it line by line with the arrows (keys and scrollbar); you can use >autoscrolling and even set the pace for that under preferences - what else >can you possibly want to go your own rate?
There do seem to be plenty of options, I may give it another go. One thing that I was expecting, and the program didn't do, was map the arrow keys so that to scroll in a given direction you pressed the arrow that pointed that way.
Time passes...
I've re-installed ebook on the 5mx now and given it another go.
In rotated mode, the scroll bar end up at the bottom (I suppose to save space) and there's no way to have it on the side of the text. Tapping the screen seems to be the best way of scrolling around for me.
I tried it on the netpad and ebook rotates the opposite way to EPOC!
For comparison I've also installed Vreader5 on the netpad and it flies along. It's a bit odd to use as none of the dialogue boxes have ok or
cancel buttons (ie you need to use the Enter or Esc keys on the on-screen keypad). It has the same problem with the arrow keys as ebook though...
Oddly the Open file and GoTo icons are coloured!
>Date: 10 Jan 2004 07:23:59 +0100
>From: David Lir
>Subject: EBook's Page Down (4 PRAR)
>
> > With ebook the portrait mode is the other wrong way up and
> > also there didn't seem to be a way of paging down at my own
> > rate
>
> From EBook's Help file: "Page Down using the space bar, enter, page-down
> key, tap the scrollbar or tap on the bottom quarter of the screen."
>
Aha, the old RTFM trick :-)
Is anybody actually working on either of these programs at the moment or
are we stuck with the current versions?
PRAR
--
(Insert witty comment here.)
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 13:22:17 +0100
From: Marcus von Cube
Subject: Where to put OPH files
Allen
>> Thanks for the tip, Astrid! I downloaded the macro and >> made the appropriate corrections, but then get a problem >> when translating: the procedure stops at the line Include >> "macro.oph" and gives an error message "Not Found".
>
>Copy it from :\System\OPL to the folder that the macro is in when translating. That's where Macro5 puts it.
That shouldn't be neccessary since OPL looks for include files automatically in ?:\System\OPL. The file is probably missing.
Marcus
http://www.mvcsys.de
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 14:40:51 +0100
From: Gianluca Gallino
Subject: looking for a simple macro for searching into .box data files
Ciao all!
I usually store all my inbox/sent mail into several SaveMail .box data files (approx. 2 MB maximum each one ).
Inside each one of these .box data files I generally have mail storage related to 30 days of activities (e.g. september, october, november and so on).
during my working hours, I am often in the need of searching through them for finding useful information in a limited amount of time, since I may be interacting with clients during calls or phone conversations.
for a few weeks now, I have been starting dealing with macro 5 but I have to admit that I am still not very good at dealing with it... I hope to improve myself in the near future.
At the moment being, could anybody be kind enough to help me in creating a simple macro with which performing a search of a certain string/word in the following files?
d:\Documents\archivi\archivio.box
d:\Documents\archivi\07_2003.box
d:\Documents\archivi\09_2003.box
d:\Documents\archivi\10_2003.box
d:\Documents\archivi\11_2003.box
d:\Documents\archivi\12_2003.box
Since soon this folder will include 2004 related - .box data files, could it be possible to program the macro to perform a search inside each .box file included in the "d:\Documents\archivi\" folder?
thanks in advance
cheers
gianluca
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 14:41:05 +0100
From: Gianluca Gallino
Subject: Re: Database / Digest Re-send (RELATABASE)
to Andy Hayes
Dear Andy,
I read your suggestions about Relatabase and I found them very interesting as well as very useful.
However, there are a few points which I am not actually sure to have properly understood... could you please clarify them to me?
I'll be quoting them here as follows:
1) >>>If you wish to have your standard Psion 5 database act like a relational one, with records attached to a principal, here's how you do it.<<<
what do you exactly mean by "principal" and "... records attached to a principal"?
in the contacts example you mentioned, for instance, does principal stand for "company" perhaps?
2) >>>6. Entering the Principles. When you enter the Principle (the Company or Record to which you wish to "attach" the "contacts"), start the title with a space and type in block capitals. This has the effect of sending the principals to the top of the card browser where they sort in alphabetical order. Enter the reference in normal type. I suggest you repeat the title used in the "Name:" field above. As you move down entering information you will see the current date already inserted in the "Update:" field.<<<
where should you actually enter the "principle"? I suppose that this field should be at the very beginning... am I right?
If the answer is yes, you would probably have something like the following sequence in your relatabase:
Company:
Name:
Reference:
Position:
Work:
Fax:
Home:
Mobile:
Address:
Email:
Last Contacted:
Updated:
Notes:
thanks in advance for your kind clarification.
cheers
gianluca
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 15:58:08 +0100
From: Sergio Strati
Subject: Printe and USB
Hi Boy
Do you know if is it possible to print with a USB printer with netbook!
I have a serial->USB cable and i' like to buy a a Mini Canon printe to print my photo
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 16:16:43 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Re: Multitasking
From: David Steer \(Plus\)
<<The current Palm OS is not multitasking, when you move from one program to another that programs state is saved to memory which means when you return to (for example) word the document will be exactly where you left it!>>
I'm not sure if this is a function of the Palm OS or rather a convention that the Palm OS supports.
The reason I say this is that you are absolutely correct with some programs (WordSmith and SnapperMail for instance). It is not true for some others (MarkSpace Mail for instance). This is one reason I abandoned MarkSpace after registering it to move on to Snapper. It was a real PITA to arrive back at the main menu each time I returned to it whilst copying and pasting text from email to Word.
It's like it is programmer's choice rather than a function of Palm OS.
jim - port townsend
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 19:51:16 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Dana Keys and PCMCIA to CF Adapters
David Lir,
<<Has there been any official word from AS to indicate that the newer keyboard is any different from the one found on the earlier model?>>
No - I heard it from someone who read it on a list. The key situation is not that bad. And AlphaSmart stands behind their product like no other manufacturer I've dealt with. They fixed mine under warrantee - no fuss no muss.
<<Exactly. Also, I therefore have a backup of everything in C (where my most important data is) twice! I backup C to D and then D to E at least once a day. I also backup E to my laptop. >>
Way to go. I would use my C drive for apps, my D drive for data and the E drive for backup. Use PsiWin for a periodic belts-and-suspenders backup and for single file access.
<<PCMCIA CF Adapters are very cheap at around $15-20 CDN.>>
Excellent. Will pick up two at Staples on my next trip into Sequim, 35 miles down the road.
jim - port townsen
*++++++++++&
Date: 11 Jan 2004 22:02:35 +0100
From: Stephane Sage
Subject: OPX old and new...Deleting Icons from removed programs
Hello All
OPX:
Many thanks to Phil Adkins, Andy, Marcus and Martin M. for their good advice: I have restored just one program (MenuS5) with Backup (from Ralph Sprenger) and that did the trick. Now all seems well.
Still I don't quite get why KMLinkWin program was under "sis" if it wasn't meant to be installed on a Psion...
Another thing, while we are at it: could someone briefly explain what are the respective roles of OPX, OPL, SYSRAM, SYSTINFO and the like? And why there were a few "unclosable" OPL standing in the running Apps window together with, say, Agenda or Data ?
Icons:
is there any way to scratch off those icons of programs we have long
ago removed? And is it possible to rearrange the remaining ones?
Psiwin blocked on backup
(to Itamar) I have eventually sorted it out while "hard resetting" the 5mx...
Thanks
Greetings from Grenoble (France)
Stephane
*++++++++++&
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