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Epoc Digest Tue, 03 Feb 2004 Volume 01 : Number 438
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Sent to: 800 subscribers
In today's Epoc Digest 16 messages:
==============================
- Edward J. Curtis, Jr.
- Re: CF Fail w/Machine Fail? & RANDOMIZE &CronTab's & Backups
- Re: No more antivirus certification Please
- Psiboard
- Re: Psiboard questions (Netpad)
- EC standard plugs | Connection Problem
- Randomze, again!
- Do modems die?
- THD Williams, software-keyboard# 437
- Re: Epoc Digest V1 # 437
- Re: Internet in Re: Internet in Houston (4Thomas )/S7 - netbook/metbook memory
- Re: "Why I hate Microsoft"
- Viruses, No more antivirus certification,
- RE: Epoc Digest V1 # 433
- Need help bidding on ebay.
- Spam / Virus
*++++++++++&
Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2004
From: Digest administrator
Subject: Edward J. Curtis, Jr.
Unfortunately the digest was returned 3 times by your ISP with the message "550 unknown". We have unsubscribed you for a week in which time we trust you will solve the problem.
With best regards
Itamar Engelsman
The Epoc Digest Team
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 12:37:57 +0000
From: Chris S Handley
Subject: Re: CF Fail w/Machine Fail? & RANDOMIZE &CronTab's & Backups
Subject: CF Fail w/Machine Fail?
Jim Watson-Gove wrote:
> Whooops - that got my attention. I currently have
> essentially _all_ of my data on a 128 meg card that I move
> from 5mx to MBook depending on what I am doing. Both
> machines tend to stay on "D" drive when the card is resident.
> Am I playing a fool's game? I do backup fairly regularly but
> losing a day or so of work would be bad news.
Hello Jim, it is good & bad news:
I do not think leaving the System screen on the D drive will make corruption more likely than leaving it on the C, because of some very good technical reasons.
However, having OPEN FILES on the D drive when you crash *is* likely to cause corruption of the CF card, especially if it was being written to at the time of the crash.
So yes, you are "playing a fools game", but not for the reasons you thought. However, rather than start using a second CF card (in drive E) for even more backups, there is a much simpler solution that I use:
Simply keep all commonly used data files (e.g. Agenda, Jotter, some Word files, maybe even Contacts) on the C drive, but then backup your C drive to the D drive. And of course occasionally backup your D drive to your desktop PC, or similar, as you already do.
I am sure you will cry "but how do I share the data between my 5mx & MBook?"! Well, if you are using your MBook, you back it up to the D drive, remove the CF & put it in the 5mx, and then restore the backup on the D drive to the (5mx's) C drive. Also works vice versa (5mx to MBook).
I use this method to switch between using the Psion Emulator on my laptop and using my real Netbook. BTW, beware to avoid restoring the System folder on a different Psion - unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing!
BTW, may I recommend my FastBackup program (available from www.freepoc.org )? Not only will it do this pretty well, but it now include a short section specifically aimed at helping you choose a good backup strategy - and mentions exactly what I have just outlined (and more).
Regards,
Chris Handley
===============
Subject: Re: RANDOMIZE
Alan Morris wrote:
> Marcus von Cube wrote:
> I suggested two improvements. Firstly remove RANDOMIZE from
> the loop and place in the init part of the code.(many also
> suggested this) Then I suggested (as above) to call
> RANDOMIZE twice, naturally out of the loop.
>> Calling RANDOMIZE with the result of the first RND call
>> after another RANDOMIZE is essentially the same as
>> skipping some part of the sequence.
>
> This was not in the original post, or any other in this
> thread, that I've seen.
>
>> So you can't make it better by complicating the sequence
>> of calls to RANDOMIZE and RND.
>
> Who suggested this Marcus? It was not me!
Hi Alan,
Aren't you contradicting yourself? First you say "I suggested (as above) to call RANDOMIZE twice", and then later you say " 'by complicating the sequence of calls to RANDOMIZE' .... Who suggested this Marcus? It was not me!"
Perhaps there is some misunderstanding, but it was my impression that you were suggesting that the call to RANDOMIZE at the start of the program:
RANDOMIZE DATETOSECS(YEAR,MONTH,DAY,HOUR,MINUTE,SECOND)
should be replaced by something like the following:
RANDOMIZE DATETOSECS(YEAR,MONTH,DAY,HOUR,MINUTE,SECOND)
RANDOMIZE Int(RND*999999999)
If I am wrong, what were you suggesting by saying "I suggested ... to call RANDOMIZE twice"? If I am right, I don't understand you objections to what Marcus is saying! :-)
Regards,
Chris Handley
===============
Andy Hayes wrote:
Subject: CronTab's & Backups (The moaning continues!)
> I have a problem with the bug in CronTab.
> you have to remember to
> either switch off Crontab before you synch the Agenda file
> (one of the backed up files) each time, or I have to set a
> silent alarm.
Hi Andy,
I have successfully reverse translated the CronTab program into OPL, and am now trying to understand it so that I can fix the simple bug. It doesn't look too hard so far, but please be patient...
The downside is that I cannot legally redistribute a fixed CronTab without the author's permission, and I gather that he hardly ever replies to his emails (at least regarding Macro5).
In the event that the author cannot be contacted, it *may* be morally acceptable to distribute a tiny "patch" which modifies an existing installation of CronTab. Whether this is feasible will depend on how complex the correction to CronTab is.
Regards,
Chris Handley
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 13:13:40 +0000
From: Ian Chapple
Subject: Re: No more antivirus certification Please
Jack,
>> Hi all psiomaniacs,
Signatures from antivirus or commercials become common. Ex. quoted from last digest:
>>>Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.576 / Virus Database: 365 - Release Date: 30/01/2004<<<
Such signatures are of no use in a digest
I would suggest to turn (antivirus) check certification OFF <<
This is a bit rich, considering that your emails all end...
>> "This is an Epoc-mailed msg... irrelevant of antivirus. Messaging X Epoc Email liberates from viruses, worms, horses..." <<
Cheers, Ian.
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 14:07:00 +0000
From: Timothy H.D. Williams
Subject: Psiboard
On 2 Feb 2004, at 08:58, Michael Degn wrote:
> It surely works in the way as on the models with a physical keyboard. > Shift and down arrow select one file at the time, so you'll have to
> use the combination over and over. Ctrl and tap select individual
> files.
This is precisely the problem !! Psiboard doesn't work in the same way the physical board works. Holding down the shift, control or function key does not always give the same response as on a hard keyboard.
And again, I repeat the question I have also asked : is it possible to customize the keyboard? I see that the string 'dvorak' is in Eikon.rsc and Psiboard.rsc. Doesn't look as if they can be customized.
Best
Tim
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 14:08:35 +0000
From: Michael Degn
Subject: Re: Psiboard questions (Netpad)
Answer to Timothy H.D. Williams
Dear Timothy,
> 1: Some of the keyboard shortcuts just don't work. I can't get Fn + escape to turn the machine off and I can't get Macro 5 keypresses to work. I can call up Macro 5 but then nothing. What's going wrong? <
That's strange as the Fn+Esc hotkey turns my netpad off so it does work. As for the Macro5 hotkeys not every combination works, but most of them do. You'll have to play around with them. For my own convenience I've set Fn+1 to call panel 1, Fn+2 to call panel 2 etc. For example I press Fn+1 then c to call the app placed here - it works just as good and reliable as on any other ER5 device. To help me further I'm also using ExAb which is of great help.
> 2: Is there any way to toggle the size of the keyboard? The default is the size you have set the keyboard to and the alternative is collapsed. What would be nice is big and small. <
You can resize the keyboard in the small layout mode. Just place the stylus in the lower right corner and drag the keyboard to resize it.
Best regards,
Michael Degn
Esbjerg, Denmark
www.mdegn.dk
www.pdanmark.dk
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 14:46:29 +0000
From: Antony
Subject: EC standard plugs | Connection Problem
To: Itamar Engelsman
I don't see how one street can be on a European standard circuit, with a European standard voltage and a European standard frequency, whilst another street hasn't changed over yet? It's not like the Euro change over at all. This was achieved by minting different currencies and distributing them, whilst retaining the old currency for a transfer period. How can you have a national electricity grid supply the old power rating and the new one at the same time? You couldn't even switch over to different local transformers without significant down time for the locality and the cost of changing every European countries (excluding France as I assume European standard = whatever standard the French choose like the wonderful metric system, a couple of scratches on a plate of metal and a couple of lumps of metal in France determining a European standard of measurement. But that's another debate) circuitry.
Anyway, I think the entire discussion is academic as it is such as costly and complicated exercise as to make the implementation unlikely.
To: Hoffman, Susan
Because there are problems with PsiWin communicating with the Psion, I deduced it was an initialisation problem. To resolve this, I tried closing the PsiWin programs on my Windows PC and starting them again, but this didn't resolve the problem.
I then decided to investigate what actually happens when you connect your Psion to your PC, so I used the Terminal emulator program that comes with Microsoft Windows 98/2000/XP etc called Hyperterminal. I created a connection shortcut to the serial port (normally com1 or com2) from Hyperterminal and when I used it to connect to the port, the Psion device was sending some characters to the screen and was continuously repeated this. After closing the Hyperterminal program, I attempted to connect to the Psion with the 'My Psion' shortcut on my desktop and it worked. From then on, if I had a connection problem, I would close the PsiWin programs by right clicking the icon near the clock and selecting close. I would then open my Hyperterminal connection I created earlier and when the characters appeared on the screen, would close the Hyperterminal program and open the 'My Psion' shortcut, which would then connect.
It seems the PsiWin programs occasionally have some trouble resetting themselves so they can wait for the psion to send the character string again and regain their link. Opening Hyperterminal seems to initialise the port correctly for the PsiWin software to use it again.
I'm sorry if this sounds patronising, but I didn't want to be misunderstood.
Hyperterminal can normally be found from the 'Start' button
Start | Programs | Accessories | Communications | Hyperterminal
or can be run directly (Start | Run) as:-
"C:\Program Files\Windows\hypertrm.exe"
or
"C:\Program Files\Windows NT\hypertrm.exe"
To create a Hyperterminal connection do the following: -
o Open Hypterminal
o Enter A Name such as: Reset Psion (Click OK)
o In the connect using section, choose COM1 or COM2 depending on which one your cable is attached to. (Click OK)
o In the Bits per second option, select 115200
o In the Data Bits option, select 8
o In the Parity option, select None
o In the Stop bits option, select 1
o In the flow control option, select Hardware (Click OK)
When you close your PsiWin programs and click the 'Reset Psion' shortcut it should show the characters being sent by your Psion.
Closing the 'Reset Psion' Hyperterminal session and clicking the 'My Psion' shortcut should re-establish communications.
I hope this wasn't as confusing as the last one :-)
Antony Booth
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 16:07:54 +0000
From: Marcus von Cube
Subject: Randomze, again!
Alan,
>>Firstly remove RANDOMIZE from the loop and place in the init part of the code.(many also suggested this) Then I suggested (as above) to call RANDOMIZE twice, naturally out of the loop.<<
Ok, moving the RANDOMIZE out of the loop is essential. But if you call it twice, what is the argument you are going to pass to it? If you supply the same seed as on the first call, you don't change anything. If you supply a different seed then on the first call, the first call is useless, because the seed is replaced by the second call. At any time, you have exactly one seed in the generator, no less, no
more. Even if you don't call RANDOMIZE at all, some initial seed (probably left behind by a different application) is present.
>> Calling RANDOMIZE with the result of the first RND call
>> after another RANDOMIZE is essentially the same as
>> skipping some part of the sequence.
>
>This was not in the original post, or any other in this thread, that I've seen.
>
>> So you can't make it better by complicating the sequence
>> of calls to RANDOMIZE and RND.
>
>Who suggested this Marcus? It was not me!
I misunderstood you because I wanted to make at least some sense of what you were suggesting. The
best tactics is still to just leave the generator alone.
One reason to use RANDOMIZE is debugging an algorthim, that uses random numbers. Calling
RANDOMIZE with a fixed seed, e. g. 0 or 123456, before each new test assures that you get the
exact same sequence of random numbers on each run.
Marcus
http://www.mvcsys.de
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 19:22:06 +0000
From: Peter Rand
Subject: Do modems die?
I've been reliably using a small "Palmlink v.90 Modem" with my Revo for many years (connected by a serial cable).
The other day, out of the blue, I got the following message when I tried to log in to the Internet to send mail: "Unable to connect with modem. Check to see that the modem is turned on and cables are connected properly".
The modem's on, and the cables are securely attached, but the Psion no longer recognises the modem. None of my other computers work with the modem anymore, either. It's as if the modem just up and died.
Has anybody experienced anything like this before, and is there a cure? In the alternative, are there any other small, inexpensive 56k modems that work well with a Psion?
Thanks,
Peter
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 19:35:40 +0000
From: vlad a
Subject: THD Williams, software-keyboard# 437
> Timothy H.D. Williams wrote:
> 4: Are there alternative, viable shareware keyboards?
Look for Nightkeys (freeware)! Seems to match the description of what you expect.
best,
vlad
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 20:01:10 +0000
From: J. Hamwee
Subject: Re: Epoc Digest V1 # 437
Will Green wrote:
>> I bought a Erisson MC218 off Ebay a little while a go, unfortunately it didn't come with the software CD.
>> Apparently the CD comes with a few applications that only work on the MC218 that are not preloaded in the ROM of the machine.
>> Has any one got a copy of CD they'd like to sell or even email me the extra programs?
I have a backup copy you are welcome to.
Regards
Joseph
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 20:11:15 +0000
From: Keith Giles
Subject: Re: Internet in Re: Internet in Houston (4Thomas )/S7 - netbook/metbook memory
Arent Kits van Heijningen wrote:
> Comcast , RoadRunner and Charter Communications amongst cable > operators ) The above one is however amongst the more egregious > examples as it is apparently coming from the domain of one of the > subscribers to this list
"apparently" is the key word. Someone who has my address in their address book has/had a virus which generates messages using that address book to provide real and/or fake From addresses.
Will Green wrote:
> The memory I bought turned out to be for the Series 7 Psion machine, > as the two memory types are different.
I looked through a thread about that on PDAStreet. The impression I got was that while the start of the thread indicated they were different, the end of of thread had people posting who said it works on both machines. So I don't know. Anyone on this list have any good info?
I had earlier returned the card for a replacement, so I can't look at it anymore - but I did point out it had 4 chips, not 3.
Re removing memory chip. It was not big problem, Will. I first made a backup then removed both backup battery and regular battery. After installation it took about 4 minutes to restore. ResetPlus and AlarmPlus did the rest.
I must say, having been bitten by not having a current backup(it happened on my PC and was a disaster)I think I've become the "Backup King". I backup my Psions almost every time I use them - to my PC. Then all my PC files are backed up automatically twice a day - once burned to a CD-RW, and once to a storage D drive. When travelling, my 5mx C drive is backed up automatically to the D drive each night.
Trygve Henriksen wrote:
> Did you do a complete hard-reset? Or preferably, removed all the
> batteries before inserting the module? (Just switching the netBook
> off and plugging in the module is 'not good')
Complete hard-reset - see above.
Trygve and Owen, your virus explanations are much better than what I wrote above.
Happy Cycling,
Keith
Sunnyvale, CA
http://ohsix827.home.comcast.net
Thought For The Day: If you can't be kind, at least be vague.
*++++++++++&
Date: 2 Feb 2004 23:44:00 +0000
From: Alan Morris
Subject: Re: "Why I hate Microsoft"
Marcus von Cube wrote:-
> For all you MS haters and for everyone who wants to know
> some facts about the success of Windows, here is my
> favorite reading:
>
> http://www.euronet.nl/users/frankvw/IhateMS.html
and Antony wrote:-
> To: Alan Morris
>
> A little light reading to cheer you up and reinforce your
> point.
>
> http://www.euronet.nl/users/frankvw/IhateMS.html
Thanks Marcus & Antony. I've just had a look at this.
Most interesting, as much of the early comments I already knew. I also liked the bit about M$ and _marketing_, in keeping with my comments which Rolf Brunsting disagreed with.
The comments about DOS 2 and it's ideas borrowed from Unix is interesting. At the time as a Victor dealer I often wondered why Victor included a number of extra Unix utilities with their versions of DOS.
I also recall the loss resulting from the failure of OS/2 which was significantly better than windows. The world's best word processor - Wordcraft, a British product, was one of the casualties. Incidentally I still use Wordcraft as it has some features that are not available in M$ Word. WP, WordPerfect, after the first few releases, just added Wordcraft's new features 6 months after being released by Wordcraft.
He even refers to the 'hooks that virus authors and hackers' use. Aligning with a comment I posted recently.
I've not finished reading it as it's quite long, but I liked the 'Windows crashes today' counter at the bottom of the page.
--
Alan R Morris, G4ENS.
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK.
Using a Psion netBook & Nokia 6210e.
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Feb 2004 00:10:43 +0000
From: Itamar Engelsman
Subject: Viruses, No more antivirus certification,
Answer to: Wong Koi Hin
Re.: Viruses - Thanks for your answer. My PC's at work and home are fully protected by an automatically updated Norton Antivirus and catch all virusses (which are not that many), mainly Trojan horse types. I also use Spybot Search & Destroy to regularly delete any spy programs on my PC's. It is more likely as Trygve & Owen wrote that my email address was found in an address book on another computer (not mine) and used as a "from" address in spam messages from that computer.
Answer to: Jack
Re. No more antivirus certification - In general when I handle the digest I go over the text before sending it and delete all automatic footers from the text (but not text specifically included by the writer). Some operators do, others do not, all depending on available time and time of the day. But on the whole it is not more than a few lines per digest, certainly nothing to get worried about.
Best regards,
Itamar Engelsman
London, UK
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Feb 2004 01:26:38 +0000
From: Moshe Nahir
Subject: RE: Epoc Digest V1 # 433
Answer to Philip:
<I can easily understand why a Psion-based dictionary would be desirable for many but I prefer my paper ones.
Thanks for your comments and advice re the LittleSense English dictionary. By the way, I prefer paper dictinaries too if they have more contents. I use the electronic ones mostly when I am away and don't have access to the paper dictinaries.
Answer to Jack:
<After four "Next" clicks from the earlier suggested googled URL, You could find :
http://www.palmtopregister.com/Registrations.nsf/Registration?OpenForm&Type= Plain&Platform=EPOC32
where (3rd product in list) one could register the Collins ENG (plain) Cobuilt dic.
Thanks again for your help. Unfortunately this Web site is there for expressing interest in their (TomTom's) products, not for downloading, which is what I need. It looks like they really gave up on Psion customers. Or is there something I can't figure?
Greetings
Moshe
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Feb 2004 11:27:55 +0000
From: Owen Morgan
Subject: Need help bidding on ebay.
Hi
I'm interested in an item that's on ebay now. As I don't have web access, I can't bid on it myself. Would someone resident in Germany with experience bidding (and winning :o) on ebay be willing to bid for me? The best would probably be to use Hammersnipe. The auction closes on Wednesday evening, so there isn't much time.
Owen
Thought for the day:
I like the word `indolence.' It makes my laziness seem classy.
--
Owen H. Morgan, Yacht "Naomi J.", LD-928°05.31'N 17°06.53'W
San Sebastian, La Gomera, Canary Islands
http://home.no.net/naomij
Phone and SMS:
In Spain +34 620520079
In Norway: +47 92053097
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Feb 2004 12:24:31 +0000
From: Rick Gillyon
Subject: Spam / Virus
> From: Arent Kits van Heijningen
> Much has been written about spam and how list subscribers can
> protect themselves Apparently this is not enough as the
> samples shown below will testimony
All the samples you give show are that your address is
known by spammers. That spams are relayed from all
ISPs is undoubted, as all that offer free trials will be
used by the dishonest. This includes CS, AOL, and a lot
of cable companies. It is a non-sequitur to say that by
signing up with these services, you are more likely to
get spam. It is careless thinking.
> 1 Spam sent out from Keith Giles domain ( bikerider.com ) (
> Keith has an account on Comcast.net ! )
What utter nonsense you write (which does seem to be habitual).
A very simple check would have shown you that bikerider.com is
a mail.com domain. Please check your facts before posting in
the future.
As concerns Itamar's virus issue, all it means is that someone
with *both* dotarauk and csi.com in their address book, in
separate addresses, has a virus. If you can work out who it
might be, tell them, but chances are you can't.
Rgds,
Rick
*++++++++++&
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