- RE: eeepc

- Re: eee pc

- OK to send eee questions to EPOC digest?

- Nokia e90 vs. Psion 5mx as PDA

Date: 18 Apr 2008 01:39:17 +0100
From: Bob <address truncated>
Subject: RE: eeepc

Hi Ian,
I just have one comment. Do you have some thing running or some thing going on?  You talked about the battery running down.  I have my plugged in right now but there have been many times that I haven't started it up for several days or more when not plugged in and it still has plenty power.  If its quite awhile the most I have ever seen in down was one of those little bars on the battery gage.  Its still had three left so still quite a bit of charge left.

For all of eeepc folks, if we have good web sites why don't we put them on the Digest so that others can also find them and they might be helpful to others.

Thanks,
Bob

Date: 18 Apr 2008 15:45:37 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove <address truncated>
Subject: Re: eee pc

> For Jim:
> Since you have the 8gb version, you could probably install Publisher as well. No need to transfer files to your desktop to use Publisher (unless that is your preference). All your work can be done on the Eee. Typing takes abit of practice. Keyboard not as nice as S7, but if you can type on a 5mx, then the Eee will be no problem.
> Best regards,
> Dick

Dick,

That is a good answer if I give up on Linux and load Windows.  One of
my main reasons of buying the eee is to learn Linux.  My goal is to
convert my two desktops (if my wife likes Linux) to Linux.

My only stumbling block is Publishing.  If I can provide digest page
editing that produces camera ready copy (as does Publisher) in a Linux
program, I can see myself changing platforms.  If not. I will have to
retain at least one Windows workstation for my publishing activity (poetry books and two small press magazines).

I want the stability and the open environment of Linux.

jim

Date: 19 Apr 2008 23:31:47 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove <address truncated>
Subject: OK to send eee questions to EPOC digest?

Well, it doesn't have a phone but it does have a keyboard and it's smaller than a MBook, it runs Linux and it's wonderful (eee 8meg pc).

I assume it qualifies for discussion and questions on the EPOC forum. If I'm wrong let me know and I'll focus on the eee forum.  I'd rather ask here as it's familiar friendly territory and the eee forum is about 98% over my head at this point.

A couple of simple questions:

I bought a 8 gig Transcend SDHC card and even though I can see it on the file manager, when I go to access  it I get the message "You do not have enough permissions to read Home/User/MMC-SD."

I go to desk utility/extra drive and select Format extra drive, I get "The extra drive can not be found. It might not be present or installed properly."

Also, anticipating click and drag to copy or move files to the SDHC card, I find I seem to be able to only access one window of File Manager/My documents.

As soon as I get the ability to move files from my Psion to the eee via my desktop using the card, I will empty out the MBook and put it up for sale.   I see myself using my 5mx forever (have 2 and need a good pocket machine) but the eee will cause me to phase out the MBook and the Tungsten T/X.

tia

jim - port townsend, wa, use

Date: 20 Apr 2008 12:25:44 +0100
From: Kit Byatt <address truncated>
Subject: Nokia e90 vs. Psion 5mx as PDA

It's a long time since I've posted anything, although I've been lurking...
About 9 months ago one of the hinges on my Nokia 9500 broke.Eventually, after much research and pondering, I decided to replace it with an e90 - I wanted a Symbian machine (for OS stability) with a reasonably functional keyboard (i.e. one which didn't need cocktail sticks to work it!). My thoughts after nearly 6 months are as follows -
Overall it is smaller and technologically more advanced than the 9500, and the keyboard is only slightly smaller. However, as the technical developments (and form factor) of the Symbian machines I have used have progressed, the utility to me of the machines has diminished. Why is this?

Firstly, the keyboards have become progressively less easy to use (basically smaller and stiffer).

Secondly, the OS stability has diminished. Although not that frequent, unforeseen resets or hanging, happen from time to time; these were rare (or at least predictable) with the 5mx.

Thirdly, as the bells &amp; whistles have bristled (colour, video, Wifi, Bluetooth, SatNav, camera etc), the bits I use most frequently (databases and spreadsheets to store all sorts of information) have become optional extras and/or increasingly limited in their use. For example, the original flat database for the Psion was just brilliant - it set itself modest goals, and just delivered them. The commercial DB I am using (QuodDB 1.09g) is a relational DB which either I don't understand properly, or is inherently complicated to use - especially trying to find stuff in files). The spreadsheets I have tried (QuickOffice &amp; OfficeSuite) although theoretically compatible with MS Excel, are not mutually compatible with each other, and have between them less functionality than Sheet did. For example, I cannot save a "Freeze" selection after using a file - when reopened after being saved, I have to set the "Freeze" settings again. Similarly, in QO the arrangements for selecting a range of cells involves about three steps using buttons - you can't just keep the shift key down to define the range. The most frustrating thing is that it is only possible to edit one file at a time - I have not found it possible to move different open files between foreground and background (which I did all the time >with spreadsheet &amp; database files on my Psion). As a subcategory of this whinge, it took me ages to convert and transfer some of my spreadsheets and databases from my Psion to my 9500 and thence to my e90 - I therefore have many many fewer on my e90 (because I resented the increasing need to adjust the final result by hand to eradicate errors or omissions included in the automatic software translation arrangements - this is exactly the opposite of what I see computers as being on earth to help humans with: to undertake repetitive tasks, or transcription of data from one place to another).

Fourthly, whilst the calendars are a bit more compatible with Outlook, they are less useful to use on the e90. I have had to buy HandyCalendar v1.0 as the native calendar is too basic for my needs. The ability to change the size and qualities (bold, italic, etc) of text on the 5mx was great. The e90's calendar doesn't allow such editing.

Fifthly, the apparent improvement of programming a sort of predictive capitalization/numberlock into the software means that the machine tries to autocapitalize words or use numbers (e.g. after a full stop, at the beginning of documents, in some spreadsheet cells or Contact fields) appears superficially helpful, but in fact I often find very irritating - sometimes I don't want an initial capital, or a capital after a full stop (e.g. after an abbreviation). I always seem to be wanting it to be different from what the software chooses (my fingers automatically go for the Shift key when I want a capital - it takes twice as long to correct the vagaries of the programming!).

Sixthly, with the Psion I used Macro5 all the time - over time I wrote a selection of my own small macros and made the machine do pretty much exactly what I wanted. I have not found this flexibility (even with Tracker 1.02) with the e90. My experience is that how the software designers expect me to use the unit is significantly different to how I actually want to.
[gets off soapbox...]
Sorry for this rant - I'm not sure whether it says more about me (getting older, less adaptable, more easily frustrated, &amp; more forgetful) or about the march of so-called progress!
I'm seriously considering going back to a 5mx plus basic mobile phone, rather than trying to find the holy grail "convergent" PDA unit (which we used to speculate about at length on the Digest in the good old days!). Perhaps I'm just getting older and unwilling to invest hours of "tweaking" getting to know all the options in all the software and hardware, and how to make the machine operate to my satisfaction. I have watched the various suggestions for replacement machines on the Digest, and the number of candidate machines suggested so far implies that no-one else has found the ideal either.
By the way, if in the meantime anyone has found the ideal pocket-sized PDA with functional keyboard do let me know...
Kit - ever the optimist
Frustrated, of Herefordshire