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Epoc Digest Mon, 10 Mar 2003 Volume 01 : Number 196
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Sent to: 754 subscribers
In today's Epoc Digest 16 messages:
==============================
- Replacement colour icon update
- netbook-connectivity failure, proporta usb-serial cable
- Connecting to Compuserve
- Wireless Network
- what's in a name?
- Charmap/Pelican
- Irda
- Alternative NetBook PSU/AC Adapter?
- To connect or not to connect?, Roaming,
- Re: Linux Users?
- Re: False Representation?
- Re: Roaming
- Re: PsiWin - COM ports - USB adapter - IrDA
- Re: False Representation?
- I've got a netpad
- series 7 peeling up
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 02:36:22 +0100
From: Martin Guthrie
Subject: Replacement colour icon update
Hi All,
I've somewhat lost track of where things are at since the last update I gave on the digest so I'll just post a list of the colour icons now available:-
It currently contains: Agenda+, BridgePro, BusyView, Collins EF, Collins S-E, Conquete, Converter, ConvertPro, Crypto, DCP, EBook, Essential Disk Utilities (ChkDisk, DiskEdit, Optimize, and SmartFmt), EnRoute (aka Route- original 'Highway+Bridge' icon plus newer TomTom 'hands' icon), ExtraBars, FileDump, FileLink, FileSwitch, FrotzS5, Hermes, Locker, Macro5, MakeOver, Mentor, Money (+ patch files), Monopoly, NightKeys, Notepad, nSwitcher, PdbRead, PhoneMan, Phrase, Plan, plOpen, Porfolio, Presentation, psiMind (+ patch), RMRZip (+ patch), SafePlace, SaveMail, ShopCL, SmallBase (SB), SoundTrans, Street, Symlink, SysBack, ThesLink, Tomeraider, Tourmate, Trivia, vCal, Vexed, X-LinK (XC), XTM, Yacht and WAP - as icons that can be used to replace the standard b/w ones on your Extras bar. Detailed installation instructions are included in the file. Available for free on my web site (below).
Best regards,
Martin Guthrie
—————————
www.pscience5.net
www.freepoc.org
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 03:00:36 +0100
From: "Saj Jumaani"
Subject: netbook-connectivity failure, proporta usb-serial cable
Hi everyone
Thanks for answering my questions re: laptop-nb connectivity failure. The only possible option is to use usb-serial cable. Found one at Proporta will let you know if this works.
To Kevin Thorne:
<...What else did you specifically need a laptop for that the netBook couldn't cater for?...>
Well for one thing multimedia. I can now transfer WMA or MP3 files to my Sony netMD. Set the laptop to wake me up by playing bon jovi or aerosmith and play Russell Watson or Kenny G before I go to bed. Watch my favourite "Shawshank Redemption" on a laptop. The list could go on you know...
But then a 16" 3kg laptop is not that easy to carry around...
Living in both worlds isn't yet possible I guess.
Regards,
Saj
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 08:18:46 +0100
From: "Ian Chapple"
Subject: Connecting to Compuserve
Dear all,
having solved my various email problems, something else seems to be going/have gone wrong. If I try to dial up with Compuserve, either to open my Compuserve mailbox or send email with Compuserve, the connection often fails. If I first dial up with Compuserve via Web, and then open the mailbox or send mail, this works without fail. My question is; why is this and does anyone have a fix?
Cheers, Ian Chapple.
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 08:42:14 +0100
From: "Ian Chapple"
Subject: Wireless Network
We're thinking of stepping over to Cable Internet at home, but as the PC is in the attic, I've been thinking that a WiFi network might be the best solution. Does anyone have any experience of connecting a Windows PC, an Apple iBook and a Series 7/netbook to a Wireless Lan? Is it possible to find a WiFi card that a 7 can drive, or would I have to upgrade to a netbook in order to do this? I can see all sorts of pitfalls ahead, but would appreciate any input...
Thanks in advance, Ian.
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 09:04:16 +0100
From: Saj Jumaani
Subject: what's in a name?
hi everyone,
some subscribers refer to ourselves as "digestees", "psioneers" isn't about time we give ourselves a name? or we don't have to bother since we are nearly on the verge of extinction anyways (i pray not - still love my psions) if we are on the verge of extinction do we qualify as an endangered species? how 'bout "epocians"? we are nearly vanishing but we don't know what we call ourselves yet.
thank you everyone for your help in my laptop-nb connectivity prob. have e-mailed proporta asking if their USB-serial connectivity will work with netBook and a win xp laptop.
to rolph:
<...Still, there's one thing I don't understand. Why did you buy a laptop without a serial RS232C port when one of the jobs it has to perform is to work together with your netBook and PsiWin uses a serial cable connection?...>
my excuse?: i just assumed. stupid me. i thought there was a serial port.
moral lesson?: do not assume. assumption is the mother of all f*** ups.
to itamar:
enjoy your trip is that business or pleasure?
regards,
Saj
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 09:29:29 +0100
From: Philip S. Adkins Potter
Subject: Charmap/Pelican
Hi,
Sanjay wrote "Is it possible to add other characters to the Special Character list currently native to EPOC?" I doubt it.
Mark Esposito (Pelican Software) wrote a freeware application called Charmap which I use but I believe there is also a macro to do the same thing which might suit better.
I can't seem to navigate around Mark's site. Does anyone know the URL of a map or guide to it?
Happy days,
Phil.
"It's true that money talks.
It usually says 'Goodbye'."
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 09:55:49 +0100
From: Tim Williams
Subject: Irda
On Sunday, March 9, 2003, at 11:50 PM, Will Green wrote:
> If you hold down Control and then type 10002, and then release Control > the infrared dialog will pop up.
>
> Save you messing around with Macro 5 at all!
No really, because I use just one stroke to call up Macro.
However, thanks, Will! And why isn't there a keyboard short cut?
Best
T
---
A bachelor is a guy who never made the same mistake once.
Phyllis Diller
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 15:24:19 +0100
From: David Lir
Subject: Alternative NetBook PSU/AC Adapter?
Hi all,
I've got a Malaysian netBook on the way and I'm wondering if anybody here knows of anywhere in Toronto that I can purchase a suitable power supply for it. The manual says it needs 15.5V DC ± 10%, 1.5A - and I've been told that the Radio Shack Adaptaplug size 'c' fits the netBook, but alas, Radio Shack doesn't have any 15v 1.5a AC adapters available. Any ideas? I may order the Psion UK 7/nB Mains Adapter (100-240) from Clove or Expansys, and use that with a suitable plug adapter - but so far neither has responded to my email inquiries. Thanks!
------------------------
David Lir - \\:>{o
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 18:11:55 +0100
From: Itamar
Subject: To connect or not to connect?, Roaming,
Answer to: Philip S. Adkins Potter
Re.: To connect or not to connect? - Owen tried to tell you that you can plug in that serial cable, connect the other side to the adaptor to connect to the mains, and not to connect the other end of the serial cable to anything. Just use the cable to connect to the mains. As to putting your email folder on D, it is not the power of the modem that is talked about but the power of the Psion. If you always connect your Psion to the mains when emailing you are right, if not, the advice is not to put the email folder on the CF disk, as writing to the CF disk is one of the first functions to stop when power gets low !
Answer to: Rolf Brunsting
Re. Roaming - "your identification consists of your user ID, password and the number of your phone" - In the case of Freeserve I am not sure you are right, as I regularly connect to my Freeserve account from 3 different phone number, home landline, office landline and mobile phone.
Best regards,
Itamar Engelsman
London, UK
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 20:18:49 +0100
From: =?ISO-8859-2?Q?=A3ukasz_Maciejewski?=
Subject: Re: Linux Users?
Hi,
I've never tried using PsiWin under VM nor Wine. I use PsiLin instead. It's able to make backups and convert Psion files.
To use PsiLin you must install and run on your Psion application called nfsapp. Then you may mount Psion drives on your linux as an additional filesystem at a selected mount point (/psion etc.). There's also graphical interface available (tcl/tk).
Greetz,
£ukasz
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 21:21:12 +0100
From: Rolf Brunsting
Subject: Re: False Representation?
Dear Mike,
<< Surely 3 years of use is an acceptable minimum of 'Mean Time Before Failure' for a palmtop type computer. Anything less I would feel a bit aggrieved and any more will be a bonus! >>
As the name already says, an MTBF is a mean, or average, for a large number of devices. It says that the overall majority will last for 3 years, but not all of them. A device can thus fail after three months without violating the manufacturer's 3 years MTBF specification. Another aspect is that an MTBF depends on environmental conditions. The device will thus have an MTBF for use in the tropics and another MTBF for use in the Scandinavian countries. The way the device is used also has an effect - continuous 24/7 use results in a different MTBF than intermittent use. Manufacturers therefore specify an MTBF under reference conditions - which tend to be the conditions for a 'typical' user.
--
Kind Regards,
Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 21:21:14 +0100
From: Rolf Brunsting
Subject: Re: Roaming
Dear Jack,
<< I solved it after (slightly) increasing the values of ToneTime and DelayTime within Config. Panel / Dialling / Tone dialing / >>
Won't work for Darryl as he's using a digital GSM phone - GSM networks don't have a dial tone nor do they use tone dialling. A connection is made by a digital message exchange between phone and network.
--
Kind Regards,
Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 21:21:16 +0100
From: Rolf Brunsting
Subject: Re: PsiWin - COM ports - USB adapter - IrDA
Dear Philip,
<< My experience of the serial connector as PsiWin is that the program is designed to expect to run only on a PC that has com ports 1 and 2 available, and will balk if thse conditions aren't met >>
I've run PsiWin on a number of telemetry testbeds and technical support machines that had more than two COM ports and have had no problems in getting PsiWin to communicate via COM5 or COM8. What's crucial is to set the PC up correctly regarding interrupts and memory addresses. Which is true for any communication software - ensure that the port is there and has the right hardware resources. Some of the PsiWin problems reported are the result of giving the Windows's plug-and-play feature a free reign.
<< It is also likely to fall over in any one of a undred other unpredictable circumstances where anything you have in the main computer is, or might be, accessing the comports >>
That's not my experience as Windows '95 and higher blocks the access to a COM port when it's in use by another application. Reason why I've always given PsiWin exclusive use of one of the COM ports.
<< I'm not aware that anyone has yet made PsiWin work using a USB-serial adaptor, for the reasons suggested above >>
Quite a number of people use an USB-RS232C adapter successfully. The adapters made by Belkin appear to be good ones.
<< I think the infrared connector is probably the wrong standard for Psion - others here know the technicalities better than I do, but my understanding is that the subset of the standard used by Psion is not compatible with the standard for IR devices now most commonly encountered, and that this is not trivially easily rectified on either machine >>
The technicalities aren't that difficult to understand. IrDA is an umbrella name for a number of separate specifications that use a common core. This core consists of a set of functions that allow two IrDA devices to recognise each other's presence and lock-on. What happens next depends on the devices in question as a manufacturer only needs to implement the specification(s) applicable to the device. When the device has no printing facilities, for example, there's no need to implement the parallel IrCOMM specification.
As PsiWin uses a serial RS232C port the PC needs to support its IrDA equivalent - serial IrCOMM. What serial IrCOMM does it to behave like an RS232C cable without the physical cable. Windows 95, 98, 98SE and ME support serial IrCOMM as standard. Windows NT 4 has no IrDA support at all and support needs to be added by an add-on driver. Microsoft has decided not to support serial IrCOMM in Windows 2000 and XP, replacing it by the IrOBEX specification. This means that you need a third-party serial IrCOMM driver for PsiWin or install PLBeam on the Psion to allow infrared file exchange using the already present IrOBEX support on the EPOC Release 5 machines.
<< I have never heard of using the serial-parallel cable (normally supplied for use with a printer) as two-way data transfer device other than for datsa being sent to a printer >>
I've used the parallel printer port to transfer the contents of complete hard disks from one PC to another using Parac or LapLink. Problem is that Psion's parallel printer cable isn't bi-directional so that parallel port transfer tools don't work.
<< Like too much of the Psion support programming (wireless LAN card drivers, for instance), it is written to work in a very narrowly defined set of circumstances, which may not be the cirumstances present in your set-up >>
This is true for any computer, even Windows PCs.
--
Kind Regards,
Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 21:21:18 +0100
From: Rolf Brunsting
Subject: Re: False Representation?
Dear Stephen,
<< True, but the HD is a wear-and-tear part. The Psion is a solid-state device - at least in theory >>
A solid-state device doesn't have moving parts while the Series 5(mx)'s hinge mechanism, pen latch mechanism, keyboard, battery and serial port covers, etc, make that a 5(mx) isn't solid-state. The people who think of a Series 5(mx) as a solid-state device, and assume it to have the MTBF of a solid state device, are mistaken.
<< I was addressing the issue of reasonable expectation. The law generally agrees >>
There will be a reason why people see the Series 5(mx) as a solid-state device. Question is whether this qualifies as a reasonable expectation. As your message comes from a mail.state.ky.us domain it's understandable that you look at this from a US perspective. Thing is that there are number of differences between US and European legislation and the way it's interpreted. European law has a stronger emphasis on the responsibilities of the consumer, for example. A number of product related US court cases I've heard about would not have reached one of the European courts because of this. They will have been rejected at an earlier stage.
<< Tell that to Firestone. Cover-ups don't work if the evidence is obvious and overwhelming >>
Sorry, Stephen, you're going one step too far here. You're free to question whether the current screen cable is the right component for the job. However, this doesn't give you the right to make strong hints at a cover-up by Psion. You really have to demonstrate that (a) the screen cable isn't up to the job and (b) that Psion has been actively suppressing this information before you're able to talk about a cover-up.
<< My sentiment _is_ sufficient if it is backed up by personal experience PLUS This mailing list PLUS Too many "I'm-getting-stripes-on-the-screen-of-my-5mx" newsgroup posts to mention >>
I've no problem with the sentiments surrounding the Series 5(mx) screen cable. However, as there's more than one explanation for your personal experience, as well as what you see mentioned on the Digest and the newsgroups, it's not a given that we're dealing with a component that's not up to the job that's expected of it.
<< Without statistics from Psion _nobody_ can make an authoritative judgment >>
That's not the case as you can translate the failure statistics of a component back into an MTBF. Thing is that you need to take a different approach than a few simple questions on the Digest. We'll need much more data and from a more varied group of people to do this, however.
<< I doubt that they will reveal those stats; it is not in their interest to do so >>
Which is also a question of approach - the way you approach Psion.
--
Kind Regards,
Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 21:37:27 +0100
From: "Michael Degn"
Subject: I've got a netpad
Hi group,
Today is a great day. My new netpad arrived (all the way from Canada).
It's a netpad 1200 (transmissive screen) with 64MB RAM and 32MB
FlashROM. It's supposed to replace my ageing 5mx, which will be taken
out of active duty and placed permanently on my desk. Then it should
never have another screen cable failure again.
I think my S7 is quite fast, but the netpad is even a lot faster
(206,438 MHz CPU). It's a real pleasure to work with it. I won't do any
review as Peter Keene made an excellent one a lot of Digests ago.
Someone will probably say I'm totally insane to pay DDK 19.500 = approx.
£1780 for this device, but I simply can't imagine going to any other
platform. Palm and Pocket PC sucks compared to Psion (sorry if I offend
someone). At least I'll have this netpad for the next many years.
Best regards,
Michael Degn
Esbjerg, Denmark
www.degn.esenet.dk
www.pdanmark.dk
*++++++++++&
Date: 10 Mar 2003 21:46:15 +0100
From: "Coleman, Sheryl E."
Subject: series 7 peeling up
Greetings,
I've recently gone back to my series 7 (after an absence of about six months) and I find that on the top part of the shell, the dark gray leather is peeling up slightly at the front corners. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, did you ever try to glue it back down? Any suggestions on the type of glue one might use?
Thanks in advance for any help,
Sheryl
Kansas City, USA
*++++++++++&
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