Epocdigest V1 # 345

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Epoc Digest Fri, 03 Oct 2003 Volume 01 : Number 355

************************************************************************

Sent to: 795 subscribers

In today's Epoc Digest 17 messages:

==============================

- Louis Somers temporary unsubscribed

- Message - Re: Contacts back to DATA, Microsoft, Psion Backups

- Navigator

- Psion Synching with notes

- The unthinkable...

- Re: Contacts back to DATA

- FW: Sony's Hot Crossover PDA

- Psion ownership, Why Wifi?, Moving email message store, Mystery crash,

- Re: Offline Web

- Activating the remote link if your screen is dead.

- Die Hard Epoc User

- Activating the remote link if your screen is dead.

- Transfer of Psion Data, Wishlist for Contacts application

- Re: Contacts back to DATA, Microsoft,

- Re: Moving email message store

- Digital clock

*++++++++++&

Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003

From: Digest administrator

Subject: Louis Somers temporary unsubscribed

The digest was bounced by your provider over 4 times with the message "user unknown". we unsubscribed you for a week and hope you will be able to sort out the problem

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

The Epocdigest Team

With best regards

Itamar Engelsman

The Epoc Digest Team

*++++++++++&

Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003

From: Digest administrator

Subject: Message

Unfortunately the digest continues to be returned by your email address as "invalid unknown address". We had no other option but to unsubscribe you.

With best regards

Itamar Engelsman

The Epoc Digest Team

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 10:12:37 +0000

From: jgthomson

Subject: Re: Contacts back to DATA, Microsoft, Psion Backups

Hi all!

Re: Psion Backups - Sanjay says he still wants to use PSIWIN to back up his data to PC. While I

still use PSIWIN to install software occasionally on one of my Psions, by far the simplest and

fastest way to do it is to use a CF card reader. A good USB reader / writer can be bought for £15

these days and the data just flies over the line.

Re: Contacts back to DATA, Microsoft - I think Sanjay has entirely missed the point. Apple,

Palm, Psion etc. have developed platforms for others to develop applications software on and

many do it very well. Early on in Microsoft's existence, they took up an offer to develop an OS

for BIG Blue, which offer Digital Research had turned down. Their next few years were spent in

cobbling together a DOS system and then a Windows system. But this first Windows system was

almost a straight take off of the system which Apple had on their Mac machine. In my book they

copied another organisation's idea to get into the graphical interface market place.

If Microsoft had confined their work to producing a good operating system and just that, then

they may have drummed up the support of more like me, who have been in the game for 25 years

or more (in my case 37 years now). Windows is full of problems - every version of it. But they

did not concentrate on the Op system. They have pinched ideas from all and sundry, companies

which have developed good software to run under Windows have seen Microsoft try to copy their

ideas and attempt to corner their markets, pushing everyone else out where at all possible.

I used Wordstar in the good old DOS days (I still have a copy of Wordstar v4 which has most of

the facility people use when writing letters or composing prose and it sits on a 360K floppy quite

comfortably) and moved to Wordperfect under Windows. It is still my chosen Word Processor

for all my personal work although I am forced to use Word for anything I might want to send to

others, because they don't know any different. When I moved up to Windows XP though,

Wordperfect Suite 8 provided me with all sorts of frustrations and still does. I still use it - it has a

much better user interface than Word in my book. Microsoft have happily ensured that the OS

changes made in their move to XP support their own applications - even older versions. Other

developers have been left to sort out their own problems, bring out new releases and the punter

has to upgrade, spending money in the process.

Just consider the no. of bug fixes supplied for MS systems. Take Windows NT as an example.

Depending on your configuration, NT on it's own might occupy 150 Mb, but the service packs

have produced much more than this in repairs. Epoc is a similarly complex system to NT and

together with all the applications software provided by Psion it occupies about 13Mb. And it

works, with relatively few issues.

Microsoft might have been loved by all, if they had made sure the OS was tight, but are too

greedy to ever get my vote. It is just a pity that the average Windows system user doesn't

appreciate there are other good systems out there (like EPOC).

I know I have a bee in my bonnet about MS but I think it is justified.

Regards,

Jim Thomson.

160 Main Street, Carnwath, Lanark, ML11 8HR.

e-mail address: jgthomson

Tel: 01 555 840 832 / 07 050 074 336

-- All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that this message is virus-free.

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 10:43:19 +0000

From: Timothy H.D. Williams

Subject: Navigator

Can somebody please tell me why when I attempt a Navigator search, I get the message "File already exists"?

re the analogue clock, am I not right in thinking that with the 3c you could have an analogue clock on the desktop toolbar? I see no way in which you can have analogue time with the 5.

Finally, for somebody who does not understand electricity, can somebody please tell me why ChaDis is useful. For the first time ever, in three years of Revo ownership, my machine closed down because it had reached 0% energy. In the old days, before I got a German update to the

battery, the machine turned off before it ever reached 50%.

Timothy Williams

I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance,

Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance

Ogden Nash

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 11:24:44 +0000

From: Patterson, Crawford

Subject: Psion Synching with notes

I use the notes facility attached to Outlook appointments and tasks etc.

Likewise, I embed word objects to diary and task entries on the Psion.

In general these all appear to synch OK between the Revo and the PC but

sometimes it does not. For example, if I edit a note on the Psion that

was created in outlook the changes do not seem to go back up.

Has anyone experienced this or better still does anyone know how to fix

it.

Crawford Patterson

This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is private, confidential and may also be legally privileged. It may not be copied or disclosed to or used by anyone other than the addressee, nor may it be copied in any way. If you have received this e-mail in error please contact the sender immediately and then delete the message and any attachment(s). Statements and opinions expressed in this e-mail may not represent those of the company.

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 14:01:38 +0000

From: Ajai Khattri

Subject: The unthinkable...

...finally happened today:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/53/33172.html

Aj.

Systems Administrator / Developer

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 14:07:46 +0000

From: U Hornstein

Subject: Re: Contacts back to DATA

Reference is made to the mail in the EPOC DIGEST V1 # 354 (3) : Itamar Engelsman wrote on 1 Oct 2003 14:30:04 (> ):

> Answer to: vlad a

> Re. Contacts back to DATA - Thanks, but no. Out of

> interest I asked which program converts Contact files

> back to DATA files, and you gave as an answer the

> movement of DATA files to Contact files.

To answer that often mentioned question: from my recent Contacts-Data cleanup I can tell that

c2f109 can write Contacts information as csv file.

My further proceedings to cleanup my files:

I had just a few csv records; they were imported to Data. There manually brushed. No double quotes anywhere (check: search for ")!

To export only the names with email addresses to contacts:

prin Data - then you can export only records with email addresses in them to a txt file - with Ct+124 as record separator. This is needed by MXcontacts to import these email-adresses into a new contact database for use with the 218's Email Program.

Maybe that is of help for others. But probably every other aspirant has done this long ago.

I noted one more disadvantage of Contacts: I planned to mark new email addresses in Contacts with .new in the Notes field, in order to update the Data file later. However, Contacts does NOT search the Notes field. It searches neither in the fields email, telefone numbers[, ...]. Very bad, since I search often in Data in the notes field, where I keep letter acronyms for hobbies etc of people (.ps for Psioneers, for example). One more reason to stick to Data as the main address application.

With greetings from Germany

Ulrich Hornstein

For spam protection: Please NEVER type my mail address into a www page ('send to a friend' or similar)!

Sent by MC218 (EPOC palmtop)

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 14:22:48 +0000

From: Janet I. Fine

Subject: FW: Sony's Hot Crossover PDA

Could you try posting this again. I still have not seen a reply. Thanks.

-----Original Message-----

From: Janet FSent: Tuesday, September 23, 2003 6:37 PM

To: EpocDigest

Subject: RE: Sony's Hot Crossover PDA

After reading posting about the Sony Clié PEG-UX50 in Digest #338 I went to

the web site to check it out. Although it seems to have a lot of exciting

features, it looks like you cannot edit Word or Excel on this machine - only

view the documents. If this is so it would seem that the only Clie's on

which you can edit these documents would be the ones without the built in

keyboard. Am I right about this? If so, it wouldn't be the device for me.

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 17:18:20 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: Psion ownership, Why Wifi?, Moving email message store, Mystery crash,

Answer to: Malcolm

Re.: Psion ownership - Sure, each one his own. Personally I feel proud of achievements in life, but much less so of possessions. Machines of different kinds, cars - phones - computers - etc., are tools for me to be used to their fullest potential. My main PDA is still my S7, but there are things I can't do on it unfortunately. I am also a photographer and after a job need to download some 700 images, each between 3 to 6 Mb large, to sort and edit them, print several and than write them to a CD to take to the lab. Can't do that on my S7, need a PC. I "need" to have various data with me when socialising or going out for which my S7 (and really also my old 5MX which used to hang on my belt) is too big. So I decided (old news, already discussed) to try out a different platform (the Palm) that I now start to learn does some things a lot better than the Psions, other things a lot worse. I am learning to use each of the 3 machines for what they are best used for.

Answer to: Richard

Re. Why Wifi? - It all depends. If you are in the kitchen discussing the cinema and want to check the cinema's website, open your Psion, instant on, almost instant connection, check and continue the discussion. However, if let's say your PC is off and on the second floor, would you do the same ? I agree with you that for "heavy" surfing a PC is a better tool (see my above answer, use each machine for what it is best used for) and don't have Wifi myself (someone with a spare netBook ? <G>), but can imagine it can be very usefull sometimes.

Re. Moving email message store - I am not sure, but I advise you not to move it to D. First of all it will quickly slow down your emailing, and secondly if at any time your batteries will be too low to write to the D-disk your emailing will stall, your files will be corrupt and you will have a lot of problems to correct it. Better to move other files to D like program files.

Answer to: Jack

Re. Mystery crash - And that translates into .....?

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, U

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 19:31:44 +0000

From: m

Subject: Re: Offline Web

>Has anyone got Offline Web installed? If you do, please can you supply: - a website address >- a "level" limit (of following links to d/load)

>- a memory limit

>so that I can use those settings to see a setup that I know someone else is happy with.

Here is one that works well for me:

URL=http://pocket.usatoday.com/palm/

Levels=3

Size=500

>My surfing with Offline Web is frustrating & pointless. I get the first page, the "Connect to Internet" box appears >either a few or 50+ times. After pressing Escape lots of times, eventually I get a "Page not found" message.

>(Sometimes I'm lucky and the second page will load.) None of the links from that page will work though.

Under the Retrieve tab in the properties, is the "Follow External Links" option checked? If not, and a site has a link to another server on its page, it will not be retrieved. Experiment with this and see if it helps.

I've found that many sites don't work all that well because they just plain take up too much space to practically transfer to my Psion and usefully browse.

I would also recommend NOT checking the "Include Images" option, since it is the images that take up the most space - and don't look all that good on the Psion anyway.

Good luck,

Steve Truesdale

*++++++++++&

Date: 2 Oct 2003 21:36:40 +0000

From: Owen H. Morgan

Subject: Activating the remote link if your screen is dead.

Howdy!

I wrote (>> )::

>> There may be a way of getting to the System

>> screen from any application by using only the

>> keyboard. If there is, I'm sure someone will

>> enlighten us.

Astrid Stappenbeck replied (> ):

> So here's a bit of enlightenment:

> Ctl + 10064

So, the complete procedure for getting a screen-less Psion to the system screen and switching the remote link on would be:

"Ctl + 10064"

(Switch to System)

"Esc" "Esc" "Esc"

(In case you were deep a menu, the Control Panel or the Today screen (on a Revo)

"Shift+Ctrl+E" followed by "Y"

(Close all open applications.)

"Ctrl+L" followed by "C"

(Switch the link on)

The only pitfall would be it there's an open application that doesn't respond to being closed by EPOC like all well-behaved applications should. If the Psion doesn't connect, try hitting the spacebar to ship that application and repeat the "Ctrl+L" and "C".

Owen

Thought for the day:

Anthony's Law of force:

Don't force it, get a larger hammer.

42°07.3'N 8°50.5'W

Bayona, Spain waiting for a fair wind for Portugal

http://home.no.net/naomij

Phone and SMS:

In Spain: +34 620520079

In Norway: +47 92053097

*++++++++++&

Date: 3 Oct 2003 01:48:18 +0000

From: Scott Lloyd

Subject: Die Hard Epoc User

Hi everyone, I'm Scott Lloyd from San Antonio Tx. I have been reading this thread for some time now, I decided it is time to

contribute. I am a die-hard lover of Epoc devices, have been using them for about 8 years and have several Psion machines (10). I use my netbook for everyday use, and my Revo when I need to slip something into my pocket and go fix

a problem post-haste. My first impression was the OS. It reminds me allot of Unix, which being a 49 year old, a old-timer in

this Bill-Gates world! (god bless him) the OS is rock solid and simple, I was very upset to hear the Psion was no longer

in the PDA business. I get my job done just fine with my netbook, in fact I purchased a separate one for a backup. Does

anyone know where I can obtain some software similar to Microsoft Project to run on my netbook. My peers of course

mostly use windows apps so I need to interface with them..reports,etc. I really enjoy this discussion group, especially

the great UK sense of humor, I work with alot of science type people from the UK, Sweden, Germany. I think with

Apple comming back and Linux, Epoc stands a good chance of getting into the market again...my two cents

God bless to all

....onward through the fog....

Scott Lloy

*++++++++++&

Date: 3 Oct 2003 10:50:50 +0000

From: Owen H. Morgan

Subject: Activating the remote link if your screen is dead.

Howdy!

I wrote (>> )::

>> There may be a way of getting to the System

>> screen from any application by using only the

>> keyboard. If there is, I'm sure someone will

>> enlighten us.

Astrid Stappenbeck replied (> ):

> So here's a bit of enlightenment:

> Ctl + 10064

So, the complete procedure for getting a screen-less Psion to the system screen and switching the remote link on would be:

"Ctl + 10064"

(Switch to System)

"Esc" "Esc" "Esc"

(In case you were deep a menu, the Control Panel or the Today screen (on a Revo)

"Shift+Ctrl+E" followed by "Y"

(Close all open applications.)

"Ctrl+L" followed by "C"

(Switch the link on)

Owen

Thought for the day:

Anthony's Law of force:

Don't force it, get a larger hammer.

42°07.3'N 8°50.5'W

Bayona, Spain waiting for a fair wind for Portugal

http://home.no.net/naomij

Phone and SMS:

In Spain: +34 620520079

In Norway: +47 92053097

*++++++++++&

Date: 3 Oct 2003 10:51:00 +0000

From: Owen H. Morgan

Subject: Transfer of Psion Data, Wishlist for Contacts application

Howdy!

Itamar Engelsman wrote (> ):

> Re. Thought for the day - I think the original

> quote was as follows :

> You can fool some of the people all of the time,

> and all of the people some of the time,

> but you can't fool all of the people all the time

Yes, I think it was Abe Lincoln, but I'm sure someone will put me right if it wasn't. My version is better though and truer...

> LOL for y our other message about ASKING THE

> DIGEST. But what program converts Contacts back to

> DATA (I don't need it, but just out of interest) ?

I'm not sure, but I think maybe PhoneMan swings both ways? I haven't tested though. I'm quite happy with the Contacts application for my use, or rather, the contacts application I really want hasn't been written, and Data is no better for my needs than Contacts.

In the real world, people share some real and virtual adresses and phone numbers with workmates or families whilst others will be unique to the individual. In many cases, I am friends with several members of a family, but the only way of entering all family members with their individual mobile numbers, e-mail addresses and work addresses is to create a seperate entry for each with no way of showing their relationship.

What I would like is a Contacts application that uses a relational database. In the case of a family, there would be one entry for each person with just their names, personal e-mail addresses and mobile phones in one file and some way of linking them together to show their relationships as a family (like a family tree). The other file would contain their shared home address with the phone number to the house and their individual work addresses and each individual would then be linked to the appropriate adresses. It would be the same with a company with individual entries for each of the contacts all linked to the address of the company. In some cases one or more of those entries would also have a link to the person's private details as it does happen that I form friendships with people I deal with.

I don't know if such an application exists for any platform. I suppose it could be created in PowerBase, but the learning curve for that software has so far proved too steep for me...

On my T39m phone, I find it rather annoying that I always have to enter something in the first name field. In the case of a company, I usually don't give a hoot who I talk to and in many cases I don't even know any names. The phone insists that I write something, so I put the company name there as well. It works, but it's annoying, and it messes things up when I transfer between the Psion and phone.

Owen

(Sitting in Bayona waiting for a fair wind for Portugal with nothing better to do than listen to REM and write to the digest...)

Thought for the day:

Always yield to temptation, for it may not pass your way again.

Owen H. Morgan, Yacht "Naomi J.", LD-9311

42°07.3'N 8°50.5'W

Bayona, Spain

http://home.no.net/naomij

Phone and SMS:

In Spain: +34 620520079

In Norway: +47 92053097

*++++++++++&

Date: 3 Oct 2003 10:51:08 +0000

From: Owen H. Morgan

Subject: Re: Contacts back to DATA, Microsoft,

Howdy!

Itamar Engelsman wrote (> ):

> In shorter form, you agree with my idea that they

> don't have such a department but do try from time

> to time to make it more difficult for rival

> products. And why not ? Who says that Microsoft

> have to allow all rival products to work with

> their systems ? Does a Palm program work on a

> PocketPC or Psion machine ? Does a S3 program

> work on a S5 machine ? (Auch <G>).

There's a big difference here. What M$ have done is try to prevent their computitors from marketing software designed to run under WindoZe. WindoZe is supposed to be an operating system and operating systems should not dictate who can market software to run under that system.

As far as I know, Palm and Symbian have never done anything to prevent other developers from writing Palm OS, SIBO or EPOC software. That would be the same as Mercedes buying an oil company and somehow preventing your car from running on oil and gazoline from other manufacturers. Well, someone told me his friend would only use original Mercedes windsheild washer liquid in his car... You do of course get silly things like Volvo insisiting that their engines must use Volvo oil, as if Volvo was ever an oil manufacturer and you must use original Volvo brake parts instead of the identical item from the manufacturer who actually make the parts for Volvo...

Owen

Thought for the day:

I know about the early bird and the worm, but what would I want with a worm? - Owen

Owen H. Morgan, Yacht "Naomi J.", LD-9Somewhere in sunny Spain, heading for the Canaries.

http://home.no.net/naomij

Phone and SMS:

In Spain: +34 620520079

In Norway: +47 92053097

*++++++++++&

Date: 3 Oct 2003 10:51:15 +0000

From: Owen H. Morgan

Subject: Re: Moving email message store

Howdy!

Richard wrote (> ):

> I would like to move my emails to D, but when I

> try I get an "Insufficient memory message".

DON'T DO IT!

Don't do this on a 5ive Classic or mx. When you connect to the net, either via a modem connected to the RS-232 or via IR, your Psion draws a lot of power. If your battery level is already starting to get low, particularly if you're using rechargeable batteries in your Psion, this can cause the battery voltage to go below the minimum level for writing to the CF card while you're online. This WILL crash the e-mail application and corrupt the e-mail index file. I try to keep just about everything on D, except for the Mail folder. I learnt this the hard way! I have no idea whether the S7 or NetBook have the same problem.

As for why you couldn't transfer the folder, I can only think of three possible reasons. Either there isn't room for the mail folder on D: (surely you checked this) or you have a large mail folder and there isn't enough free space on C: for whatever housekeeping the application needs to do before moving the folder.. Have you tried closing all other applications to free up as much working space as possible on C:? The third possibility is that there is a corrupted file somwhere in the Mail folder which can't be moved. EPOC, like WindoZe is full of error messages that don't mean what they say...

If your primary reason for wanting to move the folder is to free up space on C:, I'd suggest installing the excellent Freeware SaveMail by Sergio Alisi which lets you archive old e-mails in Psion Data files. This would also make it easier to copy the archive to another platform in the event of an untimely demise of your Psion.

If your main reason for wanting to move the folder to D: is that you imagine it will be safer on the CF, I suggest making a daily (or weekly or whatever) backup copy of it to somewhere like D:\Backup\Mail. There is software available to automate this process if you want. This will have the added advantage that you can copy it back to C: to revive things in case of a crash.

> If I copy my C:/System/Mail folder to D, it will

> be on D, but still not accessible from Email.

> (Presumably.)

If you really want to keep your mail folder on the CF and it doesn't help to free up space on C: before you ask Email to move the folder, you could close Email and then move it manually to a temporary location say "D:\Temp\Mail". When you open Email after moving the Mail folder away, Email will recreate a new empty mail folder. Move that one to D: using the menu option in Email, then delete it and replace it with the old one from "D:\Temp\Mail".

Owen

Thought for the day:

People usually get what's coming to them... Unless it's been mailed.

Owen H. Morgan, Yacht "Naomi J.", LD-9Somewhere in sunny Spain, heading for the Canaries.

http://home.no.net/naomij

Phone and SMS:

In Spain: +34 620520079

In Norway: +47 92053097

*++++++++++&

Date: 3 Oct 2003 11:12:28 +0000

From: Timothy H.D. Williams

Subject: Digital clock

Not perhaps of earth shattering importance:

the difference between the Toolbar clock on the 5mx and the Revo is that for the former, tapping will give you the choice between digital or analogue clock, for the latter, tapping allows you to choose between time and date.

In more or less the same vein, why is the Today view of my Revo not available on the most recent ER5 release for the 5?

Best

---

'It was very good of God to let Carlyle and Mrs Carlyle marry one another, and so make only two people miserable instead of four.'