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Epoc Digest Fri, 19 Jul 2002 Volume 01 : Number 033

Sent to: 455 subscribers

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Website : http://www.psioneering.co.uk/digest.html

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In today's Epoc Digest 32 messages:

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

- Re: Everybody gets what nobody wants

- S7/networking, CF data increasing, Mike's website.

- MP3, Petition?, Itamar's musings

- Mako and Phoneman

- Contacts to Sheet to Data

- Musings - What to do for a New PDA

- Travel Modem, WAP, Octets, my Freesurfaccount

- Freesurf in the UK?

- 2ksystems and Netscape Navigator

- netBook or 9210 / 6310i and Fax Data / Mako - Revo Usage / Collective Clout

- Psion, 2ConnectU, Nokia 9210, Facts, Petition, Importing DATA to Sheet,

- mp3 on Psion

- EPLAYM

- Re: Traveling to Italy

- MP3 on netBook

- "Musings" re the Nokia 9210 as replacement for Psion PDAs

- Re: Lothar Kammann

- re: 256MB CF

- Cal.vcs

- Re: Psion IR Travelmodems

- Psion MP3 player...

- Re: Musings...

- NETBOOK BATTERY SDK / LONELY NETBOOK

- Revo mod to get backlight.

- Re: Nokia 6310i and DECT modems

- Re: Ericsson T68

- Re: 56k Infrared Travel Modem

- Re: Lothar's loss

- Re: Cross-border SMS

- Re: Series 7 and wireless data cards

- Musings on the old and the new

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

Date: 16 Jul 2002 21:13:36 +0000

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Everybody gets what nobody wants

Dear Ashley,

Concerning "Everybody gets what nobody wants"

<< The recent demise of the Psion in PDA circles echoes familiar memories. We had the VHS video system that was not a good as Beta, and not a patch on Philips V2000 ... >>

VHS is a clear example of "what people want" getting through.

Sony and Philips had the idea that people would buy a video recorder to record television programs and create a personal archive of them. Reason why they concentrated on the quality of recording and accepted a somewhat higher price point for their recorders. It proved that people were far more interested in watching pre-recorded material, mostly movies. The quality of these is determined by the professional tape duplication machines. What made Betamax and V2000 technically better didn't translate into a benefit for the consumer.

Sony and Philips also had a different policy regarding pre-recorded material than JVC. The two companies promoted the release of more family orientated titles. JVC didn't care that much. Result was that the range of titles for V2000 and Betamax was limited to the more correct and inoffensive titles. While VHS had these as well plus the b-movies, horror and slasher titles, adult entertainment, etc. Owning a Betamax or V2000 recorder was no benefit to the consumer visiting the video rental shop.

Technology doesn't sell. Functionality that's of benefit to the consumer does.

<< So it seems inevitable that we will end up with the dominate product being the least customer friendly or desirable >>

People may desire driving a Jaguar but buy a Ford. Woman would love to wear Dior but buy Marks & Spencer. The iMac may be a design icon but many a wife or girlfriend doesn't want one in *their* homes.

Palm's success simply shows that the majority of people need a comparatively limited functionality in a small package. The idea that a Palm M130 isn't consumer friendly nor desirable is therefore rather elitist.

Kind regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 00:43:49 +0000

From: Trygve Henriksen

Subject: S7/networking, CF data increasing, Mike's website.

Greetings!

Owen wrote:

> To be happy for a night, get drunk;

> To be happy for a month, get married;

> To be happy for life, get a sailboat.

Trygve's addendum:

To be wet for a day, buy a kayak....

:-)

---

> Junaid Peracha wrote:

> does anyone out there know of a way to get my s7 to work with either a

> wireless network or a bluetooth phone.

Sorry...

The S7 only supports ATA FLASH type CF cards in the CF drawer, nothing else, and can only deliver about 450mA of power to the PCMCIA slot, which is far too little for networking cards.

I don't know if the S7 has the hardware to support FIR(4Mb/s Fast InfraRed) as the netBook, but if so, you could try to download the networking drivers from the Psion Teclogix site and install those. (You'll need a FIR receiver on your network, and the range isn't much)

alternatively, if you can get hold of the standard 32MB RAM module from a netBook(the one that's fitten when it's new), then replacing the module in your S7 with this module will allow it to load the netBook ROM image with the network drivers. (but still the same 450mA power limit)

As for Bluetooth...

Sorry, but no can do. You'll need REAL drivers for that, and unless Psion makes them...

(They have the technology, since according to rumours, they cancelled a Bluetooth enabled Revo right before launch...)

----

Jason Garbutt wrote:

> Finally - a question. I copied the 31MB of data from my old 32MB CF card

> to the new 64MB (61MB formatted) CF card and filled up 39MB of space.

> How is this possible ?

Simply put, it has to do with allocation size...

Allocation size is the smallest amount of space that can be allocated to a file in one go.

On a floppy disk it's 512Bytes, on small hard disks, it's 2KB, and doubling to 4, then to 8 and so on as the disks increase in size.

Usually, the file system won't allow more than 65535 (Take a look at the number in either HEX or binary)

So...

Given the large difference in size, i assume that you have mostly smaller files, and not many large files. (Quite typical in the Psion world :-)

What to do?

Well, using Psion's default formatting scheme won't do since it is ENORMOUSLY wasteful. (Picking larger allocation sizes than necessary)

The solution is to either use Atelier's Smart Format program (Part of their 'Essential Disk Utilities') or try to get someone with a PC to format it.

Sometimes digital cameras is also able to do a better format than the Psion...

------

Mike McConnell wrote:

> > http://www.mikemcc.net/.

> > I tried that site...

> > It's NOT Psion/GSM friendly!

> >The lefthand menu bar uses images for navigation, so I couldn't see

> > anything on it. (I don't >download pictures when surfing )

> >I think I've found what I need now, though.

> No it's not Psion friendly or Netscape friendly! Unfortunately the only way I

> can produce a website is with a program which does all the HTML for me,

> as I don't have the expertise to do it. I therefore have a choice - do it as it

> is or not at all. I feel that this way at least users of Internet Explorer can

> access it.

I could send you a few pointers...

And a copy of HTMLEdit...

As for navigation, can you at least add descriptions to the buttons?

(The ALT tag for images for html savvy people)

That way, anyone surfing without loading images should at least see the descriptions.

:-)

Trygve

Who's just back from a quick trip to Sweden.

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 02:12:03 +0000

From: Trygve Henriksen

Subject: MP3, Petition?, Itamar's musings

Greetings!

Kevin Thorne wrote:

> Playing Mp3 files on a Psion? Please tell us how you did this - I'd love to

> be able to play my collection on my S7 if possible.

Sorry, but I don't have the link to the download at the moment, but I do belive the programmers name is Zavorine, and that he's also the creator of assorted Font tools and other neat stuff.

> Reply to Vlad:

> Subject: Collective petition

> > should do our own market survey and try to persuade Psion to do a

> > policy U turn?

> > I guess we all dream of that. Collective petition, at least? :-)

> That's not such a bad idea methinks! There are over 400 subscribers to

> this digest and surely our collective clout must make some impression on

> Psion. What do others think? Worth a try, surely?

You're kidding?

It'll take a lot more than that for any company to redecide anything as expensive as this.

Lets say that all 453 on the list promises to buy the new machine, what then?

How many will buy it the moment it hits the stores?

I was among those who wrote to Psion when they considered limiting the netBook concept for the corporate market, but I couldn't afford one before a year after it actually hit the shelves. and how many of those who DID petition really ended up buying it?

Even if ALL 453 were to commit, it's not enough, particularly considering that we're probably going to buy it anyhow.

If you could get 450 previously devouted and well known Palm or WinCE owners to write in and demand it, then maybe...

----

Itamar was musing:

You know, the netBook will NEVER be able to run ER6 because it doesn't have the same hardware as the new machines. (The OS on an EPOC/Symbian design is VERY related to the underlying hardware)

They could overlay the new GUI but...

Personally, I prefer the good old one.

As for new machines...

There was some rumours about a new netBook to appear soon, this time with (Wireless?)LAN built-in. Given the fact that they've now decided to add the network drivers and also have an RF-Network diagnostic program(It was in the beta version that could be downloaded a short while), it may be possible that they're preparing to actually launch it.

If so, I'd expect that the standard netBook to fall in price soon...

(Resellers usually gets a warning so they can clear out old stock before the new model is introduced)

This would also explain why a Psion employee actually contacted me to get details about the faults in the 158 ROM build; because it's being prepped to go into the new machine...

Things like the Battery icon in the toolbar in OPL program being messed up and Chadis7 behaving erradically indicates that there's been major internal changes in parts of the OS.

:-)

Trygve

BTW:

I have a PalmPilot Professional, a Palm III and a Palm V, and you'd be surprised at how little changes there were between those machines...

(They added a IRDa port on the III and upgraded the memory from 1MB to 2MB, and on the V they've added the possibility to use a modem to call in to an ISP to read mail in addition to dumping the AAA cells for a built-in Li-ion battery.)

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 04:46:52 +0000

From: "Gary Y Reyes"

Subject: Mako and Phoneman

>Date: 12 Jul 2002 22:22:23 +0100

>From: "Owen H. Morgan" >Subject: Phoneman SMS messages never reach destination.

Owen,

I have been a Phoneman user for a long time starting with the S5 to now the Revo Plus - which is the Mako.

I have never had a problem with SMS messages from Phoneman on the Revo Plus. There were times when I would send the same message to about 30 numbers and the sending would stop after a few were sent out. But after retrying to send, it appears the problem was with the telco, not Phoneman or the Revo.

Your friend may want to check his settings on the Mako vis-a-vis the mobile phone he is using. This is where he may need to do some tweaking.

Phoneman has been a very good, reliable tool for me for SMS on the Revo Plus.

By the way, I use a Nokia 8310 with the 6210 patch of Phoneman installed.

Gary

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 05:25:15 +0000

From: "Gary Y Reyes"

Subject: Contacts to Sheet to Data

>Date: 15 Jul 2002 23:24:14 +0100

>From: "Owen H. Morgan" >Subject: Importing data to Sheet.

Had some experience in this area just this week.

I wanted to convert my Contacts in my Revo Plus into Epoc Data as I find Epoc Data more flexible than Contacts.

1. Convert Contacts to a text CSV file using Phoneman.

2. Bring the CSV file over to a PC via PsiWin.

3. Open Excel, go to Data/Get External Data/Import Text File and point to the CSV file.

4. Individual fields will now appear in dividual cells in Excel.

This should answer the query about converting Data to Sheet. (If you are already in Data, you can go to "File/More/Export as text file" to get the CSV file.)

As to moving information over to Epoc Data from Contacts:

5. Open the spreadsheet file and clean up the cells -- there will be columns without any data in them and there may be cells with quotation marks or apostrophes in them. Delete the empty columns, erase the unnecessary punctuation marks. 6. If you have records (1 record per row) with empty fields, you will need to fill in these empty fields/cells with a character (I used an "X") using the "Edit/Replace" command. Save the file.

7. Convert the contacts.xls spreadsheet into a CSV text file. For this, you can import the spreadsheet into Access then export as a text (CSV) file.

8. Transfer the new CSV file over to the Psion.

9. Create an Epoc Data file with the same fields as your original Contacts file and in the same order as the original Contacts fields.

10. Open the new Epoc Data file and import the CSV file.

Note: Step 6 was the only way I could find that kept the fields properly matched between the old Contacts file and the new Epoc Data file. Problem with the new file is the "empty" fields now all have "X's" in them. Anyone know a better way to do this?

Gary

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 05:34:14 +0000

From: "Gary Y Reyes"

Subject: Musings - What to do for a New PDA

>Date: 16 Jul 2002 15:27:23 +0100

>From: Itamar Engelsman >Subject: Musings

>Thinking about a new palmtop, the question is which direction to take. Do = >we stay with the "old" and buy a netBook, S7 or spare 5MX/Revo, or do we = >invest in the "new" and buy a Nokia 9210 (taking you want to stay with = >EPOC) ?

>Bye,

>Itamar Engelsman

>London, United Kingdom

I was in this quandry recently when my Revo Plus seemed to be going bad. Corrected it though with hard resets and charge/discharge cycles for the battery.

Using an integrated phone/palmtop like the 9210, for me, is not a good option:

1. the 9210 becomes too heavy for a mobile phone - specially when I compare it to the 8310 I now use, and

2. the 9210 screen and keys are too small for a palmtop.

A 9210 would probably be great if 90% of your use involves a palmtop linked to a mobile phone. But for those like me who uses either the palmtop or the mobile phone alone 95% of the time and only 5% of the time do I need them communicating, I will go with separated units.

So I ordered a spare Revo Plus - a Mako actually - and carry around my little 8310 that communicates very well with the Revo over HSCSD for email and for SMS (using Phoneman).

Gary

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 08:14:15 +0000

From: "Thomas F. VAN DER ZIJDEN"

Subject: Travel Modem, WAP, Octets, my Freesurfaccount

Hi group,

I noticed some problems about my newly purchased IR Travel Modem. Thanks to the help of Itamar, Mike, Jack and some fellow members of Symbian.info I figured out what the problem was. The modem disconnects whenever my Psion needs to start up a programme from CF or whenever Opera has to read a 'heavy' page (unfortunately, nearly _all_ modern pages are heavy for Opera...). It seems that it is not the modem which is faulty, but my Psion. Whenever it needs its attention for other purposes, it forgets to keep the modem happy with ongoing IR signals. The modem then disconnects. I noticed my Nokia 7110 does almost the same thing in the same circumstances. It does not drop the data line, but it looses IR contact with the 5mx. The 'solution' is simple: I start up all programmes I need before making the connection (sometimes hard due to memory restraints) and do not use Opera for 'heavy' pages. To my surprise even Web is more modem-friendly!

Another option would be to carry the old external modem with me, which does not have this problem (strange - doesn't a serial connection need continuous handshaking?). This is just too much holiday luggage!

It is also interesting to see that a fellow Dutch member did report problems with EPOCSync losing IR contact if things get to hard for his 5mx. Another 'prove' to my theory of the 5mx having problems with IR.

About WAP:

Not so long ago I inquired for a WAP gateway, but I couldn't get the WAP gateways you mentioned to work on my 5mx's WAP browser. Jack provided me with one which works with all ISP's, even when I connect to my PC and use my PC's network with Mocha PPP. I cannot remember if you mentioned it before, but here it is.

It's 160.92.122.122 and it comes also with its own dialup number in France if necessary. Further information:

Telephone number: +33170917102

User name: wapfr

Password: atos

homepage: wap.wapfr.net (also www.wapfr.net exists on the real web) supports both analogue and ISDN connections.

Epocdigest écrit:

>Well , it is official in the entire EEA but you are right that it was the >French ( with the Spanish and Italian ) that pressed that forward As for >the correct spelling and abbreviation , here goes : <SNIP>

Most interesting! I have always preferred the word 'octets', but I thought

that it was only in France. I stumbled upon my little brother's new digital

camera: "Now sports 128 Mbits of memory!". Yup, 16Mo. And it also said:

2.3M digital resolution! You guessed it... I don't now its exact amount of

horizontal and vertical number of pixels, but the multiplication amounted

up to only 1.3M ! Someone at that P.R. department was much too enthusiast!!

> Yes , I am (Dutch - TZ) ,but why do you have a Webpage and mail address in France ?

Two years ago I went on holiday for France and I arranged a French web

account. I needed my daily UPS5D fix-up ;-)

In those days, the University regularly screwed up its e-mail facilities

and during my holiday it experienced a major crash. I decided to stay with

Freesurf for my mail. I use Free.fr for my mobile connections. I now

regularly travel between France and The Netherlands, so it's very

practical. Let's hope it will stay a free provider...

> k

Yours truly,

Thomas van der Zijden

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 08:33:02 +0000

From: "Thomas F. VAN DER ZIJDEN"

Subject: Freesurf in the UK?

Hello group,

Freesurf FR claims that the exact same settings also work in the UK for local tariff, because Freesurf subscribers automatically have an account for FreeUK. Has anybody actually tried this out?

If not, would someone from Britain want to try this out by getting a free account with Freesurf at www.freesurf.fr ? I am willing to help if you have trouble with the French language, of course.

I am very tempted by the local tariff, but Freesurf's number starts with 0866 and AFAIK those numbers do not even exist in the UK!

Wanadoo Belgique also claims they have the same deal with The Netherlands, but it failed to work for me and I mailed support. They said that it is now a _paid_ service! Ha! In that case, just open up a free Wanadoo NL account! That's why I want to know if Freesurf's claim is still true.

Yours truly,

Thomas van der Zijden

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 10:47:39 +0000

From: Philip S. Adkins Potter

Subject: 2ksystems and Netscape Navigator

Hi,

2ConnectU

I'd forgotten about 2ConnectU until Rolf reminded me. When I last tried to find the website I couldn't find it. It showed on Google but still wasn't accessible. The address Rolf gave was one of many I tried.

I tried again just now and the address Rolf gave didn't work (not his fault, the address seems to change). The address that did work was <http://www.x-soft.cz> (I just downloaded 2ConnectU from there) which I found using Google. If it makes connection to my Mac easier it'll be worth buying. The website's in foreign (Czech probably) so navigating might not be easy.

Netscape Navigator

On my Mac (this is Psion-related, honest) Netscape Navigator 4.78 won't access <http://www.psioneering.co.uk/digest.html>, the home page for this digest. It is redirected to what appears to be a Micros**t "The page cannot be found" page.

The page IS in the history list but any and every attempt to access it leads to the error page.

Netscape don't seem to have any eMail addresses that are read by people (I've noticed they're not alone) so I don't think they know about this fault. It's probably too late for Netscape to address it but they should be told.

I can reach the page using iCab on my Mac and Opera and Web on the 5mx so the disease isn't life-threatening.

Good luck,

Phil.

"A touchstone to determine the actual worth of an intellectual -

find out how he feels about astrology."

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 11:16:17 +0000

From: "AndyHayes"

Subject: netBook or 9210 / 6310i and Fax Data / Mako - Revo Usage / Collective Clout

Hi All

Itamar's Musings made interesting reading. I am looking on it from the slant of someone who regularly uses a Win2K laptop (for work, email and surfing) and a netBook for most other things. I am in the fortunate position of having a Mako and MC218 as well, but the fact of the matter is that the latter two only come out of their cases for "emergencies", for playing with and to be charged.

From my previous mutterings, you will all be aware that my phone contract has recently come to an end and that I have replaced my phone. I looked at the 9210 and liked it, but rejected it. Yes, it might be nice to have a one-box solution, but I have suffered many phone failures. My Ericsson T28 failed four times in one year. Only once due to my negligence, when I dropped it on the ground and snapped off the flip cover. My phone is of the utmost importance to me. It is the way that my users contact me. I also need the functionality of the data and fax capability. When your phone breaks down, there is inevitability that you have to jump through hoops getting someone to accept that it is faulty. Then you have to get it to a place where it can be collected. Then you have to go back to that place when the new phone has arrived and collect that phone, then stream the data back onto it. You might be "lucky" enough to get offered a temporary replacement whilst awaiting for your phone to come back. It will probably be one of the "toy" Nokias with covers to match your mood. You will probably have to fill out a ream of paperwork and have to pay a deposit for this pleasure. For someone who has a little wife at home or always work in the same office this system might be OK. For me it isn't, I just don't fit into that mould.

Getting the data back onto your new phone is no drama with apps like Phoneman Pro, but with a 9210 it will inevitably take longer, especially as it is likely that you will have up to a 128mb card in it.

The screen size argument is the one that really does it for me. Going from a 5x to a 9210 is a step forward in screen viewing. That awful murky green thing gives way to a colourful alternative; wonderful. I will never forget the day that I opened up the netBook for the first time. The screen looked like it had come from a different world compared to the MC218 that I had been using before. Of course the pocketability had been lost, something that I still miss, but it is a fantastic device to use indoors.

I can take on board your hesitation Itamar about buying e netBook if there is going to be no, or little further advancement to the platform. I need to do my accounts at the moment. I want to put each month on a separate page in Sheet with calculations on each page referring to figures on previous pages. ER5 does not allow me to do this. No plug-in is available. There are no alternative applications. ER6 would offer me multi page Sheet files (thanks Rolf!). The thing that you have got to consider though is the durability of the platform compared to say a WinPC.

At work I would like to run DOS 6.2 on a low spec PC, but colleagues will send me files that I can only open in Windoze. I can't just upgrade to Win95 because the spec of the PC is too low. So I upgrade the PC and install Win95 and an old copy of Office 4.2 that I have found lying around. Someone sends me a copy of a document written in an app in Office XP and the chances are that I can't open it, so the upgrade cycle starts all over again. The smart-arses will say that if I had got the users to send it as a text file I would have been able to read it on the DOS box. I know this, but my users have got no idea and no interest in learning how to save an item as a text file.

Ignoring the 9210 for the moment, as it is not manufactured by Psion, there have only really been three changes in Psions since the clamshell design was settled upon. SIBO, ER3 and ER5. This is over many years. Many people are still happily using series 3x Psions and the prices that they still command in the auctions are extremely impressive. The problem is that we all get sucked into upgrade mode when there is absolutely no need for it. I bought my netBook because I wanted to look at a bigger screen that produced colour. I can happily transfer files between the MC218 and the netBook and vice versa. Every app on the MC218 will run on the netBook. Every app on the netBook that has been specifically written for that screen size has an alternative version for the MC218. With the exception of multi-page Sheet files, the netBook does 99% of what I want. Why would I want to change to another platform? If my netBook was driven over by a bus tomorrow I would immediately replace it with another netBook.

A lot of users approach me at work for IT advice and their questions always follow the same route. "I am thinking of upgrading my PC at home", they say. My reply is always the same, "does it do what you want it to do". In all but a very few cases the answer has been yes. My reply is always the same, "leave it alone". The thing with the EPOC platform is that it works, it is robust, it rarely crashes or locks up. It has hardware failings that we have to live with, but otherwise it is OK. It is rare in this world for any multifunction devices to work as well as separate items. My plan is to stick with EPOC through thick and thin and not to try to overcomplicate matters or become reliant on one box.

*****

I picked up the 6310i yesterday. It's a lovely phone, but beware, T-Mobile charge a 35ukp one-off charge for issuing fax and data numbers. No sign of the headset as yet. The Manager quoted such a low price to me that she will lose money on it if she sells it to me at what she has agreed, so she is busily looking around for another supplier.

*****

The continuing stories about problems with charging Revo/Mako batteries proves what I have always thought was the case. This type of device only suits those that tend to use it every day. As soon as people put them away in cupboards, or don't take them on holiday with them they have a tendency to fail. As long as you didn't have rechargables in a 5x you could leave them plugged into the mains safely and the battery levels didn't drop.

*****

I fear that we are insignificant to Psion, but then we are only 400. If they brought out a device costing 500ukp and we all went out and bought one they would only earn 20,000ukp. Ignoring us makes perfect business sense. (but just in case anyone is listening from Psion, can I have ER6 on my netBook please!?)

*****

The end of my rambling is nigh!

Andy Hayes

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 13:38:07 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: Psion, 2ConnectU, Nokia 9210, Facts, Petition, Importing DATA to Sheet,

Answer to: Lothar Kammann

Re. Symphaty - Sorry to hear about your father passing away. These are difficult times for you and i wish you all the best, strength and only happiness in your life.

Answer to: Rolf Brunsting

Re. Psion - Thanks for the details. I just wonder what a Psion Company without products is left with but their share in Symbian ? I don't see the netBook being further developed, nor any market awareness of this product, while the netpad is a very specialised product. Will we soon see the disappearance of Psion altogether ? On the other hand, how do we explain the apparent strength in sales of the 5MX that they decided to produce more ?

Re. 2ConnectU - Sorry but the quoted website gives "host not found".

Re. Nokia 9210 - I don't expect the 9210 to be an exact replica or replacement of the 5MX. The question is whether or not it will replace the majority of functions we use our 5MX for, give some added value and new functions and taking away some others. For example very nice to be able to save a WORD file straight in MS format to send to someone else, even if with little formatting. Multiple sheets is helpful too as well as saving it straight into Excel too. The keyboard is worse, no doubt, but the screen better. Could it replace a 5MX ? Maybe the next version when it comes out ? Different make ?

Re. Facts - I think a lot of facts are interpreted by different people in different ways. It might not change "the fact" but is seen differently by different people.

Answer to: Kevin Thorne

Re. Petition - I don't think it will have any influence on Psion, what are 400 enthusiastic users in the world of today ? But, if someone will organise it you will get my vote.

Answer to: Owen H. Morgan

Re. Importing DATA to Sheet - Sometimes I don't answer messages as i expect others to answer too and don't want to unnecessarily blow up the digest with multiple answers. In this case I did not know the answer ... <G>.

"Money will not buy happiness, but it will let you be unhappy in nice places" maybe this should read "... but it will make it a lot easier being unhappy".

Bye,

Itamar Engelsman

London, United Kingdom

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 14:55:31 +0000

From: Astrid Stappenbeck

Subject: mp3 on Psion

mp3 on Psion

For all who want to play an mp3 file on a psion there is a program called EplayM: "Alexander Zavorine has produced EPlayM. This is the first and possible the only MP3 player designed for EPOC ER5 machines. The current version is 1.12 and is an easy to use application. There's no thrill just an easy to use, user interface the application it's self is quite small and works on all ER5 machines. The only downside is that When you play certain MP3 files(mp3's above 22,000hz)on any machine smaller than the series 7 that it has problems. But hopefully Alex will resolve this problem in future versions." This is from Andy Moorehouse's psion pages where you can download it. http://www.btinternet.com/~andrew.moorehouse/downloads_and_reviews.html

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

Date: 17 Jul 2002 15:14:12 +0000

From: Astrid Stappenbeck

Subject: EPLAYM

eplaym

The link in my first posting has an older version of eplaym for download. (since this is an English language digest I tried to give a link to an English site, the homepage was not accesible and so I took the first that came up in google) A new version 2.03 is available here: http://www.psionpage.ch/Software/Software_diverse.htm Psionpage is one of the best download sites anyway (but in German)

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 17:34:28 +0000

From: "Hoffman, Susan"

Subject: Re: Traveling to Italy

OK, so this is not a pure Psion posting. In the interest of using up some of our frequent flyer miles before USAir goes bust, we have arranged to travel to Italy over Christmas week (22d to the 30th). Our first experience with the Euro. Some questions-- My son has a GPS phone. Is there an inexpensive service that will let us use his phone with an Italian SIMM card while we are there? Anyone have any ideas about things to do in Rome (or Florence) on Christmas day (other than go to church)? We are looking at a rental apartment in Rome called Apartment Navona. Anyone know anything about it? Is it safe to assume that my US ATM card will work in Italy (it's only been 20 years since we have been there)? Any Psioneers in Rome have teenagers interested in meeting an alienated 17-year-old American <g>?

-- and one Psion comment. In response to one of my previous questions, one reader sent me an off-line suggestion that if I ran my adapter cord through a paper clip taped under my desk, I would stop knocking my 5mx off my desk by hooking the cord with my knee. This method works.

Susan Katz Hoffman

Pepper Hamilton LLP--------------

3000 Two Logan Square

18th & Arch Streets

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Tel: 215-981-4990

Fax: 215-981-4750

e-mail: hoffmans

web address: www.pepperlaw.com

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 19:19:42 +0000

From: "Tony Cabot"

Subject: MP3 on netBook

Kevin,

Go to: http://www.geocities.com/zavorine/epoc/index.htm I have been using this program on my netBook with success. The sound quality with the tiny speaker is not great, and even at the recommended recording rates of "encode files for the only purpose of playing them with EPlayM, you should make them mono, with 8kHz sample rate, and 56-96kbps bitrate." there are occasional clicks, rather like an LP record.

Tony

*****Original Message*****

Date: 15 Jul 2002 22:37:38 +0100

From: Kevin Thorne

Subject: Mp3 on netBook, petition to Psion

Reply to Trygve Henriksen

Subject: Mp3 on netBook

<For the really obstinate, I have a few .MP3 files(ripped from CD's that I own), so can dampen their enthusiasm a little...

The netBook even have enough spare processing power that I can work in Word or Sheet, or even translate in the OPL editor, without noticeable problems while it plays .MP3 files. (I loose the keyklicks, but that I can live

with)>

Playing Mp3 files on a Psion? Please tell us how you did this - I'd love to be able to play my collection on my S7 if possible.

Reply to Vlad:

Subject: Collective petition

> should do our own market survey and try to persuade Psion to do a policy U > turn?

I guess we all dream of that. Collective petition, at least? :-) *********

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 19:19:42 +0000

From: "Tony Cabot"

Subject: MP3 on netBook

Kevin,

Tony

*****Original Message*****

Date: 15 Jul 2002 22:37:38 +0100

From: Kevin Thorne

Subject: Mp3 on netBook, petition to Psion

Reply to Trygve Henriksen

Subject: Mp3 on netBook

<For the really obstinate, I have a few .MP3 files(ripped from CD's that I own), so can dampen their enthusiasm a little...

with)>

Playing Mp3 files on a Psion? Please tell us how you did this - I'd love to be able to play my collection on my S7 if possible.

Reply to Vlad:

Subject: Collective petition

> should do our own market survey and try to persuade Psion to do a policy U > turn?

I guess we all dream of that. Collective petition, at least? :-) *********

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 20:01:49 +0000

From: "David Owens"

Subject: "Musings" re the Nokia 9210 as replacement for Psion PDAs

Dear Itamar

I was very interested in your note "Musings" re the Nokia 9210 as replacement for Psion PDAs

"Thinking about a new palmtop, the question is which direction to take. Do we stay with the "old" and buy a netBook, S7 or spare 5MX/Revo, or do we invest in the "new" and buy a Nokia 9210 (taking you want to stay with EPOC) ? ................................... But still interested as always in hearing your arguments <G>."

You mentioned that the TomTom City planner runs on the Nokia but can you also connect a GPS unit? My 5mx + GPS unit took me along a complicated city route today without any hassle at all. It is not a capability I need that often but I really would not want to be without it now.

Best regards

David

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 22:25:00 +0000

From: ALYG

(Andrew Longdon)

Subject: Re: Lothar Kammann

Lothar, I'm sorry to hear about your father - mine's been gone 11 years now - he was 58.

,\ndy

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 22:32:49 +0000

From: "Edgar Brazda Ph.D."

Subject: re: 256MB CF

>Does anyone have experience in using such large cards in the Psion?

>Can the S5mx and S7 handle a CF this size?

I've been using a practically no-name "I-O Data" 256 MB for 9 months in my netBook without any problem, and a Samsung 256 MB in my Oly2500L camera sometimes putting it into the right hand slot (where a 8MB VGA adapter card resides normally) for fast picture transfer.

My usually cynic IT man says : the badge is the only difference in the CF cards.

Edgar, Budapest

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 23:20:11 +0000

From: Kevin Thorne

Subject: Cal.vcs

As I get to grips with my 9210 Communicator I find annoyingly that there is no longer a "print to file" option on my Calendar file (the 5mx did have this option in Agenda). However, there is the option to send entries as an email within a Cal.vcs attachment. Is this .vcs file something that a PC can import to its own agenda software or even perhaps directly open to read the entries within it? I need to send appointments information by email to my office.

Regards

Kevin Thorne

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Date: 17 Jul 2002 23:44:28 +0000

From: us

Subject: Re: Psion IR Travelmodems

Thankyou Itamar for that tip. I've been wanting one for a while but my local PC World's £130 was just too steep. So I had a nice trip out with my wife - including visiting Ikea and a rather nice pub meal! I bought 2 while I was there, so if any of you want a Psion 56K Travel Modem with GSM, boxed, unopened, complete with PCWorld receipt :-) I'll post the spare to anyone who wants to send me £20 plus the cost of a stamp. Contact me offlist.

Simon

Itamar Engelsman wrote:

The PC World at Staples Corner, North West London, has got abt. 8 of these modems in their bargain corner at a price of Gbp 19.99. Some ar the GSM modem, others without GSM, both at the same price. If you live or are in the neighbourhood, certainly worthwhile to pass by.

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 01:35:10 +0000

From: "Mike Fellhauer"

Subject: Psion MP3 player...

>From: Kevin Thorne >Subject: Mp3 on netBook, petition to Psion

>Playing Mp3 files on a Psion? Please tell us how you did this - I'd love >to be able to play my collection on my S7 if possible.

There's probably 100 replies already on the list, and maybe 100 more after I post this, but just to make sure it gets on, download EPlayM which can play MP3 files on any EPOC Psion (including the Revo) at:

http://www.geocities.com/zavorine/epoc/mp3.htm

Mike

Secretary of the Psion Enthusiasts Association of Toronto

http://www.phaedrav.com/peat/

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 01:49:26 +0000

From: "Mike Fellhauer"

Subject: Re: Musings...

>Date: 16 Jul 2002 15:27:23 +0100

>From: Itamar Engelsman >Subject: Musings

>Thinking about a new palmtop, the question is which direction to take. Do >we stay with the "old" and buy a netBook, S7 or spare 5MX/Revo, or do we >invest in the "new" and buy a Nokia 9210 (taking you want to stay with >EPOC) ?

Well, I have no use for a cellphone, I don't go online with my current Psions, and the 9290 isn't powerful enough for what I'd really like to do with it (needs twice the memory, and a touchscreen). I'd like another option like a colour handheld Psion, like the Revo Communicator that was being worked on (but again, ditch the cellphone part). I'd have to say the 7 or the netBook (IF I ever won the lottery). Most likely though my next machine will be the Alphasmart Dana (yes, it's Palm based, but it would replace my TRS80 Model 100 which I still use). For now, I'll be sticking with my Revo and Mako.

Mike Fellhauer

Secretary of the Psion Enthusiasts Association of Toronto

http://www.phaedrav.com/peat/

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 14:02:29 +0000

From: Peter Keene

Subject: NETBOOK BATTERY SDK / LONELY NETBOOK

Hi Guys,

For those who are interested in such things:

There is now a battery SDK for the netBook available for download from the Teklogix website.

For Itamar re lonely netBook:

You seem to have forgotten about the netpad Itamar - Teklogix consider them to be in the same family.

As to 9210 vs netBook, as you say, there are arguments both ways. I have used the netBook as my main computer for two and a half years now. I have written novels on it, company reports, managed projects with Plan 6 and ProjXpert, managed my budget and business finances with Sheet, done concept-weapon designs with Sketch, managed my time and my contacts, billed clients, researched on the internet and corresponded with wonderful people all over the world. I have even recorded my wife snoring. I once worked four straight hours during an intercontinental flight and didn't have to chew my nails about how much battery was left.

The machine has been attacked by a cat, sat on by my son and dropped by me. It's still purring.

Could I have done all of that on the 9210? Probably, but I once wrote a novel on an S3a (similar-sized keyboard) and I wouldn't do that again in a hurry.

As to development of the netBook, I'm not sure where else Teklogix could go with it. It's near perfect. Obviously they have to panel-beat the bugs out of Build 158 and I suppose they could make it multi-media, but I don't need that.

Early in 2000 I went to buy an SSD card for my S3a and walked out with a netBook. Oh happy day!

Regards,

Peter

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 19:13:33 +0000

From: Emil Granström

Subject: Revo mod to get backlight.

Hi.

First just a short notice to Itamar and crew to keep the digest going: Thanks !

A bit sad that we have to keep of the Scalectrix topics though, if you remember that one, it was back in section 23(?) on Compuserve :-)

Anyway, is anyone planning or already have made the mods for a Revo with backlight accordning to: http://www.chasenrecordings.com/

It looks interesting to me but tht pictures on the site arent that good. /Emil

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 21:14:20 +0000

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Nokia 6310i and DECT modems

Dear Andy,

Concerning the Nokia 6310i and DECT modems

<< Anyone on the list contemplating a 6310 might like to buy the 6310i instead and benefit from triband and java. The latter is going to become useful, but for the life of me I can't remember why! >>

The 6310i's support for 1900 MHz GSM is only interesting when you're a regular business visitor to North America. Roaming on the North American GSM networks is rather costly.

As for Java - Games, dear boy, Games!! From the 6310i specification as published by Nokia on its web site:

[Quote]

Games

- Snake II

- Space Impact

- Bumper

- 1 Pre-downloaded user changeable Java game

Phone Features

...

- Downloadable personal applications via Java(tm) technology

- Support of Java applications download via WAP

...

[Unquote]

<< I am buying the Motorola bluetooth headset at the same time >>

Note that you won't be able to use voice-dialling via the Motorola headset. That's only possible with Nokia's own HDW-1 Bluetooth headset as far as I know. I'm waiting for the HDW-1 to arrive in the shops because of (a) the voice-dialling feature and (b) that it's much less obtrusive than the other Bluetooth headsets (Ericsson, Motorola, Plantronics, etc.)

<< Has anyone noticed the BT DECT modems in the shop? One less wire trailing from the PC. It can only be a good thing! >>

Have a good look at their data throughput figures as I understand data via DECT isn't something to write home about.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 21:14:24 +0000

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Ericsson T68

Dear Brian,

Concerning the Ericsson T68 and Series 7

<< I should be most grateful if a fellow digester could send me off-digest a reminder of the settings for using my recently acquired Ericsson T68 with my trusted S7 >>

Do you need the settings for a GSM or a GPRS connection? In case of GPRS, what's the mobile network you're using?

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 21:14:28 +0000

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: 56k Infrared Travel Modem

Dear Itamar,

Concerning the 56k Infrared Travel Modem

<< i find now that when I put the modem near my 5MX and cover the IR eyes with a piece of paper it increases the reliabillity considerably, hardly failing on me anymore >>

I use the Travel Modem with my Series 5, Series 5mx, Revo and Ericsson MC218. The only combination that can be temperamental is that of Series 5 plus Travel Modem. The problems I get with the others are all due to low batteries. Either the batteries of the modem of those of the Psion/Ericsson.

Note that I have installed the Mobile Connectivity Update 1.1 on my 5mx. I understand that this is all but mandatory for the 5mx. I have installed the so-called GPRS update on the MC218. This identifies itself in the Add/remove tool (Control Panel) as the Mobile Connectivity Update 2.0. Might be a good idea to install it on your 5mx and see whether it improves your Travel Modem experience.

A note to Series 7 owners - The GPRS update (MobileGPRSUpdate.SIS) appears not to work with the Series 7.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 21:14:31 +0000

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Lothar's loss

Dear Lothar,

<< My father died abroad in RSA (South-Africa) at the age of 79 >>

My concolences to you and your family.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 21:14:34 +0000

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Cross-border SMS

Dear Vlad,

Concerning SMS transmission failures

<< Afaik: this has nothing to do w. PhoneMan. Since April there are some conflicts between mobile-providers, it seems, about sms-protocols across Europe/the world (explanation from my provider in Germany). It is the "fault" of the receiving network they say. So you send an SMS and you pay for sending, but they are never received which, it seems, cannot be checked because protocols have become incompatible according to I don't understand which EU regulation >>

This is a very strange story as I'm not aware of any EC directive that would make it mandatory for the SMS exchange protocol to be modified or for functions to be switched off. And I do follow developments in mobile telephony and data communications quite closely. It would also go against EC directives on fair competition and consumer protection.

I think it's more likely that a cross-border SMS transfer doesn't succeed because there's no billing arrangement between the two network operators. After all, an SMS sent from a phone on the Ben network in the Netherlands to a UK phone on the Vodafone network uses Vodafone UK's facilities. So that Vodafone will charge Ben a usage fee. However, the SMS message will be rejected by Vodafone when there's no billing arrangement between Vodafone and Ben. With Ben giving message back to the user that the SMS is undeliverable.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 21:14:38 +0000

From: Rolf Brunsting

Subject: Re: Series 7 and wireless data cards

Dear Junaid,

<< Does anyone out there know of a way to get my s7 to work with either a wireless network or a bluetooth phone >>

Difficult to answer as:

A) Wireless CF cards don't fit the Series 7's CF bay as there's no space for the antenna.

B) The PC-Card slot of the Series 7 doesn't supply as much current as that of the netBook. This effectively excludes the use of wireless LAN cards. A Bluetooth card might work because of the lower range of Bluetooth compared to 802.11b wireless LAN.

C) Which brings us to the driver support for Bluetooth PC-Cards. That is, a Bluetooth network driver as well as a card specific driver. I'm not aware of the existence of any such drivers.

D) The are Ethernet drivers that support cards like the Cisco Aironet 340 PC-Card but then we're back at (b) again.

In other words, the answer will be in finding a low power 802.11b wireless LAN card (PC-Card or CF card in a CF to PC-Card adapter) that doesn't tax the Series 7's PC-Card slot and is compatible with the existing Ethernet drivers. a 'nice' job as it will mean trial and error.

Kind Regards,

Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands

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Date: 18 Jul 2002 21:24:38 +0000

From: Kevin Thorne

Subject: Musings on the old and the new

Reply to Itamar Engelsman:

<Re. Modem - Yes, but the cost of connecting via the slower Nokia is considerably higher .... ! i find now that when I put the modem near my 5MX and cover the IR eyes with a piece of paper it increases the reliabillity considerably, hardly failing on me anymore. But, I use it only for emailing, not for web surfing for which I don't use the Psion at all.>

I'll try that tip of covering the IR ports and see if this improves things - I've tried every other possibility already! True, the 9600bps GSM connection speed is slower on the Nokia (but I do use contract inclusive minutes so it's not too expensive) but I find this is much prefereable to a continuously stopped or interrupted connection.

My problem exactly! Although the Nokia 9210 is growing on me I still find it more limiting than my old 5mx/8210 combination for computing power. However, the upside is the greater convenience and this is not to be underestimated. I am surprised at just how much easier the Nokia makes the road warrior's life. When I hark back a mere 5 years I was then using a Psion 3c, a data card adaptor, PC card modem, cables plus a Nokia "banana" phone - now all this technology and more is housed in something just a little bigger than a Revo. Personally I'm inclined to invest in the new as any product having the clout of Nokia behind it (as well as the 9210 being a very good seller anyway) will have a good chance of enjoying continued development. Indeed, the 9210 already enjoys fairly regular firmware upgrades (unfortunately these can only be carried out at official service centres) and there is an upgraded 9210i due out soon (more flash memory, better browser, more apps built-in, MMC lock etc). Such a shame Nokia didn't take the step of giving more RAM though as 16Mb would make the world of difference for multitasking :-( If you do decide to get one, be warned - go back to your 5mx after using the Nokia for two weeks and I'll guarantee you'll notice two things that stand out on the 5mx - the keyboard is still the best around but the screen really is a gloomy green duckpond compared to the new 4096 colour TFT pretender. Unfortunately I've been wooed by the gorgeous screen and can't go back to my faithful 5mx because I've been spoilt rotten by it! Oh well, it gave me three years of faithful service.

Regards

Kevin Thorne

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