Epocdigest V1 # 321

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Epoc Digest Mon, 18 Aug 2003 Volume 01 : Number 321

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Sent to: 805 subscribers

In today's Epoc Digest 16 messages:

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

- Digest business

- 9290 contacts

- Recharging the Revo's Battery

- Re: What I Want

- Re: EPOC DIGEST V1 # 320 (4) : Various Rolf B posts : 3

- Can't Resist An OT

- NetBook Pro, Minority of Two!, Psion & T610, Psion replacement?, Iconpatcher,

- Remapping Data - the last! (promised)

- making a list of spellchecker's wordbase

- Re: Sony UX-50 vs. Sharp C760 (as Psion replacement)

- Re: Word

- netbook to iBook

- Opera save, Word

- Re:3g uk

- Re: Psion replacement?

- Minoroty Report

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 21:58:44 +0000

Subject: Digest business

PERM. FATAL ERROR

For several weeks, we have been unable to send digests to the above accounts resulting in the digests being returned. We have had no choice but to discontinue your subscriptions because returned digests take up alot of space in the mailbox. Hopefully, you are able to read this from another source and re-subscribe with another address.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Best regards,

Dick Chatjaval

Epoc Digest Team

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 23:10:34 +0000

From: ashoni

Subject: 9290 contacts

does anyone know how to move contacts or a subgroup to the D: drive & if so is it possible to still synchronise with outlook.

Thx

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

Date: 16 Aug 2003 18:37:35 +0000

From: Edward J. Curtis, Jr.

Subject: Recharging the Revo's Battery

Chris Handley wrote, in response to a comment by Itamar, that I cannot recharge my Revo when it reaches 65%. That's not right. I can recharge the Revo anytime. However, I've read that the Revo's batteries only have a life of 300 charges or so, so it doesn't make sense to recharge every day. I prefer to let the battery discharge to 15% or so, or even lower, but if I need to charge before then, I can charge up without any problems. In fact, I did it yesterday, when the Revo was around 23%. I've been reading novels on the Revo so it's been discharging faster than usual.

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

Date: 16 Aug 2003 19:10:48 +0000

From: Jaan Sass

Subject: Re: What I Want

I use to think the same way when I owned a Diamond Mako (Psion revo marketed in the United States) then I purchased a Psion 7. It does a Psion 5mx with a bigger screen and less cable problems. The screen is color and keyboard is bigger making it more usable. Yes the machine is bigger but more capable and I carry it everywhere including the washroom. I use it for all my PC tasks at home including internet banking and e-mail. I have looke at the netbook and will eventually buy one as a back up machine probably next year off of e-bay. Like you I love the programs available the simplicity of use and epoc word and sheet. I use the data program often for casenotes and job development notes. ( I am a job developer coach and work with people with disabilities). I use my machine in tandem with my PC at work and synch with novell. My favorite program is mobipocket.

> Keith,

> Just wanted to let you know that you're not in a

> minority of 1. There are at least two of us.

> I use my 5mx for the same reasons as you. Connectivity

> is limited to beaming files to an iPAQ and I'm happy to

> occasionally be out of touch with the rest of the world.

> I can take the 5mx wherever I like, around the house or

> on the road, and still have the ability to write

> documents, OPL programs, spreadsheets etc. I don't know

> of any other device that is as portable but still has a

> usable keyboard. Add to that the stability and

> simplicity that is EPOC and I'd be lost without my

> Psion.

> Thanks,

> Russell

> Date: 11 Aug 2003 15:47:48 +0000

> From: Keith Giles

> Subject: What I Want

> ...

> I think I'm a minority of 1 because all I want is a

> small machine with a usable keyboard, word processor,

> spreadsheet, database, cheap replaceable alkaline

> batteries ...

Bye bye

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

Date: 16 Aug 2003 21:15:36 +0000

From: Arent Kits van Heijningen

Subject: Re: EPOC DIGEST V1 # 320 (4) : Various Rolf B posts : 3

on 16 Aug 2003 10:10:49 +0000

Chris S Handley wrote about:

Various Rolf B posts

>>It would be quite impressive if the Dana could store (say) many megabytes of 8-bit ascii text in far smaller size than a Psion7 (or any other computer for that matter)!<<

Palm does save text as text , but adds some binary information to the file for its internal housekeeping and for formatting , styling , etc

>>BTW, I feel EPOC is midway between the basic slim-line design of Palm OS and the huge desktop-copycat Microsoft PDA OSes, and thus it is only EPOC that is really suitable for small form-factor devices that you need to use for more than just PIM.<<

You hit the nail squarely on its head here , Palm is ( was ) small , *.CE is humonguous by comparison ( the bootloader/device manager alone in a SHARP SL-C7*0 occupies more flash space than the entire Dana romimage ! , the compressed OS image weighs in at close to 30 megabyte , compare that to the 8 megs or so of a 5mxpro or netbook image ) and even then it is considered a distant second to the Psion or a Symbian - powered phone in the Pim department Issue here is that the *.CE environments mimick a desktop ( or tries to do so ) hence its relative girth , but you get a much ( ahem ) richer experienceas a reward

But the increase in functionality in PalmOS from 4.1.2 and above also comes at the cost of increased CPU and memory resource requirements

And this is likely to happen in Symbian OS as well

on 16 Aug 2003 05:04:07 +0000

Mark Deppe wrote about:

Subject: 3

>> Is anyone here using the new mobile phone network (3)? If so how is it going and does your psion work with the limited selection of handsets they offer?<<

The 6650 from Nokia ( embedded Symbian 6.1 , can only load and run J2ME applications , no native ones ) should work , it is dual-band/dual-mode TDMA ( 900/1800 GSM/GPRS )/ WCDMA

with IRDA and Bluetooth

Sony UX 40/ UX50 :

( FROM Brighthand.com )

New Details on Sony's UX50 and UX40

By Ed Hardy | Editor-in-Chief

August 15th, 2003

Last month, Sony unveiled two new handhelds, the PEG-UX50 and

PEG-UX40. These will use a clamshell shape with a built-in keyboard and

have 480-by-320 pixel screens. They will also include a digital camera. In

addition, the UX50 will have integrated Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless

networking capabilities, while the UX40 will include just Bluetooth.

Though not expected in the U.S. until early next month, these models are now

available in Japan and therefore new information is available about them.

Memory

One of the more unusual features of the UX series is the arrangement of its

memory. In addition to its 16 MB of RAM, these models offer 29 MB of

additional storage that Sony calls Internal Media. This acts like an internal

Memory Stick. Japanese users have confirmed that the devices' camera and

voice recorder can save files directly to the Internal Media. It can also be used

to store applications and, of course, MP3 files can be played from it. In

addition, the Internal Media can be mounted on the user's PC as a removable

drive.

These models have a total of 104 MB of memory. They have

8 MB of embedded memory in the CPU. They also have 32 MB of DRAM,

broken into 16 MB for the user to store applications and files, and 16 MB of

heap memory, which is used by applications when they are running. They

also have 64 MB of NAND Flash. Of this, 16 MB is dedicated to backup the

user's RAM, and 29 MB is the Internal Media. The final 19 MB is where the

operating system and built-in applications are stored.

While the contents of the 32 MB of DRAM will be lost if the handheld's battery

is completely drained, the NAND Flash is non-volatile.

Wide-Res Screen

While the screen resolution on the UX50 and UX40 is the same as on some of

Sony's other models, the screens aren't oriented in the same way. The NX

and NZ models have their screens in portrait mode, which means they are

longer than they are wide. The UX series uses landscape mode, so their

screens are wider than they are long. These two screen orientations use

different APIs, which means that apps written to take advantage of the NX

series' Hi-Res+ screens won't be able to make use of the extra space on the

UX series' Wide-Res ones.

The UX series soon won't be the only Palm OS models to use a 480-by-320

pixel screen. The Zodiac, Tapwave's upcoming game-oriented handheld, will

also use this resolution. In addition, Palm's rumored T3 will also have a Hi-

Res+ screen that supports landscape. However, both of these also support

portrait mode, which the UX series does not.

Developers wishing to add support to their apps for the virtual Graffiti area on

all three of these handhelds will have to use different APIs. According to a

PalmSource spokesperson, there is no standard API for landscape-oriented

screens. The company's policy is to allow its licensees to create their own

API's necessary to support new features. This allows the licensees to

develop, with PalmSource's advice, APIs based on "real world" experience,

rather than PalmSource developing an API based on theory. Later,

PalmSource will create a standard API based on the experiences of all its

licensees. This is the same process that led to Hi-Res and Hi-Res+ support

being added to Palm OS 5.

Of course, almost all Palm OS applications will run just fine on the UX series.

However, until developers customize them, they won't be able to hide the

virtual Graffiti area and take advantage of the extra-wide screens.

People in Japan report that many third-party applications have already added

Wide-Res support, like AcidImage and AcidSolitaire from Red Mercury and

the latest beta of Palm Reader Pro from Palm Digital Media.

While their display is the same resolution as the one used in the NX series of

handhelds, Sony has reduced the physical size of the screen to 3.2 inches

when measured diagonally, while the NX series' screens are 3.8 inches. This

means a UX series' screen is about 70% the size of an NX series' one. Those

who already have one of these report that the size difference is noticeable,

but acceptable.

Multimedia

Previous Sony handhelds did not handle audio the same way other Palm OS

5 devices did. This is why audio players written for Palm's Tungsten T or Zire

71 don't work on most Clies. However, the UX series includes the Palm OS

Sound API, so these third-party applications now work.This means that Sony

users will have access to Ogg files and variable bit rate MP3s.

Those eager to see the capabilities of the UX series' built-in camera should

visit Sonicboy's personal$B!!(Bweb site. This has numerous pictures and a few

videos taken with the device.

Battery Life

These models run a new processor from Sony called the Handheld Engine.

This consists of a Sony-made ARM926-based processor, a Digital Signal

Processor (DSP), and a CXD2230GA graphics accelerator chip. Sony says

this processor has been optimized for handheld devices, focusing on battery

life and speed, and it will allow Movie Player to play video at 30 fps at 320 by

240 pixels. To save power, the exact frequency of the processor varies

between 8 MHz and 123 MHz, depending on the demand being placed on it.

Walter Mossberg from the Wall Stree Journal did a$B!!(Breview of the English

version of the UX50 running a beta version of its system software and

applications. According to Mr. Mossberg, "Battery life varies widely,

depending on your task. If you use just the Palm organizer functions, such as

the address book and calendar, you should be able to go for days between

charges. If you play audio constantly, even with the screen off, battery life

drops to about 16 hours. Using Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet cuts battery

life to just 4.5 hours."

Etc.

One of the most notable parts of the UX series is its keyboard, which is the

largest ever integrated into a Sony handheld. According to users in Japan, it's

the first Clie model running OS 5 to use "sticky" keys, which means that after

pressing the Shift key, the next letter pressed will be capitalized. On the NX

series, the Shift Key must be held down to capitalize a letter.

Those who are hungry for more information about the UX series should watch

a$B!!(Bvideo from Sony Japan showing the UX50 in action. In addition, Sony USA

has posted an extensive$B!!(Boverview of the UX series.

Pricing and Availability

Sony's official store,$B!!(BSonyStyle, is taking pre-orders for these now. The UX50

is going for $700 and will be available on or before September 12, while the

UX40 costs $600 and will be out on or before September 26. In

addition,$B!!(BShopper.com lists a couple of online retailers taking pre-orders for

the UX50, one for as low as $629.

Once again, thanks to Eugene for his help with this article.

Remarks :

Overseas availability ( i.e outside Japan and North America and possibly some Continental European markets ) is through third-party importers/resellers only ( check Expansys, Clove , Trisoft and Pulster ) Estimated prices will be EUR 850-900 for the 50 , 750-800 for the 40

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

Date: 16 Aug 2003 23:35:18 +0000

From: Keith Giles

Subject: Can't Resist An OT

Larry de Costa wrote:

> I may even buy my first Starbucks coffee!

Another one of those yuppie coffee shops that are screwing up a good old American tradition - the bottomless cup. If you charge at least $2.50 for a cup of coffee, have funny flavors (i.e., hazelnut, etc.), and no free refills, the yuppies will flock to you. Oh, by the way, you must have low- or no-fat latte available. Yuck! I like really fat milk. :-)

I apologize for being off topic.

Happy Cycling,

Keith

Sunnyvale, CA

http://ohsix827.home.comcast.net

Thought For The Day: Any law enacted with more than fifty words contains at least one loophole.

All my outgoing e-mails have been checked by Norton Anti-virus.

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 00:23:05 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: NetBook Pro, Minority of Two!, Psion & T610, Psion replacement?, Iconpatcher,

Answer to: Neil Thompson

Re.: NetBook Pro - After the article in the last digest it is clear that the netBook Pro will not be a general usable palmtop to replace the current range of netBook and S7, but a specialised tool for the commercial users with only their specific required software tools on it and not the general software we use (email, word, sheet, etc.). Until such time we hear differently I suppose and IMHO discussing it has not much use (but I will of course not stop anyone from doing so).

Answer to: K Liebmann

Re. Minority of Two! - Thanks for the idea. In Dutch we have a saying "wie A zegt moet ook B zeggen" translated "who says A, will have to say B as well". As per your suggestion why don't you organise this and ask the subscribers to answer you by email ? My answer you will receive. Just as an advice, open questions with multiple answers will take a long time to process.

Answer to: Jan R Gustafsson

Re. Psion & T610 - I now have this phone but in general don't syncrhonise between the phone and my S7. If you want me to try it, send me an email with exact instructions and I'll do my best.

Answer to: Peter Rand

Re. Psion replacement? - Thanks for the interesting remarks. I have thought for some time about adding a palmtop to my S7 to walk around with when not carrying my S7 (evening social appointments, week-ends, etc.). The palmtop would become basically a diary and phonebook machine and could be quite downgraded from the Psions [my 5MX is still too large for that and the REVO could do it but for the dreaded battery problem]. The question is really what pocket size palmtop can easily exchange diary and phonebook details with my S7 ? And which machine has a diary comparible (could be third party) to the Psion one ? Which one do you use Peter ?

To All:

Re. Iconpatcher - Did anyone use this program ? Martin is busy with new addition in his family and as my question might be interesting for others too I thought I'll ask here. To me it is unclear how I create the colour icon from the B&W one. I want to take the B&W one, open it up, add colour to my liking, close it again and than replace the B&W one with the coloured one. Can someone tell me the steps to take to do this ?

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 03:19:46 +0000

From: Astrid Stappenbeck

Subject: Remapping Data - the last! (promised)

Hi,

Wolfgang Golder's kind efforts have eventually solved the problem. His latest version of the macro (posted in a previous version of the digest) allows me to have a fully functioning Data silk anywhere I like, great! :-)

BTW in between I have found a program (freeware) called KeyDirect by Ivo Woltring which can remap and then cycle as well - but not launch the last opened file only a new one.

For me the macro is the best solution but I thought I'll mention it to have now covered every angle.

Thank you all for the help you provided,

Astrid

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 03:19:53 +0000

From: Astrid Stappenbeck

Subject: making a list of spellchecker's wordbase

Hi,

is there a way to convert/ export all the words in the spellchecker to a text file. If not - is there any other txt list of (German) words?

I'm asking because of Calligrapher. It is a handwriting recognizer which works really nice with English due to its inbuilt dictionary but not too well otherwise. You can compile a user dictionary (guess how it looks!) and that's what I like to do. Adding one word after another is asking a bit too much, though - any shortcut would be appreciated.

Astrid

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 04:20:16 +0000

From: koihin

Subject: Re: Sony UX-50 vs. Sharp C760 (as Psion replacement)

Reply to Larry De Coste

Dear Larry,

Thank you for your post.

LD>My UX-50 should be here by Sept. 20 and I'll be sharing my impressions of it with the Digest. I'm a 5mx user (2 Psion 3's before that).

Hopefully the Sony UX-50 reaches these shores soon as well, and I can try it myself! Look forward to your impressions of it.

LD>Those are all the things I was interested in. But I believe the time between charges is not so hot and the keyboard isn't as good as the Sony's. The Dynamism Fed-ex to Japan warranty didn't appeal much to me either.

One reason why I am looking at the C760 is it has a longer battery life compared to the earlier C-series Zauruses. It supposedly has comparable battery life with the UX-50. Of course, that's what it says on paper! :)

For me, the extra screen resolution is important because, among other things, I use VNC, and having a full a full VGA that matches the server's graphic resolution means little or no scrolling, thus a better user experience. Surfing the web this way is another example of where the extra real-estate really helps. People on this list who have both the Revo and Series 5 perhaps can relate to what I mean.

As for the keyboard, I have not seen anyone post a comparison before, so we just have to wait and see. I suspect given that the keyboards are of different styles, it might come down to individual preferences. I remember a lot of my friends who didnt like the keyboard on my Revo at all, and then I showed it to a colleague and she was happily typing away in seconds. She promptly bought one the next day.

Having got used to Bluetooth, I now kinda insist on it for every new device I buy! its a great wire-replacement and file transfer utility. No wires, No line-of-sight.

there are external WiFi cards for the Zaurus, so it can be connected if need be, I will probably putdown the cash for it.

warm regards,

Koi Hin

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 07:11:51 +0000

From: martin

Subject: Re: Word

RE: Word (herein referred as 'Symbian Word' to avoid confusion with 'MS Word')

>>> As you say, George, Word hasn't changed much since Series 3 days except for object embedding. << >

>One thing that was taken out of Word was the ability to save a Word file as RTF, which was a huge mistake in my opinion. >

In fact, the ability to save a Symbain Word file as RTF has not been taken out of the Symbian Word engine. But sadly, it is not supported in the Eikon UI, nor is it supported in the Series 80 UI (the UI of the Nokia 9200 series communicators).

As far as the Symbian Word engine is concerned, converters for MS Word 95, 97 and 2000 were added in Symbian OS v6.0. This is supported by the Series 80 UI. So in Symbian Word for Nokia 9210, you are provided with an option to save in the MS formats along with the native Symbian Word format.

By the way: the Symbian Word format *is* the RTF format with a wrapper. Basically, the Neuon nConvert for ER5 makes use of this fact, making the 'conversion' between RTF and Symbian Word format extremely fast, they're just removing the wrapper.

cheers

Martin Maxwell

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 08:14:33 +0000

From: ian chapple

Subject: netbook to iBook

For Cyril:

>> Ian, do you and your wife exchange files between your netbook and her iBook? If so, which files and how? <<

We haven't needed to exchange too many files so far, so we currently do this the cheap 'n' cheerful way, via email. I guess I should try and find an FTP server program for the iBook. Mind you, having sent it via email, the apple Email app doesn't seem to allow you to save the attachments separately, or if it does, they've done a good job of hiding it.

Cheers, Ian.

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 14:11:35 +0000

From: Trygve Henriksen

Subject: Opera save, Word

Greetings!

Eric Edwin wrote:

> Can anyone help with an opera problem. If I click on a weblink

> to an unrecognised file type (i.e. rpm file), I get the option to cancel,

> open or save the file. If I click on a weblink to a recognised file type

> (i.e PDF file; I have PDF application installed on my Mnetbook), I

> get the option to cancel or open the file. The problem is I would like

> to save the file.

The simplest way is to just let Opera downlaod the file (and fail to open it in the PDF reader...) then WITHOUT closing down Opera, change to the system screen and browse to C:\System\apps\Opera\cache and look for what you can find of files with the correct ending you want, and copy them to where you want to keep it. (Opera renames the files but keeps the endings)

----

ian chapple wrote:

> For Rolf,

>> As you say, George, Word hasn't changed much since Series 3

> days except for object embedding. <<

> One thing that was taken out of Word was the ability to save a Word

> file as RTF, which was a huge mistake in my opinion.

That function was an optional add-in on the S3 range of machines.

(A .dll that was installed the first time you used Psiwin 1.0, or could be installed manually if you used RCom)

The function was built into the MC Word software, though.

Now it must be said that .RTF isn't a 'Standard' file format, because it continually evolves as M$ thinks of new stuff and exceptions to the format...

Did you know that M$ Word 6.0 and 7.0 are known NOT to adhere to the file format conventions as laid down by M$?

(They both use CAPITALS in the syntax while the specification is for non-capitalised commands only)

I know this because I once considered writing a file converter to handle some really 'odd' text file formats, and therefore had to read up on the .RTF format...

(found the info on www.wotsit.org)

:-)

Trygve

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 15:02:53 +0000

From: William Fuggle

Subject: Re:3g uk

was asking about 3 in uk. You can check coverage at www.three.co.uk/three/coverage/coverageChecker.do

There are some very good deals if you are quick. The nec 808 is 49.99gbp on pay as you go. I have just ordered 2 to try out video phoning. Nearly all sold out but can still get from carphone warehouse mail order. At that price can afford to get to experiment. As no monthly charge no long term commitment. I think connection to psion or anything else will be poor but 3 is launching motorola symbian 7 phone "any day now". See www.3g.co.uk.

For view of symbian 7 phones see some of my thoughts on www.foxpop.co.uk. Symbian 7 phone capabilities are increasing all the time and extra progs available now include a psion data replacement (www.foxpop.co.uk/SMU/handybase.htm).

Bill Fuggle

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 16:14:07 +0000

From: koihin

Subject: Re: Psion replacement?

Reply to: Peter Rand

Dear Peter,

Thanks for your reply!

PR>If you only use dates, alarms and jotter on Revo, PalmOS is a good choice. If you do big-time wordprocessing & spreadsheets, the Sharp is a better choice. I'd wait for the multi-tasking PalmOS 6 to come out later this year before making a decision. The best thing would be to thoroughly test both machines before making a purchase decision. You might find you have a

strong preference for one or the other.

I certainly used more than dates, alarms and jotter on my Revo, I used email a lot on my Revo, and did quite a bit of wordprocessing. With the purchase of a MnetBook early this year, My usage pattern changed, the netBook became both my laptop replacement when travelling as well as a partial Revo replacement. I used to pull out my Revo to work on docs on the plane (I only fly economy), but I found that I could comfortably use the netBook in its place (i never felt comforable using my laptop on the plane; it was too large), so have rarely used the Revo then.

Mainly because of the limited memory and lack of memory expansion of the Revo, I found it a hassle having to decide which files to bring or not bring. Granted there are many documents which I probably do not refer to more than a couple of times a year, but when you need it, you need it. So I frequently end up toting my netBook along, where at least all my work files are there, in whcih case I dont need the Revo. The down-side to the netBook is its form-factor and weight, which does not make it ideal as a carry everywhere device, unless you happen to tote a bag everywhere you go. Purely as an organiser, I find myself using my phone as a substitute for my Revo, and it works pretty well, as long as I dont intend to make much changes. So I find myself using the Revo much less today.

What I am looking for in my next device is something that combines the Revo form-factor (slightly larger is acceptable) with a high colour VGA screen with a office suite of word processing, spreadsheet and powerpoint plus compatibility with MS file formats. With a device at this size, I dont expect a keyboard that matches the netBook, but should be about as usable as the Revo. (this last bit is very subjective to the individual) i would expect Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity options to be present.

It is unfortunaly I wont be able to try out the Zaurus, but I will be looking around in case someone has it.

warm regards,

Koi Hin

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

Date: 17 Aug 2003 16:35:52 +0000

From: "Lars J. Aas"

Subject: Minoroty Report

Hi guys,

Just want to add my name to the minoroty list. I bought a netBook because itwas the perfect hardware. Big keyboard, big screen, touch/stylus UI (J-mouse?touch-pad? No-thank-*YOU*!), noisefree (no fans), instant on/off, good batterycapacity.

What could make the netBook better? USB, even longer battery life, give itthe option of running on standard AA-batteries, and maybe widen/heighten thescreen to fill more of the lid-space (and give it 800x600 resolution?).

You could also throw in CD-quality stereo-audio capabilities and a mini-jackplug to make the audio more useful, although audio doesn't really matter forme - I'm getting a separate neuros audio computer for my music needs...