Epocdigest V1 # 323

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Epoc Digest Thu, 21 Aug 2003 Volume 01 : Number 323

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Sent to: 810 subscribers

In today's Epoc Digest 16 messages:

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

- Psion companion?

- Re: CURIOUS FAILURE NBook

- ebc v1.06 now available

- T610 & GPRS

- Re nB battery curious failure

- T610 and Psion

- Backup/restore of control panel settings?

- RE:Repairing Ericsson MC218

- RE: Sony Ericsson P800

- Ref: curious failure (Netbook runs out on batteries)

- Re: Email in foreign coutnries

- GSM and Email in Portugal

- RE: P800

- Re next machine

- Re:Various Rolf B posts

- broadband?

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 07:25:56 +0000

From: Peter Rand

Subject: Psion companion?

Hi,

Sorry about the delay in replying - got bogged down with some other things.

To Kevin Thorne

I too cannot find one single PDA that can give me the functionality of ER5.

The closest I've got to replacing that functionality so far is ER6 on the Communicator. I see you've tried the "Commy" as well - I'm very interested to hear in what areas you found it lacking compared with a Psion. I'd take

a wild guess that it's primarily to do with the keyboard and lack of RAM!

It's actually more basic than that - I prefer that my PDA and phone be two separate devices. I often lend my phone to family members, but I always want to have my PDA with me. I was actually very impressed with the Communicator

- this is a real 'office in a pocket'. If you just want one machine that does it all, the Communicator is a good choice.

To Itamar Engelsman

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

The Palm is very good for these kind of tasks.

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 ?

I think both the Palm & S7 sync with MS Outlook - it was a simple matter to sync contact & appointment info from one platform to the other using Outlook as intermediary. On a day-to-day basis, it's easy to beam individual

contacts & appointments between the S7 & Palm via IR. With the freeware C-Beam installed on the S7, there's no limit to what you can beam between

the two machines - it's very convenient.

I largely use the built-in apps on the Palm. Two helpful freeware apps I've found are 'HotDate' and 'DiddleBug'. The former provides a better overview

of the built-in calendar, while the latter is somewhat similar to Sketch/Jotter but includes really nice alarm & reminder features.

I've tried just about every machine on the market, and the Psion + Palm combo works the best for me.

Peter Rand

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 08:29:01 +0000

From: Martin Guthrie

Subject: Re: CURIOUS FAILURE NBook

Reply to: Philip Carlisle

> Left my NBook in my briefcase over last weekend. Got to work to find, on > opening it, a blank screen that turned out to be the result of a flat

> battery and flat back up battery.

> However, I had recharged the battery on the Friday, and my preferences

> included switch off on closing lid and switch off after 12 minutes of

> inactivity if no external power present.

> Since Monday, NBook has held its charge and switched off in accordance

> with my preferences (although they all had to be redone as a consequence > of the enforced hard reset).

Hi Philip,

The most obvious reason is that you had an alarm going off all weekend

on your nB - easily enough to flatten your batteries. Another good

reason for using Alarm+ (which can cancel alarms automatically after a

set period). Have done this myself a number of times on a 5mx and once

on my nB... :¬(

Best regards,

Martin Guthrie

—————————

www.pscience5.net

www.freepoc.org

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 08:49:36 +0000

From: Martin Guthrie

Subject: ebc v1.06 now available

Hi All,

My apologies if this is getting a little monotonous but ebc has been upgraded yet again - to v1.06.

What is ebc? Basically ebc lets you add colour support to Jason Kneen's ExtraBars! For use on the Series 7, netBook, netPad, emulator, etc.

What's new in v1.06? :-

o Patches the Extras keycode in ExtraBars. This allows the 'Extras' key capture to work correctly on Series 7 / netBooks.

o Also patches the Sidebar, Titlebar, and Titlebar Lines in each 'Bar to colour (previously grey - but don't forget to refresh each 'Bar once to see the colour).

I'll give ebc a rest for a while once I get to v1.07, okay?! ;¬)

Best regards,

Martin Guthrie

—————————

www.pscience5.net

www.freepoc.org

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 09:49:40 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: T610 & GPRS

i can connect to GPRS but cannot open my mailbox or send out emails. Can someone please send me the settings for this phone ?

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 11:05:47 +0000

From: Jack

Subject: Re nB battery curious failure

To Philip Carlisle

>>>>...on opening it, a blank screen that turned out to be the result of a flat battery and flat back up battery.<<<<

Just sliding toward me my nB on a desk made it once disconnect and reset... The rear left little rubber foot is too much on the battery sliding door and may

rear open it when sliding on a rough surface.

Jack

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 12:04:54 +0000

From: Kevin Collins

Subject: T610 and Psion

Hi folks,

To Itamar Engelsman:

Itamar, well wear with this phone. I was thinking of getting one to alleviate post-holiday blues :-) Could you briefly say how it compares with the 6310i for GPRS connectivity with your S7, and were there any difficulties in setting up the GPRS connection? Also, I read that the phone's screen is hard to see in sunlight: what is your experience, please?

Regards,

Kevin [Cork, Ireland]

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 13:28:49 +0000

From: "Lars J. Aas"

Subject: Backup/restore of control panel settings?

I wanted to try out Linux on my netBook, and copied the whole of C: over to my CF disk. After coldstarting ER5 again after having run Linux, and copying the backup back into place, my netBook still didn't

know my geographic location, timezone settings, audio settings and

stuff like that. How should I go about taking backup and restoring

a backup of those settings?

Lars J

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 13:58:37 +0000

From: Widmer, Elizabeth

Subject: RE:Repairing Ericsson MC218

Gordon-

good luck. I never got any good leads when I asked the same question. I also got diddly squat from Ericsson, except apologies. If you find anything PLEASE tell me. If I ever get a positive response from Ericsson, or anyone else, I'll forward it to you and the Epoc Digest.

I did find a site with instructions and PICTURES about disassembling the 5mx. BE CAREFUL! http://www.portal-pda.com/guides/openings5/openings5.html -Beth

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 15:34:11 +0000

From: Robin Davies-Rollinson

Subject: RE: Sony Ericsson P800

<< Date: 19 Aug 2003 22:13:59 +0000

From: John Morris Subject: Sony Ericsson P800

With the news that details of a successor to the Sony Ericsson P800 are emerging (see http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/32400.html for details) I feel that we have not had sufficient comment about the original P800 itself.

I am interested in acquiring one, to maybe replace my Mako & Nokia 6210e. The review (see http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/30929.html) in The Register was broadly complimentary, but I wonder if anyone else has an opinion.

Thanks

John Morris

Cambs UK>>

John,

Like many other Psioneers, I have had to look around for an alternative (not replacement) to my 5MX. I decided on the P800 after seeing it in use by a Finnish tv producer I was working with. I was amazed by it's flexibility. The "appointments" feature is superb, as is "contacts." The GPRS e-mail and web browsing (with Opera) is painless. I enjoy taking audio tracks with me in either wav or mp3 formats. I use the built-in camera for location searches and e-mail the pics back to base. I transfer any video I might need from my edit suite via PVAuthor to mpeg4 files and view them at my leisure. The jotter is great when used in conjunction with the phone in "speaker" mode, as you can make notes during a phone conversation. Yes, it also functions well as a phone!

However, I still keep my Psion for any word processing while on the move. Since Sony-Ericsson uses the Symbian open source OS, like Psion, it does mean that people are writing applications all the time for the P800.

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 19:19:48 +0000

From: Thomas F. Van der Zijden

Subject: Ref: curious failure (Netbook runs out on batteries)

Hello Philip,

I have experienced nearly the same with my Malaybook. I give it a full charge and the next time I switch it on, Chadis reports that the battery is nearly empty.

The switch on time is set to 20 minutes (since the combination 30 minutes and infrared causes the thing to reset).

This misbehaviour usually happened:

- when I did not carry it in my (recently acquired) PalmCase carrier case

and

- when it was in my rucksack, on the back of my bike, while I was driving on a typical cobblestone road in Antwerp.

While the Netbook is an industrial machine, that can withstand to be dropped on a wooden floor, it does not seem to like vibrations. It is not damaged, but it either empties its batteries or it does a hard reset (or in your case: both!).

Could this be your reason as well?

Fortunately, the PalmCase seems to solve the problem. Its inner protection dampens the vibrations.

Yours truly,

Thomas van der Zijden

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 19:22:17 +0000

From: Owen H. Morgan

Subject: Re: Email in foreign coutnries

Howdy!

Simon wrote (> ):

> I am off to the Republic of Ireland for a week in

> a weeks time and at first I was not worried;

> surely I thought I will have no problems simply

> making an international call to Freeserve local

> rate to pick up my emails.

<SNIP>

> Worth setting up e.g. an eircom account just for 1

> week and probably not more than 3 or 4 short

> sessions?

In Ireland I use the following:

+353 21 230 9811

Username: free

Password: free

SMTP: mail.esatclear.ie

You can collect your incoming e-mail from the POP3 server of your home ISP whilst connected to the net through any other ISP, but must use the SMTP server of the ISP you are connected to for your outgoing mail.

In other words: In Control Panel, set up a new Internet Service with the above phone number, username and password. In e-mail, you change ONLY the SMTP setting. Everything should work just like at home.

Owen

Thought for the day:

Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they're open.

Owen H. Morgan, Yacht "Naomi J.", LD-952°15.65'N 7°06.24'W

Waterford, Ireland

http://home.no.net/naomij

Phone and SMS:

In Ireland: +353 (0)87 7474173

In Norway: +47 9205309

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 19:22:26 +0000

From: Owen H. Morgan

Subject: GSM and Email in Portugal

Hi again!

I ended up spending three weeks in Castletown, Isle of Man which is a truly wonderful place with unbelievably friendly and helpful people. The only small fly in the ointment was that the Manxies have their own GSM operator, so neither my Irish nor UK Vodafone card would work for outgoing calls. This meant I had a very large stack of EPOC digests to read on my return to Ireland! All I could do on Man was send and receive texts and accept incoming calls, and when my Mom called me from Norway, the incoming call very quickly drained the credit from my card, so for the rest of my stay I couldn't even send texts.

I'm now in Waterford, Ireland and will be setting off across the Biscay within the next week, weaher forecast permitting. I already have the information I need for Spain, but urgently need details of which ISP and GSP operator (payg) to use in Portugal to access my e-mail with my Psions. I have asked about this before, but the list community has remained silent. As I don't have access to the www and don't speak Portugese, it's difficult for me to research this myself.

Owen

Thought for the day:

Don't look back, the lemmings are gaining on you.

Owen H. Morgan, Yacht "Naomi J.", LD-953°27.22'N 6°09.05'W

Malahide, Ireland

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 20:37:58 +0000

From: Marc Jeitz

Subject: RE: P800

Hi all,

I'm playing around with the P800 since 3 month now. My appreciation: a nice toy, a good GSM, an excellent PDA replacement, .... But it's definitely not a replacement for my Psions, these are computers!

By the way, since 2 days, opening the digest makes my emailclient on the P800 crash (Kernexec reasoncode ?? Etext or something like this). Any idea???

Hope this message is not HTML ;-)

Cheers,

Marc

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

Date: 20 Aug 2003 20:40:32 +0000

From: martin

Subject: Re next machine

RE: next machine

>> BTW the digest seems to be almost wholly concerned with what machine people are going to get next - it that what people really want to read on an EPOC list?<<

Neil, at least many of us hope that this will also be a Symbian/EPOC machine. :-)

cheers

Martin Maxwell

RE: comment on Itamar's comment

>> Secondly I think EPOC / Symbian have been out of the development of this platform for too long to catch up again, and oculd only enter again by designing a totally new machine / concept, which would need major investment as well as an appeal to the mass-market instead of "just" enthousiasts like us. We can only try and keep our machines and platform alive as long as possible, with some people continue to develop and write software <<

If Symbian really is out of the development of their own platform, then there is really no hope left... :-) ...neither for netBook Pro Symbian nor for Symbian itself...but let me just reiterate: Symbian OS v7.0 (colloquially a.k.a. ER7) incorporates *ALL* functionality that is in ER5 except for the browser and OPL. It is up to the UI designer to decide which functionality to 'publish' and the UI designer is not in Symbian but rather with the manufacturer of the device.

But I cannot more agree with your last sentence. The current netBook is still a wonderful and very productive machine. There should not be any panic replacing it. With softwares such as plBeam, SmtpAuth, nConvert, Pdf+ and the Build158 WiFi card support, there will not be any need for replacement for several years ahead. As far as I am concerned, it still does the job better than any PC notebook. No other such machine will last you on a flight from Singapore to London.

cheers

Martin

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

Date: 21 Aug 2003 08:03:02 +0000

From: Chris S Handley

Subject: Re:Various Rolf B posts

Hello Arent,

Arent Kits van Heijningen wrote:

>> 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

Header information can be safely ignored (as I did) since it is a One-Time-Cost. EPOC Word & Data have headers of about 512 bytes, which is insignificant when you have Megabytes of memory.

While I would expect the Palm to have more compact formatting codes, such formatting is probably used rarely enough that it makes no real difference for most users.

Thus one can conclude that EPOC & Palm file sizes should be approximately the same. Sorry if I wasn't previously clear.

> 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

> $629. Once again, thanks to Eugene for his help with this

> article.

Aren, can you PLEASE avoid posting an entire article to this digest? 3-4 email pages is ridiculous. A one-line web link & maybe a one-paragraph summary would have sufficed!

---

Chris Handley

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

Date: 21 Aug 2003 09:31:37 +0000

From: robertsont

Subject: broadband?

Dear All,

about to link up to broadband and was wondering if this would effect my psion at all. I currently connect my psion 7 via a pcmcia card to a dial up connection - do i need a new card?