Epocdigest V1 # 400

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Epoc Digest Mon, 15 Dec 2003 Volume 01 : Number 400

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Sent to: 787 subscribers

In today's Epoc Digest 11 messages:

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- Saving Revo Extras bar settings

- Psion Stuff For Sale

- Reply to Manual Campos

- Intellisync: goAnywhere

- MBook, Synch. a Psion, PDF file, Psion Journal,

- X-mas "present"

- Re: Copying Abode PDF file to Psion 5MX

- MBook Questions

- Update re a hardened Psion users migration to the world of PocketPC

- I've got a netpad

- Difference between a Psion and Pocket PC user

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

Date: 13 Dec 2003 21:47:04 +0100

From: ian chapple

Subject: Saving Revo Extras bar settings

>> Does anyone know the name and location of the file

on the Revo that contains the Extra bar settings?

at my S5mxPro those informations are stored in C:\System\Apps\Shell\Shell.ini. I think it's the same at the REVO. <<

This issue was covered a while ago. If the Extras bar is configured from the Extras bar itself (ie. tap on Extras then press Enter to open the settings dialog), these settings seem to be lost after a soft reset. If you set up your Extras bar from Control Panel - Applications, the settings *are* saved after a reset.

I guess this should work on a Revo, as it works on both a netBook and a 5mx.

Cheers, Ian.

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Date: 13 Dec 2003 22:03:26 +0100

From: Roy Maidment

Subject: Psion Stuff For Sale

Hello All,

Apologies for the plug, but I just placed my Psion 5, 5mx Executive Pack,

and several copies of Palmtop Magazine on Ebay.

All hardware is on good working order, and is only being sold due to a move

to a Palm (hush my mouth) device.

If you're interested, then the 5mx bundle, can be found at

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2773080073&category=144

05.

The others can be seen by following the 'other items' link.

With best regards,

RoyM

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Date: 13 Dec 2003 23:45:47 +0100

From: john dent

Subject: Reply to Manual Campos

Manuel Campos wrote:-

Is anybody aware of any utility that would transfer Data files into Contacts?

Daracontacts by Pascal Nicholas of macro5 fame.

If you can't find it on the net let me know.

John Dent (please remove the OBVIOUS from my address to reply) Author of Simple Document Assembly and other freeware stuff

http://www.jeack.com.au/~johndent

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 01:40:41 +0100

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: Intellisync: goAnywhere

Pumatech have brought out an updated version of their "goAnywhere" system. It will allow the user to access their Outlook remotely without compromising security. You connect via the server of Pumatech and have full access to your mailbox, diary, etc. as well as designated folders. For the price of $ 100.- per year it might be interesting for those that really need this service. The access is from any PC of a friedn, mobile phone, PDA with a web browser so I suppose a Psion would work as well.

For further info look at :

http://www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry?CID=0&SP=10007&SID=43465&DSP=0&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CACHE_ID=0

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 01:40:42 +0100

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: MBook, Synch. a Psion, PDF file, Psion Journal,

Answer to: Jim Watson-GRove

Re.: MBook - Interesting. What made you decide in the end to return to the Psion and to stop using the Dana and Treo 90 ?

Answer to: Adam North or RoyM (?)

Re. Synch. a Psion - Maby you should look at that website I wrote in the last digest. It might help you with your synchronisation with Outlook at work.

Answer to: Nigel Bonnett

Re. PDF file - There are several programs to read PDF files on your Psion. I use PDF (www.mBrainSoftware.com) which works well for me. Do you get a specific error with one of the programs or did you not know which program to use ?

Answer to: Philip Carlisle

Re. Psion Journal - Yes, indeed strange, but he might have trouble getting it out, give it some more time, I don't think he was "ripping off" people.

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 01:40:43 +0100

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: X-mas "present"

Well, here we are, just before Christmas and digest no. 400 !! It is amazing that with the demise of the Psions the interest in the digest stays very steady at just under 800 subscribers.

It is now a year and a half (give or take) ago that we started this digest and I would again like to thank everybody involved in the running of the digest. We have a dedicated team of operators who each give periodically their time for a 2-week period to send out the digest and keep the subscribers database up to date. All the work is done on our Psions thanks to the programs written by Rolf Vonau.

We will continue the digest as long as there is interest from you, the subscribers, and we hope it will be a long time.

I will use the opportunity of this message to wish you all Seasonal Greetings and a very happy and healthy 2004.

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 02:59:20 +0100

From: Armin Podtschaske

Subject: Re: Copying Abode PDF file to Psion 5MX

Hi Nigel Bonnett!

> Hi, anybody know how I can get a large PDF file from my

> PC to my Psion in a form that I can read on the Psion.

Just copy it to your Psion without conversion and view it with PDF or PDF+ from www.mBrainSoftware.com.

Psee you,

Armin Podtschaske

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 02:59:22 +0100

From: Armin Podtschaske

Subject: MBook Questions

Hi Jim Watson-Gove

> 2. Someone said that the flash card in the 5mx will not

> work on the MBook (or NetBook). Is this so?

No. I use several CF-cards (up to 512 MB). They all work in Netbook and 5mx.

> I assume that I can IR word, agenda, sheet, data, etc

> back and forth between the MBook and the 5mx.

Yes, you can. I recommend EpocSync (Freeware http://www.freepoc.de or http://www.freepoc.org from Malcolm Bryant).

> 4. Plain vanilla PsiWin work or do I load up another version?

I just connected the Netbook to the PC with running PsiWin (2.3.3).

It asked me if the Netbook is a new one or a replacement for a previous.

I selected new, entered a name and everything worked.

Psee you,

Armin Podtschaske

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 13:45:46 +0100

From: Antony Steele

Subject: Update re a hardened Psion users migration to the world of PocketPC

Hi!

Thought that maybe some of you would be interested to hear how I have got on with using a PocketPC for the last week.

I apologise to those that are not interested - as this email has grown very large... but after 2 hours of typing I'm not going to edit it down! To those that are not interested... you *do* know that one day you will be using a PocketPC don't you? Like it or not, it will happen. If only Psion had produced a new model with Bluetooth & colour etc, Oh well.

Until very recently, I have been using a Psion Series 5MX... having used Psions since their first ever model in 1986 - which I won in a competition using my Commodore64 & the dial-up V.23 accessed "club" Compunet.

Sadly, my trusty Psion met its premature end when it hit concrete - which shattered the screen... it was still usable, but no touch screen application buttons anymore. [The other hardware issues that have arisen since the impact are really quite strange - the Psion thinks that the Backup battery is missing, even though it is clean & has been re-seated fine, and the Psion no longer powers itself off during idle periods, even though the idle-off timer is set to 3 minutes!]

Normally (& at time of previous impacts with concrete) it would have been in a protective case, but sadly I wore out the zip on the case that I have been using since the Series 5 was released approx 8 years ago now.

I thought about repair, or buying a replacement from Ebay, but in the end I took the plunge and purchased a HP Ipaq 4150 PocketPC. My reckoning was that whilst I could buy myself some time with another Psion, I really did not feel comfortable that I was so dependant on an obsolete (although much loved) PDA.

I got to try a Dell Axim X3i for a week, and my initial thoughts (communicated to this forum) were that another Psion was certainly the way to go... but as my evaluation wore on... my mind slowly started to change towards the PocketPC.

I chose the HP Ipaq 4150, as this is a very feature-rich device, which supports both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11 wireless.

(The Dell Axim X3i supports Wi-Fi, but not Bluetooth - which is a shame, as the X3i is much cheaper than the 4150 - and would have got my vote otherwise... although the Ipaq does have a few extra apps provided by HP than the Dell Axim gets.)

Converting my Psion data has been mostly OK, but not totally successful, and as all Psion users know - the standard PocketPC applications are very basic... so some features are sure to be lost.

My Psion agenda converted over easily enough. I have Outlook on my PC, and synched the Psion's Agenda to it - and then synched the PocketPC from Outlook. No drama.

Converting Psion Word documents was also no problem, the Psion PsiWin convertor converted them automatically as I copied them from the Psion to a directory on my PC.

Same goes for Psion Sheet, into Excel on the PC. I did loose all of my Psion Sheet graphs -- which were serious works of art I can assure you. Goodness knows how I can reproduce them in Excel. Oh well.

The data that I have not been able to import easily has been from the Data application. {I never used the Psion "Contacts" application, as having been a Series 5 (prior to MX) user I much preferred the Psion "Data" application instead.} If I had used labels with my "Data" then it would have been fine, as PsiWin can create a CSV from Data, and Outlook lets you import CSV files - you just have to match up the Psion Data field with the corresponding field in Outlook. My undoing is that I decided against using labels. I much preferred to have my own "freestyle" approach when entering data. Damn! I guess I could have imported the data regardless, with the first line going to the contact name, and then putting the rest into "notes"... but this would have given me approx 1,000 records to then tidy-up -- so I have decided to start re-entering contacts, which at the same time is giving me a chance to have a major purge on old data that is no longer even remotely of any interest. Out of 1,000 entries, I may only need to re-key 100 or so - which will give me some practice on the tiny on-screen keyboard!

PsiWin has been able to convert most (but not all) of my Data files into Microsoft Access format - so there is still access to the data, and I could do all sorts with it should I need to. Strange that PsiWin failed on some of the data files... must have hit a field size limit in a record somewhere perhaps.

I should also point out that I have the EPOC emulator on my PC, and it is "pointed" towards the last Psion backup - so it is very easy to have full access to the "Psion" contents, even without the Psion. Any Psion users who do not have this - then I recommend you install it, even if nothing more than to serve you as a form of backup access to your Psion data. [You will need to search previous Psion forum info, or re-ask the forum where to download the EPOC emulator from.]

OK - a few points on the HP hardware. Superb screen - an absolute joy to view. 400Mhz CPU - so very fast, superb for web browsing and making use of the fast connection speeds. Approx 6 hours of use from the Li-Ion battery - doesn't sound like much - and I am down to 30% power remaining after casual use this weekend (left the charger at the office) - so you can not stray too far away from mains power. If this becomes an issue, I just need to buy a spare battery or two.

Connection to the PC is by USB cable (or Bluetooth), and the cradle that the Ipaq sits in. I can use it in its cradle at my desk - but its nicer in your hand. Transferring files and psyching with the PC is very very fast. You install Microsoft ActiveSync on the PC which is a direct comparison to what PsiWin does. I've set mine up to auto-sync all the time the Ipaq is in the cradle, and you do not notice it happening. I've even told ActiveSync about some of the Microsoft Word and Excel files on my PC and on the company network, that I want kept up-to-date on the Ipaq. It automatically detects changes, and copies those files to the Ipaq automatically - so if I snatch it from the cradle at any time I know I have the latest versions of those files. Nice!

Initially I told ActiveSync to only sync when I selected it to - but since it is so fast, it did not take me long to set this to option to automatic.

ActiveSync also syncs Outlook email too, and you can specify which date range, size of attachments to include etc. Again, happens so fast -- I just sync the lot, no drama. (If you do not have full Outlook, then you get a copy with the PocketPC automatically.)

PocketPC Applications:

For me, the diary/calendar is very important. It's nothing like Psion Agenda - but I am learning to live with it. The weekly view shows colour blocks to show when you are busy. You need to tap on each block to see what the busy period represents. Yuk! The day view is OK though.

I am learning that PocketPC users are quite used to using 3rd party applications to make up for the PocketPC standard applications shortcomings. I was directed towards www.pocketinformant.com which offers the weekly view that I was missing. You have to pay of course, but not much. The website has some nice screenshots so you can have a look if you are interested. I am still within the eval period - but will cough up the $ when required. Thankfully, this app uses the normal Outlook data - so you can use the standard calendar app when you feel like it, and synchronising still works fine.

I also use "Tasks" which is my to-do list. No problem with this part, syncs with Outlook OK too. You can have repeating entries, and can either delete a completed task - or tick it as having been completed.

The "Contacts" side has been a worry - but I am warming. There is a free format notes section for each contact, so this is where I put data that doesn't suit the pre-formatted field choices that I do not think you can change. Something that I do like is the ability for you to specify that each contact fits certain categories that you can define. A contact can be a member of several categories simultaneously. It is then very easy to search a specific category if so required... or just to list all the contacts in a particular category.

I am not sure how to search fields other than company name and contact - you may not be able to. Thankfully the PocketInformant application I am trialling lets me search any field with no problem.

All of these contacts sync with Outlook, no problem.

PocketExcel is very basic - no graphs. The screen size does not serve for spreadsheet work very well, but I am still managing to use my old Psion spreadsheets OK - just.

(You can buy a 3rd party app which rotates the entire display by 90 degrees - making it landscape instead of portrait, but I don't think I'll bother, yet more $ to shell out.)

The PocketPC calculator app is very sad - couldn't be any more basic. I really like the audit-roll on the Psion Calc, and sadly if I want that feature back - then there are a number of 3rd party apps which will do what I want - I just have to pay for them. :( I'm already going to have to pay out for the PocketInformant app - so I think I'll hold off on the calc app for a while yet.

There are lots of free PocketPC apps around - just a bit of luck if you happen to find the app that you want, and if it is free. There is no standard dictionary on the PocketPC - but I found a free one which is great, and there is a choice of "data files" - I am using the Microsoft Encarta database which is massive. Won't be able to use it to cheat at crosswords like the Psion spell checker would let me do though!

The support for Bluetooth is great. I have a Nokia 6310i, and once you have "paired" the phone & Ipaq for the 1st time, the Ipaq can instruct the phone to dial into the office (9.6K) or use Vodafone GPRS (50'ish K) to access the Internet without me having to touch the phone at all. It can remain in the car if that is where I left it! A simple single strength indicator shows if I am stretching the Blutooth range or not. I did discover a limitation with the Nokia phone in that it can only handle a single Bluetooth connection at one time - and if the Bluetooth headset is connected, then the Ipaq will not get a go until I disconnect the headset.

With Bluetooth dialling the mobile I can be connected to the Internet and checking mail, or web browsing in literally just a few seconds, It's very fast. The mail application is basic, but effective. Much faster than the Psion, and you can read all attachment types. You can specify how much of each message to download, the default is 2K, which is enough to read the first dozen or so lines. If you want to read the entire message, then you select to "mark for download" - which immediately starts to download the full message in the background - whilst you skim through any other messages you have got.

Strangely, you can not print from many of the applications - and as an example the Adboe PDF reader that you can download & install (its free) will let you view, but not print.

I have yet to play with Wi-Fi - we do not have many "hot spots" where I live. When out driving a few days ago I got a pop up message to say that network "NETGEAR" was available! The Ipaq had located presumably a home users Wi-Fi network and was asking for login details!! Wi-Fi is going to be great if the Internet access from them will be free, but the pricing I have seen from the hot spots run by Telstra (Australian main telecoms carrier) is that the charges are time based, not by downloaded bytes. Aus$5 (218 pence) for 15 minutes, or Aus$15 (652 pence) for one hour. When you access the hot spot your web browser starts automatically and asks you to select your time period in advance, and for you mobile phone number for billing (if you are with Telstra) - otherwise you can supply credit card details. My understanding is that hot sports in the USA are everywhere, with fast food joints and coffee houses supporting hot spots en masse - many being free.

Showing pictures and playing movie clips is a breeze. Displays perfectly, and movie clips play totally smooth. There is a headphone socket for MP3 music fans - haven't tried it myself, but am told it works grand.

There is no compact flash slot on the 4150, so tomorrow I am off to buy a SD memory card instead, which is much smaller than CF. I have already filled the onboard 64MB.

Grab a ruler -- the Ipaq 4150 measures 11.5cm x 7cm x 1.3cm - with no protrusions for Bluetooth or Wi-Fi antennas. Its very small!

Data entry - OK, there is no keyboard of course - not a real one anyway! You can buy an external keyboard that is slightly larger than the Psion Series 5, which the Ipaq connects into at the middle- but I have not bought one, and probably wont. There is support for handwriting recognition, or you can draw the characters one at a time, or you can use the pop-up keyboard and tap them in that way - which is my preferred method. It is of course slower than a Psion keyboard - but maybe quicker than you would first think. Also, the PocketPC "learns" the words that you are entering, and makes guesses as to what word you are typing in as you enter the first few characters. It's quite good actually, and I am surprising myself with the data entry speed I am showing (getting some practice as I am re-entering contact information remember!).

In conclusion, I am getting happier with the Ipaq 4150 and the world of PocketPC every day - and bearing in mind that just one week ago I thought I could never be converted off of a Psion - this is remarkable.

Sure, the Psion apps (now 8 years old) are still way way above what comes as standard on a PocketPC, but support for modern hardware items such as colour screen, USB interface, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi etc help to make a transition to the PocketPC more palatable.

I will be changing the way that I use a PDA. I doubt that I will be taking detailed notes within meetings as I used to, but I will be able to do new things - such as quickly checking email on-the-go without having to line up infra-red beams, and synching files that are normally only accessed when in the office, and making more use of the web browser.

My biggest disappointment right now is that PhoneManPro is not available for the PocketPC. There are PocketPC apps which claim to fill the gap, but they do not come close to what Steve put together for us on the Psion. Damn! Maybe someone is working on a better Phone & SMS Manager app for us? Come on Steve! Please?!

If you are interested in more PocketPC info, then have a browse at the user forum(s) www.ipaqhq.com and www.aximsite.com .

Rgds,

Antony.

Canberra, Australia

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 17:54:16 +0100

From: PRAR

Subject: I've got a netpad

Hiya

my stock of psions has now been increased by one 16Mb netpad. However it din't come with a manual or any discs so I'm at a bit off a loss what to do with it...

I've put it on charge for now, but the battery monitor says the back up battery is critical. Does it take the same battery as a 5mx, if so where do I stick it?

What memory does it take?

It's got no software installed at the moment - presumably I can install third party apps in the usual way, but how do I get hold of things like Word, Agenda, Email etc?

Cheers

PRAR

(Insert witty comment here.)

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

Date: 14 Dec 2003 22:30:34 +0100

From: Kevin Thorne

Subject: Difference between a Psion and Pocket PC user

Reply to Antony Steele:

Yes, I've never owned a PC and throughout the years my Psions have always been my ONLY computer. PsiWin? Never even took the CD out of the box!