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Epoc Digest Thu, 01 Jan 2004 Volume 01 : Number 414
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Sent to: 791 subscribers
In today's Epoc Digest 19 messages:
==============================
- Psion REVO to PC Connection Problem
- Re: nB ID
- Re: MP3 and RAW cameras
- Re: Deleting Email Accoun
- Re: new TCPIP for nB 158 (4 David M)
- 6310i / globetrotter
- Re: MBook's notorious screen cable problem
- Re: Psion freezing when connected to Internet (esp. Email)
- Psion Computer.com - Web Site update
- netBook manufacturing date
- Re: Epoc Digest V1 # 413
- 5mx backlight noise
- Linux Stuff
- Multitasking
- Off Topic
- Multitasking
- Re: Dana vs. MBook
- Re: HP Drivers and IE / Canon BJC80 4 Sale(?)
- Psion Revo 16mb
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Date: 30 Dec 2003 23:55:29 +0100
From: Neil Ogden
Subject: Psion REVO to PC Connection Problem
I have the following problem that I have posted elsewhere, but no one has responded so far. I have a feeling it is to do with my COM ports, but as my digital camera connects to both fine, I am at a loss to know how to solve this problem. Can anyone tell me how to clear my COM ports from any other process using them. I have turned off my PC overnight since Sunday, but that has not solved the problem....
I have a problem that appears to have come about in a strange way.
I have a Psion Revo that has connected and synchronised with my PC virtually with no problem until Sunday. My PC runs with Win98 SE and I use Outlook 97.
I have an external USB hard drive which I have used before with no problem. I tried to connect that tonight, but it would not connect with an icon on the system tray. So I rebooted the computer with the HDD connected, but since that point, my Psion has refused to connect.
I have uninstalled/reinstalled the connection software, checked the connection, checked the COM port, swapped the COM port with something else that I know is working on that COM port but still nothing. At the same time I plugged in this external HDD, I also appeared to lose my internetconnection as well although that is now fine.
None of this makes sense, how would the appearance of a USB HDD affected internet connection, and how would it affect the connection via a COM port of a REVO PDA?
I am baffled as I didn't change anything and I am at a loss to know what may have happened. Any ideas? I really need this PDA to connect with my PC as I use it all the time out of the "office".
One other thing which I think may be significant is that in the properties box where it lists the com ports, it lists all three com ports twice. I don't know when it started listing these twice, but I didn't notice it like this before Sunday. Could this be a sign of some sort of com port problem, even though I know both com ports are working fine - I've used my digital camera on both successfully.
I have tested the connection with the docking station on someone else's PC and that worked fine.
Is there a way of removing all traces of PSI Win and starting again as if it had never been installed? Uninstalling then reinstalling doesn't do this as it never asks for me to name my Psion. Maybe it's keeping other connection settings as well?
I am totally baffled and any help would be great. I have a feeling that this ia a computer problem more than a Revo related problem, but any help would be most appreciated.
Neil Ogden
www.neilogden.co.uk
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Date: 31 Dec 2003 00:26:29 +0100
From: Keith Giles
Subject: Re: nB ID
Jack wrote, in part:
> The year code should be interpreted like this: > 8 = 2000
> 9 = 2001
> 0 = 2002
> 1 = 2003
> Thus a code of xxxx923xxxx would have been manufactured in the 23rd > week of the year 2001.
My MnetBook has 851 - so 51st week of 2000. How about other MnetBook owners - were they all made about the same time?
Happy Cycling,
Keith
Sunnyvale, CA
http://ohsix827.home.comcast.net
Thought For The Day: If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is.
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 00:40:27 +0100
From: Alan Morris
Subject: Re: MP3 and RAW cameras
Owen H. Morgan wrote:-
> I think you'll only find RAW in high end cameras. My Fuji
> S5000 is the first camera I have owned that has the RAW
> option. I would be surprised if RAW became a common
> feature of consumer level cameras. I seem to remember my
> old Nikon could save images as .TIF though.
My 12 month old Canon G2 can save in RAW format at 2272 x 1704 being a 4 M pixel CCD. I've considered it a consumer level camera as I did my Canon A1 when I used slide film. But others may think otherwise.
I've also found the MP3 discussion most interesting as like Owen I need compact storage and operation on 12 volt DC. I'm planning on living in a motorhome for long periods in retirement.
--
Alan R Morris, G4ENS.
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK.
Using a Psion netBook & Nokia 6210e.
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Date: 31 Dec 2003 01:02:34 +0100
From: Jack
Subject: Re: Deleting Email Accoun
To ; Roy Maidment
<<The only thing that I don't seem to be able to delete are my Email account settings. Any advice on how I can do this?>>
Re
Gently press the key that reads "Delete"
J.
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 01:54:16 +0100
From: Jack
Subject: Re: new TCPIP for nB 158 (4 David M)
To David McCorquodale
>>>>>.... I have a netBook running OS 158......
'hangs' and the machine freezes... when trying to receive email .......
Do you have any ideas as to what may have gone wrong?<<<<
Re
Yes more and more ISP are becoming more and more Epoc unfriendly
You should install the recently released TCPIPupdate ("ethernet version" in your case)
Read AlexL (MANY Thanks to you Alex) at :
http://www.pdastreet.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26597&perpage=15&pagenumber=9
Tell us back
Jack
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 09:14:01 +0100
From: Thomas F. VAN DER ZIJDEN
Subject: 6310i / globetrotter
Answer to : Andy Hayes
Thank you for the explanation on how to synchronise a 6310i. Glup ! The idea to use Phoneman was to internationalize the phone numbers by putting +31 in front of them.
After reading your instructions it might be better to start experimenting with the phone and a PC anyway.
The 31% bug you reported is known to happen with some 7110 and 6210 as well, though I never suffered from that problem (knock on wood). I might be "lucky" with the 6310i as well then.
Answer to : Trygve Henriksen
Ups, sorry for that mistake in your name. I will contact the people from Globetrotter. Good to read that they have a great help desk. I thought of contacting them, but I thought "Nah... they probably just don't know what HSCSD is"... which is usually the case with help desks from networks for example.
Have a happy 2004!
Yours sincerely,]
Thomas VAN DER ZIJDEN
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 10:12:40 +0100
From: Chris S Handley
Subject: Re: MBook's notorious screen cable problem
Itamar Engelsman wrote:
> Interesting
> reading, but my S7 is already 1-1/2 years old and I indeed
> pressed twice or three times on the S7 sign. However, it was
> not for a failing screen but only because the touch function
> did not work properly anymore.
Hello Itamar,
What I did not say (mainly because I had already written far too much) is that the EARLY signs of a loose (or oxidised) screen cable connection is poor calibration of the touch screen. This is indeed the main reason for pressing the S7 sign.
Later signs include brief graphical glitches when you open the screen up, and fluctuations in brightness of the screen especially when the screen is tilted. By this time screen calibration will likely change very frequently, probably daily or hourly. Pressing the S7 sign now will likely only have a brief effect.
Probably a long time later (or maybe never if you are lucky), the terminal signs will appear: Garbled screen display (perhaps on just half the screen), loss of screen backlight (dark display), or simply total loss of touch screen sensitivity. Tilting the display will *occasionally* affect things. Pressing the S7 sign now may do absolutely nothing, or you may get a few moments where it works better.
> Do you have any data on
> screens really failing to such extend that the nB or s7 was
> not usable anymore ? Do we have anyone on this digest that
> this happened to?
Yes, the data from BOTH my Series 7s (!), although by the time the second one started to fail I was farily quick in sending it back to Psion for repair.
I don't explicitly recall hearing it from others, but I am sure I must have heard the terminal problem happening to at least one or two other people.
P.S. Unlike the Series 7s, it is possible that the Malayabook contains one of Psion's earlier attempts to fix this problem. If that is the case, the speed & severity of the problem MAY be greatly reduced. There are not enough reports to say, except that you can & likely will still get some problems eventually.
Regards,
Chris Handley
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 10:12:42 +0100
From: Chris S Handley
Subject: Re: Psion freezing when connected to Internet (esp. Email)
David McCorquodale wrote:
> netBook running OS 158. When I connect to my ISP (BTopenworld
> (pay-as-you-go)) using my Psion 56k / Fax gold card (WAN
> Global PC Card Combine), after it dials and appears to
> connect having passed the password etc, it then 'hangs' and
> the machine freezes. I should add that this happens when
Dear David,
Your problem seems VERY similar to the now well known problem of Windows Internet Worms (kinda like Viruses) causing Psions (EPOC) to freeze when they attack (at random). I also use BT OpenWorld on 56k, and found that they are very bad for this because many of their users are already infected (and it is these infected machines why try to infect your Psion).
Usually the freezes occur during ALL types of Internet activity, but I did notice it often happen far more often when I was just checking my email. So the description of your problem seems to closely (but not exactly) match this known cause.
There is a nice guy who wrote a program in Java called Sink, which solves this problem. Because Java is big & slow, he then rewrote it in OPL, and called it Sink2; I recommend that you find and install it. Sink2 must be running all the time, but it is a very small program.
Very recently on the Psion section of PDA Street someone has mentioned a patch for EPOC to actually fix the problem (rather than work-around it as Sink does). This patch was alledged to come direct from Psion, but as far as I know it is not available from Psion's web site, and therefore it is on your own risk as to whether you try installing it or not. Personally I worry that it might be "spyware" (secretly sending info back to the author of the patch), although this is unlikely.
Regards,
Chris Handley
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 11:50:24 +0100
From: Will Green
Subject: Psion Computer.com - Web Site update
Dear all,
Just to let you know I've updated the web site to include a PDA friendly version and a 'try before you buy' PDF download page with a few samples taken from The Psion Computer Journal Issue One.
PDA friendly at www.psioncomputer.com/pda.htm
Try before you buy at www.psioncomputer.com/pdf.htm
There are also links from the main page to these new areas of the web site.
Kind Regards,
Will Green.
Editor.
Psion Computer Journal.
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 12:07:13 +0100
From: Marcus von Cube
Subject: netBook manufacturing date
Hi,
the serial number of my netBook is something like xxxx821xxxx. Accoreding to Jack's table it was built in week 21 in 2000.
Does anybody have an older machine? (BTW, the netBook was my first Psion!)
Marcus
http://www.mvcsys.de
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 14:29:00 +0100
From: Chris Pulster
Subject: Re: Epoc Digest V1 # 413
> 3. I read something that German electronics resellers are obliged by > the law to provide 2 years of warranty. Could Christoph himself give > some information on those regulations ?
You are right, Thomas. New goods like the Malaybook has to be sold with
a full warranty of 2 years. In case of any damage, you can send me your
unit and I will repair/replace it for free. It depends on the damage.
e.g. broken LCD displays has to be exchanged completely. I have original
Psion spares in stock for most service issues.
So feel comfortable with your Pulster purchase :)
Christoph
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 14:43:00 +0100
From: Dion
Subject: 5mx backlight noise
Does the 5mx has backlight buzzing noise? I remember the original Series 5 had a loud bbn and the screen was greenish. Then I had an Ericsson MC218 where I still heard the bbn but far less than the older Series 5 and the sceen was more clear or neutral. I sold that MC218 and some time later bought another MC218 where I have the impression that the bbn is louder and the screen more greenish than my first MC218 was. Anyone has a 5mx or 5mx pro with little or no bbn?
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 17:59:27 +0100
From: Andy Hayes
Subject: Linux Stuff
Hi All
For those that don't read it, the following was said on the Linux 7110 Psion Digest recently: -
************************
On Mon, Dec 29, 2003 at 10:33:42AM -0800, "name removed" wrote:
> The os.img approach
> would be nice, though I worry about us malaybook owners. That is, a custom
> os.img may boot up fine on normal netbooks, but the malaybook owners would > be left out of the fun.
It will be the other way around: I have a malaybook, and my os.img files work for that, and hopefully for other malaybooks as well. I'm pretty sure the normal netbook has a slightly different bootloader that requires a slightly different os.img. Thus the owners of those normal netbooks will be left in the cold, until we figure out the differences. ************************
Another reason not to worry about the lack of a guarantee then on your mBook!!
Andy Hayes
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 18:55:27 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Multitasking
Jim Cooke,
<<Once the
Palm OS6 comes out with true multitasking, there may finally be another
handheld that can compete with the Psion for both simplicity and speed.>>
And if they add folder handling capability it will make the new Palm OS a real competitor.
jim - port townsend
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 18:55:33 +0100
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Off Topic
An off-topic request for information on HP inkjet printers.
I do volunteer work at an Arts Center - do the email list and maintain their database. The printer (an ancient HP) stopped feeding paper. I asked the other members of the board to allow me to take the printer to the shop. The group consensus was that with the cheap printers available, it would be better to ask on the list for the donation of a printer & if none were forthcoming to go ahead and buy a cheap inkjet (our job load on the printer is casual printing and not much of it).
I'm on my second donated printer. Same problem on these two (won't feed paper) and the story is the same - "it was working great a year ago when I upgraded and set this on the shelf."
I'm fairly sure what is happening is that the rubber feed wheels are hardening.
Is there some sort of chemical I can spray on the wheels to soften them and give the printer added life or should I head out for my local Staples for a cheap HP?
jim - port townsend
*++++++++++&
Date: 31 Dec 2003 22:49:00 +0100
From: Armin Podtschaske
Subject: Multitasking
To Itamar:
Re. Multitasking - Route- and streetplanner don't stop their activity when you switch. They can calculate a route in the background for example. Real Maps plots a track in background. I guess your Merlin runs in the background as well. My own batteryvoltage-registration-program has to run in the background as well as all hotkey-programs.
Sometimes I edit a text, look up some information in another program and decide to undo some editing in the first text. On the Palm, can you really undo something after reopening the program? If you switch to a big file on the Psion, it opens instantly. If you reopen a file on the Palm it has to be copied from storage to working memory, has it?. This could take some time. Can someone prove this? (I don't own a Palm.)
Best regards and a happy new year,
Armin Podtschaske
Munich, Germany
*++++++++++&
Date: 1 Jan 2004 03:44:07 +0100
From: Melvin Woody
Subject: Re: Dana vs. MBook
I started this thread with a separate message to Jim, since I'm hesitating over this choice. One of the factors that makes me lean toward the Dana is the size of the two keyboards. Jim wrote back that he prefers the Mbook. But the information below that he is a three finger typist that puts his preference in perspective. The extra 3.25 inches of width of the Dana would not matter so much to him as to a touch typist like me. I found a book the size of the Mbook keyboard and I doubt that I could type at nearly the same pace as I do on a full size keyboard. (The Dana keyboard is pretty standard.) Also, when it comes to the quality of the keyboard, I'm left wondering how old his Dana is. Upon reading through the reviews I found on the net, I encountered several that remarked on the improved quality of the keyboard on the current models, which came out last spring, so far as I can tell.
I'm still hemming and hawing about this. I love my Mako and the stability of EPOC. But the color screen is irrelevant for my purposes and I hesitate to tie myself to yet another obsolescing technology. (I still work in DOS as much as possible because its much faster to get into it and much more stable -- and I find the GUI environment more hindrance than convenience. On the other hand, I'm attracted by the psi-linux project, since I have in mine to move out of MS OS's altogether and if I cold run linux on the MBook, it might simplify life. I'm waiting for Dana tech support to let me know whether the Dana will be compatible with linux as well as PC and Apple. Apple OS10 is a actually a Unix OS, so one would hope it would be compatible with linux. Can anyone tell me how far the psi-linux project has actually gotten? I found a May 10th message on the Web from "Zaurus" triumphantly proclaiming: "I've finally succeeded in getting linux to boot on my Malaybook!" But I'm not sure whether that means one could set up a dual boot or how far one could go in running the Mbook under linux. Can anyone bring me up to date?
Melvin
From: Jim Watson-Gove
Subject: Re: Dana v. Mbook
<<After hearing glowing review after glowing review of the Dana's keyboard I had come to the impression that the Dana keyboard is better than the netBook's. It's good to hear the opinion of someone who has both machines and who word-processes so much.>>:
You have to remember that I taught myself to type on an old Underwood when I was about 10 years old. Then I acquired typing skills on type 15 and 300 TTY machines in the telephone industry. Then to computers with a IBM Selectric somewhere in between. All of this to say I am a hunt & peck typist and only use two fingers one hand, 1 finger on the other. So I'm not to be taken as an expert on keyboards.
You know what the NBook keyboard is like. The Dana is a bit bigger but the keys are cheaper and feel it (it is an inexpensive machine).
jim - port townsend
*++++++++++&
Date: 1 Jan 2004 11:29:12 +0100
From: Owen H. Morgan
Subject: Re: HP Drivers and IE / Canon BJC80 4 Sale(?)
Howdy!
Andy Hayes wrote (> ):
> Owen mentioned his HP driver woes. In the HP1300
> laser, the printer uses IE as a means of checking
> the amount of paper that has gone through the
> printer, toner levels and system settings. Its not
> the worst idea ever for most users. I fear that
> your individual lifestyle has not been considered
> Owen ;-)
I know several people, most of whom live or work in houses who have computers that they would never ever connect to the Internet. Most of them own printers. I also know people who will remove any trace of IE from a computer within five minutes of buying it or installing a new OS. Most of them own printers too!
My somewhat limited research indicated that the only way of updating I.E. is to download software that runs on my computer, connects it to the Internet and pokes about inside it. Sorry, it's not going to happen! Thankfully, I found a workaround it, and now seem to have the colour balance sorted too.
I'm considering selling my Canon BJC80 if anyone is interested. It works very well via Infrared with the Psions. Anyone know what they're going for on eBay? Won't bother selling it if it's not worth anything. In case anyone is interested, the BJC80 is identical to the BJC85 except that it doesn't have a USB port.
Owen
Thought for the day:
You can fool some of the people all of the time,
and all of the people some of the time,
but you can make a fool of yourself anytime.
--
Owen H. Morgan, Yacht "Naomi J.", LD-928°07.85'N 15°25.66'W
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
http://home.no.net/naomij
Phone and SMS:
In Spain: +34 620520079
In Norway: +47 92053097
*++++++++++&
Date: 1 Jan 2004 17:46:12 +0100
From: Stephen Jacobson
Subject: Psion Revo 16mb
Could someone please help me.
My 16mb Psion Revo was lost/stolen last week while I was in Israel for my daughter's wedding. I backed up the information before I went away and I now want to retrieve the information. I don't want to replace the Revo but will most probably buy a Palm. Does anyone know how I can convert the back up files on my PC to regular excel or word format so that I can access them. I suspect that I will have to copy the back up files to a Psion machine and then convert the Psion files to regular excel/word format on the pc.
Does anyone know of a place that I could borrow/rent a psion revo or 5mx machine in order to copy/convert my files?
Stephen
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