Epocdigest V1 # 512

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Epoc Digest Thu, 29 Apr 2004 Volume 01 : Number 512

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Sent to: 778 subscribers

In today's Epoc Digest 12 messages:

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- Large list

- Re: Vendors

- Re: Mbook Prospect

- RE: SpellX, Palm machines,

- RE: Epoc Digest V1 # 507

- Re: xtep disk image

- RE: Formatting text in agenda

- Troll / T3

- Re: Bruce Knox Subject: S7 troubles - mBook prospect

- Vendor, mBook image, S7 troubles, Freezing 5mx, vendor,

- TomTom / CityMaps,

- Re: OPX's

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

Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004

From: Digest administrator

Subject: Large list

Just for sake of good order, there does not exist a list of topics one cannot talk about on the digest.

With best regards

Itamar Engelsman

The Epoc Digest Team

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Date: 29 Apr 2004 00:00:47 +0000

From: Wong Koi Hin

Subject: Re: Vendors

Reply to Chris Handley

Dear Chris,

CH>If however you mean we shouldn't say bad things about vendors, because you are worried what the vendor might (wrongly) say to you (rather than to me), then perhaps this should be added to the (increasingly large) list of things we aren't allowed to talk about on the Digest?

I would appreciate any experiences digestees may have with vendors as being a fellow psioneer it stands to reason I might use those vendors' services one day. I like to do my homework before ordering from a particular vendor and one of the things I try to find out is its repute. This becomes even more critical when it comes to ordering online, when you dont have the face-to-face contact, and frequently have no recourse in walking in to the shop as you live 1000s of miles away. whether the Digest Team considers such posts appropriate for the digest is quite another matter.

To: Digest Team

I am not aware of a large list of things we aren't allowed to talk about, would the Digest Team clarify please? Thus far topics have been somewhat wide-ranging, but fortunately mostly civil and does not change the main focus of the digest.

Warm regards,

Koi Hin

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 01:09:42 +0000

From: Keith Giles

Subject: Re: Mbook Prospect

Andy Hayes wrote:

> have you ever had to re-install the OS on your MBook? If so did it > accept the image on the CF without problems?

and Bruce Knox wrote:

> people have had trouble with reinstalling the OS from

> a CF card after a hard reset.

I have the Mbook OS file, OS.img, on a 16MB SanDisk CF card (downloaded it from Hasbrouck's site); have used it about 6 times when I was messing about installing the additional memory; and it worked every time with no problems. As an aside, my 5mxPro (English version) came with the OS on a 16MB Lexar CF card, and it's worked OK the 2-3 times I've used it (only playing around with the machine).

Happy Cycling,

Keith

Sunnyvale, CA

http://ohsix827.home.comcast.net

Thought For The Day: It isn't easy to get new ideas into minds filled with prejudices.

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

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 02:55:11 +0000

From: Bob

Subject: RE: SpellX, Palm machines,

Hi Itamar,

Thanks you are right. I appreciate your comments. All that I was getting at is if its a matter of getting or not getting a Series 5mx and UK one is just fine. I still agree with that. SpellX is a start, but to make it as close to a US one, you are right, it needs a few more adjustments.

Thanks,

Bob

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 03:13:18 +0000

From: Moshe Nahir

Subject: RE: Epoc Digest V1 # 507

To George Cooke, Mrcus von Cube and Astrid Stappenbeck,

Thanks very much to all of you for your help and ideas, and special thanks

to Marcus for your thorough, step-by-step instruction how to solve my

problem. I have not followed your advice yet because I have not had the time

it takes to backup the two disks on my 5mx, and because I am quite nervous

about doing a hard reset and then chasing after the codes I will need for my

dictionaries and such. Also I still have a few related questions re points

which are not entirely clear to me. I will keep you posted as to what has

happened.

Thanks again!!!

Greetings

MosheNahir

Winnipeg, Canada

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 06:30:57 +0000

From: Marcus von Cube

Subject: Re: xtep disk image

Vlad,

> Are those executables working on the epoc-platform?

No, I think you have to do your rom image manipulations on a PC. The results are going to work on the EPOC platform, of course.

Marcus

http://www.mvcsys.de

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 07:47:10 +0000

From: Daniele Squarci

Subject: RE: Formatting text in agenda

Thanks, Richard, for sharing the Agenda tips with us. We always have something new to learn about our little Epoc devices!

Ciao

Daniele Squarci - Italy

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 08:19:17 +0000

From: Rick Gillyon

Subject: Troll / T3

> From: Antony Booth

> "I'm" and "can't" is poor grammar and should only be used

> when quoting someone. You should type "I am" and "can not" to

> be grammatically correct.

You are, of course, wrong. In a conversation these forms are correct. When you were doing your English GCSE, they told you that those were the rules for your essays, not for your conversations.

> The ellipses

Ellipsis.

> terminating the last sentence should be a full stop.

An ellipsis is a perfectly acceptable method of punctuation.

> >You two are adding an extra "i" (at least!).<

> You may be referring to two people

I was, the two people who had posted the non-word "Zaurii".

> but have not addressed

> your message to anyone. If it was to an individual, the word

> you should have used was "too".

Which would in itself imply more than one person.

> Also, the brackets have no place being there

You clearly don't understand the use of parentheses.

> exclamation mark

I believe that the exclamation mark within the brackets is fine, but not with certainty. I wouldn't have used it in my thesis, but this is a little less formal.

> >Rgds, <

> If this is the word "regards", it is missing an 'r' and 'e'

> and an 'a'.

Clearly you cannot cope with abbreviations either.

> >(4 months without EPOC/Psion and not missing it...:)<

> Besides the syntax being incorrect,

Not.

> what has this sentence

> got to do with anything? I do not think there are any prizes

> available as I am led to believe that all the medals for not

> having a Psion

I wasn't requesting a medal.

> or any other EPOC based device went to the

> Etch-A-Sketch fan club.

Hmmm, nice.

> The phrase: "The pot calling the kettle black" springs to mind. ;-)

What mind?

> This is fun, is it not?

No, but your offensive response to a light-hearted dig serves only to reinforce my opinion of you.

> From: Peter Burke

> Subject: Palm machines

> I am currently an MC218 user but alas this cannot last

> forever. I am looking to 'upgrade' to Palm, and have thought

> of the tungsten T3.

The T3 is a great machine, with a few minor annoyances. I'm very happy with my "Etch-A-Sketch" as it replaces my 5mx very well. The fact that it slips into a trouser pocket also helps. Just be warned, you will have to spend a fair amount of money on third-party software, and it will take a while to get it to the levels of comfort you have with your MC218 (all those years you've probably put into its setup).

The colour screen and bluetooth are great.

> However it is rumoured that there is a

> new Palm coming out soon with a new operating system. Anyone

> know, is it true and is it likely to be worth waiting for? Peter Burke

Cobalt is due soon (no dates or they won't sell T3s), but supposedly has Wireless and full multi-tasking. I have also heard rumours that it will support full VGA. I'll probably upgrade when it appears, just because I was stuck with no upgrades for so long that I now want to take advantage of ownership of a mainstream machine!

Rgds,

Rick

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 14:14:16 +0000

From: Christopher Holly

Subject: Re: Bruce Knox Subject: S7 troubles - mBook prospect

Bruce, I ordered a cheap 20M Sandisk CF card from Sita with my Mbook. I have never had a problem with reflashing the OS. I have had to do it several times because my household has three of them and I am the only "power" user. (Now I rotate batteries to prevent that) So even if some CF cards are problematic for some reason, this really won't be an obstacle. While my 5mx will always be my favorite, the netBook is great for ebooks and note taking. And of course as you know far more.

Chris Holly

830 S. Fess Ave.

Bloomington, IN 47401-4946

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Date: 29 Apr 2004 15:29:27 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: Vendor, mBook image, S7 troubles, Freezing 5mx, vendor,

Answer to: Andy Hayes

Re.: Vendor - In principle I agree with you that if _you_ had a bad experience with a particular vendor that you can inform others about this to warn them that there might be a problem with the vendor. There is no problem voicing such concerns in the digest, as has been done in the past.

In _this_ case, the person asked you if the vendor you used was X - meaning it was not SURE it was that one - and continued to say he would not buy from that Company X. Such a remark puts X in a bad light before it has been confirmed it was X, even though that was most probably not the intention of the writer. I hope I clarified the difference.

Re. mBook image - I copied the image to two separate CF cards. However, I never tried to install it. My mBook works just fine and I don't see the need to try it out.

Answer to: Bruce A.Knox

Re.: S7 troubles - Your screen works which means you get power. It could be that during the soldering process another part of the S7 got damaged or that something happened to the motherboard. As to the mBook, I upgraded from the s7 to the mBook some months ago and am very satisfied. I also bought it ast Sita shop. It came safely packed and within days of the date they had sent it. Why would you be afraid of the reinstalling of the OS ? Did you ever do a hard reset on your S7 ? (I did not). Take precautions, copy the OS to two different CF cards as well as to your PC and if needed you will find the CF card that will work. But most important, keep your batteries in order and your back-up battery charged and you might well never need to reinstall at all. Go ahead and buy it is my advice.

Answer to: Gordon Thompson

Re.: Freezing 5mx - First of all did you make any changes or install new software that could have changed your 5MX ? Secondly, contact UK Online whether they have made any changes in their system recently. Maybe they now need authentication ? Thirdly, try to delete and reinstall your mailbox settings.

Answer to : Anthony

"complaining about something on the digest seemed to be the only thing that was censored and the point of the complaint was brushed under the carpet"

Objection your Honour ! Sustained !! <BG>

Answer to: Chris S Handley

Re.: vendor - See my explanation above to Andy. As to your remark "perhaps this should be added to the (increasingly large) list of things we aren't allowed to talk about on the Digest?" I don't think that is fair. We stopped one discussion that went nowhere and got everybody heated up with nasty language being used for the first time in the digest. That is a far cry from "an increasing large list" and in my humble opinion an unfair remark.

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 15:29:29 +0000

From: Itamar Engelsman

Subject: TomTom / CityMaps,

Answer to: Arne Christensen

Re.: TomTom / CityMaps - You wrote "there are (tedious) ways to snatch the .sis file". Could you refresh our memories ? A problem is further that on the TomTom website they now only sell Navigator and neither Routeplanner nor Citymaps. Anyone with a 2nd hand for sale ?

IN GENERAL :

"Many wont consider that fun. Antony Booth wanted to have his "go", perhaps better that he does go."

People people, can we at least request you all to keep away from personal attacks and handle the issues only ? [if I am allowed to ask this <G>]

Best regards,

Itamar Engelsman

London, UK

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

Date: 29 Apr 2004 17:15:21 +0000

From: David Steer \(Plus\)

Subject: Re: OPX's

Phil,

> Where the former applies I junk the program as it's obviously

> badly written. Where the latter applies I tend to be very

> sceptical even if it does work. If it's commercial or shareware

> I junk it.

As an author of shareware and freeware, I find this comment very interesting. How is it possible to tell if the program is badly written buy looking at the poorly contrived sis installation file?

I agree, this is one likely scenario, where the OPX is out of date, however, that will not likely stop the program from running - unless there is a specific check in the OPL code for a version of the OPX. The most likely problem is that when the command from the newer OPX that is not available in the older OPX is attempted to be run an error of xxx can't be found where xxx is a function of process.

So what constitutes a badly written EPOC program? I bet there are lots of gripes out there, how about poor error handling?

I also don't agree in paying for badly written programs, but I have to do it every day when I use some Microsoft programs! A program can be very badly written but run like a dream, how do you know? For me, if the program does something useful for me, I buy it!

For Mr Booth,

Isn't it always better to count to 10 before speaking? And shouldn't things be read twice for clarity? I for one am not too good with the English language, that's why I work with computers! However, people can be sensitive if criticised, or if they perceived they are being criticised, about how they write (or spell) - I think of it as someone pointing at my nose and laughing because it's too big (not that it is, OK!). However, on your side, it is hard when what you say is taken the wrong way. This digest is about having fun, perhaps we should restrict this to Micorsoft's expense!

On that note, if you have 15 minutes to spare, try out this site:http://www.deanliou.com/winRG/ a beautifully crafted poke at the concise, bug free, efficient operating system that is Microsoft. Sorry, can only be viewed from a device that supports Flash.