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The Digest Sat, 04 Sep 2004 Volume 01 : Number 589
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Sent to: 747 subscribers
In today's digest 06 messages:
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- Issue 2 Of Psion Computer Magazine
- Thanks/Revo badge removal
- TomTom CityMaps .sis files,
- Crontab & Freenote,
- FreeNote v3.09 posted
- Re: Palm support!!
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Date: 3 Sep 2004 13:37:53 +0000
From: Mike Dyer
Subject: Issue 2 Of Psion Computer Magazine
Hi all,
did anyone ever receive issue 2 of the Psion Computer Magazine?
I have not received a copy since the 1st edition last December :(
Thanks,
Mike Dyer
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Date: 3 Sep 2004 15:06:06 +0000
From: Keith Giles
Subject: Thanks/Revo badge removal
Thank you, Joseph Hamwee and Itamar, for sending me the digest posting about how to extract sis files.
Re Daniele Squarci's tip about using a warm iron to remove the Revo badge. Here's another tip which I used on my Mako. I used a box-cutter blade to lift one corner of the badge enough to slide in a piece of dental floss - then just floss it off. No bent badge. The glue still works to remount the badge.
Happy Cycling,
Keith
Sunnyvale, CA
http://ohsix827.home.comcast.net
Thought For The Day: Negative expectations yield negative results; positive expectations yield negative results.
All my outgoing e-mails have been checked by Norton Anti-virus.
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Date: 3 Sep 2004 15:40:37 +0000
From: Itamar Engelsman
Subject: TomTom CityMaps .sis files,
Answer to: Keith Giles
Re.: TomTom CityMaps .sis files - Indeed, it was in issue 552. I quote the full answer of Arne Christensen below :
Date: 30 Jun 2004 22:33:23 +0000
From: Arne Christensen
Subject: How to get TomTom CityMaps .sis files
I have been asked how to get .sis installation files out of the newest TomTom
CityMaps installation CDs.
This was back in April. I did not remember the details back then, but now I
have been forced to reconstruct my method. Here goes, but first some
explanations:
The Windows-based CityMaps installation program is able to install onto four
platforms (EPOC, EPOC for Nokia 9210, Pocket PC, Palm). Because the map files
are the largest part of the data on the CDs (yes, two of them!), they are
included only once -- in a format (.abk file) which is suitable for
conversion to any of those four formats. For EPOC the desired format is a
.sis file.
The installation program asks a few questions (approve license etc) before
you can start installing maps. The map installation process is a bit
convoluted: You are asked to name the city or location (large or small) for
which you want a map. This name is then looked up in a table, giving the .abk
file name (which you don't normally see, but wait a second!) The installation
program then gives you the list of other (small) locations that are found in
the same map. Normally, this is quite a long list. Once you approve this is
indeed the map you want, the important stuff happens.
First, a (fairly fast) conversion process takes place, whereby the .abk file
is converted to each of the supported formats. Yes indeed, all four of them,
even though you have already indicated that you have an EPOC device. Then the
PsiWin SIS installer is invoked and passed the name of the EPOC .sis file.
And now the trick: DO NOT CONNECT the cable to your Psion! This will
(naturally) cause PsiWin to complain after some time that the Psion cannot be
contacted. The important thing is that -- before PsiWin is invoked -- the
.sis file is stored somewhere in a directory on your PC. If you can find it,
you can also copy it to some other place. Once you have done that, cancel the
installation (in PsiWin). The CityMaps installation program will then clean
up (remove the generated files) and give you the opportunity to select
another map. If you are like me, you will do this numerous times, with one
map after the other, thus collecting .sis files for all the maps you need.
Oh, somebody is asking "where is t.sis file stored?" Say the map
file is Cannes.abk. Then the generated .sis file is {temporary
directory}\Cannes\Cannes.sis. The {temporary directory} differs from one
Windows version and installation to the next. In my case, it is "E:\Documents
and Settings\arne\Lokale indstillinger\Temp" because I have my Windows
installation on "E:", it is Win2000, and my login name is "arne". The easiest
may be to use the File Search function of Windows to find the .sis file. Once
you have found the first one, the rest will be located in the same place.
Note that "Cannes" is both a directory name and the main part of the file
name. You will find installation files for the other platforms in other files
in the same directory. Nokia 9210 files are also .sis files, but a placed in
a subdirectory.
Why would you go to such great length in order to get .sis installation files
for your maps? I do it in order to avoid drowning the Add/Remove function of
my Psion with maps. Each installed map is visible here. Thus I bring we me to
exotic locations a set of .sis files, and install the maps I need when I need
them. One caveat: When installing on the Psion a .sis file that resides
already on the Psion, it needs to be NOT write-protected, and the
installation process will remove the file afterwards! Be sure to make a copy
of the file before installing it.
I have one offer here: I have made an overlay file for the French map in
RoutePlanner with approximate locations of all the CityMaps maps. I use this
to figure out which city map to install. Anybody who volunteers to put this
overlay file on a Web site or FTP server for others to use? I have built the
overlay file based on the map file names, which almost always matches a city
name, but no doubt I have made a mistake or two. Contact me off list, arne
(at) chr (dot) dk. I may be slow in responding, as vacation is coming up.
-- Arne Christensen
Best regards,
Itamar Engelsman
London, UK
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Sep 2004 15:42:43 +0000
From: Itamar Engelsman
Subject: Crontab & Freenote,
Answer to: Chris S Handley
Re.: Crontab & Freenote - Thanks for the answers. I just wonder, is there really a difference between asking Crontab to open the application or asking Crontab to start a macro that does "FgApp%:("D:\System\Apps\FreeNote\FreeNote.app")" if the application is already open ?
Best regards,
Itamar Engelsman
London, UK
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Sep 2004 17:15:58 +0000
From: Philip Bister
Subject: FreeNote v3.09 posted
Please note, that I have just posted FreeNote v3.09 to my web site.
FreeNote is a general note repository for EPOC32 and runs on all EPOC32 machines (except Geofox).
In this version, I have removed the animated version window which some users found annoying. The program version can be seen on
the 'About' dialog. There has also been a very minor change to the event code.
There will be some more releases to come - one of which will address the colour icon issue. I will keep you informed of further releases in this Digest.
The latest version can be downloaded by visiting the EPOC page at: http://www.philipbister.ukonline.co.uk/
Best wishes
Philip
*++++++++++&
Date: 3 Sep 2004 22:07:23 +0000
From: Rolf Brunsting
Subject: Re: Palm support!!
Dear Ian,
In response to your summary:
1) You came to conclusions which, in my opinion, couldn't be justified
on the basis of what you wrote. Your new summary paints a different
picture and contains previously unmentioned information. I'm afraid you
can't complain about me getting it wrong in your view as I've not been
a 'fly on the wall' observer. We all have to rely on what people write,
what they present to us and the way in which they present it. We also
read about you and your wife's experience from your perspective. What
we're missing is Palm's perspective. You may not like me playing the
role of devil's advocate, but there can be a few things said against
the conclusion you're still making.
2) When you wife's Palm M515 malfunctioned you didn't know why it was
that you couldn't access the M515 via the USB port. You came to know a
possible cause (Suddenly USB Doesn't Synch - SUDS) but couldn't be sure
that it was the true cause. There's also the possibility of an
electrical component failing, meaning that the procedure to get rid of
the SUDS condition wouldn't have worked. It would still be impossible
to synchronise the M515 with the iBook.
3) Your wife continued to use the M515, even though the device was
malfunctioning. She was taking a risk by this as the blockade of the
USB port could also be due to a creeping system corruption. One which
extends itself to the diary and appointment data at a later stage. Not
being able to use the USB port could also be the onset of a more
general hardware failure completely disabling the M515. You can
therefore question the wisdom of using the M515 in this state.
4) As your wife synchronises the M515 with her iBook every two or three
days she had a recent duplicate of her data on the iBook. It's
therefore strange to see that your wife didn't switch to the fully
functional iBook but kept using the malfunctioning M515. I readily
agree with the iBook being less convenient than the M515, but you're
already dealing with an unconvenient situation. Having to retrace two
or three days of new and/or modified entries but using the secure iBook
is surely to be preferred over the continued use of an insecure M515.
5) You've contacted Palm (by phone, e-mail or other) but couldn't get
the situation resolved. What I find strange is that the obvious next
step - sending the M515 to Palm for inspection and repair - wasn't
taken. When the people at Palm (for whatever reason) excluded SUDS as a
possible cause of the malfunction it's best to give them the M515 so
that they can see for themselves what's wrong with it. Note that it's
not Palm who has to request for the unit, you're free to send it in
yourself as the M515 was clearly malfunctioning. Specially when the
M515 was about six months old at that time and therefore covered by the
(mandatory) one year factory warranty.
6) The situation remained unresolved until you tried the procedure to
get rid of the SUDS condition you read about on the Internet. This was
about five weeks from the moment you couldn't synchronise the M515
anymore. Result was that the (synchronised) data set on the iBook was
now five weeks out of date rather than the normal two to three days as
your wife had kept using the M515. The procedure was successful. It's
only at this point in time that your idea that the malfunctioning was
due to SUDS proved to be correct.
7) It's because you had to secure about five weeks of new and/or
modified entries that you bought an SD backup card. You wanted Palm to
reimburse the €60.= you paid for the card. By which you appear to claim
the €60.= on the basis of what's called "Gevolgschade" in Dutch. I
don't know the correct English legal term but I'd translate it as
"Subsequent Damages" or "Secondary Damages". It's highly questionable
whether "Gevolgschade" applies here. Your wife kept using the M515,
even though it was malfunctioning. She knew that any new and/or
modified entry couldn't be made secure by synchronisation. What's more,
the secure option that was readily available, using the iBook instead
of the M515, wasn't adopted. Finally, the M515 wasn't sent in for
repair. Allowing a Palm engineer to backup the data, perform the
necessary tests, inspections and repairs, and to restore the data
again. It can therefore be argued that the purchase of the backup card
was made mandatory by the claimant's own actions. Your wife's continued
use of the M515 turned a bad situation into a worse one. By which we
can no longer talk about "Gevolgschade".
8) Another reason for Palm to reject your claim is that you've used a
procedure you read about on the Internet on your own account. I'm sure
Palm's Conditions of Sale will include a clause mentioning that Palm
can't be held liable for repairs performed by the purchaser. And I'm
afraid that the procedure you followed will be classified as a repair.
Palm can therefore argue that the M515 should have been sent if for
repair. And that you're only allowed to perform the procedure you
followed when instructed to do so by a Palm engineer due to the effects
of the procedure.
9) Personally, as a former senior technical support engineer who had to
decide in similar matters, I wouldn't have reimbursed the €60.= when
I'd be the one to make the decision. My main reason is that I want to
investigate a malfunctioning device before taking any further action -
including the payment of a financial compensation. Trouble is, I have a
claim for €60.= but nothing to investigate anymore. When I'd ask you to
send the M515 to me I'd see a device that's perfectly OK. I may
therefore be dealing with something similar to an unjustified warranty
claim (you'd be surprised how many people really try to trick you into
paying for a repair they damned well know should be paid for out of
their own pockets). The second reason uses the assumption that the
claim isn't a trick. I'd ask myself the question whether paying the
€60.= for the backup card was really necessary. The answer is a "Yes"
as the malfunctioning M515 could have been sent in for repair. A repair
that would be free of charge as the M515 is covered by warranty as it's
6 months old. I'd readily have accepted a warranty claim, even when
handling the claim would have cost €150.=. Warranty is warranty. No
warranty claim was made, however, the customer took matters is his/her
own hands. Which is the point at which I'd say that the €60.= won't be
reimbursed.
10) No, I don't think you're stupid though I do question the wisdom of
the continued use of a malfunctioning M515. And when you do know about
electrostatic discharge (ESD) you probably also know that an electronic
device like M515 can't be made 100% ESD proof. The measures Palm
introduced in the M515 will have been improvements - to the extent that
Palm considers SUDS to be a very remote possibility. What you can get
as a result is a difference in interpretation between the user (The
M515 is susceptible to SUDS) and Palm (We don't think your M515 is
afflicted by SUDS). Press on (IT *IS* SUDS!!) and you trigger a
perfectly normal human response - Palm goes on the defensive (Oh no, it
isn't) - leading to a stalemate.
---
Kind Regards,
Rolf Brunsting - Darp - Netherlands
*++++++++++&
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