PalmAddicts

Gaming on the iPhone - could be great

I've seen a number of articles on various sites recently regarding the iPhone's potential as a gaming platform.  Everyone seems to agree that the phone has the hardware to make a superb gaming machine.  The best article I have come across is on Roughly Drafted Magazine and was written by Eran Dilger.  As a developer, himself, he has more credibility than some of the other writers I've read.

In a long and very interesting article he states: "

The iPhone is in a significantly different class of performance, has far more internal resources for games, and is equipped with a variety of other hardware–from its camera to its ubiquitous (if slow) mobile network to its multitouch high resolution display and accelerometers–all of which have to power to unlock entirely new classes of games and other more serious applications.

As a handheld console, this feature set makes the iPhone a bit like the Wii, with interactive new gameplay features, and a bit like the PS3, with higher performance gaming specs and additional online and media capabilities. Buyers won’t have to decide if they want a handheld game console; they’ll get it for free when they buy the iPhone or iPod Touch."

I suggest you read the whole thing here, and start to get excited now!

Dead Again? How I Solved My Treo 750 Battery Drain Issue

My Treo 750 uses a pre-paid Cingular SIM and makes a great backup phone when my Treo 755p has less-than-perfect coverage. The phone pretty much goes with me most places when I am out and about and has been very reliable. But the last few weeks, I've gone to use it and have found it completely dead. I plug it into the charger, get the battery back up to full and go back to using it again, only to find it dead later on in the day.

In searching the web on various Treo-based forums, I found several hints to resolving my issue. One was related to ActiveSync and how it operates on Windows Mobile devices. The first suggestion was to check if the application was running. You can check programs that are running by tapping on the Start menu, then tapping Settings and then tapping the System tab. Then double-tapping the Memory icon, you are presented with three tabs. Tap the Running Programs tab. It shows a window of the programs that are running. If ActiveSync shows up here, just tap the name and then tap the Stop button.

In further searching the web, I found this link to an article on ActiveSync draining battery issues. The directions to change the schedule for ActiveSync polling are pretty easy to follow and I was able to verify that my Treo 750 could still automatically sync as it had before I made the changes.

But one of the biggest culprits ended up being Bluetooth. Tapping on the Bluetooth icon, it took me to the Bluetooth settings. Tap the Mode tab and you are given two check box options. The first is Turn on Bluetooth. If you do not use a Bluetooth headset or do not use Bluetooth to connect to a laptop or another device, then turning off Bluetooth can really save battery life. The other check box is Make this device visible to other devices. Unchecking this is highly recommended to prevent random users from trying to attach to your phone or your phone seeking out other Bluetooth devices. With newer vehicles on the road that have Bluetooth built-in to them, just driving through a parking lot can generate a lot of Bluetooth chatter, taking down the battery life in the process.

Since I've made each of these changes, I've noticed that each time I've gone to use my phone, it's on and available. The reliability is back without sacrificing too much functionality.

Googling with my Treo 700p

When I started with my first Treo (a 650, about 3 years ago), I gradually expanded my internet browsing to the point where I signed up for unlimited data to save me money. Now that I have my 700p, and use it for Dial Up Networking modem via Bluetooth, I'm very glad I did that. Every evening after work, my wife and I sit down, talk about the day and unwind. I usually read, and my wife does her crossword puzzle, or crypto-quote. We've been known to have a glass of wine as well. We have this really large Webster's Dictionary that lives on the bottom shelf of an end table. Every time she needs a word looked up, it's a very difficult one-handed reach for me. So - enter Google on the Treo. I leave my Treo within arm's reach and keep the Blazer web on the home page, with the Google search box. Voila! It's especially handy when you really don't have enough information to look up in the dictionary. Usuallly, within seconds, I have an answer. Not an earth-shattering example of usage, but it sure has saved my shoulder!

ScreendumpDA JPG version

I have been using Alex Pruss' freeware, ScreenDumpDA for some time now to make screenshots for various uses. One of the issues with all the screenshot apps I have tried has been that they usually create the shot in bmp format. And there is no good way to convert to jpg using a Palm application; you would have to move the file to a computer first. Well, I noticed a discussion about this at 1src recently. Since the DA is opensource, an industrious Palm user changed the code to make the screenshot output a jpg instead of bmp. How cool is that? Now I can create a screenshot and then ftp or email it without having to use a computer to convert to jpg first. That is incredibly helpful to me and others that may do a lot of beta testing.   

Introduction From a Long Time Mobile User

Hello Palm Addict readers. My name is Marty Mankins. I’m a new Associate Writer here and wanted to introduce myself. I’ve been using handhelds, PDAs and smartphones since 1989 and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the pages of Palm Addict.

My current arsenal of gadgets I use on a daily basis keeps me both organized and with no shortage of a mobile device that is nearby at all times. Between my main phone – a Treo 755p, my backup phone – a Treo 750 (running Windows Mobile 6 Pro), an HP Jornada 728 (for the instant-on feature, being able to write down ideas, articles, thoughts and notes) and a MacBook Pro (running both Mac OS X Tiger and VMWare Fusion with Windows XP to keep all of the above mobile devices synced and backed up), I have pretty much everything I need to keep it all together, no matter where I go.

And speaking of going, I will be traveling this next week – literally on the road – going through Nevada and California to see the sites, visit family and end up in Las Vegas before heading home. I will be connected along the way via tethered access to the web on my 755p.

I will try to post as often as time allows with some of my thoughts on using mobile devices. For now, it's great to be posting out here and hope you will enjoy what I have to share.

The PalmAddict Podcast 107 (24 March 2008)

[From Tyler Faux] The PalmAddict Podcast 107 (24 March 2008) Show Notes:
-Easter Giveaway
-TextTwist review by Hannah Bloor
-Top 10 next gen Palm fixes by Michael Brown
-Treo/iPhone/BlackBerry comparison

[MP3] Download Palm Addict in the usual mp3 format or just listen through streaming normal.

[RSS] You can subscribe to the Official Palm Addict Podcast RSS feed here and have the Podcast delivered to you in your RSS aggregator.

[SUBSCRIBE:] Remember you can subscribe via i-Tunes and never miss an episode.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

Paragon Software Group Releases Duden-Oxford German-English Dictionary for Mobile Devices of All Popular Platforms

[From Katia Shabanova, Paragon] Paragon Software Group (Smart Handheld Devices division) is proud to present Duden-Oxford German-English Dictionary supporting all smartphones and other mobile devices. The original source, due to the compressing engine developed by Paragon, is now offered in digital format and can be used on all mobile devices, making it light to carry and always at hand. The dictionary can be used on all the most popular mobile platforms, such as Symbian OS (S60 3rd Edition and UIQ 3.0), Windows Mobile (Pocket PC and Smartphone editions) and Palm OS, and requires only 10 MB of memory card space.

Due to Paragon’s state-of–the-art engine, the dictionary’s most comprehensive database can now be browsed rapidly, making a wireless translation for language learners of all levels – effortless. Paragon’s technology makes it possible for mobile users around the globe to work and communicate in languages spoken by 420 million people even more easily. The German-English dictionary contains practical advice on selecting the right idioms used in everyday spoken and written communication. The program offers numerous examples of word usage and spelling, and even covers such important language aspects as regional and national differences. Additionally, the dictionary features a “Documents” folder with useful instructions on German and English grammar, country studies, provides e-mail samples as well as tips for phone calls and SMS messages.

Additional new features include:
• An extensive database of 300,000 word entries and 470,000 translations
• 8,000 audio pronunciations for difficult words
• The possibility to translate the word in any grammatical form and in any application running on the device without switching to the dictionary program
• Special search for words with unknown spelling using “?” and “*” symbols
• The list of recently searched words
• Multilingual on-screen keyboard layout enabling users to enter and translate words and letters in different languages, even if it is not supported by device (for S60 and Windows Mobile Smartphone)
• Special learning tools such as Flash Cards and Word of the Day
• Dictionary installation to memory cards in order to economize memory space on the device (Please note that some features may vary or not be offered, depending on platform.)

“Duden-Oxford German-English Dictionary (Duden-Oxford Gro?worterbuch) represents a high-quality editorial work accomplished by the world’s two most authoritative publishers – Brockhaus Duden Neue Medien and Oxford University Press and is one of the most sought-after linguistic reference sources available on the market,” commented Jeanne Kolesnik, business development director , Smart Handheld Devices and Epocware divisions, Paragon Software Group. “Paragon Software is proud to offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date reference solution of contemporary English and German in a light-to-carry format, which is always at hand, making wireless translation easy.”

Duden-Oxford German-English Dictionary on Palm OS is available for 39.95 EUR via download from http://www.penreader.com. Editions for Symbian OS will be offered March 2008 for 49.95 EUR. Windows Mobile versions will be available for sale April 2008 for 49.95 EUR (Windows Mobile Pocket PC) and 39.95 EUR (Windows Mobile Smartphone). For other sales inquiries, please contact corporate-sales@penreader.com.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

Ordering and Inventory

Lately I've been using my Centro to help me manage ordering and inventory at work. When I took over the role, the first question I asked myself was, why am I doing all of this by hand. I set up a spreadsheet (in Docs-to-go) to track all of my inventory, with calculations to suggest how much to order each week based on our usage. My manager was so impressed that she wants to set up the spreadsheet on a laptop and do all of the order and inventory management on similar spreadsheets.
A word of advice about deploying a solution like this on your smartphone. Make sure you test the spreadsheet before you're out in the field. Not all of the functions available in Excel are available in Docs-to-go. I made a change to my spreadsheet to improve it, but managed to break it instead. Unfortunately, I didn't discover my error until after I was already at work.

Foxmarks Mobile - Carry Your Firefox bookmarks Everywhere

So here is a tip for anyone who uses Firefox as his or her browser. Foxmarks is a plug-in for Firefox that syncs your bookmarks with a server so you can keep the same bookmarks for multiple computers. But here is the mobile tip that I find very useful - you can also log into Foxmarks mobile and access all your bookmarks using your smartphone browser. Foxmarks mobile even preserves any bookmark folders you have set up. Go to foxmarks.com to check it out.

Tradewinds 2 Follow-up

After completing and posting my review of Astraware's Tradewinds 2, I found myself unable to stop playing the game. Finally, yesterday, I reached a breaking point that let me take some time off from trading in the Carribean and catch up on RSS feeds and other hobbies: I completed the story mode.
Each of the four main characters has their own story that gets developed during the completion of governors' tasks. After at least ten hours of gameplay (around 4 years of in-game time) I completed a long and complex task that culminated in the defeat of the Pirate Laroche, and the end of story mode. The game announced my triumph, and switched over to free trade mode (no more tasks).
My prize for completing the story of one of the four main characters was unlocking Laroche as a playable character, and the ability to create a custom character. I was especially interested to create my own custom pirate.
The custom character is somewhat more limiting than I had hoped. Instead of full control over the engine that creates the little character portraits, you set three criteria (gender, class, and ethnicity), and the game creates a portrait. You can press a button to make a new portrait as many times as you like, until you land on one you like. And there are easily thousands of possible combinations of faces, hairstyles, jewelry, etc. that go into creating the portraits. Your character's name is similarly generated by a randomizing button.
For now, I'm going to try and stay away from Tradewinds 2 for a little while. I hope the withdrawal isn't too uncomfortable...

Note Taking on the Road

Here is a quick post from the road. The Treo 680 has a built-in voice recorder, but I have been using mVoice since my Treo 650 since that phone did not have voice recording built in. I find that long trips in the car really get my creative juices flowing - probably due to the lack of interuptions. It is a bit dangerous typing on a smartphone while driving, so I have been using mVoice from MotionApps (motionapps.com) to record my thoughts or lyrics for a new song. mVoice provides an easy way to do this at the push of a button. The software also allows you to record your voice calls, either incoming or both sides of the conversation, so you can remenber what was said beteween you and a client, coworker or boss. mVoice has settings to compress your recordings to save space or maximize quality. I am not sure if you'd want to use this to record a podcast interview, but it would certainly work in a pinch. I was thinking this morning about how great it will be when technology progresses nough to support voice recognition on a smartphone and you can dictate your notes into your favorite apps, be it Memo, Tasks, or SplashNotes. That is probably a long way off, but it will certainly be safer than thumb-typing while driving! (This is my first post to Palm Addict via Treo, so hopefully it renders ok for you)

My Review of Butler

One of the true must-have applications for any Treo owner is Hobbyist' Butler. This suite of handy software utilities, packaged in a small footprint (totaling about 200 KB) single application, offers a real "Swiss army knife" of all things Palm should have, but unfortunately did not, bundle with its smartphone devices.

Among the rich features offered by Butler: sophisticated alarm setting and handling, management of system notifications (such as missed incoming calls, SMS and voicemail), better use and control of the phone led (e.g. turning it completely off at night, and using it to indicate missed system notifications), nifty additions to built-in button features (such as extending the one-key-press application launch feature to work outside the phone application or the ability to use the side volume keys to quickly switch to a previous application or scroll up and down inside a document) and advanced security features (including the ability to remotely lock or wipe the memory of your phone by sending a password identified special SMS). The variety of features can totally change your user experience, leaving you wondering how could you have managed your daily life without it.

Though a thorough discussion of the various features is beyond the scope of this short post, I would like to elaborate a bit about two of the features, which make Butler for me a real "killing application": the handling of alarms and that of system notifications.

Butler' alarms is a sophisticated feature, in par with dedicated alarm applications. Not only does it offer the setting of multiple daily alarms, each of which with its own setting of volume, repetition frequency and interval, and such additional attention-grabbers as flashing screen, graduate volume increase, led blinking and vibration, but you can also choose from the built-in midi ringtones or the a use an external MP3 player to play your favorite tune. In addition, you can customize the alarm message and event have your choice of application launched as soon as the alarm is clear (which might be great for, example, to easily view today's schedule, or the expected weather…).

Notification handling or the "attention grabber" as it is called in Butler, is really something I cannot understand how Palm has failed to bundle with the Treo. The idea is simple – whenever you miss some system notification, such as a phone call missed while you where out of the room, Butler is there to ensure you would not fail to notice it. Thus, for example, you can make butler set the led to orange color in such cases (which is super handy in noisy environment as a simple peek at the phone, without turning the screen on, would reveal that you have missed a call/alarm/etc.), or ask that a short beep alarm would sound every five minutes to remind you of the need to attend the notification. In addition, and to avoid waking out at night due to some stupid missed SMS, you can also tell Butler not to nag you during such and such hours.

More than its diverse collection of great tools, Butler is worthy of high commendation for its attention to the smallest details. Thus, for example, if you set an alarm while your ringer is switched to silence, you would get a warning message (which has saved me time and again from missing my alarms). Similarly, great attention and effort has been put into squeezing out the most of each of the various Treo models. Thus, for example, Treo 600 owners are offered a way to compensate for the lack of a built-in message privacy feature which prevents SMS messages from being immediately displayed, while owners of newer Treo models have some additional features available for manipulating the red and green phone hard buttons.

All in all Butler is a very professional, highly polished application, which I would personally recommend as a first choice for any Treo owner.

Highly recommended.

Hugs, Maya.

Control your mobile device with a WII remote

I saw this article a few days ago on the Boy Genius site. Its a app that lets you use your Nintendo WII controls with a S60 phone (Symbian OS). It only needs a bluetooth connection, which means any phone with bluetooth can have this feature. Think about it, setting down your mobile device on a table or even holding your device with one hand and using the other hand with the WII control, playing arcade games much like the ones on the WII. Lets see if anyone picks this idea up to make a Palm app.

TreoHour

Here is something cool for free I guess it's TreoHour. TreoHour is a small chime application that causes the Treo to emit audible beeps every quarter hour (single beep), half hour (single beep) or one hour (two beeps). TreoHour has several user configurable options. From v2.5 on, the "Full Screen" option also displays the ringer status and alerts, messages and email counts. Now, includes KeyGuard and PopUp functionality. Be aware of the passage of time with TreoHour. Operation Invoking TreoHour from the Preferences Panel will display the TreoHour Preferences form. The options are straightforward and self-explanatory. Limitations of TreoHour Chimes may not be accurate to the second. Time is flexible, after all.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

Quick reminder PalmAddict giveaway ends tomorrow

Right my PalmAddict friends remember that my giveaway and thats for the Sony Vaio TZ11XN ends at midnight US PT tomorrow, Tuesday which means you only have 1 day left to write and get your mobile thoughts to me if you wish to be in for a chance of me pulling your name out of the hat at random. Whilst I am talking about throwaway's I still have two winners to announce from last week and I will do that probably midweek when I return to the UK. Also remember that if you don't give your pice a title then you don't get entered and I still get the odd person who sends something in that they have sent before or just sends me a blank email and again sorry you guys are not entered you need to follow the guidelines.

It's always nice to see the emails sent in that give me a good mobile thought and at the end always say a nice hello or a thank you or a personal message. Your emails are great, sometimes I get emails from people who just want the prize and never say thank you and whilst this is fine I guess they forget it's always the personal message that I remember. So if your entering the throwaway then don't be afraid to drop a quick personal message at the end of your email, a thank you or a message hi never goes a miss and it's always appreciated. As always guidelines for the throwaway are in the sticky post here.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

Time Deluxe updated

[From Eric Mann] Time Deluxe recently got updated to version 1.26. "Time Deluxe is a contemporary clock that has absorbed the best and most necessary of what PalmOS can offer. Excellent graphical user interface, analog and digital clock, skins support, alarm clock, the world map with over 550 cities all over, and much more. Not a single second will be wasted with Time Deluxe! " I used this some time ago and it actually is quite a neat clock for your Palm device, it's not free however but does retail for $14.95 and there is a free trial to take advantage of. Available from Deluxeware.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

Monday morning thoughts

Two phones seem to dominate New York wherever I go and that's the Blackberry and the iPhone. As my regular readers will know I go to both of these locations on a regular basis and with this in mind I often see people use Blackberry devices and there has been a growing number use iPhones although I do think the Blackberry seems to capture more market. However, I have spotted Treo and Centro users and that maybe due to the fact that I have a Centro myself so it has made me more observant, people seem to be using either Treo 700p or it's Windows Mobile counterparts, I don't seem to see many people using the 680. I did see on Saturday someone on the subway using a Tungsten TX and it's not uncommon when I am in NYC to see someone using a Palm m500 series which it's great to see people still using such a device although this week I have not seen anyone. I'm always observant, almost nosey I guess when it comes to what cellphones or mobile gadgets people use and so it's nice to keep a look out.

I want to thanks readers Jack and Lynn who met up with a coffee with me on Saturday for a coffee at La Bonbonniere on 8th and Hudson and although I wasn't anticipating meeting up with people this time round as I am i NYC for 6 weeks in June it was a short notice meeting and good to meet you guys. It's always great to read up readers and see what devices and experiences you have. That's what PalmAddict is all about how we use our Palm, mobile devices [whatever device you own]. Many people make the transition to different mobile devices and it really doesn't matter if your using a Palm PDA or a Palm smartphone or an iPhone, everyone is welcome and at the end of the day it's all about how we use these great little mobile devices and how they help and assist us in our daily lives so thank you everyone and all of our editors and writers here at Palm Addict for sharing your mobile thoughts with me. In the meantime I send you warm regards from New York and hoping that you are enjoying the end of the Easter break.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

Whilst I am talking beta's from shsh, TAKEphONE 7.55 (045) beta is available.

[From Eric Mann] Whilst I am talking beta's from shsh, TAKEphONE 7.55 (045) beta is available. The following changes apply: Journal in DayNotez: fixed a bug with auto-launching of DayNotez after an journal created. Send contact: changed default action for “Send” screen button in contact “Details” screen. Schedule call: added option (in “Misc 1” prefs) to set default button in dialog.

So what is TAKEphONE? Well it allows no stylus operation and one-handed dialing. Advanced search - search all fields, multiple methods, field combinations. Extra digits & pauses - from any phone field in any contact. Call cards mechanism - define scripts for using calling cards automatically. Capture - dial, sms, email, browse & search the internet for numbers & text from other apps.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

4Cast Beta available to download

[From Eric Mann] From the excellent guys at shsh, 4cast 1.80 (005) is a beta download and adds the following:
- Check for updates: option added to main menu.
- General: fix for trial & registration mechanism.
- Advanced wireless prefs: hide Treo options if device is not Treo.

As always remember this is a beta and you can download from shsh.

4cast - Downloads weather information from weather.yahoo.com. Displays forecast for the next 5 days, and details (e.g. wind, humidity, text forecast ...) for today. Also displays weather maps and alerts. Can be used as a plugin for 2day, DateBk6 & ZLauncher
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

mOcean

[From Eric Mann] mOcean is a great program and that deserves gretter credit for what it is. Its a great music player for your Palm device and again if you have a Centro this works fine and it's currently up to version 3.0.2. "mOcean is a free application for your Treo and Centro smartphone which allows you to enjoy your music, photos, videos, audiobooks, podcasts and internet radio with a flick of a finger. Free, ad-supported version of mOcean will display only a small banner at top of the screen." There is a free version which displays a banner or you can purchase an activation code for $29.99 so you don't have to see the banner and it's available from MotionApps.
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

WeatherMan 1.1.1 works well with the Centro

[From Eric Mann] There is another weather program - Weatherman available for Palm users and this time its from Toysoft, looks useful enough and retails for $5.99. I tried this on the Centro and it works fine. "Features

Supports Treo® 650/700p/680/755/Centro, Palm® T/T2/T3/T5/TX/Life Drive, Z72
Live weather reports for any city
Search on city or US zip code
5 day forecast
Home city. Always display home city on launch
Favorites. Add your favorite cities to the database and easily get weather for them
Celsius or Fahrenheit display
Detail report for current day's outlook
Cool graphics
Can run launched from SD card
Intuitive user interface"
[Sammy - This post blogged on my iPhone from New York City]

Preparing for next week

[From Ronald Abadi Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia] Sunday night. I am home now, and will go to bed soon, but first I want to make sure I am prepared for next week. I am doing this just as I am typing. Okay, first I have gone through the to-do list. Let's see... I have a couple of things to check tomorrow in the office. Nothing too urgent, nothing too crucial, but necessary nevertheless. No meeting during the day, although with my boss unscheduled meetings are normal. No appoinment after work as well, but I have one coming on Tuesday evening. Another one maybe Thursday or Friday evening. I have not yet decided the exact time. Scheduled lunch with wife on Wednesday. A company training is coming up, but won't start until April 2, so that is not a concern next week. Okay... not a busy week, it seems. Next, some clean-up... I have fired up the usual backup software, made backup of SMS and call lists during last week, transferred the backup files into my laptop, and continued to delete those SMS and call lists. A regular soft restart followed. Next, I checked the battery. Well, I think it is still enough until tomorrow afternoon. I will have to charge this thing tomorrow after lunch. I changed the wallpaper of my PDA, just to have a fresh new look for the week ahead. Okay, that's about it. I turn on the flight mode now to conserve more power. I guess I'll play a few short games before going to bed, although that probably means I have to charge the device in the morning instead of in the afternoon. Anyway, that's all, good night, everybody!

Twitter on the Treo: TreoTwit is now MoTwit + version update

TreoTwit, the Palm OS application that allows you easily post to and access your Twitter account, has been renamed and upgraded. The current version is MoTwit 1.00 from MiTreo. In their own words:

"TreoTwit is now MoTwit. With this new 1.0 version we thought that our mobile Twitter application needed a name that reflect the fact that you can use MoTwit from several Palm OS devices (Centro, PDAs, Clié), not only from Treo devices. MoTwit is a freeware application.

With MoTwit you can send your twitters  from your mobile device. MoTwit also has shortcuts (”Open” combobox) that open the more common Twitter pages (mobile version) in your web browser . . ."

I really like this little application. Anything that can streamline the way we access the web from our smartphones is appreciated. If you Twitter, this is one to try.

My Treo gets me ready for every work day!

I just wanted to share how I use my Treo 700p every work day.  Every morning with the help of some special software, I use my Treo to wake me up.  I have wake up alarms setup for the work week, and one for the weekend. It is so reliable, It does the job everyday with out fail.  I just had to set this up only once, and it does its thing forever, until I decide to change it.  Also, the time on the phone is always correct, because it is set to keep time with my mobile phone provider.  So I can always sleep with confidence that my Treo will always wake me up on time. 

Once I am up, the Treo keeps me informed.  I use it to check the latest news, and to quickly scan my office email. Because I live in Hawaii, we start our day much later than the rest of the country.  So checking email gives me a chance to be prepared for any emergencies before I get in.  It is really a great feeling to be able to hit the ground running as soon as I turn on my computer in the office.  Yes, I guess you could say that I am very attached to my Treo.  I don't know what I would do without my mobile device!

How I Used my Palm T|X This Weekend

I was kind of laid up over the weekend with some weird bug so I spent most of my time in bed.  Fortunately, thanks to my T|X, I was able to check my e-mail (with Gmail), keep up with my RSS feeds (I use Google Reader and normally use NetFront), play a few games (my favorites are Patience, Dice 121, Bejeweled, TextTwist, and SuLite), and read some eBooks (I finished "Inherit the Stars" by James P. Hogan from Baen Books, and started "Redliners" by David Drake) without getting out of bed or grabbing my laptop.  I'm sure glad my T|X has wifi capability.

What I did with my iPhone today

As usual I used the alarm to wake up.  We drove to Washington DC to see my uncle and just came back.  All on the same day, about 500 miles total.  I drove down, but my wife drove back.  Boring!! So while I was sitting in the passenger seat I used my iPhone to check my email and my RSS feeds.  Listened to some music and some podcasts so my wife could listen to her political programs on the radio.  Having a good set of noise isolating earphones, such as the Etymotics, means that two people in the same car can listen to separate things.  While I was with my uncle, who is 89, he mentioned a restaurant he remembered in San Francisco when he was stationed there in the '40s.  Just for fun I called up Google maps and entered the name and guess what?  It was still there, and at the same location.  We got a great kick out of that.

A Blast from the Past

As I was looking around for images to use in my PalmAddict posts, I came across this old photograph of me holding one of my first Palm devices, a US Robotics PalmPilot Personal with a PalmIII upgrade card. I couldn't wait until I could come up with a better reason to use the picture, so here it is. Thought you all might get a kick out of it.

I remember very well the Christmas day I opened the gift from my wife and found this inside. Naturally, I had dropped a few hints, but I don't think I stopped grinning for hours. I kinda miss that old green and grey color scheme. I even replicated it on a webpage I maintain that keeps track of all the Palm devices that I have owned and what I have put on them for software. I've really got to update the page now that I have upgraded my Treo to a 680 but it is interesting that even way back when I started the page I was marveling at how much one could put on a single handheld device. In fact, that was the reason I started that chronicle in the first place, "painstakingly coded in Web 0.9." And now, I continue the evangelism through my posts here at Palm Addict.

Syncing my Palm and Google Calendars

My colleague Rich Kendrick has been commenting on trying to keep his and his wife's Centro calendar in sync (also here). His comments actually got me reinvestigating the use of Google calendar with my Treo. I have never been one to use Google Calendar much, primarily because I was happy with my Palm desktop and there wasn't an easy way to synch a Google calendar with the Palm desktop. I can appreciate the advantage to having an up-to-date Google calendar, primarily the ability to share my calendar with others. After reading Rich's posts and others, I decided to give Google calendar a try, along with CompanionLink for Google. So far, I am quite pleased with the transparency of the process of keeping my calendars in synch. I ignore Google calendar and continue to make my changes on my Treo and with Palm desktop. When I sync, CompanionLink runs a conduit and synchs my Palm calendar and my Google calendar. CompaionLink for Google provides the ability to schedule syncs according to your needs, and syncs BlackBerry handhelds, Windows Mobile handhelds (via Outlook), Palm OS handhelds and Apple iPhone (USB sync via iTunes). CompaionLink plays well with the Palm calendar enhancement that I use, DateBk6, and I would imagine it works with Agendus as well. While this option is not free, I think the price ($29.95) is reasonable for a mature, commercial application. A 14-day trial is available, which should give one sufficient time to see if the program suits his or her needs. One of the neat things I have discovered with Google calendar is the ability to "add on" or subscribe to other calendars. For instance, you can subscribe to the phases of the moon and 5-day forecast and this information will show up on your Google calendar. With CompanionLink for Google, this information is then carried to your Palm calendar when you sync up. While Rich continues his search for an easy way to keep two Palm devices in sync with one another, I am enjoying the ability to share my calendar with others and the other benefits offered by Google calendar.

Easter, Mobile Tech, and on the Road . . . Again!

Happy Easter, all. I am once again traveling south towards NYC on business, and reflected along the trip on how mobile technology has changed the way we work and live. While traveling, I was able to update my progress to family by calling from my vehicle using my cellphone with a bluetooth link to my GPS (in the past, I would have had to find a pay phone, stop, and call from there). That same GPS provided spoken directions and even updated those directions whenever I strayed from the chosen path, such as when I stopped to shop (in the past, I would have had to wrestle with paper maps - NOT a safe task while driving but often done). I sent text messages to friends to let them know where I was and Twittered a few updates, as well (in the past, ???? - I guess that same pay phone or they would just hear about my trip when I got back). I took a photo of the traffic backup at a toll booth, using my cell phone, and emailed it to a friend (in the past, I would have had to take out a film camera, have the film processed when I got home, and mail a copy of the photo to my friend . . . about a week later). And I whiled away the miles listening to my favorite tech podcasts, Car Talk, and an audiobook, all through my car radio (in the past, I would have been stuck with the car radio, constantly switching stations as I moved out of range of the one to which I was listening, and the content would be limited to what I could find). On the trip down, I got current weather updates for my destination, my home, and my project work site so I would know what I was facing tonight, tomorrow, and the ride home Tuesday (in the past, I would hope to catch the weather on the TV news; in the not so distant past, I would have to wait until I arrived at a place with a computer and an internet connection). I was also able to view current traffic conditions for the road ahead (in the past, not available except by hoping to catch a radio announcer with a traffic update). All of this made possible by four small devices - a Treo smartphone, an iPod, a mobile GPS navigation system, and an FM transmitter. And this is just the stuff I did while driving South this afternoon. There is so much more that mobile tech enables for us and so many more uses I will put it through in the days ahead. Isn't mobile tech grand?

Syncing Obsession revisited

Some of you may remember that I have previously posted about my obsessive desire to automatically keep my Centro calendar in sync with my wife's Centro calendar. In that last post, I concluded that GooSync was likely my best bet, but the cost was high (and prohibitive at the moment). Well, some recent posts by PalmAddicts readers have alerted me to some new options, and the keyword here is FREE!
First up is the news that Google has released a sync client for Microsoft Outlook. And like most things Google, it's FREE! Pros: Synchronize Outlook with your Google Calendar, using a sync client created by Google, for FREE. Cons: It only syncs with Outlook (no Palm Desktop or OTA sync). It only syncs with your default Google calendar, so complex calendar sharing is out. More info here.
Next up is an online calendar collaboration tool that's seen a couple mentions in the past few weeks here on PA. I'd never run across it before, but it definitely has a lot of promise. AirSet will automatically sync your Outlook or PalmDesktop calendar with shareable online calendars. Pros: PalmDesktop sync supported. Automatic. Supports fairly complex calendar/category syncing. It's FREE. Cons: No OTA support for Palm handhelds.
And finally, free hosted Microsoft Exchange Server with Mail2web. This one gets fairly good reviews everywhere I looked, and offers server backup of contacts, calendar, tasks and email for free. Pros: Versatile hosted exchange server and push email solution for FREE. Exchange Activesync support (which comes built into Versamail) for OTA updates. Cons: You must use Outlook for Hotsync, or you risk duplicate entries in your calendar data. According to the website, collaborative calendar functionality is limited to premium accounts, which are fairly expensive.
I haven't yet tried any of these solutions myself. As I posted in my earlier musings, I'd greatly prefer to stick to PalmDesktop for my desktop sync. However, the more I learn about collaborative calendars and syncing, the more I find that your data is at risk for duplicate entries or lost entries. Exchange Server appears to be the most reliable way to avoid duplicate data, but at the cost of being locked into the Microsoft Exchange Server system completely.
AirSet looks like the best free solution that will allow me to stick with PalmDesktop. I haven't tried it yet because the AirSet website warns you that all your category data will be replaced with the AirSet category data (and I haven't yet worked up the nerve to spend several frustrating hours testing solutions and restoring backed-up data if it doesn't work right). I've also begun to think that the only system that will genuinely solve my problem is one that uses an OTA, seemless and invisible solution. And that means Goosync or Exchange Server.
If you're already syncing with Outlook, you might consider this solution to the collaborative calendar problem. This is a really simple, clever, FREE idea that I'm very tempted to try (and if I disable the calendar conduit in Hotsync, I may even be able to keep using PalmDesktop for the rest of my desktop syncing needs).

Share and share alike

[From jimmy flores] Last weekend, a friend came over for dinner and while we were hanging out, he pulled out his new Treo 680p. He had just got it after trying windows mobile and deciding it wasn?t for him. And as we talked about the Treo I realized one thing I never quite noticed about the being a Treo user. We like to share things. Maybe that?s why we all read and post our experiences here on Palm Addict. Or why Sammy started this site in the first place. I also realized a Treo selling point that?s overlooked and under marketed. It?s the ability to instantly send and receive files and software from Treo to Treo. We spent the evening sitting outside, drinking beer and sending our favorite shareware and freeware titles over Bluetooth and showing off tips and tricks. I sent him apps to help him use his phone like NVBackup and Blackjack and he sent me Poker and some photos from his snowboarding trip. In the end, it?s an experience that can?t be duplicated the same way on the iPhone or Windows Mobile. It's uniquely Palm and it's one reason why I'm a Palm Addict.

More software for your Centro

[From Gabriel Castellanos Albany, NY] Last time I wrote about power hero, this time I'll talk about another gem: phone technician. This is another piece of software that should have been part of the Centro, it has 9 different utilities but I only use 3: Screen off during call: want to save battery? This option will turn off your screen while you are in a call but allow you to turn it on if you need it. Stay put: don't you finf annoying when your are in an app, a call comes in and you are transfer to the phone app, no questions asked? With this option you stay in the app you are, awesome! Easy dial: You are in an app that don't support you treo/centro (like dataviz bayond contacts ) that doesn't let you dial a number drom the app? No problem, select the phone press the green button and start your call! As you can see this is another great piece of software from Hobbyist Software.
PowerHero is available to download from HobbyistSoftware

IF ONLY HE HAD A MOBILE DEVICE BACK THEN...

[From Ronald Abadi Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia] A few days ago I just finished re-reading Clifford Stoll's book, "The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage." I bought the book about 10 years ago, read it only once at that time, and did not re-read it until several days ago. It is a true story about the author of the book, Cliff Stoll. In that 1990s book, set in 1986, Cliff was tracking a hacker from Hannover that hacked into his Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) in order to break into some thirty military bases.

In order not to have to watch the monitor days or nights just to detect the hacker showed up, Cliff programmed his UNIX workstation to send him a message to his pocket pager whenever the hacker was on. He made it so that the workstation sent a message in morse code, so that he could also differentiate which account name the hacker used to logon to the system. While reading the book, I could not help thinking that if only mobile devices existed back then, Cliff Stoll would have had much more power in his hand.

Let me dream out loud for a while... let's see, I think Cliff could have programmed the workstation to send out SMS instead. So, the message would have been more complete than just morse codes. Or maybe, I don't know, maybe he could setup a program which would capture the hacker's activity, and would sum it up into an auto-created RSS feed that Cliff could download from his mobile device anytime. Sure a pocket pager worked just fine in his situation, but what if he was outside and could not reach his Macintosh to dial to his UNIX workstation at the lab? Well, if he had a mobile device, perhaps he could also use whatever VNC (Virtual Network Computing) software he had on his mobile device to connect to the workstation instead, wherever and whenever he was, as long as he had a mobile connection.

What about the logbook? Well, in the book it is told that Cliff kept the records of his tracking the hacker on a logbook. I think he could organize it well on a mobile device too, and probably could browse or peruse the information better wherever and whenever. I am sure there are many other things Cliff Stoll could have thought of that I can't if he had a mobile device back then.

My Treo Day

[From KevinH - Luton, UK] My T680 day starts with an alarm call from 2PlayMe. A quick check on the days weather with either 4Cast or Palmary ClockWireless, or both, and then check my emails in ChatterMail. Chatter has really transformed my palm useage. The treo line has given me a reason to carry my palm device with me at all times, but it is chatter that has really given me the reason to actually use it constantly throughout the day. The data contract that supplies my emails also allows me to surf the web via Blazer during slow periods at work. Once home, quiet spells can be filled with the odd game of sudoku or patience courtesy of some great freeware apps. Phone calls and texts are identified by ringtones supplied by RingCare. Meetings and appointments and a whole lot more go into Agendus. Birthdays and anniversaries are remembered thanks to Happydays, another fine freeware. And finally, once the day is done, my treo guides me to bed by acting as a torch as I turn out the lights. Then, even as I sleep, it backs itself up courtesy of RescoBackup, and updates the time and weather forecasts ready for the next morning. If only it could walk the dog, it would be perfect.

My centro and Kinoma allow me to be closer to home

[From Gabriel Castellanos Albany, NY] I love my centro and with Kinoma player I get to be closer to home that ever again, how? simply by allowing me to listen to the radio stations in Mexico that I used to listen when I lived there. Thanks to a converter from 2.5mm to 3.5mm and an FM transmitter I can stream the radio station to my car stereo and during my commute I can listen to the radio, music, news in spanish, live, just as if I were still living in Mexico!

Our Easter throwaway ends tomorrow - Sony Vaio TZ11XN

&Ladies and gentlemen our Easter Giveaway is now live and is a quickie lasting the Easter and ends tomorrow. My Sony Vaio TZ11XN throwaway will end at midnight US PT tomorrow [Tuesday] which means you only have a couple of days for this one. As always the guidelines are the same and as always easy and you'll find them in this sticky post. Good luck and get writing. ;/font>