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May at PalmDiscovery lets us know where to get Java VM for Palm now that Palm has officially pulled the JVM download link off their website. PalmDiscovery for the full read, bookmark the link if you want this for future reference.
The Palminfocenter reports today "Palm today released its Form 10-Q Quarterly report documents. The filling reveals that Palm lost $57 million dollars in the previous quarter, up from the $31.5 million which was previously reported.
Palm took an additional $25 million write-down charge for its auction-rate securities that have since lost value with the current problems in the debt and credit market. The Wall Street Journal recently published a report on the current problems with auction-rate securities and the tech industry which mentioned Palm." Palminfocenter has the full story.
[From Palm PR] Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced the Palm(R) Centro(TM) smartphone is now available to StarHub mobile customers in Singapore, making its trademark ease of use accessible for even more customers who want to stay connected with friends, family and co-workers.(1)
"Over a million units of the Palm Centro have been sold, and its already-rapid momentum is set to grow globally," said Olivier Rozay, Palm's regional director for Asia Pacific. "Working with StarHub, we are confident that even more feature-phone upgraders will soon discover why Centro has become so popular. A superior phone that incorporates a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard, Centro is a smart and feature-packed value."
Besides being compact, fun and stylish, Centro is an excellent choice for first-time smartphone users who are looking to better manage their lives - be it work or meeting up with friends. Centro helps users manage email and text messaging, keep track of their schedules, stay up-to-date on the latest news, and capture and share pictures. With additional features such as a built-in Google Maps application to quickly access maps or directions, and support for up to eight email accounts(1), Centro provides users with a unique mobile experience.
"We are delighted to work with Palm in bringing the exciting Palm Centro to our mobile customers in Singapore," said Philip Tan, StarHub's Head of Consumer Sales, Customer Experience and Technical Services. "With its advanced mobile features and attractive price point, the Palm Centro complements well our existing demographic base of young and trendy mobile road warriors."
The other day I finally managed to get my LifeDrive online via my wireless router. I had tried numerous times before but gave up after a short while because I could not get it to work. My problem was the AES encryption I had on my router; my LifeDrive cannot handle this level of encryption so I changed it to use TKIP. This isn’t as secure as AES so to redress the balance I set the router to not broadcast it’s SSID (identifying name), so now my router is invisible to the world and can’t be accessed, easily anyway, without knowing it’s name, the password and the device trying to access it being on an allowed client list.
Wireless security is very important and I encourage anyone who understands how to secure a router correctly to share their knowledge with friends and families.
For you who live in France, you're going to get a triple treatment from Orange mobile wireless carrier. Beatrice Mandine, Orange's director of press relations said on MIPTV 2008 in Cannes, that customers will be charged monthly fee to watch up to six channels from Orange in their TV, PC and mobile phone. The on-demand contents will include new films & series from Warner Bros, HBO and French film producers: Fidelite & Gaumont. One of the six channels will be offered in high definition of films and TV programs, yowza!
Mandine also stated that customers will need 3G enables mobile phone in order to enjoy this new service from Orange, and the bigger display is the better. Wow, talk about the mobile phone that is soon coming with 3G & has big display, yeah I'm talking bout the 3G iPhone. There's no holding back no more for Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) not to release 3G iPhone, since the European mobile market is such in high demand for it. Read on the complete news here at PC World.
[blogged with my Treo 750v]
Having too much affection for Apple's famous little music player is kinda okay nowadays, but showing it off too much to public while you're the president of USA; now that could become a new political scandal. It all started as those usual television interview shows, where President Bush talked with Fox New's reporter Brit Hume; and then at the end of the interview Hume asked Bush about that iPod he saw on the desk behind the President. The President then talked about how he like "the pretty-high stuff" (quoted), and beside the hard-drive iPod he also use the shuffle model with headphones to jog. He didn't stop there, instead the President showed and read out loud his playlist in the iPod; and here's where he mentioned the Beatles in that playlist.
It seems that the Beatles' albums & songs are not available yet in the iTunes or any other legal downloable web service, so the only way Mr. Bush has got the Beatles inside his iPod was ripping from CDs. And according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it is illegal to copy the CDs contents into your iPod. So by this way, it means the President Bush has broken the US law! Ouch, that should've teach every other political figures to be more careful to show off they're also gadget lover just like us. Read on the whole story on Tom's Hardware here, and watch the television interview in YouTube here.
[blogged with my Treo 750v]
LG went official with the latest addition of their Black Label series, the codenamed KF750. With 5M-pixels camera in it, you can spot those tiny details you always wanted to see of your friends' face. No official name revealed until now, but the most possible is LG will stay using KF750 instead. Here's the quick rundown of it:
According to GSMArena here, this KF750 is available first for Europe market at the end of this month; price still undisclosed yet.
[blogged with my Treo 750v]
I just found out about a new electronic product for your mobile device which is the blue tooth vibrating bracelet. This bracelet can help the user to receive calls discreetly with your mobile phone by vibrating on your wrist, rather than your phone vibrating loudly and interrupting a conference or some other important meeting. In addition, it can used for social and work environments when an individual is unable to have their mobile phone on person, because the bluetooth wristband can be easily set up with your mobile phone and can alert you in a private matter of any incoming calls on your mobile device, without alarming any one or bothering anyone with any loud noises. This device is supposed to have an easy user interface to help you get connected and set your device quickly and efficiently. This device has the latest Scandinavian wireless technology, because it is made overseas. It helps the mobile phone user to never miss a call, text message or any other communication method through the mobile device. The wristband also has a built in device to alert you when your near your phone or when it is 5 meters away from you, so you won't leave your cell phone behind or if you misplace your cell phone, you can easily find it with your bluetooth wristband. Furthermore, the device is rechargeable and it's packaging comes with charger and has a easy release buckle so it can come off and on, easily without any trouble. For any interested individuals, below this message are the features, the package features, dimensions, and technical specifications of the device.
Features: Alerts users to calls, txt, and MMS through vibrating. Proximity Alert function alerts users when they are more than 5m away from their mobile phone. Rechargeable (charged fully after 3 hrs). Charger Included. 100hrs Battery life on stand-by. Quick release buckle. Technical Specification: Bluetooth Spec: Version 1.2 - Compatible with V1.1, V1.2, & V2 Bluetooth Profiles Supported: Headset and Hands free profile Range of Frequency: 2.4GHz Spectrum Normal Charging Time: 3hrs Stand-by-Time: 100hrs Specification Dimensions: Height: 7.0cm Width: 1.5cm Depth: 14.0cm Weight: 0.2Kg
"Aaaarrgghhh...!!!", and that's what comes out of my mouth the first time I saw that Android handset picture on the left. I bet you did too, well, maybe you just dropped a jaw or something like that...
Anyway there's something missing from all of those new shiny mobile phones news coverage from the last CTIA 2008, it's the Google's Android. But thank goodness Sascha Segan from PC Mag got a hand on Qualcomm's prototype handset of Android's new build, although as you can see on the picture left; the prototype handset is very-very-very ugly! To me, it looks like that '80s mobile phone plus with unatractive choice of colors; and an antenna sticking out to stab your hip while you put it in your pocket. But inside those ugliness, there's a whooping 400+MHz chipset (MSM7201) processor inside it where it allows you to play Quake without any lag at all. Not only the Quake game's rendering is superb, the whole user interface looks sharp and brilliant; and seriously needs to be pimp-up from its simple look. It's a pity there's no mentioning about the handset's screen resolution to know the difference. Besides that, the prototype handset runs on AT&T's UMTS network and new customized menu icons. The web browser said to be improved significantly, and it ran Google Maps nicely. Watch all of the pictures slideshow here.
Another interesting news mentioned, was how AT&T's Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega convinced by undisclosed Google executive about the possibility to make a customized Android platform specially for AT&T handsets. Read the whole news here.
[blogged with my Treo 750v]
[From Eric Mann] There is a new beta of TAKEphONE 7.55 available for you guys to download with the following changes:
RANDOM THROWAWAY - OQO model e2. Contest ends next Wednesday 
Lindsey will choose a winner to our last throwaway on Wednesday in the meantime, I have just uploaded details on our new throwaway which to be fair the guidelines are pretty much the same as they always are. Just a reminder I am going to only keep this one open for a week and I'll close the throwaway next Wednesday, the 16th of April so if you wish to be entered then you don't have long to enter.
If your in Europe there is hope that you will soon be allowed to use your cellphone in the air. "Mobile phone calls will be allowed on planes flying in European airspace under new European Commission rules.
The decision means that mobiles could be used once a plane has reached an altitude of 3,000m or more.
It follows six months of consultation by the European regulator and the first services could launch next month." The BBC news has all the deets on this one.
[From Hans] One of my favourite podcasts, the MobileTechRoundup 128 is available for your listening pleasure. As always there is great mobile coverage to be had including thoughts on the new Opera Mini 4.1 beta and thoughts on the next version of Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows Mobile 6.1. Listen after the jump. I missed this and thanks to Hans for giving me the heads up.
Jay Gross over at TreoCentral writes up Part 7 of his thoughts on the Palm Centro. "The new AT&T Centro complicated matters, beginning with Part 4, since it differs from the Sprint version. I don’t have an AT&T model, but I’ll try to point out any differences that I know about. Meanwhile, don’t worry if my screens don’t exactly match yours. For one thing, the AT&T Centro Applications screen, which we mention frequently, has an extra icon, “Push to Talk.”" Read in full.
[From Hans] Did you know that Madonna and her husband Guy sleep with their Blackberry devices under the pillows, "We lie right next to each other with our BlackBerrys under our pillows. It's not unromantic. It's practical. I'm sure loads of couples have their BlackBerrys in bed with them. I have to sleep with my BlackBerry because I often wake up in the middle of the night and remember that I've forgotten something, so I jump up and make notes. Guy's always waiting for me to come to bed, so he plays Brick on his Blackerry until I'm ready." AOL Switched for the full story and thanks to Hans for letting us know about this one.
[From Eric Mann] Weather Beta v.0.54 for Palm OS was released late last week and if you have not tried this program then you should it's a free beta download. "Make your own weather station at Palm now! Current condition for the entire world (and for specific regions) updated every 15 minutes. Before making travel plans for a hotel or flight it can be useful to check the current conditions for where you want to go.
Auto update mode helps to keep the weather data timely. "Weather-guard" will improve Palm's standard KeyGuard and get access to the current weather condition in easy way. "
Today's lesson is never lose your mobile device. I have been using my iPhone this week and you know how slim this thing is. I got into my car this morning after my gym workout and headed into the office which is my normal routine every morning. Normally I have my iPhone or Centro, whatever device I happen to be using for the day in a belt case clipped on, it's a nice case it's a GStar case, pretty cool, however for a number of reasons I left the case at home. Got into the office and realised where the heck is my iPhone, last time I had it I used it at the gym this morning. Feeling a bit lost by this time, no sign of the iPhone anywhere, calls to be made, text messages to send etc etc, so where is my iPhone. Thankfully I have a back up of my sim card so if it was lost or stolen I would know how to get my hands on it. By 10:30am I am a little short of panicking, but Lindsey decided to go and fill car up with petrol and heads out. She gets back to the office not just with a petrol fueled car but also with my iPhone. It had apparently slipped from my pocket and fell down the side of the drivers seat. I was, to say the least, relieved that she found it. So I am one happy boy this morning, and the lesson? Keep it in a case and keep it on you so to save giving yourself a almighty scare. Disaster averted :-)
I recently used my treo to keep in touch. By this I mean I stopped by Facebook and gave a quick hello to sammy. He was on holiday so I kept it short as if I was on break I would want to be out enjoying it. Then it was off to Myspace mobile whare I found out one of my friends obtained a new job as a loan officer. She was so excited that she had to share it on her page. I read this while waiting for my double whopper to be made. I couldn’t of done any of this if I didn’t have my treo because while Im out and about I don’t have access to a computer. So today I used my treo to stay in touch.
[From Chris I] Chris IU has just let me know that Expansys have a number of offers on Palm devices, normaklly the packaging is damaged but the devices are usually working and are in perfect condition. Offer including a Tungsten E for £29.80, pretty good bargain if you ask me. Make the jump to Expansys.
Official PalmAddict Podcast - PA109
[From Tyler Faux] PalmAddict Podcast 109 (7 April 2008) Show Notes:
[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.
Today I woke up to the tune of my Treo 750. After I wipe the sleep out of my eye I open the blinds and let the sun shine in. After this I sit up in my bed. Being a Sunday I want to rest in bed as long as possible before I start my day. I start to read my Google reader and check my email. I see that there are a couple new posts that I can write about so I forward the links to my email for later.
After a shower and shave I start to iron with the media player playing some of my favorite jams. I text my manager Im going to be late because I see there’s traffic thanks to google maps and he gives me the ok. Once I arrive to work I check my email through simulscribe, check the calendar, and make notes to write Nike about a great shoe idea. Today I used my Treo as a secretary.
A few months back I discovered a neat way to switch between applications. You hold down the "Home" key for a fraction of a second, and a menu pops up with a list of your 8 most recent applications that were opened. You now can choose the application you want to run without having to go to the application launcher. This is really a cool way to quickly choose recent apps, because it is so much quicker. But by far the coolest feature is when you hold down the "Home" button for about a half of a second, you immediately switch to the previous application. Hold down the "Home" key for about a half a second again, and your are back to the previous application. This is like holding down the "Alt" key while pressing the "Tab" key to switch between apps in Windows XP. I am not sure if this feature is on all version of Palm OS 5, but it works with my Treo 700p (OS version 5.4.9). If you didn't know about this feature check it out. You will really be surprised how much more efficient application switching becomes.
Just a short note to pass the news around. I just received the news from Engadget rss feed on my Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail client. According to the news, this Van Der Led's Jisus 299 Euro Laptop will be released in Europe on May 25th at €299 price tag. From the picture, it seems that the laptops will be as colorful as ASUS EeePC.
Now, according to this page, the small laptop will be powered with Ubuntu (although even if it is not, I guess there is no stopping of trying to install Ubuntu, or PCLinuxOS, or Slax, or Fedora, or any other Linux flavors of your choice on the machine). Now for me that is a good news. I think we need more Linux-powered devices. Hopefully someday it will also be available in Indonesia.
Greetings from New Palestine, Indiana. Where it was a beautiful day today and in celebration I did absolutely nothing with my Pam TX. I gave it the day off while I worked in the yard; cutting grass, raking leaves, weeding, fertilizing and over-seeding. I just had to get outside because I spent my spring break vacation in rain. Anyway, I was thinking about trust and how much of it we place in our hand held devices. Literally, many of us have everything in our handhelds. But more specifically, I am speaking about is how much trust we have in developers of software. When I look at my TX, there is a common thread on my screen: the software developers. I don't like to keep a lot of programs on my hand held. the software I use needs to work without a hassle. I think having a bunch of miscellaneous programs creates more problems for the programs I use. For example. I have several programs from Resco: Explorer, IDGaurd, Image Viewer RescoNews and Resco Backup+. all of these are outstanding programs. I would never have even thought about purchasing them all unless Resco Backup wasn't so good. For the most part the interfaces are similar and functions all work the same. No crashes etc. The same thing can be said of Megasoft. I have Megalauncher, Megacalc, Megaclock and MegaHolidays. Again, if Megalauncher wasn't the bees knees, I would never have thought about buying the other software. My games are all from Astraware except for Bike or Die so it goes without saying I trust them completely. Quality programs, excellent support are the reasons I keep returning to the same developers. Of course this only applies to developers who have more than one program. There are programs that I use that, without a doubt, if the developer released a program that I thought was useful I would buy it without hesitation. Datebk6 comes to mind. So the next time you are purchasing a program, think about how much trust you have in that person or company. Take an extra minute and send them a little note of thanks. Thank them for their quality work and let them know how much a difference it makes when the customer has trust in a product. Hope everyone has a splendid day. CF
The other day while searching for a walkthrough of a game I currently play, I found one walkthrough with a *strange* file format: .djvu. I had never heard about it before, so I did a bit of googling. It turned out that .djvu is a file format designed primarily to store scanned images, especially those containing text and line drawings. So I guessed this walkthrough file probably contains maps and pictures. The problem was how I could open the file. Well, it turned out that Evince that came pre-installed with my Ubuntu Linux could read the file just fine. Linux is neat! No need to hunt for a reader software. I still needed to find a reader software for my Windows machine, but that was not really my priority, since as I mentioned in the past that I put my walkthrough file on my PDA. The next task was to find a reader software for Pocket PC. A little bit of more googling followed, and so I found PocketDjVu.
PocketDjVu is a simple software, not very much different from how Adobe Acrobat Reader handles a .pdf file. The user interface is straightforward; there is no need to explain it. It can be minimized to the Windows Mobile tray for easy switching with other applications. If you have some e-books in .djvu format, then PocketDjVu is a keeper. It is a freeware, so there is no need to purchase the software.
As usual, disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with the software maker.
[From Mayank Gala] Thought: Great website that google just bought that allows you to get a phone number that you can link your cell phone, home phone, business phone or any number you want to it. That way you have one number people can reach you on.
Maybe you've already heard of it but its pretty cool.
[From Sean Perry
Madison, Wisconsin] I only recently really entered the world of mobile devices relatively
recently. Though I have been using laptops and cell phones for years, I
had only dabbled in mobile devices with simple pda functionality. I
received a Tungsten E2 for Christmas 2006 and have since then I found
myself on a personal voyage of growth.
When I first got the unit, I figured it would be a great way to manage my calendar, contacts, take notes, etc. so I would always have that handy information with me. It wasn't long, however, before I realized that the my new PDA wasn't really needed for those things; my simple cell phone and a small notebook were much better suited for the tasks. So I started doing what I always do with new technology - finding ways to tweak it. One of the interesting things I discovered is that is that my research into tweaks often uncovered unexpected uses for the device.
One of the first things I wanted to tweak was the browser. I found a better browser than the default one but the fonts were too small and hard to read. So I looked for decent font hacks. As it turns out, the font hack had the ability to use almost any font, which got me to thinking, "I wonder if I can use fonts from other languages?" I had taken Sanskrit in college years ago and though it would be kinda cool to read Sanskrit docs. With a bit of searching a some work, I was not only able to implement the font to read and compose Sanskrit docs, I could also simultaneously play audio clips of people reading Sankrit passages at the same time I was seeing the text on my device. I went from broswer tweak to rekindling an old interest in dead languages.
Similarly, my search for a better mp3 player led me to a player that could also handle MIDI files. I had previously downloaded a number of MIDI files for our digital piano, which got me thinking, "I wonder if these MIDI files could be played or modified with my Palm?" Sure enough, not only could I play them, I came upon software that had some great editing capabilities. This got me hooked on music composition, something I had never really considered before.
I continue to find myself disovering new interests and renewing old interests as I explore the capabilities of this little device. The fact that I can grab it anytime and take it anywhere really seems to enhance the spontenaity. In the end, my usage has transformed from "what is this thing capable of" to "what am I capable of" - and I believe that's pretty powerful for a battery powered device that fits in the palm of your hand.
The Alchemy game from Astraware is a great combination of skill and entertainment. The aim of the game is to use the symbols given to you to cover the entire board so that each lead square is turned into gold. There are 2 difficulty settings, and a tutorial to get you started. I recommend that you watch the tutorial because this game can be quite difficult to get the hang of. However, after a few attempts you will soon have the games strategy in place. The aim of the game is to overall beat everyone else’s scores to become the mythical Alchemical Grand Master. Each rune is used to cover over the lead square to turn it into a gold one. The rune has a different magical shape on each one and there are also different colours which you must match in order to turn the lead into gold.
The easy level at first, for those of you who are first timers, can seem quite daunting as you have to grasp the idea very quickly. Coming up with a game plan takes a few attempts, but follow the tutorial and plan ahead and you should be up and going with in no time. I have been playing this game all morning and I can tell you that this is one of the most addictive games I have played in a while; I literally had to prise my Centro out of my hands to type up this review. Although the objective of the game is to get a grid of gold squares I found myself increase my point score by repeating lines to enhance my chances of becoming the Alchemical Grand Master myself. However as of yet I am not at that stage. Each stage means that you are awarded a different level of character. I am hopefully nearing the stage of Grand Master; I will let you know when I reach that level. This for me will be a truly exciting time. Not because I will be Grand Master, but because I will finally have reached a pinnacle in my gaming career and completed an Astraware game.
I have found that with most Astraware games they are created so that the player really has to try with the games, they push you to your limits. This is a really good experience for those individuals, such as myself, who have played games on their Palm OS for as long as they have had one. Each game can get to the point where you need to face new challenges, to reduce the risk of wasting your money on a game that will last 10 minutes before you have managed to solve it. Astraware games are exceptional for their price. I have a few stacked up on my Centro at the moment and some may be a few months old, but I am yet to complete them. Each game brings new and exciting feats for you to tackle, and this means, that like myself, you cannot get enough of each of them and depending on which mood you are in, you can guarantee that Astraware will have a game for you.
As I played the higher level I realised what the easy game was preparing you for, you need to get your thinking cap on fir this level. In the easy game format you are given the choice o using blank bricks and a skull and cross bone symbol. These are there to help, and with the skull and cross bones you can get rid of unwanted runes and use the blank blocks to be used to create full lines to earn points. However the harder level introduces new symbols and takes these helpful points away from the game. Making the level almost impossible to complete unless you have planned ahead. Taking your time with this mode is always the best idea, as one foul move could mean that you are unable to complete the level, and like me be known as a “bungler”. I can only presume that this is the level that I am at, and after my shocking first attempt at the harder level I do not think it is close to being an Alchemical Grand Master. Give me a few more attempts though and I shall be back on the road to success.
Alchemy, is truly a superb game, and I would say is one of my favourite out of the weeks reviewing I have done. You must have this game on your Palm OS, I truly believe that you will not be unsatisfied, if you are I will eat my wizards hat!
Alchemy is available for both Palm OS and Windows Mobile, where a free trial can be downloaded from the Astraware website.
[From Jose] Hello,
My name is Jose from Youngstown, USA, and i just want to tell you i think what you doing is wonderful. I think mobile devices like Palm's are going to be as mainstream as the PC in the coming future, especially with the inception of the iPhone. I also believe mobile social networks similar to Facebook and MySpace will become one of our primary means of communication with friends and family.
I envision a mobile application that alerts friends and family via their mobile device whenever you come within a few miles of their current location. You will be able to hide yourself whenever you want, and only allow the people you designate to see you. I believe it will open up a whole new avenue in which we communicate and meet dynamically. With are busy and hectic lives its becoming more and more difficult to set aside time to meet with friends and family. Now imagine your out shopping and you get a alert that your best friend that you haven't seen in awhile is also shopping in the same complex. You can send here a alert, a message, or just call, and ask your if they want to grab a bite to eat and catch up. All this would happen dynamically.
I can also envision your mobile device updating your friends mobile social network homepage with your current location, and again you would have the ability to allow who can ,and cant see this information. People could then check their page, and yours to see where everyone is. Lets say you see three of your friends are in the same general area, but not together, just send a message and get together. There are endless way's something like this could be used.
Well, that's my thought, and I hope you find it useful.
Thanks for taking the time to listen to my thought.
[From Steve
Fairfax, VT] I have made the transition from Apple Newton to my current Palm Tx. I actually still miss my Newton, but do love my Tx. I use the memo and document functions the most. I have over 100 memos/notes and about 50 documents on board. I keep track of my checkbook and run reports for my taxes on it. I check my e-mail when near a wi-fi hotspot and occasionally head out to the web. I keep track of my calorie intake for my weight reduction program and would be lost without all the 2000 contacts I keep on it. I back it up daily.....just in case and sync it every couple of days to my mac. I can't imagine where I'd be with out my trusted Tx.
[From Andrew Davis, Port St Lucie FL, USA] With the release/announcement of a new WiMax enabled Nokia 810 internet tablet, I figured the prices would drop on the non-WiMax 810. Turns out I was right. I bought one online with free overnight shipping and spared no time getting it setup. I own an iPhone, so the question is "why do I need an 810"? The primary answer is GPS. I recently bought a new car, but sans integrated GPS. I don't like single-purpose devices very much which is why I steered away from a TomTom or Magellan device. I also wanted a device that was easily removed and pocketed. The 810 includes a car mount kit with it and an external, auto AC adaptor is only an extra $15.00. In a nutshell, I was looking for a device that I would primarily use for GPS navigation, that was easily removed (so as to avoid theft of my vehicle), pocketable, and something I could "play with" for other purposes. The 810 fit the bill. Its linux-based and I'm a UNIX/Linux guy going back for 12+ years. I like "hackable" devices (though "tweakable" would be a better phrase). I'm an IT consultant, so I always like to have all the tools I need to do the jobs that come up. The 810 allows me to do Wifi testing (range and penetration), browse the web if my system is tied up with something CPU intensive, chat with friends, etc. Its a complimentary device, much like the UMPCs were billed as originally. With it and my iPhone, it also keeps me portable. I'm able to RDP, VNC, or SSH into the systems I support which means I don't have to lug a laptop around if I don't want to. I can also watch movies on it and it actually works a tad better than my iPhone for this purpose... nice when I'm on a flight from FL to CA and don't feel like pulling my laptop out. Its not my laptop, nor my iPhone and can't fully replace either one. But as a GPS unit, it does its job well. Its easily mounted or removed from my car. And its much lighter weight than my laptop and as pocketable as my iPhone.
MacBook Pro giveaway closes tonight at midnight US PT
I am ending the MacBookPro contest tonight at midnight US PT so if you want to get your hands on this then you need to follow the guidelines and get your entry in to me sooner rather than later please. As always the guidelines are in this post.
[From Patrick] Hi sammy my name is Patrick and I am from revere massachusetts USA, hope your having a great day.One thing I use my treo755p for is PAM ( phone as modem). The cell phone carriers are a little deceptive when advertizing their phones as being able to use them as a modem for pda's or notebooks. They don't bother to tell you up front that even though you may have an unlimited data plan on your phone it will cost you extra to use your phone as a modem, in Sprints case an extra $40 on top of the $15 to $25 a month your already paying. I like the mobility of being able to browse the web with my 755p wherever i'm at but sometimes the small screen gets to be too much and would like the option of useing a little larger screen and still be able to enjoy the mobile experience. A year ago I was surfing the web and found a hack called phone interface library. The carriers don't bother to tell you that on all treos after the treo 650 they add software to your treo so you can't use it as a modem un
less you set it up through them. Last year I found a good deal on a Nokia N770 internet tablet at Buy.com for $129 so I bought it to try out the hack knowing I couldn't lose too much money if things didn't work out . Luckily things worked out and i've been useing the 755p as a modem with bluetooth for almost a year without the extra fee. I don't abuse it and think its inexcusable to charge an extra $40 just to tether to a PDA especially when my previous treo650 allowed me that option without having to pay the carrier an extra fee. If anybody has a 755p or any other palm os treo after the treo 650 and is interested go to this web site http://vocaro.com/trevor/treo-dun/ it will give you step by step instructions and a link to download the hack.
[From Chuck, Quinton ALABAMA] Greetings Sammy from Quinton ALABAMA!
Like many wonderful people, I enjoy attending church and leaving refreshed to face a new week. I go to a large church where everyone is encouraged to bring a Bible and be ready to learn about Jesus. I moved up to mobile technology with my first LCD PDA from Radio Shack over ten years ago. I now use a Treo with a quality Bible software that contains 8 translations and 13 reference works. I always use it to take notes and sometimes record audio, video and still images depending on the presentation. Every message outline is captured into my Treo including all scriptures presented using copy and paste from my Bible software program. Having these outlines to review later has literally multiplied the blessings I have received by taking good notes and allowing God to speak to me in the process. I back these note files up to my main computer and save them as a resource for future reference. I know that some of the folks around me have to wonder what I’m doing as I see a surprised look on their faces because they are not sure of what I am actually doing. Yet no one has ever had the courage to ask! One day when someone does finally ask, I have formulated this response; I am a modern day scribe, recording history as it happens. The only history that really matters is His Story.
May God Bless your work Sammy!
[From Abigail
Monmouth County, NJ] I use my Palm TX to study for med school. With 10 pages of notes per lecture and 5 lectures per day, that's a lot of pages to print. My friends wiped out their print quotas just printing class notes. I just download to my Palm and reference them during lecture. Hence, 400 pages left in my print quota! Besides, it's much easier to study on a Palm than a binder when scrunched between two large commuters on the train to school.
[From Andrew Davis, Port St Lucie FL, USA] Not too long ago I made the switch from Windows to Mac. For me, it wasn't really a matter of frustration... I am IT consultant, so the things that typically frustrate PC users don't really affect me. For me, it was just time to switch. I'm a UNIX/Linux guy through and through, but I work equally in UNIX, Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X. There was a time many years ago that I said "no Windows" and decided to go Linux only on my laptop. It sort of worked, but after about 6 months, I found I was spending more time tweaking my system to work than actually working, so I went back to XP. For me, the switch occured recently when I sat down and made a list of the things I use a computer for (editing docs, web browsing and email, remote access, etc). I then made a pro/con list of what I could on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Windows could do most everything... it had for me for years. Linux came up short on a few items. Then, for the first time I found myself listing what I could do on a Mac. It took a bit of searching and familiarization, but after a few hours I realized everything I needed to do I could do on a Mac. So I made the switch and got a new Mac running Leopard.
Of course, right off the bat, I learned to check the status of apps. Leopard was new (only out for about two weeks), so there were quite a few apps that weren't known to work well with Leopard. Months later, this is no longer true. Initially, I decided to be the "zealot" and say "no Microsoft products". But I gave up on that about a month or later when I started a new job and they handed me a copy of Office 2008. These days, my Mac is my primary system. Initially, I kept my Windows system around, but after copying all my data over I found I hadn't used it in over a month. So I decided to use VMWare's "physical to virtual" tool and converted my running Windows PC to a virtual environment. I then rebuilt my PC with Linux and VMWare, then ran my XP instance in it virtually. Two months after that, I found I wasn't using either environment of the PC... I had no need for Linux... everything I could do in Linux I could do on my Mac. And I hadn't even started the XP virtual instance in months. So this weekend, its being rebuilt with XP... but this time as a gaming system for my son. In addition, I've been so happy with my Mac, that I went and got a Mac Mini as a peripheral system. It has an Elgato TV tuner in it and is acting as my DVR as well as my "gateway system" meaning from work I remote into it, then make VPN connections and hop out to other systems.
CookbookThis sems a great program with lots of great cooking ideas".The biggest mobile cookbook in the world. With over 1000 recipes you are guaranteed to never run out of ideas! FREE Breakfast Recipes Chapter in the trial version.
Audience
Intended for everyone. No previous experience is necessary.
Features
Detailed explanations of each recipe.
National and Ethnic Cuisines
Special Diets
Be prepared for your special guest.
Easy and fast viewing.
Always have the cookbook available for a new idea.
Multi-Platform device capability (PDA, smartphone, PC)
No matter which device you use (Windows Mobile, Symbian OS, Pocket PC, Palm OS, Blackberry, or Desktop), you will NOT lose any functionality.
Search function
Navigate from Table of Contents or read page by page
Add Bookmarks
Text annotation and mark-up
Automatic synchronization between the handheld and the desktop PC. You could read half of the book on the handheld, then finish reading on the desktop. Annotations are also synchronized."
Who Said That?This seems a great trivia game program for all to try."Who Said That? is a fast-paced trivia game that will challenge even the most knowledgeable film buff. Try to identify over a thousand memorable quotes from all of your favorite movies, including comedies, dramas, action/adventures and film classics. If you like movies, you're going to love Who Said That?
"Hasta la vista, baby!"
Who Said That? features:
1,000+ quotes from over 300 movies
Three rounds of game play: easy, intermediate and hard quotes
Easy-to-use interface
Multiplayer support for 1 to 4 players
Fast play
High score database
Auto saves
COLOR/grayscale/mono support
Compatible with the Palm Zire
Compatible with Palm OS 5.0 Tungsten devices
5-Way Navigator support for Tungstens and the Treo 600
Built-in program instructions
Who Said That? is also available along with Brain Freeze Trivia in the Rampart Trivia Pack at 30% off their individual price. All of our best-selling games are available in the Rampart Games Super Pack at 40% off their individual price."
Kinoma PlayerThis seems a great program,give it a try."Kinoma Player 2 delivers full screen, full motion, full color, high resolution video for Palm Powered handhelds running Palm OS 3.5 and later. See the full list of supported devices. Kinoma Player 2 features:
Beautiful new high resolution user interface
Full screen video & stereo audio
Enhanced widescreen support on handhelds from Palm, Sony, Tapwave, and Garmin
Play movies directly from the Internet
Rename and delete movies
Interactive movies take handheld digital media to the next level
Fully optimized for Palm OS 5 "
