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User Tips and Tools
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Wireless LANS and related accessories are quickly catching on. The ability to move about your home or office while maintaining a connection to a LAN or the Internet, without dragging wires around, is fairly appealing. The growing number of locations that provide wireless connection services on the road increases this appeal.
There are several competing standards for connecting devices to others wirelessly; including the shorter range, but less power draining Bluetooth; and Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, which we will discuss in this newsletter. There are even several different types of "wireless " LANs for home use which run through the plugs and electrical wiring of your home. See HomePlug for an interesting example of this approach.
The 802.11 standards differ from Bluetooth in range, power drain levels and in that Bluetooth is a peer-to-peer tool, much like Infrared ports, and is used primary to connect devices. A Bluetooth connectivity example would be to connect a PDA to a printer or a PDA to a desktop. Wi-Fi devices connect to a base access port attached to the desktop or LAN and have much greater range (hundreds, compared to tens, of feet).
The various 802.11(x) specs are all based around the IEEE 802.11 spec but vary based on communications distance, speed and the level of interference that they can punch through to communicate successfully. The basic difference is that they operate in different frequency ranges, which are shared to varying degrees with other devices, such as cell phones and microwaves.
802.11b (Wi-Fi) is the current favorite of the market, as it is least expensive and has the widest range of certified devices available. However 802.11b is also the slowest 802.11 standard and, because it operates in the cell phone and Bluetooth frequency range, tends to have the most problems with interference.
802.11a was created to reduce interference and to operate at higher speeds, but has the least amount of certified hardware available. AND, the acceptance of the much better performing 802.11g standard in June 2003; which is also backwards compatible with 802.11b may likely cause 802.11a to fall into disfavor.
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Throughput |
Range |
Frequency |
Hot-spot access |
Power drain |
Interference risk |
Cost |
802.11b
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5Mbps |
150 feet |
2.4GHz |
Excellent |
Moderate |
High |
Low |
802.11g
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20Mbps |
150 feet |
2.4GHz |
Excellent |
Moderate |
High |
Moderate |
802.11a
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22Mbps |
100 feet |
5GHz |
Poor |
High |
Low |
High |
| Dual band |
22Mbps |
150 feet |
2.4GHz
5GHz |
Excellent |
Moderate |
Low |
High |
Bluetooth
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500Kbps |
30 feet |
2.4GHz |
Poor |
Low |
High |
Moderate |
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And More are Coming!
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802.11i
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To enhance IEEE 802.11 with security and authentication mechanisms.
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| 802.11e
| To enhance IEEE 802.11 to improve and manage quality of service and provide classes of service, enhanced security and authentication mechanisms.
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| 802.11f | Recommendations for inter-access point protocol (IAPP) to achieve interoperability between WLAN access points. |
| 802.11h | To enhance IEEE 802.11 and 802.11a PHY to meet regional regulatory requirements for 5GHz frequency, including the addition of DCS and TPC mechanisms. |
PDAStreets' Wi-Fi Access article  
http://www.pdastreet.com/articles/2003/5/2003-5-16-WiFi-Choices-for.html
This is a very nice article on the hardware choices for Wi-Fi-enabling your Pocket PC or Palm pilot.
Hotspots -- How to find Wi-Fi access points:
Once you have the Wi-Fi equipped PDA, the next step is to find an access point into a Wi-Fi LAN/Internet connection. If you are at home (or your office), you will need a Wi-Fi base station connected to your desktop (which is connected to the Internet -- hopefully via a high speed connection such as DSL, Cable Modem or a satellite dish). But this only covers you up to 300 feet or so. If you are on the road, you will need to find access points where you are. These are known as Hotspots, which are "for-free" or "for-fee" service locations with Wi-Fi access. One type of Hotspot example is that service and product oriented chains, such as Starbucks, are adding access points because they understand that a customer coming in to browse the web may likely purchase a coffee and donut while doing so...
There are PDA tools that search for Wi-Fi connections within range of your handheld device. But rather than walking around performing a software version of Verizon's "Can you hear me now???" commercial, there are also websites that help you to locate these hotspots. The following sites help you to find access points.
80821 Hotspots
http://www.80211hotspots.com
http://www.hotspotlist.com/ (same as 80821 Hotspots)
Wifinder
http://www.wifinder.com
http://www.bitsnbolts.com/wifinder.html
Wi-Fi Alliance
http://www.wi-fizone.org/zoneLocator.asp?TID=7
Wi-Fi Alliance's web app, with 2,000 locations in 22 countries. This one has the most extensive country list of the sites shown here.
BOINGO
http://www.boingo.com
Includes a downloadable searchable database and a PDA-based sniffer that checks for local Wi-Fi access as you move about.
AND FINALLY, Free Hotspots
http://www.wififreespot.com/
Very heavy on USA hotspots, but does list available hot spots in Canada, Europe and Asia. Note carefully that free tends to also mean unsecured -- so be careful what you browse for.
For more information...
80211-planet
http://www.80211-planet.com/
For more information on 802.11 networking.
Palm's Wi-Fi Hotspots list
http://www.palm.com/wireless/hotspots/
http://www.palm.com/products/handhelds/tungsten-c/
Palm uses WiFinder but this site includes a good bit of Wi-Fi information as well.
Caution: One of the biggest problems with Wi-Fi is that security is often NOT enabled, which leaves a door open to anyone with a Wi-Fi device within 100 feet of your Access point. Even if they are outside of your building, or your home. In addition, LAN administrators have been known to leave the default password on the Access Points -- which also leaves your LAN vulnerable. Things work great if you take care to secure the system; which should be a major concern today, regardless of the type of network that you are setting up.
Anycom Bluetooth Printer USB connection
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The Anycom PM-2002 Bluetooth Printer Module attaches to the parallel port of any standard printer to enable short-distance mobile printing from desktops, laptops and PDAs. The Anycom USB Adapter USB-100 provides any USB-equipped desktop or laptop with Bluetooth functionality.
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Other PDA tools and information
dotPocket v2.0
Download: http://www.dotpocket.com/download.html
Review: http://www.pocketpclife.co.uk/featureddetails.asp?article=335
dotPocket is a useful Pocket PC utility that allows you to:
Switch between a variety of landscape
and portrait viewing modes
Create your own custom viewing mode.
Share clipboards with the PC.
Change resolutions on the PPC.
Send screen output to the PC's monitor
Control the PPC from the PC itself.
For developers, dotPocket makes a nice way to capture screen images of your applications, from your desktop.
The price of dotPocket is $30 USD.
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dotPocket 2.0 |
Software/hardware Web Sites
Pocket PC PDA Buyers' Guide
http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/tips/pocketpc_2002_comparison.htm
A decent comparison of the HP 1910, Dell Axim, Toshiba e330 and e750, HP IPAQ 3900, IPAQ 5450 and Viewsonic V35. The links across the top of this page also contains reviews of Palm, Handspring, Clie devices and accessories.
WinCE versions
http://www.cewindows.net/wce/versions.htm
Confused by all of the WinCE versions, from embedded WinCE, to H/PC CE, to PPC 2003?
A browse through Chris De Herrera's Windows CE Website will explain each of these versions to you. The original Microsoft code names for each version are included.
PDA Weather
http://pda.accuweather.com
For the mobile PDA user, this is an easy to use, local weather, look-up site. There is even a brief 5 day forecast that accompanies today's weather. You can skip a step and make it even more direct, by supplying your zip code with the URL, like this: http://www.accuweather.com/pda/pda_5dy.asp?thisZip=19335
NexiCAM
http://www.nexian.com/product/nexicam.asp
Nexian now offers a wrap around camera for the HP IPAQ; which you can think of as a fat Zire 71-like device.
 
Nexicam HP IPAQ camera
PalmGSM
http://www.palmgsm.net/
Ringtones, logos, icons, alarms, games and a variety of other PDA phone related items
Palm Zire 71 SD card bug fix
http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/zire71expansion_update.html
This patch corrects the problem that the Zire 71 had with SD cards, causing the cards to fail after using them a couple of times.
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Development Tips and Tools
Sites with real content for Developers
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rePose 1.2
http://mobile.eric-poncet.com/palm/repose.html
In the, we should have done this tool ourselves category, is rePose. rePose is for Palm OS developers who dislike (ok, hate) having to install Palm apps into the POSE emulator each time that a change is made to their application. rePose monitors the .PRC file associated with your application, and if a change has been made to it, rePose automatically reloads the PRC for you into the Emulator.
rePose 1.2
There are versions of rePose in French, Spanish and German as well.
PocketC for WinCE
http://www.orbworks.com/wince/index.html
Versions for the Handheld PC, PalmsizePC BW, PalmsizePC Color, H/PC Professional, H/PC 2000, Pocket PC and Pocket PC 2002. As for the Palm, there is a Desktop version as well, that allows you to build applications in the comfort of a 1024 x 768+ space. ;-)
Open WinCE Source Project
http://sourceforge.net/projects/openwince/
This website collects free (open source) software tools, modules, applications, drivers, and so on for Windows CE developers. If you are working on Intel PXA2x0 drivers, Open WinCE is a must visit site. This will be an interesting activity to watch evolve over time.
DOSBox
http://sourceforge.net/projects/dosbox/
DOSBox emulates a full x86 PC with sound and DOS. DOSBox is largely used to run DOS games on platforms that don't emulate DOS any longer, such as XP and Linux, and is great for launching compilation scripts as well.
TINIedCar
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tiniedcar/
This is a brand new Sourceforge project, but one to watch for developers. TINIedCar is a project using an iButtion and TINI hardware to enable cars to be started (admin via the web), including things like starting the heater THROUGH a 802.11b/802.11g/WAP device.
PerlCE, Perl for WinCE
http://sourceforge.net/projects/perlce/
Allows you to run PERL binaries on a WinCE platform.
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Reader Tips
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After each issue, we receive a number of reader comments, questions and tips regarding handhelds. We would like to share these tips with all of our readers as well.
In this issue, we have a review of the datebook tool OVERVIEW PRO by Mead Lawson, who is a well known and respected contributor to the Palm Mailing list.
Overview Pro
http://www.tipware.de/english/products/ovrvupro.html
Submitted by:
Mead Lawson
meadlawson@att.net
It's amazing how few people talk about Overview Pro. Did you know it is the only Palm based program capable of sharing datebook data among more than two people? When compared to Palm, Inc.’s DualDate (which is limited to sharing datebook data among two people), it is also superior in overall functionality.
Overview Pro is a program which allows multiple members of a group or team, (e.g.: a family, department, company, club, troupe, etc.) to view one another’s calendar data.
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Overview Pro 3.04
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Installation is no different than any other Palm program. There are no complex instructions for server installation, and it does not require your data to be synchronized on someone else’s Internet server as was the case with DualDate’s predecessor, WeSync. Data privacy is retained because Overview Pro is installed on your own PC or corporate server.
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Overview Pro comes in three parts: the Palm application program, a Microsoft Windows desktop program and a HotSync conduit. While the Windows application works fine and has its uses, I judge it as anemic in functional design. A complete redesign would render it much more user friendly, and in its current state, is only good for viewing global information. My suggestion is to install the Windows component, then forget about it. Just use the Palm application. That’s where Overview Pro excels anyway. That said, let’s take a closer look at it, shall we?
Overview Pro on the Palm
The Palm application is very intuitive and offers four useful layouts for viewing datebook data. The first two are for all-users (or global) layouts. The last two are single-user layouts.
Located in the top-right corner of each layout is the customary Palm week/day selector tool. At bottom-left, are four control icons which represent each of the four layouts. The first two are global (all-users) layouts, the right two display Datebook data for a single user.
At bottom-right on each screen is the standard Week picker, "Go". The use of menu items is simply not required. Everything needed to navigate throughout Overview Pro is presented on each screen.
When Overview Pro is launched, the user is shown the first global layout view. The view displays a weeks’ worth of datebook data in a simple spreadsheet-like manner. At the left is a vertical list of your pre-configured users (up to five without the need to scroll down), with which you share datebook data. Each user’s respective weekly schedule extends horizontally toward the right. Individual entries in this global layout are represented by vertical black lines to show that appointments are present. Tapping on them opens a temporary pop-up window that displays the appointments in detail.
The second layout is essentially a Day viewer. It is oriented like the first, only the displayed datebook information spans across a single day.
Tapping on anyone’s name on either of the two global layouts launches the third view. This is the first of two "single-user" views. In this one, Overview Pro duplicates Palm, Inc.’s Datebook’s Week view. The fourth and final layout is a duplicate of Palm, Inc.’s standard Datebook view. The neat option in the single-user views you don’t get in Palm, Inc.’s Datebook, is a pull-down list at the bottom allowing you to instantly view another’s datebook. Another valuable feature is the ability to send an invitation in the form of a new appointment to anyone else (where upon they will receive it after the sender and receiver conduct another HotSync).
Overview Pro heeds OS Security and does not show appointments marked Private.
Pros:
- Overview Pro works well and offers several useful views.
- Instantaneous. There is no waiting while Overview Pro "reads" each user's database prior to display.
Cons:- Synchronizing against the data of all team members will add time to each HotSync session, however, it definitely adds value. This may not be a negative issue, but I list it as such nevertheless.
- Once entered, invitations cannot be rescinded.
- Personal datebook entries cannot be segregated from business entries (aside from entering all personal records as "Private". And of course, that is not feasible. Therefore, the only solution for this is to utilize a separate Palm for work.
- The only bug I encountered was a low battery warning written in German.
- Overview Pro does not appear to be undergoing further updates. It lacks color and is not presently OS v5 compliant. However, it does work normally on my Palm Tungsten|T.
Summary
Since its debut three years ago, Overview Pro remains the only program capable of sharing datebook data among more than two people. While the Windows desktop component is a bit anemic, the Palm application includes all the necessary features to offer real value in this product niche.
If you would like to submit a tip for inclusion in our newsletter, please fill out the information below. Your name and email will be shown along with the tip, if it is used in our newsletter.
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FO News
foInstall 1.8 is announced and will be available at the end of this month.
Version 1.8 has enhanced command file capabilities, installs Palm conduits as well as standard Windows executables! There is a command line mode at optional configuration files, so that you can save a setup list once complete.
See http://www.fo.com/palm/foinstall.htm for more information.
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FO Newsletter Survey
In the last issue we ran a simple survey to see if we were on target with our newsletter content. The basic idea was to find out if you were more or less interested in PalmOS, Pocket PC, or phone applications, tips and related news.
This survey produced the following results:
85% of our readers would like to see a focus on user-related information. 15% would prefer developer-related information. About ½ of the developers prefer to see user-related items as well. Our current 80/20 mix is fairly on-the-mark, so we will not change this.
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Sites vs. Tools vs. Tips.
Many of our readers chose all of these areas as being very important to them.
We feel comfortable sticking with our average newsletter mix of around 50% Palm, 30% PPC and 20% on other topics.
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Platform.
The bulk of our readers prefer PalmOS information. Palm users tended to have a high interest in Phone information as well. The one slight surprise is that Tablet PCs were marked as high as they were (given their relative cost).
We had not planned on covering Tablet PCs prior to the survey, but if you have specific topics that you would like to have us discuss, please drop us a note with the topics.
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Highest
Interest
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Palm
OS |
Pocket PC |
Phone |
Tablet PC |
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Subscribe, Unsubscribe & Comments
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The FO newsletter site itself is found at http://www.fo.com/newsletters/.
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