To the January edition of our user and developer PDA tips newsletter.
This newsletter also marks our 10th year in business!
Switching a bit from our norm, this issue has a focus on Pocket PC tools and sites with a smattering of PalmOS and Phone tools as well. As usual, there are also several online news and related tip sites listed.
As always, please feel free to submit requests or ideas through the links
at the bottom of this page. This is also where you will find
subscription and removal information.
Palm related items in our newsletters are marked with this icon . Pocket PC/WinCE items are marked with this one. Phone-related PDA tips show a icon.
Please note: This newsletter contains tips and tools that can alter your PDA.
These items are offered here "as is" and without any warranty or support from FO. Please
consider them carefully before using or trying them (and as always ... backup, backup, backup! first before making any changes).
Thank you,
Bill Shadish, Principal
User Tips and Tools
(Useful, usually free, applications and tools for the general user)
The Daily Gadget http://www.dailygadget.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=826
An interesting site that provides what it promises -- an ongoing flow of pertinent news items and little gizmos that will tempt your wallet to spring open. The 007 spy camera shown below was recently offered for free in a contest for their subscribers -- so that they can send in pictures of their own gizmos! There is plenty here for each of our reader types (PalmOS, PPC, Phone). In particular, take a look at the PDA reviews under the forums section.
The Daily Gadget
Phone Comparisons http://www.esato.com/phones/index.php?phone=74&cp=101
and...
http://www.1-stop-free-cell-phones.com/compare.php?p1=51&p2=49
Many PDA users are upgrading to mobile phones that provide Bluetooth or infrared connectivity with their handhelds. This is so that they can do things like browsing the web from their PDA through the phone, or to move digital pictures back and forth through email. However, comparing the different phones that are available can be a dizzying affair.
These pages provide very good reviews of phones as well as ways to directly compare the features of different brands and models.
ftxBrowser, version 0.1q (freeware) http://park15.wakwak.com/~ftx/index_e.html
Internet browser built on top of PIE (Pocket Internet Explorer) to allow multiple windows (Tabs) and full screen viewing. There is also a version for Windows Mobile 2003 and the Handheld PC.
Find a PPC user group http://www.microsoft.com/mindshare/find/default.asp This site actually helps you to find (Microsoft-oriented) user groups of many different types, including Pocket PC ones. You can search by country (then state) and for a variety of hardware, software platforms and applications.
Microsoft PPC ActiveSync 3.7.1 update (freeware) http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/resources/downloads/pocketpc/activesync37.mspx
Many small changes to increase stability and device detection capabilities when synching. Improves Outlook synchronization. Provides
Office XP and Windows XP support. Includes Smartphone and better USB support.
Mandelbrot & Co (freeware) http://www.freewareppc.com/graphics/mandelbrotco.shtml
Used to calc Mandelbrot/Julia fractals -- includes drilling into portions of the fractal. If you have a baby a few months old and want to introduce them to the changing patterns of these fractals, try this one out on them.
ABFR v0.91 (freeware) http://www.daguez.it/
This tool allows you to rename Palm's address book fields to things that are more useful to you. This is a beta tool, so use it with caution.
ABFR - rename Address book fields
Free Security Study Guide http://www.encryptedcart.com/include/Security.htm
These pages are not specific to Palm, PPC or Phone devices, but contain a very extensive list of terms, topics, examples, sites and specific information about network security issues. Everything from Worms to Communications vulnerabilities is covered in a security exam-prepping format.
An example from this site:
Network Security Attacks
DOS/DDOS
A denial of service attack is an attack used to achieve the disruption of any service to legitimate users. DDOS is the ‘distributed’ form of such an attack where many ‘Zombies’ that have been taken over by hackers launch simultaneous attacks to achieve a more effective denial of service attack.
Back Door
This is any opening left in a functional piece of software that allows ‘unknown’ entry into the system / or application without the owner’s knowledge. Many times, back doors are left in by the software creators.
Spoofing, Spoofing
is a technique used to gain unauthorized access to computers. A hacker must first find an IP address of a trusted host. Once the hacker has this information, he can use it to make the recipient think that the hacker is the trusted sender.
Free Vulnerability Scanning Software
http://netsecurity.about.com/library/blfreevulnscan.htm
Links to free vulnerability scanning and security assessment tools. These are used to look for holes in your existing systems and networks.
Free Intrusion Detection (IDS) Software
http://netsecurity.about.com/library/blfreetools.htm
Links to free intrusion detection (ids) programs, tools and scripts to help you monitor your network for attempted intrusions or attacks
Bluetooth Chat
Bluetooth Chat v0.5 http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?productId=90506
Like the infrared applications that do the same thing -- this tool allows similarly equipped Pocket PC users to Bluetooth a conversation back and forth without making a sound. Remember though, that anyone else with the same tool will "hear" you as well.
Microsoft Password application (freeware) http://www.ppc4all.com/appdetail.php?id=430
This tool provides the Pocket PC 2002 password enhancements to other PPC users; including allowing for lower case characters and symbols within your passwords. This application replaces the existing password program.
The Art of War http://www.pocketpccity.com/software/pocketpc/The-Art-of-War-2000-10-17-ce-pocketpc.html
"Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities." Used by business management courses to discuss strategy, this is Sun Tzu's Art of War in eBook form. Several formats are provided, including Acrobat, Microsoft Reader and iSilo at www.blackmask.com.
Valentin Iliescu Chess v2.0 (freeware) http://www.valil.com/chess2/index.html
A nice PPC chess game based on Microsoft .NET Compact Framework where you can play against the computer or against online opponents.
Pocket Chess
Chess Puzzles (somewhat freeware) http://www.phonechess.com/puzzlesceman.htm
This tool comes with a few free chess problems to solve, and you can download ($) additional ones once you wish to move up the complexity ladder.
In the last newsletter, we laid out the components for a Consultants' Travel Kit. One of these tools was a conversion application that converts many different types of measurements back and forth. The following tool, ConverterCE is a Pocket PC version of this same type of tool.
ConverterCE 1.8a (freeware) http://www.ppc4all.com/appdetail.php?id=528
http://members.home.net/hhfann/PpcSoftMain.html
ConverterCE converts most commonly used units of temperature, speed, weight and length.
Development Tips and Tools
(Sites with content most valuable to developers)
SuperWaba VM v4.1 (freeware) http://www.superwaba.com.br/vm.asp
This is the Pocket PC version of the SuperWaba Java virtual machine toolset that we discussed in a previous newsletter. There are versions to build Java applications for PalmOS and WinCE. Requires registration to get all of the pieces.
Blue Tooth library Bluetooth LIB
If you want to be able to develop something like the Bluetooth Chat application by Andrey above, you might want to look over this $35 API toolset.
Pocket SmallTalk (freeware) http://www.pocketsmalltalk.com We have discussed
command line SmallTalk development tools in the past -- this tool provides a "GUI" interface, which just makes the class browsing all the much easier to do. Smalltalk is still one of the best true, fully object-oriented development languages to learn O-O coding with. There's no way around it -- everything is an object.
Pocket SmallTalk browser
TreeSize v1.00.01 (freeware) http://www.massmedia.com/%7Emikeb/treesize/
Highly useful, this allows you to easily see how much storage is being taken up by each folder on your Pocket PC.
Database Conversion Wizard (freeware) http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/resources/downloads/pocketpc/databasewizard.mspx
This could also be called -- a Wizard to compensate for Microsoft's lack of backward compatibility. This tool corrects the problems that occur as a result of MS changing the format of underlying database files in PPC 2003.
FO News
Hosting
We have upgraded our hosting packages to include SQL Server-backed and Access-backed database web sites. Each will be available at the end of this month.
See http://www.fo.com/hosting.htm for more information.
If you would like to suggest topics
for us to focus on, we will strive to add content in the direction
of the most interest. Choose from the following categories, or
add your own, and include this in your email:
Palm Development
Palm User Interface topics (look &
feel issues),
Palm User-oriented topics (tips!),
Palm vs. Pocket PC issues
<other>
If you have other comments or suggestions,
please send us an email with your thoughts by clicking
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. Pocket PC/WinCE items are marked with this 
one. Phone-related PDA tips show a 
icon.
