... to the
fall/winter edition of our PDA tips newsletter.
This issue has some things in it that just might interest those executives who got an IPOD or ZUNE as a present for the holidays -- and don't know exactly what to do with it!
50%
20%
30%
Newsletter Survey
The results of our last survey are discussed below. There is a new (to this newsletter) and interesting area of reader interest -- podcasting -- which we will be adding content for -- beginning with this newsletter. Also see our new podcasting services that we introduce in the FO News section below.
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.
Each item in our newsletter is marked with the
icons shown to the right, so that you can focus on your own areas of
interest.
PalmOS
Pocket PC/WinCE
Podcasts
Phone-related
Wi-Fi items
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
Survey Results
The results of our survey from the last newsletter are shown below (Listing 1). The large interest in PalmOS topics (84%) was not unexpected -- as this newsletter actually originated as a Palm news resource.
However, there were a couple of surprises.
First of all, the interest level (18%) in the developer section ... that we dedicate a quarter of the newsletter to ... was less than it has been in the past. So much so, that we will drop having a dedicated developer section in our newsletter; and will move towards including only those development tools and tips that can benefit (and that can be easily used by) most PDA users.
Final Survey Results
What is your 1st choice of platform to cover?
84%
Palm
10%
PPC
3%
Other
3%
Ipod
What other platforms would you like to see covered?
28%
PPC
28%
Palm
24%
Ipod
12%
Blackberry
4%
Other
4%
Phone
Would you prefer more tips & sites in the mix, or more of the utilities?
74%
Current Mix OK
19%
Tips
6%
Apps
Do you use the Developer section?
18%
Yes
82%
No
Listing 1 -- Survey Results
Secondly, it was a bit of a surprise to see the level of interest in iPod/podcasting topics (27% of readers want this as the first or second most topic to be covered) -- especially since there has been no real coverage of iPod topics here in the past. So to respond to this -- and to see if actually covering podcasting topics generates even higher interest -- beginning with this newsletter we will include podcast tips, sites and tricks. Please let us know if we are on the right track, podcasting-wise.
Google PDA Maps
Mobile Google Maps (freeware) http://www.google.com/gmm
Well, if this one is even ½ as good as the full browser-based Google Maps -- then this is a must download for mobile PDA users to help you find your way.
There is Treo support http://www.google.com/gmm/treo along with an extensive number of other devices, including Audiovox, BenQ-Siemens, BlackBerry, Generic (Advanced MIDP2, Basic MIDP1), HP, HTC, LG, Mio, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, O2, Palm, Pantech, Philips, Qtek, Sagem, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony Ericsson, T Mobile and Toshiba.
At 427kb the Treo PRC is a little weighty -- but you would be (cough) ... lost without it.
ActiveSync Woes (freeware)
With ActiveSync v4.x, which is REQUIRED for a Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) Microsoft has dropped a number of sync features. Most importantly, network syncing or syncing from a WiFi connection has been removed. The speculation about this is that Microsoft wanted to appease the cell phone carriers (whom makes money from data sync time) in order to make MS Smartphones more attractive.
If you are using a PPC 2003 device, we recommend that you do not upgrade to ActiveSync 4 for these reasons.
Here are some additional sites with ActiveSync coverage on ActiveSync-related issues, including a couple from Microsoft.
A Very Common ActiveSync Connection Problem - switching USB Ports
There are a number of issues with ActiveSync, most from Microsoft attempting to too completely control what goes on when a user wants to sync their device. But the following problem falls into the "just dumb" category.
Often users have a problem with their PPC/WM5 device failing to connect on a USB port. If this sounds like you -- one of the very first things to consider is whether you are hooking your cable into EXACTLY the same USB port that the ActiveSync software was initially installed on. If you move your cable from one USB port to another; or back and forth to a USB hub; or, well, any of these types of things that you might expect to work in our Plug and Play world -- then ActiveSync (AS) runs into a problem.
If you have swapped USB ports, AS will correctly find the device trying to connect on the new port, but when AS attempts to talk back to the device, it tries to do so through the original USB port that AS was set up on. There is a way to correct this however.
Turn the device on and remove it using the PC's device manager.
Pull the USB cable and turn off PDA.
Put the USB cable into a set USB port (that won't change in the future), turn on the PDA and reconnect it.
If you don't move the device's cable from the set USB port -- this problem will be avoided.
There are options to turn it off altogether; blink it when the battery is low; or (HURRAY!) blink it when you have voicemail or SMS messages. Some of these features depend on the network you are using.
If you have the in-house capacity to create PDF files -- or if you have outside customers/vendors who do -- then the Adobe tools to work with tagged files will allow you to create PDF files specifically targeted for these mobile devices. This one is marked kind of freeware, because while the readers are free -- the tools to create them are not.
From the Adobe site:
"Tagged Adobe PDF
Tagged Adobe PDF files provide a high quality reading experience on handheld devices because the contents can be easily reflowed to fit the screen size. Results for non-tagged PDF files will vary depending on the quality and complexity of the source files. Tagged PDF documents contain more information than their non-tagged equivalents and may have larger file sizes."
All of which simply means that standard PDF files can not be read using these Adobe-provided mobile tools.
Adobe Mobile Readers
Mobile Search tools (freeware) http://m.ask.com/index.jsp
Joining Google (http://mobile.google.com) with a web-based, PDA-sized set of search utilities is ASK. Beyond the expected Search and Maps/Directions; are also Business Listings and access to Bloglines.
Also of interest, is the new mobile validator being worked on by the W3C:
W3C Mobile Web Best Practices checker (Beta): http://validator.w3.org/mobile/
SoundRec v1.07 (freeware) http://infinityball.com/
A highly rated voice recorder for the Treo 600/650.
PODCASTS (mostly freeware)
Podcasts -- What are they and how do you get started?
First, Podcasts - unlike the name implies - do not require an Apple iPod. The iPod was a driving force in creating this market and the podcast idea works well with these devices. However, you’ll be happy to know you can also get podcasts for your Palm, Pocket PC and even some phones. If you just want to listen to the content - you can often just stream the audio to you desktop (you need speakers of course). So podcasts are simply audio content (usually MP3 format) that is available on the Internet and can be downloaded to your computer or MP3 player.
To get started you can download the Apple iTunes product for either MAC or Windows.
ITunes contains a list of Podcasts. Alternative Podcatchers ( "Podcatchers" definition: A podcasting client. Software in a user's machine that downloads and aggregates podcasts for synchronization to the user's digital music player.) beyond iTunes include:
Where can you find more Audio podcasts?
Here is a list of some sites that offer an organized collection of podcasts. You will find everything here from technology, business, politics to religion and more.
Treo Hash Codes http://mytreo.net/treofaq/HashCodes
Codes that can be keyed into your Treo to set or retrieve technical information.
Be especially careful with these, as some of them could be called Trash codes, as in trash your pda. But others, such as the first one, can be useful.
Some examples:
786
This the Phone Information Page. It tells you how many minutes the unit has on it, how much data has transpired, the warranty date, software versions, ESN, etc.
377
Displays the last error which caused a soft reset, and the program that was running, line number etc
33284
This spells ##debug and is the CDMA phone info screen containing a bunch of technical data on your current signal and tower connection.
633
Turns off the radio
Codes for Symbian Series 60 phones (freeware) http://www.gosymbian.com/s60codes.html
This is the same sort of page for S60 phones. The following is a snippet from this site.
*#06# - Get the Serial Number/IMEI.
structure of the IMEI : XXXXXX XX XXXXXX X
TAC FAC SNR SP
· TAC = Type approval code
· FAC = Final assembly code
· SNR = Serial number
· SP = Spare
*#0000# - Get the SW version (e.g. V 5.27.0 / 28-06-04 / NHL-10 )
*#2820# - Get the Bluetooth (BT) device address
xx# - Quick contact access (xx = location number, e.g. : 17#)
When switching the phone on with the "ABC" key (pen) pressed, no application is started, it's a "safeboot".
Buttons! (freeware) http://mytreo.net/downloads/cat108.html http://discuss.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=49685&page=3&highlight=buttons+skin
These sites are kinda fun, but lean towards system-oriented utilities. This is how to change the look of the dialing buttons on the PalmOS Treo and to change graphics that pop up when connecting/disconnecting. There are a number of button looks already done that can be downloaded as .PRC files in these two links. And here is a fresh reminder to back everything up well before attempting these changes...
Replacement Buttons
To work with the various button add-ins, you need to delete the last one that you put in place. Note that button programs will not show up in the launcher. To remove button PRCs, use the FileZ program that is described next.
Depending on your graphic skills, you can create your own button sets as well. The entire procedure is described and discussed in the threads found on these sites.
Replacement Splashscreens
FileZ v6.8.3 (freeware) http://nosleepsoftware.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=download
Instead of wrestling with the Launcher's delete functionality (and to get to system files and data files that are not even exposed in Palm's launcher) FileZ is a good answer. You will need FileZ or something like it, in order to remove the button prcs in the previous paragraph.
(a subset of the) Features include:
- Support for memory cards (VFS-based)
- Fast cache-optimized list refreshes
- Command bar support (palm os >= v3.5)
- Smarter selecting/sorting in the list view
- Used memory/total memory display
- Menu option to set the backup/copy bits of all files at once
- Scroll the list by entering a letter into the graffiti area
- Edit the create/modify/backup date/times (including "never" option)
- Customizable 2nd column: creator, type, size, record count, attributes
- Color coded list view
- Various sorting orders
- Many filtering options: filename, creator, type, size, record count, attributes
- Shows files on external memory cards
- All file attributes can be changed
- Hide-ROM option
- Ultra easy-to-use
- Multiple file delete/move/copy (HURRAY!)
- Preference editor
FExplorer v1.15 (free/donationware) http://www.gosymbian.com/fexplorer_new.php
A file "explorer" for S60 phones -- that allows you to see what the heck that you have on there. This is also useful for developers to check for the size/date of app components installed to the phone.
(drilling in with the) FExplorer - Series 60
Best Screen Snap 1.01 (Symbian Screen capture) (free/donationware) http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Graphics/Image-Viewer/Best-Screen-Snap-6089.shtml
This tool provides a needed utility on Symbian phones, to capture screens on the device; saving the graphics as true color or 256 color BMPs; or JPGs. You can send the resulting graphic via email, message, Infrared or Bluetooth.
Screen Snap 1.01
Sticky section
Included here will be PalmOS; WinCe/Pocket PC/Windows Mobile; Smartphones and calling plan comparisons. We will keep and update this set of device lists in future newsletters, as a way to help users in comparing hardware before a purchase.
This is something that we are pretty excited about!
We are introducing two separate services, to assist business professionals with publishing their message via podcasting.
The first, is to work with you to create or use your audio or video clips, to create podcasts -- which will then be distributed through iTunes and similar frameworks or directly from your website. There are several levels to this service, ranging from working with your previously produced audio/video clips; all the way through helping you with creating the actual text of the scripts to be worked into the podcast.
The second service, is to completely drop into your place of business a turn-key set of utilities, so that you can create your own podcasts directly.
Either service comes with assistance on how and where to distribute your work; help from FO on marketing your podcasts and a push from us to allow other customers to see what you have done as well.
See the site above -- or contact us here for more information.
These are just some notes about ways to key in data on a Treo 650, which might help others. I would guess that they are in the manual somewhere, but just in case anyone else didn't read that whole thing, here they are:
To enter a string of capital letters, like FO.COM, press the shift key twice in a row. An up-arrow indicator with a line under it will be shown on the screen and everything that you type (until you press the shift key again) will be entered as capital letters.
To enter a string of function characters without holding down the Blue function key before each one, just press the Blue key twice in a row. A black circle with a line under it will show up on the right of the screen, which means that you are in function entry mode [or something like that]. Anything that you type from that point on will pick the function representation off the key, rather than the number or letter shown on the key. Press the Blue key once more, to return to normal keyboard entry. This is most useful when keying a phone number into non-phone number aware text fields.
To enter special characters, press the Blue function key then the character that is closest to what you are after. Then press Alt to get to a list of characters that are similar to the one you entered, but that are not shown on the keyboard. For example, to get to the "~" character, press blue and "-". Then press Alt to see a pop-up list of the others that are close. Scroll to the one that you want using the 5 way navigator key or just press Alt repeatedly to move through them. Press the center 5-way selector button when you have the one that you want.
FO notes:
The graphic showing the keys discussed in this reader tip was added.
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