Messages

1

Accessories / C7xx case re-revisited

« on: June 23, 2004, 11:56:15 pm »

Jerry,

  I had that case when I had the C750.  It was pretty nice, but it was a little bulky and seemed to get caught a lot on my chair at work.  I'm hoping the GrinderGear Scout case is a little slimmer... it kinda looks like it on the website.  I guess I'll find out in a few days when it arrives.

  Sounds like GrinderGear might be coming out with a new model soon.  I'll be anxious to see what it looks like.

Thanks
Curt

2

Accessories / C7xx case re-revisited

« on: June 23, 2004, 01:54:50 pm »

Hey, thanks for the suggestions.  Not sure if the Peilfama case they show is what I was thinking, but it I could probably get a belt clip added and oriented the way I want it and it'd look good with business casual attire.  So, that's definitely an option.

I also like the one that's on ThePouch.com.  But, I think I might still go with the Scout for now.  I really liked the Basecamp, so I'm sure I'll be happy with the Scout.

If the Basecamp fit my iPaq H3635 with CF sleeve and my Clie NX-60, I'm almost 100% positive it'll fit a C series Zaurus.  One of the other drawbacks to the Basecamp, though, was I thought it was a little difficult to insert and remove a large PDA.  I know the flap was designed to be secure, so that probably works out well for what it was designed for.  I think for the C760, I'd prefer the Expedition and Scout depending on what activity I was up to and how many things I needed to carry.

I also talked to my girlfriend and described what I wanted.  We think we could whip something up for about $10 and it'd only take a few hours.  I'll probably want 2 or 3 cases to use for different occassions anyway.  Besides, women get to have N-number of purses to match their dresses and outfits, why can't us geeks have N-number of cases for our geek accessories???

3

General Discussion / SL-C*** Alternatives?

« on: June 22, 2004, 07:54:47 pm »

I posted a comparison of the UX-50 and C750 a while back, but I'll share my thoughts again.

C7xx Pros:
* Much bigger/better screen.  My C750, I thought, didn't quite have the same sharpness as the UX-50, but my C760 looks much better.

* Better battery life.  I think the C750 isn't a whole lot better, but the C760 with the bigger battery is definitely better... of course you increase the size of the Z.

* Better web browsing.  If NetFront 3.0 doesn't work, Opera will and vice versa.

* Runs Linux... no limitations on what types of files you can download and use.

* The Terminal (Konsole, etc.) and the ability to program in your favorite languages.

* More free software is available.

UX-50 Pros:
* Better construction... I much prefer the brushed metal to the Zaurus' plastic.  Also, memory stick port has a protective flap to keep out dirt when not in use.  Only thing about the way it was built that sucked was that you couldn't just get a cable to sync/charge.  It needs that damn dock.

* Integrated Bluetooth (and WiFi -- UX-50 only).  This is a BIG plus as I don't need 2 cards carry around.

* Better PIMs and better wireless software.  PIMs work, syncs well to Windows (and Mac with MissingSync software), can send contacts via bluetooth, builtin wifi sniffer, bluetooth software identifies device by name and not MAC address.  Also had a great SMS GUI utility that I really miss on the Z SL-Cxxx.  And all apps that need network connectivity are integrated with the network prefences.

* I love the keyboard -- especially the backlighting (Cxxx keyboard is really good too, but I give the UX the advantage here).

* A supported product in the US.

* Better commercial app availability.

* Palm OS works with more desktop software (i.e. Siebel, Corporate Time, etc.)

UX-50 Cons:
* Sony is too proprietary.  Upgrades to stock apps requires purchase of a new device in many cases (i.e. NetFront 3.1) which no longer is an option.  OS is upgradable, but Sony will never let you do it (upgrades of the N series were an anomaly).

I didn't cover anything, but I do agree with the previous poster on some of the items I missed (such as having landscape AND portrait modes on the Z).  I disagree on the placement of the jog dial, but I don't particularly care for the placement on either PDA.

I think what some people here miss is that the Zaurus and other PDAs such as the Clie, Sigmarion, etc. excel at different things and target different audiences.  This is why I have both.  At work, I use my UX-50 as I can sync it to everything to keep my PIMs up-to-date and it has a nice case that goes with business casual attire.  Alternatively, it's small enough to slip in a pocket (my C760 can too, but not very comfortably).
My Zaurus I use at home and when stormchasing.  The better battery life, ability to run Perl-LWP apps to pull down Wx data, and better browser and screen for viewing Wx images make it much better than the UX.  Also, if I could ever get Kismet running, I think it'd be nice for war driving... although I want to have WiFi enabled, but also have a BT connection to a GPS device to map hotspots.  Hopefully the next Cxxx will at a minimum have integrated wireless.

4

Accessories / C7xx case re-revisited

« on: June 22, 2004, 07:29:31 pm »

I posted this question a while back, but didn't get much of a response.  Maybe what I'm looking for just doesn't exist, but I thought I'd try asking again in case someone found what I'm looking for.

I'd like a case similar to the one I got with my Clie UX-50.  I definitely need/want a case where the horizontal dimension is longer than the vertical and has an easy to open flap (velcro, magnetic, snap... don't really want a zipper).  Additionally, I'd really like to have a small pocket/pouch to carry 1 or 2 CF cards and maybe a SD card.

I love the cases from GrinderGear and plan to order the Scout.  I had the Basecamp when I had an iPaq H3635 and Clie NX-60.  It was great because it had room for my Socket cellular modem cable, CF cards, memory sticks, and other accessories.  But it was hard to put your arms down to your side with this case as it was massive and I didn't like wearing it further up front... kind of uncomfortable.
Anyway, I kinda wish GrinderGear made a case that was like the Scout but just oriented differently.  These cases that have the vertical dimension longer than the horizontal seem to get caught on a lot more stuff than my Clie UX case did and it's more comfortable to wear when seated.

If no one knows of a case such as the one I describe above, I'll have my girlfriend make one... she rocks at this stuff.  If it turns out well, I'll post and probably could get her to make some for sale if anyone would be interested.

5

General Discussion / Wish list for next Zaurus clamshell model

« on: June 16, 2004, 06:39:18 pm »

Well, I think the way around Apple creating their own PDA is to create the apps and the sync support for an existing platform.  While it would be nice for them to do that with the Zaurus, it would make more sense for them to partner with HP and do this for the iPaq architecture.
Apple is already partnered with HP for selling the iPod.  HP (or more accurately Compaq) provided limited support for people wanting to use the handheld.org\'s Linux distro for the iPaq.  Linux is not all the dissimilar from Darwin and OpenStep runs well on Linux.  Additionally, since Apple apps are built with Obj-C and it\'s frameworks, it should be designed such that only certain components would need to be modified in order to run on a handheld architecture.
Not saying this would happen, but I would think it\'d be doable for Apple to create a WinCE alternative if the hardware vendor would assist in developing the device drivers.

One more thing for my wishlist would be the ability to remove the screen from my C760 and use it as a standalone, tablet PDA.  That would probably mean the thickness of that component would need to increase and a second, lower power set of CPU and memory installed in it.  Perhaps they could do what was done with the Nexio where the keyboard was an add-on that slipped into the slot where the screen protector flap fits.

Ultimately, if Sharp just works to clean up the core apps and integrated wireless (with decent wireless utils) I\'d be very happy.

6

General Discussion / Wish list for next Zaurus clamshell model

« on: June 16, 2004, 01:51:14 pm »

Here would be my wishlist for the next clamshell Z:

1.) Integrated WiFi and Bluetooth
2.) Builtin WiFi sniffer in the network applet, better bluetooth device scanning, GUI SMS utility, better support of different bluetooth profiles
3.) Little bit larger screen width-wise
4.) Made of more durable brushed-aluminum/magnesium (same as Clie UX or mini-iPod) with spring flaps on the SD/CF slots to keep out dirt
5.) Backlit keyboard (that could be turned off to save battery life)
6.) Thinner but still have C760-like battery life
7.) Builtin mic (why this hasn\'t been added yet is beyond me)
8.) If it could be integrated gracefully, a swivel camera/video recorder
9.) Upgrade to latest XScale CPU
10.) Double the flash ram to 128MB and flash storage to 256MB or a mini-iPod sized HDD
11.) One USB2.0 port and one Firewire 800 port
12.) Better stock applications, particularly PIMs, or...
13.) Partner with Apple to port Aqua-like interface with pocket Apple applications as an alternative to existing ROMs (or to dual boot)

Probably wouldn\'t be able to have intergrated wireless and make it thinner with a larger screen... at least not yet.  But hey, it\'s a wishlist.  Overall, just make what\'s there better and add features where possible w/o sacrificing battery life or increasing the size too much.

7

Software / Playing Movies on SL-C860

« on: June 16, 2004, 01:26:00 pm »

How about for the Mac?  I do have MPlayer OS X 2 on my Macs and it works pretty good (by far the best codec support, but not the greatest interface).  I never really checked to see if MEencode was ported along with MPlayer.

I wish I could get VLC running on the Z.  I see there\'s some info on a port for the Z on their website, but I haven\'t been able to get it to work yet.  I have been able to use VLC on a Mac to extract my VOBs and then compress those down to something smaller that VLC can play.

8

Sharp ROMs / Problem with ar on Cacko 1.21b ROM

« on: June 15, 2004, 06:50:21 pm »

Yep, the one in the ROM works great.  Is there a reason you also bundled that lib in the dev-img too?

Well, I\'ve got ar working and can get at my ipk\'s contents.  Now I want to zip it back up into something ipkg can read.  I noticed that tar doesn\'t support compression on the Z.  So, I went on my Mac and used Darwin\'s tar.  While `file` says it\'s exactly the same file type as all my other ipks, it would not install.

So, I popped the file back on my Z, extracted the contents, and then separately tar\'d and gzip\'d the archive.  Now I get:

zcat: stdin: unexpected end of file
ipkg_install_file: ERROR unpacking control.tar.gz from libpcap0_0.7.2-1_arm.ipk

I don\'t have my Mac on me, but I could try `gtar cvzf`and if that works.  But I think it\'d be easier to just create a bash script on the Z to convert the files.  Using the tools on the Z, what command would I need to execute to build a proper ipk?

Thanks
Curt

9

Sharp ROMs / Is it possible to send contacts via Bluetooth?

« on: June 15, 2004, 06:39:18 pm »

Forgive my ignorance, but what is KA/PI?

Thanks
Curt

10

Sharp ROMs / Is it possible to send contacts via Bluetooth?

« on: June 15, 2004, 06:22:07 pm »

I suppose I\'ll have to look into building something that will.  I\'ve been looking for a cool project that I\'d actually end up using.

11

Sharp ROMs / Is it possible to send contacts via Bluetooth?

« on: June 15, 2004, 05:47:13 pm »

One thing I like about my UX-50 is the ability to turn on bluetooth and sit in the airport/bus station/mall/etc and go toothing (or bluejacking).  With the keyboard, it was easy to chat with others via bluetooth or confuse a passerby with screwed up message.

I was hoping to be able to do the same on the Z, but I only see the option to send contacts in the addressbook via IR.  Anyone know of an application that would allow me to do this?  Do the tkc PIM apps have this functionality?

12

General Discussion / Possible Yahoo! Mail exploit with NetFront 3

« on: June 15, 2004, 05:12:10 pm »

As many of you noticed, Yahoo! Mail has been \"upgraded\" today.  Therefore, unless you are running MSIE 6.0 or Netscape 7.1, have fun.  (No Safari does not work!!!  They say it does, but I had huge problems this morning on both of my Macs selecting the \"Delete\", \"Reply\", and \"Forward\" buttons.)

Anyway, I tried accessing Yahoo! Mail with my Z and NetFront 3.  It didn\'t like my user agent and gave me the option to upgrade to one of their preferred browsers or use the version of Yahoo! Mail that works with my browser.  Selecting the latter just sends me back to the same page.  However, each time I noticed in the \"Welcome <so and so> [Sign Out, My Account\" the username kept changing.  One time it said I was something like uaedo_saeed and another time something like mdadino2000.

I switched my user agent to look like MSIE 6.0 and attempted to go to \"My Account\", but I must\'ve clicked the wrong link and I ended up just going straight to my mail... and it was my mail.

While this is probably nothing (other than a irritation for those of us not using someone\'s preferred browser since they can\'t create W3C standard webpages or pages with so much crap in it that it doesn\'t work well in other browser... I think this page is using CSS heavily in the layout), I don\'t know if I\'m comfortable that while on that page directing me to upgrade or use the old Yahoo! Mail that I\'m being identified as someone other than who I am.  Just thought I\'d share that with you.

13

Cxx0 General discussions / GUI\'s on C760

« on: June 15, 2004, 02:31:13 pm »

I would think you\'d just need the swing.jar on your Z and put it somewhere in the classpath.  I tried this back when I had the SL-5000D, though, and it did not work since that version of Java was JDK 1.1.8 compatible.  I\'m not sure what version of Java is loaded on the Cacko ROM.

14

Mac Issues / ANN: ZMacSync-1.0a3 available

« on: June 15, 2004, 02:28:58 pm »

Yep, I have zdbat installed and I believe the Cacko Qt ROM should support the right format since it\'s a derivative of the Sharp ROM.  I\'ll have to check my Z to see if the files were uploaded and just not loaded into the AddressBook app.

Curt

15

Security and Networking / bluetooth dialup problems

« on: June 14, 2004, 06:54:39 pm »

Not sure if this is applicable to a Siemens phone, but do you have a CID set up for your connection to the Z?  I know on Sony Ericsson phones you need to create a CID number under Data Comm. -] Data Accounts.  In the event you are unfamiliar with a CID number, it\'s just a single digit that your phone creates to associate your phone to a data device.

I\'m on T-Mobile, and with my service if I want a reliable connection, I need to dial *99***2# where 2 is my CID.  Without dialing that 2, things like ssh and Yahoo! mail don\'t work for me.

I also noticed on T-Mobile that if the connection is idle for about 1min it disconnects.  Is your connection idle for roughly 30s or are you continually using it.  It could be that the service in your area is just really bad.

T-Mobile was pretty good customer service.  After I got to 2nd or 3rd tier data support, I was able to get someone who walked me through this set up process.  Since then, I\'ve had really good luck using my SE Z600 to dialout to the internet.

HTH
Curt