Well, no need to worry now! Thanks to Unit2Unit Converter 2.1.1 from cal2Cal Corporation.
To be frank, I would say I was very impressed by this little application when I got to install it first on my treo 650. Well designed, beautiful color coding that matches each and every icon, its simplicity will allow you to perform quick unit-to-unit conversion at a touch of button.
Hold on! It ain't over. Not only it is easy-to-use, it even has configurable favorites screen for six unit categories of your choice enabling ready access to your frequently used conversions. FANTASTIC!!!
Unit2Unit converter 2.1.1 performs conversions under categories like Temperature, Speed, Length, Area, Mass, Density, Light, Time, Volume, Pressure, Flow, Power, Force, Angle, Current, Acceleration, Frequency, Angular Velocity, Digital Resolution, Data, Astronomical Units and Torque. I shall also mention that this version is packed with more units and features and supports configuration of decimal point precision or scientific notation.
From a personal point of point, I would say I am overwhelmingly satisfied and there is no way I would delete such an application from my smartphone.
NOTE: The above review was done by pgenie, he's just still on his trip. Have fun pgenie. Also, I'd like to mention that this is the final mini-review in our Freeware of the Day series. I hope you all liked it.
Freeware of the day...... Day 31
A new Picsel product! And it's not rippped from some old Palm!
Although I have not tried it myself, from what it says on their website, Proviewer supports image formats such as Jpeg, Gif, animated Gif, PNG, BMP and progressive rendering using WMF and EMF. Other file formats that are supported by Proviewer include HTML, mHTML, Adobe PDF, Text files, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Macromedia Flash and Zip compression are also supported.
The only downside from what I can see is that it only supports The LifeDrive, Treo 650, Tungsten E2, and TX, so I'm assuming it's strictly OS 5.4 and above.
So if you have $29.99, I think you'll want to check out this new piece of software gold.
Freeware of the day...... Day 30
Graffiti Anywhere will allow you to turn your pda screen into a Graffiti Zone. Very easy to use, just launch Graffiti Anywhere on your Handheld, Tap the "enable" button. Open any application on your handheld that needs text input, then Press and hold the activation button and simultaneously use the stylus to stroke Graffiti characters directly on your screen. Here you are!!!You have just used Graffiti on your treo 650.
As far as the activation button is concerned, there are four different activation methods that you will be able to choose from Graffiti Anywhere "Activation "Menu.
GRAFFITI 1 or GRAFFITI 2
Amazingly, Graffiti Anywhere does not have its own recognition engine.Its uses the pre-installed recognition engine in the system.
E.g: if You are using a palm M515, then Graffiti 1 would be the recognition engine for Graffiti Anywhere.
If you are using a Treo 650 like me, then Graffiti 2 would be the recognition engine for Graffiti Anywhere.
There has been multiple version of Graffiti Anywhere since it was first launched in November 2002 from 1.0.0 to 1.5.7.
Version 1.5.6
*add and fix bug for treo 650
*CapsCrossing feature now works for Sony NX devices.
*Activation state is now restore when enabled afer reset.
*Add 9 pixels corner for "Tap screen corner" activation method.
*Smoother stroke drawing
Version 1.5.7 adds more cosmetic touches to the previous version.
Graffiti Anywhere 1.5.7 can be downloaded here
You should defintely give it a try!!!
NOTE: The about mini-review was done by pgenie. I'm just posting it since he's on a trip :-)
Freeware of the day...... Day 29
These two free programs offer you more ways to work with your calender and tasks data and yet both should be very intuitive and familiar immediately to users. By using very similar interfaces and the same databases as the built-in calender and tasks applications, both of these freeware programs can be used to add new entries, and the data will still be hot-synced to your desktop PC. The only bug I have found, for me anyways, is alarms are generated by both the built-in applications and KsDatebook or KsToDo, however it's not really a big problem since they appear at the same time, but others may find it a bit annoying.
KsDatebook offers 5 different calender views, including a useful single, or two week agenda view, and a single month view, both with the option of using tiny fonts to fit more on-screen. KsToDo offers just a few extra functions missing from the built-in tasks application and nicely integrates with KsDatebook to make moving back and forth between the two easier. Neither are very big either with KsDatebook at 298 KB and KsToDo at 69 KB. By offering just the right amount of added features that are missing in the built-in equivalents, KsDatebook and KsToDo create a solid replacement for the datebook and tasks programs, and are worthy of being launched by their respective hard buttons.
For more information and to download KsDatebook, check it out here.
For more information and to download KsToDo, check it out here.
Freeware of the day...... Day 28
Little John PalmOS is (or LJP in short) is a multi-system emulator for PalmOS 5.0 (or newer) devices. Currently it emulates the following systems:
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Nintendo Gameboy/Gameboy Color (GB/GBC)
- Sega Genesis/Megadrive
- Sega Master System (SMS)
- Sega Game Gear (GG)
- Bandai Wonderswan/Wonderswan Color (WS)
- NeoGeo Pocket/NeoGeo Pocket Color (NGP)
The user inteface is easy to understand and works very well for the type of program this is. Games runs very smoothly, though I'm fairly sure UDMH is needed on the lower-end devices. The sound is pretty good and the save/load works great.
Overall, this is the greatest emulator for the PalmOS and I definately recommend you try it out. For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 27
AvantGo is a 2-part service. The first part is online, where you configure your free AvantGo account and add channels, from thousands of choices. There's everything from news channels to astrology channels, to weather. You can even create you own custom channels from any websites. Now, with the latest version of AvantGo, you can add RSS feeds.
The second part is the Palm software application. Just install it, set it up annd you ready to go. After each hotsync, your selected channels are downloaded to your device for offline viewing. Depending on the number of channels, this program could take upwards to 1MB or higher. The quality of the webpages, however, is pretty good. And if your Palm happens to have a wired or wireless connection, you can even use AvantGo as a web browser.
Overall, a great application and service for a great price (free). For more info and to download it, check it out here
PalmPDF and TCPMP Updated
Two of the best freeware programs for the Palm OS have recently been updated.
PalmPDF is a native PDF file viewer and has just been updated to version 1.0 Release Candidate 1, and can be downloaded here.
TCPMP is a media player with support for more file types than any other, and was just updated to Beta 0.71d, and can be downloaded here. Note: This is a beta release, which means version 0.71d may contain unknown bugs and if you're unsure of compatibility try the latest stable release 0.71, which can be downloaded here.
Both PalmPDF and TCPMP are being actively developed and updated regularly, so be sure to check back at their websites and download the latest versions when they are released.
Freeware of the day...... Day 26
With AutoExec you can set an application to launch automatically after every soft reset. For example, you could set it so that after a soft reset, Agendus launches. This auto-launching comes in handy if you happen to use a launcher that doesn't re-enable after a reset (however most already do this). Clocking in at only 8kb, how could you say no to this freeware.
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 25
XmasTree is pretty self-explanitory; it's a virtual Christmas tree for the Palm. On your first time into the program you see an expty Christmas tree and a treasure chest in the bottom-righthand corner. If you tap on the treasure chest you can see what you have to choose from to decorate the tree. And as time goes by, you get new ornaments to put on the tree. The neat thing is that you are able to trade ornament to your friends' Palms with the beaming and sending integration.
Overall, a nice program with more to offer than you'd think. For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 24
Origami On The Go was updated only few days ago. At first glance, it seem like some small gadget-type program, but this it's much more. There's quick reference of various folds and terminoloy, and there's the history of origami. But the main part of the program is the step-by-step project viewer. You can open projects stored on either the RAM or on an expansion card. The only projects availabe (at the time of this mini-review) is a high-res and low-res version of a traditional crane. The instructions were easy to follow and the graphics were nice and crisp. I particularily liked the GoTo dropdown list for quick access to any step in a project.
Origami On The Go takes up 235kb on high-res handhelds and 166kb on low-res handhelds. This program supports pretty well every resolution out there (with the exception of the 320x240pixel screens). There's even a no-experience-necessary SDK available at Canuck Software.
So if you're up to try something new, you'll want to check out Origami On The Go
Freeware of the day...... Day 23
MetrO is quite possibly the most useful Palm program for travelers. MetrO gives you public transportation schedules (schedules for the bus transit, subway, etc.) and calculates the fastest routes for you to take. You can even get routes to tourist attractions. This Program is great is you travel a lot, due to the fact that it currently gives you schedules for over 300 cities worldwide, including Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. And boy does this program come in many flavours. You can get MetrO in 39 different languages! The user interface is a little complicated at first, but after a bit of time you realize that everything there has a specific purpose.
The actual program is relatively small, only about 60kb, it's the city databases that take up all the space. However, fortunately enough, the city databases can be stored in the /PALM/Programs/metro/ folder on your expansion card.
I won't go too in depth into this program since the least of features and functions just goes on and on. Overall, if your city is supported, I definately recommend you download or at least check out MetrO
Freeware of the day...... Day 22
First off, let me get one this straight, I'll be talking about PalmVNC 2.0 by Olivier Gerardin, not the old classic PalmVNC by Harakan Software. PalmVNC 2.0 is up-to-date and works on all of the current Palm models, however you'll need conectivity on you Palm handheld for this program to work. It's recommended that you have at wi-fi connection for optimum speed and performance, but if you don't mind a bit of lag every once in a while, bluetooth works too. The set-up for PalmVNC is fairly simple, given that PalmVNC 2.0's website has detailed instructions on setting up the PC component. And one the PC component is up and running, part 2 of setup begins. After installing the program to you Palm, there is not much left to do, just put in you computer's IP address, configure the hard buttons etc.. Now you're ready to go. Hit the connect button and your Palm is now able to control your computer. Your computer's desktop is displayed and there are scrollbars on the right and bottom on your Palm's screen. You can change zooms, and even zoom out to show the entire desktop. And when you tap your screen it's moves the mouse's pointer to wherever you've tapped. For text entry, the regular graffiti method of text-entry works.
The only downfall in PalmVNC 2.0, for me anyway, is that PalmVNC 2.0 converts your desktop to 256 colours, which, in many instances, causes graphics to be displayed somewhat distorted.
Overall, a very good, application, and for free, who can say no. For more info and to download it, check it out here
Palm pledges three new smart phones in 2006
From The Register:
Palm will unveil three new smart-phone products in 2006 in addition to the already announced Windows Mobile-based Treo 700w, the company's chief said yesterday.
Speaking during a conference following the announcement of the company's Q2 results, CEO Ed Colligan confirmed earlier analyst claims that Palm will offer new smart phones at different price points to the current Treo line-up.
"We'll announce three additional new smart phones during calendar year 2006," said Colligan, adding that they will sport new looks and feature more advanced network support - presumably a reference to 3G and possibly the long-awaited addition of Wi-Fi too.
One of the models has been specifically designed for a major international carrier, Colligan said without naming names. This autumn, Palm opened a European R&D centre to improve the company's links with carriers here, including T-Mobile, Vodafone and Orange.
The 700w was announced in September, and is expected to debut early next year, probably at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Palm also said it will ship BlackBerry Connect for the Treo early in 2006, the company confirmed yesterday.
In November, Caris & Co. analyst Susan Kalla claimed Palm was preparing two new smart-phone designs dubbed 'Lowrider' and 'Hollywood', presumably because they're pitched at low-end and multimedia-oriented markets, respectively. Hollywood is also thought to be a 3G model. She also said Palm was working on the Treo 700p, which observers have taken to be the Palm OS version of the 700w.
Freeware of the day...... Day 21
AgileMessenger is fairly old, and on the new Palm handhelds, it's starting to show its age. Unfortunately, Agile messenger is all low-resolution and doesn't support a DIA. In addition, any attempt to use the built-in sounds causes a soft-reset on my Zire 72, and there isn't an background mode, which is what keeps this from being up-to-par with the current commercial solutions. Lastly, AgileMessenger automatically disconnects you on exit, which I don't find too impressive.
But it's not all bad for AgileMessenger. You are still able to connect to Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and ICQ, all at the same time! The actual messaging inteface is fairly well designed; you can rename contacts, remove contacts, message contacts and get info about each contact. I find that AgileMessenger does seem to disconnect and reconnect on an unusually frequent basis. One useful feature, especially for those of you with smartphones, is AgileMessenger's Traffic Counter which tallies up the amount of data sent and recieved. Overall, a good freeware, but a little unstable on the current line of Palm OS PDAs.
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 20
TbmpEdit is only version 0.1, which means every once in a while you will get a soft reset for no real reason. However, I think, that for what it does, these soft resets can be forgiven. TbmpEdit opens up the Palm OS PRC file structure and lets you edit the Tbmps, abmps, and AIBs of any application. As well, you can copy, paste, delete, etc., resources from one PRC file to another. And, if you have any of TbmpEdit's plug-ins installed, you can edit PRCs on your expansion card, and even edit jpegs and bmps.
The actual edit features of TbmpEdit are easily comparible to the best paint programs out there for the Palm OS. You have the standard pen, eraser, dropper/colour chooser, fill and select, plus shapes and shapes with fill. Also, there's also the move, resize, clone, transparency, text, and compression. And what's more, TbmpEdit is free!
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 19
If your not satisfied anymore with the standard Palm launcher, maybe you should look at a replacement launcher like iSpin. There are many other launchers out there, and some are perhaps better choices, but for a free option, iSpin is in a class of it's own. I know of no other launcher with as much to offer that is also free!
iSpin Lite is not as powerful as the pay version, but even so, it has many useful features that make it worth a look. The interface of iSpin is very familiar to Windows PC users, although the interface can be "skinned" to change it's appearance almost completely. There are also many Windows like functions as one might expect. Multiple windows can be opened at once, and individually minimized down to the taskbar. You can tap and hold on files, allowing you to directly manipulate the file from a context sensitive menu, or tap and drag to move a file into a directory, even down into a separate directory in a window you've minimized to the taskbar. iSpin will also show you JPG images on your expansion memory card using a thumbnail view, very handy.
It's as close as it gets to Windows on you Palm, check out iSpin Lite v1.7.
Freeware of the day...... Day 18
InnerBackup is fairly basic, but does the job. You start off by going into Setup where you choose an expansion card and your language. Now, you can tap on 'Backup' to backup your data to expansion card. Naturally, you can also restore your data at the tap to a button. While this program does seem to lack many features that commercial backup solutions offer (like scheduled backups and selective file restoration), InnerBackup does what it's suppose to do, and it's free! One thing this program offers that other backup solutions don't have is the beautiful interface (the screenshot doesn't do it justice). It has nice, crisp graphics that meld perfectly into the program. Plus, this utility only takes up 141kb of memory!
For more info and to download InnerBackup, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 17
Inspired by the cult-favourite movie The Matrix, The Matrix Screensaver is one of the coolest looking screensavers I have ever seen. The ever-changing green glyphs falling down look exactly as you would expect, the behaviour of the computer screens we saw in the movie are emulated flawlessly . It really looks like your Palm is a window to the matrix code all around you, very spooky.
The Matrix Screensaver is included with an application called the Screensaver Manager that allows you to configure the screensavers installed on your device from Handy Entertainment. Many settings can be changed to control how the screensaver will look and how it's activated to suit your desires.
Okay, so it's not as useful as say TCPMP, or PalmPDF, but come on, who doesn't like a little eye now and again? Check out The Matrix Screensaver 2.00.
Freeware of the day...... Day 16
Today's freeware is a multimedia player that's widely used by Palm OS and Pocket PC owners alike. And that would be The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP).
TCPMP is one of the most versatile media players available for the Palm OS platform capable of playing AVI, MPEG, OGM, and WMV (WMV is limited to video only, no audio) video file formats, as well as MP3, WAV, and OGG audio formats. Some other media formats are supported as well; a full list can be found at the program's forum. Also, it's a hefty 2.3 MB - 2.5 MB of RAM space, but well worth it.
Although TCPMP doesn't have a final release yet (it is still version 0.71a at the time this review was written), there is nothing wrong with any parts of it to date. The GUI is a little stripped down, consisting of only a few buttons on the front screen. Within the preferences menu you can change video and audio settings, and even set the playback speed (faster or slower than normal), change the audio/video synchronization, and enable the Sony GE2D video feature on select Sony Clie models (UX50, VZ90, TH55) provided that you have installed the proper plug-in file. There is also a plug-in for the Tapwave Zodiac that lets TCPMP make the most of the built-in ATI graphics chip. Loading and playing video and music files is very simple and easy to do. One bonus feature of TCPMP is that it can also load JPEG image files, although it is still a little buggy and may cause instability.
So if you're going on a road trip, and want to kill some time with a movie or some tunes, TCPMP is definitely what you're looking for. And it can be found at the CoreCodec.org site, or directly linked here.
Freeware of the day...... Day 15
Today's freeware program is one that mobile office workers and freeware program lovers alike will find immensely useful, and have been longing to see on non-Sony devices for some time now. Yup, it's PalmPDF.
PalmPDF is one of the few Palm OS PDF document viewers that can open native PDF files: most other document viewers require conversion. At first start up, PalmPDF will scan your device's hardware to determine how much heap memory is available and accessible. From there, you can open practically any PDF document that you've placed on your expansion card (only your expansion card). Despite the basic GUI features of PalmPDF, the buttons and menus do what they're made for, and that's what counts - especially since it is still in beta stages (version 0.8 at the time this review was written).
Most PDF files open seamlessly, but the larger files (usually 5 MB or larger) can take some time to fully load. Once the document is finished loading, you can zoom in and out on the page, pan around the document page, and of course navigate to other pages. PalmPDF provides you with the essential tools required to view PDF documents, like a basic, stripped down version of Adobe Reader.
As PalmPDF is still in beta stages, more features are most likely to come, thus enhancing usability and even performance.
Finally, a Palm OS application to view those PDF documents found in e-mail attachments. It's PalmPDF, and it's a very promising application, which can be found at MetaView.
Palm Appoints Roy Bedlow as Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 2005-- Expanding Mobile Operator Relationships is Key Objective
Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) has appointed Roy Bedlow as vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Bedlow is based at Palm's EMEA headquarters in Wokingham, UK, and reports to John Hartnett, senior vice president of worldwide sales and customer relations.
"Roy has done a great job building the foundation of Palm EMEA's wireless business around the Treo(TM) product family, and I'm confident he'll take Palm EMEA to a new level for our entire portfolio of products," said Hartnett. "We've had tremendous success growing Treo smartphone sales in the United States, and we see substantial opportunities for success in Europe as well. Expanding relationships with mobile operators globally is a key emphasis in our growth strategy, and I'm confident that we will be able to sign up major new operators in Europe in 2006."
Palm is aligning its European infrastructure to maximize the market potential for Treo smartphones. The company recently opened a European R&D Centre in Dublin to facilitate the delivery of smartphones tailored to the EMEA market. The European R&D centre is focused on deployment of leading-edge technologies, such as 3G/UMTS, delivered on Palm's chosen platforms.
Bedlow commented: "I'm delighted to lead Palm EMEA and work to grow Palm's market share. With the opening of our engineering centre in Dublin, we can accelerate the development of smartphone products for mobile operators in Europe. With increasing demand for mobile email plus the deployment of 3G networks, we are well-poised to deliver on our vision that the future of personal computing is mobile computing."
Bedlow previously was director of Palm EMEA's Wireless Business Unit, responsible for the Treo family of smartphones and alliances with leading operators throughout Europe. Prior to that, he was EMEA marketing director at Handspring, before Handspring and Palm merged in 2003. Earlier roles included European Business Unit director for Iomega International in Geneva and a variety of sales and marketing positions at Apple Computer over a period of six years, based in London and Munich.
Freeware of the day...... Day 14
RealPlayer is not very large at about 620 KB in RAM, and if your device is supported this is a fine choice for an MP3 player for Palm OS 5. The only file types playable are MP3 and RealAudio, but most people use MP3 anyways, and RealAudio isn't actually too bad if you want to use it. Overall, the audio quality is great in my opinion, but every handheld is different. :)
All the menus are simple and functional, with little fluff, but with a familiar RealOne look and feel as well. RealPlayer just simply works great at playing MP3 files and your playlists off of the memory card, and also in the background while you use other apps. You also can use RealPlayer and your devices USB connection to link directly to your PC and upload songs and playlists using the Windows version of RealPlayer, similar to iTunes. I have tried it and it works, as soon as I started the RealPlayer on my handheld the Windows version could see it was connected. Uploading songs was a little slow, but easy to do.
It plays MP3 files and it's free, check out RealPlayer.
Note:
- The installer is for Windows only and about 1.6 MB.
- You will also need to download and install the Windows version of RealPlayer for direct connection to the PC to work.
Freeware of the day...... Day 13
Bombel is virtual bubble wrap for the Palm OS. It's lifesized with a satisfying popping sound. The image quaility was surprisingly good (as you can see from the screenshot). As well, Bombel supports pretty much all screen resolutions. I find it nice and relaxing just popping the bubble wrap, and once all the screen is popped, all you need to do is go into the menu and hit More! and a whole new screen of bubble wrap appears. This program even keeps stats of details like bombels per minutes, sheets per minute, total minutes, etc.. As well, from what I've read, this program even has a vibrate feature.
So if you're looking for some pointless fun, check out Bombel
Freeware of the day...... Day 12
Ever since the Palm handhelds first included IR ports, there was IR Pong. This version of IR Pong has evolved with the times. It features the basic single player breakout-style game which is pretty fun on it's own. But as the name states, there's also multiplayer via IR. This IR multiplayer runs amazingly smoothly and offers a fun game for me to play with my friends who sadly own the older Palms. IR Pong has kept with the times and now also supports multiplayer via bluetooth.
IR Pong also has a very small footprint of only 38KB and runs on pretty much any Palm out there. I recommend, at the least, you try this game out, it might get you hooked!
For more info and to download this game, check it out here
Hat Trick My Treo
In the month of December, five of Canada's six hockey teams face off against each other in the following three regional games:
December 17 - Toronto vs. Ottawa
December 23 - Calgary vs. Vancouver
December 31 - Edmonton vs. Calgary
For each game, choose the team you think will win, and if they do, your name will be automatically entered into a draw to win a Palm Treo 600. The number of Treos up for grabs depends on the number of goals scored by the winning team.
And to add to this, if a player scores a hat trick, we'll TRIPLE the number of Treos for giveaway, again, based on the total number of goals that team scores
Sign up and enter the contest here
Letter from ACCESS to PalmOS Developers
Source: http://www.palmsource.com/developers/letter.html
To all PalmSource Developers:
We are delighted to inform you that ACCESS has completed the
acquisition of PalmSource. We are looking forward to being a part of the vibrant and global Palm OS[] developer community.
We at ACCESS are very excited about the market opportunity in front of our newly formed company and the opportunities our new company may open for you. ACCESS' goal is to be the global leader in the embedded software technology space. PalmSource and its family of software offerings are an important component to our strategy. We are committed to supporting PalmSource's ongoing development work on Palm OS for Linux. We are also committed to continuing to support all current offerings of Palm OS and its contracts with customers. We value your contributions to the Palm Powered[] Economy and encourage you to keep developing Palm OS applications.
In addition, we believe the PalmSource developer community is one of PalmSource's greatest assets. As a global provider of Internet technologies to the mobile and beyond-PC markets, we believe that together, ACCESS and PalmSource can provide you with opportunities to develop software applications for an even wider market of PDAs, phones and other mobile devices. Today, ACCESS' NetFront technologies are delivering full Internet browsing and related services to mobile devices and consumer electronics ranging from digital television to automobile telematics. We believe the PalmSource developer community has tremendous opportunities in many areas and we want to work with you to foster continued innovation and growth for your businesses.
Palm OS has given rise to a large community of users, enterprises,
developers and manufacturers who make up the Palm Powered Economy. We are proud to be part of this community and look forward to working with you.
Best regards,
Toru Arakawa and Tomihisa Kamada
ACCESS co-founders
While this may seen like old news to many, it's still reseaonably fresh for the talk of Palm OS Linux... And with the new palmOne Treo 700w being approved by the FCC, should we be crossing our fingers for seeing the first Palm OS Linux device on store shelves soon? Since the release of this letter, rumours and talk of Palm OS on Linux have veered in many different directions. Some say that 2006 is the year we'll see the first Linux based Palm OS device; others think it will be a few more years.
I think I'll just hunker down and enjoy the talk, both positive and negative, about Palm OS running on Linux. If you ask me, I think it will certainly be a nice change.
(We'd love to hear what you have to say! Come join us at our Canuck PDA forum, and be heard!)
Interview with Palm CEO Ed Colligan
From PalmInfoCenter:
The New York Times has posted an extended interview with Palm CEO Ed Colligan.
In the interview he discusses a number of current topics including the RIM legal
drama, open source software, the Microsoft partnership, competition, the growth
of smartphones and talks a bit about their "next-gen product" with broadband
connectivity.
The full interview can be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/10/business/10extended.html
Freeware of the day...... Day 11
Todays freeware brings your calender, tasks, and e-mail alerts all into one screen for quick viewing at a glance. Similar to the Pocket PC today screen, but a program for Palm OS devices, it's Today v2.3.
Today offers three different screen views switched at the top of the screen, today, week and month views seperately. Month view is good for a quick glance at the next four months but without any indication of calender events, however week view shows you a nice day-planner style view of your datebook with more room for weekdays and their calender events. But as the name implies, the today view is the most useful as it can be customized quite a bit to suit your desires. You can change which applications icons are shown on the bottom of the screen to give you quick access to your favourite programs without going to the standard launcher. Also, you can set the order of screen sections that are linked to your datebook, tasks, and email applications and which application is launched by tapping on them. Today v2.3 weighs in at only 96 KB, more if you install skins to change Todays background and icons. For a freeware program, Today v2.3 offers a lot, and in a small package, the best kind of freeware.
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 10
I was pleasantly surprised by this freeware. From the screenshot I thought it would be very boring and easy. I was wrong. While it is uncomplicated, it is very addicting any not as easy as it seems. The goal is to drag the handheld away from the kid, but beware, that kid can run pretty fast and transport from place to place. This game reminds me of those old classic flash, java and shockwave games. And the fact that it runs on practically all Palms helps a lot too. I do wish this game had more to offer, but for freeware, it does it's job.
For more info and to download this game, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 9
Napalm Racing was one of the first programs I installed on my very first Palm handheld. It's still as great today as it was then, however not quite as impressive as the commericial software out there today. For freeware, the graphics look great (and are designed for low-res greyscale/colour). It has a 3D engine that runs very smoothly, however is not designed for OS 5 (Garnet) and that ca cause some problems. Luckily, the developer has included a Soft Mode feature which seems to fix everything.
The option to control from the hard buttons is great for the old handhelds, but for the new PDAs it's fairly more awkward, since you can't use the 5-way navigator. The option to control via the stylus on the graffiti area is a great idea works great.
The included tracks were well designed. What I like about Napalm Racing is that it comes with an on-the-palm track designer. I found it a lot of fun quickly making a track and then facing the computer on it. In summary, if you have a low res palm I recommend this program 110%, otherwise is still a nice game to play with.
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 8
Voodoo! is a voodoo doll for the Palm OS. It has nice graphics (though they'd be a lot better if they were in high-res) and an easy-to-use interface. You simply enter you victim's name, the start with the poking. The blood is a nice enhancement, that seems to bring up more questions, especially since you're only poking a doll, lol. Anyway, other than the doll poking, there's also some background information about voodoo that is fairly interesting.
I had a fair bit of fun with this piece of freeway, however, since it was last updated in 2001, I'm unsure of it's stability with the current handhelds out there. Anyway, this a nice piece of software, and is great if you have a lot of enemies, lol.
To get more info and to download it, check it out here
Security Panel Update for TX, LifeDrive, T5, TE2, and Zire 72
What is the Security Panel Update 1.0?
This update addresses an issue with the Intrusion Protection feature on your device.
When you are using password protection for your handheld, your device records the number of times you enter an incorrect password. When the correct password is entered, Intrusion Protection ideally should reset incorrect password attempts to zero. Instead, the total number of incorrect attempts is incremented. Once the threshold value of incorrect attempts is reached, Intrusion Protection will erase user data.
What is Intrusion Protection?
Your device lets you set the number of attempts to enter an incorrect password before triggering the Intrusion Protection feature. When Intrusion Protection is triggered because the incorrect password was entered too many times, you can choose to have your device delete nothing, erase all records marked as Private, or permanently delete all data.
What issue is addressed by the Security Panel Update 1.0?
This update allows your device to reset the incorrect password counter to zero each time you enter the correct password.
Do I already have the update?
- On your handheld, tap Home
.
- Tap Menu
.
- From the App menu, select Info.
- On the Info screen, near the bottom, select Version.
- Look for the Security item in the list. What version do you see?
- 5.0.1P or 5.0.4 or 5.0.4P: You should install this update. Proceed with the steps below.
- 5.0.5PM: Your device is already updated. Stop here; you're done.
Freeware of the day...... Day 7
TimeCopy does what it's names says, it copies the time from your PC onto your Palm, which helps fix Palm's not-so-accurate clock. Simply install TimeCopy onto you device and everything is setup and ready to go. So now, during each hotsync, TimeCopy changes your Palm's built-in clock to the time on your PC. However, TimeCopy doesn't stop there. It also calculates the time drift between your Palm and your computer, and automatically fixes future time drifts, keeping your Palm's clock very accurate.
Although this program was last updated in 2002, it works perfectly on my Zire 72. As well, the program only takes up approximately 15KB! I definately recomend you try out this application.
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 6
GeekSounds is an alarm add-on for the Palm OS. With it, you can have a much larger selection of alarms to choose from. Since it's just an add-on, it won't show up in you Palm's launcher however, whenever you got into Calendar, Tasks, or any other application involving alarms, there will be the new list of alarms. Most of the songs seems to be theme songs from movies and TV shows like Flintstones, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, Simpsons, Loony Tunes, and many, many more!
Best of all, GeekSounds clocks in at only about 39KB! And although it was last updated in 2002, it seems to work flawlessly on my Zire 72. I would recommend you check it out, at the least for it's low memory and large variety of alarms.
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Hacks for the Palm OS
Hello everybody,
Chris here, the newest member of the Canuck PDA blog community. I hope to help make Canuck PDA a great resource for every Palm user and an especially great place for Canadian users to get together.
My first post is about hacks for the Palm OS. Wait a minute, what the heck is a "hack" you might ask? Well, in the Palm world we have many situations where the functionality of the Palm system may not be exactly as you would like. Before the Palm OS 5 was available, the only way to change most of these system behaviours was to use a hack manager, an application for your Palm that controls the hacks you have installed on your handheld. Without a hack manager you have no way to control which hacks are enabled and in fact hacks will not work without a hack manager. Hacks do not show up in the Palm Launcher because they're not launchable applications themselves, they need a hack manager to work.
A hack does something NOT SUPPORTED by Palm Inc., so please understand that your mileage may vary when using various hacks, but don't let that scare you. If your Palm handheld is an older OS 4 type, then you have many hacks available to you as most hacks were for the OS 4, but if your using a newer OS 5 Palm, then beware that older OS 4 hacks are usually entirely incompatible. Since the Palm OS 5 added more direct support from Palm to create hacks that did not require a hack manager, many OS 4 hacks have not been remade to support OS 5, but don't despair as there are still many useful OS 5 compatible hacks available. In order to use hacks on your OS 5 Palm be sure to download a hack manager that supports the Palm OS 5 specifically.
The first is ClipStringHack5, which extends the Palm clipboard function to allow unlimited amounts of text to copied, instead of the normal 1000 character limit and even has a clipboard viewer. Note: This hack for OS 5 only.
Another, Smooth Scroll Hack allows you to change the scrolling speed of text and list boxes that appear in most every Palm application. Not a huge thing for most people, but the insane speed of scrolling on most OS 5 Palms can be annoying for some, so this hack might be very useful to you. Note: This hack for OS 5 only.
My last hack today, PSHack (Paranoid Security Hack) is a great hack for OS 5 that allows you to lock the Palm to a specific application at any time. For example, say you want to let someone use your Palm for it's calculator, but you don't want them to access anything else, like the launcher screen. With PSHack you can access the command menu or use a graffiti stroke to lock the Palm handheld to the app your using and if you want to exit you have to enter the normal Palm security password to unlock the handheld. The security features of this hack are impressive, in that even after a soft or warm reset the Palm security is still in place since the hack locks the handheld on shutdown when it's active. Note: This hack for OS 5 only.
If you have any questions about installing and using hacks you can find me on the forums.
Palm Treo 700w Approved by the FCC
The Windows Mobile Palm Treo 700w has gained FCC approval. The FCC filling confirms the Treo 700w name and some other details. They have also published the full user manual as well as new pictures and screenshots of the device.
The Palm Treo 700w runs Windows Mobile 5.0 and is a CDMA-based phone targeted for the U.S. market. It will operate on Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess EV-DO network with download speeds averaging 400-700 kilobits per second. It is expected to be available in early 2006.
The Treo 700w runs the Pocket PC version of Windows Mobile, which includes touchscreen support. The display has a 240 x 240 pixel resolution. It will have 64 MB or memory and an SD expansion slot.
The user manual confirms some additional details about the smartphone. It will have a 1.3 MP digital camera, and there will be a version without the camera. It has Bluetooth v1.2, however the manual explicitly states you cannot use a Bluetooth headset to listen to music.
The full list of FCC documents including exterior and interior pictures, user manual and test reports can be found here.
Freeware of the day...... Day 5
FileZ is pretty much the best file manager out there for the Palm OS, and it's free! It has everything you'd expect from a regular file manager, with much, much more. You can do the basic stuff like copying and moving files from card to RAM an vice versa, deleting files, beaming and sending files via IR or bluetooth, and even renaming file and editing file attributes. You can even sort and filter the file through various different ways like by date or size. The user interface is simplistic and easy to use.
The things that keep this program above all others are the advanced features include
One feature I find very useful is the ability to edit, delete and export both your saved and unsaved preferences. Another useful feature are all the system information FileZ provides, such as the RAM used, card memory used, current battery, sync information, and warnings about potential problems with the contents of the files/folders (illegal file names, etc.). You can also export your file list to a memo for the Memopad program. Lastly, FileZ is fully compatible with with pretty much all Palm handhelds and resolutions, with 5-way navigator support.
I definately recommend you try out this Palm OS gem of a software. PalmAddicts did a spotlight article you can read here. For more information and to download it, check it out here.
Freeware of the day...... Day 4
Due Yesterday is a full featured school planner. I've been using it for two years now and it just keeps getting better. You can set up your class schedule, have an outline style homework tracker (with the ability to export to Tasks and Calendar), and the option to get an up-to-date estimate on your class marks (provided you enter your test marks, etc.).
I looked long and hard to find an easy and convenient school and homework planner. I tried many different commercial and shareware programs, but I ended up coming back to this amazing freeware. I would recommend this to any high school or post secondary student out there, 100%!
For more info and to download it, check it out here
Freeware of the day...... Day 3
This program has the ability to map the hard buttons on the T5, LifeDrive TX and TE2, and the the 5-way navigator on all OS5 palms to whatever application you want. I think it's amazing that I'm now able to quickly launch more applications. The ability to quickly enable and quickly disable this program makes it even better! I can access more applications while in other programs, and disable it at the moments notice if I want to play a game that requires the 5-way navigator or the hard buttons. An amazing piece of software that is a excellent for those who own a Palm with a 5-way navigator, and essential for those who own a T5, LifeDrive, TX or TE2!
For more info and to download ButtonsEx, check it out here.
Freeware of the day...... Day 2
Today's freeware program is another very useful one, brightnessFix.
This program was made by the one and only, Dmitry Grinberg. Once you sync it over to your Palm, it will ask to to reset. After the reset you are now able to adjust the brightness (from the regular brightness slider) all the way off. This is an amazing thing that Palm should have done themselves. Turning the brightness down really low is great, especially when you're reading ebooks or want to save on battery power! The only fault I can see in this program is that if you set the brightness down lower than it would go with the standard brightness settings, then call up the brighness slider, the bightness returns to the standard settings (until you adjust the slider again). All in all, a great freeware program.
brightnessFix is available here
Freeware of the day...... Day 1
Each day in December, leading up to a surprise on New Years Day, we will be doing a series of mini-reviews of some of the most useful freeware programs out there for the Palm OS.
If you often use an expansion card with your Palm then you know that some files just won't hotsync over. NoMoreMP3Trick fixes this apparent Palm OS limitation by allowing you to choose which folders certain file types get synced over too. For example, some Palms can't hotsync over files with ".avi" file extensions. You simply would need to go into NoMoreMP3Trick, enter the file extention, then choose the folder the ".avi" files should be hotsync to, and you're ready to go.
I find this freeware software essential and I keep it on my Palm at all times. Oh, by the way it's only 21KB and available here
LifeDrive ROM Update
It seems Palm Inc. has finally released their second ROM update for the LifeDrive. Get it here.
This software update (version 2.0) provides a variety of enhancements for:
- Wi-Fi coverage in low signal areas
- Roaming performance
- File system stability
- Sound quality when listening to MP3 files
- More flexible multimedia functionality, including file transmission over wireless connections, file saving, and faster recording and playback
- Browser performance, including more efficient, faster page rendering
- The VersaMail® application to version 3.1C for large document attachments
- The Docs To Go application version 7.006
- New hard reset option to erase Program Memory but not Internal Drive contents more info
Also included from the LifeDrive Update 1.0
(previously released June 2005)
- Fixes intermittent connectivity issues with these Wi-Fi routers:
- Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router
- Belkin High-Speed Mode Wireless G Router
PDA Performance Christmas Sale
From 1src:
If you would like to buy software as a gift for a friend, business partner, or anyone else, just let us know in the comment box when you check out - we'll send you a version of the software that you can give as a gift.
* The Christmas Sale is only available at http://www.pdapstore.com/ until 12/25/05.
Dmitry's done it again!
Check out a video of this neat new modification here:
http://www.palmpowerups.com/TXmic.avi
Don't Forget
A while ago I started up page on Frappr for Canuck PDA. It seems to have been forgotten, so I thought I'd mention it.
So if you read Canuck PDA, I'd recommend you sign your name by clicking on the linked image below.
mySkin Updated to 1.70
Changes since 1.61
On the Palm T|X, you can now have a HOME button, as on earlier models: Tap on the wrench to configure. Dithering control is now enabled for all models and is off by default. Added configuration and recolorize buttons to main form. Worked around OS problem with 8-bit applications and 16-bit skins (reload skin to activate solution).
iSpin Launcher Updates
Changes since 1.6
~implemented launching of applications that allow to be launched from the card only
~added Startmenu customization options to Desktop Settings dialog
~FIX: deleting card's root folder files and subfolders
For more info, visit TapTarget.com
New Palm TX Reviews
Check out the Brighthand review here
Check out the Gadgeteer review here
An Unusual Freeware Program
Check it out and get it here
PalmPDF Updated to 0.6
The Core Pocket Media Player version 0.7 released!
From PalmInfoCenter:
"The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) has been updated to version 0.70. The update features a large number of bug fixes and some new features. TCPMP is a free and open source video and media player. It supports Mpeg, Divx, Xvid, H.264, mp3 nd ogg formats. This new version also includes support for enhanced podcasts (m4a with image slideshow)."In case you didn't know, The Core Pocket Media Player is a freeware all-in-one multimedia player for Palm OS and Windows Mobile based handhelds. It supports many video and audio codecs, now including specialized podcasts. Although it claims to be unstable in each new release (thus far), there have never been any major problems - of course, excluding all the little bugs that any pre-release application would have.
Plans have been somewhat released for future updates, albeit a long while ago:
"In the next release 'BetaPlayer' will be called 'The Core Pocket Media Player' and as you can now see.... it will be on the PalmOS as well!!! (can someone say SD)It's been quite a ride ever since the whole The Core Pocket Media Player project started. I'm glad to say that I've been on the TCPMP bandwagon since day 1, and it's been a fun ride. One thing for sure is that whatever Picard has up his sleeve, it's going to be a great treat for all of us out there.
We will have a new website, new server, new forums... So what else is planned? Well for TCPMP it will be continuing towards the goals that Picard has set I have asked for and all of you have mentioned. Picards vision of porting BP/TCPMP to the PalmOS has been something he has mentioned (even in interviews) for months now. I have also asked to prioritize the development of skins, plug-ins structure as well as adding VIS Support.
Also as a side mention... and this is way early as the specs are being finished as we speak, but TCPMP will be the first mobile Media Player to support the upcoming Matroska Menu system. mmm as some of you might say... Matroksa Menu system?Whats that? Well imagine being able to have 'DVD like' menus, subtitles (OMG I said subtitles!!!), pictures all this in 'ONE' that right 'ONE' single file playing on a handheld or mobile phone! I'm over here F'n Drooling at even the thought of this!!!!!!!!!!!!! []
Obviously there are some things I am leaving out on purpose so as not to spoil it all till we launch the new site... so get ready!"
So a great big thank you to Picard and his helpers for all of their hard work.
TCPMP can be downloaded from here: http://tcpmp.corecodec.org/
Dataviz Releases Documents to Go 8
From www.dataviz.com:
Word, Excel, PowerPoint & PDF Files on your Smartphone or PDA
Leaving your office or leaving your laptop behind does not have to mean leaving your critical files and work behind too. Now you can work smarter, save time and be more productive by using files (view, edit & create) right on your smartphone or PDA.
- View, edit & create word processing, spreadsheet and presentation files.
- Native support for Adobe PDF files!
- View, edit and create Excel-like charts.
- Native support for Word and Excel files!
- View graphics and photos.
- Native support for PowerPoint files!
- Only product to support Word, Excel & PowerPoint plus WordPerfect, Word Pro, RTF, text, Palm DOC, Quattro Pro & Lotus 123.
- Never lose formatting when synchronizing files with DataViz's unique DocSync™ technology.
- Use password protected Word and Excel files.
- Native support for JPEG and BMP graphics.
- Spell checking support for word processing files eliminates embarrassing misspelled words.
- Built-in camera support. Pictures can be displayed in Documents To Go for easy viewing and emailing.
- Word count for word processing files helps you stay within your word limitations when writing ads, reports, articles and more.
- Enhanced Treo 600 5-Way support for file navigation.
- Choose the files you want or don't want to sync with Selective
Sync.- Save, categorize & synchronize files directly to expansion
cards.- Re-designed handheld applications for quicker navigation and new look and feel.
- Project presentations with Documents To Go and Margi™ Presenter-to-Go (requires Presenter-to-Go hardware & software).
- Full screen support maximizes screen real estate so you can see more of your documents and pictures.
- Embedded graphic, tables and font support in word processing
documents.- High resolution support including 320x320 and 320x480 screen sizes.
- View Chinese[*], Russian[*] & Greek[*] characters in word processing & spreadsheet documents. [* requires third party software]
- Landscape and portrait view modes for applicable models including the Palm LifeDrive, T5, T3, Sony UX series, Garmin iQue 3600 and Tapwave Zodiac.
- Bluetooth™ support. Exchange Word, Excel and PowerPoint files with Bluetooth enabled PCs, Macs and even Pocket PCs!
- Hot links in word processing files are integrated with popular handheld browsers & e-mail applications.Optimized for portable keyboards. With Documents To Go and a portable keyboard, now you can leave your laptop at home!
- Synchronize e-mail and attachments with included Inbox To Go™ application.
- Date range support when synchronizing e-mail using Inbox To Go™. Manage your inbox by choosing the number of days of e-mail to synchronize.
- Store e-mail attachments onto your expansion card. Save space on your handheld when synchronizing your e-mail with attachments using Inbox To Go™.
- Support for Palm OS 5 and ARM-Ready.
- Palm OS 5-Way Navigator support.
- Integrates with other e-mail applications including RoadSync, Inbox To Go™ Wireless, VersaMail™ and SnapperMail™.
- Multiple computer synchronization. Synchronize one handheld with multiple computers like your home and work computer.
- Print documents with 3rd party printing
solutions.- Multiple user support. Easily synchronize multiple handheld users with one computer.
- Sony Jog Dial support.
TELUS Mobility extends its line to include the Treo 650
"The Palm Treo 650 is a powerful addition to TELUS Mobility's portfolio of innovative mobile communications solutions for our business clients across Canada," said Wade Oosterman, TELUS Mobility's executive vice president of Sales and Marketing. "The Treo 650 offers the look and feel of a conventional phone while delivering the power and functionality of a truly multifunctional mobile business solution."
"The Treo 650 smartphone provides TELUS Mobility's clients with increased mobility while simplifying the way they manage their work and personal lives," said Michael Moskowitz, general manager, America's International, Palm, Inc. "Whether it's reading email, viewing a presentation, making a conference call or simply listening to music, the Treo 650 helps people become more connected and productive than ever before."
Source: http://ir.palm.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=105423&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=781915
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