PalmBlog

Tungsten C Day 27 -- Speaker Has Failed.

I knew this was too good to be true.  Other than the problem I've had with the Ultra-Thin Keyboard (see previous entry), the Tungsten C has been trouble-free.

Until now.  The speaker has failed completely.  I get no sounds coming from the T|C at all, no matter the settings on the various types of volume (System/Game/Alarm), even after a hard reset deleted everything I've loaded onto the Tungsten that doesn't come built in to ROM.  Nor do Kinoma Player or RealOne for Palm make any noise through the speaker.  Not even so much as a click.

The good news is that Palm sent me a headphone to try out, so I can verify that the sound-creation circuitry is still functioning.  With the headset, the sound works perfectly.  That's why I've concluded that this is some kind of hardware failure.

I'm going to have to pursue this with Palm.  I'll keep you all informed. {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 24 -- Quick Notes on the Ultra-Thin Keyboard

A few quick notes on this sunny Friday about the Tungsten C. A R Partners sent over three other items to review: a 64 Meg SD card with some applications on it, a headset/mic to use with VoiceRecorder, and the item I was most excited about, the Palm Ultra-Thin Keyboard. The keyboard is even smaller and lighter than the Palm Portable Keyboard I use with my IIIxe, and I expected great things from it.

From a typing perspective, it seems usable, although the flexible design means that the space bar is actually divided into two pieces, which will take some getting used to. Or, at least, it would if the thing worked properly. No matter what I tried, and how many different versions of the drivers I located, I could not get the keyboard to work reliably with the Tungsten C. It would type, then stop, and certain keys would not work well. I did a little research, and found that a number of other people have been having similar problems -- it seems to be a pervasive, though non-universal, problem.

I will try to follow up with Palm and get some more details next week. Additionally, I'll talk about the other items I got to review in upcoming entries.

STAY TUNED! {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Supplemental -- It's a Feature, Not a Bug

According to the person I spoke with this afternoon in Palm technical support, Palm has *intentionally* disabled the alarm and game volume test sounds in the Prefs menu if the system sound is set to off. This may be how they fixed the clicking issue. Happily, while the alarm volume test doesn't work, the alarm itself will still make itself heard.

Hopefully, Palm will publish something to let other T|C users know about this new development, one that changes 7 years of user interface history. {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 23 -- OS Update Issues

Yesterday, Palm released a software update for the Tungsten C, fixing various problems with some of the built-in programs. The most well-known problem lno be fixed was a clicking or buzzing from the speaker, even with the System sounds turned off.

The actual installation was fairly straightforward, if you followed the steps properly. I first checked that I had the appropriate version of the Tungsten C (I did), and that the MAC address reported by the software matched the sticker on the back of the unit (ditto). I then did a complete Hotsync to back up everything, and install the TCUpdate program I downloaded from Palm. (One caveat: I use Blue Nomad's BackupBuddy to make sure everything gets saved during a Hotsync, including all preferences. I have no idea whether a regular Hotsync would work the same way.) After I ran the TCUpdate program, it updated the ROM and reset the Tungsten C to its original state (i.e. no programs installed or settings customized). One rather long Hotsync later, I was back in business with the new ROM, and was able to delete the TCUpdate program from the Tungsten.

One problem: there was a new issue with the sound. For just about every Palm handheld I've ever used (including the pre-updated Tungsten C), the volume for the system, game and alarm sounds could each be separately adjusted. Once I did the update, though, the alarm wouldn't make any noise even at high volume unless I set the system sound to at least "low". This is annoying to say the least, as I generally leave the system and game sound off.

I'm trying to research this now, to see if any other users are experiencing similar concerns with the new update. If not, it might have something to do with my software configuration. I'll let you all know. {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 16 -- "Long Term Test Drive"

I've had the T|C demo unit for a bit more than 2 weeks now, and I'm despairing about giving it up. I turned on my faithful old IIIxe yesterday and held it next to the Tungsten C; if the IIIxe could have hidden its glass face in shame, it would have. The difference in display quality is just that stark.

I had a major "geek moment" last night -- a completely wireless Hotsync. Not only wasn't the T|C in its cradle, but my laptop wasn't even plugged into the wall. Instead, both pieces of equipment were running on batteries and connected to my home network via Wi-Fi. I set the laptop's local IP address on the Palm's Network Hotsync, pressed the Icon and *zap* like magic, the Hotsync began. The router was a floor away, so I think I lost some speed on both ends of the Wi-Fi connection. Still, the Hotsync was noticeably faster than a serial connection, although far slower than the USB-based Hotsync I do from the cradle. Neat stuff.

On other fronts, it is impossible to do a slashed-T or slashed-I shortcut in Graffiti 2 if the program you're using also has a slashed-L shortcut. You have to use the keyboard to get the T. For example, in Handmark Monopoly, /+T gives you a trade menu, while /+I gives you an overview. Trying either one in Graffiti 2 gives you the game load menu, accessed via / + L. I would imagine that for those Graffiti 2 handhelds without keyboards, you must use the pulldown menus and not the shortcuts. That's a pain. So is trying to figure out where on the screen to draw the vertical line for a capital I, L or T -- I keep either getting lower case (too far to the left), or a 1 (too far to the right). There should be a way of tweaking that.

More soon. {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 9 -- Wardriving

One interesting application of the Wi-Fi capability of the Tungsten C is wardriving; that is, driving around finding Wi-Fi networks in various locations. There are various programs to do this on various platforms--on the Tungsten, we've got Bits 'n Bolts' recently renamed NetChaser (formerly WiFinder).

I've taken to mounting the Tungsten to my car's dashboard with some Velcro, launching NetChaser, and listening for the beeps showing the program found networks. It's pretty amazing how many wireless networks are out there in the suburbs of Long Island, not only in office parks and Starbucks (which uses T-Mobile as its provider), but in ordinary homes. I have noticed a few things, though:

• Based on the SSIDs reported by NetChaser, most people in the area have Linksys equipment in their homes;


• 60-80% or more of all networks I have found are unsecured, meaning they haven't turned on the WEP encryption that comes standard in every router, as well as on the Tungsten;


• It probably comes as no surprise, but the number of wireless networks in a residential community is a pretty good if unscientific indicator of the relative economic strength of the community (i.e. wealthier neighborhoods have more hotspots); and


• the receiver in the Tungsten is powerful enough to pick up networks from street level, even at higher driving speeds.

I haven't tried using any of the networks I found, both because I'm driving at the time and because it's bad netiquette (not to mention potentially theft of service), but someone else probably will. Meanwhile, remember to TURN ON YOUR WIRELESS ROUTER'S SECURITY! Oh, and if you're interested in some the legal implications of running a free hotspot, you can read my BizLawTech Blog entry on the subject here. {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 7 -- Graffiti 2 Nits

After 6 years using Graffiti, it's been a bit of an adjustment for my fingers to start using Graffiti 2, the patent-driven new text entry method chosen by Palm. Most of the letters are similar to the old Graffiti, as are all the numbers, but there are some serious differences (e.g. drawing capital letters down the divider between text and graphic entry) that keep getting me in trouble.

A few other nits and thoughts:

• It's almost impossible to draw a lowercase L followed by a space -- the Palm keeps thinking I'm drawing a letter T instead. :(


• The need to draw on the screen rather than using a (non-existent) Graffiti area has one downside: as with the Screenwrite hack I used on my IIIxe, you need to hold the stylus on the screen a few seconds before the Palm realizes that you want to select something rather than write a character.


• Getting a comma rather than a J is a real trick.


• The fact that a single tap draws a period, rather than double taps, keeps tripping me up. I end up with periods where they don't belong.


• The need to shift for certain punctuation marks but not others, and to use one side or the other depending on the mark, is truly annoying.


• I often use a Bullet character when taking notes. Under Graffiti 2, a bullet requires about 5 awkward strokes, including a shifts, a dot, two lines and another shift. Instead, I've set up a short cut of .. to make a bullet. Just draw the shortcut character (the loop-the-loop) and two quick periods, and I get a bullet.

Anyway, it's still cool...and I was able to wirelessly browse at the CompUSA in Happauge today! {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 6 -- Trick for Fixing Repeated Crashes

Well, the application that killed my Tungsten C last week turned out to be the Mille Bornes game clone Rally 1000, at least when installed from my old IIIxe backup file. When I downloaded and installed a clean copy of Rally 1000, it worked just fine. Go figure.

In struggling with rebuilding my work environment, I ran into a very tricky problem: although I could reboot the Tungsten to the Prefs screen (using the Reset/Down button combination), every attempt I made to launch the Applications menu crashed the T|C and forced me to reset. In working around it, I came across a technique that should allow me to avoid having to reset and rebuild my environment just to pull out problematic apps. The first thing you need to do is install the free file utility FileZ, downloadable from PalmGear. Once you've done that, if you are able to reboot to Prefs rather than the Applications launcher, you can use the Buttons utility to remap one of the hardware buttons to the FileZ utility. That way, even if you can't get to FileZ via the Applications screen, you can still start Filez and delete the suspect app., then reboot. Additionally, even if you don't have the FileZ utility loaded, you can use the Reset to Prefs-->remap Buttons trick to get to your mission critical, non-problematic apps until you can properly fix your Palm.

Now to my impressions of the Tungsten C after a long weekend using it:

This machine is awesome. Everything I've read in reviews about the quality of the screen (particularly notable using Wordsmith or Documents To Go, or the Web browser) and the speed of the processor has been borne out by my experience. E-books click through pages without noticeable delay, and even the painful Acrobat Reader has become a useable application.

While on the subject, while I'm blown away by the Excel and PowerPoint functionality in Documents To Go, I'm sticking to Wordsmith for editing MS Word documents, both because of the integration with MS Word and, more importantly, because Documents To Go stripped out the footnotes of the article I was writing, while Wordsmith kept them. Important stuff to a lawyer!

Surprisingly enough, while I love the Wi-Fi functionality, it actually causes a bit more frustration than enjoyment, because Wi-Fi access isn't ubiquitous. I keep finding myself trying to log on where there are no access points, and being upset about it. I know that a cellular-based data network would offer better coverage, but it would not help me at home, where what I really want is high-speed Internet access to my Palm. That said, everywhere I have access, the Wi-Fi connectivity works very well, and I've even done a bit of wardriving using the T|C and a beta of the Wi-Finder application from Bits 'n Bolts Software. The included VersaMail app (which is really MultiMail, a fact made clear when "MultiMail" shows up in Filez and some other file access applications!).

A few other random thoughts:

• The metallic silver case of the T|C is attractive, but a bit slippery in my hand. I keep worrying about dropping it.


• Kinoma Player is a great app for keeping small children occupied. I put the Stuart Little II trailer on my T|C, and my 18-month old daughter keeps asking me to show it.


• I haven't yet been able to test the voice memo feature, because as has been reported elsewhere, not every 2.5mm headset for cellphones works with the T|C. I have tried the Jabra EarWrap, as well as a generic Radio Shack headset, without success. I don't have Palm's to test.


• I understand the appeal of the built-in thumbboard, but for me Graffiti 2 is still faster, even with the occasional glitch when my fingers try to do the old Graffiti symbol for letters such as T.

More later. {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 2 -- Supplemental

Drat. Something I just installed killed the Tungsten C, forcing me to hard reset it because every soft reset resulted in a fatal error. Oh well...at least USB Hotsync doesn't take that long. {J}

Tungsten C Day 2

Just a quick note to say I love this thing. The WiFi works as advertised on my home network, although sites do occasionally slow down. The one app that's really buggy so far is the voice recorder, although I don't know how much that has to do with the headset I tried (Jabra's Earboom), which didn't seem to work right.

More later. {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 1 -- Supplemental

In truth, it wasn't nearly as horrible to install apps one at a time as it has been in the past, in large part because given the speed of the USB sync and the T|C itself, Hotsyncing a lot of data is a pleasure rather than a chore.

I'm really looking forward to this test period! {Jonathan}

Tungsten C Day 1

My demo Tungsten C arrived this afternoon from A & R Partners, Palm's PR firm. In the box was a repacked T|C, along with a cradle, charging cable for the cradle (big power brick on the outlet side), and a shrink-wrapped disk and docs packet. The box itself is a 6-inch cube--very business-like.

Although I've been advised by smart folks to start from scratch and rebuild my work environment from my Palm IIIxe, rather than trying to Hotsync everything on as is, I decided to try it the Hotsync way first. I've been through this before, both as I upgraded units and with demo machines, so I know the drill:

1. Hotsync the IIIxe.
   
2. Copy the complete backup directory to another directory, to preserve the existing environment for recreation later.
   
3. Go in to the original backup directory and remove everything that isn't necessary or likely to work on the new machine, including:
   
   
   
   • Penticon's Hebrew and Luach;
     
   • All Hebrew documents;
     
   • The libraries I installed to enable PQA (aka Web clipping) support on my IIIxe;
     
   • The OS3.52 upgrades;
     
   • All PQAs;
     
   • Linkesoft's X-Master (used for running system hacks);
     
   • All hacks; and
     
   • Anything else that looks questionable.
   
   
4. Make another copy of the Backup directory, this time as it will hopefully work on the T|C;
   
5. Install the new Palm Desktop software from the CD that came with the T|C, making sure to select "Custom" rather than automatic installation so I could tell the software to install the PocketMirror conduit to connect with my Microsoft Outlook setup (Note: I kept getting an error and had to reboot my computer before the installation would proceed).
   
6. Hotsync the new Tungsten C....and....
   
   
   
7. Get a fatal error every time I try to reset the Tungsten, and have to start again.

Figures.

Okay, I'll do it their way. Clear out the entire Backup directory, hard reset the Palm (reset + power button, then Up) to clear everything, and re-Hotsync. Watch the PocketMirror Monitor tick slowly from left to right as it copies everything from Outlook to the T|C. Watch some more.

Okay, that worked. Now to install my old apps...one...at....a...time. Sigh.


More later. {Jonathan}

Hacks On Palm OS5

I am about to receive a review unit of Palm's Tungsten C for a 30-day review. I am really looking forward to it, but am wondering how the existing software I'm running on my old reliable IIIxe will translate over. In particular, I am curious about the hacks. For those of you who may be new to the PalmOS, or perhaps haven't explored the depth of software available from sites such as PalmGear, hacks are small pieces of software that extend the functionality of the PalmOS. To use them, you must first install a hack management software such as TealPoint's TealMaster or Linkesoft's X-Master.

I've been running X-Master for years with no problems. Unfortunately, X-Master doesn't work under the new Palm operating system called OS5, that runs on the Tungsten C as well as Tungsten T and Zire 71 from Palm. TealPoint claims that TealMaster will run certain hacks under OS5, but doesn't go into detail about how to discover which will work. Happily, Linkesoft's site links to this site, where Germany's Daniel Siefert explains how TealPoint manages where others fail, and how to tell if a hack will work.

Time will only tell how my experience goes. {Jonathan}