Today, 11:54 AM	#1
Registered User     Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 14	PocketCAD 4.0 or 3.0 Has anyone purchased a full version of PocketCad 3.0 or 4.0? I am intersted in purchasing a version. I have downloaded the demo version to test, but I need to see how big one my files will be when converted. I have contacted support and sales to have them convert one of my files but I GET NO RESPONSE and all they tell me is to download the demo. This is already a bad sign. any input would be greatly appreciated. Mad D

Today, 02:38 PM	#2
Registered User   Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: North Central Ohio Posts: 35	Hello Mad D, I can sort of relate to this. I work in the surveying/civil engineering field and we have data collection systems which are build off a pocket pc os. We run a software call Survey Pro which collects points that are collected in the field. Unless you have a sd card with some memory, you might possibly run out of room. Our points that are collected out in the field, each have there own unique value. When running these files, we can run out of space within the data collector. My recommendation is to make sure you have enough room before you give it a try or try a small cad file and see what happens. If you could, keep me posted. I work on CAD all day and I have seen that software but never looked into it. I would like to know how it works out for you. Thanks and good luck! Matt

Whether you are a personal user or a corporate employee, if you have a mobile device, you should either have a security policy of your own or be bound by a corporate one. Some users have an informal security policy. However, many have no security policy at all and have not even thought through the security implications of owning a Pocket PC. The same is true of organizations, whether it be a government department, an established company, or a startup. Most organizations have employees who use mobile devices, whether those devices are mobile phones or PDAs.

This article can help companies think through a mobile security policy that will work for their organization. It can also be useful to help individuals determine what level of security they’re comfortable with for their devices.

You can read Darryl’s article here at Pocket PC Magazine.

While Michael is correct that a company’s first obligation is to its stockholders, he has missed a crucial point — if you piss off your customers, they’re likely to leave. As the HP Forum thread on this shows, many people will take exactly that approach — and they’ll stop buying other HP products, too. I recall reading that customers are about seven times as likely to tell others about bad experiences with a company than about good experiences, too. That won’t help HP’s stockholders, will it? As for the claim that all the features won’t fit, I don’t buy that. My iPAQ 5550 has a 17.4 MB iPAQ File Store, which is basically Flash ROM that hasn’t been used. Put the extra features there and reduce the size of my iPAQ File Store. Another alternative is to offer the Professional version as the upgrade, which leaves some of the programs normally in the ROM image out and supplies them as RAM-installable versions. That’s what Microsoft did with Pocket PC 2002 and, I think, Windows Mobile 2003.

As for HP’s claim that some applications won’t work in landscape in SE, so what? The user can switch back to portrait without a soft reset.

Even if the application crashes the iPAQ, so what? Not all Pocket PC 2000 applications worked in Pocket PC 2002, and Compaq made the upgrade available. Not all Pocket PC 2002 applications worked in Windows Mobile 2003, and HP made that upgrade available. In fact, WM 2003 was a much more “dangerous” upgrade, I thought, because it severely changed the operating system infrastructure (swithcing from Windows CE 3.0 to 4.2, for example). The claim that current programs exist for landscape mode is also full of holes.

First, many of Microsoft’s existing Windows Mobile 2003 applications won’t work well in landscape, requiring a switch back to portrait to function properly. They should work fine in the SE upgrade because they’ll be designed to work properly in both portrait and landscape mode.

Second, the existing landscape programs require a soft reset to switch modes, a significant penalty. I have dotPocket, but don’t use it for landscape mode precisely because I don’t want to soft rest while I’m in the middle of doing something.

To see examples of applications that don’t work well in landscape, see my dotPocket review.

The only feature of SE that may not provide a benefit to existing iPAQ users is the VGA support, but even that’s iffy. If the ability to scale fonts works in QVGA mode, even the VGA support will provide a benefit. Compaq and HP have shown in the past that they can offer challenging upgrades, and I’m sure HP could do it again. They just don’t want to.

Many people still won’t buy Toshiba Pocket PCs because Toshiba had a habit of abandoning users of recently purchased devices. They seem to have learned their lesson, and offered SE upgrades for the e400 and e800 series. (And the upgrades were free, too.) It’s too bad HP is going backwards, and will likely learn the same lesson the hard way.

Steve Silicon Valley Pocket PC

http://www.svpocketpc.com

04-08-2005, 12:34 AM	#1
Registered User   Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 10	5550 bluetooth to blackberry wireless modem? I have a 5550 and use it with TomTom GPS software. TomTom recently announced new routing features that include checking weather and traffic when determining the best route between two points. Since the 5550 isn’t a phone I was thinking about getting a Blackberry 7250 and trying to create a bluetooth connection between the 5550 and the Blackberry’s wireless modem. My thinking is that that would provide the TomTom software the internet connection that is needed to download the traffic information. Anyone have any thoughts? Has anyone tried to make a Bluetooth connection to a Blackberry and use the Blackberry as a modem connection to the internet? Thanks, Doug

04-15-2005, 06:15 PM	#2
Moderator     Join Date: May 2004 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 937	My only suggestion is that you confirm with blackberry that their unit will allow bridging of other devices to your data connection via Bluetooth. Surprisingly, a lot of manufacturers will purposely sever the connection between the data service (GPRS for example) and bluetooth so that the internet connection cannot be shared between devices… __________________ Elrendhel Moderator, Dave’s iPAQ Dave’s iPAQ is not affiliated with HP Members Only FAQ Section . Have news? Submit it . Want to contact me? Use the contact form to send me an email. Want to support the site? Shop in our iPAQ store. NEW Dont forget our Podcast hotline telephone number in the US: 1-425-738-9506 available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Also dont forget to add us to your Podcast aggregator by clicking here.

Shown below, is a letter that was sent to a bank by a 96 year old woman. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in the New York Times.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of thefunds needed to honor it.

I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire income, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.

Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.

Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service.

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press the buttons as follows: 1. To make an appointment to see me. 2. To query a missing payment. 3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there. 4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping. 5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature. 6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home. 7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorized Contact. 8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7. 9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year.

Your Humble Client

(Remember: This was written by a 96 year old woman…atta girl!!)

While Michael is correct that a company’s first obligation is to its stockholders, he has missed a crucial point — if you piss off your customers, they’re likely to leave. As the HP Forum thread on this shows, many people will take exactly that approach — and they’ll stop buying other HP products, too. I recall reading that customers are about seven times as likely to tell others about bad experiences with a company than about good experiences, too. That won’t help HP’s stockholders, will it? As for the claim that all the features won’t fit, I don’t buy that. My iPAQ 5550 has a 17.4 MB iPAQ File Store, which is basically Flash ROM that hasn’t been used. Put the extra features there and reduce the size of my iPAQ File Store. Another alternative is to offer the Professional version as the upgrade, which leaves some of the programs normally in the ROM image out and supplies them as RAM-installable versions. That’s what Microsoft did with Pocket PC 2002 and, I think, Windows Mobile 2003.

As for HP’s claim that some applications won’t work in landscape in SE, so what? The user can switch back to portrait without a soft reset.

Even if the application crashes the iPAQ, so what? Not all Pocket PC 2000 applications worked in Pocket PC 2002, and Compaq made the upgrade available. Not all Pocket PC 2002 applications worked in Windows Mobile 2003, and HP made that upgrade available. In fact, WM 2003 was a much more “dangerous” upgrade, I thought, because it severely changed the operating system infrastructure (swithcing from Windows CE 3.0 to 4.2, for example). The claim that current programs exist for landscape mode is also full of holes.

First, many of Microsoft’s existing Windows Mobile 2003 applications won’t work well in landscape, requiring a switch back to portrait to function properly. They should work fine in the SE upgrade because they’ll be designed to work properly in both portrait and landscape mode.

Second, the existing landscape programs require a soft reset to switch modes, a significant penalty. I have dotPocket, but don’t use it for landscape mode precisely because I don’t want to soft rest while I’m in the middle of doing something.

To see examples of applications that don’t work well in landscape, see my dotPocket review.

The only feature of SE that may not provide a benefit to existing iPAQ users is the VGA support, but even that’s iffy. If the ability to scale fonts works in QVGA mode, even the VGA support will provide a benefit. Compaq and HP have shown in the past that they can offer challenging upgrades, and I’m sure HP could do it again. They just don’t want to.

Many people still won’t buy Toshiba Pocket PCs because Toshiba had a habit of abandoning users of recently purchased devices. They seem to have learned their lesson, and offered SE upgrades for the e400 and e800 series. (And the upgrades were free, too.) It’s too bad HP is going backwards, and will likely learn the same lesson the hard way.

Steve Silicon Valley Pocket PC

http://www.svpocketpc.com

Above All Software, a provider of award-winning business integration software, announced a strategic partnership with Good Technology, Inc., the leader in wireless handheld computing software and service for the enterprise. Under this agreement, Good Technology is packaging and reselling the Above All Studio(TM) with GoodAccess(TM), making possible the rapid assembly of composite applications to deliver enterprise information to mobile employees when and where they need it. In addition, Good Technology will embed Above All Mobile Server technology in GoodAccess to provide vital functionality for deploying wireless composite applications.

Good Technology announced the GoodAccess platform today at a launch event in San Francisco where GoodAccess and Above All Studio were demonstrated to industry press and customers. GoodAccess extends Oracle, Siebel, Salesforce.com and other mission-critical enterprise applications to mobile professionals on a broad range of Palm-, PocketPC- and, in the future, Symbian-powered handheld devices and smartphones. Using GoodAccess with Above All Studio, businesses can quickly assemble integrated, composite wireless applications that combine data and functionality from multiple systems such as order management, product catalogs, invoicing and messaging, for an integrated experience that conforms to the needs of the mobile business user.

“Until today, mobile professionals had limited access to enterprise applications. Our vision is to enable the next generation of mobile computing where users can interact with business information from multiple enterprise applications from a single point of access,” said Danny Shader, CEO of Good Technology. “To do that, it was an easy decision to partner with Above All Software since the company shares the same vision around the mobile deployment of composite applications and has a unique and powerful solution for mobile devices with a lightweight footprint.”

“Above All Studio now makes it easy for business users to access and interact with critical business information stored in multiple silos through the assembly of composite applications — and IT professionals benefit by rapidly transforming existing assets into high-impact solutions that can be deployed to multiple environments,” said Roger Sippl, CEO of Above All Software. “We are excited to be working with an industry leader like Good Technology to extend business information to the mobile professional in an integrated and cost-effective way.”

Most companies today have a variety of back-end and front office applications that drive their business. For mobile professionals to be truly productive, they must have real-time access to the numerous, disparate enterprise applications that exist within and outside the organization. For instance, a mobile sales professional must be able to access his CRM solution at the front-end to track and manage his client contacts, but also integrate with back-end systems while on the road to get the most current information to update the account, or process an order — integrating CRM, ERP, finance and customer support. An effective mobile solution will extend the same access to front and back office applications to mobile devices that are available within the corporate walls and the best way to achieve this integration is through the assembly of composite applications. Together, Good Technology and Above All Software make this possible.

GoodAccess provides an industry-standards-based platform for rapidly developing and deploying mobile applications. Leveraging the same infrastructure as GoodLink(TM), Good Technology’s award winning wireless messaging software and service, GoodAccess connects mobile professionals to enterprise applications residing behind the firewall through a secure transport layer and standards-based integration.

About Above All Software

Above All Software provides award winning business integration software that enables customers to leverage service-oriented architectures to meet ever-changing business needs. With Above All’s Composite Application Platform(TM), customers transform existing IT investments into rapidly assembled, high-impact business solutions that can be deployed to multiple environments. This new, flexible service-level approach simplifies and reduces the cost of business integration. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, Above All Software is a privately held company founded in 2002. For more information about Above All Software, visit our Web site at http://www.aboveallsoftware.com or call 800-819-5530.

Reidy Communications (for Above All Software) Dan Reidy, 415-482-8650

dan@reidycommunications.com

This live webcast has ended. An on-demand version will be available by 1:00 P.M. Pacific Time. In his keynote presentation, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates reflects upon the hardware industry over the last 20 years and how the introduction of 64-bit and multicore computing will create a wave of industry innovation. Gates also provides a view into the foundation being laid for the release of Microsoft Windows “Longhorn.”

Watch

Suzanne Ross wrote a nice piece on Movies To Go that is well worth looking at.

In part, Suzanne said:

Quote Some people think that watching a movie on a phone can’t be good. My husband thought so. He kept saying that, even as he nudged me out of the way to watch the old movie ‘My Man Godfrey’ on my Windows Mobile Smartphone. I was watching it in the kitchen while I cooked dinner. It’s amazing how fast you get used to a small screen. We were only a few feet away from the TV, yet we were both watching the phone. People used to read stories in installments, eagerly anticipating next month’s copy of the Pickwick Papers. I could watch a movie on my phone in installments. Instead of waiting a month for the next chapter, I’d have the entire movie with me, to watch as I waited in the doctor’s office, got stuck in traffic on the bridge across Lake Washington (as a passenger!) or when I had to pass a few minutes between meetings.

Though it’s possible to copy DVDs to various devices, it’s not always legal to do so. I’ve stuck with writing about the legal ways of getting movies onto your device.

You can read Suzanne’s article HERE here on the Windows Mobile Site.

Today, 02:02 PM	#1
Registered User   Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 23	Embedded Visual Basic Hi, I got a great deal on a wireless keyboard on eBay but I’m having a bit of trouble installing the software. When I click on the “Wireless Link” program IE opens up and tells me that the application I launched requires MS embedded visual basic runtime to be installed. So, I went to MS’s site and downloaded what I assume are the files for the Windows CE 2003 visual basic runtime but the file is a .cab and there are no executable files to run to install it. Do I have to copy and paste the files somewhere? Thanks!

Today, 02:22 PM	#2
Senior Editor     Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Massachusetts & Maine Posts: 1,978	copy the file to your iPAQ and click on it after it is there. Make sure you do a BACKUP first prior to installing it…just in case you need to revert back! __________________ Jack Cook Senior Editor, Dave’s iPAQ Microsoft MVP-Windows Mobile Devices NEW Dont forget our Podcast hotline telephone number in the US: 1-425-738-9506 available 24 hours a day 7 days a week or leave us a SKYPE Voicemail by clicking here . Also dont forget to add us to your Podcast aggregator by clicking here.