A Big Batch of Quickies

Posted By: Ryan Monday, November 25, 2002 11:57:15 AM

ClieSource is sponsoring a Clie NX Compact Flash Memory Driver contest. The contest is open to all individual programmers. The driver should be able to support any of the commercial Compact Flash (CF) memory cards. Deadline for submission will be on January 3, 2003. See this for more info.

McCollister Unveils the Latest Version of McPhling for Palm OS 5
Mike McCollister, the developer of many popular Palm OS applications, has released McPhling for Palm OS 5.

McPhling allows you to quickly switch from your current application to the previous one by simply swiping your pen from the silkscreen "Apps" button into the upper-left graffiti area. In addition, a swipe from the "Menu" button to the "Apps" button will pop up a list of your most recently used applications (application list). McPhling allows for configuration of custom swipes and keyboard and button activations. McPhling is available for $12 from MikeMcCollister.com/palm. McPhling is at a special price of $10 until the end of November 2002.

PalmGear Adds New Software Designataions
PalmGear Developers may now choose from the following designations after logging in to their Developer account:

Supported Resolution:
  • Sony Hi-Res (320x320)
  • Sony Hi-Res+ (320x480)
  • Palm Hi-Res (320x320)
  • Palm Standard (160x160)
  • Handera Hi-Res (240x320)
OS5 Support:
  • Palm OS 5 Compatible
  • Palm OS 5 Enhanced
and also Bluetooth Support

Additionally the Advance Search engine now offers ability to search via any of the above. Please note that not many developers whose software is listed have yet designated as such.... PalmGear.com

Bahsoft Releases BankBook v4.2.1 for Palm OS 5
Bahsoft, LLC has announced the release of the v4.2.1 update to BankBook 4. BankBook 4.2.1 introduces two new features for the new hardware user: Palm OS 5 compatibility and Virtual Graffiti Area Support on Sony NX & NR screens. BankBook v4.2.1 is available now at bahsoftware.com for $19.95.

Cutting Edge Software Announces Quickoffice Support For Alphasmart Dana At T+L Conference
Mobility Electronics announced that its Cutting Edge Software subsidiary’s Quickoffice) is included in the AlphaSmart Dana Pro, a portable computing solution for K-12 students that is an affordable alternative to a laptop. The Quickoffice suite supports Dana's unique features, including a full-size, integrated keyboard and a touch screen that is approximately 2-1/4 inches high and 7-1/2 inches wide.

"Quickoffice takes advantage of the Dana device’s wide screen display, screen rotation capabilities and USB connections," said Glenn Weyhausen, AlphaSmart's senior director of product marketing. "Quickoffice provides Dana users with a full featured spreadsheet and word processor alternative to notebook computers."

With the wide screen support and screen rotation capabilities, users can view documents and spreadsheets “full screen” similar in width to a standard PC. In rotated view, the document or spreadsheet look similar to a newspaper column providing an exceptional device for reading ebooks in Quickword. Documents and spreadsheets can even be printed directly from the device’s USB port.

Quest of the Hero II
Quest of the Hero II game for the Palm OS platform has been released. Key features of the game include a new game engine, color graphics and a large new map to explore. Players will also enjoy the opportunity to manually change their Hero’s skills, hire more than 20 types of creatures, increase creatures power by using amulets and artifacts and use magic in battles. Once a player is done with a quest, they can download a new one from the internet. Quest of the Hero II was developed by Dmitri Kornilov and currently supports Palm OS 3.5 and higher. It may only be used on a device with a 16K color display.

London Tube Guide
The London Tube Guide has now been updated for Palm OS 5, supporting both Tungsten T and Sony hi-resolution screens. The app features an Interactive London Tube Map, including Station Finder feature for over 300 stations.

NS Basic/Palm Speeds on Palm OS 5
NS BASIC Corporation has now run speed comparisons between the old devices and the latest ones using the newest version of NS Basic/Palm. The combination yields results up to 7 times faster. 

Palm IIIx, Palm OS 3.5, NS Basic/Palm 2.1      63 seconds
Palm Tungsten, Palm OS 5.0, NS Basic/Palm 3.0  15 seconds
Sony NX70V, Palm OS 5.0, NS Basic/Palm 3.0      8 seconds

The test is a simple loop, which is an oversimplified benchmark. A more comprehensive benchmark would need to include screen manipulation, saving and retrieving data and other system functions.

"Much of the improvement is certainly due to the hardware. But even that isn't so simple. The ARM chip is a lot faster than the Dragonball. However, since the instruction set is different, Palm apps use a Dragonball emulator called PACE that runs on the StrongArm. Now here is where it gets interesting...", said George Henne, President of NS BASIC.

"Much of the Palm OS has been recompiled into native ARM code, which means it doesn't run in PACE. However, since ARM compilers are not yet widely available and easy to use, very few apps have any native code. They are all running in emulation mode. In some cases, the apps do not run any faster in OS 5 (this according to Palm's testing)."

NS Basic/Palm 3.0 allows programmers to quickly and easily create apps with a true Palm OS "Look and Feel", by making full use of the Palm OS's capabilities. This results in compact apps that is highly compatible with all Palm OS devices. The complete development environment sells for $149.95 USD.

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Good for Sony

rsc1000 @ 11/25/2002 12:52:24 PM #
Well this should certainly put to rest all of those fears about the NX slot not being able to do real CF. And they are at least encouraging CF driver development - pretty cool. A contest seems like a pretty clever way to get people to do the work for next to nothing:)

RE: Good for Sony
cloughja @ 11/25/2002 1:06:12 PM #
This contest is great, BUT I'm pretty sure cliesource isn't run by Sony.

RE: Good for Sony
Zuber @ 11/25/2002 1:08:37 PM #
Let's see if anyone actually comes up with worthwhile results. I hope they do, if popular, it might just help Sony give up the Memory Stick slot along with other proprietry habits.

Zuber

RE: Good for Sony
nevarDeath @ 11/25/2002 1:24:15 PM #
cliesource is independently owned and operated. Sony even requested that they take down the NX specs PDF that was leaked....

----[self-mutilation or self-empowerment?]----
RE: Good for Sony
rsc1000 @ 11/25/2002 1:37:58 PM #
>>This contest is great, BUT I'm pretty sure cliesource isn't run by Sony.

oops - yr right. i've even been to the sight different times and somehow forgot this. 'ClieSource' just sounds so damned offical:)

RE: Good for Sony
Fzara2000 @ 11/25/2002 2:02:01 PM #
This is awesome. Finally, they can open up that sleeping CF slot. However, what I fear is that the drivers which will be developed, will probably cost a lot of money, and will not be sold included with the NX series in the box. Therefore, Im not sure how many "average Joe's" would actually know about these drivers which would be included, and im sure these average people might turn down the NX series seeing this big bulk on the back of the PDA, and understanding it wont be able to expand.

"Now thats just PRIME!"
RE: Good for Sony
M3wThr33 @ 11/25/2002 2:20:57 PM #
Palm:PalmSource is NOT a Clie:ClieSource.
They're desperate for a CF driver, but some genius'll pull through, prompting Sony to release theirs. All someone has to do is SAY they did something to the Clie and Sony will release their own version of it, saying the other method is inferior.

I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. We're in space.
RE: Good for Sony
gfunkmagic @ 11/25/2002 2:36:05 PM #
Well if someone writes a driver for the ibm microdrive, then suddenly I might become a Clie user!

RE: Good for Sony
mashoutposse @ 11/25/2002 2:47:32 PM #
Sony could easily satisfy everybody's needs by releasing the bigger Memory Sticks. I have no CF cards, so either way I'd end up buy new cards. I'd rather them be Memory Sticks.

Microdrive/Memory Stick.
orb2069 @ 11/26/2002 10:10:04 AM #
Well if someone writes a driver for the ibm microdrive, then suddenly I might become a Clie user!

Don't get too excited - The MicroDrive has been long supported by HandEra/TRG, and the big problem with it is that it eats batteries by the fi****ll - It cuts the life of the TRGPro's battery to 1/4 it's normal run time. I can't imagine the NX is going to do much better.

There's plenty of 512K CF cards around now - By the time the Sony CF driver is 'ready for prime time', there may even be 1gb models available, without the high current draw of the MicroDrive.

Sony could easily satisfy everybody's needs by releasing the bigger Memory Sticks. I have no CF cards, so either way I'd end up buy new cards. I'd rather them be Memory Sticks.

Why? Memory Sticks are slow - At least CF is a real interface - There are more peripherals available for CF currently than are planned for Memory Stick, and (If the peripheral end pans out), you can probably use both at once.

That said, I'm sure that if somebody COULD make bigger memory sticks economically, they WOULD. Sony opening up it's licencing agreement has pretty much obsoleted the 'Sony is holding back!' line of thinking.

I've seen occasional posts that the CF slot allows one to use certain models of dial-up modem in it already - Any confirmation on that?

Bigger CFs
DavidY @ 11/26/2002 10:48:56 AM #
"Well if someone writes a driver for the ibm microdrive, then suddenly I might become a Clie user!"

Pretec has 3GB CF cards now. That's a more than 4.5 CDs worth of information. I certainly hope the CF drivers come out ASAP. Until then I hope that the 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB MSs come out ASAP.

RE: Good for Sony
Lucky Bob @ 11/26/2002 5:03:27 PM #
[i]Pretec has 3GB CF cards now.[/i]

Isn't that an expensive card...I mean, [b]really[/b] expensive? What if it gets lost? That would stink to pay so much and then lose it. I guess you'd have to be careful.

[i]That's a more than 4.5 CDs worth of information.[/i]


You could probably get 4.5 CDs for under $5. Wouldn't a 3GB card be like almost 100 times more expensive?

screenshots for the dana version of quickword?

nevarDeath @ 11/25/2002 1:24:57 PM #
I'd like to see what it looks like on that wide screen, I couldn't seem to find any on the quickword site, anyone know where I could find one?

----[self-mutilation or self-empowerment?]----
RE: screenshots for the dana version of quickword?
Admin @ 11/25/2002 1:38:53 PM #
http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=4378
RE: screenshots for the dana version of quickword?
Saul @ 11/25/2002 8:03:22 PM #
I purchased a Dana as soon as they were released. QuickOffice works great with the larger screen.

You can find all the information you want including screen shots of all the applications at

www.flydana.com



-Saul Castellanos

McFling 5

PFloyd @ 11/25/2002 2:21:03 PM #
Works great on my Tungsten! Love it.

RE: McFling 5
Altema @ 11/25/2002 3:04:32 PM #
Good. Losing McPhling was one of the yellow lights to upgrading. Now if Popup Notes and ptelnet will run under OS5, that light will change to green...

RE: McFling 5
mikecane @ 11/25/2002 7:25:37 PM #
I tried McPhling on a CUSA TT demo model. Works great.

PopUpNote has a bad bug -- only shows the first 9 Memos -- nothing more! I've emailed Benc to ask about OS5ing it -- no reply... Maybe if others joined in??

PopUp Clock & Calc work fine under OS5 -- oh, with TEALMASTER, I mean. I used PopUpNote with Tealmaster too. They don't work w/o it, of course.

RE: McFling 5
vgz @ 11/25/2002 9:49:05 PM #
mikecane

Have you tried Tappad with Tealmaster under OS 5 by any chance? This is the ONLY thing holding me back from upgrading so I would appreciate it if you can tell me if it works or not.

Thanks.

----------

Matt

Owned Palm Vx, m505, soon to own Tungsten T

RE: TapPad
IanJD @ 11/26/2002 7:19:01 AM #
A couple of weeks ago I tried TapPad on a T|T with no joy; there doesn't seem to have been a new releae since then :(

RE: McFling 5
mikecane @ 11/26/2002 5:39:54 PM #
Sorry, I don't know what TapPad is. I've only tried the Hacks I really need for myself.

I keep telling Ryan: "Hey, Ryan! Ya gotta put together a list." (Meanwhile, Verizon keeps sabotaging him... I guess Verizon hates Hacks... hah!)

NS Basic

ska @ 11/25/2002 3:09:54 PM #
How did the NS basic test run on CE? NS basics also has Newton and CE version.
RE: NS Basic
Zuber @ 11/25/2002 5:01:47 PM #
Someone please please please please please tell me that it leaves the PPC standing. Not that I'm actually bothered, but if it doesn't we'll get another long thread on the Palm forum about how we should all go out and buy a PPC.

Sorry ska, but you know it's true ;)

Zuber

RE: NS Basic
hotpaw4 @ 11/25/2002 8:24:50 PM #
>Palm IIIx, Palm OS 3.5, NS Basic/Palm 2.1 63 seconds
> Palm Tungsten, Palm OS 5.0, NS Basic/Palm 3.0 15 seconds

Note that he compared against a 16 MHz IIIx. If he had compared against a 66 MHz NR70, the results would have been close to even.

Admittedly, that's still a decent result for their virtual machine. HotPaw Basic on a Tungsten T is almost as fast as on an NR70 when doing math intensive calculations, but is around 35% slower doing simple loops.

But native ARM virtual machines (several are under development) should be at least 10x faster on an OS 5 model than the equivalents on 66 MHz Dragonball based handhelds (or more than 40 times faster than a Palm IIIx).

RE: NS Basic
ska @ 11/25/2002 10:08:58 PM #
Do you plan to add some feature to hotPaw basic that takes advantage of the DSP side of the OMAP1510?
RE: NS Basic
hotpaw4 @ 11/26/2002 2:38:40 AM #
The DSP is a TMS320 variant, which is a non-general-purpose 16-bit integer media stream (audio, video, communications codec, etc.) processor. I don't see anything in the Basic (or C) language specification that deals with these data types directly. The DSP far more useful to developers who want to do mp3, MPEG2, speech recognition, MIDI synthesis, 2d graphics setup, or software modem libraries which other applications (in Basic, C, LispMe, etc.) can then call. For data types other than 8-bit and 16-bit vectors, the ARM925 CPU is probably faster, even at its slower clock rate.
RE: NS Basic
ska @ 11/26/2002 11:01:19 AM #
ok thanks.

Are PalmGear's resolution designations bogus?

rvdw @ 11/26/2002 2:02:04 PM #
Did someone else notice that these new PG resolution designations are less than useful? If an application doesn't crash running at 320x320, the developer often labels it with "supports Palm Hi-Res (320x320)".

While you would expect that such an app actually takes advantage of the higher resolution, for example by offering smaller fonts, this is often not the case.

RE: Are PalmGear's resolution designations bogus?
Zuber @ 11/27/2002 6:29:21 AM #
There are 2 designations.

From site:

OS5 Supported:
Palm OS 5 Compatible
Palm OS 5 Enhanced

Zuber

RE: Are PalmGear's resolution designations bogus?
rvdw @ 11/27/2002 6:48:48 PM #
Those are for OS compatibility, I was referring to resolution compatibility. When it says that an application "supports Palm Hi-Res (320x320)", all it basically means is that it won't crash or misbehave with that resolution, not that it actually takes it advantage of it. It may do so, but not necessarily. I feel that not crashing or misbehaving should be inherent to the OS 5 compatibility predicate which would then render the resolution compatibility statement superfluous. I'd much rather have an indication of whether or not the application actually does something useful with those higher resolutions.

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