What a hassle. I'm on hold right now with Go.America. We got past the CDPD registration problem I was experiencing yesterday, so I can get connected to the Internet. To do that they needed to give me a new IP address. It seems that they assign static IP addresses to every device, which I find very interesting. So now I can get registered on the CDPD network, but when I start the iPAQnet program and tap on Go.web I get a page saying that I need to activate my account. It reads my IE favorites, but whenever I try to open a page I get the same message. The Go.web page gives me a 1-800 number to call, which when I call it I am told that their sales office is closed and is only open to 8 PM on Monday thru Friday. Huh? Wouldn't it be likely that someone buying a wireless service might need to activate that service on the weekends. Very clueless. At any rate I can open IE and browse pages, but I am not using Go.America's compression server when I do. I can't use their Go.web or Go.mail service because apparently I need a userid & password. There appears to be a flaw in Go.America's service in that they don't include the userid and password for their Go.web service in the email that they provide for the registration information, or at the very least it appears that their Go.web service is not set up or associated with the information they sent me about the Sierra Aircard 300. I am able to use Internet Explorer and Inbox, though right now I wouldn't be able to send email since I don't have a valid SMTP server. The rep was able to track down a userid and password, but I have no information on how to use either. I got handed off to another rep who told me that their servers are down so don't use Go.web or Go.mail, instead use Internet Explorer and Inbox. Fine, except I can't send email without an SMTP server. Fine, she gives me the SMTP server address and I try that and get an error saying I don't have a mailbox. I've wasted enought of my time on this today. So far I am not impressed with Go.America.
posted by Frank McPherson 1:29 PM |
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I'm switching wireless data providers. Up this point I've been using the Omnisky Service with my HP Jornada 540 and the Novatel Ministrel modem. It has served me well these last few months, but there have been times when the service hasn't performed to my expectations. It's particularly frustrating to be on the road and not be able to retrieve e-mail. I've signed up with Compaq's iPAQnet service, which at $39 per month is significantly lower than Omnisky's $59 per month for Compaq service. I originally signed up with Omnisky before they were offerring service for Compaqs with the plan that when their service became available I would buy a Sierra Aircard 300 and transfer the service to the iPAQ. When Omnisky announced their price difference I changed my plans. However, that left me to stick with what I am doing, carrying two Pocket PCs around with me all the time, my iPAQ and the HP with the Novatel Modem.
At the time that I signed up with Omnisky I could have signed up with Go.America, but they were charging $59 per month, so it appeared Omnisky had the better deal. That also changed when Compaq & Go.America came out with the iPAQnet service at $39 per month for iPAQ owners. The downside is that you have to commit to a full year of service, where Omnisky offers a plan that is month to month.
Another reason for me to switch is to get experience with Go.America. I plan to add information about both Omnisky and Go.America, which are really the two main wireless data providers for Pocket PCs, in the Second Edition of my book. So, for a period of time I will have both services to capture screen shots and compare.
I ordered the iPAQnet service & Sierra Aircard 300 from Compaq on Tuesday, August 21. The next day I received an email saying that it was backordered, which was fine by me. Then yesterday (August 23) a package was at our front door containing the Aircard. The instructions included with the Aircard said that I need the activation information from an email I was supposed to receive, so until I got that I couldn't install and use the service. Last night I sent an email to the person at Compaq who told me it was backordered, telling him that I had received the Aircard. There's a trick.. for once I was told somthing I ordered was backordered and it wasn't. His reply to me told me to call a 1-800 number at Compaq to activate my service.
So during lunch today I installed the software on my iPAQ, working my way in the Getting Started guide up to the point where I need to enter my account information. Then I called the 800 number, only to find out that the Compaq couldn't help me... I really needed to wait for that email. Sherrie at Compaq told me that I should receive that email by Monday at the latest, otherwise call her back. I received the email at 4 PM this afternoon.
I now have the information I need so I enter it into the Aircard Wireless Expert software, then I get to the step where it tests the connection and it cannot register on the CDPD network. The email containing the activation information provided a Compaq tech support number to call, and the Compaq guy quickly determined that we need to call Go.America to obtain a new NEI (fancy name for an IP address). So he conferences me in to Go.America's tech support and we listen to nice hold music for ten minutes. He tells me that Go.America has been very busy and we could be on hold for a long time, so I asked, and received Go.America's support number. They're supposed to be open 24 hours so I will call them later tonight when they aren't as busy and when I can just put them on the speaker phone.
What I found interesting is that according to Compaq, Go.America's business is booming. They are signing up a lot of customers, but they aren't necessarily all running from Riccochet. It sounds like a lot of iPAQ owners out there are signing up with their service, which if that is the case that has got to be putting pressure on Omnisky. Just a few weeks ago Omnisky announced they were dropping their expansion into Europe, and the prevailing thought is that they aren't doing as well.
For now I am stuck with an unactivated card. If I have success I will post later tonight. I am told that while Go.America only supports 19.2 speed, just like Omnisky, the compression in their Go.Web browser is very good and significantly increases performance. I am anxious to try that out.
posted by Frank McPherson 5:24 PM |
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CEcity: News: Supplynet Announces Direct Connect Cellular “Smart” Cables They provide cables that connect a Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC directly to many popular cellular phones. If you have a cell phone with a built-in modem then you might be able to find a cable for it here. Expect to shell out nearly $60.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:53 AM |
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Cambridge Computer Corp. has posted an upgrade to vxUtil. This is a free program that provides many of the TCP/IP tools one needs to troubleshoot communication problems. Added is an IP Subnet Calculator, Password Generator, Get HTML, and Port Scanner. If you connect your Pocket PC to a network this is a must-have program.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:24 PM |
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I don't know how long it has been available, but I have found that Osborne is selling an e-book version of How to Do Everything with Your Pocket PC and Handheld PC. It requires the Acrobat eBook Reader and costs the same as the paper version.
posted by Frank McPherson 2:27 PM |
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I received a reply from my e-mail to Alex at Datanywhere.com regarding the Sync-N-Charge USB cable. He thinks the problem is with the Inspiron and not XP. I'm inclined to agree that it's most likely the USB port on this Inspiron notebook. Bother. The best way to confirm is by trying it with Windows Me on the same machine. However, it is more likely that this guy will have to go back because it isn't compatible with my hardware. Now to figure out who makes the other cable, but I wonder if I should bother since its most likely it would have the same problem.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:23 PM |
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allNetDevices: - Compaq, Symbian Throw Support to Intel Is this supposed to mean something to us? Lot's of big names and cool sounding phrases, but I don't know what Intel's Personal Internet Client Architecture (PCA) is all about.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:44 AM |
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infoSync : REX is history I own one of the very early versions of this PDA, but it was never compelling enough to make me want to just it over my Handheld or Pocket PCs. The biggest problem is that you couldn't input data beyond ticking of items in the todo list. I happen to be one of those people who input a fair amount of data into their PDA, so the Rex never met my needs.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:17 AM |
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EarthLink Takes Steps to Prepare for Wireless Web Is it just me, or did it seem that at about the time we started seeing the AOL Blackberry devices, RIM started going down in value?
posted by Frank McPherson 9:22 AM |
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Jason reports that ActiveSync 3.5 does not support Schedule+.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:50 PM |
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Two toys showed up today. One is the All-In-One USB Sync-N-Charge cable from Datanywhere.com that is supposed to sync and charge my iPAQ at the same time. So far I have not been able to get it to work with my Dell Inspiron 2500 notebook running Windows XP RC1. I am using AS 3.5 and whenever I connect my iPAQ to the cable I keep getting a message saying the device is not compatible. However, I am able to successfully connect to the same notebook and AS 3.5 using a regular Compaq USB cradle. The only other thing I can try is booting into Windows ME on the notebook and installing AS 3.1 on it and see what happens.
The other toy that I received is the Pocket Co-Pilot V2 upgrade. I don't know when I will have time to play with that.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:39 PM |
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I just installed ActiveSync Version 3.5 on my notebook which is running RC1 of Windows XP Professional. I wonder why after AS 3.5 installed it forced a reboot?
posted by Frank McPherson 9:39 PM |
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I admit, I am a fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. If you are fan like me you may be pleased to know that a Buffy e-Book titled Prophecies: The Lost Slayer, Part One is now available for only $1. I bought my copy at Barnes & Noble.com. My understanding is that this book is a first of a series. There are other Buffy books available at Peanut Press.
posted by Frank McPherson 11:02 PM |
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Disney uses handheld computers, but they're not Pocket PCs. Most mornings I saw a person at the bus stop with a Symbol wireless handheld, keeping track of the buses that stop and what people are waiting for. It was the Palm OS version of the Symbol handheld. I participated in a couple of surveys while I was in the parks, and they used pen based computers but I never was able to determine what type of operating system they were running.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:57 PM |
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Right now I am trying out the @migo PD-600C. This is a very intriguing Pocket PC, with a ton of hardware features. It has the same 206 Mhz StrongArm processor and similar screen as the iPAQ, so it doesn't suffer from the problems that prevent me from using the HP 548 over the iPAQ. OTOH, it is considerably larger than the iPAQ, so it is not something that I am going to easily carry around. However, I really like all the extra buttons, and I particularly like the side job wheel that makes reading ebooks and AvantGo content so much easier. And I have to admit that it's nice to just plug in a WLAN card without having to mess with a sleeve. We'll play around with this guy for a few weeks and see how it holds up.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:50 PM |
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We're back from our eight days at Disney World. It was a great trip during which I was pretty much out of touch with most everything Pocket PC. I did have my HP Jornada 540 and its Novatel Ministrel wireless modem so I checked my email. I also took my Compaq iPAQ, which I had set up with Pocket Streets 2002 and a map of Orlando, along with the Portable Internet guide. My wife also put together a spreadsheet outlining what we wanted to see at each of the Disney World parks. During the flight down to Orlando, which connected through Pittsburgh, I listened to music and read my AvantGo channels. As we approached Pittsburgh I tried to shut off my iPAQ in preparation for our landing, tried being the operative word since it would not shut off. I kept pressing the power button, but nothing happened. So I decided to do a soft reset, at which point the iPAQ startup screen displayed, showed the ROM version and stayed there. The same thing kept happening, essentially there was no way to shut off the iPAQ. I tried plugging in the Electric Fuel instant charger, but that didn't help. It appeared the only way I was going to shut the iPAQ off was cut the power switch, doing a hard reset; either that or leave the iPAQ on, which is what I ended up doing. The only thing that I can figure happened is that I drained the power down so much (but I never got a low power warning) that there wasn't enough power the iPAQ to properly boot up or shut down. Alas, I ended up in Orlando with a wiped out iPAQ and no backup -- demonstrating that I don't practice what I write. What a bummer! Of course, if the iPAQ had a backup battery like every Pocket PC should have, I might not have lost everything. And I have to admit this experience along with all the other problems I have had with the iPAQ (I've returned it twice, once because of the digitizer and the second time because of an inverse image) doesn't not give me a warm fuzzy about this product. I am very seriously thinking of switching to the Toshiba when it comes out.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:37 PM |
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