One of the most confusing parts of Pocket PC 2002 is Connection Manager, which you encounter when you tap Start, Settings, Connections, Connections. Gone is the simple dial-up networking that has been part of all Windows CE devices up to this point. Connection Manager is intended to be easier because it is designed to automate the connection process. This automation is a bit of a mind bender, but in short it attempts to distinguish the difference between connections to the Internet, and connections to private, Work networks. The idea is that when you attempt to open a web site on the Internet, connection manager automatically connects to the Internet using the best Internet connection settings. Likewise, if you attempt to open a web site on a private, Work network, which is often referred to as an intranet, connection manager automatically connects to the Work network using the best Work connection settings. Hence the separate Internet and Work connection settings sections in Connection Manager.
How does Connection Manager know which type of connection you need? That depends on the application that you are using. If you are using Internet Explorer to browse web sites, the decision is made on the type of URL. If the URL contains dots, like www.pocketpchow2.com, then you are connecting to the Internet. If URL does not contain dots, like gandalf, then you are connecting to a private, Work network.
The problem with Connection Manager is that it works well if you work within the scenario for which it is designed, but unfortunately many people do not fit in the scenario. For example, many company intranet sites have URLs with dots since they are following the Internet standard. (Microsoft is actually one of the few companies that uses short names for their internal web sites, so obviously those who designed connection manager didn't think about outside the walls of their own network.)
Another scenario that Connection Manager does not seem to support is people who have home networks and wish to use that home network for both synchronization and browsing the web. In this case the problem is caused by the fact that Connection Manager forces all synchronization to occur on Work networks and not the Internet. The reason why this is a problem is that Connection Manager also has a setting that controls the type of network it thinks a network adapter is connected to. So, if you want to browse the web using a network adapter you go into Connection Manager and specify that the adapter connects to the Internet. If you want to synchronize, you have go back into Connection Manager and specify that the adapter connects to Work. So you can see that if you want to do several different things you require different types of network connections, which require you to go into Connection Manager to change the settings. Ironic for something designed to automate a process in reality it makes the process more manual.
There are some work arounds for the "Connection Mangler." One of the most popular is to set every drop-down in Connection Manager to work. If you have a home network and you want to synchronize and browse the web on that network using a Pocket PC 2002 device, you can set each of the drop-down settings to Work and you will not have to make another change to Connection Manager. When you insert the network card you can start Activesync and synchronize, and then start up Internet Explorer and browse the web, as God intended it to be!
Now, let's say that you set everything to Work and you're all set for connecting at home, but you also need to dial-up to the Internet while you are traveling. The good news is that this also works well with everything set to Work, simply define the modem connection under Work settings. When you plug in a modem and attempt to open a web site, it will automatically use the modem connection that you provided in Work settings. In short, after you set all the drop-down settings in Connection Manager to Work, you should only add modem connections to the Work settings portion of connection manager.
For now, I only see one problem caused by configuring all the Connection Manager settings to Work. What if want to connect to two different Work networks (LANs), where one of the networks uses a proxy server to connect to the Internet, while the other one does not? The problem is caused by the fact that you specify the proxy server information in the Work settings, and that proxy server information is used for all connections to a Work network, regardless of whether it is a LAN or modem connection. If you specify a proxy server, you will be able to connect to the Internet just fine when connected to the network with the proxy server, but when you connect to other network that does not have a proxy server, you will not be able to connect to the Internet. Unfortunately, I do not know of a workaround for this situation, and you will be forced to change the network adapter setting in Connection Manager to switch between the two types of networks, in this case the network with proxy server is the Work network, and the network without proxy server is the Internet network. If Microsoft had kept proxy sever support in Internet Explorer, as it is on desktop computers, we would not have this problem, but since the proxy server support is tied to the actually network connection type, we have this problem.
posted by Frank McPherson 1:56 PM |
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Pocket PC Passion - AT&T Pocket PC Siemens SX56 It would seem that this thread partially answers my question about what carriers will have the iPAQ GSM Pocket PC Phone Edition.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:05 AM |
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Bryce and Steve have both ranted on the lack of innovation in PDA hardware. This is an interesting topic worth thinking more about. I'm tired now, so this is probably going to be a stream of consciousness.
What one calls a lack of innovation, others call standardization. That standardization leads to commoditization, which leads to lower prices and broader acceptance. Look to the personal computer and its operating systems. There really isn't much innovation there, why? Well, one might say that Microsoft choked all possible innovation out. Others might say that the market demanded lower prices, which was needed for broader acceptance.
So, of the top of my head... if you want lower prices, innovation is going to suffer a bit. Why? Because really innovative things tend to be more expensive. At least that is what Apple will lead us to believe.
Right now I think the innovations we need in the PDA market are not the sexy type of innovations. A biggie is battery life. Why do we need to be worrying about recharging or replacing batteries? Why can't the batteries just recharge themselves? And how can we make batteries last longer? Battery life is one area where innovation is sorely needed, not only for PDAs, but for just about every electronic, disconnected gadget known to man.
Some will say another innovation biggie is true, working speech recognition. For those who prefer to speak to their PDA, I see their point. I have never been able to get my mind around speech recognition for PDAs. Or course, related to this is the problem plaguing PDAs since the beginning.. handwriting recognition.
There are some subtle innovations coming. No doubt the transflective screen in the iPAQ 3900 is ahead of the rest, and perhaps Viewsonic is being the real innovator in putting such a screen into a cheap device. But, OLED has also been displayed, and may be even better. Screen technologies are also tied to the battery life problem.
I keep hearing interesting things about what HP is up to with the iPAQ. Their biometic scanner will be a first for a PDA, and I believe they also plan on having Bluetooth and WiFI built in to a model. I think I have also head of an iPAQ with built in GPS. And with all the stuff that HP is doing with the iPAQ, I am also wondering what Toshiba is up to. They seem to have made a big committment to handhelds, and for now they are the only one with integrated WiFI.
posted by Frank McPherson 11:45 PM |
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There was a time, not too long ago, when I felt as though I was the only person on the planet with a Pocket PC, but that is no longer the case. Today I went to the Detroit Technology Summit, during which I attended a session about emerging technologies in schools given by Roland Moore, the Chief Information Officer for the Detroit Public Schools. I knew the presentation was going to be great when he started off by taking his Compaq iPAQ out of his suit pocket. His eye caught my T-Mobile Pocket PC, which he ended up using as a prop several times during his presentation. In a moment which surely should be part of a Pocket PC commercial, he held in one hand is iPaq, cell phone, and Motorola two-way pager, and my T-Mobile Pocket PC in the other, and which the audience which would they rather carry.
After the presentation I had a chance to briefly chat with Roland and I learned that while the State of Michigan is providing Palm Pilots to all the teachers in the state, he is providing iPAQs to all the the principals in the school district because of their greater functionality.
In my opinion an area where Microsoft is really missing the boat with Pocket PCs is in education. Cost is a huge issue, but hopefully the $199 and $299 price tags of the Dell and Viewsonic Pocket PCs will address that issue. I believe the model of Palm that the state is providing is the cheaper M125. To promote Pocket PCs as an education tool we need to emphasize those things that can be done with a Pocket PC that cannot be done with a Palm OS device.
posted by Frank McPherson 8:28 PM |
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PocketAnywhere has announced publication of their new monthly newsletter for Pocket PC users. The newsletters are available for free as a PDF.
posted by Frank McPherson 7:31 PM |
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WordCommands for Pocket PCs I received an email today from Jay Lagorio, who is the author of this program, informing me of the new web site for this program. WordCommands provides accelerator key functions for Pocket Word when using a Stowaway keyboard.
posted by Frank McPherson 7:28 PM |
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I've been saying this ever since I heard about WiFI hotspots in Starbucks. Why don't Borders and Barnes and Nobles have hotspots? Both bookstores chains try to draw people to come to the store and shop by providing cafes. The idea is to get people to be regular customers.
From my personal perspective the idea here is to have as many places that I go to wired for WiFI. Borders, Barnes and Noble, CompUSA are all toy stores in which I spend a far amount of time. As there are more places in which I find myself that are wired for WiFI, the more likely I am going to subscribe to T-Mobile's monthly service.
So, I think Borders is just a start. Now, doesn't it seem logical to you for computer stores such as CompUSA to provide WiFI access? In fact, I think CompUSA could and should provide free WiFI access, though I think I might make it a little tougher to use. Perhaps create a frequent shopper program, that provides the SSID and WEP keys for free WiFI access.
But I digress. I'm sitting here in Detroit and I am wondering to myself, when are the Starbucks and Borders in my area going to get wired?
posted by Frank McPherson 12:40 PM |
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News: Bluetooth may leave PDAs wide open Is it just me, or does it seem as though these security folks have nothing better to do but worry about the next gapping security hole? At some time people must be responsible for themselves. But you know what, wallets and purses are also incredibly insecure, yet I carry one around every day and it contains my most important documents.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:08 PM |
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Brighthand — Wireless PAN, Wireless LAN: HP's iPAQ 5400 Series Pocket PC Steve has written more about the iPAQ 5400, which apparently will have an incredible array of built-in features: Bluetooth, WiFI, Biometric scanner, Transflective screen, and maybe even a GSM/GPRS sure. It would no doubt be the uber wireless device, though if it has a GSM/GPRS radio I am not sure how useful Bluetooth will be.
This sounds like it would be the ultimate device for corporations, but the first thing that pops into my mind while reading this is, how much will it cost? Given HP's history of high-priced handhelds targetted for corporations, I expect to see this puppy priced at $899 or $999. Ridiculously high price, but that would be consistent with HP's pricing history. (While everyone goes down in price, HP tends to go up in price.)
Besides price, the other thing I am curious about with this unit is if it does have a GSM/GPRS radio, will be be sold through a carrier, and who will be that carrier? Cingular is the only remaining US-based GSM provider without a Pocket PC Phone Edition. That doesn't mean that T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless couldn't have multiple devices. And regardless of who the carrier is, HP doesn't exactly have a history of working with carriers, so this all could be very interesting in the end.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:04 PM |
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Abdelqader Husseini posted a recommendation in microsoft.public.pocketpc.phone for MISecurity's SecuPDA VPN client.
posted by Frank McPherson 11:10 PM |
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Brighthand — SyChip 802.11 SD Card Coming Next Year
posted by Frank McPherson 3:33 PM |
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Microsoft Gear | Pocket PC If you are interested in owning any stuff with "Pocket PC" emblazened, you can buy them from this site. There are also some nifty Club Pocket PC stuff available. If you haven't heard of Club Pocket PC, check out the web site.
posted by Frank McPherson 3:30 PM |
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YuBee - Wherever you go...there's YuBee. Content formatted for the Pocket PC. I've checked out this service and it appears to be worth book marking on your Pocket PC.
posted by Frank McPherson 3:09 PM |
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ZDNet: Story: ViewSonic's Pocket PC: Why it could kill the Palm "But once Pocket PCs get down to the $299 neighborhood, there's less need for equivocation. Sure, there's still room for super-low-end PDAs like the new Palm Zire. But if Palm and Palm OS device manufacturers aren't careful, they'll soon find themselves marginalized." Amen!
posted by Frank McPherson 1:08 PM |
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Dell to pitch $199 handheld at Comdex - Tech News - CNET.com The Christmas shopping season is going to be great for Pocket PCs. Here is what we appear to have coming:
1. A $199 Dell Pocket PC.
2. A $200-ish HP iPAQ
3. A $299 Dell Pocket PC
4. A $299 Viewsonic Pocket PC
Not to mention existing Pocket PCs from Toshiba, and the new Toshiba E330. Finally, we are starting to see the price barrier eliminated. Now the interesting to be seen is, with price being equal, does Pocket PC obtain significant market share? Will we suddenly see high adoption from businesses?
Here is how I see the platform and price aligning. The Pocket PC platform will be low to midrange in price depending on memory, screen quality, and expansion capabilities. Prices will hover in the $300 price category. The Pocket PC Phone Edition platform will be the new, high-end platform around the $500 price and feature wireless voice and data, along with more memory.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:47 PM |
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ViewSonic: Company Info: Press Center: Press Releases "At a trim 4.2 ounces, the ViewSonic V35 offers a "no compromises" Pocket PC at the sharply competitive price of $299. An Intel® PXA250 processor at 300MHz , along with 32MB flash memory and 64MB random access memory (RAM), combine for high-power performance. The Pocket PC V35 features a 3.5-inch 240 x 320 LCD display, a long life Lithium-ion battery and four launch buttons for easily identifying and updating contacts, tasks, notes and calendar schedules. A convenient and easy-to-use jog dial allows users to quickly and easily navigate through files and applications, while a built-in Secure Digital (SD) slot provides additional memory, input-output and connectivity options."
posted by Frank McPherson 12:40 PM |
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There is a follow-up to the issue with Rhino Code's Pocket Panel, Pocket PC Phone Edition, and attachments. Version 2.2 of Pocket Panel fixes the problem.
posted by Frank McPherson 5:55 PM |
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BMW is integrating an iPAQ with the MINI. I don't know if this would inspire me to run out and buy the car, but the presentation is a bit interesting.
posted by Frank McPherson 5:44 PM |
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News: Microsoft, AT&T pitch wireless e-mail This is the first report that I have seen that quotes a price: $549, or basically the same that the T-Mobile came out with.
InfoWorld says the devices will start becoming available within the next couple of weeks. The remaining question now is, what type of data plans will AT&T provide? If they are all going to sit on that $549 price tag, they're going to have to compete on plans. The first one to come out with a reasonable flat monthly rate is going to grab a lot of business.
Another thing to watch here with the AT&T announcement is, how good is AT&T's GSM & GPRS coverage? How aggressive is AT&T in increasing that coverage? Coverage will be another factor.
posted by Frank McPherson 4:31 PM |
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Pocket PC Passion - AT&T Pocket PC Siemens SX56 Dale is at the Microsoft Exchange conference where this latest Pocket PC Phone Edition device is being announced. Check out all the pics that Dale has.
posted by Frank McPherson 4:28 PM |
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Removing the T-Mobile Applications pt has written this great how-to that frees up some program memory on the T-Mobile Pocket PC and helps it run a little more smoothly.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:36 AM |
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Props to Jason Dunn for his latest book, Faster Smarter Digital Video
posted by Frank McPherson 10:33 AM |
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Toshiba has released the EUU2 update for the E310, which causes me to ponder, why just the E310 and not the E740 too? Hmm... I wonder, may Toshiba will work on some X-Scale optimizations to bundle with the E740. One can hope, can't they?
posted by Frank McPherson 10:25 AM |
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Yahoo! News - AT&T Wireless, Microsoft Launch Business Service So I am reading along this article. Yadada, yadada, yadada. And then I hit this: "AT&T Wireless also introduced Siemens SX56, a combination handheld computer-cell phone based on Pocket PC, Microsoft's software that allows users to swap instant messages, make phone calls and access business and personal information."
Sounds like a new Pocket PC Phone Edition. Well, not exactly. A quick Google search discovers a Siemens and AT&T Wireless-badged HTC XDA. Now, I wonder why Siemens is involved in this?
posted by Frank McPherson 9:30 AM |
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Vindigo has expanded into 13 more markets and has expanded information for some existing markets.
posted by Frank McPherson 11:07 PM |
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Let me hear you say "RSS"!. If you don't know what RSS is, don't worry, I'll explain later, but for those that do...enjoy. And if you're mobile? Here's a new way to enjoy the site. Point your RSS client at www.pocketpcthoughts.com/xml. [Pocket PC Thoughts] And check out the new look!
posted by Frank McPherson 11:06 PM |
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Guy Stevens reports in microsoft.public.pocketpc.wireless that the Socket CF WLAN card does not work in the Nexian dual-slot CompactFlash sleeve.
posted by Frank McPherson 6:05 PM |
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ZDNet has some interesting analysis of Dell's rumored entry into the Pocket PC Market: "If a pre-emptive PR strike from the leader in PocketPC-based devices isn't proof that Dell is going to upset the balance of power in the handheld market, I don't know what is."
posted by Frank McPherson 3:47 PM |
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Computer News: What's So Good About Pocket PC? Will the Pocket PC replace laptop computers? Is that the point?
posted by Frank McPherson 3:21 PM |
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News: Microsoft, Good shake on handhelds Ever since I saw John Doerr speak about Good Technology, I've been keeping my eye on them. Good Technology has wireless synchronization software that synchronizes more than just email. From what I know, it sounds like it provides similar functionality as Mobile Information Server, but it may be more appealing to companies that don't want complete lock-in with Microsoft.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:46 PM |
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Brighthand — iBIZ previews its Compact Flash FM Radio Card You can turn a Pocket PC into an FM radio. Do you want to? The keys here it would seem are, how good is the reception? what does it do to battery life? and how much does it cost? If it sounds decent and costs not much more than $100 I could be persuaded.
posted by Frank McPherson 12:34 PM |
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Pocket PC Passion - mobiDial Beta for XDA and T-Mobile now available for download I've had a few people ask me about using calling cards with their T-Mobile Pocket PC. My standard recommendation is to create a dialing string for the contacts, but that can be tedius. The blurb for this dialing application mentions calling cards, so perhaps that will fit the bill.
posted by Frank McPherson 10:13 AM |
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Pocket PC Passion - Review of the NeuVoice Navigator: Voice Dialing & Voice Command for the XDA/T-Mobile
posted by Frank McPherson 10:04 AM |
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This tip comes from the Pocket PC Passion discussion board. To add a shortcut in the start menu to Connection Manager, use File Explorer to open the Windows folder, browse for remnext.exe, tap and hold on the file name and tap Copy. Then open \Windows\Start Menu, tap and hold and tap Paste Shortcut.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:59 AM |
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Pocket PC Newswire has some good news. Spb Software House is starting a beta program for two of their programs. One of them is called PocketQuick, which is a Pocket PC companion for Quicken. Several people have asked me about a program that works with Quicken, and I am hopeful that this program will fit the bill.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:43 AM |
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Yahoo! News - Palm Low-Cost Handheld Takes Aim at Scrap Paper It will be interesting to see whether the $99 organizer takes off. I suspect that it won't. Cheap organizers have been around for years, in fact, many years more than the PDA. They have never sold particularly well, and I don't see any real reason for that changing.
posted by Frank McPherson 9:27 AM |
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