Need advice on replacing my PDA

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by starrigger

After posting that, I decided, wotthehell, I'd gone that far, I might as well finish the job before I installed any programs. So I did the WM6 upgrade, then installed Mobipocket. I can't say that it seems any faster to me, but maybe for what I'm doing, I wouldn't notice the difference anyway.

Now I guess I should put eReader and Adobe and whatnot on it, and try out those epub readers. And then stop the neepery and start enjoying reading again.

Quick, back to basics, before you turn into a geek!

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

I have used all of them, 2003, 6, 6.1, and 6.5. The difference between 5 and 6 is not that great, some additional functionality (especially e-mail and contact management), compatibility with add-on programs, etc. The interface on 6.0 looks a little nicer. Though there are plenty of free add-ons which can give you a much easier to use interface.

Can you suggest any? My impression of this WM6 ROM is that it's not a terribly wonderful UI. The menu-launch button doesn't do anything, for one thing.

I'll check out the alternate browsers. (Well, after I see if I can actually get online.)

[HansTWN]

Try PointUI (with all that Iphonish swiping) or HomeScreenPlusPlus (which I prefer. Very functional, not as much eye candy). Both have free versions which work fine. If you download any add-ons for these make sure you go for VGA (640x480!). After installation you can turn them off and back on under Settings - Today - Items. Or just uninstall them.

And before you try something, always read through the user comments, you will quickly see which one will be slow on your device.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by rjfarrell

My 1st pocket PC was a Casseipia. Man I loved that thing. Was GREAT.

I loved mine, too, until it broke. But now that I have a VGA screen, I would never want to go back.

[starrigger]

This is ridiculous. I'm just trying to install Adobe Reader on it. That should be simple, right? Actually, no. I can install the ancient Reader 1.0, or get a msg about compatibility issues when I try to install 2.0. Aii caramba. (A google of the problem reveals that I am not the only one.)

Guess I'll try that again later, from the XP machine. Maybe it's a Win 7 issue, once more.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by starrigger

This is ridiculous. I'm just trying to install Adobe Reader on it. That should be simple, right? Actually, no. I can install the ancient Reader 1.0, or get a msg about compatibility issues when I try to install 2.0. Aii caramba. (A google of the problem reveals that I am not the only one.)

Guess I'll try that again later, from the XP machine. Maybe it's a Win 7 issue, once more.

Get Reader LE 2.5. Additionally, as a standard procedure, get the *.cab files for any add-on programs, copy them to the expansion card on your device (the main memory and the expansion card on your device will show up as disks in windows) and then click on the cab on your device to run them. Do not use the *.exe files to install from your computer. Then you are completely independent of the environment on your computer. Besides, why should you have these programs install something on your computer?

Should you not have any add-on card (SD or something) then create a special folder in main memory, run the files from there and remember to delete theinstallation files, *.cab, afterwards.

By the way, a great program to have for such matters is MyMobiler. When the device is connected to your computer you can use your computer's mouse and keyboard to control your device, and the device screen will show up as a window on your desktop. Really speeds up data entry, etc. Also free. This one you have to install the *.exe since it has a desktop component. And it works fine with 64-bit Windows 7, which is what I am using.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Get Reader LE 2.5. Additionally, as a standard procedure, get the *.cab files for any add-on programs, copy them to the expansion card on your device (the main memory and the expansion card on your device will show up as disks in windows) and then click on the cab on your device to run them. Do not use the *.exe files to install from your computer. Then you are completely independent of the environment on your computer. Besides, why should you have these programs install something on your computer?

Should you not have any add-on card (SD or something) then create a special folder in main memory, run the files from there and remember to delete theinstallation files, *.cab, afterwards.

By the way, a great program to have for such matters is MyMobiler. When the device is connected to your computer you can use your computer's mouse and keyboard to control your device, and the device screen will show up as a window on your desktop. Really speeds up data entry, etc. Also free. This one you have to install the *.exe since it has a desktop component. And it works fine with 64-bit Windows 7, which is what I am using.

All right, I'll have to look for those programs. Right now, my more immediate concern is that I'm having problems syncing it with Outlook on my XP desktop and my Win7 laptop together--which used to work fine. Chasing down the error msg, I see that it was a known bug in WM 6.1, which is what I have, and that a fix was issued to the OEMs. Probably not much chance of getting that, since I used a ROM from the developer site.

If I can't fix it in WM 6, I wonder if I could roll back to WM 5.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by starrigger

All right, I'll have to look for those programs. Right now, my more immediate concern is that I'm having problems syncing it with Outlook on my XP desktop and my Win7 laptop together--which used to work fine. Chasing down the error msg, I see that it was a known bug in WM 6.1, which is what I have, and that a fix was issued to the OEMs. Probably not much chance of getting that, since I used a ROM from the developer site.

If I can't fix it in WM 6, I wonder if I could roll back to WM 5.

Check the xda-developers site, if the fix was issued then someone will have posted it there. You can search for it or post a message. Sometimes it is just a question of trying a different USB port on the computer or a different cable -- but usually not when you get a specific error message.

It is easy to roll back to 5.0, even to 2003. Just download the file and flash it, basically the same procedure as going from 5.0 to 6.0 or 6.1.

If there are some of the free (legal!) programs you need and can't find, PM me and I can send you a link or the file.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Check the xda-developers site, if the fix was issued then someone will have posted it there. You can search for it or post a message. Sometimes it is just a question of trying a different USB port on the computer or a different cable -- but usually not when you get a specific error message.

It is easy to roll back to 5.0, even to 2003. Just download the file and flash it, basically the same procedure as going from 5.0 to 6.0 or 6.1.

If there are some of the free (legal!) programs you need and can't find, PM me and I can send you a link or the file.

Yes, this is a specific error, and was acknowledged on the MS site as a known issue. They (of course) referred users to their equipment manufacturers for the fix. I don't think Dell ever supported WM 6 on the Axim X50V.

Oops--wait--I just tried it again, turning off Contacts sync then turning it back on a couple of times. This time it worked properly. Well, if it keeps working, I'm good to go.

I got eReader installed last night, and Adobe 2.0 went on without fuss from my XP computer, so now I just want to try the two epub readers I know of.

I was surprised to discover that Mobipocket Reader can open .pdb book files. I never knew that. I presume just the nonDRM files, though.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by starrigger

I was surprised to discover that Mobipocket Reader can open .pdb book files. I never knew that. I presume just the nonDRM files, though.

By default, Mobi reader on Palm devices uses .prc files, but can open .pdb files as well. Both are Palm Database files, and there's nothing specific to the PRC format that Mobi uses. You can rename a Mobi file from .prc to .pdb and it will work.

On Palm devices, Mobi Reader will open Mobipocket files and PalmDOC files (which are normally .pdb files.) PalmDOC files are plain text files using RLE compression to save space, and are decompressed on the fly by viewers that can read them. Mobi uses the Creator and Type fields in the database header to know what kind of file it is and whether it can read it.

eReader also uses pdb files, but Mobi doesn't read those. eReader has a different underlying format Mobi doesn't know how to display. (There is an eReader Pro version for Windows Mobile - http://www.ereader.com/ereader/software/browse.htm#)
______
Dennis

[starrigger]

I guess I was fooled by a Cory Doctorow book. I put my .pdb version of Little Brother into my mobi folder, and it opened fine. Maybe it's a PalmDoc file. Just to see, I also put the eReader version of one of my own books in the Mobi folder, and it did not show up in the Mobi library. So I guess, if a .pdb file is the right type, MobiReader will display it in the library, and if not, not. Yes?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by starrigger

I guess I was fooled by a Cory Doctorow book. I put my .pdb version of Little Brother into my mobi folder, and it opened fine. Maybe it's a PalmDoc file. Just to see, I also put the eReader version of one of my own books in the Mobi folder, and it did not show up in the Mobi library. So I guess, if a .pdb file is the right type, MobiReader will display it in the library, and if not, not. Yes?

Correct. A pdb file has arbitrary content. Applications read the database header of the file to see what it is and whether they support it.

Mobireader groks Mobipocket and PalmDOC files. Anything else is something else's job. There is a freeware version of eReader Pro for Windows Mobile, so you have options if you have content in PML format.
______
Dennis

[starrigger]

Yes, I have eReader on my gadget already. And with the free dictionary I downloaded from Barnes&Noble a while back, that gives me a second dictionary option.

[HansTWN]

Great for you that you have got everything working, Starrigger. Now is the time to enjoy your device! Obviously Dell never officially supported WM 6 or 6.1 They stopped making these devices long before those came out. But the great thing about Windows Mobile is its flexibility and that help is always available from the user community.

By the way, I just downloaded the latest version, 1.5, of the Skyfire browser. Now almost as fast as Opera 10.2 Beta and you can still do everything you can do on a desktop, including all types of web video. Now Skyfire beats any mobile browser on any platform, IMHO.

[starrigger]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Great for you that you have got everything working, Starrigger. Now is the time to enjoy your device! Obviously Dell never officially supported WM 6 or 6.1 They stopped making these devices long before those came out. But the great thing about Windows Mobile is its flexibility and that help is always available from the user community.

By the way, I just downloaded the latest version, 1.5, of the Skyfire browser. Now almost as fast as Opera 10.2 Beta and you can still do everything you can do on a desktop, including all types of web video. Now Skyfire beats any mobile browser on any platform, IMHO.

I'm still having problems syncing between two computers. I fiddle and get one to work, but then the other doesn't work. Annoying.

But that only matters for syncing my Outlook calendar and contacts, and maybe I should just give up on that and use some other software to sync my Outlook across the home network. I've got a trial version of one program that seems to do the job well.

As for using the Axim as a book reader, I love it. I've got MobiReader and Freda for epubs, and both work very well. At the moment, I've got a book open in each one. I've also got eReader and Adobe, but don't use them very much. This little machine is definitely giving my Sony Reader a run for its money.