02:32 PM by TadW in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The discussion first started slowly, when Picard, famous author of the free video player BetaPlayer for Pocket PC, released the first BetaPlayer plugin supporting the Intel 2700 accelerator chip of the Axim X50v.

Then the bad thing happened.

In an insanely long discussion thread at Aximsite, member PocketTV Team first accused Picard of breaking the terms of the GPL license (mentioned earlier at MR). After a long and heated discussion, Picard decided to take the blame on himself and continue development of the plugin. Users were so happy and excited about his work that they decided to denote him Paypal money (including myself).

Then someone (could have been me ) asked Picard whether it was possible to add support for MPEG2 / SVCD to BetaPlayer. It didn't take long for PocketTV Team user to pop up again (I call him the Devil's advocate from now) and to mention the fact that MPEGLA requires software decoders to pay patent royalties for mpeg-2 and mpeg-4. Anyways, after exploring the Net, I came to the conclusing that using any unlicensed mpeg2 decoder (free or commercial) is indeed illegal. In order to be able to distribute a MPEG-2 decoding product, you must have the license from patent holders. Obviously one way to get this license is to obtain the MPEG LA patent portfolio license.

However, a free mpeg2 decoder library or plugin by itself is not an MPEG-2 decoding product until it is compiled, linked to an application and actually used by the end-user - in which case it is the end-user who is infringing the patent, not the programmer.

Have a look at 3.4 of the VideoLAN FAQ:

3.4. What about personal/commercial usage?
Some of the codecs distributed with VLC are patented and require you to pay royalties to their licensors. These are
mostly the MPEG style codecs.
With many products the producer pays the license body (in this case MPEG LA (http://www.mpegla.com)) so the
user (commercial or personal) does not have to take care of this. VLC (and ffmpeg and libmpeg2 which it uses in
most of these cases) cannot do this because they are Free and Open Source implementations of these codecs. The
software is not sold and therefore the end-user becomes responsible for complying to the licensing and royalty
requirements. You will need to contact the licensor on how to comply to these licenses.
This goes for playing a DVD with VLC for your personal joy ($2.50 one time payment to MPEG LA) as well as for
using VLC for streaming a live event in MPEG-4 over the Internet.

Obviously, while this sounds good, it is not an official answer by MPEG LA regarding this matter. Considering that the libmpeg2 project is several years old, used by a dozen well-known applications for MPEG2 decoding, and yet has not run into any legal trouble, I don't see how a MPEG2 plugin for BetaPlayer would make any difference. After all, it is the end-user who decides whether he wants to install and use the plugin or not.

And then I stumbled over today's interview at msmobiles, where PocketTV calls Betaplayer "an illegal hack" due to a) patent infridgement and b) stolen code. It saddens me deeply to see someone like PocketTV desperately vituperating someone elses work without showing definite proof.

Is it just a coincidence that user PocketTV represents MpegTV LLC, who develops PocketTV, another video player for Pocket PC, which is not freeware and lacks some of the more advanced features of BetaPlayer?

11:12 AM by sUnShInE in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Tapwave has released a Wifi driver and an e-mail application. The e-mail app allows you to set up 8 accounts, and includes IMAP support and scheduled downloading. You can use the SanDisk or palmOne Wifi cards.

Download the drivers here.

Now if palmOne would only get their act together....

06:16 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Dear Mobileread fan,

We are scheduling a maintenance work for today and tomorrow, during which we will reorganize the Mobileread forums.

During this maintenance window, our site will be unavailable.

Thank you,
Editors
Mobileread.com

08:30 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

palmOne PalmSource today announced that Al Wood, chief financial officer and treasurer, has left the company effective November 29, 2004 to pursue "other interests".

While palmOne PalmSource is looking for a suitable replacement, Ira Cook, vice president of finance, has been appointed principal financial officer.

This latest development at palmOne PalmSource comes rather like an unexpected surprise considering that the announcement was made after the CFO had already left the company.

07:50 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Boeing's in-flight Internet service Connexion finally bears fruit. By the middle of next year, you could be watching live tennis matches and international news programmes on your notebook on Singapore Airlines flights. In a press release Boeing announced that Singapore Airlines has committed to installing Connexion on its long-haul fleet. The service will be available first on the Singapore-London route in the first quarter of next year and eventually be expanded to selected flights worldwide.

Connexion made its debut in May 2004 on German carrier Lufthansa. Other airlines who already ordered the system and/or showed interest were ANA, Japan Airlines, SAS, China Airlines and Korean Air (I don't see any American airlines mentioned). Aircrafts providing the system are equipped with satellite receivers and wireless networks.

As a passenger you will have real-time broadband service that can be used for watching international live TV, connecting to cooperate VPNs, surfing the Internet and checking e-mails - while a friendly cabin crew serves you your meal at 35,000 feet!

Prices look competitive, too. The two initial pricing plans, which will vary depending on flight length, are Flat-Rate (unlimited access, US14.95-$29.95) and Metered Pricing (US$7.95+$0.95/min or US$9.95+$0.25/min).

07:58 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

CHM eBook Reader allows you to view files in the common Windows help format (*.CHM, also known as "compiled HTML") on your Pocket PC.

New in 2.3: Bookmarks handling, user's settings saving, support for dictionaries, CSS on/off option, and various bug fixes.

07:28 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Pocket PC Freeware Sites from David's Freeware Review:

http://www.freewareppc.com/
http://www.snapfiles.com/pocketpc/pocketpcfw.html
http://www.pocketpcsoft.net/php/pagefreeware.php
http://www.bypaul.com/PPCFS/Free-Utilities.htm
http://www.marcusvorwaller.com/weblo...es/000130.html
http://www2r.biglobe.ne.jp/~tascal/d...e.htm#Freeware

PS As a bonus, here are some more tips...

Another favorite freeware site of mine is http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php

And if you're willing to pay a few $s for software, check out the following sites:
www.handango.com
www.pocketgear.com
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/nominees_2004.asp

For smart phones, there is
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/categorysp_2004.asp

For developer software, they have
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/ca...4.asp?catid=46

11:06 PM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Aha! We smelled the scent of a deal, and here it is... One month of PalmGear's December Specials and PocketGear's December Specials. (Don't ask me why the URLs are not symmetric!)

Count down to the New Year at PalmGear.com! 'Tis the season, so we are serving up a holiday feast for both you and your handheld this month. Visit PalmGear.com every day in December for special discounts, free downloads and chances to win great prizes!

Today's specials are 10% off on purchases. Some of the upcoming specials or giveaways include the following:

For PalmGear

* FREE Tungsten E loaded with LandWare software
* FREE Tapwave Zodiac multimedia handheld
* $300 Southwest Airlines gift certificates
* FREE 1-year subscription to NetFlix
* $200 Franklin Covey gift card
* $200 Fossil.com gift card
* $150 iTunes gift card
* $150 American Express gift card
* $150 Best Buy gift card
* FREE eBooks from eReader.com
* Plus OVER $1,000 in other prizes!

And for PocketGear

* FREE HP iPAQ loaded with LandWare titles
* FREE 1-year subscription to NetFlix
* $300 worth of Microsoft stock
* $300 Best Buy gift card
* $150 Foot Locker gift card
* FREE Dell Axim X50
* Discounts at PocketGear.com
* $150 iTunes gift card
* $200 Franklin Covey gift card
* FREE eBooks
* AND other great hardware and software discounts