Comments on: Quickies: Security, FictionWise, Parens, SanDisk, Lemmings

The Register has an article detailing a recent survey of PDA security. One of the conclusions reached, is that one in ten peoples' bank accounts could be accessed if they lost their PDA. -Ryan

Fictionwise is celebrating it's second anniversary with a store-wide sale. All MultiFormat eBooks are discounted 20% and all Secure Mobipocket eBooks 15%. The sale runs through June 9th. -Scott Pendergrast

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Does it take up space

terrysalmi @ 5/30/2002 1:31:25 PM #
Does the BBVFS program on the card use some of the available memory?

Personally, I think this card is overpriced at $50...but then again, you get the knowledge knowing your data is backed up...if you use the software!

What they need is automatic back-up cards.

RE: Does it take up space
IanJD @ 5/30/2002 2:09:48 PM #
Yes, BBVFS will use up 90K of space on the card. As to price, BBVFS on its own costs $16.95, so if you can buy an MMC card for under $33 then it's expensive. I've used this combination for the last year, and would recommend it over the Palm Backup Card.

RE: Does it take up space
IanJD @ 5/30/2002 4:05:45 PM #
...and BBVFS is automatic, in that you can set a daily backup to happen overnight.

Stand Alone's Backup
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 4:47:50 PM #
I use the back up software from Stand Alone that does it's jpb automatically, particular times on a day and if the unit is/isn't in the cradle. It works on my standard SD card... and no, I don't work for them. :-)

Parens and MathPad

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 1:47:17 PM #
'tis a shame we're losing Parens and MathPad. One of the first things I would do when I got a new PalmOS device is put Parens on it. I love this calculator. MathPad was fun to play around with too. What a real shame. Any suggestions on replacement calculators (for if/when Parens is no longer usable)?

Thanks for the great programs, Rick.

RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 2:00:39 PM #
Kalk 3.0.3 is a terrific RPN calculator. I am an engineer so I am most familiar with RPN calculators (RPN calculators are like Hewlett Packard calculators for instance if you wanter to add 2+2 on an RPN you would press 2 then Enter then 2 then +. To then add more numbers you simply enter the number and then + again or x or whatever function. No need to ever hit an = button this is very handy when using algebra).
RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 2:13:28 PM #
I wonder if Rick is interested in turning it over to someone else to support and improve upon. (I am probably not that person) Or alternately, would releasing it into the public domain or GPL be appropriate? It is a shame to let this die. And...the whole point of Parens is that is is *NOT* an RPN calculator. That was the one huge reason I registered my copy of it instead of some other one.

Also, didn't Parens get shipped with just about every non-Palm PalmOS PDA? What will happen to those devices (new ones, not existing ones)? I don't think there is a replacement, is there?

RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 2:35:45 PM #
What a shame. Two less calculator programs in the Palm software library. What does that leave us with? Only about 8000 others.
RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 3:03:08 PM #
you can download this for free. (Guarantee there won't be anything like this inside the 8000 choice mentioned above)

Full function symbolic/geometric analytical calc
http://www.saltire.com/samples.html

HP48Gx emulator (similar to TI-89)
http://web.jet.es/leobueno/software_de_leo.htm

RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 3:05:56 PM #
I received the following message yesterday in my inbox, which should provide additional useful information:
-------------
Dear Parens & MathPad Customer:

We are pleased to announce that Rick Huebner has joined Infinity Softworks as a senior developer. While Rick has enjoyed developing his own applications, he is excited about merging his expertise with Infinity's line of products to create something really spectacular for the handheld platform.

As part of this transition, we are discontinuing sales of Parens and MathPad so that we can collectively focus on the next generation of calculator and analysis software.

Infinity Softworks will continue to support both products, so feel free to contact info@infinitysw.com if you have any support questions.

In appreciation of your faithful support of Rick over the years, we are offering a 50% discount on powerOne(tm) Finance and powerOne Graph exclusively to Parens and MathPad owners. These calculators offer both simple and advanced functions with an easy-to-use interface. In fact, they are powerful enough to replace hardware calculators from Texas Instruments and Hewlett Packard costing over $100. Best of all they are easy to expand using the built-in solver. Over 100 free templates are available from our web site.

MathPad users should be able to move many of their solutions to powerOne Finance's or powerOne Graph's built-in equation solver. Please contact us if you have any questions about the compatibility of the powerOne Solver with MathPad.

This is a special offer and available for a limited time only. Please visit [address deleted for this posting]

RE: Parens and MathPad
pontif @ 5/30/2002 3:16:06 PM #
I too will miss Parens. I like it MUCH better than the huge infinity PowerOne calculators and it is a small fraction of the size. Of course I'll continue using it, but would really love a high-res version. The buttons are starting to look pretty blocky on my Clie.

What I can't believe is how incredibly huge the PowerOne calculators are, and how hard they are to use in hex mode. There are no A - F buttons! You must write them with Grafiti. Also you must start each hex value with a numeric, meaning FF is expressed as 0FFh. That would take a lot of getting used to. I'm sure their products have a lot of other functionality, like graphing, etc., but 500k for a hi-res programmers calculator (all I really need) is pretty ridiculous, not to mention the $50 price tag.

Of course, I'll continue using Parens until I find something better. But the infinity PowerOne products aren't it. My hope is that Rick can bring something to them that will allow them to create a product that interests me.

RE: Parens and MathPad
PDA Guy @ 5/30/2002 4:21:24 PM #
Yes, I'm also disappointed that Parens and MathPad (especially Parens) won't be developed any longer. It was a great product and I was hoping, too, to see a high-res version available eventually.

I noticed that both products have been pulled *completely* from any online site, as well as Rick's site. While this is understood, where do registered users go to download a copy if they've managed to lose their local copy of the latest version??? I'd have preferred to see the downloads stay on at least Rick's site with a note that no further registrations would be accepted.

Oh, and I agree with the above poster about PowerOne. Nice calculator, but its huge compared to Parens. Let's just hope that Parens continues to work going forward (ie, with Palm OS 5, etc) or I'll have to start looking for another calculator. Shame.

RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 9:11:32 PM #
Saddest day of my Palm life. MathPad is the reason I own a Palm. I would have never bought one if I hadn't discovered MathPad first! I'm a structural engineer and do lot's of number cruching, formula solving, brute force math. MathPad is a screamer for that kind of work. I can do things with MathPad right there on my Palm what many of my collegues have to turn to Excel and their desk top machines to do. Is anyone else out there as bummed about this as I am?

Hey for you RPN geeks, check out P41CV at palmgear. It's and HP41CV! And there's a free version that keeps programs even after turning off the machine! Way cool!

Gregg
gfreeby@hotmail.com

RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 9:43:12 PM #
I am in engineering and sales. I constantly do quotes and engineering calculations with Mathpad. It's my most often used ap. It is more powerful than a spreadsheet because you can easily solve for any unknown in a complex equation without having to reconstruct the formula.
Rick
rick@lapps.net
RE: Parens and MathPad
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/31/2002 10:10:47 AM #
I agree, it's totally a shame we are losing Parens. Much better than PowerOne, other than looks.
Tell InfinitySW that you want Parens!
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/1/2002 9:56:16 AM #
May I suggest that everybody take the time to send InfinitySW an email requesting that they continue supporting Parens and MathPad. It will only take a few minutes of your time and maybe we can keep the products on the market. (If they want any of my money, that is what they need to do ... there other products don't fit my needs.)

Send your email to: info@infinitysw.com

-Eric

hires+

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 1:55:55 PM #
Does Lemmings support hires+ ?
RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 2:09:35 PM #
Here's my original post (it got a bit cropped).

For all you Lemmings fans,

We have created another absolutely gorgeous Lemmings level pack. This package includes 10 levels - both easy and hard versions. It is appropriately called "New Age". There is a garden, atom bath, tree house, paparizzi escape mansion, and a wicked maze to name a few. It also has a few features never used before in our past Lemmings level packs. Lemmings is one of those few games that not only supports grayscale/color and 160x160/240x240/320x320 modes but pushes the boundaries of what a Palm game can do (in speed, visual experience and memory size).

http://www.ardiri.com/index.php?redir=palm&cat=lemmings&subcat=levels&pack=newage

Enjoy!

Chip Kerchner
chip@ardiri.com
Lemming show you a great game

Lemmings - New Age
Lemmings - Infinity
Lemmings - Xmas
Lemmings - Genesis

RE: hires+
ardiri @ 5/30/2002 2:19:46 PM #
to clarify on chips response, while lemmings will run in hi-res modes (1.5x and 2x standard factor) - it does not take advantage of virtual grafitti space (actually, you use the grafitti area to scroll - so, you need it) :P but, set the option in the config to use hi-res mode, and, you'll get smaller lemmings and see more on the screen at any point in time. we handle screen resolution changes dynamically.

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/
RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 2:43:08 PM #
It looks like it is a great game.

I have to say it is probably better if you could
have a very simple demo to let people to install
it on their Palm to try it.

All the 10 levels for just $7.5? You guys kill
the Palm gaming market. :-(

ted

RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 3:21:38 PM #
There are 7 training levels (only easy, no hard) built in the demo. So you can try it before you buy it. $7.50 is a great deal for 20 levels (10 easy and 10 hard).
RE: hires+
ardiri @ 5/30/2002 3:25:56 PM #
I have to say it is probably better if you could
have a very simple demo to let people to install
it on their Palm to try it.

the lemmings demo has 7 of the original levels (trainers) in it - so, you can get familiar with the game itself. the level packs are add-ons, something you purchase seperately.

All the 10 levels for just $7.5? You guys kill
the Palm gaming market. :-(

each level pack has two configs (easy + hard) - the game itself could differ tremendously between the two! not to mention there are bundle packs for the levels too. $7.50 for one, $12.50 for two..

as for game pricing? think your talking to the wrong people about the "expensiveness" of applications. you can see a lot of *junk* out there (i wont mention any names) with $14.95 or $19.95 price tags on it - many of which, an experienced developer can write in 2-3 days solid. lemmings is a much more complex game, as is our upcoming deity3D - dont you think the price of a game should be relative to its complexity/time taken to write? :)

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/

RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 3:50:59 PM #
>you use the grafitti area to scroll

Does that mean the game cannot be played on a Treo k?

RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 4:06:41 PM #
Not at all. There are three independent ways to scroll the screen in Lemmings.

1) Use Graffiti, or
2) Use the pen to move the cursor to the extreme left or right of the screen, or
3) Use the keys

RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 5:02:54 PM #
Hmm. I thought my message was clear. :-(
I meant the price is too low.
Many Palm game programmers are going to be on
the street with a sign "will work for food." :-(

I went to the web site and read that there is no demo,
try, etc. Maybe I read it wrong.

ted

RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 5:39:49 PM #
I understood what you meant. I guess Aaron did not or was being sarcastic. What would be a good price to charge? $10? $12.50 $15 $20? ardiri.com is for the most part a hobbyist group. We mainly charge what our time is worth and so we have the ability to get new equipment and run the web-site. We're not in this full-time like some other Palm game companies. So our prices are typically lower than our competitors.
RE: hires+
ardiri @ 5/30/2002 6:09:19 PM #
I meant the price is too low.

woops.. i didn't read it like that :) my bad - the level packs are primarially images and configs.. nothing special in them really.. the freeware demo is something that has taken all our time to write :P it does, however, take some skill to generate some *hard* levels *g*

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/

RE: hires+
ardiri @ 5/30/2002 6:19:29 PM #
I went to the web site and read that there is no demo

http://www.ardiri.com/palm/lemmings/

you need to have the demo in order to use the level pack.

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/

RE: hires+
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 8:25:18 PM #
Thanks. I haven't used the demo before.
So I didn't understand the web well. Now I think
I get it.

As the price, I don't know. I just thought
you guys seem to price this game lower
than the game sw market, consider the quality of
your game.

ted

It is on the HS site?

twizza @ 5/30/2002 2:09:38 PM #
I find it interesting that the link that was given for the SanDisk card sits on the Handspring Site. Makes me think that HS has at least some concern for its new Treo 90 customers. That Palm Backup card was a bit over-hyped.
~twizza [bought a 32mb card and has BBVFS and didnt pay $50 for it]

RE: It is on the HS site?
Admin @ 5/30/2002 5:49:58 PM #
The card was launched in conjunction with the Treo 90, and Handspring appears to be the only place carrying it right now.
-Ryan
RE: It is on the HS site?
terrysalmi @ 5/30/2002 11:00:35 PM #
The SanDisk website carries it.

www.sandiskstore.com

Well... Yea?

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 2:05:08 PM #
"One of the conclusions reached, is that one in ten peoples' bank accounts could be accessed if they lost their PDA"

And 9 out of 10 people who lose their wallet/purse just lost A book of blank checks, ATM Cards and Credit cards... :)

justification?

ardiri @ 5/30/2002 3:30:40 PM #
i dunno guys, is there a reason why parens and mathpad are no longer available? developer doesn't want to program anymore? legal issues? yada yada? just an interesting thought.

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/
Went to work for the competition
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 4:52:30 PM #
He went to work for the competition, no need to keep his own calcs going. Instead work on their software, the program that is in Palm devices.
RE: justification?
ardiri @ 5/30/2002 6:25:54 PM #
He went to work for the competition, no need to keep his own calcs going. Instead work on their software, the program that is in Palm devices

ahhh.. could have open sourced it :) let someone continue the legacy :P i wouldn't be too sure of having him keep his job at the "new place" either in the state the market is in.. maybe we'll see a new release when the company cuts back employees :) [lets hope that never happens] :P

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/

Lemmings Licensing?

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 3:48:15 PM #

Um, just curious, how is ardiri.com selling Lemmings(R) without a license?

I thought for sure they had worked out a deal with Psygnosis (now owned by Sony, right?) but this line is still on ardiri.com:

"This website is in no way associated with DMA Design or Psygnosis. "Lemmings" is a trademark of Psygnosis and has been used on this website without permission but to recognise the original source of the game idea this software imitates. DMA Design, nor Psygnosis has not been involved in any way with the development of this software."

Clones are one thing (that ardiri.com has already been spanked for), but using a trademark and copyrighted artwork seems a bit much.

I'm just curious if there is a deal in place (if so, cool) or if ardiri.com is just collecting money until the letters start arriving from the lawyers (bummer).

IMA

RE: Lemmings Licensing?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 4:53:14 PM #
ardiri.com is NOT selling Lemmings. It is selling Lemmings "level packs", which are new artwork/data independent of the free game engine. ardiri.com is still seeking the license but these guys don't move very fast nor are they very well organized.
RE: Lemmings Licensing?
ardiri @ 5/30/2002 6:10:54 PM #
i'd like to clarify on this :)

lemmings.prc = freeware demo, contains specifically that we are interested in contacting the copyright/trademark owners to obtain a license to produce the *real* thing on pda's. right now, the lemmings demo doesn't have full functionality of the original game - but, its a freebie (ie: you dont pay for it) and, we were testing a game engine we have been writing.. we dont make any money on the lemmings program itself.

by popular demand, we did add functionality to the freeware demo to load custom level packs into it. these level packs contain no copyrighted information at all - and, are hand edited in photoshop or whatever using portions of background images which are publically available anywhere on the web (there was a lemmings level editor way back) :P

i myself, love lemmings.. and, writing it on the palm was a fun challenge.. beats doing some puzzle game :) there were a lot of hurdles we had to get by to get it working, and, the challenge was great (just like the challenge to write a gameboy emulator). you dont want to know what we got planned for ARM units *g*

ardiri.com is a hobbyist group - we dont make money (not enough to be fulltime at it) that is not our interest.. if we wanted to employ ourselves, we'd have a different approach. all proceeds from our software end up letting us travel to palmsource events to meet other developers, have a beer here and there and get some new hardware to make the games everyone wants. there is no real business model, and, we would happily shutdown tommorow if we needed/felt like it. we do palm stuff cause it is fun we all have fulltime (well paying) jobs elsewhere :)

// az
aaron@ardiri.com
http://www.ardiri.com/

RE: Lemmings Licensing?
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 8:34:11 PM #
I , as well as some of others here, do want to know
what you have planned for ARM units. :-)

Just half kidding. Hopefully you will have some great
games for ARM.

I assume the games on ARM would be much better
for Palms than the current ones. I think the day
soon will come that people would not mention gameboys
again when we talk about games on Palms.

ted

RE: Lemmings Licensing?
somas1 @ 5/30/2002 8:46:05 PM #
"you dont want to know what we got planned for ARM units *g*"

There was some talk about SEGA writing a game API for Palmsource. Just out of curiosity is this API useful/ are you using this API?

SEGA API
irwjager @ 5/31/2002 3:15:08 AM #
"There was some talk about SEGA writing a game API for Palmsource. Just out of curiosity is this API useful/ are you using this API?"

Nah, we can do better than that *g*
But seriously, we've got our own proven framework.
While it is convenient to have some general functions in the form of an API at your disposal, we like to be able tweak these to get the most out of the hardware.
Our most demanding games (Lemmings & the Deity3D engine) are the result of some pretty heavy low-level optimizing.

The API might be useful indeed to people who want to write less complicated games fast.
But for processor intensive games which use lots of sprites, must update the whole screen every frame or do complex 3D rotations you'd want to rely on our your own routines.

Ivo Jager
ivo@ardiri.com

Adios Parens

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/30/2002 6:17:55 PM #
The first shareware program I ever registered for my Palm, back when I had a Pilot Pro. And I still use it more than any other app 'cept the datebook and phonebook.

Sigh. I hate it when good things come to an end!

Mathpad gone...OH NO!...How to Register

I.M. Anonymous @ 5/31/2002 12:05:43 AM #
I have been using the trial of Mathpad for a few weeks. I have been programing my own formulas to make sure that it would meet my needs..and sure enough it does. I have been getting the reminders to register the program, and was going to do it next week...but now there does not seem to be a way to register it. Anyone have any recommendations on how to get this registered at this point now that it is discontinued, or am I stuck with a "ToDo" listing every time I use it.

Thanks,
Steve Charles
vision450@hotmail.com

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