Quickies: Labor Day, Sony, Leonardo, Agendus, ConduitPro, and More

Today is Labor Day, a national holiday in the U.S, and the PIC staff is taking a well-earned vacation. -Ed

Sony's Bluetooth Memory Stick PEGA-MSB1 will be available in Europe in mid-September for about 200 Euros ($200 US), according to the German newsite heise online. -Ralph

Sony has released a software update for the Memory Stick slots on some of its models. There are versions for the NR series and the T665C. According to Sony, "This update program resolves the issue where errors occur when accessing the Memory Stick media." -Andy Cheng

wirejunkie has released Leonardo 1.0, a vector-based drawing program. It allows the user to resize images to any dimensions with no loss of quality. It offers Line Tools, Auto Shape Tools, Variable Size Text and much more. Leonardo costs $25. wirejunkie is also working on Leonardo's Workshop, which will let users view and print Leonardo images from a desktop. Registered users of Leonardo will get this free. -PR

iambic has renamed Action Names Datebook to Agendus 5.3 and added a few new features and bug fixes. -John Mahala and others

cJAG Software has released cJAG ConduitPro, which allows users to control which conduits run at any given time. Users can disable conduits that need only run once a day. It is available for an introductory price of $16. -PR

Silkyboard II Virtual Edition from NOVASIB puts a virtual keyboard in the Graffiti area of the Samsung SPH-I300 and HandEra 330. It costs $30. -PR

PalmGSM.net has released the Clié Sounds Collection 1.0, a set of polyphonic alarm sounds for Sony models with the enhanced speaker. A set costs $10. -PR

3D Tennis by PDA3Dware.com is the "official" PDA game of US Open 2002 tennis tournament in New York (Aug. 26 - Sept. 8). The free version of the game is sponsored by American Express®. It is available for download at sportsiline.com and also is distributed through beaming kiosks at the court. -PR

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Down

Get some rest.

Strider_mt2k @ 9/2/2002 11:01:43 AM #
Happy Labor Day, PIC!
(Grab some rest, you've earned it.)



strider_mt2k@yahoo.com

Happy Labour day
PIC mobile user @ 9/2/2002 6:47:12 PM #
happy labour day,PIC you deserve a vacation

Leonardo

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 11:09:24 AM #
Leonardo is good. I was waiting for something like this for about a year... Finally I can make usable technical drawings (in vector format) on my Palm m515!!

MS too expensive.......

speed-angel @ 9/2/2002 11:37:49 AM #
If they don't start lowering the MS substantially to a point where people can actually think it is an accessory rather than a PDA (in terms of cost) I don't think it would sell.

RE: MS too expensive.......
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 12:35:49 PM #
I just picked up a 128mb memory stick for $48 before rebate....$38 after. Your right, they're wayyyyy to expensive......
RE: MS too expensive.......
Ronin @ 9/2/2002 1:39:43 PM #
I'm pretty sure he was referring to MS accessories like the camera and bluetooth module which, arguably, can cost as much as a Palm PDA.

Read in this light, he does indeed have a point. But I am not sure that it is exclusive to MS since the SD slot bluetooth card ain't cheap neither.

In the Spirit of Umoja,
Ronin

actually they're cheaper
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 2:17:19 PM #
i paid less for my 128Mb MS than for the 128 Mb CF for my camera
Sony=Expensive
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 2:29:40 PM #
$200.00, you could buy a *new* PDA for that kind of dough. It is encouraging though to see Sony actually spreading out the availability of the bluetooth stick. But we have to keep wondering when this will hit the United States. Despite Palm having faulty handhelds, they seem to have more value attached to them. Afterall, they do have the bluetooth card for sale and at around $100 dollars you can afford to buy some more accessories to go along, whereas with Sony you have to mortgage your CLIE in order to buy accessories. Forget you Sony, I recommend people just pass on the clie, unless you like Sony have control of your cash flow or lack ther of. Shame on you Sony.
RE: Sony=Expensive
big_raji @ 9/2/2002 2:50:57 PM #
I'm hoping that Sony's OS5 device will have built in bluetooth. It'll probably be cheaper for me to buy that device and sell my current clie than it would be to just buy the bluetooth stick.

If Sony doesn't release an OS5 device with bluetooth, I'll be switching to Palm's.

---
Wooo!

Read the article...then relate
speed-angel @ 9/3/2002 12:23:12 AM #
Actually Ronin is right that I am specifically talking about MS module. I am quite surprised that so many people just read the heading without going through their mind what is in the article and how it relates to the comments.

RE: MS too expensive.......
OzziePalmDieHard @ 9/3/2002 4:13:26 AM #
"Despite Palm having faulty handhelds, they seem to have more value attached to them. "

Lol, plz read Quickies. One of the headlines is,
"Sony fixes MS problem"

I'm no drone of either Palm or Sony, but you can't defend Clie against Palm in terms of faults.

Several Months Ago at Palm Headquarters;

"Hah! Those sony bastards think that they can beat us in stupid names. The Tungsten T is infinitely more ridiculous than "clie"....."

Bad Name in Action

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 11:51:34 AM #
Do you think that the reason for the renaming is because all the bad press iambic got over the whole DateBK5.COM domain debacle is hurting sales? Not too long ago they had discount on ActionNames, now it's being renamed altogether.

I know they lost at least one sale. I was going to buy AN but gave DateBK5 a second look. I must admit, if DateBK5 didn't "cut it", I wouldn't have bought it anyway, but as it turns out it was a better app for me. Lose, lose.

RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 12:04:46 PM #
Nah, the bad press was centered around Iambic, not Action Names. If they had renamed the company I'd think you were right. Maybe that's next.

It's because they aren't good at naming their products. First it was "ActionNames" but that didn't show that it was also a calendar app so they changed it to "Action names Datebook." That's way too long so now it is "Agendus." But that doesn't show it is also a address book. I expect it to be called "Agendus Addressbook" next.

Lets not forget Iambic's
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 12:41:16 PM #
I think the DateBk domain saga must have at least had some effect on their sales. For theose of you who had forgotten what they did, here's a link to refresh your memory:

http://home.cfl.rr.com/rmattes/iambic.htm

Interesting short quote from the above site: "Additionally, iambic is apparently engaged in a revenge campaign against companies that expressed disappointment in their domain-name incident conduct, no matter how courteously. They are also having a problem telling the truth about that as well."

RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 1:02:26 PM #
Really guys, move on. domain names are a business practice. People buy them purposely for what iambic used it for. yes, it's probably not right but what is there to do about it? At least the design of the programs are totally different, unlike the folks at M$ who took Apple's OS and put another pretty face on it. Plus, Iambic's commitment and support to their customers is far better. I bought Action Names when I had an Apple Newton (yes that long ago) and now I am running Agendus 5.3 on my palm m515, never having to pay for an upgrade
RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 1:59:25 PM #
"Plus, Iambic's commitment and support to their customers is far better."

You cannot be serious. As for Pimlico (Datebk), I've never seen a more committed developer than CESD. Anyone who sends him a support request or a feature suggestion gets a response within 24 hours. Upgrades are always free, too. Even in situations when people have asked borderline stupid questions, his enlightening responses demonstrate him to be a true gentleman.

Iambic, on the other hand, MIGHT get back to with support requests, but very often not. When they do see fit to return your message, it's almost invariably at least 3 days later, and the tone of their reponse is often condescending as hell. And when their own customers posted critical comments about their usurping the datebk domain, those messages were stricken and the posters were permanently banned from Iambic's forums. So much for commitment to the customer...

I've tried to stay out of the 'great domain debate' as much as possible. But I'm sorry, anyone who says that Iambic's support and customer commitment are better than Pimlico's must be Vidal's cousin.

RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 2:00:01 PM #
"Action Names" always sounded to me more like a contact list program than a datebook.
RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 2:34:19 PM #
I don't like the name "Agendus". It's sounds like a disease. "He caught a bad case of Agendus."

RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 8:19:36 PM #
Iambic sucks!
Need more be said?

RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 12:30:26 AM #
Have you tried ActionNames? If you haven't please do not type a bunch of BS about it. AN (Agendus) is far better than DB5 if you need to link your apts with a specific contact. I work in medical field, so every single apt. is linked to a specific patient. I can retrive their phone #, address, notes, etc very easily with AN but not with DB5.
RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 3:09:28 AM #
No comments about AN/Agendus, as I don't really know it very well. But have YOU tried DateBk5? I can certainly very easily link an appointment with a contact, or more than one if needed, or a todo, or a memo, or any combintaion of these... All with just a few taps. And with several options of logging the appointments in the contact's note field, or copying contact info in the appointment etc... As usual, DateBk4/5 is not lacking in features, but sometimes you have to find them. Reading the (well made) manual is eesential to get the most out of it.
RE: Bad Name in Action
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 1:20:42 PM #
I used AN awhile before being removed from their forum for asking if they actually did what they did to PimilcoSoftware. Great customer service there, showed what they are really made of.

You can link other appointments, contacts, todos, memos, just about whatever to an appointment in DtBk5. There is nothing that AN does that is greater than what DtBk5 does but there are many things DtBk5 does that are greater than AN.

RE: Bad Name in Action
Kwed @ 9/4/2002 4:42:47 AM #
Comparing AN/Agendus to DateBk5 is like comparing apples to oranges. While both are good at datebook and contact management, they set out to accomplish the task in different ways. One is the powertool while the other specializes in improving the necessities using a clean crisp interface.

While some people prefer a Super Leatherman, others are content with owning a good screwdriver. Which one is the better tool depends on what the user wants.

I run DateBk5, but I understand why people choose AN/Agendus.

Seems to fix my problems

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 3:16:57 PM #
Before my nr70 would crash whenever i would try to watch videos or listen to music. So far its been working quite well.
RE: Seems to fix my problems
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 7:55:33 PM #
Worked for about a day and a half for me, but now its back to the same old crap. I'm debating doing the paper fix or or having it fixed by sony and taking it to eBay.
RE: Seems to fix my problems
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 8:06:16 PM #
paper fix is awesome. No probs for > 1 month. If you had labels on it before take them off - gets a little tight.
RE: Seems to create NEW problems
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/4/2002 8:15:01 AM #
I installed the software fix. OK, immediately the MS would be "seen", which is kinda convenient... BUT, now, if I turn ON the device by tapping the Address book button or Datebook, after 20 seconds or so, the device decides to go looking for it's memory stick and then JUMPS from my current app out to the Launcher view of the MS /palm/launcher contents! Sheesh? THIS is a FIX??


Exchange rate is off

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 7:57:49 PM #
Actually the price of the MS Bluetooth would be USD $195
RE: Exchange rate is off
Ed @ 9/2/2002 8:46:08 PM #
You'll notice that most prices I quote are rounded a bit. I don't say something costs $99.99 and once I start talking about hundreds of dollars, I'll round a bit more. The actual figure for the MSB1 is $196.97, which is close enough to $200 for anyone who isn't totally uptight.

---
News Editor
RE: Exchange rate is off
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/2/2002 10:57:31 PM #
Go get 'em, Ed!

Silky Board for 330

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 9:54:43 AM #
Why buy?

Handera offers a free virtual keyboard that works great and it is (what is that imortant word?)

FREE!

Quote -

"HandEraKB

A software utility designed specifically for the HandEra 330 that allows you to configure and install an onscreen keyboard in the Graffiti® area. The keyboard translates user taps into keys for rapid text entry and also supports Graffiti strokes."

www.handera.com/support/downloads/Handerakb.zip

Stephen

Conduit Pro

seanhennessy @ 9/3/2002 11:45:38 AM #
Just tried Conduit Pro, and I have to say it's pretty nifty. One problem though. I wanted to create a sync where it just did installs and backed up the databases, but you have to include at least one conduit in the sync. Can't see why. Also you can't exclude install or the system backup. Strange. Otherwise really good, but I don't think I'll buy it.

RE: Conduit Pro
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 1:31:48 PM #
Try "QuikInstall" by QuikSense software (the dude that wrote WordSmith for the palm and QuikBudget). Any time you install apps, the next hotsync will only run the install conduit and the backup conduit. It shuts down the other conduits until the next sync. It might work well in conjunction with the cJAG stuff.
RE: Conduit Pro
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/3/2002 5:04:55 PM #
I can remove the one conduit requirement when creating groups and I will look at the install/backup options (disabling).

Steve Wehrmann
cJAG Software, Inc.

These downloads really helped my Sony NR70!

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/5/2002 2:09:16 AM #
Before the Mpeg player sounded too soft, now it is nice and loud!

It syncs better!

I would not have heard of these important changes without your website!

Thanks!!!

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