TamsPPC - the PocketPC Blog

Microsoft recently announced its quarterly bilances - in case you are looking for the full report, it is available here. A few additional juicy news bits have been thrown in for your convenience - enjoy!

Windows Mobile growth
Microsoft itself states that

Mobile and embedded devices revenue increased $30 million or 21% in Q4 driven by sales growth in Windows Mobile software and Windows Embedded operating systems.

. However, since Microsoft treats the Windows Mobile division as part of a department called EDD(they also do the infamous XBOX 360), the numbers given herein are not really significant.

Windows 7
The German news service heise.de received official confirmation that Microsoft is working on a Vista successor(uh-oh). The product is currently codenamed Windows 7 and is planned to ship “three years after the competition” of Vista.

Windows Vista
While Vista’s market share is increasing slowly but surely(approx 4% according to InformationWeek), Acer has officially attacked Microsoft about Vista in the german edition of Financial Times. The manufacturer says that Vista is the “weakest” release from Microsoft ever, and states that he considers stability a major problem.

Overall, things seem to look well for Windows Mobile. What do you think?

Dear Readers,
in case you are wondering what happened to TamsS60, the blog about Series 60 phones…yes, it has been a bit dead recently due to heat and bad health. However, I think that the worst now lays behind me, and that it’s time to kick it for good!

Expect daily updates for TamsS60 from now on.

If you own a Symbian phone(as second device, maybe); there is no reason not to head over to TamsS60…even if you “just want to use it as modem…like I did with the SX1 :)”!

Nowadays, all PocketPC’s support ClearType rendering. ClearType is Microsoft’s name for sub-pixel rendering, a technology that makes text appear “smoother” by using a specific property of LCD displays. However, ClearType usually works only in portrait mode - while a hack is available for enabling landscape mode, I think that this usually doesn’t pay out.

In order to understand why I’m skeptical, we need to take a deeper look at how LCD screens actually work. Feel free to follow me along(yes, the figures are hand-drawn; nope, they can’t be given away…they already have a new owner):

First of all, here, we see a LCD screen(2×2 pixel only). As you can see, it is made up of pixels(points), who are then made up of so-called sub-pixels. A sub-pixel is like a small red, green or blue bulb that can be dimmed in steps. Now, a pixel consists of one R, G and B subpixel; together, they can create every color:

Now, a regular LCD would render a line from left bottom to top right as shown below. If the pixels are big enough, a “step” effect will be visible:

And this is where ClearType locks in(explanation simplified). The program enables sub-pixels adjacent to the line(shown in blue) and possibly also dims corresponding sub-pixels at the other side in order to make the steps less prominent:

So, a line that goes mostly perpendicular to the sub-pixel grid(horizontal) and has just a light slant to the left or the right, benefits a lot from ClearType(look at the average font…most lines are vertical). A line that goes parallel to the sub-pixel grid doesn’t benefit at all.

As said before, most fonts are made up of entirely vertical lines. In portrait mode, the sub-pixel grid is horizontal. Thus, most lines do benefit. However, once your PocketPC is in landscape mode, the sub-pixel grid AND most of the lines are arranged. In landscape mode, ClearType can’t do much, as most of the lines can’t really be optimized. Thus, Microsoft chose to disable the feature…probably to save CPU performance…

Now that we have the physical and electronics background, please let me know what you think! Do you like ClearType’s output when in landscape mode?

iambic’s recently-released Agendus for PocketPC can automatically match its language to your PocketPC’s ROM. While this is good for most of us, people like me(with a german ipaq) are not happy about it.

Luckily, changing the Agendus language is easy. Open Agendus, Click Preferences, Open the Menu of the new form and click All Views. A screen similar to the one below will be shown:

The toggle on the very bottom lets you choose the language. Close Agendus in the Task Manager and restart it to activate your choice!

It’s the 20th of the month. 20 apps are a lot. 20% off each of them is cool. Enjoy!

CEdit
CEdit is SrcEdit for PocketPC - edit source code files and Visual Studio projects on the go!

Resco Audio Recorder
Resco Audio Recorder - record MP3, OGG,… on the go! Leave the voice recorder at home!

Resco Explorer
Resco Explorer, the king of Palm OS file managers…for PocketPC!

SPB Fullscreen Keyboard
Enter large amounts of data easily using SPB’s must-have utility, Fullscreen Keyboard!

SPB Wallet
SPB Wallet - keep your passwords and personal data safe!

Use the discount code 20TH in the TamsShop at checkout to get 20% off! And better hurry up - the game is over on the 22nd!

Hey! These aren’t 20! Right - visit TamsPalm for the rest!

Proporta has a long history of providing all kinds of hardware accessories for all kinds of mobile devices ranging from laptops to digital cameras - PDA’s, smartphones and mobile phones included! Propora’s aluminium-leather cases always were among my favorites for mobile devices…let’s see if their case for the rx1900/h4100 can stack up!

Proporta’s products ship in big white envelopes with standard mail from Great Britain. The envelopes get beaten up a bit sometimes, but the contents always arrived in mint condition so far:

The case itself ships in Proporta’s standard blister. The case contains a belt clip to protect it from getting pressed together in the shipping process. I never liked belt clips though…so treat this as “for-reference-only”:

Inserting the ipaq is simple - lay the case on a flat surface and slide the ipaq in from the top. The clamps hold the ipaq very firm - once the ipaq is in, it probably won’t move one bit. Don’t attempt to push the ipaq in from the bottom(or push it “through” the case)…as these ipaqs get thicker from bottom to top, you could damage both clamps and ipaq:

Here are a few pictures of the ipaq in its case - the case offers space for two SD cards and a bit of paper. Closing the clamp takes a bit of practice at first, but once you grasp the concept behind it, you’re set to go:

Proporta’s leather cases have always allows you to flip the lid to the back. This really simplifies using the ipaq - and wasn’t omitted from this case:

The SD slot, stylus dock and headphone jack are accessible from the top of the case., Getting to the stylus can be a bit tricky at times…you need to bend the back of the case a bit:

The sync port at the bottom can be accessed, too:

When the case is open, the clamps to not obstruct the reset button or the recording knob of the loaner h4150. Audio playback doesn’t get distorted either:

Overall, if you need a case for your h4100 or rx1900, this case should satisfy you. While it may not protect your ipaq from getting its sides scratched by coins in your pocket, Proporta’s aluminium-leather case offers excellent protection from pressure, drops and most other every-day scratches. Its every-day usability(flip-back lid) makes this case type my personal favorite for all of my mobile devices - the price of 35$ is more than justified!

Welcome back to the TamsPPC article on Linux for the ipaq h41xx - in case you missed the first post with installation instructions, please find it here. Anyways, this article assumes that you have installed Linux as outlined in the first part and have reset your handheld into Windows CE once again. Now, follow the following steps:

Step 1 - Back up your data
Running an already-installed Linux onto your ipaq flushes the RAM of the machine(Linux needs it to work). So, please back up all the data on your PocketPC before attempting any of the steps below! Your data WILL BE LOST!

Step 2 - Prepare to boot
As you did in the first step, make sure that you can allocate at least 50 MB of program memory(worst case: hard reset your ipaq). Then, use file manager to go to /linux/ on the memory card from before…and run the haret program from there(not from /linux/rescue)! The ipaq’s screen will fade to grey or to random data:

Step 3 - machine booting
After that, the ipaq will do what all Linux boxen do - display weird bootup prompts. The errors over the “Familiar” image look bad, but the ipaq gets over them in approximately one to two minutes:

Step 4 - get over the basics
Once bootup is complete, Linux will ask you to calibrate your touchscreen by tapping the crosshairs:

After that, a root user and a normal user needs to be created. Linux is a multiuser operating system…and as that, it usually has at least two users configured. The root user is present on all machines; he is the only one who can change system settings(DON’T LOOSE THE PASSWORD). The user is the account that you will use every day:

Step 5 - log in
When the setup is complete(it can “hang” for up to a minute between steps), use the screen shown below to log into your ipaq with the user data created before:

After having logged in, a screen similar to the one below will pop up:

If you see the screen above, you’ve made it - Linux is up and running. The next parts will look at everyday usability…tune in soon!

Further reading:
Linux
Superuser

HP’s ipaq handhelds have been capable to “run” Linux long before ports for other platforms(e.g. Palm OS or Siemens SX1) began to emerge. However, somewhat running and running a productive Linux are two entirely different things - let’s see how the h4150 Linux port fares!

Step 1 - back up your PocketPC’s RAM
Installing Linux onto your ipaq flushes the RAM of the machine(Linux needs it to work). So, please back up all the data on your PocketPC before attempting any of the steps below! Your data WILL BE LOST!

Also, your memory card’s partition table will be modified seriously - so better use an old memory card(I used a 128MB MiniSD card) that has at least 64MB of memory free.

Step 2 - install the files
Create a folder /linux in the root folder of your memory card(NOT in the RAM or ipaq file store). Below that, create a folder /rescue. Then, put the following files into /linux/rescue(mirrored here(single zip archive) for your convinience):
custom.txt
gpe-image-v0.8.4-h4000-1.rootfs.tar.bz2
haret.exe
ramdisk-rescue-0.6.3-r361.rootfs.ext2.gz
startup.txt
zImage-2.6.16-hh7-h4000-20060920151019

After that, hardreset your ipaq h4150 to free up the RAM. Open Settings and allocate at least 50MB of program RAM.

Step 3 - run HaRET, load RamdiskRescue
Now, use File Manager to run Haret in /linux/rescue. The program will boot up Linux and will start RamdiskRescue. There, choose Install Linux and choose the source and target mediums(just choose the SD Card twice) with the 5way.

After having chosen the target medium, the ipaq should best be left alone for an hour or so, while cryptic messages like the ones in the picture below scroll over its screen. The ipaq will repartition the memory card and will unpack Linux files to the EXT2 partition it creates - this alone took an hour on our machine.

Once the copying is finished, the ipaq will announce this with a voice message and will display an image similar to the one below:

Step 4 - hardreset the unit once again
Now, hard-reset the unit once again to get back to Windows CE. You will then launch Linux from there.

Tune in soon to find out more about the first booting process of your ipaq!

Further reading:
installation howto
HaRET info
RamdiskRescue info

Use the code CHEAPRECORDER to get 20% off Resco Audio recorder at the TamsShop

Handhelds have had audio recording capabilities for quite some time. However, they all were limited to recording audio in formats that either required loads of storage space or were impossible to use on the desktop. Resco’s Audio recorder can record MP3 and OGG files…can it stack up?

The program has very clean interface. The list shows all the files on the machine, the buttons are used for starting the recording process. The bar on the left side of the button serves as a ‘volume indicator’, showing the volume of the incoming audio signal:

The format of the output data can be chosen easily in the menu(5 presets):

If more control is needed, the presets can also be customized(format and audio encoding). The images below show a few of the possible formats:

Resco Audio recorder can record to both internal memory and an external memory card. The program can also turn the PocketPC’s screen off while recording:

Most audio recorders fail when a variety of speakers must be recorded, as their voices are differently loud. Resco audio Recorder contains a “Gain control” mode that guarantees more-less constant volume under such circumstances…altough it can slightly increase noise:

This review looked at version 4.0.0 of Resco Audio recorder on a hp ipaq rx4240. The program was very stable in the reviewing period and showed no weird behavior whatsoever even when run from a memory card.

Overall, if you record voice with your PocketPC, get this program by all means. The direct MP3 export alone is such a time saver that the 20$ are well invested. Resco Audio Recorder’s additional features make this an almost-perfect voice recorder that you definitely don’t want to miss!

Fedor Ezhov from SPB Software has just sent me the following list of templates. These are all included with SPB Wallet:

Cards: Calling Card
Cards: Frequent Flyer Account
Cards: ID Card
Cards: ISIC Card
Cards: ITIC Card
Cards: Library Card
Cards: Membership
Cards: Social Security Card
Cards: Voter Card
Computers: Email Account
Computers: Hosting
Computers: Internet Settings
Computers: Network
Computers: Online Shopping Account
Computers: Password
Computers: Server
Computers: Software Serial Number
Computers: Voice Mail Codes
Computers: Web Site
Credit Card
Credit Card: American Express
Credit Card: Cirrus
Credit Card: Dinners Club
Credit Card: Discover
Credit Card: Maestro
Credit Card: MasterCard
Credit Card: VISA
Family: Clothes Size
Family: Dining Delivery
Family: Dining Restaurant
Family: Emergency Number
Family: Garage Door
Family: Home Services
Family: Insurance Policy
Family: Pet
Family: Security System
Finances: Bank Account
Finances: Investment/Stock
Finances: Loan/Mortgage
Other: Event
Other: Note/File
Other: Serial Number
Other: Warranty
Personal: Car
Personal: Cellular Phone
Personal: Combination Lock
Personal: Contact
Personal: Contact Lenses/Glasses
Personal: Driver License
Personal: Exercise
Personal: Passport
Personal: Personal Insurance
Personal: Prescription
Traveling: Car Rental
Traveling: Flight Detail
Traveling: Ground Transportation
Traveling: Hotel Reservation
Traveling: Travel Visa
Traveling: Travelers Cheque

If you miss a template, just leave a comment here. SPB Software reads TamsPPC - so leave a comment here and it will probably get added to V2 of SPB Wallet!

This is just a quick ping for all PDA/smartphone and eletronica music freaks in Vienna who feel like linking up with /me.

I will be attending the Chemical Brothers performance in Vienna on the 4/7/07 together with my longtime companion. The concert starts at 20.00 local time in the vienniese Arena.

We would be more than happy to see you there - just send us an email to Tamog@gmx.at if you plan to come! If you can’t attend(but still like the chemical brothers), we will have loads of launcher backgrounds for you tomorrow!

When one hears the word wallet, one usually thinks of a program to manage your personal finances(and not of a password manager). Many people will thus overlook SPB’s just-released password/credential manager…which is a pitty. Read on to find out why…

After starting SPB Wallet for the first time, the program asks you to create a new wallet. A wallet is like an encrypted ‘folder’, in which privileged data can be saved.

The program does an excellent job in helping you choose a password; a hint can be stored too:

A ‘wallet’ contains so-called cards, which then contain one or more fields with the data. Cards can be structured in folders, they can be traversed in iconic and tree view:

Each card’s layout is dependent on a so-called template, it specifies the contained fields and the graphical appearance of the card. The images below show SPB’s credit card template:

SPB Wallet ships a load of templates covering most areas of life - I tried to get a list off templates from SPB, and will post it once it arrives(update: the list is here). Should you ever need a template not contained in the program, fear not - creating custom templates is easy:

Wallets lock themselves after a predefined time. SPB’s default time is 30min, which I personally consider too long. However, changing this value in the prefs is easy:

Last but not least, the program also contains a password creator:

This review looked at a prerelease version of SPB Wallet on a hp ipaq rx4240. The product was very stable in the whole reviewing period; it costs 29.95$ and is available in the TamsShop!

Overall, SPB Wallet is a very well-done password manager with a huge loads of functions. Grasping the concept of wallets, cards and templates takes a bit of time; but once this is done, using the program is very easy. Get the trial by all means, and see if it suits you - a review covering all aspects of the program would have 20 pages or so…

It’s vacation time finally…time to chill out, relax and have fun! For me, vacation time always means looking at loads and loads of new apps for my handhelds - after all, nothing beats a few rounds of a cool game after work.

Anyways, the discount code HOLIDAYTIME gets you 20% off all Palm OS and PocketPC software in the TamsShop for a week from now - have great fun shopping!