Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

I've got a Palm III. Every now and then I think about upgrading,
but I don't want to get a new Palm if it cannot read common file
formats such as TXT and HTML. Has the Palm OS progressed far
enough that it is able to read TXT files yet? Or do they still
need to be translated?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith wrote:
> I've got a Palm III. Every now and then I think about upgrading, but I
> don't want to get a new Palm if it cannot read common file formats such
> as TXT and HTML. Has the Palm OS progressed far enough that it is able
> to read TXT files yet? Or do they still need to be translated?

These file formats are supported by third party apps - Palm Fiction
http://palmfiction.sourceforge.net/ is free, open source, and will open
a heap of common formats including txt, ztxt and some html with no
conversion necessary. Video and audio formats don't require conversion,
either.

For html, though, I prefer to use sunrise/plucker combination which does
require conversion. There is a sunrise plugin for Firefox that makes
getting converted documents onto your Palm really easy.

For other weird formats vikao will handle lots of stuff but isn't as
convenient to use as conversion is necessary.

I had a Palm IIIxe for a while, and have never regretted upgrading to a
T3 as I'm continually finding more filetypes and applications are usable
with it; for example, TCPMP handles many common types of media files
effortlessly, I don't even have to convert files to a lower size or
bitrate before playing them, with slight overclocking TCPMP will play
VCD quality files without skipping frames.

I'd say that most common formats are supported, often not requiring any
conversion at all, and the remainder have good tools to deal with
conversion if necessary.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

>> I've got a Palm III. Every now and then I think about upgrading, but I don't want to get a new Palm if it cannot read common file formats such as TXT and HTML. Has the Palm OS progressed far enough that it is able to read TXT files yet? Or do they still need to be translated?
>
>
> These file formats are supported by third party apps - Palm Fiction http://palmfiction.sourceforge.net/ is free, open source, and will open a heap of common formats including txt, ztxt and some html with no conversion necessary. Video and audio formats don't require conversion, either.
>
> For html, though, I prefer to use sunrise/plucker combination which does require conversion. There is a sunrise plugin for Firefox that makes getting converted documents onto your Palm really easy.
>
> For other weird formats vikao will handle lots of stuff but isn't as convenient to use as conversion is necessary.
>
> I had a Palm IIIxe for a while, and have never regretted upgrading to a T3 as I'm continually finding more filetypes and applications are usable with it; for example, TCPMP handles many common types of media files effortlessly, I don't even have to convert files to a lower size or bitrate before playing them, with slight overclocking TCPMP will play VCD quality files without skipping frames.
>
> I'd say that most common formats are supported, often not requiring any conversion at all, and the remainder have good tools to deal with conversion if necessary.

Thanks for the response. It probably won't be long before I
upgrade, so the question is whether it should be a Palm or a
Windows version. I've always liked the simplicity of the Palm
interface, but its inability to simply load a TXT file and open it
with any reader has been one of its biggest drawbacks, since I use
my Palm mostly for reading e-books.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith <invalid@address.com> wrote:

> I've always liked the simplicity of the Palm
>interface, but its inability to simply load a TXT file and open it
>with any reader has been one of its biggest drawbacks, since I use
>my Palm mostly for reading e-books.

There are Palm readers that open txt files directly from the SD card that work
quite well. I use TiBR Pro. Another is ISilo. Also mentioned is the free
PalmFiction, but I have found a search function problem in it so don't use it
regularly. However one nice feature of PalmFiction is that it will convert a txt
file on the card to a pdb file in memory in seconds if you want to read it on
the Palm and remove the card.

I prefer to keep my books on one 1GB card (1000+ novels) and that way I can just
transfer the card when I change machines, and the books are still available. If
I transfer the reader history file my open books are all ready to go on the new
machine. Very handy...

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith wrote:
> Thanks for the response. It probably won't be long before I upgrade, so
> the question is whether it should be a Palm or a Windows version. I've
> always liked the simplicity of the Palm interface, but its inability to
> simply load a TXT file and open it with any reader has been one of its
> biggest drawbacks, since I use my Palm mostly for reading e-books.

I was on the same page as you when I decided to ditch my palmIIIxe and
go for the Ipaq. "For crying out loud?!? Why wouldn't a palm open a
standard format like txt," I wailed. I'll show them! I'll jump ship and
go to the more sensible Ipaq which does everything the palm does and
more... including reading standard MS formats as well as .txt.

Within a month I'd quit carrying my palmtop. What had once been a major
part of my work life had become slow, cumbersome, and the battery life
was laughable. I was disillusioned with the whole palmtop experience
then and it was a year or so before I put my toe in the waters again and
I went the palm route because I had better memories of it. It's back to
being indispensable again.

If you know someone that's gotta wince type device try and borrow it for
a week or so and see if you can get accustomed to just how SLOW it is
compared to the palm, and can stand being chained to an outlet because
the battery life just doesn't compare IMO.

Seriously, the palm to wince street is really crowded on the way back to
palm in my experience.

--
http://www.simplerich.com/blog

Read my book!!!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411617576/

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

>> Thanks for the response. It probably won't be long before I upgrade, so the question is whether it should be a Palm or a Windows version. I've always liked the simplicity of the Palm interface, but its inability to simply load a TXT file and open it with any reader has been one of its biggest drawbacks, since I use my Palm mostly for reading e-books.
>
>
> I was on the same page as you when I decided to ditch my palmIIIxe and go for the Ipaq. "For crying out loud?!? Why wouldn't a palm open a standard format like txt," I wailed. I'll show them! I'll jump ship and go to the more sensible Ipaq which does everything the palm does and more... including reading standard MS formats as well as .txt.
>
> Within a month I'd quit carrying my palmtop. What had once been a major part of my work life had become slow, cumbersome, and the battery life was laughable. I was disillusioned with the whole palmtop experience then and it was a year or so before I put my toe in the waters again and I went the palm route because I had better memories of it. It's back to being indispensable again.

Battery life is important to me, also. Right now I'm on
rechargeable AAA batteries. I've got two sets, charge up set two
when I install set one, then there's always a charged set ready. I
wouldn't really want a built in rechargeable battery that only
lasts an hour and a half. That's another big consideration.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith wrote:
> Battery life is important to me, also. Right now I'm on rechargeable
AAA
> batteries. I've got two sets, charge up set two when I install set one,
> then there's always a charged set ready. I wouldn't really want a built
> in rechargeable battery that only lasts an hour and a half. That's
> another big consideration.

A friend of mine had one of the wince types (not sure which one) and he
built an add on battery pack for it that took AA's and he'd use that
velcroed to the back... if he were I real man I told him he'd've used
duct tape, but that's not the point.

I considered it, but then remembered I fly a lot and didn't really think
I wanted some homemade wire and battery contraption floating around in
my luggage going through security lol.

--
http://www.simplerich.com/blog

Read my book!!!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411617576/

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith wrote:
>>> Thanks for the response. It probably won't be long before I upgrade,
>>> so the question is whether it should be a Palm or a Windows version.
>>> I've always liked the simplicity of the Palm interface, but its
>>> inability to simply load a TXT file and open it with any reader has
>>> been one of its biggest drawbacks, since I use my Palm mostly for
>>> reading e-books.
>>
>>
>>
>> I was on the same page as you when I decided to ditch my palmIIIxe and
>> go for the Ipaq. "For crying out loud?!? Why wouldn't a palm open a
>> standard format like txt," I wailed. I'll show them! I'll jump ship
>> and go to the more sensible Ipaq which does everything the palm does
>> and more... including reading standard MS formats as well as .txt.
>>
>> Within a month I'd quit carrying my palmtop. What had once been a
>> major part of my work life had become slow, cumbersome, and the
>> battery life was laughable. I was disillusioned with the whole palmtop
>> experience then and it was a year or so before I put my toe in the
>> waters again and I went the palm route because I had better memories
>> of it. It's back to being indispensable again.
>
>
> Battery life is important to me, also. Right now I'm on rechargeable AAA
> batteries. I've got two sets, charge up set two when I install set one,
> then there's always a charged set ready. I wouldn't really want a built
> in rechargeable battery that only lasts an hour and a half. That's
> another big consideration.

That, for me, was a real disincentive to upgrade from a IIIxe - I really
thought that replaceable NiMH batteries were the way to go, and almost
all recent devices use built in cells.

However, the T3 (and other modern Palms) offer so many advantages - many
of them will change the way you use your Palm - that in the end, it
really didn't matter. The T3's capabilities are astounding; a huge leap
ahead of earlier Palms (T1 and T2 included).

Having said that, battery life on my T3 is appalling, pretty much
requiring a recharge every one or two days, more often under heavy use
(especially multimedia; ebooks aren't so bad) and after 18 months the
battery capacity has deteriorated to about 50% of what benchmarks
measured when the T3 was new. I notice some others with T3s of similar
age to mine have commented on this.

I'll have to replace the onboard battery eventually, but to counteract
this meantime I've just bought a couple of Palm Power To Go sleds, and
I'm quite impressed with them so far. They seem to be a little hard to
find (especially here in NZ) but eXpansys have some pretty sharp pricing
on Palm stuff, and they ship worldwide. I figured that now will be the
best time to buy PTGs as Palm no longer seem to list them online, and
with the move away from the univeral connector, supplies of lots of UC
accesories are going to dry up.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

-=rjh=- <usually@mail.com> wrote:

>I'll have to replace the onboard [T3] battery eventually...

Why put up with a bad battery when a new one is only $30?

http://www.gethightech.com/Merchan [...] Code=_TUNG

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith <invalid@address.com> wrote:

>Battery life is important to me, also. Right now I'm on
>rechargeable AAA batteries...
>I wouldn't really want a built in rechargeable battery that only
>lasts an hour and a half.

Most modern Palms last around 4 hours unless you're doing some very heavy stuff
that your AAA model likely couldn't handle anyway...

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

AaronJ wrote:
> -=rjh=- <usually@mail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>I'll have to replace the onboard [T3] battery eventually...
>
>
> Why put up with a bad battery when a new one is only $30?
>
> http://www.gethightech.com/Merchan [...] Code=_TUNG

As I said, I'll replace it eventually, but in the meantime, there are
warranty issues to resolve.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

-=rjh=- <usually@mail.com> wrote:

>AaronJ wrote:
>> -=rjh=- <usually@mail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I'll have to replace the onboard [T3] battery eventually...
>>
>>
>> Why put up with a bad battery when a new one is only $30?
>>
>> http://www.gethightech.com/Merchan [...] Code=_TUNG
>
>As I said, I'll replace it eventually, but in the meantime, there are
>warranty issues to resolve.

A T3 still under warranty? I didn't realize that was possible or I wouldn't have
bothered with the suggestion. Sorry.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

AaronJ wrote:
> -=rjh=- <usually@mail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>AaronJ wrote:
>>
>>>-=rjh=- <usually@mail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I'll have to replace the onboard [T3] battery eventually...
>>>
>>>
>>>Why put up with a bad battery when a new one is only $30?
>>>
>>>http://www.gethightech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=GHT&Category_Code=_TUNG
>>
>>As I said, I'll replace it eventually, but in the meantime, there are
>>warranty issues to resolve.
>
>
> A T3 still under warranty? I didn't realize that was possible or I wouldn't have
> bothered with the suggestion. Sorry.

The unit has an extended warranty (3rd party, to 3 years) but I have to
resolve a couple of issues - is the battery covered? (I doubt it, but it
might be). If *I* replace the battery, is the unit still covered? (I
doubt it, too).

The PTG gives me a continuous running time of about 8.5 hours, so is
worthwhile in itself, aside from the T3 battery issues.

Some retailers here are still selling T3s new, as clearance products;
they are a good deal.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

>>Battery life is important to me, also. Right now I'm on
>>>rechargeable AAA batteries...
>>>I wouldn't really want a built in rechargeable battery that only
>>>lasts an hour and a half.
>
>
> Most modern Palms last around 4 hours unless you're doing some very heavy stuff
> that your AAA model likely couldn't handle anyway...

Yes, but for me the trouble would be downtime. If I'm reading a
novel (as I usually do on my Palm -- I seldom read paper books
anymore) and I'm in the middle and the built-in battery runs out,
I don't want to have to wait an hour or whatever until it charges
up again. I wonder if the latest Palms have transformers you can
plug into the wall? I must do some research on the Palm site.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith <invalid@address.com> wrote:

>Yes, but for me the trouble would be downtime. If I'm reading a
>novel (as I usually do on my Palm -- I seldom read paper books
>anymore)

I've now logged over a 100 novels on the small screen. I'm also hooked.

>and I'm in the middle and the built-in battery runs out,
>I don't want to have to wait an hour or whatever until it charges
>up again.

That would take pretty poor planning. If you leave the Palm on the charger
overnight you will have a full charge in the morning. That's about 4 hours
reading. I usually read about 2 hours a day so never even come close to a
battery problem. BTW having read a large percentage of those novels on a mono
screen I can tell you that a high resolution (320x320 or better) color screen is
a fantastic improvement. Your eyes will thank you.

> I wonder if the latest Palms have transformers you can
>plug into the wall?

Get a model that comes without a cradle. My Tungsten E and Zire 72 are such
models. With these the charger cord plugs directly into the Palm. This set up
allows you to read while you charge (that is if your battery planning is that
poor...

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Al Smith wrote:
>>> Battery life is important to me, also. Right now I'm on
>>>
>>>> rechargeable AAA batteries... I wouldn't really want a built in
>>>> rechargeable battery that only lasts an hour and a half.
>>
>>
>>
>> Most modern Palms last around 4 hours unless you're doing some very
>> heavy stuff
>> that your AAA model likely couldn't handle anyway...
>
>
> Yes, but for me the trouble would be downtime. If I'm reading a novel
> (as I usually do on my Palm -- I seldom read paper books anymore) and
> I'm in the middle and the built-in battery runs out, I don't want to
> have to wait an hour or whatever until it charges up again. I wonder if
> the latest Palms have transformers you can plug into the wall? I must do
> some research on the Palm site.

If you are spending any significant time reading a Palm, you really
should upgrade to a later model - the difference in readability in
almost any lighting conditions is *huge*. And, having a 480x320 screen
doesn't hurt, either. I read a lot - mostly Plucker - and I just
couldn't go back to reading on a monochrome Palm now.

As far as charging options are concerned, there are many Palm1 and 3rd
party accessories available, I have 2 powered cradles, 1 mains charging
cable, 2 USB sync/charging cables - 1 of these has a automotive 12v->USB
adapter, and 2 PTG sleds. And an emergency charger, which is pretty well
useless. Have a look at http://www.expansys.com to get a good overview
of what is available.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

>>Yes, but for me the trouble would be downtime. If I'm reading a
>>>novel (as I usually do on my Palm -- I seldom read paper books
>>>anymore)
>
>
> I've now logged over a 100 novels on the small screen. I'm also hooked.
>
>
>>>and I'm in the middle and the built-in battery runs out,
>>>I don't want to have to wait an hour or whatever until it charges
>>>up again.
>
>
> That would take pretty poor planning. If you leave the Palm on the charger
> overnight you will have a full charge in the morning. That's about 4 hours
> reading. I usually read about 2 hours a day so never even come close to a
> battery problem. BTW having read a large percentage of those novels on a mono
> screen I can tell you that a high resolution (320x320 or better) color screen is
> a fantastic improvement. Your eyes will thank you.
>

I often read longer than four hours at a stretch. If I'm into a
good novel, I might read eight or ten hours, but usually not more
than five or six hours a day. Two charges of my AAA batteries will
do a novel for me.

>
>>> I wonder if the latest Palms have transformers you can
>>>plug into the wall?
>
>
> Get a model that comes without a cradle. My Tungsten E and Zire 72 are such
> models. With these the charger cord plugs directly into the Palm. This set up
> allows you to read while you charge (that is if your battery planning is that
> poor...

I was on the palm site and checked out all the models. The Zires
seem the best since they don't have wireless, which I don't need.
If I can charge and read at the same time, that would work.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

>> Yes, but for me the trouble would be downtime. If I'm reading a novel (as I usually do on my Palm -- I seldom read paper books anymore) and I'm in the middle and the built-in battery runs out, I don't want to have to wait an hour or whatever until it charges up again. I wonder if the latest Palms have transformers you can plug into the wall? I must do some research on the Palm site.