GPRS Madness

Palm m515
My first goal was to establish a GPRS connection via Bluetooth using Nokia 6021 and Palm m515. This took longer than expected since it took me ages to figure out what I was doing wrong while the solution was obvious. Every time I tried to establish a connection to the phone, the phone kept asking me whether I wanted to allow remote SIM access. I should have known this wasn't right the first time I saw the message! After browsing through dozens of websites it finally dawned on me. The m515 was trying to access the SIM card! Unfortunately Palm hasn't made drivers for 6021 so you can't send/recieve SMS or dial via Bluetooth. You can however use GPRS. All I had to do was choose 'Modem' instead of 'Phone' in the connection properties and add a connection string and it worked! A guide with screenshots is in the making.

HP Jornada 728
Setting up a GPRS connection via IrDA using the above mentioned phone and the Jornada 728 was simple thanks to this step-by-step guide from HP: HP Jornada 720 - Setting up a GPRS Connection.

HPC Battery Test

Since I'm travelling to Portugal soon and my Jornada 728 is coming with me, I decided to test its battery. I did that by playing an m3u playlist over and over. The result was close to 6 and a half hours of playtime while the screen was off about two thirds of the time. I'm quite happy with the result although the testing method may not be the most accurate one.

Palm m515 review

After a week's use, here's my impression of the Palm m515.

Appearance
At just 11.38 x 7.70 x 1.27cm this PDA is smaller than my wallet and only weighs 139 grams. As such it's probably still one of the smallest PDAs out there. You can put it in your pocket and after a while forget it's even there. The screen is a 160x160 pixel backlit color display and unsurprisingly seems dim compared to modern PDA devices. However, it's viewable indoors as well as outdoors even with the backlight off.



Software
The Palm m515 comes with Palm OS 4.1 preinstalled which includes all those nifty apps like To-Do List, Calendar, Memos, Address Book etc. For additional software you'll have to search the Net. I suggest you try http://freewarepalm.com/ for starters. So far I only installed Eudora Internet Suite 2.1 which is freeware and it works great with my GPRS enabled phone. Haven't tried the Eudora browser yet but at 160x160 I don't expect it to be of much use with regular web pages.

Connectivity
As far as connectivity goes the Palm m515 only offers IrDA and USB cradle/cable out of the box. For Windows XP I strongly recommend you install Palm Desktop 4.1 which will help you sync with the PC. You will also need it to install software and drivers. While IrDA is OK for syncing, it's unbelievably slow when it comes to installing applications. It took me about 20 minutes to install EIS and this is simply unacceptable. I believe using the cradle to do this would be a much faster option but I haven't tested it yet.

Peripherals
Thankfully the m515 has an SD/MMC slot which accepts memory cards and Palm BT card. It's unknown to me whether or not you can use the Palm WiFi card with this particular model but my guess is no. At the moment the slot in my unit is occupied by a 32 MB Palm SD card. I also ordered a Palm BT card recently so I can pair it with my phone when I need Internet access and don't want to use IrDA. The Palm Portable Keyboard provides a surprisingly comfortable alternative to Grafiti input especially when you need to write longer texts.

Battery and Conclusion
Considering the fact I bought a used unit, I must say I'm quite happy with the battery. When fully charged it lasts about 3 hours on full brightness. The m515 uses minimum power while switched off and it can be left turned off for days without the fear of losing your data. I usually charge mine once or twice a week, depending on how much I use it.

To make a long story short, I'm very happy with what I've got. Built-in Bluetooth would be great but hey, you can't have it all!

Palm m515

As my IBM WorkPad C3 recently suffered a complete battery failure and I needed a replacement, I went hunting on eBay. For 37€ I bought a pretty nice Palm m515, a leather case and a wallet, a 32 MB Palm SD card, DataViz Office 6 and a Palm foldable keyboard. All in all not a bad deal and it all seems to work fine.

Video: Hug a Developer Today

Flea Market Finds #6

Yesterday I picked up an external ZX Spectrum keyboard and two Game & Watch games (Mario Bros, Donkey Kong II - boxed). It would seem I should have picked up the Spectrum as well because I'm missing two flat cables that go from the edge connector to the mainboard keyboard connectors. It's pointless thinking about it now because the Speccy was sold less than an hour after I bought the keyboard. I will obviously have to produce the cables myself although I have no idea how I'm going to connect them to the mainboard. Soldering the cables directly to the motherboard is out of the question. Tried googling for more info on the keyboard with no success.

Future Projects

IBM Model M keyboard mod is finished although I'm not quite happy with the result, I now have other things on my mind.

• Newton keyboard mini-DIN to DB9 adapter (Jornada, Palm, Revo compatible)
• connect an IBM LPFK to a modern PC (already been done by Mike Brutman)
• add a 2x20 backlit LCD display to my HP workstation
• further improve the Model M mod to make it all fit better
  

IBM WorkPad C3

My new toy is an old PDA, IBM WorkPad C3, which is basically just a rebadged Palm Vx. I have yet to find a use for this handheld however, that shouldn't be much of a problem considering there's still plenty of software avaliable for download. If everything else fails, I can use it as an auxiliary LCD display for my PC using PalmOrb.

Pros:
+ excellent display
+ small & lightweight
+ responsive
+ vast software library
+ long battery life

Cons:
- only IrDA and serial
- no memory expansion
- unusual backlight

EDIT:
Needs a new battery.

IBM Model M modding

I recently bought a Model M that was used in a smoking environment. After I washed the keyboard it was obvious that the cable still carries a strong unpleasant odor so I decided to change it with the one from a non-functional Model M. To make it more interesting I decided the cable has to be removable. Since my soldering skills are poor the mod itself will be done by a friend of mine, Sandor.

Part list:
1 x PS/2 cable
1 x female RJ45 PCB connector
1 x male RJ45 cable connector
dremel tool for drilling holes
soldering iron
crimping tool

A tutorial should follow shortly.

The Ultimate Keyboard #2

Last week I wrote about rubber-dome keyboards, why they're so popular and how it used to be. To an average user it may seem that clicky keyboards are no more but fortunately for us, it isn't so. There's a number of companies that still design and make clicky keyboards, most of which now use Cherry micro switches. So, who's still in the market?

• Unicomp - IBM keyboards reborn
  
• CVT - Northgate OmniKey keyboards reborn
  
• iOne - Scorpius M10
  
• Das Keyboard
  
• Deck
  
• Diatec
• SteelSeries
  

As you can see, there's plenty to choose from. The only problem is, most of them are in the > $100 range. If I had to decide for myself, I'd get a Unicomp Customizer 101 or a CVT Avant Prime. Why? Well, based on my experience with the Model M, I'd say that Unicomp gives you the most value for your money ($69 for a Customizer 101) and it's the only maker I know of that still uses buckling spring technology. On the other hand, CVT Avant Prime is also a wonderful keyboard (rebranded Northgate OmniKey) with the possibility of macro programming (stores macros internally in a PROM chip). You can also buy brand new (old stock) IBM Model M's for about the same price as the Customizer from clickykeyboards.com :-)

So, what IS The Ultimate Keyboard? Actually, I have no universal answer to that question. It all depends on your personal needs, taste and financial ability. For me, a used IBM Model M is all I need to be happy. They're still quite easy to come by at the local flea market and only cost a fraction of a brand new keyboard. The only thing better than an IBM Model M is the IBM Space Saver which is basically a Model M minus the NumPad. End.