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Palm networking via IrDA

Palm wireless networking via IrDA (MacOSX Hints) – I use the following AppleScript to share my broadband internet connection with my USB-attached irDA adapter. This allows my Palm to use my network connection so I can sync AvantGo (modem sync) and download emails directly. [Mac Net Journal]

Very close to getting this to work… seems a bit tricky actually, but worth it if, I can finally let me sync some of my network apps at work (no wifi yet).

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TREO 600

One problem I am having is that while the phone runs Palm OS 5 it runs at a resolution of 160×160 not 320×320 like most OS 5 devices. Most applications re-written for OS currently expect that hi-res display as well and don’t run on the Treo. Using the lower res version usually doesn’t work as those seem to be coded to assume low res=OS 3 or 4. My solution was to use older versions that I had archived that could support color and 160×160 but that isn’t the answer for most folks. I bring this up in context here but this is really about PalmSource needing to take control of APIs and define them so developers are not constantly chasing a moving target.

[Michael Gartenberg]

Not good… hopefully things will get resolved soon.

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Jury Duty

I was “selected” (had no choice) to be on a Grand Jury panel for the next month! I have to report from 10-1 each day through November 3.

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Spam Interceptor

Spam Interceptor is a perfect blend of anti-spam technology. You can choose between heuristic filters, authentication, white lists, gray lists, black lists, or any combination! [Spam Interceptor]

It’s a currently free (lite version / $10yr for full) web based spam filter. Spam scores are based on Spam Assassin… looks good, but currently does not support IMAP.

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RFID in the Library

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—A civil liberties watchdog group is expressing concern over the San Francisco Public Library’s plans to track books by inserting computer chips into each tome.
Library officials approved a plan Thursday to install tiny radio frequency identification chips, known as RFIDs, into the roughly 2 million books, CDs and audiovisual materials patrons can borrow. The system still needs funding and wouldn’t be ready until at least 2005. [eWeek]

An interesting thought for RFID, something I personally did not even think of, but seems to make a great deal of sense considering how you can use RFIDs to manage inventory. I guess we’ll have to wait to see if privacy groups get in the way…

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You won’t be hearing me now

So it’s Friday and as usual Business Week arrived and I paged right to Stephen H. Wildstrom’s tech page. This week he gives the latest PTT (Push to Talk) tech to test and finds as expected (yet not marketed) Verizon’s system sucks. As I previously mentioned, Nextel has a serious technology advantage:

Verizon’s push-to-talk superficially works like Nextel’s. But it takes 10 to 15 seconds after you push the button to establish a connection, something Nextel phones do almost instantaneously. More annoying, there’s a delay of at least five seconds after you speak before the person on the other end hears what you’ve said. The result is a painful pause each time one person finishes speaking. [Business Week]

Why would this even get released?? 10-15 seconds for an initial connect and 5 seconds each time you try to talk afterwards? I bet there will be many customers who either buy and never use the service, or who immediately cancel based on how impossible it would be to have a conversation.

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Lotus Notes is bringing me down…

Today has been a serious challenge for me to deal with work email. Lotus Notes has been acting up in an out of control fashion using upwards of 80% of my CPU at times. Average lag between click and action is about 45 seconds lasting upwards of a few minutes. Basically I can’t do jack at my computer if Notes is on. Webmail via any Mac browser is a minimal experience and actually fairly difficult to use. I’ve moved myself into a conference room so at least I get get mail via the PC webmail/iNotes client which is a bit richer, but still not the same as the actual software. No idea what the deal is… It is apparently something pretty major on either the network or the Notes server itself.

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BlogPlanet

With BlogPlanet, updating your blog while you’re on the go is as easy as writing an SMS. It runs on your mobile and lets you write new blog entries, send them to your blog, edit them afterwards and delete them. On top of that, you can take pictures with the mobile’s built-in camera and include them in your posts. [BlogPlanet]

Now I just to get the Treo 600 and I’ll be all set to MoBlog – especially now that Palm released the official Java Runtime.

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Voice over WiFi

With a high-quality sound and a cheap price, Gulabani thinks the SymPhone software will transform the way phone calls are made. Some big name investors tend to agree.

Today, Intel, Siemens Venture Capital, Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, Bay Partners and Northwest Venture Associates plan to pump $12.5 million into the Bellevue company at a higher valuation than the previous round. Total financing now stands at $18 million. [Venture Capital: Wi-Fi voice calls may be next killer application]

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My Dock

So the latest mac blog rave is to post your doc thanks to an O’Reilly article featuring some prominent mac users and their docks…

Here’s mine:

I am currently keeping the following in case you don’t recognize some icons:
iChatAV, Status Symbol, AIM, Lotus Notes, Mail, iCal, Address Book, Safari, Mozilla, Thunderbird,, Mozilla Firebird, Hydra, HyperEdit, VoodooPad, StickyBrain, Remote Desktop Connection, Acrobat Reader, NoteTaker, OmniDictionary, OmniGraffle Professional, OmniOutliner, Preview, Palm Desktop, iSync, HotSync Manager, Documents To Go, PGP, iView Media Pro, iTunes, Kung Tunes, NetNewsWire, , iBlog, Dreamweaver, X-Chat Aqua, Central, Kung Log, Transmit, SpamSieve, CPU Monitor, Terminal, LaunchBar, System Preferences, Tri-Backup, Copy Paste, APOD Grabber (gets the Nasa photo of the day), Speed Download, Word and a Folder Shortcut to my Reading folder

Damn that’s a lot of stuff… guess that’s why I keep it nice a small at the bottom. I’ve tried the sides and it just doesn’t feel right to me.

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Xybernaut Wearable Mini-Server with Wi-Fi

Xybernaut Corporation announced Service Point. ServicePoint is a powerful mobile mini-server that is configured and shipped as a mobile application services platform.

ServicePoint can function as a highly mobile, even wearable, mini-server that directs information and/or application services to various devices and users via a wireless or wired network. Service Point, which is shipped with the Redhat Linux Professional server operating system (OS), offers broad flexibility for enterprise or individual users. ServicePoint devices can function as:

  • Network access point (NAP) — wireless hot-spot (WiFi)
  • Firewall/secure access server
  • Web server
  • Network gateway controller — serving as router
  • Data management platform — relational/object-relational
  • Application Services Platform — HTML, Perl, PHP shipped standard

A unique differentiator of Xybernaut ServicePoint is that it is small and flexible enough to be completely mobile. This affords considerable flexibility — particularly to enterprises looking for advanced computing options for highly mobile workforces. [TMCnet]

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Amazon Canada??

I just got an email for the first time from Amazon.ca. I’ve never purchased anything from them but they had my email address and even noted it was part of my account as they usually do in the messages from the US Store. Interestingly my login info worked even though I have no purchase history. Seems like Amazon is sharing the platform with the canadian store completely. I can see my one-click info and addresses I’ve used to ship as well. Hopefully this is just a silly error on their part and not some data mix-up of a greater degree.