Ripples

This is just a test

This is just a test to see if I can get a post from my T3 into TypePad via hblogger...

[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]

Second first impressions

After a few days using my new T3, a few observations stand out. On the positive side, the superb screen and the speed.

Still less enjoyable (for me, as a Palm user since 2001) is Grafitti 2. When I went back from my previous T3 to the m515, I had no problems whatsoever returning to Grafitti 1. But coming back to the current flavour was not so nice, even though it came back relatively fast. So one of the first non-standard apps I reinstalled was of course TealScript. Some tweaking is in order to get it running smoothly, but it's a good feeling to be able to write those simple one-stroke letters i, t, k, x, and some of the more elegant variants of some other ones.

The coming days will see me reinstalling some other favourite apps like DayNotez. And after Jeff Kirvin's recent post, I think I'll have another go at Life Balance, which didn't make it back on my minimal m515 configuration (and to be honest, I didn't really miss it either, so actually why should I bother now?)

Back in business

Finally! After almost a month, I got around to setting up my new Tungsten T3 yesterday evening. And so today has been my first business day with the T3 since end of september. And while I was very happy using my old Palm m515, this device is in a different league altogether.

Needless to say that there are some situations I'll carefully avoid from now on...

T3 - the return

After the unfortunate incident that put an end to the useful life of my PalmOne Tungsten T3, I've been using my "old" Palm m515 again for the last two months and a half. And I have to admit that I am very happy doing so. I really liked this little device when I bought it, and after my forced return I realised I still like it just as much. To the point that I hesitated if I really needed to go back to a T3 after all. True, the high resolution, large screen is an asset, but do I really miss it? To my surprise, not really. Neither do I miss the Bluetooth internet surfing and email possibilities in combination with my SE T610. Or the mp3 playback posibilities with Pocket Tunes. And as the new T5 isn't such a tempting proposition for me, I more or less resigned to keep going with the T3.

T3 prices coming down made my resolve waver a little, but I didn't give in. Until in a recent mailing from PalmAndMore (where I ordered my first T3), I read that PalmOne had decided to stop making it, and that they (PalmAndMore, that is) only had about 100 of them left. This rekindled the nagging at the back of my mind, reminding me that I bought the T610 specifically to go with the T3, and that I invested in all that nice Palm OS5 software that was now useless.

At this point my resistance finally crumbled. I've now a box with a Tungsten T3 Business Edition (i.e. including the Palm Infrared Keyboard) sitting on a shelf, waiting for me to find some time for the "entertaining" exercise of setting up yet another Palm device, which previous experience has shown is never as painless and straightforward as one might hope for.

So the m515 is going through its last days at my belt (for now). But I'll sure be sorry to put it to rest again...

The simple life

Since the unfortunate incident that put an end to the useful life of my T3, I've been running on my old m515 again. And I have to admit I'm not doing too badly. After all, I always liked that device a lot. The only thing I really miss from the T3 is the superb, large screen, especially when I'm reading ebooks.

As far as software is concerned, I didn't reinstall many of the applications I was used to, because of the time it would take to get everything up and running again, and I'm expecting this to be only a temporary situation. As prices on the T3 have just gone down, it won't be long before I order my replacement unit(*). But I had another reason not to reinstall too many apps: I see this as an experiment as to what I really need. By not re-installing most of my apps, I figured I'd quickly notice the ones I really miss. And I don't miss too many of them. Gone are ShadowPlan, DayNotez, DataShield, LifeBalance, to name but a few of the best. These are all marvellous pieces of software, and I really like them. But I'm finding out that I can easily do without them. Don't misunderstand, some of these apps give me a real added value, but not so big that I can't do without them.

Even so, I'm sure I'll end up reinstalling most of them, if not now, then at the latest when I'll be using a T3 again. But at least, I'll have a better idea as to their real use.

(*) That's right, I won't be going for the new T5 after all. The T3 is all I need/want.

To T5 or not to T5...

After the untimely demise of my beloved aluminium friend the T3, I was convinced I'd go chasing for a new T3 as soon as possible, not wanting to cope with the problems a new Palm OS version (Cobalt aka OS6) would raise. Because, like most people, I was convinced that the new devices to be announced soon would be OS6 devices.

But today, I learned from BargainPDA that PalmOne had finally announced the new T5. And all at once, I'm not so certain any more. First, it's an OS5 device. Second, it seems to have much of what made the T3 so ideal for me, less the slider (albeit with the looks of an upgraded TE). I's always considered the slider mechanism the greatest risk to the longevity of my T3. How wrong I was ;-) Still, less mechanical movement, less risk of breakage. Extended memory, Flash drive at that, great! And an upgraded battery.

Some potential minuses, though. There seems to be no voice recorder anymore, but contrarily to what I expected when buying my T3, I never used it. It's plastic instead of metal, and that's not so nice (the T3 really had the looks!). No WiFi: as long as it has BlueTooth, I'm fine (having just recently bought my SonyEricsson T610). The big unknow is the new "multiconnector": while better than the mini USB-connectors of recent models, I'm afraid it won't be compatible with my PowerToGo.

So I think I'll put off my search for a cheap T3 until I've read some reviews about this new kid on the block. Either it's what I need, and I'll have an unplanned upgrade, either it has some prohibitive flaws, and I can profit from its arrival to see the prices on the T3 go down.

In the meantime, my m515 will have to do. And that's not so bad: after all, I've been quite happy with it in the past...

Fellow PalmAddicts

Thanks to Sammy from PalmAddicts for giving my little blog an encouraging pat on the back...

Requiem for a T3

Today something rather distressing happened. My beloved PalmOne Tungsten T3 joined the Palm graveyard by virtue of a stupid little accident. It wasn't even spectacular, just a small "ploof". What happened?

When I bought my T3, I ordered a beautiful leather carrying case from Pielframa to go with it. These cases are really high quality things, and I thoroughly enjoyed using mine. But it had one problem: when carrying the thing at my belt, in some situations the case would get detached from its belt clip. Until now without fatal consequences, although I once almost lost my T3 in the metro.

Today however, fate was more cruel. While I was standing in that small room we all have to use regularly, I must have made an unhappy move, and heard a light splashing sound. My T3, with case and all, had taken a kamikaze dive where it shouldn't have. I immediately fished it out of the (luckily only) water and quickly tried to wipe it dry, but to no avail. All it did was shine its blank grey screen at me, not reacting to anything.

So this evening has seen me digging out my old faithful m515, spending a few hours installing a basic set of applications to keep me going (the ones I can't live without: DateBk5, eReader, HandBase 2.75, HandyShopper, MemoLeaf and UltraSoft Money; for the time being, I decided to go without Shadow and LifeBalance). While upgrading to a new Palm device is never as straightforward as the documentation would have you believe, downgrading is even more fun. Restricting the available space from the T3's royal 52M to the m515's 16M requires some pruning...

A nice side effect is that by downgrading, I now can use some of my favourite hacks again, as well as the original Grafitti 1, which still feels so comfortable.

But there is really no way back, I'll go hunting for a new T3 soon. I really love that device, and wouldn't consider anything else on the market for the time being. Neither do I care for the new OS6 devices that'll probably hit the market soon, as I want to avoid all incompatibilities and initial problems that are typical for a new OS version.

Anyway, I could easily have imagined other ways to spend those €400. And however beautiful it is, I don't think I'll ever use that Pielframa case again...

To upgrade or to post...

I've recently upgraded my TypePad subscription from Basic to Plus, in order to be able to manage more than a single blog, and to publish photo albums online. I'm currently playing around and exploring the possibilities, so this explains my relative silence these last few days.

More to come soon...

Blogging 101

I don't seem to get around to blogging very much these days. Somehow the evenings seem to fly by, and inspiration has taken a break (at least while I'm sitting in front of the screen; as soon as I've switched my PC off, the brightest ideas start popping up - only to be gone by the next day).

As this is the 101st entry in this blog, I thought I'd mention a nice little site I came across recently while looking at the site of HBlogger (a blogging client for Palm OS devices). It gives a short but well-made history of and introduction to blogging, and is called Blogging 101. Me and numbers, you know...