TamsPalm - the Palm OS Blog

CNET recently ran an editorial on how the mobile internet has changed and what will happen. Their most interesting conclusion(IMHO) was that users want to access the same web sites they have on the PC, and want to get the same navigation experience.

This reminded me of a discussion I had with a former IT manager of Generali(an austrian insurance). We talked about web browsers for PDA’s, and I demoed him the “native design display” capabilities of the then-revolutionary Web Pro 3.5 on a Palm Tungsten T3. His reaction was - good work, but useless. No one wants to scroll his hide off…

And this has become a “mantra” for me ever since. An ultramobile device can never run real PC apps - the screen is to small physically. And whats true for a program like word is true for a complicated web site too. You could compress side bars tinily(teeny tiny fonts), or force excessive scrolling. Neither of the two is a useful choice…

However, abstracting content into a smaller template on a handheld leads to better usage experience - and this is the only smart choice imho…

P.s. Eugenia Loli-Queru seems to think the same…

I use foo for sorting/renaming photos in ‘bulk’ on my Palm Tungsten T3 after loading them off my digital camera. One of the things that make this process annoying and slow is this dialog:

After an image has been renamed successfully(!!!), this dialog pops up. This is annoying and takes an extra tap to dismiss - but it gets even better.

When renaming fails, a dialog that looks very similar to this one pops up. But since users are trained to dismiss all foo dialogs automatically, they will probably ignore it and wonder about what happened.

The moral of today’s story is simple: users don’t like reading - so keep the hard work for the times its really needed!

BTW, on futile prohibitions covered a similar problem… . Ah, and there is another example right here.

Technorati tags:
GUI design
UI design

Go2TT integrates TomTom into your Contacts application. When it’s activated, you just need to tap on the Quick Dial icon. I tested it a few moments, and it worked on my Tungsten C. The only problem I realized is that the street name and the street number have to be seperated with a comma. But a great idea. You can download it at:

http://freewarepalm.com/communication/go2tt.shtml
GrxView Lite is an image viewer which supports RAM, memory cards and slideshows. The user interface is clear and you find everything you want. It seems to only support JPEG images. For more features or more file formats, you need the more advanced GrxView Pro.

http://freewarepalm.com/graphics/grxviewlite.shtml
http://www.indevsoftware.com/product.php?Id=37&Section=&ep=88

KWikMaps shows your address on a map. It opens your browser and points it to the Google Maps page. I tested it with PalmSource’s Web Browser 2.0 and NetFront. They open the right link but don’t show a map. Picsel Browser isn’t supported by the program but can show the map. According to the developer, Blazer 4 works.

http://freewarepalm.com/utilities/kwikmaps.shtml

Most of you can still remember the post about un-updated advertising. Anyways, since local food sucks, I had to eat there again - Menu, and woohoo, this time, they had a pink coke glass:

Obviously, perfect customer support would have been giving me a second glass - but getting one glass is better than none, and I didnt ask…

Technorati tags:
Advertising
PR
Public relations

This just came in via the german TV sender n-tv.

RyanAir plans to allow customers to make calls and send SMS in all aircraft by the end of 2007.

As if that isn’t good news!

BTW, if I get further info, I will post it ASAP!

In the village of Vomp, the only fastfood outlet available is a rather average McDonalds. When going there, I regularily see real stinkers - things that must be documented for others to learn from. So, I whipped out my digital camera - and was attacked(the critter jumped at me(!!!)) by the store manager. After that, I used the Treo 600 for further images - less risk involved.

Hmm? I mean, are those folks insane? Why forbid someone to photograph a burger, a chair, a poster or a front view of a kitchen? People usually make photos to share them with others - this generates free buzz and PR for you.

Why pay for incredibly expensive ad campaigns and giveaways to create buzz, and totally ignore the cheaper options that can be 100 times more efficient? What harm can a photo do???

Obviously, corporate secrets need to be protected - someone photographing your unlock key scheme could get expensive. But IMHO, if something is publicly visible, forget keeping it secret anyways(people CAN remember, copy and draw stuff after all).

Should a blogger ever visit the ‘den’ I code in, I’d simply close all secret code. And after that, he would be free to photograph until his camera blows up - I’d even set up some cool stuff for him and his readers. Getting photos of my hide/shack/foo out on a blog(!!for free!!) with a few readers that then visit TamsPalm and get Tamoggemon stuff….well, you have my home address!

But apparently, these ideas are too complicated or modern for someone high up the McDonalds(Vomp) foodchain. I would love to give someone there this article - but this is the only fastfood store around, so better lay low…

Ever had a similar experience at another store?

Technorati tags:
Advertising
Blog marketing
PR
Public relations

This is a classic Palm ad for the Palm V:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bcTc8e2-6U

Enjoy!

Here is a current snapshot of the final version of Binary Clock 3.1 for Palm OS.

It hasnt passed in-house QA though - so be careful(worked well on my T3 though). The only change in this version is that the register form now uses the system date format…a customer demanded that.

Please tell me what you think!

Most of you know Despair. Inc’s demotivator posters. Reader Blake Winton shared the following impressive link:

http://www.ishkur.com/posters/

Enjoy!

Technorati tags:
Poster

Most MicroISV’s make one capital mistake: they design their web sites themselves and shoot most scenery/background images on their own. They argue that getting professional templates and photos is too expensive…and head to the stores buying an expensive digital camera and loads of HTML/CSS/URP books.

And then, they spend weeks and weeks of time on creating something they could have had for free(essentially). Today, there are many sources of legal free stuff - let’s look at the resource I used when creating PalmBinaryClock.com:

oswd
OSWD, short for open source web design is a collection of freely useable templates. A template is a HTML/CSS page that contains everything necceccary to display correctly - you need only basic HTML skills to add in your content. Cfreating such a site leaves your mind free for important tasks like simplifying the text, choosing good screenshots and creating great usability!

Creating such a template yourself definitely is possible, but as Patrick McKenzie and Joel Spolsky stated, you probably won’t want to if you aren’t a web design shack.

Pay them a visit - it will definitely pay out!

www.oswd.org

As for stock photography, I currently look at a few new sites - so more on that another day!

What do you think?

Technorati tags:
Micro ISV
NIH
Web design

In our current ALP discussion, David Beers just posted the following, extremely interesting bit of info:

And lest I forget to mention: PalmSource promises to continue supporting PODS which, of course, is a Windows IDE.

Now if that isnt good news..

Technorati tags:
ALP
Palm
Palm OS

Dont get too excited though, as you probably cant get it yet. They are going to release the preview (not full version mind you), in invite style by some means. I am hoping to get an invite and if this occurs I will do a full review of the preview version of the program (of course taking into account the limitations of a preview program).

You can get more information on CorePlayer Mobile, as well as Coreplayer for other platforms at Corecodec.com
Thoughts, questions?

My friend David Zucker recently bought a Palm Treo 600(saw mine, wanted one…the TamsPalm effect). Anyways, he wanted new ring tones(WHY?? Loud Phone sounds the most business-like), and asked me if I knew about a good site.

Beeing the retro freak that I am, title music of old video games obviously makes the best ring tones for a retro phone like the Treo 600. So, the one stop shop for a free Treo ring tone is:
http://www.vgmusic.com/

Getting the ring tones onto the Treo 600 is easy if you have another Palm OS PDA(called PDA from now on) with a memory card inserted.

First of all, get the Mid files that you want to use onto the PDA’s memory card. You can use a program like Softick Card Export or can send them over via bluetooth if your GetDeBlu is set up correctly. I used GetdeBlu, here is a screenshot of the relevant settings:

After that, you need to transfer the ring tones from the PDA to the Treo. With a file manager like FileZ, beam the files over one by one. If you have a Treo 650, you can also send the ring tones with bluetooth directly from the PC. The Treo will pop up a dialog like the one shown below for each file - enter the name you want to give your ring tone:

After you click ok, the ring tone is installed into your Treo’s ring tone system. You can now access it from the Sounds app - like my Super Mario Ruins ring tone here:

Technorati tags:
Palm
Palm OS
Ring tones
Treo

I just found this truly insane post via the Best of me Symphony(incidentially, TamsPalm is at the top of the list tonight!!).

http://www.americaninventorspot.com/the_wackiest_products_to_keep_you_cooking

This stuff is so crazy that you absolutely must look at it. It should at least keep you laughing until more scientific content comes life(3 hours or so)..

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Funny