No News? Please Ignore This Message

"Harold Fuchs" <me.RemoveThis@privacy.net> wrote:

>I have not received any messages in this news group for many days.

Perhaps the lack of activity here is a sign of how many (or few)
people still use Palms. The cell phones seem to have taken over and
Palm the company is losing money.

However I still see the TX, TE2 and Z22 for sale in some of the big
box stores such as Best Buy and Office Max, so they apparently haven't
given up yet.

I have a Palm question. Maybe it will stir some activity.

I've been running into a problem more and more. Many free WiFi
hotspots in restaurants and stores are now using a legal accept web
page that you have to agree to before they will allow you on the
system. In many cases Blazer won't load the accept page (java problems
maybe?) properly so that I can't accept the legal terms, and thus
can't use the WiFi. I've also tried using old Opera Mini browser but
have had the same problem. I've tried upgrading to the new Opera Mini,
but it crashes my TX and can't be used. Any ideas anyone?

On Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:55:27 -0700, AJ Lake <nomail.DeleteThis@fakeaddress.com>
wrote:

>"Harold Fuchs" <me.DeleteThis@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>>I have not received any messages in this news group for many days.
>
>Perhaps the lack of activity here is a sign of how many (or few)
>people still use Palms. The cell phones seem to have taken over and
>Palm the company is losing money.
>
>However I still see the TX, TE2 and Z22 for sale in some of the big
>box stores such as Best Buy and Office Max, so they apparently haven't
>given up yet.

I was in Best Buy a week ago and all three were on sale for about $15
above their MSRP. So yes, somebody must be buying them. In any case,
Palm has been doing well with the Centro which sold a million units in
each of the past two quarters. Palm's PDAs by contrast only sold about
166,000 units in the last quarter. So Palm is going where the money is
and it's not in PDAs.
>
>I have a Palm question. Maybe it will stir some activity.
>
>I've been running into a problem more and more. Many free WiFi
>hotspots in restaurants and stores are now using a legal accept web
>page that you have to agree to before they will allow you on the
>system. In many cases Blazer won't load the accept page (java problems
>maybe?) properly so that I can't accept the legal terms, and thus
>can't use the WiFi. I've also tried using old Opera Mini browser but
>have had the same problem. I've tried upgrading to the new Opera Mini,
>but it crashes my TX and can't be used. Any ideas anyone?

I've had mixed results with these types of hotspots. Some load just
fine, others don't. I have my TX paired with my Treo phone through its
Bluetooth connection, so it's not as big a problem for me.
--
Cause, really, nothing says "I'm a counter culture
rebel, fighting the establishment" like an Aibo on
a skateboard.
- Seen on Slashdot

Roberto Castillo
robertocastillo.DeleteThis@ameritech.net
http://mind-grapes.blogspot.com/
http://zombie-gulch.myminicity.com/

In message <h53hd4t0p3ppspm997680bqaoqvk7dc54k.RemoveThis@4ax.com> Zombie Elvis
<DELETEMETOREPLYrobertocastillo.RemoveThis@ameritech.net> wrote:

>I was in Best Buy a week ago and all three were on sale for about $15
>above their MSRP. So yes, somebody must be buying them. In any case,
>Palm has been doing well with the Centro which sold a million units in
>each of the past two quarters. Palm's PDAs by contrast only sold about
>166,000 units in the last quarter. So Palm is going where the money is
>and it's not in PDAs.

The question is whether the lackluster PDA sales are cause or effect.
The T|X hasn't been updated in quite some time, and still suffers some
severe NVFS issues which make it a reasonably unpalatable device, so
it's not surprising that it's sales are pitiful.

Lack of wifi, GPS and other features now common to competing devices
probably don't help the T|X's case either.

Zombie Elvis <DELETEMETOREPLYrobertocastillo.TakeThisOut@ameritech.net> wrote:

>I've had mixed results with these types of hotspots. Some load just
>fine, others don't.

Yep. I was hoping for a software solution. Probably none.

> I have my TX paired with my Treo phone through its
>Bluetooth connection, so it's not as big a problem for me.

Not a big problem for me either. My primary use is ebooks in the
pocket and the TX still works better than anything on the market for
that. If I can't log on, I just read a book...

On Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:13:28 -0600, DevilsPGD
<spam_narf_spam.TakeThisOut@crazyhat.net> wrote:

>In message <h53hd4t0p3ppspm997680bqaoqvk7dc54k.TakeThisOut@4ax.com> Zombie Elvis
><DELETEMETOREPLYrobertocastillo.TakeThisOut@ameritech.net> wrote:
>
>>I was in Best Buy a week ago and all three were on sale for about $15
>>above their MSRP. So yes, somebody must be buying them. In any case,
>>Palm has been doing well with the Centro which sold a million units in
>>each of the past two quarters. Palm's PDAs by contrast only sold about
>>166,000 units in the last quarter. So Palm is going where the money is
>>and it's not in PDAs.
>
>The question is whether the lackluster PDA sales are cause or effect.

Probably a little bit of both. While I'm sure that if Palm had put out
a new PDA last year, it would probably outsell Palm's current lineup
but the truth is that cell phones are ubiquitous now and can perform
the same tasks as an unconnected PDA. I realized this about eight
years ago when I first stuck a VisorPhone module into my Visor
Platinum. I've carried some sort of PalmOS cell phone ever since and
am really hoping that Palm's Nova OS doesn't fizzle out the way Cobalt
and ALP did.

The bottom line is that no matter how hard Palm tried, the PDA market
has been assimilated by the cell phone market. If they hadn't bought
out Handspring and continued making Treos, Palm would be dead by now.

>The T|X hasn't been updated in quite some time, and still suffers some
>severe NVFS issues which make it a reasonably unpalatable device, so
>it's not surprising that it's sales are pitiful.

It does? My TX feels pretty snappy to me.
>
>Lack of wifi, GPS and other features now common to competing devices
>probably don't help the T|X's case either.

The TX does have wifi. And I don't know of any device that really
competes with it. Dell released a PDA over a year ago which is
considerably more expensive than the TX.
--
Cause, really, nothing says "I'm a counter culture
rebel, fighting the establishment" like an Aibo on
a skateboard.
- Seen on Slashdot

Roberto Castillo
robertocastillo.TakeThisOut@ameritech.net
http://mind-grapes.blogspot.com/
http://zombie-gulch.myminicity.com/

Zombie Elvis <DELETEMETOREPLYrobertocastillo RemoveThis @ameritech.net> wrote:

>but the truth is that cell phones are ubiquitous now and can perform
>the same tasks as an unconnected PDA.

One thing the TX still does better is the screen. Most cell phones are
too small and with poor resolution. If you want to view photos, watch
movies, or read ebooks that counts. But I suppose most people don't
want to spend the big bux or carry two units just for that...

>The bottom line is that no matter how hard Palm tried, the PDA market
>has been assimilated by the cell phone market.

I wonder how the dark side is doing? Are the Windows handhelds still
selling? While I still see some Palms for sale in the big box stores,
I haven't seen a Windows model of any make for awhile.

>My TX feels pretty snappy to me.

Mine's quick too. Maybe the guy has a software issue.

"Harold Fuchs" <me.TakeThisOut@privacy.net> writes:

> I have not received any messages in this news group for many days. I am
> therefore sending this as a test message to check that everything is
> working.

A demon subscriber, perhaps? There seem to be significant issues with
demon's news server.

Bruce Stephens <bruce+usenet@cenderis.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>"Harold Fuchs" <me DeleteThis @privacy.net> writes:
>
>> I have not received any messages in this news group for many days. I am
>> therefore sending this as a test message to check that everything is
>> working.
>
>A demon subscriber, perhaps? There seem to be significant issues with
>demon's news server.

There are several free news servers. I use a paid one, but I keep a
couple free ones handy just to check when I suspect my posts aren't
being propagated. It would work also work to check if the dead
newsgroup was just on your server, or really a dead newsgroup.
Question is can you receive this. Won't help otherwise...

On Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:05:38 -0700, AJ Lake <nomail.DeleteThis@fakeaddress.com>
wrote:

>Zombie Elvis <DELETEMETOREPLYrobertocastillo.DeleteThis@ameritech.net> wrote:
>
>>but the truth is that cell phones are ubiquitous now and can perform
>>the same tasks as an unconnected PDA.
>
>One thing the TX still does better is the screen. Most cell phones are
>too small and with poor resolution. If you want to view photos, watch
>movies, or read ebooks that counts. But I suppose most people don't
>want to spend the big bux or carry two units just for that...
>
The iPhone does a good job of mixing a big, high-rez screen in a small
form factor. I personally prefer having a real keyboard, a more open
platform, and don't want to switch to AT&T for my cell phone service.
But if all you want to do is receive calls, listen to music, surf the
web on your phone, and play with the occasionally funky app, the
iPhone is a compelling solution at a low price. Even for PDA users who
don't need strong PIM apps will be strongly attracted to the iPod
Touch. One a personal note, my ideal phone would be something in the
Treo Pro form factor with a Tungsten T3 style slider to give me the
best of both worlds, a nice keyboard and a half-VGA screen, in a small
package.

In any case, the emergence of netbooks is also cannibalizing the PDA
market. I just bought an Acer Aspire One with an Atom processor 1GB of
RAM, 160 GB hard drive, and an 8.9 inch 1024x600 screen for $399.
That's for a two and a half pound mini-laptop. The original EEEPC sold
for $299 -- that's Palm TX money. If a guy's been lugging around both
a PDA and a wireless keyboard for editing Microsoft Office documents,
a small, inexpensive netbook is a pretty compelling alternative these
days.

>>The bottom line is that no matter how hard Palm tried, the PDA market
>>has been assimilated by the cell phone market.
>
>I wonder how the dark side is doing? Are the Windows handhelds still
>selling? While I still see some Palms for sale in the big box stores,
>I haven't seen a Windows model of any make for awhile.

During my aforementioned visit to Best Buy, I spotted the Treo 800W --
Palm's Windows mobile offering on Sprint -- alongside other cell
phones, including the Palm Centro. Also a lot of the iPhone copycat
phones like the HTC Touch are actually Windows Mobile phones with a
custom interface. I saw several of these at Best Buy. So Windows
Mobile phones do sell well; they are just more likely to be brought in
bulk by big companies who want to outfit their employees with phones
that will connect to Microsoft Exchange for e-mail synchronization.
--
Cause, really, nothing says "I'm a counter culture
rebel, fighting the establishment" like an Aibo on
a skateboard.
- Seen on Slashdot

Roberto Castillo
robertocastillo.DeleteThis@ameritech.net
http://mind-grapes.blogspot.com/
http://zombie-gulch.myminicity.com/

Zombie Elvis <DELETEMETOREPLYrobertocastillo RemoveThis @ameritech.net> wrote:

>The original EEEPC sold for $299 -- that's Palm TX money.

I got one of those $299 EeePCs. It works great. A bit of a learning
curve with the Linux, but it's been fun. The tiny EeePC is great on
trips. But it's a bit too big for pocket carry, so doesn't replace the
TX for me.

"Bruce Stephens" <bruce+usenet@cenderis.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:877i91277i.fsf@cenderis.demon.co.uk...
> "Harold Fuchs" <me DeleteThis @privacy.net> writes:
>
>> I have not received any messages in this news group for many days. I am
>> therefore sending this as a test message to check that everything is
>> working.
>
> A demon subscriber, perhaps? There seem to be significant issues with
> demon's news server.

To Bruce Stephens,

Demon claims to have fixed this but I still don't get messages in this
group. Are you getting them now?

Harold Fuchs
London, England

"Harold Fuchs" <me.TakeThisOut@privacy.net> wrote:

>Demon claims to have fixed this but I still don't get messages in this
>group. Are you getting them now?

If you subscribe to one of the free Usnet servers (as a backup), you
can check for yourself anytime you suspect problems with the Demon
text groups. One I use (as a backup) is nntp.aioe.org which requires
no signup, username or password. Just log on and use it. Another is
free-text.usenetserver.com but this one is read only.