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...currently I see mostly the interface as being the biggest idiocy

Again, I couldn't agree more. I have a saying for problems like this...it's like trying to tie your shoes with chopsticks. It's not the task that's difficult, it's the tools you have chosen. The UI for these things is stupid.

Handwriting recognition is a joke to that end. It's slow, it requires you to mangle your handwriting into a carricature that the PDA can recognize, and you still end up with something so mangled it could have just as well been written it l33t. No, that won't do.

Ayup. A big gripe of mine too. The reason why it sucks? There's a spec that MS came up with to get your little windows logo on your gadget that dictates exactly how many points per second you need to get from your touchscreen for handwriting recognition to work. And it's very very near the limits of what an AC97 link can do. Ergo, either you're throttling AC97 to death to get the points and starving the cpu, or throttling the cpu to interpret the points and starving the link. Everyone I know fudges these numbers. Can't think of a gadget out there that really nails this one.

If I was to single out _the_ one Psion feature I appreciated the most, it would undoubtedly be the good keyboard.

We tried to address this one as well. I wrote a driver for an IrDA keyboard. My thought was, well - neat trick, but if you're committed to carrying around a keyboard anyways, why not just get a laptop? IMHO, the only thing a PDA is good for is to ActiveSync to a desktop system, snag your schedule, and beep in your pocket when you forget something. YMMV, tho.

Oh yeah, as a funny side note, ActiveSync is nothing more than a PPP connection. You can ActiveSync your device to a Linux box. More of Redmond's fantastic "embrace and extend" philosophy. "Let's copy it, and then rename it!" *sigh*

You know, it would be nice if those things actually were PC or Mac compatible. And I don't mean compatible as in "but you can transfer files via an USB cable", but as in "you can take an old PC program or game and run it on the thing."

Me too. A lot.

There was a gadget on Slashdot a while back of some game-type thingy that was a 640x480 lcd, and an x86 core, complete with 10baseT and a 20Gig hd. It would be perfect. If I can find the link, I'll post it here later on.

Unless there is a flaw on the implementation of the phone can this kind of virus really spreads?

It's not a phone virus, it's a Pocket PC virus.

From the article:

The first computer virus to infect handheld devices running Microsoft's PocketPC OS was discovered over the weekend... Cabir - like Duts - was a proof-of-concept exercise. In both instances, 29A sent its malicious code straight to anti-virus firms.

To my mind, the word "discovered" doesn't really apply here.

Previous attempts have been made to monkey around with handhelds. Google is now overflowing with this latest 'news' but I am pretty sure this is not a first. Palms have had their IR connections compromised. Pocket PCs were never going to be bulletproof in the first place.

This threat assessment might be useful to someone.

Power consumption is bad, but not that bad: Wifi CF-cards

Is the idea to have the smallest possible OS capable of doing x or y?
check...

Is the idea to have the smallest possible OS that looks like Windows 95?
check...

Is the idea to have the smallest possible 'distribution' of Windows 95 attainable by just removing unecessary features?
i agree with the parent here.

Do we want smallest in terms of RAM usage, or smallest in terms of disk space? What do we then if we run it on a RAM disk? Which space counts?
no prob, bob.

Honestly, this post seemed like a good idea when I started typing it. Now I'm apprehensive to hit the submit button. Maybe that's a bad sign...

Apparently we won't see 802.11g on PocketPCs for sometime yet. CompactFlash simply can't handle those types of speeds :-(

My best luck for actual in-class notetaking and library/study group usage came in the form of an old Handheld PC Pro -- Mine was an HP Jornada 820. Yes, it's pretty slow, but it is the best option for taking notes. If you can, find a model with a touchscreen (this was a drawback of the Jornada 820).

The laptop idea was good and all, but if you get an older laptop-like PDA, especially one with Windows CE, you can print via IR to lab laser printers, type on a reasonably comfortable keyboard, and install a WiFi or Ethernet card for instant messaging and (rather limited) web browsing. Oh yeah, this class of PDA's turns on/off instantaneously, and will last anywhere from 8 to 15 hours on a charge -- enough to get you through a day or two without worrying about your battery. Just use ActiveSync when you get back to your desktop, and you're set. They're very expandable, typically having both CF and PC card slots, so you can use flash memory and a NIC together. If you want to browse models and hardware compatibility, check out Chris De Herrera's cewindows.net.

And the best part? You should be able to find one of these 1-kg wonders on eBay for about $200. A pocketable toy it isn't. It won't play MP3's. But it's way sturdier and smaller than a laptop, it will fit in your backpack, and it's a lot better investment for a student than a newer, glitzier, but less functional palm-sized PDA.

--Jasin Natael

Then you asume that a computer using 10base2 uses the same amount of power or less than a 10baseT network client. I didn't read the ethernet specs, but from a page like this which I found on google shows that most PCMCIA networkcards need about 100mA more when used on a 10base2 network.

Interesting. Doesn't seem to maintain continuity with other WinCE/Palm Sized PC/Handheld PC codenames, though:

Pegasus, Alder, Birch, Mercury, Gryphon, Orion, Jupiter, Wyvern, Venus, Hermes, Cedar, Rapier, Galileo, and Merlin (courtesy Chris DeHerrera's excellent site cewindows.net).

Jenova_Six

You meant SPA (Secure Password Authentication), right?

Why SPA, when there is SMTP AUTH [RFC 2554]?

Palm/Pocket PC - Capabilities & Reality. Rebuttal from a CasioE100 Owner:

a) Don't compare processors... the Palm does everything quickly and efficiently with 16mhz. The Pocket PCs are 133mhz+....never intended to be an MP3 player.

I have run 'tests' with a coworker who runs a PalmIII/V, we did blanket searches on a 'word' contained in our PIM databases. I retrieved my data faster on every attempt, regardless of 'type'. My device has 16 megs (8RAM/8ROM) with about 5-6MB of PIM data. Admittedly NOT scientific, but it was enough to convince the both of us.

b) Palm Multi-platform friendly. The Pocket PC is all about Windows...iPaq can run linux, and Slashdot runs stories about it regularly).

I have CF Ethernet. To send files back/forth I simply use FTP/SMTP. The Pocket PC does not sync with any Non-Windows PC PIM Software (that I am aware of). I can move files to the CasioE100 without any trouble from _ANY_ TCP/IP capable box.

c) The Pocket PC has painfully little application support. VNC? SSH? Telnet?....generally more expensive than Palm.

VNC
Telnet
SSH

There is plenty of software available. More than I can even try.

d) No wireless support yet for Pocket PC...To me at least, there's no point getting a media rich Palm device if I can't use it to access the net.
CF Modem that I use togetherwith my phone

e) Cost, Cost, Cost. You can get Palms for as little as $149 ... NEW. Lower costs mean more accessibility to the geeks that write the code. :)

You might have me on this one.

CasioE100: $600
CF Modem: $69 (MS Rebate deal)
CF Ethernet: $180
2 x 96MB CFRAM: $300 ea.
Nokia Cell Phone: $200 (or so)
Having the most technically capable, multimedia, wireless, portable Palm/Pocket (whatever) PC/PIM: Priceless.

NOTE: I bought the device based on what it _CAN_ do by leveraging the OUTSTANDING hardware in a Palm/Pocket PC (at its time 10mos.) ago. I am not a great lover of M$, but their still is no comparing this device to _ANY_ Palm product. Please be realistic and leave the Anti-M$ zealotry out of your analysis.

Palm/Pocket PC - Capabilities & Reality. Rebuttal from a CasioE100 Owner:

a) Don't compare processors... the Palm does everything quickly and efficiently with 16mhz. The Pocket PCs are 133mhz+....never intended to be an MP3 player.

I have run 'tests' with a coworker who runs a PalmIII/V, we did blanket searches on a 'word' contained in our PIM databases. I retrieved my data faster on every attempt, regardless of 'type'. My device has 16 megs (8RAM/8ROM) with about 5-6MB of PIM data. Admittedly NOT scientific, but it was enough to convince the both of us.

b) Palm Multi-platform friendly. The Pocket PC is all about Windows...iPaq can run linux, and Slashdot runs stories about it regularly).

I have CF Ethernet. To send files back/forth I simply use FTP/SMTP. The Pocket PC does not sync with any Non-Windows PC PIM Software (that I am aware of). I can move files to the CasioE100 without any trouble from _ANY_ TCP/IP capable box.

c) The Pocket PC has painfully little application support. VNC? SSH? Telnet?....generally more expensive than Palm.

VNC
Telnet
SSH

There is plenty of software available. More than I can even try.

d) No wireless support yet for Pocket PC...To me at least, there's no point getting a media rich Palm device if I can't use it to access the net.
CF Modem that I use togetherwith my phone

e) Cost, Cost, Cost. You can get Palms for as little as $149 ... NEW. Lower costs mean more accessibility to the geeks that write the code. :)

You might have me on this one.

CasioE100: $600
CF Modem: $69 (MS Rebate deal)
CF Ethernet: $180
2 x 96MB CFRAM: $300 ea.
Nokia Cell Phone: $200 (or so)
Having the most technically capable, multimedia, wireless, portable Palm/Pocket (whatever) PC/PIM: Priceless.

NOTE: I bought the device based on what it _CAN_ do by leveraging the OUTSTANDING hardware in a Palm/Pocket PC (at its time 10mos.) ago. I am not a great lover of M$, but their still is no comparing this device to _ANY_ Palm product. Please be realistic and leave the Anti-M$ zealotry out of your analysis.