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Microsoft Rolls Out Pocket PC 2003
An anonymous reader writes "Monday, June 23 was a big day for Microsoft's mobile devices software strategy. The company: (1) rolled out Pocket PC 2003 (and renamed it); (2) unveiled a new "Windows Mobile" branding strategy; and (3) launched a collaboration with three leading high-speed wireless service providers to provide easier access to more than 3,500 Wi-Fi wireless "hot spots" by Windows-powered PDAs throughout the US. All this (and more) is covered in this "special report" at WindowsForDevices.com (including a detailed list of enhancements in Pocket PC 2003)."
theres also a summary here:
t ml
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/68/31369.h
Fry: heh, Yakov Smirnoff said it
Leela: No he didn't.
I quite like bluetooth, although my phone has infra red, sometimes its a pain to sync data across it, and pull data from my phone. So I use bluetooth to transfer the data (my phone plays mp3's, but the damn multimedia card is under the simcard/battery, so its a pain to pull it in and out all the time). also, work well with bluetooth between my ipaq and phone (and maybe bluetooth wireless headset if they come down in price, and size cos they look rediculous currently).
Bluetooth connects devices within a limited range, wifi connects devices to a network, why do people try to use bluetooth as a network device, I dont know (and it is possible), but really, apples and oranges.
I came, I conquered, I coredumped
According to Microsoft's Pocket PC 2003 Reviewer's Guide, the following new features and enhancements are contained in the newly announced 2003 version of the Pocket PC software platform . . .
.NET Compact Framework -- The integrated .NET Compact Framework brings the power of new applications that simplify the overall development and integration of Web services on smart devices, enabling developers and enterprise end users to access a wealth of data from various sources such as back-end servers, intranets and the Internet.
Enhanced Connection Manager user interface (UI) -- A new and more intuitive Connection Manager wizard features enhanced tabs to give users more control over selecting networks and setting dialing preferences.
Zero Configuration connections -- Pocket PC 2003 has added Zero Configuration for Wi-Fi, designed to simplify connection with and authentication to 802.11 wireless networks. Zero Configuration is also supported when adding a dial-up modem or Ethernet network card.
Improved animated connectivity status icons -- When using the cellular phone features of the PPC, new connectivity icons have been merged onto the navigation bar to better illustrate radio signal strength and data flow.
Improved connectivity bubbles -- Connectivity message bubbles are clearer and less cluttered and more easily convey information about connection status, synchronization and signal strength.
Bluetooth partnership wizard -- New wizard pops up at (Settings | Bluetooth | Paired Device Tab | New), which turns on the radio, searches for available devices and asks users to set a PIN to pair with a device. This feature allows users to easily configure Bluetooth bonding.
Always-on Bluetooth discoverability -- The Bluetooth discoverable mode stays turned on after users activate it (until users manually changes the setting) to allow for easy Bluetooth bonding.
Use of Bluetooth modems -- Bluetooth phones may be used as a modem to connect the Pocket PC to the Internet. This feature represents Microsoft's commitment to serving OEMs and mobile operators and to supporting the growing popularity of the Bluetooth wireless connection standard.
Bluetooth beaming -- Users can now beam data such as Contact files using Bluetooth.
Auto-correct -- Common spelling errors are automatically corrected during typing. Auto-correct can easily be overridden. (Not available in East Asia.)
Auto-suggest -- Auto-suggest is extended to the email inbox, allowing users to type email more quickly.
Turn all radios off -- One-touch ability allows users to turn off all wireless radios (802.11x, Bluetooth, cell phone, etc.) to conserve device power when not on a network or allow other features to be used while traveling on an airplane when cell phones must be turned off.
802.1x support -- 802.1x Wi-Fi security is supported natively.
Certificate Management UI -- New control panel applet allows users to manage client and root certificates. This is useful when users have installed a bad certificate and have difficulty logging onto Wi-Fi networks.
IPSec/L2TP -- Windows CE provides the support for IPSec L2TP (the Microsoft VPN standard for connectivity).
Support for Multiple VPNs -- The new Connection Manager also supports multiple VPNs.
IPv6 support -- PPC now supports IPv6/v4 mixed environments.
New Today screen -- Today screen automatically shows users the next day's appointments immediately after the last current day appointment expires to better manage early morning meetings.
Smart Lookup in Contacts -- Pocket PC 2003 incorporates Smart Lookup, a feature that enables users to input the first few letters of the contact they want to open.
Windows CE 4.2 operating system -- With the new and improved operating system, Windows CE 4.2, users will experience improved performance and stability of applications built for Pocket PC 2003 devices.
Enhanced developer support
This is actually the fifth version of Windows CE. Windows CE 3.0 has been out for years. Reviews of WinCE devices came out in 2000, for cryin' out loud.
For more information, click here.
This was posted in a previous article, it is from a "contact" from within Dell. Whatever that means, but it seems legit.
Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.
Yes, Pocket PC 2003 is real. I do not have a firm date when Dell will begin shipping Pocket PC 2003, or when upgrades will be available, or who will be eligible for free upgrades.
One warning. I have been told that many applications that work in Pocket PC 2002 do not work in Pocket PC 2003. It appears that Pocket PC 2003 is a major Operating System upgrade and that some applications will have to be recompiled for it.
I am at the moment testing a few applications on Pocket PC 2003, and so far I have only found one application, the game Argentum that will not run. I do not have a list of applications that will work with Pocket PC 2003, but I will try to keep you posted about any applications that I have trouble with.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur
Although I haven't used Delphi recently, I think you're a bit confused about it.
They didn't 'rename' anything with Delphi. Delphi is a RAD tool which utilizes Object Pascal as it's base language (Okay... so they renamed it to 'Object Pascal'... that's what happens when you make it OO). Having used it myself in the past (well, about 5-6 years ago), I can say that in my opinion it's ***way*** better than VB. The code seems to me to be a lot cleaner and nowadays you can port your stuff to Linux really easily via Kylix (or so I understand - not having used it myself).
Anyway, this is pretty much totally offtopic...
Screenshots: http://pdajunkie.net/index.html?pdajunkie_net_ppc2 003.htm&2
Benchmarks:
http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/ipaq_2215.htm
133 comments so far and not a single one says anything other than "M$ sux", well, gee, I (and everyone else who reads /.) knew that already, what's your point?
On the very limited possibility that someone is reading this thread for information, I just talked to Toshiba and they say that you get 2003 for free if you purchased an e75x after May 1, everyone else (including e740 owners) needs to pay $50 by calling 1-888-874-8247. I, for one, am going to get it just for the improvements in IE.
First, a lot of serious programmers dispute your estimate of Pascal's suck factor. Intel certainly didn't think so when they designed the 80x86 stack frame to efficiently support Pascal nested procedures. The Pascal-versus-C debate continues to this day, though I think in all practical terms C has won the argument.
I used to believe in the "teaching language run amuck" theory of Pascal's origins too. But that was before I started using Object Pascal in the real world, and found that it had many of the virtues of Java. The biggest of these is simplicity -- it's a lot easier to read OP code than the equivalent C++ code. And this simplicity also makes Object Pascal better suited for IDE work than C++. Since Object Pascal can be compiled in a single pass, it's a lot easier for the IDE to keep track of your changes.
Second, there's the name change: your understanding of the time frame is mistaken. It's a pretty common mistake: I heard it when Borland hired me in late 1999. But in fact the official name of the language was still "Object Pascal" when I was hired. Perhaps the documentation confused this issue by being sloppy about what features were in the IDE, which were in the object framework, and which were in the language itself -- too easy to just say "Delphi" and be done with it.
The official change actually came only last year, while I was still working there. Basically, they just wanted to more closely identify Kylix with its Windows sister product Delphi. Never understood why they didn't just call Kylix "Delphi for Linux".