SIGNIFICANT BITS

by Sean N Henderson

DACS.ORG NEW CALENDAR

DACS.org has a new calendar! Previously, the organization used one available at http://calendar.pikesys.com. It was completely Javascript based, so that meant it could go on any server. The HTML it generated was nicely marked up so it was easily styled via CSS/HTML. The database for it is a plain-text file that could be edited with any text editor. There is even an MS Excel template complete with macros for importing/exporting database files. Nifty.

The new calendar is even niftier—it is an open-source freeware application Rob Limbaugh found. SIG Leaders: you will now have access to this calendar and be responsible for your own postings and what's on there is what will be used to populate the newsletter calendar going forward.

PDA TIPS, TRICKS, THOUGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Now onto the main topic at hand. Here are some tips for doing a little extra up front for some speed and ease later. For this example, we're going to talk about PalmOS-based PDAs.

Let's say you're conducting (another) job hunt. Try specifically setting up the category in contacts as 'JobSearch' (notice the so-called camel-case without any spaces), and prefix the last name with the date entered as 'YYYYMMDD Doe'. Need to see where you're at with the hunt? Just select the 'JobSearch' category in the address book and scroll to your year and month. Very easy.

When entering a contact, I make sure to put a line in the notes section beginning with 'search: ' and then add any permutations of a name I think I may need, especially where the last name is two parts.

For calendar items, categories help, but that's only available on the later versions of PalmOS. If using an older version, prefix the name of the event with what it is. Good tags are things like 'visit:', 'doctor:', and 'shopping:'. So during a search for 'visit: Hendersons to' will give me a chronological list of all our travels. Doctor visits go something like 'doctor: Sean to', and so on. The shopping entry I use for large purchases. In the notes section for the shopping entries I put the purchase order number, date, and the other things needed when I inevitably call support. In the notes section for visit entries put the directions and anything you need to remember for the trip.

It's important to note the use of the color as the delimiter. Any delimiter will do, but the point is consistency. Using a delimiter for these things will differentiate your search results from normal sentences and other entries.

Next, I have a software recommendation. A nice piece to store passwords and such is SplashID. Unlike many of my software recommendations, this is not a freeware app. The cost is well worth the time saved. This is a simple database application that will hold every conceivable password or credential you may have. Bicycle locks, web logins, serial numbers, birth dates, etc. It's kind of hard to explain, and probably easy to fabricate something similar using MobileDB or even just a memo entry, but SplashID really makes it pretty easy. Like anything that stores your passwords, where you have a choice of passwords, never list the complete password, just enough to give you a clue.

PDA STORAGE MEDIA

Does your PDA have a SD or other slot? When wiping the media it's a good idea to use the PDA to format the media so that a compatible file system will be put on the media. This matters more with very large files.

Note that built-in SD readers in most laptops has a 1GB maximum read/write capability. What this might mean is you'll want to make sure movie files are chopped up in appropriate chunks for the media's filesystem constraints. It also means if you're moving files a lot between the SD card and your laptop that you'll want to spare yourself compatibility headaches and just stick with 1GB SD cards, and instead go for speed and not capacity. Of course you could use a USB hub to get past the 1GB built-in limit, but the hub is probably bigger than an extra SD card or two.

DEATH OF THE PDA?

I have a couple U3 thumb drives, and I have to say, I could see where it may be possible to pitch the PDA and just go with those. Of course it's dependent on the availability of a PC or Laptop, but most of the time that's not much of a problem. If you're prone to dropping or breaking your PDA, moving to a U3 drive may be the answer and save you some $$.

The other thing about the U3 drives is that there's no power supply to lug around. In my backpack, I have my BlueTooth earpiece, my cell phone, my PDA and my laptop, and I have to carry around the wall-warts and line-lumps for each. There is a trick though—it's possible to charge the cell and the PDA off the laptop. It takes longer, but it's two less transformers to lug around. Generally, being a belts-and-suspenders guy, I bring 'em all along, but in a pinch it's possible to charge from the laptop.

MUSIC PRODUCTION ON A PDA

There's really only two solutions that I know of for PalmOS devices. One is Bhajis Loops by Chocopoolp Software and the other is NotePad (unfortunately named app) by miniMusic.

I've tried both and lean towards Bhajis. Bhajis comes as a trialware piece, so that should be a no-brainer to check out. Neither one will make you sound like Aerosmith, but if you need a little ditty for your video or website, or say some backing tracks for a small gig, these should be fine. Also great fun on a plane when your laptop batteries die and there's nothing worth watching on the plane's video.

CATCHING A FLICK

TCPMP v0.71 is a freeware media player. It's very convenient how it can view any file if it has a codec. Instructions for using this in combination with other ripping software on your PC/Mac is searchable on the Internet. Check the DACS Link or Download area for more information when available. (FYI, TCPMP version 0.71 is freeware. I cannot vouch for later versions.) This came recommended by my brother who works in the video editing industry and is a major gadget hound.