A Bunch of Questions From a New User

VinceC · 04-21-05, 08:47 PM

Hello All,

I have a bunch of small, varying questions that I can't seem to find the answers to on my own. I am hoping that this wonderful community (from all that I have read so far) can help me out! I have purchased a brand new Axim X30 624mhz model. Here are my questions:

- Sharing:

I know that this is a rather broad question, but I need some help "streaming" my media. By saying this, I mean that I have a home network, with a wireless router, and all of my video and MP3's are on one PC, and those hard drives are shared on the network. In looking around, I first read that you can't access network shares with the default built in Explorer. Well, I followed the instructions located here: http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?p=77407 , and it works just fine now. I type in the network share address, and I am able to view the folders. However, when I tap a file, nothing happens. I can't seem to play these items in Media Player at all. How can I play these items across the share, by buffering them? I don't want to download them to the PDA, just buffer and play them from my PC. I also regularly listen to truly streamed internet radio from www.di.fm on my PC. Is it now possible to play this internet stream on my PDA?

- Remote Access:

Is it at all possible to set up some kind of a VPN in to my home network? So this way I always have access to my files & media.

- Syncronization Issues:

Maybe these are user problems, and not program problems. But I haven't been able to figure out solutions at all. Both problems for me are stemming in Outlook Synch. They're not actual program problems... I simply can't get things to work the way I want them to. I am using the Latest XP SP2, the latest ActiveSync, Outlook 2003 fully updated, and whatever else has updates. I use all the newest/updated software.

My first issue is with email. The PDA syncs with my Outlook Email. That is fine and dandy.... if I am at my computer. But there is NO way to check those same accounts, and keep it all synced! In my single Outlook profile, I have 3 accounts. My ISP, my business website, and my Gmail. All 3 accounts to one single inbox; it works great. But I can't do that on the PDA. I have to create the 3 separate accounts. Furthermore, HOW am I supposed to keep all of that synced up with my Outlook mail??? If I am on campus (which is completely wireless), and am connected to my ISP email account, and download some messages as well as reply to messages, there is no way to sync those sent messages up with the main Outlook account, is there? Am I missing something here? I can choose to not delete messages (and therefore leave them on the server), so that when I get home I can do a Send/Receive and download the new msgs. But I am not seeing a possible way to sync up the sent messages here. Am I missing something? From the PDA, why is the Send/Receive and Connect buttons greyed out in the main Outlook account?

The second problem is with my contacts. Is there any way to get the PDA to sync with contacts other than those that are within the Contacts folder? I don't actually use this folder. I have about 6 subfolders created that I use to organize all of my contacts! What am I supposed to do? Just dump all of them in to the Contacts folder? My quick fix was to assign all the contacts a category (whose name matches the folder it is in), dump them all in the Contacts folder, and that way at least I can sort them by category on the PDA. Is there a better way??

- Accessories:

I need help deciding on a case. I need to purchase whichever type will best protect the PDA from physical harm. I am a college student, and I will be carrying this around with me where ever I go. Which type of case is most protective?

Can anyone reccomend a good keyboard? Is the Dell one the best one? I prefer a larger one, about laptop size, with a full (or larger than the other keys) backspace button. I can't stand keyboards with a tiny backspace, haha.

On average, what is the battery life of the PDA? Will it last me a whole day, which is about 12 hours?

On Dell's website, is says the card slot is: "One Integrated Secure Digital / SDIO Now! / Multi Media Card Slot". Which, in English, means what exactly? The Secure Digital part I am familiar with. But what are the other two types? Will the card port read a flashcard? Or other formats? Or JUST those ones listed?

+++

I think that is about it for now.... sorry for this long post. Right now I am most frustrated with the way Messaging is syncing with Outlook.... it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If anyone knows solutions to my issues, that would be awesome!

Thank you very much in advance!

- Vince

Don't Panic! · 04-21-05, 08:56 PM

I can answer one, but mikeyp could tell you better di.fm works fine on any Ax with internet access.

Don't Panic! · 04-21-05, 09:00 PM

Ooh, Ooh, I got another one. MMC and SD memory cards will give you a lot of inexpensive storage options. The only cards you can't use right now are CF & PCMCIA memory cards.

permalink · 04-21-05, 09:05 PM

Vince.I have a small suggestion.Check out the front(start)page and look at the tutorials.That will give you some answers.If you still have questions you can post tham in the forum pertaining to the question.I think by doing it this way you will get many more responses.In other words five different people can answer five different questions where it may be hard for one person to answer all you questions.You are very welcome here and good luck.

VinceC · 04-21-05, 09:17 PM

Thank you for the welcome!

I looked through all of the tutorials, and none of them seem to be as down and dirty as my questions. Although several of them did help answer questions for me that I did not have to end up asking here. I also looked through the FAQ, and it did not seem to answer any of my questions.

But I will take your advice :) I'll give it a few days, and then post each question to its appropriate forum.

Thanks for the advice!

FlyACL · 04-21-05, 09:18 PM

I have a bunch of small, varying questions that I can't seem to find the answers to on my own. I am hoping that this wonderful community (from all that I have read so far) can help me out!

Welcome! :approve: I will see what I can do to help. But as you have a very well thought out detailed post I am sure others will post as well.

I have purchased a brand new Axim X30 624mhz model. Here are my questions:

- Sharing:

I know that this is a rather broad question, but I need some help "streaming" my media. By saying this, I mean that I have a home network, with a wireless router, and all of my video and MP3's are on one PC, and those hard drives are shared on the network. In looking around, I first read that you can't access network shares with the default built in Explorer. Well, I followed the instructions located here: http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?p=77407 , and it works just fine now. I type in the network share address, and I am able to view the folders. However, when I tap a file, nothing happens. I can't seem to play these items in Media Player at all. How can I play these items across the share, by buffering them? I don't want to download them to the PDA, just buffer and play them from my PC. I also regularly listen to truly streamed internet radio from www.di.fm on my PC. Is it now possible to play this internet stream on my PDA?

This is something I don't do myself. But it can be done. You got have the battle done already with being able to get into your shares. The problem comes next because the basic file explorer does not have the files assiocated with the programs so tapping them does not work. There are third party apps that will allow for this. But I will let someone else give you the step by step. In the mean time if you search the site it has been covered a few times. Maybe you will find something that helps.

- Remote Access:

Is it at all possible to set up some kind of a VPN in to my home network? So this way I always have access to my files & media.

Yes, again it is a third party app. If I recall correctly people have had good luck with a LogMeIn

- Syncronization Issues:

Maybe these are user problems, and not program problems. But I haven't been able to figure out solutions at all. Both problems for me are stemming in Outlook Synch. They're not actual program problems... I simply can't get things to work the way I want them to. I am using the Latest XP SP2, the latest ActiveSync, Outlook 2003 fully updated, and whatever else has updates. I use all the newest/updated software.

My first issue is with email. The PDA syncs with my Outlook Email. That is fine and dandy.... if I am at my computer. But there is NO way to check those same accounts, and keep it all synced! In my single Outlook profile, I have 3 accounts. My ISP, my business website, and my Gmail. All 3 accounts to one single inbox; it works great. But I can't do that on the PDA. I have to create the 3 separate accounts. Furthermore, HOW am I supposed to keep all of that synced up with my Outlook mail??? If I am on campus (which is completely wireless), and am connected to my ISP email account, and download some messages as well as reply to messages, there is no way to sync those sent messages up with the main Outlook account, is there? Am I missing something here? I can choose to not delete messages (and therefore leave them on the server), so that when I get home I can do a Send/Receive and download the new msgs. But I am not seeing a possible way to sync up the sent messages here. Am I missing something? From the PDA, why is the Send/Receive and Connect buttons greyed out in the main Outlook account?

The main Outlook account is just for syncing with your desktop outlook. Not for using with Wi-Fi. If you want to take email form your desktop outlook and sync it with your Axim you use the settings in ActiveSync and that is the account they go to. You are correct that if you have 3 email accounts you then have to set up 3 seperate pop3 accounts on your Axim. I know it is dumb, that that is how the system works. As a general rule, pop3 accounts will not allow you to remove mail form the server. So even if you select to delete the mail on your Axim, the next time your desktop outlook gets the mail they should all be there. That is how mine works anyway. From there if it is important to keep ALL your emails sync'd beween the desktop and your Axim you can just sync as usual and they will go into your Outlook Email account. Kind of backwards, I know.

The second problem is with my contacts. Is there any way to get the PDA to sync with contacts other than those that are within the Contacts folder? I don't actually use this folder. I have about 6 subfolders created that I use to organize all of my contacts! What am I supposed to do? Just dump all of them in to the Contacts folder? My quick fix was to assign all the contacts a category (whose name matches the folder it is in), dump them all in the Contacts folder, and that way at least I can sort them by category on the PDA. Is there a better way??

Good question, and I don't have a good answer for you. However I will say a lot of people use different Email apps like WebIS or something that totally replaces pocket outlook. If the Email stuff is important to you, you might want to check them out.

- Accessories:

I need help deciding on a case. I need to purchase whichever type will best protect the PDA from physical harm. I am a college student, and I will be carrying this around with me where ever I go. Which type of case is most protective?

Lots of good ones around. You can check the homepage for links to different sites that have good deals. I personally use a RhinoSkin case. It is metal and protects VERY well. Problem with it is it does add some bulk to the Axim. BoxWave just came out with a new one just recently that looks nice as well. All clear plastic. There are some good reviews form users if you search around a bit.

Can anyone reccomend a good keyboard? Is the Dell one the best one? I prefer a larger one, about laptop size, with a full (or larger than the other keys) backspace button. I can't stand keyboards with a tiny backspace, haha.

Can't help much here. I have never used a keyboard with my Axim.

On average, what is the battery life of the PDA? Will it last me a whole day, which is about 12 hours?

This will depend greatly on what you are doing. Wi-Fi and bluetooth will shorten the life quite a bit. So will using "high power" apps like watching movies and stuff. Best thing is to play around and see how your use goes. Dell just came out with a new update (A03) that people are reporting much better battery life with. If you havn't done it I would do this ASAP as it requires you to do a hard reset when you are done and you will loose everything on your Axim. Meaning any programs will have to be reinstalled and email settings and such re-entered. But the update does a lot and I would strongly recomend doing it.

On Dell's website, is says the card slot is: "One Integrated Secure Digital / SDIO Now! / Multi Media Card Slot". Which, in English, means what exactly? The Secure Digital part I am familiar with. But what are the other two types? Will the card port read a flashcard? Or other formats? Or JUST those ones listed?

They are just different type of cards that can all be used in the SD card slot. Some people find it usefull if they get a good deal or they have other stuff like cameras that use a certain type of memory. I would stick with the biggest SD card you can find. Same for the CF slot unless you decide you want to get a GPS or something that would use that space. I personally have a 1GB SD card and a 1GB CF card and have more space then I need. Movies/music however can take up a bunch of room. But I install everything I can to a memory card and keep my main memory free to get better performance.

+++

I think that is about it for now.... sorry for this long post. Right now I am most frustrated with the way Messaging is syncing with Outlook.... it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If anyone knows solutions to my issues, that would be awesome!

Thank you very much in advance!
- Vince

Your welcome, hope I helped a little. If you need anything just let us know. Lots of smart people around here. Also be sure to check out the links on the home page for some good info. The Wi-Fi info is worth its weight in gold. Lots of other stuff too. Good Luck~

Don't Panic! · 04-21-05, 09:20 PM

Luck has nothing to do with it. This is Aximsite!
"If it's out there, it's in here." ;)

CRXGSR · 04-21-05, 09:32 PM

The palmOne universal wireless keyboard is one I like. Full QWERTY with a number row. Uses infrared so will work with many PPC's. Oh, and the backspace key is slightlight larger (wider) than the other keys. :approve:

Here's the review:

http://www.aximsite.com/articles/link.php?id=234

Don't Panic! · 04-21-05, 09:47 PM

PALM products no less!

If you want a belt case go with Sena cases VinceC. Ultimate protection would probably be a magnesium hardcase. That's 3! ;)

VinceC · 04-21-05, 09:58 PM

Thanks for all of this great material. I am in the process of looking it all over. I am kind of stumped on a KB choice. I will have to investigate further!

I forgot to ask two questions (ha ha):

- Has anyone ever turned off the blue dell logo on the cradle? It is very bright when I am trying to sleep :)

- I am completely lost over the "Work" and "Internet" connection type deals... what is the difference supposed to be?

FlyACL:

Regarding this:

"As a general rule, pop3 accounts will not allow you to remove mail form the server. So even if you select to delete the mail on your Axim, the next time your desktop outlook gets the mail they should all be there. That is how mine works anyway. From there if it is important to keep ALL your emails sync'd beween the desktop and your Axim you can just sync as usual and they will go into your Outlook Email account. Kind of backwards, I know."

If the message is deleted from my Axim (not just moved to Deleted Items, but completely deleted), then it is deleted from the server on the next connect. Now what do you mean by, "From there if it is important to keep ALL your emails sync'd beween the desktop and your Axim you can just sync as usual and they will go into your Outlook Email account"? If I create another email account on the PDA, is it possible to sync this new account in to my Outlook email on my PC? If so, how? I am not seeing how to do this at all. In ActiveSync, the only choices I have is the Inbox of my profile. Can you elaborate on that? If it is somehow possible to sync an account on the PDA with Outlook on my PC, that would be great.

Don't Panic! · 04-21-05, 10:04 PM

You could put duct tape over the logo on the cradle. Duct tape is one of the 20th centuries most amazing tools. Markers work too but that solution is not as readily uninstallable.

VinceC · 04-21-05, 10:25 PM

A question about keyboards....

The power connection for an Axim is on the bottom of the unit. So if I set the unit in to a keyboard... is there some sort of connection on the keyboard that will allow me to connect power to the Axim? Is it possible to have the Axim connected to a keyboard (be it wireless or physical), and have the Axim connected to an outlet?

CRXGSR · 04-22-05, 07:24 AM

Yes it's possible. If you use a bluetooth keyboard, the axim can be in any position. But if you use an infrared keyboard (depending on model), you might be limited to landscape mode. Since this puts the axim on it's side, allowing access to the connector.