Noobie's first dumb questions

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hi, Merry Christmas to all.

I ordered myself a X51V for Christmas and eagerly awaiting it arrival. Now that I am waiting I am starting to come up with many questions. Here now are the first of many dumb questions .

Are pocket PC's susceptible to viruses? Is so what antivirus program should I get?

To view movies on the Axim, what software do you use to convert a DVD to PDA viewable? Are there any copy right issues in doing this?

I am getting a 2G SD card and a 4G CF card. Is this sufficient? Any issues with this?

If I want to install/load programs such as Adobe Reader do I have to fist install them on my PC then transfer them to the Axim via the sync?

Any pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Spiff

Congrats on your new toy and welcome to Aximsite.

I can answer the question on viruses. Don't worry about them. They don't have any out there yet that can do too much harm that a hard reset can't fix. Just make sure to back up your device from time to time. At this point, buying antivirus software for your pda would be wasting money.

[cmagdanz]

Welcome to Aximsite, Spiff. You will find this site is a treasure trove of valuable information. Go exploring with the search feature to find out much from those with far more experience than I -- here's my 2-cents worth.

Viruses - From what I've read here, many of us do not use PDA antivirus, although a few products are avialable. The importance of having one on your PDA depends on how you surf. I connect to the internet only from behind a firewall with built-in anti-virus, which is why I don't use anti-virus directly on my Axim. PDA's dont' seem to be as big a target for viruses as some other MicroSoft products. If you use your Axim for work, check with your IT department regarding their policies.

Movies - search out Core's TCPMP (http://tcpmp.corecodec.org/), and take a look at SPB's Mobile DVD (http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobiledvd/?en).

Sufficiency of storage obviously depends on what you store. I get by wonderfully with a single 512 SD, but I don't store movies.

Install/load - many software packages come with ability to install either through ActiveSync (typically ending in "exe") or directly from your PDA (typically ending in "cab"). You can download cab's directly to your Axim while surfing, and double click on them to install. Sometimes exe's offer some more features than cab's: read carefully

I've had my x50v for two years, and I'm still learning plenty. Don't rush into buying software; if you find something in which you're interested, do search this site for others' experience with it. There's lot of freeware out there; remember you get what you pay for (although several freeware's are fabulous).

Again, welcome to aximsite, Spiff.

[cchiang12]

Hello spiff.
Buying a anti-virus for PDA is like buying an asteroid insurance for your house.
I'm not saying you will never get a virus on you pda, but the chance of getting one is pretty slim. I don't have one... worst case, I can just hard reset and restore everything. If you have backuped everything, this process is fairly quick (< 5 hours).

As for DVD to pda... if you ever post this on the Dell's forum site, it would be deleted right a way, so that should answer you copyright question.
Depends on your conversion from DVD to avi file, it would range from 500mb to 1 gb.
so yes, you 2gb - 4 gb SD/CF card would be fine.

To view any video, I use TCPMP. It's free and it is very good.

Adobe Reader doesn't work well with WM5... you have about a 50/50 to make it work.

copyright issues are also country dependent. I'm in the UK and we can legally make a backup as long as we only play 1 at a time.

Welcome to Aximsite Spiff. You will find it an absolute mine of information,

Read as many of the tutorials as you can, especially those by Gigi. They will teach you a lot.

I agree with the previous posters about viruses. My desktop is well protected but it is really not necessary on a PDA.

As far as encoding videos from DVDs is concerned, there are more ways than enough. Read Bradish's excellent tutorial Here. All the recommended software is free.

The new Spb Mobile DVD program you have to pay for. I have not used it but I believe it is very easy to use.

The only "dumb questions" are the ones you don't ask. Ask anything you want to. That is what the site is for (but do a search first as most of your queries will have been answered long since). Remember we were all Newbies once!!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks for the info folks. Fo rthe second round of dumb questions:

Is it possible to rearrange the order of favorites in internet explorer?

When is it safe to disconnect after a sync? Once the wheel stops spinning?

I have tried changing the settings on brightness ie: remain on for 30 seconds. It will stay on for 30 secs until I shut the Axim down and then it goes back to the default, Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?


Thanks in advance

Spiff

[cchiang12]

I not sure about the rearrange of favorites...
I usually disconnect after the wheel stop spinning.
and as for setting reset back to default... that's not normal... there are other people experience the same thing, but I don't consider this normal.
Have tried soft-reset right after setting change?

Welcome and enjoy. You'll find this board has plenty of good information.

I think your favorites will be arranged in alphabetical order, no way to change as far as I know.

Once the sync is complete, you can disconnect with no worries.

Not sure about the brightness problem.

[Spaceman Spiff]

thanks for the replies.

Does anyone know if there is a way of downloading attachments (.doc or .pdf files) from hotmail?

Spiff

[dale124]

Hey, spiff. I'm glad to read your post and the reply's, as I am in the same boat as you, Just ordered mine today. I posted a general question earlier tonight, but only got one response. Good luck to you, and hopefully we can both enjoy our new christmas toys soon.

[zhaoyun]

I have tried changing the settings on brightness ie: remain on for 30 seconds. It will stay on for 30 secs until I shut the Axim down and then it goes back to the default, Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

The cause of this is unknown and I have this problem too. It is to my surprise that a new axim suffer this problem too. There is no definite fix for this at the moment and if you haven't installed too many things into the system yet, a hard reset will most likely solve your problem.

[RomanceWriter]

Hand me an oar - I'm joining this crew! My Axim 51v just arrived today. I am using it for my next novel. Several other writers mentioned how helpful these were... and I cant wait!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hey, spiff. I'm glad to read your post and the reply's, as I am in the same boat as you, Just ordered mine today. I posted a general question earlier tonight, but only got one response. Good luck to you, and hopefully we can both enjoy our new christmas toys soon.

Hi Dale, looks like we are in the same part of the world. I must say that so far I have quite happy with my toy. Once I start tracking down some software it will be perfect. I am really happy on how good the internet browsing is with opera (free trial).

Take Care

Spiff

[Toogreys]

Great thead! I ordered mine just after Christmas and am still waiting but I have been trying to lean all I can from this forum! So far the folks in here have been great! One of the best forums I have been on! So welcome Spiff and keep asking those dumb questions because I just might need to know that answer to them but was to dumb to ask or think of it!:approve: