bioneural.net » palm

Evaluating the Holux M-241 data logger

Bruce — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:35:02 +0000

After David rekindled my interest in geotagging blog posts with Google Map integration, and Dave's photo tracking experiences convinced me to revisit geotagging photos, I posted An ABC of geotagging photos on the Mac. In that article I considered questions relevant to selecting an automatic geo-location system, naming most of the few Mac-compatible devices available. I recently purchased a data logger to overcome the pain of manual photo geotagging and dispense with the hassle of a DIY solution. There's lots to like about the Holux M-241 on paper—despite some concerns as noted in Richard's detailed review. The device's appetite for AA batteries will be the decider for some people. We usually pack a recharger for my wife's noise-cancelling headphones when we travel anyway, so using rechargeables is no big deal. In fact I prefer something I know I can replace, as I don't want to end up with yet another working but unusable device due to a tired non-replaceable lithium battery (like my 1st iPod, Palm, mobile phone). The Qstarz BT-Q1000P was my original choice and could be obtained in the UK via eBay, but at nearly twice the price of the Holux. I have to say I like having a built-in display on the logger very much. This gives access to the M-241's 6 operating modes: Track Log Mode (the default; use Start and Stop (Enter button) to begin/ end a track logging session); Time Mode (useful display of UTC time for camera sync; can specify UTC offset for your time zone); Show ...

In-car GPS + Palm = DIY photo tracker

Bruce — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:00:50 +0000

From bioneural.net:

If I told you I was using a GPS photo tracking system for geotagging photos from my Nikon D70 that stored track logs and waypoints to 1GB of memory, exported in GPX format, and connected to my Mac via USB or Bluetooth—you'd be right to wonder if I was making it up. It's not fiction, and nor is it new tech either. It's a "make do" solution I put together from gear I'd already been using for several years and with £0 new investment. Given poor Mac support in the data logger market, such a system is surely a good way to experiment on the cheap before shelling out on yet more battery-operated gadgetry. A DIY photo tracking kit A Nikon D70 I shoot in raw, meaning my D70 saves images in Nikon's NEF format. Although finding Mac OS X software that can write geo-location data to EXIF in raw is not difficult, getting that data in the first place is somewhat more involved. The D70 is neutered when it comes to support for on-camera fully automated geotagging (I'm still not entirely clear whether this is a physical hot shoe issue, or a firmware deficiency—anyone?) The upshot is that my only choice, other than the tiresome manual method, is automatic geotagging using a standalone data logger (aka photo tracker). A Navman 4470 "But why do you need another GPS?", my wife justly asked. Indeed I do have a GPS device equipped with Bluetooth, the Navman 4470, which I use for in-car navigation. Navman make great ...

Mac-friendly alternatives to Apple's 1G iPhone

Bruce — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:04:28 +0000

From bioneural.net:

The iPhone has arrived in the US. Even if it were available in New Zealand I still wouldn't buy one. I'm happy to wait for the large beta-test program (i.e. 1 in 5 US adults) to refine the product first. That said, I've been looking for a way to converge my mobile devices (phone, PDA, iPod) for some time. Sadly the 1st generation iPhone does not look like the device to fill this need. Relative to other Mac-friendly alternatives it comes up uniquely short in a number of areas on my feature wish-list. But of course I haven't seen or held it in the "flesh", and it is only a 1G device—so I can't be overly critical. Or can I? Most of the pre-launch focus has been on iPhone's interface (not unimportant), but what about comparative features? It's clear that while the iPhone offers few unique features (iTMS DRM playback, bookmark syncing) it's also immediately apparent that, relative to comparable products, the iPhone has the most limitations. I've been a Palm user since 1999, owning a Palm V, an m505, and (currently) a Tungsten T3: I also use an ageing Sony Ericsson T610 and an iPod (1G deceased; currently an iPod Photo). It would be nice to carry around one device instead of three (ditto on the chargers); I had hoped that device might be the iPhone: So the iPhone has arrived. I posted on the perfect PDA + phone back in 2005—it still hasn't arrived. With Palm OS so obviously stagnating ...

Linux-based Palm OS due in 2007

Bruce — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:34:25 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Palm announced delivery of an open-source Linux-based OS by the end of 2007. They have licensed Opera for web browsing and acquired Chattermail for messaging. Palm OS 5 (Garnet) "support" is to be included in the Linux kernel, hinting at backwards compatibility with existing Palm apps. I have high hopes that the shared 'nix heritage of the new Palm OS and Mac OS X will foster tight integration between these platforms.

Google Maps on your PDA

Bruce — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 02:09:20 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Google maps have gone mobile, meaning anyone with a data-capable mobile phone is now bereft of excuses for not finding their way home from the pub. If don't have a bling phone with excesses of screen real estate, your old phone should do just fine if your pair it with your Palm (.prc here) or Pocket PC (.cab here) and Google's PDA software. It's like "GPS Lite" for those who already know where they are! I tried out the Palm version of the software using Missing Sync to share my Mac's Internet connection to my T3 (this is still possible even if you don't own Missing Sync). I don't have a working GPRS data plan with Vodafone NZ, although I expect this would work equally well (albeit slowly) if I tried my GPRS-enabled Vodafone UK SIM. So what does the Google app allow you to do? Predictably, you start with Find Location... in the app menu (e.g. wellington, new zealand). Once the search is complete you'll be presented with a map that contains basic zooming controls. As with Google Maps on the web you can toggle between viewing a road map or a satellite image (but not a hybrid). In either view you can overlay traffic information or nearby businesses by keyword (e.g. pizza), but this is apparently location-dependent as neither data were available for Wellington: If you need a map, however, the chances are that you are trying to find your way from "A" to "B". Such direction-findng capability is of course ...

Geocaching with TomTom: a Mac/ Palm solution

Bruce — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:05:47 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Jeff Fort read my post concerning the installation of TomTom POI from a Mac. Jeff is into geocaching, and asked if I knew a way to get waypoints into TomTom Navigator 5 on his Palm from his Mac. While I'd heard of Geotagging (with reference to tagging images with GPS co-ordinates), my first step was to find out something about geocaching. Then I could start looking at the problem... According to Wikipedia: Geocaching is an outdoor activity that most often involves the use of a Global Positioning System ("GPS") receiver or traditional navigational techniques to find a "geocache" (or "cache") placed anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small, waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure", usually trinkets of little value. Participants are called geocachers; those not familiar with geocaching are called geo-muggles or just muggles, a term borrowed from the Harry Potter series. Geocaching is similar to a much older activity called letterboxing. The major difference is its use of the GPS and the Internet. Err... interesting! The Geocaching.com website has a great tagline: "The sport where You are the search engine". An exchange of e-mail determined Jeff had the following requirements: To download a geocaching.loc file from http://www.geocaching.com; To use GeoNiche, a Palm app, to view the data when walking; To get the data in the .loc file into .pdb format for GeoNiche using the Java applet EasyNiche); To use the same waypoints in the file from 1. with TomTom maps in order to find the locations in the car. As Jeff explains ...

The elusive multi-device video format

Bruce — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 19:16:15 +0000

From bioneural.net:

The world has too many video formats. We mere mortals are dazzled by the cacophony of audio codecs, video codecs, and file containers. Too frequently the "same" format becomes incompatible as you move from one player to another, or go cross-platform. Some Windows Media files play fine on Windows, yet trip up Windows Media Player for Mac. An MPEG-4 file made on a Mac may not play on a Windows machine. Your QuickTime files on the desktop become wasted space on the SD card in your Palm or Pocket PC. Now we have the iPod that does video, with a predilection for H.264. So here is the challenge: What combination of video codec, audio codec, and container will produce a video (with sound) that can be played back on a Mac, a Windows PC, a Palm, a Pocket PC, and an iPod?... Was that an artery I just burst? I have some video segments on disks created with iDVD that I'd like to re-purpose. The video is in the form of .VOB files, containing MPEG-2 video and PCM audio. As elsewhere mentioned, my preferred tool for converting such .VOB files into other formats is MPEG Streamclip. As of version 1.5.1 MPEG Streamclip includes an iPod pre-set button to simplify the creation of content for use on a video iPod. These iPods don't handle just any video—they're particularly fussy, recognising just two flavours: H.264 video: up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC ...

TomTom vs. Navman: I backed the wrong horse

Bruce — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:56:47 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Some 8 months ago I chose Navman over a TomTom GPS solution for Palm for several reasons that seemed valid at the time. Since then TomTom have released Navigator 5, and Navman have discontinued support for Palm. Curiosity got the better of me, and now that I've tried TomTom I've come to realise the true extent of the Navman's failings. I bought Navigator 5 and Great Britain maps (i.e. software only) on eBay, and used this with my existing Navman 4400 GPS Bluetooth receiver. For Palm or Pocket PC—not both Navigator 5 is not platform-specific: it will work out of the box on Palm and Pocket PC devices. According to TomTom: This TomTom License Agreement ("License") permits you to use the TomTom computer program and the digital (map) data included in the accompanying package acquired with this License on any single computer, provided the Software is installed on only one computer at any time and provided the Software is combined only with one (1) navigation system. This License is non-exclusive and non-transferable. To activate a map on a different device you must change the registered device code. However: Please note that you can only change your device code once within 6 months. Please contact Customer Support if this results in any issues for you. Install to Palm from a Mac This isn't actually a well-supported option, but it can be done whereas Navman requires a Windows PC. I found this page very helpful. There are three steps: Download the TomTom setup Application for Mac OS X here, then ...

Missing Sync for Palm turns 5

Bruce — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 22:01:59 +0000

From bioneural.net:

With the release of The Missing Sync for Palm version 5, getting data from your Mac desktop to your Palm (and vice versa) has become a more streamlined process. For those using Mac OS X 10.4.x MS does away with Apple's basic HotSync conduit for iSync, using Tiger Sync Services instead. The results are mostly pleasing. The most obvious new capability is Folder Sync, a conduit that lets you synchronise a desktop folder with a folder on an SD card: This is useful for several reasons: Using Folder Sync for Word documents to a /Documents folder (accessible by DocToGo) on the SD card means you can keep working with native Word documents and avoid the desktop DocsToGo, which is (in my experience) both flakey and slow; Using Folder Sync for MP3s to an /Audio folder (accessible by RealPlayer) on the SD card is better than iTunes conduit, as it avoids sync history alerts re incompatible files (i.e. AACs). However, installing via HotSync takes such an age you might consider using a USB 2.0 card reader instead; Using Folder Sync for JPGs to a /DCIM folder (accessible by Photos) on SD card is better than iPhoto conduit, as you get more control over image size and quality (e.g. use PhotoToolCM to batch re-size the longest side to 480 px at high JPEG quality); Using Folder Sync offers a quick way to drag-and-drop the same Word docs/ MP3s/ JPGs etc. to a Pocket PC from the same desktop source folders. Other observations on the upgrade: Application stability seems to ...

What use is a VGA screen on a PDA?

Bruce — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 21:39:14 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Pocket PCs can now do VGA i.e. 640 x 480 pixels—at least with third-party software. Here are three screen captures that provide pretty convincing proof of how useful this can be. They show a PDF instruction manual for a Seiko watch as viewed on the Palm T3 (480 x 320 pixel screen; Acrobat Reader displays non-native documents at 160 x 160 resolution) and on a Dell X50v (native PDF at semi-VGA and "real" VGA resolution). If a picture says a thousand words, here are 3000 on the difference... Page 9 viewed with Acrobat Reader 3.05 on Palm T3: Page 9 viewed with Acrobat Reader 2 on Dell X50v at "native" VGA resolution: Page 9 viewed with Acrobat Reader 2 on Dell X50v at "real" VGA resolution: Want to know more? There's a very detailed discussion on VGA issues here. Update 15.11.05: With the release of Documents To Go version 8, Dataviz introduced the ability to view native PDFs on the Palm. Here's how it renders (badly, slowly) on the T3: