Bonar Bridge

Haglofs Watatait Mobile Pouch – Test 2

Here is a test with the iPhone in the Watatait case.

Not in the case.

Haglofs Watatait Mobile Pouch – Test

As it was raining it was a good opportunity to test the waterproof case for the iPhone 4.

Here is a photo taken through the pouch.

eBooks Mobile

As the weather has been a bit grey here in Dingwall this morning I have been reading on my iPhone using Stanza – and I finished the eBook I was reading. I am not sure how many books I have loaded on my phone on Stanza, it must be a couple of hundred – but rather than choose one of these I decided to see what was available online for free that I could access and use on my iPhone.

Project Gutenberg and iBooks

Everyone’s first stop for free ebooks, Project Gutenberg now has a mobile site Project Gutenberg Mobile, which works well in Safari on my iPhone 4 and is easy to use and find books that you would be interested in. I looked in the Science Fiction section and found The Door Through Space, by Marion Zimmer Bradley – it was easy to find the download for this book, I chose an ePub version and opened it in iBooks, Apple’s own eBook reader available from the App Store for free. I also chose the version with images so I had the book cover showing on my iBooks shelf!

It was a very easy process and with over 36,000 books available you should be able to find something that interests you.

Stanza

The Stanza app has a built in online catalogue.

Within this catalogue are books to purchase – but there are many free books including a link to Project Gutenberg. Some of the free books on offer, from the shops, are the first books in a series so encouraging you to go back and buy subsequent episodes. Project Gutenberg was easy to use; with the books going straight into your Stanza library.

I was interested in Books from Munseys as they advertise pulp fiction – my favourite – I like nothing better than a old fashioned sci-fi pulp story, with heroes, heroines, monsters and laser beams!

I quickly found a book I was interested in their catalogue by going to the Genres Section. Who could resist this cover? (JSC has just commented “don’t judge a book by the cover”, teenagers, they of course know everything!)

Clicking the download button puts the book directly into your Stanza library. If your return to this page later the download button becomes a read now button as the app records you have a copy of this book in your library.

A quick browse of Munsys and Project Gutenberg shows you there are thousands of free books out there to choose from.

If you want to purchase the latest best seller then Stanza and iBooks both give you access to those as well.

I have an account with Smashwords – I have bought the Starship Sofa short story collections from them. For these books they offered them in a variety of formats – I chose ePub for Stanza/iBooks – all the formats were DRM free.

This article is sponsored by Octagon Technology Lincoln, England

Electrical Power from Walking

Here is the solution for charging your smartphone when wild camping and hiking away from the grid.

BBC Technology News

It is not on the market yet but watch out fir the boots with gortex, vibram and a USB socket!

eBook Reader?

What device should I buy to read e-books on?

Last week I was talking with a backpacker about reading when backpacking. She had a real paper book with her, I had my iPhone and was reading two books on it. She then said she was thinking of buying a Kindle – and that got me thinking about what I would recommend for the job.
One consideration in this process is that the phone/smartphone is kept in the pack, ready for use as a phone – rather than running the battery down using it as a book reader.

So what are the requirements for a backpacker’s e-book reader?

* lightweight
* compact
* robust
* easy to keep dry
* versatile
* long battery life

So just looking at this I think I would reject the Kindle – and many of the other dedicated e-book reader devices.

* lightweight – most dedicated units are reasonably light, but not very light
* compact – they are about the size of a large paperback in area but thin. However there are not many models that are truly pocket sized.
* robust – and being thin I am not sure how it would pack. As you push that last stuff sack in the bag, will you break your e-reader?
* easy to keep dry – can you get a dry case (Aquapac) to fit it?
* versatile – some e-readers can be used to browse the web and have other functions but they are limited to doing one thing well
* long battery life – most e-readers make use of screens that consume very little power – this is their one big advantage

So, looking at my list I think a better device for a backpacker would be lightweight, truly pocket-sized and offer more functions than a simple e-reader.

I think that an Apple iPod Touch meets these requirements.

Using a program like Calibre and the iPod app Stanza you could load your own books and buy from some stores. You can buy books from the Apple store and use Apple’s reading app, or even load the Kindle app on the device! Several other booksellers have apps to access their catalogues, giving a very large choice of where you purchase your books.

The screen is small but extremely sharp and easy to read. Stanza also has a simple function to change the brightness of the page to match your surroundings.

An iPod is easily more flexible than a dedicated e-reader.

Leave your camera at home and use the one on the iPod. Same goes for video.

With an iPod you can get online at wifi access points, listen to music and of course there are many other apps that will interest you. However one thing to remember is “how much battery” this will consume. A Kindle has an incredibly long battery life for just reading books – an iPod Touch much shorter if you use it for lots of other things, longer if you use it only as a camera and book reader.

To make the iPod a better proposition you would need to extend the battery life – my son uses a battery pack he got from the supermarket with his iPod, and for my iPhone I have a battery jacket. I know a search of eBay will turn up many more ways to extend the battery life of an iPod (or iPhone).

There are several very good waterproof cases for the iPod and it is truly pocket sized, so you can keep it handy, get it out and read a book at your tea stop in the rain!

If you just want an electronic book reader – there is a good selection on the market, and if you must have one try Sony – they sell a pocket sized model. If you want a more versatile device, as well as a book reader, opt for the iPod Touch.

(Of course an iPhone will offer all the above, and be your phone, blog poster and GPS… and save on the weight of the mobile phone – just take another battery pack!)

This article is sponsored by Octagon Technology Lincoln, England

Do you use a PC?

I read an interesting article on the BBC news site last night – referring to Dr Mark Dean, who was part of the IBM team who worked on the first PC.

Read it here

I have been away on holiday now for over a week and have been able to keep up with my work from my iPhone:

* it is a phone – holding all my contacts database and client info (securely – you cannot take the SD card out of an iPhone)
* I keep up with my email on it

To the basic out of the box software I have added:

* Documents To Go (to deal with MS documents – opening and creating them)
* GoodReader for PDFs
* the files are kept online in my DropBox

Battery life can be an issue when camping. I have a cradle in the car which keeps the battery topped up when driving – and it plays the iPod in the phone through the car stereo. I have two extra batteries – a pocket sized, booster/recharge battery and an extended jacket battery.

I also have a power inverter for use in the car so I can use the Apple plug to charge both of these batteries when camping – and at the house in Aviemore.

A complete office in my pocket – a small pocket today. In 1996 when we came away on holiday I needed a bigger pocket!

* Psion Series 5 PDA, with a box of spare batteries and a mains psu
* 56k dial up modem for use at the timeshare
* Ericsson SH888 mobile phone with a built in data modem – car charger and charger for the mains
* data stored on memory cards – I think I had a couple of 1 MB and 2 MB CF cards
* no media player but I did read books on the Psion

Other things I have used the iPhone 4 for this holiday

* Stanza book reader app – I have about three hundred books on the phone so I have plenty of choice
* It is the only camera I have with me – I use the built in camera app and I have purchased Camera+, I really like the split focus and exposure points in this app
* I have watched videos and listened to podcasts and audiobooks on it
* I have used Google maps, MemoryMap and Navfree for navigation – we found Jimmy Chungs in Edinburgh with it
* browsed the web in full colour and with video and sound – although I did not keep up with the news as it was Thursday when I caught up with the fact that Britain had suffered days of rioting!
* and I post to the blog using the WordPress app

So do I use a PC – yes – but do I always need it, no. The screen is small on the iPhone but iOS is more than capable of supporting my business – the bigger screen on the iPad would be good for some jobs but it is not pocket sized.

Replace my PC with an iPad. No I cannot do that, there is just so much software available for Windows OS and that’s what I need – the Windows PC strength is it’s flexibility. I know a number of people who have Mac books – who will tell me how great they are, impressive hardware, no viruses, etc etc etc, and in the next breath they ask, can I help them to set the Mac up to run Windows as the need to run some Windows software on it!

One final comment – my company supports PCs, so selfishly I hope they don’t disappear, but as it says in the article they are no longer the single driving force for technological change. At Octagon we support a variety of tablets and smart phones, as clients now have these devices and find them very convenient and with the latest OS releases very easy to use – also they are fun!

BBC Click – and Mobile Friendly Web Pages

I have just watched the BBC News programme, Click (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm) and they have reviewed a web site www.ubik.net. This site enables you to create web site suitable for display on a phone or PDA. So I have just been over there and got an account and here is the link http://octech.ubik.net. Light on content at the moment, but what an excellent idea for putting more content onto your PDA or phone.

There was also a service shown that helped find PDA friendly pages online – I have not looked at that yet, although it seemed to be for phones and will require call charges to work. The service is zabidoo.com/push.

Technology on the Road

Although I forward my business calls and refuse to do my email, the moment it appears on my Blackberry, whilst I am on holiday, there are times when a small problem at the office dealt with now stops it being a big problem when I get back. So I do need some computing device with me.

Now my wife brings both of her laptops with her and a bag full of paperwork she plans to catch up on. Meanwhile I like something a bit more portable – my Dell X51v PDA, with six gigs of storage in it and six gigs in the PDAs belt pouch, and a portable bluetooth folding keyboard,

Dell X51v PDA

So what can I do on the PDA

• I synchronised it to my Vista laptop before leaving so I have the most up to date copies of my Contacts, Calendar and Notes from my Outlook, and the last two weeks email including the attachments. I also synchronise a folder of my most important work and personal documents (including a list of thing we want to do on holiday). This gives me access to both personal and business information I may need whilst away – in my pocket.
• I have used ereader.com for many since I was first introduced to it when I had a Palm handheld – and I use my PDA to read book all the time. I purchased half a dozen books for the holiday – and I have about twenty other books stored on the SD card. I have used eReaderPro for many years as my book reader of choice. For large text files I need to read (help files for programs etc) I use ELFView.
• I have some software that converts DVDs to a format that I can use on my PDA – so I loaded Series 5 of Star Trek “The Next Generation”, three movies and a documentary about the “Coast to Coast” Walk onto one of the compact flash cards.
• I have several hours of Big Finish Dr Who stories and other various audio books and podcasts.
• Lots of music stored on CF card.
• I use TCPMP for watching and listening to things on my PDA – I have a very good set of in ear headphones in my PDA pouch.
• Whilst away I have gone online, at various hotspots, and have downloaded a number of new podcasts to listen to – I use BeyondPod for this and as my RSS reader.
• I have SoftMaker Office loaded for Word and Excel – and have been putting the final touches to my “Coast to Coast Experience” document.
• I have XnView Pocket installed this allows me to review my digital photos on a larger screen.
• Memory-Map is one of my essential applications add to that a bluetooth GPS receiver and a waterproof bag and it is a great navigation tool. The Memory-Map database contains walks I want to do, places we want to go t and notes about places we have been to in past – our favourite cafes, campsites and attractions.

Bluetooth GPS Unit and AquaPac

• I have not got an FTP program loaded on my Asus EEE Linux laptop – so I used Total Commander on the PDA to ftp the photos for my blog up to the internet.
• For fun I have a Star Trek web site (don’t look for it on the web it is stored on my PC at home) and I keep a synchronised copy of it on my PDA CF Card – I use PocketHTML to add to it and tweak it.
• My son uses it to play Space Trader and I have Vexed installed.
• The PDA has wifi so I can get online with it, browse the web and check my email, use Skype, RSS, get weather reports etc.
• As this is such an important tool both for business and personal use the night before we left I used Sprite Backup to make two copies of the device which I put on two different SD cards just in case. In the past I have had my PDA crash when away and the Sprite Backup has allowed me to rebuild the PDA.

Life Venture PDA Case with accessories - headphones with pouch, spare PDA battery and cover, PDA charge plug and adaptor leads, spare stylus, memory cards, Swiss Card and a Victorinox pencil

Security

I have a password set on the unit and it locks itself after a very short period of inactivity. The backups are password protected and no sensitive information is stored on the CF or SD cards. If the PDA is lost and then hard reset to clear the password protection then all the sensitive data is lost. If the unit is synchronised to a new computer the password is again required.

A Real Job

I had a call from one of our major clients – and unfortunately I could not get anyone in Lincoln to cover it as they were all committed. So we found a McDonalds – free internet for 24 minutes for the price of a coffee and a bap. I used the Remote Desktop application that came pre-installed on the PDA to access their server. A call to the staff member with the problem, I changed some passwords and provided the help needed.

Now one small disadvantage is the size of the Dell X51v screen – it is a bit small so server screens are displayed with very small fonts (of course let’s remember the size is also its strength, I always have the device with me). I have a folding magnifying glass in my work kit so I can use that to see the server screens, as they are displayed on the PDA, better.

This is a small media case given away free in Amateur Photographer a few years back. I use it to carry some essential accessories for work - but they are equally useful when away.

Power

I have two spare batteries for the PDA, a standard and a high capacity (I have a high capacity battery in the Dell all the time). I carry the spare standard battery in the belt pouch.

High Capacity Battery - Dell X51v

To charge the Dell as I travel I have a mains charger and two battery back-up chargers. For the camping part of the trip I also have an in car charger – I use a USB plug and a Dell synchronisation cable for this.

AA Cell Emergency Charger

More About Charging

I have a bluetooth GPS receiver, an iPod Nano and a Blackberry all of which I charge using the same mains unit with a USB socket – I just need the right lead – and in the car I use a plug with a USB socket and the same leads.

Accessories, cables and chargers

The flat rectangle in the bottom right hand corner is a 2Ah rechargeable battery I got from Maplins – which I can use to recharge my devices.

Other Stuff

The Life Venture pouch I use is great for carrying the essentials (including, money, bank cards, business cards and a pencil) and protects the PDA. It has a very secure belt clip and a shoulder strap can be added if required. It is not waterproof so when I am walking I put it in a zip lock plastic bag to protect it.

The downside of the bluetooth keyboard is it uses batteries reasonably quickly so I carry several sets of AAA cells. The usefulness of having a full sized keyboard when I need to write or input a lot of data out weighs the battery use.

Other Backups

I have an eight gig memory stick with me which has copies of the installation CDs of company and personal software. I have my Outlook PST file stored on a CF card (it is password protected) and my collection of 50k Memory-Maps is backed up onto a DVD.

I also have my PortableApps memory stick on my key ring – I can use it on my wife’s laptop if needed.

Asus EEE

Since the beginning of the year I have been been using one of these laptops for support work – it is a lightweight and capable machine. I have the 4 gig model with an eight gig HCSD card for extra storage. I wasn’t planning to bring it with me but at the last minute I packed it – and now we have wifi in the timeshare house I am glad I brought it. I have uploaded photographs to Flickr and watched several things on iPlayer – things that I cannot do on my PDA.

If there is one problem with the small laptop is the small keyboard, for long documents it is hard work – but that’s why I have the full size keyboard for my PDA.