Posts by Roddy

Palm's new OS not dead, just going Nova

My last Palm

I think it's all too late for Palm and they've lost the plot.

I was a Palm fan, right from my first Palm III, until now. Now I have Treo 680 because I always fancied a palm that could make phone calls. Alas, I got a phone that can emulate some of the things my Palm III could could do 10+ years ago.

It can't multitask.

Half the time if I'm using it when there's an incoming phone call, it gets it's knickers in a twist and won't let me answer.

Sometimes if I'm not using it and there's an incoming phone call it won't put the 'unlock screen' button on the screen so I can't unlock the screen and answer the call. (top tip 1 : don't rely on it as a phone, always carry a real phone as well)

Sometimes, applications don't seem to clear properly so despite looking 'off' it's munching the battery to oblivion and will just kill it overnight. With no 'process monitor' it's impossible to tell when it's going to do this until you wake up with a dead phone (top tip 2 : don't rely on using it for an alarm clock when travelling).

Even if you do spot that it is happening the only way to clear the rouge process is to take the damn battery out and force a reboot.

When it has killed the battery, it doesn't use a single 'standard connector' so your chances of borrowing one to charge it up are nill.

Don't get me started on what a missed opportunity not putting wifi in it was.

I soooo wish I'd bought a Nokia n800 instead and just had 2 devices that work instead of one that doesn't.

This is definitely my last Palm.

Fixing the UK's DAB disaster

Steve Green hates DAB - So what ?

When I read these articles I can't help but feel Mr. Green has missed the point slightly.

DAB might not be the most technically advanced format and there might be better alternatives but that's miles from why DAB _might_ be failing, or at least not taking over from say FM. It's because the units are overpriced, and as someone already pointed out, have gone for style over substance because you get a better markup from 'stylish'.

Plus in order to get maximum wonga for minimum effort the streams have had their nuts compressed off to get as many in as possible meaning there's no great improvement in quality over existing systems.

I do agree that that graph is about as misleading as it could possibly be.

It seems Mr. Green is constantly trying to push us to use freeview or Internet (IP) based systems. Both of which I've used and find don't suit the way I want to listen.

So why not stop slating DAB and start highlighting what it is you actually do and don't want ?

I want a small cheap receiver which I can easily move from room to room. Something I can't do with freeview receivers or _most_ devices relying on IP.

I want a system that work in my car (so probably not freeview or IP based again...)

So I pretty much want a (radio)wave broadcast.

I want some of the channels currently only available via freeview, IP and DAB

I want small, useful, cheap stereos which I can buy a few of to replace the FM/CD machines dotted round my house and in my car. Plus 2 well specced HiFis capable of receiving my chosen programming without turning my telly or computer on.

As for the BBC, they even have to balls up web radio. None of the 'affordable' media streamers and/or web radios do the Realplayer format that the beeb uses and if they change formats for the new iPlayer crap (spot a Linux/Mac user if you can) then even less stand alone units will support it. I have 3 'cheap' streaming media receivers (mp101s and a Roku soundbridge) and the easiest way to listen to the beeb on them is get a computer to convert the incoming Real stream to an outgoing mp3 one (adds about a 3s delay).

If someone made a small ( micro/mini stereo format ) box that could receive DAB (or the DAB channels I like), stream music off my computer/audio server (mp3 or preferably ogg) and tune into web radio (without needing my computer to be on at the time) as well as play CDs and cost less than 200 notes, I'd buy 3 at the weekend. A bonus would be mp3/ogg off CD/DVD and or a card/USB.

I don't understand why, when all the elements exist, and have very common requirements, they aren't all strapped into one box yet.