Arkanoid Update released - 6 new levels. (From Simon)
"I've tried the "back button exits" on the
Arkanoid game, but unfortunately it doesn't work (you probably have to wait
for events). Therefore, returning to the game is unlikely to be implemented
(there's only about 10 bytes more possible to add to the REX binary). Sorry.
Anyhow, I have released a small update to the game (miniscule
is more like it). In version 0.4, level skipping (editing the arkanoid memo)
is done 5 levels at a time. That means that level 01 now means the 5th level,
02 the 10th etc.
I've also added 6 more levels to have a total of 20. You
can download the addin at:
http://www.student.lu.se/~etn97ksi/sim_home/rex.html
Remember to upload arkanoid.txt as well if you want the
additional levels."
Extensive eBook URL list available. (From Mans)
"Just thought you might be interested in this
list."
Mans' list contains literally hundreds of links - some
are redundant with those already on the eBooks
page, but many are new. Enjoy!
Canadian/US battery vendor. (From Paul)
"I wanted to share an excellent source
of batteries with you and your site's users. The company is Cana Imports,
and is located in Canada, but they will also ship to the United States.
The site is www.canaimports.com.
They sold
me Maxell CR-2016's and CR-2025's for 95 canadian cents each... that's about
60 american cents each! Shipping cost me $10 canadian, so the more you order,
the more value you get. Unfortunately, the ordering process was awkward;
I had to fax my order and fax back a signature for my credit card payment.
Oh, and they also didn't charge me any tax or VAT; I'm not sure if that's
a mistake or not."
US battery vendor. (From Shreefal)
"http://store.yahoo.com/shoppingmatrix3/saycr2016.html
I just placed an order for the CR2016. Batteries are Sanyo
(I guess the 80 mAH capacity according to charts on REX websites). But they
are substantially cheaper than other places...."
eBook formatting tool. (From QC)
Interested in eBooks but not sure how to format the files
for your REX? QC has found a tool that may make things easier for you:
"Here's the link to a small application that would
automate the formatting of ebooks from project gutenberg etc for easy
reading on rex. i think the rexers would find it useful:
http://www.slack.net/~hermit/ebook/documents/textify.html
Updated eBook page w/additional
"how to" information.
Added some information on formatting and downloading eBooks
using REX Tools.
If any experienced eBook types can provide additional information
on formatting and downloading eBooks, please fire
away!
REX 6000 auction on uBid.
REX 6000 for $69 right now for sale at uBid Online Auction.
Seven are available.
Item: Xircom Xircom Rex 6000 Micro PDA, 2 MB w/ Serial
Port
To view this auction, go to:
http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=6505518&s=uwb12884
Vitamin eBook available for REX.
"I made an e-book
on vitamins and what they do. . . . [the link] should take your directly
to the "Generals" section and its the first, and only, file there."
Spanish and German versions of Birthday add-in. (From
Hernan)
"At http://www.orgmf.com.ar/condor/rex6000.html
you can find the Birthday addins for Outlook in Spanish and German. They
are derived from Nic Young's one. All I changed was a couple of LOCs.
Anyone like to help me test with French, Italian or whatever
other language version of Outlook? (mail
me).
Arkanoid update. (From Simon)
Marc asked Simon about a way to save his position in this
fun game. Simon's response:
"Mark: Sorry about your batteries,
but I'm glad you liked the game! The trouble with
the arkanoid game is that it does not wait for events but rather just
reads the keys "raw". Therefore, it does not automatically support
turn-off but stay in the game (since when the home key is pressed the
game exits). One possibility might be to use the "back" key
for exiting the game, maybe the turning-off would work then - I'll have
a look at it.
If you just want to restart at the level you left off
at there is another way :-). You can edit the second number in the arkanoid
addin, which specifies what level to start on. Remember that the first
level is 00, second is 01 etc. If you edit the
arkanoid memo, you'll start with a full set of lives etc again, so it
might be a bit boring."
Info on Arkanoid here.
eBooks page added to site.
An eBooks page has been added to the site. It includes
information on downloading and reading eBooks, as well as sources (most
of which were provided by Tubalips - thanks!).
See the eBooks link in the menu below Web Sync.
Olive Oil screen protector? (From Mans & Myster)
A recent post from Mans asked about an idea for screen
protection that he'd seen on the PDA Street discussion board:
"Has anybody read this at PDA Street regarding using
Olive Oil(!?!) instead of a plastic screen protector? More importantly,
has anybody really tried it in fact (that is, aside form the author)...
http://www.pdastreet.com/boards/Accessories/messages/11.html."
Myster replied:
"Yes it works fine - it both protects from and covers
scratches . You have to keep in mind that requires a VERY small amound
of oil on a soft cloth. You must be carefull not to allow oil go inside
rex from screen edges. You must also remove any excess oil that remains
on screen."
And an additional benefit - you can actually eat your REX
in an emergency (tastes great with some sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, capers,
and fresh pasta).
Iterim update to Web2Rex - version 1.1. (From Laurent)
Laurent is still working on Web2Rex, although vacation
and "real life" have taken their toll on his available time. He
has provided this update for now, and promises more later:
"Release version
1.1 of Web2Rex does not contain many new features compare to previous
beta 1.0 version. But this version is updated according to the recent
changes of yahoo and weather web pages (used by Web2Rex). Press the Help
button to read release notes containing all the information you want to
know."
REX Pro/5000 success on Win XP.
A fair number of folks have been wondering about using
the REX 3/Pro/5000 series with Win XP. Evidently, it is possible:
"If anyone is still in doubt I have a Rex 5 Pro
sync daily with XP Pro. I use truesync plus via my Outlook XP."
Process for USB install on Windows XP. (From Yves)
Yves may have found a way for more XP users to have successful
installs when using the USB cradle:
"I manage to install the REX software suite on an
XP machine without any problem. I also installed the USB cradle and I
can use the synchronisation with Outlook 2000.
The way to proceed is:
Don't connect the usb Craddle
Extract files from REX package (last version) to a folder
Before launching the installation of the package (setup) open explorer
Right click on the setup.exe file and select "Properties" [from
the context menu]
Select the Compatibility Tab
Select "Run this program in compatibility mode"
Select WIN 2000 from the list of compatibility
modes
Select OK to close the properties dialog
Launch setup and follow the normal installation procedure.
When done, Connect the USB cradle and XP will discover all the necessary
elements to let the synchronisation work.
I had done it previously without selecting the compatibility
box and I got blue screen when trying to install the cradle. Hope
this will help."
USB installs are notoriously finicky. Since Yves had a
failure on his first install w/out using compatibility mode, this is definitely
worth a try if you are installing the USB cradle on XP. Let
us know how it comes out!
See the XP section on our Operating
System page for four other suggestions for installing the USB cradle
on XP.
Ubid still selling REX 6000s. (From Agrafixman)
"Just a quick note for anyone looking to BUY a new
REX6000. I just picked one up for $84.07 (including shipping) on Ubid.com.
You have to watch for the auctions (they are few and far between), but good
deals can be had. I got this one just to put away for when my current one
dies."
No chess add-in, but a chess option. (From Myster)
"It might be - as you and
other said - hard to make a full chess game addin but what about an addin
that could load different chess-checkmate puzzles from a note like the
ones found in those puzzle mags or newspapers ? Check this link for example:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adam.bozon/ChessPuzzles.htm
I think it might be even more interesting than a full
chess game since there are limitless and easy to find ready made puzzles
for anyone to load on rex ...."
Help for syncing with ACT! (From Myster)
"I remember people using ACT and asking how to synch
with REX Just found this shareware they might find useful:
http://www.personalcrm.com/act-to-outlook-ACTaddon.htm"
Arkanoid 0.3 released. (From Simon)
"Hello! I've
released a new version of the Arkanoid-game, 0.3. This is probably the final
version of the game unless someone finds any bugs or sends me improvements.
The changes since version 0.2 are:
* Added floor-special. A floor protects
the ball from falling out of the field for three times.
* Simplified the SDL-frontend.
* Added touch screen support for the REX frontend.
* Removed a graphical glitch when the ball exits the screen.
* Added comments on a few places in the code in order to make it more readable.
* Reorganized some code in order to save some bytes of code. There is now
about 15 bytes of code left to implement stuff in :-)
You can download the game at my page:
http://www.student.lu.se/~etn97ksi/sim_home/rex.html
Have fun!"
Developer news. (From Marc)
"Happy new-year everyone. Seems like I'm the first
one to post this year (wonder if the list is still working)...
I've placed the latest version of the SDCC compiler package
on my website --- please have a try ---
http://www.xs4all.nl/~nijweide/rex
Please note that I haven't had time to test the database
functions and I'm not sure everything is there.
I've also updated the documentation and uploaded everything
I had. Be aware that some of it is unverified (RxDb... functions), some
of it is plainly wrong (e.g. RxDisplayTab) ... and some links are missing
(e.g., RxDbBeginTransaction). But in return you'll get a preview of the
images you get when using the RxDisplayComponent function (http://www.xs4all.nl/~nijweide/rex/RX_ID_COMPONENT.html)
and a lot of other extra's.
BTW, currently I'm working on the farcall/library mechanism,
but I've run into a little problem: the global variables of the library
addin. Does anyone have some ideas about the best way to keep them seperated
from the 'main' addin and other library addins? Is there a map of the RAM,
which areas are free to use, which aren't?"
Interesting leather case option for REX. (From Tom)
"I found the best REX case that I have seen yet at
the Fossil Store.
The REX in the clear plastic slot case fits perfectly in
the back compartment along with the stylus. The front
compartment will hold quite a few credit cards, and to make it perfect there
is a money clip on the back to hold your cash.
The whole thing all loaded up is still smaller than a Palm
in its case. It can be carried in your front pants
pocket without fear of damage to your REX, since the REX is safely in the
hard plastic case. Or you can carry it in a shirt pocket if you prefer.
I bought mine for $13.99 at the Fossil Store at the Sawgrass
Mills mall near Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Their website lists store locations
around the country, or you can buy
it from the website for $20."
An excellent resource for REX 3/5Pro/5000/5001 users.
(From Tice)
"You can find ALL programs (both Windows and Linux)
for Rex 3/5 on my homepage:
http://www.tice.ini.hu
http://www.tice.sw.hu
http://www.rex.sw.hu"
REX 6000's on Ubid for $59!?! (From Terry)
"If anyone is interested in a backup or spare Rex
6K; check www.ubid.com. They
are selling in lots up to 12 with a starting bid of $9, however, it appears
the best final bids are $59. Good luck!!"
CalPatch and RexKeys, cMemo, Adder, etc. (From Myster)
Greg raised an interesting question about running CalPatch
(see story below on January 2) and Adder together. Which brought up other
questions about running CalPatch on a REX that has firmware modified using
Paul Lenz' RexKeys.
Well, it appears that CalPatch works fine with firmware modified with RexKeys,
as well as with the other add-ins that patch the REX firmware to operate
(including Adder and cMemo, also from Chris):
"I use a firmware i made with "RexKeys" and i also
installed "CalPatch" ,"Adder", "cMemo" , and use "Find" a lot and never
had a problem . Before running CalPatch i also was worried if addins loaded
to adder would be affected but like you said [Chris] is VERY good at his
work ..."
Don't miss CalPatch - it's a great update to REX usability!
CalPatch from Chris enhances REX usability! (From Chris)
Chris continues to come up with intriguing tools and updates
for the REX! Now the creator of Adder
and cMemo (among others) offers up an
update to the REX firmware to make navigation simpler and easier! No more
waiting for screens to refresh as you page through calendar pages for a
specific date! Here's the scoop:
"Hi everybody. I've posted
"CalPatch", a patch to the Rex 6000 firmware to provide a "Go
To" function in the Rex Calendar dialog. Download
it, load it as an addin on your Rex, and run it once to install the
patch.
It puts a "GoTo" button in the bottom line
of the Calendar dialog ("Day" mode ONLY). I've tested it pretty
thoroughly - let me know if it causes any problems on your Rex. Worst
case, just reload firmware to undo the patch."
Powered REX case prototype developed! (From Mark)
"Mark just sent me information on a powered-case
prototype that he worked out for the REX. It might work with the REX 6000
with DockPatch applied. Check it out on
my web site, under the "Hardware Hacks" secton. This is still a work-in-progress,
and I will add any updates that Mark sends me on this project."
See the "Power Possibilities section on Greg's "Hardware
Hacks" page. (Greg has also recently updated his excellent site to
a much more pleasing color combination.)