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REX 6000 Help Page News Archive

October 1 - 15, 2001

October 15, 2001

REX Tools for Linux updated. (From Marek)

Marek is one of the most active members of the REX community (Marek maintains the rex.mamy.to web sync site, created the order page for DS2 cases as well). He has released an updated version of his REX Tools for Linux:

"Hi! I updated my rextools for linux (v. 0.1.3a):

You can dowload this from http://rex.mamy.to/rextools/"

More interesting work in progress. (From Dario)

"I saw and bought a REX 6000 last week! I was literally fascinated by such an object. Then I looked for info about programming it and found this page, along with others.

I wish to thank you (and all the other) for the hints and sources, and I hope we all can get to develop nice apps for this PDA.

My dream would be browsing the internet someway... but, before, I'm trying to create a HyperTerminal-like communication software. I'm at a good point, after only two days working (luckily I had great experience with Z80 and C)."

Hopefully we'll hear more from Dario when he has some code to share with us. Our creative developer community continues to surprise and amaze us.

Panasonic batteries coming down in price. (From Alex)

"The price for Panasonic CR2016 batteries on Digi-Key went down. It's now only $0.405 if you buy more than one. Dirt cheap in my opinion (12 for less than 5 bucks!) Part number is still P138-ND."

Panasonic CR2016 batteries are 90 mAh capacity - the highest avaiable (along w/Maxel and Varta). Sounds like a good deal!

October 14, 2001

1.0 release of Video Poker add-in released. (From Mantillo)

"video poker for rex is 1.0 - FINAL RELEASE! you can download it on my site: http://www.onkelfuzzy.de/ - but you have to use a link on my page, because fortunecity does not allow links to files on their servers from other sites (..mhh..)! have fun with this fully working (hope so ;-) ) video poker machine simulation and tell me, if you find any bugs!?"

Unit Converter add-in trouble-shooting! (From John)

"I am still puzzled by the Unit Converter: For some people it works and for others it doesn't.I really appreciate you guys TESTING IT!

Ok, for TESTERS....there is a download on my page now called BETA TESTERS. Give it a shot.

This version adds the error check back in for FILE NAME. If the z_jdf_UNITS is not found then it should terminate itself. If you get this far, and it works, then you have a good file.

Note that it is still acting sporadic for a NEW FILE specified once the program works. Try ERASING ALL YOUR EXISTING MEMOS ON YOUR REX, THEN synch the new memos in the BETA download. They are:

UNITS must be CAPS. The rest must be lowercase. PLEASE TRY AGAIN!! IT ALL WORKS FINE ON MY REX AND SOME OTHERS!!"

October 13, 2001

In development: Tool to provide HTML-XML conversion and VREX.NET functions!

Tony is hard at work on a cool new tool that will provide:

REX CodeGenerator allows you to control the size of the XML files by selecting the number of "cards" (from 1 to all) that each converted HTML pages use. (Cards are the storage metaphor used on the REX for web content - more cards = larger files). Below are a couple of screen shots of the tool in it's current alpha stage:

This tool is still undergoing development and testing and is not available for download yet. There will be updates in the next few days as things progress! Nice work, Tony!

Update to Unit Converter add-in available. (From John)

John has updated Unit Converter yet again, with a bunch of new cool stuff:

"UNIT CONVERTER Version 3.0c 13OCT01.
http://www.geocities.com/jdelferro/rex

Added:

    1. EXIT button.
    2. FILE: Hit the FILE Button and you can load up ANY properly formatted MEMO file!!!
    3. S : SWAP the Base unit and New Unit
    4. D : Cycle the decimal Places between 0 and 8
    5. Temperature is NOT a required category. You can have it or not, and it can be ANY sequence.

NOTE: Some users have reported a strange problem of the UNIT NAMES being blank in some instances. PLEASE EMAIL ME and tell me THAT YES you have the same problem or NO you do not have the same problem.

I use this as a Currency Converter. My default z_jdf_UNITS only has 1 category, Currency. It loads very fast. If I want to do other conversions, I use the FILE button and load in a different file, such as z_jdf_UNITSbasic.

Be creative do what you want! and let us all know!!

JUST DOWNLOAD IF YOU INTEND TO REALLY TEST IT!! If you are not gonna test it for us, you might want to wait a week!!"

October 12, 2001

Video Poker add-in link update. (From Mantillo)

"-video poker download-

hello! Some people mailed to me that they could not download poker0_9.zip from fortunecity.de.

please try to download with a link at:

www.onkelfuzzy.de - that will work!"

More options for web content via email and REX mail transfer programs. (From Ralf)

"Dear REX6000 community,

With rex.net terminated - and as a Palm Vx + AvangGo user - I'm also struggling to get meaningful - up-to-date content easily into my REX6000. I liked very much the idea of Greg [based on Antmelnat's original idea] to use mailing lists and mailrex to have at least the information handy as a memo. Together with one of the find add-ins this is at least something.

I did some further digging about how to get content, and found an interesting way to grab content of real web-sites:

I'm using web2email services, such as "[email protected]", "[email protected]", "[email protected]", "[email protected]", to retrieve certain web-pages as email. With a filter in Outlook, this is transferred to a "REXcontent" folder, which then synchronizes into Memo with mailrex. Still a little bit awkward, but at least a way to go ahead without too much programming (I've go no idea how html, xml etc. works...).

Now I'm on the search for really smooth content, in text format. getweb grabpage.com from above send the information in a quite reasonable format. But how can I make the web-page retrieval a little bit more sophisticated, like tranferring a parameter to a form ? E.g., want to retrieve aviation weather for "LTBA" on the page http://adds.awc-kc.noaa.gov/projects/adds/tafs/. If I do it manually, I fill "LTBA" into the form and press the "TAF AND METAR" button. Any way to include these two actions into the url, so that the email robot can fetch it?

In any case, would be a good idea to collect meaningful text links for these purposes. Working on it and let you know."'

Look here on our Add-ins and other REX Programs page for more information on REX email transfer programs and a link to Greg's site where he has additional information and web content links.

Online source for Zebra pen/pencil for your REX wallet. (From Michael)

Michael has found an online source for the Zebra pen/pencil combo that Franco brought to our attention a few days ago:

"... I wanted to let people know that the Zebra pens and pencils could be ordered from www.daytimer.com. I bought a pen several years ago, when I used a DT. Now I use a Rex."

Nice sleuthing, Michael!

October 11, 2001

Windows XP/USB cradle users - troubleshooting advice available

More and more users are moving to Windows XP, and some are finding the USB cradle installation problemmatic. If you need some help in this area see our Windows XP section on the Operating Systems page - new troubleshooting advice from Selim has been added that might be helpful to you! Thanks, Selim - excellent information.

DS2 case final order count.

The DS2 order page is closed, and here are our final totals:

Total orders - 119

Total cases ordered - 159

  • Clear - 104
  • Blue - 30
  • Purple - 9
  • Yellow - 14
  • Pink - 2!! (Richard swoops in at the last minute to join Marc in pinkdom!)

More information when we hear back from Citizen on this order!

Rextrain - Very interesting "user recompilable" add-in released. (From Davrex)

Davrex has put together both an add-in and a way for others to update/localize it to their purposes. His web site is quite detailed and well done - worth looking at even if you're not sure you need the add-in!

"Hi all! I've created my first addin for Rex6000: "RexTrain". I was doubting if making it public or not, becasue I don't know if it will be very useful to a lot of people. In any case, I have set up a page for you to decide.

http://www.geocities.com/davrex6000/

RexTrain is a visual timetable for trains (or another transport with regular and frequent departs & arrivals). It plots a visual representation of the trains depart & arrival times at some station at the time you plan to arrive
at it.

Basically it answers to the question: I'm at x minutes from station 'A' and I plan to go to station 'B'. Which trains will I found when I arrive at station 'A'? In fact, the original question that led me to make this little addin was: "Must I run now or I have plenty of time to catch the next one ?" :->

All the data is hardcoded in the addin (no external memos). If you want to create another localization you must recompile it. But I have set up an easy mechanism to automate it (you don't need to know C at all!!). Please refer to my page for more detailed information. All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks to all the developers that have shared their source code and REX experiences with all of us !! Without their support I never would have been able to create any addin.

And, if you happen to live near Davrex and take the same trains, you could even use it as is! :-)

DS2 case orders ending.

The DS2 case order page will be closed by 12:00 CEST - approximately 3am PST. Thanks to all who ordered, and especially for the many nice comments - they are appreciated by Marek, myself, and Zmcnulty.

We are already in process of confirming the orders with Citizen, and will post news as soon as we hear back from them!

October 10, 2001

REX-sized pen/pencil combo found! (From Franco)

"I found a set of small pen & mechanical pencil that fit exactly in the stilus place of my Rex case (the leather-like type). You can find it at

http://www.zebrapen.com/products.cfm?prodid=47

The mechanical pencil's tiny (.5mm) lead is a very accurate stylus and does not scratch the screen (as everybody at Rex Rumors knows, the pencil's lead, actually the non-leaded compound, is based on graphite, which is a friction-reducing material). Bend a little the (very resistent and resiliant) clip, so it remains on the ouside of the case (there is no space inside), and you can leave home with, in your shirt pocket, your Rex, your driving license (in the inside of the case), a couple of credit cards (in the outside pocket), your Zebra writing instrument, and you have anything you need.

Except money... Well, put it in a pocket."

PayPal sign-up outside the US.

I've been told there is a delay when signing up for PayPal in some countries outside the US. If you are ordering from outside the US, please make sure you go to PayPal and complete your sign-up as soon as possible.

DS2 case orders closing soon - here's what's next.

The DS2 case order page will be closing on the 11th. Remember to get your order in today (the 10th) if you are interested.

The next step will be for Zmcnulty to confirm our order w/Citizen. We're up to:

Total orders - 103

Total cases ordered - 140

  • Clear - 95
  • Blue - 25
  • Purple - 7
  • Yellow - 12
  • Pink - 1!! (Congrats to Marc for breaking the ice w/the pink case!)

Depending on the results we'll let you know what's up. It could go either way:

More updates to Find add-in. (From Gerd)

Gerd is going to need a week or two off to rest up from all the work he's done on his Find add-in:

"All, uploaded new version. Cancelled the slow one. Medium is default now. Might make it switchable in a future version.

http://xtide.ldeo.columbia.edu/~krahmann/rex/find.rex

Replace find.rex by find_fast.rex to get the non interruptible version.

http://xtide.ldeo.columbia.edu/~krahmann/rex/find_fast.rex"

Gerd's REX page is here - visit for more info on his add-ins.

And to John's unit converter add-in. (From John)

Along with Gerd, John is the other hardest working add-in developer of late:

"Greg gave me an idea with his last post about Tax calculation using the Unit Converter.

Here's a TIP CALCULATOR example. If you ENTER the BILL, it will show:

  • the 15% tip value
  • the TOTAL BILL+TIP
  • Split the Bill between 2 people
  • Split the Bill between 3 people
  • Split the Bill between 4 people
  • Split the Bill Between 5 people

You get the idea!!

Just edit your memo file (carefully!!) and put this in the memo. (Make sure you read the readme file concerning SEQUENCE).

$ ------------------ ;
$ Tip Calculator ;
$ Based on 15% ;
$ ------------------;
#Tips(15%), SEQUENCE ;
Bill, 1 ;
Tip, 0.15 ;
Total, 1.15 ;
2-Folks,0.575 ;
3-Folks,0.38333 ;
4-Folks,0.2875 ;
5-Folks,0.230 ;
$ ------------------ ;
$ ------------------ ;

Any more creative ideas??"

October 8, 2001

Video Poker add-in available. (From Mantillo)

"Now you can download VIDEO POKER as usual from my site

http://www.onkelfuzzy.de/

source code, emulator files &... are included! you find a link at the rex and at the download section :-)."

Multiple versions of Find add-in. (From Gerd)

"And here comes the next development. I succeeded in making the search interruptible. That process is, however, rather slow. To see the difference yourself:

Fast is like the 0.3 release. Slow checks all the time whether the screen has been tapped and in that case stops the search. Medium only checks every 10 items whether the screen has been tapped. Please send some feedback which speed grade is the most reasonable or whether we don't need the interruption feature."

More Win XP/USB cradle problems.

There have been mixed results with the USB cradle and Win XP, some have had success, others not. From Anthony:

"Just wanted you to know that I just installed a fresh copy of the final version of Windows XP, and while trying to install the drivers for the USB cradle, the computer rebooted on me. I tried it three times without any luck. As stated below, the problem occurred when pointing to rexseren.sys. Selim (on the OS page) mentioned he got it working. I don't know how."

As always, if you have a choice the recommended way to go is the serial cradle - reported problems with it on any OS are few and far-between, and there is no speed difference between it and the USB version!

DS2 case orders are still rolling along.

Here's where we are now:

Total orders - 80

Total cases ordered - 110

Countries:

October 7, 2001

Update to Find add-in. (From Gerd)

"release 0.3 of the find addin:

I slightly modified the default settings (only subjects and names are now searched) and included a back button to jump back to the results list! I tested PIN locked memos and the find addin does not care at all. They are displayed as a totally normal memo, again showing how ridiculously insecure the PIN is (see Dana's page for more info). That means of course, that you should use my encrypted memo addin to store important data ;-)"

Good news for web sync'rs - HTML > WML converter. (From Marek)

"Hi all! I released today html to wml converter. This is first version, but it works:-) This time no sources - sorry. But you have precompiled executables for linux, dos and win32. If someone will make unusable wml content with this - please let me know."

VREX.NET and Win 2K may have limitations. (From Daniel)

". . .just upgraded my operating system to Windows XP corporate final (build 2600) and vrexnet works perfect. No troubles with missing components or 8k boundaries. That's rather interesting because I had installed Win XP RC 1 before and couldn't get vrexnet to work. Under Win 2k I only had problems with files bigger than 8k. Seems to be rather OS dependent."

New DS2 case color "discovered!"

Zmnculty has reported that there is another DS2 case color available - Pink!

If you have already ordered and are just dying for a pink case, let me know. If you are going to order and want a pink case, include that information in the Comment field. Maybe we'll update the order screen if time/interest permits. . .

Updated cMemo now available. (From Chris)

Chris has updated cMemo:

"New in version 0.2:
- Menu in alphabetical order
- Search is now case-insensitive

Bugs fixed in version 0.2:
3. The scroll bar did not always track the position in the menu list properly
4. Franco D. (reported 10/4): cMemo would not run, exits with error 012E:FFF5. Due to method used for detection of INI file.
6. Gerd (reported 10/4): while displaying memo, touch in bottom (white) button area - crash. Wasn't handling DS_CLOSE message.
7. Gabriel P. (reported 10/5): search with blank string - crash. (Same as Markus ?, 10/6)"

October 6, 2001

DS2 case orders - too much of a good thing? :-)

The quantity of the DS2 case order continues to surprise us (we were expecting about 50, tops). As the quantity of cases ordered climbs, we may find that Citizen is unable (or unwilling) to fill such a larger order. We are going to monitor the quantity and communicate with Citizen about the order. We may end up needing to adjust our order process or delivery schedule, limit the total number of orders accepted, or limit it to one case per order, etc. Nothing is clear yet, so if you want a case (or cases), go ahead and order. We'll let you know when we have more information.

Update to Unit Converter add-in - now user customizable! (From John)

John's new Unit Converter add-in now allows you to modify the conversion factors, which are stored in a memo on your REX:

"New Verion of UNIT CONVERTER is complete. Please give it a test run. If you have feedback, give it to me by SUNDAY night. I will work on it on MONDAY (US Holiday for me!) Have a great weekend!

Primary update is that the units are NO LONGER HARDCODED. The units are stored in a syncable MEMO file. If you don't want to sync memos then don't use this version!! If you do use the memo, you get great flexibility to include the units that you want.

I do NOT reccomend editting this file on REX. Edit it on the PC and then sync it down. You do NOT have to ever reload ADDIN, you just re-sync the editted MEMO."

Updates to Linux emulator tools. (From Tim)

"Hello. Just a quick note about Linux REX6000 Emulator I am trying to build (as a tool which particulary would he figure out how the screen Keyboard works). So far it loads the firmware, emulates LCD and touchscreen as well as timer interrupts. Lot of stuff doesn't work yet - RTC, UART, hardware buttons, database apps (Calendar/Contacts/etc), but these I believe are a matter of time to be implemented with the help of Rex developers community.

Here are some screenshots:


It even managed to give me a low battery warning..."

October 5, 2001

Yikes! We're up to 82 DS2 cases ordered!!

Zmcnulty be warned . . . 82 DS2 cases (on 59 orders) and counting. As of this morning the count is:

With the exception of a few mavericks (go yellow and purple!) we're obviously a pretty conservative bunch. :-) See the story below if you are interested in ordering a DS2 case.

Daniel's REX site up and running again.

Daniel's site (home of the rexdk and the asteroids add-in) is up and running again! Find it at:

http://www24.brinkster.com/rexdk/

Keep up with Rex Rumor Central via email.

An easier way to keep up with RRC is available from Marek (of rex.mamy.to web sync fame):

"Everybody in the Rex world knows Rex Rumor Central. This mailing list checks if new messages appear on RRC and e-mails it to subscribers."

October 4, 2001

Memo reader provides page-up/down and bookmarks!! (From Chris)

Chris has done it again! He's developed a memo/eBook reader add-in that sounds great! Here's what he has:

"Hi All: I've posted my Rex "eBook"/memo browser addin, dubbed "cMemo" ("see memo") on my website. Nothing fancy - simply displays a menu of all memos, and lets you display a memo in "full-screen" mode, with page up/down. Saves one bookmark, and upon re-running cMemo, jumps to that bookmark. Also has a primitive search-forward capability. Please see the readme for more details."

Updates to unit coverter and not a spreadsheet add-ins coming! (From John)

John has some excellent updates coming in his very useful add-ins. User customization will be available in both!!

"On saturday check for the NEW release of JDF's UNIT CONVERTER. The current version has hardcoded conversions that don't include currency.

The NEW RELEASE will include a configuration memo, where YOU can add any conversions you want; including currency. Edit the memo on your PC and then sync the memo down to REX. You can also set the DEFAULT conversions so that every time the program starts it is on the MONEY category with the EURO as the default.

Note: NOT A SPREADSHEET will also have the SAME memo configuration ability. That means that you could make a memo with the conversions and display up to 11 conversions on the same screen!

Check it out Saturday!! http://www.geocities.com/jdelferro/rex"

Birthday tracker add-in in the works. (From Arjan)

Arjan is working on an add-in that should be of great help to those of us who are absent minded:

"I use the REX calendar to remember the birthday of all my friends, but there is no simple way the view al upcoming birthdays. I am creating an add-in which displays all the upcoming birthdays for the next month or so. It displays date, name and age. I also have plans to save this list to a memo, but that is step two. I already made something like this for on webpage. That's what gave me the idea. For me it's very usefull, and I think other people can find it useful."

This is several weeks away from release, as Arjan is fitting in work on the add-in between his "real' responsibilities.

XML code generator on the way. (From Tony)

Something that a lot of web sync'rs have been waiting for . . . Tony is planning on releasing an XML generator soon!

"Hi, I just want to inform you that I am working on a program called RexCodegenrator, it is a program that gets web pages and generates an .xml file that vrex.net can use. The program is working right now and I will release a demo this weekend."

Site search features added to REX6000.org

Based on user requests, new site search features are available on REX6000.org. At the bottom of the navigation frame on the left (below "REX History & Pics") you will find:

Note that since this site has a relatively simple design - it is not database driven and meta-tags are not employed, you will be directed to whole pages rather than to a specific paragraphs or sentences. Also, the site will only be indexed once a week, so content that is less than 7 days old won't show up in searches. If anyone has any suggestions to improve the search capability, let me know.

Thanks to QC for pointing out the Freefind service.

53 DS2 cases ordered.

The numbers continue to climb. Looks like we'll need a bigger truck, Zmcnulty.

Drop by http://rex.mamy.to/dana/form.php if you'd like to order a DS2 case. See the story on the 17th below, for details.

October 3, 2001

Relatively quiet in REXland.

Gerd is continuing to update his find utility, via a very active discussion on RRC.

Developers are talking REX high-tech on the developers' mailing list, and have recently made progress in some important areas, including database layout and access, animations, etc.

Daniel is working on getting his Rexdk site up and running again (ISP problems), while Mike has been updating his SDK.

October 2, 2001

40 DS2 cases ordered.

So far we have received orders for over forty DS2 cases, from the US, the UK, Canada, France, Portugal, Austria, Poland, and Finland. Clear and blue are the most popular colors, followed by purple (lavender?) and yellow.

Now accepting DS2 case orders!

Thanks to Marek and his web wizadry, we have a DS2 case order page at:

- http://rex.mamy.to/dana/form.php

Go to that page to order your DS2 case(s)! If you're wondering what a DS2 case is, see the story below on the 17th of September.

The order page will be up for one week - until the morning of October 11. Place your order by then or it will be too late! We will be accepting orders for users around the world - the only caveat is that all payments must be made via PayPal.

See the order page for all the details. This announcement will be reposted daily here and on Rex Rumor Central until the order page closes next week.

More content coming to rex.mamy.to. (From DDunwoody)

Marek's loyal cadre of rex.mamy.to web sync'rs are also continuing to add new content. There are several eBooks available on his site, aside from news, entertainment, and other sync options. One of Marek's users is working on making the BBC News available!

"With regards to BBC News - I'm working on some code to grab the BBC News stuff, and convert it to wml suitable for the Rex. I've managed to grab the contents from the page, and I'm using this as an excuse to learn XSLT in my lunchtimes. I'll let you guys know when I've got something - I've played around with the Rex enough now to know what the wml format is, and I've figured out the layout of cards and pages that I'm going to use. I should have something by the middle of next week (say 2nd-3rd October). In the meantime, any XSL people have to do HTML to WML conversion would be nice. :)"

XML conversion Tools, Editors, and Browsers (From Maik)

"http://www.xmlsoftware.com A very good resource... just in case someone didn't know this..."

Movie times java web sync tool fixed. (From Aaron)

Aaron's java tools allow you to grab content from web pages to your hard drive and then sync it to the REX using Victor's VREX.NET. Aaron has updated his movie grabber that pulls movie times off Yahoo:

"Finally had a chance to fix Movies. The layout of the yahoo movies page changed. It's up at http://www.voisine.org/rex."

New battery source. (From Asrar)

"RE: http://www.aspencer1.com The batteries they carry are not no-name brands, they are actually some of the highest quality batteries you can buy. They have AAs which have 1600mah... one of the post powerful NIMH AA rechargeable batteries on the market. They are pretty reliable, you can check their feedback on eBay (username onlybatteries.com). Just thought I'd say that."

Tool to create icons for web sync. (From Marek)

Marek (provider of the rex.mamy.to web sync site) has created a new tool:

"I made small tool to convert wbmp image to 'xml' format. This works under windows. How to convert some image to wbmp, look into Dana's website or search about wap tools. You can download this from http://rex.mamy.to/rextools/wbmp2 rex.zip."

New version of Memocat. (From John)

"http://www.geocities.com/jdelferro/rex

This version will ALSO DISPLAY the first seven lines of the memo. Yeah...it ain't perfect...truncates some lines and doesn't know to not split a word at the end of a line! BUT......it might be on its way to being a book reader!! Just need time.."

Again - significant updates to the REX search utility. (From Gerd)

"Latest news from the find addin:

- display of contacts works
- display of memos works
- display of task notes and subjects works
- display of calendar entries works partially

Note: of memos and task notes only the first 10 lines each with up to 38 characters are displayed. Longer or more lines are simply skipped ! (more is rather unlikely, sorry but that gets too complicated).

Note2: tap on the display screens to get the back and quit buttons"

Download it from http://xtide.ldeo.columbia.edu/~krahmann/rex/rex.html.

October 1, 2001

Gerd continues to update his REX search utility.

If you haven't yet, consider trying out Gerd's REX search add-in. He is updating it regularly, and is very responsive to feedback posted to REX Rumor Central.

Download it from http://xtide.ldeo.columbia.edu/~krahmann/rex/rex.html.

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