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REX 6000 Help Page News Archive

September 16 - 30, 2001

September 30, 2001

Zmcnulty is on the case (literally). (From Zmcnulty)

"Hi again...I figured I'd put a few people's minds at ease.

Here are the 4 questions I asked the [Citizen DS2 case] people:

1. How many can I order at one time? Is something like 30 OK?
2. How do I order?
3. How do I pay? Can I use MasterCard?
4. How is shipping handled?

Now then, all i do is wait for a reply. Although in an earlier mail the guy said "you can order as many as you want", Japanese people have a tendency to be a little vague. So I am just going to confirm with him/her that it is REALLY ok. bye! I'll let you know..."

As soon as Z has gotten all the information cleared up, we'll be ready to start taking orders. Stay tuned. . .

More case options for the REX. (From Amy)

Amy has uncovered an option for those of us who want to carry the REX, but don't want to give up any pocket-space to it:

"Just thought I'd share a new case idea I found. It's called the Leather Hip Clip. It's basically a small, Rex sized leather wallet with a velcro closure that you can clip onto your belt:

It's small, compact and perfect for what I was looking for. You may want to put a few business cards in the front of the case to help protect the screen. You could also keep the Rex it in it's original leather wallet but it will require a little stretching of the Hip Clip case.

I bought the case at the following website for $14.95.

http://www.aperfectwallet.com/wallets.html

The owner of this website/business is really nice. They get an A+ for customer service. They send you a personal email confirmation (not just the automated order confirmation) and even included a free American Flag pencil in the box. Shipping was really fast. Mine took just 2 days for Priority shipping."

September 29, 2001

Updates to REX Find add-in. (From Gerd)

"You can download the latest version ... Expect more for later tonight or tomorrow. I am working on the display part right now. Since there are several things to implement that will take some time. But it's straight forward programming right now."

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

DS2 case orders should be happening soon.

Final details are being ironed out. Here's a preview:

International orders: PayPaly evidently provides support for users outside the US, so it looks like we may be able to handle international orders. Depending on the non-US order volume, I may need a couple of volunteers to help with distributing the DS2 cases to people in Europe and Asia. If you'd be willing to help (receive a bulk shipment of DS2 cases and arrange to mail them out to customers in your region) let me know.

See the story on the 17th below for DS2 case pictures, links, etc.

REX 6000 availability. (From Stephen)

"www.mypc21.com has an unknown quantity of USB and Serial cradle R6K's in stock.

They ship within hours of receiving your order and email you the shipper's on-line tracking number."

September 28, 2001

Breakthrough in understanding REX file system! (From Chris)

One of the issues holding back some development work on the REX was a clear understanding of how the REX database utilizes the flash memory in the REX. Well, Chris (yup - Mr. Adder himself) went fishing, and has found the key information:

"I'm happy to announce, I just got a response from tech support at Fujitsu, and there IS a document on the Sophisticated Flash File System (SoFFS) in the public domain:

http://www.fujitsumicro.com/pdf/understd17n.pdf

It includes a summary of the API of the SoFFS, and details on how SoFFS uses flash memory. At first, I didn't recognize much of anything in this document, until, DUH!, I realized that the signature we see on each 64KB sector in flash memory ("CISF9 FTL100" ) is precisely the Erase Unit Header (EUH) prefix - see page 7.

Take a look - I believe we'll find this document explains everything we wanted to know about how the Rex database utilizes the flash memory. For one thing, I'm looking into how to set the Block Allocation Maps (BAM) of a number of sectors, so we can reserve a variable amount of flash memory - as Marc suggested, say 1MB or so - for addins!"

This flash memory "Rosetta Stone" will provide our developers with important information in their quest to continue to enhance the usability and fun that the REX provides. Great sleuthing, Chris!

Updates and information for those considering stylus options, screen protectors, web sync, etc. (From Spaco)

"The BrightWriter is no more. I contacted the vendor and he doesn't even have the one he made for himself! But there are a few alternatives - here are two that I've found:

These seem to be even better, since they come in alot of diferent colors. I'd really like to find a stylus/light/ink pen combo, but I haven't seen one yet.

I got my REX from Alan Computech (http://store.yahoo.com/alan-fm/xirrexmicusb.html). They have around 100+ USB-only REXs for sale at $112.00 and can get it to you the next day. Ask for Robin, she's great! =)

The guys at http://www.cyberguys.com carry a PDA screen protection/cleaning kit that I found to be pretty good. They're made for Palms, but can be cut in 1/2 and fitted to your REX. For only about $9.00 + S&H, one kit will probably last you a good year or more. They reduce visibility a fraction, unfortunately =( , but on the good side they reduce glare and protect your screen from scratches. A tradeoff well made, in my book.

The file you have in "web sync" under the VREX.net troubleshooting concerning mswinsck.ock contributed by Daniel also works in Win95, just to let you know. Just put it in your Windows/System directory and you're good to go!

I'm floored by what my new little REX can do, mostly due to addins and development made by such a dedicated fan-base. My thanks to all of the REX community."

REX Tools for Linux updated. (From Marek)

RexTools for linux: rextoolslinux-0.1.2a released. I added '-a' option to rexdbdump to dump/extract ALL databases from REX. This may be usefull to backup your REX under linux. Download from: http://rex.mamy.to/rextools/

Rex.mamy.to web sycn site updated. (From Marek)

Now you can see on first page (in REX) icons of categories and all content is categorized. No more 'all in one page' :-) Some minor bugfixes (now there are only about 5% failed sync sessions!). And html to wml converter is coming soon...

Search add-in released. (From Gerd)

"For all who can't find the stuff in their Rex ;-)

A development release of the 'find' addin. Download it from http://xtide.ldeo.columbia.edu/~krahmann/rex/rex.html

Features are:
- search in calendar items, tasks, memos (first 512 characters only), picture names
- search can be restricted to certain items (memos, tasks, titles only)
- Search is case sensitive !
- simply tap on the things on the main display to change them
- a list of found items is shown (up to 10)
- the list items can be tapped to display that item

Missing:
- Actual display is not yet built in <-- this has priority
- not more than 10 items possible
- full memo search (>512 chars)
- case insensitivity (?)

Download it and have a look for bugs or missing features not yet listed on the missing list ! Please report how slow/fast it is in case you have a rather full rex (mine is totally empty except for 5 test items !). It seems to be reasonably fast from what I have seen. Have fun."

September 27, 2001

New board-game add-in released. (From Alex)

Alex (author of Schnauz) has already released a second add-in called "Fox and Hunter." Sounds like fun:

"Fox and Hunter is a game played on a chess/checkers board (chess?!? --- No way!). The game is played on the black fields only, like checkers. One white stone is the fox and four black stones are the hunters. The fox tries to reach the other side of the board, while the four hunters try to prevent this. Only one hunter can move one field forward at a time. The fox can move one field forward or backward. If the fox slips through a hole in the line of the hunters or reaches the other side, it has won. If the hunters manage to surround the fox so it can´t move anymore they have won the game."

Gerd is at work on a "find" add-in to allow searching for memos on the REX.

"John, don't worry. I already started. It actually is rather simple. If everything goes well expect a release within a week. At the moment it seems unlikely that it will open e.g. a memo with the built-in memo editor. I most likely will simply display the memo. The reason is that there is no obvious way to tell the built-in programs to open a specific memo/contact/... I have already finished the most important part of the addin: the icon ;-)"

Updates to SDCC development kit. (From Marc)

"Hi all,

I've updated the RxSDK package on my website and also uploaded some new documentation. SDCC is reasonably stable, at least all bugs I've encountered are gone. Usually the SDCC developer guys are very quick in solving them (think in terms of hours here). SDCC also includes support for long integers now. Still no float though and I don't think there will be.

There is now a little addin included that is able to communicate over the serial port and that is able to send any page that can also be seen with the memview addin. There is a host program (RxSerial) included. Be aware though that this is alpha code and may contain a number of bugs. The next extension I have on my mind is to add support to write addins to the Flash memory using this addin... but I think I'll first have a look at SDCC to see if it can be easily modified to create larger then 8k addins (I'm running into that limit much to often)

Well, please have a try, and please please let me know if something doesn't work."

See here on our SDK page for more information on Marc's SDK.

Xircom customer support comes through for Amy.

Amy was having problems using her USB cradle on her Dell PC at work. Nothing we had could help her . . .

"... I finally went to Xircom's support site and opened a trouble ticket yesterday. Today they emailed me saying they would ship me a serial cradle free of charge. I was rather impressed! Hopefully this will fix my problem."

Unless you lack a serial port to use it on, the serial cradle is consistenly the most trouble free way to sync your REX using a cradle. See here in our FAQ for reasons why going serial

September 26, 2001

Encrypted Memo add-in released. (From Gerd)

Gerd has released his encrypted memo add-in. If you need stronger security on your REX for some key information, this add-in may be just the thing for you:

"First public release of the encrypted memo addin. This is my first addin. So don't expect it to be perfect. When I first got my Rex some months ago I asked for such an addin but nobody picked up on the idea. I guess everybody (but me and one lonely poster here) was happy with the insecure PIN of the Rex. So I did it myself.

Go to:

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

and give it a try. PLEASE read the Readme.1st !!! It's a little slow during scrolling and when saving many lines, but the solutions for that have to wait until the next release. Oh, and once I am done with this one. What about some interesting addin requests ? I don't know what to do next ;-)"

September 25, 2001

Rexdk available here until Daniel's site is updated.

Some download links on Daniel's Rexdk site are not working, and folks are asking about his Rexdk. Until he updates his site you can find links to Daniel's rexdk (rexdk zip) and emulator (rexemu1.zip) files here on our SDK page.

Lotus Notes Sync using Yahoo & TrueSync- additional information.

Dan used Joerg's suggestion from our Sync Options page to sync Notes and his REX. It works, but he discovered an important setting required to make recurring events sync properly:

"I did get everything working. Installed Intellisync for Yahoo and True Sync for Yahoo per Joerg's instructions. Contacts were no problem. Notes didn't like repeating Calendar entries with no end date, so I had to go in and give all the birthdays, meetings, etc a solid end date. Might be a pain when I miss my Mom's birthday ten years from now, but oh well."

So caveat sync'r - for those using Lotus Notes you'll need to give your recurring events an end date. Thanks, Dan. We just hope Dan's mom doesn't read the news . . . really, he does care! :-)

Some questions about the DS2 - anyone have any insights?

As reported on September 18th, a Chris has been working on firmware swaps between the REX and the DS2. He's got some questions:

"I have loaded two different "builds" of DS2 firmware on my Rex: one as derived from the code packaged with the DS2 emulator, and one as extracted from a DS2. Both booted up and operated reasonably, with the big exception of fonts: they aren't there! Unlike the Rex, which has the fonts right in the 1MB contiguous firmware, the DS2 has the Japanese and one English font located at the end of the dictionary. At least, that's where I found them in the DICT1.DAT file provided with the DS2 emulator. This is a 4 MB file, entirely empty except for the font bitmaps in the last 180KB or so.

Now here's the question of the day:

>>Does the DS2 really have another 4MB of memory!?<<

I'm assuming this is in addition to the known 4MB of memory in the "standard" configuration we see in the Rex, with 1MB firmware, and 3MB database, which is identified as a 2MB Rex.

Now, this sounds almost impossible, given the internal photos (of Rexes), etc: how did they squeeze 4MB more memory (a total of 8MB???) inside the DS2? Seems like this would not necessarily have to be 4MB of flash memory - wouldn't an actual ROM be smaller and cheaper?"

If you think you have any information that might help Chris in his research, let us know!

September 24, 2001

REX 1 MB and 2 MB models and the REX.BIN firmware file. (From Kaj)

For some time now we have known that there are two REX 6000 models, one with 1 MB memory, and one with 2 MB memory. (The 1 MB version only seems to be available outside the US.) Some time ago Radek reported that when he flashed his 1 MB REX with the REX.BIN firmware file on this site (sent by Xircom to a US REX owner), his 1 MB REX then began reporting that it had 2 MB of memory. He believed that the "REX don't check size of memory, only reported size in the case of firmware version." Kaj has performed a test that seems to confirm Radek's statement:

"Hi, I recently bought a rex6000 w 1mb memory. After upgrading the firmware it started to report 2mb memory in the settings. Browsing the REX-FAQ on your site I read (at faq: “What is the REX 6000?) something about this strange issue. By then I decided to try what would happen if I would write more than 1 mb of data to the rex. I created about 1,5 mb of notes in ms outlook and started intellisync. Before even one note was written to the rex, intellisync reported that the amount of space nedded was more than available on the rex. After I reduced the notes size to 900kb, I successfully wrote them to the rex. After synchronization it reported a memory use of 99%. Thus it seems that the 2mb reported is no more than a hardcoded constant defined in the firmware. Hoping this will clarify this issue…"

Myles Rexetras site has much more to offer than add-in downloads.

If you are developing or planning on developing add-ins or programs for the REX, don't miss the wealth of "technical" materials Myles has assembled on on his Rexetras site. They include:

  • Basic background [on REX development]
  • History
  • Development Kits
  • Emulators
  • Addin format
  • Addin memory map
  • System calls per DS2 SDK
  • System calls - supplement
  • Databases
  • Registers
  • Hardware notes
  • Utilities
  • FAQ
  • Links & source examples

Rexdk URL change - oops, missed that one.

Several visitors have asked about the link to Daniel's rexdk site, which wasn't working - the site appeared to be down. Well, evidently Daniel completed a URL change and I missed it. Sorry! The link on our Programmer/SDK page has been updated to the new URL - http://www24.brinkster.com/rexdk/.

September 23, 2001

REX Linux tools updated - progress on sync capability! (From Matthias)

"Last month I started to write some utilities for syncing the REX6000 with linux. The first version of this program was downloaded by some people, but hadn't much functions that time.

Now I offer a new version, where I have fixed some issues, and extended the functions a lot. It's now possible to do a full sync of the contactlist from REX6000->linux.

... I would like anybody using Linux to try my current version of the sync, and tell me if it can read your full contactlist, or if there are any problems (the tool should output some useful debug-information in this case). The new version is available at ftp://ftp.wspse.de/linux/wspse/rex6000/WSPse-Rex-0.02.tar.gz It's written in ANSI C and should compile under any linux, and maybe windows. A makefile is included. After compiling just run "./rex ", where is the tty-device where your REX is connected. For me it works with the serial cradle (/dev/ttyS0) and the PCMCIA-slot of my Sony Vaio laptop (/dev/ttyS1)."

See here on our Operating Systems page for the complete set of Matthias' information and instructions on his Linux tools. If you are running Linux and want to have tools available, please take some time to try out Matthias' tools and provide him feedback! Thanks.

Updates to Mike's REX SDK released. (From Mike)

"I have updated the REX SDK I recently released. You can download the SDK from the following location: http://www.geocities.com/mgl6000/

I encourage you to give it a try and let me know what you think. New features include:

- new -Dxxx command line option to define macros
- improved code generation (size and speed) for byte comparison
- ZASM support of blank lines and tabs

"Not a spreadsheet" add-in released. (From John)

John has released his oddly titled "Not a Spreadsheet" add-in. As he says:

"The "NOT a SpreadSheet" Project is now available in BETA form. Check the site:

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

The program is Sort of a Spreadsheet, but more of an "Expreassion Evaluator". If you would like equations configured, email me and I will hard code them in. HAVE FUN!! (no promises that this is useful!)"

September 22, 2001

New scientific calculator add-in available. (From V. Mittal)

"I own a Rex6K and I really appreciate the good work being done by all the Rex6K addin developers. I have also developed a scientific calculator for Rex6K."

You can find this new add-in here on our add-in page. Thanks, V. Mittal!

New features added to Java web content tools. (From Aaron)

"I've added a few new things:

  • Movies.class is a movie listings program
  • Slashdot8k.class grabs only the first 8k of the slashdot website.
  • Rex6kNews8k.clas grabs only 8k of rex6000.org news (these are to temporarily get around the 8k problem with vrexnet)
  • content.bat is an example batch file to get it all working.
  • The batch file should be modified to change locality and stock preferences. If you have more than four xml files, the images get drawn on top of each other for some reason I haven't yet been able to determine, however you can still select the empty space where the 4th-8th icons are supposed to be drawn, It's just ugly. The batch file can be set up to run automatically as often as you want from the win-doze scheduler in the task bar.

Aaron's Java tools allow you to grab web content for syncing w/your REX via Victor's VREX.NET program. See here on our Web Sync page for more information on Aaron's tools, or if you're already informed, go to Aaron's site to get the new and updated tools!

Link for Piano add-in changed.

"Hello, I changed the URL for the Piano addin: http://www.geocities.com/ugg_info/ (GeoCities is a real pain...) Make sure you right-click the piano.gif link and do "Save As" in your browser to download the addin."

September 21, 2001

Schnauz (pronounced 'shnouds') card game add-in! (From Alex)

Alex has added a new card game to the add-in list:

"Schnauz is a simple draw and discard game, suitable for players of all ages. Players have a three card hand and the aim is to collect cards in a single suit worth 31 points or as near as possible to that total. It is played in variations in the USA, the UK and perhaps other places. In the USA it is usually called Scat or 31, in the UK also Scat or Ride the Bus."

There's even a way to cheat a bit if you find the REX too challenging an opponent. :-) Find Schnauz here on our Add-ins page.

Piano add-in for the REX on the way is here! (From Ugg!)

Moving at the speed of light, Ugg releases the Piano add-in.

"REX Piano Addin beta: I have decided to release a beta version of my Piano addin. Enjoy! :)

Please remember this is only a beta version! Not all of the keys are tuned to their correct notes (although I'm getting a lot closer). Also, no ill-effects have come to my beloved REX 6000 yet using this addin, but I make no guarantees.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for this addin, drop me an e-mail.

Download the addin here: http://www.geocities.com/ugg_info/REX6000.html. (Sorry for the lame site! A real site is coming soon...)

Piano add-in for the REX on the way! (From Ugg!)

OK - don't think anyone expected this! A piano add-in is coming for the REX!

"I am currently working on a REX Piano addin that will play notes from the touchscreen via. a musical keyboard layout. I have completed the keyboard but am having trouble tuning each key to the proper musical notes. Unfortunately, the REX does not have a very accurate beep generator. Because of this I'm having difficulty match high notes (such as high "C" which falls between integers 13 and 14). One solution is to drop an octave to gain more resolution, which is what I'll probably end up doing.

** If any Addin developers have some "sound" tips, let me know! **

Once I solve the tuning problem, I will release version 1.0 of the addin. (Coming soon, please be patient!)

Obviously, having a musical keyboard lends itself to the ability to sequence notes into a musical melody. I am contemplating this feature in a 2.0 release.

2.0 potential features:

- Create melodies by sequencing notes using the keyboard.
- Store & retrieve melodies in REX Memos.
- Play melodies stored in Memos.
- The note sequences stored in a Memo would be editable by hand using a simple format. (Note + Octave + Duration)

** Again, if any Addin developers want to lend a hand, let me know! **

Please don't send emails to Zmcnulty about the DS2 case!

Yesterday we reported:

...Stay posted for a process to get in on a group order of these cases. See below on the 17th for the original story, pictures, and a link to the DS2 site.

And Zmcnulty reinforces the request for patience:

"I have received a lot of requests recently for the DS2 case. I think most people know, but: I AM NOT THE VENDOR OF THE CASES

PLEASE don't send me anymore emails like "I'd like 3 orange and 1 purple" because to be honest with you I don't even know how the %&@# to order them yet. Dana and I are working something out, to set up a group order system. It will probably involve a special section of his site, open for a period of 2 weeks or so. So, during these 2 weeks, everyone living in the USA will be asked to place an order, using this system at THAT time. For now, Dana and I only plan on "accepting request" in the USA, and maybe Canada. This is because international shipping costs a whole crapload and I don't feel like sending out 30 different packages to different countries. So, once again.... We will tell you when to make your requests"

So please be patient, do not email Zmcnulty with orders, and we'll provide more information soon!

Cool stuff going on in Linux-land. (From Tim)

Tim has been working on a Linux-based development environment. (You know how these Linux people are - very committed to their OS!). Tim has made some very interesting progress:

"Here's a screenshot of Rex emulator running on a Linux box. Still a LOT to be done, but at least it boots and even manages to draw the startup screen."

 

More developer goodies. (From A_Poplawski)

"Hi all! Here is an info for developers. Shai´s Borland Development Tools also work for Turbo C++ 1.0. You can get Turbo C++ 1.0 as a free download from Borland at http://community.borland.com/museum (after a free registraton). Now you have nearly all the benefits from the former Turbo C. A source editor, compiling your files with one keystroke and best of all (thanks to Shai), the editor automaticaly jumps into compilation error locations by clicking on the apropriate error message."

September 20, 2001

Novell Groupwise sync help. (From Eric)

"...there's a great utility out there by Scott Lewis (a cool Novell wizard) called "GroupWise Import/Export." I just used this today to export my tasks, calendar, and memos into single TAB'd text files and then imported them into Outlook 2000. Everything sync'd up fine! I had to Map a few fields between the Novell/Outlook relationship, but it wasn't much. I'll try to streamline this process in the future. The Novell utility may be found at: http://www.slewis.org/software/.

Another REX 6000 source located at Yahoo. (From Amy)

"I found this website listed on pdastreet.com in the Rex section:

http://store.yahoo.com/alan-fm/xirrexmicusb.html

I just ordered one last night and by this afternoon, I had received my shipping confirmation!. Talk about fast! They are selling for $112 for the USB version. When I ordered mine, there were 224 in stock. I just checked and they now have 219 left."

September 19, 2001

Big stock of REX 6000s uncovered. (From Gabor)

If you are looking for a REX in New York, Gabor has uncovered a source:

"If there are people out there who are interested in buying a REX 6000 (USB or serial) I went on a crusade in NYC and came out victorious. I found a store that has a stock of 160 pcs (maybe that's just only the USB versions) here is the address: ($120 USB, $100 serial)

RCS computer Experience
(212)-949-6935
575 Madison Av.
New York, NY, 10022
one sales rep is: Bobby Shivprasad ([email protected]) They do deliver out of state.

RCS is the only "walk-in" store in the US that anyone has ever reported seeing the REX on the shelf at! They also have a web site - RCSeshop.com (which appears to be down right now - the new computer worm, maybe?).

This just in - the DS2 case pricing from Zmcnulty!

"OK, I have just received word from the dude at Citizen. It costs 1000 yen for a case. So if you live in the states that's something like $8.50."

Cheap! Stay posted for a process to get in on a group order of these cases. See below on the 17th for the original story, pictures, and a link to the DS2 site.

Hold your horses, Zmcnulty is "on the case."

Evidently some eager REX users have already sent Zmcnulty "orders" for the DS2 case that he told us about recently. Z is still checking on the price and will get back to us when he has the information. Hold your orders for now - when we have solid information on costs for ordering and shipping, Z has offered to help arrange some type of group order to reduce the per-unit shipping costs from Japan. More to come!

More cool tricks when using the Rexpense add-in. (From Bertus)

"...In the forum on my site, DK from Russia submitted a nice trick to import exported Rexpense items back into the Rex. I hadn't thought of it myself, although it seems logical:

'I did some experimenting with the Rexpense Add-In. I exported all of my Rexpense Lists (1-5) using RexTools Beta and saved them into my hard disk (List1.Rex, List2.Rex, etc.) as a back-up. Then I initialized my Rex 6000, loaded Rexpense Add-in and then I tried to load List1.Rex back to my Rex and it WORKED! Now I have all my Rexpense Lists again in my REX.'

Rexpense is Bertus' addin that allows you to track business expenses on your REX. There are also Excel templates to allow you to easily download and track them on your PC. See the Forum section on Bertus' REX site to ask any questions regarding this tip. The REX Tools beta is on our Software Updates page.

REX 5000 clear-out? (From Emplaw)

"Looks like remaining Xircom inventory of 5000's are being dumped. Check out this link."

They are going for $49!

Additional support files for VREX.NET users on Win 98. (From Maik)

"...My contribution to your service is: the two needed files to get VREX working with WIN98:

Additional sources for REX 6000s.

"Oh if anyone is interested, I got hold of a spare Rex6k from HandheldCanada.com, they still have stock, although quite pricey! They appear to ship almost anywhere though, (overnight at a fee)." (From Markus)

"I discovered the REX6000 a few months ago on the official rex.net. It seemed to me a very useful "thing". When I knew Xircom wouldn't produce REX6000 anymore, I thought I had to be in a hurry to get one. As some in your information pages told, MAKRO N.V. distributed REX in BELGIUM. At least I bought one with Serial Cradle included for 149 EUR (6019 BEF)." (From Gert) See the Internet Resources - Belgium section.

September 18, 2001

Zmcnulty is contacting Citizen about the DS2 case (see story on the 17th, below).

To all those who have emailed with questions - from Zmcnulty:

"I've contacted Citizen [about price/availability] already and am waiting for a reply."

As soon as he hears anything, Z will probably post to RRC. He has one of these cases now (it came with his DS2) - here are some comments on the strength of the case in response to a query from B(2):

"...The case is a little bit flexible, and about 1 mm thick. ... the plastic reminds me of the same stuff they make acrylic cutting boards out of. "

Firmware swaps between a DS2 and a REX?! Some interesting new developments! (From Chris)

Chris (of Adder fame!) has been experimenting with a microPDA "cultural exchange program." His initial results are very interesting, to say the least - he has loaded and run the DS2 firmware on a Rex!

"It booted up with the Citizen DataSlim2 logo screen, and the icons we are familiar with from using the DS2 emulator."

It's a bit blurry, but you can see the DS2 icons on the REX in the above photo!

Chris is having problems (not unexpectedly) with the fonts. Neither the native Japanese font nor the English font (as accessed through the DS2 software keyboard) display properly (they appear as "black blotches." And, yes, he was able to reload the Rex firmware again and (after a little difficulty) got the Rex to accept its original identity!

These initial steps could eventually lead to the ability to use a DS2 unit with the REX firmware, or vice-versa. Chris has been a leader in the REX developer community from the beginning, and is continuing to chart new and fascinating territory.

Linux development rolls on. Really! (From Tim)

"I am trying to arrange a development environment under Linux. Thought a native X-Window emulator, like PalmOS Emulator, would come out quite handy, have hacked a very preliminary GTK+ prototype of it. Just loads firmware and runs it, doing very basic memory banks switching, no input/output supported yet."

Every day something interesting seems to pop up - such a great collection of creative and smart people out there!

September 17, 2001

DS2 case option for the REX? (From Zmcnulty)

"I was clowning around on the DS2 page the other night, and I found this: http://dataslim.angel.co.jp/products/ds2_need_option.html. If anyone is interested, I will email Citizen for you and see if they do international shipping. Apparently you can get JUST the DS2 case from them, even in different flavors!! IMHO this is the optimum case for a DS2, the R6K even fits. I know cause I already own it! It's the included case that you get when you buy a DS2."

The clear hinged flip-top allows you to both see and access the REX screen. It also appears to allow acess to the REX button controls, and has an attached pointing device. While not exactly "corporate looking" it does have some nice features lacking in the alternate two-color plastic case that comes with some REX units.

Another developer joins the REX developer community with challenging goals. (From Dan)

"I’m going to try and start building some apps, I do a lot of programming and I’d like to build a notepad utility with Palm Graffiti compatible screen input. Not promising anything too soon, but I’ve downloaded the rexdk and emulator and I’m getting started. I’m still exploring the algorithms necessary and speed required to recognize the characters, so we’ll see what’s possible…"

New REX SDK announced. (From Mike)

Mike has released a new REX SDK for those who wish to work on add-ins.

"There is a new REX SDK available to create addin programs. You can download the SDK from the following location: http://www.geocities.com/mgl6000/

The SDK contains the following programs:
- ANSI C compiler
- Z80 assembler
- Object Linker
- Icon Creation Utility
- Rex to Emulator Utility

The C compiler generates native Z80 code which results in faster execution time. Try out the prime example program (it takes about 31 seconds).

Please give this a try. I look forward to hearing any comments, bugs or requests."

Heartfelt thanks to the REX developer community. (From Thiam)

A REX user who wanted to say thank you:

"Just to express my heartfelt thanks to the webmasters, developers and of course, all fellow Rex Users who had contributed to the website. Thanks!"

September 16, 2001

REX add-ins making the jump to the DS2. (From Zmcnulty)

Several users have asked if the DS2 community in Japan was making use of the many REX add-ins developed over the past few months - a reversal from when we were relying on DS2 developers for most of our add-ins. Zmcnulty, our man on the street in Japan, reports in:

". . . they are using a lot of them. When I was on the [DS2] forum I saw a couple conversations about various addins and stuff that are all rex based. Idogawa [developed the first "REX-compatible DS2 add-ins] (I think that's who it was) even made mention of the rexDK as another option for DS2 development. I saw links to RRC, Rexextras, and of course your site.

Some of the R6K addins can't be used on the DS2. For example, adder. The DS2 doesn't have the capability to remove addins on the fly, so you can't use adder like that. Also, (though I haven't tried it yet) I am pretty sure the "remove all web content addin" wouldn't work. . . . if it did, it would probably end up deleting my dictionary." [The DS2 has a dictionary instead of web content sync capability.]

It is a nice thing to be able to provide some pay-back for the favor the DS2 developer community did for us when they provided translated add-ins and source code to help us understand the REX development environment.

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