Attached below is a segment of a letter that a Steve Sinclair, a Palm senior product manager, wrote to TreoCentral in regard to a needed (and seemingly long awaited) update for the Treo 700p. I’ll link to a PDF copy of the full letter, but cut to the chase by posting the important stuff like:
1) Bluetooth compatibilty,
2) Stuttering music playback
3) lag in switching applications
Mr. Sinclair, Sr. Product Manager writes … Dissatisfaction with Bluetooth performance is clearly a top customer issue and our technical team has been working to overcome Bluetooth hardware limitations to deliver improved performance on the 700p. Tops among these is improving the stability of the Bluetooth connection between the phone and the headset/carkit. We hope to have a patch specifically available for Bluetooth early in the new year assuming it passes through all its certifications and is approved by the carriers. At that time, we’ll be able to publish an updated compatibility list, but to be upfront about this, the number of devices we have time to test is limited, so some users may still be disappointed that their headset or carkit isn’t listed. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work – it just means we didn’t have the resources to test it.
Stuttering during music playback on the Treo 700p can occur when another app or system activity takes priority over the digital audio stream playback. For example if you have another app running in the background (like Versamail), it will kick off radio activity that takes precedence over the music playback activity, thus causing a stutter or skip. This is another area where we are making some changes in audio buffering although the stuttering won’t be 100% eliminated on this particular device. These changes will be released as part of a formal ROM update planned for availability in late Q1 2007. That 700p ROM update will roll in the Bluetooth patch I mentioned above as well as a number of other enhancements to system stability, reliability and performance. It takes time to make sure we haven’t broken anything in the process of fixing issues, and I’ll add the caveat again that it is up to the carriers to test, certify and release the ROM update before it can be released to customers.
The last issue mentioned in the letter is a lag seen when switching between apps which is apparent to upgrading customers who are used to faster response times on other Treos or Palm handhelds. This lag is noticeable for some because it is taking longer than desired for the databases of the previous application to close and the databases of the next application to open. Aside from working with 3rd-party developers to minimize the lag while switching to/from their apps, there isn’t much we can do to alleviate this as it is partly a result of the shared hardware design between the Treo 700p and Treo 700w/wx. I don’t want to sound like I’m dismissing the frustration this is causing for some power users, but it has not been reported by a significant portion of our customer base.
…
Hurry please … especially on the bluetooth as neither my Motorola or Jabra is all that great with the Palm Treo 700p.
🙁
I see a theme coming — maybe a ‘tech tip Friday? After posting the comment on how to save YouTube files yesterday, I received enough emails to suggest that at least a few readers liked what they read. One of the emails asked answer another question and I told him I would address it today. (I’m by no means a computer guru although prefer the ego boosting label – ‘power user’)
😀
Well here it goes — Jim R. said that his Win XP notebook had a full hard drive with the excess of bloated programs, digital photos and video content. He was cleaning out to create space and found a file that was huge that he could delete and suspected a virus or something. He asked how to delete a file in the root of his C:\ drive called “hiberfil.sys.”[C:\hiberfil.sys]
First, it not a nasty file or anything to be concern about except that it takes up precious hard drive space. It is the file that the Windows operation system uses to store information it needs to recover from the special shutdown state known as “hibernation.” Depending on what was running before hibernating your computer (or auto hibernating), the file can be pretty large — well over 1GB! What happens in XP is that your computer takes a snapshot of everything and records it to disk so that everything will come back when you restart from hibernation. (great feature in XP, BTW … and that’s a comment from a Macintosh lover)
The file basically contains everything that was in RAM (memory) and then writes it to the hard drive labeling it hiberfil.sys. This isn’t something you must use and there are way to turn it off if you don’t use it:
— Open the Windows Control Panel
— Double-click Power Options
— Click the Hibernate tab, de-select the ‘Enable hibernate support’ check box, and then click Apply.
— Restart your computer and hiberfil.sys will be automatically deleted.
What if you want to use it again? Well the easiest way is to go to the Windows Help & Support Center [click START and look near the SEARCH and RUN selections] by searching on the term ‘enable hibernation’ there will be instructions on how to reactivate the hibernation. Hope this helps those of you trying to save that precious disk space … but my advice for desktop users is to add a mega-giga external hard drive because files aren’t getting any smaller; besides, additional storage is pretty reasonable.
I was asked if there was a way that someone could save videos from the popular video serving site YouTube and the answer is yes. About 6 months ago as I used a screen capture utilities like TechSmith’s Camtasia Studio(version 4 is the current release), but … recently I found that there are much better online techniques. One online site that does a pretty good job is Vixy.net. Its a relatively painless way to create a different ‘wrappers’ for YouTube videos. You copy the URL of the video and paste it into Vixy and voilà … you have a saved .mp4 or Democracy Player ready clip. By using the tabs, there are other conversion option and after a click it is downloaded to your computer. The file can be save, viewed or posted.
I’ve put a Quicktime wrapper around a CBS Craig Ferguson clip that I have posted below. I expect will soon be taken down considering its CBS material? I used the comic relief in a BiodieselNow forum post in part to stimulate debate on global warming issue. Towards end of the routine, a joke is made about the latest in “cow flatulence.” Lunch break is over … time to get back to work.
🙂
Someone sent me a video link of a nice looking yellow New Beetle ‘losing it’ around a curve. Thanks to the safety engineered into every Volkswagen, the driver was able to walk away with only embarrassment. Nevertheless, the cosmetic damage to the car looks to have dented, scraped or scratched about every surface.
Maybe I’m showing my age in referencing “feet” with the slang term “dogs.”(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.) Where did that term come from anyway? Recently I’ve noticed that my favorite shoes (Rockports) are showing signs of wear. As I contemplate replacing them, I wanted to see what other options are available to fit that comfortable, casual, walking type shoe design. I’m tempted to just go out and buy another pair of Rockport shoes since I’ve has such good luck with them.
When I was younger, the old canvas Converse All-Stars were the shoe of choice and it wouldn’t matter the weather or occasion — I just had to wear them. Then in college I became a boatshoe (see Sperry Topsider) ‘nut’ which lasted until the requirements of work dictated a more refined shoe, although still found myself slipping on the boat shoes even when I wasn’t on the boat. As you can see, I still wear a version of the this shoe with beefed up soles, but I’m finding that in a very short time that I’m not comfortable. As for comfort, it is hard to beat some of the modern athletic shoes. I’m probably not alone in having tried several brands over the years. The Nike shoes are a little snug, but still comfortable, but have found that the New Balance are my favorites. They seem well made, are comfortable and hold up very well.
Summer boat, pool, beach and deck wear has recently shifted between my Crocs (which I mentioned in a previous post) and the Nike sandals.
Both are amazingly comfortable although I have found that the sandals are better for ‘hot’ feet in the summer. Crocs for all their comfort, do tend to make bare feet sweat — but with a sock all is fine. Frankly its hard to find a better slipper.
Before I rush out and try to get a pair of Rockports after Christmas … let me know if there is another brand or shoe I should consider.
With Ohio State ranked #1 and playing for the National Championships this year … and the Cincinnati Bengals handily beating the Oakland Raiders … football is on my mind. So, when I ran across this clip of a high school football game in Texas, I decided to post it below. The impressive running back is Sam McGuffie and his aestheticism is something to behold; one wonders where he’ll end up play college football?
According to Edmunds Insideline, the recent joint venture between Toyota and Isuzu could produce a diesel hybrid. Toyota, who recently announced that they would buy a 5.9 percent stake in Isuzu, believes that creating a diesel alternative to their gasoline hybrid has merit. Steven Curtis, the media and investor relations national manager for Toyota, sees Isuzu’s diesel engine technology and Toyota’s environmental technologies as a way to bring the diesel engine and “Synergy hybrid drive train together. He believes “that the demand for diesel engines will increase globally,” something that is already apparent in Europe. Toyota’s North American President, Jim Press, stated that “eventually we (Toyota) will have hybrids on diesel, biodiesel, ethanol — the whole gamut.” For those thinking Deja vu, Toyota’s counterparts in the US, Detroit’s Big Three, worked on exactly this concept back in the 1990’s when a program called Partnership for the Next Generation of Vehicles produced diesel-electric hybrids looking to produces an 80mpg family sedan. Edmunds states that “A Prius with a diesel engine would closely resemble those concept vehicles, both in appearance and fuel economy.”
Last year Ralph Wirth (see previous post), of Wirth Advertising & Marketing, used his talent and equipment to dress up his Volkswagen Golf TDI before tailgating down at “the jungle.” With the excitement and enthusiasm here in Southwestern Ohio for the Cincinnati Bengals, the updated his graphics in support for the team is no doubt well received. Outstanding job again! (not only supporting ‘our Bengals,’ but representing VW diesel TDI owners pretty well too!)
His fan-atics were well reward this past weekend with a Bengal win over the Oakland Raiders, 27-10. The weather was great, downtown was packed and there couldn’t been any more enthusiasm in support of the team. Cincinnati is on a roll and from the schedule yet ahead and the tight race for a wildcard spot we’ll need to keep the winning streak alive. Again … nice job Ralph!
Planned for a full write up on the 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit while linking to the Motorweek review, but to my disappointment the local VW dealer didn’t have any for me to look at. They did have a 2007 GTI … so I enjoyed the little rocket trip around the town.
🙂
I think I’ll have to revisit GTI and add a few comments in January. Let’s just say, if you are looking for a fun but functional car that can still turn in over 30MPG on the highway, then the Volkswagen GTI is your car. I’ll look forward to testing the Rabbit another time, maybe when (if) the diesel makes its way to the US?
Success! The space shuttle Discovery launched beautifully into the night sky after a Thursday night delay. This was the first launch prior at night since the Columbia disaster. There was wind earlier in the day that potentially could have delayed the launch for a second time, but the go signal was given and the seven crew headed toward the space station at 20:47:35. Godspeed crew of STS-116 … have a successful mission and return safely in 12 days.
Attached below is a segment of a letter that a Steve Sinclair, a Palm senior product manager, wrote to TreoCentral in regard to a needed (and seemingly long awaited) update for the Treo 700p. I’ll link to a PDF copy of the full letter, but cut to the chase by posting the important stuff like:
I was asked if there was a way that someone could save videos from the popular video serving site 
Someone sent me a video link of a nice looking yellow New Beetle ‘losing it’ around a curve. Thanks to the safety engineered into every Volkswagen, the driver was able to walk away with only embarrassment. Nevertheless, the cosmetic damage to the car looks to have dented, scraped or scratched about every surface.
Maybe I’m showing my age in referencing “feet” with the slang term 
I just had to wear them. Then in college I became a boatshoe (see 
As for comfort, it is hard to beat some of the modern athletic shoes. I’m probably not alone in having tried several brands over the years. The Nike shoes are a little snug, but still comfortable, but have found that the New Balance are my favorites. They seem well made, are comfortable and hold up very well.
Both are amazingly comfortable although I have found that the sandals are better for ‘hot’ feet in the summer. 
With 
Isuzu, believes that creating a diesel alternative to their gasoline hybrid has merit. Steven Curtis, the media and investor relations national manager for Toyota, sees Isuzu’s diesel engine technology and Toyota’s environmental technologies as a way to bring the diesel engine and “Synergy hybrid drive train together. He believes “that the demand for diesel engines will increase globally,” something that is already apparent in Europe. Toyota’s North American President, Jim Press, stated that “eventually we (Toyota) will have hybrids on diesel, biodiesel, ethanol — the whole gamut.” For those thinking Deja vu, Toyota’s counterparts in the US, Detroit’s Big Three, worked on exactly this concept back in the 1990’s when a program called 
Last year Ralph Wirth (see 
Planned for a full write up on the 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit while linking to the 