08-26-2003, 08:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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CNetX Releases Flash Format 2.6: Windows Mobile 2003 Now Supported
"CNetX has announced the latest release of Flash Format, which includes full support for Pocket PC 2003 devices running the latest Windows Mobile 2003 operating system. Flash Format is very popular storage card management utility for Pocket PC and Handheld PC devices, providing the ability to obtain detailed information and statistics about storage cards usage, perform integrity checks, fix allocation errors, and re-format storage cards directly on handheld devices.
On Pocket PC devices Flash Format includes the ability to set �AutoRun�, so that specific programs or files (such as games or MP3 playlists) can be automatically activated upon card insertion. Flash Format 2.60 supports all ATA and SD compliant storage cards, including Compact Flash Cards, SD cards, MultiMedia cards, SmartMedia card, MemoryStick and MicroDrives, and runs on all Windows Powered Pocket PC and HPC devices, including the latest PDAs based on Windows Mobile 2003 operating system."
If you're a heavy Flash card user, this utility is indispensable. You can download a free trial today.
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08-26-2003, 08:34 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,911
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If you have the old version is the upgrade free?
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08-26-2003, 08:39 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 125
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Was for me. I just uploaded it over the 2.55 beta I was running and its showed my 2.51 (old version) license.
:mrgreen:
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08-27-2003, 12:50 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 25
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Grrrr, again, my hatred for such an app is raised again by poor marketing by the company
Supports all ATA compliant and SD compliant storage cards, including Compact Flash Cards, Secure Digital (SD) cards, Multimedia Cards (MMC) , SmartMedia cards, Memory Sticks, PCMCIA memory cards, and large capacity MicroDrives.
"SO DOES MY PPC AS STANDARD"
Runs as a Control Panel applet (accessible from "Start > Settings")
"WHO CARES, I CAN RUN MEMORY"
Automatic detection of card insertion and removal, so you can check, repair or format multiple cards easily, one after the other.
"USELESS FEATURE"
AutoRun feature: let's you automate the execution of specific files whenever a card is inserted (Pocket PC edition only).
"AGAIN, USELESS FEATURE"
Provides detailed storage and file statistics (including FAT Type, slack space, heads, cylinders, sectors, clusters etc)
"Wow, without you explaining how they benefit my ppc, why should I care???"
Detailed verification of card integrity and error reporting.
"OK, that's good, but....i wonder how uselful it is in the real world...how many times are my cf or sd card going to mess up so bad that I need to run you....?)
Detects and repairs allocation errors.
(Same as above)
Supports multiple storage cards simultaneously.
(So that's new how???)
Formatting features with selection of File System and clusters size.
FAT Backup option, to improve storage reliability.
(Again...how does it improve reliability...where is the proof and how can I justify it?)
Option to create "My Documents" folder when formatting.
(so)
Option to automatically restore InBox Attachments folder.
(again, so)
Compatibility option for Digital Cameras.
(ok, cool for people who've got them, useless for me and 100's of other ppc users)
Automatically perform integrity check after formatting.
(so, doubtful it's useful)
Easy to use, Pocket PC compliant user interface.
(yeh, right)
Full install/uninstall support, with embedded software reset.
(so what? that's what I expect from any $10 program....)
Detailed context sensitive Help (accessible via "Start > Help").
(ditto above)
I'm sorry for the rant, but I've paid my price for my PPC and am tired of programs similar to this with poor help and instructions.
Are any of you pining for professional ppc programs with real benefits, decent prices for their worth and professional quality....? because I for one am...
I'm sick of unanswered questions about quality of service, depreciation of performance of apps running in the background and more similar questions....
We can calll Palm all we want, but sometimes, I find myself being jealous of the apps that are out and the way they run on the hardware.
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08-27-2003, 03:47 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 9
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I don't usually like to reply such messages, especially when they don't really say much (except that you are so frustrated for not using a Palm!).
But the weather here is still quite hot, hard to sleep, so here you go!
You may be right when saying that our marketing is bad...
An example? This app was recently nominated for the Pocket PC Award (Pocket PC Summit + Pocket PC Magazine) and we didn't even add the relevent Award button to our web site or to the Handango page linked by Jason in his post.
But if you read at the bottom of the page linked by Jason (which is *not* our web site) you will see some interesting comments from other users that may reply most of your questions.
So, is it really a problem that this program runs as Control Panel applet?
We think this is a nice touch, so you don't get "Start>Programs" crowded with Tools that are nice to have but that are actually used only on occasions... Furthermore this implies the software is allowed to terminate automatically, as soon as the user switches to a different task, without even the need for an explicit "Exit" command (which, btw, is deprecated by Microsoft guidelines).
Oh, yes, but you say "you don't care", don't you?
Automatic detection of card insertion?
"Useless feature?"
Actually, this is quite helpful if you have a few cards that you want to verify or format...
Just run "File Explorer" on your Pocket PC: browse to view files on your storage card, then remove the card and watch the screen...
Does File Explorer react in any way?
It doesn't. And if you then insert a different card, File Explorer will keep showing the old contents (you have to manually "refresh" the screen to see the updated contents).
As you may understand this may be quite misleading, especially when dealing with a tool to FORMAT storage cards.
So we do automatic detection of card insertion and removal, and update the screen accordingly.
Does this make you so unhappy?
Useless feature?
AutoRun?
"Useless feature"?
Fine, but please consider and accept that fact that this may come pretty handy to other people.
For example, say you have different cards, with different MP3 playlists... Once you set AutoRun you can just swap cards and there you are, without any need to activate MediaPlayer, select a playlist, etc.
As PDAs are often used while walking, driving, etc. this ability to simply insert a card and have something happening (without the need to perform a single tap) can be indeed quite handy.
"Without explaining how they benefit my Pocket PC, why should I care"?
A press release (or the description of a product on Handango) is not generally meant as an article on storage device internals.
But, for exemple, if you simply had a look at the HELP FILE which comes with the app, it explicitely and clearly mentions the ADVANTAGES or DISADVANTAGES of using a large or small cluster size in very simple terms...
"how many times are my cf or sd card going to mess up so bad that I need to run you"
If it ever happened that a program hanged or crashed while accessing files on your storage cards...
Or if you ever reset your device forgetting that one or more programs were still open (together with their relevant file on the storage card)...
Well, in these and many other circumstances it is pretty likely that you ended up with quite a few lost clusters on your card.
This app will help you to recover the corresponding space, which you would never get back otherwise.
Again, as Jason linked a Handango page (which includes users reviews that we don't even quote our web site, because of our "bad marketing") you may find a few interesting stories of people "saved" by this program...
Supports multiple storage cards simultaneously...
See previous comments for automatic detection...
You may take it for granted, but it's not: and formatting the card "in the other slot" by accident may be indeed very bad.
FAT Backup option to improve storage reliability
"where is the proof and how can I justify it"
Well, the term backup usually tells it all: if you have a backup copy of the File Allocation Table (FAT), it is more likely that allocations errors (if any) can be fixed without loosing the contents of your files.
Most cards (especially SD cards) come preformatted with a single FAT.
Our program includes the ability to create a second (backup) FAT during formatting, as common, for example, on hard disk drives.
To quote the Help file that comes with the app: "[...] The presence of a backup FAT will help to recover allocation errors, if any".
"My Documents" folder
There's a long story about the "My Documents" folder on storage cards.
Which, given your comments, you better continue to ignore.
"Option to automatically restore InBox Attachments folder"
Same as the "My Documents" folder comments
Digital Cameras
"useless for me and 100's of other ppc users"
This is indeed a very interesting comment, as this is the ONLY option related to digital cameras...
So, what's your problem?
Does this single option makes the whole program useless because YOU don't have a digital camera?
Or, together with your frustration for not using a Palm, you are also frustrated because you don't have such a camera?
Automatically perform integrity check after formatting.
"doubtful it's useful"
Well, if you format a card (especially a large capacity card or MicroDrive) you may want to check that everything is really OK before relying on it and store your precious files there.
Which is why "Verify After Format" is a very common option on most disk based system.
Some OS won't even accept to install without previously formatting and verifying the storage!).
So, though I understand that this is not your case, there are surely people who may find this option just normal and indeed useful.
Easy to use, Pocket PC compliant user interface.
"Yeah, right"
Well, indeed we may be sloppy about marketing, but we are usually quite picky on those UI items...
BTW: the app passed the Microsoft test for the "Designed for Pocket PC Logo" and most of their requirements are related to UI issues.
Aren't we allowed to assert that the app has an "Easy to use, Pocket PC compliant user interface"?
"Full install/uninstall support, with embedded software reset."
"so what? that's what I expect from any $10 programs....)"
Perfect: we are just saying that this is one of those $10 programs.
Just a few days ago I happened to see someone on this same web site complaining about apps that don't install/uninstall properly.
Well, this app does it properly, and, if required, it even helps users to "soft-reset" the device (which may be required for a Control Panel applet to show up on Pocket PC and Pocket PC 2002 devices)...
Yes, indeed all apps should do this and much more... But it appears that many do not.
Do you mind if we mention this to people that may want to try our software...?
We think the ability to install/uninstall cleanly is an important concern, and we did spend some effort on this, so we want to communicate this to potential users.
Do you mind?
As for the "poor help and instructions" please note (again) that a product description on Handango (which is the page linked by Jason Dunn) is not meant as a User's Guide.
If you simply tried to install the software (and if you had a look at the help file) you would have seen how easy it is to get up and running.
- You get a message at the end of setup that tells you where the app is, how to run it, and HOW TO ACCESS HELP.
- Plus it tells you if a reset is actually required, and it even provides you with a button to perform such reset.
- Finally, while running the app, you simply tap Start > Help and a help page relevant to the current screen appears, with details on "Backup FAT", "Cluster Size", etc.
Yes, given the nature of the app (which may recover files, but may also format storage cards in a matter of seconds) we tried to make it as "fool proof" as possible.
Though I do understand this may still not be enough for you.
Nevertheless, the next time you think to post a similar meaningless rant, I'd suggest you to try the app first, before providing such disgusted feedback.
Because, if by chance, some of the marketing claims about "easy to use, easy to install", etc. happen to be true, you may easily end up sounding like a perfect idiot who's unable to perform even the easiest installation.
Though, given your nickname, I understand that this may be exactly what you are looking for.
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08-27-2003, 05:07 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by nihilism
Are any of you pining for professional ppc programs with real benefits, decent prices for their worth and professional quality....?
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CNetX is one of the top Pocket PC developers in this industry. Their applications are fast, stable, and priced fairly. Your comments are completely unfair and baseless.
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08-27-2003, 07:54 AM
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Swami
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 4,396
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One More Shot
Quote:
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Originally Posted by nihilism
Runs as a Control Panel applet (accessible from "Start > Settings")
"WHO CARES, I CAN RUN MEMORY"
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Besides what a.morreale and Jason said, I thought I'd add one comment. Before criticizing others for not explaining things, make sure your criticisms make sense. Case in point, what does that quoted text mean?
Nihilism can run the Memory applet? Congratulations! We're impressed. :roll:
Steve
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Linear Mode
