Happy 3rd Birthday Pocket PC Thoughts! [Archive]

Jason Dunn

10-13-2003, 06:00 AM

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://web.archive.org/web/20010124080100/www.pocketpcthoughts.com/2000_10_08_archives.html' target='_blank'>http://web.archive.org/web/20010124...8_archives.html</a> </div>I'm thrilled to announce that Pocket PC Thoughts turned three years old today - the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20010124080100/www.pocketpcthoughts.com/2000_10_08_archives.html">very first post I did on the site was on October 12th, 2000.</a> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/happybirthday-ppct.jpg" /> Here's that post, republished in all its glory: "Welcome to Pocket PC Thoughts! This site is driven by Blogger, a really innovative way of doing what's called a "web log". A web log is similar to a journal - thoughts, discoveries, new information. The goal of this particular web log is to serve as a focal point for all my thoughts on the Pocket PC. If I find a cool new program, you'll hear about it here. If I discover a workaround for a flaw in the Pocket PC OS, you'll read it here. When I write new articles or columns that I want to draw your attention to, I'll mention it here. When I find a news article that I think others should read, the link will be posted here. This will also serve as a collection point for things that I can't put on PocketPC.com - things like registry hacks and my more, ah, aggressive opinions about certain things. My goal is to update this site at least once a day, sometimes more. Everything here is my opinion, and does not reflect my role as PocketPC.com Contributing Editor or Microsoft MVP in any way. That said, I'm not planning on going overboard too much in this forum. I'm also not going to go back and edit things I've written, so if I was wrong about something, it will stay there forever. 'aint technology grand? I'll also be using a taxonomy of sorts - each Blog will be prefaced by an all-caps indicator of what it is. PROGRAM, THOUGHT, NEWS, SITE, etc. I imagine this taxonomy will evolve over time. I'll probably set up some sort of notification system in the future, but in the meantime, why not create a Mobile Favorite of this page? Set it to update every morning and you'll always have the latest content on here. If it the Mobile Favorite does't break that is. :-) And if there are issues you'd like to have me address and talk about, or disagree with something I've said let me know. Please note that this email address isn't for questions about Pocket PC's - I'd prefer if you went to the Pocket PC Community Forums for that. Thanks!" Ah, that takes me back. Back then I knew I wanted to have an opinionated site, I made a typo, and I even managed to take a poke at Microsoft for Mobile Favorites not working properly. :lol: I had hoped to have a contest organized for this birthday event, but between all the work our <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?topic_id=17265">Big Thinker contest</a> has taken and the travelling I've been doing this week, it just didn't come together. So instead, here's a little impromptu contest: I'll give a 400 mhz/64 MB RAM Dell Axim X5 (slightly used - one of my review units, but still in excellent condition) to the person who posts the funniest/most touching/most interesting memory they have of this site. Did Pocket PC Thoughts ever make your day? Save your hide when something went wrong? Get you started with Pocket PCs? Change your mind about something? Made you a friend? Get you promoted? Lift your spirits? I'm looking for comments and stories that will put a smile on my face after three years of running this site, and the judgement for the winner will be completely subjective. I'm not looking for mindless brown-nosing, just some good stories. :-) I'll make my decision sometime on Tuesday, so you have a day or so to think about it. And of course any general birthday thoughts are more than welcome. :mrgreen:

arebelspy

10-13-2003, 06:16 AM

W00t! PPCT owns! :twisted: :new-bday: :bday:

-arebelspy

ctmagnus

10-13-2003, 06:16 AM

Boy, is this site old!

j/k :D

:new-bday: :bday:

Don't let the server party too much! There's nothing like having to clean up after a drunken server.

Ah, that takes me back. Back then I knew I wanted to have an opinionated site, I made a typo,

Did Pocket PC Thoughts even make your day?

Actually, it made my day several times. :mrgreen:

(If you scroll down slowly and don't hit the picture of the cake too quickly, it looks like a Bozo birthday cake :silly: )

juni

10-13-2003, 06:18 AM

Happy Bday! :beer: :new-bday: :clap:

prismejon

10-13-2003, 06:22 AM

Woop woop woop! Congratulation!
:new-bday:

I've only been visiting since the third year, but I'll sure stick around for the rest :D !

Fishie

10-13-2003, 06:31 AM

Yay

Foo Fighter

10-13-2003, 06:33 AM

Happy B-day PPCT! :bday: :new-bday: :bday:

Man, its been so long, I had forgotten how primitive the earliest version of this site was compared to its form today. :lol:

crazy0000

10-13-2003, 06:34 AM

First of all :new-bday: :bday: :bday:

The thing that really made me laugh was on april 1 (april fools) and you made it look like PPCT has been hack by putting that "Palm Rulez!" on the usual banner at the top as funny as it was the thing that really made me laugh was when you had to post a news report telling everyone that the site had not been hacked and to "Stop Emailing you about it!!"
I though it was hilarious

Hope the site is around for along time :beer: :mrgreen:

-Sean

JustinGTP

10-13-2003, 06:47 AM

Yes, Indeed, Happy Birthday!

I have only been here for about a month and a bit, and I would have to say that my favourite moment was when I was accused of saying PPCT was dishing out spyware, when I had not worded what I wanted to say correctly. Hah, my first week here and I get into a rufus with you! Anyways, I think it is funny now looking back on it :D

Oh, and Jason, did you go to Bowtrail Dairy Queen on Saturday the 11th?

-Justin.

theon

10-13-2003, 06:48 AM

Wow... Congrats of turning 3! :new-bday:

You're the first and only website to ever take money from my credit card! :lol:

blang

10-13-2003, 06:49 AM

Last new year's day I was invited to a party. I had already spent half of the day on your website entering any contest I could. Before I left my house, I was trying to convince my husband, who wasn't going to the party, to watch your website and enter the contests until I got back. He just looked at me and said "no way". Well, when I arrived at the party, I mentioned to one of the hosts (who was a Compaq rep) what I had been doing all day. So what did he do? He set me up on his laptop and told me to enter away. Even when the battery was low, he replaced it with another. I ended up staying the entire time socializing and going over to the laptop every fifteen minutes to check to see if I could enter anymore contests. It was a new year's party I would never forget!

Y2K_DREAD

10-13-2003, 07:22 AM

I have been a lurker at this site for quite awhile, the way i found this site was through an IRC channel when I was asking about some info for my IPAQ-3650. The guy was like, "why are you even bothering to ask me? Have you never heard of pocketpcthoughts.com?" I went to look at the site and almost soiled myself in joy! So much information which is updated so much! I was like a dream come true! Sense then i look at this site very often to keep myself updated with what is going on in the pocketpc world. I love this site and encurage the site to keep up the good work!

rudolph

10-13-2003, 08:06 AM

I don't remeber that one, but I remember when brighthand closed its forums for a couple of days and a bazillion brighthand refugees (members) came here...I think that was in the first year of the site.

Anywhoo, happy birthday to the site... I've visited almost every day (many times / day) ever since I got my e125 ...3 years ago (It died late last year --*sniff*.. why do they have to die so young, but it's been replaced)

cherring

10-13-2003, 08:09 AM

I had the dreaded backlight problem with my E-200 and eventually was forced to send it in. I didn't want to send it back but after 3 months of no backlight, I had to. I'm a regular at your site, my morning routine consists of slashdot and pocketpcthoughts, so I had to console myself with other people's posts about the same problem. I would reread the same posts day after day for a week until I got my new unit. This site got me through a tough time without my pocketpc.

AhuhX

10-13-2003, 08:26 AM

Congrats guys. PocketPC Thoughts has always been THE spot on the web for PPC info, and you have all stuck with it despite alot of adversity at times!

It's great to see the site reaping all the rewards of your earlier and continuing efforts. :D

Foo Fighter

10-13-2003, 08:28 AM

One of the most "memorable" moments I ever had on this site, way back in the early days, was when some anti-PPC troll posted a horrific homosexual image that I don't care to describe. :pukeface2: I'm sure Jason remembers that, and I think shortly after that he switched to a registered forum, thankfully. God was that awful! :shocked!:

albsilva

10-13-2003, 09:47 AM

Congratulations Jason, to you and your team!

I still remember the days of the CE faq...

Alberto Silva

manywhere

10-13-2003, 09:48 AM

Well, gratulerar på födelsedagen Pocket PC Thoughts! Or, onnittelen syntymäpäivän johdosta, Pocket PC Thoughts! (Guess which languages are represented... :wink:)

The funniest and interesting memories I have of Pocket PC Thoughts are many, but one that I especially remember is the discussion about using PDA phones on flights, which rose into a hot discussion topic last year. To those who wish to refresh their memory, the topics are here (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2961) and here (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=25130).
Especially hilarious was the fact that using a PDA Phone combo on a flight in the US, wasn't prohibited! 8O Or, was it? :roll:

Pocket PC Thoughts has been a good source of news and reviews for me (and thousands others) thanks to the great work of it's contributors. It is one of my number one Pocket PC news sources, and an unequaled one in terms of quality.

Thanks for the three years Pocket PC Thoughts. May your existance be long and prosperous. :D

hoyboy9

10-13-2003, 09:52 AM

Ever since I got my first PPC, a Jornada 548, I've checked this website EVERYDAY. Jason and crew have created a great resource for everybody.

That being said, even though Jason is uber-cool, he's still a PDA junkie like the rest of us, and it shows. The funniest moments I remember were Jason's loving relationship with his XDA (who he affectionately named "Tanto"). The first post showed Tanto with a bright light shining upon the device, creating a angelic-like halo. Jason was clearly a happy man. 8)

Until one fateful day, when Tanto again appeared on PPCThoughts, but not in its angelic glory, it had a massive crack in the screen. You could just feel Jason's pain.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PPCTHOUGHTS! :D

William Yeung

10-13-2003, 10:40 AM

Trying to sneek time to say happy birthday here when I am @ work (I am GMT + 8)

Sxxt being hooked by ppl around again for couple hours !!!

Happy birthday :P and my experience~
April fool is extremely fun, and its a very good channel to know whats happening around other users, see my iPAQ Bluetooth chase game on iPAQ 5450 you will know how useful it can be...
anyway what I want to say is- I want an Axim as my spare ! gimegimegime T_T

Flamingyak

10-13-2003, 10:43 AM

I'm relatively a "newb" here (only been around for like a year) but I still think one of the times when everyone had the most fun in the forum could be when people decided to show off their desk spaces to everyone else. As I recall, we had several fans of Punisher, we all turned out to like both Walmart and Ikea furniture, and some people had more money invested in technology then I have in my car! :lol: It was a lot of fun, and I truly enjoyed both watching the conversation evolve, and getting the opportunity find out a little more about other person in this community.

Albegor

10-13-2003, 11:26 AM

Did Pocket PC Thoughts even make your day? Save your hide when something went wrong? Get you started with Pocket PCs? Change your mind about something? Make you a friend? Get you promoted? Lift your spirits?

Although I'm quite new to the Pocket PC world I find very interesting when someone tries to dig back in his recent past to bring up his best memories, in particular if he's talking about one of best Pocket PC portals of the known universe. ;)
And it all came from a blog... it makes me remember about the "Shoeless Joe" ebook by W.P. Kinsella I'm currenly reading: a man who envisioned a dream, worked hard to make it happen, only with the support of his loving family, and at the end it became real, much more real than he ever thought.

So I feel I can answer a definitive YES to all the above questions!

Buon compleanno Pocket PC Thoughts! :way to go:

Davide

Pocket PC Dubai

10-13-2003, 11:52 AM

If Pocket PC Thoughts shuts down! I might loose my interest in the pocket pc itself.

Happy Birthday, my best wishes to all the contributors to this amazing site.

:new-bday: :clap:

x94webboy

10-13-2003, 12:57 PM

Hi, I just wanted to say that this site is a terrific resource for anyone who requires information on Pocket PC's.

There have been countless times when I've had colleagues ask me questions about their PDA. I enjoy this because your site would always have the answer. I would simply email the url containing the answer to their problem. Now all my friends and colleagues visit your site daily- I don't have many questions asked of me now !! :wink:

I've visited your site since it started as a blog. Jason and team, I really appreciate your work on the site. Thank you and Happy Birthday !!

Xyress

10-13-2003, 01:40 PM

I don't remeber that one, but I remember when brighthand closed its forums for a couple of days and a bazillion brighthand refugees (members) came here...I think that was in the first year of the site.
Heh - I was one of them! In fact, I think I would be considered one of the "troublemakers" ... during the whole saga of Pixelator being kicked out. I got kicked out for quoting a post of the reason the Pixelator got kicked out of Brighthand. I came over here much more consistently after that.

I still drifted back and even re-registered at Brighthand, but things were never the same ... I haven't been to Brighthand in over a year now.

AndrewLubinus89

10-13-2003, 01:55 PM

Well, a year ago I was looking to get a new ppc and I was looking around for good sites. I went to pocketmatrix and soon left to pocketpc because I liked the community better and it had more updated news. Then other pocketmatrix members started coming here and I thought "Hey! What are you doing here? I came here first." Also what is funny is I still don't have a ppc but I hope to buy one soon (Yeah right).

AndrewLubinus89

10-13-2003, 02:30 PM

Haha, another thing is that I fell for many of the april fool jokes this year. I didn't see the "Palm Rules" banner so I didn't know that it was just a joke, I actually believed the "1 gig ram ppc" and the "blankspaces" programming code. :D I thought "wow, I need to get one of those 1 gig ppcs" much to my dismay they were a joke. :mrgreen:

GoldKey

10-13-2003, 02:46 PM

Congrats on the three years!

One of the most memorable discussions for me was when Jason posted the St. Patricks Day PPC theme that was slightly risque and the discussion ensued. http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10207

PPCT saved the day when my bosses laptop died and I got a great out of the box suggestion to get the data off the hard drive in this thread http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18322&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 . After that, I forever have a reason to look at this site during work hours without worrying to much about being hassled. PPCT lifetime subscription, $120 - Saving your bosses data, Priceless. :D

carphead

10-13-2003, 03:09 PM

Happy Birthday PPCT.

This thread made me smile last week. Doritos (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19081&highlight=post+workstation)

I don't think there's chicken in Doritos. You're thinking of Chicken Nuggets, which are different.

Still makes me. :rotfl:

redifrogger

10-13-2003, 03:14 PM

Congrats! :mrgreen:

For how this site has helped me:
I have an e740 - bought it before I knew about this site - last November. Well, I think everyone knows the problems this unit has had. I was having all the noted problems: white text, active sync drops, battery problems, etc... I was at my wit's end about how to rectify these issues, when I saw a thread about the 23 ROM for the unit. I read several response about it's effectiveness, and decided to try it. Since then, I haven't had a single drop (getting connected is still a little flaky), my white text issue is gone, and my battery seems to be fine - no 1% warnings. So than-you to all - my e740 seems to work fine for me - wish had the new OS though.

P.S. I too was showing my coworker about how some Palm hacker had gotten the site, and later read about the joke. :oops: You got me.

8)

yawanag

10-13-2003, 03:34 PM

Happy Birthday! Now I know why the doctor says a cataract is forming. I feel I've spent all three years, three and four times a day staring at this screen. :new-bday:

Thinkingmandavid

10-13-2003, 03:35 PM

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
I have enjoyed this forum a very much and have learned a lot. This is a site that I recommend to new PPC users all of the time because I believe it is real and it has a lot to offer. I am glad to be a contributor of informatino on this site as well :D

DavidHorn

10-13-2003, 03:38 PM

Happy Birthday!

Hmm... thinking back, the strongest memory I have of Pocket PC Thoughts is a huge argument I had with Jason which played itself out over PM and email! But we're best of friends now... ;) I hope... aren't we? :beer:

Perry Reed

10-13-2003, 03:41 PM

Congratulations on the three years! May the site continue for many, many more.

I have a couple of fond memories regarding the site.

The first one occured a few months ago. Our VP of Technology called me into his office one morning rather gruffly. He said as I was passing by his doorway, "Perry! Get in here!" I was pretty sure I hadn't done anything to get myself into any real trouble but was nervous all the same. So I sat down at his desk and he whipped out a Dell Axim he had just bought and said, "Help! I want to sync this thing over the network and I can't figure out how. Also I want software for it."

So I got his Wi-Fi connection working and syncing and then showed him to Pocket PC Thoughts for info on other software, accessories, etc. Since then I've pointed several co-workers at this site and have become known as the Pocket PC guy; whenever anyone buys one they come see me to help them set it all up. This site has given me the knowledge on how to help them all and there's no way I could have done it otherwise. Or at least, not as easily.

My other memory comes right after my first product review was published here. I sent my mom the link and she was proud of her son having been "published". :)

Don Sorcinelli

10-13-2003, 03:52 PM

Three years - it just doesn't seem that long to me. I guess the old saying "time sure flies when your having fun" really does work :D

Congratulations, Jason. I know that so many people who have become actively involved in the Pocket PC community by starting web sites, running user groups and participating in discussions around the Internet will all point to Thoughts as one of their early (and constant) influencers. It is not easy to stay so actively involved in something that can be so physically and emotionally draining at times; your ability to do just that should be congratulated as well.

DonS

aleib

10-13-2003, 04:12 PM

Happy birthday to PPCThoughts - I am very happy to be a member and subscriber to this site - This site easily has the best information on PPCs and has been more useful to me in obtaining knowledge on new software and hardware then any other gadget or PPC site on the net.

One of my clear memories of this site was when many people were posting pictures of their work spaces/office spaces so we could see their setups. Each picture I would compare my own setup and take anything I liked from the picture and add it into my setup. I have a VERY small desk and there is no available space left on it now due to those pictures!

Perry Reed

10-13-2003, 04:38 PM

One of my clear memories of this site was when many people were posting pictures of their work spaces/office spaces so we could see their setups. Each picture I would compare my own setup and take anything I liked from the picture and add it into my setup. I have a VERY small desk and there is no available space left on it now due to those pictures!

Oh, that was a good thread! We ought to do that one again sometime.

icatar

10-13-2003, 04:59 PM

My favorite memory is definitely the New Years Day grand giveaway! That day made an otherwise boring New Years Day exciting. You should have seen the look on my families faces as I had to constantly get up and check the site for the next giveaway! It was awesome! :rock on dude!:

daninnj

10-13-2003, 05:25 PM

Happy Third Birthday Pocket PC Thoughts!

The funniest memory for me was either April 1st, or the Parody Contest (and not just because I started it, most of the other images were better!)

Paul Martin

10-13-2003, 05:58 PM

I can't remember when I first starting viewing PPCT. Having started with a CE 1 device (Compaq C140), then moving to a Philips Nino (CE 2), I was really excited to hear about Pocket PC's. But, my lack of cash dictated waiting. So, I read the site and boards for well over a year before I was able to purchase my Jornada 567 (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1952) from a vendor I found through this site: Dreampages. I even downloaded free software I read about just to make sure I had a copy when I got my device!

It's not only been helpful to me, I've also pointed co-workers to the site. I regularly e-mail them info that I find on the site about their devices or deals they can take advantage of, like the unlimited internet deal for T-mobile users.

One of my favorite memories is the New Years Day giveaway. I was at home on a dial-up connection. I don't know how my wife let me use so much time on the computer without complaining, but I'd try to guess when the next contest would happen and hit F5 over and over. I don't think that keyboard is working anymore...wonder why? :D I'd enter the contest, shut off the connection

One of my least favorite memories is lost content when the servers crashed over time. :boohoo:

There are few sites I visit on a regular basis. This is one that I visit multiple times per day. Thanks, PPCT team!

PalmInfocenter

10-13-2003, 06:09 PM

Congratulations Jason and the ppcthoughts team! You folks to a great job.

jlong4

10-13-2003, 06:32 PM

Congrats on reaching your third Birthday...that's 21 years in PPC aging!

I have not made many posts since being a member here, but I frequent the site multiple times daily and find it to be the best PPC site out there, hands down. Getting information from here made my decision easier in getting my first PPC...my beloved Dell Axim X5. I have gone from a neophyte to someone that can at least discuss somewhat intelligently the issues on this site and similar ones.

Thanks for the site and may you have many more B-Days to come!

David Prahl

10-13-2003, 06:53 PM

I'd been browsing through the main 4 or 5 PDA sites for several months before I got my...palm :oops: . I soon realized that I needed more from my device, and the Pocket PC OS was the answer. I thought about what I wanted in a device for several months, and was almost ready to buy a Toshiba e335 when the Axim X5 came out.

Just over a year after getting my Palm m105 I went ahead and bought the X5 advanced - spending almost all of my money on it. I've never looked back, and I'm glad the Pocket PC Thoughts is looking forward.

I know that when the next major device comes out I can find out what I need to know right here, and I can ask ANY question in the forums and find an answer (or joke) within minutes.

Some memorable threads:
-My "How Do YOU Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich?" thread. Members engaged in some heated discussions over what bread and drink are best, etc.

-The "Pictures of your Computer Setup" thread. I had AOL (:oops:) at the time and had to wait several minutes for each batch of photos to load. That was amazing! I agree - we should do that again soon. :mrgreen:

-The April Fool's Day page. I really thought that a Palm fanatic had hacked the site! I even saved the "Palm rulez" defaced logo to my hard drive. Might have to upload it here later. :lol:

:bday: Happy Birthday, Pocket PC Thoughts! Look what you've become!:bday:

weezie

10-13-2003, 08:54 PM

I visit just about every day and can't tell you how much I've learned on the whole PPC world. I'm still using my first Pocket PC, a Jornada 548 :) but hopefully this will change soon (xmas is coming) and thanks to PPCT I have all the information I need. Keep up the good work.

Happy Birthday :new-bday:

beyondallcom

10-13-2003, 09:01 PM

Congrats on the the 3rd year of thoughts! :)

Since the time that I found the site, I think 4 months after you launched it I visited it every day(several times in fact). I remember the people around me and thoose who would stop by my cube what are you looking at? were you not just looking at that 20 minutes ago? you are *still* looking at that site?!?!?! Is there some contest going on that you have to wait and see something? Is that ALL you ever look at?

and then the next day someone asked...

that window behind outlook looks familiar with that blue background are you STILL looking at that site

I reccomended him to get an iPAQ 1910 when it came out, and I told him about thoughts... so now I keep asking him ARE YOU STILL LOOKING AT THOUGHTS?!?!?! or when was the last time you refreshed the site?, what? every 20 minutes?

but the best part was during the mass giveaway at the begining of the year, I remember our user support specialist came to my cube to check for a virus because I was using "to much" bandwith on new years :)!!!! that was funny. I'm always afraid they will block the site to make me more "productive" :)

Thanks for all the great 3 years of reading and I hope it continues!
- Kevin[/quote]

suhit

10-13-2003, 09:07 PM

Happy Birthday PPCT!!! :new-bday:

BTW, my most memorable event with PPCT was the thread that asked us to post our own kickass setup - Pictures of your computer setup (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9034&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=). I share my office with two other PPCT surfers, Phil, and (one that you all know) Janak. It was late at night and we were all quite tired, but there was no way we were going to be outdone by other setups. 8) We rapidly cleaned up our office, and displayed this (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=81908&highlight=#81908). It was funny though with all the craziness we were going through trying to make space on our messy tables just to show off (and later enumerate) all our goodies. In retrospect this feels so lame, since we all now have FP Displays, better machines; not to mention that our pocketpc's have gotten better. :)

Suhit

quidproquo

10-13-2003, 09:09 PM

I have been visiting this site since I found it earlier this year. When I am looking for PPC news, this is where I go!!

Great job by the entire team who keep this site updated!!
This site makes my day! :sunny:

MikeUnwired

10-13-2003, 11:19 PM

One time at band camp...

Jason, congratulations on three years at the Pocket PC focus thing. You've brought hope to the hopeless, humor to the humorless and balance to the force all in your effort.

My favorite PPCThoughts moment was the parody ads that were posted at one point. Foo Fighter had mocked-up a Palm ad with a PCC stalking a kitten. The ad said, and I am doing this from memory, "Everytime someone buys a Pocket PC, God kills a kitten. Save the kittens!"

David Prahl

10-13-2003, 11:33 PM

The ad said, and I am doing this from memory, "Everytime someone buys a Pocket PC, God kills a kitten. Save the kittens!"

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/contest-parody/palmkittens-foo.jpg

You can find most of them here:
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6950&highlight=god+kills+kitten

Sheynk

10-14-2003, 12:13 AM

Ive been reading this site since its blogger days. (I want to say 2 year of existance).

To be honest (breaks down and starts crying) the thriving community of this site got me interested in this technology. This is the only online forum that is not filled to the (insert word of choice here) with trolls. Everyone tries to help each other out with their technology woes thus helping this community expand.

Yes, it is the good hearted people at PPCT that convinced me to take the plunge and buy a PPC not just because of its usefullness or "cool factor" but because it came with a bonus of a "digital neighborhood" where it did not matter whether or not your "lawnmower" was the newest kind or not.

Thanks guys (sign)

HAPPY B-DAY PPCT!!!
:new-bday:
PS:
Plus u guys are cool for giving us the dancing ALF :alfdance:

yvilla

10-14-2003, 02:36 AM

Well, I haven't been a loyal Thoughts reader from the very beginning, but I come close -- having first found you in February or March, 2001. And this site sure is responsible for many milestones large and small in my life over the past 2 1/2 years!

Number one is turning me on to Pocket PCs in the first place, after I stumbled in here somehow while trying to track down some ebook information. I can't say Thoughts is directly responsible for my decison on which PPC I went with first, but it is definitely where I got the information that inspired my second and third purchases.

When I made the move to PPC 2002, it was Steven Cedrone who got me past my embarassing inability to find the icon for turning on graphics in the somewhat changed Pocket IE. And I'm so grateful to djtipmothee and other forum members who tried hard to help me back when I had screwed things up royally and lost my ability to sync wirelessly for a time. Finally buying Pocket Informant, what a great program, and I owe it to the Thoughts special discount back in August 2002. Much more recently, finding out about the T-mobile unlimited data pricing change, and jumping on it right away together with lots of other excited Thoughts members. And then there was the thread about memories from December 31, 1969, how wonderful that it transported me so far back in time and to such a distant place that I was really fond of! Paragon being so kind and sending me his avatar just to have as a graphic on my computer when I wrote him to say how much I liked it. Discussions about things I love dearly, like scrabble and (e)books in general. And, I'll never forget the rolling-on-the-floor laugh I had at Brad's "stalker" story. As I told him in that thread when I wrote to thank him for posting the story, what a great way to unwind after a stressful day at work!

I could probably go on and on, but I guess the impact of Thoughts on this one person's life is sufficiently clear from the above examples alone. Hey, and we almost share our birthdays -- today is mine! Happy Birthday PPCT, and thank you Jason! :new-bday:

pschultz

10-14-2003, 02:49 AM

A little while ago, I had just found out from another Pocket PC site that Think Outside had just released the new Stowaway drivers. I had not seen a post for it on Pocket PC Thoughts, so I quickly submitted the news to hopefully get credit for the find. The next day, I received an email from Jason saying that PPCT had already posted about it a week earlier. :oops: I felt so dumb, but then I realized how much I love this site and how it is almost always the first to post about Pocket PC news.

warptime

10-14-2003, 05:20 AM

Happy Birthday Pocket PC Thoughts!! I have spent the last 2 1/2 years checking for my daily fix of PPCT. More often than not, 3 or 4 times a day. The variety and depth of information is amazing. Many, many thanks to the contributors!

I enjoyed some healthy laughter (and a few oh s*&$s!) from the worksite photo thread. It was thoroughly entertaining (and enlightening). See honey, other people have systems/networks like mine!

With the cross-section of users out there, the information available on the site is mind boggling at times. It is not just pocket PCs either. After seeing Jason's website on his new home, I proceeded to create one for my new home under construction. I am using my pocket PC to help manage the home owner side of the build. Using Pocket Informant, Pocket Word, and Palbum Suite to keep track of lists, task, appointments and using Palbum to view my house plans. I learned about it here!!

:new-bday:

warptime

toxostoma

10-14-2003, 07:30 AM

All right Jason, since there's not enough competition, I'll add my story.

When this sight started, I was a sophmore in college, and previously had somehow come up with the money for an iPaq 3600. You wrote an article which appeared on pocketpc.com, where you wondered why some html emails wouldn't sync with the pocketpc. I did a little investigating and discovered the answer... It had to do with the fact that emails sent with a mime type of text/html wouldn't come through on a sync, but multipart/alternative emails, which basically include a text copy and an html copy of the message, would sync. I emailed you about what I'd discovered, and you asked me if I could write an article about it. I wrote the article and sent it to you. You put it up on pocketpc.com and your new website PocketPCThoughts. I remember distinctly that it was one of the first four "articles" on your site!

What was also really cool was that I could come out to the Microsoft website, type my name into the search field on their homepage, and it would find my article! I think I showed all my family and friends. "Hey, I made Microsoft's site!"

My ipaq gave up the ghost a while back. The battery just wouldn't hold a charge for very long. Here's the brown-nosing part... I don't own a PDA anymore! I've really been wanting one, but I'm trying to finish up college and money's tight. I sure would be grateful if that axim found it's way to me :mrgreen:

And one last thing that I forgot to include when I posted this message, but just have to mention. Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 15th) is my birthday! (Seriously!) What better present than the axim? :D

Oh yeah, and since that article no longer exists, I thought I'd throw it back up on the forums... If I can still find it on my computer, that is... Okay, here it is:

The Pocket PC HTML Email Syncing Problem

Before PocketPC's debuted in April 2000, Microsoft pointed out that their new pda platform would support syncing with html emails, something Windows CE 2.11 had neglected to do. However, maybe you noticed that this works only some of the time. The fine folks at PocketPC.com have noticed this too. After writing an article titled HTML E-mail Syncs Up Now -- Cool!, Jason Dunn added an update mentioning the problem and asked the proverbial question, why? He even mentions that if an html email won't sync, you can forward it to yourself in Outlook and it will. This got me to thinking -- what does Outlook do to an html email that other programs might not? I had a suspicion and after a little testing, I found my answer in the content type of the email.

So what is a content type? Well, the content type is an email header than defines how the email is formatted. There are many content types (undoubtedly more than I can recall from memory), but I'll give a good overview of the basics.

Perhaps the most common content type is text/plain. You guessed it -- simple plain text emails have a content type of text/plain. Two other common content types that are used to send html emails are text/html and text/enriched. Then somebody had a great idea of combining the two. What if you could send an html message, but have older email clients that didn't support html read a plain text version of that message? There are two content types that do just this: multipart/alternative and mulitpart/related. In these types, both the html and the plain text copy of the message are included in one email. Then, if an email client can display the html, it does. If that client can only display text, it ignores the html portion of the email and displays the text.

So how in the world does all this boring talk of content type fit in with the PocketPC? Well, it turns out that PocketPCs can only sync html emails if they're content type is multipart/alternative or multipart/related. What ActiveSync is actually doing is taking the text portion of the email and syncing that over to the pda. Emails with a content type of text/html or text/enriched come across as blank messages.

Outlook uses mulitpart/alternative when it sends out html email. (The only time I've observed it to use mulitpart/related is when it sends out an html email with a background image). This is why forwarding yourself a straight html message causes it to then sync with your PocketPC. Upon forwarding, Outlook takes your html message and converts its content type into mulitpart/alternative, so that it now syncs properly.

So how do you tell what content type an email is? Well if you're using Outlook, open up an email you've received. Be sure to open the email message itself, so that it is in its own window, not merely inside of the preview pane. Then, go to the View menu and choose Options. When the options window comes up, look in the text area box that's labeled Internet Headers. You may need to scroll down, but here you'll find the Content Type.

In a perfect world, Microsoft would not have made their html syncing rely on an email's content type. Hopefully, PocketPC users will see this fixed in a future release of ActiveSync. Until then, at least we've learned how it works.

prismejon

10-14-2003, 08:39 AM

When attending a Microsoft event at school last fall I was introduced to the glory of PocketPCs. Of course I needed some more info so I started surfing around and was so lucky to stumble upon this site. I kept visiting pocketpcthoughts several times a day since then, even without having a pocketpc - just to :drool: over all the new models... I was addicted to PocketPCs even without owning one!

Then finally, on a sunny day in May pocketpcthoughts helped me get a hold of a bright shiny Toshiba e755 via the "Buy & Sell" forum (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=109572). I was, and am, very pleased with my PocketPC, but I started getting problems when I bought a WiFi accesspoint a month ago. I really wanted to use my WiFi capabilities and ppcthoughts subcription around our flat. As it is a very small flat, the only places where it's any point to use the ppc to surf instead of my desktop pc are the bathroom and in bed. Sitting on the loo and surf if of course great, but the time I'm sitting there is limited (but increasing since I got the access point :D ). So using it in bed was the next thing to try out. The result was devastating: My beloved "Britney" (Toshiba e755) was banned from the bed by my wife!! :( She is jealous when I'm using it in bed..

What to do, what to do? As she hasn't any problems playing with Britney (she has inflicted most of the tear on my screen protector by playing solitaire) herself, my only solution is to make sure she is using a ppc in bed. Then she can't complain about my use, and my addiction would be satisifed!

In accordance with the underpanth gnomes' project planning:
Phase 1: Write story-> Phase 2 -> Phase 3: Surf pocketpcthoughts.com in bed

qmrq

10-14-2003, 02:01 PM

Pat Logsdon

10-14-2003, 05:59 PM

To me, this site is like a gateway drug. :mrgreen: It's led me to much more than I ever anticipated when I first picked up my Casio e125 several years ago. It also seems to be just about as addictive as crack. :wink:

If it wasn't for this site, my Axim would probably be sitting in a drawer somewhere, unused and ignored. Fortunately, I've been hooked since my first post (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5443&highlight=). This site has positively affected my life in the following ways: I read about the TextMaker word processor (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3790&start=0), and I now use it every day. I have a laptop, but I don't really need it to write with due to this software.

I read about the ThunderHawk browser (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7071&start=0), which I purchased and now use almost every day, when I want to access PPCT when I'm away from my computer. It's STILL faster than PIE!

I read about using GPS for vehicular navigation with the Pocket PC in Garry Garland's wonderful series of articles (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8377&start=0). I was so intrigued that I now use GPS navigation every day.

The comments in that thread also led me to geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com), which has improved my life and health by getting me off my butt and outside to get some exercise.

During the fabled New Year's give away, I managed to pick up a copy of Mastersoft's PoQuick money manager software (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6622&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0), and I now use the latest version (now called simply Mastersoft Money) every day. It's allowed me to ditch my checkbook and keep much better track of my finances.

I read about the OGG format for music files (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8839&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0), which allows me to put even more music on my Pocket PC. All of my music is now in this format.

I read about WinamPaq (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7302), a skinnable WinAmp-like media player. I use this several times a day.

I read about uBook (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9133&start=0), which has totally changed my favorite leisure activity - reading. I now read more books than I ever did before.

I read about PocketMVP (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6441&highlight=pocketdivx) and the DivX format, and this opened up whole new worlds for me - who would have thought that it would be possible to play full movies on a Pocket PC? I now convert and watch at least 3 movies a month on my Pocket PC.

I read about eWallet (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7057&start=0) here, and it's saved my ass several times by safely storing my passwords and credit card information. I use this software a few times a week.

I read the excellent review (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17206&start=0) on the Veo Photo Traveller camera, and picked one up for my Axim. I now take it with me whenever I go geocaching. It takes great daytime photos and is a lot easier to carry than a dedicated digital camera.

I also read the great review (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,12706) on Pocket Backup, and this software has been a life saver. After my Axim spontaneously hard reset itself 3 weeks ago, I was up and running at full capacity in a few hours. I now backup once a week to a CF card. :mrgreen:
I've also had the opportunity to read and/or participate in some great discussions, including "What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12570&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80)", What Was The Last Brand New Invention That Rocked the World? (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9322&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0)", "Brad's Daughter's First ActiveSync (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11134&start=0)", the "W?BIC (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7144&start=0)" thread, and many, many more.

Going back and reading all those threads again for this post just reaffirms what makes this site so great. It's all the wonderful, helpful people here that keep me coming back day after day. It's truly a community that I'm proud to be a part of.

Kati Compton

10-14-2003, 07:09 PM

If not for here, I would have nowhere to go.

<melodramatic sigh>

ctmagnus

10-14-2003, 09:39 PM

To me, this site is like a gateway drug. :mrgreen: It's led me to much more than I ever anticipated when I first picked up my Casio e125 several years ago. It also seems to be just about as addictive as crack. :wink:

I quite often refer to the combination of this site and my Pocket PCs as "digital crack". Alone, they're not too bad but combined, they're powerfully addictive.

David Prahl

10-14-2003, 10:17 PM

I can stop whenever I want to! Really! :lol:

So do we know who won? Is the contest still rolling?

Steven Cedrone

10-14-2003, 10:34 PM

Once upon a time...

There was a little geek in a propeller beanie that was searching for a place to call home. He would normally lurk in the Microsoft Pocket PC Newsgroups, as well as at both Pocket PC Passion and Brighthand...

Then one day, a terrible thing happened... Microsoft released a Password Powertoy that broke the little geeks' Pocket PC. Not knowing where to turn, and with blatant disregard that "no one email me with questions" he emailed Jason Dunn for help...

Jason, was kind enough to help out and exchanged several emails with the unfortunate geek. But alas, the Pocket PC was doomed and needed a lobotomy (at least the geek had backed up his device!!!) The geek was very impressed that someone that was held in such high regard in the community would help such a lowly geek...

Time marched on and then the announcement was made: Pocket PC Thoughts was on the air!!!

The geek started to visit 'Thoughts, and liked what he saw. Eventually, he stopped going to those "other" sites and decided to stay for good...

Home Sweet Home!!!

Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it??? :wink:

Steve

maximus

10-15-2003, 02:15 AM

Ok, I think we can close the contest right now. I am CMAO (Crying My A$$ Off) reading the above story. Give him the axim already. :mrgreen:

maximus

10-15-2003, 02:20 AM

To me, this site is like a gateway drug. :mrgreen: It's led me to much more than I ever anticipated when I first picked up my Casio e125 several years ago. It also seems to be just about as addictive as crack. :wink:

I quite often refer to the combination of this site and my Pocket PCs as "digital crack". Alone, they're not too bad but combined, they're powerfully addictive.

Yeah. My current company is tracking staffs' internet bandwidth usage. Yet I am still risking getting fired by visiting this place a few time on daily basis.

If I got fired for exceeding a certain bandwidth threshold, I will personally blame all of you. :mrgreen:

Janak Parekh

10-15-2003, 02:50 AM

Yeah. My current company is tracking staffs' internet bandwidth usage. Yet I am still risking getting fired by visiting this place a few time on daily basis.
Why don't you use your PDA and a GPRS connection? :lol:

Steve, Kati: you guys aren't eligible, are you? I guess you could split out the rest of the posts and win that way... :lol:

--janak

Steven Cedrone

10-15-2003, 04:04 AM

Nah, we can't win... :lol:

But it's a fun thread anyway!!! :wink:

Steve

maximus

10-15-2003, 07:18 AM

Why don't you use your PDA and a GPRS connection? :lol:

Without right-click-open-link-in-new-window ?
And $10/MB GPRS Fee ?

Naaaaaaaaah ....

manywhere

10-15-2003, 07:59 AM

Yeah. My current company is tracking staffs' internet bandwidth usage. Yet I am still risking getting fired by visiting this place a few time on daily basis.

If I got fired for exceeding a certain bandwidth threshold, I will personally blame all of you. :mrgreen:

The company, where I worked this summer, had a chaching proxy to ease off on the traffic. However, Pocket PC Thoughts was never up-to-date in that damn proxy; it always loaded a month old PPCT! :mecry:

So, I had to download Opera (http://www.opera.com) and set it to bypass proxy cache so that I could always read the hot-off-the-press PPCT news and reviews. :D
And I was probably visiting the site every hour or something which probably made the IT-department wonder over a sudden increase in traffic to one site... :lol:

(By the way: Am I the only one who would like to get Opera for Pocket PC? Maybe I should open a discussion on that... Anyone with me on that?)

Nah, we can't win...

But it's a fun thread anyway!!!

Steve
Yep, a fun thread it is... 8)