My PDA is boring

[pepemosca]

Hi,

I have an iPAQ h5450 since February, and I have to say that I'm starting to notice that is boring.

I remember at the begging, was all new, so many thing to do and learn (I was upgrading from a Palm ;) ). But, some months later, I have nothing as fun or incredible to do as before.

Now, most of the time, I'm using my pda as date book and MP3 player... but I want to do something more!

So, tell me, what are you doing with your pda (besides using it as an incredible date book)?

Which applications do you think that says that having a PPC is a must?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Hope that your insides make me have fun with my pda again!

[SandersP]

Have you consider watching Divx on iPAQ while bungee jumping? It could be fun. :mrgreen:

[CTSLICK]

Lets face it my Dell does not really inspire the imagination. Sometimes its a new piece of software that will light my fire again but lately its add-on hardware...in this case Bluetooth stuff. I just got a BT USB adapter for my PC to go with my BT cf card and am now syncing wireless (as of 5 minutes ago) ! In fact I am posting this from my pda using the AS Passthrough connection.

I still get a kick out of using my BT phone to connect to the internet too.

Geek Stuff Rocks! 8)

[theon]

I dunno. I guess it's what you put in? I use mine to:

1. Watch movies, tv shows.
2. Keep accounts.
3. Play games.
4. BT with my phone.
5. Remote control.
6. IM.

Of course the standard PIM as well. Keep me fully satisfied so far. :D

[xbalance]

I listen to MP3 while I work out, track my workouts in Excel, play various games (mostly card games), look at still pictures and converted video.

I do not have Wi-Fi. Other than that, what makes any computer fun?

[powder2000]

WiFi for me. Always using it to surf, even when I'm next to a 19inch flat screen crt. WBIC :lol:

[Evee Ev]

i go through this same boredom phase too.

i just got "excited" again by watching movies and tv shows on it while on the bus ride home from work.

i also loaded pocket quake and that was pretty cool.

i like reading the news so avantgo has been a favorite of mine.

pocketbible is also really awesome when you can have 7 translations, commentary, notes, and dictionary all in one device!

you just gotta find something you like to do with it and stick with it....i'm sure it could be more "fun" but for me and what i need it for...it rocks.

[ChristopherTD]

I read lots of books, play some games (Snails, Worms, Warlords II), keep track of what I have to do. Not had time to get bored with it yet!

[Foo Fighter]

I'm not quite clear on what sort of "excitement" you want from your PPC? PDAs are a tool, not a toy, so productivity comes first. If you really want some excitement, get a Zodiac from Tapwave. That should satisfy your craving for fun. :wink:

[cyclwestks]

I'm not quite clear on what sort of "excitement" you want from your PPC? PDAs are a tool

That's what I've been trying to tell my wife, "It's a necessary tool for my career".

[CTSLICK]

I'm not quite clear on what sort of "excitement" you want from your PPC? PDAs are a tool, not a toy, so productivity comes first. If you really want some excitement, get a Zodiac from Tapwave. That should satisfy your craving for fun. :wink:

LIAR...HERETIC...ummm...uhhh....I mean...yeah...you're right...who needs fun and excitement...its a business tool...yeah...thats the ticket :lol:

[Prevost]

i go through this same boredom phase too.

i just got "excited" again by watching movies and tv shows on it while on the bus ride home from work.

i also loaded pocket quake and that was pretty cool.

i like reading the news so avantgo has been a favorite of mine.

pocketbible is also really awesome when you can have 7 translations, commentary, notes, and dictionary all in one device!

you just gotta find something you like to do with it and stick with it....i'm sure it could be more "fun" but for me and what i need it for...it rocks.
Can you tune a TV show air/live with a PPC?
Man, I WANT that too!!!

[pepemosca]

Yes, how can i see the TV? I want that? ... But, how much? ;)

[pepemosca]

Does anyone recommend any good mind / logical game?

[pepemosca]

I understand that is a tool, but is a very expensive tool. I would like to do something cool with it :roll:

[Thinkingmandavid]

Well, what was the main purpose for you buying it to begin with?
I would imagine being able to use it to detail your life, sort out hobbies, play games, listen to music, blah blah blah-would be enough.
How much time are you really wanting to spend in a day using your ppc?
have you tried taking up photography and having fun with it like that?
I know at times the pda can be boring, but I agree it is a matter of phases. At times I dont even want to look at it, or enter anything it. I just wish it read my mind and that is how it was transfered,then there are days I get excited about it or smile about how useful it became.
Didnt we once have a thread about how we were in a relationship or type of relationship with our pda?

[theon]

Oh yeah... There was one time I was bored with my 5450 and decided to try Nevo remote for the first time. I went down to a large local electrical retailer and 'tested' it by turning off the plasmas.

Doesn't sound very exciting? It is when you can't turn them back on again!!! 8O

[karinatwork]

When I start getting bored with my pocket pc (which happens every once in a while), I get something new for it. That could be a new case, a battery extender, even another type of screen protector. Most of the time though I just buy another program. I go browsing through the web, PPCT, Brighthand, TekGuru, Handango, sites like that, and when something interests me, I will research it, read all reviews, try it out, and then maybe even buy it. This way, I always have my pocketpc fine tuned to my current needs.

Well, of course, if nothing helps you to get rid of this boredom, the ultimate solution would be to buy a new pocket pc. That will start the excitement all over again!! :mrgreen:

It's called "Shopping Therapy"... Hope that helps! :wink:

Karin

[pepemosca]

It's called "Shopping Therapy"... Hope that helps! :wink:


I'm sure that helps, but is a bit: expensive?

:)

I don't know... Now I don't have to much time to expend in my PDA, so I'm ok. But when I have some free minutes, I don't get my PDA as I used to.

karinatwork do you recommend me some piece of software that kills some of your "boring phases"?

[pepemosca]

Oh yeah... There was one time I was bored with my 5450 and decided to try Nevo remote for the first time. I went down to a large local electrical retailer and 'tested' it by turning off the plasmas.

Doesn't sound very exciting? It is when you can't turn them back on again!!! 8O

I've tried this at class... The teachers goes crazy!
But it's a bit not of my age (i'm 22) ;)

[karinatwork]

Doesn't have to be expensive. For example, right now I found this really cool plug-in called Kitara Genesis ($ 9.95), and it is so much fun to learn how to use it. It is very handy and informative, and not as complicated or "over the top" like Pocket Informant. (I don't want to say anything negative about Pocket Informant, btw, it's just way too much for my scheduling needs. Outlook for me does it all.)

To kill time and boredom, ebooks are always great. If you like to read, go browse through some sites like Powells.com and Peanutpress, and you'll most likely find a great book that keeps it hard for you not to drain the battery. I like horror, that'll keep me reading... ;)

For a free minute here and there, I like Diamond Mine, and "Flip-It", (http://www.dig-concepts.com/?HwDLEGDsJrIaflEApIab) another inexpensive ($ 4.99) program that keeps you entertained for hours.
Other than that, I keep a Journal about the development of my son, and I read the Italian and German news on Avantgo every day.

There are a few threads here on this board about programs that people cannot do without. A very interesting read!

Well, good luck with your boredom problem. :)

Karin

[pepemosca]

have you tried taking up photography and having fun with it like that?


:) Actually, I do photography... And i have a great Nikon F100!

[pepemosca]

That "Flip It!" sound good.
I'll give it a try.

Thanks!

[szamot]

Does anyone recommend any good mind / logical game?
Brainstorm is one of the better ones that I keep coming back to. I love this game.
I also use my PPC to let our 4 year old watch Piglet's Big movie that I ripped into a 109 mb file. Makes it for a lot of quiet time when zooming around town..WIFI natrually, but mostly MP3s, and reading lots of ebooks.

[szamot]

Oh yeah... There was one time I was bored with my 5450 and decided to try Nevo remote for the first time. I went down to a large local electrical retailer and 'tested' it by turning off the plasmas.

Doesn't sound very exciting? It is when you can't turn them back on again!!! 8O

I've tried this at class... The teachers goes crazy!
But it's a bit not of my age (i'm 22) ;)

hell even past 30's this is fun, especially if you start turning off a big wall of TV at Future Slop... :mrgreen:

[ale2999]

Oh yeah... There was one time I was bored with my 5450 and decided to try Nevo remote for the first time. I went down to a large local electrical retailer and 'tested' it by turning off the plasmas.

Doesn't sound very exciting? It is when you can't turn them back on again!!! 8O

I've tried this at class... The teachers goes crazy!
But it's a bit not of my age (i'm 22) ;)

hell even past 30's this is fun, especially if you start turning off a big wall of TV at Future Slop... :mrgreen:
now that is an idea for the weekend lol

[Thinkingmandavid]

well it sounds as if some ideas around here, mmm, i dont know what all you can do for fun. I am not bored at teh current time but who knows about later. i would like to use my ppc in a james bond kind of way, now that would be fun and no boredomof course. but i just dont know whta james bond stuff i want to do:)hehe

[davidspalding]

Hi,

I have an iPAQ h5450 since February, and I have to say that I'm starting to notice that is boring.

I remember at the begging, was all new, so many thing to do and learn (I was upgrading from a Palm ;) ). But, some months later, I have nothing as fun or incredible to do as before.

Now, most of the time, I'm using my pda as date book and MP3 player... but I want to do something more!

So, tell me, what are you doing with your pda (besides using it as an incredible date book)?

Which applications do you think that says that having a PPC is a must?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Hope that your insides make me have fun with my pda again!

Download porn?

[BigMrC]

how do you watch tv on it exactly?

[gry]

Most of us use Snapstream software, a Haupaggue card, and/or an All-in-Wonder Radeon card and Radeon software to directly record TV shows in PPC format and play them later on our PPCs.

[pepemosca]

Download porn?

Good one!

[pepemosca]

Does anyone recommend any good mind / logical game?
Brainstorm is one of the better ones that I keep coming back to. I love this game.
I also use my PPC to let our 4 year old watch Piglet's Big movie that I ripped into a 109 mb file. Makes it for a lot of quiet time when zooming around town..WIFI natrually, but mostly MP3s, and reading lots of ebooks.

Brainstorm, it's been a long time since the last time I've played that game... I should try it again.

[Thinkingmandavid]

so you are recording tv shows to watch later onyou ppc..... that is a good idea, i havent done that. how about some star treks or friends?)

[theon]

I've tried this at class... The teachers goes crazy!
But it's a bit not of my age (i'm 22) ;)

Umm.... Guess I don't want to tell you MY age then... :oops:

[nice_micael]

Well at my free time i watch movies , read ebooks , listen to mp3 and much more . 8)

[BigMrC]

i could get my hands on a radeon 9800 pro, would this enable me to record tv to watch on the ppc ?

and how do you watch "movies" exactly? as in full length? saved onto the ppc??

[cooldw57]

Will the battery last long enough to finsih even ONE episode of TV show without turning on the backlid?

[dh]

When we go on long car trips my daughter likes to watch movies on my Axim.

We can usually get four full movies on a 1 GB CF card, another reason to avoid PPCs without a CF slot.

The battery lasts between five and six hours so plenty of entertainment.

There are hints for encoding movies in the Multimedia forum.

[BigMrC]

but can you tell me how you go about it? Would a Radeon 9800 pro do the trick?

[dh]

but can you tell me how you go about it? Would a Radeon 9800 pro do the trick?
I have no idea what a Radeon 9800 is. What I do is encode movies from DVDs. I learned to do this by following the guide at www.pocketmatix.com

There are various freeware applications needed, links are included in the guide. There are also applications that can be purchased to do the conversions in fewer steps. I've not tried any of these.

[wizardmaster2k]

doesnt know what a radion 9800 is. not a gamer i suppose. that would do the trick, but that is a lot of power that isnt really needed if all u want to do is get movies and such. a mid-range card would be fine. i have a ti 4200 128 mb that works perfectly for that purpose.

[Thinkingmandavid]

I think he wants specifics on how to do it. oh, i think friends or some star treks would be cool to have, or andromeda :)
I wouldnt mind doing that, i just dont have the money for the card now. I need a wireless keyboard for notes in class. only thing is i keep hearing bad stuff, mmmm.

[BigMrC]

yes specifics on how to do it, assume I can get the 9800 card, what exactly do I do from there?

[seidler]

to bring the topic back to entertainment: Games!! :mrgreen:

Go to ZIO! Software. they have plenty of games for the PPC, like Age Of Empires (nice one) or SimCity2000 (that can keep you busy for hours).

Then get PocketSCUMM, and get out those old Indiana jones and monkey island games (or take some from "friends" :wink: ). I\m about to play Indy 4 at the moment... if only I had more time :)

And, I chat a lot over WAP. I have unlimited WAP access, so bluetooth + Siemens S55 with GPRS does the trick (hint: I go to http://www.waparty.com) and I use the Klondike WAP browser. I think there is another one called M3Gate, which is for free (some Russian development). but of course, only if you have something like a flatrate (for WAP of Internet, doesn't matter)...

HTH,

Stefan
P.S.: Sorry I didn't post the links - too lazy, and too busy these days :roll:

[pepemosca]

to bring the topic back to entertainment: Games!! :mrgreen:

Go to ZIO! Software. they have plenty of games for the PPC, like Age Of Empires (nice one) or SimCity2000 (that can keep you busy for hours).

Then get PocketSCUMM, and get out those old Indiana jones and monkey island games (or take some from "friends" :wink: ). I\m about to play Indy 4 at the moment... if only I had more time :)

And, I chat a lot over WAP. I have unlimited WAP access, so bluetooth + Siemens S55 with GPRS does the trick (hint: I go to http://www.waparty.com) and I use the Klondike WAP browser. I think there is another one called M3Gate, which is for free (some Russian development). but of course, only if you have something like a flatrate (for WAP of Internet, doesn't matter)...

HTH,

Stefan
P.S.: Sorry I didn't post the links - too lazy, and too busy these days :roll:

Yes, I want a WAP flat rate.. but here (in argentina) there isn't :(

Yeah, I know, these days i'm so blue.