What Causes Your Pocket PC Pain?

[Jason Dunn]

With the release of Windows Mobile 2003 SE, we have another updated OS, but there has been quite a bit of commentary about the lack of improvements beyond the VGA support. So this got me thinking about what sorts of things I'd really like to see fixed/improved for the next version of the OS:<br /><br />• Connection Manager confuses and frustrates me - once I get it working I'm afraid to touch it again for fear of breaking it. It's awkward to switch from Bluetooth to WiFi and back again<br />• Bluetooth in general is frustrating on the Pocket PC - different profile support from Pocket PC to Pocket PC, different vendors with different UIs...it's a mess!<br />• I can't log into my bank Web site because of limitations around Pocket Internet Explorer<br />• Pocket Inbox and IMAP is horribly broken. I read and delete email on my Pocket PC, then a few hours later I open Outlook on the desktop and all the same messages are there!<br />• I don't really care about editing Word documents very often, but I want to be able to view them without destroying the document<br />• I have Outlook configured to use FIRSTNAME, LASTNAME as the default for new contacts. When I create a new contact on the Pocket PC, it's in LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME because the Pocket PC is hard coded for that format. I want it to use the same settings as Outlook, automatically.<br />• ActiveSync is just painful all around. I frequently get unresolved items and there's no easy way to fix the problem with resorting to the "move things around until you isolate the problem file/item" trick<br />• There are files that I want to sync to my Pocket PC, but these files don't live in the Pocket PC synchronized file folder - why can't I specify these files and have ActiveSync sync them?<br /><br />That was my list off the top of my head - what's yours? Remember it should be things that cause you frustration today, not "pie in the sky" features that would be cool to have, or hardware issues. Let's really focus on the software and what they need to fix.

[OSUKid7]

Memory management - program vs. storage memory.
Driver management - even in WM2003, I've had weird unknown driver messages asking for a driver location.
Can't put voice notes in calendar items - there's a button there, but it never lets me use it.

May think of more later. Who knows.

BTW, you're the MVP, can't you suggest these things to MS? ;)

[Don Tolson]

In Pocket Contacts, I want access to the 'File As' column in Outlook, so I can _tell_ Pocket Outlook how/where to display an entry. It's a pain having to transfer it back to Outlook; make the changes; then transfer back again.

As far as bluetooth is concerned, I'm not having much problem with my Pocket PC. My big problem is getting my cell phone (Nokia 3650) to talk to my tablet PC via the Belkin bluetooth adapter. Connecting to my Pocket PC is a breeze, but getting anything to work with my tablet is a pain.

I'd like to have Letter Recognizer able to deal with double-stroke characters (t's and i's) when something else is running in background (like Pocket Music)

[Jason Dunn]

BTW, you're the MVP, can't you suggest these things to MS? ;)

Why do you think I created this thread? ;-) I'll pass this along to some people at MS. I'm never sure how seriously they take feedback like this, but I have to keep trying until things get better. :-)

[Kacey Green]

The ablility to sync outlook notes back and forth not just from outlook

[Brian Johnson]

Alarms & notifications not functioning!! 8O

I figured that was a given to make it in your list... you must not be experiencing this headache if it didn't appear as the first mentioned item.

[bleeman]

The same "snooze" options on the PocketPC that I have on my desktop. I find it extremely frustrating that "snooze" goes from 2 hours to 8 hours on the PPC and on the desktop there's a 4 hour option. I also like the new 0.5 day option that came with Outlook 2003.

While on the subject of "snooze" the ability to snooze an item once, whether it's on the PPC or desktop. I can understand needing to snooze in both places when they're not in sync, but it drives me crazy when I have to snooze on both devices when my PPC is in the cradle and supposedly in sync with my desktop. It's even worse, when I want to snooze something for 4hours and that means I'll have to snooze it twice on the PPC.

My other two biggies are fixed with 3rd party apps, but I'd like to see them addressed in the O/S itself. They are the ability to see HTML mail in the Inbox and the ability to adjust the filename field in File Explorer so I can read long filenames.

I know there are others, but these are the big ones for me.

[ppcsurfr]

Memory management - program vs. storage memory.
Driver management - even in WM2003, I've had weird unknown driver messages asking for a driver location.
Can't put voice notes in calendar items - there's a button there, but it never lets me use it.

May think of more later. Who knows.

BTW, you're the MVP, can't you suggest these things to MS? ;)

Try changing your Voice Recording format to GSM 6.10... Then you should be able to save Voice Notes in the Calendar item.

Carlo

[dean_shan]

Add the right-click --> Properties ability to File Explorer.

[ppcsurfr]

I can't set "no alarms" for Birthdays and Anniversaries by default
I can't set alarm times for all day events including Birthdays and Anniversaries.
I can't set alarm times for Tasks.
I can't open an item from the notification bubble
I can't save attachments to the card without hacking the registry.(This is supposed to be a feature)
Notes in a Meeting Request are not supported in Pocket Outlook


Carlo

[OSUKid7]

Can't put voice notes in calendar items - there's a button there, but it never lets me use it.

Try changing your Voice Recording format to GSM 6.10... Then you should be able to save Voice Notes in the Calendar item.
Thx. Worked. :)

[Ryan Joseph]

Whoa, boy. I'll bet this thread reaches 100 replies in a day or two. :roll:

My complaint is in regard to the Phone Edition version of the OS. I understand that PE devices have a lot more going on than regular PPCs do, but it seems like I soft reset more often than I should. My brother has a different PE device than I do and he complains of the same problem.

Like I said, I know these devices have to deal with keeping a network connection, GPRS Internet, and the like. But I'd like something to be done to improve the general stability of the OS.

[Jereboam]

If I could pick one thing from your list, it would be ohmygod please fix Inbox and IMAP. It's sooooo fundamental (and from the multitude of email apps/checkers etc out there it can't be rocket science) it totally mystifies me why they can't fix it. Mind you, IMAP in Outlook 2003 sucks too, so....

And alarms/notifications. That's another biggie.

J'bm

[PR.]

Connection Mangler - as suggested previously, use XPs method of connection management
ActiveSync - Improved Conduits for Tasks for 3rd part apps to handle Deferred and Waiting for somebody else fields. ALARMS!!!
ActiveSync - Calendar much better handling of multiple occurrences and support for ALL Outlook 2003 functions/options for 3rd party apps
ActiveSync - Contacts same as above FULL support for all of Outlook 2003 features including photo syncing and IM options for use by 3rd party apps
ActiveSync - A documented file store for PC install parts for 3rd party programs instead of them splattering over C:\Program Files or in the Start Menu
ActiveSync - Clearer improved Add/Remove apps
WM2003 - XP style task manager to allow the stopping of single processes not the Windows 9x method of showing things as the OS sees fit.
WM2003 - Improved reliability, when I bought this device I was happy to sacrifice memory/screen size NOT reliability I feel like I am in the 90s :?
WM2003 - Cascading Programs menu on the start menu rather than navigating the menu
WM2003 - Global option to turn off Auto-Show-&lt;input device>
WM2003 - Clearer indication of Apps not available that where on a removed storage card
WM2003 - Safe mode soft reset when a program in Startup has screwed up and you are away from a PC
Document Viewer - A new application for read-only viewing of PPT/DOC/XLS/PDF/EML/JPG/BMP/GIF should be VERY fast and simple to use.
PIE - Temp Internet Files limit and option to purge them when PIE is closed or device is Soft reset
Email - Ability to Flag emails for Followup and sync either by IMAP or back to an Exchange 2003 server using WM2003 ActiveSync also able to read flagged emails
Program functions - When running an application that doesn't seem to be available say "Shortcut is not valid do you wish to remove it?"
Calendar - MS Devs buy a Psion Series 5mx to see how a real calendar program is done
Tasks - MS Devs buy a Psion Series 5mx to see how a real tasks program is done


So get busy and stop tweaking things that need throwing out anyway :(

[Lex]

Not to sound like 'ye olde phart' but these are the things that keep me one (or three) steps behind the latest technology.
PPC 2002 works perfectly on on my non-Bluetooth, non-WiFi iPAQ (Compaq, mind you) 3845 working offline, always.

[ And no, I don't have 6 sharpened pencils in my pocket protector. :-) ]

My motto is about like Microsoft's: 'Let the public debug !'

[mv]

I agree with all your points... also, better support for the d pad. Why is that we can´t search and dial a contact via BT using the d pad only and palm users can? :devilboy: :(

[Gremmie]

• There are files that I want to sync to my Pocket PC, but these files don't live in the Pocket PC synchronized file folder - why can't I specify these files and have ActiveSync sync them?

FYI Jason-Try Mighty Sync (http://microsoft.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=75&jid=F4C88X6X242C7516A93XD5D95D9E21C9&platformId=2&productType=2&productId=32175&sectionId=0&catalog=30&&StyleSheetUrl=MiniBrandStyleSheet.css). It allows you to choose any file and sync it to your device. $6 program, but it works well. Although, I'd still prefer a free built-in version.

[Mark Johnson]

Putting together this sort of a "bug list" could be a really great thing. There are a handful of little things that are not quite right with the PPC that seem more like Microsoft just doesn't know about them than like major design flaws. Jason, I'm just wondering how feasible it would be to have a "ongoing list" where the items could be in some sort of a featured section of the site. Perhaps each registered user could be given "one vote per month" on the issue that they are most annoyed with (maybe subscribers get two votes a month, etc.) Everyone could add as many things as they'd like, but the "most hated" bugs would filter to the top.

Since the site is already php-driven, this might be a worthwhile experiment. Of maybe I'm just proposing we bell-the-cat...

For me, the bug I run into constantly is that in Pocket Word, text in different sections of a document I write often are in different font sizes and I want to standardize all the text. (Usually this is when I have a properly formatted all-8-point document, then I switch to writing mode, scribble my new thoughts, recognize the text and return to typing mode. The new text is always 10-point.) So if I select all paragraphs, choose font and select 8-point, nothing happens. It's like Pocket Word will not apply a font setting across multiple paragraphs. I had this problem on my Jornada 568, Toshiba e310, and now on my iPaq 1910. I hope this goes away in 2003SE.

[Zack Mahdavi]

- Improved stability.. my Palm almost never crashed... I have to soft reset my Pocket PC about once a day...
- Alarms sometimes don't go off.. this bug has been around for long enough.. let's get it fixed.
- Connections manager sometimes says its connected to WiFi networks out of range..
- Inbox: To change the time to wait before checking for messages, you must cycle through 4 steps before you can click "options"...
- Inbox: IMAP needs work.. why can't you set the folder to use for sent messages?
- Pocket Word: I don't use it because I don't trust using it with my Word files.
- Start Menu: programs that are installed on the storage card appear with "default icons" in the start menu.

That's all I can think of for now. The most important thing that should be fixed in my opinion is OS stability. [/list]

[ctmagnus]

From my experiences of the past week, I must say:

Alarms!


And I never had any issues with them before then. :?

[wocket]

Being able to install applications to a storage card in a "program files" folder springs to mind. Storage cards can get very messy. Same goes for fonts.

Better connection manager ie easier to use.

Why hide the RUN command?

When you uninstall somthing it really uninstalls.


All the other stuff has already been said.

[Gremmie]

Better use of subfolders. Using subfolders (e.g., My Documents/Homework/Econ 101), can hide documents when you try to access them in Pocket Word. This makes the My Documents messy.

[PR.]

Not to sound like 'ye olde phart' but these are the things that keep me one (or three) steps behind the latest technology.
PPC 2002 works perfectly on on my non-Bluetooth, non-WiFi iPAQ (Compaq, mind you) 3845 working offline, always.

[ And no, I don't have 6 sharpened pencils in my pocket protector. :-) ]

My motto is about like Microsoft's: 'Let the public debug !'

But with all due respect you're not really a power user. Many of these problems we encounter you may never see (such as connection mangler). My iPAQ 5450 with WM2003 is better than it was with PPC2002 but there is still room for improvement/bug fixes :)

[yawanag]

First, I agree with Ryan Joseph about soft resetting much too often.

My biggest gripe right now with WM2003 is that T-Mobile hasn't gotten its act together regarding the upgrade. If you think soft resetting is bad try having your SD Card formatted each time you get everything fully installed like you want it. I'm on my 4th device replacement and just yesterday it recorded 89 MB Free, today, its showing the card is full and I'm scared to death to remove the card and reinsert it because I know it will perform a hard reset on its own.

I read from the Bible each morning and it's aggravating to go to bed at night and the Bible is gone when I wake up.

A tech from T-Mobile says they are planning a patch for the WM 2003 upgrade. That could come in December ??? Until then they'll be replacing this device again and again, I guess.

Nobody mentioned Microsoft Reader. I'd like not to have to reactivate it every time I perform a hard reset.

As for the rest, I guess my complaints are similar to the others.

[webagogue]

Allow categories to be set for notes on the PPC side and syched.

OR

Give me a "pocket journal" to sync my journal entries (with categories, please).

[webagogue]

And I don't mean to put more layers of obscurity. Work/Internet profiles are stupid and force people to re/unlearn what knowledge they've already gathered.

Another thing that, I personally love, but that others my be put off by is the built-in wifi manager showing that I'm connected to a network that is TURNED OFF!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

[webagogue]

Okay... probably said before but my OLDEST frustration is the inability to NOT SYNC certain items FROM my pocketpc.

Common scenario is as thus...

-PPC (work or personal, doesn't matter).
-Work Computer
-Home Computer

I enter personal and work stuff on my PPC. I want my work stuff to synch from the PPC to my Home Computer but I DO NOT want my Home stuff synching to my Work Computer (Big Brother is watching).

Activesync has this concept ass-backwards. It allows you to keep stuff from synching from your PC to your PPC but not the other way around. My PPC is a counduit - I want MORE info on there and not less.

[clarkth]

I agree with everything above (esp e-mail!!!). Something that has always bothered me about ActiveSync is that I can't replace the contents on my PC with the PPC, just merge and use the PC to replace PPC. Also, I think the connection manger is way too confusing (Work, Internet options).

[robshobs]

Overall, I do not have too many issues with my PPC (and yes, I am a power user). The latest ROM for the IPAQ 5555 really fixed a lot of my minor issues. There are limits as to what a PPC can do. While it would be neat to do everything my PC does, it isn't feasable (yet).

However, alarms are at the top of my list. While I do not have the missing alarm problem, they are a bit delayed at times and not 100% reliable. Some enhancements would be nice, such as alarms by category, different repeating alarms (sound1.wav the first time, sound2.wav the second, etc.).

• Connection Manager confuses and frustrates me - once I get it working I'm afraid to touch it again for fear of breaking it. It's awkward to switch from Bluetooth to WiFi and back again

This also can be a pain, however, I found a suitable workaround. I created some scripts that switch my connection type from BT, Work and ISP as needed. They are an icon on my Today screen so I just have to click them and then the settings are done.

Word and Excel need to have full compatability. Maybe not full functionality but a document should not be hosed just because it was viewed on the PPC.

More time, more money (and a lot more end-user headaches) these things will be fixed.

Of course, two dozen new things will be broken, but these things will be fixed.

[Perry Reed]

I hate having to switch between "Work" and "Internet" to go from browsing to syncing wirelessly. And I could go on and on and on about the annoying limitations of Inbox and Pocket IE...

And it should be easier to access a network file share.

Lastly, perhaps this is just a bug on my old Jornada, but my input method is constantly re-setting itself to the built-in soft keyboard. Very annoying.

[ppcsurfr]

I hate having to switch between "Work" and "Internet" to go from browsing to syncing wirelessly. And I could go on and on and on about the annoying limitations of Inbox and Pocket IE...

And it should be easier to access a network file share.

Lastly, perhaps this is just a bug on my old Jornada, but my input method is constantly re-setting itself to the built-in soft keyboard. Very annoying.

Are you using VPN? If not, you need not change between work and Internet to surf and ActiveSync within a home network.

BTW, are these all complaints for the Jornada? or WM2003?

What do you mean keeps on resetting to soft-keyboard??? If this is during a soft-reset, this can be fixed with a reg hack... but I do agree that if I choose an input method, I'd like that to stick even after a soft reset...

Carlo

[OSUKid7]

I hate having to switch between "Work" and "Internet" to go from browsing to syncing wirelessly. And I could go on and on and on about the annoying limitations of Inbox and Pocket IE...
I used to have that problem, but if you play around enough, you can get it to work. In the Connections CP > Advanced tab > Select Networks, make sure both are set to "My ISP." Then in the Advanced tab > Network Card, set the "My network card connects to: Work," and it should work.

And it should be easier to access a network file share.
Many freeware programs allow you to do that.

Lastly, perhaps this is just a bug on my old Jornada, but my input method is constantly re-setting itself to the built-in soft keyboard. Very annoying.[/quote]
That can be "fixed" through a reg hack I believe.

[cab124]

My list would include the following:

-Overall stability. I have to soft reset almost daily.
-Often times, I have a problem with the task switcher. When I try switching to a running app, the name of the app will appear in the title bar, but the UI never actually switches to the app. This always requires a soft reset.
-Another really weird problem I have is with the task list. For some reason, when scrolling through the task list, the list will repeatedly reset to the top of the list. I scroll down a few pages......then, as I am reading the tasks, the list suddenly jumps back to the top without me doing a thing. VERY annoying.
-Connectiong manager is very confusing.
-I wish it were possible to set the time for a task reminder, just like in Outlook.
-I wish that when I closed an app, it was REALLY closed.

[Willmonwah]

All of you are right on the money here. I can't even rely on my ppc to wake me up anymore because of the alarms problem.

:!: Here are two original ones to add to the already great list. Have a dynamic connection strength meter when you tap on the wireless icon by the clock.
Also, an easy way to turn off sound altogether would be nice, especially if you want to temporarily turn off alarms and notifications without having to go all the way into the control panel. I'm not sure the volume control does that right at this point, because even if the volume is on low, I can have a
program turn it back up.

Just had to add that Perry Reed's gripes are very high on my list, We need network sharing, a better IE (improved javascript?), improved inbox that doesn't automatically pick a storage card on which to store attachments, and improving the connection manager (XP could use different connection profiles you can save too).

[disconnected]

Amen to the Connection Mangler mess.

PIE should be at least as good and as fast as it was in 2000.

Turning off the PPC with bluetooth GPS running shouldn't cause a crash when I turn it back on.

My PPC (iPAQ 5555) has gottten very Sloooow lately. I'm assuming it's either from an app that runs in the background or some apps that have been uninstalled, or, in the case of Peanutreader, books that have been deleted, but I'd like some way to troubleshoot this without starting from a hard reset and reinstalling everything.

Anything that can easily be addressed by third party add-ons I don't care so much about, even though the built-in apps could have been a little better (file explorer comes to mind).

[Mark Johnson]

Oh yeah, I forgot one...

The "voice recorder/notes" feature constantly locks up. I push the button to make a voice note on my iPaq 1910 and have a 50/50 chance that I'll need to do a soft reset afterward.

[karinatwork]

I have a small and modest wish:

PLEASE LET ACTIVE SYNC STAY CONNECTED UNTIL ME MYSELF AND I DISCONNECT OR SWITCH OFF THE DEVICE. It drives me nuts when I hear the famililar PLING and suddenly there is no more connection, while the pocket pc still sits in the cradle and nobody touched it.

And, yeah, all the other things you guys said. :wink:

K.

[rapidnet_rick]

Subject says it all....

How about some type of backup and restore???

[Mark_Venture]

...
• I have Outlook configured to use FIRSTNAME, LASTNAME as the default for new contacts. When I create a new contact on the Pocket PC, it's in LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME because the Pocket PC is hard coded for that format. I want it to use the same settings as Outlook, automatically.
Jason,

Take a look at the work done by Richard Owens at http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=a992126f688daba3a25fcf518726fbac&threadid=79834&perpage=10&pagenumber=1 Espically the updates he posted under the RED "EDIT3: 10-June-2003" He has a script to set the default file as on the hand held for First Name, Last Name as well as a few others there...

[yawanag]

I have a small and modest wish:

PLEASE LET ACTIVE SYNC STAY CONNECTED UNTIL ME MYSELF AND I DISCONNECT OR SWITCH OFF THE DEVICE. It drives me nuts when I hear the famililar PLING and suddenly there is no more connection, while the pocket pc still sits in the cradle and nobody touched it.


K.

I feel your pain!!! I've been there.

[gorkon280]

Since it looks like we are asking for more than fixes, here's my list:

Fix and add the following:

ALARMS!
Activesync
Make the default program distribution method CAB files
Add real conduit support (ie all conduits transfer data via a common format.....say XML....)
REAL MAC SUPPORT! Put Markspace and Palm outta business by adding real iSync support.
Please do some more optimization of the OS. Sometimes the OS it self runs so slow I thing that the processor is alot slower than it is.
USB HOST PORT! USB ports are small enough you can snake ONE in there on most but the smallest devices.

[Twain]

So this got me thinking about what sorts of things I'd really like to see fixed/improved for the next version of the OS:


Is anyone keeping track of the the number of times we have been asked to list "things we would like to see fixed..." and noted how many of those items have actually been included in OS updates? (I am not talking about pie in the sky features.) I'm beginning to think these are exercises in futility.

As I have said in other threads in earlier times, maybe we ought to quit expecting Microsoft to "fix" certain things. Instead we ought to energize and engage the independent developer community with suggestions for applications that go beyond what Microsoft is apparently willing to do, relative to applications that don't work as we expect. We are holding onto the belief that because certain applications come standard with the OS "surely Microsoft will fix these obvious glitches and make these applications World Class!"

At this point, it is quite obvious to me that there are economic issues at play and Microsoft may only fix those things that are absoultely required to have a "working" Pocket PC platform that generates as many sales as possible. Not to be bottom line focused, but if adding enhancements doesn't increase Microsoft's sales, why should they bother?? Without any serious competition for Pocket PC operating systems does Microsoft really have any incentive here?

I am not trying to be negative. Just trying to point out the behavior that I have observed from Microsoft on this platform, offer rationale for that behavior and suggest an alternative approach (i.e. looking to independent software developers and not Microsoft).

I would be pleased if anyone had a list of items that were presented to Microsoft from communities like this one (Pocket PC Thoughts) and could show that Microsoft listened and made suggested changes. Can anyone show that list? To me that would be the metric that showed the value (or lack thereof) of presenting lists to Microsoft.

I want to be excited about generating yet another list, but someone has to help me believe.

Twain

[IanG]

Activesync and connection manager are the 2 biggest things on my list. Also a MS Office viewer would be great (Word, Excel &amp; Powerpoint). Just a simple 'read only' viewer would be great.

&lt;quote> USB HOST PORT! USB ports are small enough you can snake ONE in there on most but the smallest devices. &lt;/quote>

I think this is already in the OS (Casio E200, Toshiba E740/750/800), it just needs the hardware manufacturers to start including it!

[PR.]

Add another one :p

Application Instalation - MS Devs go buy a Psion Series 5mx to see how it has its own application file extension (SIS) that runs from the Desktop OR Psion and it install the app. So if you download an app onto the device and run it it behaves exactly the same as if it was run from the desktop.

/edit And another

ActiveSync - When I wireless sync with my exchange server if there are any new email in the inbox I get the popup baloon. But if I server sync in the cradle and get new email it doesn't say!

[djdj]

This one may have been somewhere in the list, but I didn't see it, and I can't believe it...

CLOSE, not MINIMIZE!

[djdj]

And a few more...

Opening a file in Pocket Word or Excel should not destroy it
Fix connection manager so you can actually understand what it is going to do
Better multitasking so one misbehaving app doesn't slow down the whole device
(For phone edition devices), better integration between dialer and contact list
Maybe, instead of just a "close" button that actually minimizes, maybe two buttons: minimize, and close. At LEAST change the icon to indicate the app will be minimized instead of closed.
ActiveSync: Why should I ever have to remove and reinsert the device to resolve a problem?

[tanalasta]

You probably haven't seen the "close not minimise" post because so many people have downloaded spb, wizbar, batterypack or some today-plugin that has changed the close button!

My particular gripes:
Activesync bugs. Activesync backups taking "Hours".
Microsoft in general being full of bugs. Inherent instability of the OS. I have yet to go a week without having to do a soft-reset.
Had to do a hard-reset 5 minutes ago. Grrrrr!

Almost everything mentioned above.

The fact that it's taken them this long to put more than 64MB of ram into a PPC device. And that it's almost impossible to take it apart and add more. You need to buy a flash card.

[Perry Reed]

I hate having to switch between "Work" and "Internet" to go from browsing to syncing wirelessly. And I could go on and on and on about the annoying limitations of Inbox and Pocket IE...

And it should be easier to access a network file share.

Lastly, perhaps this is just a bug on my old Jornada, but my input method is constantly re-setting itself to the built-in soft keyboard. Very annoying.

Are you using VPN? If not, you need not change between work and Internet to surf and ActiveSync within a home network.

Thanks to you and others who have suggested some workarounds. I'll try them!


BTW, are these all complaints for the Jornada? or WM2003?

Well, I'm guessing they're mostly universal, although the input method one may be Jornada-only, or perhaps MY-Jornada-only, since I've never heard anyone else complain about the same thing.

What do you mean keeps on resetting to soft-keyboard??? If this is during a soft-reset, this can be fixed with a reg hack... but I do agree that if I choose an input method, I'd like that to stick even after a soft reset...

I mean, I set it, and the next day, or several hours later, or sometimes minutes later, it's changed back to the soft-keyboard. And everytime after a soft-reset it changes back. I don't mind it resetting after the reset, but otherwise it should stick.

[thunderck]

Connection Manager stinks but check-out this (http://www.cewindows.net/faqs/connectionmanager.htm) link to try and get better acquainted. Also check-out this (http://members.cox.net/ajarvi/WM2003/Connection_Manager/ConnectionManager.html).

[buckyg]

Another Active Sync gripe, from both sides of the sync: It's not really connected.

You do a sync and everything's okay. You minimize AS and go about your business. Later, you update something in Outlook or try to copy a file to your PPC and nothing happens. Or you try to install something and it says you're not connected.

AS is minimized to the system tray on the PC but shows that you're connected and synched. The PPC says you're connected and synched.

You open AS, and under your PPC name, it's blank. But suddenly, it says it's connected and starts synching.

[Prevost]

- Improved stability.. my Palm almost never crashed... I have to soft reset my Pocket PC about once a day...

The only thing making my Palm to crash is Real Player...I wonder, WHY??? :wink:

[Kacey Green]

I have a small and modest wish:

PLEASE LET ACTIVE SYNC STAY CONNECTED UNTIL ME MYSELF AND I DISCONNECT OR SWITCH OFF THE DEVICE. It drives me nuts when I hear the famililar PLING and suddenly there is no more connection, while the pocket pc still sits in the cradle and nobody touched it.

And, yeah, all the other things you guys said. :wink:

K.

Amen sister, do this over BT and WIFI as well as cradled too

[Kacey Green]

This one may have been somewhere in the list, but I didn't see it, and I can't believe it...

CLOSE, not MINIMIZE!

close AND minimize!!

[Kacey Green]

You probably haven't seen the "close not minimise" post because so many people have downloaded spb, wizbar, batterypack or some today-plugin that has changed the close button!

My particular gripes:
Activesync bugs. Activesync backups taking "Hours".
Microsoft in general being full of bugs. Inherent instability of the OS. I have yet to go a week without having to do a soft-reset.
Had to do a hard-reset 5 minutes ago. Grrrrr!

Almost everything mentioned above.

The fact that it's taken them this long to put more than 64MB of ram into a PPC device. And that it's almost impossible to take it apart and add more. You need to buy a flash card.

They should do the same thing their doing with XP SP2 go back and fix everything they can find before making WM 2005 (or interrupt it like they did with longhorn) WM is much smaller than XP and this should go much faster.

[kosso]

and NO support for the input type=file tag

therefore no file uploading.

I have had to get Netfront to support a mobile photo blogging application I have built.

the tag is in the xHTML spec, but not supported. bad bad.

[Len M.]

We and our customers run applications that are real-time sensitive.

It would be real nice if we could easily turn off every thread and/or program that interrupts the primary program.

That includes all the notifications (audio and screen messages), connections (IR, Bluetooth), alarms, low battery warnings, Today screen display after X hours, turning off the backlight after X minutes (both on internal and external power), auto turn-off and any others that I've missed in this listing.

Most of these can be turned off one-by-one via the "Settings" application. Others can't be easily disabled unless you're a programmer (e.g., low battery warnings for both the PDA and the expansion packs).

Our customers tell us that it would be really great if they could push one button and turn all of them off at once.


Len Moskowitz
Core Sound

[Kacey Green]

you could set up your own custom WinCE or PPC OS install, you'll have to contact MS for more info. Then you will need to flash your version into the device.

[Len M.]

Yes, we know we could do a custom install, but that's exactly what we don't want to do. We want anyone to be able to use our products and applications.

So, we'd love it if Microsoft would simply build in a feature to turn all of those features off at once.


Len Moskowitz
Core Sound
www.core-sound.com

[leeraff]

Find many aspects very "painful."

--File structure for a "windows" product is impossible
--better learn it though cause "find" is a worthless feature
--interconnectedness between contacts, calendars and to do's. Oh, but that's an Outlook feature and in MS's eyes, everyone sits at a desk all day staring at a computer screen. Take a page from Act!'s book here. They kill Outlook in a true "activity" database.
--customizable fields in contacts. Department?
--agree, Word docs get Hacked up!
--Excel also anemic

Having worked for a short while representing MS for an authorized partner, it became CRYSTAL clear to me, MS wants to put out basic shell and allow partners to do all the customizing features. Then, of course, they gobble up the best. Just a little too late in many cases.

Overall, feel PPC is a promising, but very frustrating empty shell of what it could and should be.

[Len M.]

It would be nice to be able to view or edit a file residing on the PDA from a PC connected via ActiveSync. Windows Explorer lets us see the PDA file names and rename them, but we can't view their contents nor edit them.

Currently we have to copy the file over to the PC and then open it. If we edit it on the PC, we have to then copy it back to the PDA.


Len Moskowitz
Core Sound
www.core-sound.com

[jray9242]

I a have a HP2215 and here is what I hate.

My IPAQ freezes several times a day and have to do a soft reset.

Not being able to get the support I need to help me to get my IPAQ to connect to the internet from work.

[Newton Ford]

Active sync 'PLING' - "What I didn't touch you"! :cry:

A right click function in File Explorer (edit names move etc.)

Freedom to run EVERYTHING in Landscape... I take 400+ photo's a day in landscape and have to go portrait to edit my database application.... 8O

Ultra Profiler that can actually turn the radio back on (not sure if this is a MS/PPC application) :roll:

But my biggy is the mischief the pixies get up to in my pocket!!!!!! :twisted: Cos every time I take the XDAII out they've turned it on opened at least 6 applications and sometimes have even dialed the phone to my brother in China!!!!!

Can we PLEASE have a function to lock the screen....

[nategesner]

I can't possibly spend the night reading everyone's list, so I'll just add mine and hope it's original.

I want the word-completion dictionary to be customizable. I use mine for work and use a lot of words that aren't in the dictionary. I also attempt to enter words and it gives me choices that are extremely uncommon, rather than starting with more common words first. I should be able to add words and the words should appear based on how commonly I use them.

[ctmagnus]

I concur. I hate always having to enter my full last name, full street name... all the time, just because the dictionary isn't customizable.

[stlbanker2]

Not being able to sync HTML email messages with ActiveSync is particularly annoying. Most of the newsletters, etc. that I receve, including those from Microsoft, are in HTML, yet I can't read them on my PPC because I use Active Sync. Fix this, ASAP.

[k_kirk]

Newton Ford wrote :
But my biggy is the mischief the pixies get up to in my pocket!!!!!! Cos every time I take the XDAII out they've turned it on opened at least 6 applications and sometimes have even dialed the phone to my brother in China!!!!!

Can we PLEASE have a function to lock the screen....

Please try Start / Settings / System / Button Lock applet... You will be pleasantly suprised about its pixie ridding powers! :-)

Cheers

[redraiduzz]

Kind of like you said, the whole ActiveSync thing is a pain with unresolved items and such that make no sense.

But something I've repeatedly brought up and to MicroSoft people no less, is that of the Snooze/Dismiss Reminder feature.
Choices are so limited...1 hr, 2 hrs, 8 hrs, 1 day, 1 week!
C'MON!!!
MS Outlook continues to get more and more expansive on the desktop with even .5 day and such, and this thing is still bogged down with that few choices on the PPC! How hard is it to program that in???!!

And just think, that might be one area where ActiveSync could get it right. How can it when you've put something on a 4 hour reminder on the desktop and snoozed it for 8 hrs on the PPC? THAT REALLY NEEDS FIXING FIRST AND FOREMOST ON THE NEXT OS RELEASE!

[Kacey Green]

I can't possibly spend the night reading everyone's list, so I'll just add mine and hope it's original.

I want the word-completion dictionary to be customizable. I use mine for work and use a lot of words that aren't in the dictionary. I also attempt to enter words and it gives me choices that are extremely uncommon, rather than starting with more common words first. I should be able to add words and the words should appear based on how commonly I use them.

I concur. I hate always having to enter my full last name, full street name... all the time, just because the dictionary isn't customizable.

It used to be back in CE 2.1 (auto learning not customiseable) why did they break every one of the few things that was good about CE 2?

[Newton Ford]

Newton Ford wrote :
But my biggy is the mischief the pixies get up to in my pocket!!!!!! Cos every time I take the XDAII out they've turned it on opened at least 6 applications and sometimes have even dialed the phone to my brother in China!!!!!

Can we PLEASE have a function to lock the screen....

Please try Start / Settings / System / Button Lock applet... You will be pleasantly suprised about its pixie ridding powers! :-)

Cheers

Thanks :wink: but I have the button lock set already - my problem is that any incomming call, text, notification or alarm turns the machine and therefore the screen on - sometimes just the action of retreaving the machine from your pocket to answer the call can knock the creen enough to cause havoc or hit the ignore option of the dialer pad etc... there ought to be a feature of button lock that also turns of the digitizer on the screen. :?

[Willmonwah]

When Excel is used with an external keyboard, the default keyboard always comes back every time you initiate a cursor, wasting valuable screen real estate.

File Explorer's storage card icon in the toolbar always defaults to the on board useable Rom. So does Pocket Outlook when storing attachments.

[Kerensky97]

I have a small and modest wish:

PLEASE LET ACTIVE SYNC STAY CONNECTED UNTIL ME MYSELF AND I DISCONNECT OR SWITCH OFF THE DEVICE. It drives me nuts when I hear the famililar PLING and suddenly there is no more connection, while the pocket pc still sits in the cradle and nobody touched it.

And, yeah, all the other things you guys said. :wink:

K.I was having the same problem but I went into activesync on the PPC and unchecked "Use mobile schedule to sync with this PC"

But I'm syncing over bluetooth instead of cradle so I'm not sure if it will help, but hey it's worth a try.

[nategesner]

The most annoying thing about Pocket Word is that the documents are "translated" from my PC to my PPC. In short, this means information is lost and/or can't be seen/edited. This is Windows software, so why can't it be fully compatible with other Windows software?

Another MAJOR issue for me: Pocket Word will not let me choose a folder from my storage card to view the contents. It only allows folders stored on the Ipaq. This means I have to view "All Documents" just to find one document on a 1GB card, which means digging through 50 documents to find one. I have a laptop with a removable hard drive, a floppy drive, a CF drive, and a couple USB ports. Each of these drives can be selected and operated as easily as the main hard drive. Why can't PPC do the same?

[justfara]

I would love to have a method for Calendar entries that I could share as well as my private entries. So far, none of the add-in information managers seem to address this issue.