joesacher.com

I've decided that I'll be exploring both Android and Windows Phone as possible replacements for my nearly dead Palm Pre.  HP killed future hardware and we need phones, bad.  I purchased an HTC Arrive off eBay, slightly cheaper than I would get it from Sprint under contract.  I've been using it as a WiFi only device for about a week.  Wednesday night, I upgraded it to the developer's release of Mango, the future update for Windows Phone.  Last night, I added this phone to our third "testing" line on Sprint.

This article will detail the pain points that will exist on doing a webOS to Windows Phone (and specifically the HTC Arrive) transition.  I will also highlight the cool things I see that aren't possible on webOS (at least Sprint available webOS phones).

Read the rest of this entry »

This post is for those who have ripped their DVDs and other video media and would like to load it onto their HP Touchpad.  I started to encode videos for the HP Touchpad using HandBrake, which had given me success for video targeting my Palm Pre.   I used iPad profiles, as the display size is exactly the same.  It seemed that no matter what I tried, the files would not show up in Photos & Videos app.  I tried quite a few options and then just gave up.  Many issues that I had with encoding video for the Touchpad seem to have been fixed with the 3.0.2 webOS update. Read the rest of this entry »

I did not use InstaPaper until I received my HP Touchpad and started using Paper Mache.  I had a few tips that I've come across while learning how to use InstaPaper that might be helpful for people in a similar situation.  This seemed to be easiest to share with a video, so that I what I made.  (Watching this full screen is much better.)

Also, I forgot to mention on the video, but you will want to install the Patch for Send To Paper Mache if you use the Touchpad.  Adds to InstaPaper, as there are no Bookmarklets on WebOS currently.

While there is no doubt that software for the HP Touchpad is in its infancy, it is hard not to see the great usefulness and potential.  There are a few good writing apps for the Touchpad, including those for WordPress blogging.  I'm composing this in the WordPress App for WebOS tablet.  Any of these are much easier to use with a hardware keyboard, than attempting to type quantity on a virtual keyboard. The HP Touchpad Keyboard is mostly a success.  My largest annoyances with it can be addressed with software fixes in future WebOS updates.

At first I expected the chicklet keys to be annoying, compared to a full sized keyboard.  It was surprising to me that they were not.  The keys depress quickly, to give a feeling of depth, before stopping.  I have no trouble typing as fast as I would on my laptop.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you feel like following my hacking example to load .mobi format books onto the Touchpad's Kindle App, be ready to have to reload it. If the app has a problem parsing the book for any reason, you are done. With no back gesture on the Touchpad, there is no way to back out of the crashed book load. Each time you start the app, it will load the file into a crash situation. (This doesn't crash the Touchpad, just the app.)

The solution is to delete the Kindle App and redownload. I'm poking in the source to see if there is a cleaner way to test books against the hybrid components that parse the ebook files, without requiring this tedious reload. You have been warned.

I have purchased many ebooks and created others manually in the .mobi format. This is very easy to load onto my Kindle device to read. Unfortunately, the current Kindle app on the Touchpad does not allow loading ebooks other than downloading from Amazon. This is unfortunate and makes the Touchpad a poor replacement for my Kindle.

I did not know if the Kindle App on the Touchpad could even handle .mobi format files, if I could get them there. Amazon purchased MobiPocket and their original ebook format was only slightly modified .mobi file. I assumed that the reader plugin would understand the .mobi format and I was right.
Read the rest of this entry »

I have just spent the last 30 minutes trying to get our complex 64 character WPA key into my HP Touchpad so I can start the setup procedure. The password field for the WiFi key is frustrating. The last character is only shown for a second or two, then it too fades into the dots of obscurity. This is fine in normal use with passwords you are used to typing, but a WiFi key is complex and entered only once per new device. When you add to this a finiky WiFi network acceptance, you have time after time frustration. The key is entered and network selected (even with a check mark!), but for some reason the Touchpad won't accept anything but Cancel. Guess who gets to type the key in again?

I finally figured out how to view a key as I enter it and validate the key, so I can be sure the passcode part of the network acceptance is valid. Here is how I did it.
Read the rest of this entry »

At first blush, it looked like the box.net offering of free (for life) 50 Gb storage for Touchpad users was going to be annoying on the PC side. There didn't seem to be any easy way to populate that content from the PC. I have quite a collection of reference works (programming, electronics and magazines) that are perfect for the Touchpad screen. Box.net only allows you to upload multiple files in one folder via the web interface. There is no way to drag a folder with sub folders. So you manually create each one. Are there any better options?
Read the rest of this entry »

July 1st is the day that many WebOS users have been waiting for.  The day that HP releases their first WebOS tablet, the Touchpad.  I preordered through Amazon and was delivered my own spanking new HP Touchpad tablet this evening.
Read the rest of this entry »

I often read about GTD methodology. Getting Things Done. This was developed by David Allen and I believe still trademarked by him. The idea is ridiculously simple: record all your tasks. You are stressed when your mind keeps going through all the things that must be done. There is no way to keep everything in mind, all at once. You will forget some and then remember. When the memory comes back you will then stress about forgetting again. It can be a vicious circle that just adds to stress, but doesn't actually get anything done.

I've been asked by many people how I track tasks and I thought I would write it up on my site so I could just give them a link.
Read the rest of this entry »