blog.thomaspan.com

The famous Treo 650 has arrived! I have been attempted for a very long time since so many people have one in my company. Eventually, I have made up my mind to throw away some hundred bucks for a try . Hey, the first impression helps me understand why Palm’s stock is rising.

First, I installed Treo Palm Desktop. It has conflicts with garmin ique 3600. Be careful if you’ve already installed garmin version of palm software, which is an old one. I don’t. So, everyting went through smoothly.

Second, I installed Intellisync for Yahoo! since I solely depend on Yahoo! mail to management my personal information.

1. Log in by my Yahoo! account into mail.yahoo.com.
2. Click Calendar to the left.
3. Click the Sync link to the right.
4. Click the Install Now button at the left-bottom to download the software and to install it.
5. After the installation, disable the default conduit via HotSync Manager so that, respectively, there is only one conduit associated to address, calendar and notepad.

Third, I played with VersaMail. It is very easy to set up standard email accounts, including both Yahoo! Mail and GMail. Remember not to configure it in the way to download all the emails. I set it as manually syncing up with my email accounts and downloading subjects only.

Treo’s keyboard really makes the difference. I have played with PDAs for years, starting from Palm 5. It is always a headache to deal with stylus, which never works for me. The wireless data network from cellphone providers also helps in the sense that broadband network is still not as reliable as wireless cellphone network.

In the end, I list my daily applications as the following:

• VersaMail: THE email client
• Blazer: THE web browser
• Contacts
• Tasks
• Memos
• Calendar
• World Clock
• Calc
• Mundu IM 3: the best IM client on palm

This is a mini Howto of upgrading memory for Apple Powerbooks. First, you need a Phillips Head #00 screwdriver. Secondly, you need an Apple powerbook for sure. Last but not least, you must have the right type of SO-DIMM memory for the upgrade. I have made a mistake before, orderting the wrong memory.

Apple has provided detailed do-it-yourself help:

• Powerbook G4 12-Inch
• Powerbook G4 15-Inch
• Powerbook G4 17-Inch

Steps are listed as the following:
1. Discharge the static electricity built in your body before the operation.

2. Have everything ready:

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3. Press the screwdriver hard against the screw when turning:

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4. Add the new memory chip:

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5. Start the mac and check the system physical memory via About This Mac.

Near the end of the year, most of big companies in silicon valley will launch a year end party for employees. Otherwise, one could turn to buddies for the rescue. However, before enjoying parties, don’t forget to empty one’s house by donating goodies that one doesn’t need. Since I live in Sunnyvale, CA, I have found some places nearby for donation:

Before the donation, make sure that one keeps records of all the items, and one has correctly calculated fair market values. In the Internet age, one could leverage popular on-line sites. For example, Amazon is a good place for books, and Ebay is a good place for both clothing and computer related stuffs.