UMID M1/BZ as a HPLX successor

This product is not sold or supported by hermocom anymore and this article may be outdated.



written by Daniel Hertrich
www.hermocom.com

This review is written from the point of view of a former HP 200LX power user, who has found a successor for the 200LX in the UMID M1.

Correction/Addition (2011-02-05):

In the meantime I have switched to a Viliv N5 UMPC, which suits my needs better.
Since the UMID M1 and the Viliv N5 share some identical or similar hardware and software components, my Viliv N5 setup guide may be worthwhile for you to read, too.

Please be aware that this review, which contains tipps and tricks for optimizing the system, is not maintained anymore as of beginning of the year 2011.
In the meantime, some problems which are described as unresolved here, may have been resolved.
The central place to look for solutions is the pockables forum.

E.g. on http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=9052 member fixup summarized a series of fixes and tricks how to overcome some of the remaining problems. You should definitely read that thread when you have finished reading this review.
 
 

Table of contents

1. Introduction / What is the mbook M1 and mbook BZ?
This review is about the UMID mbook M1.
The UMID mbook BZ is its successor. It has different case design and some internal improvements which solve some of the "teething troubles" of the M1. So some of the tweaks described in this review may not be needed for the BZ.
However, the really annoying wakeup problems and WiFi / BT deactivation on sleep are NOT solved in the BZ. These problems will be described later on in this document.

Here is a BZ review which also mentions differences between the M1 and the BZ:
http://www.pocketables.net/2010/01/review-umid-mbook-bz.html

I have the UMID mbook M1, model M1-114KWA.
According to the overview of available M1 models here:
http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=2933
this is a model which came with Linux installed.
I got it second hand with Windows XP preloaded, but I installed my own systems: Dual-boot Windows XP SP3 and Linux.

The UMID mbook M1 is a "mini netbook", i.e. it has mostly the technical specifications of a modern low-cost netbook, but is much smaller. It has approximately the size of the HP 200LX. It is little bit larger in footprint, but not as thick, making it fit most of the old HP 200LX carrying cases nicely.

My M1 has an Intel Atom 1.1 GHz processor (there are models with up to 1.33GHz), 512MB RAM (some models have 1GB) and 16GB SSD memory built-in (some models have 8 GB, some 32 GB).

With a few optimization steps, it is possible to make the M1 a good substitute for a "large" PC, even at home, using some external accessories.


There is a DMB TV tuner built into most or all M1 models, which is quite useless for usage outside of Korea (or Asia). It is some sort of digital TV, an enhancement of the DAB digital audio broadcast standard.
However, the DMB antenna is so small that it's virtually no waste of space to have it inside the M1.
Nevertheless, I am considering a hardware modification, taking out the DMB antenna and replacing it with a standard 3,5mm or maybe 2,5mm headphone plug.

This is one of the weaker points of the M1:
Headphones and USB are not connected using standard connectors.
This will be discussed further later on.
2. Photos for comparison
For an optical comparison between the HP 200LX and the UMID mbook M1, I have taken some photos and uploaded them to my homepage, as part of a project of making the HP Connectivity Pack work well on the M1. You can see the pictures here:

http://www.hermocom.com/en/knowledgebase/hplx/cpackm1
3. Adapt your thinking!
Before reading on, please consider the following:

The UMID mbook M1 is a normal Intel ATOM based netbook, running a normal version of Windows XP.
That means, you can do almost anything with it which you do with your Windows desktop computer as well, and you can even do most of it the same way as you do it with your desktop PC.

For me, it took some time to realize this for myself, having struggled with the various limitations of ultramobile platforms such as the 200LX; the Zaurus etc.
And even now I sometimes forget about it and begin to think much too complicated about "how to do XY with the M1". Most of the times it's just as easy as on your PC. Look for the right software or hardware for your purpose, download / buy it, and use it.
The most difficult part of it most of the times is to find the best solution out of the many possibilities which exist for such a platform.
Sometimes it may be desireable to adapt the configuration to the UMID's properties or to make a new program better operable by keyboard, using its own configuration features, or using third-party software such as AutoHotKey.
4. Interfaces, accessories
I mentioned the weaker point in the introduction about non-standard ports.
Note: The mbook BZ has standard connectors instead. The following only applies to the M1:

In order to connect audio accessories, such as headphones or an external amplifier to the M1 you need a very proprietary adapter delivered with the M1, which connects to the TTA 20-pin multi-purpose connector of the M1. This TTA connector is not easily obtainable (for building your own adapter). I have not found a source for it yet.


For USB there is a female Mini-B USB connecor in the M1, making it possible to plug in normal Mini-USB plugs. UMID includes an adapter, which makes the Mini-USB a standard female USB-A cnnector.
There are also a lot of Mini-USB to USB-A cables on the market, used for connecting all sorts of smaller devices (2,5" HDDs, mobile phones, media players etc.) to a PC, but those cables cannot be used to connect anything to the M1, because they end in a male USB-A plug rather than a female one.

It would be good to have a simple Mini-USB-B to Mini-USB-B cable for direct connections of the above mentioned devices to the M1, but such cables are not part of the USB standard, so they are not or at least not officially available.

Wikipedia has a good article about the USB standard and the available connectors, allowed cable types etc.

English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus

German:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus
5. The user interface
The hardware user interface (touchscreen, keyboard) of the M1 is very good.

The touchscreen displays a crispy, bright image of 1024x600 pixels, touchscreen responsiveness is excellent, and the keyboard is well sized. The keys have a little less tactile feedback than the 200LX keys, but need more vertical movement, so it is easy to distinghuish by the finger feeling if the key has been pressed or not. The keys are not as well distinguishable by finger touch from each other as the 200LX keys. This makes it a bit more difficult to learn fast multi-finger writing on the M1's keyboard.

The keyboard of the M1 is basically a US keyboard. Some models additionally have Koeran characters on the keys, but in a normal US configuration of Windows this has no effect. The US keyboard layout driver is used.

In order to make my M1 keyboard a bit more "German", I exchanged the key caps of "Y" and "Z", now having a German QWERTZ rather than a US QWERTY keyboard. But all other keys remain in their place.
So I use the US layout driver of Windows XP, and additionally there are two lines in my global AutoHotKey script (see later) which exchange the Y and Z keys logically again, so when typing Z at its new position, I really get Z, and not Y.



5.1. "Desktop-like" working
There are a lot of ways to enhance ergonomics when working with the M1 at home or in the office.

I use and explain two of them here:

1. Using external peripherals (keyboard, mouse, display), connected via USB, to make the M1 a stand-alone "large" PC

2. Using another, larger PC as a companion to the M1 and using its user interface (keyboard, mouse, display) to control the M1 (via VNC connection)
5.1.1. Using external keyboard / mouse / display

For working at places where you have the needed space, you can connect an external keyboard and mouse easily (using USB or Bluetooth). Key mapping is no problem, as Windows XP can adapt to several keyboard layouts easily.

The only problem: I have not found a way yet to make the Y/Z exchange by AutoHotKey only apply to the US layout or (which would be optimal) only to the internal keyboard. I have exchanged the X and Y keycaps and programmed X/Y exchange in AutoHotKey, but as soon as I connect an external keyboard without this key cap swap (no matter which layout) and choose the according layout from the input configuration of Windows XP, X and Y are assigned in the wrong way.


It is also possible to connect an external display to the M1.
The M1 doesn't have any VGA or DVI / HDMI interface. But there are USB2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI adapters which work really well and allow for quite high resolutions and quite smooth movements. For high-quality video watching however, it's not appropriate.
I have connected a 19" TFT display to my M1 running at 1280x1024, using a Winstar USB to VGA adapter. The driver for the USB to VGA interface is highly configurable. YOu can extend the desktop to the additional display, you can mirror the first screen to the second, or you can let the M1 switch off its own screen when connecting an external one. This is what I do. So if I connect the external screen, I have the entire Windows desktop on the external monitor instantly.


I have built my own "docking station" for the M1, consisting of a powerd USB hub, keyboard, mouse and VGA adapter. I just have to plug in the USB hub and after a few seconds of initializing, I can continue my work like on a real desktop computer.
5.1.2. Using another PC to control the M1
Using a VNC connection, you can remote-control the M1 from any PC.

Just install a VNC server on the M1, such as TightVNC Server, and use a VNC client program (e.g. TightVNC Client on Windows, MAC OS X's built-in desktop sharing, which also uses the VNC protcol, etc.) on the PC you want to control the M1 from.
Connect both, and have the M1's desktop in a window on the PC.
You can control the M1 that way using the keyboard, mouse and display of the other PC while the other PC is also still usable normally.
6. Overall quality
The case build quality of the M1 is not optimal. The case build quality of the 200LX was much better, despite of its problems such as the hinge crack or screw hole cracks.
I don't know how long the M1's case will last, At least my impression is that it will not last as long as the (not-cracked) HPLX cases do.
(The BZ has a much improved build quality, by the way)

The impression, when you hold the M1 in your hand and work the hinge, squeeze the case a bit etc. is that build quaity is rather cheap, like a plastic toy.
However, as long as it doesn't break, that's not important to me. Only functionality matters for me.

One weakness of the M1 case is that its surface is totally even and not corrugated in any way to enhance grip friction from your hands. This results in the M1 being much more slippery than the 200LX, raising danger that it falls out of your hand e.g. when grabbing it from your backpocket or in many other situations.
I seriously consider to adhere some rubber coat to the bottom of the M1 in order to achieve better friction.
7. Which OS to use?
I chose Windows XP Professional.
Why?

I chose Windows, because I have to work with Windows at work, and because I have a few programs which I want to use, whch are only Windows compatible.
I have a Mac at home, so Mac OS and kind of Linux is available.
I could run the Windows applications under VMWare or PArallels on the Mac, but I want to have them available on the palmtop, and using VMWare under Linux on a palmtop is probably not such a good idea.
Additionally, I like to have a native Windows computer at hand.

I chose XP, because it is the most compatible, performant and mature Windows for modern needs.

I chose Professional, mainly because of the enhanced file / folder sharing settings available there. I need to share the files on the M1 with other computers, and I want that to be as safe and customizable as possible.
Pro has some other advantages over the ome version in networking context, and the palmtop has to be integrated into several networks, at home, at work and maybe elsewhere.


Additionally I installed Linux on a second partition, but that's another story. This review cares about Wiindows only. Windows will be my main operating system on the M1, mainly in order to be compatible to my PC at work and because I have a few Windows-only programs I need to use.
8. Storage and backup considerations
The solid state memory (SSD, acting as drive C: for Windows) is soldered into the M1. It is not exchangeable or removeable.
So, if the M1 shoud ever fail to work, you won't have access to any data on the SSD anymore.
Such an ultra-mobile device is exposed to a lot of danger to fall, being hit etc., so I decided to put all my user data not on the internal SSD, but on a MicroSD card in the M1's MicroSD slot.
That way, in case the M1 fails to work I can simply take out the card and access my data.

Of course, also any other person (no matter if he finds or steals the M1) will be able to access the data.
So all sensitive data on the MicroSD card must be encrypted. See the section about encryption and security later on.

Onto the SSD I only put the operating system and installed programs.
16GB (or 11GB in my case, due to dual-boot setup with Windows and Linux partitions) are plenty of space for that matter.

For several reasons (backup in case I damage the system, backup in case the M1 gets lost and has to be replaced) I regularly create images of the Windows partition, during I am still in the installation and optimization phase.

I also create frequent backups of the MicroSD card contents, using the synchonizing tool "AllwaySync", which incrementally (i.e. time-saving) backs up all MicroSD card contents to an external hard drive.

See below section about Backup solutions for details aboutt the backup strategy.

In order to let all Windows applications automatically store their data on the MicroSD card, I moved my user profile (NOT the entire Documents and Settings folder) to the MicroSD card, i.e.
C:\Documents and Settings\daniel
became
G:\Userprofiles\daniel

The process of moving the user profile is described here
German:
http://www.winfaq.de/faq_html/Content/tip1500/onlinefaq.php?h=tip1912.htm

English:
http://smallvoid.com/article/winnt-move-userprofile.html


And here is another approach, using a file system junction point (NOT tested by me!):
http://www.starkeith.net/coredump/2009/05/18/how-to-move-your-windows-user-profile-to-another-drive/


When those tutorials talk about access rights for the new profile location, keep in mind that most MicroSD cards will be formatted with FAT32 by default, which does not support access rights. So either format the card with NTFS, or simply omit the steps adjusting user access rights. I did the latter, and did not have any negative effects yet. For security, I encrypt my data with TrueCrypt anyway, and I am the only user using my M1, so assigning different access rights for different users is not necessary.
9. Performance
The M1 has impressive technical specifications for its size. However, for Windows XP they are not far from the lower limit. Especially 512MB of RAM are critical.

Hence it is really worthwhile to take care how to strip down the entire system in order to save ressources.
I have used nLite to create a custom stripped down Windows XP installation (SP2 slipstreamed) with some unneeded services disabled, eye candy switched off and some programs not installed which would normally be installed along with Winwows.

The M1 uses the Intel GMA500 graphic chipset. UMID's Windows XP driver for this chipset is not optimially programmed. It needs around 100 MB of RAM! Unfortunately there is no alternative yet, so you have to live with that terrible waste of RAM.
(Update: Unless you use the new IEGD GMA500 driver, which uses far less RAM, but does not support standby mode at all, so you need to use hibernation instead, see the according section in this review).
So even more it is necessary to save RAM elsewhere.

With an optimized system you get very good response from the system in normal operation. You should still take care not to open too many programs at once. You probalby won't use too ressource-hungry programs anyway (video editing is no task for an UMPC!).


A performance bottleneck is heavy usage of the SSD (the solid state hard drive of the M1). Due to the small amount fo RAM, Windows often swaps RAM data to disk. Also on wakeup after standby there is heavy SSD usage until the system is responsive again.
9.1. The "FlashFire" SSD booster
A really great performance booster is the small program "FlashFire".

http://flashfire.org/xe/

FlashFire is an "intelligent" SSD cache in RAM, which dramatically reduces SSD writes and reads and hence boost the performance of the M1 greatly. Also the "instant-on", i.,e. wakeup from standby, gets a great speed-up by FlashFire, so it almost feels like real instant-on.
FlashFire, BTW, can also be used for other Windows devices using SSDs (netbooks etc.).

I have installed FlashFire version 0.9f currently and did not experience any problems with it so far.
Update: ATTENTION: FlashFire can cause Windows not to be bootable anymore under certain circumstances. So far it seems that FlashFire does not cooperate with Windows Update. If Windows Update updates the system while FlashFire is active, it can lead to an unbootable Windows installation (even safe mode or last known working configuration don't boot anymore!). This has been reported by several users, and also I have made that experience now.
So, my recommendation for the UMID M1/BZ is to disable Windows Update entirely (after installing SP3 to make the system secure enough), and only enable it once a month or so knowingly and deactivate or even uninstall FlashFire for the time Windows Update updates your system.

Additionally, always keep a good backup and maybe even a system partition image, in case something breaks. This is alwas a good idea, not only when using FlashFire ;-)

The other way, i.e. not to install FlashFire at all, is safer of course. Even more because I don't know if there are more potential situations in which FlashFire could cause severe file system corruption.
But I take that risk, because (a) the speed improvement introduced by FlashFire is great, especially for instant-on, and (b) I always have a quite recent backup image of my system partition and have all my user data on the MicroSD, so reinstalling the system and programs is a matter of only an hour for restoring the parition image, and I don't risk any user data using FlashFire.
10. Internet access
The M1 comes with Bluetooth and WiFi built-in. It also has a non-standard but adaptable USB 2.0 port. So there are many ways to access the Internet.

Using WiFi to connect to any available access point (WEP and WPA / WPA-2 supported of course).

Using Bluetooth to connect for example to a mobile phone which acts as a modem to the mobile phone network.

Using USB to connect a mobile phone, or an USB LAN adapter, or a 3G USB interface ("Surf stick").
11. Encryption, Security, Login
In order to avoid that anyone can access your programs, you should configure Windows to not log you on automatically, and assign a password to your account.
Also, it's a good idea to enable password requesting after standby / hibernation and maybe even after the screensaver was active.
I have set my screensaver to show "blank screen" after 15 minutes of inactivity, and require password when leaving the screensaver. That way, my system is even quite safe if I leave the device anattended for some time and forget to switch it off.

However, all this is not enough:
Anyone with good computer skills may boot your M1 for example with a Linux USB drive and access your data from Linux.
There is no way around strong file encryption, unless you really don't have any sensitive data on the device.

Please don't only consider your own data sensitive.
For example as soon as I send you an email with some private information, and you download that email onto your palmtop and save it there in unencrypted form, once your palmtop gets stolen, I have to be worried about my private information.
So please think well about if you really do not need encryption!

Some programs come with their own data file encryption functions.
E.g. Notecase Pro, the outliner I use (described further below in more detail) can encrypt its files.

However, many programs do not come with such capabilities.
For those, you should use a generic encryption approach, such as TrueCrypt.

On the MicroSD card I have created a TrueCrypt volume of 1GB to store all my personal sensitive data.

TrueCrypt is a well-known multi-platform encryption solution, similar to "Secure device" on the 200LX. Basically, you create an encryted file which contains an entire file system. This file system is handled using an own drive letter in the system.
Since TrueCrypt is multi-platform, you can use the encrypted drive also via network access (SMB file sharing) e.g. from a Mac or a Linux computer.

Applications which save sensitive data by default in the "Documents and settings" tree, e.g. in the user profile have to be redirected to the new encrypted drive. This can be done in different ways, either by creating links (shortcuts) into the encrypted drive from the original location in the Documents and Settings tree, or by configuring the application to store their data on the encrypted drive (if possible).

Encryption is very important for e.g. mail clients which download your private or business emails to the M1. For your favorite journalling application, also for your address book with all contact data of your friends or customers etc.

Of course, you should take care to quit all applications which handle sensitive data and unmount the Truecrypt volume whenever you leave the M1 unattended for some time. The strongest encryption is worthless, if you give anyone access to the unencrypted data by leaving the TrueCrypt volume mounted all the time.
This is quite inconvenient, because you may want, especially on an ultra-mobile device, to leave your applications open and simply close the palmtop, and when you open it again, you want to continue your work. But always keep in mind that if you lose the M1, someone else will also be able to flap it open and "continue your work".

In order to make encryption handling more convenient, I have created two AutoHotKey hotkeys which use the TrueCrypt command line interface:

Shift-Win-C shows the TrueCrypt password dialog box and if I entered the password correctly, mounts the TrueCrypt drive and opens an Explorer window with the contents of that encrypted drive.

Shift-Win-X unmounts the TrueCrypt drive.



TrueCrypt comes with very good documentation and tutorials.
So it isn'z necessary to descirbe details here.
12. Outlook / PIM synchronisation
For every mobile device, sooner or later the question arises:
How can it be synchrinized with Outlook?

Well, the UMID can run Outlook itself, but Outlook does not come with an own Outlook to Outlook sync feature. So third-party software is needed.
There are a lot of Outlook to Outlook syncing solutions avaiable.

For my specific setup, I could not find a solution yet.

The two problems in my setup:

1. Outlook at work does not use a PST file, but an Exchange server for data storage.
That rules out many sync solutions which directly work with Outlook's PST file.

2. My computer at work is behind a very strict firewall, which rules out the only remaining solution I could find (which can sync Exchange server data): SYNCING.NET.
This solution, however, needs access to the Internet for activation and for usage, which is not possible on my computer at work.

Ideas are very welcome! ;-)

Currently I feed the M1's Outlook contacts, calendar and notes by synchronizing my mobile phone with Outlook at work and with the M1's Outlook alternatingly. The downside of this method is that Outlook-specific data, such as categories, view settings etc. are not synchronized. But otherwise this setup qorks quite well. I have not had data loss or double entries yet. (Knock on wood).


If you rather use another PIM solution than Outlook, you are completely free to use any Windows XP compatible solution. Syncing with another computer can be done using WiFi, Bluetooth or even via USB cable, manual file transfer, whatever. Syncing with Internet-based services such as Google Calendar is of course also possible, if you have Internet access with the M1.

If you are looking for an alternative to Outlook, I recommend KDEPIM/Pi. It's not maintained anymore, as far as I know, but the last version is really powerful already. "Pi" means "Platform independent". It is available for Windows and Linux (where it comes from, it's a derivate of KDEPIM).
http://sourceforge.net/projects/kdepimpi/files/

Note: Version "2.2.7 - testing" seems to be the last one which has been also compiled for Windows.
13. Office software solutions
There are several Office solutions available and suitable for the M1.

One of them comes directly from UMID, downloadable at their website, but I have not looked at it. It is probably only a shareware version which you have to pay for if you want to use it.

Of course there is Microsoft Office.
From the Microsoft Office package I only use Outlook on the M1.

Personally I prefer Softmaker Office, which is a very Microsoft Office compatible office package consisting of a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation application and a very comprehensive dictionary.
It costs much less than MS Office and lacks lots of the unneeded features of MS Office which make MS Office so big and clumsy. It rather concentrates on the important and often used features, and those are implemented very well.
Sharing documents with Microsoft Office is only a problem in very rare cases of very complex documents.
http://www.softmaker.de


There is also OpenOffice of course, a completely free Office solution, but it is partially written in Java, which makes the whole thing a bit slow (at least this is my impression).
I have not tried it on the M1 yet, but it should work without problems.
http://www.openoffice.org/


Other free alternatives are Abiword as a word processor and Gnumeric as a spreadsheet. Both are also file format compatible to the MS equivalents, but not as good as Softmaker Office and OpenOffice.
http://www.abisource.com/
http://projects.gnome.org/gnumeric/
14. Backup solutions / partition image
I use two backup strategies on the M1.


One backing up the SSD contents (only Windows partition right now), so I can restore my entire setup at any time, in case I break the setup or it turns out that I have to go back to a certain state.
The more stable the system becomes, the less frequently I create such backups.
I use "partimage" for that purpose. It's a linux tool.
Whenever I want to create a partition image with partimage, I boot the M1 with Linux, attach a large storage device via USB (hard disk, large pen drive etc.), mount it inside Linux and then start partimage to create a backup image of the Windows partition.

Short guide:
1., Boot Linux from a pen drive, e.g. the "System rescue CD" distribution.
2. Attach large enough external storage via USB. partimage compresses the image, so rule of thumb: you need about 3/4 of the occupied space of your SSD for the backup image)
3. mkdir /mnt/backup
4. look via "dmesg" which device name the attached storage was given (usually "sdb")
5. mount -t auto /dev/sdb /mount/backup
Now you can start the GUI version of partimage by entering "partimage", or you can use the command line to control partimage.
Let partimage create a gzipped image of your Windows partition in /mount/backup/ and let it split the image into chunks of 1GB (so every file system can handle the files).
The command line would be, for example (check for correctness of device /dev/sda1 for your Windows partition before using!):
partimage -z 1 -d -V 1000000 save /dev/sda1 /mount/backup/XP_M1_image.partimage.gz

Here you can find all command line switches for partimage:
man partimage


The other backup copies the contents of the MicroSD card, containing also my entire user profile, the encrypted drive etc.
I use the (free for moderate personal use) program "AllwaySync".
It's a great synchronization application which is able to sync two-way or one-way (backup), providing a lot of ways to custimize it, including version handling (put old versions of modified files into a special folder rather than deleting it).
Synchronization can also be triggered automatically, e.g. when connecting the external storage.
http://allwaysync.com/index.html

AllwaySync can be configured to move modified / deleted files into a special archive folder, so even though the backup reflects only the status of your data when the backup was last updated, you can still find older versions of your files or even deleted files in that special folder on the external hard disk.

I am still looking for a solution as nicely done as Apple's "Time Machine".
I have found only two solutions similar to this approach. One of them, "Comodo Time Machine", not being able to back up to an external drive (which is absolutely necessary for a mobile device), and one of them "Genie Timeline" being quite expensive:
http://www.genie-soft.com/Home/Genie_Timeline_Home/buy.aspx
15. The standby/wakeup issue, Instant-On and WiFi / BT deactivation on standby / GMA500 driver variations
The HP Palmtops have a great feature: Instant-On.
If you want to stop usage of the device for some time, you press the OnOff button to switch the computer off. You press it once more to switch it on, and it is instantly ready for continuing your work.

The M1 (and the BZ) is a bit limited in that regard.
You can use Windows XP's standby feature to achieve a similar goal.
However, Windows XP is a complex operating system, and thus you won't get "instant" on. It will take a few seconds until you can continue your work.

Using the SSD booster "FlashFire", the time until the system is ready and responsive again after wakeup by the OnOff key is trimmed down to a few seconds (varying from about 3 to 10 seconds, depending on the situation).

If you have enabled password protection after standby (recommended!), you will additionally need a few seconds for entering the password. But that's the same with the HP 200LX in case you have set up a password on it.

"Instant-on" within less than 10 seconds is a quite good result for a Windows XP Palmtop.


There are, however, stability issues.
The next two sections address these issues in two different ways.

By default, the M1 will crash on wakeup. This is caused by the display driver for the GMA500 chipset, which conflicts with some other drivers on wakeup in some way.

Approach #1 keeps the advantage of fast instant-on by using the default GMA500 graphics driver and by implementing some workaround for the often happening Windows crash on wakeup.

Approach #2 uses another GMA500 driver which uses far less RAM and does not crash on wakeup, but it does not support Standby, but only hibernation, which cuases "instant-on" to be slower. With hibernation, wakeup takes about 20 seconds.

15.1. My setup #1, using the default GMA500 driver delivered by UMID and Instant-On with Standby
This approach needs deactivation of the WiFi and Bluetooth software drivers on entering standby in order to prevent the crash on wakeup.

Don't worry. You don't have to do that manually each time you enter standby.
The member "fixup" of the Pocketable forums has developed a small tool which is able to trigger a batch file when the system events "standby" and "wakeup" happen.


See these threads:
Software in:
http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?p=34900#post34900
Main discussion in:
http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=4774


Additionally, the M1's WiFi and BT hardware is automatically deactivated by the BIOS when the M1 enters standby mode. This is done in hardware and not changeable.
You can enable the modules again after wakeup by hitting the harware button for the wireless modules.

Re-enabling the drivers which were deactivated by the batch file on standby only works, however, if the hardware button has been pressed before to reenable the hardware.
The 3-step procedure procedure for wakeup from standby and reenabling wireless connectivity would thus be:

1. Switch the M1 on
2. Hit the wireless connectivity button to reanable the hwardware
3. Hit the Hotkey (Win-W in my setup) to start the script which reenables the wireless connectivity drivers

Of course, steps 2 and 3 can be delayed until you really need wireless connectivity again.

So this stability issue is mainly solved.
However, in some rare cases I still get a black screen and no response from the M1 after wakeup. I don't know if I will be able to solve this remaining issue.


In order to make all this as convenient for the user as possible, I have optimized my setup using fixup's tool and using AudoHotKey.

I have installed fixup's tool OS_Events.exe and devcon.exe in
C:\Programme\0standby\

There also the batch files
OnStandby.bat,
OnWakeup.bat and
ActivateWireless.bat reside.

OS_Events.exe is loaded on system start, after I have added it to the RUN key in the registry as described by fixup in the forum discussion.

Now, when standby mode is entered, OnStandby.bat is executed automatically, and when waking up from standby, OnWakeup.bat is executed.

OnStandby.bat disables the WiFi and Bluetoth drivers.

I did not choose the method of letting OnWakeup.bat reenable the wireless modules automatically, as discussied in the forum, because this intrudes the "Instant-On" process heavily. I rather choose to let OnWakeup.,bat empty and put the driver reenabling commands into another batch file called Activate_Wireless.bat.

Activate_Wireless.bat is called by hotkey using AutoHotKey's hotkey definition "Win-W", and it leads the user conveniently.

You can find the files involved in this setup below in the "Scipts and Configuration files" section.

The files are:
  • The AutoHotKey script
  • OnStandby.bat
  • OnWakeup.bat
  • Activate_Wireless.bat
15.2. My setup #2, using the IEGD GMA500 driver and longer "Instant-On" with hibernation
There is another GMA500 driver by now, which works well on the M1 / BZ, uses far less RAM than the RAM-wasting default driver, but does not support wakeup from standby. If you try to use standby in combination with this driver, you always get a black screen after wakeup.

So, using this driver makes it necessary to disable all standby actions in powersaving setup of Windows, and instead configure it to use hibernation. After hibernation, this new driver works well.

How to install this new GMA500 driver:

Download the new driver from here:
http://www.2shared.com/file/7XFjyYdM/IEGD_10_1_Windows_M1.html
You may find a newer link / newer driver version mentioned in this thread of the Pockeables forum:
http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=6154

Then do the following (also mentioned in the thread linked to above):

1. Delete the INF file of the old driver: Enable display of hidden files in Explorer, to to C:\WINDOWS\INF and delete the INF file OEMxx.INF (xx being a number) which contains "GMA 500". This prevents that the old driver will be reinstalled later.
Do not restart the system now!

2. In device manager uninstall the old driver, then let device manager look for new devices, and when it wants to install a graphics driver, choose the downloaded driver.
16. Keyboard-only usage / The nice special keys of the LX keyboard
We are used to operate the Palmtop with the keyboard only, as the LX does not have a mouse or touchscreen.
The M1, running Windows, is not meant for keyboard-only usage.
However, there are ways to make keyboard-only usage possible and even convenient.

The most useful keys which are LX-specific are, in my opinion, the blue application keys and the Date and Time keys, which insert the current date / time into the currently open SysMgr application.

Using the AutoHotKey tool I have rebuilt those keys on the M1. You can find the AutoHotKey script below.

Also, I have built a mouse emulation using the arrow keys. You can find it in the AutoHotKey script as well.


It is not necessary to rebuild the keys for cut, copy and paste, as these functions are available in almost all Windows applications using Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V anyway.

Other useful keyboard shortcuts in Windows, which I use frequently on the M1, are:

Alt-Tab: Switch to other open programs.
Alt-F4: Close current program
Alt: Activate menu
... to be continued.
17. The HP Connectivity Pack on the UMID M1/BZ
Basically it is possible to use the Connectivity Pack on the UMID.
There are some problem, or at least it is "optimizable".
I have generated a dedicated page on my website for that topic.
See here:
http://www.hermocom.com/knowledgebase/hplx/cpackm1
18. How to continue with... (HPLX Applications)
This section describes some options for you to continue your work on the M1, which you did with the 200LX by now.

18.1. MindMap/LX
My personal recommendation:
NoteCase Pro.

NoteCase Pro is an outliner with outstanding capabilities.
As you may know, I have continued the development of MindMap/LX, after Andreas Garzotto quit LX development.
In 2005 I looked for a Linux-based outliner to replace MindMap/LX for me.
I came across NoteCase, immediately contacted the author and since then I use NoteCase (Pro) for my own purposes and I submit a lot of feature ideas, many of them I have also implemented in MindMap/LX before.
Almost weekly I discuss new features with the author, he asks me for my opinion on many changes in Notecase and so on.

BTW: NoteCase also has an import filter for MindMap/LX files, so migration to NoteCase is very easy.

And NoteCase Pro features strong file encryption. That way, your NoteCase notes are safe in case your M1 gets lost or stolen.

If you are ready to switch from Mindmapping to Outlining in general (which makes sense, especially on a small screen in my opinion, since an Outliner cam make much more efficient use of the screen area), NoteCase would probably be a good choice for you.
It's free for basic use. You'd have to buy a license if you want to use some advanced features such as task management, text formatting, edit multiple documents at once, document synchronisation, flat list view (e.g. for search result listing) etc.


If you like to support me, you can buy NoteCase Pro from my affiliate seller page at
http://www.hermocom.com/products/notecase
This lets me earn a small percentace of the license price.

(By the way: This document you are currently reading is also generated using NoteCase Pro.)

There are of course other options than NoteCase, such as ScribblePapers.
There are also Mindmapping programs for Windows XP, such as MindManager (costs money), Freemind (freeware, but Java-based and hence not optimal performance), and probably many others.

In case you want or need to continue to use MindMap/LX, you could even do so by installing Palrun 2.0 and starting MM/LX under Palrun. Maybe it makes sense to run Palrun with MM/LX inside a Dosbox virtual machine. Dosbox is a DOS PC emulator for Windows (and Linux, Mac).
18.2. Notes database (NDB)
The "quick and easy" solution would be to export your current HP notes database to CSV and import it into a spreadsheet or database application.

This may be overkill, and there are certainly better solutions for keeping notes.
Personally I use NoteCase Pro (described before as a successor for MindMap/LX) for all my notes now.

Migrating your NDB notes to NoteCase Pro is also possible. I think the best way would be to define a Smartclip for formatted export of all your notes and use the TXT import of NoteCase Pro then. I have never done that myself, so I cannot comment on exact settings.
18.3. Lotus 1-2-3
On the M1 you can use any flavor of MS Excel, OpenOffice, Softmaker PlanMaker, Gnumeric etc.
Some of these programs have Lotus 1-2-3 import filters.

Spreadsheet data is imported nicely in most cases. this includes formatting, formulas, graphs and of course the actual data.
However, if you built complicated 1-2-3 spreadsheets with macros and menus, none of these import filters will help you. Lotus 1-2-3 macros and menus won't be imported at all.

You'll have to rebuild any macros in the target application's own macro language.

If you are looking for an MS Excel compatible solution which is completely free, take OpenOffice.
There is also Softmaker Office with its PlanMaker spreadsheet. It is said to be the most MS-compatible spreadsheet application available, and it costs much less.
Personally I have only good experiences with Softmaker Office.
18.4. TimeTracker/LX
Currently I have a small AutoHotKey script integrated in my global AHK script which does a very simple time tracking job, writing "Come" and "Go" times into a text file, triggered by a hotkey.

If you need more time tracking power, you could use TimeTracker/LX under Palrun (maybe under Dosbox), or any Windows-based time tracker.
I have no experiences with Windows based time tracking software, though.

There is also a PHP- and MySQL-based time tracker called Kimai, which is quite nice.
If you have a web server and your M1 accesses the Internet (or at least that server) continuously, or if you install a web server locally on your M1, you may also use that one. It has approximately the same functionality as TimeTracker/LX, including report generation, and is convenient to use.
18.5. Post/LX, WWW/LX....
Well, WWW/LX with HV is easily replaced by a web browser of your choice and an Internet connection method of your choice (see section about Internet connection above)
No matter if IE8, Opera 10, Firefox, Safari, they all work nicely.
I prefer Opera, because it is lean, flexible and - for my feeling - the quickest of all the options.
Google Chrome is also a good choice for performance.

Attention: In case you use Google Mail - I don't know if also other Google web applications are affected - I absolutely recommend to use Google Chrome. GMail was quite slow, i.e. had "choppy" mouse movement under Opera. With Google Chrome it works very smoothly.

Regarding Email in Post/LX, well, there are quite some good Email clients for Windows. But i have not found one yet which fulfills only these two of my needs out of the box:

- Full IMAP offline synchronisation with Google Mail (to have all my Email with me all the time)
- encryption of the email data files on the M1 (so no one will be able to read my mail if the M1 is lost or stolen)


MS Outlook has been recommended to me to fulfill my needs, but honestly I don't really want to use that for Email. I use it only for calendar and contact data.

So I have installed Thunderbird Portable version 3.0.3 on the Truecrypt drive directly, so the program and its data files (incl. the files which contain all the Emails) reside inside the encrypted drive.
Having also the program on the encrypted drive makes sure that I cannot unmount the encrypted drive while Thunderbird is running, and it makes sure that really everything related to my email is always encrypted on my disk.
Not much experiences with that setup yet, but please ask me if you have special questions.
18.6. PIM
PIM = Personal Information Management
(which means: Appointment book, Contacts database, Todo list, notes)

There is no PIM functionality preinstalled on the M1. The M1 is a real PC, no PDA.
The 200LX was kind of a hybrid.

Of course there is PIM software which can be installed on the M1. E.g. Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, or leaner packages, such as KDEPIM/PI and uncountable others.
What none of those are capable to do, is to fire alarms for appointments, while the M1 is switched off.

Since I have switched my PIM to Outlook on the PC at work and to my mobile phone (synchronized to Outlook), when I am not at work, long ago, this is not a problem for me. One of those will always fire an alarm, and I have the mobile phone with me all the time.

So, for PIM I use Outlook 2003 (same as at work). See the section "Outlook synchronisation" in this review for further details.

If you like task management à la "Getting Things Done": see my GTD setup using NoteCase Pro, making use of NoteCase's task management features, its flexible search feature generating flat lists of search results, and heavily using note tags and keyboard shortcuts.


If you have used FlexPad for your PIM on the LX:
Flexpad is said to work under Windows, too:
http://www.flexpad.net/flexpaddl.html

Also, PIM/PE should be usable under Windows, using Palrun.
18.7. HPCalc
The calculator on the HPLX is often considered superior to any available software calculator available now.

You can continue to use it on the M1 using Connectivity Pack under DOSBox or PocketDOS.

Or you'll have to find a Windows-based replacement.
Not being an expert on this field, I recommend that you begin evaluating the "Power Toy Calculator" which is delivered by Microsoft as part of the Powertoys package (aside with TweakUI, which is also very useful to make Windows behave as you want it to).

There are also Windows-based and Java-based emulations of HP financial and scientific calculators, which may be worth a look.

And don't forget about the heavy algebraic systems such as Derive, Maple or Mathematica, which should also be usable on the UMID under Windows.

The lack of a numeric keypad on the M1 may be a problem when you often use a calculator or often work with spreadsheets. There are numeric keypads which can be connected to the USB port, though. You may consider one of those if you often have to enter numbers.
18.8. Programming the Palmtop
If you are one of those users who need to adjust the behavior of their Palmtop by quickly writing their own little programs and tools, or if you even work on larger software projects for the Palmtop, you may want to have a decent programming environment on the UMID as well.

For small tools, AutoHotKey is a decent scripting language which lets you program small tools easily. It comes with a great onboard help file, describing all functions in detail.
It helps you in programming GUI-interactive tools, file handling tools etc. Check the website and help file!

Also, if you deal a lot with textual information, you may consider to use NoteCase Pro and its great LUA scripting capability, which opens great ways to process information.
An example for this scripting power is my NoteCase Pro productivity script package.

Of course you can install any Windows-based or even DOS-based IDE for programming in Basic, Forth, Pascal, C, C++, Delphi, C#, .NET, Java, whatever.
I have no experiences about performance of those environments, though.

If you had, like me, a setup with a Borland C compliler and a text editor for programming, also that should be possible without a problem. Just remember that you cannot just use your self-written PAL programs (programs using the PAL library for the HP Palmtops) on the UMID directly. You will need a Palmtop graphics emulator such as Palrun or a DOS emulation with built-in Palmtop graphics emulator (such as PocketDOS).
19. LX user questions
In this section I answer some questions of HPLX users which are not or not exactly covered yet by the above review.

"HPLX Appointmentbook No really "beep beep" now it is a meeting.
But I use it as a note to myself what I am supposed to do and what I did.
Todo's is also used. "

MS Outlook has a calendar, journal and todo list.
However, there are alternatives of course, which may be much better.


"Norwegian characters. Daniel how do you solve this on you machine? Not norwegian of course. But umlaut or what's it called."

It was not that difficult, once I discovered a good general solution:
I use AutoHotKey for that. Typing 3x a ("aaa") produces ä, 3x A produces Ä, 3x s produces ß and so on. That way, you can generate every possible character using any possible hotkey or key sequence.
It is also possible to assign hotkeys with a modifier key.
The M1 has a spare modifier key which is used for Koeran characters (on Koeran keyboard machines) or to start Internet Explorer (on non-Koeran keyboard machines).
This is the "RightAlt" modifier key (not AltGr! RightAlt is not present on most standard German keyboards. I don't know about other contries...).
This RightAlt key can be used to assign hotkeys, too. But I prefer the "3x character" solution, because it's easier to thumb-type and in most cases faster than searching for the modifier key first.


"Can you address the comfort-factor of writing short programs and using the
command-line? I used to do this quite often on the 200LX, and surprisingly
found it very comfortable and convenient.  I had a suite of DOS unix-like
commands.  Of course, if we get Linux up and running, I'll have actual
commands!"

See the section about programming. I have not programmed much on the M1 yet, so I cannot comment about this that much.
Regarding the unix-like commands: You can install Cygwin on the UMID, or there may be some native Windows builds of unix-like command collections. I don't know.

Linux runs quite well on the UMID. I have installed Jolicloud Linux, but not tested very much yet, as my focus is Windows XP currently.
20. Remaining issues
And now that you are done reading this slightly outdated review (not maintained anymore as of beginning of 2011), make sure to have a look into the pocketables forum, especially this thread: http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=9052

Some of the reamining issues have been solved there.
21. Scripts and configuration files
In this section I provide my configuration files / scripts for reference.
You may use them as-is, or modify them to your needs.
Ideas for improvements are always welcome.
21.1. OnStandby.bat
@echo off

:: Disable WiFi driver
devcon disable "SD\VID_02df&PID_9103"

:: Disable Bluetooth
devcon disable "USB\Vid_0a12&Pid_0001"
devcon disable "BTH\MS_BTHBRB"
21.2. OnWakeup.bat
@echo off
:: Do nothing
21.3. Activate_Wireless.bat
@echo off
echo.
echo please wait... enabling....

C:\Programme\0STANDBY\devcon enable "SD\VID_02df&PID_9103" > output.txt
find /i "No devices" output.txt
if errorlevel 1 goto continue


:tryagain
echo.
echo.
echo =====================================================
echo Wireless hardware switched off.
echo Press Wireless button, then press any key to proceed.
echo =====================================================
echo.
echo.
pause > nul
C:\Programme\0STANDBY\devcon enable "SD\VID_02df&PID_9103" > output.txt
find /i "No devices" output.txt
if errorlevel 1 goto continue
goto tryagain

:continue
del output.txt

:: Reenable Bluetooth
echo Enabling Bluetooth....
C:\Programme\0STANDBY\devcon enable "USB\Vid_0a12&Pid_0001"
C:\Programme\0STANDBY\devcon enable "BTH\MS_BTHBRB"
echo.
echo.
pause

21.4. My AutoHotKey script
This script still has a bug. Sometimes a modifier key is not released after using a hotkey, so subsequent keypresses are interpreted as modified keypresses (e.g. the Win key, although not pressed physically anymore, is still applied to further key presses).

21.4.1. m1local.ahk


#CommentFlag //
#NoEnv


// *******************************************************************
// The following section is for Umlaut generation in GTK applications,
// such as NoteCase, Pidgin etc., which do not respond to the
// standard Umlaut generation which follows further below:
// *******************************************************************

#IfWinActive ahk_class gdkWindowToplevel

CustomGTKSend(Text)
{
ClipSaved := ClipboardAll
clipboard := Text
Send ^v
Clipboard := ClipSaved
}


:*?C:aaa::
CustomGTKSend("ä")
return

:*?C:AAA::
CustomGTKSend("Ä")
return

:*?C:OOO::
CustomGTKSend("Ö")
return

:*?C:ooo::
CustomGTKSend("ö")
return

:*?C:UUU::
CustomGTKSend("Ü")
return

:*?C:uuu::
CustomGTKSend("ü")
return

:*?:sss::
CustomGTKSend("ß")
return

:*?:eee::
CustomGTKSend("€")
return

:*?:ccc::
CustomGTKSend("©")
return

:*?:rrr::
CustomGTKSend("®")
return


#IfWinActive


// *******************************************************************
// And this is the standard Umlaut generation code for all
// applications but GTK ones:
// *******************************************************************

:*?:aaa::ä
:*?:AAA::Ä
:*?:ooo::ö
:*?:OOO::Ö
:*?:uuu::ü
:*?:UUU::Ü
:*?:sss::ß

:*?:eee::€
:*?:ccc::©
:*?:rrr::®



// *******************************************************************
// This is a keyboard-based mouse emulation:
// Hold the Windows key and press the arrow keys to mode the mouse
// cursor. Additionally hold the Alt key to move the mouse cursor more
// prezisely.
// Hold the Win key and press ";" for a Left-Click.
// Hold the Win key and press "Del" for a Right-Click.
// (";" and "Del" are positioned well for that on the M1. You may change
// these assignments to your needs if you use another device.)
// RightAlt (Korean modifier / IE key) with Ul and Down keys emulate
// the scroll wheel.
// *******************************************************************

#Up::MouseMove, 0,-10,0,R
#Down::MouseMove, 0,10,0,R
#Left::MouseMove, -10,0,0,R
#Right::MouseMove, 10,0,0,R
!#Up::MouseMove, 0,-10,,R
!#Down::MouseMove, 0,10,,R
!#Left::MouseMove, -10,0,,R
!#Right::MouseMove, 10,0,,R
#;::Click
#Del::Click Right

>!Up::Click WheelUp
>!Down::Click WheelDown


// *******************************************************************
// Right click and double click emulation on touchscreen:
// Hold Alt and tap with stylus: Right click
// Hold Ctrl and tap with stylus: Doubleclick
// *******************************************************************

!LButton::Click Right   
^LButton::Click 2   


// *******************************************************************
// For reliable recognition of window titles in the script parts below:
// *******************************************************************

SetTitleMatchMode, 2
SetTitleMatchMode, Slow


// *******************************************************************
// Win-M starts NoteCase Pro
// *******************************************************************

#m::
IfWinExist, ahk_class gdkWindowToplevel
   WinActivate
else
   Run C:\Programme\NoteCasePro\app\notecase.exe
return

// *******************************************************************
// Win-N starts Notepad++:
// *******************************************************************

#n::
IfWinExist Notepad++
   WinActivate
else
   Run C:\Programme\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
return

// *******************************************************************
// Win-O starts Opera browser
// *******************************************************************

#o::
IfWinExist, ahk_class OpWindow
   WinActivate
else
   Run C:\Programme\Opera\opera.exe
return

// *******************************************************************
// Win-C starts Total Commander:
// *******************************************************************

#c::
IfWinExist, Total Commander
   WinActivate
else
   Run C:\Programme\totalcmd\TOTALCMD.EXE
return


// *******************************************************************
// Shift-Win-C mounts the TrueCrypt volume (asking for password)
// *******************************************************************

+#c::
Run C:\Programme\TrueCrypt\TrueCrypt.exe /v g:\encrypted.tc /ly /q /e
FileAppend TC Mounted, c:\tcm.tmp
return

// *******************************************************************
// Shift-Win-X unmounts the TrueCrypt volume instantly
// *******************************************************************

+#x::
Run C:\Programme\TrueCrypt\TrueCrypt.exe /q /dy
FileDelete c:\tcm.tmp
MsgBox Truecrypt unmounted.
return


// *******************************************************************
// Win-W reenables the WiFi and BT drivers:
// *******************************************************************

#w::
Run C:\Programme\0STANDBY\Activate_Wireless.bat
return


// *******************************************************************
// Hotstring definitions (type "btw" and get "by the way"):
// *******************************************************************

::btw::by the way:
::mfg::Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
::dh::Daniel Hertrich
::br::Best regards,
::dsom::Dear Sir or Madam,
::sgd::Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,



// *******************************************************************
// Swap Y and Z keys for German users (you can swap the key caps
// physically, too. Remove the key caps from the keys carefully):
// *******************************************************************

y::z
z::y


// *******************************************************************
// Win-D generates current date (adapt format string to your needs):
// *******************************************************************

#d::
FormatTime, CurrentDateTime,, dd.MM.yyyy
SendInput %CurrentDateTime%{Space}
return

// *******************************************************************
// Win-I generates current date in ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD)
// *******************************************************************
#i::
FormatTime, CurrentDateTime,,yyyy-MM-dd
SendInput %CurrentDateTime%{Space}
return

// *******************************************************************
// Win-T generates current time (adapt format string to your needs):
// *******************************************************************

#t::
FormatTime, CurrentDateTime,, HH:mm
SendInput %CurrentDateTime%{Space}
return


// *******************************************************************
// The following is a nice, quick and simple note taker application:
// Just hit Win-Q to activate a note window. Hit Esc to quit the
// note window. All notes in this window are saved to a file
// when you hit Esc and restored to the window if you hit Win-Q.
// *******************************************************************


// For notes:
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%
#SingleInstance force

#q::
   IfWinExist AHK_Notizen
      WinActivate
   else
      Gui, font, s14, Verdana
      Gui, +AlwaysOnTop -SysMenu
      Gui, Add, Edit, x0 y0 w600 h400 vContent,
      Gui, Show, w600 h400 , AHK_Notizen
      FileRead, Content, MyNotes.txt
      GuiControl,, Content, %Content%
      SendInput ^{End}
   return
Return

GuiEscape:
Gui, Submit
FileRecycle, MyNotes.txt
FileAppend, %Content%, MyNotes.txt
Content =
Gui, Destroy




// *******************************************************************
// For debugging puroses: Hold Ctrl and Alt and Left-Click a window
// to show the window's title:
// Commented out currently by /* ... */.
// *******************************************************************
/*
^!LButton::
MouseGetPos, , , WinID
WinGetTitle, Title, ahk_id %WinID%
MsgBox, Titel = %Title%
Return
*/

This document has been created using the NoteCase Pro outliner.

Do you like to support me?

Dear fellow Palmtopper!

If you like, you may reward me for the work I put into this website with a donation.

 

For a donation in US$:

For a donation in €:

Your donation, even if it's just a single USD, will help me to:

  • finance the server that hosts the site
  • justify time I spend with maintaining the site and do not spend with earning money otherwise (wife is watching! ;D)
  • just continue to be motivated :)

Since my company "hermocom" does not exist for many years anymore, I am now spending my spare time and private money for all of this. Thank you very much! 🙂

Yours truly,
Daniel Hertrich