Memo #14621 (29841) From james.phillips@which.net Sat Feb 21 16:37:49 1998 Received: from mail-relay.compulink.co.uk (le0-1.mail-relay.cix.co.uk [194.153.0.61]) by tom.compulink.co.uk (8.8.8/8.8.6) with ESMTP id QAA03262 for ; Sat, 21 Feb 1998 16:37:49 GMT Received: from mail1-gui.server.which.net (mail1-gui.server.which.net [194.168.97.3]) by mail-relay.compulink.co.uk (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id QAA29632 for ; Sat, 21 Feb 1998 16:37:46 GMT X-Envelope-From: james.phillips@which.net Received: from LOCALNAME ([194.168.101.165]) by mail1-gui.server.which.net (Post.Office MTA v3.1.2 release (PO203-101c) ID# 0-33929U70000L2S50) with SMTP id AAB8444; Sat, 21 Feb 1998 16:32:42 +0000 Message-Id: <3.0.1.16.19980221163701.4fb747ae@mail.which.net> X-Sender: James.Phillips@mail.which.net X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.1 (16) Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 16:37:01 To: james.Phillips@which.net From: James Phillips Subject: Siena FAQ -- Version 2.5 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Apparently-To: slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk THE FAQ FOR THE PSION _____ _______ ______ ___ _ _______ | ___| |__ __| | ____| | \ | | | ___ | | |___ | | | |___ | |\ \ | | | | | | |___ | | | | ___| | | \ \ | | | |___| | ___| | __| |__ | |____ | | \ \| | | ___ | |_____| |_______| |______| |_| \___| |_| |_| F R E Q U E N T L Y A S K E D Q U E S T I O N S ________________________________________________________________ EDITION 2.5 February 1998 ________________________________________________________________ FAQ UPDATES: I hope you all like this FAQ, but remember, it is completely unofficial, and is not intended to replace the manual which comes with the Siena. Any questions or comments should be sent to me through email at James.Phillips@which.net [Note new address] The all-new version 3.0 of this FAQ should be available sometime in April or May if everything goes as planned. There may be a maintenance upgrade before then. I have set up a small web site at http://members.aol.com/powerlist/siena which is very much under construction still. James Phillips _______________________________________________ "Siena is a powerful, high-end organizer whose built-in suite of applications include a robust database, agenda, a fully-featured Microsoft Word-compatible word processor, as well as Excel and Lotus 1-2-3 compatible spreadsheets." Psion press release _______________________________________________ ___________________ D I S C L A I M E R ___________________ This document is provided "as is" without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, the author, will not assume responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. This document is distributed for free, and I cannot thoroughly check all its contents. _________________________________________ W H E R E T O G E T T H I S F A Q _________________________________________ This faq is now available from a variety of locations. Since I have now left CompuServe, updated versions will no longer be available on that service, unless some kind individual would like to post it there for me! This Faq was also on the What Personal Computer? cover CD, but I have not seen that magazine in a month or two, so I don't know if it is still on there. It is however always going to be available at these locations: The NEW Siena Faq web site which is currently under construction at http://members.aol.com/powerlist/siena/index.htm and also on the USENET group "comp.sys.psion.misc", as well as on as many web pages as will be willing to have it there. I also operate a FAQ mailing list, you can be put on the list by emailing me at my normal address: james.phillips@which.net. The palmtop libraries on AOL are also a good place to look for this document. _________________________ S P E C I F I C A T I O N _________________________ Size: 150mm x 70mm x 18mm Weight: 180g [Including batteries] Screen: 65mm x 44mm Keyboard: 48 key Qwerty 20 key calculator 8 application keys Memory: ROM: 1MB, RAM: 512k/1024k Processor: 16 bit NEC V30H running at 7.68mhz [80c86 compatible] Sound: Piezo Buzzer Serial port operating at 1.536Mbits/second _______________________ P O W E R I T U P ! _______________________ When you unpack your Siena, you will realise, that it takes a lithium backup battery, as well as two 'AAA' batteries, for some insane reason only the backup battery is included in the package, this is a shame really, as rival organisers such as the USR Pilot come with all the batteries you need. The batteries are reasonably cheap however and last for around two months of respectable use. Rechargeables are cheaper in the long run. Note that when using rechargeables, you should have a proper backup strategy in place to a desk-top machine, otherwise you could risk damage to your data when they die suddenly without warning, especially as the Siena's backup battery isn't brilliant. For more security at greater cost, use Duracell alkaline batteries instead. There is a fine third party utility from Pelican Software, called Battery Checker, it is well worth downloading, the file is called BATTERYS.ZIP and is available on CIS and most web sites. The Siena sometimes gives "REPLACE BACKUP BATTERY" messages, this is because of a loose connection. Just push it in firmly and the error should go away. _________________________________ S O L I D S T A T E D I S K S _________________________________ Unfortunately, to keep the size down the Siena has no SSD drive built in, it is available as an optional extra and costs about 65 UK pounds. This isn't such a limitation, SSD disks are very expensive anyway, there is very little Siena software on SSD and not including the drive makes the unit pocket size. Unless you are going to need to store huge amounts of data I wouldn't bother buying an SSD drive, and remember, you can't delete from all SSD's, you have to format it. If you need to store large amounts of data then backup your Siena to a floppy disk on your PC. _____ R A M _____ The basic Siena has 512kb of RAM, this should be more than enough for most people using it as an organiser. If however you are something of a 'Power User', or just one of those people who cannot do without the latest shareware, then I would recommend that you spend a little extra on the version that has the full megabyte of capacity. It is also worth noting that the operating system uses some of the in-built memory, so you won't get a full 512k or whatever. Or you could buy the SSD drive at 65 Pounds. This would give more storage space, but as I said it is very expensive for the storage you get. SSD's can usually be obtained second hand at reasonable prices, check out the adverts in computer magazines to find out the current prices. _________________________ C O M M U N I C A T I O N _________________________ The Siena has an RS232 serial port and an IRDA infra-red port, these are different to the ports on the Series 3/3a, therefore the 'Soap on a rope' cable is incompatible, a new Series 3c/Siena PC Link is available with PsiWin for approximately 69.99 UK pounds and does the job rather well. It is possible to build your own cable, but I wouldn't bother. A friend of mine managed it, but it took him so long you might as well just buy one. I am not really an electronics expert, so I won't go into how you build a cable here, but maybe someone else can help? _________________________ F I L E T R A N S F E R _________________________ PSIWIN FOR SIENA Approximate price 69.99 UK pounds. (Shop around and you might find it for less than that). This is a rather good piece of PC software and has the following transfer capabilities: Agenda converts to: Lotus Organizer v.1.0 Act! v.2.0 Microsoft Schedule Plus Organizer v.2.1 Data converts to: dBase III and IV MS Fox Pro Lotus Organizer 1.0 Comma Separeted Values [CSV] TST. Psion PIC format converts to Windows Bitmap Psion Record converts to Windows Wave sound (*.WAV) Sheet converts to: Quattro Pro MS Works for Windows spreadsheet Lotus 123 Excel 4.0 Excel 5.0 Word converts to: Text (Windows ANSI and codepage 850) Rich Text Format Corel WordPerfect 5.1, 5.2 and 6.0 Works for Windows 3.0 Word for Windows 2.0 and 6.0 Lotus Ami Pro 3.0 Most of these conversions work in both directions. This should mean that you will not have to waste time re-typing data in the Psion's small, awkward keyboard. You will be able to easily convert the files to and from your PC. As if the PsiWin program didn't convert into enough PC formats for you, the package includes the PC version of Psion Data so you can enter your data there and then. Although the database is basic, it does all you should need to do on a Psion. This software may seem rather expensive, but with the Database, Print and Cable included it is well worth it! _______________ P R I N T I N G _______________ There is, at the moment only one sensible way to print from your Psion. You use the cable to connect the Psion to your PC then load Psion Print and print through the Psion Print driver using TrueType Fonts. This gives very good results... The Siena is surprisingly good at printing, remember that fonts on your Siena quickly use up it's precious memory, so I recommend that you only use one or two, Times New Roman and Arial or Courier would be good choices, it is best to avoid fonts which have large files on PC, because they will also be reasonable large on a Psion. It is possible to print using the IRDA Infra-Red port, but only to an Infra-red printer, and you need a special driver file, which you can get from technical support, or from various web sites including the official Psion site, and Steve Lichfields 3Lib site. _______________ S O F T W A R E _______________ Psion software is available by the bucketload, and there is now a respectable amount of Siena specific software, 3a software *may* work but the screen size may cause problems with anything that uses the full screen. Programs which were written for the original Psion Series 3 will function on the Siena. The screen resolution on the Siena is larger than that of the Series 3 so the very old software will run, I haven't tried it myself, but I understand it doesn't fill the full screen. Getting new software isn't too hard if you have access to Compulink Information Exchange (CIX) or CompuServe, who both have Psion forums. There is also some Psion stuff on AOL. Plus, of course, the enormous number of Psion-related web sites on the Internet. As of late though, forums such as CompuServe have not been getting as much Siena software as they once did, so the web is probably the best place, especially with the large number of Siena specific sites which are beginning to crop up every day. I believe that the best way to get software from your PC to your Siena is to download the files to your desktop computer, unzip them with Pkunzip or WinZIP, then download them to your Psion using PsiWin. Unfortunately there is no modem that I know of that can be directly connected to the Siena. Not that that is a huge problem because much Siena software will be zipped anyway. _______________ S O F T W A R E _______________ SNFILE.ZIP - This is a file manager designed for the Siena, it does all you'd expect and is probably worth using. It does need a little bit of space on memory though (About 20k I think), but it is very good. 3ts_100.zip - Another file manager, smaller than SNFile, but not as functional. A better bet than SNFile if you are short on space. QUIKNOTE.ZIP - This is an excellent notepad program, different enough from Psion Word to make it worth installing. I don't use it myself anymore, but I have heard that updated versions are even better. BATTERYS.ZIP - Brilliant software for checking on the life expectancy of your batteries, a highly recommended piece of software from Pelican, which shows the percentage of battery power remaining, and also gives details about if you are plugged into the mains, and battery power to your SSD's. Another useful feature is that it tells you when the batteries were inserted and how many hours they have been used. MAPS11.ZIP - Steve Lichfield has finally programmed Mapper for the Siena. The best route planner ever... No questions asked. It does need quite a bit of space, but it is worth every kilobyte of it! BANKS11.ZIP - Bank Plus personal account manager, very good if you are looking to keep track of your bank account! MONTHVUS.ZIP - Month View for the Agenda application. JPBANK.SPR - Small spreadsheet to handle bank accounts. Simple, but effective. A new version is out which is a little better. There are lots of other Bank programs around, visit http://siena.home.ml.org/ or http://www.vodanet.net/psion/siena/default.html for lists. _________ G A M E S _________ SNGOLF10.ZIP - a golf game/simulation, cut-down version of the well-known FAIRWAY for the Series 3a. SDUNG1-0.ZIP - Doom clone for the Siena... Very good. CHESS.ZIP - A brilliant chess game, the latest version is fully compatible with the Siena and is well worth the five pounds registration. S-GP1.ZIP - Game Pack for the Siena, needs quite a bit of space but is well worth it, games are appearing for the Siena in great quantities now! C4-S-12.ZIP - Connect Four for the Siena, very good game, great for playing at work! NOTES ON SIENA SOFTWARE File management is one of the most important aspects of any machine, oddly, the Siena doesn't have a decent built in file manager, there is the basic viewer you can activate by pressing from the system menu, but thats it... Get one of the fine shareware managers, either 3T or SNFile is worth it, although there are probably a lot of others around. The Siena uses a similar file structure to an IBM PC, except the files are stored in the ram and built in apps are on a ROM disk. ___________________________ T i p s f o r S i e n a ___________________________ <> Battery covers! The cover for the batteries breaks. It is not held on well and doesn't take much to damage it. Replacements in snazzy colours are available from Widget for about 7 UK pounds, call Widget on Knebworth [01438] 815444. There have also been all sorts of problems with the backup battery. Try to keep the battery compartment clean and not to touch the backup cell with your bare hands, as this leaves traces of grease on the cell which prevents proper contact etc. Incidentally, I am now on my third battery cover since I bought my Siena in December 1996. <> Keyboard. It is hard to type when the Siena is laid on a desk because it doesn't stay flat, remove the battery cover to fix this problem. It is also prone to 'double typing', which we can't do very much about. <> Siena Tips! There is a list of 59 tips available when you switch on the Siena, I would like to list them here but some are rather trivial, by pressing Psion+Q you can access the preferences and turn them off if you like. You can also change the screen font. <> Screen shots! The Psion has a built in screen grabber, activate it by pressing The file is called Screen*.pic and stored in the root directory of the memory, remember that the next shot you take will overwrite the previous, so remember to rename it! You can translate them to BMP format using PsiWin. Each screen shot you take will use up approximately 9,632 bytes of space on your memory. <> Buy a proper leather carry case! this is an excellent accessory and only costs about 15 UK pounds, it is definately worth having as it protects you Siena really well, and considering the Siena isn't all that robust, this could be the most important thing you buy for your Siena. <> Use password protection! simply turn on the password, then every time the machine is powered up, the owner information is displayed, that way if you lose your Psion, the person will know who to return it too! of course, you could hard reset the machine and loose all data, including the password, so keep a backup of your machine in case it does get lost/stolen. <> Pressing SHIFT+SYSTEM has the same effect as ALT+TAB does on the PC, it switches between applications. <> Program your Psion! a programming guide is available online at http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/dubois/psion/oplman/ <> To regain some memory, soft reset your Psion. This probably won't loose anything from the machine, but perform it at your own risk and backup first in case of disaster. <> If you press + + (The three keys nearest the bottom right corner), the Siena will switch itself off. (Graham Parks) ___________________________________ B U Y I N G S E C O N D H A N D ___________________________________ Buying a second hand Siena should be farely safe as long as it isn't stolen. The Tottenham Court Road Computer Exchange in London usually have a large range of second hand Psion machines, as well as a few Siena's, you can usually get 3a's and the older 3 series at bargain prices, also accessories such as PsiWin which they sometimes have in stock, SSD's, 3a software and more! These are approximate prices for second hand Psion machines. Siena 512k C. £120 Siena 1MB C. £170 Series 3 256k C. £75 Series 3a 256k C. £125 Series 3a 512k C. £150 Series 3a 1MB C. £180 Organiser II C. £30 - If you can find it anywhere. ________________________ A P P L I C A T I O N S ________________________ The Siena comes with the excellent applications that were included with the 3a, including the spreadsheet- which you can use to keep track of your bank accounts etc. rather than paying for commercial software. _____________ SYSTEM SCREEN _____________ The system screen is where the programs are launched, to install a new application press PSION+I. The following are just some of the shortcut keys for the system screen PSION+Q - Preferences PSION+W - Password Protection PSION+E - Create new list PSION+R - Rename file PSION+T - Set file attributes PSION+Y - Configure Printer PSION+U - Usage monitor PSION+I - Install application PSION+O - Auto switch off settings PSION+P - Owner settings PSION+- - Remove application PSION+A - Assign Button PSION+S - Sound settings PSION+D - Delete file PSION+F - Format disk PSION+G - Create new group PSION+H - Name Disk PSION+J - Install standard applications PSION+K - Disk information PSION+L - Communications settings PSION+Z - Zoom in PSION+SHIFT+Z - Zoom out PSION+X - Exit application PSION+C - Copy file PSION+V - Version information PSION+B - Battery information PSION+N - Creat new file PSION+M - Memory information PSION+, - Remove directory PSION+. - Make directory SHIFT+SYSTEM - Task switch ________ DATABASE ________ This is a great application, not over complex, it is already set up for you to use to store phone numbers and addresses, the pre-defined fields are: <> HOME PHONE <> WORK PHONE <> MOBILE <> FAX <> ADDRESS <> EMAIL I don't think all these were included in the original 3a database, this is all you are likely to need, although it should give more room for the address, still, you can change the fields if you need it for other purposes, eg if you were a car enthusiast you could have: <> MAKE <> MODEL <> REG NO <> DATE The database can be set so that it will automatically sort the file for you when you start up the DB. It also has the capability to save the file in text format. This program was so good it was ported across to the IBM PC with the PsiWin package. The Database, like the Agenda can compress your datafile. Confusingly, the Psion Data file uses the extension .DBF which you would expect to be dBASE as it is on the PC. __________ PSION WORD __________ The Psion Word is a capable package, although not up to the quality of Microsoft Word, it does its job, some of the formatting options such as alignment are hard to get to, as are the styles, I have listed the shortcut keys for the built in styles below. It can be in either Outline or Normal mode and has great printer support, you can view the document in either printer or screen mode, screen mode is basically the same as 'Word Wrap' in MS Notepad. Sadly the Spell Checker wasn't included with the Siena. But it does work with it. Of course if I told you how then I would be encouraging software piracy, so I won't! Shortcut Keys for Word CNTRL+NN Normal Text CNTRL+BB Bold Text CNTRL+II Italic Text CNTRL+UU Underline Text The software will only display one format at a time for a piece of text, however you can use as many styles as you like on a document Special characters FN+ Z umlaut [ë] Then the letter X grave [è] e.g FN + X + E C acute [é] V tilde [ñ] B circumflex [ê] ______ AGENDA ______ What can I say? this is the reason Psion sell so many PDAs, this is a brilliant scheduling program, and in my opinion much better than some windows based offerings. It features alarms, To-Do lists, Busy Times and all the other features you could possibly need. But there is still no monthly view! this is an important feature for Psion to leave out, there is an add-in for the 3a called JAMV2.ZIP I don't know if it works with the Siena but it's worth a try. You can also compress your file by pressing PSION-K, this will eliminate space still occupied by deleted data. Agenda has a calender which you can access by pressing from any Agenda screen. To Use in conjunction with Lotus Organizer, simply convert the Lotus file to Psion Agenda using PsiWin and put it on your Psion, at the end of the day, convert it back to Lotus and copy it to your PC. _____ SHEET _____ Sheet is a decent spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is, much like the Database, fairly basic, but it does it's job ammicably, you can choose the format of numbers, alignment etc. The only problem with it on the Siena is the limited screen width. There are built in filters enabling Sheet to save directly into Windows compatible .WK1 and .WKS format, useful if you are using WinLink which doesn't have conversion capability. __________ World Time __________ World Time is a good time-waster, it tells you the dialling codes for various cities around the world, their distance from where you are and shows them on a large map. There are lots of UK Cities including Plymouth, Bristol, London, Birmingham, Stoke, Manchester, Liverpool, Bradford, Leeds, Hull, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Swansea and many more, it is customisable so you could add your town if it isn't listed. ______________ Other Palmtops ______________ Psion released their first organizer in the mid '80s, it was a just about pocketable machine, which seems rather crude now, it's calculator' style case and tiny, 2 line screen, they did another called the Organizer II, very similar to the first, as I said, now these machines look simple, but with their Diary, alarm, clock, OPL Programming language and plenty more, they were way ahead of their time. The machine was very thick, it had two expansion slots for software and memory cards, and took a large 9v battery. If you don't want to spend much on an organiser, one of these could be an attractive option. The Organizer II came in several varieties: CM 16K Ram, 16x2 screen, Virtually no software XP 16K or 32K Ram, 16x2 screen, Database, OPL Software LZ 32K or 64K Ram, 20x4 screen, Notepad, Phone Codes Database, and clock The XP is still readily available from various UK Mail Order companies, a lot of banks used them and are now replacing them, making a large number ofmachines available, at around £30 a shot, I have one which arrived in almost new condidtion. Series 3 128k or 256k ram, same as 3a but no spreadsheet. Now largely oboslete. Series 3s As above but with Spreadsheet, a little dated, the 3 is a better bet for a cheap machine unless you can't live without a spreadsheet. Series 3a 256k - 2MB ram, all the modern applications, outstanding machine. Series 3c Updated 3a, new Jotter application and File Manager. Fast serial port, available upto 2MB Ram. Includes Infra-red and backlight. The backlight is very useful though, although it uses lots of battery power. Series 5 The newest Psion. Available as either a 4MB or 8MB model and has a larger, backlit screen, also has a pen, but no handwriting recognition. Easy to connect to the internet using the Travel modem or a PCMCIA card modem with a separate adaptor. Costs around five hundred pounds. Probably the ultimate palmtop. Workabout Looks like a Series II, has an ABC keyboard and a backlit screen, unfortunately lack of software support meant that not many people use them apart from for specialist jobs. Many other companies also sell Palmtop's of varying capabilities, Some of the better ones are: PalmPilot Made by US Robotics, the Pilot has no keyboard and instead uses handwriting recognition which is very good and could be worth a look if you don't like little key- boards. The PalmPilot has a lot to recommend it, especially the top of the range backlit PalmPilot Pro. Windows CE Various machines use Windows CE which is basically a cut down version of Windows '95. A CE machine could be a good idea if you don't want to learn new applications as many CE machines contain 'Pocket' Microsoft programs Newton Another pen based system. I understand you can get a keyboard for it. Geofox 1 A fairly large palmtop which uses the Epoc operating system from the Series 5. If your needs are much simpler, then one of the cheap 'Databanks' that are available for upto about £50 is probably worth a look, these usually give you a basic address book, and the more expensive ones might give you a very basic PC link. _________ MORE INFO _________ For more information I recommend you try the following web sites: http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/ <-- The best site for Psion Shareware http://members.aol.com/powerlist/siena <-- Site of this FAQ http://www.psion.com <-- Official site http://www.psioninc.com <-- American official site http://alife1.cs.man.ac.uk/psion http://homepages.enterprise.net/djw/psion/psion.html http://siena.home.ml.org/ <-- Neil Bee's excellent site. If you have trouble finding copies of the shareware mentioned in this document, I have copies of most of it, and if I don't then it will probably be on Steve Litchfield's site at http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/ or Neil Bee's site at http://siena.home.ml.org/ _______________________ Where to buy in England _______________________ Clove Technology Fax: 01202 302 796 Email: 100255.3642@compuserve.com http://clove-tech.co.uk TCR Computer Exchange Tottenham Court Road, London W1. Byson Computers Fax: 01635 874 022 Email: ian@byson.demon.co.uk http://www.hiway.co.uk/~byson Dixons Phone: 0171 636 8511 (London Branch) Local branches throughout the UK. The Link Petty Curry, Lion Yard, Cambridge [Near the market] Local branches throughout the UK. Byte Chiswell Street, nr. Moorgate London Psion UK Office: 1 Red Place London W1Y 3RE Phone: 0990 134 224 0990 143 050 Sales & customer services Fax: 0990 561 046 Email: Psion_corp@cix.compulink.co.uk http://www.psion.com Psion Service centre: 17-19 Bristol Road Greenford Middlesex UB6 8UP 0181 575 9919 ____________________________________________________________________ Psion, Siena and all other likenesses are copyright of Psion. This is unofficial and in no way associated or endorsed by Psion Ltd. This document, © 1997, 1998 James Phillips. http:/members.aol.com/powerlist/siena I hope you enjoyed this insight into the Psion world, I am planning to do several more, get in touch if you would like to be put on our mailing list for new versions. Please distribute, but only the COMPLETE document, please tell me what you think at James.Phillips@which.net ____________________________________________________________________