[plug] Agenda VR3

[Simon.Scott at flexiplan.com]

Hey all

Just got my Agenda..... Had to pay some extras COD (GST and customs something or
other) so with the added cost, it has cost me about $600 all up.

Initial Impressions

No instructions came with it. Without the web you would be stuck. But I guess
most 'developers' would have web access.

The unit is much smaller than I expected, and very light. It fits in my front
jeans pocket and I could easily forget it is there.

The unit is see-thru white/blue. It takes 2 AAAs in the back, in a screw-secured
compartment

The pen is ok, if a little small. Using it seems accurate enough.

The front cover is a little flimsy, and doesnt have a very positive action. It
doesnt clip into place at all, and sorta flops around.

The black case supplied is ok. Just a little leather pouch with tux stamped on
it :)

The unit attracts smudges/fingerprints like a magnet. Wiping just smears it
more. I wonder what I can use to clean it? This is after 2 hours of use.

The screen is cool, but obviously they havent fix alot of things because there
seem to be quite a few unnecessary full screen refreshes. I read that Agenda are
hacking fltk to avoid this.

The font used is too big. The terminal is confusing due to the wrapping, and
sometimes (especially if you have the on-screen keyboard up) buttons on the apps
shrink and cant fit the text inside. I found some replacement fonts on an agenda
site which might work better, Ill find out tonight.

The unit wont keep the date/time. Im trying to find a solution, hopefully it is
a software problem and I wont have to send the unit back. I dont wanna spend
another $100AUS getting it back to the US, and possibly another $180 getting it
back again. I guess this comes with the territory of bleeding edge devices. I
found on one site someone who recommends flashing the newest kernel/romdisk.
Hopefully its NOT a hardware problem.

The battery meter doesnt work, and always says 30%

The apps provided are OK, but obviously very early.  Ill start throwing more
apps onto it tonight. There is one very impressive app on it, the world clock.

The HWR sucks the big one. It is totally unusable. I use the on-screen keyboard
instead. This is its biggest flaw. I couldnt even write my own name. Half the
time it ignores what you are doing, or interprets it as a mouse movement. blah

Altho you can several users (via editting /etc/passwd or whatever) you can only
login as user DEFAULT, as the login screen wont let you use the on-screen
keyboard or HWR. Very strange oversight.

Sound doesnt work, altho I think the newest kernel should do the trick. Its only
10 bit mono so I dont think mp3 playing will be high on my agenda (pun intended)

There is no obvious way to toggle the backlight. Supposedly there is a command
line program to do it, but if youre in the dark how can you find your way around
to run it? :)

Filesystem layout is a little confusing. The kernel threw errors on boot (mostly
missing directories etc).

The whole unit seems a little sluggish, but remember that little effort has been
expended on making the software more efficient. It only takes a few seconds to
bring up an app, but most apps a full of pauses, probably due to the screen
refresh situation.

The power-button is WAY too easy to accidentally push. I just took it out of its
cover and once again it had switched itself on my being in my pocket. Supposedly
they have added a delay to the software, so you need to push it for a few
seconds.

Why didnt my agenda come with the latest kernel/romdisk? Strange indeed.

Supposedly you need either a fresh set of batteries or a power supply to flash
the unit, as it uses heaps of power. However, they havent provided an external
power socket. Ive seen people resorting to creating dummy batteries hooked to
plug-packs. Very lame. I guess Ill go the second route, or maybe Ill open it up
and solder in my own DC connector.

There ya go. Ill update when Ive flashed the newest romdisk in case it solves
any of my problems.

Overall, you can tell from a mile away its an early developers edition :)






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