Report from September meeting

Leave it to us to arrive at Bear Rock on "Teachers Eat Free" night! The line was out the door. For over an hour! Amazing. We did manage to find a corner in back with a power outlet, and finally got Patrick's 15" flat panel connected to my Tungsten|C. Then came the "D'oh!" moment - I had only loaded a single test slide over from my laptop, and didn't bring a sync cable! I had planned to show the Margi Presenter-To-Go, and we all had the right pieces, but, as noted in earlier posts, I had experienced crashing in one of the apps. I had put in a message about this to Margi, after I had checked all versions on their website, of course, but was still having problems. (What I forgot was that I had registered the software using my new gmail account, and since I rarely give that one out, I had forgotten to check it! They had sent back an answer and updated .prc files almost immediately. I tried it tonight and it works perfectly, just like it did with Alan's T|T!)

Getting back to the meeting, I did show that slide, which had been "printed" to the software included with the Presenter-to-go device from AppleWorks. I showed how you can draw on slides by drawing on the Palm, then remove those marks. I later hooked up the laptop and showed how to create a slideshow from any app using the virtual printer-type driver Margi gives you. It's quite a slick little package, all told.

The Mirror app was still crashing, however, even with this smaller monitor. (Previous tests had been with a 19 inch CRT.) This program is supposed to allow you to turn on the display and show any Palm app through the Presenter-To-Go. As a teaching or presenting tool, this is what I had really bought the Presenter-To-Go package for. If I want to run a slideshow, I'm gonna pull out Keynote. I asked Alan (sitting across the table) if he was up to giving the Mirror app a try, and, surprisingly, he accepted. ("This program crashes my Palm every time I run it with the PtG device in it. How about trying it in yours?" That's right up there with "I think this milk is sour. Smell it and tell me what you think.")

I beamed the Mirror app over to his T|T. he pulled out his SD card (very reluctantly), plugged in the Presenter-To-Go, launched Mirror, and - BAM! - there was his screen, larger than llife! He then showed off various little items - graphics in Plucker, the launcher he's using, the datebook, and a cribbage game or two. Cribbage started a rabbit trail that may still be going on - I was the only person there, I think, who did not know how to play. Everyone else not only plays, but had their own favorite cribbage game, and they started beaming them back and forth, and discussing the AI in this one versus this other one. Really high geek factor for a while.

We did come back to earth for a few mintues to talk about moving the group from place to place within the Triangle. Several places were tossed out, and we finally decided on the Bear Rock at University Mall in Chapel Hill for the October meeting. More info will be sent out or posted later, and we may have another couple of places chosen before the next meeting, so we can send out the schedule for several meetings ahead. Hopefully we can dodge the next Teacher Feed!

'Atta Girl, Margi!

I have a new Margi Presenter Pro that works pretty nicely with the presentation package. Having a few issues with the mirroring, but I still like it. (Of course, mirroring is the main thing I wanted it for.....)

We also have some swag from PalmSource, since we're officially recognized as a Palm User Group. We'll draw for several items over the next few months.

Also, two review opportunities. First, I have some Palm anti-virus software by a rather well-known anti-virus company. It's the corporate pack, but would probably work for just a single installation as well. Unless we want to get a server set up and consider ourselves a corporation and all test it. Now THAT would be a review!!

Second review item is a PC TableTote. It's a portable desk that folds down to about two Powerbooks stacked together, but only weighs 3.5 pounds. (For comparison, most modern full-featured laptops are in the 7-10 range.) It's pretty interesting, and I'd like to get several opinions. After we've had a chance to use it, we can raffle it off or have a drawing for it.

And I'm still having problems with the network at Bear Rock. Not that we always need it, but I was there last weekend and couldn't get on, but the help desk was closed. Anyone know of a better free network somewhere in the general area? Anyone interested in becoming a mobile group and traveling to various hotspots from month to month? That would certainly make for some variety, as well as reward those Durham/Chapel Hillians who have been driving over lo, these four+ years. I'll post online so we can start the discussion there, then maybe have a poll after the meeting, if we still need one.

Meanwhile, stay dry, and stay within reach of something tall and solid.

Smythe