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PocketDOS is awesome!

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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-29 11:09 AM
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Miss those elegant and powerful programs back in the day? Feel disappointed by the limited and shrinking selections of CE apps? Want distraction free, no nonsense, truly productive tools? PocketDOS is a precious key to the vast world of DOS.

To celebrate my successful purchase of PocketDOS license ($25, definitely worth the money), I began my long journey in the DOS land with the legendary WordStar 7.0D. Many professional writers (such as George R. R. Martin) swear by this classic writing tool.







An installation walkthrough is posted here.


Edited by hpcboy 2020-10-29 11:11 AM
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-29 11:28 AM
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Symantec's GrandView 2.0. Really cool jack-of-the-trade!






Edited by hpcboy 2020-10-29 11:36 AM
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Jake Page Icon Posted 2020-10-29 5:07 PM
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Very intriguing, especially the use of WordStar and the helpful manuals attached. On my HP 200lx, I've been using VDE Editor (ver. 196 that opens/edits/saves in rtf). It's very stable and allows full-screen viewing with a host of other features. I'd be interested to see what VDE looks like in PocketDOS.

Jake
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-29 11:27 PM
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VDE 1.96A under PocketDOS
It's great to learn that this editor is quite popular among the HP LX users. Definitely worth digging!





Here are the highlighted features from the manual:

VDE is a small, fast DOS-based text editor for PC compatibles offering:

* WordStar-style command keys, or easy menu-driven basic operation
* multiple file editing with dual windows, copy and paste, compare
* block copy, move, delete, read, write, zoom, and column mode
* find and replace (including backward, ignore case, all files, etc)
* protected mode, multi-level undo, and automatic timed save
* powerful programmable macros to automate tasks or create new features
* definable function keys and many other user-configurable options
* many choices of text, screen, and window sizes
* full-featured file browser (tag, edit, import, delete, etc)
* access to DOS utilities, full DOS shell, and Windows Clipboard
* compatibility with Windows features like Long File Names
* fast, effective operation even on older PCs, laptops, palmtops

Yet VDE is also an effective word processor, with:

* fully automatic, permanent paragraph formatting (manual optional)
* wordwrap, adjustable margins, center, flush right, variable tabs,
autoindent, double space, right justify
* writer's tools including word count, list numbering, sorting
* print preview to check format and pagebreaks before printing
* customizable printer drivers for special effects (bold, underline,
italic, super/subscript, overstrike, fonts, etc)
* many printing options (headers, pagination, selective print, single
sheet feed, address envelopes, print to file, etc)
* multiple file formats for text exchange/translation, including DOS,
Windows/Unicode, RTF, WordStar, WordPerfect, Word, HPLX, Unix

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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-29 11:45 PM
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A few more comments on PocketDOS:
- Performance is generally great for text-based programs. Don't expect it to fly when running graphic intensive DOS games, though.
- The default fonts are small, but surprisingly viewable
- The default dark and blue backgrounds always help me focused and give me a very calm and cool feel.
- A very nice touch is the function keys (F1-F10) at the bottom of the screen, besides being clickable, actually correspond to the exact position of each of the physical application hot keys on the Jornada.
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Jake Page Icon Posted 2020-10-30 1:53 AM
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Well done! W/ VDE, you can get into its config program, vinstall.exe, and make it start up without the overhead menu for more real estate. You may well be able to adjust font size as well. Not to mention being able to save/share in rtf.

Jake
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stingraze Page Icon Posted 2020-10-30 5:23 AM
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Thanks for a very nice detailed PocketDOS and text editor review!

Makes me want to run PocketDOS on my Sigmarion 3, which I might try out soon.
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-30 12:30 PM
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Just tried running the PocketDOS installer for Sigmarion III. It's strange that the installer failed to detect the device.
For Jornada the popup window will automatically detect the platform and provide a list of available software to install, but for Sigmarion III the popup is empty.
I then clicked Advanced > Override Platform Detection. Still nothing.
Tried both standard installer and the OEM installer from the official website. Same result.
As a last resort, I copied the CABs to the device to install them. All the CABs (PocketDOS.arm_hpcpro, PocketDOS.arm_ppc, PocketDOS.arm_wm_ppc) said "the application cannot run on thtis device type. Please install the appllication specific to this device type". ExecutibilityCheck cannot apply here since the CABs simply refuse to get install.
The official website says .Net 4.0 or later is fine. Could the problem be due to peculiarity of CE .Net 4.1?
stingraze, did you also come across this issue?
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stingraze Page Icon Posted 2020-10-30 1:10 PM
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Yep same issue.

I tried hex editing the cab, although I hex edited on my Mac, it didn’t work. (10 0A to 20 07 trick)
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2020-10-31 2:00 AM
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That's not to change the CPU identifier from ARM to CEF, is it?
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-31 2:06 AM
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Off-topic: Know nothing about how to do hex editing. Any pointer to start with?
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-31 2:44 AM
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Ogre in PocketDOS



... Please don't distract me from gaming!


Edited by hpcboy 2020-10-31 3:24 AM
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-31 3:23 AM
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Ultima I, a groundbreaking quintessential classic CRPG in the 1980s. I still remembered when the game was out I was a very poor school kid. Without any pocket money, let alone any gaming or computing gadgets, I found my pure joy and excitement munching the walkthroughs in computer magazines in the school library during lunch breaks day after day.








Edited by hpcboy 2020-10-31 3:42 AM
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stingraze Page Icon Posted 2020-10-31 4:19 AM
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Quote
CE Geek - 2020-10-31 11:00 AM

That's not to change the CPU identifier from ARM to CEF, is it?


Not sure, but .exe hex editing by 10 0A to 20 07 makes incompatible Windows CE ARM apps work on Sigmarion 3. I forget if this applies to .cab files as well.
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-31 9:07 AM
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My new batch of the Sigmarion clan (I, II, III one each) has just arrived! After I fixed the hinge of the Sig2 and recell the battery I will put PocketDOS there. Since specs-wise, Sig2 and Jornada 720 are very similar (biggest difference is the CPU type), I suppose there would be no trouble to get DOS running on Sig2 (and Sig 1 as well).

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