I spent a little time this weekend playing with a Psion, a 200LX, and various CE devices from 2.0 to 3.0, finding the most effective way to get these things on-line, in spite of all their legacy drawbacks. I have not yet installed/configured the remarkable work of our Linux folks here, so I hope they will chime in with their own perspectives.
The sites most key for successful surfing are 68k.news, and by extension, frogfind.com. 68k.news renders well even on CE 2.0, and frogfind can actually get you around the web, text-wise--if you search for, say npr.org, then click on the found link, you’re taken to a http rendering of NPR.
This kind of surfing works without a desktop proxy such as AnalogX Proxy
(
https://www.analogx.com/contents/download/Network/proxy/Freeware.htm ) or Retro Proxy
(
https://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=20403&posts=5&start=1 )
Using a proxy, notably Retro Proxy, allows you to render https in http format. Mostly effective, Retro Proxy still can hard reset a 200LX if you’ve gone to a heavy site. Another drawback is you’re tied to a proxy, making your device rather housebound.
And, obviously, none of these approaches produce images, log-ins, etc. And most hamstringing is the need to dumb down the security of your wifi router to match your card’s, or the need for an Ethernet connection, further tying you to a single location.
There is also the toll on battery life since a PCMCIA card rapidly drains even a lithium battery and blows through an AA-driven device in a matter of minutes.
For myself, I find the most effective solution
(except for the 200LX
) is an IR/GPRS connection to an older cell phone. It’s safe, portable, standalone, can even retrieve your email should your incoming port permit a 110 setting. A 200LX IR connection is buggy at best, and any kind of true connection involves a proxy and specific hardware:
https://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=20455&posts=3&start=1
For a CE connection
(Psion comes ready
), a driver is necessary and C:Amie has seen to that:
https://www.hpcfactor.com/support/cesd/200254/availbility_of_the_hpcfactor_generic_infrared_modem_driver
Needs for this approach: a
) an IR-capable phone 2
) an available SIM card 3
) a phone carrier that still permits GPRS connections.
An IR connection greatly extends the battery life, even for AA’s, a 115K baud is fast enough for text sites, and it’s hugely portable.
At any rate, these are just my broodings and I’m very much interested in others’ opinions.
Jake
Edited by Jake 2022-11-06 10:02 PM
