If any of you Gmail users own “connected” PalmOS PDA’s, you can now use SnapperMail to retrieve your email using Gmail’s new POP3 feature! Read on to learn how…

I tried out about 6 different email apps for the PalmOS, and the ONLY one I could get to consistently send and receive email from my Gmail account is Snapper Mail. Here’s how to get it working:

Log into your Gmail account, go into Settings, select the “Forwarding and Pop” tab, and enable the type of POP3 you want to do.

Next, launch SnapperMail and create a new POP3 account. In the “Server” tab, fill in the POP3 server with “pop.gmail.com”, enter your full gmail email address as the username, and enter your password in the password field. In the “Outgoing SMTP Server” field, enter “smtp.gmail.com”, enter your full Gmail Email address, and enter your password.

Finally, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, tap “More” and make the following settings:

For POP3 settings:
Set the “Use SSL” dropdown to “Always Secure (wrapped port)”, set the port to “995″ and leave the other checkboxes unchecked.

For SMTP settings:
Set the “Use SSL” dropdown to “Always Secure (STARTTLS)”, set the port to either port “465″ or “587″ and leave the other checkboxes unchecked.

Set up the rules as you wish, and when you tap “Send/Receive” you should be able to send and receive mail!

Works like a charm on my Tungsten C!

SnapperMail can be found at www.snappermail.com

The “Contacts” function has been enhanced to provide some additional functionality, and now adopts the familiar Gmail interface. Read on for the details…

Gmail now displays a “Contacts” link in the left column under the “standard views” (Inbox, Starred, etc.) and just above the Labels. Clicking on the link brings up a nicely formatted display that matches the style of the rest og GMail. It displays the contact name, email address, Note, and any additional information (see below). At the top are two “tabs” that display “Frequently Mailed” and “All Contacts”. I don’t know what the criteria for “Frequently Mailed” is, but it does contain the most-used contacts.

Here are some new or expanded features:

RECENT CONVERSATIONS
Clicking on a contact displays the contact information as well as “Recent Conversations” associated with that contact. Clicking on one of these entries opens it normally with all options available. Very nice.

ADD MORE CONTACT INFO
Clicking on “Edit” allows you to update the basic contact information (Names, Email Address, Note). But there’s a new link: “Add More Contact Info” which lets you add additional “Sections” of information. For example, by default there are “Personal” and “Work” sections defined. Each section contains a Section Name field, Two user-selectable “fields” and an “Address” block. Each User Field has a drop-down label containing the following selectable labels: Phone, Mobile, FAX, Pager, Email, IM, Company, Title, Other. You can also add additional fields as needed.

SEARCH CONTACTS
Near the top of the Contacts screen is a Search field and a “Search Contacts” button. Entering text into this field and clicking the button returns all contacts that BEGINS WITH the text. This is important to know because it will search ALL contact fields (even the :extended fields) for words beginning with the entered text. For example, entering “Ste” would return “Stephanie”, “Steve”, and “Stewart” but entering “phani” would not return “Stephanie”. Obviously, it would be nice to have extended search capabilities, but this is an excellent start!

ADD CONTACTS
Clicking on the “Add Contact” link lets you enter the standard “Basic” information, and clicking the “Add More Contact Info” link opens the extended information screen as descrived above.

IMPORT CONTACTS
The “Import Contacts” links is still there letting you import contacts from a CSV file. According to the documentation, “other” information gets imported into a Notes field. There is no mention of importing into the new “extended” fields.

BETTER INTERFACE
What really makes this shine is the fact that it now uses the same interface as the rest of Gmail giving it some better consistency. That has always been one of Gmail’s strengths: a slick, clean, non-cluttered, fast interface. The added Contacts handling keeps with that philosophy.

So there you have it: some improved Contacts functionality!

Given the functionality and portability of PDA’s, it’s important to me that I always have my PDA with me. Unfortunatly, because of the design and form of many PDAs, unless you have a good case, you simply can’t “pocket” your PDA without fear of damaging the screen or inadvertently pressing a button resulting in a drained battery. Cases provided with most PDAs are marginal at best with the best cases being sold my third-party vendors.

While I’m certainly no newbie when it comes to PDA cases, (I’ve owned various cases for the US Robotics Pilot 1000, Palm III, Palm Vx, and Sony Clie NX70V) the choices are admittedly daunting. Read on to learn more about what case choice I made for my Tungsten T3…

My new Palm Tungsten T3 sports a simple stock leather-like “flip” case. While it does offer some screen protection, I am very hesitent to “pocket it” for fear of damaging the screen, so some better case was in order.

After reading some reviews and product listings, and after thinking about just what kind of case would suit me best, I decided to order a “Crystal Case” from Proporta, an excellent PDA accessory company in the UK.

The Crystal Case for the Tungsten T3 is a “flip” style case. I prefer this design over a “book” style because it lets you easily hold and navigate the PDA as it was intended. I also feel that for the T3, the “book” style is a bit impractical given its “slider” design, so the “flip” style is excellent.

The case construction is simple, rugged, and elegant. According to Proporta’s site, is made from “the type of durable and scratch resistant polycarbonate plastic that’s used to make protective eyewear”. In other words, it’s very durable. Like a pair of safety glasses, it’s clear and rugged providing great protection while at the same time letting you see and access most functions while the case is still closed. The case “grips” the T3 around the edges very nicely and utilizes the small “indents” in the back of the T3 to “lock” into place. Once attached, there is no slippage or movement. There is a “flip” cover that covers the screen and folds to almost 180 degrees when open. The case fits very snugly–almost feeling like it’s a part of the T3′s construction. The very form-fitting case adds only about an eighth of an inch all around keeping the T3 small and sleek like it was meant to be.

All buttons and ports are accessible thanks to nice, beveled cutouts that provide easy access to the power button, the voice memo button, and even the reset hole. The 5-way nav pad is NOT covered. Whilt this does make it probe to in-pocket button presses, this makes is actually nice because it lets you navigate apps without having to flip open the case. THere are several third-party apps available to prevent the buttons from powering on the T3.

At first, I thought that i could not HotSync with the case on. It simply didn’t fit into the cradle. But the, it struck me that if I just pull out the T3′s slider, it sits very nicely in the cradle! So no messing around with removing the case! Very nice.

At this point, I have absolutely no reservations putting my Crystal Case-enclosed T3 in my front pocket, but I’m still a bit hesitent about “back-pocketing” it. Time will tell, though. So, overall, I give the Proporta Crystal Case very high marks.

Oh, and I must also mention that when I ordered the case, it arrived without incident within a week from the UK (I live in the USA.) Proporta did have to backorder another item I ordered at the same time, but they didn’t charge me shipping on the second item. Little things like that make their service really stand out.

By design, the Vonage Phone adapter has two phone jacks with the “Line 1″ jack enabled. The “standard” way to connect your phone is to simply plug it into the jack on the Phone adapter. You are now using Vonage’s service, and couldn’t be happier, right. But what if you have more than one phone in your house? Read on for some information on how to connect all of your home phones…

One method is to add a “splitter” to the jack on the back of the Phone Adapter and plug in a second phone.

That’s fine, but it certainly won’t help if you have more phones or phones located in other rooms.

Another method is to plug your…

Wait a minute. First and foremost, before we go on, you need to know one very important thing: You should ONLY plug your VOnage (or any VoIP) Phone Adapter into one of your home’s phone jacks if, and only if you have disconnected the Local Phone Company’s line from your inside wiring! If you do not do this, you could damage your Phone adapter! OK, that said, let’s continue…

Another method is to disconnect the Local Phone Company’s line from your house and then plug your Vonage Phone Adapter into an open phone jack. Assuming your home phone wiring is done properly, your home phone wiring is wired in parallel. “Connecting a dial tone” to one jack should provide a dial tone to all jacks. So, if you disconnect the Local Phone Company’s dial tone from the wiring and connect your Vonage Phone Adapter, it will provide a dial tone “house-wide”.

I’m not going to go into all the specific details about how to do the Local Phone Compnay disconnection and the Vonage connection. Instead, I refer you to an excellent online resource at:

http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html

This “How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home” page details some telephone basics, how to disconenct your Local Phone Company’s line, how to prevent your Local Phone Company from re-connecting it, and some other fascinating and technical telephone-related information. It is truely a “must read” page!

Obviously, your individual situation will dictate how you connect the Vonage service. For example, if you live in s studio apartment, maybe a single phone connected to the Phone Adapter is sufficient. Maybe your setup requires a whole-house connection. Like so many things about Vonage, you have some flexibility to determine how to set things up for your situation.

One feature I REALLY like is Vonage’s Call Forwarding feature. It is VERY tailorable, and can help you in many different situations. You can set up and configure Call Forwarding over the phone, but using Vonage’s Web Interface is very simple. Read on for some scenarios that Vonage Call Forwarding will handle. There are no doubt others, but these cover the basics…

1. Immediate Forward
Say you just want the call to be immediatly forwarded to another number. Simply enter the number to which you want to foward and then select “Instant” on the dropdown menu. When your Vonage number is dialed, it is immediatly forwarded to the number you enterd. From the caller’s perspective, they dial a number, it rings, and you pick it up–simple. From your perspective, the phone at the number to which the Vonage number is forwarded rings and you answer the call. This could be your cell phone, another phone line in the house, or a number in another state or country. Just be aware of the impact on minutes charged depending on to what number you are forwarding.

2. Delayed Forward
This is just like the Immediate Forwarding, except that the number to which you forwarded doesn’t ring until the time delay you set expires. Again, from the caller’s perspective, they dial the number, it rings, and you pick it up. From your perspective, the Vonage line rings for the number of seconds you define and after that time, the phone at number to which you forwarded rings. This gives you the opportunity to pick up the Vonage line before it forwards.

3. Concurrent Ringing
I found this to be cool. Again, it’s the same from the caller’s perspective as above, but from your perspective, the Vonage line rings AND the line to which you forwarded also rings at the same time. Say you set the forward number to be your cell phone. Every call the comes to your Vonage line will ring on your Vonage phones AND your cell phone at the same time. Either line can be answered. Depending on your various call plans or your circumstances, you can determine what line to pick up.

Important Notes:

First, be aware that the call to the number to which you forward is charged to your Vonage account as it would be if you called it. If it is a local call, then it will count against your local minutes. Likewise with Long Distance. If you have one of the unlimited plans, then it doesn’t matter. Also, if you are forwarding to a cell phone, then the cell phone’s minutes may also apply.

Second, be aware that VoiceMail also uses a form of call forwarding, so you must consider the forwarding delays of each. For example, if you set VoiceMail to pick up after 15 seconds and have Call Forwarding delayed to 20 seconds, the call will never get forwarded, but go immediatly to VoiceMail. One thing that “stung” me was when I had the line ringing to both my Vonage line and my cell phone. Vonage VoiceMail was set to answer after 30 seconds, but my cell phone’s voice mail picked up sooner than 30 seconds so the cell phone was answering the voicemail, so Vonage VoiceMail never had the chance to picked up.

If you really think about how it all works, it does make sense, and the fact that you can tailor it is VERY nice. It just takes a bit more thought to ensure that what you really want to happen happens.

Unlike “standard” telephone service, Vonage requires that your Phone Adapter be powered and connected to an active broadband connection at all times. Read on to see what can you do to ensure uninterrupted service for those inevitable times when the power goes out…

Have you ever noticed that when the power goes out, you can still pick up the phone and make a call? That’s because standard phone lines are powered by their own electrical systems that are controlled and maintained by the Phone Company. This is a low voltage electrical connection that is separate from your home electrical wiring and service. But what about Vonage? Well, to maintain uninterrupted phone service, you must maintain power to all of your “Vonage-related” equipment such as the Phone Adapter, Routers (if any), and your Cable/DSL modem.

By simply connecting these devices to an inexpensive UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) you can ensure that, at least for a while, you will have continued phone service. Typically, UPS’s are designed to provide uninterrupted backup power for PC’s and related equipment. How much power it provides and how long it will last depends on several factors including the power rating of the UPS and the actual load you are putting on the UPS (the number and types of equipment connected.)

UPS manuafacturers typically rate their UPS devices with “VA” or “Volt-Amps” numbers, for example 350VA, 500VA, etc. This number is calculated based on voltage and amps (or watts.) If your device has an amps rating, multiply the number of amps by 120 (volts.) If the device has a watts rating, multiply the number of watts by by 1.82. So, for example, if one device uses 2 amps (2 x 120 = 240) and another user 100 watts (100 x 1.82 = 182) then the total volt-amps needed would be 422. Basically, you add up the total power requirements for all devices and then purchase a UPS that is rated at least at the number you calculated.

The good news is that home networking devices like Cable Modems, Routers, and the Vonage Phone Adapter have rather low power requriements, so if you were to purchase a UPS typically sized to accommodate a PC and a Monitor, and use it just for your networking devices, you should have lots of extended usage time. Your best bet is to take the time to add up the power requirements for everything for which you want battery backup and then reference the UPS packaging or manufacturer’s web site to determine your best options. Look for “sizing” information. My recommendation is to connect as few devices as you can. This will enable you to either purchase a smaller UPS or it will give you much longer backup power when the power goes out.

Like so many “cutting edge” gadgets and services, Vonage VoIP requires a bit more “user participation” in some areas to make it work best. Some may view it as a burden, but it really just provides more choice for the user. Obviously, if you don’t care if you have a phone connection if the power goes out, then you can save some money. But if it’s important to you, then you need to take the time to provide the best backup methods.

Finally, to what extent you provide backup power again is purely your choice. Some people have provided solar backup power. Some use generators, and others use simple, inexpensive UPS’s.

I purchased a used HP EN5000 Digital Media Receiver off of eBay. The EN5000 is a "Media Receiver" that lets me play (through my stereo and TV) MP3 files loacated on local network servers. It's not the most feature-rich device, but for a low eBay proce of $27.00…. Anyway, it requires an Ethernet connection, so I decided that an additional Belkin F5D7230-4 Router would be the most economical connectivity solution.

In a prior article found here, I discussed how I set up my wireless network by leveraging the high configurability of the absurdly inexpensive Belkin F5D7230-4 Routers. I described how I configured three of these suckers to provide full-house coverage for all my networking needs. Read on to see what I did to improve my home network…

I purchased a fourth Belkin F5D7230-4 router to provide additional connectivity in another room. The wireless coverage was absolutely fine, but I didn't have any Ethernet jacks in the room, so adding the additional F5D7230-4 would provide the needed ports while seamlessly fitting in with the wireless network (more on "seemless" later.) One thing I am REALLY liking about the F5D7230-4 is that because it has 4 switched ports, it's basically like adding a wireless "hub" in the room. Wired Ethernet devices that connect via the switched ports simply see a 100MB Ethernet connection on the network. The reality of course is that the overall throughput is at 54MB 802.11G speeds, not the full 100MB, but for my devices, this is perfectly acceptable. In fact, after surveying everything I have connected, it turns out that the only "real" wireless device in my house other than the F5D7230-4 routers is a laptop. All other devices are standard 10/100 Ethernet, so I just use the F5D7230-4's to provide the ports to 54MB wireless connectivity instead of stringing wires everywhere.

ADDITIONAL TWEAKS:
After living with my wireless network as described in my other article, I decided to alter some of the settings to help improve performance and to secure the network. Here are the changes I made:

1. Configure Routers as "Access Point Only":
With the exception of the F5D7230-4 that's connected to the Cable Modem (I left that configured as a Router), I configured all routers as "Access Point Only". This way, they are only set to "do one thing". My idea is to simplify the settings and reduce the number of factors I have to handle during troubleshooting. Further, I only have one of the routers set to "allow client connections". This means that router is the only one that will accept connection from other wireless devices (ie: my laptop.) All the routers still act as wireless bridges, so basically this means that the routers are really nothing more than WEP-secured, wirelessly-connected, 4-port switched hubs, one of which allows for WEP-secured 802.11G connections. The end result is actually pretty slick.

2. Setting the IP Address:
By default, when you configure the F5D7230-4 as an Access Point only device, the configuration page defaults the Access Point to a new IP of "192.168.2.254". Obviously, I couldn't have three of the routers configured to the same IP, so I just changed the defaulted IP to an IP address that made more sense. In my situation, I have the F5D7230-4's configured with IP's ranging from 192.168.2.1 to 192.168.2.4–makes troubleshooting a bit easier. 192.168.2.1 is the router connected to the Cable Modem, and it also is the address used as the "Gateway" and "DNS" for any connected devices.

3. Configure Wireless Bridging:
Next, I configured wireless bridging as needed. I won't detail the specifics, but as an example, I configured wireless bridging on the router to which my ReplayTV box is connected, to bridge directly and exclusivly to the router where my "Video PC" is connected. That router, in turn, is configured to wirelessly bridge to the router that connects to the Cable Modem, and ultimately to the Internet. So, when my ReplayTV box does a "net connect", it finds the Internet and does a "moderate-speed" connection, hopping across a couple wireless routers. This is not a high-bandwidth transfer, so speed really isn't important. On the other hand, when I want to stream or transfer video between the ReplayTV box and my PC, it has high-bandwidth requirements, so it only has to go between one router-to-router wireless connection.

4. Security:
I next enabled WEP on all wireless devices. My network is now more secure. The nice thing is that WEP only concerns the wireless connections, so it's completely transparant to devices connected via the switched ports.

5. Labeled everything:
I used my wife's P-Touch labeler to create IP labels for any device that uses an IP address in the house. This way, I don't have to remember what is what, I just look at the label. They can be applied in inconspicuous places, and for those that aren't, they give the devices a nice "geek-look"!

Now to address that "seamless" comment above. OK, I have to confess one thing: It took me almost TWO HOURS to get that fourth F5D7230-4 configured and "talking" to the rest of the network! Once again, one of those "5-minute projects" escallated into a very frustrating evening. It turns out that I simply mistook the "WAN" MAC address stamped on the bottom of device for its "WLAN" MAC address which is only discovered through the Configuration Home page. Once I inserted the proper "WLAN" MAC address into the bridging tables (initially, I was using the "WAN" MAC address), things "lit up" properly and I was good to go. So the tip is this: The "WLAN" MAC address is ONLY viewable in the configuration page, NOT on the device itself. It can't hurt to just label everything or at least write everything down for later reference.

CONCLUSION:
I have four WEP-secured wireless routers scattered around my house; all sharing a channel that's not being used by other Access Points in my area; all visible to each other; all routed to the Cable Modem. As my needs grow, it'll be a simple matter of just purchasing another F5D7230-4 and configuring it into the mix.

So now, my wife and I can finally relax and listen to music in the comfort of our living room as it was meant, instead of huddling around the PC!

Do you have a lot of Hotmail contacts that you would like to add to your Gmail Contacts? “Montevino” submitted this tip on how to do just that. Read on to see how simple it is…

By leveraging Gmail’s new “Import Contacts” (see Gmail Tip #24), you can easily generate an importable file from your Hotmail Contacts.

Just set up Outlook Express to access your Hotmail account (by creating a new account, making it HTML, not POP3, and giving your Hotmail account name and password.) Then, open Windows Address Book, and synchronize. Address Book finds and auto-ads your Hotmail contacts. You can then easily output your addresses to a *.CSV file, which can then be imported into Gmail.

Thanks, “Montevino” for the tip! His home page can be found at www.livejournal.com/users/montevino.