Series 5 Opinions


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Lovely machine. Here's my current wish-list for it:

RTF import/export for Word
Word is a powerful word processor in its own right. However, unless you have a Windows box it is crippled by lack of interoperability with word processors and DTP systems on other platforms.

RTF (Rich Text Format) is a de-facto standard for document interchange between word processors. If a RTF filter is available in the PsiWin package, why not a native module that runs of the Series 5 itself, thus making it more independent of the desktop?

Other filters
A Kermit plugin for Comms would be nice; Ymodem is pretty limited as a file exchange tool.

CSV filters for Data and Sheet would also be useful.

The whole slant of this requirement is that the Series 5 is a computer in its own right, not a handheld toy; if it can interoperate with other systems, it should be able to do it properly, not as a satellite.

A decent text editor
This is being taken care of; allegedly a port of Elvis (a powerful vi clone) is under way, and two native editors are in alpha development at the moment.
A tool suite
The Series 5 EPOC/32 operating system follows a modular, document-centric OOP philosophy. This isn't to all tastes; it almost perfectly exemplifies the opposite philosophy to Linux (with its typed files, stream store, and refusal to let the user get at its guts). A tool suite, possibly based on the GNU utilities, would be excellent. I'd like to see a terminal environment, with a port of Bash (the Bourne Again Shell), gawk (GNU awk), and several other tools (such as grep, vi/elvis, ls, and so on) to make a minimal UNIX-like environment. Better still would be a port of Perl 5.005 (although that would be a big undertaking). But at the least, a command interpreter like S3Shell would be nice for those of us who like typing cryptic commands and want to fiddle with files directly.
Power management tools
I currently run my Series 5 using NiMH cells (available from Maplins) rated at 1300mAh (compared to 2000mAh for Duracell AA cells, or 750mAh for standard NiCD rechargable batteries). Peak power consumption is 200mW (backlight and link), falling to 140mW in normal use (backlight only) and 45mW in bright daylight (no backlight needed).

High-performance LiIon cells would be nice, as would a small carrying case with room for the Series 5, a mobile phone, cables, spare batteries, and a battery charger/mains transformer. The whole thing would make up a very useful mobile kit -- and as my Series 5 was eating a pair of Duracells every week before I switched to NiMH rechargables, it would pay for itself fairly quickly. A Series 5 power supply that also powered a 2-cell battery recharger would be very useful, in particular.

Mass storage
While CF Disks are a big improvement over the Series 3 cartridges in both price and convenience, nothing beats a big portable hard disk. Portable power supplies for the Iomega Zip drive are available; why not an interface for the Series 5, using the CF slot's existing drive addressing firmware?


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