There are many great user improvements you can make to the tablet if you
just look around the OS2008 download section of
maemo.org, all free.
I'd like to recommend a few for you that are very handy, indeed.
OM Weather - desktop weather forecasts for the next few days. Pick your
favorite weather stations anywhere in the world.
Personal Menu - VAST improvement in starting applications from the layers
Nokia uses. Using its Control Panel controls, you add the programs YOU use
most and when you press the Personal Menu button up there on the upper
left, PM displays them with their icons for very easy, one touch startup.
mplayer - The tablet's Media Player doesn't play a lot of audio/video
formats. mplayer, ported from Linux to the tablet, plays them all with a
very easy, simple, non-graphical interface that uses little resources.
MyTube - Searches, lists and plays with mplayer full screen, dithered,
YouTube videos vastly better than any browser. It also stores what you
watch on your memory card so you can show someone else without downloading
the same video again. Storage is automatic.
Maemo Recorder - a simple audio recorder that uses the mic to create audio
recordings of anything you like. N800's mic is very sensitive so Maemo
Recorder makes a great way to take notes, record meetings, gather evidence
while you're being threatened, etc. Stores automatically to wherever you
like, but you'd better set it for one of the memory cards.
Streamtuner - All the Shoutcast and Xiph servers radio stations nicely
sorted by genre with its own bookmark system for your favorite stations
like a browser uses for webpages, but for internet radio/video stations.
Evince - Ebook Reader
Xournal - Just like having a big legal pad you write on with the stylus for
notetaking, making drawings, anything you can do with a legal pad. It's
even lined...(c; It will also import and export to/from the workspace
standard Adobe PDF files which you can email to anyone. You take notes in
a meeting to Xournal in Des Moines, meeting ends, you convert your notes to
PDF, email to your office right off your pad for immediate action. It's
one of the neatest office tools I've ever had.
A friend who is a construction superintendent is using Xournal on the road.
He calls his secretary and has her scan the schematic/drawings for this
troublesome AC unit into a PDF file. She emails it to his N800 and he
boots it in Xournal. He takes the stylus, makes notes and drawings and
circles right on the added layer of the PDF file telling the office what
needs to happen to fix this problem. He saves his Xournal to memory card,
converts the output back to PDF and emails the PDF to his planner and
anyone else who needs to take action....from the rooftop of the new
building at the unit, itself. They massage his orders, then call him back
with a status. He no longer has to drag a laptop up on the roof or has to
go down to his truck and print the drawing to haul back up to the roof,
wasting time. They dumped the FAX machine scanner in the truck.
rdesktop - Maemo Linux's port of Linux rdesktop to control Windows PCs by
remote control over the internet. You create a password protected user on
your PC and turn Remote Desktop on in Windows. You create a ROUTE through
your system router so that port 3389 goes to the PC you want to answer the
call from the net. You logon by clicking OK from rdesktop's pre-configured
logon page it remembers between uses...one click. The user desktop of your
Windows PC REPLACES the Maemo desktop on your tablet. You are now in
control as that user from any internet connection on the planet...right on
your little tablet's 800 pixel screen. Configure this special user for an
800 pixel screen. You can now run programs directly on your PC, but you
can't watch videos because that requires too much update bandwidth over the
serial connection the net provides and you can't hear your PC's speakers
because you are 85 miles away and they won't turn up loud enough without
waking the neighbors. I run my PC email system from rdesktop wherever I
am. ONE email client, ONE email database safely stored on the UPS-powered
PC...no syncing, fighting to logon, being told no because you're NOT on
your PC from your ISP's email server. You ARE!
To run rdesktop, you can use the onscreen keyboard of your desktop Windows
PC with your stylus. That works, if you don't have to do much typing.
But, to type this message over rdesktop from the lunch stop, buy the Nokia
Bluetooth Folding Keyboard and let IT be the N800's real keyboard. As you
can see, typing this long message wasn't any problem while checking in from
free wifi at the pizza shop.
Abiword - Linux's Full featured word processor ported to the tablet. This
is one piece of a whole free office suite that includes Abiword, Pnumeric
(massive spreadsheet), etc., all ported from Linux's Office Suite.
Sometimes you need a real word processor....it's free.
All these are free, easily installed with the green arrow install from the
user side of
Maemo.org's OS2008 download section. There's lots more great
stuff like Maemo Mapper, like having Google Earth in your pocket, but we'll
load that later...(c;
Lunch was great....back to work....(d^:)
