Magic Cap Users Mailing List

Saturday July 06, 1996

From: Mark Marshall <MaxLink644@AOL.COM>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 08:20:05 -0400
Subject: Re: Ricochet Gossip

In a message dated 96-07-05 15:44:32 EDT, you write:

>Metricom is unable to ship Ricochet wireless modems to Magic Link users
>because the last three batches of cables that are used between the
>Magic Port and their modems have been defective.
>
>They defective cables are made by a company called Beltron? somewhere
>in the midwest. The pressure is mounting for this company to fix their
>production problems.
>
>General Magic now has orders for 20 of these modems which Metricom
>cannot fill.
>
>People have been waiting for 2 months now for this problem to be
>resolved.  One of the people in the waiting queue works with Steve Jobs
>himself.
>
>Metricom has even contacted Sony and was told that these cables cost
>Sony $90 to make and that they loose money on them and could not
>provide any to Metricom for less than that!
>
>You heard it here folks...

Seems like Sony has more than their fair share of problems w/cables...I
ordered MagicXchange from them TWO MONTHS AGO, but still haven't received it
because Intellink, the company that makes the MX cables, is behind on
production.   Guess I'm calling PCZone.

MM.

From: Mark Marshall <MaxLink644@AOL.COM>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 08:25:24 -0400
Subject: Re: BAMCUG meeting

In a message dated 96-07-05 21:25:11 EDT, you write:

>On another newsworthy note, General Magic told us that they delayed
>releasing Magic cap for Windows (MCW) because they were told that it
>must have one button synchronization with Magic Links or Envoys like
>the US Robotics Pilot (why is that thing so popular??).

I think the one-button sync, the Windows compatibility and the price made the
Pilot attractive enough that people who would be "timid" about buying a REAL
pda would cough up the bucks....

After looking into the Pilot, all I can say is "you get what you pay for"....
I read the reviews, even checked it out at a local store, and by the time I
was done I was SO glad I had my ML.

The ML ROCKS!

'nuff said.


M.

From: Mark Marshall <MaxLink644@AOL.COM>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 08:32:07 -0400
Subject: Re: Problem with PIC

In a message dated 96-07-05 23:57:56 EDT, you write:

>     Well after almost 6 weeks I think that I have finally figured the
>worst part of my SML.  Sony's stealth marketing department.

I have written REPEATEDLY to Sony about this.  Oddly enough, I was in a
meeting in NYC last week, and one of the participants saw my ML.  He worked
for Sony (high up) when the ML came out,  and offered up the following:

Sony knows how to make great items, and has NO CLUE how to sell them.  You
never see magazine ads for the ML, nor commercials.  The store placement is
horrible.  As any one of you can attest, when people see the ML, they want
it.  I work in a software development department, and not ONE of the people I
work with had EVER heard of the ML, even though it's well over two years old.
 These are people who LIVE for computing...they read every related magazine
they can get their hands on.

The really sad thing is, they all know what a Newton is.  :(

Hey Sony......WAKE UP!

From: Mark Marshall <MaxLink644@AOL.COM>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 08:35:30 -0400
Subject: Re: Why more Pilots than MLs? <LONG> (was Re: Problem with PIC)

In a message dated 96-07-06 02:06:35 EDT, you write:

>As far as why they're selling so much better, they're being touted not as
>PDAs or PICs, but as a scheduler (like a Casio BOSS), and are priced
>accordingly ($300 - $390).  The PIC-2000 is still expensive, and the lack of
>an extra PCMCIA slot (and frozen ROM) are handicaps for PIC-1000 users.  The
>Envoy is cool, but its also EXPENSIVE.

Obviously you're using a PIC-1000 (which by the way has been seen for as low
as $300.00 since the 2000 came out). As for the other issues you mentioned
about the ML, the 2000 has a 14.4 modem and dual PCMCIA slots, and MagicCap
for Windows is already in prerelease, due to ship in (I believe) a month or
two, and will feature one button sync.

M.

From: Dave Mayfield <jdm326@REVEALED.NET>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 08:51:21 -0500
Subject: Problem with PIC

You took the words right out of my mouth, I have spent more time telling
people about my SML, than I care to think about. The only reason the PILOT
is know is because of a little thing called ADVERTISING, SONY should learn
about this NEW selling method....What drives me nuts is that when I wanted
to buy my first SML, I went to the Sony web site and got a list of retailers
that sold them. Not one on the list had one or even heard of it, so I drove
to Chicago and bought it direct from Sony.

>Dear Magic,
>     Well after almost 6 weeks I think that I have finally figured the
>worst part of my SML.  Sony's stealth marketing department.  In the
>past 6 weeks I have spent more time explaining what this thing is than
>any thing else.  Just as an example:
>
>Ten days ago, I bought an Epson 2M memory card from CompUSA.  Since
>that store did not have any in stock, I had to order it.  I received
>the call that the card came in and scribbled the info on a notebook
>page.  When I got to the store I pulled out my ML to give the counter
>person the info.  He went back to the area where the special orders
>were at but I noticed he kept staring at me.  Well to make a long story
>short, it wasn't me he was staring at it was the ML.  When he got back
>he looked around nervously then whispered to me "Where did you get that
>thing?"  After a few moments, he realized the memory was for the ML and
>it had a PCMCIA slot.  He then wanted to know if it could handle a 28.8
>modem in that slot.  When I turned the unit around to show him the
>built in modem and explained the speed opyions he was floored.  Looking
>around nervously again, he asked "How much does it cost?"
>
>I only wish that this was an isolated experience.  A similar reaction
>at my office (Colorado Division of Wildlife), our headquarters
>(Department of Natural Resources), other electronics stores like
>Computer City, etc.  Someone asked why the USR Pilot was so popular,
>well I cast my vote for:
>[X] They didn't know about Magic Links and Envoys
>
>So here is my plea
>
>Sony,
>     Advertise these things better and spread the word!  I could use
>the time savings.
>
>Thanks
>
>Kevin Fries
>
*********************************************************
James (Dave) Mayfield   E-Mail: jdm326@revealed.net
GTE Mobilnet            Phone: 319-386-2483
5010 North Brady St     Mobile: 319-340-7397
Davenport,Iowa. 52806   Fax: 319-388-0335
GTE Mobilnet of Iowa Web Page, with links to other
GTE Mobilnet sites: http://home.revealed.net/qste/gte
********************************************************

From: Cut Throte1 <A5453644674@ATTPLS.NET>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 19:18:42 +0000
Subject: Re: BAMCUG meeting

Sat., July 6, 1996 @ 8:22 a.m. PDT

Dear O Wise Magicians,
O Wise Magicians writes:
 " -}  On another newsworthy note, General Magic told us
 " -}  that they delayed releasing Magic cap for Windows
 " -}  (MCW) because they were told that it must have
 " -}  one button synchronization with Magic Links or
 " -}  Envoys like the US Robotics Pilot (why is that
 " -}  thing so popular??).

Just try one and you'll see. One touch synchronization is very handy
and Pilot has converted several paper users to electronic.
JadiP
Paul
--------------------------
            From the desk of Cut Throte1...

From: Cut Throte1 <A5453644674@ATTPLS.NET>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 19:18:07 +0000
Subject: Presto Mail & 2 DNS's

Sat., July 6, 1996 @ 11:34 a.m. PDT

Dear O Wise Magicians,
Tom writes:
 " -}  Turns out the IP address for Netcom's DNS has
 " -}  changed from the one selected by Presto. For
 " -}  anyone else the primary DNS should be
 " -}  199.182.120.201 (203 is selected by the
 " -}  software). The next IP is correct
 " -}  199.182.120.202.
 " -}  Tom
With Presto mail can a person have more than one DNS? When i try to add
a secondary DNS stamp it just jumps off the card into the trash. Can
someone help me set up a secondary DNS?
JadiP
Paul
--------------------------
            From the desk of Cut Throte1...

From: "David Devaney, Jr." <daviddjr@shadow.net>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 23:07:08 EDT
Subject: Re: Problem with PIC

On Sat, 6 Jul 1996 08:32:07 -0400 you wrote:

>In a message dated 96-07-05 23:57:56 EDT, you write:
>
>>     Well after almost 6 weeks I think that I have finally figured the
>>worst part of my SML.  Sony's stealth marketing department.
>
>I have written REPEATEDLY to Sony about this.  Oddly enough, I was in a
>meeting in NYC last week, and one of the participants saw my ML.  He >worked for Sony (high up) when the ML came out,  and offered up the >following: Sony knows how to make great items, and has NO CLUE how to >sell them.

I wonder what SONY is going to do when the release their first PC soon?!?

David Devaney, Jr.
daviddjr@shadow.net

From: Henk Oosterwijk <A5243644653@ATTPLS.NET>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 19:58:06 +0000
Subject: Re: BAMCUG meeting

Dear Magic Cap Mailing List,

I use my ML pic1000 since april 1995 and am very pleased with the
e-mail and fax capability. I have Farcast and Webmail. When the pic2000
came out I thought of bying it, but waited till the first comments were
mailed to this list. I then decided not to buy the pic2000 but look out
for a small sized organizer. A week ago I bought the Pilot and until
now, it does what I expected it to do. Not more, but certainly not
less. I am specially pleased with the memory handling. It just took me
too long to look things up on my ML 1000. Now I use them both for their
own purposes. I will move and delete the agenda and notebook on the ML
and will try to free as much memory as possible. Then I think I will
have the perfect combination for my use. A faster e-mail and fax
machine and a tiny organizer. Just my opinion.

Henk Oosterwijk

-------------------------
Henk_Oosterwijk@attpls.net
[for simple message]
Bomans@aol.com
[for message with attached file]
-------------------------


---
 NOTICE: This message originally included graphics and/or sounds which
can only be received by AT&T PersonaLink(sm) subscribers. You received
only the text portion(s) of the message.  Please contact the sender for
information that was deleted. To learn how to send and receive
graphics, voice and text messages via AT&T PersonaLink Services, call
1-800-936-LINK.

From: John Culver <A5133644645@ATTPLS.NET>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 21:06:33 +0000
Subject: webmail

Dear Magic,
I would like webmail,too. If anyone is feeling REALLY giving.

There is so much to learn about this magiclink

---
 NOTICE: This message originally included graphics and/or sounds which
can only be received by AT&T PersonaLink(sm) subscribers. You received
only the text portion(s) of the message.  Please contact the sender for
information that was deleted. To learn how to send and receive
graphics, voice and text messages via AT&T PersonaLink Services, call
1-800-936-LINK.

From: Jon Whitney <A5613644656@ATTPLS.NET>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 21:48:04 +0000
Subject: Marketing magic

As long as we're talking about advertising, I can't keep my mouth shut.
 I bought a pic1000 after reading an article in WIRED on General Magic.
 I used it for a year and a half before switching to Envoy.  I left
Sony for Motorola when they introduced pic2000 with no upgrade options
for the faithful.  Motorola does upgrades really well.  The one thing
these companies have in common is there reluctance to advertise.  At
first I thought it was out of caution in the wake of the Newton fiasco.
 I figured maybe they were waiting to let us work out all of the bugs,
a giant public beta-test if you will.  Then time went by mc1.5 was
released and I thought maybe they were waiting for some killer-app..
Now we have a WWW browser.  Some of the most brilliant programmers
around the world are working on mc-software.  I'm beginning to wonder.
I can't find a pic2000 in stores anywhere.  I can't find an envoy 100
or 150 anywhere.  I'd like to upgrade my Envoy 100s screen to the
Polaroid/Motorola optimax screen, a $200 option from Motorola.  I'd
like to see the screen before I plunk out $200 dollars.  When I've
called the local stores recommended by Motorola to purchase Envoys they
tell me they don't carry them anymore ("they weren't selling well and
people didn't know how to use them!").  The only way I can purchase an
Envoy 150 is to go through Ardis, Motorola doesn't even sell them.
I still gotta believe that this is going to be a really BIG deal.
Perhaps the plan from the beginning is to wait until we have an
application for everything and a solution to every problem.  Maybe GM
put it in the licence that only limited advertising could be done for
the first two years.  Maybe they're waiting another six months for the
release of a smaller, lighter, faster, color, wireless, and nuclear
powered model.
Whatever is going on behind the scenes, it can't be denied that General
Magic is here to stay.  General Magic will continue to positively
effect our lives.

O.K. that sounded really corny, but it's true.

jwhitney@radiomail.net
jon_whitney@attpls.net

ps-no I don't work for GM, I'm not even looking for a job.

From: "Steven K. Ng" <skng@USA.NET>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 22:07:20 -0600
Subject: A working Presto!Mail connect script

Hello All,

The day after I received my copy of P!M, I rigged up a connect script for
usa.net.  It took half of last Saturday before I figured it out.  After
hearing about the connect woes, I contribute mine FWIW...

Internet Express (usa.net) Login Script

send "\n"
expect "name:"
send $username "\n"
expect "word:"
send $password "\n"
expect :1 "incorrect" :$o2 "continue"
send "ppp\n"
expect "ppp" :$o1

I pulled this out of my Internet Setup package that I had backed up onto my
Mac using Word, because it is no longer stored on my ML1000.  I hope I got
it translated accurately.

Please note some differences.  My ISP uses the login prompt "Username:" as
opposed to "Login:"  There are also several "continue prompts" one must
deal with.  The one thing that took me all day to figure out was that you
must explicitly send the ppp command and expect the ppp prompt before
leaving the script.

As to why it's no longer on my ML1000.  The ML1000 is definitely NOT the
platform to do PPP.  It takes much much longer to connect, retrieve mail
and disconnect.  During busy hours with my ISP, I was suffering timeouts
during mail retrievals.  I have since removed P!M 1.5 and gone back to the
previous version of P!M.

Maybe one day I'll upgrade to a ML2000.  I liked having a web browser on my
link, just don't drop a stamp on a web page.  My ML went into a clean up
every time I tried to access the page.  Had to hit the unwind button from
the package scene to fix it.

Steven.

Steven Ng, N6IQA | Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.
skng@usa.net     | Small people always do that, but the really great make you
                 | feel that you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain
PGP fingerprint  = 2F 8F 78 11 F3 F0 F1 8E  9F AE EB 59 25 04 37 36