Newsletter #17 - May 1999

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1. NEWS: PageNOW! eGate 1.0 for Mac OS Public Beta (Order now, 20% off!)
2. NEWS: Online 1.1 (PalmOS) Now Shipping!
3. UPDATE: New Prices for PalmOS/Newton versions of PageNOW!
4. SOLUTION: Stock Quote Paging with System 8.6
5. TIP: Sending to Sprint PCS Phones
6. TIP: Sending to Pac Bell PCS Phones

Thanks to the support we received for doing a Mac version of the PageNOW! Email Gateway, we began work on the project earlier this year. We began internal testing on the gateway last month, and now have posted the first public beta version.

The gateway can be used in many ways! Just two examples are:

1) Use the gateway to check existing accounts for email (myname@isp.com), and send just part of the message (such as sender and subject), and leave the mail on the server for later retrieval.

2) Create pager-specific accounts that are meant to send the entire message directly to the pager. Create accounts such as page_linda@company.com or linda@pagers.company.com to make it easy for people to remember how to reach you.

The MacOS version includes all of the same features of the Windows version:

• Works with all POP3 accounts
• Accounts can be on local/corporate email server, or ISP
• Control what parts of the email message are sent (Banner, From, Subject, Date, Contents of message, etc.)
• Indicate the size limit for each message
• Review how a sample message will be displayed for each user, based on the property settings that you control
• Determine how often the gateway will check for email messages to be paged
• Control the hours during which pager/digital phone messages will be accepted and sent. (24 X7, or 9 am - 5 pm, or whatever time period meets the needs of your organization.)
• Maintain privacy--pager IDs, paging service phone numbers, etc., are seen only by the system administrator.
• Provide clients, vendors, patients, customers, in-house, or field personnel with one, easy-to remember email address for sending pages from anywhere to anyone, anywhere, who is listed in your PageNOW! Email Gateway.

Additionally, the gateway makes use of the appearance manager for a contemporary user interface (appearance manager is included with OS 8.0 and later, or can be installed for System 7.x) and is multi-threaded for optimum performance.

The Mac OS version requires System 8 or later (System 7.x supported if appearance manager installed) and is available in a 5-address license pack starting at $199. (See web page for full price lists).

SAVE!!! During the beta period you can order a copy of the PageNOW! eGate at a 20% discount! When you order you will receive a license key allowing you to run the public beta immediately, as well as the 1.0 final version with when completed.

Online v1.1 has been released! Containing many new features, this new version (a free update for registered customers) contains many changes requested by customers, as well as those designed to make Online more useful for connecting to a wide variety of devices such as modems, unix systems, diagnostic ports, routers, and other serial devices.

Among the over 50 new features and changes (compared to v1.0) are:

(For a complete list of changes, see "Release Notes.doc".)

• Support for the full range of baud rates (300-57600)
• Additional serial port settings (5/6/7/8 data bits, 1/2 stop bits)
• Added support for an additional 6 macros (total now 12)
• Support \xnn to send arbitrary hex code in macros/input buffer
• Support \r, \t, etc in macros/input buffer
• Support ^x to send control characters in macros/input buffer
• Added "Del" to keys menu
• Added return = cr/lf/crlf option to comm settings dialog
• Status window for dial and hang-up commands
• Added edit menu and shift indicators to define macros and dial dialogs
• Macros now send as soon as selected from the menu (no longer need "S" button)
• Online help available from the main screen

V1.1 is a free upgrade for all registered owners of v1.0. To receive your updated registration code, just send an email with your HotSync name to sales@markspace.com. Owners of older versions (0.x) from Haus of Maus may upgrade for $9.95.

If you there are features you would like to see implemented in future versions of Online, remember to join the online-talk mailing list to participate in beta discussions and learn of new developments instantly.

PageNOW! for PalmOS (and Newton) is now available direct from Mark/Space or at PalmPilotGear HQ in electronic format (online manuals and e-mail delivery at a new consumer-friendly price of $39.95.

The latest issue of TidBITs (issue 481) contains a handy script developed by Geoff Duncan that uses some new features of System 8.6 to retrieve a stock quote from Yahoo and display it on screen.

Geoff writes in TidBITS:

Since getting online stock quotes is commonly bandied about as an example of customized Internet functionality, I've thrown together an AppleScript script using URL Access Scripting that pulls stock prices from Yahoo's finance site. Just type a ticker symbol, and the script sends the appropriate query, grabs the resulting HTML, parses it, and displays a dialog with the pricing information.

Thanks go to Geoff Duncan of TidBITS for the following script:

You can easily modify this script to work with PageNOW! by making a simple change.

Just change the following existing line of the script:

display dialog "Yahoo says " & daSymbol & " last traded " & lastTrade &
" at $" & stripHTMLTags(lastPrice) & "." with icon 1
buttons "OK" default button 1 giving up after 30

To:

tell application "PageNOW!" to
send page "Yahoo says " & daSymbol & " last traded " & lastTrade &
" at $" & stripHTMLTags(lastPrice) & "."

Sprint PCS phones now have TAP access, if setup of course. Modem number is 888-656-1727, for pager ID just use area code + phone number (ie, "4085551212").

We'll be adding this number to our services list so it will come pre-configured in the future.

Pacific Bell Wireless Digital phones now have TAP access. Modem number is 888-600-7267, for pager ID just use 1 + area code + phone number (ie, "14085551212"). Maximum message length is 160 characters.

We'll be adding this number to our services list so it will come pre-configured in the future.

Since Pacific Bell Wireless uses GSM technology, you can also send messages from one phone to another using the PalmPilot version of PageNOW! and either a GSM phone with Option Internationals Snap-On GSM modem (such as the Nokia 6190 or Ericsson 788) or a phone with integrated GSM modem (such as the Nokia 9000 or Ericsson 888). (See the 1.5 PalmOS public beta for full details).

Look for this "totally wireless" support for send/receive of GSM/SMS text messages to come to the desktop versions of PageNOW! later this year.