Pocket-sized Internet

As I mentioned, I'm the proud owner of an 802.11b wireless networking adapter for my Palm m500. I promised I'd post about it, and who am I to disappoint?

So far, I've had really good luck with the Xircom Wireless LAN. It's not the fastest kid on the block, but it's not like I can convert radio signals into binary data, so who am I to judge? The RIT campus is pretty well covered in access points, and I can make it all the way from Gannett to a hundred feet past Crossroads before I lose signal. That's about a quarter mile of walking with no interruption.

Walking around with an IP address is all well and good, but what about the software? There are a pretty wide range of Internet-enabled applications for the Palm. Here's a brief rundown of the ones I currently use:

• AOL Instant Messenger. A decent app. It lacks some of the features of its destop brethren, but that's to be expected.
• iambic Mail. Supports IMAP, but isn't great about deleting on the server or updating the message list.
• upIRC. Pretty full featured, though I'm not a big IRC junkie.
• Blazer 2.0. A decent browser, with support for images and HTTPS.
• httpd. What's an Internet-enabled Palm without its own web server?

With any luck, I'll find a replacement for iambic Mail in the near future. If anyone has suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.

I'll see you on AIM, most likely while I wander the brick sidewalks and dodge the less connected around me.