12/13/02 EEU3 (http://world.casio.com/ce/download/en/dl_ppc2002.html#01)on the Casio website... I have not installed this update yet since I built a new computer and I need to update everything... However, I am taking the good word of PennyWisdom and EyeVigil off the Discussion Board... that this is the new update that everyone has been waiting for.... after I install it, I'll provide more details... read the instructions on the site carefully and share your experiences... thanks
11/22/02 DeJe has just provided a driver for a USB Mass storage device like a digital camera... at his site....USB Mass Storage driver check software and then download... make sure you read the warning!
11/10/02 DeJe has provided a trial driver as well as the application...check his site out...mouse pointer site
09/19/02 UPDATED ENGLISH VERSION-- Our friend from Germany has updated the Mouse Pointer....smaller pointer and very few artifacts.... it is working great...try it---He has been kind enough to create this for FREE---DOWNLOAD HERE>a mouse pointer for your USB mouse Of course, you use it at your own risk but so far there are no problems with this application and he designed it using an E-200... but it appears to work on all USB enabled PPCs...check out this thread for the Toshiba e740 ->HERE
09/17/02 .> a mouse pointer for your USB mouse <on your E-200 ppc--- Also, a USB hub with the mouse and mouse pointer and your keyboard work together plugged into the hub--- COOL! one of our friends from Germany sent an email to me with an attached mouse pointer application. I tried it and it is so neat... games on your Casio E-200 using a mouse ... I played Diamond mine and Solitare. Works like a charm. The only problem is that it leaves "artifacts" but I dont' find them too much of a nuisance since they are transparent with the outline of the mouse... anyway, here is Detlef's email message to me,
Hello,
As your website is the only one dedicated to the Casio E200 (as far as
I am aware of), I contact you. I just want to let you know that I did
a small app to enable a mouse Pointer for a connected USB mouse.
By using the mouse, there are still some fragments left on the screen. I can not do anything about that right now (I have no idea). Also, as some tester here in germany mentioned, the performance will be degrade in heavy graphic applications. But, at least it is a mouse pointer and now you can use the mouse to control the PPC. :)
OK, just unzip the program anywhere on the PPC and call it after you connected the mouse. "Beenden" is cancel, OK minimizes to the tray.
The app is free of charge and I have no plan
to charge for.
Try it and let me know what you think.
Regards,
D.Jenett
In any case, you can download it here and try it for yourself. So far I have not found any problems other than the artifacts mentioned by Detlef...Also, you have to CLICK on the MOUSE picture to get it to work. I had to reset a couple of times since I would lose it at times going from the start to programs or to a program. Keep in mind that you use this application at your own risk but I haven't had any problems on my 7bp and i'll be trying it on my 5ap shortly. Just having too much fun with it to take the time to put on the other one.... Cool.....
By the way, on the program you will see this in GERMAN....
bitte einmal mit dem Stylus auf das Display tippen oder die Maus bewegen. Damit wird der Mauszeiger gestartet und kalibriert.
Here is the translation:
Please tap on the display once or move the mouse. By doing that the mouse pointer will be started and calibrated.
Also, someone with an e740 saw this page and they are using it on the toshiba e740 and they started a link on Brighthand---HERE
Make your comments on the discussion board....
08/22/02 A note from one of our South Africa friends if you are having problems with the E-200---Contact Theo from James Ralph on tel +27113153707 and she'll help you. I shipped mine in to her and I had a replacement a week later. The replacement was a 7BP model.
08/12/02 Please note---Canadians---if you are having problems with your E-200....call Melissa...she ships new E-200s for bad ones to US and Canada... thanks to one of our Canadian friends for that info....
08/10/02 Crowdie has noted the following at Brighthand(among other places): The CASSIOPEIA E-200 Update Version 1.30R is a major update and this will reinitialise your E-200 so do a full backup BEFORE installing the update.
I recommend the Pocket Backup application (http://www.spritesoftware.com/home.html) from Sprite Software. This application will backup and restore to a CF or MMC/SD card and allows you to select what you want to backup. Fantastic application from the original makers of "Ghost".
Do a restore of your E-200 and then install the Pocket PC 2002 Update 2.00 (aka EUU2). This update will not reinitialise your E-200.
You are now updated....
Okay, unfortunately, I did not hear about the spritesoftware from Crowdie before I installed 1.30R on my 5AP which would have saved me a lot of time(my 7BP already had it installed as I noted).... In any case, make sure you install the 1.30R before you install the Pocket PC 2002 Update 2.00...but like Crowdie has said, the E-200 does not do a hard reset with the Pocket PC 2002 Update 2.00.
Another note....Toshiba 5 Gb PC card hard drive has been reported to work using the E-200 sled(I do not have it yet)... The Pretec camera(CF Slot), Orinico wifi(PC Card), Transplant GPS(cfii slot) all work well in the E-200. I like being able to install the GPS in the CFII slot and installing Maptech topo and Destinator road maps in the 256 SD card without using a sled. By the way, if you use Destinator you have to "manually" install the maps in the SD card but it is an easy process which they don't explain in their documentation...either call them or email me for instructions... works like a charm.
08/03/02 Okay, the new 75P has the new update installed already. So far working great... I installed the new 1.30R on the other e200 5AP and it seems to have improved it as well. USB keyboard works well on both units. Trying out some additional programs and equipment...more info to come....
07/13/02 Had to mail in one of my 5AP122 e-200s to Melissa but got a brand new 7BP124 back in less than a week for $0. Going to update with the 1.30r(check out updates).... Also, have the Pretec camera for $100 and works fine...needs to be outside or in bright light however.
05/05/02 Get this!!!! The sleeve update fixes the problems with the usb keyboard... now,.... the enter keys, up and down keys, and, YES, the numeric pad keys work etc... a complete solution...especially with the cableless cradle.... the cursor is still not visible on the USB mouse although it appears I have better control. I will have to try some other devices. You don't have to have the sleeve.... YOU JUST NEED THE SLEEVE UPDATE 1.12....
04/08/02 Latest Update 1.12 now available(see updates ). Apparently, this update is for the sleeve.
3/31/02 It seems a MINI-Virtually Indestructible keyboard has come out...This is how one person on one of the boards describes it, "This is being typed with the "mini-Virtual Indestructible Keyboard" from GrandTec http://www.grandtec.com/vik.htm on my E-200! This is a great USB keyboard for those on the go (assuming you have one of those elusive PC Card Jackets w/ the USB port) and quite unobtrusive. Got it a COMPUSA but expect others will have it. "
Make sure you go to the bottom of the page to see the "mini" with 85 keys. You can check my "examples" if you don't have the pc card jacket with the USB port but you do have an extra cradle.
3/26/02 Everything has been quiet of late. No new updates and burnt backlights have come to a screeching halt. i.e. as long as you have a 5AP122 E-200 unit. There was a 5AP unit which had a burnt backlight but it was not a "122". I am sure there will be other units coming out which will be fixed units but at this point it is becoming clear that the 5AP122 is definitely fixed. And the 5AP122 is not restricted to the USA. One email I received from Greece reported he purchased his 5AP122 in Greece and it had AAE(i.e. Europe) as opposed to AAU which we have been receiving from Melissa. Also, he is the first person to have reported receiving the mysterious sleeeve but alas it was broken by the carrier service and he should be receiving a new one shortly. I also received an email from the Nettherlands who also had purchased a 5AP122. So, all is well in the E-200 land at present.
3/14/02 Tried to Install Calligrapher(6.3 upgrade--latest edition) onto my 5AP. It had the same problem that it had with the previous unit. Once I installed it and then run a program such as Pocket Word it will not come on. Instead the basic keyboard comes up and it is impossible to bring up Calligrapher. It appears it is a real glitch in the Casio hardware or Paragraph software that probably can't be corrected any time soon. Try it if you must but don't get your hopes up.
3/09/02 Looks like a couple new updates! MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP BEFORE UPDATING!!!!!!!! AND SOFT RESET AFTER EACH UPDATE!!!
http://world.casio.com/euro/ce/download/
CASSIOPEIA E-200 Protection Enhancement Pack 1.0 andPocket PC
2002 Update Pack 1.10 and
CASSIOPEIA E-200 Protection Enhancement Pack 1.0
Make sure you make a distinction between 1.01 and 1.1...they are differenet 1.01 is a file and 1.1 is a PACK....
It appears that both of these(enhancement and update pack 1.1) need to be installed even if you have installed 1.01 but here is a note Do not install Pocket PC 2002 Update File Version 1.01 separately after installing this Protection Enhancement Pack. Doing so will cause improper operation of the Protection Enhancement Pack.
About E-200 Protection Enhancement Pack 1.0
E-200 Protection Enhancement Pack 1.00 (Protection Enhancement Pack) strengthens protection of the flash memory area against improper access due to software operational errors and other causes. Be sure to install this software on your CASSIOPEIA to ensure proper operation.
3/08/02 Casio site is now selling the E-200 but accessories are still on hold. If you are looking for a USB foldable keyboard check out the one on accessories. I have found it easy to use and reasonably compact. It works much better than the indestructible keyboard which is not USB anyway but I tried it. The feel of the USB foldable keyboard, the size you can reduce it(1 1/2[2 with cord wrapped around it]X4 1/2 X 5 7/8) and the length of the cord(3 feet) will surprise you.
Well, we haven't heard very many complaints about the new E-200s (5AP) and mine have been functioning fine. In fact, the boards seem to be quiet for the most part.
3/04/02 From what I gather Milissa is not able to cross ship for everyone so you may or may not be able to receive that service... especially if your unit is not working at all but the turnaround time has been very good from the emails I have been receiving. Casio is still not selling the E-200 on their website. However, the new units are working very well so far. I have not tried to install Calligrapher again but on the first install I didn't uninstall transcriber so that may have been my problem.
A side note, Thinkoutside states on their site that they are no longer supporting Casio pdas whatsoever. While this only affects E-125s at present this will in most likely affect the E-200 down the road if they don't develop drivers or the keyboard. Thus, we are reliant on the USB connection or other solutions.
3/01/02 I received the two units Tuesday(overnight UPS) but couldn't get to them until yesterday when I came back from out of town. I had backed up my two units and restored them into the new units after I installed the Microsoft Update. The back up already had the updates for Casio. Both units were JX710AAU-5AP122-XXXXXXX so it appears the "5" is the key to the new units. Both units are functioning fine although I have not noticed any physical differences. I tried to install Calligrapher but the new units still won't work with it. However, I may try again later.
2/25/02 I called Milissa and she is cross shipping two E-200s. I decided that I would obtain the modified units. She indicated that the new units have addressed all the issues raised. I had a couple hard resets on one unit and one hard reset on the other as I have previously described. We'll see. I will be out of town for a day or so and I won't be able to do much until later in the week. This should be interesting.
2/22/02 We are hearing that the newly designed E-200 units have arrived and are being shipped to individuals with burnt out backlights. I have no confirmation of this information. However, I am hopeful that this is happening. Casio is not selling E-200 units yet and I do not believe they will be selling any units in the U.S. before March. I have heard nothing that would change this target date. Interestingly, one forum post notes that his new unit(sent to him because his original one was a backlight burn out) which arrived today had a serial number AAU-5AP.... that is a first... never saw the "5" before. Are these the newly designed U.S. E-200s? Don't know... time will tell. Patience. Of course, I can be patient since my 2 units are still working... and from what I understand Casio is paying the shipping costs now and taking care of People. Good news.... if you had a backlight go out...call Milissa listed in the Support section. She, apparently, is extremely helpful and will get you set up with a new unit....
2/18/02
If you check, you will find that Casio E-200s are not available for sale
at the
present time on their website. My understanding is that there will not
be any more shipments of E-200s until the fixed E-200s in March. In
addition, there is no information as to whether this will be early March,
mid March or late March.
This morning I received the following message:
CASIO is currently modifying all their current
stock of E-200s to correct the
Backlight issue that has been reported in the US. These units will be
shipping
in March 2002."
2/17/02 Okay, Calligrapher 6.01 started out great and then faltered.. removed it.. and back to transcriber... it would be nice if phatware would get this straightened out but not sure they will...[before the above]Calligrapher works. A partner on the one of the forums mentioned that he had read where somone had reinstalled 6.01 Calligrapher rather than the 6.2 and it worked. Thinking back, I recalled that the problems did start after I upgraded to 6.2. So, I reinstalled the 6.01 and so far everything works fine. Whereas with 6.2 the transcriber keyboard kept coming up when I started Calligrapher now Calligrapher comes up etc. If things change I'll post it here but so far so good.
2/15/02 I have placed all of Crowdie's(New Zealand's Casio support representative) responses on the major forums on the Support section of this site. I will try and keep this updated. He has been the most responsive and helpful of all of Casio's team...in fact, he is the only response from Casio to my knowledge. Thanks Crowdie!!!
2/10/02 Dimitrius from Greece emailed me about the power surges affecting the backlight in Greece. Could be helpful to you. You can read it in the News section or click here.
I found that I was having trouble syncing. The connection would go off and on. I unplugged my USB connection to my USB zip drive and I stopped having this problem. The zip drive is in the number one slot of the USB hub so I may change that to the E-200 cradle and see if I can still plug in my USB 250 Zip drive while I am on active sync. Anyway, don't know if you have had this problem but this is a possible solution.
2/8/02 Update Update The USB floppy drive came in today...WOW... I had already downloaded and installed the driver from the website. I took the USB floppy drive out of the box, put the E-200 in my cableless cradle, put a floppy disk in the USB floppy drive, plugged in the USB connector from the USB floppy drive and the USB floppy drive immediately began purring for a couple seconds. I went to E-200's Explorer to check for the floppy drive and it was listed as "storage card". I copied a file from the USB floppy drive to the E-200 and copied a file from the E-200. They both copied flawlessly. Both files were Word documents and the E-200 recognized it with all the various size fonts etc ....and I could edit the file just like a word document. In other words, works perfect at this point. The size of the USB floppy drive--- 5/8" X 4" X 5 1/2". Weighs 6 oz. It is powered by the E-200. No power adapter is included nor is there a connection for a power adapter.
Update... the keyspan mini-USB hub came in today as well and it works great. The USB floppy drive has to be connected directly to the E-200 but I was able to hook the USB keyboard and USB mouse(no cursor) to the hub and they both worked great while connected to the hub which was powered by the E-200. The hub can be powered by an included power adapter or the E-200. Size of the hub is amazing. It is smaller than a credit card. I put a credit card over it and you cannot see the hub and it is 3/8 " deep. The USB connector and short cord folds into the front of the hub so it is not visible when not in use.
I now have the cordlesscradle pics up--see Examples and click on cordless cradle. Just pics right now. I'll put up some more explanations shortly. See how to do it (at your own risk below).
I have the 20 pin/USB converter and the USB works fine but unfortunately as many of you have discovered(I haven't tried) the Stowaway keyboard doesn't work using the serial converter. First, apparently it doesn't fit in the slot of the keyboard and second, even if you partially remove the ribbon connector out of the keyboard and hook it up the software driver doesn't work. I emailed Thinkoutside but they haven't emailed me back.
I did have another hard reset two days ago. Woke up in the morning and tried to copy something to the unit and it wouldn't go but it was on. Looked at it and there were these multicolored lines spaced about half inch apart an eighth of an inch wide running vertically down the unit. I hard reset, hooked back up to ActiveSync and restored my backup. Good thing that I had a fresh backup. I am still looking for a backup to my CF card since it does not appear the one on the Casio disk works. I kept getting "data" problem when I tried to restore the first time I hard reset. Also, I took Pocket Informant off the unit since it was giving me some problems and I put Agenda Fusion on which works flawlessly. Anyway, I am going on the road next week and hope I don't have a hard reset but I have had only two in the last nearly 70 days but I hope that drops to two in a year. However, I put a number of different software packages on my unit so I do expect some occasional conflicts.
1/31/02 I just called Casio and they said my converter shipped yesterday. They said much to their surprise they came in yesterday... A little problem in communication.... however, I think I'll leave the cable off the cradle... really like how it works....
Instructions for removing the USB cable from the USB cradle---pics to follow later---this is done at your own risk to your cradle, unit etc. I have a considerable amount of hardware computer skills so this was a simple operation for me... consider your own skill level..although quite honestly...this is not difficult... but I am not going to be responsible for someone jerking the cable connector out of the circuit board and breaking something or letting a piece of metal fall onto the circuit board before closing it causing it to destroy the unit for some reason... As noted----Do this at your own risk!
1. Remove the four small screws(get a small screwdriver
from Radio Shack
if you don't have one that small) from the bottom of the cradle.
2. Remove the bottom plate.
3. Remove the three screws from the inside plate(same size screws).
4. Remove the inside plate.
5. Remove the cable connector from the circuit board connector(this has to be done carefully but firmly...it doesn't come out easily...you may need a small pair of pliers to carefully remove this connector and not damage the circuit board). Also, you can't remove the circuit board from the cradle(there is a small cable connected to the underside of the front of the cradle)...at least I didn't try so you will have to remove the cable connector from the circuit board while it is still connected to the cradle making it a little more difficult.
6. Replace the inside plate.
7. Replace the bottom plate.
8. You got it---A cableless USB cradle for the E-200 - now plug in USB devices anywhere.
1/30/02 I became tired of waiting for Casio to ship the Converter Unit although it will allow for additional integration with some accessories with its 20 pin connector. In any case, I already had an extra cradle(JK-514CR). I easily removed the long USB cord and what do you know.. Now I can take my cordless cradle with me and plug in any USB device that will work right now(e.g. USB keyboard) and others which have already been noted in accessories... Further, since the cradle has a power plug in it as well I can power my E-200 with the power plug while the E-200 is hooked to a USB device... Nice touch. Anyway, the long USB cable can be reattached to the cradle if I need it since there is a connector at the end which is attached to a connector receiver connected to a small board inside the cradle. What I also like about this is that the cradle holds the E-200 up making it easy to look at while I type anywhere. One thing I had to check out before I used it was whether or not a USB device could work without the cradle being attached to the desktop and, yes, it worked.
Okay, now for a USB hub and more USB devices with drivers.... I'll be posting pictures within the next day or two....Of course, this is not recommended by Casio...but waiting for them is like waiting for Christmas...
1/29/02--I called Casio today about my order for a JK-744CV 20 Pin/USB Host Converter. I called them last month and it was a month off. They still don't know and say, "Maybe a Month". I think rather than referring to them as "Casio" we should call them "Clueless". I imagine the JK-864PU PC Card Unit is also in the same boat. If you have any inside info let me know..... this is ......Really Frustrating!!!
1/28/02-- I will try to daily update this site regarding Casio E-200 info. I also routinely check all the major E-200 forums (e.g. pocketpcpassion, pocketnow, brighthand) and other key locations to find out the latest which I post here as I find it. I don't know about you but unless you have set up favorites for these specific forums you have to jump through hoops on these sites to get to an E-200 forum. Boring. So, I set up the E-200 Forums link--check it out. Anyway, as you find things you would like to see listed or have questions let me know.