pc companions ONLINE

Tom Gibson, Technical Editor

On the Road with Mobile Channels

This issue of Handheld PC Magazine is supposed to focus on "on the road" topics. But whether you are behind the wheel of a car, or walking behind someone in the hallway, the real issue is mobility ¡ cutting the cable to your desktop PC and taking important stuff with you wherever you go.

I decided to take another look at a way to take the Web with you -- Mobile Channels. This is the feature built into Palm-size PCs that lets you download Web content when you synchronize your PC Companion. (A free version of the Mobile Channels Viewer for H/PCs can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site:

www.microsoft.com/windowsce/ Products/download/list.asp

What is a "Mobile Channel"

A mobile channel can be thought of as a small-scale Web site designed specifically for offline browsing, and with the unique form factor and capabilities of a Window CE-based device in mind. A user can subscribe to a mobile channel through Internet Explorer 4.0 on their desktop computer. Then, when they synchronize their PC Companion with their desktop PC, the mobile channel content gets downloaded to the Windows CE device. The content can be viewed on the PC Companion with an application called Mobile Channels Viewer. A user can also view a mobile channel directly on a desktop computer using the Internet Explorer 4.0 browser to download and view Mobile Channels content if he or she has Windows CE Services 2.10 or later installed. More of the basics about Mobile Channels is available on Microsoft's Web site, at:

msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/ delivery/mobile/actair_g.asp

Over 60 Mobile Channel sites

There are over 60 sites that offer Mobile Channels you can subscribe to. Some of the sites update their Mobile Channels regularly (daily, weekly), and some don't update them at all. Here are some that caught my attention:

City guides to:

Adelaide, Australia

www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/integer/335/pguide/adelaide/pgad.cdf

Canterbury, England

thycotic.com/ppcguide/canterbury/pgct.cdf

Sports team schedules

San Diego Chargers

duke.net/channels/chargers/mobile.cdf

Syracuse University Football

members.aol.com/WbDv/ppcchannel/mobile.cdf

Also...

Windows CE news, reviews, etc. from PDA Dash

www.pdadash.com/channel/dash.cdf

Random insult quotes from Shakespeare plays

www.iinet.net.au/~brian/insult.cdf

MSNBC news, sports, etc.

www.msnbc.com/news/MobileChannel/msnbcmc.cdf

Dilbert's list of the day

umweb2.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/lotd/html/lotd.cdf

Chris De Herrera's up-to-date listing of Mobile Channel sites

Chris keeps the most current list of Mobile Channels on his Web site: www.cewindows.net. Go there, click on the Mobile Channel Links link, and subscribe to these Mobile Channels right from Chris' site.

Turn your favorite Web site into a Mobile Channel

There are millions of Web sites out there, but only 60 of them are Mobile Channels. Fortunately, you can turn your favorite Web site into a Mobile Channel yourself, by using the Mobile Channels Wizard from Microsoft (same download link as Mobile Channels Viewer, above). Unlike standard mobile channels, a Mobile Channel you create is not a subscription and will not be updated automatically. You must run the Mobile Channel Wizard on those Web addresses each time you want to download content. Microsoft tells you how you can automate the updating using the scheduling tools in Windows 98, Windows 95 with Microsoft Plus!, and Windows NT.

Mobile Channels makes it possible to take the Web with you, without even being online. Read news, the funnies, stock reports, Shakespearean insults, and more, wherever you are. Go subscribe to one or more mobile channel, or create your own. Mobile Channels is an enjoyable alternative to Solitaire ¡ and you never lose.