#windows ce

the cringe of y2k-era mobile tech software... [HOSTED @ CEBEANS .COM]

AbuseLogs© – "This program allows you to enter in each time you are abused. The date and time are stored in the notes section."

AmnesiaReminders© – "This program can be used by an amnesia patient to help them to get back their memories."

ApologyBeamer© – "This program allows you to compose a apology and IRDA beam it to another person."

ComaWaker© – "This program allows you to record voice 'reminders' for a person in a coma. Place the headphones of the PocketPC on the person and it will help to stimulate the brain and help the person to wake up."

ConfessionComposer© – "This program allows you to enter your sins as a sound file. When you are in the confession booth then you can re-play the entire list of confessions by pressing the read button."

DeadFamily© – "This program is a picture album for the loved ones in your family that have died."

Enemies© – "This program helps you to keep track of your enemies."

LiceDetector© – "This program is a quick test to find out if a person has lice."

Mistakes© – "This program allows you to track the mistakes that you make in a day. The goal each day is to make less mistakes."

Small portables: Libretto and PSION 5MX

These tiny machines were something I dreamed of during my childhood. I got my hands on a Toshiba Libretto much later. It was maybe 10 years ago when I needed to read diagnostic data from my old car (a Skoda Octavia I 1.6MPI with an automatic transmission – not having a manual transmission was considered heresy even back then in Czech Republic and I always enjoyed being weird). A friend of mine lent me the original diagnostic device together with this small laptop. I immediately fell in love with it. A few years after that I received another one from another friend of mine and I still use it as a bridge between new and old computers (thanks to its serial port and an PCMCIA SD-card reader).

The PSION Series 5MX is a different story. I had it (rebranded from Ericsson) and used it to make notes during my university years. I remember that I read the whole 500-page USB 2.0 specification on its (sometimes hard to read) display. I sold it after I switched to an HP Jornada handheld with Windows CE – it had shorter battery runtime but offered a better display and surprisingly better keyboard.

Although both are small devices, their target use case was always totally different. One was an exceptional device for taking quick notes, the other one was not so good for text input but offered ability to run full-blown PC software… and that was a big thing back then.

Myki card readers? Yeah, they run Doom.

For those blissfully unaware, Myki is the perpetually-cursed public transport card system in Melbourne and Regional Victoria, Australia. Nobody likes it and it will never be replaced, but at this point I’m not even sure that we as a state would even know what to do with a competent train card system...

Anyhoo, somehow Reddit user zbios managed to get a hold of an older, obsoleted model of Myki card validator that runs Windows CE. One quick install of the Windows CE port of Chocolate Doom and the addition of VNC software to allow remote keyboard and mouse control, and he was able to help the Demonic hordes touch off... permanently. Check out the link for video footage!