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My First
Five Years Supporting Windows CE [an error occurred while processing this directive] The fourth of a six part article: Getting Started, Writing for the Web, Writing for Microsoft, AOL Changes and so did I, Even More Travel, Ideas and Sharing AOL Changes and so did I Later in the fall of 1998, AOL announced changes in their agreement for users of their service where they claimed copyright over works published in the forums and on websites that their users created. So I decided I needed to move my content somewhere else to avoid any ambiguity over who owns what I write. I decided that CEWindows.NET was a cool name and I moved all my information about PDAs there. So CEWindows.NET was born in September 1998 as a continuation of my work originally published on my AOL website, PDC ChrisD's Pen Based Computers. I struggled with the idea of advertising however I knew I had to cover the expenses of running the site so I added advertising for companies like Socket Communications, Developer One and Phatware to cover these costs. Comdex, CES and DevCon During 1998, I attended fall Comdex and saw the launch of the Handheld PC, Professional Edition. I created the pictures, comparisons and screen shots of the systems for my website. Also in the fall of 1998, I met Hal Goldstein for the first time at the Mobile & PDA Expo in San Francisco. I agreed to write articles for Handheld PC Magazine, which was just over a year old. I also attended Winter CES 1999 to get more information about the new Handheld PC Pros as well. During the spring 1999, I also attended the third Windows CE Developer's Conference to learn more about the architecture of the Windows CE OS, mingle with developers and get an idea of where it's going in the future. It was at the Dev Con that I found out more about how the Object Store, networking and system architecture of Windows CE worked. I also read Inside Windows CE by Jim Murray, which explains more about how these devices tick on the inside and how Microsoft decided to go about building then. Launching Uplink During the fall of 1999, Microsoft discussed the idea of Uplink with the M2C2. Uplink is an extension of the column called Comm Link that I started in 1998. So my Comm Link articles were used as examples to sell the idea of Uplink internally within Microsoft and to the developer community to support the Palm-size PC. The idea behind Uplink was to have external writers explain their thoughts and ideas about the device features and capabilities and to review products to help users better understand what they do. Uplink was born in November 1999 and was updated until April 2000 when PocketPC.com was introduced. You can still get to Uplink at www.microsoft.com/windowsce/uplink/ Trademarks and Licenses During 1999, I found out from Derek Brown, that CEWindows.NET infringes on Microsoft's trademark for Windows CE. During the next few months, we negotiated an agreement that allowed me to keep CEWindows.NET as a licensee of Windows CE to use for my website domain name. This is an example of how one person can work things out with a large company even in difficult subjects like trademarks to the benefit of everyone. Writing Books During 1999 and 2000, I was approached to write a book about Windows CE. Each time I worked on chapters (over 15 were complete!) and sent them in to the publisher, however the results did not feel right. I waited for feedback, which never came from the publisher about the contents. So both times, I decided to not complete the books in favor of continuing to write on the web. During those same years, I did spend time editing other people's books such as The Windows CE Technology Tutorial: Windows Powered Solutions for the Developer by Chris Meunch and Randolph Kath and Pocket PC Development in the Enterprise by Christian Forsberg and Andreas Sjostrom as well as others. Launching the Pocket PC So during the spring of 2000 prior to the launch of the Pocket PC, all the writers including myself for PocketPC.com hunkered down to write new content for the Pocket PC. This new content focused on a broader set of information ranging from tips and tricks to reviews, Step by step, and columns. Also during that time, I wrote the first review of the Pocket PC for Pocket PC Magazine (formerly Handheld PC Magazine) and I continue to contribute articles to them for every issue. So during 2000, I continued to add comparisons, screen shots, and FAQs focusing on the Pocket PC. On to part five: Even More Travel [an error occurred while processing this directive] |