PocketPC & PST ? corporate exchange email, etc

[Verneir]

I have a Dell Axim with 1.2gb of storage between two memory cards. With that, I have plenty of space for movies, music, etc. I was wondering if any of you have used/know of a program that will support .PST files (Personnal Folder files for Microsoft Outlook)?

Also, in terms of a PocketPC and email - at work we have an Exchange 2000 email server environment, but I know there are smtp services available. Would setting up a secondary service on an Axim for PoP3 or IMAP4 be appropriate in this scenario? I'm not sure off hand what the IMAP4 even is..

Another question for pocketpc devices: is there any real good software out there to make the pains of networking easier? I want to be able to use activesync, access a VPN from my home network where I use static IPs, use a NIC ona network that uses DHCP, use a modem to access internet/vpn - and all without having to go into connections and changing stuff? It may work without, I just recently got my Axim, but so far it looks like anything really useful is extra as opposed to included in the software.

[SkyDog]

Bear with me since I don't have my PocketPC handy at the moment...

For email, I just sync with the desktop if I'll just be reading mail. If I'll be sending mail and I want it to go before my next sync, I use Exchange's Outlook Web Access. If your Exchange admins have set up web access, I personally wouldn't bother with POP3 or IMAP -- especially since you can accidentally remove everything in your Exchange mailbox if you configure your client wrong.

PocketPC 2002 could use a little polish regarding multiple wireless connections. Something like Windows XP would be nice, where you could specify a preference order for known access points. But since that's not the case (at least in 2002), you may have to go into your connections and choose a different profile when you move from one network to another. I haven't used a modem with mine, so I can't help you there.

[Verneir]

We have OWA here also but I can't get my PocketPC 2002's version of Internet Explorer to use it. It may be that we have an outdated version of the software - it appears to be using Javascript to link to a Java application when I open email. See I can logon and see my Inbox just fine, but using any of the buttons (or opening an email) doesn't work.

I do have the Internet Explorer plugin from Microsoft to enable javascript, but the only Java solution I've found is a stand alone product and doesn't integrate with IE.

Do you know what version of Outlook Web Access you have? The reason I'd use POP3 or IMAP4 is to get around that problem.

As far as PST support I assume there is no such thing currently available. In the past I spent quite some time searching for applications - everything from a fully feature word processor, to email clients, games, database softwares, emulation softwares, and never found anything for PST support. Though that doesn't necessarily mean for certain there isn't one.

Which by the way have you used a keyboard with a PocketPC? If so, how was your experience with it? Obviously you don't want to use a PocketPC for your main system (yet), hence the A in PDA, but the more features the better.

[SkyDog]

Originally posted by Verneir
Do you know what version of Outlook Web Access you have? The reason I'd use POP3 or IMAP4 is to get around that problem.

Just the standard Exchange 2000 OWA. It's not pretty, but I've used PocketPC 2000 & 2002 to access OWA without needing to install additional Java or JS clients.

Originally posted by Verneir
Which by the way have you used a keyboard with a PocketPC? If so, how was your experience with it? Obviously you don't want to use a PocketPC for your main system (yet), hence the A in PDA, but the more features the better.

I haven't tried a keyboard with it. For what I use it for, I'm happy enough with the "block recognizer" for input. Most of the time, I'm doing basic calendar, contact, and task management. I occasionally use the built-in terminal services client or a VNC client to manage servers.