Digital Wallet - Very Cool

Tom Ferguson · Jan 3, 2002

I agree, but right now you can get the USB blue 3 or 5 Gig Wallet very cheap. They are bring out thier new Firewire version, so the USB version is only about $180 for the 3Gig (usually a 5Gig drive). Try MacMall / PCMall.

JimB said:
I just hate the fact that something like this will probably cost
half the price of another 707!!! $500.00+ for a 20gb device is
too much. I've got a couple of 3gb laptop hdds lying around but
don't have an operating system and the electronics to make it work.
The premium they charge for the whole package is ridiculous.
Laptop hard drives are very cheap. All they are using is FAT16
for the file system and a bare bones operating system plus the
electronics. The profit margin has to be very good for these
vendors.

--Tom Ferguson http://www.ferguson-photo-design.comF707 Studio Info Page: http://www.pipeline.com/~tomf2468/temp1.html

Wes69632 · Jan 3, 2002

Richard :

I am not sure where you got the impression that the software is buggy - I have not had any glitches and reviews in dpreview, imaging resources and Steve's digicams do not reveal any buggy behaviour. The v2.0 firmware upgrade is a significant improvement. It may be a little tricky to install correctly if you don't understand the concept of a "root directory"...and a laptop is too bulky to pack in on day trips....

People: Obviously this device in not for everyone. Rule it out for yourselves, but don't write it off for those who are still considering their options. There have been several testimontials from owners who are very happy. If you don't want to buy one - fine - just stop tossing out negative statements that are not founded.
Regards
...Wes

ROzaroff said:
The software is buggy and difficult to install, the screen is pale,
and the product is overpriced. I prefer to bring a laptop computer
on a vacation.

Richard Ozaroff
[email protected]

Antony Patenaude · Jan 3, 2002

I share your concern. I'm hoping this new product from Archos will take the worry out of off-site storage--it will show you the actual photos in the LCD window. (And add cool functionality by adding MP3 storage and playback too!)

http://www.archos.com/us/products/product_550011.html

-Tony

Shutter said:
I'm considering a digital wallet, but I have one reservation that
scares the begeebies out of me. While shooting with a stick, you
see the pictures right then and there, and know that you have
captured the shot. My concern (and it does scare me) is that I'll
shoot 100 shots on my stick, shove them into the DW, repeat,
repeat, repeat, and then go to download the DW and find there is
nothing there.

Is this possible? Is it foolproof as long as you put the stick in
correctly? I couldn't handle the disappointment of losing a few
hundred shots, I'd rather stay with sticks, even at the expense.

I'm probably over paranoid, but need a little reassurance.

Thanks, Jim

Wes said:

I recently purchased a new 3Gbyte Digital Wallet (which is actually
a 5Gb IBM drive - must have got a deal on them...) and a Sony PC
card adapter (MSAC-PS2). The original firmware was unable to read
or acknowledge this Sony adapter (…error with PC card
reported). I noted that Phil has addressed this issue in his
review of the Digital Wallet.

I upgraded the firmware to V2.0 and the Sony PC card became
readable. I have successfully downloaded my files from my Sony
memory stick via the PC card adapter. So, it appears that
Minds@work have fixed this problem with the MSAC-PS2 in the new
firmware upgrade. Hurray! I'm happy!

PS. I found the upgrade to be very smooth. Just heed the advise
from Minds@work:

Why did the upgrade fail?
There a are few possible reasons. It is important that the firmware
software is properly copied to the root directory of the Digital
Wallet. The file M$A$W$. D$W is the correct file. This file needs
to be copied to the root directory of the Digital Wallet and must
be intact. If the file is corrupted, damaged or altered it will
fail to upgrade.
--
Regards
...Wes

Click to expand...

--
Jim Fuglestad
http://www.pbase.com/jfuglestad/galleries

Teresa51867 · Jan 3, 2002

When I go on vacation I will take both the digital wallet and hubbies laptop. I love the ease of use of the digital wallet. I have never lost a picture I uploaded to it. For vacation I will shoot til my heart is content during the day then transfer over to hubbies laptop in the evening. For me it's the best of both. I figured I could live with my 64 and 32 meg memory sticks if I got the DW. Honestly it has worked fine for me. The DW fits in the front pocket of my camera case. Yes it would be nice to be able to see the shots you just took however I don't think it can be beat as an economical storage solution.

Teresa

ROzaroff said:
Richard Ozaroff
[email protected]

Shutter said:

My concern is that I won't know if all the pics got moved over. It
would be nice to see them. When travelling, I would also think it
would be nice to be able to look back at the photos you've taken.
Especially on long trips.

I could see travelling Europe, meeting some folks and talking about
travelling, and then saying "Oh, you have to go to the catacombs in
Paris, check out these pictures!" Something like that. I see a
real nice benefit, but you're right, I'm sure its going to be
spendy. Don't worry, though, Christmas is coming.

Jim

JimB said:

This new unit with the color display is going to cost big bucks.
The camera already has the display so why not preview and delete
before you off-load your data?

Geoff Caplan said:

-Geoff

Wes said:

I recently purchased a new 3Gbyte Digital Wallet (which is actually
a 5Gb IBM drive - must have got a deal on them...) and a Sony PC
card adapter (MSAC-PS2). The original firmware was unable to read
or acknowledge this Sony adapter (…error with PC card
reported). I noted that Phil has addressed this issue in his
review of the Digital Wallet.

I upgraded the firmware to V2.0 and the Sony PC card became
readable. I have successfully downloaded my files from my Sony
memory stick via the PC card adapter. So, it appears that
Minds@work have fixed this problem with the MSAC-PS2 in the new
firmware upgrade. Hurray! I'm happy!

PS. I found the upgrade to be very smooth. Just heed the advise
from Minds@work:

Why did the upgrade fail?
There a are few possible reasons. It is important that the firmware
software is properly copied to the root directory of the Digital
Wallet. The file M$A$W$. D$W is the correct file. This file needs
to be copied to the root directory of the Digital Wallet and must
be intact. If the file is corrupted, damaged or altered it will
fail to upgrade.
--
Regards
...Wes

Click to expand...

--
Geoff Caplan
[email protected]
http://www.pbase.com/geoffreyrcaplan/
AOL Instant Messenger:
grcaplan2002

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Jim Fuglestad
http://www.pbase.com/jfuglestad/galleries

Click to expand...

Jian · Jan 3, 2002

Well, carrying a laptop is not feasible like hiking. I always carry my laptop during vacation, do I honestly want to carry a laptop around? First, you have to take out of the bag, bootup and then upload. The bootup itself will take 2-5 minutes depending on OS, CPU, RAM, applications loading. I find it easier to upload to a digital wallet (I bought the Mindstor) and preview with my laptop in the hotel room when the day is over.

ROzaroff said:
The software is buggy and difficult to install, the screen is pale,
and the product is overpriced. I prefer to bring a laptop computer
on a vacation.

Richard Ozaroff
[email protected]

-- http://www.pbase.com/zuffy

TraceyS · Jan 3, 2002

How's the MindStor?

I really want that - FW must fly! You do what i plan on doing - i really need to convince myself i don't need another 128 stick right now (broke!). Tomorrow will be a good trial run for me with the DW - going to Knott's Berry Farm. Then i'll have 3 weeks to convince myself i don't need another stick!

Just DL'd the XP drivers for the DW - off to test them.

Tracey

Jian said:
ROzaroff said:

The software is buggy and difficult to install, the screen is pale,
and the product is overpriced. I prefer to bring a laptop computer
on a vacation.

Richard Ozaroff
[email protected]

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/zuffy

Zyraxes · Jan 3, 2002

I've read somewhere and I don't know if I remeber well: the operating system of the 707 is able to work with max 128Mb memory.
Anybody else does know that?

Steve Wong said:
For me, I don't take that much of pictures actually (maybe I
should). I am still waiting for the long-awaited 256MB memory stick.

Steve Wong.

Tom Ferguson said:

The new version 2.0 firmware seems nice and easy. I just loaded it
yesterday, con't see any problems. Now my folders have the correct
dates

Stop worrying, go for it.

Jack said:

After two weeks, we had taken more than 1200 images, and didn't
lose one.

The very neat feature about a large memory size is that it makes a
wonderful PC backup device.

Shutter said:

Hi guys,

I'm considering a digital wallet, but I have one reservation that
scares the begeebies out of me. While shooting with a stick, you
see the pictures right then and there, and know that you have
captured the shot. My concern (and it does scare me) is that I'll
shoot 100 shots on my stick, shove them into the DW, repeat,
repeat, repeat, and then go to download the DW and find there is
nothing there.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Tom Ferguson
http://www.ferguson-photo-design.com
F707 Studio Info Page:
http://www.pipeline.com/~tomf2468/temp1.html

Click to expand...

--Zyraxes

Shutter. · Jan 3, 2002

Yes, but as with all technologies, they need to grab as much profit early as they get cheap so fast. If you wait, they become reasonable. It got me thinking that I have a USB hard drive at home (20 gig). You can get them for like $125 now. How easy to just use that. No batteries, though, and its a bit larger, but pretty cheap.

JimB said:
JimB said:

I see a
real nice benefit, but you're right, I'm sure its going to be
spendy. Don't worry, though, Christmas is coming.

Click to expand...

I just hate the fact that something like this will probably cost
half the price of another 707!!! $500.00+ for a 20gb device is
too much. I've got a couple of 3gb laptop hdds lying around but
don't have an operating system and the electronics to make it work.
The premium they charge for the whole package is ridiculous.
Laptop hard drives are very cheap. All they are using is FAT16
for the file system and a bare bones operating system plus the
electronics. The profit margin has to be very good for these
vendors.

--Jim Fuglestad http://www.pbase.com/jfuglestad/galleries

Kerry Pierce · Jan 3, 2002

SFishy said:
They do have a plugin (PC card thingy) -- and they also could (in
theory) connect via USB. I've written to ask them about that (just
like dumping from the camera straight to your computer).

I'd be very interested in what they say about USB connection. That would save money and wear on the mem stick connectors at the same time.

If the DW can do that, it seems likely that it would be a prominent feature because any camera with USB wouldn't need an adapter.

Wes69632 · Jan 3, 2002

True, they will be cheaper if you wait. In fact I suspect that the MindStor is driving the price of the Digital Wallet down and that the 3Gb will be obsolete soon. My 707 is now cheaper than when I bought it. One difference is that these hard drives are much slimmer than your home PC, thus the price is higher still. It's always a trade off, if you wait too long some clever new device with tempt you and prevent you from buying the cheaper stuff. Live in the now I say! Heck, next year Sony with probably switch from memory stick to micro-harddrives...and I'll look like a goof lugging my "dinosaur" digital wallet around...
Regards
...Wes

Shutter said:
Yes, but as with all technologies, they need to grab as much profit
early as they get cheap so fast. If you wait, they become
reasonable. It got me thinking that I have a USB hard drive at
home (20 gig). You can get them for like $125 now. How easy to
just use that. No batteries, though, and its a bit larger, but
pretty cheap.

Kerry Pierce · Jan 3, 2002

JimB said:
I just hate the fact that something like this will probably cost
half the price of another 707!!! $500.00+ for a 20gb device is
too much. I've got a couple of 3gb laptop hdds lying around but
don't have an operating system and the electronics to make it work.

You might want to look at the Sima Image Bank. You can buy the shell for $200 and install any laptop hdd you desire. You could use both of your disks.

You need to buy a mem stick adapter for it. New 10gig drives are under $100 now.

http://www.simacorp.com/cp150.html

I don't have one, so don't know much more about them.

JimB · Jan 3, 2002

Yea I know about them but 200 bucks is too much for a bare kit. I might as well get the 5gb digital wallet for that price. It should only be 100.00 for it to be a good deal.

Kerry Pierce said:
JimB said:

I just hate the fact that something like this will probably cost
half the price of another 707!!! $500.00+ for a 20gb device is
too much. I've got a couple of 3gb laptop hdds lying around but
don't have an operating system and the electronics to make it work.

Click to expand...

You might want to look at the Sima Image Bank. You can buy the
shell for $200 and install any laptop hdd you desire. You could use
both of your disks. You need to buy a mem stick adapter for
it. New 10gig drives are under $100 now.

http://www.simacorp.com/cp150.html

I don't have one, so don't know much more about them.

Joe Jones · Jan 3, 2002

I got the Nixvue 20 gig Digital Album (and Memory Stick Card) for Christmas and I am very happy with it. It connects to your computer via USB and is read like an additional hard drive. Within the first hour we had consolidated 6 gig of photos from two computers to the device, then we were scrolling through all of them on a big screen TV via remote control (it connectst to the TV via a regular yellow video out plug). I think this TV feature will make my archived photos more accessible to me (and others) than they were on my hard drives. Now I just have to get them all organized so I can show what I want when I want! Thanks to the device, I have been getting by with one 128 meg stick and one 64 meg stick (to use while the 128 is downloading/clearing) under just about any shooting cicumstance. Regards, Joe

Steve Wong said:
Steve Wong.

Steve Wong said:

SFishy said:

Uh... not true... it says right on that page: "The Digital Album is
compatible with all popular storage devices; CompactFlash Type I or
II, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Secure Digital / MultiMediaCards or

Click to expand...

========

Steve Wong said:

IBM Microdrives. All you need is the appropriate PCMCIA adapter, a
CompactFlash Type I adapter is included." No mention of a MS
adapter being included, so you'd still need to buy one.

Amy

Click to expand...

Did I read Memory Stick in the paragraph? There is a slot on there
for Memory Stick, Amy.

Steve Wong.

Click to expand...

dave lines · Jan 3, 2002

I have read all of the posts concerning a digital wallet, looking hard at them, I can find them in a lot of stores. but have never seen an adaptor for a memory stick or the price ,, how much do they run and where can ya find them? (I need to know so I can break it to the wife) LOL

Wes69632 · Jan 3, 2002

Dave:

The Sony PC card adapter (MSAC-PS2) was ~$100CDN for me. Try http://www.buy.com is you are in the USA.
Regards
...Wes

dave lines said:
I have read all of the posts concerning a digital wallet, looking
hard at them, I can find them in a lot of stores. but have never
seen an adaptor for a memory stick or the price ,, how much do
they run and where can ya find them? (I need to know so I can break
it to the wife) LOL

Joe Jones · Jan 4, 2002

Hi Dave. B& H has the Memory Stick PC card adapter for about $59 USD. Joe

dave lines said:
I have read all of the posts concerning a digital wallet, looking
hard at them, I can find them in a lot of stores. but have never
seen an adaptor for a memory stick or the price ,, how much do
they run and where can ya find them? (I need to know so I can break
it to the wife) LOL

Don65805 · Jan 4, 2002

Wes said:
The v2.0 firmware upgrade is a significant improvement.
It may be a little tricky to install correctly if you don't
understand the concept of a "root directory"...and a laptop is too
bulky to pack in on day trips....

I agree completely. I have DW and it has never given me a speck of trouble. On a recent vacation I visited a U.S. National Park that had forbidden, back packs, fanny packs, purses, , laptops, cameras bags etc. (due to new security measures) I simply stuck the digital wallet in my pocket and everything went great. I shot around 300 pictures that day and using the 128 MemeoryStick/Digital Wallet duo, things went perfect.

I also agree with your comment about not ruling out DW as an individual choice; but not writing it off for those who are still considering their options, either. I consider the DW the best investment I made since purchasing the DSC-F707.

I have not upgraded to firmware v2.0 yet, as I am not sure what I am doing in that area, so I'm betteroff with the bird in the hand. LOL

Regards,

Don Schaaf

Wes69632 · Jan 4, 2002

Don:

I am curious as I was unable to get the Sony PC adapter (MSAC-PC2) and memory stick to work with the older version of the firmware. For me, I had to upgrade to V2.0 just to become functional. It was my understanding that V2.0 was the first to address this problem with the Sony PC2 adapter. Are you using the PC1 adapter?
Regards
...Wes

Wes69632 · Jan 4, 2002

I previously suspected that the Sony MSAC-PC2 PC adapter did not work with older firmware versions and that the V2.0 upgrade resolved this problem.

I would like to confirm that the V2.0 firmware resolves a problem with the Sony 128Mb memory stick. Tech support at Minds@work contacted me and provided:

"Yes, I (tech support - Minds@work) will confirm that. The actual problem started with 128M cards, the latency to read the card had to longer, we were reading the card to fast, missing a couple of megs, thus the error. All is fixed."
I think he means "the latency to read the card was too long"...

Regards
...Wes

dave lines · Jan 4, 2002

thank you,, I did find them at aaxes (www.aaxes.com) for $45

Digital Wallet - Very Cool

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