This page is for people like me who, after buying an EO440, found out that the machine is great but also discovered there's essentially no support or software to be had. This page contains the results of my mad quest for info on this wonderful machine.
If you have information in any form (software, manuals, etc.) regarding either the EO440, EO880, or the PenPoint operating system, please bring it to my attention so I can add it to the archive it here and share it with the rest of the EO owning world. Also, if you have any EO parts and accessories that you'd like to get rid of (working or not), please contact me.
Questions I'd like answered:
Can I get SimCity for the EO?
How about a TCP/IP stack? Browser? Email (non-AT&T mail based)?
Does anyone know about the external floppy drive that was for this machine? I'm looking for anything and everything on this mythical accessory (driver software, pinouts, etc.).
Links to other pages:
Again, if you know of more, please email me.
http://www.utexas.edu/ftp/microlib/eo/html/
This link contains a very complete description of the EO440 and EO880, as well as a plethora of infomation regarding documentation, software, and hardware. If you have a question, your best bet is to go here first.
Info I have discovered on my own:
Disclaimer: Anything you do is your own fault. I take no responsibility for any damaging results that may occur should you follow any of these instructions. In other words, if you destroy your EO and/or burn down your house because you followed these instructions, don't blame me.
How to make your own el-cheapo screen protector.
The largest screen protector that Concept Kitchen makes if for the eMate, and even that's a little too small to protect the entire screen of the EO440. So, if you can't buy one, make one:
1] Go buy a few blank overhead sheets and cut them into a size that just about 1/4" larger than the EO's screen.
2] Clean the EO's screen. Any dust, hair, sand, fingerprints, or whatever will become trapped and become an abrasive material if you don't.
3] Clean the now EO-sized clear plastic sheet.
4] Carefully slide the sheet inbetween the EO's screen and the case.
Poorly rendered ASCII drawing:
Top of EO440
(cut-away view looking edge-on)
+----+ +----+
\ ============== / ====: plastic sheet you just made
| +------------+ | +--+
| +------------+ | +--+: EO's delicate glass screen
\ /
\----------------/
Bottom of EO440
5] Replace when desired.
The EO's pen will scratch the plastic sheet, but the benefit of using the screen protector more than compensates for this little annoyance.
How to remanufacture your own replacement battery for the EO440.
Here's what you need to do to remanufacture the main battery for your EO440. [Note: I have only done this with an EO440 battery -- I don't know if these instructions will apply to the EO880's battery.]
Things you will need:
* one dead EO440 main battery (you'll need its parts)
* double-sided foam tape.
* scissors
* soldering iron (and solder, of course)
* some wire
* five (5) AF-type 1.2v low-resistance, high capacity NiCd batteries (with tabs)
(Thanks to Michael Cerda for the "low-resistance" info.)
I have experienced cell leakage during recharges using cells that were not low-resistance.
1] With the battery removed from your EO, carefully slide off the two (2) protective black plastic sleeves. Be careful not to damage them, for you'll need to put them back on later. You may need to remove the "Warning: before changing batteries...." sticker to remove the larger sleeve.
2] With the sleeves off, you should now be able to separate the two halves of the EO battery, exposing the five (5) individual AF 1.2v cells. They are stuck to only one half using double-sided foam tape, so the halves should almost fall apart in your hands. Each cell is grey, labeled only with "Japan", "+", and "-" indicators. One cell may have a sticker with the number "9324" on it.
Cell Layout: +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ /|- 3 +|=|- 2 +|=|- 1 +| |+-------+ +-------+ +-------+ |+-------+ +-------+ \|+ 4 -|=|+ 5 -| +-------+ +-------+
3] Make a note of each cell's position, including "+" and "-" orientations, then carefully remove the cells from the other half. (see above illustration)
4] Between cells "4" and "5" you will find a little black rectangular object. [I think this is a thermal protection object of some sort. Can anyone verify this?] Carefully remove it from cells "4" and "5". Don't just cut the leads, because you'll need their length to re-solder it back in place to the new cells. (See diagram below)
+-----+
/----| |
| /--+-----+
| |
-----+ | | +-----
| | | |
4 -|/ \|+ 5
| |
-----+ +-----
5] Warm up your soldering iron.
6] Solder together cells 1 through 3 using their tabs or small lengths of wire. Make sure to correctly match up the "+"'s and "-"'s.
7] Solder together cells 4 and 5, making sure to include the mysterious black rectangular object from step [4]. Again, be sure to align the "+"'s and "-"'s correctly.
8] Finally, solder together cells 3 and 4. You may need to use a small length of wire here.
9] Pack these new cells into the plastic housing, using the double-sided foam tape to hold them in place. You may need to carefully bend and pack various wires to make them fit correctly. Be sure that the ends of cells 1 and 5 don't stick out of the housing too far, or the pack will not fit correctly in the EO.
10] Carefully slide the protective sleeves from step [1] back onto the battery pack. Replace the warning sticker if necessary.
11] Replace the battery pack back into the EO and charge it up. You may want to monitor the temperature to make sure that nothing melts due to a crossed circuit of some sort.
12] Sit back and enjoy your EO, secure in the knowledge that your battery is (a) new, and (b) relatively inexpensive to rebuild again in the future. Following this procedure results in a battery pack that powers my EO440 for over 2 hours. I would be interested in knowing what other EO owners get for battery life.