ARG hardware notes

I wish I'd had more time to get familiar with it all before the summer. But one takes what one is given sometimes, and does what one can.

A major part of the difficulty I am having with the game creation process is lack of familiarity: I've had Palm OS handhelds before, but never a Windows handheld; and I prefer, and have much more experience with, the Mac OS over Windows. A second aspect of difficulty is this: I don't have Windows hardware, I have a Mac. So, in order to run the game editor (a Windows application), I have to run it through Virtual PC. And connecting the Windows Mobile 2003 handheld (iPaq 4355) to the Mac is a challenge. And then getting the Bluetooth GPS receiver to work is a challenge because Virtual PC doesn't support Bluetooth (as far as I've figured out, anyway -- I'm still hoping I'm wrong here).But, boy-oh-boy am I learning a lot about connectivity! What I have done is gotten: 

iPaq recognizes and can access Mac via Bluetooth (and vise-versa -- no easy feat) , with a program called PocketMac

iPaq recognizes and can access VPC via USB through MS ActiveSync

Mac sees GPS

iPaq sees GPS

What I haven't yet been able to do (lacking time and knowledge) is get the GPS program or the XML game file on the iPaq. Although the iPaq "sees" the GPS, it doesn't know what to do with it yet. I suspect the program that came with the GPS ("GPS Info") holds the key to making this work, but my first attempt to install that file failed. And I don't yet have enough done on the game editor to make it worth trying (I'll address this in my next entry). I am hoping that Wednesday will bring vast leaps in success, simply because this is the week it has to work! Sunday I got Virtual PC to sync. Monday I got PocketMac to sync. Tuesday (today) I sent a trip out around the lake with a Garmin Etrex Legend to start collecting waypoints for me to use, and to come up with a narrative, NPCs, items, and puzzles for the first prototype. If all goes well, they'll have -- hang on: I said I'd address this in the next entry...