1.2. Supported Platforms

NewsBreak is supported on the following Windows platforms:

• Windows Mobile 6 Classic, Standard and Professional
  

• Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC
  

• Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone
  

• Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC (and Pocket PC Phone Edition) 2003 Second Edition
  

• Windows Mobile-based Smartphone 2003 Second Edition
  

• Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC (and Pocket PC Phone Edition) 2003
  

1.4.2. Refresh

From the Refresh section of Channel Properties you can control how often the channel refreshes. You can
also return the refresh rate to the default rate for that channel. Some channels limit how often they will
allow you to refresh them to avoid overloading their system. For these channels, the refresh rate will reset
itself to the most frequent rate allowed if you select something greater than the limit.

From the Refresh section, you can also see the last time this channel was refreshed.

1.4.3. Details

The Details section of the Channel Properties lists technical details about the channel if it is provided by the
channel's source. The information listed may include:

• RSS Version of the channel data
  

• Default channel title
  

• A link to the web site the channel originates from
  

• A short description of the channel
  

• The language the channel is published in
  

• Copyright information for the channel
  

• Publication date of this version of the channel
  

• The date that the channel last changed
  

• What the channel was create with
  

• When the channel expires
  

1.4.4. Password

Some secure channels require a username and password to refresh. This is common for private channels
such as those used by subscription services or business networks. From the Password section of the
Channel Properties you can enter the username and password required to access the channel.

1.4.5. Podcast

Some podcasts are quite large and you may wish to limit when podcasts are downloaded to avoid heavy
charges from your wireless carrier. You can choose from three options to determine if podcasts for the
channel are downloaded automatically:

• Never. The channel will never download podcasts automatically. Each podcast or enclosure must be
  downloaded individually.
  

• Always. The channel will automatically download podcasts whenever it refreshes the channel, regardless
  of connection type.
  

• If connected to PC only. The channel will only download podcasts automatically if your Windows
  Mobile Device is actively connected to your PC and can use the PC's internet connection to download
  the podcasts.
  

You can also choose how many podcasts the channel should have pre-downloaded and ready to listen to. NewsBreak will only retain this number of the most recent podcasts. You can still download additional downloads manually, and if you want to keep a podcast you can use the Save Podcast option in the Podcast sub-menu of the Headline List Menu soft-key.

1.8.1. Creating New Channels

To create a new channel, select New from the Menu soft-key. This starts the New Channel Wizard.

You can choose from the following four options:

• Choose from a list of known channels . Pick channels from a list of popular news sources provided by
  Ilium Software.
  

• Search online for Channels . Search for channels on topics that interest you using Microsoft Live
  Search or the online databases at www.Syndic8.com.
  

• Import from a file or URL (OPML) . Import channels from an .opml file that resides on your
  

• Windows Mobile Device or pull channels from an .opml file on the Internet. the Internet.
  
• I know the Channel’s URL (RSS) . Enter the exact URL for the channel.
  

1.8.2. Import Channels

You can import channels from a file on your Windows Mobile Device or from a list of channels on the
Internet. In either case, the file must be in .opml format, a popular format for exporting and importing
channel information. For example, you could export channel information from a news reader application on
your Windows PC and copy the file to your Windows Mobile Device for importing.

• Import from a file on your Windows Mobile Device. Choose this option to import from a file on
  your Windows Mobile Device. The file must be in the My Documents folder or on a storage card. Once
  you select this option, NewsBreak will show you a list of .opml files on your Windows Mobile Device to
  choose from. After you have chosen the file, NewsBreak will display the list of channels the file
  contains. Select the channels you would like to add to NewsBreak.
  

• Import from the Internet. Choose this option to import from a channel list on the internet by entering
  the url of the list. You can also choose from a selection of popular online channel lists.
  

Please keep in mind that if you enter the URL yourself, it must point to a file that contains channel data in
.opml format. If you simply enter the URL for a web site it will probably contain HTML rather than channel
data.

See Also:

Creating New Channels

1.8.3. Searching for Channels Online

Using Microsoft Live Search or the Syndic8.com database, you can search for channels about topics that you
are interested in.

Microsoft Live Search is a comprehensive search engine from Microsoft with links to thousands of channels
and news sources. Syndic8.com is a community-driven effort to gather syndicated news channels. You can
choose which source you would like NewsBreak to search.

After you've entered and confirmed what you want to search for, NewsBreak will connect to the Internet
and submit your search query. Up to 100 matches will be gathered and you’ll see a list of channels to choose
from. Searches match text in any text field for a channel in the databases, including the channels' titles,
descriptions, URLs and possibly other fields. You may end up with more matches than you want, so it pays
to be specific when entering search criteria. Here are some tips on searching:

• The text you enter is matched literally, and it will match text within words as well as complete words.
  For example, if you search for "pda", you will get matches on the word "update", which contains "pda"
  and is very common in channels. To limit the search to just the word "pda", put a space before or after
  

• the word (or both).
  
• If you enter two or more words, the search will match that exact sequence of words, rather than
  matching each word anywhere in the channel.
  

• If you want to find out if there are any channels at a certain web site, enter the site’s URL as the search
  string. For example, "www.cnet.com". This will match the URL of any channel on that site.
  

See Also:

Creating New Channels

1.8.4. Choose from a List of Channels

When viewing a list of channels, you can choose any of the channels in the list by checking its box.
Sometimes channels are grouped under a category. You can check the box for the category to choose all the
channels it contains. On the Pocket PC you can expand or collapse a category of channels by tapping on the
category.

When you tap the Finish button, all the channels that are checked are added to your list of channels. If a
channel is listed under a category, the channel will be added to a category of that name in your list. If you
don't currently have a category of that name, NewsBreak will create one. If the channel is not under a
category, it is added to the category you had selected prior to creating the new channel. If you don’t like the
category the channel is in, you can change it after the channel is added.

See Also:

Creating New Channels

Import Channels

Searching for Channels Online

1.8.5. Enter a Channel URL

If you know the complete URL for a channel, you can enter it directly. You can also enter a name for the channel or you can use Download Default Name to download the channel name from the source. When you select DownLoad Default Name, NewsBreak will connect to the Internet and attempt to download the channel data using the URL you have entered. The channel’s name is entered if it is found, but if the download is not successful no channel name is entered.

When you complete the process the channel is added to your list of channels. The channel is added to
whichever category you were viewing when you created the new channel. You can change the channel’s
category after the channel is added.

See Also:

Creating New Channels

Chapter 2. Using NewsBreak

2.4. Notifications

If you are using Auto Update to update your channels, you can also have NewsBreak notify you when new headlines arrive. To set this up, select Notify Options from the Options sub-menu of the Menu soft-key in the Channel List.

In the Notify Options window, you can choose one of these options:

• No notifications. With this option there will be no notifications.
  

• Notify when new items are received. If you choose this option, you will be notified when a channel
  refresh results in new items being received for a channel.
  

• Notify when items matching keywords are received. If you choose this option, you will be notified
  only when new items are received and at least one of the new items matches one of your keywords.