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Frequently Asked Questions
Last Update - 16 December 2002
Frequently Asked Questions
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Do I need a Pocket PC device to try out the Xtra?
No, a Pocket PC device is not required. The Microsoft compiler tools come with an Pocket PC emulator that you can use to try out our product. It is only supported on Windows 2000 or XP though. Please be aware that the emulator runs applications several times slower then an actual device.
Also, our product can build regular Windows 32-bit application as a test environment so you can use a copy of Visual C++ to experiment with regular Windows applications.
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Why do I need to use a Microsoft compiler to get a PocketPC application?
Converting Lingo™ to C++ has several advantages. First, execution speed of C++ is much faster than Lingo™. Since a PocketPC device has a much slower processor then current PCs, any speed advantage is very helpful for making compelling content. Secondly, by using C++, we do not need to include any code within the PocketPC executable to interpret and execute an interpreted language like Lingo™. This allows for much smaller code size as a final application. Third, using C++ allows the user to add functionality quite easily after the export process.
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Do I need to know any C++ to use this product?
No, you do not need to know any C++. The compiler step is very simple and does not require any knowledge of C++ or even how to use the Microsoft Embedded Visual C++ environment. To compile an application, a project file is loaded, one or two settings need to be checked and then a compile is performed.
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Why isn't <insert your favorite feature here> supported?
The goal of our first release has been to get a core set of features implemented that will support the broadest range of applications possible. It would not be possible to emulate more then a small subset of the features of Director®. Some features, such as Flash™ support, would require an expensive source license from Macromedia® and would increase the size of our executable dramatically. As for 3D, PocketPC devices are not powerful enough to support the 3D feature set and the emulation of Shockwave 3D would take several years to complete.
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What does it cost?
A license to use the the Xtra is currently free with no royalties or distribution restrictions. This is a closed-source license. If you're interested in an open-source license, please contact us to discuss licensing the source code for either the Xtra or the playback engine.
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What Pocket PC devices are supported?
The applications created with this Xtra will work on the vast majority of Pocket PC devices available today. The device must have either the Pocket PC 2000 or Pocket PC 2002 operating system installed. It must have a high color screen (4096 colors or greater). It must also have either a StrongARM processor, an X-Scale processor or a MIPS processor. Grayscale and 8-bit color screens are not supported.
This Xtra can also be used for Smartphone applications using the just-released Microsoft Smartphone SDK. This is currently an experimental functionality but we've successfully tested applications using the Smartphone emulator.
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Why isn't there a Macintosh version available?
The Microsoft development tools required for targeting a Pocket PC are all exclusively Windows based and are integral to our product. Because of this, we feel a Macintosh version of just the exporter would not be very beneficial. If you feel otherwise (and would only buy a version if you could use it on a Mac), please email us and let us know. The compilation step would still need to be performed on a Windows machine.
Macromedia, Director, Flash and Lingo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.