Unit converter for N900?
 

Is there a unit converter for the Nokia N900 that can convert imperial to metric? Specifically I need one that is useful for cooking with measures like teaspoon, tablespoon and cup in it (I got given a very nice cookbook as a gift but all the measurements are American and useless to me here in Australia)

If there isn't one, I will look into writing my own but no point reinventing the wheel if one already exists (or if one exists that does conversions but doesn't support the units I need, I can add features to that one instead)

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

Since nobody else has yet replied anything here is a shot in the dark:
unit-converter-free_1_2_3_armel.deb

I don't have access to my N900 to test it out, so no guarantees of features or pretty much of anything else, for that matter.

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

I am not using a converter myself, but a search on unit in application manager on N900 gives:

Gonvert:
- Unit Conversions

QNitConverter:
- A simple unit converter written in QT

(+ a currency converter)

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

I recall Gonvert stopped working for me a while back so I switched to QNit.

I am sure that if either are not suitable there would be something that could be ported, I doubt you would have to start from nothing.

I am using ConvertAll on my desktop, it's PyQt and very comprehensive.

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

First: if you already know this, sorry. Maybe it'll still be useful for someone else. :)

US and Imperial units are similar but not identical*. And where they diverge the most is also the most important to the field of cooking: volume. For instance, an Imperial pint is 20 ounces, but a US pint is only 16 . . . however, a US ounce is also slightly larger than an Imperial one, so an Imperial pint is actually about 19.6 US ounces. I totally ******ed up a quiche this way using an Imperial recipe.

Anyway, moral of the story is if you want to use a US cookbook with SI units, you want to convert US (not Imperial) volume units to SI. Likewise, if you want to use an English cookbook in the US, you'll still need to do unit conversion from Imperial to US. (Luckily, a teaspoon is 5ml everywhere.)

*Systems of measurement were standardized in both the US and UK at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, and although they were both based on old English units, there were plenty of old units to choose from (which was of course the reason for standardization in the first place).

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

Emacs (calc) contains a built-in units converter and has cup, teaspoon, tablespoon in the units table. It also provides the ability to define new units.

Probably not the most convenient tool to do this, but if you are familiar with emacs and there is no other N900 program that covers all requirements it could be an option. Unit conversion package is also available

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

Is there anything Emacs does not have? :O

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

Pretty sure you can come up with something ;)

It is the main tool I am using on my N900. My default "Pavlovian response" to a technical challenge is to see if it can be done in Emacs. Often something is already included in Emacs or you need to install a package. If it doesn't exist you can program it with elisp and often folks are willing to help creating something. It has an awesome community.

Certainly not for everyone though, I would not think about suggesting Emacs to Android or iOS users.

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

A decent editor? *runs and hides*

Re: Unit converter for N900?
 

@t-b, @wicket, thank you. I would not know as I have never used it myself (he says cowering in the corner). The stories I have heard about it have always dissuaded me from trying.