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The Practical
PDA
Customize Your Palm or Handspring
™
™
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The Practical PDA Customize Your Palm or Handspring ™
™
BRIAN PROFFITT
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© 2001 by Premier Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Premier Press, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Publisher Stacy L. Hiquet Associate Marketing Manager Heather Buzzingham Managing Editor Sandy Doell
Premier Press is a registered trademark of Premier Press, Inc. Palm OS, Graffiti, and HotSync are registered trademarks of Palm, Inc. Palm, the Palm logo, and PalmPix are trademarks of Palm, Inc. Handspring and Visor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Handspring in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Important: Premier Press cannot provide software support. Please contact the appropriate software manufacturer’s technical support line or Web site for assistance. Premier Press and the author have attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms by following the capitalization style used by the manufacturer. Information contained in this book has been obtained by Premier Press from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Premier Press, or others, the Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from use of such information. Readers should be particularly aware of the fact that the Internet is an ever-changing entity. Some facts may have changed since this book went to press. ISBN: 1-931841-12-8 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001091378 Printed in the United States of America 01 02 03 04 05 RI 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acquisitions Editors Emi Smith Lynette Quinn Project Editors Brian Thomasson Cathleen Snyder Technical Reviewer Michelle Jones Copy Editor Gabrielle Nemes Interior Layout Marian Hartsough Associates Cover Design Mike Tanamachi Indexer Sharon Shock Proofreader Anne Owen
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The manuscript for this book was finished on September 11, 2001, the darkest day in U.S. history. May God watch over the souls of the departed and their loved ones.
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Acknowledgments T
his book marks a time of great change in my life. Several events, both good and bad, occurred during the writing of this book. A change of publisher (sort of ), a change of editor (definitely), and a change of career for me— these were just some of the odd things that were going on while I was hammering away at this book. No book is ever created in a vacuum, and there are several people I must thank for getting this book out the door. First and foremost, Lynette Quinn deserves a huge thanks for not only getting me this assignment, but also for being very patient when my new job really slooowed the book down. No one could ask for a better Acquisitions Editor than her. Brian Thomasson also gets huge kudos for all of his efforts. Brian, a force for good, is a key to the whole process of getting books out the door. Finally, I must thank my family for all of their support while I was writing this tome. Without their encouragement and the occasional banishment to the office to get some more chapters done, I might never have finished this book.
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About the Author BRIAN PROFFITT is someone who knows quite a bit about knowledge management, configuration management, and technical documentation—not to mention Linux. This is his first book about the Palm operating system. A native Hoosier, Brian is also a private pilot who likes nothing better than flying around the skies of Indiana.
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Contents at a Glance Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Part I Interfacing with Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1
Reading Palms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2
Buying a Palm Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3
Opening the Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4
Navigating the Palm OS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5
Getting Data into the Palm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6
Working with the Palm Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Part II Palm Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 7
Making a Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8
Making a List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9
Making Friends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
10
Making Memos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
11
Making a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Part III Getting the Job Done with Palm . . . . . . . 185 12
A Student’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
13
A Homemaker’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
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CONTENTS AT A GLANCE
14
A Caregiver’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
15
An Executive’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
16
A Traveler’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Part IV Having Some Fun with Palm . . . . . . . . . . 273 17
A Gamer’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
18
A Sporty’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
19
A Media Junkie’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
20
A Geek’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Part V Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 A
Directory of Useful Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
ix
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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
PART I INTERFACING WITH PALM . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1
Reading Palms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Looking at the Palm Operating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Touring the Palm Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Standard Palm Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Palm, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Handspring, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 HandEra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 IBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Sony Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Symbol Technologies, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Converging Palm Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Kyocera Wireless Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Nokia Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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Chapter 2
Buying a Palm Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Assessing Your Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 For Richer, For Poorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 In Memory Of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Size May Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Other Things to Consider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 3
Opening the Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Basic Palm Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Welcome to the Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Connecting the Palm to the PC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Getting in Sync. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Chapter 4
Navigating the Palm OS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Examining the Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Using Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Using the Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Organizing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Choosing Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Selecting Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Chapter 5
Getting Data into the Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Graffiti Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Getting the Hang of Graffiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Now You Know Your ABCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 It’s Easy as One, Two, Three! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Navigating in Graffiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
xi
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Punctuation. Is. Very. Important. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Extending the Possibilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 You Have to Accentuate the Positive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Taking a ShortCut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Keyboard? What Keyboard? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Chapter 6
Working with the Palm Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Desktop Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 The Date Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 The Address Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 The To Do List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 The Memo Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Application Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
PART II PALM BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Chapter 7
Making a Date. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Viewing the Date Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Creating an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Creating a Recurring Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Editing an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Deleting Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Setting Event Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Adding Notes to Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Beaming an Event (Or Anything Else!) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Setting Date Book Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Setting General Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Changing the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
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Chapter 8 Making a List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Managing To Do Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Adding a To Do Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Editing To Do Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Configuring the To Do List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Chapter 9
Making Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Viewing the Address Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Adding a Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Editing a Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 10 Making Memos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Viewing the Memo Pad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Working with Memos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Chapter 11 Making a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Using Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Creating a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Reading Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Configuring Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
PART III GETTING THE JOB DONE WITH PALM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Chapter 12 A Student’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 In Plain English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Noah Lite English Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 ArsLexis Thesaurus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
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Blinding You with Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 SimpleChart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 ChemTable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Chapter 13 A Homemaker’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Getting a Home to Manage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 A Place for Your Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Getting More Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Chapter 14 A Caregiver’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Professional Caregiver Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Keeping Things Straight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 The Knowledge of the Medicine Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Take Good Care of Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Chapter 15 An Executive’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Taking Your Documents with You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Working with Spreadsheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Developing Slide Show Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Chapter 16 A Traveler’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Talking to the Ether . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Getting You Where You are Going . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Where are We Going to Eat Today? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
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Learning the Ways of the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 WorldMate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Small Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
PART IV HAVING SOME FUN WITH PALM. . . . 273 Chapter 17 A Gamer’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 We Built This City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Trading Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 The Quest for Adventure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Chapter 18 A Sporty’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Playing the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 Watching the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Chapter 19 A Media Junkie’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Clipping the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Chapter 20 A Geek’s Palm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 Finding Your Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Pulling Out the Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Taking Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322 Reading a Good Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 HotSync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
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PART V APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 Appendix A Directory of Useful Applications . . . . . . . . . . 327 Desktop Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 Graphics and Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Home and Hobby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Internet Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 Professional/Corporate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Reference Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
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Introduction F
irst off, let’s clear something up right away: There are Palm Pilots and then there are Palm devices. You see, Palm Pilots are made by Palm Computing, Inc. and they run the Palm operating system (Palm OS). But they are not the only such handheld device to do so. These days, many personal digital assistants (PDAs) and a couple of cellular phone models are licensed to run the Palm OS. This diversity of hardware speaks well of the enduring flexibility of the Palm OS. This is an operating system that can work anywhere there is memory, a touch screen, and a stylus. This flexibility also extends to the software side of things. Operating systems like Windows, Mac OS, and Linux have a very high presence on the machines upon which they operate. In other words, you see evidence of the operating system with every mouse click. But the Palm OS is different. It is subtle and less intrusive—it is not overpowering. This subtlety is intentional; the designers of the Palm OS don’t want their operating system getting in the way of what’s really important—the user getting some work done. And what a lot of work can be done! Thousands of applications are currently available for the Palm platform, with more appearing every day. Some applications are good, and some are not so good. This book attempts to highlight the best of the Palm OS applications, in an effort to present the Palm as a tool for many different types of users—not just the corporate types, nor just the techies. Palm OS devices are really made for everyone, and in each chapter of this book, you will discover some of the many different ways a Palm OS device is made for you.
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Within this book are special elements designed to assist you in learning more about the Palm OS.
NOTE Notes reveal chapter cross-references and extra information about the topic that is being discussed.
TIP Tips give you tidbits of information that will improve your proficiency with the Palm.
CAUTION Cautions reveal potential pitfalls or problems that can occur with Palm devices.
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1 Reading Palms
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n the middle of Times Square, my friend pulls his Handspring Visor out of his pocket. He is not going to write in an appointment or create a pithy note about the sights around him. Instead, he snaps a module into the Visor and starts taking digital photos like the tourist he is.
I
This one example demonstrates a telling fact about Palm devices and PDAs in general: These devices are no longer used just for keeping track of your personal life, although they still do that—and rather well. Let’s face it. When someone thinks of a Palm device, it’s very likely that the first thing they think of is a gadget to replace their paper appointment and address organizer. That, in itself, is a major reason why people buy Palm machines. While Palms are useful as personal information managers (PIMs), they can also be used to replace more than just a book filled with scribbled addresses and sticky notes. They can now be used as digital recorders, word processors, GPS devices, Internet browsers, digital cameras, and even telephones. If this sounds like science fiction, be assured that it is not. The technology is not only available to use a Palm device in these diverse ways; it is also not as expensive as you might think. Nor is the technology going away. A recent IDC survey estimated that there are nearly eight million PDAs used around the world. In just three years, that number is expected to grow to 42.7 million — over five times the current use. What makes a Palm device so attractive to users? What it might come down to is one simple concept: flexibility. Although Palms are encased in flat little rectangular cases with ubiquitous six-button controls, they are actually one of the most flexible computer platforms in existence. If you have any doubt, try turning your PC or laptop into a convenient and portable GPS device. Or a telephone. Or a . . . well, you get the idea. The developers of Palm software and hardware have capitalized upon the classic idea that less is more. By providing users with a simple to use, easily expandable computing platform, Palm has created something that has become the “gotta get” item in today’s computing market.
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5
Looking at the Palm Operating System A good and profitable handheld device has long been a target for hardware developers. The road to success in this arena has often been a bumpy one. Take Apple, for instance. The creator of the successful Macintosh platform spent $500 million on the Newton before announcing in 1998 that development would be halted on the ill-fated device. In fact, estimates show that over $1 billion has been spent by developers and start-up companies to create a successful handheld device. The less is more philosophy applies to the beginnings of Palm as well—Palm Computing spent only $3 million to develop a working model of the first Palm device. The story of Palm’s incredible success is a classic in the business world: Genius discovers new way of seeing the world, builds a practical application for it, gets a patent, and introduces a revolutionary new device to the world. Which is basically how it happened, although perhaps not quite in the way you might think. Jeff Hawkins, the man who invented the Palm, actually developed the beginnings of the idea for the Palm while he was attending graduate school at Berkeley. Hawkins was pursuing his lifelong goal—an understanding of how the human brain works. While enrolled in the graduate program in biophysics, Hawkins became convinced he had figured out what intelligence was. His professors, however, were not so sure. Hawkins eventually left Berkeley without his doctoral degree, but he soon began to build the core application that ultimately defined Palm. Hawkins’ study of neural networks focused on how the human brain recognizes patterns. Hawkins took that work and used it to create a handwriting recognition application called PalmPrint. Hawkins licensed PalmPrint to a former employer, GRiD, and began working for them again to develop pen-based hardware and software. The result of Hawkins’ work was GRiDPad, a pen-based computer that was hailed by industry watchers as the next big thing in computing. GRiD was a company that marketed to business niches, which went against Hawkins’ ideal. Hawkins wanted to provide a device that would benefit all people, not just a select few. So in early 1992, Hawkins left GRiD to form Palm Computing.
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After hiring Donna Dubinsky as his first executive and acquiring some muchneeded funding, Hawkins created his first plan for building Palm’s success. The involvement of so many companies in the initial creation of Palm’s first product, the Zoomer PDA, brought that plan to a screeching halt, however. Zoomer, a $700 offering, didn’t do anything well and failed miserably on the retail chain. It was unforeseen luck on the grandest scale that Apple had released its Newton PDA two months earlier. By putting the spotlight on its own foibles, Newton inadvertently rescued Zoomer from the massive criticism of the public and media. Thanks to some wise financial decisions, Palm Computing had enough money left for one more try. But which direction to take? That was the big question, since no company had successfully entered this new market. For the answers, Palm surveyed its few Zoomer customers. It turned out that a vast majority of the Zoomer buyers also owned a personal computer, and a somewhat smaller majority of those had bought the Zoomer because it could transfer data from the Zoomer to the PC and back. It turned out that customers weren’t looking to replace their computers—they just wanted something to help their computers. It was at this point that Hawkins came up with the two main ideas that propelled Palm’s products to success. At that time, a lot of complexity and computing power had been used in PDAs to build very good handwriting-recognition software. This made the PDAs as slow as molasses, and even then the software did not recognize handwriting very well. Hawkins’ first idea was simple: Invert the problem to come up with the solution. Rather than spending energy and resources to get the PDA to recognize handwriting, he would have the user learn to use a consistent handwriting pattern that the PDA could recognize. Thus Graffiti, Palm’s unique handwriting interface, was born.
NOTE For more information on Graffiti, see Chapter 5, “Getting Data into the Palm.”
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As for the second idea, Hawkins wanted to figure out just what kind of device someone would be willing to haul around. Thus occurred one of the legendary anecdotes that surround the Palm’s origins: Hawkins running around Palm Computing measuring shirt pockets and determining with blocks of wood how small his new product would have to be. After just three months of planning this new approach, Hawkins and his Palm Computing crew had their first mockup of the device ready. It was late in the summer of 1994. Of course, the journey between a mockup and an actual product is not always an easy one. After a series of tempestuous negotiations with potential hardware manufacturers, Palm eventually agreed to work with U.S. Robotics. In the spring of 1996, the first Palm device, the Pilot (see Figure 1.1), rolled out the door. And the public couldn’t get enough of them. Success has not been easy for Palm Computing. U.S. Robotics was bought by 3Com, which then spun Palm off into a separate division. Challenges from Microsoft’s Windows CE line of PDAs ensued. Ultimately, Hawkins, Dubinsky, and several other Palm charter employees broke away and formed a new company called Handspring.
Figure 1.1 The original, one-and-only Pilot
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Handspring is a competitor for Palm in a technical sense, but not in any real way. Handspring targets its Visor product line at retail consumers, while Palm retains its aim at the business market. Time will tell how these two companies and their products will settle into their respective marketplaces. In the meantime, we are left with a lot of great choices.
Touring the Palm Devices One of the things that usually strikes a potential Palm user immediately is the wide variety of devices that can actually be called “Palms.” At Palm’s onset, had you asked someone to show you a Palm, you likely would have been shown the original Pilot device. This can no longer happen, since over 20 devices are now available from eight different companies. Many of these devices fit into the look and feel of the standard Palm device, although there are some interesting exceptions.
Standard Palm Devices Calling any of the devices listed in this section “standard” is a bit of a literary letdown. After all, each device has packaged the Palm OS in a unique manner. Still, there are enough similarities between the devices that they can be pulled together into this category. Each device has a touch screen, a pen-enabled interface, and many of the same control buttons. There are differences, but when one thinks of a PDA, these devices are usually what come to mind.
Palm, Inc. It makes sense that the original Palm company would have the widest variety of Palm offerings. They’ve had plenty of time to perfect the model, after all. The entry-level model for Palm’s offerings is undoubtedly the m100 series (see Figure 1.2). This low-price model, with its unique curving design, is perfect for those who are interested in getting in on the ground floor of Palms. The m100, clearly a retail offering, has just 2 MB of memory and no modem port, but it certainly fits the bill as a simple and efficient organizer. Interchangeable hard cases for the unit are another consumer-oriented feature of the m100 series.
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Figure 1.2 Palm m100s are the consumer entry-level model in Palm’s product line.
Recently, Palm, Inc. expanded their “m” product line to include three new devices: the m125, m500, and m505. Similar in form to the m100, these devices feature expandable memory cards and, in the case of the m50x, color screens. For similar functionality with more memory, you can pick up a Palm m105. The Palm IIIe handheld (see Figure 1.3) most closely resembles the m100 series in memory and functionality. This PDA is designed to meet basic business needs, however, and is not targeted at non-business customers.
Figure 1.3 The Palm IIIe is the entry-level model for business users.
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With a sharper screen and twice as much memory as the Palm IIIe, the Palm IIIx (see Figure 1.4) is the workhorse of the Palm line. An open connector slot is featured in case you want to add even more memory. If you don’t like looking at the same monochrome screen all day long, then you should take a gander at the Palm IIIc. Identical in many ways to the IIIx, the IIIc PDA adds a color screen and a rechargeable battery (see Figure 1.5). If you are looking for a device that weighs even less than the other Palms, the models in the Palm V (see Figure 1.6) series weigh just 4 ounces and come with a sharp LCD screen and a thin, anodized aluminum exterior. The Palm Vx has four times as much memory as the Palm V in the same package.
Figure 1.4
Figure 1.5
The Palm IIIx features memory expansion.
The Palm IIIc has a color screen and a rechargeable battery.
Figure 1.6 The Palm V has a very light, thin case without sacrificing functionality.
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The Palm VIIx organizer is built for one thing— communication. With a built-in wireless modem and the Palm.Net service, users connect directly to the Internet. Surfing the Web and getting e-mail wirelessly is a snap with the VII. The Palm VIIx (see Figure 1.7) features more memory to give this wireless Palm even more power.
Handspring, Inc. Handspring, which is Jeff Hawkins’ newest venture, has just four models in its Visor product line (see Figure 1.8). To say “just” is a bit of an understatement, however. Each Visor has a feature that makes it unique among the rest of the PDA market: the Springboard expansion slot. A Springboard is a hardware module that can transform a Visor into a variety of useful devices. For example, using the MiniJam module converts the Visor to an MP3 player, while plugging in the eyemodule turns the PDA into a digital camera. There are many Springboard modules, which are listed in more detail in Appendix A, “Directory of Useful Applications,” and throughout the book. Their presence is something to keep in mind when examining the Visor line.
Figure 1.7
Figure 1.8
The Palm VIIx has an integrated wireless modem.
All of the Visors have Springboard functionality.
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The Visors are outwardly very similar and have a slightly more rectangular design than the Palm products. The basic Visor has a low retail price and 2 MB of memory among its features. The Visor Deluxe (see Figure 1.9) has four times the amount of memory of the basic Visor, and features interchangeable hard cases that are available in several colors such as translucent blue. The Visor Platinum has the same amount of memory as the Deluxe model, but is reportedly 50 percent faster in its operations. The Prism model, the most expensive in the Visor product line, has a 65,536color screen and a rechargeable lithium ion battery that gives it a solid two weeks of use. It also has the same memory capacity as the Deluxe and Platinum models. The latest Visor models include the Visor Edge, an 8-MB handheld that is very slim and easy to store. There is also the Visor Neo, which features multicolored cases like the Deluxe model and — more importantly— a very fast processor to run the most graphic-intensive applications. Finally there is the Visor Pro, which features a rechargeable battery like the Prism and a full 16 MB of memory.
Figure 1.9 Pick and choose your Visor Deluxe’s color and style.
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HandEra Adding memory to Palm devices is a big deal, as more users need to cram more data into their handhelds. This is the mission of HandEra, formerly known as TRG Products. The TRGpro (see Figure 1.10) is the first handheld computer to incorporate a CompactFlash memory expansion slot. CompactFlash, one of the more popular and widely used memory formats, allows large amounts of data to be moved back and forth from the handheld to a PC. HandEra has also released a new handheld device, the HandEra 330, which features CompactFlash compatibility. It also features a lot of Palm applications that are unique to HandEra’s products. HandEra’s stated main target is “mobile professionals [needing to] access large-scale information and databases normally confined to a desktop PC.”
IBM It is a little surprising to see the makers of Big Iron servers coming out with a handheld PDA. That IBM has done so is a testament to the popularity of the Palm platform. The two devices in the IBM WorkPad c500 series both offer rechargeable batteries and 8 MB of memory storage. One device has a monochrome screen and the other has a color screen. However, the devices are not the least expensive of the Palm devices available.
Figure 1.10 The TRGPro includes removable CompactFlash memory.
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Sony Corporation The Clié Handheld PEG-S330 is a mouthful to pronounce, but this Palm offering from Sony has a lot more to offer than just a fancy name. Memory is a big plus offered with the Clié, which has 8 MB of onboard memory and another 8 MB available by adding a Sony Memory Stick. Another interesting hardware feature is the JogDial control, a thumbwheel-type control that allows you to navigate through various Palm applications with one hand. Recently, Sony has expanded their product line to include two color devices with Memory Stick capability: the Clié Handheld PEG-N610C and PEGN760C models.
Symbol Technologies, Inc. The offerings from Symbol Technologies are quite specific. These Palm devices are built for a mobile workforce. The two devices in Symbol’s product line are the SPT 1500 and SPT 1700. While outwardly very dissimilar, both devices feature the Palm OS as well as integrated barcode scanning. The SPT 1500 is a pocket-sized device geared for more indoor-oriented jobs such as healthcare, package tracking, and retail work. The SPT 1700 (see Figure 1.11) is made for harsher environments. Many of the devices in the 1700 series feature wireless WAN connectivity and can be used by a mobile workforce for many data and resource management tasks. For example, the Internet home delivery firm Kozmo.com uses Symbol Palms to track delivery trips and customer transactions.
Converging Palm Devices PDAs are not the only type of device that will run the Palm operating system. In the quest for the one device that fits all, other devices are starting to run Palm as well.
Kyocera Wireless Group When you see the name QCP 6035, it might not ring a bell. But when you hear this device’s other name— Smartphone— then things might start to click. The Smartphone from Kyocera is one of the latest innovations in device convergence. This phone, which can operate on CDMA digital, CDMA PCS,
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Figure 1.11 The Symbol SPT 1700 is like no Palm you’ve ever seen.
or analog networks, also has a full-fledged version of the Palm OS running on its screen. With the Palm system, you can run any Palm application and have complete wireless connectivity at the same time. Expect to see more Smartphones in the near future because Verizon Wireless has recently announced its plan to sell and support the Smartphone on its U.S. network.
Nokia Corporation Popular phone manufacturer Nokia has not yet released a finished product that combines Palm with a wireless device. The Japanese phone maker announced its partnership with Palm Computing in the fall of 1999, but as this book goes to press, no results have been seen.
Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. Samsung Electronics announced in the winter of 2000 that they had licensed the Palm OS platform for use in wireless intelligent terminals. Basically, this
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agreement allows Samsung to develop a family of handheld PDA/phone devices that are wholly compatible with all Palm OS-based applications. The first product spawned from this agreement is the SPH-I300, a CDMA mobile phone that was released in June of 2001. This device offers consumers the Palm OS platform coupled with a high-end cell phone.
HotSync In this chapter, you learned some of the history that lies behind the development of one of today’s most popular computing products. You also learned more about just what a Palm device is and why one Palm is not the same as every other Palm. Knowing this, which kind of Palm do you need? Even if you focus on just one company, many of them have several options from which you can choose. In Chapter 2, “Buying a Palm Device,” you’ll look at the different devices from a needs perspective and get a good idea of the best way to spend your money.
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2 Buying a Palm Device
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ou have already determined that getting yourself a Palm is likely to be the best idea since sliced bread. Now you’re in a bigger quandary— which Palm to purchase? With prices ranging from $150–$1,095 and cases ranging from slim to bulky, which Palm device is right for you? In this chapter, you’ll look at your motivations for purchasing a Palm and then see how this affects your choice.
Y
Assessing Your Needs Getting your hands, so to speak, on the right Palm is not a terrible ordeal—if you do your homework first. To be honest, there is not much risk in getting a Palm that does not fit your needs in some way. All Palm devices can run the same software and do so at much the same speed. The most significant risk is getting a Palm device that is underpowered for what you need. Not power in terms of energy, although batteries will play a part in your decision. Power in terms of how much information your Palm can hold, how it connects to the rest of the world, and whether its functionality can be extended by adding accessories or modules. If the Palm you choose falls short in one or all of these areas, then you might soon be disappointed with it. On the other hand, if you don’t need these functions, then why pay extra money for things you don’t want? Take a look at some of the big decision-points for determining which Palm to buy.
For Richer, For Poorer Let’s not beat around the bush here. Before doing anything else, you need to figure out how much money you are willing to spend. After all, your budget is one of the most important factors in determining which Palm you will purchase. A Palm should be considered a long-term investment, much like a PC. While they are not as expensive as personal computers, Palms typically should last you just about as long as your PC before becoming obsolete. Actually, your
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Palm might last even longer because it might be so specialized for your needs that you won’t need to replace it for quite some time. When you look at the price of a Palm, you should take into account what each Palm can do. From the descriptions listed in Chapter 1, “Reading Palms,” you know that Palms can vary significantly in their design and intended use. Still, a budget is a budget, and you should see what, if anything, is outside of your budget’s confines. Table 2.1 lists the retail prices of all Palm PDA devices as of October 2001, sorted by price. TABLE 2.1 PALM PDA RETAIL PRICES (OCTOBER 2001) Manufacturer
Device
Price
Palm, Inc.
Palm m100
$99
Palm, Inc.
Palm m105
$149
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Deluxe
$169
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-S320
$199
Palm, Inc.
Palm VIIx
$199
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Neo
$199
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Platinum
$199
Palm, Inc.
Palm m125
$249
HandEra
TRGpro
$249
HandEra
HandEra 330
$299
Palm, Inc.
Palm IIIc
$299
Palm, Inc.
Palm Vx
$299
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Edge
$299
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Prism
$299
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Pro
$299
Palm, Inc.
Palm m500
$329
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-N610C
$399
IBM
WorkPad c500
$399
Palm, Inc.
Palm m505
$449
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-N760C
$499
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1500
$590
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1700
$1095
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NOTE To be fair, you should be note that the Symbol devices are highly specialized, with built-in barcode readers and wireless connectivity. They are included in this survey for those mobile business users who can use something along these lines.
As you can see, a wide range of prices exists for Palm devices, which results in the added benefit of letting just about anyone buy one off the shelf. Price isn’t everything, naturally, though it comes close. There are other factors you should consider when determining which Palm to get, such as memory and size. These factors are examined next.
In Memory Of One of big criteria for choosing a particular Palm device is the amount of memory the device can hold. In a world where computer users tend to think in terms of gigabytes, it’s odd to start thinking backward to terms of megabytes. But, megabytes are the realm of memory used in the world of the PDA, and they’re enough for most needs. Eight megabytes of memory, which is the current maximum for any standard Palm device, will hold (approximately) 10,000 addresses, eight years of appointments, 1,000 memos, and 400 e-mail messages. Which, you have to admit, is a lot of information. Granted, your mileage will vary with your device since you might use up some of your Palm’s memory for extra applications and the like. But this is a fairly good yardstick to use when measuring the performance of the different Palms. Table 2.2 lists each of the featured Palm devices, sorted by price and standard memory amounts. If memory is your big draw, then you can see from Table 2.2 that the lowestpriced devices with the most memory are Handspring’s Visor Deluxe and Palm’s m105. One thing to note about memory is that what you get out of the box for a Palm device might not be the end of the story. Many of the Palms allow you to add memory expansion devices to build upon what’s already there. Add-on
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TABLE 2.2 PALM DEVICES BY MEMORY, PRICE (OCTOBER 2001) Manufacturer
Device
Memory
Price
Palm, Inc.
Palm m100
2 MB
$99
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1500
2 MB
$590
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1700
2 MB
$1095
Palm, Inc.
Palm m105
8 MB
$149
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Deluxe
8 MB
$169
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Neo
8 MB
$199
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Platinum
8 MB
$199
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-S320
8 MB
$199
Palm, Inc.
Palm VIIx
8 MB
$199
Palm, Inc.
Palm m125
8 MB
$249
HandEra
TRGpro
8 MB
$249
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Edge
8 MB
$299
HandEra
HandEra 330
8 MB
$299
Palm, Inc.
Palm IIIc
8 MB
$299
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Prism
8 MB
$299
Palm, Inc.
Palm Vx
8 MB
$299
Palm, Inc.
Palm m500
8 MB
$329
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-N610C
8 MB
$399
IBM
WorkPad c500
8 MB
$399
Palm, Inc.
Palm m505
8 MB
$449
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Pro
16 MB
$299
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-N760C
16 MB
$499
memory is a very important feature to consider, especially if you plan to use your Palm to its maximum potential.
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Table 2.3 lists the different types of add-on memory available for some of the Palm devices. TABLE 2.3 PALM ADD-ON MEMORY Device
Add-On Type
Maximum Size
Handspring/Visor
Flash Springboard Module
8 MB
Sony Corporation/Clié
Memory Stick
8 MB
TRG Products/TRGpro
CompactFlash Card
64 MB
Perhaps memory is not what you need in a Palm device. Not very many people need to handle 10,000 addresses, after all. Some consumers are not concerned with the amount of memory available, but rather the physical size of the device itself.
Size May Matter The actual size of a Palm device might seem like a trivial matter, but this is a device that you will likely use a lot. You will probably carry it with you everywhere. Depending on your preferences, you might want to have the smallest type of device you can get. For example, you might not want to carry something bulky and cumbersome in your pocket. However, if you lug around a briefcase or purse anyway, size might not be such a—if you’ll pardon the expression — huge issue. Weight and size are affected by many different factors in Palm devices. The screen size, which remains fairly constant on all Palms, is a big factor in determining the size of the device. The power source is a factor as well. Rechargeable batteries take up more room and weigh more than alkaline-based batteries. Table 2.4 lists the weights of many Palm devices to give you an idea of how light you can go. Table 2.5 lists the same devices by physical size. Using these tables as a guide, you can see that the Palm Vx and the IBM WorkPad each have diminutive size and weight characteristics. Therefore, if you want light and small, these devices could be your best options.
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TABLE 2.4 PALM DEVICES BY WEIGHT Manufacturer
Device
Weight (in oz.)
Palm, Inc.
Palm Vx
4.0
IBM
WorkPad C3 PC Companion
4.2
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-S300
4.3
Palm, Inc.
Palm m100
4.4
Palm, Inc.
Palm m105
4.4
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Edge
4.8
Handspring, Inc.
Visor
5.4
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Deluxe
5.4
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Platinum
5.4
Palm, Inc.
Palm IIIxe
6.0
TRG Products
TRGpro
6.0
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1500
6.1
Palm, Inc.
Palm VIIx
6.7
Palm, Inc.
Palm IIIc
6.8
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Prism
6.9
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1700
10.3
Since the Palm Vx also scores high in the memory department, it definitely has potential to be the best all-around device— if you want to plunk down $299 to buy it. Of course, there are even more considerations when you look at buying a Palm, as you’ll see in the next section.
Other Things to Consider After all this rigmarole, what more could you possibly compare? Well, there’s battery life, for starters. Different Palms use different energy sources and make different claims about how well they work. You would think that two devices, each running on two AAA batteries, would run for about the same length of time. However, that is not necessarily the
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TABLE 2.5 PALM DEVICES BY SIZE Manufacturer
Device
Dimensions
Palm, Inc.
Palm Vx
4.5" × 3.1" × 0.4"
IBM
WorkPad C3 PC Companion
4.5" × 3.1" × 0.45"
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Edge
4.7" × 3.1" × 0.44"
Sony Corporation
Clié Handheld PEG-S300
4.63" × 2.88" × 0.63"
Handspring, Inc.
Visor
4.8" × 3.0" × 0.7"
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Deluxe
4.8" × 3.0" × 0.7"
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Platinum
4.8" × 3.0" × 0.7"
Palm, Inc.
Palm m100
4.66" × 3.12" × 0.72"
Palm, Inc.
Palm m105
4.66" × 3.12" × 0.72"
Palm, Inc.
Palm IIIxe
4.7" × 3.2" × 0.7"
Palm, Inc.
Palm IIIc
5.06" × 3.17" × 0.67"
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1500
5.46" × 3.16" × 0.66"
Handspring, Inc.
Visor Prism
4.8" × 3.0" × 0.8"
TRG Products
TRGpro
4.7" × 3.2" × 0.8"
Palm, Inc.
Palm VIIx
5.25" × 3.25" × 0.75"
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
SPT 1700
7" × 3.63" × 1"
case because they each have different uses. You can’t rely on what is stated in product descriptions either, since the tested version of normal use and your version of normal use might be wildly different. On every Palm I have owned that uses AAA batteries, I typically get about four to five weeks of good use out my batteries — less if I use rechargeable AAA batteries. Just to give you an idea of what to expect, Table 2.6 lists the life expectancies for the batteries of some Palm devices, when used intermittently. If a Palm device includes a built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery, then the life expectancy is a bit more consistent across the different devices. With these
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TABLE 2.6 PALM BATTERY LIFE (AAA) Device
Battery Life
Handspring/Visor Platinum
4–6 weeks
Palm, Inc./Palm m100
2 months
Palm, Inc./Palm VIIx
2–4 weeks
TRG Products/TRGpro
6–8 weeks
batteries, you should expect to get about two weeks worth of use. In reality, however, that’s usually not a factor since this type of Palm device will charge while it is in the cradle connected to your PC. Another criterion for Palm buyers is the screen type of the device: color or grayscale? The majority of Palms use a grayscale screen to project images; for most users, this is perfectly fine. If you prefer more color in your daily life, consider the Handspring Visor Prism or the Palm IIIc. When you do decide on the unit you want to buy, check to determine what type of interface is available to connect the Palm to your computer. PC interfaces are available in two forms — serial cable or USB cable. Be sure that your PC has an available serial or USB port before you buy your Palm device. The same holds true for the operating system on your PC. All of the Palm devices can connect to a Windows environment, but not all will connect to a Macintosh. (The Sony Clié, for example.) Further, few of these handhelds will work directly with Linux, although this is changing. Make sure your device is compatible with your PC’s operating system!
HotSync In this chapter, you received some important data about the major factors involved in purchasing a Palm device. Use this information as a guide to narrow down your search. Then go out, read reviews, and talk to friends who already own these devices so that you will become even more informed.
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Even at the lowest price point, buying a Palm device is not cheap. Use some care in making your decision and you’ll be happy with the value of the device you eventually purchase. After you purchase the product you want, come back and read Chapter 3, “Opening the Box.” There, you’ll find out how to start integrating your Palm with your life!
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3 Opening the Box
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aving read all the reviews, checked your budget, and made the trip to the local computer store, you now have your very own Palm device. As you tear off the shrink-wrap and plumb your way through the cardboard and Styrofoam, what wonders and goodies will you find?
H
First and foremost, you will find the Palm device itself, looking small and forlorn amidst a sea of plastic wrapping. Don’t be fooled by its size— it has more than enough power to meet your needs. Next will be the cradle device. While the appearance of the cradle varies somewhat from model to model, it is essentially a cupped device that molds perfectly to the base of your Palm. A long cord trails the cradle and plugs into your computer. Nothing too complicated here. Nor is the next piece of equipment, the stylus. This is the primary method of accessing the Palm; so whatever you do, don’t lose it!
NOTE Check the ends of your Palm’s stylus by trying to unscrew them. Some Palms have a reset tip and a tiny Phillips-head screwdriver embedded inside!
Elsewhere in the box might be a free set of batteries, if your Palm is so equipped. A rule of thumb about the batteries included with any electronic device is only use them in emergencies, because they are not built to last. Toss them in if you must, but be ready to replace them with a good set of batteries much sooner than you normally would. If your Palm has a rechargeable battery, there will be an AC adapter in the package as well. Connect this right away as directed in the instruction manual for your Palm. Typically, lithium ion batteries need a good 12-hour charge before their first use.
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Another important item in the box is the CD-ROM that contains the software used to link your Palm device to your PC. While most Palm manufacturers recommend that you have a PC (or Mac) to use with your Palm, the simple truth is that you don’t need to have a computer to use a Palm device. This might seem a rather silly statement to make, but very often people resist getting a Palm device because they don’t own a computer or have access to one at work. Having a PC is not a mandatory requirement for owning a Palm. Finally, there will be the instruction manual. Hang on to this, because it lists device-specific hardware instructions you won’t find in this book. After you either charge or insert your Palm’s batteries, you’re ready to start working with your new helper. As with any new thing in your life, however, first you must get acquainted.
Basic Palm Interfaces The first part of getting to know your Palm is learning how to interface with it. Palms, once you get the hang of them, are very easy to use. However, because Palm designers focus on simplicity of use rather than excessive interface controls, sometimes this very simplicity can be confusing. There is a certain expectation with computer-related hardware that it must be complicated and difficult to use. The personal computer has done little to change this belief. Users are often surprised to learn that, with a Palm, what looks simple is simple. Looking at the front of your Palm, you will see something very similar to Figure 3.1. Your device might be slightly different, but be assured that the controls are the same on every Palm device. Stepping through each of the controls, you will see that each one is selfexplanatory. Tapping the Applications icon on the screen with your stylus will open the Applications view (see Figure 3.2), which displays all of the installed applications. Tapping the Applications icon again will cycle the view to the next category of applications on your Palm, such as Games.
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Figure 3.1
Power button
All of the Palm controls
Graffiti Input — Letters Graffiti Input — Numbers Applications icon
Calculator icon
Menu icon
Find icon
Memo Pad button
Date Book button
To Do List button
Address button
Scroll Up button Scroll Down button
In addition to the Applications icon, there are three other on-screen icons that appear on every Palm: the Menu, Calculator, and Find icons. The designers of the Palm operating system wanted these controls here because they are the most-used features of Palms, next to those that are handled by the actual buttons. The buttons on your Palm are set to start the four most popular Palm applications without using the Applications view. From left to right are the Date Book, Address, To Do List, and Memo Pad buttons. Pressing the Date Book button instantly starts the Date Book application (see Figure 3.3). As you can see, none of this is rocket science. What you see really is what you get with a Palm.
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Figure 3.2 Tapping the Applications icon will display the list of applications on your Palm.
Tap here
Figure 3.3 Start an application directly by pressing its button.
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The last set of controls with which you need to be familiar is the scroll buttons. On some Palms, scroll buttons are a single rocker-type button, while on others they are actually two separate buttons. Either way, the purpose of these buttons is to scroll through the content on the Palm screen. The scroll buttons are a bit of a relief, actually. Many Palm applications include an on-screen scrollbar, but in practice it can be a little hard to grab the scrollbar with the stylus because of its narrow appearance. The scroll buttons often serve another purpose, too, acting as control mechanisms in some of the Palm game applications. Now that you have your Palm’s interface all figured out, it’s time to turn it on and start using it. First, however, the Palm needs to get to know you.
Welcome to the Palm The very first time you turn on your Palm, the Welcome application will immediately start. This application serves two major functions—it sets the time and date for your Palm and it acquaints you with using the stylus.
NOTE If this is your very first time using a Palm, don’t worry about using Graffiti in this application—you won’t need it.
There are four views within the Welcome application, all of them easy to understand. The first view introduces you to the Welcome application and graphically tells you how to begin (see Figure 3.4). Use your stylus to move to the next view by tapping anywhere on the Palm screen. In the next view, you will see an introduction to the stylus calibration function. When the Palm left the factory, the touch screen and display were calibrated to work together perfectly. Sometimes little drifts in the system occur, so it’s important to re-calibrate the Palm soon after you begin.
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Figure 3.4 Your first Palm view. A bit anticlimactic, isn’t it?
This function also helps you to learn how to use the stylus with some accuracy. The new view displays a “target” in the upper-left corner (see Figure 3.5). Using the stylus, tap the center of the target. A new target will appear in the lower-right corner. Tap the center of that target, as well as the subsequent one that appears in the center of the screen. Once calibration of the stylus is complete, the third Welcome view will appear and let you set up your personal location, date, and time. If you are one of the 5.8 billion or so people who do not live in the United States, you can change the Palm to use your home country preferences. To do so, begin by tapping on the popup arrow beside the Country control. A list of countries currently recognized by the Palm will appear (see Figure 3.6).
Figure 3.5 Your proficiency with the stylus begins here.
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Figure 3.6 Open a popup list to reveal its contents
Tap the scroll arrows at the top and bottom of the list or use the scroll buttons to move up and down this list. Tap on a country name to select it. This type of control is referred to as a popup list, and it is one of the more common interface controls used in the Palm OS. Another type of control is the one you see immediately under Country. This control, called a selector, allows you to set the current date. Selector controls are distinguished by a dotted-line box that surrounds their values. Entering data in a selector is not done by direct entry, but rather by tapping it and then selecting an entry from the resulting screen. For example, to change the Set Date selector, tap the date that is currently displayed. For dateoriented controls, a calendar view will open, as shown in Figure 3.7.
Figure 3.7 Selector controls will open a view, list, or dialog from which you can select the appropriate data.
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In this example, change the value by tapping the appropriate date; the information in the selector will be automatically updated. If the selector is for another value type, such as a time setting, then a different control will appear, such as the Set Time dialog shown in Figure 3.8. Using this dialog is easy. To change an hour or minute value, tap the value’s place and then tap the increment arrows to raise or lower the value. Tap OK when you’re finished; the original selector will display your change. Once you’ve finished adjusting the values in this view, it’s time to move on to the final Welcome view by tapping Next. The last view tells you that you are finished with this part of your Palm’s setup. Now you have two choices: If you are ready to explore your Palm on your own, tap Done to quit the Welcome application. However, you can continue to learn how to enter text by tapping Next. You will learn more about entering data into your Palm in Chapter 5, “Getting Data into the Palm,” so you can skip this step for now. This concludes the basic setup of the Palm device. If you purchased a Palm and don’t have a personal computer, then you are ready to start using your Palm as an autonomous Personal Information Manager right now and you can move on to Chapter 4, “Navigating the Palm OS.” Palms are efficient enough tools that you can get loads of great use from them without ever connecting them to a PC.
Figure 3.8 Different control types for different data types make information entry easy on the Palm.
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Still, the primary advantage of a Palm is its ability to quickly and easily pass information back and forth between itself and your computer. If you are fortunate enough to be in this happy situation, then you have a little more work to do.
Connecting the Palm to the PC In the old days, getting one computer to talk to another appeared to outsiders to be little short of witchcraft. Today, the proliferation of the Internet makes connections between computers seem like a way of life. In the abstract, however, most people don’t think that they can actually set up a direct connection on their own. After finishing this section, you will have done just that— created a direct peer-to-peer connection between one computer (the Palm) and another (your PC). Now, before I get carried away and tell you that making this connection is as easy to do as plugging a power cord into a wall outlet, let’s be realistic. You must first perform a little computer management. This management, which mostly involves installing software, is not difficult, but it is important that you pay attention to what you’re doing. Making a mistake could prevent a successful synchronization with your Palm. Every Palm device that is sold also includes a CD-ROM that includes all of the tools you will need to start a connection for your Palm. The procedure varies from device to device, but essentially, it follows the pattern described in this section. First, you need to plug your cradle into the correct port on your computer. Your cradle will plug into either a USB or serial port. A port is the outlet on the back of your computer that allows you to connect different devices, such as the keyboard, monitor, and printer to your machine. Just behind the port, inside the computer, is a card that is called a bus. It is the bus that allows your PC to actually converse with the peripheral device—the bus handles the passage of information from the computer’s processor to the device and back again. In the early days of desktop computers, there were two types of ports: serial and parallel. The latter port is rather slow and is better suited to dealing with
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undemanding devices such as printers and scanners. Serial ports are faster and are better for connections to devices where speed is of the essence, like modems and Palms. Today, a third type of port is prevalent on many desktop machines—the USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. USB ports are about equal in speed to serial ports and are much easier to manipulate since you can attach and detach devices while the computer is still running. This is very handy if your computer has one USB port and you have more than one USB device. Whichever type of port connection you received with your Palm device, plugging it in is simple. Look at the connector and then find the appropriate outlet on the back of your PC. If you connected to a serial port, you will need to restart your PC so that the computer knows that a new device has been connected. Unlike USB ports, PCs check serial and parallel ports for connections only at startup.
NOTE Some USB ports are now placed on the front of the PC.
Once the cradle is plugged in, usually the next step is to insert the Palm into the cradle. Don’t bother to turn it on; you will be instructed to do so during the installation of the Palm software on your computer. If you have a Palm device that includes a built-in rechargeable battery, verify that the AC adapter is plugged into the cradle and that the Palm device is charging. You now can spend the next 12 hours doing something else, as the manufacturers for most handhelds recommend that you initially charge your battery for at least that long. When everything is set to go, insert the CD-ROM for your Palm device into the appropriate drive on your computer. Although there are different Palm devices, they all use the Palm Desktop application to pass information from your PC or Mac to the Palm. After inserting the CD-ROM, you will see an initial screen on your computer with an option to install the Palm Desktop. Click this option and step through the installation procedures, as shown in the following To Do section.
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To Do: Install the Palm Desktop In this To Do section, you’ll install the Palm Desktop software on your PC.
NOTE The procedure here is shown for a Handspring Visor and a Windows PC. The Palm Desktop for Mac installation procedure, as well as procedures for installations of other devices, is very similar.
1. Click on the Install icon on the splash screen of the Palm desktop application. The Setup wizard will start and the Preparation dialog box will open (see Figure 3.9).
NOTE If the installation program does not automatically start, run the setup.exe application on your Palm CD-ROM.
Figure 3.9 Adding the Palm Desktop to your PC
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2. Click Next. If you use Microsoft Outlook, the Setup wizard will open the Microsoft Outlook Detected dialog box (see Figure 3.10). Here you have a choice to make. In addition to being an e-mail program, Microsoft Outlook is known as Personal Information Management (PIM) software. PIM software helps you maintain your appointments, addresses, and to do lists in a neat and organized fashion — much like the core functionality of the Palm. Palm’s developers recognize that Outlook is a very good PIM application and, if you already use it, there’s no reason for you not to use it in conjunction with your Palm. If, on the other hand, you do not use Outlook or any other PIM software, then you should simply choose the I Want to Use Palm Desktop option. In order for your Palm and your PC to synchronize, you will need some sort of PIM application on your machine, and the one provided with the Palm Desktop is a good choice. 3. Choose the PIM option you want to use and then click Next. The Location Selection dialog box will open. 4. Unless you have a good reason for changing it, retaining the default folder for Palm installation will make future upgrades easier. Click Next to continue to the Connect Your Cradle dialog box (see Figure 3.11). 5. Choose the connection option you are using with your Palm device and then click Next. The Model Selection dialog box will open. Palm and
Figure 3.10 Choosing to use Microsoft Outlook
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Figure 3.11 Instructions for connecting the cradle to the computer
Handspring owners will see this dialog box because of the many different models available from these companies. If it appears, simply choose the model you have and click Next. The software will now be installed (see Figure 3.12). After it is finished, the Setup wizard will walk you through the first synchronization process, which is discussed in the next section, “Getting in Sync.”
Figure 3.12 Installing the software
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Getting in Sync The very first time you will synchronize your Palm and PC is during the initial setup, which is where the last To Do section left off. Follow the steps in the next To Do section to learn how to synchronize your Palm and PC.
To Do: Perform the First HotSync In this To Do section, you’ll synchronize your Palm for the first time. 1. In the Setup wizard, you will be asked to insert your new Palm device into the cradle. If it is not already there, do so. 2. To start a HotSync, press the button at the base of the cradle.
NOTE The very first time you insert a Palm into a USB cradle and press the HotSync button, the Palm will turn itself on and Windows might begin to self-install the proper USB software. If this happens, the HotSync will fail. Don’t worry. Simply wait for Windows to finish and then press the HotSync button again.
While HotSync performs its duties, it will display a progress message box similar to the one shown in Figure 3.13. 3. When the HotSync is complete, a dialog box will ask if you want to view the log of the synchronization process (see Figure 3.14). If you want to see it, click View Log. Otherwise, click OK.
Figure 3.13 Performing your first HotSync
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Figure 3.14 Notification that synchronization is complete
4. After you complete the synchronization, click Next in the Synchronization dialog box. The Product Registration dialog box will open. 5. Choose to register online by selecting the check box, and then click Finish. The Setup wizard will end.
NOTE If you chose to register online, you will be guided through the registration process for your Palm device. Follow the steps in this procedure and complete your registration.
Your setup of the Palm Desktop is now complete and you can use the device to your heart’s content. The ins and outs of working with the Palm Desktop will be discussed in Chapter 6, “Working with the Palm Desktop.” Right now, stick with the HotSync procedure. After all, how do you synchronize your Palm during everyday, ordinary use? The answer is simple and will demonstrate one of the main reasons why the Palm is so popular.
To Do: Synchronize Your Palm In this To Do section, you’ll learn how to synchronize your Palm on demand. 1. Insert your Palm device into the cradle. 2. Press the HotSync button. That’s it! There’s nothing more to it!
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Many users will actually think they’re missing something important here, but the beauty of all of the Palm devices is that synchronizing them with a personal computer is always the simplest task. This is not to say that the HotSync operation can’t be improved. You can change some options that affect how the HotSync software works. A HotSync Manager icon should be visible in the status area of your Windows 98 taskbar. Double-clicking this icon will start the HotSync Manager (see Figure 3.15). If you are using another operating system, such as the Mac OS, you can use the Finder to locate the icon that will start the HotSync Manager. Once started, the HotSync Manager is easy to configure. The first of the four tabs available in this application, General, enables you to choose when HotSync Manager will run. By default, this application is activated upon startup and is, therefore, available at all times. This is the most preferred option, since it allows you to synchronize your Palm device whenever you want.
Figure 3.15 Starting the HotSync Manager
HotSync Manager icon
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If system resources are limited and you don’t want the HotSync Manager to run all the time, you can choose to have it start in conjunction with running the Palm Desktop or you can choose to start it manually, as needed. This last option is certainly the most inconvenient; if your system resources are that tight, you might want to consider upgrading your computer. In the Local tab, you can select the port into which the device is plugged and set the speed for the connection setting (see Figure 3.16).
CAUTION Unless you are having a problem synchronizing your Palm and computer, do not change these settings! The installation program should have set these correctly.
If you are using a modem to remotely connect to your computer and perform a HotSync, use the Modem tab to fine-tune the settings (see Figure 3.17). These setting are generally set for you automatically if you set up a modem connection during the initial setup of the Palm Desktop. If you have a network with several cradles scattered throughout, you can sync your Palm on any of these machines. You can set which user can use a
Figure 3.16 Choosing your direct connection settings
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Figure 3.17 Choosing your modem connection settings
particular PC as his or her “home” PC using the Network tab of the HotSync Manager (see Figure 3.18). Activating any particular kind of connection is very simple. Right-click on the HotSync Manager icon to open its shortcut menu (see Figure 3.19). To switch a connection type, select the option from the top section of the menu. Be aware that you can have multiple types of connections that are all active at the same time; be sure to remove the check mark to turn off any of the options you don’t need.
Figure 3.18 Setting which user can call your PC home
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Figure 3.19 The shortcut menu for the HotSync Manager
Finally, you can set how HotSync will synchronize individual listings between the Palm and the PC. To access these settings, right-click on the HotSync Manager icon and choose Custom on the shortcut menu. The Custom dialog box will open (see Figure 3.20).
Figure 3.20 How will you handle individual listings?
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To change how listings are handled during synchronization, follow the steps in the next To Do section.
To Do: Refine Your HotSync Settings In this To Do section, you will learn how to customize the HotSync settings for listing categories. 1. In the Custom dialog box, select the category for the listing you want to alter. 2. Click Change. The Change HotSync Action dialog box will open (see Figure 3.21). Although it can vary between categories, there are typically four options presented for synchronizing listings. • Synchronize the Files. All listings on both the Palm and PC will be duplicated, with neither platform’s listing getting preference. • Desktop Overwrites Handheld. When synced, changes to desktop listings will overwrite changes to listings on the handheld. • Handheld Overwrites Desktop. When synced, changes to listings on the handheld will overwrite changes to desktop listings. • Do Nothing. When synced, listings changed on one device will remain unchanged on the other platform.
Figure 3.21 Choose one of the four synchronization options.
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3. Choose the option you want for this category. 4. Click OK. The changes will be reflected in the Custom dialog box. 5. Click OK. The Custom dialog box will close. The next time you perform a HotSync, your new settings will be applied.
HotSync In this chapter, you discovered how to set up your brand-new Palm and get that all-important connection to the PC up and running. In Chapter 4, “Navigating the Palm OS,” you’ll learn the very basics of getting around your Palm’s cool little interface so that you can begin using it to its full advantage.
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here was always something magical about getting a new toy on the holidays. My family and I would grab the package, shake it, and hope beyond hope that it wasn’t a sweater from Aunt Sarah. Then we would tear through the wrapping paper, throw open the cardboard. . . .
T
Wow! It’s what I’ve always wanted! Thanks, Mom and Dad! Six hours later, we would then mutter to our parents: “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” And wonder why that vein on Dad’s forehead was throbbing. The magic, it seems, wore thin pretty quickly. Today, even though we’re all grown up, we still like to get toys. Of course, now we pretend to be more sensible about the whole thing and choose practical items, knowing that the luster of our new gadget will soon fade and it must remain useful beyond its initial honeymoon period. The Palm devices certainly fall into this category of “practical,” but don’t let that moniker fool you— Palm devices can be a lot of fun, too. And getting around the Palm interface couldn’t be easier.
Examining the Controls Before launching into a full examination of the Palm interface, it’s best that you learn about some of the new tools that the Palm uses. While menus and buttons in the Palm OS perform as you’re accustomed to in other applications, there are some controls that are indigenous to the Palm alone. The first such control is the popup arrow. Tapping this control will open a list of appropriate options. This control is easy enough to spot—it’s signified by a small triangle that points down. The second Palm control to discuss is the scroll bar. While it is true that this control is present in other PC-based operating systems, it’s a little trickier to manage in the Palm OS. Usually appearing on the right side of any screen where data flows beyond the screen boundaries, the scroll bar can be mastered with just a little practice.
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To use the scroll bar effectively, tap directly on the scroll control and, without lifting the stylus, slowly drag it down the scroll bar. This is not a difficult maneuver, but the scroll bar is so narrow that it is easy to drag off to one side or another, which can result in the scroll bar (and the screen you are viewing) resetting their positions. If you practice this action a bit, you should be in good shape. Perhaps an easier method of scrolling is to press one of the scroll buttons on your Palm device to move the screen up or down. You can see examples of the scroll bar and the popup arrow in Figure 4.1. Now that you have mastered these interface idiosyncrasies, you can explore rest of the Palm OS!
Using Applications Unlike other operating systems, the Palm OS is very application-centric. Windows, Linux, and Mac OS all tend to focus on the files contained within the computer, rather than on the broader applications. On a Palm, however, very little deliberate file-manipulation is done by the user. The applications usually take care of saving your data automatically. What the user does is manipulate the applications themselves — either installing them, moving them, or deleting them.
Popup arrow
Figure 4.1 Scroll bars and popup lists
Scroll bar
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Before you get into application manipulation, take a moment to examine a basic of using the Palm— opening an application.
To Do: Open and Close an Application In this To Do section, you’ll learn how to find, open, and close an application on a Palm device. 1. Tap the Applications icon. The Applications view will open. 2. If the application you need does not appear in the Applications view, tap the Category popup arrow that appears at the upper-right corner of the view. The Category list will appear (see Figure 4.2). Figure 4.2 Switching application categories
3. Tap on All. Every application installed on your Palm will be listed. 4. Tap the application you want to use. The application will open. 5. Once you are finished with the application, you don’t need to close it as you would with a PC application. Merely repeat steps 1–4 to open another application. If you thought that was simple, here’s what you have to do to open one of the button-controlled applications such as the Date Book, Address, To Do, or Memo applications: Push the appropriate button. Many new Palm users are often surprised at the simplicity of the interface because they are accustomed to more arcane rituals. You will quickly discover that the entire Palm OS is simple. There’s no hidden trick to making things
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work. One feature, however, will seem familiar to users of windowed operating systems—the menus.
Using the Menus Menus in the Palm OS are the one connection this operating system has to its Windows, Mac OS, and X Window (UNIX and Linux) counterparts. Menus contain the functions that can’t always be completed with a single tap on the Palm screen. Because menus are an integral part of working with Palm applications, it’s necessary to examine how they work in the Applications view. Once you see how they work there, you’ll understand how to carry over their functionality to the rest of the Palm interface.
To Do: Navigate the Menus In this To Do section, you’ll see how menus work in various Palm applications —in this case, in the Applications view. 1. Tap the Menu icon. The menu bar will appear along the top edge of the screen (see Figure 4.3).
Figure 4.3 Opening the menus
Menu icon
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2. Tap the Options menu icon. The Options menu will appear. 3. Tap the About Applications item. The About Applications message box will open (see Figure 4.4). Figure 4.4 Learning about your application
Notice that once you tap any menu item, the menu bar disappears. To access it again, tap the Menu icon. You might also have wondered about those slash-letter combinations that appear at the right side of menu items. Those are referred to as shortcuts. You can execute a menu item immediately using its shortcut. To use a shortcut, enter a menu command slash by placing your pen on the lower-left corner of the Graffiti screen and dragging the pen to the upper-right corner, then write the Graffiti letter that accompanies the shortcut. For example, to view the current information on all of the applications on your Palm, you could use the menus and tap the App, Info menu items. That requires a grand total of three taps. (Don’t forget that you have to tap the Menu icon.) Alternatively, you could just enter /I and open up the Information view in that manner. There are quite a few of these shortcuts, but you don’t need to learn them all. Table 4.1 lists the shortcuts that you will find most useful in any Palm application.
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TABLE 4.1 FREQUENTLY USED SHORTCUT COMMANDS Command
Function
/B
Beam
/C
Copy
/D
Delete
/G
Graffiti Help
/K
Keyboard
/P
Paste
/S
Select All
/U
Undo
/X
Cut
NOTE You might have noticed that the shortcuts are very similar in content to the shortcut keys on your Windows or Mac machine. One important difference that always seems to trip up new Palm users is the Paste function (/P). In Windows, paste is always done with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V; on the Palm, you need to remember to use the letter P.
Menus are found in every screen of a Palm device, although they vary from application to application. Whenever you install a new program, you should make a point of examining the menus to find features and shortcuts that might not always be apparent.
Organizing Applications The applications that come with your Palm device are neatly laid out in the Applications view. No navigating through several nested menus is required here. Any Palm user who works extensively with their device for any length of time, however, will pick up some additional applications.
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When that happens, the Applications view will be brimming with application icons, which will require you to scroll through the view when you need to start an application. After a while, this can get rather tedious. The makers of Palm recognized this concern and provided some excellent ways to organize applications so they’re always easy to locate and start!
Choosing Categories As you saw in the earlier section, “Using Applications,” the Applications view can be sorted into different categories of applications. Assigning applications to category views is simple to do, but you might first need to create new categories in which to place your applications.
To Do: Create Application Categories In this To Do section, you will build categories in which to sort applications on your Palm. 1. In the Applications view, tap Category. The Category list will appear. 2. Tap Edit Categories. The Edit Categories application will open (see Figure 4.5). Figure 4.5 Setting up application categories
3. Tap on New. The Edit Categories dialog will open (see Figure 4.6). 4. Enter the name of the new category.
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Figure 4.6 Adding a new category
NOTE If you are familiar with Graffiti, use it to enter text data. If not, don’t panic. On the lower-left corner of the Graffiti writing area is a small dot labeled “abc.” Tap that dot and a virtual keyboard will appear, which you can use to enter the data. Graffiti will be explored in depth in Chapter 5, “Getting Data into the Palm.”
5. Tap OK. The Edit Categories dialog will close and the new category will be added to the Category view (see Figure 4.7). Figure 4.7 A new category with which to sort
6. Tap OK. The Edit Categories application will close.
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When you have added all of the desired categories, you might want to delete or edit existing categories. You’ll learn how to edit and delete categories in the next To Do section.
To Do: Remove and Edit Application Categories In this To Do section, you will remove and edit categories from your Palm. 1. In the Applications view, tap Category. The Category list will appear. 2. Tap Edit Categories. The Edit Categories application will open. 3. Tap the category you want to remove. The category will be selected. 4. Tap Delete. The category will be removed from the list. 5. Tap the category you want to edit. The category will be selected. 6. Tap Rename. The Edit Categories dialog will open. 7. Change the category to suit your needs. 8. Tap OK. The Edit Categories dialog will close and the edited category will appear in the main list. 9. Tap OK. The Edit Categories view will close. Now that all of your categories are ready to go, you need to sort your applications into them.
To Do: Sort Applications by Category In this To Do section, you will place applications within their respective categories. 1. In the Applications view, tap Menu. The Applications menu will appear. 2. In the Applications menu, tap Category. The Category application will open (see Figure 4.8).
TIP You can use the shortcut command /Y to open the Category application.
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Figure 4.8 Sorting applications into their proper places
3. Tap the popup arrow that is immediately adjacent to the application you want to re-categorize. The category list will appear (see Figure 4.9).
Figure 4.9 Choosing a new category
4. Tap the appropriate category. The application will be assigned to the new category. 5. When you are finished assigning applications to new categories, tap Done. The Category application will close. To select the category you want to use, you could simply tap on the Category list and choose the category. However, a faster method is to tap on the Applications icon repeatedly to cycle alphabetically through the different categories.
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Applications sorted by category offer a visual advantage to navigating the Palm. As nifty as those application icons are, they can be tedious to sort through when they are lumped together. When sorted, application views become more manageable (see Figure 4.10).
Figure 4.10 Viewing applications by category
Even with categories, you can find yourself buried in too many application icons to quickly read. Changing the way the Applications view displays the programs can help.
To Do: View Applications in a Different Way In this To Do section, you will change the appearance of the Applications view. 1. In the Applications view, tap Menu. The Applications menu will appear. 2. Tap Options. The Options menu will appear. 3. Tap Preferences. The Preferences dialog will open (see Figure 4.11). 4. Tap the View By popup arrow. The View By list will appear. 5. Tap List. The List item will be selected.
TIP You can use the shortcut /R to open the Preferences dialog in the Applications view.
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Figure 4.11 Changing the Applications view
6. Tap OK. The Preferences dialog will close and the Applications view will display the list of applications using small icons (see Figure 4.12). Figure 4.12 The Applications view using the list option
Selecting Buttons Another way you can navigate your Palm applications is to change the way the applications are started. As you have seen, the Palm devices have buttons and screen areas that are designed to open specific applications — you open the Address application by pressing the Address button, and so on. These buttons aren’t set in stone, however. You can modify the buttons so that they open whichever application you choose. This is very handy if you have an application you use even more frequently than the buttons’ default applications.
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For instance, an application I frequently use is Pocket Quicken. Since I use it more than the Memo Pad application, I reassigned the Memo Pad button to open the Pocket Quicken application.
To Do: Select Buttons to Open Applications In this To Do section, you will reassign preset buttons to open alternate applications. 1. In the Applications view’s System category, tap Prefs. The Preferences application will open (see Figure 4.13).
Figure 4.13 All of the Palm’s preferences can be set here.
2. Tap the Options popup arrow in the upper-right corner. The Options list will appear. 3. Tap Buttons. The Buttons view of the Preferences application will open (see Figure 4.14). Figure 4.14 Setting the buttons on the Palm
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4. Tap the popup arrow for the button you want to edit. A list of all available applications will appear. 5. Tap the application you want the button to open. The application will be selected. 6. Tap any other control to leave the Preferences application. When you tap or push the button you altered, it will open the newly assigned application. Buttons are not the only object that you can reassign. Using the same method, an on-screen Calculator area can be reassigned, as well as the HotSync button.
CAUTION Be very careful when reassigning the HotSync control. Only do so if you have a good reason.
Another customizable area is called the Pen launch. The Pen launch is performed by tapping the stylus within the Graffiti writing area and dragging it up into the display portion of the screen. The Pen launch is very useful for quickly starting, or launching, a Palm feature (not an application) when all of the other controls are assigned.
To Do: Customize the Pen Launch In this To Do section, you will assign a feature so that it will open using the Pen launch. 1. In the Applications view’s System category, tap Prefs. The Preferences application will open. 2. Tap the popup arrow in the upper-right corner. The Options list will appear. 3. Tap Buttons. The Buttons view will open. 4. Tap the Pen button. The Pen dialog will open (see Figure 4.15).
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Figure 4.15 Setting up the Pen launch
5. Tap the popup arrow for the Options list control. The Options list will appear. 6. Tap the option you want to use.
TIP A popular choice for Pen launches is the Beam function.
7. Tap any other control to exit the Preferences application. Now you can use the Pen function whenever you need it. With just a few changes, you can easily customize your Palm device to match your personal needs.
HotSync In this chapter, you learned how to navigate through the Palm OS. This is a building chapter; everything you learned here will be applied in every activity you undertake with the Palm. In Chapter 5, “Getting Data into the Palm,” you’ll master another basic Palm feature—the Graffiti language. While some users seem to think Graffiti is the most intimidating feat to perform, you’ll soon see that it’s not as hard as it looks!
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5 Getting Data into the Palm
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ometimes you don’t know where the next big idea will come from. Even if the idea is yours. In January 1986, Jeff Hawkins, the future founder of Palm Computing, armed with a degree in electrical engineering and a deep, burning desire to know how the human brain worked, left his job at a Silicon Valley software company and entered the halls of the University of California, Berkeley to begin studying for his graduate degree in biophysics.
S
This change from business to academic life was not a beginning for Hawkins, nor was it an end. It turned out to be a transition of sorts that would lead him on a new and exciting path of success. At the time, Hawkins was consumed with finding an understanding of what our brains do and how they work. In his previous tenure at GRiD Software, he wanted to design a computer that responded directly to human thought impulses. This passion was so overwhelming that Hawkins’ wife urged him to enter a university setting, where his drive could be channeled into structured goals. Once at Berkeley, Hawkins began to think of human intelligence from two angles. The first approach he undertook was to determine how memory differs between a human brain and a computer. Despite the inevitable comparisons, computers and the brain are not remotely similar in how they are built and how they function. Computers have processors, software, and RAM to help them work. The brain has none of that, instead relying on something called auto-associative memory. This type of memory helps humans fill in the gaps when information is incomplete to come up with the total solution. With this knowledge in hand, Hawkins could research another tack. Because of auto-associative memory, the brain can anticipate what’s going to happen. It can observe and make predictions based on what it has seen. This is how the brain can understand things. Hawkins’ approach to tackling these two issues was unique to his peers at Berkeley. So unique, in fact, that none of his professors would officially support him. In 1988, Hawkins left Berkeley without a degree— but definitely
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with an idea. Building on his research in auto-associative memory, Hawkins created a software program that would recognize specific patterns — in this case, the patterns of human handwriting. After he rejoined his old company, Hawkins’ software was incorporated into a handheld computing device known as the GRiDPad. Later, when Hawkins formed his own company, the software appeared again in a similar device known as the Zoomer. Finally, a modified and renamed version of the software was the key component of one of the most popular computing devices in existence. The software was called PalmPrint, and was later named Graffiti. Even though Hawkins steered Palm Computing and then his new company, Handspring, Inc., to huge commercial success, he has not left behind his original set of goals— to build electronic devices that use auto-associative memory in much the way we do. Sometimes you do know from where the next big idea will come. Using Graffiti is one of the most unique aspects of owning a Palm. It is also one of the more daunting. At first glance, the idea of writing weird lettering on a handheld device is an anathema to most people. This chapter will demonstrate how to use Graffiti effectively and quickly so you can get your words into the Palm.
Graffiti Basics Graffiti is not, as some might believe, exceedingly difficult to work with, no matter how odd it looks. There are some simple rules that always apply to Graffiti work. Remember them, and you’ll do pretty well. Rule Number One: All of the Graffiti characters are entered within one of the Graffiti input areas just under the main screen. There are two Graffiti input areas, the larger alphabetic area on the left and the smaller numeric area on the right. As the names imply, alphabetic characters are entered on the left and numbers are entered on the right. Tiny little “abc” and “123” labels on the bottom of each area will help you remember this. This is an important distinction and one that many new users forget. The reason for this division of input areas is very simple: It keeps the number of Graffiti characters you have to learn down to the lowest possible number.
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Some letters and numbers are remarkably similar, both in their normal form and in Graffiti. The letter i and the number 1, for instance, both use the same Graffiti character. However, attempting to write 1 in the alphabetic input area will result in the letter i. Rule Number Two: Graffiti characters are entered one at a time. Unlike some handwriting-recognition software, Graffiti can only accept characters one at a time. This can drive people slightly nuts, since we are all used to writing from one side of a line to the other. In Graffiti, you need to write a character, pick up the stylus, and then write the next letter on the same area. Most letters and numbers only need one character to be entered into the Palm. Special characters, however, might need more than one Graffiti character entered to appear correctly. For instance, capital letters always require that the Shift command be entered just prior to entering the letter. This combination of Graffiti characters will create a single capital letter. There are quite a few combinations in place so that you can get the maximum characters from the Graffiti lexicon. Rule Number Three: Graffiti characters are generally similar in shape to printed uppercase letters, although they appear in lowercase by default. This rule is best explained by looking at the set of letters and numbers that appear in Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1 The ABCs and 123s in Graffiti
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In Figure 5.1, you can see the English alphabet and Arabic numeral system listed all in one place. Looking at the letters in particular, you can see that the letters, except for “h,” appear in a sort of uppercase form. This is primarily because uppercase letters are more unique in shape than are lowercase letters. Consider letters “d” and “a,” for instance. When writing them by hand, the characters are very similar. Now think about their uppercase counterparts: “D” and “A.” Not easily confused, are they? Much easier for your Palm to understand. Since most of us don’t write in UPPERCASE ALL OF THE TIME (and thank goodness for that), the default setting is for entering letters in lowercase, since lowercase letters are generally more prevalent in everyday use. Rule Number Four: Writing Graffiti characters is like forming printed characters without having to lift your pen. This rule is what I call the secret to figuring out Graffiti. If you take this one rule to heart, you will see improvement with your own Graffiti skill in short order. Here’s what this rule means: When you print an uppercase A on paper, most people will first “make the tent”— draw the little angle pointing up, in other words. Then, you will more than likely lift your pen to draw the horizontal line in the center of the A. In Graffiti, the trick is to not lift your stylus when entering a character. So, for A, you just “make the tent,” and the letter “a” is entered. “T” is another example of this technique. Printing a T is a two-stroke process—drawing the horizontal line, picking up the pen, and drawing the vertical line. In Graffiti, this process has been reduced to a single stroke. You draw the horizontal line and a vertical line from the right end. Of course, there is always an exception to each rule. The letter “X” is the only two-stroke letter in Graffiti. It is printed just as you would print it on a piece of paper. With this one exception, all Graffiti characters are written with just one stroke. The sooner you can visualize this process, the faster you will get used to Graffiti.
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Getting the Hang of Graffiti General tips are all well and good, but sometimes the fastest way to learn about something is to examine it in greater detail. Each character in Graffiti has unique characteristics that distinguish it from the other characters. In this section, you will examine each of the characters to help you learn how to remember each one’s little quirks.
Now You Know Your ABCs Table 5.1 is a listing of the alphabetic characters within Graffiti. These can only be entered within the alphabetic Graffiti input area. Entering them without any other Graffiti character will produce the lowercase representation of the letter.
TIP To follow the Graffiti symbology, place your stylus in the same relative position on the input area and move your stylus away from that point.
NOTE When following the hints in the tables, remember these definitions: • Draw. Create a described symbol. • Print. Print the character. • Write. Write the character as you would in cursive.
TIP When you enter a character in Graffiti, start at the location marked by the square point in the following tables.
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TABLE 5.1 GRAFFITI CHARACTERS FROM A–Z Graffiti
Letter
Hint
a
Draw the “little tent” and nothing else.
b
Print a capital B without lifting the stylus.
c
Print a capital C.
d
Print a capital D without lifting the stylus.
e
Draw a backwards 3, or write a simple capital E.
f
Draw a horizontal line from right to left, then drop a vertical line from the left end.
g
Print a capital G without lifting the stylus.
h
Print a lowercase h without lifting the stylus.
i
Draw a single vertical line from top to bottom.
j
Print a capital J without lifting the stylus.
k
Draw a fish symbol starting with the tail, then to a loop for the head, and back to the tail; or draw Greek α symbol.
l
Print a capital L without lifting the stylus.
m
Print a capital M without lifting the stylus.
n
Print a capital N without lifting the stylus.
o
Print a capital O without lifting the stylus.
p
Print a capital P without lifting the stylus.
q
Print a capital O, followed by a horizontal tail at the top of the letter.
r
Print a capital R without lifting the stylus.
s
Print a capital S without lifting the stylus.
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TABLE 5.1 GRAFFITI CHARACTERS FROM A–Z (continued) Graffiti
Letter
Hint
t
Draw a horizontal line from left to right, then drop a vertical line from the right end.
u
Print a capital U without lifting the stylus.
v
Print a capital V, followed by a horizontal tail at the top of the letter — similar to a square root symbol.
w
Print a capital W without lifting the stylus.
x
Print a capital X in two strokes.
y
Write a capital Y without lifting the stylus.
z
Print a capital Z without lifting the stylus.
Don’t worry about the uppercase letters just yet— they are also easy to create. For now, let’s move on to the numbers in Graffiti.
It’s Easy as One, Two, Three! Numbers in Graffiti are simple to manage and for the most part look like their Arabic counterparts. The important thing to remember is that numbers must be entered in the numeral Graffiti area or they won’t show up as numbers in the Palm device. Of the 10 numerals, only the number 4 is written a bit differently, as shown in Table 5.2.
Navigating in Graffiti You might think the heading of this section is a bit odd. After all, where in Graffiti could one navigate to? In Graffiti, it’s not so much a question of where as it is a question of what. Certain characters require additional strokes to be
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TABLE 5.2 GRAFFITI CHARACTERS FROM 0–9 Graffiti
Numeral
Hint
0
Print a 0 without lifting the stylus.
1
Draw a single vertical line from top to bottom.
2
Print a 2 without lifting the stylus.
3
Print a 3 without lifting the stylus.
4
Draw the upper-left and horizontal lines of the numeral 4 — no vertical line is needed.
5
Print a 5 without lifting the stylus.
6
Print a 6 without lifting the stylus.
7
Print a 7 without lifting the stylus.
8
Print an 8 without lifting the stylus.
9
Print a 9 without lifting the stylus.
created—the most obvious being the uppercase letters. There are also some commands that are used to move your cursor around the screen. All of these characters fall into a group I refer to as the navigation group, because they are all used to get you to a new result. Since these characters have no symbolic equivalent, Table 5.3 lists the character, the name, and the function of the character. It also lists in which Graffiti input area the characters will work, as not all of these characters will work in both areas. The most frequently-used character in this group is certainly Caps Shift. Just a single line drawn from bottom to top automatically creates the next single letter in uppercase.
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TABLE 5.3 GRAFFITI NAVIGATION CHARACTERS Graffiti
Character
Function
Area
Space
Inserts a space into text
Both
Back Space
Removes a character from text
Both
Return
Drops the cursor down one line
Both
Caps Shift
Makes the next character uppercase
Alphabetic
Caps Lock
Makes all subsequent characters uppercase
Alphabetic
Menu Command
Starts the menu command function
Both
Cursor Left
Moves the cursor one space to the left
Both
Cursor Right
Moves the cursor one space to the right
Both
ShortCut
Starts the ShortCut function
Both
Punctuation Shift
Starts the Punctuation function
Both
Extended Shift
Starts the Extended Character function
Both
NOTE For a closer look at ShortCuts, see the “Taking a ShortCut” section later in this chapter.
To write “Peter” on a Palm, for instance, you would enter Caps Shift, p, e, t, e, r. Because the P follows the Caps Shift character, it is capitalized. To save time while entering words that should appear in all capital letters (such as FBI) you can use the Caps Lock character, which is two Caps Shift lines drawn in quick succession. To write “FBI,” therefore, you would enter Caps Lock, f, b, i. Entering Caps Shift one more time will turn off Caps Lock. These shift characters affect many of the other characters; their use is denoted by special symbols at the bottom of the Palm screen. When the Caps Shift
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Figure 5.2 The shift symbol shows you when Caps Shift is turned on.
Shift symbol
character is implemented, an upward-pointing arrow appears on the screen, as shown in Figure 5.2. Similar symbols are used for the other shifted functions. The Caps Lock function will cause a broken arrow icon to appear in the same position, Punctuation Shift will display a large dot, and Extended Shift will display a small backslash. Remember that, except for Caps Lock, all of these functions affect only the very next character.
Punctuation. Is. Very. Important. Using the Punctuation Shift character, you can enter all types of punctuation marks into the Palm. The Punctuation Shift character is, quite simply, a single tap on either Graffiti area. Once activated, the punctuation symbol will appear at the bottom of the screen. This character, while ridiculously easy to use, is often the most maddening in Graffiti because it is so easy to start it accidentally. The problem is that it’s very easy to accidentally tap the screen. Many times you will be in Punctuation mode and not even realize it. With practice, you will decrease the number of these glitches, but have some patience in the first few sessions and keep an eye out for the punctuation symbol. Table 5.4 lists all of the symbols that are used in Punctuation mode.
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TABLE 5.4 GRAFFITI PUNCTUATION CHARACTERS Graffiti
Character
Hint
.
Double-tap to create a period or decimal point.
,
Draw a short diagonal line from upper-right to lower-left.
‘
Draw a short vertical line from top to bottom.
“
Print a capital N without lifting the stylus.
-
Draw a short horizontal line from left to right.
/
Draw a diagonal line from lower-left to upper-right.
?
Draw the upper portion of a question mark.
!
Draw a vertical line from bottom to top.
@
Print a capital O without lifting the stylus.
#
Draw a backwards N, starting in upper-left corner.
$
Print a capital S without lifting the stylus.
%
Draw a looping W.
^
Draw the “little tent.”
&
Print an 8.
*
Draw a fish symbol beginning with the tail, then to a loop for the head, and back to the tail — an inverse from “k” character.
(
Print a left parenthesis.
)
Print a right parenthesis.
;
Draw a diagonal line from upper-right to lower-left and back to upper-right without lifting the stylus.
:
Draw a vertical line from top to bottom and back to top without lifting the stylus.
Tab Space
Draw a vertical line from bottom to top and then a horizontal line to the right without lifting the stylus.
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TABLE 5.4 GRAFFITI PUNCTUATION CHARACTERS (continued) Graffiti
Character
Hint
<
Draw a left angle bracket from bottom to top.
>
Draw a right angle bracket from bottom to top.
[
Draw an inverse 3 from bottom to top.
]
Draw a regular 3 from bottom to top.
{
Draw an inverse 3 from top to bottom.
}
Draw a regular 3 from top to bottom.
`
Quickly draw a diagonal line from lower-right to upperleft and back to lower-right without lifting the stylus.
~
Draw a capital N from right to left.
\
Draw a diagonal line from upper-left to lower-right.
+
Draw a fish symbol beginning with the tail, then to a loop for the head, and back to the tail; or draw Greek α symbol.
=
Print a capital Z without lifting the stylus.
_
Draw a horizontal line from left to right and back to left without lifting the stylus.
|
Draw a vertical line from bottom to top and back to bottom without lifting the stylus.
Extending the Possibilities Another character category is the Extended Shift group. These characters are the oddballs of the English character set. Useful, but not often used. The functionality of these characters is identical to the Punctuation group except that the initial shift character is different. Table 5.5 lists all of the extended characters.
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TABLE 5.5 GRAFFITI EXTENDED CHARACTERS Graffiti
Character •
Hint Tap the Graffiti area.
™
Print a capital M.
®
Print a capital R.
©
Print a capital C.
‘
Draw a vertical line from bottom to top and then a horizontal line to the right.
’
Draw a vertical line from bottom to top and then a horizontal line to the left.
“
Print a capital N.
”
Draw an inverse capital N.
§
Draw a capital S from bottom to top.
°
Draw a capital O from bottom to top, clockwise.
+
Draw a fish beginning with the tail, then to a loop for the head, and back to the tail; or draw Greek α symbol.
-
Draw a short horizontal line from left to right.
X
Draw a diagonal line from upper-right to lower-left.
÷
Draw a looping W.
=
Print a capital Z.
¢
Draw a capital C from bottom to top.
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TABLE 5.5 GRAFFITI EXTENDED CHARACTERS (continued) Graffiti
Character
Hint
¥
Draw a simple, downward loop.
£
Print a capital L.
¿
Draw a capital L, starting from the lower right.
¡
Draw a vertical line from bottom to top.
ß
Print a capital B.
µ
Print a capital M, from right to left.
ø
Draw a capital O from bottom to the top, counter-clockwise.
You Have to Accentuate the Positive The final category of characters you should look at does not contain true characters at all, but instead contains accents to characters. Accented characters are not common in the English language. However, since the Palm is an international platform, the need to be able to use these accents is great. No shift mode is needed to get these character accents. You merely use the accent characters immediately after the letter you want to accent. Two of these characters, the cedilla (ç) and the diphthong (æ), are stand-alone characters and are created using the instructions in Table 5.6.
NOTE Since printing accents alone is difficult, each accent will appear with the letter “a” in Table 5.6. It is important to note that these accents can be used with any letter, not just the letter “a.”
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TABLE 5.6 GRAFFITI ACCENTS AND SPECIAL CHARACTERS Graffiti
Character
Hint
à
Draw a diagonal line from upper-left to lower-right and back to upper-left without lifting the stylus.
á
Draw a diagonal line from upper-right to lower-left and back to upper-right without lifting the stylus.
â
Draw the “little tent” from right to left.
å
Draw a capital O from bottom to top, counter-clockwise.
ã
Draw a capital N from right to left.
ä
Draw a looping W.
ç
Draw a capital C from bottom to top.
æ
Draw an inverse 3 from bottom to top.
Taking a ShortCut If you find yourself entering a lot of the same text over and over, you can simplify your life by creating a ShortCut for your Palm device. A ShortCut consists of a few Graffiti strokes that can represent a larger amount of text, such as a user’s complete signature with name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. To create a ShortCut, follow the steps in the next To Do.
To Do: Create a ShortCut In this To Do section, you’ll discover how to make your own ShortCuts for the Palm. 1. Tap the Applications icon. The Applications view will open.
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2. Tap the Prefs application icon. The Preferences application will start. 3. Tap the Category popup arrow that appears at the upper-right corner of the view. The Category list will appear. 4. Tap ShortCuts. The ShortCuts view will appear (see Figure 5.3). Figure 5.3 Viewing ShortCuts
5. Tap the Edit button. The ShortCut Entry dialog will open (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4 Adding a ShortCut
6. Enter a brief code for the ShortCut in the ShortCut Name field. 7. Enter the full text for the ShortCut in the ShortCut Text field. 8. Tap on OK. The ShortCut Entry dialog will close and the new ShortCut will appear in the Preferences application.
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Keyboard? What Keyboard? At this point, your head might be swimming with little fishes and little tents. You might be wondering how you will ever learn all of this. In truth, you likely won’t learn every character by heart. After all, many Americans do not have an everyday use for the diphthong, so quite likely it will not be something you memorize. For those times when you are stuck, there is another way to enter text into the Palm—by using the onboard keyboards. These keyboards will enable you to enter every character available for the Palm without using Graffiti. If this seems like a dream come true for those of you who dread using Graffiti, hold on. While using the keyboards is mechanically easier, it is much slower to enter text in this manner than by using Graffiti. The keyboards should not be a final method of entering text. Rather, they should assist you in entering special characters with which you might not be familiar. Accessing the keyboards is easy. Within an application, tap on the dotted labels in the lower corners of the Graffiti writing areas. One of three keyboard boxes will open, as shown in Figure 5.5. As you might expect, using the keyboard is just like using a real keyboard. Tap each button, one at a time, to enter the character you want. The big hitch here is that you must enter each character one at a time. In addition to the alphabetic keyboard, there is also a numeric keyboard, which handles numerals, math operators, and several currency symbols (see Figure 5.6).
Figure 5.5 The alphabetic keyboard
Backspace key Tab key Caps Lock key Shift key
Return key Space bar Keyboard Type buttons
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Figure 5.6 The numeric keyboard deals with numbers and numberrelated symbols.
The third keyboard is the international keyboard. Here, many non-English characters can be entered into the Palm (see Figure 5.7). After you have entered your data using one or all of the keyboards, tap Done to close the keyboard and return to your application.
NOTE If you really don’t like using Graffiti or the onboard keyboard, there are many different hardware keyboards that you can connect to the various Palm devices. See your Palm device manufacturer for details.
Figure 5.7 Enter international characters using this keyboard.
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HotSync At this point you should have a much clearer idea of Graffiti and how its economy of motion can let you quickly enter text into the Palm. Don’t worry if you are not a master yet. Like learning how to type, using Graffiti is something that must be practiced before you will gain proficiency. In Chapter 6, “Working with the Palm Desktop,” you’ll look at the applications that came with your Palm and learn what they do. Then, you’ll learn how to add some applications of your own.
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6 Working with the Palm Desktop
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s mobile and as useful as the Palm can be, one tool included with your Palm device can enhance your use of the device by a large degree even though it might stay in one place. This tool is the Palm Desktop, an application that sits on your PC or Mac machine and trades information with your Palm device.
A
Within this application is a set of simple and efficient applications that mirror those on the Palm device. Should you choose to use them, you can enter data on your computer using the Palm Desktop and later synchronize the data to your Palm. Since not everyone has access to a personal information management (PIM) application, Palm packages its own PIM for desktop use. The reason for this is simple: No matter how good you are with Graffiti, it’s easier to get data into a PC than into a Palm device. Graffiti speed-demons and slow typists might dispute this. However, if you do any work on a desktop computer, the odds are very high that your computer will have access to data (via e-mails, documents, and other files) not directly accessible to your Palm. Rather than writing the information again into your Palm, you can copy and paste the information from your computer files into your PIM for later synchronization. This is about as fast as possible, no matter how quick you are with Graffiti. Of course, many people choose not to use the Palm Desktop because they synchronize the Palm with their own PIM application, such as Microsoft Outlook. Even if you plan to use your own PIM, you shouldn’t skip this chapter just yet. There is one function of the Palm Desktop that you will eventually need—installing new Palm applications. In this chapter, you’ll look at the different components of the Palm Desktop. You’ll learn how to enter and edit data as well as how to install applications on your Palm device.
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Desktop Basics Starting the Palm Desktop is just like starting any other Windows or Mac application. You either locate and double-click the icon representing the Palm Desktop or you locate and click the application in your Start, Programs menu. This will start the Palm Desktop application, as shown in Figure 6.1. There is not a lot that is complicated about this application. On the left side of the window are the tool selection buttons. Click on any of these to open the tool of choice. In the upper-right corner of the window is the user selection drop-down list. You’ll want to pay special attention to this list if more than one Palm user connects to this computer. Palm Desktop can keep track of appointments, addresses, and other personal data entered by each individual user— extremely handy when spouses and other family members use multiple Palms with one home PC or when several employees need to sync to one computer. You will learn more about the interface as you explore the various tools within the Palm Desktop; however, you should know right up front that this
Date Book button
Figure 6.1 The Palm Desktop interface with the Date Book open
Memo Pad button Expense button Install button
Address Book button
To Do List button
User selection list
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application does not hold many surprises. Palm has deliberately made this application as simple to use as possible.
The Date Book The Date Book is likely the most-used section of the Palm Desktop application, because managing our time might be the most, if you’ll pardon the expression, time-consuming aspect of our lives. Typically, most people purchase a Palm to help them balance daily work, family, and recreation time. Looking at the Date Book interface within the Palm Desktop (shown in Figure 6.2), you will see a screen organized into several parts. The best way to see how these functions work is to actually use the tools to create and edit appointments within the Date Book. In the Palm Desktop, appointments are called events and are set up around specific blocks of time, as you’ll see in the next To Do section.
Event calendar
Year control
Figure 6.2
Month control
A closer look at the Date Book
Calendar controls Month calendar
Address Book window
New Event button Edit Event button Today button
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To Do: Create a Single Event This To Do section reviews the methods used to create new events in the Date Book. 1. In the event calendar, select a start time and day. A colored border will surround the selected hour block, as shown in Figure 6.3. 2. To edit the new event, click Edit. The Edit Event dialog box will open (see Figure 6.4).
TIP You can simultaneously create an event and open the Edit Event dialog box by clicking the New button. Alternatively, you can double-click the right edge of any event to open the same dialog box.
3. Type the description of your event in the Description text box. 4. Enter the start and end times of the event. To open the Select Time dialog box, click the Select Time button (see Figure 6.5).
Figure 6.3 Starting a new event
New, empty event
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Figure 6.4 Entering event details Select Time button Select Date button Note Editor button
Figure 6.5 Determining the times for your event
TIP Enter the beginning and ending times of the event quickly by typing them in the Time text boxes.
5. Click the Start Time option button. 6. Click the Hour and Minute values for the start time. The appropriate value will be entered in the Start Time field. 7. Click the End Time option button and then select the values for the ending time.
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TIP If your event has no specific start time, such as an all-day event like a birthday, click the No Time button.
8. Click OK. The Select Time dialog box will close and the start and end times will appear in the Edit Event dialog box. 9. Complete the date of the event. You can either type the date in the Date text box or click the Select Date button to open the Select Date dialog box (see Figure 6.6).
Figure 6.6 Setting the date for your event
10. Set the year of the date by clicking the forward or back arrows that appear adjacent to the year text box.
NOTE The Palm Desktop can set events from January 1, 1970 to Dec. 31, 2031.
11. Click the desired month in the month list. 12. Click the desired day in the calendar. 13. Click OK. The Select Date dialog box will close and the new date will appear in the Date field of the Edit Event dialog box.
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TIP Click the Note Editor button to add needed notes to an event.
14. Click in the Alarm check box to set an alarm. The alarm options will appear (see Figure 6.7).
Figure 6.7 Alarms can be set for any event.
15. Using the alarm options, set the alarm to sound minutes, hours, or days ahead of the event.
TIP If you want this event to be private and viewed only by you, select the Private check box.
16. Click OK. The Edit Event dialog box will close and the event will appear in the Date Book’s calendar (see Figure 6.8).
TIP You can change the end time of an event by dragging the colored bar that appears below the event in the calendar to the new end time.
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Figure 6.8 A completed event
Alarm symbol
If an event is cancelled, as can happen often, you should delete it from your Date Book so it will also be removed from your Palm.
To Do: Delete Events This To Do section illustrates how to delete an event. 1. Navigate to the event you want to delete. 2. Click on the event’s right border to select it. 3. Press the Delete key. The selected event will be deleted. A recurring event repeats with regularity—regularity being the key word. You can have repeated events such as your child’s Little League games but unless they occur at regular intervals, you will have to treat them as single events in the Date Book. Creating a recurring event is the same as creating a single event, with just one extra step.
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To Do: Create Recurring Events This To Do section reviews the methods used to create new recurring events in the Date Book. 1. In the event calendar, click New. The Edit Event dialog box will open. 2. Type the description of your event. 3. Type or select the start and end times of the event in the Time boxes. 4. Type or select the date of the event in the Date box. 5. Click the Repeat None button. The Change Repeat dialog box will open. 6. Click the Weekly option. The Weekly options will appear (see Figure 6.9).
Figure 6.9 Setting up recurring events
7. Type or select the number of weeks between each occurrence of the event. 8. Set the end date for the range of occurrences by typing the date in the End On box or using the calendar button. 9. Click the day of the week on which the event will recur. 10. Click OK. The Change Repeat dialog box will close. 11. Click OK. The Edit Events dialog box will close. Figure 6.10 shows the completed recurring event.
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Figure 6.10 The recurring event
Recurring event symbol
Sometimes even regularly scheduled events do not go as planned. Perhaps a holiday occurs on one of the dates of the recurring event, or the event is postponed due to weather. In the Date Book, you can delete one recurring event in a series or you can delete the entire series.
To Do: Delete Recurring Events This To Do section focuses on the methods used to delete all or part of a series of recurring events. 1. Navigate to a future occurrence of the recurring event. 2. Click the event’s right border to select it. 3. Press the Delete key. The Repeating Event dialog box will open. 4a.Click All to delete all events in the recurrence. or 4b.Click Current to delete just that particular event in the recurrence.
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With such busy lives, things can get so hectic that you might forget on what day an important meeting occurs or what time you need to pick up your spouse at the airport next week. Rather than paging through all the events in the Date Book, you can quickly search for the event you want.
To Do: Search for Events This To Do section illustrates how to find an event in the Date Book.
NOTE The Find method illustrated here will locate any entry within all sections of the Palm Desktop.
1. Choose the Find command from the Edit menu. The Find dialog box will open.
TIP Press Ctrl+F in any part of the Palm Desktop to open the Find dialog box.
2. Enter the term for which you want to search. 3. Click Find. The results of the search will be listed in an expanded form of the Find dialog box (see Figure 6.11).
Figure 6.11 The Find dialog box can locate events, addresses, or pretty much anything else in the Palm Desktop.
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4. Double-click the desired event in the results field. The calendar will immediately display the day of event. Now that you understand the basics of the Date Book, it’s time to review the Address Book.
The Address Book One of the interesting things about living on this little blue planet is the six degrees of separation theorem, which goes something like this: Given any two people on the planet, you can find some link between them through a maximum of six levels of friends and associates. For instance, my wife (1) knows a woman (2) who once met with the President of the United States (3). This puts me at three degrees of separation from former President Bill Clinton. You might be thinking “la-di-dah,” and that’s okay. The point here is not to name drop so much as point out this really cool phenomenon. You can find a link between yourself and anyone on the planet with just six degrees of separation, whether that person is a world leader or a Zulu tribal leader. Given this, it makes sense to keep track of the contact information of everyone you know. You never know when you’ll need to contact Vasily Popovitch Zredenko of Kiev, Russia. The Address Book is the Palm Desktop’s touch point for keeping track of this type of information. It is not terribly complicated, but that’s the whole point. It’s only designed to aid you in the entry of multiple addresses. To start the Address Book, double-click the Address Book icon on the Palm Desktop. The Address Book will open, as shown in Figure 6.12. Looking at this list, you can see that more associates could be added. How you meet these people to get them into your Address Book is up to you; I’m just going to show you how to add them to the list.
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Figure 6.12 The Address Book in the Palm Desktop
Address details
Address List
Category
Microsoft Office icons
To Do: Create Address Book Entries This To Do section demonstrates how to create new entries in the Address Book. 1. Click New. The Edit Address dialog box will open (see Figure 6.13). 2. In the Name tab, complete the new entry’s name, title, company, and contact information. 3. Click the appropriate Show in List option button for the primary contact point. This information will appear adjacent to the entry name in the list.
TIP If you want to consistently list one type of contact for each listing, select the Save as Default check box.
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Figure 6.13 Entering a new friend
4. Click the Address tab to open the Address page for the current entry. 5. Enter the address information (see Figure 6.14).
NOTE Additional information about the person (such as birthday or children’s names) can be added to the Custom fields.
Figure 6.14 Entering address details
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6. Click the Note tab to open the Note page. 7. Enter any additional information you want to retain about this entry. 8. Click OK. The Edit Address dialog box will close and your new entry will be added to the Address List (see Figure 6.15).
TIP To view or change an entry’s attached note, double-click on the Notes icon to open it in the Note Editor dialog box.
You might have noticed the Category options within each entry and throughout the list. Unlike the Date Book events, Address Book entries can be assigned to a particular category. This function is especially handy when you have many entries in the Address Book, because viewing them by category can pare down the visible set of addresses to a manageable size.
Figure 6.15 The completed new entry
New address entry
Note icon
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To Do: Categorize Address Book Entries This To Do section demonstrates how to create and assign categories to entries in the Address Book. 1. Click an entry to select it. 2. Click Edit. The Edit Address dialog box will open. 3. Click the Category drop-down arrow. The category list will appear. 4. If the default categories don’t fit your needs, you can add a new one. Click Edit Categories to open the Edit Address Categories dialog box (see Figure 6.16).
Figure 6.16 Building custom categories
5. Click New. The New Category dialog box will open. 6. Type the name for the new category. 7. Click OK. The New Category dialog box will close. 8. Click OK. The Edit Address Categories dialog box will close and the new category will appear in the category list. 9. Click OK. The Edit Address dialog box will close. 10. To view the list by category, choose an option from the Address Book category list. Only the entries from that category will be displayed (see Figure 6.17).
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Figure 6.17 Viewing entries by category
One nice feature of the Address Book is its ability to export the data to another file type that you can use with other software. You can export to a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, or your computer’s clipboard for eventual inclusion into another application’s file. The advantages of this feature are tremendous, since creating form letters or mailing labels from your Address Book then becomes a very simple process.
To Do: Export Address Book Entries This To Do section reveals how to export multiple entries to another application—in this case, Microsoft Excel. 1. Select a range of entries by clicking the first item and then pressing the Shift key while clicking another entry. All entries between the first click and the Shift+click will be selected.
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TIP You can easily select a range of entries by first categorizing the entries you want to export into a uniform category and then changing the Address Book view to show only that category.
2. Drag the selected range of entries to the Excel icon, which appears near the bottom-right corner of the Palm Desktop. 3. When your pointer is over the Excel icon, release the mouse button. Excel will launch and your Address Book entries will be added to the open spreadsheet (see Figure 6.18). If this method of data entry seems cumbersome, just remember that it is far easier than doing it en masse on the Palm device. Now that you have completed a few To Do sections in this book, it’s time to discover how to handle To Do lists on the Palm desktop.
Figure 6.18 Exporting data is a simple as 1, 2, 3!
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The To Do List If you are as busy as I am, you need to keep track of the things you must do on a given day, as well as where and when you have to be at a given place. Palm devices excel at this sort of thing. Tracking the things you have to do is usually done in two ways — by the date when the tasks must be completed and by their importance. For example, you can have two tasks that are due to be completed on the very same day. It is quite likely, however, that the birth of your child is a higher priority than finishing that report for the office (no matter what your boss says). These things are kept in mind when you are building a To Do list on the Palm device and Palm Desktop, as you will see in the next To Do section.
To Do: Create To Do List Entries This To Do section demonstrates how to create new entries in the To Do list. 1. Click New. A space for a new To Do entry will appear and the cursor will be placed within the To Do box (see Figure 6.19). 2. Fill in a description for the entry in the To Do box. 3. Click the option button for the priority you want to assign to the item. A value of 1 is the highest priority and a value of 5 is the lowest. 4. Click the Due down arrow to select the date when this item must be finished. If the date is not available on the list, click the Choose Date option in the Due drop-down list to open the Select Date dialog box. 5. Select the desired date in the Select Date dialog box and click on OK to close the box. 6. Select a category from the Category drop-down list. If none of the listed categories fits your requirements, you can add a new category using the method described in the previous To Do section. 7. If additional information is needed, click the Note icon to open the Note Editor dialog box. 8. When you’re finished, click Apply. The new To Do entry will be added to the list.
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Figure 6.19 One more thing you have to get done
To Do list
To Do entry elements
To mark a To Do item as complete, click on the check box adjacent to the entry. You can configure the To Do list to remove completed items, as shown in the next To Do section.
To Do: Configure the To Do List This To Do section shows you how to configure the To Do list. 1. Click Show. The Show Options dialog box will open (see Figure 6.20). 2. Choose the options to be included on your To Do list. To remove completed items from the list, click to clear the Show Completed Items check box. 3. When you’re finished, click OK. The new options will be applied to the list.
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Figure 6.20 Configuring the To Do list
Managing the To Do list is done in much the same manner as managing the Address Book entries. Similar to Address Book entries, To Do entries can be categorized and exported. The same management tasks are available in the next section of the Palm Desktop, the Memo Pad.
The Memo Pad Let’s face it, the Memo Pad is just not very exciting for many users. After all, how much fun can it be to jot down little notes? I certainly won’t argue with any such assumption, but I do maintain that the Memo Pad is more useful than you might think, particularly if you need to enter a lot of detailed information in a hurry. Memos are good for those things that the other components of the Palm Desktop (and Palm device) can’t handle readily. For example, I copy detailed travel itinerary information from the Internet or an e-mail message into the Desktop’s Memo Pad and then HotSync the information to the Palm device. This has saved me from losing a hotel reservation more than once. That said, take a look at the very simple process of building a Memo.
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To Do: Create a Memo This To Do section shows you how to create a Memo. 1. Click New. A new line for a Memo will appear and the cursor will be placed within the Memo text box (see Figure 6.21). 2. Type a Memo. 3. Click the Category down arrow to assign a category to the Memo. 4. When you’re finished, click Apply. The new Memo will be added to the list. Using this method is fast and easy— something you need in this hectic world. Managing the Memo list is even easier than managing the To Do list. Just click List By to open the List By dialog box. There, you can choose to either sort the list alphabetically or in the order in which the entries appear on the Palm device.
Figure 6.21 Building a Memo
Memo list
Memo entry field
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Application Installation When you purchase a new application for your Palm, you might experience some initial confusion, particularly if the software is sent on a disk. How in the world do you install software onto the Palm from a disk? The simple answer is, you don’t. Software is installed on a Palm device through the Palm Desktop’s Install Tool. The appropriate files are placed in the queue within the Install Tool and the application is then transferred when you next HotSync your Palm device. If this sounds too easy, don’t worry about it. It’s designed to be. In reality, most software manufacturers that provide Palm software on a disk (such as the Pocket Quicken application), use the Install Tool automatically in the background. You won’t even have to use it. A more likely scenario occurs when you are purchasing or downloading Palm software from the Internet, which is where most good Palm software is found.
NOTE Perhaps the best place to download free and commercial Palm software is from Palm Gear HQ (http://www.palmgear.com). This comprehensive site contains thousands of applications from which to choose!
Once the Palm software is installed on your computer, you will need to set it up to synchronize with the Install Tool.
TIP Make life easier on yourself and save a downloaded application (which usually has the file extension .prc) into the \Palm\Add-on folder on your computer.
To Do: Install an Application This To Do section will step you through how to quickly install an application on your computer.
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NOTE These steps are designed for Windows PCs. Mac and Linux users should consult their own documentation to learn how to install applications.
1. Click Install. The Install Tool dialog box will open (see Figure 6.22).
Figure 6.22 Installing a Palm application is very easy to do.
2. Click Add to locate an application to be placed in the Install queue. The Open dialog box will open (see Figure 6.23). 3. Select the application file. 4. Click Open. The Open dialog box will close and the application will appear in the queue list of the Install Tool dialog box (see Figure 6.24).
NOTE If the application you want is not in the initial open directory, use standard directory navigation methods to find and select the application file.
5. Click Done. The Install Tool dialog box will close.
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Figure 6.23 Choosing a Palm application to install
Figure 6.24 An application, ready to be installed
That’s all there is to it. During a single installation session, you can load as many applications as will fit on your Palm. Each application will sit in the Install queue until the next time you HotSync the Palm device to your PC.
HotSync In just six short chapters, you have learned all of the things you need to compare, buy, and set up your Palm device. You should now be more than ready to move to Part II, “Palm Basics,” where you will begin to learn how to use the applications on the Palm device itself. In Chapter 7, “Making a Date,” you will learn how to manage your Date Book on the Palm and how the Palm can make this process a snap even when you’re on the go.
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7 Making a Date
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usiness meetings used to be a major event in the corporate scheme of things: once-a-week confabs that gathered the movers and shakers of a given company so they could create moving and shaking decisions. The utility of the average meeting has lost some of this dramatic luster. In these modern times if you don’t meet with someone at least once a day, it seems as though your whole line of work is questionable.
B
With an emphasis on collaboration, meetings are held in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times. In the booming ‘80s and ‘90s, little thought was given to sending some poor schlep 2,000 miles to attend a half-day meeting. Now, however, technology has made long-distance meetings readily available through tele- and video-conferencing. Nobody, it seems, is safe from meetings. And once your own work is done, you must still keep track of a whole slew of appointments and dates. Yoga classes, water aerobics, the kids’ soccer practice, dinner with the neighbors . . . and on and on. No one, it seems, knows how to relax. Into such a world enters the Palm’s Date Book application. A tracker of appointments, meetings, and all things time-related, the Date Book is your answer to keeping all of the events in your hectic schedule under control!
Viewing the Date Book As with the Palm Desktop, which you looked at in Chapter 6, “Working with the Palm Desktop,” the Date Book is an application on your Palm device that you will probably use quite often. It also has the most methods available to view the data. This makes a lot of sense if you think about it, given that each of us has different ways of managing our time. Some people prefer to focus on their daily schedules, while others (like harried book authors) might need to focus on weekly or monthly scales of time. There is no one right way to manage your schedule; the Date Book application allows you to choose the method you prefer.
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When you first start the Date Book (either by tapping its icon in the Applications view or by pushing the Date Book button), the default view you see is the daily calendar, as shown in Figure 7.1. Looking at this view, you can see that things are laid out in a straightforward fashion. Along the top of the view is the navigation tool, set, in this case, for daily use. Tapping on any of the days in the tool will display that date in the same week. To move ahead or back a week from the currently selected day, tap the arrows on either end of the tool. Any events occurring on a displayed day are listed in chronological order, with brackets on the left side denoting the duration of each event. These brackets are referred to as time bars. Occasionally, the duration shown by these time bars might appear confusing. Your first inclination might be to think that they represent the relative length of the event. Looking at Figure 7.2, you can see that this is not the case. The first event, the Friday Team Meeting, runs from 10 AM to 11 AM. A glance at the second event, a conversation with a co-worker, might seem to indicate that it, too, is an hour long. Upon closer examination of the start and end times, you can see that this conversation is actually four hours long—even though the time bar is the same length as the bar for the one-hour meeting.
Figure 7.1
Navigation tool
The Palm Date Book in the daily view
Time Bars
Daily view Weekly view
Daily organizer Monthly view
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Figure 7.2 Time bars do not mark event lengths.
Time bars illustrate that the event in question has a duration of any length. Palm’s developers recognize that an event might occur at a certain time, yet not actually require the expenditure of any length of time. An example of this would be the need to take medication at certain times of the day.
CAUTION Be careful when using the Palm (or any other electronic device) to track critical timings such as medication schedules. While Palms are well suited for this kind of work, they can break down or run out of battery power. Always have a copy of your schedule available as a backup.
It is important, therefore, to not look at the time bars for determining relative duration—look at the starting and ending times instead. By default, the daily view is displayed in a compressed format. Palm devices use this compressed view to display as many appointments on the same screen as possible, which is a good trade-off. If you prefer to track your schedule as blocks of time, you might want to use the weekly view (see Figure 7.3).
NOTE Details on changing the display and scheduling preferences for the Date Book can be found in the “Setting Date Book Options” section later in this chapter.
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Figure 7.3
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Navigation tool
The Palm Date Book in the weekly view
Event blocks
At first, this view does not look particularly informative— it’s just a bunch of unlabeled gray blocks. This is deceptive, however. To learn which event a block represents, simply tap on it to see its full description (see Figure 7.4). The description will only appear on the screen for about two seconds, which is typically long enough to jog your memory and remind you of the event. Navigating this view is done in much the same way as in the daily view. Here, the navigation tool denotes the week number of the year currently displayed. In this case, it’s Week 16 (of 52). (Refer back to Figure 7.3.) Tapping on the tool arrows will move the display forward or backward by one week. To get a more detailed look at any given day, tap on any block of time that does not have an event. The daily view will be displayed and a one-hour block of time will be highlighted for new event entry. (See the “Creating an Event” section later in this chapter.)
Figure 7.4 Upon request, events are detailed in the weekly view.
Event description
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The monthly view displays an entire calendar month, as shown in Figure 7.5. Here, the event blocks are small and don’t attempt to show you the duration of an event or even the approximate starting and ending times. This view is best used in those situations when someone asks, “What does your schedule look like in two weeks?” By using the monthly view, you can see if a given day is clear of events or whether there is some sort of appointment during the morning or afternoon. If there is even the hint of a conflict, you can tap on the date in question and open it in the daily view for more information, or you can simply look for another clear date. A navigation tool is also available in the monthly view, with increment arrows that enable you to tap forward or backward one month at a time. The final view is the daily organizer view. This concise view is for those people who need a reminder of what must be done on a given day, neatly displayed in a combined list of events and To Do items (see Figure 7.6). This view is divided into two sections—a list of the day’s events on the top and a list of things to be done on the bottom. Use the navigation tool at the top of the view to move forward or backward one day at a time. The event list and To Do lists are separate from each other. For example, if you navigate to a date that occurs after the due date of one of the To Do items, that item will not display an overdue notice. The To Do List is always keyed to the actual date.
Figure 7.5
Navigation tool
The Palm Date Book in the monthly view
Event blocks
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Figure 7.6 The Palm Date Book in the daily organizer view
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Navigation tool Events To Do category list To Do list
One disadvantage of this view is that you can create neither an event nor a To Do item in it. In fact, the only view in the Date Book in which you can create or edit events is the daily view, as you will see in the next section.
Creating an Event The daily view is really the central workspace of the Date Book. Even if you prefer one of the other views, you must return here in order to enter any events using your Palm device. This is not a terrible price to pay, given how easy it is to switch from one view to another. Entering events is an easy operation, although you have your choice of how to begin the process. Some users choose to use the New Event method, while others just tap the start time on the day in question to get things going. The second method is much faster, in my opinion, and is the one you should learn first. As you begin the next To Do section, verify that the daily view on your Palm displays the correct day for which you want to record your event.
To Do: Create Single Events the Informal Way This To Do section reviews the informal method used to create new events in the Date Book. 1. In the daily view, navigate to the day for the desired event. 2. Tap the screen at the proper start time to create a new event. A onehour block of time will be highlighted, a time bar will appear, and the
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cursor will be placed on the first description line, ready for your entry (see Figure 7.7). Figure 7.7 Entering the event description
New, blank event
NOTE Notice that the Shift icon is activated. Shift is automatically enabled for the first letter of a sentence and again after any ending punctuation.
3. Using either Graffiti or the online keyboard, enter the description of your event. If the event is one hour long, you are finished with this To Do entry. 4. If you need to change the starting or ending times, tap Details. The Event Details dialog will open (see Figure 7.8). Figure 7.8 Setting the details for the event
5. Tap the values shown in the Time option. The Set Time dialog will open (see Figure 7.9).
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Figure 7.9 Timing is everything.
6. Tap the End Time value. The value will be selected. 7. Using the value lists, tap the new ending time.
NOTE All times in the Date Book are in five-minute increments. This can be irritating if you want to time events a little more closely, such as airline and train departures. One way around this is to create your event in Microsoft Outlook or some other PIM application. When synchronized, your Palm will use the exact times; although the Palm OS will not let you enter detailed times, it will display them.
8. Tap OK. The Set Time dialog will close. 9. Tap OK. The Event Details dialog will close and the event will appear in the daily view (see Figure 7.10). Figure 7.10 A completed event
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This method is handy, however occasionally you will want to use the formal method, which sets the time first and then allows you to enter a description. A good time to do this is when you are setting an all-day event or when you need to schedule an event within a larger event. Using the quick, informal method in these instances is inefficient.
To Do: Create Single Events the Formal Way This To Do section demonstrates the formal method used to create new events in the Date Book. 1. In the daily view, navigate to the day of the desired event. 2. Tap New. The Set Time dialog will open. 3. Tap the Start Time value. The value will be selected. 4. Using the value lists on the right, tap the new start time. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the End Time value. 6. Tap OK. The Set Time dialog will close. 7. Using Graffiti or the online keyboard, enter the description of your event. 8. Tap anywhere else on the screen to complete the entry of the event (see Figure 7.11).
Figure 7.11 A completed event that conflicts with another event
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NOTE If this is an all day event, tap the All Day button, which will instantly create an event that fills the entire day. For events that are important but have no fixed duration, such as a birthday, tap the No Time button.
Conflicting events are not always a bad thing. In Figure 7.11, you can see that one meeting is scheduled to occur within the larger context of a technical conference, which is perfectly normal. Keep an eye on your time bars, however, because they are the best indicators of conflicting events. Your Palm device will not actively warn you when a conflict occurs.
Creating a Recurring Event You can do more with your Date Book than just create a one-time event. You can use the Event Details dialog to quickly set up events that occur at regular intervals.
To Do: Create Recurring Events This To Do section reviews the methods used to create recurring events in the Date Book. 1. After creating an event, tap Details. The Event Details dialog will open. 2. Tap the value that appears in the Repeat field. The Change Repeat dialog will open (see Figure 7.12).
Figure 7.12 Setting up recurring events
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3. Tap the interval range in which you want the event to repeat (in this example, the Week interval). The appropriate control options will appear (see Figure 7.13). Figure 7.13 Repeating events weekly
TIP By default, the Palm OS assumes that you want the event to occur at the same time or date within the interval you select. This is a real timesaver. Tap the Week interval range, for example, and the event will repeat every week at the same time.
4. Tap the value in the End On popup list. The options list will appear. 5. Tap the Choose Date option. The Ending On dialog will open (see Figure 7.14). Figure 7.14 Establishing the end of a recurring range of events
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6. Using the navigation controls, locate and tap the date on which you want this set of recurring events to end. The Ending On dialog will close. 7. Tap OK. The Change Repeat dialog will close. 8. Tap OK. The Event Details dialog will close, and the event will display a repeat icon (see Figure 7.15). Figure 7.15 A new recurring event Repeat icon
Since things do interrupt even the most regularly scheduled events in our lives, you might find times when you need to delete one or all of the events.
To Do: Delete Recurring Events This To Do section focuses on the methods used to delete all or part of a series of recurring events. 1. Navigate to a future occurrence of the recurring event created in the previous To Do section. 2. Tap the event to select it. 3. Tap the menu icon. The Command Toolbar will appear at the bottom of the view (see Figure 7.16).
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Figure 7.16 The Command Toolbar for the event
Beam Security Copy Delete
4. Tap the Delete icon. The Repeating Event dialog will open (see Figure 7.17). Figure 7.17 Choosing how to delete recurring events
5a.To delete all events in the recurrence, tap All. All of the events in the recurring series will be deleted. or 5b.To delete just this event in the recurrence, tap Current. The selected event will be deleted. or 5c. To delete the current and all future occurrences of the event, tap Future.
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Editing an Event An event can be modified in several ways once it has been created. Perhaps the simplest method is to edit the description, which is just a matter of selecting the event’s text and entering replacement text.
Deleting Events Other tasks, such as deleting an event entirely, are just as simple as editing an event, although they do take a few steps to accomplish.
To Do: Delete Events This To Do section demonstrates how to delete an event. 1. Tap the event to be deleted. The event will be selected. 2. Tap the menu icon. The Command Toolbar will appear at the bottom of the view. 3. Tap the Delete icon. If the selected event is not a recurring event, the Delete Event dialog will open. 4. Tap OK. The Delete Event dialog will close and the event will be removed from the Date Book.
TIP If you like to save things for posterity, check the Save Archive Copy on PC check box so that a record of the deleted event exists.
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Setting Event Alarms Setting alarms for events is also quite simple, as you will see in the next To Do section.
To Do: Set Alarms for Events This To Do section illustrates how to add an alarm to an event. 1. Tap the event for which you want to set an alarm. The event will be selected. 2. Tap Details. The Event Details dialog will open. 3. Tap the Alarm check box. The alarm options will appear (see Figure 7.18). Figure 7.18 Sounding the alarm
4. Tap the interval popup arrow. You can choose between Minutes, Hours, or Days. 5. Tap the desired interval. The interval will be selected. 6. Enter a numeric value for the interval. This will set the length of time before the event that the alarm will sound. 7. Tap OK. The Event Details dialog will close and the alarm icon will appear beside the event (see Figure 7.19).
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Figure 7.19 An event with a set alarm
Alarm icon
Adding Notes to Events Many times you will want to store more information about a given event than is practical to place in the event description. Driving directions are one such example. For this type of information, you can add a note to individual events for later viewing.
To Do: Add Notes to Events This To Do section reveals how to add a note to an event. 1. Tap the event to which you want to add a note. The event will be selected. 2. Tap Details. The Event Details dialog will open. 3. Tap Note. The Note view for the event will open (see Figure 7.20). Figure 7.20 A place to add a note
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4. Enter the text of your note. 5. Tap Done. The Note view will close and the note icon will appear beside the event (see Figure 7.21). Figure 7.21 An event with a note
Note icon
You can also quickly and easily remove a note.
To Do: Remove Notes from Events This To Do section reveals how to delete a note from an event. 1. Tap the event from which you want to remove a note. The event will be selected. 2. Tap Details. The Event Details dialog will open. 3. Tap Note. The Note view for the event will open. 4. Tap Delete. The Delete Note dialog will open. 5. Tap Yes. The Delete Note dialog will close and the note icon will be removed from the event.
Beaming an Event (Or Anything Else!) One of the most useful features of the Palm is its ability to share information with other Palm devices without the use of intervening hardware. No wires, no
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cables, no antennas—just the same technology that enables you to change the channel of your television! Using the infrared port located on one edge of the Palm device, you can send a copy of any data from your Palm to another Palm. In fact, if it is not proprietary commercial code, you can even copy an entire application from one Palm to another. This process is known as beaming and it’s a very popular option on the Palm. Beaming anything from one Palm to another always follows the same basic procedure. Once you understand how to beam an event, you will understand how to do it for everything else. You should know three things before you start. First, you need a second device running the Palm OS to accomplish this task. The recipient’s Palm (and your own, for times when you receive data) should be set to Beam Receive On — a setting that can be checked in the General section of the Preferences application. Second, remember that you can only beam one thing at a time with Palms. Be prepared to spend some time if you have many things to send. Third, if you are just beaming small event files or address listings, both devices can typically be held in your hands. For longer transmissions, such as an application, you might want to set the devices next to each other on a flat surface, about 6–8 inches apart.
To Do: Beam an Event This To Do section shows you how to beam events. On the sender’s Palm device: 1. Navigate to the event you want to beam. 2. Tap the event to select it. 3. Tap the menu icon. The Command Toolbar will appear at the bottom of the view. 4. Tap the Beam icon. The Beam dialog will open and begin to search for a recipient.
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On the receiver’s Palm device: 5. Tap Yes in the resulting Alert dialog. The dialog will close and the event will appear in your Date Book. On the sender’s Palm device: 6. The Beam dialog will close. That was it! This task is so fast and easy to accomplish that you won’t blink an eye when someone asks you to beam—unless it’s some guy with a Scottish burr wearing a futuristic uniform.
Setting Date Book Options The Date Book comes to you “out of the box” in a handy form, and there may be little need for you to change its default settings. Everyone has different requirements and schedules, however, so the Palm OS allows you to tweak the Date Book’s settings to your heart’s content.
Setting General Preferences There are just a couple of areas in which you can change the Date Book’s basic settings. This might not seem like a lot, but trust me; these changes can make your life a lot easier. One of the most likely changes you will make is to modify the length of day displayed by default. The factory presets are from 8 AM to 6 PM. Of course, if you schedule an event with times that fall outside of this range, the event will still be displayed. If you find that you schedule many events outside of the default display range, then you might want to change the default range being displayed. Doing so allows you to use the quick method of creating an event.
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To Do: Set Length of Day Preferences This To Do section shows you how to edit the default range of times displayed in the Date Book. 1. Tap the menu icon. The Command Toolbox will appear at the bottom of the view. 2. Enter the letter R. The Preferences dialog will open (see Figure 7.22).
Figure 7.22 The Date Book Preferences dialog
3. Tap the increment arrows to change the values of the Start and End times. 4. Tap OK. The Preferences dialog will close and the daily view of the Date Book will display the new times. One of the other preferences you can change is the way the alarm works. Using the Preferences dialog, you can change the sound of the alarm and its frequency.
To Do: Set Alarm Preferences This To Do section shows you how to edit the default alarm settings in the Date Book. 1. Tap the menu icon. The Date Book menu will appear.
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2. Tap Options, then Preferences. The Preferences dialog will open. 3. Tap the Alarm Preset check box to set an alarm automatically for every event. The alarm interval settings will appear. 4. Change the alarm interval to the desired value. 5. Tap the value in the Alarm Sound option to change the alarm sound. A list of options will appear. 6. Tap the desired option. 7. Tap the desired values in the Remind Me and Play Every popup lists to change the number of times the alarm will be repeated if no response is given and the duration between alarms, respectively. 8. Tap OK. The Preferences dialog will close and the settings will take effect.
Changing the Display You can also alter the look of the Date Book with just a few quick taps. Among other settings, you can change fonts and time bars and determine which events will be displayed.
To Do: Set Display Preferences This To Do section shows you how to change the default display settings in the Date Book. 1. Tap the menu icon. The Date Book menu will appear. 2. Tap Options, then Display Options. The Display Options dialog will open (see Figure 7.23). 3. Tap the settings to check or uncheck them. 4. Tap OK. The Display Options dialog will close and the settings will take effect.
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Figure 7.23 The Date Book Display Options dialog
TIP I strongly recommend that you check the Show Untimed Events check box in the Month View section. Activating this feature will display in the monthly view those events with no time duration, such as anniversaries and vacations.
Changing the font used in the Date Book is an easy job, too.
To Do: Set Font Preferences This To Do section shows you how to change the default font settings in the Date Book. 1. Tap the menu icon. The Date Book menu will appear. 2. Tap Options, then Font. The Select Font dialog will open. 3. Tap one of the displayed fonts to select it. 4. Tap OK. The Select Font dialog will close and the settings will take effect (see Figure 7.24).
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Figure 7.24 A new look for the Date Book
HotSync Making the Date Book a useful tool means that it will be comfortable for you to use. Luckily, Palm has designed enough flexibility into this application to make it easy for nearly anyone. In Chapter 8, “Making a List,” you will discover how to keep a handle on all of those things you have to get done—as of yesterday.
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ith all the things we have to do, it’s a wonder we get anything done at all.
W
It is always amazing to me that 40,000 years ago ancient Man needed just 20 hours a week to perform the tasks to take care of himself and his family— hunting, gathering, hide-making, the whole works. In this modern age of technological marvels, the average American works a 42-hour work week to accomplish the same thing. Given all of the stuff we need to do, it’s no accident that the Palm includes a handy To Do application to help you manage all of your tasks. And, it doesn’t take up all of your time to use it.
Managing To Do Lists When I was young, my mother advised me to make a list so I wouldn’t forget anything I needed to do. I made such lists, only to lose them in pockets jammed with bottle caps, marbles, and (on more than one occasion) frogs. Unless you still have a habit of putting amphibians in your clothing, however, you shouldn’t readily lose the To Do list in your Palm. Activating the To Do list is done in the same way you would activate any of the other primary Palm applications: Push the button for the application or tap the onscreen To Do icon. This will start the To Do application, shown in Figure 8.1. Unlike the Calendar, there aren’t different views to navigate within the To Do application. What you see is what you get. Initially, each individual To Do item is listed in order of priority, then due date. This means that you will see all of the To Do items with the highest priority, 1, listed chronologically, followed by the items with lower priorities. To Do items can be assigned any one of five priority designations, with 1 being the most important.
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Figure 8.1 The Palm To Do application
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Category list
Due date
Priority rank Completed To Do check box
If you usually have just a few things to accomplish and a small To Do list, you might not need to use the Category function. But for users who must track a large number of To Do items, categorizing each entry is a good idea. The usefulness of categories becomes very clear in the main To Do view. If you tap on the popup arrow in the upper-right corner of the To Do view, the complete list of categories will appear. Tapping on any of these categories will display a list of only the To Do items within that category (see Figure 8.2). Regardless of the category, using the To Do list is easy. Once a task is completed, tap on the check box for the To Do item. The displayed To Do item will appear to be “crossed out” and will then not be displayed any longer. The item hasn’t been deleted — it’s just no longer visible.
Figure 8.2 Listing categorized To Do items
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NOTE Configuring how the To Do items are displayed and organized will be discussed in the “Configuring the To Do List” section later in this chapter.
If this were a perfect world, you could check off all of your To Do items, finish off the list, and then go relax on the beach. Unfortunately, such a world has yet to arrive, and we must constantly add new To Do tasks.
Adding a To Do Item Putting a new To Do item on your list is something that you will, unfortunately, have to do quite a bit. Fortunately, the To Do application makes this a snap . . . darn it.
To Do: Create To Do Entries This To Do section demonstrates how to create new entries in the To Do list. 1. Tap the New button. A new line for a To Do entry will appear and the cursor will be placed within the To Do field (see Figure 8.3).
Figure 8.3 New To Do items always appear as a high priority.
New To Do
2. Enter a description for the entry in the To Do field. 3. Tap the priority value. A list of the five priority values will appear.
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4. Tap the desired priority value. 5. Tap the Due Date selector. A list of possible dates will appear (see Figure 8.4). Figure 8.4 Choosing a due date for your To Do item
6. If the date you need is not on the list, tap the Choose Date option to open the Due Date dialog (see Figure 8.5).
Figure 8.5 Pick any date you want — just be honest with yourself.
7. Tap the desired date in the Due Date dialog. The dialog will close and the date will appear in the Due Date column for the To Do item. Once a To Do item is added to the list, it will remain there until you check it off as completed. Overdue To Do items include a small exclamation point beside their due dates to remind you that there’s something you need to get done.
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Editing To Do Items As you learned earlier in this chapter, To Do items can be assigned to categories. There are two ways to assign a category to an item. First, if you know to what category the To Do item will be assigned before you actually create it, you should first switch to that category’s To Do view. Then create the new To Do item. When a To Do item is created within a particular category view, it is automatically assigned to that category. If you need to change the category after the fact, it takes just a few steps to accomplish this.
To Do: Assign To Do Categories This To Do section shows you how to assign categories to To Do entries. 1. Tap the To Do entry you need to recategorize.
TIP To quickly see which entries have not been assigned to a category, switch to the Unfiled category view. Any items in this list are uncategorized.
2. Tap the Details button. The To Do Item Details dialog will open (see Figure 8.6). Figure 8.6 Managing the details of a To Do item
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3. Tap the Category list. A list of category values will appear. 4. Tap the category you want to use. 5. Tap OK. The To Do Item Details dialog will close and the To Do item will be assigned to the new category. You can also add a category to the list to give the list your own personal touch.
To Do: Create To Do Categories This To Do section shows you how to create new categories for To Do items. 1. Tap the To Do entry you need to recategorize. 2. Tap Details. The To Do Item Details dialog will open. 3. Tap the Category list. A list of category values will appear. 4. Tap Edit Categories. The Edit Categories dialog will open (see Figure 8.7). Figure 8.7 Creating a new category
5. Tap New. A smaller Edit Categories dialog will open. 6. Enter a new category. 7. Tap OK. The small Edit Categories dialog will close and the new entry will appear in the categories list.
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TIP To edit an existing category, select it in the main Category list and tap Rename.
8. Tap OK. The Edit Categories dialog will close. 9. Tap the Category list. A list of category values will appear. 10. Tap the category you want to use. 11. Tap OK. The To Do Item Details dialog will close and the new category will be assigned to the To Do item. As you might have noticed in the Details dialog, there are a number of values associated with a To Do item that you can change, including Due Date, Priority, Category, and Private status. Using these controls is exactly like using them in the main To Do list, which makes it a fast process to edit your To Do items. You can also add a note to each To Do item, as shown in the next To Do section.
To Do: Create To Do Notes This To Do section illustrates how to add a note to a To Do item. 1. Tap the To Do entry to which you need to add a note. 2. Tap Details. The To Do Item Details dialog will open. 3. Tap Note. A note screen for the item will appear. 4. Enter the note in the box. 5. Tap Done. The note screen will close and a Note icon will appear next to the To Do item, as shown in Figure 8.8.
TIP To read a note, tap the Note icon.
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Figure 8.8 Keeping additional notes about To Do items
Note icon
Configuring the To Do List Once you have created all of your To Do items, you can change the way the To Do items are displayed on your Palm device. There are two ways to alter the display: You can affect the way the items are sorted and you can choose which items are displayed. In the default mode of the To Do application, items are sorted first by priority and then by due date. With just a few taps, you can change this to something more comfortable.
To Do: Sort the To Do List This To Do shows how to change the sort setting for the To Do list. 1. Tap Show. The To Do Preferences dialog will open (see Figure 8.9).
Figure 8.9 Changing how items are shown in the To Do list
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2. Tap the Sort By popup arrow. A complete list of sorting options will appear. 3. Tap the sort option you want to try. 4. Tap OK. The To Do Preferences dialog will close and the new sorting option will be applied to the list. Changing what is displayed is even easier than changing how items are displayed. Here is a list of options available in the To Do Preferences dialog. • Show Completed Items. Allows checked items to remain visible. • Show Only Due Items. Displays only overdue items and items due today. • Record Completion Date. Tracks the date the item was marked as completed. • Show Due Dates. Shows the Due Date control in the To Do list. • Show Priorities. Shows the Priorities control in the To Do list. • Show Categories. Shows the Categories control in the To Do list. When using any of these settings, it is a good idea to try your setting changes first so that you can determine whether they’re really what you need. Adding categories to the To Do list might seem like a good idea, but it tends to make the screen rather crowded and hard to read. That is one of the nicer features of any Palm device— most of the configuration changes you make can be easily reversed.
HotSync You now have a good working knowledge of how the To Do application is put together. If you are scratching your head and wondering why there isn’t more to this, get used to the sensation. Palm applications are almost always this easy! In Chapter 9, “Making Friends,” the intricate mysteries of maintaining human relationships will be explored. Well, actually, just how to maintain the Address Book application. The relationship stuff I leave to Oprah.
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9 Making Friends
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ecent reports from people who watch this sort of thing say that, on average, Americans have fewer friends than we did four decades ago. In those times, we made and kept more real friends, rather than the numerous acquaintances we have now.
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Communication is the culprit, of course. 40 years ago, instantaneous and regular contact with someone on the other side of the world was either impossible or far too costly. Today, we almost take for granted e-mail messages from Australia or phone calls to Europe. In another few years, instant contact will be as old hat as calling someone across town. Even though most of our acquaintances might not be “friends” in the oldfashioned sense, some are people with whom we need to keep in touch, if only to send an annual birthday card. Others might be business or professional people for whom we must maintain contact information. Keeping track of all of these people is a challenge. In the past, the option of keeping an address book was available, but lugging one around was cumbersome. Palm devices, as you know by now, provide users with electronic versions of these paper address books—they keep all of that data in one little package that’s easy to carry around.
Viewing the Address Book The Address Book, at first glance, isn’t very exciting (see Figure 9.1). After all, it’s just an alphabetical list of names and telephone numbers. If you think about it, though, what more do you really need most of the time? As you can see, the Address view provides a fast look at contact information. To see a record in more detail, tap once on the record to display the complete contact information (see Figure 9.2).
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Category
The Address Book on the Palm device
Address List
Look Up field
Figure 9.2 Viewing an Address Book record
This expanded Address View displays all of the entered information about the contact. No blank fields are displayed to save room on the screen. Like the To Do List, the Address Book can be viewed by categories. This is done using the category popup list that appears at the top of the window. Putting entries into specific categories is not hard, as you will see in the “Editing a Contact” section later in this chapter. Placing entries into categories can be a real timesaver.
Adding a Contact When you meet a new acquaintance, the last thing you want to do is mess around clumsily trying to enter information into your PDA. That’s why Palm made this a fast process.
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To Do: Create an Address Book Entry This To Do section demonstrates how to create new entries in the Address Book. 1. Tap New. The Address Edit view will open (see Figure 9.3). Figure 9.3 Add as much or a little information as you need.
Scroll arrows
2. In the Last Name field, enter the person’s surname. 3. Tap the next field for which you have information and enter it. 4. Continue to complete the appropriate fields. Tap the scroll arrows to move up or down the screen. 5. When you’re finished, tap Done. The Address Edit view will close and the record will be added to the Address Book (see Figure 9.4). Figure 9.4 The completed new record
New address record
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One of the more interesting ways to add a new contact to your Address Book is to have someone beam the information from their Palm device into yours. In fact, some people use the Palm as a method of passing out their business card. To use a Palm business card, you can simply create a record for yourself or specify an address record in the Address Book to be the business card, which can then be beamed with fewer steps.
To Do: Create A Business Card Entry This To Do section shows you how to create a business card Address Book entry for yourself. 1. Using the steps in the previous To Do section, create an address record for yourself. 2. Tap the record to open it in the Address Edit view. 3. Tap the menu icon. The Record menu will appear (see Figure 9.5). Figure 9.5 Setting up the business card
4. Tap the Select Business Card command. The Select Business Card dialog will open. 5. Tap Yes to confirm that this entry will be your Palm’s business card. The Select Business Card dialog will close and a business card icon will appear at the top of the Address View (see Figure 9.6).
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Figure 9.6 Viewing the business card Address Book entry for this Palm
Business card icon
TIP It’s not necessary to open the business card entry and tap menu commands to beam it to another Palm. Just press and hold the Address Book button to send the information on its way.
Editing a Contact People rarely stay in one place for a great length of time. Jobs change, kids move out—Western society is populated by semi-nomadic folk who can’t seem to sit still for long. For keepers of paper address books, this situation can be maddening. Add to this the occasional marriage (and divorce) that prompts name changes and it becomes even more frustrating. The really wonderful thing about keeping this information electronically is the ease with which you can alter changing information.
To Do: Edit Address Book Entries This To Do section teaches you how to edit individual entries in the Address Book. 1. Tap a record to open it.
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2. Tap Edit. The Address Edit view will appear. 3. Tap the field that you want to change. 4. Enter the new information. 5. Tap Done. The Address Edit view will close and the record’s information will be changed. As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, Address Book entries can be categorized using just a few short steps.
To Do: Categorize Address Book Entries This To Do section demonstrates how to assign categories to entries in the Address Book. 1. Tap a record to open it. 2. Tap Edit. The Address Edit view will appear. 3. Tap Details. The Address Entry Details dialog will open (see Figure 9.7). Figure 9.7 Managing more details in an Address Book entry
4. Tap the Category popup list arrow. The category list will appear. 5. Tap the category you want to assign to this record.
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TIP To add a new category, follow the same procedure used in Chapter 8, “Making a List.”
6. Tap OK. The Address Entry Details dialog will close and the category will be assigned to the entry. 7. To view the list by category, tap an option from the Address Book category list. Only the entries in that category will be displayed. You might have noticed that information for only one contact point appears in the main Address Book list, whether it’s a home number, a business number, or an e-mail address. You can choose which point of contact you want to display in the main list for each record. This feature makes a lot of sense because there’s usually one contact point you’ll use most often to contact friends and acquaintances.
To Do: Display Address Book Contact Information This To Do section shows you how to display specific contact information in the Address Book. 1. Tap a record to open it. 2. Tap Edit. The Address Edit view will appear. 3. Tap Details. The Address Entry Details dialog will open. 4. Tap the Show in List popup arrow. The contact options list will appear. 5. Tap the contact option you want to display for this entry. 6. Tap OK. The Address Entry Details dialog will close and the newly assigned contact information will be displayed with the entry (see Figure 9.8).
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Figure 9.8 You can list information other than phone numbers in the Address Book list.
HotSync Keeping a handle on your friends and colleagues has become a rather arduous task, given the sheer volume of the people you deal with on any given day. If you use the Address Book regularly, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by just how easy managing your contacts can be. In Chapter 10, “Making Memos,” you’ll learn how to avoid becoming one of those people who have sticky notes strewn throughout their home and office by letting the Palm device take care of such scribblings.
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aper, in its modern form, has been around for nearly 1900 years, according to most historians. The actual date is a bit hard to pin down, but most use the report made to the Chinese Emperor in 105 AD by the eunuch Ts’ai Lun.
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Ts’ai is the person most associated with the invention of paper, even though he might just have been someone else’s patron. It is unlikely that someone just whipped up the recipe for paper all at once— Ts’ai probably reported the end result of a long string of experiments and prototypes. The Chinese Empire, then in the Eastern Han dynasty, managed to keep the secret of papermaking to itself for nearly 500 years, right to the end of the Han Dynasty and through the Jin Dynasty. Ultimately, the secret of papermaking made its way to Japan, then (via the trade routes) to central Asia and Persia, arriving in Samarkand around 750 AD. It would be another 400 years before the first papermaking mill in Europe was set up (in Spain, by the Moors). By the mid-fifteenth century, paper was being made in all the principal nationstates of Western Europe. 550 years later, the long and venerable history of making paper led us to the inevitable result of such a long history of technology— scribbling down that you need milk at the grocery store on little bits of paper. Furtive little notes that are written in haste are not what paper is all about, of course. It does seem rather silly, however, to use something that has served civilization for so long for thoughts as mundane as “buy milk”—especially when paper tends to wear out quickly after repeated use. Some might argue that the same is true for an expensive electronic device, but the reusability of the Palm as a note taker tends to sway this argument a bit. You only need one Palm device to write a hundred notes—much more efficient than a hundred pieces of paper. There is a less noble, but far more practical reason for making the switch from paper to Palm—finding a place to keep all of those messages when you are finished. Pockets can only hold so many slips of paper, after all.
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Now that you are thinking about the whys of using the Memo Pad, it’s time to start working on the hows.
Viewing the Memo Pad While the prospect of using the Memo Pad might not have you quivering with excitement, it is still a nice little tool to use for jotting down those important notes to yourself. The fastest way to open the Memo Pad is to push its control button. Doing so will reveal the simple-looking Memo view (see Figure 10.1).
Figure 10.1 The Memo Pad on the Palm device
Category Memos
Memos within the Memo Pad are listed in one of two ways, either with a manual sort or alphabetically. “Manual sort” is shorthand for “listed in the same order in which they were entered.” If you are the type of person who logically thinks in chronological order, manual sort might have some appeal.
To Do: Change the Sorting of Memos This To Do section will show you how to alter the way memos are sorted in the Memo Pad. 1. In the Memo Pad, tap the Menu button. The Record menu will appear. 2. Tap Options. The Options menu will appear. 3. Tap the Preferences command. The Memo Preferences dialog will open (see Figure 10.2).
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Figure 10.2 Change the memo sort in this dialog
4. Tap the Sort By popup arrow. The Sort By list will appear. 5. Tap Manual. 6. Tap OK. The Memo Preferences dialog will close and the list will be manually sorted from now on. What is interesting about this operation is that when you change from alphabetic to manual sorting, you will not see a change on your list until you add a new Memo. The opposite, however, is not true. Moving from a manual sort to an alphabetic sort will instantly re-sort the entire list in alphabetic order. Like the Address Book, the Memo Pad also makes use of categories. The process of viewing different categories within the Memo Pad is the same as in the other applications: Tap on the Category popup arrow that appears in the upper-right corner of the view and select a new category to display. In the Memo Pad’s list, you will notice that only the first line of text in a memo is displayed. To view the entire memo, tap on the line of text. Of course, before you can look at a Memo, you must add one. You’ll learn how to add a Memo in the next section.
Working with Memos Scribbling a thought should not take a lot of time to do on any medium. After all, you just need to record the information and then move on with your life. With this in mind, take a look at the next To Do section to see how easy it is to create a memo.
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To Do: Create a Memo This To Do section will walk you through creating a new memo. 1. In the Memo Pad, tap New. The Edit Memo form will appear (see Figure 10.3).
Figure 10.3 A blank memo, ready to be created
2. Enter the content of the memo.
TIP The first line of the memo is always displayed in the Memo Pad list, so it’s a good idea to give your memo a “subject” heading of some sort. That way, you’ll know what the memo is all about when you see it on the list.
3. Tap Details. The Memo Details dialog will open (see Figure 10.4).
Figure 10.4 Categorizing a memo
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4. Tap the Category popup arrow. The list of categories will appear. 5. Tap the Category to which you want to assign the memo. 6. Tap OK. The Memo Details dialog will close. 7. Tap Done. The memo will close and appear on the Memo Pad list. One of the big problems with writing on paper is that it has a finite life. Paper can endure only so much graphite and erasing— and only so much ink, for that matter. The simplicity of the Memo Pad allows you to change existing memos to your heart’s content.
To Do: Edit a Memo This To Do section will show you how to edit a memo. 1. In the Memo Pad, tap the memo to be edited. The Edit Memo view will appear. 2. Change the content of the memo. 3. Tap Done. The memo will close.
HotSync The Memo Pad might seem like a throwaway application because it is so simple to use, but don’t let that stop you from putting it to good use. In Chapter 11, “Making a Message,” you will learn how to use your Palm to do more than keep track of your life. By using the onboard e-mail function, you can communicate with anyone in the world, regardless of whether your Palm device has a direct Internet connection!
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here was a time in the not so distant past when getting a letter from someone in China was a very rare event, if it happened at all. Today, I find myself wishing I didn’t get mail from China. Not that I don’t like the Chinese. It’s just that much of the mail I get from China these days is in the form of junk mail, or spam, as the techies like to call it.
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Spam is the great nuisance of the late 20th century. It is the direct descendant of the telemarketing bugaboo where a perfect stranger senses that you are in the middle of a good meal and picks that exact moment to call. Spam is another capitalist way of getting a message across, although it is becoming less effective by the day. A good filter will keep most of the junk mail out of an electronic mailbox, just as caller ID can help chase away those naughty telemarketers. One should not take spam too seriously, since it really is a small price to pay for what is essentially a free (or very, very low cost) method of getting messages to practically anywhere on the planet. E-mail has become such a ubiquitous part of our lives; is it any wonder that it was included in the Palm OS? You might wonder whether it’s practical to have e-mail on a device that’s not connected to the rest of the world (unless, of course, you plunk down some serious cash for a wireless Palm device). Fear not— even if you take the economy route and don’t purchase a wireless Palm, the Mail application can still be a tremendous timesaver!
Using Mail E-mail programs all over the world might have own their individual quirks and appearances, but essentially, they all break down into one basic organization. First, there are usually Inbox, Outbox, and Sent Items folders. The names of these folders vary from application to application, but essentially, they are just variations of the same three folders.
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The terms Inbox, Outbox, and folder are throwbacks to an earlier time, when messages and documents were made of paper and placed in physical objects with these same names. These terms have been adopted by the electronic industry because they make sense to users. Many people don’t give a lot of thought to what sort of object an e-mail message really is, thinking it’s just some sort of transmission from one computer to another. In reality, each message is a file, just like a word processing document or a spreadsheet. Granted, a message is a very small file, but in this case that’s a great advantage—the smaller the file, the faster it can be sent on the Web. Many people also tend to think of e-mail delivery in postal terms, but that analogy doesn’t really apply. The post office, for the most part, does not need to know where every house is in its jurisdiction. Addresses on envelopes and packages are designed to break information down quickly to speed delivery. Please bear with me a moment while I try to explain. Message delivery on the Internet works in a similar way. The structure of an e-mail address is
[email protected]. It’s the somedomain.com that’s really the key to making deliveries work. There is no master directory of every e-mail address on the Internet— maintaining such a directory would be a daunting task. There are, however, domain name system servers, which track the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses belonging to each domain name (somedomain.com). IP addresses are unique to every computer that directly connects to the Internet. DNS (Domain Name System) servers know which IP addresses are owned by which domains. They also know which of the main routers on the Internet handle any given IP address. So, when a message to
[email protected] is sent, a DNS machine is immediately able to send the message file by the (ideally) fastest route to the machines that use the somedomain.com label. It’s at this point that the postal metaphor changes into more of a “mail call” scenario, like the ones at camp or in the military. Once the message arrives at the primary machine representing a domain on the Internet, the file is examined to determine which of the domain’s servers should get it. If this were a request for a Web page, for instance, the domain’s Web server would handle the request.
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In this case, a mail message is handed off to the mail server for the domain. The address for the user name in the message is quickly checked. Then, if there is a user so-and-so with an account on the somedomain.com mail server, the message is stored on the mail server until user so-and-so picks up the message. What might surprise you at this point is that your e-mail (if you are so-andso) hasn’t even gotten to your computer yet. That doesn’t happen until your e-mail application (known as the client) connects to the server and asks for any new mail for you. This step is often transparent, since most e-mail applications are set up to poll the server at regular intervals. All of this is by way of explaining how the Palm Mail application works. With a PC, the messaging path stops at this point. When using Mail, the Palm device acts as an additional client by copying the contents of your e-mail application’s Inbox onto your Palm so you can peruse the messages while on the go. This might not seem like a big help, but when you consider that the opposite is also true—that messages sent on the Palm are automatically HotSynced to the Outbox of your e-mail client—then the practicality of this function becomes much clearer. Although the messages sit on your Palm device until the next time you HotSync, the fact that you can work with your e-mail anywhere at any time is an enormous benefit. Imagine the time you will save by picking up your e-mail before a long meeting and managing your messages while you’re in the meeting. Once the meeting is over, HotSync the Palm once more, and poof! A good chunk of work is finished, leaving you only to deal with any new messages. The same technique can be used for long trips, cab rides across town . . . anywhere you can use a Palm. The Mail application itself is simple to use. Like most Palm applications, it makes efficient use of the available space and is not too complicated. Because of the nature of the data being handled in this application, however, the Mail application tends to look rather cluttered, as seen in Figure 11.1.
NOTE As of the writing of this book, Palm Mail does not yet integrate with America Online’s mail client.
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Folder statistics
Figure 11.1
Folder
The Mail application’s Inbox on the Palm device
Sender identification Message subject Date of receipt
Unread message Read Message notation
Show Configuration button New Message button
The list in the Inbox represents all incoming messages. As you read them, messages are marked with a check mark in the far-left column. Unread messages are not marked. To help organize and track your messages, there are other folders within the Mail application in addition to the Inbox. To be specific, five Mail folders exist: Inbox, Outbox, Deleted, Filed, and Draft. The Inbox and Outbox folders are self-explanatory— they are where your incoming and outgoing messages reside. When you delete a particular message, it is moved to the Deleted folder instead of being wiped out right away. This added step is a safeguard against deleting something that might later turn out to be important. The Draft and Filed folders actually serve the same purpose; they are places to store messages for later attention. The Draft folder saves unfinished outgoing messages that you don’t want to send right away. The Filed folder serves a similar purpose—use it to save incoming messages for special attention. To navigate between folders, tap the Folder menu in the upper-right corner of the Mail view. Once the menu is open, simply tap one of the options to open a new folder. When you open a folder, the name of the folder will appear on the top of the screen, along with the folder statistics. These statistics will show you how many total messages are in that particular folder, as well as how many messages in the Inbox are unread.
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There are two other controls in the Mail window, the New and Show buttons. You will examine the New button in the next section, as you learn how to create a message of your own. The Show button will be discussed in the “Configuring Mail” section later in this chapter.
Creating a Message A lot of effort has gone into the Palm OS applications to make sure that you do not have to fool around with the interface to do simple tasks. The Mail application is a prime example. Figuring out what you are going to write to someone can be hard enough— why waste time using complicated steps to actually create the new message?
To Do: Create a New Mail Message This To Do will demonstrate how to create an e-mail message. 1. In Mail, tap New. The New Message form will open with the cursor in the highlighted field (see Figure 11.2).
Figure 11.2 A blank message
Address fields Subject field Message body field
Highlighted field
2. If you are sending a message to someone whose address is in your Address Book, tap the field heading of the To field. The To view will open. 3. Tap Lookup. A specialized view of your Address Book will open (see Figure 11.3).
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Figure 11.3 Getting the address for your message
4. Tap the listing you want to use and then tap Add. The To view will reappear and the listing you selected will appear in the To field. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4, as needed, to select recipients for your message. 6. Tap Done when you are finished. The New Message form will reopen with all the selected recipients listed. 7. If necessary, manually add any e-mail addresses that are not in your Address Book.
CAUTION E-mail addresses in Palm’s Mail application are not translated from the given name of the recipient, even if you are connected to a PC application that does this. For instance, in Outlook, entering “Brian Proffitt” in the To field is perfectly okay (provided I am on your Contacts list). In Mail, however, you must enter the actual e-mail address:
[email protected].
TIP If the “at” symbol looks pretty frightening for a Graffiti character, don’t sweat it. Just tap the Graffiti entry area once for the punctuation shift and then make a big capital O.
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8. Tap the CC field heading and then perform steps 3–7 to include more addresses. 9. Tap the Subj line and enter a message subject.
TIP It’s not required that you complete the subject field, but common Internet etiquette recommends that you use a subject in all of your messages.
10. Tap the first line of the Body field. 11. Enter your message (see Figure 11.4).
Figure 11.4 A completed message, ready to be sent
12. Tap Send. The message will close, and the folder that was last opened in Mail will reappear. Now that your outbound message is in the Outbox, it will sit there quite complacently until the next time you HotSync your Palm to your PC. HotSyncing sends the outbound message to your PC mail’s Outbox folder, where it will (most likely) be immediately sent to the recipient. This added step is a necessity when working with a device that is not directly wired to the Internet. Look at it this way, however: Now you have time to change or add to a message before it is actually sent.
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To Do: Edit an Outbound Mail Message This To Do will reveal how to edit a message residing in the Outbox. 1. In Mail, tap the Folder list. The Folder list will appear. 2. Tap Outbox. The Outbox view will open (see Figure 11.5). Figure 11.5 Outbound messages sit in the Outbox until you HotSync your Palm.
3. Tap the message you want to change. The Message view will open (see Figure 11.6). Figure 11.6 Existing messages are displayed in this view.
4. Tap Edit. The New Message form will open. 5. Edit the message as needed. 6. Tap Send when you are finished. The altered message will be saved in the Outbox, and the last opened folder in Mail (in this case, the Outbox) will reopen.
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As you can see, making sure you send the right message is a piece of cake. Before sending a message, you can make some additional settings that will enhance the delivery of your messages and the efficiency of your overall messaging sessions. The following To Do illustrates how to configure your message for better delivery. You can make these settings as you create a new message or for an existing message that is sitting in the Outbox.
To Do: Configure an Outbound Mail Message This To Do will show you how to configure a message’s delivery settings. 1. In the New Message form for a new or edited message, tap Details. The Message Details dialog will open (see Figure 11.7).
Figure 11.7 Delivery settings for your messages
2. Tap the Priority field to open the Priority Settings popup list. You can choose a High, Normal, or Low setting. 3. Tap the BCC check box if you want to send a blind carbon copy of your message to another user. 4. Tap the Confirm Delivery and/or the Confirm Read check boxes to confirm that your message was delivered and/or opened. 5. Tap OK when you are finished. The Message Details dialog will close. 6. If necessary, complete the BCC field (see Figure 11.8).
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Figure 11.8 Including a BCC allows you to send messages to recipients without displaying their identity to other recipients.
7. Tap Send when you are finished. The altered message will be saved in the Outbox, and the last opened folder in Mail will reopen. You might have noticed the Signature field in the Message Details dialog. However, there’s a bit of setup to do before you can use the Signature field. Signatures for e-mails are those little passages of text at the end of a message where the e-mail author often includes his or her name, contact information, corporate title, and other pertinent information. Many people include clever little quotes or paraphrases that reflect their personality, too. Signatures are good tools for getting across the important things about you without having to write them in every message. To attach a signature to a message, you first have to create one.
To Do: Create an E-Mail Signature This To Do will explain how to create a signature and attach it to an e-mail message. 1. In any Mail view, tap the Menu control. 2. Tap the Options menu item. 3. Tap Preferences. The Preferences dialog will open (see Figure 11.9).
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Figure 11.9 Mail preferences for your messages
TIP While in Mail, you can use the /R shortcut command to open the Preferences dialog.
4. Enter the text of your signature. 5. Tap OK. The Preferences dialog will close. 6. In the New Message view of a new or edited message, tap Details. The Message Details dialog will open. 7. Tap the Signature check box. 8. Tap OK when you’re finished. The Message Details dialog will close. The signature will not appear in the Edit Message view, but it will be included in the outbound message. There will be times, however infrequent, when you will need to hang on to a message before you send it out. Perhaps you have additional information to add or perhaps you want to create more than one draft of the message because of its importance. In these cases, it is helpful to know that you can store a draft copy of any e-mail message for later editing.
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To Do: Store a Draft Message This To Do will demonstrate how to save a draft copy of a message. 1. In the New Message form for a new or edited message, tap the Menu control. The Message menu will appear. 2. Tap the Save Draft menu item. The message will close and will be saved in the Draft folder.
TIP In Mail, you can use the /W shortcut command to save a draft message.
Reading Messages There are few things more pleasurable than getting a message from someone you care about. This was true back when there was only postal mail and it is certainly true with today’s high-tech electronic messaging. We look forward to hearing from the people around us, because even the most introverted person craves a bit of attention now and then. Reading messages is probably the most important function in the Mail application. For example, you will often receive messages that either require no response or must wait for a lengthy reply— but the message must still be read.
To Do: Read a Message This To Do will step you through how to read a message in the Mail application. 1. In the Inbox folder view, tap an unread message. The message will open (see Figure 11.10).
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Figure 11.10 An open message for you to peruse
2. Tap the long field display button that appears in the upper-right corner of the screen. The entire mail header will be displayed (see Figure 11.11).
Figure 11.11 You can examine mail header contents with ease.
3. Tap Reply to send an answer directly back to the sender. The Reply Options dialog will open (see Figure 11.12).
Figure 11.12 Choose to whom you want to reply.
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4. Tap the desired reply option. You can respond to the sender only or to all of the recipients including the sender, or you can forward the message to someone else. 5. Tap the Include Original Text check box if you want the body of the original message to appear in the reply. 6. Tap the Comment Original Text check box if you want each line of the original message to begin with comment brackets (>).
TIP Comment marks are useful if you want to intersperse your reply within the text of the original message.
7. Tap OK. The Reply Options dialog will close and the New Message form will open with the reply message pre-addressed and preformatted (see Figure 11.13).
Figure 11.13 Reply messages are easily created.
8. Enter your reply and tap Send to place the message in the Outbox. The New Message form will close, and the original message view will reopen. 9. Tap Delete if you want to remove the message from your Inbox. The Delete Message dialog will open. 10. Tap Yes to confirm the deletion and close the Delete Message dialog.
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CAUTION If you delete a message from a folder on the Palm device, be aware that the message will also be removed from the same folder in your PC’s mail application the next time you perform a HotSync.
11. Tap Done if you want to close the message without deleting it. As an added safety precaution, messages that are deleted from the Mail folders are not really wiped from their electronic existence. Instead, they are stored in the Deleted folder until you actively dump them from your Palm.
To Do: Purge Deleted Messages This To Do will show you how to remove deleted messages from your Palm device. 1. In any Mail view, tap the Menu control. The Message menu will appear. 2. Tap the Purge Deleted menu item. The Purge Deleted Message dialog will open.
TIP In Mail, you can use the /E shortcut command to purge deleted messages.
3. Tap Yes to confirm the purge. The Purge Deleted Message dialog will close, and the Deleted folder will be emptied. There will be some messages that deserve special attention. You could just leave them in the Inbox folder, but it might be more efficient if you saved them to a special folder where you can later find them more easily.
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To Do: File Messages This To Do will reveal how to file messages for later use. 1. In any open message view, tap the Menu control. The Message menu will appear. 2. Tap the File menu item. The Message Filed Options dialog will open (see Figure 11.14).
Figure 11.14 You can keep filed messages in the Filed and Inbox folders.
TIP In Mail, you can use the /I shortcut command to file messages.
3. Tap the option you want to use. The Message Filed Options dialog will close and the message will be stored in the appropriate folder(s). As you can see, all of these operations are simple. However, there are still some advanced features in Mail that will let you further customize your message delivery.
Configuring Mail People have different ways of handling their communications. Some like everything tossed at them at once—the more information, the better. Others
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prefer a nice, even flow of information; still others want only the important stuff and nothing else! The Palm Mail application gives you the tools to manage the flow of incoming messages based on your personal preferences. It’s not the most advanced configuration, but it is still more than enough to keep you in control. For instance, when you look at the Folder views, you will see the message header information, the subject, and the date of the message. Often this is truncated a bit, since that’s a lot of information to fit on one Palm screen. With just a few simple taps, you can alter the way messages are displayed.
To Do: Configure Folder Display This To Do will demonstrate how to configure Mail folders. 1. In any Folder view, tap Show. The Show Options dialog will open (see Figure 11.15).
Figure 11.15 Here you can choose how messages are listed.
2. Tap the Show Date check box to clear it if you do not want to list the message date in the folder window. 3. Tap the Sort By field to open its popup list. You can choose to sort the folder contents by Date, Sender, or Subject. 4. Tap the desired option to select it. 5. Tap OK. The Show Options dialog will close and the folder will appear with the new settings (see Figure 11.16).
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Figure 11.16 You can organize your messages any way you want.
NOTE The changes you make in the Show Options dialog will affect all of the Mail folders.
Not only can you organize how messages are displayed, you can also choose which messages even make it to the Palm device when you HotSync. This will greatly reduce your HotSync time and will conserve storage space on your handheld.
To Do: Set HotSync Preferences This To Do will tell you how to control the flow of messages onto your Palm. 1. In any Mail view, tap the Menu control. The Message menu will appear. 2. Tap the Options menu item. The Options menu will appear. 3. Tap the HotSync Options menu item. The HotSync Options dialog will open (see Figure 11.17).
TIP In Mail, you can use the /H shortcut command to open the HotSync Options dialog.
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Figure 11.17 Decide which messages will be picked up during a HotSync.
4. Tap the Settings For popup list to select the Local or Remote HotSync option. 5. Choose the option you want to use. The options, as well as a brief explanation of each one, are listed in Table 11.1. TABLE 11.1 HOTSYNC MAIL OPTIONS Option
Explanation
All
Every message in your e-mail application and Palm Mail will be synchronized.
Send Only
Only the messages in your Outbox will be shared with the PC. No incoming messages will be transferred to the Palm.
Filter
A rudimentary filtering system will keep specific messages from being synchronized to the handheld.
Unread
Only new messages will be pulled onto the handheld from the PC.
6. If you selected Filter, the Filter options will appear (see Figure 11.18). Tap the Filter Type field.
TIP To make sure that all High Priority messages are retrieved regardless of the filter settings, be sure the Retrieve All High Priority check box is selected.
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Figure 11.18 Specify exactly which messages will be delivered to your Inbox. Filter type
7. Tap either the option to ignore messages with a specific message property or the option to retrieve only messages with a certain property.
TIP Since the Ignore Specific Messages option only allows you to filter out one set of messages, you might want to retrieve just a specific set of messages.
8. Enter the appropriate information in the To, From, or Subj field(s). 9. Tap Truncate to control how much of a message is downloaded to the Palm. The Truncate Options dialog will open. 10. Tap the number of characters you want each message to contain. You can synchronize messages up to 8000 characters long. 11. Tap OK. The Truncate Options dialog will close. 12. Tap OK. The HotSync Options dialog will close. At the next HotSync, the new settings will be applied.
HotSync Keeping up with your messages can be a daunting task. Being able to tote your messages with you as you move about can be a wonderful timesaver.
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Now that you know about the basic applications that are included with every Palm OS device, it’s time to build upon that knowledge and put together applications that will help you no matter what your walk of life. In Chapter 12, “A Student’s Palm,” you’ll examine how to use your Palm to help you get through one of life’s best challenges—school.
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ack to school time is always a time of a bit of dread mixed with excitement. What will my new teachers be like? How much homework will they assign? What if a cute guy/girl sits next to me?
B
For many of us, getting ready for school is a process for which we must arm ourselves with supplies for the coming semester; everything from pencils to paper to books must be purchased. This was always my favorite thing to do while growing up—there is nothing like the smell of a freshly opened packet of notebook paper. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We still have to find supplies, but now there’s the additional task of getting fresh batteries for a Palm device and a hip new chassis to snap on so it looks cool. Oh, and don’t forget the educational stuff.
In Plain English It is not without a little irony that I admit that as a teenager, I thought English class was the biggest waste of time ever. Sure, the literature was good, but why would you have to learn how to find a metaphor in every single thing you read? And grammar rules? Please! Fate, it seems, had other plans for me, the writer. Whatever your position on English classes, the English language itself is recognized as one of the most difficult spoken and written languages to master. Don’t believe me? Try explaining to a non-English speaker why 26 definitions exist for the word “run.” For good or ill, the English language is replete with definition tar pits and spelling booby traps. When you are working with the language, it is important to receive (i-before-e-except-after-c) the best information you can get. In this section, you’ll examine three popular Palm OS tools created to assist you with word whoas . . . er, woes.
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Noah Lite English Dictionary Linguists tell us that dictionaries have not been around as long as the English language. Because literacy was kept to a small group of the population, educated monks, and some royal families, spelling was done mostly by rote. By the 17th century, many people were becoming literate and spelling errors were rampant in the literature of the day. In 1604, Robert Cawdry published the Table Alphabeticall, the very first known alphabetical English dictionary. Too bad he misspelled “Alphabetical”— at least by our 21st-century standards. Over the next hundred or so years, dictionaries popped up all over the place. They were helpful for more than just standardizing spelling, too. They introduced new words into the overall language, as listed terms from one region would sometimes be picked up by the residents of another. Eventually, dictionaries became the recognized authority on meaning, pronunciation, etymology, and usage. And you just wanted to know how to spell gaberdine for your term paper, didn’t you? While dictionaries are very useful, they also tend to physically be very large. There are many words in the English language; more are being made up daily and accepted into common use, such as “e-tailer.” To keep things manageable, why not use a Palm-sized version? The Noah Lite English Dictionary is a free-of-charge dictionary application for Palm devices from ArsLexis (http://www.arslexis.com). The “Lite” comes from the fact that this freeware version is less feature-rich than the commercially sold Noah Pro dictionary. However, for a quick and easy way to locate word definitions and spellings, Noah Lite is no slouch. Downloading Noah Lite is a two-stage process. You need to download the application and then download a database of words to use with the application. Noah Lite has four such databases — mini, small, medium, and full. Medium is the default database (holding 37,625 words) you can download with the application. If you choose, you can download the full database of 122,679 terms. There is a slight catch here, though. The full database will take up a whopping 5.1 MB of memory on your Palm device. If you have a lot of applications or
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entries on your PDA, you might want to consider using one of the smaller database versions. Once downloaded, you can simply double-click each of the two files, which will automatically place them in the Install synchronization queue in your Palm Desktop application. The next time you HotSync your Palm device, the dictionary and its contents will be ready. When you tap the Noah Lite icon on the Palm screen, a brief splash-screen advertising Noah Pro will appear, followed by a set of instructions on how to use the dictionary. The following To Do will tell you everything you need to know.
To Do: Look Up a Word in Noah Lite This To Do will reveal how to find a word in the Noah Lite Dictionary for the Palm OS. 1. In Noah Lite, tap F (find). The Find Word form will open (see Figure 12.1). Figure 12.1 The central word locator for Noah Lite
TIP The /F shortcut menu command will open the Find form in the dictionary.
2. In the Find Word field, enter the first letter of the word you are seeking. The word list will advance to the start of that letter’s section (see Figure 12.2).
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Figure 12.2 Advancing through the word list alphabetically
3. Enter the next few letters of the word. The word list will continue to advance. 4. If you misspell the word and cannot see it in the list, use the scroll buttons on your Palm device or the scroll icons in the Noah Lite application to scroll up or down the word list. 5. Tap the located word to view its definition (see Figure 12.3). Figure 12.3 Defining zither
TIP You can scroll through the definitions by tapping the forward or back buttons that appear at the top of the definition screen.
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If you find yourself frequently using the Noah Lite dictionary, be sure to give the Noah Pro application a look as well. For $19.95, you can have a whole new array of features, such as definition cut and paste, better database compression, and 11 word databases. Information on Noah Pro can also be found at http://www.arslexis.com.
ArsLexis Thesaurus If the name of this application seems familiar, you’re right. ArsLexis is the same company that created the Noah Lite Dictionary. The interface of the thesaurus product is remarkably similar to the dictionary’s interface. In fact, it is so similar that you will want to be careful to ensure that you are using the right application at the right time. The first difference with the thesaurus application is that there is no freeware version. The thesaurus is sold commercially for $10. You can download a demonstration version, but since it only has 10 percent of the commercial application’s data, it’s not good for much else besides demonstrating the product. Like the dictionary, there are two files to download —the application and the database. However, there are only two thesaurus databases from which to choose—base and deluxe. Both databases are included in the price of the application. The only real decision you must make is how much space you want the application to occupy on your Palm device. Once installed, the thesaurus is very easy to use, as you will see in the next To Do.
To Do: Look Up a Word in ArsLexis Thesaurus This To Do will reveal how to find a synonym in the ArsLexis Thesaurus for the Palm OS. 1. Tap the spyglass icon in ArsLexis Thesaurus. The Find Word form will appear (see Figure 12.4).
TIP The /F shortcut menu command will bring up the Find form in the Thesaurus.
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Figure 12.4 The central word locator for the Thesaurus
2. Enter the first letter of the word you are seeking in the Find Word field. The word list will advance to the start of that letter’s section. 3. Enter the next few letters of the word. The word list will continue to advance. 4. If you misspell the word and cannot see it in the list, use the scroll buttons on your Palm device or the scroll icons in the Thesaurus application to scroll up or down the word list. 5. When you locate the word, tap it once to view a list of synonyms for it (see Figure 12.5). Figure 12.5 “Daguerreotype” instead of “figure”
TIP You can scroll through the lists of synonyms by tapping the forward or back buttons at the bottom of the synonym screen.
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If you have recently used the Thesaurus application, you can use its handy Clipboard to review the last five terms you researched. To access the Clipboard, tap the popup arrow that appears next to the spyglass icon. A list of the last five terms you viewed will appear. Tap the term you are seeking to view the synonym list for that term. You can also set some preferences for ArsLexis Thesaurus.
To Do: Set Preferences in ArsLexis Thesaurus This To Do will show you how to manage preference settings in ArsLexius Thesaurus. 1. Tap the Menu control. The Main menu will appear. 2. Tap the Preferences menu command. The Preferences dialog will open (see Figure 12.6). Figure 12.6 Setting up the Thesaurus application
TIP The /P shortcut menu command will open the Preferences dialog in the Thesaurus.
3. Tap the popup arrow to change the startup appearance of the Thesaurus. It can start with one of these three options: Nothing, Clipboard, or Last Word. 4. Tap the popup arrow to change the actions that occur when you push the Palm device’s scroll buttons or when you tap the on-screen scroll
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icons. Choose between: Nothing, Line Scroll, 1/2 Page Scroll, and Page Scroll. 5. Tap OK when your settings are complete. The Preferences dialog will close.
Blinding You with Science Science is the current method we use to look at the universe around us. It was once much simpler to look at the universe using personal metaphors. The sky as a blanket full of holes was much simpler to comprehend than an open-ended topography universe full of burning balls of gas and other bits of matter. We like to think that science will provide us with all of the answers. In truth, the scientific method is just a fad. Right now, it is believed that observation and experimentation are the best methods for figuring out the way of things. Who could doubt it? After all, our technology has come a long way using science. We think it’s the best way because there has been nothing brought to Western culture’s attention that would seem to be better. But there might be something else—some other way of looking at the universe that’s even better. In the meantime, we are still stuck with math homework and biology finals.
SimpleChart Plotting a set of figures on a graph is something you learn early in your mathematical schooling. You take a value of something (an experiment, for instance), and you plot a point for that value on a graph to create a bar chart or line graph. Simple, yes. But, if you don’t want to spend all of that time plotting and drawing, you can have your Palm device accomplish the same task for you using a freeware application known as SimpleChart. SimpleChart (which can be examined at http://www.etomi.com/palm) is an application that will allow you to plot up to three separate sets of data onto one graph. It can auto-scale the graph, too, so you can quickly see the relationships between the various data points that you have gathered. The important thing to remember about SimpleChart is that it is designed to help you see trends, not to accurately plot data. For instance, graph axes are
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not labeled and only whole numbers can be used. Therefore, these are not the graphs to insert in your doctoral thesis. However, you can form some baseline assumptions from the data, including data-set averages, minimums, and maximums. The installation of SimpleChart onto your Palm device is just a matter of moving the single PRC file for the application onto the handheld using the Palm Desktop’s Installation utility. Once installed, SimpleChart is a snap to use.
To Do: Plot a Data Set in SimpleChart This To Do will demonstrate how to create a graph in SimpleChart. 1. In SimpleChart, tap the left column in the first row. A new row will appear after the current row (see Figure 12.7). Figure 12.7 SimpleChart always creates the next row for you to enter data.
2. Enter a data value using Grafitti or the online keyboard. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the left column (Column 1) of the data sets. 4. When you’re finished, tap Graph. A graph of the data set will open (see Figure 12.8). 5. Tap Go Back. The data entry screen will reopen. 6. Enter a new set of numbers in the center column. Be sure to complete the same number of fields. 7. Tap Graph. Both sets of data will be displayed in the graph (see Figure 12.9).
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Figure 12.8 A graphical representation of the first 11 prime numbers
Figure 12.9 Take a penny, then double it . . .
8. Tap Show Legend to see which data points belong to which column. The Legend will appear (see Figure 12.10).
Figure 12.10 The Legend identifies the columns.
9. Tap Show Legend again. The Legend will close.
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10. Tap the column popup arrow. A list of column-viewing options will appear. 11. Tap the Column 2 option. Only the data set for Column 2 will be shown. There is more you can do with this data than just graph it. You can get some quick statistics about the data set, too.
To Do: Acquire Statistics from a Data Set in SimpleChart This To Do will explain how to see statistics about any data set in SimpleChart. 1. Tap any value in the column of data for which you want to view statistics. 2. Tap Statistics. The Statistics dialog will open (see Figure 12.11). Figure 12.11 Find out the nitty-gritty about your data.
3. Tap OK. The Statistics dialog will close. You can also modify the chart to show straight-line approximations and change the way the data is graphed.
To Do: Modify Charts in SimpleChart This To Do will explain how to change the way data is viewed in SimpleChart. 1. Tap Options in the data entry form. The Options dialog will open (see Figure 12.12).
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Figure 12.12 Options for SimpleChart
2. Tap the Show Straight Line Approx. check box to select it. 3. Tap the Show as Points, Not Lines check box to select it.
CAUTION Although you can turn off the AutoScale option in SimpleChart, I don’t recommend it. For the simple type of relationship-charting you need, it’s better to let the application handle this function for you.
4. Tap OK. The Options dialog will close. 5. Tap Graph. A modified graph of the data set will open (see Figure 12.13). Figure 12.13 Just a new way to examine the same data
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ChemTable There are, at last count, 116 known chemical elements. If you go to a chemistry class, you will likely need to know them all at one point or another. From Hydrogen to Ununoctium (discovered in a lab in 1999), all of these elements form the building blocks of all the matter around us. However, having a simple list of them is just not enough, since many elements relate to others in interesting ways. This is where the Periodic Table of Elements comes into play. The Periodic Table of Elements is based on a principle put forth by Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev in his first periodic table, created in 1869. The table has undergone some serious alterations, with possibly the most significant being the work done by Henry Moseley in 1911. Moseley came up with the current periodic law of the elements. Glen Seaborg, with his work on special inner transition state elements, arranged the table in 1950 to the way we see it today. But you don’t want this information; you just want the atomic number of Americium (95). Enter ChemTable, a freeware application designed to give you the basic facts about every known chemical element—and then some. ChemTable was developed by Robert Eng. It is available for download at http://www.palmgear.com.
To Do: Learn about Elements with ChemTable This To Do will show you how to locate specific information about an element on the periodic table. 1. In ChemTable, tap the element for which you want to see more information. The element’s message box will open (see Figure 12.14). Figure 12.14 Yttrium is used as a phosphor to produce the red color in television screens, in case you were wondering.
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2. Tap Done when you are finished. The element’s message box will close. 3. Tap the double-arrow icons. The left or right half of the period table will be displayed (see Figure 12.15).
Figure 12.15 The right half of the periodic table
You can also choose to display only certain classes of elements, such as the metalloids or the ever-popular noble gases.
To Do: Display Elemental Subsets This To Do will reveal how to display certain elemental groupings. 1. Tap the Menu control. The Options menu will appear. 2. Tap the Display menu command. The Display Options dialog will open (see Figure 12.16). Figure 12.16 Choose which elements to view
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3. Tap the check box(es) for the elemental class(es) you want to see. 4. Tap Done. Only those elements in the group(s) you selected will appear (see Figure 12.17). Figure 12.17 The halogens and noble gases
HotSync The four applications covered in this chapter are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to educational software. There are historical applications, biology study guides, student organizers, and many more. Whatever help you need for a given subject, you are likely to find some kind of application for your Palm device. In Chapter 13, “A Homemaker’s Palm,” you’ll come home from school to see what applications can be used to help you around the house. And they’re not just for shopping lists, either!
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anaging a home is no longer solely a woman’s job. At best, it is never solely anyone’s job, since taking care of a home with all of its attendant needs, plus the family, plus the pets, plus the. . . . Well, you get the idea— it’s a big job.
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The idea that running and managing a home is an easy venture is a false one. Anyone who has spent any time doing so will tell you that. Home appliances haven’t really helped the matter, either. You can run a dishwasher, but someone has to empty the thing, right? Some of you might still remember “the kitchen of the future” advertisements that once graced the magazines and airwaves of the past. Gleaming metallic appliances would serve us a three-course meal at the touch of a button. So what happened to them? Expectations, it seems, do not always live up to reality. There are some areas, however, where modern technology can be a real boon to your home management tasks. In fact, it can even help you get a home to manage.
Getting a Home to Manage Buying a home is likely one of the most stressful tasks you will ever undertake. It ranks right up there with figuring out how to send your kid to college. The amount of paperwork alone is staggering. Nevertheless, part of our way of life is making sure there’s a roof over one’s head, so we all grit our teeth and bear it. If only it wasn’t so darn complicated. The Palm device might provide some help in wading through the most stressful aspect of the whole home purchasing process — the money. The very thought of plunking down six-figures for anything is very daunting (at least, for most of us). However, with a wonderful application called HomeLoan, you can negotiate the sharp twists and turns of the whole, lovely, mortgage process without having to visit a mortgage lender’s office.
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HomeLoan can be found at http://www.palmutil.com. It is a shareware application, which you can register at the PalmUtil Web site for $10. This application is more than just a simple calculator: It allows you to calculate mortgage payments for many different types of mortgages and compare different payment scenarios. It even includes a tool that lets you figure out the combination of mortgage, taxes, and insurance payments so you can see what your real monthly payment will look like. When you first start HomeLoan, you will be taken to the introduction view, where you will be asked to either register the application or continue using it with limited functionality. If you tap Continue, you will see the main HomeLoan form, as shown in Figure 13.1.
Option list
Figure 13.1 The main HomeLoan screen
Loan payment Mortgage interest rate Balloon payment amount
Payment start calendar Loan title Payment frequency Length of mortgage Amount of mortgage Calculation button
Inflation calculator Calculator
All of this might look complicated, but really it’s just a matter of entering the right numbers in the right places, as you will see in the next To Do.
To Do: Calculate a Fixed-Rate Mortgage Payment This To Do will show you how to use HomeLoan to calculate the payment amount for a fixed-rate mortgage. 1. Enter a name for the loan you are evaluating.
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2. Tap the Payment Frequency popup arrow and select the Monthly, BiWeeklyNA (twice a month), or BiWeeklyA (every two weeks) payment option. 3. Tap the Length of Mortgage field and enter the number of years or months the mortgage will last. 4. Tap the Term Units popup arrow and select Years or Months. 5. Tap the Payment Start Calendar field. The Calendar dialog will open. 6. Tap the date on which you expect the first payment of your mortgage to be due. The Calendar dialog will close and the selected date will appear on the main HomeLoan form. 7. Tap the Mortgage field and enter the amount of the loan you will need. (That is, after the down payment.) 8. If you know that interest is compounded on your mortgage before your payments, tap the E button. If the interest is compounded after the payments, tap the B button. 9. Tap the Rate field and enter the percentage value of the mortgage interest. 10. Tap the Balloon field and enter the balloon payment, if one exists. 11. Tap the Calc button that appears next to the Pmnts field. The principal and interest part of the loan will be calculated and displayed on the new form, as shown in Figure 13.2.
Figure 13.2 It’s all yours for just 360 easy payments.
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A variety of different methods exist to acquire financing for a home. Nehemiah loans, FHA loans, and balloon payments are just a few. One of the more popular loan types is a loan that uses a variable rate— a nice low rate to start and (ideally) continuing low rates in the future. The risk, of course, is that (in the US) the Federal Reserve Board can raise the prime rate. If the prime rate is raised, the mortgage rates will be jacked up faster than you can say Alan Greenspan. Planning for variable rate loans is difficult, since you can’t see into the future to know whether the rates will change. But you can plug in some guesses to see how the changes might affect your mortgage payment.
To Do: Calculate a Variable-Rate Mortgage Payment This To Do will show you how to use HomeLoan to calculate a payment amount for a variable-rate mortgage. 1. Follow the procedures outlined in steps 1–10 of the previous To Do. 2. Tap the Rate popup arrow that appears adjacent to the Rate field. 3. Tap the Variable option. 4. Tap any other field. The form options will be updated (see Figure 13.3). Figure 13.3 Focusing on a variable rate loan
5. Tap the Calc button. The Set Variable Interest dialog will open (see Figure 13.4).
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Figure 13.4 Setting the variable rate
6. The variable rate for the first year of your mortgage is carried over from the last fixed-rate loan you entered. Edit the rate for the first year if necessary. 7. Tap the up arrow. The next year will appear. 8. Enter the expected rate for the new year. 9. Repeat steps 7–8 until you have reached the end of the expected rate changes. 10. Tap Same if you expect to cap the rate at a certain point. The Confirm dialog will open, asking whether you want to keep this rate from the current year to the end of the loan. 11. Tap Yes. The Confirm dialog will close. 12. Tap Done. The Set Variable Interest dialog will close. You can also work the figures to determine the down payment or rate needed to meet a specific payment amount.
To Do: Use Other Mortgage Calculations This To Do will show you how to use HomeLoan to calculate necessary rates or down payments to accommodate a desired monthly payment. 1. Enter information in every field except the Rate field.
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TIP Be sure the Rate field is set to Fixed.
2. Tap the Calc button that appears next to the Rate field. A new rate that matches this payment will appear. 3. Enter a new, lower value in the Mortgage Amount field, if the rate is unrealistic. Of course, this will also require a larger down payment. 4. Tap the Calc button that appears next to the Rate field. A new rate that matches this payment and loan amount will appear.
A Place for Your Stuff George Carlin once said, “That’s the whole meaning of life, isn’t it? Finding a place for your stuff. And that’s all a house is, isn’t it? Just a place for your stuff.” This somewhat cynical view does not take away from the fact that if you are like most Americans, there is a lot of stuff in your home. And while having a lot of stuff might seem like a good thing, it can be quite a hassle if you ever have to produce a list of that stuff. Try as we might to prevent such events, disasters do happen. Floods, fires, earthquakes, theft—all these events can destroy or remove your stuff from your home. You might never get the same stuff back, but your insurance company can help replace it if you have an accurate list. The police might be able to locate the items with a similar list. Inventorying the contents of your home can be a long and tedious process. Paper and clipboard in hand, you need to find every item and write down its vital information. If you want to have an easily maintainable list, you’ll want to input the information into a computer. You can save a lot of steps (and paper) by entering your inventory items directly into the Palm device. Several third-party tools are available for this function, but one of the best is RMRHome 1.0. Developed by RMR Software (http://www.rmrsoft.com), RMRHome - Home Inventory Tracker 1.0 is the
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Palm version of an application originally written for the EPOC handheld device. RMR Software is primarily concerned with Psion and EPOC software—so much so that you will not find information about the Palm version on the RMR Software Web site. Your best bet is to find it at the PalmGear site. RMRHome is shareware with a registration fee of $15, and it is worth every penny. The description of the product indicates that it is based on the Quicken Home Inventory (QHI) module, which is an excellent and flexible utility for inventory. QHI is not available for the Palm; however, RMRHome is so versatile that you won’t really mind. The trick to a good home inventory program is finding one that can be customized to meet your needs. You have at least one bedroom in your home, as well as a kitchen and a bathroom. But do you have a dining area? If so, do you call it the dining room or the breakfast nook? Or is it part of the kitchen? How about a den? Or is it the family room? Or home office? Different people have different names for rooms, depending on their use. Often, the use of those rooms is not static. In my home, for instance, one of the bedrooms is now my home office, and that’s what it’s called. If I ever move the office, then that room will become the spare bedroom. If an application is adaptable enough to meet these sorts of needs, then it will serve you well. Once RMRHome is installed, you can begin using it right away to inventory your home. The first thing you need to do is set up the names for the rooms in your home.
To Do: Organize Rooms in RMRHome This To Do reveals how to create and organize room names in RMRHome. 1. Start RMRHome. The Rooms List view will open (see Figure 13.5). 2. Tap the Menu control. The Record menu will appear. 3. Tap Edit Rooms. The Edit Rooms dialog will open (see Figure 13.6).
TIP You can also use the shortcut command /E to open the Edit Rooms dialog.
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Figure 13.5 The default room setup in RMRHome
Figure 13.6 The master rooms list
4. Tap New. A new Edit Rooms dialog will open. 5. Input a room name in the Enter a New Room Name field. 6. Tap OK. The second Edit Rooms dialog will close. 7. Tap a room name. The room name will be selected. 8. Tap Rename. A second Edit Rooms dialog will open. 9. Enter a new room name. 10. Tap OK. The second Edit Rooms dialog will close. 11. Tap OK. The first Edit Rooms dialog will close.
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Once all of the rooms are in place, you can enter items into the list. Each item will have a name and a room location, as well as a value and a category. Like the rooms, categories can be edited ahead of time, but you can also add them on the fly, which is probably more useful. When planning an inventory, it is sometimes difficult to anticipate all of the different categories of items that you have in your home.
To Do: Inventory Household Items in RMRHome This To Do shows how to record items in RMRHome. 1. Start RMRHome. The Rooms List view will open. 2. Tap New. The Item Details dialog will open (see Figure 13.7). Figure 13.7 Adding an item to the inventory
3. Enter a name for the item in the Description field. 4. Tap the Date field if you know the date the item was purchased. The Select Date dialog will open. 5. Tap the appropriate date. The Select Date dialog will close and the selected date will appear in the Date field. 6. Select a room from the Location popup list. 7. To add a new category, select Edit Categories from the Category popup list. The Edit Categories dialog will open (see Figure 13.8).
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Figure 13.8 Editing item categories
8. Tap New. A second Edit Categories dialog will open. 9. Input a new category in the Enter a New Category Name field. 10. Tap OK. The second Edit Categories dialog will close. 11. Tap OK. The first Edit Categories dialog will close. 12. Select the new category from the Category popup list. 13. Enter a monetary value for the item in the Value field. 14. Select Purchase Price or New for Old in the Replace popup list. (In case you were wondering, New for Old is the replacement price of an item.) 15. Enter any additional comments about the item in the memo field lines that appear at the bottom of the dialog. 16. Tap OK. The Item Details dialog will close and the item will be recorded on the Rooms List view.
TIP To view the items by category, tap Category List. The Category List view will open.
If you are one of the fortunate few who have more than one residence, you can even use RMRHome to inventory an entirely different domicile.
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To Do: Add a New Home in RMRHome This To Do demonstrates how to manage multiple homes in RMRHome. 1. Start RMRHome. The Rooms List view will open. 2. Tap the popup arrow for the Houses field. (It’s located in the upperright corner.) The list of options will appear. 3. Tap Edit Houses. The Edit Houses dialog will open. 4. Tap Rename. A second Edit Houses dialog will open. 5. Enter a new name for the current home. 6. Tap OK. The second Edit Houses dialog will close. 7. Tap New. The second Edit Houses dialog will reopen. 8. Enter a name for the second home. 9. Tap OK. The second Edit Houses dialog will close. 10. To switch between houses, tap the popup arrow for the Houses field and select the house to inventory.
Getting More Stuff The size of our grocery stores is one of the first things many people notice when they come to the United States for the first time. As a sign of the abundance this nation enjoys, there is truly no other indicator quite as telling as a 30-aisle supermarket complete with its own coffee shop, sushi bar, and daycare center. Supermarkets have gone from Mom and Pop establishments to stores so large you practically need a compass to find your way. For lack of a compass, a good, organized list will do— especially if the list will tell you where to find the items you need and in which store. The JShopper application is more than just a grocery list. With it, you can keep a permanent record of all the items you have purchased in any store you have visited, including their prices and locations. This will help you budget your time and money.
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As you use JShopper, the database of items will grow for each store at which you shop. On repeat visits, you will not need to enter every item. Just check off the existing items on your master list as needed and add any new items you might desire. JShopper is a shareware application from Land-J Technologies (http://www. land-j.com/jshop.html) and can be registered for $10. When you first open JShopper, you will see a rather plain-looking view with the heading All Stores. JShopper can handle the shopping data for up to 15 stores— more than enough to handle most people’s shopping needs. The stores are listed within JShopper as Stores 1–15, which is not very descriptive. Therefore, the very first thing you should do is personalize the list.
To Do: Manage Stores in JShopper This To Do will show you how to edit the store list in JShopper. 1. Start JShopper. The main list view will open. 2. Tap the Menu control. The Edit menu will appear. 3. Tap the Options menu, then choose Change Store Names. The Change Store Names dialog will open (see Figure 13.9). Figure 13.9 Editing store names
TIP You can also use the shortcut command /N to open the Change Store Names dialog.
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4. Tap one of the store names and enter a more descriptive name. 5. Delete any extra store names you don’t need. 6. Tap OK. The Change Store Names dialog will close. Once the stores are set, you are almost ready to enter the items you need at one or all of these stores. Before you begin, you might want to alter the configuration of the list to include more displayed details.
To Do: Configure JShopper This To Do will show you how to configure JShopper to display different information. 1. Start JShopper. The All view will appear. 2. Tap the Menu control. The Edit menu will appear. 3. Tap the Options menu, then tap App Prefs. The Preferences dialog will open (see Figure 13.10). Figure 13.10 Setting JShopper preferences
TIP You can also use the shortcut command /B to open the Preferences dialog.
4. Tap the Show Aisle and Show Price check boxes.
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5. Tap the Auto Reset Quantities check box. 6. Tap OK. The Preferences dialog will close. With the display set in this manner, you can get the maximum efficiency from JShopper as you enter items into the database. The best way to use JShopper is in stages; start by first entering the items you need into your destination store’s database. Don’t worry about remembering the aisle or prices yet. Once you are at the store, you can make a note in JShopper as to where the item is located and input the price of the item. If you regularly shop at more than one store, make a note of the items you buy there. You might find yourself entering duplicate items. (Perhaps you buy milk at any of the stores you frequent, depending on price.) This is okay, because different stores will place items in different aisles and will presumably have different prices.
To Do: Enter Grocery Items in JShopper This To Do will reveal how to enter new items in the JShopper database. 1. Start JShopper. The All view will open. 2. Tap the Need tab. The Need view will open. 3. Tap the store drop-down list and select the store you want to use. 4. Tap the New button. A new item field will appear (see Figure 13.11). Figure 13.11 Ready to enter a new item
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5. Enter a name for the item. 6. Tap the Quantity field. A list of numeric values will appear. 7. Tap the value that equates to the quantity you want. 8. If you have a coupon, tap the unlabelled check box that appears immediately to the right of the Quantity field. 9. Tap the Aisle field. A list of numeric values will appear. 10. Tap the value that represents the aisle number. 11. Enter a price for the item in the Price ($) field. 12. Repeat steps 4–11 as you build your list and locate items in the store. Once the list is created, you can take it to the store and shop with it. Simply open JShopper to the Need view and tap each checked item as you put it into your cart. The items will be removed from the Need page.
TIP You can use the shortcut command /L to sort the items by aisle, thus making your trip through the store even more efficient.
When you need the item at the same store again, just check the item on the All form to place it on the Need view.
HotSync Homemaking is not supposed to be an easy job. Part of having something special is that you have to work for it. However, even with just the few applications sampled here, you can make your job as homemaker a lot easier. In Chapter 14, “A Caregiver’s Palm,” you will learn what the Palm can do for your health as you examine some medical tools useful to any health care professional, as well as some tools that patients will find handy.
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f you took the essence of willow bark and wintergreen and stuck it into a beer bottle wrapped with a towel, what do think you would have?
I
Often the most effective medications come from less-than-auspicious beginnings. The concoction described above is no less than the first few batches of Bayer aspirin, created in the late 1880s from the by-product chemicals used in Bayer’s original line of business — dye manufacturing. Today, there are thousands of pharmaceuticals available on the open market. From Eastern powders to Western pills and serums, the choices from which a healer can pick are nothing short of an encyclopedia of information. As members of the healing arts discover more about how the human body works, that knowledge is also added to the volumes and volumes of current information. Then there are the patients themselves, who each bring a unique mixture of history, genetics, and physical conditions to a doctor when asking for help. Medical knowledge has become so prolific that there is a new branch of health care being formed — home health care. Home health care is three parts common sense and one part medical knowledge. It’s what lets us know that when little Timmy has a fever of 100.4, we should give him some children’s aspirin, some liquids, and a whole lot of rest in front of the TV. It’s also what dictates that when little Timmy’s fever spikes and holds at 104, it’s time to call the doctor. The average person now takes an active role in his or her own care. This is a role doctors welcome with some caution. While they don’t want people making incorrect self-diagnoses, they also recognize that, ultimately, the patient is the best judge of how they feel. The one common thread through home and professional health care is knowledge. This is what devices loaded with the Palm OS can bring to the arena. As keepers and recorders of knowledge at the portable level, they cannot be beat. In this chapter, you will examine some of the more popular professional and home health care tools.
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Professional Caregiver Tools Medical knowledge has come a long way since we used tree bark and water brews to alleviate fever and headaches. That professional caregivers have the ability to recall all of this accumulated knowledge is nothing short of amazing. One of the most stringent lessons delivered to medical students is just how much information the human mind can store and recall. Doctors, nurses, and other caregivers are constantly asked to recall massive amounts of information, some of it delivered new on a daily basis. If you look at the software developed for the Palm, no other industry has as much Palm software written for it. With few exceptions, the Palm represents a medium as revolutionary to the medical profession as the ballpoint pen. The Palm device has slowly but surely begun to replace the pen and paper records that haunt the medical world today. Two of the more popular software applications for the Palm help caregivers manage two memory-intensive areas of medicine— patients and pharmaceuticals.
Keeping Things Straight It is no wonder that caregivers are some of the most fastidious record-keepers in the professional world. The regular and methodical keeping of records is often a matter of life and death, because no one could ever be expected to remember every detail about every patient examined. To help aid in this process is PatientKeeper, a Palm OS application developed by Maulin Shah. Shah, once a medical student at Baylor University, has put together a very sophisticated medical record-keeping application. PatientKeeper is primarily used to store patient data, including demographics, labs, tests, and exams. Most items in the data entry screens are configured for the user to enter data with popup lists, check box lists, or standard “stick figures” (a medical slang term for the way certain test results, such as chem-7s or CBCs, are reported). This means that the caregiver must use minimal Graffiti, which is a big timesaver. PatientKeeper works well with its desktop application component, particularly in the area of patient archiving. When the patient is discharged, you can shift
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his or her active data from the Palm to the desktop to clear storage space on the Palm. If the patient is ever readmitted, you can very quickly pull the data from the PC and onto your Palm. PatientKeeper (http://www.patientkeeper.com) can be downloaded as a fullyfunctional 21-day trial version. If you choose to use it beyond this trial period, you can register it for $35. PatientKeeper has an extensive online manual that walks you through most of the application’s functions. To demonstrate how simple it is to use, the following To Do will show you how to add a new patient record.
To Do: Enter a New Patient Record in PatientKeeper This To Do will reveal how to add patient records to PatientKeeper. 1. Start PatientKeeper. PatientKeeper’s main view will open (see Figure 14.1). Figure 14.1 The main PatientKeeper view
Category list
Navigation bar Sticky Note New/Edit Record buttons
2. Tap New. The Edit Patient dialog will open (see Figure 14.2). 3. Enter the patient’s name (last name first) in the Name field. 4. Enter a patient identification number in the ID field.
TIP If you want, you can use the on-screen keypad to tap in numeric data, rather than using Graffiti.
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Figure 14.2 Adding a new patient
5. Tap the DOB field. The Choose Date of Birth dialog will open. 6. Tap the patient’s date of birth. The Choose Date of Birth dialog will close, the date will appear in the DOB field, and the patient’s age will appear in the Age field. 7. Tap the label for the Race field. A list of races will appear. 8. Tap the appropriate race. The value will be entered in the Race field. 9. Tap the label for the Bed field. A list of bed locations will appear. 10. Tap the appropriate location. The value will be entered in the Bed field. 11. Tap the popup arrow for the Cat field. A list of patient categories will appear. 12. Tap a patient category. The value will be entered in the Cat field. 13. Tap the label for the Dx field. A list of diagnoses will appear. 14. Tap the appropriate diagnosis. The value will be entered in the Dx field. 15. Tap OK. The Edit Patient dialog will close and the patient information will be displayed on the main view. After the initial patient information has been entered, you can add information as needed. Usually the first place to start is the History and Physical, or H&P, screen. From this screen, you can record the patient’s medical and family history, vitals, and current meds. You can also record lab orders and enter
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the results. PatientKeeper is loaded with innovative features and is customizable for any physician’s needs.
The Knowledge of the Medicine Man If keeping track of patients is hard, try remembering all of the currently available medications. This seemingly insurmountable task is made all the more difficult by the addition of allergic reactions and drug interactions to be remembered— enough data to make even the most seasoned physician’s head spin. ePocrates, Inc. (http://www.epocrates.com) has released a very popular working database for physicians that can track all of this information for every drug released in the U.S. Known as ePocrates Rx, this application is an invaluable tool for caregivers. Rx is an application that must, by its very nature, be updated on a daily basis, since new information about drugs and their effects is found regularly. Part of the installation process for Rx is the configuration of the AutoUpdate feature, which will automatically connect to the ePocrates Web site for updated information when you HotSync your Palm device. After it is installed on your Palm device, Rx is remarkably simple to use, as shown in the following To Do.
CAUTION The information found within Rx is to be used by medical personnel only; it is not to be used by non-medical personnel for self-prescribing medicine. Using any prescription medication not ordered by a licensed caregiver is dangerous and a violation of Federal law.
To Do: Search for a Drug in ePocrates Rx This To Do will reveal how to find important drug information in Rx. 1. Start ePocrates Rx. Its main view will open (see Figure 14.3). 2. Enter the first few letters of the drug in the Look Up field. The first drug matching that spelling will be highlighted. 3. Continue entering letters until the drug you want appears on the list.
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Figure 14.3 The main Rx screen
4. Tap the drug name. If the drug exists in multiple forms, the Choose Drug dialog will open (see Figure 14.4). Figure 14.4 Some drugs have many brand names.
5. Tap the brand name for the drug. The Main Drug Information view will open to the Adult Dosing view (see Figure 14.5). Figure 14.5 Adult dosing information for albuterol
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6. To find out about pediatric dosing, tap the navigation popup arrow. A list of information pages for the drug will appear. 7. Tap Peds Dosing. The Pediatric Dosing view will appear. 8. To learn about drug interactions, tap Drug Interaction on the navigation popup list. The classes of drugs that interact with the selected drug will appear. 9. Tap the drug class to view the interactive effect. A popup information box containing the information will open (see Figure 14.6). Figure 14.6 What not to take with this drug
10. To discover how the drug affects pregnancy or lactation, tap Other Info on the navigation popup list. 11. Tap the pertinent field to view information about the drug. Some drugs, such as vaccines, have certain regimens that should be followed. Rx has tables and dosing regimens to help remind physicians of the current prescribed regimens for many drugs.
To Do: Discover Drug Tables and Regimens This To Do will reveal how to locate drug tables and regimen information in Rx. 1. Start ePocrates Rx. The main view will open. 2. Tap By Class. The Class view will open.
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3. Tap Other. The Other view will open. 4. Tap Regimens and Tables. The Regimens and Tables view will open. 5. Scan the list for the information you seek. To be reminded of vaccination information, tap Vaccination Schedule, Child. The Vaccination Schedule, Child view will open (see Figure 14.7) Figure 14.7 When kids need their shots
6. To move back to the main Rx page, tap Home.
Take Good Care of Yourself Medical science, in most Western countries, has never been at such a peak in its entire history. Doctors are plentiful and medical knowledge can be distributed at the speed of light on the Internet. So why is it that more and more people are trying to take care of themselves? The reasons are as varied as the people doing it. Some simply feel that they will be better empowered by taking a more active stance in their health. Others think that their concerns (such as a slight weight gain) are something they can manage on their own. And still others just don’t trust doctors as much as they should. There is certainly nothing wrong with taking a more active role in your own health. Any doctor welcomes this event and wishes more people would follow suit. But managing your health care to the exclusion of all physician involvement might not be such a great idea.
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The Palm application examined in this section, FirstAid tinyByte, is an excellent aid for you to use when a doctor is not around and you need to manage your health (or someone else’s, for that matter) right away. For example, think about the techniques that were combined to form what we now call cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) just over 40 years ago. Contrary to popular belief, CPR is not meant to be a heart starter. If the heart starts during chest compressions, then the patient is lucky. Because what CPR is really supposed to do is keep the blood flowing (and therefore oxygen circulating to the brain) as much as possible while waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive. Does CPR make a difference? You bet it does. Besides providing a minimal amount of oxygen to the body, CPR also lengthens the time emergency treatment can be performed. Recent statistics show that if CPR is started within four minutes of collapse and defibrillation is provided within ten minutes, a person has a 40 percent chance of survival. If 40 percent seems low, compare that to the near-zero odds someone has if CPR is not started. CPR is not easy to do. It is hard work, both mentally and physically. You have to know when to give it and how to deliver it. To know how to save a life is one of the most important things anyone can learn to do. Even if you are trained in CPR, it could not hurt you to have the information available on hand in case you ever need to use it. Luckily, there is a way to do so. One of the many database applications for the Palm OS is thinkDB. Like HanDbase, thinkDB (http://www.thinkdb.com) is a configurable database application that lets you create your own databases from scratch. It also lets you use pre-made databases known as tinyBytes. One such tinyByte is FirstAid, which can be found under the Health category at http://www.thinkingbytes.com/Products/TinyBytes.asp. To use FirstAid, you need to download and install the thinkDB application. You can try out the database for 15 days, after which time you need to pay for the application ($39.95, with desktop component). Once thinkDB is installed, you simply upload the FirstAid tinyByte to your handheld, and it becomes a part of the thinkDB set of tools. FirstAid is primarily meant to be used as a reference tool for basic first aid techniques. Using it is very simple, as shown in the next To Do.
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CAUTION You should ideally use FirstAid as a memory refresher after you have taken a certified First Aid course, such as those offered by the American Red Cross. There is no substitute for practical training, particularly for something as important as saving a life.
To Do: Find and Review a FirstAid Technique This To Do will reveal how to call up first aid techniques to review in case of an emergency. 1. Start thinkDB. The main view will open (see Figure 14.8).
Figure 14.8 Getting to the FirstAid tinyByte
2. Tap the FirstAid listing. The FirstAid view will open (see Figure 14.9). Figure 14.9 FirstAid’s procedure listing
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3. Tap the Choking topic. The Choking record will open (see Figure 14.10).
Figure 14.10 The specific choking procedures
4. Tap the Heimlich Maneuver topic. The Heimlich Maneuver view will open. 5. When you are finished with your review, tap OK. The Heimlich Maneuver view will close.
HotSync Whether you are a doctor, nurse, or EMT, there are plenty of applications available for the Palm that will help you in the most important work of all— saving human lives. The topic of Chapter 15, “An Executive’s Palm,” might seem quite the juxtaposition, given the somewhat Machiavellian purposes we perceive our business community as having. But as we have seen all to clearly in recent months, the act of business is an act of life for many countries. Staying in touch, keeping commerce flowing—all activities not just meant to make money for a few, but to bring prosperity to everyone.
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f all of the chapters in this book, this one might seem like the one least needed. After all, the Palm was built with the average businessperson in mind, so why highlight its use for this group of people?
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One could make an argument that the Palm devices were not really made for the businessperson, but instead were a universal platform, which was then readily adopted by the business community. This is a fine distinction to make, but an important one. To stipulate that Palm OS devices are primarily marketed for business use limits the devices a great deal. Instead of viewing the Palm as the general-purpose platform that it is, consumers might think, “Well, I’m not running a business; I’m not some highpowered corporate worker— so why do I need a Palm?” Palm devices were not created solely for the business community. The entire concept of the hardware and software platform has the general public in mind—not just the business world. This is demonstrated by the incredible flexibility of Palm devices for communication, storage, and practicality. There is, of course, some overwhelming evidence that points to a large majority of Palm device owners being corporate types. However, the platform was not brought to them on a silver platter. Rather, businesspeople came to the Palm platform because of the Palm’s potential to save them time and money while enhancing their organizational needs. In their book Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers (HarperBusiness, 1991), Geoffrey Moore and Regis McKenna put forth an interesting observation of technology adoption. Adoption of a new technology like the Palm OS and the devices that use it does not happen in an even, straight-line fashion. Rather, it is more like a bell curve on a graph (see Figure 15.1). Table 15.1 gives an explanation of how each of these groups of technology adopters behaves.
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Figure 15.1 Moore’s and McKenna’s observed technology adoption lifecycle
TABLE 15.1 TECHNOLOGY ADOPTER BEHAVIOR Group
Behavior
Innovators
The enthusiasts who like technology for its own sake — in other words, geeks.
Early Adopters
Those who have the vision to adopt an emerging technology for an opportunity that is important to them.
Chasm
The gap in technology adoption between the early adopters and the pragmatists. This is the area Moore and McKenna believe marketers should target the most.
Early Pragmatists
The stable people who do not like to take the risk of new technologies but are ready to see the advantages of tested technologies. They are the beginning of a mass market.
Late Pragmatists
Late pragmatists, who represent about one-third of available customers, dislike continuous innovations and believe in tradition rather than progress. They buy high-technology products reluctantly and do not expect to like them.
Traditionalists
Traditionalists do not engage with high technology products, except to block them. They perform the valuable service of regularly pointing out the discrepancies between the day-to-day reality of the product and its claims.
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To date, most of the people who have purchased a Palm device have been the innovators and early adopters described by Moore and McKenna, though there are signs that the Palm has “crossed the chasm” and is being more widely adopted by the early pragmatist bunch. It should be noted that there is one interesting demographic about the makeup of innovators and early adopters: The vast majority of these two groups are men; specifically, men with average or above-average incomes. This means that many of the members of the innovator and early adopter groups are going to also be male members of the white-collar business community.
NOTE If you are thinking that this has a tie to the medical community, you would be correct. As mentioned in Chapter 14, “A Caregiver’s Palm,” no other profession has been targeted as heavily as the health care industry as a platform for Palm software. Marketers are not stupid, after all. If affluent men are more likely to buy a Palm, what better group to market than doctors?
This is a bit of a generalization, of course. There is more diversity of income and gender to be found in these groups. But if these observations are true, then it is not surprising that Palm devices are perceived as being a business tool— for a while, it was mostly businesspeople who were adopting the devices! Now, however, Palm devices are being widely adopted by a more diverse sampling of the public, following Moore’s and McKenna’s observations very well. These observations have their roots in historical fact: They match to a tee the adoption pattern of the telephone, the Internet, and cellular telephone technology. While Palm devices are moving beyond their original owners’ demographics, software developers have definitely not forgotten about the businesspeople who first introduced the platform to everyday use. More and more software is being developed specifically with the business user in mind — in many cases enhancing what the Palm already has for a better, more productive device.
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Taking Your Documents with You Whatever your feelings about the way Microsoft runs its business, Microsoft Office is, without a doubt, one of the most distributed office suites available today. This is a very relevant issue to Palm device users, because Palm devices would seem to be perfect for viewing and manipulating Office documents and spreadsheets. Alas, they are not, because Palm devices cannot natively read the proprietary file formats used by the Office applications Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This is really too bad, for a couple of reasons. First, it seems a loss of real potential for the Palm devices. If Palms could in fact read and edit these types of files, it would greatly increase their usefulness for most users. Second, it gives potential Palm buyers a reason to run off and go look at the main competitor for the Palm OS—the Windows CE-based Pocket PC. Marketing aside, it was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to use the Office file formats on a Palm OS device. One of the better applications to use for this purpose is DataViz’s Documents To Go application. Documents To Go 4.0 (http://www.dataviz.com) is, like the office suite it emulates, really five component applications in one. Table 15.2 lists the applications and their capabilities. TABLE 15.2 DOCUMENTS TO GO COMPONENTS Component
Features
Word To Go
A reader and editor program for Word documents
Sheet To Go
A reader and editor program for Excel documents
Slideshow To Go
A reader and editor program for PowerPoint documents
WordView
A read-only program for word processing documents
SheetView
A read-only program for spreadsheet documents
Documents To Go is a commercial application that currently sells for $69.95, but there is a 30-day trial period during which you can use a fully functional version of the application. Once the application is installed on your desktop PC, you can transfer Office documents to your Palm in just a few simple steps.
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To Do: Send Documents to a Palm Device with Documents To Go This To Do will demonstrate how to move Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents to a Palm device running Documents To Go. 1. On the desktop, double-click the Documents To Go icon. Documents To Go will start (see Figure 15.2).
Figure 15.2 The Documents To Go desktop window
2. Click Add Item. The Add Items dialog box will open. 3. Navigate to a file that you want to move to the handheld and click on its file name. The file will be selected. 4. Click on Open. The Add Items dialog box will close and the new item will appear in the Documents To Go window with the status “Needs Sync.” 5. HotSync the handheld. During the operation, the document added to the Documents To Go window will be copied to the handheld Palm device. Once the document resides on the handheld, you can view and work on it using your mobile device, as shown in the following To Do.
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To Do: Edit a Word Document in Documents To Go This To Do will demonstrate how to edit Word documents on a Palm device running Documents To Go. 1. Tap the Documents application icon. The Documents To Go application view will appear (see Figure 15.3).
Figure 15.3 The Documents To Go view
TIP Unread items in Documents To Go appear in boldface.
2. Tap the document you want to edit. The document will open (see Figure 15.4). Figure 15.4 An open Word document
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3. Tap the scroll bar to move forward or backward through document. 4. To change the text, tap the screen at the edit point. The text cursor will appear at that location. 5. Using Graffiti, make your changes to the document. 6. To change the attributes of text, select the text and tap either the Bold, Italic, or Underline button. The text’s attribute will change. 7. To change the font color and size, tap the Menu control. The Options menu will appear. 8. Tap the Edit menu heading. The Edit menu will appear. 9. Tap Font. The Font dialog will open (see Figure 15.5). Figure 15.5 Font settings in Documents To Go
10. Tap a new font size. The option will be selected. 11. Tap the Color button. The Pick Color dialog will open (see Figure 15.6).
Figure 15.6 Color settings in Documents To Go
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12. Tap a color. The color will be selected. 13. Tap OK. The Pick Color dialog will close. 14. Tap OK. The Font dialog will close and the changes will be applied to the document. 15. When you are finished with the document, tap Done. The Save Changes dialog will open (see Figure 15.7). Figure 15.7 Saving documents in Documents To Go
16. Tap Save Changes. The Save Changes dialog will close and the Documents view will appear. Once you perform another HotSync to the desktop PC, the changes that were made on the handheld copy of the document will be reflected on the desktop copy. In addition to editing documents that were originally created on the desktop and then transferred to the handheld, you can also create a new document on the handheld. Currently, this function only works for the Word To Go and Sheet To Go components.
To Do: Create a New Document in Documents To Go This To Do will demonstrate how to create a new Word or Excel document on a Palm device running Documents To Go. 1. Tap the Documents application icon. The Documents To Go application view will open.
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2. Tap the New button. The New Document dialog will open. 3. Select a document type for the new file. 4. Select a category for the new document. 5. Enter a new document title. 6. Click OK. The New Document dialog will close and the file will be opened in the appropriate Documents To Go component. Deleting a file from the handheld is a bit odd, as far as procedures go. Essentially, you have to delete it from the desktop control window of Documents To Go, as shown in the next To Do.
To Do: Delete a Document in Documents To Go This To Do will demonstrate how to remove a Documents To Go document from a handheld device. 1. On the desktop, double-click the Documents To Go icon. Documents To Go will start. 2. Click the item to remove from the handheld. The item will be selected. 3. Click Remove. The Remove Selected Item dialog box will open. 4. Click Remove to confirm the removal. The file will be removed from the file list. 5. HotSync the handheld. During the operation, the document will be removed from handheld Palm OS device.
Working with Spreadsheets Sheet To Go is the Documents To Go component that lets you work with Excel spreadsheet documents with surprising flexibility. While Word To Go is a bit limited in its word processing capabilities, Sheet To Go is much more robust, as seen in the next To Do.
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To Do: Edit an Excel Speadsheet in Documents To Go This To Do will demonstrate how to edit Excel documents using Documents To Go. 1. Tap the Documents application icon. The Documents To Go application view will open. 2. Tap the spreadsheet you want to edit. The spreadsheet will open (see Figure 15.8). Column controls
Figure 15.8
Sheet list
A very functional spreadsheet on your Palm
Row controls
Data entry field Go command button
Function complete button
Function button
Navigation controls
3. Tap one of the navigation controls to move the cell selector around the spreadsheet.
TIP Use the Sheet drop-down list to move between the sheets in the spreadsheet document. This feature is similar to the sheet tab controls found in Excel.
4. Tap a cell in which you want to enter data. The cell will be selected. 5. Using Graffiti, enter data into the cell.
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6. To format the cell, tap the menu control. The File menu will appear. 7. Tap the Format menu. The Format menu will appear. 8. Tap the Cell menu command. The Format Cell dialog will open (see Figure 15.9).
Figure 15.9 Cell formatting in Documents To Go
9. Tap the Cell Color button. The Pick Color dialog will open. 10. Tap a color you want to apply. The color will be selected. 11. Tap OK. The Pick Color dialog will close. 12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 to change the Text Color value. 13. Tap OK. The Format Cell dialog will close. There is a great deal more that you can accomplish using Sheet to Go. Like an Excel spreadsheet, you can insert rows, columns, and whole sheets with ease.
To Do: Insert Spreadsheet Elements in Sheet To Go This To Do will demonstrate how to add rows, columns, and sheets to spreadsheets. 1. In the spreadsheet, tap the row control where you want to insert new rows. (New rows are inserted before the current row.) The Row control menu will appear (see Figure 15.10). 2. Tap Insert. The Insert Rows dialog will open.
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Figure 15.10 A row control menu in Documents To Go
3. Enter a numeric value for the number of rows you want to insert. 4. Tap OK. The Insert Rows dialog will close and the new rows will be inserted. 5. Tap the column control where you want to insert columns. (The new column will appear before the selected column.) The column control menu will appear. 6. Tap Insert. The Insert Columns dialog will open. 7. Enter a numeric value for the number of columns you want to insert. 8. Tap OK. The Insert Columns dialog will close and the columns will be inserted. 9. To insert a sheet, first navigate to the sheet that is adjacent to the sheet you want to insert. 10. Tap the menu control. The File menu will appear. 11. Tap the Insert Menu header. The Insert menu will appear. 12. Tap the Sheet menu command. The Insert Sheet dialog will open (see Figure 15.11). 13. Tap the option that you want to use and then tap OK. The Insert Sheet dialog will close and the new sheet will be inserted. 14. To rename the new sheet, tap the menu control. The File menu will appear. 15. Tap the Format menu header. The Format menu will appear.
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Figure 15.11 Inserting sheets in a Documents To Go spreadsheet
16. Tap the Sheet menu command. The Sheet Properties dialog will open. 17. Enter a new sheet name and tap OK. The Sheet Properties dialog will close. Using a spreadsheet is more than just making it look good. You must also be able to enter functions. Sheet To Go lets you do this with a minimum of fuss.
To Do: Use Functions in Documents To Go This To Do will reveal how to use functions in Documents To Go spreadsheets. 1. Tap the cell in which you want to insert a function. The cell will be selected. 2. Tap the Function button. The Function toolbar will appear (see Figure 15.12). Figure 15.12 The Function toolbar
Function list Function toolbar
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3. Tap the Insert menu header. The Insert menu will appear. 4. Tap the Function menu command. The Sheet Properties dialog will open. 5. Tap the Function List button. The Insert Function dialog will open (see Figure 15.13). Figure 15.13 The list of functions
6. Scroll down the list until you find the function you want and then tap on it. The function will be selected. 7. Tap OK. The Insert Function dialog will close and the function will be inserted into the data entry field. 8. As necessary for functions that reference other cells, tap the cell to be used by the function. The cell will be selected and the cell’s address will be entered in the function. 9. Tap the Function Complete button. The function will be entered.
Developing Slide Show Presentations If you think Sheet To Go is a nifty application, you will be pleasantly impressed by the latest addition to the Documents To Go application: Slideshow To Go (STG). STG is in the early stages of its development. This component lets you view and edit entire slideshows that were created in PowerPoint. There are some
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limitations to this tool, though. Animations and sounds are not displayed, nor can they be edited on the handheld. You cannot move or add slides, either. What you can do, however, is edit the contents of the slide show and view the changes with the slide viewer. You can also add notes to each slide— very handy for those last-minute thoughts before a presentation.
To Do: Edit Slide Shows in Documents To Go This To Do will reveal how to edit PowerPoint documents in Documents To Go. 1. Tap the Documents application icon. The Documents To Go application view will open. 2. Tap the slide show to edit. The slide show will open (see Figure 15.14). Text view
Figure 15.14 The Text View of a slide show
Notes view Slide view
3. Tap the Slide View button. The Slide view will open (see Figure 15.15).
Figure 15.15 The Slide view of a slide show
Slide magnifier
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4. Tap the slide magnifier button. The view of the slide will be expanded. 5. Tap on and drag the stylus across the screen to shift the view to other parts of the slide. 6. Tap the slide magnifier button. The view of the slide will be reduced. 7. Tap the Notes View button. The Notes view will open. You can edit text for the slides in the Text view and add notes to the slides in the Notes view. Graphical elements for the slide show cannot be changed within the presentation.
HotSync Although you only examined one application in this chapter, Documents To Go is such a powerful program that you will find it indispensable for your business needs. In Chapter 16, “A Traveler’s Palm,” you’ll examine another aspect of business, one that is dreaded the world over— travel. Away from the office and away from home does not necessarily mean that you are disconnected from your world. With a Palm device and a few helpful applications, you can keep in touch easily!
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n 18 B.C., a Greek philosopher named Strabo put forth a huge seventeenvolume set Geographica, containing all of the known information about the geography of the world at large. Strabo based his works on the information brought back from the various Roman expeditions of conquest through Scandinavia, Africa, and Asia Minor and the maps created by Eratosthenes, who had accurately predicted the Earth was round 212 years earlier.
I
Strabo did a pretty good job, based on the information he had. Curiously, he rejected earlier cartographers’ claims of a land called Thule (Iceland), which lay beyond the frigid climes of Ierne (Ireland). It was far too cold in that part of the world for anyone to live there. He likely would have rejected claims about Ireland, too, if the information had not come from the Romans themselves. Still, Strabo’s estimates of land shape and distance were not far off the mark around the Mediterranean region, as this 19th century recreation of his Geographica shows in Figure 16.1. Today, satellites not only can provide us with hyper-accurate maps of the world around us (as well as some other worlds), but they can also tell us where we are on the planet, down to the nearest meter. With the right tools, human beings can never be lost again. Of course, try running that one past a beleaguered traveler who is at a taxi stand in Warsaw at two o’clock in the morning, trying to convince a cab driver to take him to the nearest hotel. Lost? Not in any real sense. Stuck? You bet. The mechanics of travel have been made much easier in the past few decades. I know that with the right amount of money and a passport, I can generally be anywhere in the world seventy-two hours after I walk out my door. Imagine— seventy-two hours to be on the other side of the planet. And that’s the really remote areas. Travel between major cities can be accomplished in just over a day, on average. But the ease with which we travel has led to some complications. Intellectually, I know I can get to Warsaw in about 14 hours of travel time by air. Dropping me in the middle of Poland, however, could lead to some serious problems. I don’t know the language, I have no idea of the currency exchange
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Figure 16.1 The world according to Strabo and the Roman Empire
rate, or even what the currency of Poland is called (the Zloty). And, of course, I won’t even know for sure what the current time is. Traveling is fast, and unless you are prepared ahead of time, you might have some difficulty adjusting once you arrive. The Palm OS devices are an excellent solution to solving many of these travel woes. Several software applications exist to help make your traveling easier. If you have a Palm VII device or a wireless modem attachment for your Palm III, IIIx, IIIe, V, or Handspring Visor, you can also connect to online services that will instantly display information about where you are and where you’re going. With a Palm device, there is little reason to be stuck or lost while traveling.
Talking to the Ether The first time I ever saw mobile communications in action (besides my Six Million Dollar Man walkie-talkies) was while watching the early ‘70s detective show Cannon. The lead actor, William Conrad, was the acquaintance of a family acquaintance, so we watched the show!
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Cannon had something in his car that I thought was cool—a mobile telephone. Such a device was beyond belief: Pick up the phone receiver and ask the mobile operator to dial a number for you. Little did I know then that mobile telephony had been around as a private commercial venture since 1946, when AT&T and Southwestern Bell introduced the first-ever mobile telephone service for the residents of St. Louis. Today, mobile telephones run on cellular technology and look a lot like the communicators on Star Trek. Their range is not very far, but it doesn’t need to be, thanks to the way cell phones work. Wireless devices for the Palm OS work on roughly the same principle as cell phones, depending on which service you choose. There are three major wireless services offered for Palm devices: MyPalm (formerly Palm.Net), GoAmerica, and OmniSky. MyPalm is available for all Palm, Inc. devices, while GoAmerica and OmniSky work well with both Palm and Handspring devices. The transmission techniques for GoAmerica and OmniSky are very similar to cell phones—both use the CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) transmission protocol. CDPD is even less powerful in signal range than regular cell technology because of its error-checking and robust signals. This means that coverage for these devices is limited to the major cities in the United States. The same holds true for MyPalm, which uses the Mobilnex wireless service also used by Blackberry devices and Cingular Wireless telephones. There is a slightly wider area of coverage for MyPalm, as Mobilnex service is more prevalent in Canada. None of these services, nor their associated wireless modems, can be used outside North America because CDPD and Mobilnex technology are not widely distributed in other nations. The best bet for worldwide coverage is to get a device that can send and receive in the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) protocol, which is used nearly everywhere in the world. Currently, the big three U.S. Palm wireless service providers are beta-testing GSM service in Europe, so it might not be time to switch to GSM just yet. However, if you are interested, look at the Symbol SPT 1734 Palm device, which features GSM connectivity. If you travel extensively in the United States, you might be well served by subscribing to one of these services. Each features direct Internet access and Web
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clipping services, as well as access to your preexisting e-mail accounts. Each of these services also provides portal access to useful travel services like Travelocity, Frommers City Guides, and Go2. You can even tap into MapQuest and download live maps that pinpoint your current location and the location to which you are going. These services represent the newest form of mobile connectivity for Palm OS users. By bringing the Internet to users, wherever they may be, communication and information will flow more freely. But information does not have to be halted if you choose not to have a wireless Palm OS device. There are quite a few useful applications that will assist you in your travels.
Getting You Where You are Going One of the more aggravating parts of going on a trip actually occurs before the trip itself—the planning. Granted, travel Web sites like Expedia.com and Orbitz.com have made the planning of a trip a lot simpler (and cheaper) for the average person. Do-ityourself travel arrangements have become very popular lately, because of the ease of use of these travel sites. However, even if you use travel sites, there is a lot of material to contend with, including travel coupons, e-ticket receipts, rental car reservation print-outs — a lot of paper and a lot of hassle to manage. Enter Gulliver, a Palm OS application from LandWare (http://www. landware.com) that sells for $29.95. Like the name implies, this commercial application is made for travelers. What it does is simple, too: Gulliver will manage much of your itinerary for any trip, whether business or personal. It will even enter pertinent times on your flight schedule directly into the Palm Date Book, thus saving you a step. In addition to flight schedules, hotel reservations and rental car arrangements are also managed within Gulliver. Gulliver uses an itinerary metaphor to group all of the individual travel arrangements for each trip. To view a trip summary, simply tap the trip’s itinerary listing. The only thing Gulliver can’t do is handle train scheduling, which might be important if you’re traveling in Europe or Japan.
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Gulliver has a unique interface that works hard to let you input information using the least amount of Graffiti possible. The flight times can be entered down to the minute without using Graffiti. In addition, most of the world’s airlines, hotels, and rental car companies are pre-loaded into the application, making it easy to select them from a list. To enter a new itinerary into Gulliver, use the steps outlined in the following To Do.
To Do: Enter a Travel Itinerary in Gulliver This To Do will reveal how to manage a trip in Gulliver. 1. Tap the Gulliver application icon. The (rather plain) Gulliver application view will open (see Figure 16.2). Figure 16.2 The Gulliver view
2. Tap New. The Itinerary Details form will open (see Figure 16.3).
Figure 16.3 Begin your itinerary here.
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3. Enter a description for the trip in the Title field. 4. Tap the date in the Depart field. The Depart Date dialog will open. 5. Tap the appropriate date. The Depart Date dialog will close and the date will be entered in the Depart field. 6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the Return field. 7. If desired, enter a reason for the trip in the Purpose field. 8. If applicable, enter a business reference for the trip in the Ref. # field. 9. Tap the Category field and select a category for the trip from the list of options. 10. Tap Done. The Itinerary Details form will close and the itinerary will appear in the Itinerary view (see Figure 16.4). After the itinerary is made, you can start entering pertinent information. Since most long trips are made by plane in the U.S., enter some sample flight information. Figure 16.4 A new itinerary for Gulliver
To Do: Enter a Flight in Gulliver This To Do will show you how to enter flight information in Gulliver. 1. In the Itinerary view, tap New. A list of trip options will appear. 2. Tap the Flight option. The Flight Reservation form will open (see Figure 16.5).
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Figure 16.5 Keeping all of the relevant times straight is the difficult part of flying.
3. Tap the question mark values in the From field. The Airports dialog will open. 4. Scroll through the list and select the airport from which you will depart. 5. Tap Select. The Airports dialog will close, and the city and three-letter airport code will appear in the From field. 6. Repeat steps 3–5 for the To field. 7. Tap the Depart field value. The Flight Departure dialog will open (see Figure 16.6). Figure 16.6 Enter flight times without using Graffiti.
8. Tap the hour and minute values that match your flight’s departure time. 9. Tap OK. The departure time will appear in the Depart field.
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10. Repeat steps 7–9 for the Arrive field. 11. Tap the question mark values in the Airline field. The Airlines dialog will open. 12. Scroll through the list and select the airline you are using. 13. Tap Select. The Airlines dialog will close, and the airline name code will appear in the Airline field. 14. Enter the flight number in the Flight field. 15. Enter the seat number in the Seat field. 16. Tap Done. The Flight Reservation form will close and the flight will appear in the Itinerary view (see Figure 16.7). Figure 16.7 A new flight for the itinerary
For other flights on the trip, simply repeat the steps in the previous To Do. You can enter as many flights for the trip as you need.
NOTE For the next flight on the trip, the departure airport and airline will already be completed for you.
Once you get to your destination, you will very likely need a place to lay your head. If you’re lucky, you can do so on a pillow with a little chocolate mint on it. Mints or not, here’s how to track hotel reservations using Gulliver.
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To Do: Enter a Hotel Reservation in Gulliver This To Do will demonstrate how to enter hotel information in Gulliver. 1. In the Itinerary view, tap New. A list of trip options will appear. 2. Tap the Hotel option. The Hotel Reservation form will open (see Figure 16.8). Figure 16.8 Hotel reservation information is not too complicated.
3. Tap the Bed icon in the Hotel field. The Hotels dialog will open. 4. Scroll through the list and select the hotel where you will stay. 5. Tap Select. The Hotels dialog will close, the hotel will appear in the Hotel field, and the phone number will appear in the Phone field. 6. Tap the Arrive field. The Check-In Date dialog will open. 7. Tap the appropriate date. The Check-In Date dialog will close, and the date will appear in the Arrive field. 8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the Depart field. 9. Enter the address for the hotel in the Address field. 10. Enter a price for the room in the Rate field. 11. Enter a confirmation number for the reservation in the Conf # field. 12. Tap Details. The Hotel Details dialog will open. 13. Tap the bed size and no smoking options, as needed. 14. Tap Done. The Hotel Details dialog will close.
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15. Tap Done. The Hotel Reservation form will close, and the reservation will appear in the Itinerary view (see Figure 16.9). Figure 16.9 A new reservation for the itinerary
If you need a rental car at your destination, here’s how to enter the information in Gulliver.
To Do: Enter Rental Car Reservations in Gulliver This To Do will demonstrate how to enter rental car information in Gulliver. 1. In the Itinerary view, tap New. A list of trip options will appear. 2. Tap the Rental Car option. The Rental Car Reservation form will open (see Figure 16.10). Figure 16.10 Rental cars are easily tracked here.
3. Tap the Car icon in the Vendor field. The Rental Cars dialog will open.
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4. Scroll through the list and select the rental car agency you are using. 5. Tap Select. The Rental Cars dialog will close, the agency will appear in the Vendor field, and the phone number will appear in the Phone field. 6. Tap the Pick Up field. The Pick-Up Date dialog will open. 7. Tap the appropriate date. The Pick-Up Date dialog will close, and the date will appear in the Pick Up field. 8. Tap the Flag icon in the first Where field. The Cities dialog will open. 9. Scroll through the list and select the city where you will pick up the car. 10. Tap Select. The Cities dialog will close, and the location will appear in the Where field. 11. Repeat steps 6–10 to set the return options. 12. Enter a price for the car in the Rate field. 13. Enter a confirmation number for the reservation in the Conf # field. 14. Tap Details. The Car Rental Details dialog will open. 15. Tap on and complete the size, type, and options, as needed. 16. Tap Done. The Car Rental Details dialog will close. 17. Tap Done. The Rental Car Reservation form will close, and the reservation will appear in the Itinerary view (see Figure 16.11). Figure 16.11 Drive away with the new information in hand.
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Once you have entered all of the necessary travel information, you can tap Done on the Itinerary view to review the main list of itineraries. To view the details of a trip, tap the trip on the itinerary list, then tap one of the appropriate icons to view flight, hotel, or car information.
NOTE Flight times will automatically be entered in the Date Book.
Where are We Going to Eat Today? Now that you have been deposited by the miracle of modern travel at your destination, you will likely want to get to the place where you will stay as soon as possible. This homing behavior is much like an instinct, where travelers spend a lot of energy getting from Point A to Point B and then spend even more energy making sure they are well-ensconced in Point B’s hotel room. The trouble is, once they get to the hotel room, frequent travelers usually find that this room is depressingly like the last 50 hotel rooms in which they’ve stayed — bed, TV, really uncomfortable chairs, and glasses wrapped in paper. A quick look at the room service menu often convinces the average traveler that the proffered food is much the same as that in the last 50 rooms as well. Quickly, the homing instinct fades, and the displaced traveler begins to yearn for something new, something different. Food, entertainment, and at least a million new people might beckon beyond that hotel door, and now that a place has been secured for his stuff, the traveler is ready to switch to another instinct—hunting and gathering. The Palm devices all have wonderful software applications that can help you explore your new surroundings and even find a good place to eat. Eating is one of those acts of nature that we have romanticized to the hilt. What other species would cloak the simple act of consumption in so much mystery and ceremony? Take, for instance, the restaurant review: We pay someone to go into a restaurant, eat a meal, and then write about the experience. Still, people like good eats, and when they venture forth into a new town, finding good places to grab some chow is not always easy.
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Zagat, one of the premier restaurant-survey organizations, has developed a Palm OS application with LandWare that removes much of the guesswork from finding a good restaurant in a new city. The application is commercial and costs $29.95, although there is a free 14-day trial period. When you install the Zagat application, which can be found at http://www.landware.com, you will be given a choice of city and regional surveys to install on your handheld. You can install as many as you want, as long as you keep the memory limitations of your Palm device in mind. Once the surveys are in place, you can look for the best restaurants with ease, as shown in the next To Do.
To Do: Locate a Good Place to Eat This To Do will demonstrate how to find information for a specific restaurant using Zagat. 1. Tap the Zagat icon on the Applications view. The installed survey view will open (see Figure 16.12). Food rating Décor rating Service rating
Figure 16.12 The Zagat main view
Cost Rating values
2. If you have a specific restaurant in mind, enter the first few letters of the establishment in the Look Up field. The listing will advance to, or near, the restaurant. 3. Tap the rating buttons to see the restaurant’s ratings (0 through 30) for food, décor, and service.
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4. Tap the Cost button to see the average cost of dinner, one drink, and tip. 5. For more details, tap the restaurant listing. The restaurant’s view will open (see Figure 16.13). Figure 16.13 All of a restaurant’s information in one place Special information
6. After reading the review of the restaurant, tap the Cuisine button. Cuisine information will be displayed. 7. After reading the cuisine information, tap the Features button. Features about the restaurant will be revealed. 8. Tap any of the special information icons to view added facts about the establishment. 9. Tap Done when you’re finished. The main survey view will appear. If you do not have a specific restaurant in mind and you are more in the mood for a type of food, like Chinese or Italian, you can search for a restaurant by these parameters.
To Do: Locate a Restaurant by Type This To Do will demonstrate how to find a good restaurant using Zagat, based on the food’s category. 1. Tap the Zagat icon on the Applications view. The installed survey view will open.
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2. Tap the Category Type list control. The ZAGATLists dialog will open (see Figure 16.14).
Figure 16.14 What are you in the mood for?
3. Scroll through the listings and locate the category that interests you. 4. Tap the category. The ZAGATLists dialog will close and the new view will open (see Figure 16.15). Figure 16.15 Food to warm the tips of your toes
After you find a place that looks good, you will need to make sure you can get a reservation. Included in the list is a handy phone number that you can call for reservation information. Zagat can then help you jot down your reservation and get it into your Date Book.
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To Do: Record a Reservation in Zagat This To Do will show you how to keep a record of reservations at the restaurant of your choice. 1. In the restaurant detail view, tap the phone number field. The Enter Reservation form will open (see Figure 16.16). Figure 16.16 Party of two?
2. Tap the date and time for the reservation. 3. Enter the number of guests from the Guests popup list. 4. Tap Enter into Date Book. The Enter Reservation form will close and the reservation will appear in your Date Book.
Learning the Ways of the Land The last time I went to Europe, things did not go well for me. I had a lovely time overall, but there were some incidents that I wish would have never happened. Like the time I was gambling on a ferry between Denmark and Sweden and I got the exchange rates between the Danish Krone and the Swedish Krone completely mixed up and lost $45. Or the time I tried to buy an umbrella in Koln using my stilted high-school German and ended up with a raincoat. Clearly, I have not worked out the bugs of this travel thing yet.
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Traveling in a strange land is a journey that is full of its own little quirks. The money is different, the language is different— even the times are different. Travelers need some help getting through these obstacles, and two applications for the Palm fit the bill nicely.
WorldMate Nothing makes a traveler more nervous than the prospect that they’re in the wrong time zone or they haven’t gotten the right exchange rate. MobiMate’s WorldMate application is a valuable tool for dispelling these fears. Available at http://www.mobimate.com, WorldMate is a commercial application that sells for $19.95. You can try it for free but some of the functions, such as configuring a custom home city, will not work. When you install WorldMate and run it for the first time, you will need to configure the application, as shown in the next To Do.
To Do: Configure WorldMate This To Do will show you how to set up WorldMate. 1. Tap the WorldMate icon in the Applications view. The Time and Zone Settings dialog will open in the WorldMate view (see Figure 16.17). Figure 16.17 Configuring WorldMate is easy.
2. Tap the correct time and select the correct time zone.
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3. Tap OK. The Time and Zone Settings dialog will close and reveal the Clock screen of WorldMate (see Figure 16.18). Figure 16.18 Time zones at your fingertips
With WorldMate, you can view time zones, convert weights and measures, look up international phone codes, convert clothing sizes, and convert currency. This last task can be extremely helpful. Because exchange rates change on a daily basis, you can have the rates updated every time you HotSync your Palm.
To Do: Update Currency Exchange Rates This To Do will reveal how to update currency exchange rates. 1. In WorldMate, tap the Currency button. The Currency screen will appear. 2. Tap the Get Updated Rates button. The Get Updated Rates dialog will open. 3. Tap the Update Now button. If you have an active modem connection to the Internet, the rates will be updated immediately. If your Palm device is not connected to the Internet, the Get Updated Rates dialog will close. 4. HotSync the handheld. The rates will be retrieved from the Internet and placed on your Palm.
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Small Talk For as long as people have been scattered across the globe, they have been inventing new and interesting ways of describing the same things. For instance, something as basic as the sun is called die Sonne, soleil, sol, or sonnig—depending on whether you are speaking German, French, Spanish, or Afrikaans. The diversity of the human language is a testament to the joys of human creativity. Of course, all of this grand-sounding stuff is little consolation when you’re in a small shop in Milan trying to buy something. LandWare, who seems to have the knack for writing travel software for the Palm, has an application called Small Talk that will assist you with the language barrier. A commercial application that sells for $19.95, Small Talk uses easy-to-understand pictographs to establish a two-way translator for your conversation. When you start Small Talk, the first window you will see is the Preferences screen, which lets you establish what your native language is and in what language you are trying to communicate. Once you establish these settings, tap the Continue button to enter the main Small Talk screen, as shown in Figure 16.19. Figure 16.19 The Small Talk interface
Using Small Talk, you can manage your conversations by finding the phrase you need to say, then reading the translated phrase aloud or letting the other person read the phrase off your screen. The other person can then respond by tapping the correct response, which will bring up the translated response in your language.
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Sometimes you will need to convey more detailed information, such as date or time. Small Talk lets either speaker enter the detailed information, and then translates it back to the other language.
TIP Before you start a conversation with someone, you can have Small Talk explain what it is and what the other speaker is supposed to do. Tap the Basics, Program Intro buttons to have the application display an introductory phrase in the speaker’s native language.
To Do: Hold a Conversation Using Small Talk This To Do will show you how to carry on a conversation using Small Talk. 1. In Small Talk, tap the Transportation button. The Transportation screen will appear. 2. Tap the Directions button. The phrase list will appear (see Figure 16.20).
Figure 16.20 Directional phrases in Small Talk
3. Tap the phrase you need to communicate. The phrase will be translated into the appropriate language (see Figure 16.21). 4. Show the other speaker the phrase on the screen. Once they have read the phrase, they should tap the Answer button. A list of possible replies will appear in their language (see Figure 16.22).
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Figure 16.21 Can you please point me in the right direction to get to this?
Figure 16.22 Helpful replies for this conversation
5. The other speaker can tap the correct response. If the response requires more detail, a Choices button will appear. 6. Tap the Choices button. The Choices screen will appear for that question (see Figure 16.23). Figure 16.23 You can enter more detailed information on screens like these.
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7. The other speaker can enter the correct information and tap the Translate button. The answer will appear in your language. 8. Tap the Back button. The list of phrases will appear.
HotSync Throughout this book, I have shown you all of the great ways the Palm OS devices can bring efficiency and mobility to your everyday tasks. But let’s face it—working all day isn’t any fun, is it? Chapter 17, “A Gamer’s Palm,” begins a new section of the book, where you will examine another benefit of the Palm— having some fun. And what better place to start than with all of the games you can find for your Palm? Feel like shooting some Klingons today? Finding the troll’s gold? Look no further than the Palm in your hand.
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t is my understanding that the earliest recorded game was discovered during a joint University of Pennsylvania Museum-British Museum expedition working in the ruins of the Sumerian city of Ur. The members of the expedition, which took place from 1924–1934, found extensive examples of culture from the ancient Sumerian civilization. In the Royal Cemetery section of the city, the researchers discovered several examples of a board game within the tombs.
I
While many of these examples were damaged or incomplete, three complete sets of games were found — each dated to 3500 B.C. This predated the Chinese game of Wei-qi (later called Go when it was adopted in Japan) by nearly 1,500 years. No one knows what the game was called by the ancient Sumerians, but there is ample evidence that the game was a mainstay of many Near Eastern civilizations. In fact, the rules for what appears to be the same game were later found on a cuneiform tablet written by the Babylonians in 177 B.C. These rules are still in use today on the modern version of the board game, known as the “Royal Game of Ur.” Whatever it was called, the Royal Game of Ur was likely not the first game ever invented. That distinction is lost in time. It is likely that the very first game was something like Tag, which would’ve improved the hunting abilities of the first humans who roamed the Earth. Or maybe hide and seek. Games have come a very long way from the days of ancient Sumeria. Today, many games are played in the virtual worlds created within our computers. With Atari, Nintendo, and PlayStation consoles, our televisions have been made into windows to this gaming world. Now computers are playing catch-up to match the quality and excitement of the arcade and strategy games. For Palm users, games have been around since its operating system was first created. Beginning with simple games like MineHunt and moving to more complex games such as Chess and Mahjong, there are now hundreds of games that can be played on the handheld platform, many of them much more graphically intense than their predecessors.
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In this chapter, you will look at three of the most popular games developed for the Palm OS platform, including SimCity— a game based on one of the most popular desktop games ever produced.
We Built This City In 1985, programmer Will Wright had a vision of a different kind of computer game. Instead of a game where aliens were blasted and structures were blown to bits, he envisioned a game where things were built rather than destroyed. Four years later, he released SimCity (now known as SimCity Classic), the first computer game simulation to accurately model a functioning city. With SimCity, players built huge cities or quaint little towns. The game provided intricate details, such as a realistic traffic model and a zoning system made up of residential, commercial, and industrial zones. SimCity Classic is the version of SimCity available for the Palm OS platform. While it is not as robust as the current desktop release of the game, SimCity 3000 Unlimited, SimCity for Palm is a great introduction to the SimCity universe. You can get your feet wet with the Palm version of SimCity before delving into the massive desktop Sim game. SimCity for Palm is a commercial release, and, unfortunately, there is no demonstration version available. It can be purchased for $29.95 at http://www.ateliersoftware.com/palm/scc.html. When the game is installed, you will need to set up your very first city. This is not terribly difficult, as you will see in the first To Do.
To Do: Start a New City in SimCity for Palm This To Do will show you how to start the process of creating a new city in SimCity for Palm. 1. Tap the SimCity application icon. The SimCity application will open to the City List view. 2. Tap New. The Start New City dialog will open (see Figure 17.1). 3. Enter a name for the city in the Name field and tap the Easy option.
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Figure 17.1 Naming your new city
4. Tap OK. The Start New City dialog will close and, after a terraforming process, the Edit view will open (see Figure 17.2). Date Tools list
Demand indicators
Figure 17.2 Getting the lay of the land
Message
View list Funds
Forest Water Cleared area
5. With Bulldozer still selected in the Tools list, tap the forest section you want cleared.
TIP You should clear away quite a bit of forestland to make room for your city. Just keep telling yourself you will plant trees in the parks as soon as you can.
6. Tap the Tools list. The list of options will appear.
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7. Tap Residential. The option will be selected. 8. Tap a section of cleared land on which to place the new residential zone. Repeat this step to place a few residential zones next to each other. 9. Tap the Tools list and select Coal Power. 10. Tap a section of the screen on which to place the new coal power plant. 11. Tap the Tools list and select Power. 12. Tap a section of the screen on which to place a new power line section. Repeat this step until the power lines connect to the residential zones. Sim citizens will begin moving into the residential zones (see Figure 17.3). Figure 17.3 New people just move right in. New residence
Once residential areas are supplied with power, you will need to create commercial and industrial zones so that the people of your city have a place to work and thrive. Plan your city carefully and it will enjoy a long and happy life.
Trading Up Space. The final . . . shopping mall? Ever since humans figured out that the next guy had something they wanted and they were going to have to figure out a way to get that certain something, trade has played a large factor in interaction.
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Trading for things was a good compromise to killing others and just taking those goods away. It was a lot less messy and if no one was killed in the process of acquisition, the people that produced the goods in the first place would still be around to make more goods later. Trading has been with us for a very long time and will likely remain with us far into the future. This is the premise of Space Trader, a hugely popular freeware game for the Palm. In Space Trader, you are the young and courageous orphan from a backwater planet who dreams of making it big and becoming rich enough to buy your own moon. You sell your family’s farm and scrape together enough capital to build a small ship, while still retaining 1,000 credits to facilitate your new career in trading. Space Trader is the creation of Pieter Spronck and can be found at http://go.to/spacetrader. This application is freeware, though donations are accepted. The rules of the game are simple enough: Travel from planet to planet, buying goods on one planet and (ideally) selling them for a profit on another world. Of course, to make things a bit more interesting, you will have to contend with the odd pirate or two (or three or four and so on) who would love nothing more than to get his hands on your cargo. You might also want to become a pirate yourself, but there’s a very diligent police force out there in space with you, waiting for you to make a mistake. There is a lot of information to balance in this game, which makes it more appealing than just a regular shoot-em-up game. In addition to paying attention to the cultures with whom you are trading, you must attempt to determine those items needed by each planet so they’ll pay you a handsome price for shipping them. One good example would be if you found an agrarian society with low technology usage near a high-tech industrial world. The geeks need the food from the farmers and the farmers need the technology from the geeks, making this a very lucrative arrangement for you. To begin this game, you need to establish your identity as a trader and assign yourself a set of skills that will, hopefully, give you the needed edge to be successful in that big, bad galaxy.
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To Do: Start a New Game in Space Trader This To Do will show you how to begin plying the space lanes in Space Trader. 1. Tap the Space Trader application icon. The Space Trader splash screen will open. 2. Tap Start. The New Commander dialog will open (see Figure 17.4).
Figure 17.4 Start your trading career
3. Enter a name for your character in the Name field. 4. Tap the minus sign button in the Difficulty field until the value reads Beginner.
TIP For your first game, it is recommended that you start at the Beginner level. This will keep you from being killed before you can figure out the intricacies of trading.
5. Tap the plus and minus sign buttons to adjust the values for your piloting, fighting, trading, and engineering skills. The total of the values must equal 20.
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TIP Again, so you can avoid being killed, it is recommended you give yourself a majority of skill points rather than pilot skills. This will help you escape from pirates or the law.
6. Tap OK. The New Commander dialog will close and the System Information view will open (see Figure 17.5). Figure 17.5 Where you are in the galaxy
7. The first thing you should do is check on the status of your ship by tapping the Y button. The Ship Yard view will open (see Figure 17.6). Figure 17.6 All fueled up and ready to go
8. You should now look at some nearby systems to see what, if anything, they might need. Tap the W button to view the Short Range Chart (see Figure 17.7).
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Figure 17.7 A map of the nearby systems
9. Tap one of the systems within the radius of the circle (which is your fuel limit). The Target System view will open (see Figure 17.8). Figure 17.8 Not a lot of pirates, and they might need some agricultural products.
10. Tap Average Price List. An estimated list of prices for goods will appear.
NOTE Items in bold are those on which you should make a profit (if these prices hold).
11. Tap the Price Differences button. The comparison of the prices on the current system and the potential destination system will appear (see Figure 17.9).
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Figure 17.9 Furs look like a promising trade.
12. Tap the item you want to buy. The Buy Item dialog will open. 13. Enter the number of items you want to buy and tap OK. Your cargo bays will be filled with the items. 14. Tap Warp. Your ship will begin its journey. If you encounter another ship, an Encounter dialog will open. 15. Deal with each encounter as needed (fleeing from the pirates is a very good idea) while continuing your journey to the target system’s spaceport, which will be marked by the Arrival dialog. 16. Once you have arrived and tapped OK in the Arrival dialog, tap the S button to sell your cargo (see Figure 17.10). Figure 17.10 Who wants to buy?
17. To sell all of the items in your cargo bay, tap All. The items will be sold and the profit (or loss) will be registered in your cash amount.
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This is a very simplistic look at the Space Trader game. There are many more aspects to this game that will keep you engrossed, such as buying and selling ships and shipboard equipment, hiring mercenaries, and selling illegal items to produce huge profits — if you can avoid the police and the pirates!
The Quest for Adventure Some of you might remember staying up until all hours of the night in college, staring bleary-eyed at the papers and books before you. But this was not cram session for a test. With a roll of the 20-sided dice, you were actually in another world, fighting trolls and otherwise causing general mayhem. Dungeons and Dragons led the wave of role-playing games (RPGs) made popular in the 1980s. These games are still around, of course, but as many of us grew older, the attraction to RPGs faded. For one thing, RPGs tend to be time-consuming, as many of us learned at the cost of losing some points on the next day’s exam. If the appeal of an RPG is not lost on you, there are some fun RPG applications available for the Palm OS platform. Possibly the most popular is Kyle’s Quest (http://www.kpoole.com). Like Space Trader, Kyle’s Quest is an RPG application. However, the differences between the programs soon become apparent. Space Trader is more textbased and involves more planning and information. Kyle’s Quest is more graphics-oriented and also has a strong element of mystery. You won’t know what’s around the next tree— until it jumps out and attacks you. Kyle’s Quest is also unique because of its modularity. Each Kyle’s Quest game is actually a separate database file that, when plugged into Kyle’s Quest, becomes a whole new level. There are, at last count, 58 different levels that can be used in Kyle’s Quest. The authors are a bit imaginative about level creation, too—one level features the cast of Gilligan’s Island. Kyle’s Quest is shareware with a registration fee of $15. Playing the game is simple, with very few options to set. The following To Do demonstrates some of the basic navigation rules for Kyle’s Quest.
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To Do: Start a New Game in Kyle’s Quest This To Do will reveal some of the basics for playing Kyle’s Quest. 1. Tap the Quest application icon. The Kyle’s Quest splash screen will open. 2. Tap Choose Level. The Level Manager form will open. 3. Enter a name for your character in the Name field. 4. Tap the level you want to play and then tap Load. The splash screen will load again. 5. Tap New Game. The game’s introduction view will open (see Figure 17.11). Figure 17.11 The story thus far. . . .
6. Tap the screen. The game view will open (see Figure 17.12). Figure 17.12 And there you are — short, but heroic.
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7. Tap the town icon. Your character will enter the town on a new view. 8. To talk to the villagers (or anyone else you meet), tap the screen directly in front of the character. Your character will move to that spot and the other character will speak to you.
TIP You will need to gather as many clues as you can in Kyle’s Quest. Talk to everyone you meet.
9. To enter a building, tap the door of the building. Your character will go inside. 10. To purchase items, venture to the counter. A list of items will appear. 11. Tap an item to buy. The item will be yours. 12. Tap Stop Shopping, then tap on the Nothing option. 13. To leave the building, tap an area outside the doorway. The character will go back outside. 14. If you happen to run into anything hostile, a fight view will open (see Figure 17.13). Figure 17.13 Leapin’ lizards! They’re on the attack!
15. Tap the option you want. If you fight, a series of blows will be exchanged. If you win, you will see a Victory view (see Figure 17.14).
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Figure 17.14 One dead lizard
16. Tap the Victory view to close the fight. There are other tricks to playing Kyle’s Quest. By tapping the character itself, you can access your statistics, as well as use the items you’ve purchased. Be sure to buy weapons, armor, and food to help you fight the numerous creatures you will encounter.
HotSync You can have a field day playing all of the many games available for the Palm OS. These three applications are a very small sample of the diverse array of available games. On the flip side, what if you are someone who likes to keep track of the real action? None of these sissy electronic games—you want to follow men and women who play and sweat for the glory of their cities and their six-figure salaries. Australia is said to be the most sports-fanatical nation in the world, with nearly every citizen there wildly mad about some sport or other. Whether you’re Australian, American, British, or German —if you’re a sports fan, then Chapter 18, “A Sporty’s Palm,” will help you choose the applications that will let you stay on top of the big game, no matter where you happen to be.
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“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again.” — Terance Mann, Field of Dreams (1989) he roar of the crowd; the tension in the air. It doesn’t matter if it’s baseball, football, or curling. Even the most casual sports observer has cheered for the achievements of others as athletes pit their talents against the odds to somehow pull out a victory. We love the competition and we love watching others compete— even if they’re competing with themselves.
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Some people love sports so much they become obsessed with every facet of the game, keeping meticulous stats and following the scouting reports just like the team managers. This is exactly the kind of person who will like the sports software available for the Palm OS platform— perusing schedules, scoring, and even rostering are just some of the things you can do on a Palm. Whether you are the ultimate fan or the neighborhood coach, there’s a Palm OS application out there for you!
Playing the Game “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” — Mark Twain It’s just a little white ball that you hit with a stick into a hole some 300-odd yards away. How hard could it be, right? No one is quite sure when golf got its start, but everyone is sure whom we have to thank: the Scots. The Scottish Golf Society estimates that the game got its start as a simpler form of today’s game from fishermen who, on their way home, used sticks to knock rocks about the coastal land for entertainment. Since it was the 14th century, there wasn’t much else to do for fun.
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A hundred years later, in 1457, Scottish King James II had to issue several decrees to get his countrymen to stop playing so much golf and get back to their archery practice. His concern might have been on the mark — in 1513, the Scots were soundly defeated by the English archers at the Battle of Flodden. Golf is an addictive game, a fact that is well-known by golf widows and widowers around the world on a sunny Saturday. A lot of time and effort goes into playing the game, as well as scoring the game. IntelliGolf is a commercial application from Karrier Software (http://www. intelligolf.com) that will let you score every round of golf you play. It will also let you keep stats on everything from the length of strokes by club to readymade custom scorecards for over 12,000 golf courses. The demonstration version is fully functional, but will only let you score three rounds of golf before you need to purchase the software for $39.95. The following To Do shows you how to begin using IntelliGolf for your own games.
To Do: Begin a Round of Golf Using IntelliGolf This To Do will reveal how to manage a round of golf using IntelliGolf. 1. Tap the IntelliGolf application icon. The IntelliGolf application will start and the IntelliGolf splash screen will open. 2. Tap OK. The IntelliGolf splash screen will close and the first-time IntelliGolf dialog will open (see Figure 18.1).
Figure 18.1 Starting the IntelliGolf configuration process
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3. Tap the measurement unit you prefer. The first-time IntelliGolf dialog will close and the IntelliGolf Round Management dialog will open (see Figure 18.2). Figure 18.2 The Round Management dialog
4. To begin a new round, tap New Round. The Golf Course dialog will open. 5. Tap a desired golf course on the displayed list of courses (see Figure 18.3). Figure 18.3 Choose the golf course you want to play.
NOTE You will learn how to add pre-configured golf courses to IntelliGolf later in this section.
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6. Tap a starting tee option in the Tees popup list. 7. Tap a starting point for your round. 8. Tap OK. The Players dialog will open (see Figure 18.4). You will notice that you have already been added to the round, based on your Palm user name. Figure 18.4 The list of players
9. To add a new player, tap a blank player slot. The Player dialog will open. 10. Enter a player’s first name or nickname in the Scorecard Name field. 11. Enter the player’s full name in the Name field. 12. Tap the appropriate option in the Sex field. 13. Enter an appropriate value in the Handicap field.
TIP You can add USGA and EGA handicap indexes or the average score for the player in the Handicap field. Just choose the value from the popup list.
14. Tap OK. The Player dialog will close and the new player will appear on the Players view. 15. When all of the players have been added, tap OK. The Players view will be replaced by the Games form.
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16. If you choose to place a little wager on the game (as permitted by the local laws at the golf course), you can tap New to pick from a list of wagering options. If not, tap OK to close the Games form and open the Hole form (see Figure 18.5). Scorecard
Figure 18.5 Starting the round
Notes Shots Strokes
Now that the round is set up, you can use IntelliGolf to actually score the round.
To Do: Score a Round of Golf Using IntelliGolf This To Do will show you how to score a round of golf using IntelliGolf. 1. After playing your shot, tap the Shots field. The Shots dialog will open (see Figure 18.6). Figure 18.6 Detailing your shot on the first hole
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2. Select the club you used from the Club popup list. 3. Enter the length of the shot that was taken. You can use the numeric keypad on the bottom of the screen rather than Graffiti.
TIP For the drive shot from the tee, tap the Hole Length - Length button to enter the initial length of the hole.
4. Tap the appropriate location markers in the Fairway field. 5. Select the appropriate value from the Penalty Strokes popup list. 6. Tap OK. The Shots dialog will close. 7. Repeat steps 1–6 for the other players in the round. 8. Repeat steps 1–7 for the other shots on the hole. 9. When the hole is finished, enter a stroke value in the Stroke field for each player. Again, you can use the numeric keypad on the bottom of the screen instead of Graffiti. 10. Tap Next. The next hole’s dialog will appear. At the end of the round, the Player Scores dialog will open (see Figure 18.7). Figure 18.7 The end results
11. Tap a player’s name to get a detailed look at his or her personal score dialog (see Figure 18.8).
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Figure 18.8 A beautiful day on the golf course . . . in my dreams.
12. Tap OK. The personal score dialog will close. 13. Tap Done. The Round Management view will open. IntelliGolf allows you to enter golf course data as you play, but why bother when you can download information for over 12,000 golf courses and get them into your Palm OS device?
To Do: Download Golf Course Data into IntelliGolf This To Do will show you how to get ready-made golf course information into IntelliGolf. 1. Before a round of golf, place the Palm device in its cradle. 2. Using your favorite Web browser, surf to http://www.intelligolf.com/ courses.asp. 3. Enter the course information in the Search for a Course section. 4. Click Search. A list of golf courses matching your search parameters will appear. 5. Click the check box for each golf course you want to move to your Palm. 6. Click the Download Courses button. The database for the selected course(s) will be moved to your PC. Make a note of the folder location to which you saved the file. 7. Start IntelliGolf on the desktop.
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8. Click File, Import. The IntelliGolf Import File dialog box will open. 9. Navigate to the downloaded file and click Open. The course information will be recorded by IntelliGolf. 10. HotSync your Palm OS device. The course will be available the next time you use IntelliGolf on your Palm.
Watching the Game It’s a beautiful fall Sunday. Outside, the crisp air crackles over the leaves blazing their brilliant hues in the sunlight. It is perfect weather for enjoying the great outdoors. Except you’re inside on the recliner, surrounded by food and drink, and watching the big game. American football, like football in Europe, is an obsessive sport for spectators. If it isn’t football, then baseball, basketball, or hockey will certainly fit the bill. College or pro, watching sports is an American pastime. Perhaps only Australian fans rival the ferocity with which American fans watch their favorite players. Satellite television has made it possible to bypass television networks’ selective broadcasts of sporting events. In the United States, viewers can now watch almost any NFL, NBA, or Major League Baseball game live on their televisions. This has created a dream world for sports fans. All they must do now is determine which game to watch and when. This is where AnySchedule comes into play. AnySchedule is a shareware application (available at http://www.quantumlynx.com/anyschedule for a $15 registration) that lets you to load the schedules for many different sports— everything from U.S. and Canadian college football to Six Nations Rugby.
NOTE Only one sports schedule at a time can be viewed in the unregistered version of AnySchedule.
After you download AnySchedule, you can download the files containing the sports schedules you want from the same Web site. Sync the database files to your Palm device and the schedules will be freely available.
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NOTE If you download an entire league’s worth of schedules, simply unzip the team schedules you want to store on the Palm and double-click the files to queue them for synchronization.
To Do: Search a Schedule in AnySchedule This To Do will walk you though schedule searching in AnySchedule. 1. Tap the AnySchedule icon in the Applications view. The AnySchedule Schedules view will open (see Figure 18.9).
Figure 18.9 The schedule list in AnySchedule
2. Tap the schedule you want to review. The schedule will be selected. 3. Tap Open. The schedule will open and display the closest game to the current date (see Figure 18.10). Figure 18.10 The Braves are visiting Wrigley Field.
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4. To find a game against a certain opponent, tap the Menu control. The Options menu will appear. 5. Tap the Events Containing menu item. The Events Selected field value will change to Event Contains. 6. In the Search field, enter the name of the team or the team’s city you are seeking. 7. Tap the down arrow. The next game on the schedule (if any) against that team will appear. 8. Tap the Browse button to view more of the schedule. Not only can you follow established sports schedules, you can also create some of your own, which is perfect for all of those Junior Football League games!
To Do: Enter a Schedule in AnySchedule This To Do will show you how to enter a new schedule in AnySchedule. 1. Tap the AnySchedule icon in the Applications view. The AnySchedule Schedules view will open. 2. Tap New. The New Schedule window will open (see Figure 18.11). Figure 18.11 Selecting a name for the new schedule
3. Enter a new schedule name in the appropriate field and tap OK. The new schedule will appear in the Schedules view. 4. Tap the new schedule. The schedule will be selected.
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5. Tap Open. The schedule will open to a blank event on January 1, 1990 (see Figure 18.12). Figure 18.12 A blank schedule with which to work
6. Tap the Date field. The Choose New Date dialog will open. 7. Tap a new date. The Choose New Date dialog will close. 8. Enter a new time in the unlabelled time field, which appears next to the Date field. 9. Enter a description of the game in the Event field. 10. Enter a location in the Location field. 11. Tap New. The schedule will open to a blank event on January 1, 1990. 12. Repeat steps 6–11 until you have entered the entire schedule.
HotSync Many more sports applications are available that will let you keep scores and stats on almost any sport. With a little patience, you can find the perfect application for your sporting needs. Sports are only a small part of the media content that inundates you on a daily basis. Television, radio, the Internet— waves upon waves of content wash over you every day. Some people can’t get enough of it. In fact, some of us want more media delivered to us more often. Palm OS devices are well suited for this kind of work, even if you don’t have a wireless modem. In Chapter 19, “A Media Junkie’s Palm,” you’ll learn more about the many ways you can get news and entertainment delivered to your Palm OS device.
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edia has a way of bending back on itself in an attempt to perform like the media before it. This is a regressive action that lasts for the first few years of a new medium’s existence, as people try to figure out what they can really do with the technology.
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When the radio was invented, radio operators initially used Morse code exclusively to communicate on the airwaves, which was a throwback to the earlier telegraph. Later, as radio became more prolific and commercialized, music and drama began to be broadcast on it. When television first came along, programming almost exclusively mirrored that of radio—until someone figured out that sports, movies, and documentaries could also be shown. The Internet is now experiencing this regressive state by trying to become a medium very similar to television. Interestingly enough, a technological issue is not holding the Internet back from its unrealized potential. The irony is that the technology that makes up the Internet has to be improved to make the Internet act like the older technology of television! So ingrained are our media habits that we insist on forming continuity between one medium and the next, even at the cost of funds and effort to get the new medium to behave in a way completely different than its original purpose. The Internet, after all, was made to transfer and view files (including e-mail messages, documents, and Web pages) between computers. Faster connections and improved compression technology are being invented, however, so that video and audio files can be transferred more quickly. Important information does not have to be derived from audio and video files alone. The Internet is a vast storehouse of information, and you can access it with your Palm OS device even if you don’t have a wireless connection.
Clipping the Web When it comes to delivering Internet content on the Palm, there is nothing better than AvantGo. AvantGo is defined as a Web clipping service.
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Web clipping services are designed to get around the limitations of a Palm device — small screens and minimal memory. Given the large size of a typical graphics-laden portal Web page, it becomes clear very quickly that it is impractical to use a Palm device to read fully formatted Web pages. Instead, Web clipping services distill the ordinary Web pages into something more usable for the Palm. No images, no columns, just the straight text — hence the term “clipping.” AvantGo has developed a way to condense highly popular Web sites into very compact pages that will fit on your Palm. These page groups are called channels. There are over a thousand channels available on the AvantGo site, with more added all of the time. A channel on AvantGo will contain multiple Web pages, all interconnected to each other. This means that once you add a new channel to your handheld, you can take the handheld anywhere and read all of the pages within the channel. This method has its drawbacks, since the pages on your handheld can quickly get stale, particularly when you are traveling and cannot HotSync as often as you’d like. AvantGo, therefore, is best used when you can regularly synchronize your Palm device, to maximize the full benefits of the channels. Usually, only once a day is sufficient, since most channels’ content providers do not update the content of the channel more often than that.
NOTE If you have a wireless connection, AvantGo can be used over that connection and updated online as often as you want.
Here is how AvantGo works: When you install the application (which can be downloaded from https://avantgo.com), you are walked through a process to create a new account for yourself. This account will be the basis of your AvantGo service. With the account readied, you can surf into the AvantGo Web site from anywhere in the world and add or delete channels as needed. On your handheld, the connection information specifies to the AvantGo servers what account the handheld is using. When the HotSync is started, the AvantGo conduit software connects to the AvantGo servers on the Internet and requests a content update. The AvantGo servers, which you have already configured from the AvantGo Web site, happily oblige the handheld’s request
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and send back all of the content requested. If you have made a change in channels on the Web site, it will reconfigure the handheld’s channels to match your online selection. The best thing about this entire service is that it is free. The software and the channel content are completely free of charge. Only users who want to use AvantGo as their wireless content provider must pay a subscription-based fee. In the following To Do, you will learn how to configure your AvantGo account’s channels.
To Do: Configure AvantGo Online This To Do will show you how to add and remove channels in your AvantGo account. 1. On your desktop system, surf to https://avantgo.com using your favorite Internet browser. 2. Log into the site using your account’s user name and password. 3. Click Submit. The Channels page will open (see Figure 19.1).
Figure 19.1 The AvantGo Channels page
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4. Click any of the channel category links. The category’s page will open. 5. Select a subcategory from the Subcategories field. 6. Click Go. The subcategory’s page will open (see Figure 19.2). 7. To add a channel to your Palm, click the blue Plus icon. The channel will be added to your account’s list with a “to be synchronized” icon (see Figure 19.3). 8. Click Edit in the My Account section. The My Channels page will open (see Figure 19.4). 9. Select the check box for a channel you want to remove. 10. Click Delete Checked. The My Channels page will be refreshed and the selected channels will be removed from the list. 11. Close the browser. 12. Perform a HotSync with your Palm device. The AvantGo conduit will appear and automatically configure your device with the new content and channel settings (see Figure 19.5).
Figure 19.2 A specialized listing of channels
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Figure 19.3 A new channel added to your list
New channel
Figure 19.4 Your personal channels page
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Figure 19.5 AvantGo channels on your Palm
TIP Be sure to activate your Internet connection whenever you HotSync with AvantGo. It will save you a little time in the HotSync operation and thus save you some battery power.
Viewing a channel in AvantGo is just like using a Web browser on a PC. To follow a link, simply tap the underlined text on the screen. Navigating in AvantGo is done by following links and using the navigation tools shown in Figure 19.6. Account List Open Web Page Reload Page Back
Figure 19.6 AvantGo navigates just like a browser.
Home
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Also, just like a browser, you can enter any URL for download to your Palm. Simply tap the Open Web Page icon, enter the URL for the page in the Open Page window, and tap OK. The next time your handheld is synchronized, the first page of that Web site will be downloaded to your Palm. You can also create channels of your own. This means you can essentially download any Web page you want and have that page regularly updated upon HotSync.
To Do: Create Custom AvantGo Channels This To Do will show you how to create channels in your AvantGo account. 1. On the desktop system, surf to https://avantgo.com using your favorite browser. 2. Log into the site using your account’s user name and password. 3. Click Submit. The Channels page will open. 4. Click Edit in the My Account section. The My Channels page will open. 5. Click the Create Custom Channel Wizard link. The Create Channel page will open (see Figure 19.7). 6. Enter an address for the Web page in the Channel Location field. 7. Click Next. The Channel Title page will open. 8. Enter a brief title in the Channel Title field. 9. Click Next. The Channel Size page will open. 10. Enter the maximum size (in kilobytes) you want the channel’s contents to occupy in the Channel Max Size field.
TIP Don’t set your channel’s maximum size larger than about 100 KB. Larger sizes will not only take up too much room on your Palm, but they will also take a long time to synchronize.
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Figure 19.7 Adding your own channel
11. Click Next. The Offsite Links page will open. 12. Click the Offsite Pages option you want.
NOTE Remember, your Palm has a finite amount of memory. The more information you try to grab away from the primary site in your channel, the less data will be downloaded from the primary site itself.
13. Click Next. The Link Depth page will open. 14. Enter a value for the level of Web pages you want to gather for your channel in the Channel Link Depth field.
TIP For most sites, link depth should be set to 1. That will get you the site’s home page and the pages immediately linked to it. In a news-feed site, for instance, this is usually ideal.
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15. Click Next. The Include Images page will open. 16. Click the image option you want.
TIP You are strongly encouraged not to download images in your channel. Images take too much space and time to download.
17. Click Next. The Save and Finish page will open. 18. Click Finish. The new channel will appear on your My Channels page. Once you synchronize your Palm, the new channel’s content will appear within the AvantGo content. It should be noted that the Web is not the only place where you can configure your AvantGo account. You can also configure the account from your Palm device and effect the changes upon your next HotSync operation.
To Do: Configure AvantGo on the Handheld This To Do will show you how to customize your AvantGo account on your Palm OS device. 1. Tap the AvantGo icon on the Applications view. The AvantGo home page will open. 2. Tap the Add link. The Add Channels view will appear (see Figure 19.8). 3. Scroll through the view and tap any channel you want to add to your account. 4. Tap OK. The Add Channel view will close. 5. Tap Remove. The Remove Channels view will appear. 6. Tap the check boxes for the channels you wish to remove. The check boxes will be cleared. 7. Tap OK. The Remove Channels view will close.
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Figure 19.8 Adding a channel on the PalmOS device
Channels already on your account
8. HotSync the Palm device. The new configuration will be submitted to the AvantGo servers and the new content will be delivered to your Palm device. AvantGo features over a thousand channels in its collection, and those are just the ones registered on the site. Many Web developers are creating their own handheld-friendly pages that are not yet recorded on the AvantGo site. With or without a wireless Internet connection, AvantGo is the strongest tool available for delivering news, sports, and financial information to your Palm OS device.
HotSync In the first 19 chapters of this book, you were given some insight on how to make your Palm a practical tool for your everyday work. In the next chapter, you’ll learn how the Palm can be used to appease your inner geek. With a little investment in additional hardware, your Palm can become a GPS unit, an MP3 player, and a digital camera. With some additional software, you can carry around pictures of the kids to show your friends and colleagues or read a classic book like Ivanhoe. To appease the geek within you, be sure to read Chapter 20, “A Geek’s Palm.”
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very pursuit in life has a certain level of associated “geekiness.” From farming to poetry to advanced nuclear physics — every discipline, every occupation, everything we do has its version of geeks. There are culinary geeks, who spend their lives obsessing over finding the perfect truffle. There are pilot geeks, who spend hours explaining the one perfect landing they made back in 1998. There are even executive geeks, who get that secret little thrill when they perform a hostile takeover.
E
We have come to associate geeks with technology— bespectacled men and women with no fashion sense and few to no social skills who spend their days and nights under fluorescent lights worshipping computer terminals. While there is some merit to technology being a contributing factor to “geekiness,” it is not the sole cause, nor is it necessary to be a geek. As used here, a geek is someone who derives inordinate pleasure performing one aspect of his or her life and will expend any amount of energy to expound upon it at length. That’s why there are so many different kinds of geeks—sci-fi geeks, auction geeks, map geeks, and (something to which Palm users might relate) gadget geeks. Are all owners of Palm devices gadget geeks? Not by any means. But a significant portion of handheld owners might have purchased the device not so much for what it can do for their lives, but for the fact that most Palm OS devices are darn cool gadgets. Gadget geeks love their toys and love showing them off to others. In fact, if they don’t own the coveted device, they will pepper the owner of such a device with questions about it until they have vicariously used it themselves. Palm OS devices fulfill the geek needs for many people. They are becoming so common, however, that many gadget geeks now want to move to something more. Something cutting edge that will entice the people in the airport gate area to come see what they’re holding. In this chapter, you’ll look at some of the cool ways you can modify your Palm OS device with hardware and software and make it a gadget worthy of the respect of your fellow gadget geeks.
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Finding Your Way In the earliest days of ocean navigation, ship pilots used the height of the sun and the moon in the sky to determine their latitude. While this was all well and good for determining how close you were to the Equator, it was very little help for informing you how far east or west you had traveled. The invention of reliable shipboard clocks changed all of that. Here’s how: If you were to take a reading of the sun at the highest point in the sky, you would know that it is noon at your location. You could then look at the clock on your ship that is set to the time of your homeport. The difference in time yields a longitudinal position accurate to within a few miles. Interestingly enough, it is this same principle of clocks and differences in measured time that is used by our modern GPS devices today. In 1973, the Department of Defense was looking for a foolproof method of satellite navigation. On Labor Day weekend, instead of going out and grilling steaks on the barbeque, some Pentagon geniuses came up with the concept of GPS. GPS is made up of 24 Navstar satellites, each the size of a large automobile and weighing some 1,900 pounds. Each satellite orbits the earth every twelve hours in a formation that ensures that every point on the planet is always in radio contact with at least four satellites. The first operational GPS satellite was launched in 1978, and the system reached full 24-satellite capability in 1993. Each satellite uses an atomic clock to continuously broadcast a digital radio signal that includes both its own position and the time, down to a billionth of a second. If a GPS receiver can see four such satellites broadcasting this information, it can compare its own time with the time sent by a satellite and use the difference between the two times to calculate its distance from the satellite. By tracking four satellites in this manner, the need to have an atomic clock in the receiver is eliminated, so a simple digital watch circuit will do. That’s the simplified version, of course, which leaves out the complicated stuff about orbit trajectories, signal strength, and terrain obstacles. But using a little mathematics, you can get your position on the planet down to a few feet. Very handy when you are lost in the Gobi Desert.
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GPS devices run around $200–$300 for the entry-level devices, and they do a very good job of helping you figure out where you are and how to get to where you need to be. But, buying another handheld device means you will have to carry it around with you—and many of us need a new electronic device to carry like we need another hole in the head. Luckily, there are some GPS receiver devices that will plug into your Palm OS device. One popular device is the DeLorme Earthmate Road Warrior receiver (http://www.delorme.com/roadwarrior), which sells for $199.95. The device can be connected to your Palm III, V, VII, or m100. It is connected to your Palm unit with a four-foot cable and uses maps downloaded from DeLorme’s Street Atlas USA, which is included in the Road Warrior package. Once the trips are HotSynced with the Palm device, the Solus Pro software on the handheld will directly place your position on the map from StreetAtlas. If you also uploaded driving directions to the Palm device, Solus Pro will step you through those directions, even giving you an audio warning whenever a turn in the route is about to come up. Magellan also makes a GPS unit that they market on their own and sell through Rand McNally. The Magellan unit is available for the Palm V and Handspring Visor Palm devices. The units under the Rand McNally StreetFinder GPS label (http://www.randmcnally.com) are made for the Palm III, IIIc, V, and VII. The Palm III StreetFinder unit retails for about $59.99, and the Palm V StreetFinder unit sells for about $79.99. The StreetFinder GPS unit for the Palm IIIc and VII, a newer arrival on the scene, has a relatively high $199.99 price tag. Each unit comes with the Rand McNally StreetFinder Deluxe software, which contains detailed street maps of the entire United States. Because of their hardware modularity, you might expect the Handspring Visors to have a good selection of GPS units available. You would be right. Besides the Magellan GPS device mentioned earlier, another unit for the Visor is Nexian’s HandyGPS Pro Springboard. The HandyGPS Pro (http://www.nexian.com/product/handygpspro.asp) retails for $199.95 but does not include any software with the hardware device. Thus, the HandyGPS Pro is a better choice economically if you already have some GPS-compatible software. You can purchase the Rand McNally StreetFinder software with the HandyGPS Pro unit for a combined $299.99 price.
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Finally, for $10 less, you could purchase GeoDiscovery’s Geode module for the Visor (http://www.geodiscovery.com/home.html). This device is made more for the outdoorsy type. Street-level maps are not available for the GeoView Mobile Palm OS software, although free state highway maps are. Geode’s real strength is in its maps of major U.S. national parks, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. Each software module costs just $4.99 separately, although all are included with the purchase of the Geode module. The main issue with all of these units is their ability to store the maps that work with the GPS positioning signals. Since most of us don’t have a working knowledge of longitude and latitude in our heads, we need maps to give us a better perspective of where we are. The concern lies in the fact that these maps are stored as graphics on the Palm device and, therefore, take up a lot of room. If you want to have a location map (and data) for a major U.S. metropolitan city, a download of around 5 MB from the StreetFinder software is required. This is a big chunk of memory, even on an 8 MB Palm device. If you are willing to work with this kind of storage issue, then your best bet economically is clearly the Rand McNally series of GPS devices. These are priced reasonably and their reported accuracy and reliability is very high.
Pulling Out the Pictures If you are a parent, you’ll love the application in this section: Album To Go from ClubPhoto. In a nutshell, Album To Go is a simple and free image management utility that lets you display images in up to 16-bit color on your Palm device. Images can be arranged within albums, which can in turn be beamed to other Palm users who have Album To Go installed. Welcome to the newest method of exchanging pictures. Album To Go is not just for parents, however. It can be used for anyone who needs imagery to convey a message. A salesman could use it to show a product, a landscaper to show the growth pattern of a tree to a customer—the possibilities are endless. Album To Go comes with a desktop component that makes short work of image conversion to the Album To Go format and album creation, as you will see in the next To Do.
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To Do: Set Up an Album To Go Album This To Do will show you how to add images and albums to Album To Go. 1. In the Album To Go desktop application, enter a new name in the Album Title field (see Figure 20.1). 2. Enter a description in the Album Note field. 3. Click Add Files. The Open dialog box will open. 4. Navigate to the directory that contains your image files. 5. Select one or multiple image files for the new album and click Open. The files will be listed in the File Path field (see Figure 20.2). 6. Select an image file path listing and enter a new name for the listing in the Title field. 7. If you want, enter more description in the Note field. 8. Click the Color tab. The Color page will open (see Figure 20.3). 9. Select the Color Depth value you want.
Figure 20.1 The Album To Go dialog box
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Figure 20.2 A gathering of images
Figure 20.3 Making the color settings
NOTE If your Palm OS device is color-capable, feel free to select the 16-bit color setting. If memory is an issue, however, you might want to make the setting 8-bit color. This will reduce the amount of needed storage space for the images.
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TIP To select the color setting for all of the images, click the Apply to All button on the Color page.
10. Adjust the Contrast and Brightness slider controls, if needed. 11. Click on the Size tab. The Size page will open. 12. If you want the entire image to appear on the Palm device screen, clear the Crop check box. 13. Repeat steps 6–12 for each image. 14. Click Send to HotSync. The images will be converted to Palm format. 15. HotSync your Palm OS device. The images will be copied to the handheld. Once the images are on the handheld, it’s a piece of cake to view them on your PDA.
To Do: View Images in Album To Go This To Do will show you how to view albums and images in Album To Go. 1. Tap the Album To Go icon in the Applications view. The Album To Go view will open (see Figure 20.4). Figure 20.4 Albums within Album To Go
View Information Delete
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2. Tap the album you want to view. The album will be selected. 3. Tap the View icon. The album’s contents will be displayed (see Figure 20.5). Figure 20.5 Images within an album
4. Tap an image thumbnail. The image will be selected. 5. Tap the View icon. The image will be displayed (see Figure 20.6). Figure 20.6 My daughters learn that the Atlantic Ocean is really cold.
6. Tap Done. The image window will close.
TIP To view a slideshow of an album, tap the pictures you want to include in the slideshow and then tap the Slide Show button. The images will be displayed continuously until you tap the screen.
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Taking Pictures Digital cameras first hit the consumer market in 1995, with Kodak’s release of the DC40 camera, but they didn’t just pop up overnight. Digital photography got its beginnings about the same time as the U.S. space program. When NASA first sent probes to the moon to get the lay of the lunar landscape, the cameras onboard these robotic devices broadcast their signals using the same method as television — pure analog. But the universe is a very, very noisy place, particularly in the radio portion of the light spectrum. This led to the signals being completely drowned out by the background noise of space. The scientists at NASA, who seem to come up with a brilliant idea every day before lunch, figured out that if the conventional signals were translated to digital first and then transmitted to Earth, a much clearer picture would be obtained. And so it was that one small step for man was a pretty big step for the realm of digital photography. In the few years since Kodak began to sell their first digital camera, the devices have done two things— increase in pixel resolution and decrease in price. They have also decreased in size, which has led to the merger of the handheld and digital photography technologies. For the Palm Pilots, there are the very popular Kodak PalmPix snap-on devices that turn Palm Pilots into digital cameras with up to 640 × 480 resolution. PalmPix are relatively inexpensive cameras that very quickly convert Palm Pilots to photography-capable status. Their prices range from $99.95 to $124.95, depending on which PalmPix unit you need to buy (http://www.kodak. com/US/en/digital/cameras/palmPix). PalmPix are available for Palm III, V, m100, m105, and m500 series. They are also compatible with the IBM WorkPad and TRGPro devices. For the Visor there is the eyemodule digital camera, which is a Springboard module that sells for $99.95 (http://www.eyemodule.com). The eyemodule2 sells for $100 more, and it offers features such as digital movie recording. It should be made very clear that none of these cameras should ever serve as your primary camera. These devices are marketed as secondary, auxiliary cameras that are only one step up from the disposable kind you buy at the corner drug store, and that’s exactly what they are.
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PalmPix and eyemodule cameras have no moving parts, so focusing is a bit of challenge. Nor is there any flash, so night and moving photography is almost out of the question. In addition, memory is a huge problem with these cameras, since one picture might take up 170 KB, depending on what you are shooting. On a 2-MB Palm device, that’s a lot of space. However, as a backup camera that’s very light and easy to tote, using a handheld is not a half-bad plan—especially for those unexpected photo opportunities.
Reading a Good Book There is nothing like reading a good book for sheer enjoyment. Books have shaped the way we live our lives, have brought us knowledge, and have even brought us hope. Reading how others save the day can only prepare us for the day when we have to be the hero or heroine of the story. A simple collection of paper, cloth, ink, and glue, books are time machines, ready to whisk us away from wherever we are at a given moment. It is little wonder that the concept of a book has migrated to the helpful little PDA that we carry with us most of the time. eBooks come in two main formats for the Palm OS— as a Palm database (.pdb) file that needs to be read using a document reader application, or as a separate, self-contained application that runs on the Palm OS platform. To read an eBook that fits into the latter category, merely download the application file and HotSync it to your PDA. Each self-contained reader has its own interface, which is similar to that of most Web browsers. For PDB files, one of the best document readers for the Palm OS is MobiPocket (http://www.mobipocket.com). MobiPocket is freeware and allows you to read PDB files, Word DOC files, and the upcoming XDOC format. Many people have been a little leery of eBooks, because there was not a lot of available content. Up until recently, this was certainly the case. Now, there is a great deal of mainstream content out there for Palm devices. Authors and media figures such as Stephen King, Dennis Miller, and Barbara Taylor Bradford are just three of the hundreds of writers whose works are in Palm eBook form. The best place to find these works is undoubtedly the Palm Digital Media site, formerly PeanutPress.com (http://www.peanutpress.com). The works on the
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Palm Digital Media site are not free— these authors deserve their royalties. Compared to their paper counterparts, however, they are inexpensive. Consider The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The eBook version at Palm Digital Media sells for $7.19; the paperback version is $7.50 at most bookstores. There are even a number of news providers such as CNN, Newsweek, and the Wall Street Journal that work with MobiPocket to provide daily updates in eBook format right to your Inbox. All you have to do is HotSync the file and off you go. There is no denying that eBooks take some getting used to. Reading off a screen, no matter how absorbing the text might be, is always a bit more of a struggle than reading from paper. It is something you will either like or you won’t. Try to experiment with some sample book content to see if it right for you before you download the collected works of Shakespeare.
HotSync You have seen all of the diverse ways a Palm can be changed to meet your needs; not just with hardware, but with software as well. This is the delivered promise of the Palm devices. No matter which brand of handheld you buy, the universal Palm OS can let you match that device to fit your exact needs. Palm OS is perhaps the first operating system offered to consumers that requires little thinking. With its ease of use and consistent reliability, devices with the Palm OS let users do what they want to do on their handhelds, not what is required by the operating system. Hopefully this book has introduced you to the simple basics of using a Palm device and has pointed the way for you to make your Palm OS device your very own.
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Appendix
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lthough this book covered many different applications that are available for the Palm OS, there are still many more that also deserve a mention. This appendix will cover some other popular Palm applications.
A
Desktop Connections Everyone who uses a Palm OS device is familiar with the HotSync application that provides a conduit from the handheld to a desktop computer. HotSync and the Palm Desktop application are available for Windows and Macintosh, but there are other operating systems being used by Palm OS device owners, as well. This section contains a listing of alternative connectivity software available— including some for Windows!
NOTE All the information in this appendix is current as of October, 2001, and all prices are denoted in U.S. dollars.
IntelliSync Developer: Pumatech Type of Software: Commercial Price: $69.95 Web Site: http://www.pumatech.com/Intellisync_Palm_CE.html Size of Application: 13.1 MB Description: IntelliSync is a highly popular synchronization application that allows you to sync your Palm with many Windows applications, including Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Schedule+, Microsoft Exchange, ACT!, Lotus Organizer, Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, and SalesLogix.
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J-Pilot Developer: Judd Montgomery Type of Software: General Public License Price: N/A Web Site: http://www.jpilot.org Size of Application: 476.8 KB Description: J-Pilot is a very good Linux and UNIX version of the Palm Desktop. Organizing and connectivity functions are provided.
Pylon Conduit Developer: AvantGo, Inc. Type of Software: Commercial Price: $85.00 plus $35/year subscription Web Site: http://www.globalware.com/products/conduit.html Size of Application: ~10 MB Description: This highly specialized AvantGo product lets you synchronize your Notes databases to the Palm OS handhelds.
Sync Buddy Developer: Florent Pillet Type of Software: Shareware Price: $25 Web Site: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/fpillet/syncbuddyGB.html Size of Application: 1.3 MB Description: Sync Buddy is a backup and install management tool for Mac OS users with Palm OS devices. It allows live browsing, backup, install, and on-the-fly conversion of Palm OS databases.
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Games Okay, so you’re not interested in all of these useful applications. You want something that will bend your brain with some fun, strategy, and entertainment. Here are some top-rated games that should tickle your fancy.
Ackeron: Dark Sun Developer: Gasgorf Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $19.95 Web Site: http://www.gasgorf.com Size of Application: 55.6 KB Description: With 47 maps and hundreds of new creatures, items, spells, and trade goods, this science-fiction role-playing game will keep you entertained for hours.
AlphaTwist Developer: MiaowSoft Type of Software: Shareware Price: $4.00 Web Site: http://members.aol.com/miaowsoft/index.html Size of Application: 128.5 KB Description: AlphaTwist is played on a grid of 25 squares with a bag containing 98 letters. Letters are removed from the bag one by one and placed at the top of any column. The player can then claim any words across or down that pass through the letter just played.
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Backgammon Developer: Stand Alone, Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $15.00 Web Site: http://standalone.com/palmos/backgammon Size of Application: 90.9 KB Description: One of the best backgammon applications made for the Palm.
Blackjack Expert Developer: DeepNet Technologies Type of Software: Shareware Price: $20.00 Web Site: http://www.deepnettech.com/bjex.html Size of Application: 34.3 KB Description: Play Blackjack with advanced casino options and learn to count cards at the same time! Blackjack Expert teaches you card counting techniques while playing against the computer.
Checkers Developer: Stand Alone, Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $15.00 Web Site: http://standalone.com/palmos/checkers Size of Application: 28.9 KB Description: With four degrees of difficulty, this game of checkers isn’t like sitting on the front porch sipping lemonade.
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Crossword 365 Developer: Handmark, Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $14.99 Web Site: http://www.mobilegeneration.com/products/crossword365/ index.html Size of Application: ~50 KB Description: Start with challenging crossword puzzles and download a new one every day when you synchronize your Palm.
Dungeon Lore Developer: eLowery.net, Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $19.95 Web Site: http://www.elowery.net/dl/index.html Size of Application: 255.1 KB Description: Dungeon Lore is a fantasy role-playing game that takes an adventurer through a dungeon, solving puzzles and adventures that will increase his or her powers, talents, and abilities. In the end, solve a central mystery that will gradually emerge as you explore this game.
Hexxagon Developer: Ardiri.com Type of Software: Shareware Price: $5.00 Web Site: http://www.ardiri.com Size of Application: 71 KB Description: Hexxagon is an implementation of the classic puzzle game that is a variant of the “Othello” game.
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Patience Developer: Keith Packard Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://clueserver.org/keithp/pilot/pilot.html Size of Application: 21.2 KB Description: Patience is a collection of Solitaire card games, including Klondike, Montana, Spider, Spiderette, Tabby Cat, Towers, and Yukon.
PocketChess Deluxe Developer: Pocket Express Type of Software: Shareware Price: $24.95 Web Site: http://www.pocketexpress.com/Catalog/Product_Pages/ Chess_Deluxe.html Size of Application: 1.6 MB Description: PocketChess Deluxe is an excellent chess game that lets you play against the computer and examine up to 3,000 classic games. It is also available for the Macintosh platform and as a Handspring module.
Total Recall Developer: Hybrid Holding, Ltd. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $5.00 Web Site: http://www.hybrid.fi/palm Size of Application: 10.8 KB Description: Don’t lose your concentration while playing this matching game!
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Twizzle Developer: Richard Hocking Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://people.ce.mediaone.net/rhocking/twizzle.htm Size of Application: 10 KB Description: Twizzle is a challenging new version of the old 15-tile slider puzzle.
Graphics and Images If a picture tells a thousand words, then using your Palm OS device to create and view pictures is not a half-bad idea. This list includes some useful drawing and image-viewing applications that will let you and your handheld better express your ideas.
Artelope Developer: Josh Goldfoot Type of Software: Shareware Price: $12.00 Web Site: http://www.artelope.com Size of Application: 164.3 KB Description: Artelope is a real-time shape-recognizing drawing application for the Palm OS. Artelope will straighten lines, clean up polygons, smooth curves, and draw ovals and circles, all based on the user’s freehand sketch. Better than the many “scribble pads” available for the Palm OS, Artelope lets you draw clear, clean, easily viewable and understandable drawings.
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FireViewer Developer: FirePad Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://www.firepad.com/products/fireviewer Size of Application: 1.9 MB Description: FireViewer is an application that enables users to view content including text, technical documentation, live video feeds, and images.
TealPaint Developer: TealPoint Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $17.95 Web Site: http://www.tealpoint.com/softpnt.htm Size of Application: 315 KB Description: TealPaint is a full-featured and easy-to-use paint, sketch, and animation program, offering a host of easily-accessible features. It is also available for the Macintosh platform.
Home and Hobby Hopefully, you have some sort of life away from your computer and handheld device, some sort of passion to keep your life interesting. From astronomy to astrology, birding to butterflies, the Palm OS applications have a lot of choices for you.
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AquaTrac Developer: CatsMeowSoftware Type of Software: Shareware Price: $8.00 Web Site: http://www.catsmeowsoftware.com/AquaTrac3x.htm Size of Application: 97.7 KB Description: AquaTrac enables you to easily maintain and organize your saltand fresh-water tank systems.
AudioCDbase Developer: Biltur Mobile Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://www.palmgear.com Size of Application: 13.6 KB Description: Manage your CD collection with this freeware database.
Biorhythms Developer: CAD KAS Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $11.99 Web Site: http://www.cadkas.de/indexpalm.htm Size of Application: 9.5 KB Description: If you believe in biorhythms, here is an application to help you map your days.
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Birding CheckList Developer: R. James Frith & Associates Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $10.00 Web Site: http://www.rjamesfrith.com Size of Application: 49.2 KB Description: Amateur ornithologists will find this application useful. The Birding CheckList is the perfect way for you to keep track of both field trip and live bird sightings.
Butterfly CheckList Developer: R. James Frith & Associates Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $10.00 Web Site: http://www.rjamesfrith.com Size of Application: 48.1 KB Description: The Butterfly CheckList is a great way for you to keep track of butterfly sightings.
Chalk Developer: Engine 16 Type of Software: Shareware Price: $5.00 Web Site: http://homepage.mac.com/engine16/chalk.html Size of Application: 40.6 KB Description: Chalk offers writers a method of organizing and structuring complex stories.
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Going Sale-ing Developer: Sarah W. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $5.00 Web Site: http://sarahwww.badcircle.com Size of Application: 17.6 KB Description: Track prices at every garage and rummage sale so you can comparison shop with ease.
Humidor Developer: PDACellar Type of Software: Shareware Price: $15.95 Web Site: http://www.pdacellar.com/Humidor.html Size of Application: 35.0 KB Description: Cigars aficionados will enjoy this application as a great place to store information about a favorite kind of smoke.
Lube Log Developer: Richard Santos Type of Software: Shareware Price: $5.00 Web Site: http://www.amtech-amt.com/palmapps Size of Application: 54.0 KB Description: Now you can track all of your vehicle’s maintenance sessions.
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My Cross-Stitch Developer: RJM Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $6.00 Web Site: http://www.rjmsoft.f2s.com Size of Application: 25.2 KB Description: Manage cross-stitch projects with this application’s three databases.
My Roots: The Genealogist’s Notepad Developer: Tapperware Type of Software: Shareware Price: $17.95 Web Site: http://www.tapperware.com/MyRoots Size of Application: 121.5 KB Description: My Roots lets you take your genealogy data with you wherever you go. A free desktop conversion utility enables you import data from or export data to standard GED files.
Planet 2000 Developer: Piero Massimino Type of Software: Shareware Price: $15.00 Web Site: http://web.genie.it/utenti/p/p.maxim/index_english.html Size of Application: 252.0 KB Description: Planet 2000 allows users to calculate the position of solar system bodies, from Mercury to Saturn. It also calculates relative solar and lunar positions.
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Pocket Recipes Developer: Pocket Express Type of Software: Shareware Price: $29.99 Web Site: http://www.pocketexpress.com/Catalog/Product_Pages/ recipes.html Size of Application: 4.0 MB Description: Use Pocket Recipes to keep all of your recipes on your handheld, whether they were entered directly on the Palm device or on the desktop software.
Star Pilot Developer: Star Pilot Type of Software: Shareware Price: $29.95 Web Site: http://www.star-pilot.com/sp/index.html Size of Application: 90.1 KB Description: Star Pilot features star maps based on current location, date, and time.
TVplus Developer: TJK Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $5.00 Web Site: http://www.tjksoftware.co.uk Size of Application: 94.7 KB Description: Couch potato? Follow the times for your favorite television shows.
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Vintner Developer: Poetware Type of Software: Shareware Price: $10.00 Web Site: http://www.formalpajamas.com/poetware Size of Application: 19.9 KB Description: Manage each stage of making wine with this tracking program. Vintner is the solution to keeping track of all your important winemaking information.
Internet Tools The Internet has become a part of our lives, and its impact is felt across all aspects of the human community. Politics, race, communications, family relationships —all have been subtly changed by the introduction of this new medium into our lives. The Palm OS, like other operating systems, has the tools to tap into this brave new world.
Eudora Internet Suite Developer: QUALCOMM Inc. Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://www.eudora.com/internetsuite Size of Application: 1.8 MB Description: A complete set of Internet tools from the popular desktop e-mail client. Eudora Internet Suite features the Eudora e-mail client, Web browser, and mail conduit.
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ICQ for Palm Developer: ICQ Inc. Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://www.icq.com/download/ftp-palmpilot.html Size of Application: 49 KB Description: ICQ for Palm is a Palm OS client for the ICQ instant messaging system.
PalmIRC Developer: Hiroyuki Okamoto Type of Software: Shareware Price: $10.00 Web Site: http://meMBers.tripod.com/~hokamoto/PalmIRC.html Size of Application: 88.9 KB Description: PalmIRC is a Palm OS client for the Internet Relay Chat messaging system.
Torpedo Developer: Pine Tree Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $12.50 Web Site: http://www.palmgear.com Size of Application: 618.7 KB Description: Torpedo is a full-featured HTML editor for the Palm OS. HTML code can easily be exported to the Memo Pad and from there to a Web site.
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Yahoo! Messenger Developer: Yahoo! Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://messenger.yahoo.com/messenger/palm/ downloads_palm_msgr.html Size of Application: 40.5 KB Description: Yahoo! Messenger is a Palm OS client for the Yahoo! instant messaging system.
Professional/Corporate If you are a regular participant in the business world, you know how stressful your job can be. Here are some very specialized Palm applications that can help ease your business load.
$ales Stage Developer: LogicSolv Type of Software: Shareware Price: $15.00 Web Site: http://www.logicsolv.com/Palm_Software/_ales_Stage/ _ales_stage.htm Size of Application: 31.5 KB Description: $ales Stage allows you to import important sales data from sources such as Microsoft Access databases.
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Asset Track 1.20 Developer: Visual Solutions, Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $24.95 Web Site: http://www.visualsolutions-inc.com/pdadev/assettrack.html Size of Application: 21.0 KB Description: Manage your company’s capital assets with this Palm OS application.
eWallet Developer: Ilium Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $29.95 Web Site: http://www.iliumsoft.com/walletp.htm Size of Application: 820.1 KB Description: From PINs to credit cards or driver’s licenses—get and keep a handle on all of them with eWallet.
ExpenseDirector Developer: iambic Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $59.95 Web Site: http://www.iambic.com/english/palmos/expensedirector Size of Application: 12.1 MB Description: Keep track of your expenses by account, client project, or currency type.
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MagicChart Developer: Patrice Nolin Type of Software: Shareware Web Site: http://perso.respublica.fr/pnshare Size of Application: 58.4 KB Description: MagicChart allows you to draw several kinds of business graphs from data within Memo Pad.
PhonePad Developer: Carroll Software Services Type of Software: Shareware Price: $10.00 Web Site: http://www.carrollsoftware.com Size of Application: 41.7 KB Description: Use PhonePad to keep track of any phone messages — better than a scratch pad!
Pocket Inventory Developer: PC America Type of Software: Shareware Price: $199.00 Web Site: http://www.pcamerica.com/Software/pocket_inventory.htm Size of Application: 5.6 MB Description: If you have a Symbol SPT-1500 Palm III handheld with a built-in barcode sensor, Pocket Inventory will handle your inventory tracking.
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PocketReport Developer: PocketReport Type of Software: Shareware Price: $19.99 Web Site: http://www.pocketreport.com Size of Application: 43.0 KB Description: PocketReport seamlessly integrates data from Palm-based data sources, with a report template that is created on the Palm OS device.
PrintBoy Deluxe Developer: Bachmann Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $34.99 Web Site: http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/pbdeluxe.htm Size of Application: 1.1 MB Description: Print your Palm databases, documents, spreadsheets, and other data directly to any printer using PrintBoy Deluxe.
Product Manager Developer: InfoPage Type of Software: Shareware Price: $39.00 Web Site: http://www.product-manager.com Size of Application: 4.0 MB Description: Created for the mobile sales professional, Product Manager transforms your Palm into a fully-featured product information reference tool.
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SyncProject Developer: globalSync Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $12.50 Web Site: http://www.palmglobal.net/software.html#palmproject Size of Application: 425.6 KB Description: Manage your projects with this application.
StarCloser Developer: eNetPortals.com Type of Software: Shareware Price: $20.00 Web Site: http://www.starcloser.com/MainLS.asp Size of Application: 338.7 KB Description: For those users who have trouble closing an important sale, StarCloser might be able to help.
TimeTracker Developer: Inertron Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $25.00 Web Site: http://www.inertron.com/palm Size of Application: 111.7 KB Description: TimeTracker is a time-keeping tool for designers, contract workers, lawyers, or anyone else who works on multiple projects on an hourly basis.
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TinySheet Developer: iaMBic Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $19.95 Web Site: http://www.iambic.com/english/palmos/tinysheet/ Size of Application: 91.4 KB Description: TinySheet is full-featured Excel-compatible spreadsheet application that is available in multiple language versions.
Programming If you are of the creative bent and you have the technical know-how to program, you might find yourself wanting to develop your own Palm OS applications. With the applications listed here, you can be well on your way to making your own Palm OS programs.
AppForge Developer: AppForge, Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $69.00 Web Site: http://www.appforge.com Size of Application: 6.3 MB Description: AppForge is a Visual Basic extension that enables developers to write applications that will run on over 90 percent of the world’s handheld, mobile, and wireless devices.
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HanDBase Developer: DDH Software, Inc. Type of Software: Shareware Price: $19.95 Web Site: http://www.ddhsoftware.com Size of Application: 2.2 MB Description: This application is a full-featured database that is easy to use and develop. Several HanDBase applications are available for plug-in functionality.
JDesignerPro Developer: BulletProof Corporation Type of Software: Shareware Price: $395.00 Web Site: http://www.bulletproof.com Size of Application: 18.5 MB Description: JDesignerPro is a rapid application development and deployment system specifically designed to help you build database-driven applications that run on any browser or wireless handheld device. No programming experience is necessary.
PocketC Developer: OrbWorks Type of Software: Shareware Price: $18.50 Web Site: http://www.orbworks.com Size of Application: 120.3 KB Description: PocketC is a complete software development kit that lets your use the Notes application as a compiler. Also included are a runtime tester and (for registered users) a PRC builder.
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Reference Tools One of the basic applications found on every Palm device is the Calculator. In both the simple and scientific modes, this understated application has helped many people with their number crunching. Additional calculators for specialized arithmetical jobs are available for the Palm OS, along with additional reference tools that will help you find all sorts of information.
14allCalc Developer: LeloProductions Type of Software: Shareware Price: $8.00 Web Site: http://members.chello.at/lelo Size of Application: 33.6 KB Description: A very comprehensive scientific calculator, 4allCalc is also available in color.
BillSplit Developer: Valdim Zaliva Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://www.crocodile.org Size of Application: 7.5 KB Description: This application will help you split up the bill when dining out at any restaurant. Tip percentage and amount plus price per person are figured.
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MedCalc Developer: Mathias Tschopp, MD Type of Software: Freeware Price: N/A Web Site: http://medcalc.med-ia.net Size of Application: 92 KB Description: MedCalc allows you to perform up to 30 different medical calculations and save your results. It is also available in French.
SoVain Developer: Flatcracker Software Type of Software: Shareware Price: $10.00 Web Site: http://www.flatcracker.com Size of Application: 38.5 KB Description: SoVain allows you to enter your payroll statements and track deductions from your paycheck. 11 payroll categories are supported, as well as different currencies.
Utilities For all of the hard work that your Palm OS device does for you, you might want to pamper it (and yourself ) with these very useful applications.
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F-Secure Anti-Virus for Palm OS Developer: F-Secure Corporation Type of Software: Shareware Price: $25.00 Web Site: http://www.europe.f-secure.com/wireless/palm Size of Application: 8.7 KB Description: F-Secure Anti-Virus for Palm OS is the first anti-virus product offering on-device protection with both a continuous, fully automatic update service and technical support.
HackMaster Developer: DaggerWare Type of Software: Shareware Price: $5.00 Web Site: http://www.daggerware.com/hackmstr.htm Size of Application: 4.7 KB Description: HackMaster provides an interface to enable and configure extensions to the Palm OS, called Hacks. There are a lot of very good Hacks available, and you’ll need HackMaster to access them.
OneTouchPass Developer: SOFTAVA Type of Software: Shareware Price: $14.95 Web Site: http://www.softava.com/otp Size of Application: 85.7 KB Description: Use this application to implement password protection on your Palm device.
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Index A About Applications message box (Menu icon), 54 accent characters (Graffiti), table of, 80 Ackeron: Dark Sun, 330 adding channels to AvantGo, 304–305 contacts to Address Book, 149–151 notes to Date Book events, 129–130 patient records to PatientKeeper, 222–224 Address Book business card entries, creating, 151 contacts adding, 149–151 categorizing, 153–154 displaying, 154 editing, 152–153 entries categorizing, 101–102 creating, 98–100 exporting, 102–103 overview, 97 Address button, 30 Address tab (Edit Address Book dialog box), 99 alarms (Date Book events) preferences, setting, 133–134 setting, 128
Album To Go albums, setting up, 318–320 overview, 317 viewing images in, 320–321 alphabet characters (Graffiti), table of, 71–72 AlphaTwist, 330 AnySchedule downloading, 297 entering schedules in, 299–300 overview, 297 searching schedules in, 298–299 AppForge, 348 applications buttons, selecting to open, 61–63 categories creating, 56–58 editing, 58 removing, 58 sorting applications by, 58–60 closing, 52 installing, 108–109 opening, 52 starting, 31 Applications icon, 29–31 Applications view appearance, changing, 60–61 Category list, 52
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Applications view (continued) Edit Categories dialog, 56–58 opening, 29 Options menu, Preferences dialog box, 60–61 AquaTrac, 336 ArsLexis Thesaurus finding words in, 192–194 preferences, setting, 194–195 ArsLexis Web site, 189 Artelope, 334 Asset Track 1.20, 344 AudioCDbase, 336 AvantGo channels adding, 304–305 creating, 308–310 removing, 305 customizing, 310–311 downloading, 303 overview, 303
B Backgammon, 331 batteries charging, 28 comparisons, 23–25 Beam shortcut command, 55 beaming Date Book events, 130–132 BillSplit, 350 Biorythms, 336 Birding CheckList, 337 Blackjack Expert, 331 bus, function of, 36 business card entries, adding to Address Book, 151 Butterfly CheckList, 337 buttons Address, 30
Date Book, 30 To Do List, 30 Memo Pad, 30 scroll, 32 selecting to open applications, 61–63
C Calculator icon, 30 calibrating Palm devices, 32 stylus, 33 categories application categories creating, 56–58 editing, 58 removing, 58 sorting applications by, 58–60 To Do List, assigning, 142–143 Category list (Applications view), 52 Chalk, 337 Change HotSync Action dialog, 47 Change Repeat dialog box, 94 Choose Date option, 124 Change Store Names dialog ( JShopper), 215–216 channels (AvantGo) adding, 304–305 creating, 308–310 removing, 305 characters (Graffiti) accents, table of, 80 alphabet, table of, 71–72 extended, table of, 78–79 navigation, table of, 74 numeric, table of, 73 punctuation, table of, 76–77 shortcuts for, 80–81 special, table of, 80
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charging batteries, 28 charts (SimpleChart) editing, 198–199 statistics, viewing, 198 Checkers, 331 ChemTable elements, locating, 200–202 overview, 200 Clié Handheld PEG-S330, 14 closing applications, 52 CompactFlash, 13 configuring AvantGo, 310–311 Mail folder display, 180–181 mail messages, 172–173 connecting Palm device to PC, 36–37 Connect Your Cradle dialog box, 39–40 contacts (Address Book) adding, 149–151 categorizing, 153–154 displaying, 154 editing, 152–153 Copy shortcut command, 55 Country control (Welcome application), 33–34 cradle device, 28, 36 creating Address Book business card entries, 151 Address Book entries, 98–100 categories (application categories), 56–58 channels in AvantGo, 308–310 Date Book events recurring, 123–125 single, formal way, 122–123 single, informal way, 119–121 documents in Documents To Go, 238–239 To Do List entries, 104–105, 140–141 To Do List notes, 144
355
events alarm, setting, 92 date, setting, 91 description, 89 recurring, 94 start and end times, 89–90 graphs in SimpleChart, 196–198 mail messages, 168–170 memos, 107, 161–162 shortcuts for Graffiti characters, 80–81 signatures, e-mail, 173–174 Crossword 365, 332 Custom dialog box, 46–47 customizing Pen Launch, 63–64 Cut shortcut command, 55
D date, Set Date selector (Welcome application), 34–35 Date Book alarm preferences, setting, 133–134 display preferences, setting, 134–135 events, 88 adding notes to, 129–130 alarms, setting, 128 beaming an, 130–132 creating recurring, 94–95, 123–125 creating single, 89–92 creating single, formally, 122–123 creating single, informally, 119–121 deleting, 93, 127 deleting recurring, 95–96, 125–126 removing notes from, 130 searching for, 96–97 font preferences, setting, 135 length of day preferences, setting, 133 viewing, 114–119
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Delete Event dialog, 127 Delete Note dialog, 130 Delete shortcut command, 55 deleting. See also removing Date Book events, 125–127 documents in Documents To Go, 240 events, 93 mail messages, 177 Desktop. See Palm Desktop dialogs Change HotSync Action, 47 Change Repeat, 94, 124 Change Store Names ( JShopper), 215–216 Connect Your Cradle, 39–40 Custom, 46 Delete Event, 127 Delete Note, 130 Display Options, 134–135 To Do Item Details, 142–143 Due Date, 141 Edit Address Book Address tab, 99 Name tab, 98 Note tab, 100 Edit Address Categories, 102 Edit Categories, 56–58 Edit Event Alarm check box, 92 Description text box, 89 Repeat None button, 94 Select Date button, 91 Edit Houses (RMRHouse), 214 Edit Patient (PatientKeeper), 222–223 Edit Rooms, 210–211 Ending On, 124 Event Details Alarm check box, 128 Note view, 129
Repeat field, 123 Time option, 120 Find, 96 Install Tool, 108–110 Item Details (RMRHome), 212–213 List By, 107 Location Selection, 39 Memo Details, 161–162 Memo Preferences, 160 Message Details, 172 Message Filed Options, 179 Microsoft Outlook Detected, 39 Model Selection, 39–40 New Category, 101 Note Editor, 100 Pen, 63–64 Pick Color (Documents To Go), 238 Preferences (Applications view), 60–61 Preparation, 38 Product Registration, 42 Purge Deleted Message, 178 Repeating Event, 95, 126 Reply Options, 176–177 Select Business Card, 151 Select Date, 91, 104 Select Font, 135 Select Time, 89 Set Time, 120–122 Set Time (Welcome application), 35 Set Variable Insert, 207–208 Shortcut Entry, 81 Show Options, 105–106 Synchronization, 41–42 Truncate Options, 183 dictionaries finding words in, 190–192 Noah Lite English Dictionary, 189
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dining, Zagat reservations, recording, 265 restaurants, finding location of, 262–264 displaying Address Book contact information, 154 Display Options dialog, 134–135 Documents To Go components, list of, 235 documents creating, 238–239 deleting, 240 editing, 237–239 sending to Palm device, 236 Excel documents, editing, 241–242 functions, inserting, 244–245 Sheet To Go, inserting spreadsheet elements in, 242–244 slide shows, editing, 246–247 downloading AnySchedule, 297 AvantGo, 303 FirstAid, 228 HomeLoan, 205 IntelliGolf, 291 Noah Lite English Dictionary, 189 PatientKeeper, 222 SimCity, 277 Space Trader, 280 WorldMate, 266 drugs, searching in Rx, 224–226 Dubinsky, Donna, 6 Due Date dialog, 141 Dungeon Lore, 332
E Edit Address Categories dialog, 102 Edit Address dialog Address tab, 99 Name tab, 98
357
Note tab, 100 Edit Categories dialog, 56–58 Edit Event dialog Alarm check box, 92 Description text box, 89 Repeat None button, 94 Select Date button, 91 Edit Houses dialog (RMRHome), 214 editing Address Book contacts, 152–153 categories (application categories), 58 charts in SimpleChart, 198–199 documents in Documents To Go, 237–239 Excel documents in Documents To Go, 241–242 mail messages, 171–172 memos, 162 slide shows in Documents To Go, 246–247 Edit menu command, Find, 96 Edit Patient dialog (PatientKeeper), 222–223 Edit Rooms dialog, 210–211 elements, locating in ChemTable, 200–202 Ending On dialog, 124 entries Address Book business cards, creating, 151 categorizing, 101–102 creating, 98–100 exporting, 102–103 To Do List configuring, 105–106 creating, 104–105, 140–141 ePocrates Rx. See Rx Eudora Internet Suite, 341 Event Details dialog Alarm check box, 128 Note view, 129 Repeat field, 123 Time option, 120
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INDEX
events (Date Book), 88 alarm preferences, setting, 133–134 alarms, setting, 128 beaming an, 130–132 creating recurring, 94, 123–125 single, formal way, 122–123 single, informal way, 119–121 creating single alarm, setting, 92 date, setting, 91 description of, 89 start and end times, 89–90 deleting, 93, 127 recurring, 125–126 display preferences, setting, 134–135 font preferences, setting, 135 length of day preferences, 133 notes adding, 129–130 removing, 130 searching for, 96–97 eWallet, 344 Excel documents, editing in Documents To Go, 241–242 executive assistance, 232 Documents To Go components, list of, 235 documents, creating, 238–239 documents, deleting, 240 documents, editing, 237–239 documents, sending to Palm device, 236 Excel documents, editing, 241–242 functions, inserting, 244–245 Sheet To Go, inserting spreadsheet elements in, 242–244 slide shows, editing, 246–247 technology adopter behavior diagram, 233
ExpenseDirector, 344 exporting Address Book entries, 102–103 extended characters (Graffiti), table of, 78–79
F Find dialog box, 96 Find icon, 30 FireViewer, 335 FirstAid downloading, 228 overview, 228 topics, searching for, 229–230 flight reservations, entering in Gulliver, 255–259 font preferences (Date Book), setting, 135 fonts, Select Font dialog box, 135 F-Secure Anti-Virus for Palm OS, 352
G gaming Ackeron: Dark Sun, 330 AlphaTwist, 330 Backgammon, 331 Blackjack Expert, 331 Checkers, 331 Crossword 365, 332 Dungeon Lore, 332 Hexxagon, 332 Kyle’s Quest, 285–288 Patience, 333 PocketChess Deluxe, 333 SimCity creating new city in, 277–279 downloading, 277 overview, 277 Space Trader downloading, 280 overview, 280
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starting new game in, 281–284 Total Recall, 333 Twizzle, 333 General tab (HotSync Manager), 43–44 Going Sale-ing, 338 golf. See IntelliGolf Graffiti characters accents, table of, 80 alphabet, table of, 71–72 extended, table of, 78–79 navigation, table of, 74 navigation group, 72 numeric, table of, 73 punctuation, table of, 76–77 shortcuts for, 80–81 special, table of, 80 keyboard, 82–83 rules of, 67–69 Graffiti Help shortcut command, 55 graphs, creating in SimpleChart, 196–198 grocery items ( JShopper), entering, 217–218 Gulliver flights, entering, 255–259 hotel reservations, entering, 258–259 overview, 253–254 rental car reservation, entering, 259–261 travel itinerary, entering, 254–255
H HackMaster, 352 HanDBase, 349 HandEra, 13 Handspring Inc. Palm devices, 11–12 Hawkins, Jeff, 5, 66–67 health FirstAid downloading, 228
359
overview, 228 topics, searching for, 229–230 PatientKeeper downloading, 222 overview, 221 patient records, adding, 222–224 Rx drugs, searching, 224–226 overview, 224 regimen tables, 226–227 Hexxagon, 332 HomeLoan downloading, 205 down payments, calculating, 208–209 fixed-rate mortgages, calculating, 205–207 overview, 204 variable-rate mortgages, calculating, 207–208 hotel reservations, entering in Gulliver, 258–259 HotSync mail options, 182 HotSync Manager General tab, 43 Local tab, 44 Modem tab, 44 Network tab, 45 Humidor, 338
I IBM Palm devices, 13 icons Applications, 29 Calculator, 30 Find, 30 Menu, 53 About Applications message box, 54 location of, 30 Options, 54 ICQ for Palm, 342 images, viewing in Album to Go, 320–321
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Install icon, Setup wizard, 38 installing applications, 108–109 Palm Desktop on PC, 38–40 Connect Your Cradle dialog box, 39–40 Location Selection dialog box, 39 Microsoft Outlook Detected dialog box, 39 Model Selection dialog box, 39–40 Preparation dialog box, 38 Install Tool, 108–110 instruction manual, 29 IntelliGolf beginning a game in, 291–294 downloading, 291 golf course data, downloading, 296–297 overview, 291 scoring, 294–296 IntelliSync, 328 Item Details dialog (RMRHome), 212–213 Itinerary Details form (Gulliver), 254–255
J JDesignerPro, 349 J-Pilot, 329 JShopper configuring, 216–217 grocery items, entering, 217–218 overview, 214–215 stores, managing, 215–216
K keyboards, Graffiti, 82–83 keyboard shortcut commands, 55 Kyle’s Quest, 285–288 Kyocera Wireless Group, 14–15
L Land-J Technologies Web site, 215 List By dialog box, 107 Local tab (HotSync Manager), 44 Location Selection dialog box, 39 Lube Log, 338
M MagicChart, 345 mail messages configuring, 172–173 creating, 168–170 deleting, 177 draft, storing, 175 e-mail signature, creating, 173–174 filing, 179 folders display of, configuring, 180–181 navigating between, 167 HotSync preferences, setting, 181–183 outbound, editing, 171–172 reading, 175–178 replying to, 176–177 structure of, 165–166 MedCalc, 351 medical. See health Memo Details dialog, 161–162 Memo Pad memos creating, 107, 161–162 editing, 162 sorting, 159–160 viewing, 159 Memo Pad button, 30 Memo Preferences dialog box, 160 memory, comparisons, 20–22
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Menu icon, 53 About Applications message box, 54 location of, 30 Options, 54 menus navigating, 53–55 shortcuts, 54–55 Message Details dialog, 172 Message Filed Options dialog, 179 messages. See mail messages Microsoft Outlook Detected dialog box, 39 Model Selection dialog box, 39–40 Modem tab (HotSync Manager), 44 mortgages calculating in HomeLoan fixed-rate, 205–207 variable-rate, 207–208 down payments, calculating, 208–209 moving between views (Welcome application), 32 My Cross-Stitch, 339 My Roots, 339
N Name tab (Edit Address Book dialog), 98 navigating menus, 53–55 navigation characters (Graffiti), table of, 74 Network tab (HotSync Manager), 45 New Category dialog, 101 Noah Lite English Dictionary downloading, 189 finding words in, 190–192 overview, 189 Nokia Corporation, 15 Note Editor dialog, 100 notes adding to Date Book events, 129–130 To Do List, creating, 144 removing from Date Book events, 130
361
Note tab (Edit Address Book dialog), 100 numeric characters (Graffiti), table of, 73
O OneTouchPass, 352 opening applications, 52
P Palm Desktop Address Book business card entries, creating, 151 contacts, adding, 149–151 contacts, categorizing, 153–154 contacts, displaying, 154 contacts, editing, 152–153 entries, categorizing, 101–102 entries, creating, 98–100 entries, exporting, 102–103 overview, 97 Date Book alarm preferences, setting, 133–134 display preferences, setting, 134–135 events, 88 events, adding notes of, 129–130 events, alarms, setting, 128 events, beaming, 130–132 events, creating recurring, 94–95, 123–125 events, creating single, 89–92 events, creating single, formally, 122–123 events, creating single, informally, 119–121 events, deleting, 93, 127 events, deleting recurring, 95–96, 125–126 events, removing notes from, 130 events, searching for, 96–97 font preferences, setting, 135 length of day preferences, setting, 133 viewing, 114–119
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Palm Desktop (continued) To Do List categories, assigning, 142–143 entries, configuring, 105–106 entries, creating, 104–105, 140–141 notes, creating, 144 overview, 138 sorting, 145–146 Install Tool, 108–109 Memo Pad, 106–107 memos, creating, 161–162 memos, editing, 162 memos, sorting, 159–160 viewing, 159 starting, 87 Palm devices batteries, charging, 28 CD-ROM, 29 connecting to PC, 36–37 cradle device, 28 Desktop, installing on PC, 38–40 Connect Your Cradle dialog box, 39–40 Location Selection dialog box, 39 Microsoft Outlook Detected dialog box, 39 Model Selection dialog box, 39–40 Preparation dialog box, 38 HandEra, 13 Handspring, Inc., 11–12 history of, 5–8 IBM, 13 instruction manual, 29 Kyocera wireless group, 14–15 Nokia Corporation, 15 Palm, Inc., 8–10 popup arrow, 50 purchasing battery life comparisons, 23–25
budgeting, 18–19 memory comparisons, 20–21 retail prices, list of, 19–20 size comparisons, 22–23 re-calibrating, 32 Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd., 15–16 scrollbar, dragging, 50–51 Sony Corporation, 14 stylus, 28 success of, 5 Symbol Technologies, Inc., 14 synchronizing, 42–46 PalmIRC, 342 PalmPrint, history of, 5 PalmUtil Web site, 205 parallel ports, 36–37 Paste shortcut command, 55 Patience, 333 PatientKeeper downloading, 222 overview, 221 patient records, adding, 222–224 PC connecting Palm device to, 36–37 installing Palm Desktop on, 38–40 Connect Your Cradle dialog box, 39–40 Location Selection dialog box, 39 Microsoft Outlook Detected dialog box, 39 Model Selection dialog box, 39–40 Preparation dialog box, 38 synchronizing, 41–42 Pen dialog, 63–64 Pen Launch, customizing, 63–64 Personal Information Management. See PIM PhonePad, 345 Pick Color dialog (Documents To Go), 238 pictures, Album To Go albums, setting up, 318–320
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overview, 318 viewing images in, 320–321 PIM (Personal Information Management), 39 Planet 2000, 339 PocketC, 349 PocketChess Deluxe, 333 Pocket Inventory, 345 Pocket Recipes, 340 PocketReport, 346 popup arrow, function of, 50 ports function of, 36 parallel, 36 plugging in, 37 serial, 36–37 USB (Universal Serial Bus), 37 Preferences dialog (Applications view), 60–61 Preparation dialog box, 38 prices (Palm devices) by memory, 20–22 retail prices, list of, 19–20 PrintBoy Deluxe, 346 Product Manager, 346 Product Registration dialog box, 42 punctuation characters (Graffiti), table of, 76–77 purchasing Palm devices battery life comparisons, 23–25 budgeting, 18–19 memory comparisons, 20–22 retail prices, table of, 19–20 size comparisons, 22–23 Purge Deleted Message dialog, 178 Pylon Conduit, 329
R reading mail messages, 175–178 registration process, 42
363
removing. See also deleting categories (application categories), 58 channels from AvantGo, 305 notes from Date Book events, 130 Rental Car Reservation form (Gulliver), 259–261 Repeating Event dialog, 95, 126 Reply Options dialog, 176–177 RMRHome homes, adding new, 214 household items, inventory of, 212–213 rooms, organizing, 210–212 rooms (RMRHome), organizing, 210–212 Rx drugs, searching for, 224–226 overview, 224 regimen tables, 226–227
S Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd., 15–16 scrollbar, dragging, 50–51 scroll buttons, 32 searching events, 96–97 Select All shortcut command, 55 Select Business Card dialog, 151 Select Date dialog, 91, 104 Select Font dialog, 135 Select Time dialog, 89 sending documents to Palm device, 236 Set Date selector (Welcome application), 34–35 Set Time dialog, 120–121 End Time value, 122 Start Time value, 122 Set Time dialog (Welcome application), 35 setup.exe application, 38 Setup wizard, 38 Microsoft Outlook Detected dialog box, 39 Product Registration dialog box, 42 synchronization process, 41–47
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364
INDEX
Set Variable Insert dialog, 207–208 shortcut commands beam, 55 copy, 55 cut, 55 delete, 55 Find dialog box, accessing, 96 graffiti help, 55 keyboard, 55 paste, 55 Preferences dialog box, starting, 60 select all, 55 undo, 55 Shortcut Entry dialog, 81 Show Options dialog, 105–106 signatures (e-mail), creating, 173–174 SimCity creating new city in, 277–279 downloading, 277 overview, 277 SimpleChart charts editing, 198–199 statistics, viewing, 198 graphs, creating, 196–198 overview, 195 size comparison of Palm devices, 22–23 slide shows, editing in Documents To Go, 246–247 Small Talk conversing using, 269–271 overview, 268 Smartphone, 14–15 Sony Corporation Palm devices, 14 sorting applications by categories, 58–60 To Do List, 145–146 memos, 159–160
SoVain, 351 Space Trader downloading, 280 overview, 280 starting new game in, 281–284 special characters (Graffiti), table of, 80 SPH-1300 mobile phone, 16 sporting AnySchedule downloading, 297 entering schedules in, 299–300 overview, 297 searching schedules in, 298–299 IntelliGolf, 291 beginning a game in, 291–294 downloading, 291 golf course data, downloading, 296–297 overview, 291 scoring, 294–296 spreadsheet elements, inserting in Sheet To Go, 242–244 Springboard modules, 11–12 SPT 1500 Palm device, 14 SPT 1700 Palm device, 14 StarCloser, 347 Star Pilot, 340 starting applications, 31 Palm Desktop, 87 storing e-mail messages, draft, 175 stylus, 28 Applications icon, tapping, 29 calibrating, 33 Symbol Technologies, Inc. Palm devices, 14 Sync Buddy, 329 Synchronization dialog box, 41–42
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INDEX
synchronization process Palm device, 42–46 PCs, 41–42 SyncProject, 347
T tabs Address (Edit Address Book dialog), 99 General (HotSync Manager), 43–44 Local (HotSync Manager), 44 Modem (HotSync Manager), 44 Name (Edit Address Book dialog), 98 Network (HotSync Manager), 45 Note (Edit Address Book dialog), 100 TealPaint, 335 thesaurus (ArsLexis Thesaurus) finding words in, 192–194 preferences, setting, 194–195 time Set Time dialog, 122 Set Time dialog (Welcome application), 35 Time and Zone Settings dialog (WorldMate), 266–267 TimeTracker, 347 TinySheet, 347 To Do Item Details dialog, 142–143 To Do List categories, assigning, 142–143 entries configuring, 105–106 creating, 104–105, 140–141 notes, creating, 144 overview, 138 sorting, 145–146 To Do List button, 30 Torpedo, 342 Total Recall, 333
365
travel assistance Gulliver flights, entering, 255–259 hotel reservations, entering, 258–259 overview, 253–254 rental car reservation, entering, 259–261 travel itinerary, entering, 254–255 Small Talk conversing using, 269–271 overview, 268 WorldMate configuring, 266–267 currency exchange rates, 267 downloading, 266 overview, 266 Truncate Options dialog, 183 TVPlus, 340 Twizzle, 333
U Undo shortcut command, 55 USB (Universal Serial Bus), 37
V View Log button (synchronization process), 41 viewing Date Book, 114–119 Memo Pad, 159 views (Welcome application), moving between, 32 Vintner, 341
W Web sites ArsLexus, 189 Land-J Technologies, 215 PalmUtil, 205
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366
INDEX
Welcome application Country control, 33–34 Set Date selector, 34–35 Set Time dialog, 35 views, moving between, 32 wizards, Setup wizard, 38 Microsoft Outlook Detected dialog box, 39 Product Registration dialog box, 42 synchronization process, 41–47 WorldMate configuring, 266–267 currency exchange rates, 267
downloading, 266 overview, 266
Y Yahoo! Messenger, 343
Z Zagat, restaurants finding, 262–264 reservations, recording, 265
