|
Ancestry Daily News
1/17/2002 - Archive
| • |
RootsWorks: PDA 2001 - Software |
RootsWorks: PDA 2001 - Software
"It seems like every product has a life cycle, and that if you graphed
the number of manufacturers over time, it would look like a Volkswagen Beetle.
A few companies make the thing at first. The market responds favorably and then
a lot of companies make one. Finally, after a shakeout where everybody sells
them for the cheapest prices you can imagine, only a few do."
If those lines sound familiar, it might be because I used them at the beginning
of the last RootsWorks article, about
PDA hardware. PDA software, on the other hand, would look more like the
Eiffel Tower than a VW. Everybody with an hour available is writing PDA software.
Before I sound like a critic, let me say that, to my knowledge, it's the last
place on earth where programmers try to write small programs. There is nothing
in the PDA arena like the "bloatware" you see on PCs. This is the last bastion
for real men and women who care about code.
A quick note about the PDA 2001 articles. This is the second in a series of
four articles. In Part III, I'll cover genealogy software for the PDA, and in
Part IV, I'll discuss gadgets and special PDA applications. I've received a
number of notes from people wanting to know more about PDA genealogy software.
Please be patient.
You can't judge a program by its cover letter. It's hard to tell what software
you might want to use on your PDA, and what software to stay away from. Let's
see if we can find the largest herd and get smack in the middle of it.
What Is It?
Let's divide PDA software into three groups: office functions, utilities, and
"everything else." I'll go into detail about genealogy software for PDAs in
the next article, so please don't think I forgot what kind of publication this
is. (If you can't wait, then jump to the bottom of this article for a hint.)
For office functions, let's stick to e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets,
and databases. There are programs for presentations, but they're not much like
Power Point and this year we won't get into them. For most people, being able
to download documents from your desktop to the Palm so that they are handy is
a valuable feature. For others, putting a few notes, ideas, or meeting minutes
into a document and uploading it is just as important. For myself, updating
my calendar, address book, and to-do list while on the run is the most useful
feature.
PDA utilities include clocks, timers, world maps, reference materials (Like
the names of the states in Mexico. Quick! How many are there?), and I'll even
toss in basic communication features such as hot-sync and linking to the Internet
for carry-around content.
"Everything Else" is a very broad category, but it's not so surprising if you
consider PDA software to be the frontier of personal organization. The PalmGear
site lists its Top 50 downloads, and that list is a really jumbled toy box.
The top ten:
1. BigClock 2.83 Clock/Calendar. (437,575 downloads)
2. Noah Lite English dictionary 0.65. (424,585 downloads)
3. SilverScreen 2.3, a program to make palmtop themes. (413,481 downloads)
4. DateBk4.0e, another clock/calendar program. (294,031 downloads)
5. FireViewer Suite 6.0, a very cool graphics program that lets you see pictures
on the PDA. (288,227 downloads)
6. Quickoffice 5.6, a spreadsheet, charting, and word processing suite. (286,853
downloads)
7. Launcher III 3.0.5, a replacement application launcher for the PDA. (278,953
downloads)
8. thinkDB 2.5 with Desktop 2.5, a database program. (248,526 downloads)
9. diddleBug 2.15, a sticky note program. (245,006 downloads)
10. PacMan 1.4, a game. (229,453 downloads)
One of my favorite uses that fits into the "Everything Else" category is GPS
use. The GPS Nav program is good, but mixing maps with PDAs can get you into
a space problem. The maps have to be downloaded to the PDA before you use them,
and they can be really big. I once tried to put a map of Dallas/Ft Worth in
my Palm Vx and it wouldn't fit. (No jokes about how everything is bigger in
Texas, please.)
Name Two of Them
Whoops, I just named ten. In this area we run the risk of crossing the Personal
Time Limits Barrier. There are so many programs, and several of them do the
same things. A person could spend more time exploring PDA Program Space than
they can reasonably justify - ask my ex-wife if you don't believe me. After
about an hour, I feel like my Ancestor Count is climbing and I have to choose
something. My goal here is to tell you about a few programs that I have tried
and found reliable. If I don't name your favorite program, please don't feel
like I mean anything negative by it. Congratulations on passing GO, it looks
like we rolled different numbers on that lap and I didn't land on your property.
If you would like, send me an e-mail describing your favorite program and I'll
try to list them on the PDA 2001 Roundup site.
Docs To Go is a suite of programs that allows you to move documents and spreadsheets
from the PC to the PDA. FireViewer is great for moving graphics files - pictures
of your descendants or your ancestors. I use thinkDB for a database, QuickSheet
for a spreadsheet, and SmartDoc for word processing. There are two ways to send
e-mail from a PDA: You can write e-mails that are sent by your PC after you
hot-sync, and you can write e-mails and send them with a PDA modem. I use the
Palm Pilot's Mail program for the former, and I use HandMail for the latter.
There are other programs that do the same things. Docs To Go contains a word
processor, for example. I use NavComp with my Palm GPS.
I'm a Steven Covey disciple, and I have the Steven Covey for Outlook program.
Genealogy research is one of the roles for which I assign tasks to myself.
When It Works, What Does It Do?
When you can look up important information wherever you go, and make a few important
notes and reminders whenever they occur to you, you're getting some benefit
from that PDA purchase. I sometimes take my Palm with me when I go walking.
As I have ideas - people to call, e-mails to write, things to do - I enter them
in my to-do list, or write e-mails for sending when I get home. I'm also fond
of a learning program called SuperMemo. I can make "tests" for myself about
the thirty-two Mexican states or the B2 Spirit Project. When I have a free minute
I can get questions that help me remember these things. I can also tell which
planets are where, which comes in handy when kids expect you to know things
like that.
I often drag those wordy e-mail travel itineraries to my Outlook calendar. Then
all of that verbiage is in my PDA calendar when I go somewhere - confirmation
numbers, rates, flight numbers, the whole shebang.
In the fourth and final article in this series, I'll describe how I get the
NYTimes and local movie times on my PDA each day, along with the Fort Wayne
paper. While that's software too, it fits in the PDA Particulars.
What's the Down Side?
There are so many feature sets that you can't find one that is mature, and has
all of the most popular features. We're still at the point where every program
has its own special hook. Also, you can find yourself in a spot with data formats
after you have chosen a program. If, for example, you have all of your data
in thinkDB files, and you switch to HandDBase, you will have to put the information
up on the PC, and then bring it back down to the PDA in the new format. Of course,
this is still true with PC files for Excel and Lotus, or Word and Word Perfect.
The conversion tools for the PDA are not as mature yet, and you should give
some thought to your Software Exit Strategy.
Link Me Up (More stars is better)
PDA 2001 Roundup ****
www.sharbrough.net/genealogy/pda2001.htm
I've put some specific hardware and software comparisons on my site to amplify
the information presented here.
Palmgear ****
www.palmgear.com/
There are many Palm software/hardware sites. This one is connected with an office
that is very close to my office, geographically. I like Calvin, too.
ZDNet PDA Reviews **
www.zdnet.com/downloads/pilotsoftware/awards/awards.html
Winners! Everybody loves a winner! Unfortunately some of the links on this page
are broken, but it's still a good site, and has useful information and useful
downloads.
PDA Street ***
www.pdastreet.com/
News, message boards, and PDA Software.
Handango ****
www.handango.com/
If there's a difference in Palmgear and Handango, I haven't found it. My office
is between them both, and the trade buzz is that they get along like Lotus and
Microsoft. I like the look of the home page better, but that's just me.
What Else?
If you're one of those kids that likes to read ahead, let me suggest that you
visit www.tapperware.com and familiarize
yourself with the My Roots program. It's one of the items that we'll cover in
the next article.
I suggest that you clearly define your "Reference Boundary:" the boundary between
the kinds of things you'll never modify on the PDA, and the kinds of things
you will. For example, I don't modify documents and spreadsheets on the PDA.
I make new ones, but I don't modify anything that would be diminished when I
put it back on the PC. Formatting, fonts, images, and the like are an important
part of this consideration.
Also, I'm careful not to modify a particular contact or appointment on both
my desktop and my PDA between hot-syncs."One or the other, but not both," is
my rule. Doing so causes the hot-sync program to create duplicate entries. I
don't like to have a given contact on the list twice, or five times.
The Reference Boundary will be even more important when we cover genealogy software
for the PDA in the next article. Put in all of the research you like - in new,
clean documents that you can incorporate into your desktop research program
later.
Beau Sharbrough is the outgoing president of GENTECH, and the founder of the
GENTECH and FGS Web sites. The RootsWorks series of articles focuses on genealogical
applications for generic technologies. He would like to hear from you at mailto:beau@sharbrough.net,
but due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail
message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual
computer problems, as he is generally busy developing The Virtual Excuse, a
product to promote harmony in family life. Visit Beau's Web site for links to
previous articles and updates on TVE. Beau is the father of two college-age
girls who make excuses effortlessly, and is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University.
Copyright 2002, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.
|
|
 |
|
