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Free update for PalmPilot users
If you've got a PalmPilot Personal or PalmPilot Pro, 3Com has a
free
system-software upgrade waiting for you.
It's version 2.0.5 of the Palm
OS, and its features include bug fixes and enhancements.
(If you have an original Pilot or a Palm III, this new file does you no good.)
Free update for Palm III users
3Com has been busy with its Palm III system software, too. You can
download
a free Palm OS 3.0.2 updater, which is designed primarily to extend
your battery life when the infrared feature is turned off. It also fixes bugs
involving Internet connections (lets HotSync work if the Palm III shut off
during a PPP session, eliminates a freeze when using a modem PPP connection,
and so on).
Free update for Windows users
As PalmPilot: The
Ultimate Guide makes clear, Palm Desktop, the
Windows front-end software that comes with the Palm III, is a dramatic
improvement over Pilot Desktop 1.0 and 2.0, its predecessors. Only problem
was, you had to buy a $400 Palm III to get the matching software.
Not anymore. Palm Desktop 3.0 is now available to all Windows users, no
matter which version of the PalmPilot they own. Older units work just fine
with it. Download
the free Windows software.
Cheaper wireless
If the idea of wireless e-mail checking and Web surfing from your PalmPilot
intrigues you, note that there have been some developments related to the
Novatel Minstrel wireless modem (street price: $275) described in "PalmPilot:
The Ultimate Guide."
Namely, the terms have changed. The actual wireless service is provided by
GoAmerica -- $50 per month for unlimited use, as reported in the book. The
catch is that you must use GoAmerica's own provided software, called
go.mail and go.web.
However, if you'd prefer to use some of the other popular e-mail and Web
programs (such as MultiMail, ProxyWeb, and others included with
"PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide"), you can either pay 12 cents per K of data
transferred OR pay $60 per month unlimited.
http://www.novatelwireless.com
Replacing Graffiti
If Graffiti, the special text-input alphabet of the PalmPilot, is getting you
down, the market is now crawling with alternatives. First, you can design
your own replacement strokes for any Graffiti symbols you don't like with
TealScript, $17 shareware from TealPoint
Software.
Or consider Jot, a $40, Graffiti-like system (the one used on Windows CE
palmtops) that simplifies capitals and punctuation; there's no demo available,
but you can buy it with a 30-day guarantee from
Communication Intelligence Corporation.
On the other hand, you can abandon penstrokes altogether using a tappable
onscreen keyboard replacement, such as the $40,
phonepad-like T9 or the
$25 Fitaly.
Beware that these programs tend to be enormous (120K or more), costly, and
not as fast as Graffiti. On the other hand, they may cure the Graffiti blues
for people who are still doing all their writing by tapping the onscreen
PalmPilot keyboard.
More Pogue on PalmPilots
I've begun writing a column for the popular Web-based PalmPilot magazine
PalmPower. You're welcome to read my first two columns,
PalmPilot: The Ultimate Demo and
The
Musical PalmPilot.
Fixed typos in "PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide"
I've now fixed or updated 41 small errors in PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide
(not counting 17 updated files on the CD). The opportunity was the fourth
printing, which went off to the printers this month. If you'd like to mark up
your existing copy of the book, you can consult the list of fixes
here.
Many thanks to all the sharp-eyed readers who made the bestselling
PalmPilot book a book that's now, to the best of our knowledge, perfect.
Relief for lefties
As many a left-handed PalmPiloteer can attest, one environmental hazard of
using a 3-by-5-inch computer is that your left hand blocks the screen entirely
when you try to use the scrollbars. That's the purpose of
Lefty,
a shareware program that moves the scroll bar to the left side of the screen
(in Lefty-savvy programs).
Sorry, only one portable PalmPilot keyboard
In the last batch of news posted here, I reported on two new compact
keyboards designed for use with the PalmPilot. Turns out it's one and the
same device, being advertised independently by its manufacturer and its
distributor.
The inventor, Bob Fullerton, writes: "Parallel (my company) is the original
inventor/designer of the keyboard. A company called Sicon International (my
manufacturing partner) will be manufacturing the keyboard, and Landware
will be selling it under their name. Landware is getting ready for the
release...product should be available sometime late September. Parallel
Design is currently working on other input device solutions for the Palm
personal organizer, so expect to see additional announcements in the future."
For details on the new keyboard, visit
Parallel
Design. (I've tried it and it's pretty darned slick!)
Copyright © 2009 O'Reilly Media, Inc.