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Past Journal Entries from July:
July.-30/99
July.-28/99
July.-27/99
July.-26/99
July.-22/99
July.-21/99
July.-19/99
July.-16/99
July.-15/99
July.-14/99
July.-13/99
July.-12/99
July.-08/99
Will handhelds become as indispensable in the future as cell phones are today? This is the intriguing question that Ilium Software raises in its contribution to our Industry Insider's section.
The answer, they very persuasively argue, is that they will. The main reason? Email. As they point out, "Like checking phone messages 10 years ago, email checking has become a necessity."
As a regular business traveler myself, I couldn't agree more strongly with their conclusion. There's no way I could ever go on a trip without having access to my email (or the Internet for that matter); my customers and colleagues demand it and I have to stay current with what's going on in my industry and the office.
Of course, some mobile phones already have email and even web browsing capabilities, but the functionality of these applications is limited and -- in any case -- the small keyboards are only really suited for short replies to messages and the small screens hardly make for a compelling viewing experience.
Notebooks, on the other hand, are overkill if your main requirement in your mobile computing device is email and Internet access plus some basic scheduling, contacts, and office productivity applications. This of course, is where handhelds fit in. Read the Ilium Software Insider Report for further details.
R.I.B.
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Do you want to know how to print a Pocket Word file from your Handheld PC using a printer on your company's network? Or how to password protect your device to prevent other people from accessing your files and data? To find out how to carry out these and a myriad of other tasks, you should check out Windows CE Made Simple, an excellent new book written by Craig Peacock, one of the world's leading experts on the Windows CE operating system.
One of the great strengths about Windows CE Made Simple is that it is the first and – to my knowledge – only book to cover the full range of Windows CE Palm-size PCs, Handheld PCs, Handheld PC Professional devices, and it does an excellent job of explaining the differences between them.
Another thing I like about the book is its attractive and user-friendly layout, which makes it fast and easy to locate the information you require. The book is well organized in a logical series of chapters covering the main subjects that you are likely to need assistance on, such as setting up your device, Pocket Outlook, Getting Online, and E-mail. Extensive screenshots accompanied by clear step-by-step instructions show you how to use all the main features in Windows CE, and Tip boxes provide excellent advice on getting the most out of your device.
In addition to giving you sound, practical advice on how to use Windows CE, Craig also provides a lot of useful information on third-party applications. Did you know, for example, that Ilium Software has a program called Tipster that allows you to split your restaurant bill between your friends and calculate the correct tip for the waiter? I didn't, until I read this book.
Other nuggets in Windows CE Made Simple include the clearest explanation I have ever seen of the differences between POP3, SMTP, IMAP4, and LDAP email protocols and an excellent guide on how to install an Ethernet card. In fact, the book is worth its price for the information that it contains on network and Internet connectivity alone.
Windows CE Made Simple is priced at £8.99, and you can order it online from the Butterworth-Heinemann website by clicking here. No matter whether you're a beginner or an experienced user of Windows CE, you'll find invaluable advice and information in Windows CE Made Simple. I strongly recommend that you buy it!
R.I.B.
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As I mentioned in my journal last week, the feature that impressed me most about my HP Jornada 680 when I took it on my trip to China was its excellent battery life. This enabled me to get a lot of work done while I was shuttling from meeting to meeting and city to city on a very tight schedule.
Still, at a maximum of seven hours, battery life on the Jornada 680 is pretty short compared to other HPC Pro devices such as the Vadem Clio, which runs up to a very impressive twelve hours on a single charge -- enough even for a trans-continental flight. But if you do require even more power and don't mind adding a little weight to your luggage, you can also order additional extended batteries for the HP Jornada 680 and 820, Compaq Aero 8000, and IBM Workpad z50, lasting up to a whopping 21 hours.
To look up the battery life of all the HPC Pro devices on the market, you can check out our HPC Pro comparison charts on this website. We've also added a short section about battery life in the HPC Pro Buyer's Guide, which includes a table showing the types of batteries that are available for each device and their prices. One note of caution: spare HPC batteries don't exactly come cheap, ranging from just under US$59 for a spare Sharp Mobilon Pro battery to $164.95 for an extended life battery for Compaq Aero 8000. But if you're stuck in airport waiting for a delayed flight then the spare battery could be prove to be worth a lot more than its original price.
I got a very nice surprise when I opened up my mailbox today, with the arrival of a great new book called Windows CE Made Simple. Written by Craig Peacock, one of the world's leading experts on Windows CE, it provides a wealth of tips and advice on how to get the most out of your Windows CE device. I'll write more about this book in my journal tomorrow.
R.I.B.
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Color's cool! That's the message we received loud and clear from our latest Windows CE Survey, in which we asked you to tell us how important you think a color screen on a PDA is.
We received a record number of answers to this question, and 76% of our respondents said that a color screen is a very important feature while less than 2% replied that it doesn't matter.
These figures seem to confirm the large amount of anecdotal evidence accumulating in stores and on the Internet showing the growing popularity of the new generation of color Palm-size PCs -- the Casio E-100 and E-105 in particular. Sure there are a number of trade-offs that you have to make with color Palm-size PCs, including a bulkier size. But in return for the benefits of being able to view text, graphics and even video in full glorious color, it seems that many people are willing to accept them. I'm no exception!
In fact, as reported by Will Nelson of PDADash, it appears that a cult is beginning to grow up around the Casio E-100 with hard-core users setting up their own Internet "shrines" (his word, not mine) dedicated to this multimedia demon. For the full scoop, please check out his article at:
http://www.pdadash.com/news/articles/trends/07.13.99/index.shtml.
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We're very pleased and honored to announce today that the Windows CE Business Solutions Home Page has been selected by ParaGraph to participate in its innovative 100X100 program, which celebrates the launch of the company's natural handwriting application, CalliGrapher 5.3
To take part in this scheme, all you have to do is click through the special 100X100 icon on our website, download your free evaluation copy of CalliGrapher 5.3, fill in a short questionnaire, and – if you are the 100th registered user – you will be offered a fully copy of the program for free. As its name implies, this "100X100" offer lasts for100 times, which means 100 free copies of Calligrapher 5.3 will be awarded to participants.
Even if you don't win the prize, Calligrapher 5.3 is definitely worth a close look. Unlike most other handwriting recognition applications, the program recognizes both cursive and printed or even mixed styles of writing – making it faster and more convenient for you to input text into your Palm-size or Handheld PC. It is also a comprehensive spelling checker for all Windows CE applications on your Palm-size PC, Handheld PC and Handheld PC Pro, as well as a built in vocabulary editor that lets you add unique or industry-specific words to the software's custom user dictionary.
To learn more about this special offer, please click on the 100X100 icon to the left or on our home page. We wish you the best of luck!
R.I.B.
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Taking a car out on a test ride is a great way of getting a feel for its capabilities, but it's not until you go out on a long road trip in it that you learn how far you can really push it -- not to mention whether the vehicle lives up to the speed and fuel consumption claims made by the manufacturer.
Pretty much the same can be said about a Handheld or Palm-size PC. Sure, you can get a pretty good idea of the device's usefulness by carrying it around you with you when you are in the office and doing light word processing and schedule and contact updating work. But you have to wait until you are out on an extended business trip to see whether it really meets your mobile computing requirements.
I just took my new HP Jornada 680 with me on a short and extremely hectic trip to Hong Kong and then Beijing and Shanghai in China, and I'm pleased to say that it passed the test with flying colors!
With my tight schedule, which basically involved flying to one city in the morning, meeting my customers and then leaving town early the next morning, battery life was a very important concern to me. I not only had to use my Jornada to take notes during the meetings, but also write them up into a detailed report on the plane as I flew onto my next destination. Fortunately, the battery on my Jornada proved to be more than up to this task, averaging over six hours per charge, with the result that I'd completed all the required paperwork when I arrived home.
Actually, as I review the work I did on my trip I'm very pleased with the results -- a ten-page report created in Pocket Word which only needs minor formatting changes before I present it to my boss; a revised Q3 and Q4 shipment and pricing schedule created in Pocket Excel; and a newly updated contacts list and meeting schedule that I can instantly synchronize with Outlook on my PC. Not to mention a massive To-Do list!
As an added bonus, I've also written down some personal observations and notes about my trip. Whenever I go to China, I see so many exciting new things happening both in the business world and on the streets that I always go into some sort of sensory overload. My Jornada 680 was great for recording my observations, and, who knows, one day I might be able to use them as a basis for an article or book. I can but dream!
In addition to word processing and spreadsheets, I also used my Jornada for email and web browsing. (Most modern business hotels in China are well set up for this with easily accessible phone jacks and, in one case, even access to a local server to reduce phone costs). I found the HP dialup utility bundled on the device great for setting up new connections (why does every hotel seem to use a different access number on their phone system for making international calls?) and also got to try out the Outside In attachment viewer program. The results were pretty impressive, and I hope to write a more detailed review of this application when I get the time.
R.I.B.
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One of the most satisfying parts of putting together the Industry Insider Reports is that it has given us the opportunity to learn about companies and products that in the normal course of events we would never have even thought about.
Help files, like manuals, are something that most people never bother to read until they suddenly find themselves having to solve an urgent problem on their computer or Windows CE device. But even though they may be less sexy than, for example, the formatting features in Pocket Word, that doesn't mean they are any less important!
In fact, creating concise and well-written Help files can be a painstaking and time-consuming business for software developers. To help them with this task, Blue Sky Software has developed its RoboHELP Office application, which provides a fast and easy solution for authoring professional Help documentation in a variety of formats from a single source file.
So the next time you have to refer to the Help file in your application, chances are that Blue Sky Software will have helped you solve your problem.
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One of the heaviest prices we have to pay for living in the fast-paced Information Age is that there are so few opportunities for us to escape from the daily grind and spend some time on reflection and contemplation. Whether it be from religious texts like the Koran and the Bible or philosophical tracts and even self-help guides, all of us need a source of hope, guidance and inspiration.
Although I am not a practicing Christian myself, I can certainly appreciate the power of Laridian PalmBible software for Windows CE. Not only does the program give you the ability to read from the Scriptures on your Handheld or Palm-size PC whenever you have a spare moment; it also allows you to search for other passages covering the same subject and take notes for future reference. A lot more convenient than having to carry around a thick paper Bible!
Despite all the noise and hype about e-books earlier this year, progress in this area has been slow to say the least. With its PalmBible and DailyReader programs, Laridian has produced two excellent examples of the kind of innovative electronic documentation applications that can be developed on the Windows CE platform. For more information about the company's philosophy and products, please check out their excellent contribution to the Industry Insider's Report section of our home page.
Have a great weekend! One of the heaviest prices we have to pay for living in the fast-paced Information Age is that there are so few opportunities for us to escape from the daily grind and spend some time on reflection and contemplation. Whether it be from religious texts like the Koran and the Bible or philosophical tracts and even self-help guides, all of us need a source of hope, guidance and inspiration.
Although I am not a practicing Christian myself, I can certainly appreciate the power of Laridian PalmBible software for Windows CE. Not only does the program give you the ability to read from the Scriptures on your Handheld or Palm-size PC whenever you have a spare moment; it also allows you to search for other passages covering the same subject and take notes for future reference. A lot more convenient than having to carry around a thick paper Bible!
Despite all the noise and hype about e-books earlier this year, progress in this area has been slow to say the least. With its PalmBible and DailyReader programs, Laridian has produced two excellent examples of the kind of innovative electronic documentation applications that can be developed on the Windows CE platform. For more information about the company's philosophy and products, please check out their excellent contribution to the Industry Insider's Report section of our home page.
Have a great weekend!
R.I.B.
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While color Palm-size PCs have been attracting the lion's share of attention over the past few months, the recent launch of new Handheld PC Professional (HPC Pro) devices by HP, Compaq and IBM shows that there's still a lot of life left in the HPC Pro category.
In fact, there is an increasingly large number of HPC Pro devices for business users to choose from. And they're available in a wide variety of form factors from small and lightweight clamshell machines like the HP Jornada 680 and NEC MobilePro 770 to sleek notebook-like units such as the Compaq Aero 8000 and IBM Workpad z50.
To help you decide which device is the right one for you, we have compiled the most comprehensive and up-to-date HPC Pro feature comparison chart on the Internet and published it on our website. Since the tables are quite large and almost impossible to print out in HTML format, we've also posted zipped Word files that you can download onto your computer.
In the next couple of weeks, we'll also be adding tips on the key points you should consider before purchasing an HPC Pro device as well as describing some of the main applications you can use it for. We hope that you will enjoy reading our new Windows CE Business Solutions Handheld PC Professional Buyers' Guide! While color Palm-size PCs have been attracting the lion's share of attention over the past few months, the recent launch of new Handheld PC Professional (HPC Pro) devices by HP, Compaq and IBM shows that there's still a lot of life left in the HPC Pro category.
In fact, there is an increasingly large number of HPC Pro devices for business users to choose from. And they're available in a wide variety of form factors from small and lightweight clamshell machines like the HP Jornada 680 and NEC MobilePro 770 to sleek notebook-like units such as the Compaq Aero 8000 and IBM Workpad z50.
To help you decide which device is the right one for you, we have compiled the most comprehensive and up-to-date HPC Pro feature comparison chart on the Internet and published it on our website. Since the tables are quite large and almost impossible to print out in HTML format, we've also posted zipped Word files that you can download onto your computer.
In the next couple of weeks, we'll also be adding tips on the key points you should consider before purchasing an HPC Pro device as well as describing some of the main applications you can use it for. We hope that you will enjoy reading our new Windows CE Business Solutions Handheld PC Professional Buyers' Guide!
R.I.B.
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From updating patients' records, accessing their past medical records, and searching detailed pharmaceutical databases to issuing prescriptions and tracking billing records, there aren't many industries I can think of that are as information-intensive as healthcare.
And there are few that would benefit quite so much from transferring paper-based administration to computerized systems that utilize Windows CE devices to provide doctors and other healthcare workers with the means to access and record information right where it counts most – at the point of care when they are interacting with the patient.
With its PocketChart application, Physix, Incorporated has developed an innovative Electronic Medical Record application based on the Windows CE platform. By allowing healthcare professionals to access and capture information on a Handheld PC, it helps them not only to eliminate unnecessary paperwork but also to increase the accuracy of their reporting. More important, it enables doctors, nurses and other professionals to spend more time understanding and caring for the needs of their patients than on time-consuming administration and billing procedures.
In addition to PocketChart, Physix is also developing a Windows CE client application for its Compendia client/server EMR system, which will allow doctors to connect their Handheld PCs via a Wireless Area Network. To learn more about their innovative approach to Electronic Medical Records management, please visit the Physix Industry Insider Report on the Windows CE Business Solutions Home Page or the Physix website.
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"Wouldn't it be great to have a Palm-size PC that could really recognize my handwriting." That's the thought that comes to my mind whenever the Jot application fails to make sense of my hastily scribbled notes and musings.
I'm not saying that Jot is a bad application. On the contrary, its recognition rates are very high once you have learned to write your letters in the correct way and gotten used to its little idiosynchracies (and it's far superior to the Graffiti application on Palm devices that requires you to learn a completely new set of characters).
But in a very real sense, that's also the major problem with Jot and other similar handwriting recognition programs. Why should you as the user have to adjust your writing style to fit in with the requirements of your device? If your machine is to be truly user-friendly, shouldn't it be able to recognize the quirky curves and extravagant flourishes that have come to characterize your handwriting?
One company that is leading the way in developing cutting-edge natural Handwriting Recognition technologies is Paragraph Technologies, the maker of CalliGrapher 5.3 for Windows CE and the PenOffice 1.1 application suite for desktop PCs. In addition to standard printed characters, Calligrapher also recognizes cursive script and even mixed sets of printed and cursive scripts, making it quick and easy for you to, for example, take notes, fill out forms, and annotate documents on your Palm-size or Handheld PC.
Being able to input text efficiently into your device helps you to significantly increase your personal efficiency. But having the ability to instantly share your ideas with your colleagues and customers over the Internet brings even greater productivity benefits. Paragraph is working on a number of exciting new collaborative communications technologies such as its NetWriter service, for use on Palm-size and Handheld PCs as well as forthcoming WebPad and Tablet PC devices. For more information, please check out the Paragraph Technologies Industry Insider Report on the Windows CE Business Solutions website. It provides a fascinating glimpse of the future of natural Handwriting Recognition and collaborative communications technologies on the Windows CE platform.
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With innovation in the Windows CE platform going on at breathtaking pace, it's difficult to keep up with all the latest software and hardware developments -- much less understand how they will impact you and your business.
So we are pleased to announce an exciting new feature on the Windows CE Business Solutions Home Page, the Industry Insider's Report. For this section, we invited a select group of key Windows CE industry insiders to describe the products they offer now and the exciting new technologies they are developing for the future, as well as explaining the benefits they will bring to the business user.
Today, we've published reports from leading Windows CE developers Paragraph, Ilium, Laridian, Blue Sky Software, Physix, and Westek, covering subjects as diverse as natural Handwriting Recognition applications, electronic Bible reading, on-line CE help software, medical record management software, and color printing. So for the latest scoop on what's happening in Windows CE, be sure to check out the Windows CE Industry Insider's Report!
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If you take your Handheld or Palm-size PC with you on the road a lot, it can come in for some pretty rough treatment, from being to stuffed into overloaded carry-on baggage for when you get on an airplane to being accidentally dropped as you rush to your next meeting. To protect your device from the rigors of travel, a strong and durable carrying case is absolutely essential. A New Zealand company called Nutshell offers a very attractive range of rugged cases and slipcases for a wide variety of both Handheld and Palm-size PC devices, which are well worth a close look. The company uses an innovative three-layer construction in its cases to create a very temperature-stable and almost indestructible environment in which to house your device, and also covers them with New Zealand leather. So if you're looking for a distinctive yet durable case for your Windows CE device, why not check out the Nutshell website at http://tuff-as-nuts.com? In addition to providing a lot of information of about the company's products, the site also allows you to order them online.
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