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| Guide Series | Buy This Issue Table of Contents For This Issue  E-mail
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| PC Today: CD & DVD Drives, Palm & Windows CE Software, Online Photography | |
| May 2001• Vol.9 Issue 5 Page(s) 61-63 in print issue | |
Software Utilities Use These Programs To Back Up, Secure & Organize Your Palm Data |
Jump to first occurrence of:
[SOFTWARE]
[UTILITIES]
[RICH]
[GRAY]
 A good software utility can be just as huge an
asset for your handheld device as for your desktop computer. Utilities keep your data safe and secure,
provide additional functionality to your handheld device, and help you
organize information so you’ll never lose it .Palm handhelds have been around long enough now for developers to create a sizeable amount of software to use with them, including hundreds of utilities. Many of these utilities are very good, and a few have risen to the top of reviewers’ must-have lists as almost indispensable. When we went to press, the following products were some of the best utilities for the Palm OS (operating system).
Blue Nomad $29.95 http://www.bluenomad.com/ Let’s face it: Most of you store your entire life on your Palm device, which is basically nothing more than a battery-powered box the size of a deck of cards. Batteries can die; you can lose, drop, or damage the Palm in any number of ways; and software you install can, intentionally or otherwise, corrupt your data. The mantra of desktop computing—back up, back up, back up—is even more important for your Palm. BackupBuddy for Windows can provide you with peace of mind and a complete and quick backup of your Palm every time you HotSync it with your computer. With a complete copy of your organizer on hand in case disaster strikes, you can easily restore all of your data simply by slipping your Palm into its cradle and hitting the HotSync button. BackupBuddy comes with a number of valuable features, including the ability to scan for known viruses and quarantine or delete suspected files, and you can program the application for automatic, timed HotSyncs. (These features are only available on the Windows version.) BackupBuddy also lets you mirror backed up files on a network server or zip drive (again, Windows version only), and it provides limited support for proxy servers. You can even use it to easily back up files to a Driveway.com account. And would you believe a TimeSync function keeps your Palm and desktop clocks always in synch? BackupBuddy for Windows is the only Palm Platinum Certified backup utility available for the Palm, and it works with any Palm hardware or OS. For more information on how to use the BackupBuddy for Windows, see JackFlash in this issue. Beam Box 1.18 Jeremy Radlow $5 shareware http://www.inkverse.com/ While Palm devices feature a built-in application for “beaming” information between two handhelds via the IR (infrared) port, Beam Box takes this ability a couple of steps further. Beam Box users can use this application to share applications, databases, hacks, and more to another Palm. Both users must install Beam Box to share applications this way. You can even use Beam Box to beam plug-ins and OS upgrades between two Palms. The application also supports a mechanism that lets you turn registered software into unregistered versions during the beaming process. This gives users who want to share their favorite applications with friends the ability to do so without violating the copyrights of the software’s authors. This feature is also a boon to developers, whose software is protected while still being distributed. Beam Box 1.18 uses 14KB of Palm RAM, and users who register the product benefit by receiving future e-mailed updates. Users will need a minimum Palm III and Palm OS 3.0 to use Beam Box. ClipSync 2.1 Bruce A. Rees $8 http://www.goclipsync.com/ Those looking for an easy way to transfer clipboard contents between their desktop computer and Palm device will want to try ClipSync. ClipSync works during a HotSync to transfer text and images in standard formats, alleviating the need for any additional conversion programs. You can transfer up to 4KB of text either from your desktop computer to your handheld or vice versa, and ClipSync supports a number of different image types, including monochrome and four to 16 shades of gray. While ClipSync supports scaling, it does not yet work with color, although the developer is promising support for this in the near future. With both Doc and Image clipboards, you can also use ClipSync as a clipboard Viewer. Other features include a preview function and the ability to create a memo and clear clipboards. ClipSync uses just 16KB of Palm RAM, and you’ll need at least a Palm III with Palm OS 3.0 and Windows 95/98/NT/2000 to use it.
General Microsystems $9.95 http://www.intelligentfind.com/ Do you wish you had a better way to find words and phrases on your Palm? IntelligentFind from General Microsystems is a program that can work as a standalone application or a complete replacement for the Palm’s standard Find feature. To search with IntelligentFind, you simply ask your palm questions in English and it will display results ranked by relevance. In its Simple mode, IntelligentFind lets you search your organizer for multiple words or phrases at the same time, and it improves on the standard Palm Find function by letting you use search terms or phrases that are more than 16 characters long. IntelligentFind also lets you use wildcards in a search and saves previous searches you may want to use again. You can try the latest version of IntelligentFind free for 30 days. The program uses 158KB of Palm RAM and works with all versions of the Palm except the PalmPilot 1000 and 5000. JackFlash 2.0.2 Brayder Technologies $19.95 http://www.brayder.com/ One of the most vexing problems facing many handheld users is the relatively sparse amount of memory available for running programs. Brayder Technologies’ JackFlash can help in this area by expanding memory by up to 40%. JackFlash (as the name suggests) works by giving you access to the extra Flash space that is available on most Palm devices, letting you move things in and out of unused portions of the Flash ROM. JackFlash is also quite fast, giving you access to more memory immediately. Users of Palm OS 3.0 and 3.1 can gain as much as 823KB more memory, while Palm OS 3.3 users will gain up to 768KB. JackFlash features integration with launchers such as Launch ‘Em (see the “Notable Mentions” sidebar for more information) and Handscape, and it has built-in support for working with both hacks and plug-ins. An added plus of JackFlash is that in the case of a battery failure, data stored in Flash will survive. JackFlash uses 56KB of Palm RAM and works with a Palm III/Palm OS 3.0 and higher. For more information on using JackFlash, see JackFlash. PalmPrint 2.5.1 Stevens Creek Software $39.95 http://www.stevenscreek.com/palm While it has always been possible to print from your Palm device by using your desktop computer, those who find themselves needing to print a Palm document while away from their desktop computer are going to need a little something extra to get the task done. Stevens Creek Software’s PalmPrint meets that need. With PalmPrint, you can print memos, to-do lists and clipboard contents right from your organizer without having to go through a desktop computer first. PalmPrint comes with two companion applications, SnailMailer and Mail/P, to assist in the printing of envelopes and mailing labels, address book information, and e-mails. The application supports a number of standard printing features, such as automatic word wrapping, portrait and landscape modes, support for multiple fonts and font sizes, configurable number of characters per line, lines per page, and more. PalmPrint works with a wide range of applications (find a detailed list on their Web site), as well as a large number of printers that use common printer languages such as PCL, Epson emulation, and PostScript. The program works with serial port printers, parallel port models (you’ll need a serial-to-parallel converter), and IR, if both the printer and your Palm are IR enabled. PalmPrint uses 29KB of Palm RAM, and you’ll need at least a PalmPilot Personal and Palm OS 2.0 to use it. Secret! LinkeSOFT GmbH $19 http://linkesoft.com/ If you keep a lot of private information such as PINs (personal information numbers), credit card numbers, and passwords on your Palm device, you’ll need a program such as Secret! to keep it secure. Secret! uses a strong encryption algorithm to store all your sensitive information behind a single password. (Passwords can be up to 24 characters long.) Secret! is one tough nut to crack. It has no back doors or hidden weaknesses, and its heavy duty 128-bit IDEA (International Data Encryption Algorithm) is in constant use on stored data. LinkeSOFT claims the code has never been broken. The information stored in your Palm’s memory is also secure when you use Secret!. It overwrites your Palm’s dynamic memory with zeros and erases your password as soon as the program doesn’t need it anymore. Secret! lets you store information in categories, and while you’re in the program you can run searches. (You must be actually within Secret! to use search, because if you’re outside it, everything is encrypted.) The program also has a read-only option, so you can avoid any accidental changes. Secret! uses only 40KB of memory, and it works with any Palm hardware or OS. SoftTrack 1.2 Bozidar Benc Free http://www.palmgear.com/ If you have lost count of how many applications you have on your Palm device, you’re the perfect candidate for SoftTrack. This free organizational tool written by Bozidar Benc will help you easily keep track of all your application particulars. (Because SoftTrack is not affiliated with a specific Web site, you’ll have to search for it on such sites as Palm Gear H.Q. and TUCOWS.) With SoftTrack, you can automatically gather a great deal of information (such as version, purchase date, and registration codes) on the applications you have installed on your Palm device. SoftTrack then lets you edit the list to display items by type (freeware, shareware, commercial), download location, and more. Version 1.2 features automatic sorting, an Export To Memo Pad function, and full author and vendor database management. It also fixes the incompatibility issues with the Palm OS 3.5. SoftTrack uses just 28KB of Palm RAM and works with all Palm hardware and operating systems. Software Manager 4.0 Schlembach Software $5 shareware http://www.christopherschlembach.com/ It happens more often than you’d like to admit: Your system crashes, and when you finally get it back up and running, you discover that a vital program needs to be reinstalled. Now, if you could just remember where you put that sticky note with the registration number on it. Enter Software Manager 2.4. This simple program lets you easily keep track of the particulars for all your registered software. With this application, you can keep the date you purchased the product, type of product, registration code, developer, stray notes, and more right at your fingertips. The program is very simple to learn and use and only takes up 23KB of Palm RAM. The demo version is restricted in that you won’t be able to enter information in certain fields, and you’ll have to put up with a nag screen. For only $5, though, you can register the application and be rid of these inconveniences. Software Manager 4.0 works with any handheld hardware and OS. UnDupe Stevens Creek Software $7.95 http://www.stevenscreek.com/palm Sometimes, for no discernable reason whatsoever, it just happens: You find that a large chunk of the entries in all or part of your Palm device are duplicates. Wading in and deleting them one by one can be a major hassle, which is why Stevens Creek Software went to the trouble of developing UnDupe. This small application has a fairly narrow focus, deleting duplicate entries, but it’ll keep you from pulling your hair out should you ever find yourself in need of it. Upon running the application, you can choose from a particular section of your Palm device (Date Book, Address Book, Memo Pad, or To Do list), or select all of them and send the program on its way. UnDupe compares all aspects of various items in its search for duplicates. For example, when you search the Date Book, it will compare such things as the date, start and end times, alarms, and the item itself to make sure that items are exact matches, thus guarding against accidental deletions. You can run the program in a variety of modes, including Find; Find & Remove; Fast Search, which works quickly and finds most duplicates; and Exhaustive Search, which takes longer but will find all duplicates. UnDupe consumes just 10KB of Palm RAM and works with any Palm hardware or OS. The unlicensed version will only work in Find mode, but the cost of registration is just $7.95.  Ready For Anything.
With these utilities installed, your Palm handheld will be more
secure and better equipped to work the way you need it to.  by Rich Gray
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