Launcher III Offers Extensive VFS Support

Posted By: Ed Wednesday, September 19, 2001 3:31:53 PM

Many long-time Palm users are dissatisfied with the default application launcher built into the Palm OS. This has lead to a proliferation of third-party apps that take its place. Benc Software has released Launcher III, which now sees, and is able to start, applications stored on VFS expansion memory cards like SD cards and Memory Sticks. It also has support for the jog wheels on the Sony Clié and HandEra 330. It is $10 shareware.

Applications and files on the expansion card in the default folder show up in Launcher III is if they were in RAM. When an application on an expansion card is opened, Launcher III copies it to the main memory and then executes it. The application is deleted from RAM after the user switches to another application.

Launcher III allows Palm VII PQA applications, DOC files, and HackMaster hacks to be launched directly. For example, a Doc file can be tapped on to launch a specified Doc reader rather than requiring the reader to be opened first.

If a file is launched from a card, it will be copied into main memory along with its "owner" application, if necessary. After the application is closed, if the file has been modified, Launcher III will copy it back to the card, and then delete it from RAM. This means users can edit a file even if it is stored on the card. However, if a file is stored on the card, it cannot be synchronized with its desktop copy, because HotSync conduits don’t see files stored on cards.

The application now has a "Card tools" gadget that lets users copy or move apps to and from the card.

Launcher III lets users organize applications and files into tabs, each of which can have a different background color. It also has functions that allow applications and files to be deleted and beamed.

Thanks to rldunn for the tip. -Ed

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Handera support?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 4:36:14 PM #
does it have handera 330 support? for the digital graffiti, i mean...

Launcher PTP awardet

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 5:11:40 PM #
We awardet to LauncherIII the big Palmtop-Pro Approved Award and entered the program in the hall of fame: "Palmtop-Pro Approved Essentials"
LauncherIII makes all other tools for card support eg. obsolete and above that - does much more. Palm should license this program right away - If they are clever...
Boris Michael v. Luhovoy
Palmtop-Pro Magazine
www.palmtop-at

RE: Launcher PTP awarded
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 5:16:43 PM #
www.palmtop.at

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 6:04:18 PM #
Hey... this is off topic... but seeing your name reminded me of the contest that you ran for the error on Cover 24 of your magazine?! have the winners already been notified?

-palm man

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 6:24:08 PM #
I hate to tell you this, But thus program dose not deserve any award. The best launcher with SD and MMC support is Mega Launcher ( VIP ) this program has more then copy or move but run software off the card. The only thing he is missing is the backing up. And he is also adding themes to his launcher. This launcher beats all launcher to DAY!!!!!!

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
bradhaak @ 9/19/2001 6:38:34 PM #
MegaLauncher is OK, but the most of the games on the Palm Game Card don't launch with MegaLauncher. They run fine from Launcher III

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 7:07:16 PM #
Being a Clie user, I still prefer CrsLauncher. I particularly like its hires, small icon feature. Plus, it's freeware.

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 8:40:05 PM #
Launch'Em from Synergy Solutions has been VFS and expansion card compatible since from the beginning (like Palm's built-in launcher). And unlike Megalauncher, it remembers all your preferences when you remove/replace the module and also handles two-byte foreign fonts.

I have way too many apps and multiple language hacks on my Visor, and will not mess with anything else having discovered Launch'Em. It has more utilities than you will ever need and more importantly, is absolutely rock stable.

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
rldunn @ 9/19/2001 9:26:01 PM #
"The best launcher with SD and MMC support is Mega Launcher ( VIP ) this program has more then copy or move but run software off the card. The only thing he is missing is the backing up."

Actually, megalauncher and Launcher III handle running apps off the card in the exact same way. Also, LIII does not forget categories for apps using PiDirect or MSMount, while ML does. Don't get me wrong, ML is a great product, but there are plenty of advantages to LIII.

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 9:34:16 PM #
This program seems to be the only launcher that works 'right out the box' for using the Memory Stick on my Clié 610c. Neither ML, Launch'em or crs worked so seemlessly. And for only $10!
I don't need PowerRun or MSMount, only McFile and LIII.

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 10:44:41 PM #
The only I can't do is to run program with a database from memory stick. I still need MSmount to run these programs. Anyone out there know how to run database programs using this Launcher III please help. Thank you

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 10:46:23 PM #
Just a small note, Launcher III copies the whole file directly into RAM to execute it. I may be wrong, but MSMount and PiDirectVFS just take chunks of memory out that they need.

Nonetheless, card support wasn't the reason Launcher III is good, anyway. Not for me at least.

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 1:37:17 AM #
>Hey... this is off topic... but seeing your name
>reminded me of the contest that you ran for the
>error on Cover 24 of your magazine?!
>have the winners already been notified?
---
Yes - you find them on:
www.palmtop-pro.com/magazine/fehlersuche_024.htm

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 1:39:38 AM #
Whatever other sources, probably with self interests might claim here or not - I stand firm by our editorial staff anonymously vote that LauncherIII from Croatian Bozidar Benz is the new standard and pinnacle of the hill in the area of launchers & simply usable tools.

We have absolutely independent and cool blooded evaluated all available launchers on the market for our Palmtop-Pro print edition 26 – LauncherIII is the way to go if you want to have the leader of the pack on your Palm.
It is very powerful, moderately priced, the support is a class of its own. LauncherIII can (provided you read the excellent documentation) run everything from everywhere and is nice looking at it too – besides it is not only a launcher but offers a variety of powerful absolutely crash proof added on tools simply not offered by other programs.

Boris Michael v Luhovoy
Publishing Editor
www.palmtop.at


RE: Launcher PTP awardet
mikecane @ 9/20/2001 8:08:49 AM #
Being so prominent in the Palm field, it would be nice to see you register here, instead of posting anonymously.

RE: Launcher PTP awardet
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 9:26:27 AM #
I do more - I do not register what is anonymoulsy possible - but I sign with my full name and URL.
Can you cope with that?

Additionally...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 4:13:45 PM #
... Launcher III is the smallest of the big name launchers out there. It deserves its kudoes.

Hi-Res Icons

Janai @ 9/19/2001 7:55:11 PM #
Will Launcher III have Hi-Res Icons on a sony Clie N760c???

shame good freeware is gone...

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 8:20:03 PM #
Shame to see that one of the best freeware application is now commercial.

Shame, too, that the word 'shareware', which used to mean, 'pay if you're happy with it, and can afford to', now means the same as 'commercial software' or 'crippleware' or 'demoware', depending on who's using it.

Sigh.

RE: shame good freeware is gone...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 9:19:07 PM #
It's a shame there aren't enough pure hobbyists out there to cater to your every whim.

RE: shame good freeware is gone...
rldunn @ 9/19/2001 9:22:45 PM #
I have to disagree with this comment. This developer has put a ton of time into making a product that is one of the best Palm apps available, and some would say the most useful app they own. For all of his time and energy, he deserves a measly $10.

And, as for the definition of shareware, your version still applies here. This program has a nag screen that displays once a day, not every time you use it. Besides that, there's no reason you couldn't go on using this product forever without paying. However, I hope that people who use it actually do pay for it. We need to reward people that provide JogDial and VFS support.

RE: shame good freeware is gone...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 11:19:38 PM #
It always amazes me that people feel that they should be able to obtain someone else's time, effort and sweat for free. Yet those same people would be up in arms if their employer refused to pay them for their work (either part time or full time).

If you want freeware, pick up a book, learn programming and write it yourself. After you have spent hours writing it and debugging it, put it on the net for everyone to use, and see how many people thank you for it. I haven't learned programming, and am happy to pay the small fees that shareware programmers ask for their effort.

RE: shame good freeware is gone...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 11:41:59 PM #
This is one of the programs that I have used alot recently and really wanted to support the author. And the cost isn't that much, besides this was on the author's homepage:

"So, I have two news. First a bad one.

Launcher III is now shareware. A lot of time and efforts were put into this project, and I neglected my other obligations (busines, family, pets... J). Registration fee is $9.95.

A good news is that many problems were fixed, including the one with slow refreshing when "Always refres apps" checkbox is unchecked), and some nice new card-related features are added
(like shortcuts)."

Let's see, have the author cut off all support and disappear (like with HackMaster), or give him a couple of bucks to continue development. I know which one I would prefer.

RE: shame good freeware is gone...
geekd @ 9/20/2001 2:34:51 PM #

If you want freeware, pick up a book, learn programming and write it yourself. After you have spent hours writing it and debugging it, put it on the net for everyone to use, and see how many people thank you for it.

I have done this (desktop arcade game, moon lander http://magigames.org/moonlander.html) and I get 3-5 thank you emails a week. It's very satisfying to see so many people getting enjoyment from a program I wrote.

I am a die-hard Linux user, and I am pretty used to getting software for free. I am happy to pay for quality software, but I see alot of crap for the palm. I am shocked that people expect to get paid for this stuff.

Now, a quality app like LauncherIII I would pay for. I recently bought AtomSmash, and it rocks.

I guess my point is that I am dissapointed that there is so few free programs (free as in open source as well as free as in no money) for the palm platform.

check out http://freewarepalm.com/ for some good (and some bad) free palm software.

RE: shame good freeware is gone...
madhatter @ 9/20/2001 7:32:08 PM #
I think that one of points you make is the very core of shareware. You said there is a lot of crap software. I know there is crap software, but the beauty of the shareware is that you can see it is crap and not buy it. I have always had a problem with paying a lot of money in a store for software, getting home and after loading it, finding it is crap and then I am left with having to spend more money to find out if the next program I buy is crap or not.

I almost never buy software in the store. (Windows and Office being two I had to buy :( ) I want to know that the software I do buy is worth what I am paying for it. This is where I think shareware shines.



A Palm in hand is worth two in your pocket.

Visor/Memplug?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 11:42:58 PM #
Does this work with a Visor and a Springboard expansion like the Memplug?

RE: Visor/Memplug?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/19/2001 11:57:08 PM #
Yep, sure does!

I had the same question. So I downloaded the program and looked at the Launcher III user manual and found the answer in moments...


RE: Visor/Memplug?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 12:21:28 AM #
I think that can work with InnoPocket FlashPlus Springboard Module.

I don't understand...Whats the big deal?

I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 2:31:50 AM #
I thought the whole big deal was to be able to run Apps right off the SD Card. PoweRUN does this, Launchers III doesn't - it just moves the APP into the internal RAM as the Palm does already. So other then having a cute interface I don't see what the big deal is.

ScottG

RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 3:16:37 AM #
Contrary to your statement, PoweRUN does exactly the same as Launcher III. It doesn't run applications from SD card which is BTW impossible under Palm OS 4.0 but copies them in the internal RAm, runs the application and then deletes everything in RAM to copy it back to the card...

Actually, Launcher III might remove the need to have PoweRun installed as it "seems" to do the same while being a good launcher...

RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 3:51:49 AM #
Besides being a launcher LauncherIII does much more then only launch as Power run does - launching is only one of the many otherLauncherIII functionalities

RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
pdajunkie @ 9/20/2001 6:37:42 AM #
It appears to me there is a difference between Power Run and Launcher III. Power Run moves all files associated with an application to my SD card. Launcher III only moves the application itself.



RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 3:34:42 PM #
Ditto. That's what it also looks lik.e to me. Only the application is stored on the card.

I'm sticking with PowerRun until a launcher is available that can copy both the applications and database back to the card.

RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 3:58:37 PM #
*I'm sticking with PowerRun until a
*launcher is available that can copy
*both the applications and database
*back to the card.

That is exactly what LauncherIII does
- read the read me;-)

RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
rldunn @ 9/20/2001 4:11:33 PM #
Actually, LIII doesn't support most databases now, only Palm docs. Maybe you should read the readme more carefully.

RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 11:38:34 PM #
Launcher III supports DOC, PQA or all "launchable" databases - I have not only read the read me but use LauncherIII now

RE: I don't understand...Whats the big deal?
rldunn @ 9/21/2001 10:54:39 AM #
Don't get me wrong, I love LIII and use it myself. Most current databases are not "launchable". PowerRun works differently in that you launch the app and it knows to bring along the databases from the card too. This is what the original poster was referring to, and currently LIII does not offer this. However, according to the beta discussion page for LIII, this functionality will be included in the next version, called "bundles".

I don't mind this becoming shareware, but...

Kwed @ 9/20/2001 4:50:32 AM #
First off, I certainly don't mind spending $10 on Launcher III. Mr. Benc has done a top job right from the start, improving on Eric Kenslows original program.

Having said this I am however reluctant to pay on account of the following statement, issued by Bozidar in an interview on www.pocketgoddess.com a few weeks ago.

---
Pocketgoddess: Why did you make Launcher III freeware, when you could easily charge $10 or more for a license?

Bozidar Benc: I just feel that it wouldn't be right if I charge anything for the Launcher III. That's because the whole idea is not mine - we all must thank Eric Kenslow for the great idea.
---

I'll stick with LauncherIII 1.5.2 on my IIIx for now.

/Jan

I don't mind this becoming shareware, but...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/20/2001 5:21:20 AM #
This argument is not holding water - only for "cheap Charlies" - with the same argument you could refuse to pay for any drawing as someone before held a pencil. LauncherIII is a complete new program - surely it builds on the idea of improving the poor Palm launcher anyhow - the execution has nothing to do anymore with the former idea
I think your only cheap.
Probably one that tries to take every effort of dedicated programmers and their time and sweat granted for free - as if they do not have to pay their bills.
Bozidar is making a living on his dedication in the very harsh enviroment of the former Eastern Block county – his own effort to set up a "capitalistic one man show enterprise” building on fine Palm programs has to be fostered by all means and not curtailed. That’s more help and incentive than donating brainless a "Care” package.
Your kind of thinking is ruining the development on a more broader level as you see in your limited statement. If we would have done more of this before, we would most probably not have the troubles in the world we have now.
PS: Do you work for "free(ware)” and refuse your paycheck on the end of the week?


RE: I don't mind this becoming shareware, but...
I.M. Anonymous @ 9/21/2001 4:31:54 PM #
Do you troll for free(ware) and expect people to bite?

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