The Return of the Quickies

Posted By: PIC Friday, August 1, 2003 1:11:46 PM

Today's Fridays quickies include a bunch of interesting reviews, including the Tungsten C and the Decuma input system. In addition, a number of new and updated programs have recently been released. Read on for more.

Decuma Latin Review
Joel from ClieSource got his hands on a copy of Decuma Latin 3.0 and published a review. It's probably more of a preview because as of yet, there is no way to purchase the input system yet. Decuma comes installed on the NX73 and NX80 and the new UX series Clies. Joel is now using it as his input system of choice.

Tungsten C Review
Matthew Miller over at PDAGeek, has put together an excellent review of the Tungsten C. The C gets high marks, and goes on to say "Palm was close to making the perfect PDA with the Tungsten C"

Palm OS 5 Software FAQ
Davy Fields has put together a good list of some of the best apps for OS 5.

Memo PLUS 4.0
Hands High Software has released Memo PLUS 4.0. Memo PLUS has a variety of capabilities that are not included in the built-in Palm OS Memo Pad, including: adding an alarm to a memo, attaching drawings, encrypting notes, creating templates of notes and drawings, sending notes as email or SMS messages, and lots more. A 30 day trial is available and the software costs $19.95 to register.

Plucker 1.4
A new version of Plucker is now out. Plucker is a suite of free and open source programs which provide an offline web browser. Plucker 1.4 is a monumental release, building on the previous version, 1.2, and adds new features including support for html tables, high res support, Bookmarks, autoscroll and much more.

Handlix Draw
Handlix Draw is a new vector based drawing software app which enables you to draw pictures, graphics, logotypes, charts, layouts or maps. The program can exporting to some desktop applications (MS Word, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw and similar products), and has a built in graphic library and user fonts.

RSS Headlines on your PDA
Version 2.4 of NewsMac, a free RSS news reader for Mac OS X, allows you to syncronize RSS headlines with your Palm PDA using iSilo. All you need to do is select the news channels you want to sycnrhonize and press the Sync Palm button. The headlines will be loaded on to your PDA next time you HotSync.

HabitSuccess
HabitSuccess is a new program designed to help users develop habits successfully (hopefully good ones ;)). The application organizes multiple tasks in a systematic way, while allowing you with the flexibility on scheduling, and moves you progressively to the success. More details are here.

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Not quite a perfect handheld

TTrules @ 8/1/2003 2:41:56 PM #
The reviewer on the tungsten c is overly optimistic. Sure it does have a great key board and wifi, but it has no voice recording, a much higher price, and an over-sized form factor. And by the way, when is Palm going to integrate cf slots, and put ing larger screens?

RE: Not quite a perfect handheld
sr @ 8/1/2003 3:13:30 PM #
I agree on price, voice recording and partially on size (though it ain't that big), but in the same breath you want them to add CF and a bigger screen??? Those features are not going to make it any smaller.

RE: Not quite a perfect handheld
bnystrom @ 8/1/2003 3:56:16 PM #
T|C has voice recording. You need a headset to get the mic (just like a cell phone headset), and you need to load the Voice Memo app off the included CD, but it most definately does have voice recording. The T|W is the one that doesn't support Voice.

RE: Not quite a perfect handheld
helf @ 8/1/2003 3:58:00 PM #
It is NOT to big.. jeez..The thing isnt much larger than my m505. The tt3 will have a "big" screen and I wouldnt keep my hopes up of ever having a cfslot again.. Wish they would do a cf slot tho :
RE: Not quite a perfect handheld
HandyMan @ 8/1/2003 4:12:27 PM #
Did you even read the article. At the end it clearly says that it's not perfect because of the lack of voice recording etc...

This whole thread is -5 Redundant!


RE: Not quite a perfect handheld
helf @ 8/1/2003 5:03:05 PM #
well..yeah.. Most of these threads are. whats your point? ;)

RE: Not quite a perfect handheld
Rolando @ 8/4/2003 8:59:09 AM #
"Did you even read the article. At the end it clearly says that it's not perfect because of the lack of voice recording etc..."

Actually, it says "the lack of a microphone for recording voice notes." Earlier it makes it clear that you need an external microphone to make voice recordings.

I think it's very strange to leave out a built-in microphone for a product like this.

Rolando

RE: Not quite a perfect handheld
ardee @ 8/4/2003 10:46:49 AM #
Its sound output (speaker, OK, but headphone jack too!) is MONOPHONIC! How much more would it have cost them to make it stereo??


PIC beat to the punch by Brighthand...again

hkklife @ 8/1/2003 3:38:30 PM #
http://brighthand.com/article/RumorMill_Palm_Preparing_3_Models_for_Fall

Sounds like pretty juicy stuff, from the tidbits in the above link.

I've always been partial to PIC, but I've gotta admit that Brighthand has had some well-done articles, reviews (I gave up on seeing a Zire 71 review on PIC) and scoops such as this one lately. In addition, they've even had a couple of nice editorials (such as the new one about the return of the clamshell PDA formfactor) and they finally fixed their message board problems. Now if they'd just drop PPC coverage, it'd be a great site! ;-)

Seriously, though, I'd like to see some of us registered PIC members do more in the way of article contributions and guest reviews and whatnot.

RE: PIC beat to the punch by Brighthand...again
kevdo @ 8/1/2003 3:51:33 PM #
There was a lot of discussion along these lines when Ed moved over to Brighthand.

For a loooong time I still thought PIC was far superior but in the last several weeks Brighthand really has done a far superior job -- especially on the rumor side.

I still prefer the format of comments on PIC and the quality of the messages here are better -- but Brighthand is catching up.

-Kevin Crossman

Actually its Brighthand beaten to the punch by Cliesource!!!
gfunkmagic @ 8/1/2003 4:13:48 PM #
If you guys had read the thread over there, you would have realized that Brighthand got that "source" from a thread over at Cliesource in the 1st place!

Visit http://goodthatway.com/
-better living through better technology.
RE: PIC beat to the punch by Brighthand...again
Fammy @ 8/1/2003 4:24:17 PM #
"they've even had a couple of nice editorials"

I don't know if I'd go that far. Most of the editorials are quick blurbs about a certain subject. By the time you are done reading, you are just getting into it. When I read an editorial, I want some content.

I like PIC the way it is. Ryan seems to comment only on rumors that usually turn out true.

-- Fammy

RE: PIC beat to the punch by Brighthand...again
Admin @ 8/1/2003 4:32:26 PM #
Brighthand does a good job on some stories, I won't dispute that. It's really not a race, but I am just a single person with so much time to devote to writting articles. BH has a team of paid people that write their news. I on the other hand can't afford to pay many writers and make just enough to keep the site going.

Seriously, though, I'd like to see some of us registered PIC members do more in the way of article contributions and guest reviews and whatnot.

I would be very very appreciative of this. I could always use more help, especially with content. Anyone interested in contributing in any ways including doing news, reviews etc should contact me.

I am always working on ways to enhance the site, and welcome any ideas for improvement.

-Ryan
webmaster@palminfocenter.com

RE: PIC beat to the punch by Brighthand...again
jho4thclie @ 8/1/2003 5:01:49 PM #
Sure... I could write an occasional review of the stuff I buy... T|C, Z|71, EBCases galore, etc... ;-)

If *everyone* wrote up *something* (paragraph, even) on the things you buy *anyway,* we'd have a massive resource.



-JWH

Decuma: Cool, but...

jbarr @ 8/1/2003 3:42:31 PM #
Decuma input is VERY cool, but like so many other pen-based input methods, it lacks one key feature of Graffiti: Heads-up writing.

I have been using Graffiti since the Casio "Zoomer" days (pre-dating the original Pilot 1000) and one consistently nice thing about Graffiti is that I can be looking at the screen or looking at the person with whom I am speaking while writing. Yes, I occasionally look at the Graffiti area, but mostly, it's "heads-up" writing. I CANNOT do that with Decuma.

Decuma may be great for a beginner because of its ease of use, and I commend the developers for producing a very viable input app, But, maybe I'm stuck on an old way. Maybe I'm just too proficient with Graffiti. All I know is that for me, Graffiti stands out as the simplest, fastest, most reliable heads-up and non-heads-up pen input method.

Also, the fact that I cannot legally try or purchase Decuma for my NX70V is pathetic. What is it with these companies who are exclusivly OEMing their software? Picsel Viewer? Decuma? Come on. I shouldn't have to use clandestine methods just to try out perfectly compatible software.

RE: Decuma: Cool, but...
Scott R @ 8/2/2003 4:00:38 PM #
I agree. I think it's nice to see someone do real handwriting recognition, but I've tried using Transcriber on the PPC several times and found it lacking. Graffiti is superior, IMO.

Scott

http://goodthatway.com
- featuring PDA/smartphone news and FREE MONEY!!! -

Plucker description not so good

abischof @ 8/1/2003 5:12:39 PM #
The description of Plucker as an "offline web browser" is accurate, but may not convey what it really does. In a nutshell, Plucker is just like AvantGo -- execpt that you can have it download *any* webpage to your Palm and it doesn't cost anything to the ownsers of the website either.

You can have it, for instance, download blogs or even Palm Infocenter and they'll be readable in your Palm after a Hotsync.

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