How to Do Everything with Your Palm Handheld by Dave Johnson and Rick Broida

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I don’t normally review books (actually this is my first time). But when I
was approached to review a book called How to Do Everything with Your Palm
Handheld, I accepted. This is a 607 page Palm handheld resource guide by Dave
Johnson and Rick Broida (of Tap magazine fame).

I’m not sure exactly how to actually review a book so I’ll just go over the
infomation contained in the various chapters with any comments that I may have.

howtodoeverythingwithyourpalm Chapter 1 of the book begins with a great Palm history
lesson. It gives information on every Palm OS device beginning with the
Pilot 1000 to the Handspring Visor and TrgPro. However, the book was
finished before the Palm IIIc was released, so it does not mention it.The book then goes on to give you some tips on choosing the best Palm
OS device and where to buy it.

Chapter 2 and 3 help you get to know your new Palm device hardware and
software-wise. They cover everything from installing batteries and connecting
the cradle to your PC to working with the Palm desktop on your PC or Macintosh
and hotsyncing for the first time.

Chapter 4 tells you how to get information into and out of your Palm device.
It contains some great info on learning the Graffiti input method. Included are
reference pictures of the different letters and info on hard to enter
characters. The chapter goes on to explain beaming and installing of new
programs on your device.

Chapters 5 thru 9 lead you through all aspects of the built-in applications (Datebook,
Address book, To Do List, Memo Pad, and Expense. Plenty of “How do
I…” information is given along with screenshots, tips and observations by
the authors. Both PC and Macintosh details are explained also. If add-on
programs are mentioned, the text tells you where you can find them on the web.
Even seasoned Palm users will find interesting tidbits in these chapters.

Chapter 10 discusses the Palm’s security features including third party
application enhancements. The built-in calculator is also mentioned as well as
details on the Handspring Visor’s advanced calculator functions.

Chapter 11 gives you all kinds of beneficial info that you need to know when
taking your Palm device on a trip. Topics such as powering your device when
you’re away from home, using your device as an alarm clock, using your device
for mapping and navigation, and reading books on your device are covered.

Chapter 12 and 13 focus specifically on the Palm VII wireless model and the
Handspring Visor. Wireless applications for the Palm VII and Springboard modules
for the Visor are detailed.

Chapter 14 through 18 go into heavy detail on the communication aspects of
your Palm device. Every kind of modem whether land line or wireless is discussed
along with information on connecting your Palm PDA to your cell phone. E-mail
programs, instant messaging, web browsing, paging and faxing are also covered in
quite a bit of detail. One of the chapters is also devoted to infrared, remote
and network hotsyncing.

Chapter 19 helps you turn your Palm device into a total office tool. It
explains how to use your device to edit Word, Excel and database files. It also
goes over printing from your PDA.

Chapter 20 goes over HackMaster and other misc. utilities that can be found
on the Internet.

Chapter 21 shows you how to manage your time and money with your Palm OS
device. Topics such as using Quicken, tracking stocks, managing projects and
clients are discussed. One weird thing I had to chuckle at in this chapter was a
sidebar on the authors favorite rock bands. I have no idea why they wanted to
share this info, but it’s in this chapter.

Chapter 22 delves into gaming on your PDA. It goes over a pretty good
selection of popular game titles and where to find them.

Chapter 23 through 25 go over misc topics such as Graffiti enhancement
software and overlays, e-book reading on your Palm, photo albums, paint
programs, outlining programs, and music programs.

Chapter 26 gives you details on the different accessories available for your
device. Cases, styli, keyboards and other peripherals are discussed with
pictures.

The last two chapters 27 and 28 are the troubleshooting chapters, they help
you resolve problems with the PDA and problems with your PC (relating to the
PDA).

All in all this is a good reference book that reads well and conveys valuable
information for the newbie as well as the long time Palm user. I only have two
things to complain about regarding this book. One is that a CD isn’t included
containing the add-on programs that are discussed throughout the book. And the
other is the order of the chapters. I think I could have arranged them in a
better order. Other than that, it’s a good book to check out.


Price:
$24.99 (or $17.49 thru Amazon.com)

Pros:
Good solid information.
Lots of screen shots.

Cons:
No included CD.

 

Product Information

Price:
Manufacturer:N/A

5 thoughts on “How to Do Everything with Your Palm Handheld by Dave Johnson and Rick Broida”




  1. Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
  2. Well, being male I am told I spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom (at least that’s what my wife tells me). I was in the office, felt the “pressing” call of nature and headed off down the hall, chose my stall and sat myself down. As all you guys know, this is the perfect time to read your downloads, play a game etc. At the time I was using a siemens s35 mobile, only reason I choose the siemens was it came with minesweeper. Anyway, I set a new high score!!! Thing was, a high score was rewarded with a loud beep from the phone. The voice from the next stall shouted ” Ahhhhh Jon’s set a new high score” CAUGHT!! Luckily I recognised the voice and knew fine well that he was playing snake on his Nokia!!

    Still take the PDA (Clie N770) to every bathroom break but systems sounds are always disabled!

  3. Hahahahaha!!!! 😀 Too funny!

    Women do it too. I heard some beeps this morning in the stall next to mine. 😉

    Of course I’d never admit to such practices myself! Hehehehe
    😮

  4. Fairly obvious, but I was playing Buzzword Bingo during a meeting – which is what it was designed for – on my Palm. Unfortunately, the Bingo part gives off a loud beep when you get a row! 😀

    Also, when Tamagotchi’s were just introduced, I picked one up while overseas. In the middle of yet another interminable meeting, the little critter started beeping away for attention. 😮 I had to quickly deal with it, then admit to the group that it was one of “those toys” – a Tamagotchi.

  5. I’ve gotten caught playing Age of Empires too many times during class…I’ve even gotten mine taken away from a teacher once and then later found her messing around with it lol. Once my parents found out I was playing games on my Pocket PC and not using it for school (like I said I was), they took it away for a month 🙁 Oh well…I’ll get over it…I geuss :confused:

  6. Tthaankks Jjaakk’s,

    nice post and thx so much for the link to Buzzword Bingo never heard of it, or never noticed it! I spent the day in one of the most boring meetings, 25 people doing 10 minute presentations on the same subject. Turned into a bit of speed presentation contest. Anyway, Buzzword Bingo, excellent!!! Just wished someone had found some “synergy”, spent all afternoon waiting for it but, alas I lost!

    Thx.

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