Pocket PC magazine, January 2004
Page 18
www.thememaker.biz
info@thememaker.biz
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Time and Expenses
PocketTiME
A three-in-one program for the Pocket PC that allows you to manage your time, mileage, and expenses. Features multiple currencies, and display by date, client, project, task, or any kind of data (time, mileage, expenses or both). Quick summary. Exports to CSV file. Backup function.
$24.95
Use With: P/PC, and P/PC 2002
Soft-Concept
www.soft-concept.ch
support@soft-concept.ch
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Today-screen Plug-in
alarmToday
A Today screen plugin that offers complete control over all of the alarms on your Pocket PC. You can view, change, delete, and create alarms with just a few clicks. Create repeating alarms, wake up to your favorite music, or open a specific document when your appointment is due.
$9.99
Use With: P/PC ARM, P/PC 2002, Windows Mobile 2003
pocketMAX
pocketmax.netfirms.com
pocketmax@gmx.net
alarmToday (above): Set alarms to play recordings or music, with just a few taps on your Today screen.
BizBeam
Beam contacts and/or a file quickly to another device via IR, using just a single tap from your Today screen.-
$4.95
Use With: P/PC, and P/PC 2002
Two Peaks Software
www.twopeaks.com
sales@twopeaks.com
HandyMenu
A program that makes it easy for you to access all your Pocket PC settings and to perform operations such as power-off, soft reset, and hard reset. Most functions can be accessed by a simple tap on your Pocket PC screen.
$2.99
Use With: P/PC 2002, and Windows Mobile 2003
DinarSoft
www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=10093
DinarSoft@Canada.com
iPAQPanel / PocketPanel
An animated Today screen plug-in which adds system and network monitors for connections, battery power, program, and memory storage. A trash collector will periodically scan your device (including storage cards) and remove temporary data that is not needed. Has voice notifications of battery status and additional voices can be download from the developer's Web site.
$6.95
Use With: P/PC 2002
RhinoCode
www.rhinocode.com
rhino_code@yahoo.com
RhinoLaunch Program Launcher
A Today screen plug-in for all Pocket PC 2002 devices that places icons on your Today screen to launch programs using a single tap. It can display pages of shortcuts that are useful for launching programs, favorites, or games. The shortcut and page order are fully customizable.
$5.95
Use With: P/PC 2002
RhinoCode
www.rhinocode.com
rhino_code@yahoo.com
RhinoLaunch (above): Places icons on Today screen to launch programs with a single tap.
RhinoStats CPU Monitor
A Pocket PC 2002 Today screen plug-in that instantly gives you a graphical display of how much CPU power your apps are currently using. You can customize colors, layout, display data, and refresh rate by tapping on the Today screen image.
$5.95
Use With: P/PC 2002
RhinoCode
www.rhinocode.com
rhino_code@yahoo.com
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TV & Stereo Remote
NoviiRemote
A universal, "teachable" remote that uses your Pocket PC's infrared port to control TVs, cable boxes, satellite receivers, DVD/CD players, VCRs, audio receivers/tuners, and TiVo PVRs..
$24.99
Use With: P/PC ARM, and P/PC 2002
NoviiMedia
www.novii.tv
service@novii.com
NoviiRemote (above): A "teachable" remote control program for your TV, VCR, etc.
Pocket TV Listings (PTVL)
PTVL is a program to reformat and transfer TV listings from TVGuide.com to the Pocket PC, and display them in an easy-to-understand format. You can view detailed program descriptions, set reminders, and use an advanced searching feature to find a specific program.
$10.00 Lite & $20.00 Full
Use With: P/PC, and P/PC 2002
Thumbs Up! Soft
www.thumbsupsoft.com
info@thumbsupsoft.com.
The U Judge It! Film Festival
Equipped with a Wi-Fi enabled Pocket PC or mobile phone, we got to be the critics at this new and innovative film festival!
by Shawna Kelly
As the old saying goes, "everyone's a critic"! However, it was more than an old saying at the first annual U Judge It! Film Festival (www.ujudgeit.org), which took place on July 6, 2003, at San Francisco's Delancey Street Theater. As at other film festivals, participants gathered to watch a variety of films throughout the day-long festival. But at this festival, the participants were the judges, and they voted using cell phones, Wi-Fi enabled Pocket PCs or laptop PCs, or kiosks in the theater lobby. The votes cast from festival participants determined all of the film awards.
The festival was hosted by the nonprofit Media Arts Interplay Association (MAIA), who worked with technology sponsor Primal Cause (www.primalcause.com) to develop the Flash application, the Wi-Fi network, and the alternative kiosks used for the judging. Primal Cause was responsible for helping audience members set up their mobile devices to use the wireless voting network (Screen 1).
Screen 1 (ab0ve): "Judge" Marc Aubin of Primal Cause assisted audience members with setting up their mobile devices to use the wireless network to vote for their favorite films.
Other sponsors of the event included Macromedia (www.macromedia.com), which provided their Flash MX software for the voting application, the Samovar Tea House, which provided funding for the event, and Skyy Vodka (www.skyy.com), which provided the "spirited" refreshments.
U Judge It! voting and films
Arriving on a Sunday afternoon, we were greeted as if we were all celebrity judges. As we entered the foyer of the theater, drinks were offered. We were soon invited into the theater. It was amusing to see a representative of our technology host on stage, greeting us in a judge's powdered white wig, black frock, and brandishing a gavel. This "judge" helped make U Judge It! a very enjoyable and user-friendly event.
The festival was a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) event; those without one used the lobby kiosks. The event hosts supplied the wireless interactive voting application and the wireless LAN. .
In all, twelve films were screened during the festival A little more time than usual was allotted between films to allow time for voting. Attendees voted in traditional categories as well as in alternative categories such as "Film You Wish You Were In" and "Line You Will Quote." Audience members were also able to send instant feedback to the filmmakers through the "Shout Out" category of the mobile application.
The beginning of the festival was delayed briefly while the Flash voting application was set up. But once that was accomplished, the technology worked smoothly throughout the rest of the festival. For the most part, we were blissfully unaware of any technological challenges that were encountered and overcome by the festival hosts.
Screen 2: Shown above is the Flash voting menu as it appeared on my HP iPAQ 2215. Besides voting on the best film categories, you could tell the filmmakers what you thought of their work or vote in extra categories such as "Film You Wish You Were In."
Most of the films shown at the festival were award winners from Sundance and other festivals. It was an enthralling selection of everything from robust comedy to drama. The festival opened with The Ocularist, a stunning "eye-opener" about the obscure art of creating glass eyes. You can see descriptions of all of the films and other event information on the U Judge It! Web site (www. ujudgeit.org).
I was able to vote with a variety of mobile technologies, inc
luding my Sanyo 5300 cell phone with Sprint unlimited Internet service (PCS Vision) and my iPAQ h5455, which has built-in Wi-Fi capability. I also voted with an HP iPAQ h2215 Pocket PC equipped with a CompactFlash Wi-Fi card (WL1100C-CF) from Ambicom (www.ambicom.com). The new Windows Mobile 2003 OS and software on the h2215 make detecting and connecting to a Wi-Fi network quick and easy.
Voting with the Pocket PCs was a painless process, but more patience was needed to vote using the cell phone, which required numerous button presses. It was particularly relaxing to sit by the fountain located outside the theater and vote during intermission (Screen 3).
Screen 3 (above): The Wi-Fi made it possible to vote in various locations, inside and outside of the theatre.
And the winners are...
The wireless technology allowed the festival sponsors to collect and compile the votes almost instantaneously. The final results were available as the festival voting wrapped up, and were announced at the awards dinner that evening. The winning films ranged from the inspiring to the unusual.
Sister Helen won the Best of the Festival award. It's about an intense but caring Benedictine nun who ran a men's substance-abuse rehabilitation house. Few eyes were dry after that one.
Non Abductees Anonymous won the Funniest, Best Script, and Best Acting awards. It's a clever film about an alien non-abduction support group.
Breaking In tied for the coveted Actor/Actress You Would Most Like to Date award. It was a comical piece that was easy to relate to, especially if you've had major ups and downs in your professional life.
Tremor, a turning-point film produced by Primal Cause, was the other winner of the Actor/Actress You Would Most Like toDate award.
You can find a complete list of the award winners at the U Judge It! Web site (www.ujudgeit.org/winner_2003.html). Judging from a number of conversations I had, the audience, sponsors, and filmmakers all loved the wireless-centric festival, which turned a passive audience into a vibrant and very active one! Luckily, The Director of the Media Arts Interplay Association, Evette Murray, plans to develop this into an annual festival and is also planning to partner with other festivals or events. Watch out for this wireless judging coming to a theatre near you—and be prepared to encourage it!
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Shawna Kelly is a Co-Manager and Editor for the Northern California Mobile Computing SIG (www.mobilecomputingsig.com), the largest mobile computing group in California. Shawna has a passion for mobility and GPS. She is a Flash and multimedia producer at Artzest (www.artzest.com) who also redesigns Pocket PC Web sites. Shawna is certified in multimedia and has a BA Degree in Creative Studies (fine & digital advanced studies) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She can be reached at: shawna@artzest.com.
Toshiba Pocket PC helps this extremely busy financial services executive organize his business and personal life
by Paul Meehl
I pack a lot into my personal and professional life and without an effective way to organize it all, I'd never be able to stay on top of things. Fortunately, I have an easy-to-use organizational tool with me all the time—my Pocket PC.
I've used handhelds based on Microsoft's mobile OS and software since the first Cassiopeia Handheld PC was introduced and I swear by these devices. You can imagine my shock when I began my current job as a senior operations manager in a financial services firm and learned that our Information Services department didn't support the Pocket PC platform. I was forced to trade my Jornada 540 Pocket PC for a Palm device (the horror!). I had to use the Palm for eight months until I was finally able to bribe an IS employee (with gift certificates for nearby lunch haunts) into unlocking my desktop PC long enough for me to download and install ActiveSync. (The funny thing was that, while I was told that Pocket PCs weren't supported, I noticed most of our IS employees walking around with iPAQs.) I discarded my Palm device, purchased a Toshiba e740, and life returned to normal! I love the e740's performance and usability.
Making the most of my commute to work
I live in Savage, Minnesota, a suburb about 25 miles south of downtown Minneapolis, where I work. I commute to my office and home again via the bus, and the combination of my Pocket PC and a fold-up external keyboard from Belkin turns that time into an extra 90 minutes of productivity each day (G700 Pocket PC Portable Keyboard; $79.99; www.belkin.com). In the morning, I review the day's schedule and tasks using Agenda Fusion from DeveloperOne ($29.95; www.developerone.com). I don't think most people need a lot of extra software to effectively use a Pocket PC, but Fusion is one program I'd recommend to anyone who makes even moderate use of the Pocket Outlook suite. It meshes almost seamlessly with Outlook, and I really appreciate its ability to link appointments and tasks with files and contacts (Screens 1 and 2). For example, when I have a meeting to go over service issues with a client, I link the appointment to that client's issue log, or other related documents.
Belkin makes a fold-up external keyboard that works with Toshiba e740, e330 (shown here) and other Toshiba Pocket PCs.
Screens 1 and 2 (above): Agenda Fusion's Calendar view (Top) and Tasks view (bottom). The program meshes almost seamlessly with Pocket Outlook and lets me link appointments and tasks with files and contacts.
I'm responsible for managing relationships with a number of our client firms, so I use Agenda Fusion to set up recurring tasks, which prompt me to make periodic calls to my contacts there. I utilize the "call" icon in Fusion to link the tasks to both the Contact entry for that client and any documents or issue logs.
Once I've reviewed the day, I might tackle a few unanswered e-mails or work on documents that I've synchronized. For example, I'm writing this article in Pocket Word on the way to the office. I have also used Pocket Slides from Conduits ($39.95; www.conduits.com) to edit slides and practice the occasional presentation I have to give. I do this silently, of course; I don't want to be thrown off a moving bus on Interstate 35. Pocket Slides (Screen 3) is another add-on that I'd highly recommend to business users.
Screen 3 (above): I use Pocket Slides to edit slides and practice presentations.
Another common morning commute task is to record my health statistics and any prior day's workouts in MySportTraining from Exposé ($24.95; www.mysporttraining.com). I am often training for marathons or triathlons and this program lets me schedule and record workouts, track my intake and expenditure of calories, and monitor my weight and other health factors (Screens 4 and 5).
Screens 4 and 5 (above): MySportsTraining helps me stay on top of workouts and monitor my health.
If there's still time on the bus, I might work on another project of mine—re-reading the Old Testament using the Pocket Bible software from Laridian ($10 for reader program; prices of different Bible versions range from free to $24.99; www.laridian.com). I'm only in Exodus so far, so this will most certainly be a long-term project! I've also downloaded a number of other books for use in Microsoft Reader.
Screen 6 (above): I'm re-reading the Old Testament using Laridian's Pocket Bible.
Juggling many different projects
When I arrive at work, I cradle my Pocket PC to synchronize data. However, it usually doesn't stay in the cradle very long as I spend a lot of time away from my desk. I use the Pocket PC in meetings to take notes and respond to e-mail during "slow times." (If you attend many meetings, you know what I mean by "slow times.")
I'm involved in a number of different projects in our organization, which means I spend quite a lot of time reviewing project plans, justification summaries, issue logs, etc. I save the documents associated with active projects in the synchronization folder on my desktop PC. This insures that they are automatically copied to my Pocket PC whenever I cradle the device. If I'm away from my desk during the day, I can access them via my Pocket PC. I'll use Pocket Word or Excel to review, edit, or comment on them while I'm commuting home in the evening (Screen 7). If I need to return an edited document to the original author, I'll open Inbox, attach the document to an e-mail, and "send" it to
the author. The next day, when I cradle my Pocket PC at the office, the message with the edited document attached is forwarded to the author automatically.
Screen 7 (above): Pocket Word makes it easy to edit project plans away from the office.
I almost always use the ActiveSync connection to send and receive e-mail, but on several occasions, I have connected my Pocket PC directly to the Internet using a modem card.Once connected, I can browse the Web or accessmy e-mail from our firm's OWA (Outlook Web Access) site. Reading and responding to e-mail via the Pocket PC is very convenient, but the small screen can make it a little difficult, especially if you get a lot of e-mail each day.
The return commute also gives me a chance to catch up on the day's news. I use the AvantGo service (www.avantgo.com) to download content from Bloom-berg Financial News, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, CNN, MSNBC, Pocket PC Thoughts, The Hockey News (Screen 8), and the local paper from the city near our lakeside cabin. AvantGo offers a free service (2 MB per day download limit) and a "Power Users" subscription service (8 MB per day download limit for $19.95 a year). There's always more content available (even within the free, 2 MB limit from AvantGo) each day than I can read on the 45-50 minute ride. If I'm very ambitious on the ride home (and I'm usually not), I'll review the next day's schedule, as well.