By Bob Freud
When looking for third-party software and hardware books, In this new series, I'll be taking a look at the latest crop of books about the Palm connected organizer. I'll try and suggest which books are best for different types of readers and users.
[Since we're also running the PalmPower Book-of-the-Month Club series, we should clarify that Bob's going to be looking at printed books, rather than the electronic variety. Life in 1999 can get confusing at times. -- DG]
Sams Teach Yourself PalmPilot and Palm III in 10 Minutes, shown in Figure A, is intended for newcomers to the world of Palm computing. In 21 lessons, Michael Steinberg, President of the Boston-based New England Palm Users Group, looks at the basics of using our favorite handheld device.
FIGURE A
Here's a picture of Michael Steinberg's book, Sams Teach Yourself PalmPilot and Palm III in 10 Minutes.
Steinberg is also the webmaster for a business traveler's Web page which features a particularly interesting selection of books for business travelers. See the Product Availability and Resources section below for the link address.
Audience
Sams Teach Yourself PalmPilot and Palm III in 10 Minutes is geared for new users and also for more experienced users who want a higher comfort level with the Palm device's main features. The emphasis of Steinberg's book is on using the installed software that comes with the Palm device rather than on adding any of the third-party programs which have been created for it. I think a user who didn't know many other Palm device users or who did not regularly read the mailing lists and newsgroups would really benefit from this book. If I were to give my dad a Palm III, I would give him this book and ask him to read it. I think it would at least delay some of the inevitable family tech support phone calls.
Content
The first few chapters orient the reader to the Palm organizer and cover basic hardware concerns such as changing batteries and performing hard and soft resets. Steinberg's third chapter on Maneuvering the Main Display would be especially helpful to new users who are trying to figure out everything at once and have forgotten how to get back to the application they were just working in. A chapter on Graffiti contains screenshots of the Graffiti help screens and directions for bringing up the on-screen keyboard.
The heart of the book consists of seven lessons on the main applications and another four lessons on the desktop software. This division of chapters between application and desktop seems logical, although readers who truly use the book as a set of ordered lessons won't learn how to perform a HotSync until Lesson 20. Users who have never used the mail, expense or security features of the Palm device may find these sections especially valuable.
