.FLYINGHEAD SAVVY SHOPPER TIPS
.TITLE Choose the right software for your Palm
.AUTHOR Dennis Crane
.SUMMARY If you’ve ever wanted to add additional software to your Palm handheld, you know that the choices are virtually endless. This special article, written by developer Dennis Crane, will show you some ways you can make sure you’re making a good choice, and choosing good products from good companies.
Since Palm OS 5.0 released, the Palm handhelds became the real computers rather than just portable digital assistants. The myriad of new software titles burst into the market featured audio and video players, wireless solutions, high-resolution games, and digital media applications. Just visit http://www.palmgear.com or http://www.handango.com to browse the thousands of similar products.
You’ll see that it might be a challenge to make the right software choice among the tons of similar sounding titles. If you use freeware, a mistaken choice can cost you nothing but the time spent and possible some data loss. But when you order an expensive product, you risk your money as well.
Being a manager of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) department of software development company, I chat with dozens of Palm users everyday. They are often worried about which product to choose. The software must solve their problems for a reasonable price, it should be easy-to-use and handy, the developers must provide the responsive support, and the updates must be free.
I always suggest they follow several simple rules to make the right decision. In this article I’ve summarized all the rules that help you find really essential software for your Palm.
.BREAK_EMAIL Dennis has some great tips. Tap that mouse here to learn what they are.
.H1 Don’t buy the software immediately
When you read the software description, you might be saying to yourself, "Yes, I need it! I must buy it right now!"
Don’t! Stop and think first.
Most developers are good psychologists. They write descriptions in ways that make their offerings attractive. Sometimes it’s full of nothing but misleading hype. Many times, on software sites I’ve seen reviews where the users complained, "The program doesn’t meet the description provided. I had to claim the refund." See the samples at Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A Don’t buy the software on impulse and you might be able to avoid writing such reviews.
Fortunately, most of software has demo or shareware versions that you can download free of charge and try before you purchase. So, do it!
.H1 Test the program
You have downloaded the software. What next?
Good software must have an installer that guides you through installation process. The package must include an illustrated user guide, preferably in multi-platform PDF, HTML, or in Windows Help formats. An uninstall program is also desirable. All the essential shortcuts should be easy accessible, for example, through the "Start" Windows’ menu as pictured in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B All essential shortcuts should be easy accessible
In the interests of full disclosure, the product shown in the above menu is one from my company. But it’s good practice to expect quality installers from any company, especially if there’s a Windows component. Usually the software is licensed to one user, so the installer should allow selecting the Palm user to install the software for.
About 70% of software programs available for the Palm were written by non-professional developers — students, freelancers, and programming amateurs. They could be good doctors, talented artists, or well-known scientists, but they are not programmers. They often don’t know the software design concepts, the user interface standards, the efficient programming techniques, and the principles of software testing and quality assurance.
Recreational programmers simply don’t have the time or technical resources to test their products on all popular devices and under miscellaneous Palm OS versions. Only the professional software company can guarantee the quality, the safety and the compatibility of their applications.
One approach, especially if you’re nervous about the products you’re about to install, is test any new software on POSE (Palm OS Emulator) or on POSS (Palm OS Simulators) before you upload the program on your device. POSE/POSS is an important desktop application that allows you to emulate the behavior of Palm OS devices, on your desktop. You can see this in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C The Palm OS emulator gives you a chance to try out the software being tested in a controlled environment.
Note that while the image of the handheld is a bit out of date, the emulators emulate current versions of the Palm OS faithfully. You can download POSE and POSS absolutely free from the official Palm OS site at http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/emulator/ and http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/simulator/. There are also the instructions how to get the ROM files for certain device with specified version of Palm OS.
Running the program on emulator/simulator is safe. You don’t risk losing your real data if the program crashes. Plus, if debug messages are enabled on your POSE, you’ll see a program’s errors which often cannot be seen on real device. So, the emulator will give you a good insight into the behavior of the software being tested.
If you don’t want to download POSE or POSS or if you’re uncomfortable setting either tool up, you must at least backup all data from your device before installing any new application on it. Set all the programs on your Palm to make backup and do a HotSync. This will allow you to restore the data if new program causes its damage or even the loss.
To ensure if the program is worth your money, test at least the following criteria:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET No errors or crashes;
.BULLET The data input is easy;
.BULLET The controls and navigation are easy to understand, easy to use, and fast;
.BULLET The backup option presents;
.BULLET The help system is clear and really useful;
.BULLET All advertised features must be accessible even in demo version;
.BULLET The program does exactly what you need.
.END_LIST
.H1 Contact the developers
As a developer, I know that there is no perfect software. Every user wants to add some special features that could be useful. Our company even offers the users the option to answer optional questionnaires to tell us which features are useful and which are superfluous. This gives us fresh ideas for further releases and for improvements.
Most likely, after you’ve been using the new software for a week or two, you’ll get an idea how to improve that program. You may also have some questions regarding the program’s functioning. Thus, you may choose to contact the support team.
Unfortunately, most of us are familiar with the scenarios where we’ve sent dozen of urgent messages to the developer for support and have gotten no response in return. Most often, it happens if the author is an independent developer or an amateur whose job is anything but software development and support. They simply have no time to support and to update their software. Sadly, sometimes it also happens with very well-staffed companies who simply place too low a priority on customer support.
Contact the developer for support organization before you pay for the program. Send just a couple of test "how-to" questions to the developers. This will allow you to test the speed of response, the politeness, and the helpfulness of support. At the same time, you may ask if the upgrades are really free and what features will be in the nearest release.
.H1 Check the developer’s Web site
While the developer’s support team wrestles with your questions, examine the developer’s Web site. It must have own domain name rather than free GeoCities or AOL homepage address. The information must be devoted primarily to the software. It should be clear and well organized without tones of affiliate pop-ups and banners, and without "my pussy cat" photos and stories. In short, it needs to be professional.
Pay your attention to the following sections:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The news archive shows you the history of the product, the frequency of updates, the overall activity of the company — if they alive or dead.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The FAQ page should answer the real questions on software features and must contain useful hits and tricks.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The product’s description page must contain all essential information on program’s features with screenshots and several short example use cases.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The page with downloads usually consists of links to the freshest version of trial or demo copies. Make sure you have the latest version of software.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET The order page is one of the most important sections of the developer’s Web site. Good developers usually post special offers and bundle licenses, which allow you to save several bucks. Qualified developers offer several ways to pay for software (via secured on-line web page, by phone, or by fax). It’s also a good style to provide several shipment models, (e.g. instant download, mail on CD or just sending unlock codes by e-mail.) And certainly any fair developer must allow an unconditional refund within several days since order.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Contact information should give you a fastest way to reach the developer to get an emergency support. Most of Palm software is quite inexpensive, so it doesn’t allow the developers to provide real support by phone. Email is a preferable way to contact the support team, the online form for instant questions is the fastest and the easiest way to ask the developers. Usually, 24 hours is a standard response time.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET An opt-in newsletter or mail-list is an optional service that is often offered by professional developers. Subscribe to the newsletter to know the company better. Often, there you can find special offers, cross-promotional discounts, rumors, internal company news and plans that are not published anywhere except this newsletter.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET A testimony section helps prove that the software is really popular. Usually it contains the user reviews, opinions, quotes from magazines and independent reviewers. If the page consists of just a couple of hype phrases, then most likely it’s a fake stuff created by the developer. But if it’s a list of about 50 or 100 reviews with quotes from famous magazines it’s definitely the real opinions of the users. You can trust it.
.END_LIST
Ideally, the Web site is the ultimate source of information about the software. Just few minutes on the Web site are enough to understand if the product is alive and successful or if the author ceased its support and further development.
.H1 Search for reviews and opinions
Even if the software description looks great and its Web site is full of useful information and colorful screenshots, keep in mind it’s just a promotional stuff that pushes you to buy the program. The evaluation period of demo version could be good enough for you to see all peculiarity of the application. Go to the specialty Web sites to read what other users say about the program. There are several great online resources (besides Computing Unplugged, of course) that publish unbiased detailed reviews of Palm OS software. Some of the most most popular are:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET http://www.bargainpda.com
.BULLET http://www.the-gadgeteer.com
.BULLET http://www.palmloyal.com
.END_LIST
After hard testing the commercial products, the editors rate each program and list all cons and pros. Such reviews will help you much to make the right decision.
Other good sources of truthful information are online communities of Palm users. There are places on the Net where thousands of users chat everyday by discussing Palm OS news, hardware, accessories, and surely software. Don’t hesitate to ask them to share their experience with that program. They will tell all the truth, will compare it to other analogues, and possible will recommend you another better program. Some of the noisiest crowds are at:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET http://www.brighthand.com
.BULLET http://www.cliesource.com
.BULLET http://www.palmblvd.com
.BULLET http://www.palmonecity.com
.BULLET http://www.palminfocentre.com
.BULLET http://www.pdalive.com
.BULLET http://www.palminfocentre.com
.END_LIST
.H1 Listen to word of mouth
Don’t forget to speak to other actual Palm users. The best way to find the experienced Palm addicts is to attend the Palm User Groups (PUG). Majority of PUGs are free to visit. Moreover, the developers often support such communities by donating the free registration to be drawn as door prizes. Nowadays, almost every large city in the world has a PUG or several. You can find the nearest Palm User Group at http://www.interpug.com as shown at Figure D.
.FIGPAIR D InterPUG.com helps to find the nearest PUG out of about 200 registered Palm User Groups around the world.
If you can’t attend PUG’s meetings, talk to relatives, friends and colleagues who use Palms. Their experience may surprise you.
If you want to purchase specific software, consult the professionals first. For example, if you wish to purchase a medical program to track your health stats, show the program to your physician and get a professional opinion first.
It’s just common sense. As I actually listed the key attributes of good software, this stuff could be also useful for many developers. The article will help them to think on their current services and possibly to make it better. If each developer does his job professionally, users will be happy.
Don’t forget to add your own two cents! If you got a negative or positive experience with any software, let us know. It will help other Palm users to choose the right software for their Palms.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For great libraries of free and shareware Palm OS software, visit http://www.palmgear.com and http://www.handango.com.
To download POSE and POSS, visit http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/emulator/ and http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/simulator/.
For good review sites, visit http://www.bargainpda.com, http://www.the-gadgeteer.com and http://www.palmloyal.com.
For some very active sites, visit http://www.brighthand.com, http://www.cliesource.com, http://www.palmblvd.com, http://www.palmonecity.com, http://www.palminfocentre.com, http://www.pdalive.com, and http://www.palminfocentre.com.
For more information on Palm User Groups, visit http://www.interpug.com.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Dennis Crane (dennis@utracksys.com) is a co-founder of UTrackSys.com LLC at http://www.utracksys.com, which develops multipurpose tracking software for Palm OS handheld devices. In the company Dennis is responsible for marketing issues and for customer relationships.
