.KEYWORD hackmanagers
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT SURVEY
.TITLE Find the right hack manager for your needs
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.SUMMARY You may not know it, but you can "tweak" the Palm OS. Using a hack manager, you can install "hacks" that modify the behavior of your handheld in all sorts of nifty ways. In this article, Sam Kleinman introduces you to the world of hack managers and surveys some of the most popular applications in this area.
.AUTHOR Sam Kleinman
A hack manager is a utility designed to make it easier for you to install and manage hacks on your Palm OS handheld. Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll find my article "Hack the planet," in which I introduce you to some of the more useful hacks.
The world of hack managers for the Palm OS really started with a program called HackMaster from Daggerware (at http://www.daggerware.com), a five-dollar shareware program written by Edward Keyes, a graduate student in theoretical astrophysics at MIT.
Keyes created HackMaster to make it easier for programmers to write system extensions by using a single API (Application Programming Interface) and a standard interface for handling hacks. HackMaster is a great program: simple, easy to use, and written by the guy who created the standard API that all of the programmers use.
Like all programs, HackMaster isn’t without its fair share of flaws. For instance, it doesn’t work as well with hacks that take advantage of color and grayscale (not to be confused with black and white) screens, and it has some problems when the Palm handheld is restarted. HackMaster will reactivate hacks in a random order after a reset, which can cause some nasty reactions between hacks. In addition, HackMaster will crash a system after it’s opened ten or fifteen times, which isn’t very desirable.
Recently, a number of developers have released hack managers that address some of HackMaster’s problems and add new and helpful features. In addition to HackMaster, there are three other hack managers. They all work off of the same API, so the same hacks will, in theory, work with all of them.
Let’s look at each of them in turn.
.H1 EVPlugBase
The TRGpro Users Group on eGroups (at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TRGPro_Users_Group) created EVPlugBase, a freeware alternative that worked better after restarts. It also prevents users from deleting running hacks, which could cause a hard reset in some circumstances. EVPlugBase is pictured in Figure A.
.FIG A EVPlugBase has a better response to a restart.
Unfortunately, Visor and Visor Deluxe (but not Visor Prism, Visor Edge, or Visor Platinum) users are out of luck because EVPlugBase has a tendency to be quite unstable running under OS 3.1h. EVPlugBase is a worthy hack manager, but there’s still some work to be done before it’s ready for prime-time use.
.H1 X-Master
X-Master by Linkesoft (at http://linkesoft.com) was written to fill those gaps. It’s also available for free. Building on all of the features of EVPlugBase, X-Master prevents you from deleting a hack when it isn’t safe, and it also introduces something called "sets." Basically, "sets" allow you to prevent two or more hacks that don’t work well with each other from running at the same time. X-Master is pictured in Figure B.
.FIG B X-Master keeps conflicting hacks from running together.
These programs are both improvements to HackMaster, and the price sure can’t be beat.
.H1 TealMaster
With two free HackMaster replacements that were successful, it’s interesting to see that TealPoint decided to introduce a hack manager as a saleable product.
TealPoint software (at http://www.tealpoint.com), maker of such noteworthy programs as TealDoc, TealMovie, TealLauncher, and TealPaint, released the TealMaster hack manager in May 2001. At ten dollars, is the most expensive hack manager to date. It also has the largest array of features. It’s pictured in Figure C.
.FIG C TealMaster is a $10 hack manager.
TealMaster’s biggest innovation is something called priorities. This allows you to control the order in which hacks are activated. For instance, say hack A makes changes to the properties of the launcher icons, but hack B completely replaces the launcher interface. However, hack B doesn’t replace the functionality of hack A, and by activating hack B, you’ve covered up hack A.
Whew! Did you get all that? Since hacks are system modifications, it’s possible for any one hack to clobber any other hack. TealMaster’s priorities are a way to prevent "clobberin’ time."
If you were to use TealMaster to set a priority, you could tell your Palm handheld to activate hack A after hack B, thus allowing both to coexist equally and providing you with maximum functionality without worrying that one hack was going to poach in another hack’s territory.
TealMaster also improves on the advancements made by EVPlugBase and X-Master. It prevents users from deleting active hacks not only from the hack manager but from the launcher as well. It also brings sets to a whole new level by allowing you to assign a particular set to an application. This allows users to prevent potentially harmful collisions between hacks and applications.
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Each hack manager has its advantages and disadvantages. X-Master and EVPlugBase are free, TealMaster is feature rich, and HackMaster is a reliable standby. Deciding on which is best for you may be hard, but I suggest that you use trial and error until you choose one that’s well suited to your needs. However, before you even start thinking about choosing a hack manager, you should check out all the wonderful hacks that are out there, and determine your needs. This will help you make the right choice. I suggest looking through the hack sections of Palm OS software archives, such as TuCows (at http://mcmsys.pda.tucows.com/palm/util_hacks.html) or PalmGear (at http://www.palmgear.com/software/answer_category.cfm?categoryIDs=114) for hacks that you think will help improve your Palm computing experience.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on HackMaster, visit http://www.daggerware.com.
For more information on the TRGpro Users Group on eGroups, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TRGPro_Users_Group.
For more information on X-Master by Linkesoft, visit http://linkesoft.com.
For more information on TealPoint software, visit http://www.tealpoint.com.
For more information on TealMaster, visit http://www.tealpoint.com/softmstr.htm.
For the hack sections of Palm OS software archives at TuCows, visit http://mcmsys.pda.tucows.com/palm/util_hacks.html.
For the hack sections of Palm OS software archives at PalmGear, visit http://www.palmgear.com/software/answer_category.cfm?categoryIDs=114.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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.BIO
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee6f86e
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