.KEYWORD peacemaker
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Peacemaker brings cross-OS communication
.OTHER
.SUMMARY It’s easy for Pocket PC users to feel left out of the game when they see their Palm device-using friends gleefully beaming information back and forth via the devices’ IR ports. But now there’s an easy way for you to get into the action, too. Gregory Lea reviews Peacemaker, a handy application that allows Pocket PCs to communicate with competing OS devices.
.AUTHOR Gregory Lea
I, like most Pocket PC users, find myself greatly outnumbered in the World of PDAs. I don’t mind until those users of competing OS devices start beaming stuff back and forth. Then I feel like Rudolf when the other reindeer start playing their reindeer games. They can share notes, contact information, and appointments through their infrared (IR) ports. Traditionally, Windows CE didn’t have that feature inherent in its system, but now Pocket PC does. However, Pocket PC only allows beaming to other Pocket PCs, so you still get left out of most of the action.
There are several solutions to the beaming problem. In fact, a few months ago I wrote an article for Pocket PC Life (then called Windows CE Power Magazine) on SyncTalk. You can find the article at http://www.pocketpclife.com/issues/issue200005/cesynctalk001.html. It was the first program to allow Windows CE, Palm (including Handspring), and Epoc PDAs to communicate using the infrared port.
Since then, I’ve continued to use the program, but the main person I beam stuff to, my good friend and Palm device-wielder Mike Compeau, deleted the application in favor of memory space. Even at the time I wrote the article, Mike and I thought it would be cleaner if cross-OS communication could be achieved by having the less popular OS conform to the more popular platform. I guess that’s what the folks at Conduits Technologies had in mind too when they developed Peacemaker, which does exactly that.
.H1 Common sense approach
Peacemaker is a program for Pocket PC and Windows CE devices that allows them to beam and receive contact information, tasks, appointments, and notes to and from Palm devices. Best of all, the Palm devices don’t need a special program. In fact, the Palm units can receive and send data through the IR port to a Peacemaker user the same as they do with another Palm device.
To me, this makes the most sense. It’s irrelevant which OS I favor; the fact remains that Palm owns approximately 75% of the PDA market (by the latest estimation I’ve seen). It’s reasonable that only one OS should conform to the other, and the conformers should be the ones without the market majority. Besides, most non-Palm devices have plenty of memory for the application.
.H1 What’s the big deal, anyway?
But why is IR communication so important? Well, it’s mostly a matter of speculation since I don’t see IR being used to its potential. It’s pretty common for people to beam contact information, especially electronic business cards, as well as appointments, but seldom much more than that. I don’t see notes and memos shared very often, but I’m sure that varies from place to place. For a while, it was possible to even beam electronic "money."
Most of the press I’ve found on inter-device communication has been related to Bluetooth, which is a communications standard based on short-range radio frequency transmissions rather that IR. While I hope that Bluetooth works out, I’ve seen articles that express concern about its costs and functionality. Until problems with Bluetooth get worked out, I’d like to see greater developments in IR utility. Programs like Peacemaker are the kind of developments that make IR communication more practical.
.H1 Try it, you’ll like it
To try Peacemaker, go to their site at http://www.conduits.com/ce/peacemaker. From there you can download the standard version of Peacemaker for free, which gives you the ability to exchange electronic business cards. You can also try the full version, called Peacemaker Pro, for 30 days. If you simply want more information, Conduits’ excellent Web site has loads of information on all of their available software.
I really like Peacemaker, especially for its ease of use. For example, when I want to beam a name to someone, I simply go into Contacts, find the name, and hold the stylus on the name. A menu pops up which includes an option to beam that name. When I select Beam Selected from the pop-up menu, Peacemaker starts and begins looking for the receiving device. You also have the option to beam your electronic business card no matter whose name you start with. The same thing can be accomplished by using the Tools menu. The routine for beaming Calendar entries is about the same as for Contacts. The only one that’s greatly different is the procedure for beaming notes or files.
.H1 Possible improvements
The only suggestions for improvements are pretty much the same that I’d suggest for any of the cross-OS communications programs. For one, Peacemaker must be running, even if just in the background, to receive beams from someone else, but Peacemaker can’t be running if I want to synchronize with my PC. I don’t know for sure, but it must be inherent in either the OS or the hardware, since the problem is common with both SyncTalk and Hewlett Packard’s JetSend. I’ve minimized this problem by assigning Peacemaker to a button, making it ready to receive at a moment’s notice.
Another suggestion is to show information about the item that’s beamed. Even the Palm device identifies the contact name or the appointment time and date, but with Peacemaker, I only get confirmation that something has been sent. I just have to hope that I’ve been sent the correct name or appointment. You’d think these developers have been given enough fake phone numbers to know the importance of checking them before they get tucked away.
Some users might think that another limitation to Peacemaker is that it doesn’t address communications with the EPOC Platform. However, since Psion has even less of the US PDA Market than Microsoft, maybe they should get their own version of Peacemaker that lets them communicate with both Pocket PC and Palm devices.
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.H1 Conclusion
In my opinion, Conduits Technologies got it right. Sure, I think there’s still room for improvement, but for Pocket PC users trying to get into the PDA reindeer game, Peacemaker is the right way to go. The program is easy to use, quick to respond, and is one-sided, in that only one user needs to load the program. For Pocket PC users needing to communicate to Palm device and Handspring users, I think Peacemaker is the right choice.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Peacemaker, visit http://www.conduits.com/ce/peacemaker.
For Gregory Lea’s article on SyncTalk in the May 2000 issue of Windows CE Power Magazine, visit http://www.pocketpclife.com/issues/issue200005/cesynctalk001.html.
For more information on SyncTalk, visit http://www.sodeog.com.
For more information on JetSend, visit http://www.hpjetsend.com/JSHome.html.
.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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