.KEYWORD newusers
.FLYINGHEAD USER PERSPECTIVES
.TITLE Ten great applications you’ll just love
.OTHER
.SUMMARY Jason Perlow’s "Must have" article last month was among our all-time most popular. Apparently, you’re way interested in cool toys for your Windows CE device. This month, Dan Huber provides a detailed look at ten of his favorite goodies. Get ready to download!
.AUTHOR Dan Huber
I’m sure that if you have been involved in the Windows CE community for a while, you’re already familiar with many Windows CE applications and have even read reviews of some of them at different web sites. In this article, I’m not trying to compete with the detailed reviews, but I’m instead looking to offer you a glance at what I value and like most about my handheld. This can be especially useful if you are interested in purchasing software to enhance your existing device. To clarify, this software is used on my Philips Velo 500 and the screenshots were drawn from that as well, which explains the lack of color.
I’m sure that you (as well as your employer) appreciate having a select few applications on your handheld to accomplish some real work. I honestly don’t play many games at all on my Velo. Instead, this article will center around applications geared towards productivity. Even so, you may find that several of them can steal the hours away as you begin using them yourself. I think you’ll find something of interest in here.
It seems Senior Technical Editor Jason Perlow and I share similar tastes in add-on applications. Although some of the applications I’m including here (like HPC Notes) were written about by Jason last month, you’ll get an idea of how I like to use these programs.
.H1 BSQUARE bREADY
This program is actually two components: electronic book publishing software for the desktop, and the viewer application for the PDA. The publishing software has a wide variety of content-extracting capabilities and uses. You can extract text from standard .TXT files and also through Web sites. Of course, you can manually type or cut and paste the text in, but the Web application is very useful when viewed both from a corporate perspective and a consumer perspective. With this feature, you can make any Web page or Web site into a bREADY book. You can decide whether or not to include the images available on the site, as well as controlling image conversion techniques and image file sizes.
I once made an electronic book out of Chris De Hererra’s Windows CE site for offline viewing and it was definitely a treat to have when I was not able to connect to the Net on my Velo. Be cautious, as these books can become large when many pictures are added. If you work for a company that needs to outfit all of the employees’ handhelds with electronic manuals on how to accomplish certain tasks, you can rest assured that this would be a simple task for bREADY.
The bREADY viewer on the handheld is a refined, yet simple to use application. Features such as auto-scrolling, font size management, and bookmarks make your reading pleasurable and easy. You can also find a proliferating number of bREADY books available on the Web. Figure A shows some of the titles I have loaded.
.FIGPAIR A Title, author, and copyright information is available quickly and easily.
A WebRing has been setup to support this electronic book format. BSQUARE has even been nice enough to pass along a few optional samples to help you get started with bREADY as well as to try out your software right away; a nice touch. Check out Figure B for one example (also, be sure to check out the toolbar in the figure).
.FIGPAIR B bREADY’s toolbar houses many of the program’s powerful functions.
For almost any time where portable document viewing is needed, you may well find that bREADY has you covered.
.H1 Grundle Software’s CoverMe!
After using this small program for about two weeks, I must say that I’m happy to see such a utility released. I like having remnants of past operations erased frequently, not only because of the registry enlarging that occurs, but also because I simply like having clean and well trimmed storage on my handheld.
For Windows CE newcomers, you will be surprised to find that Pocket Internet Explorer doesn’t provide a means of easily emptying the Pocket Internet Explorer’s history log. CoverMe! is a simple, but useful, utility that eliminates Pocket Internet Explorer history entries, recent document lists (such as the one contained in the Start menu), the Windows Run dialog box entries, and also your Favorites folder. If you’re familiar with TweakUI’s Paranoia tab on Windows, you’ll get a good picture of what CoverMe! does.
Any combination of the four logs I mentioned above can be cleaned at once and it’s a simple matter of placing a checkmark in the appropriate check space and selecting OK at the top of the dialog box. A brief description of each item is provided in the empty text space to the right when you select the name at the left, as illustrated in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C CoverMe! uses only one dialog box to operate the program.
This utility also comes at a price identical to that of Grundle’s SpaceHogCE — just $13. Grundle Software regularly adds requested features to update releases of the software, as well as fixing bugs and has been very good at providing helpful and reliable software and this product is no exception. Try it for yourself!
.H1 BSQUARE bFind
And, now once again, we’re back to BSQUARE. Be there or BSQUARE.
At the time of purchase, I was speaking to a BSQUARE customer representative about the software that I was about to purchase. I was about to buy the BSQUARE bUSEFUL pack. He had commented that one utility in the pack he thought everyone should have was bFIND, a piece of software missing from most handhelds. With this utility, you now have the ability to search documents and databases, as well as file names for the desired text. You can setup certain parameters to restrict a search and to limit it to just one folder, as you can see in Figure D.
.FIGPAIR D You can see the several text boxes for search criteria.
This utility is especially useful in that when you’re not using it at the moment, you can simply minimize it to a system tray icon that can be quickly recalled to perform another search. This is much quicker than having to restart the application from the desktop and you can even create shortcuts to the results to make future access to the located files seamless and painless.
As I mentioned, with bFIND, you can also create shortcuts to rerun a previous search that you configured. This is useful in that if you commonly search your handheld PC for all of your Pocket Word Documents, you may want to create a shortcut for that search rather than having to manually reconfigure a search each time; a definite time saver. If you miss this part of Windows 9x but want more features as well, this is another must-have application.
.H1 Developer One’s AccessPanel Platinum Edition
I signed up to beta test Developer One’s AccessPanel Platinum Edition for the HPC a while back and I must say that this program is extremely useful in a wide variety of situations. AccessPanel, shown in Figure E, is an application that runs in the background and gives you the option of pulling different pieces of your contact information from the built-in Windows CE contact database and pasting it into a text field of another application.
.FIGPAIR E Here is the main dialog box for AccessPanel.
One of the most common tasks that I use it for is creating email signatures without the need to retype each time I email someone. Figure F gives you a look at the alphabet bar along the edge, used for easy access to your information.
.FIGPAIR F This is some sample text that I copied.
The program resides in the taskbar as a small lightning bolt that can be recalled with a single tap. You’ll find many different ways to place the current date or time into an application and built-in timers are available to provide you with the option of logging calls if you choose. It also lets you create an unlimited number of formats to supplement the already abundant amount of preloaded choices. Developer One even included a built-in phone dialer that uses the speaker of your handheld to dial a pay phone or hotel phone in just seconds. AccessPanel helps to resolve one of the most common problems that almost all handheld computers have; cramped and uncomfortable keyboards that make data processing slow. You no longer need to retype the same information about a contact.
.H1 PhatWare’s HPC Notes
If you eat, sleep, and breathe Outlook on the PC, you may be disappointed to find that there is no Notes component in the Pocket Outlook suite of applications on your Windows CE device. However, PhatWare has solved that problem with a full-featured add-on component called HPC Notes, shown in Figure G.
.FIGPAIR G This is HPC Notes’ main interface with numerous toolbar buttons.
The program will even provide you with an "Outlook-like" interface for the PC component of the program, in the event that you don’t have Outlook on the PC or want to keep the HPC Notes database separate from your Outlook data. Figure H shows a good preview of what HPC Notes is capable of recording and displaying in each note that is created.
.FIGPAIR H Here is a small note that I made to myself.
The Windows CE component even displays the Notes you create or sync to your handheld as little sticky note icons. HPC Notes supports color-coding, categorization, built-in alarms, password-protection, multiple databases, spell-checking if you optionally purchase HPC Spell (recommended as a very good alternative to Pocket Word), and support for Paragraph’s Calligrapher handwriting recognition software, if you have it as well.
I’ve used HPC Notes to remind myself of homework assignments for school, jotting down quick notes about a good URL to check out when I see it in a TV ad, and more. You even have the ability to forward a Note to someone else as email and you don’t need to open Inbox to create the email message, making note taking and distribution speedy and helpful. If you have not yet purchased or tried the free limited-time demo of this software, you don’t know what you’re missing (literally, as this will help keep track of anything you must jot down quickly and have with you anywhere).
.H1 Image Expert CE
Sierra Imaging, whose marketing literature says they’re a supplier of image editing software to leading digital imaging device OEM’s, has produced what they say is the first and only image editing software for Windows CE based devices. They have versions for both the palm-size PC and handheld PC that supports JPEG and BMP pictures.
This software allows you to annotate images with text, ink, or voice notes using the built-in recording capabilities of Windows CE. You can package images together into albums using a Windows Explorer-like interface shown in Figure I (one of the three views afforded by this cool software).
.FIGPAIR I This is the first screen you’ll see after opening Image Expert CE.
Clicking on a folder will show you a series of thumbnails, as shown in Figure J.
.FIGPAIR J This view provides easy navigating to picture files.
By simply selecting an image from the right preview pane, you will be presented with a large view of the image, as shown in Figure K, and small thumbnails of the other images contained in the same album on the left. The large image viewing screen is where you edit the images to your liking. You can select from pen tools to edit images with different colors of ink for highlighting part of an image.
.FIGPAIR K The large pane to the right is where all editing takes place.
Image Expert CE can even download images from a supported digital camera to your Windows CE device away from home. You can then edit your images and send them to someone using email while still inside the program. This could be very valuable for those of you in real estate. Image Expert also supports slideshow presentations composed on yourWindows CE device. You can either view the slideshow on the device or on an external monitor or projector. You may not have a need for such digital imaging products, but if you have a Windows CE handheld and a digital camera, this is a very worthwhile investment to look into.
.H1 Grundle Software’s SpaceHogCE
After having this utility for about six months, I still find myself turning to it every time I install new software. I am dazzled by the fact that Windows CE software can be so compact yet can do so much for you. I guess this is what they mean by "bloat-less" software. This utility is also useful since you can specify which file type you want to see (or all of them together, of course) and whether or not you want to see RAM or ROM contents, as shown in Figure L.
.FIGPAIR L This is SpaceHogCE’s file criteria box.
Figure M shows SpaceHogCE building the list of files that matched my search criteria.
.FIGPAIR M SpaceHogCE takes about thirty seconds to build a list.
You can also see a status bar with the current memory allocations at the bottom of Figure N.
.FIGPAIR N Navigating SpaceHogCE is fast and painless.
The program itself is tiny with a .CAB file installer of just 43.3 KB. The developer has designed this software to be user friendly. When you determine that you don’t need the large files that SpaceHogCE reveals, you can simply delete the files. It’s recommended that you run the files first to decide whether you want them or not; remember that ROM contents don’t count against you and can’t be deleted. Figure O illustrates that SpaceHogCE gives you a good warning about deleting files. It makes sure that you know what you’re doing so that you don’t kick yourself later after trashing your business expense spreadsheet by mistake. The price is right too at just $13; you can surely afford to squeeze this handy utility onto your device.
.FIGPAIR O SpaceHogCE gives you plenty of warning before deleting files.
.H1 EZOS TaskManager
If you need to keep constant tabs on certain system functions such as thread counts for applications, memory and battery status (where supported, more on this in a bit), this may be just what you need. This program is, in my opinion, geared to power users of Windows CE or for those of you who are familiar with advanced software functionality. For example, some of you may not need to know about the thread count of a certain program on your device, which you can see in Figure P. If you haven’t heard the term "thread" before, think of it as a process. In this image, EXPLORER.EXE has four running threads.
.FIGPAIR P TaskManager is a power and programming tool in one.
Take a look at Figure Q if you want to look at how much battery power and memory you have left with just one glance. This view is especially helpful for maintaining a good balance of storage and program memory allocations.
.FIGPAIR Q TaskManager will surely fill your system monitoring needs.
I used this program once to get an approximation of how long a file transfer from the PC to the handheld PC took via the serial cable. But I also used it to monitor memory status, as I was growing short on available memory for my handheld PC. I was installing too much software on it. I think you’d probably use this tab the most. There is other information available for you that may be of interest, especially if you use PC Card hardware. You can check up on your PC Card peripheral and get driver DLL information, and more. For what functions this program serves, I think it could easily be of value to you.
.H1 Microsoft PowerToys
One of the best features about this pack of add-ons is that they’re all free. You now have one-touch muting of all sounds (I use this a lot to conserve batteries and to keep from disturbing others), some additional wallpapers and sound schemes, an email address grabber that pulls all addresses from your Inbox and creates new entries in Contacts for all addresses found. Another Contact plug-in is available to dial a Contact’s phone number using DTMF tones on your touch tone phone.
As seen in Figure R, a handy addition to the system tray is "Cascade". This offers you the same functionality as the Start menu except that it’s a file and folder browser and allows you to quickly access those files that are buried away somewhere on your handheld without leaving your current application.
.FIGPAIR R Here’s Cascade at work.
This is especially useful for reaching the individual control panels without having to open the main control panel folder.
For custom backgrounds and for simple doodling, you’ll be pleased to find a miniature version of Microsoft’s Paint called Pocket Paint. Check out Figure S for a screenshot.
.FIGPAIR S I’ve opened a PowerToy background bitmap in Pocket Paint.
You also get a text-based view of all of your Pocket Outlook information called Today, shown in Figure T, that works in a similar fashion to Outlook Today on the desktop PC.
.FIGPAIR T Today doesn’t quite resemble Outlook 98’s Today feature.
Today also includes "fuel gauge-like" indicators for left over battery power and memory for both programs and storage.
Whether or not these little add-ons are groundbreaking isn’t really critical since they’re all free for anyone to use. You can’t go wrong there!
.H1 BSQUARE bMOBILE News
I purchased the BSQUARE handheld PC Bundle Pack back in November when BSQUARE was offering it at a great reduced price and one of their most popular applications that the pack included was bMOBILE News. A drawback to Windows CE is the lack of an included newsgroup reader, which, in many cases, is a valuable tool for gathering information from other Internet users while you are traveling. BSQUARE filled this gap with their handy newsgroup reader, shown in Figure U.
.FIGPAIR U bMOBILE News is about getting lots done in little time.
Have a look at Figure V to read a nice announcement that was recently posted by Windows CE Online. [Never let it be said that we don’t promote "the other guys" here in Windows CE Power Magazine. – DG]
.FIGPAIR V bMOBILE News is made for ease of use on small screens.
bMOBILE News supports multiple news servers and newsgroups and even allows you to send and receive file attachments and launch Web site addresses easily. I was thankful for having purchased and installed this program when my computer was having technical problems. I used the newsgroups a lot for staying on top of the current Windows CE news and this program was a real joy to use.
You know as well as I that some applications for Windows CE are very scarce with added features and some do just one task without any extras or options. This may be welcome given the memory limitations of handhelds but it doesn’t mean that you don’t want any additional usefulness. BSQUARE was sure to cover about every need that you avid newsgroup users have and gave you the option of signatures, separate reply email address fields, setting download limitations, built-in filtering, printing, flash card storage of newsgroup databases, and more. This newsgroup reader definitely has all of your bases covered and for a Windows CE application, I’m impressed with the functionality that it offers.
Whether or not you purchase every application that I’ve covered is, of course, left up to you. In my honest opinion however, I feel that these programs are the cream of the crop in their respective markets and together will offer you a complete, mobile experience with power to spare.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
BSQUARE’s bFIND, bREADY, and bMOBILE News are available at http://www.bsquare.com.
Grundle Software’s SpaceHogCE and CoverMe! are available at http://www.grundlesoftware.com.
Developer One’s AccessPanel Platinum Edition is available at http://www.developerone.com.
PhatWare’s HPC Notes and HPC Spell are available at http://www.phatware.com.
Sierra Imaging’s Image Expert CE is available at http://www.sierraimaging.com.
EZOS’ TaskManager is available at http://www.ezos.com.
Microsoft’s PowerToys is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/Products/download/list.asp.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Dan Huber is a high school sophomore at Palmerton Area High School. He can be reached at wince@bigfoot.com.
