The Practical PDA

Think that a personal digital assistant is just for the corporate executive or the high tech junkie? Think again! This book is your guide to purchasing and configuring a PDA that fits your lifestyle perfectly. Whether you are a student looking for a helpful study tool, a busy homemaker searching for a way to organize day-to-day activities, or a frequent traveler who needs to know each city like a local, The Practical PDA will give you the tools you need to make the most out of your PDA.

Turn Your PDA into an Indispensable Tool as You:

• Assess Your Needs--Learn what features are available to you before you buy a Palm device.
• Master Desktop Features--Learn how to get the most out of features like the Address Book and To Do List.
• Put Your PDA to Work--Start organizing your activities as you add and edit events, create lists, and configure your mail.
• Organize Your Applications--Learn how to fully utilize the applications and menus in the Palm OS.
  

• Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 Reading Palms 3

• Looking at the Palm Operating System 5
• Touring the Palm Devices 8
• Standard Palm Devices 8
• Palm, Inc 8
• Handspring, Inc 11
• HandEra 13
• IBM 13
• Sony Corporation 14
• Symbol Technologies, Inc 14
• Converging Palm Devices 14
• Kyocera Wireless Group 14
• Nokia Corporation 15
• Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd 15
• HotSync 16

• Assessing Your Needs 18
• For Richer, For Poorer 18
• In Memory Of 20
• Size May Matter 22
• Other Things to Consider 23
• HotSync 25

• Basic Palm Interfaces 29
• Welcome to the Palm 32
• Connecting the Palm to the PC 36
• Getting in Sync 41
• HotSync 48

• Examining the Controls 50
• Using Applications 51
• Using the Menus 53
• Organizing Applications 55
• Choosing Categories 56
• Selecting Buttons 61
• HotSync 64

• Graffiti Basics 67
• Getting the Hang of Graffiti 70
• Now You Know Your ABCs 70
• It's Easy as One, Two, Three! 72
• Navigating in Graffiti 72
• Punctuation. Is. Very. Important 75
• Extending the Possibilities 77
• You Have to Accentuate the Positive 79
• Taking a ShortCut 80
• Keyboard? What Keyboard? 82
• HotSync 84

• Desktop Basics 87
• The Date Book 88
• The Address Book 97
• The To Do List 104
• The Memo Pad 106
• Application Installation 108
• HotSync 110

Chapter 7 Making a Date 113

• Viewing the Date Book 114
• Creating an Event 119
• Creating a Recurring Event 123
• Editing an Event 127
• Deleting Events 127
• Setting Event Alarms 128
• Adding Notes to Events 129
• Beaming an Event (Or Anything Else!) 130
• Setting Date Book Options 132
• Setting General Preferences 132
• Changing the Display 134
• HotSync 136

• Managing To Do Lists 138
• Adding a To Do Item 140
• Editing To Do Items 142
• Configuring the To Do List 145
• HotSync 146

• Viewing the Address Book 148
• Adding a Contact 149
• Editing a Contact 152
• HotSync 155

• Viewing the Memo Pad 159
• Working with Memos 160
• HotSync 162

• Using Mail 164
• Creating a Message 168
• Reading Messages 175
• Configuring Mail 179
• HotSync 183

Chapter 12 A Student's Palm 187

• In Plain English 188
• Noah Lite English Dictionary 189
• ArsLexis Thesaurus 192
• Blinding You with Science 195
• SimpleChart 195
• ChemTable 200
• HotSync 202

• Getting a Home to Manage 204
• A Place for Your Stuff 209
• Getting More Stuff 214
• HotSync 218

• Professional Caregiver Tools 221
• Keeping Things Straight 221
• The Knowledge of the Medicine Man 224
• Take Good Care of Yourself 227
• HotSync 230

• Taking Your Documents with You 235
• Working with Spreadsheets 240
• Developing Slide Show Presentations 245
• HotSync 247

• Talking to the Ether 251
• Getting You Where You are Going 253
• Where are We Going to Eat Today? 261
• Learning the Ways of the Land 265
• WorldMate 266
• Small Talk 268
• HotSync 271

Chapter 17 A Gamer's Palm 275

• We Built This City 277
• Trading Up 279
• The Quest for Adventure 285
• HotSync 288

• Playing the Game 290
• Watching the Game 297
• HotSync 300

• Clipping the Web 302
• HotSync 311

• Finding Your Way 315
• Pulling Out the Pictures 317
• Taking Pictures 322
• Reading a Good Book 323
• HotSync 324

Appendix A Directory of Useful Applications 327

• Desktop Connections 328
• Games 330
• Graphics and Images 334
• Home and Hobby 335
• Internet Tools 341
• Professional/Corporate 343
• Programming 348
• Reference Tools 350
• Utilities 351
• Index 353