Pocket Informant 5.0 Released

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.pocketinformant.com">http://www.pocketinformant.com</a><br /><br />Pocket Informant, one of the most popular Pocket PC applications has been updated to version 5.0. I've been using it for a few days and really like it. It isn't a ground breaking earth shattering update but more of a refinement of the 4.x code that increases speed and stability. That isn't to say there is nothing new. There is! Quite a bit in fact. I also know that this lays the groundwork for some other really great things during the 5.x lifetime. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2004/20040202-pi5.gif" /><br /><b>New Time Picker and Link generator</b><br /><br />There are <a href="http://www.pocketinformant.com/whatsnew.php?type=pocketinformant&version=500">literally dozens of new features</a> in Pocket Informant 5.0. Here are some of the biggies.<br /><br />• Completely rewritten Preview windows for Tasks and Contacts <br />• Most icons in Pocket Informant views now can be enabled/disabled individually per view <br />• Journal Tab in Appointment/Task/Contact editors <br />• Auto-journaling added for many types of actions <br />• Links Backup/Restore <br />• Month View now supports Mini-Text - a great new view for users with eagle eyes - or with screens that have a higher resolution than 320X240.<br /><br />If you purchased Pocket Informant 4.x after October 15, 2003, Pocket Informant 5 is free, otherwise it is $12.48 for an upgrade from a previous version or <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=10226">$24.95 from the Pocket PC Thoughts Handango store</a> for the full version. Note too that 4.6.2 is out as well for those of you with 4.6.1 that don't wish to upgrade at this point. There are no new items in 4.6.2, but they have taken some fixes from 5.0 and backported them to the 4.x code. Refreshing to get updates like that without being forced to upgrade! :way to go:

[dh]

I've been looking forward to this and just bought my upgrade. Handango still gives you PI4.6 if you download from their site so I got 5.0 from the WebIS site.

This app is one of the main reasons I stick with PPC, a must have!! :D

Oh, the mini text view is no use for me on my Axim. Have to wait until I get VGA in the future, or get some glasses.

[T-Will]

Woot! Yeah I just purchased the upgrade but I'm at work and last week we moved the WiFi access point to our other building so I have no way to get it onto my Pocket PC until I get home! :lol:

[Janak Parekh]

Looks like WebIS is being thoughtted... ;)

--janak

[Ed Hansberry]

Looks like WebIS is being thoughtted... ;)
Seems very responsive here. Strange. Can you not get anything? Even the download seems to be working quite well.

[Janak Parekh]

Seems very responsive here. Strange. Can you not get anything? Even the download seems to be working quite well.
Just slow - I get through. My biggest problem right now is that register.asp doesn't work as per the Handango instructions - just brings me to the index page. My officemate bought it and got another email with his reg code. 8O I'm still waiting...

Update: Got the email. SpamAssassin classified it as spam. I'll let Alex know...

--janak

[Thefo]

Just bought it and the first thing I noticed is how fast it opens when I click the hardware button 8O Lot's of nifty little improvements too. BTW I had no trouble with the download or the registration, I received my new code minutes after downloading from Handango.

[T-Will]

When we install 5.0 can we just upgrade over 4.x?

Janak, I received the 2nd email with the reg code too, so could it possibly be blocked by a spam blocker or something?

[ricksfiona]

Man, that sure is a pretty interface. I wish TransACT! was more like this...

[suhit]

When we install 5.0 can we just upgrade over 4.x?

Yes, it does a very clean upgrade AFAICT.

Suhit

[Thefo]

I didn't upgrade because it leaves a mess behind on your desktop (add and remove programs shows previous version) but I did save my preferences on the Pocket PC and uninstalled it from both my desktop and Pocket PC. The install worked great and all my settings stayed the same.

[Janak Parekh]

Janak, I received the 2nd email with the reg code too, so could it possibly be blocked by a spam blocker or something?
Yep.. this is what SpamAssassin 2.61 says:

* 0.5 X_MSMAIL_PRIORITY_HIGH Sent with 'X-Msmail-Priority' set to high
* 1.3 X_PRIORITY_HIGH Sent with 'X-Priority' set to high
* 1.6 RATWARE_HASH_2_V2 Bulk email fingerprint (hash 2 v2) found
* -0.0 BAYES_44 BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 44 to 50%
* [score: 0.4996]
* 1.6 MISSING_MIMEOLE Message has X-MSMail-Priority, but no X-MimeOLE
* 0.1 MISSING_OUTLOOK_NAME Message looks like Outlook, but isn't

I'll ping Alex about it.

--janak

[T-Will]

Hmm...I have no clue what that means...how does SpamAssassin know or think it's spam?

[suhit]

Unlike their site, the program is faaaast...

Load up time is down to roughly like 3 seconds. Interface is slick too. List of improvements can be found here (http://www.pocketinformant.com/whatsnew.php?type=pocketinformant&version=500)

Suhit

[PR.]

Had some trouble installing but removed 4 leaving its preferences etc intact then 5 went in ok.

Looks very nice and loads much faster than 4 :D

[suhit]

Hmm...I have no clue what that means...how does SpamAssassin know or think it's spam?

Spamassassin (http://www.spamassassin.org) is a program that can filter all your mail and, based on several machine learning techniques, Bayes rules and clever header and email text analysis, gives a score to each email that you get. You can then procmail (or filter) away emails above or below a certain score. Typically, emails with a score above 5 are registered as spam. Cool feature - it can be trained per user's email, so you can tell it that a certain set of emails that you got was spam or non-spam (they call it ham :)). So the dynamic spamassassin rules will morph to the kinds of email you get. Read their site, it is a very cool piece of software and highly accurate.

Suhit

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Wow! 8O 8O

Well worth the $13.00

I can't believe how much faster it is! I upgraded the second I saw the note on here, and I'm glad I did. Man does this kick butt! 8)

[cmlpreston]

Is anyone else a little cynical about the frequency of the updates for PI and AF? It seems they are in a race to have the highest version number, and will release Major updates often.

Since I've been following the race, PI has gone from vesion 2 something to 5, and AF from 3 something (I think) to 5.

Allow me to predict from version 5 they will increase in-step in major version numbers.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether all of the releases have been 'major' or not.

cmlp

[mrkablooey]

Is anyone else a little cynical about the frequency of the updates for PI and AF?

No. I'm cynical of people that are cynical about everything. ;)

It seems they are in a race to have the highest version number, and will release Major updates often.

The attention span of those of us using these programs is low, therefore essentially requiring new features and such that keep these companies pumping out new stuff all the time.

[dh]

Is anyone else a little cynical about the frequency of the updates for PI and AF? It seems they are in a race to have the highest version number, and will release Major updates often.

Since I've been following the race, PI has gone from vesion 2 something to 5, and AF from 3 something (I think) to 5.

Allow me to predict from version 5 they will increase in-step in major version numbers.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether all of the releases have been 'major' or not.

cmlp
I don't follow AF but I think you are mistaken regarding PI.

I bought PI4 almost a year ago, my very first PPC application. Since then there have been a few upgrades, all free until the 5.0 one. Even better there is no need to upgrade just to get bug fixes, a PI4 upgrade (which would have been free for many, including me) is also available.

I am happy to pay for PI5. The program does so much for me that I want to support Web IS. I want Alex to have the resources to continue producing great products like PI.

[that_kid]

It amazes me how they constantly make this program faster and faster. This thing is BLAZING, now I don't need start pi cause it opens so quick now. Oh and the new and improved features are great too.

[IntegraPrelude98]

I didnt realize when I bought 4.6 about two months ago that I would get a free upgrade to 5! What a nice suprise when I got back from meetings tonight and had a free program waiting for me to download! :D

[quidproquo]

The new PI is really .....really fast.

Also, the contact photos you can add are great as well. No need to "resize" as PI automatically makes a full sized photo into a thumbnail to use on the contacts detail. Really nifty....

[Jorlin]

Is anyone else a little cynical about the frequency of the updates for PI and AF? It seems they are in a race to have the highest version number, and will release Major updates often.

Since I've been following the race, PI has gone from vesion 2 something to 5, and AF from 3 something (I think) to 5.

Allow me to predict from version 5 they will increase in-step in major version numbers.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether all of the releases have been 'major' or not.

cmlp


Well, if you take a look on what has been changed you will be noticing that Alex almost rewrote half of the code in order to make PI faster, more stable ... better.
Take a look at the update from 3.X to 4.0. Almost the same thing...

I give you a hint: Try version 3.X if you can get one. That is a totally other kind of application. Everything that seems so intuitive in 4.6 and even more in regard of 5.0 is missing there...

You a right that there have been many updates but I think that is the best we can get… you do not have to wait long for new features and especially bug fixes.

If you take other applications, the versions numbers increase as if there was no tomorrow and you get even less than PI… or AF.

The best thing about PI is that many ideas do not only come from Alex but from the beta group or the community. This makes PI so unique because it serves the needs of the users better and better with every version.

[cmlpreston]

If you take other applications, the versions numbers increase as if there was no tomorrow and you get even less than PI… or AF.

If you mean *all" other applications, that is demonstrably untrue.

I'm not suggestion there's onything particuarly nefarious going on. What I am suggesting is that increases in major version numbers often seem more to be about marketing than development. It would not be the first time it has happened in the software industry - (Office 2002, 2003 anyone?), but AF and PI tickle my BS meter most (probably because of their prominence).

OziexplorerCE users would know how an application can improve markedly, and often, without getting up to version 68.1.

cmlp

[ChristopherTD]

Updating my PI registration details in eWallet I noticed that I had purchased Version 4 on the 10th of March last year. After 11 months (and numerous free point releases) I am happy to pay $12 for the update to 5. This doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

[tanalasta]

Received a pleasant surprise in my inbox with my new PI 5 registration code, downloaded the installer and had a clean upgrade/install over my old version.

Now I'm very happily using PI 5 as if that was what I had installed all along :) Absolutely no problems! Great work WebIS.

[MLO]

Here's what I want to know:

Would I benefit from using PI?

I use Tasks to list things that I need to do administratively for work and personal. I use the calendar, but only to make appointments...I don't need to keep track of time spent with x person or so....I'm a LAN admin.

I sometimes need to make quick alarms...like if I need to remind myself when I can visit so-and-so's workstation...and to do that I'd rather not make an appointment for it.

I would use the Inbox, but I can only get my personal mail at home since Outlook is verboten at work.

PI sounds cool, but I'm not willing to pay for it if it is something I won't use.

[Hugh Nano]

Even though I rarely pay for Pocket PC applications (I like freeware!), I willingly shelled out the money for Pocket Informant 4 about a year ago, and, given the reasonable upgrade fee and the value that has been added in each 4.x upgrade I've downloaded, I upgraded to PI5 immediately. And it was worth it!

The program is noticeably faster, and I'm looking forward to using the picture-contact feature and new-appointment dialogs. However, as was noted in the PocketNow review, it has gotten even bigger--which is a problem on my old 32Mb iPAQ 3650.

I love the new mini-text view, but have been a bit disappointed so far in its lack of flexibility. It seems to be permanently stuck on ClearType, so far as I can see (which, again, is a problem--read blurry!--on my old iPAQ 3650), and it would be nice to be able to set it to display appointments without the time or in an abbreviated format (like "9A:Appointment" instead of "9:30A:Appointment") to make the most of the very limited screen real-estate! That being said, given Alex's record of regular tweaks and improvements (already noted above in the fact that the regular 4.x upgrades were all well-worth the download), I am quite hopeful that issues like this will be addressed in short order!

Long live PI5!

[Hugh Nano]

Would I benefit from using PI?

Yes. It sounds like it.

I use Tasks to list things that I need to do administratively for work and personal. I use the calendar, but only to make appointments...I don't need to keep track of time spent with x person or so....I'm a LAN admin.

Tasks benefit in PI from the ability to organize them hierarchically. The Calendar feature, like Pocket Outlook's, is best-suited for making appointments rather than keeping track of time spent, and provides some improvements over Pocket Outlook's default views. The addition of Deje's PIToday Today-screen plug-in ($10 extra, but worth it, IMO) also helps to make upcoming appointments more noticeable.

I sometimes need to make quick alarms...like if I need to remind myself when I can visit so-and-so's workstation...and to do that I'd rather not make an appointment for it.

PI's Alarm-note function--mappable to one of the hardware buttons for easy access--would probably come in handy here.

I would use the Inbox, but I can only get my personal mail at home since Outlook is verboten at work.

There is no Inbox feature in Pocket Informant. For that you would have to buy their separate WebIS Mail product--though it doesn't sound like you need this feature that much.

PI sounds cool, but I'm not willing to pay for it if it is something I won't use.

I'm not usually willing to pay for such things (see my preference for freeware in my previous post above), but I have never regretted the money I have spent on Pocket Informant.

[Chris Spera]

Here's what I want to know:

Would I benefit from using PI?

I use Tasks to list things that I need to do administratively for work and personal. I use the calendar, but only to make appointments...I don't need to keep track of time spent with x person or so....I'm a LAN admin.

I sometimes need to make quick alarms...like if I need to remind myself when I can visit so-and-so's workstation...and to do that I'd rather not make an appointment for it.

I would use the Inbox, but I can only get my personal mail at home since Outlook is verboten at work.

PI sounds cool, but I'm not willing to pay for it if it is something I won't use.

Most definitely yes.

Calendar, Contacts and Tasks don't do nearly as much as I need them to do. Even if you don't do Meeting Requests in Outlook, PICalendar is much better at helping you keep track of your Appointments. PI5 is very fast, and gives you a better Month View than Calendar does. You also have better Agenda, Day and Week Views with PI.

PITasks allows you to group not only by Category, but also by FranklinCovey ABC-123 Order. Tasks doesn't do this.

If you really use Calendar and Tasks, then give PI5 a shot. There is a 15 Day trial version. If you don't like it, it won't cost you anything to find out.


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[Vincent M Ferrari]

PI sounds cool, but I'm not willing to pay for it if it is something I won't use.

So before you buy it, download the trial. I have yet to see anyone on here that bought PI be disappointed in it.

The good thing is, you can get a trial and take it for a spin, so you don't have to rely on others to make the decision for you and you can figure it out for yourself. If you like it, buy it. If you don't, delete it. :dilemma:

Can't hurt, right?

[Will T Smith]

Given Pocket Informant's amazing popularity, I'm surprised we haven't seen vendors ditching PocketPC. That is, we've seen a few WinCE ONLY devices out there. Pocket Informant would be the perfect replacement for Pocket Outlook on these devices.

If Alex Kack is lucky, Microsoft might just come along and offer to buy him out.

[Will T Smith]

Is anyone else a little cynical about the frequency of the updates for PI and AF? It seems they are in a race to have the highest version number, and will release Major updates often.

Since I've been following the race, PI has gone from vesion 2 something to 5, and AF from 3 something (I think) to 5.

Allow me to predict from version 5 they will increase in-step in major version numbers.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether all of the releases have been 'major' or not.

cmlp


Nope. This is the way software should be done. He's using an Xtreme programming approach. Get the features in and get it out to the people who wan't it. If the stuff was buggy, I'd be upset. But I've noticed very few bugs in the thing.

This is the way software development should be done. The fact that he does it by himself is amazing.

[Perry Reed]

I'm still using PI 3.something-or-other and it works great. I tried 4.0 and decided to skip it as the earlier version did the job I needed it to do. I will likely go try this one and decide whether or not to upgrade this time...

[alex_kac]

Unlike their site, the program is faaaast...

Load up time is down to roughly like 3 seconds. Interface is slick too. List of improvements can be found here (http://www.pocketinformant.com/whatsnew.php?type=pocketinformant&version=500)

Suhit

Sorry about the site slowdown - we were also processing 8000 free upgrades in one large batch transaction using our normal order processing method which isn't really meant for that - and so it took a bit of CPU.

Thanks for the comments on PI5 :)

[alex_kac]

Janak, I received the 2nd email with the reg code too, so could it possibly be blocked by a spam blocker or something?
Yep.. this is what SpamAssassin 2.61 says:

* 0.5 X_MSMAIL_PRIORITY_HIGH Sent with 'X-Msmail-Priority' set to high
* 1.3 X_PRIORITY_HIGH Sent with 'X-Priority' set to high
* 1.6 RATWARE_HASH_2_V2 Bulk email fingerprint (hash 2 v2) found
* -0.0 BAYES_44 BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 44 to 50%
* [score: 0.4996]
* 1.6 MISSING_MIMEOLE Message has X-MSMail-Priority, but no X-MimeOLE
* 0.1 MISSING_OUTLOOK_NAME Message looks like Outlook, but isn't

I'll ping Alex about it.

--janak

I've just fixed that in my mailorder entry app.

[alex_kac]

Is anyone else a little cynical about the frequency of the updates for PI and AF? It seems they are in a race to have the highest version number, and will release Major updates often.

Since I've been following the race, PI has gone from vesion 2 something to 5, and AF from 3 something (I think) to 5.

Allow me to predict from version 5 they will increase in-step in major version numbers.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether all of the releases have been 'major' or not.

cmlp

We try to do a major upgrade once a year. The last major one was 11 months ago. The previous major one was 12 months before that.

[IntegraPrelude98]

Is anyone else a little cynical about the frequency of the updates for PI and AF? It seems they are in a race to have the highest version number, and will release Major updates often.

Since I've been following the race, PI has gone from vesion 2 something to 5, and AF from 3 something (I think) to 5.

Allow me to predict from version 5 they will increase in-step in major version numbers.

Draw your own conclusions as to whether all of the releases have been 'major' or not.

cmlp

We try to do a major upgrade once a year. The last major one was 11 months ago. The previous major one was 12 months before that.

Well since you are reading these posts, I just thought you should know how great a job you guys are doing! I try to be a highly organized person and PI helps a ton!

[Noel]

I'm just about to upgrade - and looking forward to it even though I'm a few months too early to qualify for "free" :cry: and have a question regarding WebISMail - will you be continuing development on this potentially great sidekick to PI and if so, will you be making it Mobile 2003
compatible? Also now that I'm using an e800 in 640x480 mode is font scaling possible in PI 5 ?

Thanks for an INDISPENSIBLE Pocket PC app!



Noel

[garretwp]

I am glade everyone else is having no trouble with there install. I guess im one of the unlucky ones. I installed PI5 on my axim. I am a customer of pi3 and 4. Well when i go into PI5 and look at it and change a view setting, it freezes on me and hard locks my axim. I had to hard reset and lost data that i can not retreive back :(.


Garrett

[JohnJohn]

I love PocketInformant but wish I could use it. The software does not allow the use of the 415x and the HP keyboard in it's note section. This totally sucks. HP points the finger at the software and the software points it's finger at HP. Would you guys please pull your heads out and fix this! The keys mostly work, but when pressing the backspace or anything other than a "letter" key it takes you to the top of the note. Some keys don't work at all. I was hoping that the new 5.0 version would cure this problem, but it has not. Other apps work just fine, AgendaFusion, and simple Word docs work fine.

I am forced to use Agenda Fusion.

[Pat Logsdon]

To: Anyone who's thinking of buying Pocket Informant
From: An Ex-Slacker
Subject: Want to know how much I like this application?

I am READING THE MANUAL. ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I am HIGHLIGHTING things.

This is like a monkey learning how to convert fahrenheit to centigrade while his tree is on fire. It is AMAZING.

Thank you.

:mrgreen:

[Pat Logsdon]

I love PocketInformant but wish I could use it. The software does not allow the use of the 415x and the HP keyboard in it's note section...The keys mostly work, but when pressing the backspace or anything other than a "letter" key it takes you to the top of the note.
What notes are you talking about, specifically? I have a 4150, and the HP folding keyboard, and I'm able to use all of the keys in all notes/journal entries without any problems whatsoever.

[JohnJohn]

What notes are you talking about, specifically? I have a 4150, and the HP folding keyboard, and I'm able to use all of the keys in all notes/journal entries without any problems whatsoever.

I am using the HP thumb board. It's an issue with 4.6 and now the 5.0 verions of PI. It only happens in the notes section, under a task or appointment. PI works fine if I'm typing the actual task or appointment, it's the note section. http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=2832

[pelucidor]

Alex - another big thank you for your great product. Surprisingly few bugs for something this complex, and it's very rare an application gets faster with age and added features.

I have been a user since 2.x (got free upgrade to 3.0 and paid for upgrade to 4.x) and can't wait to install 5.0. Nowadays I only use my PPC for PI and games (too busy for other PPC fiddling) and I'm happy to pay $10 a year to keep this product moving forward.

[greenup]

It's nice that PI has been re-written from scratch umpteen times to increase speed. Speed is good, but last I checked, (I have not checked 5.0; availability) neither Pocket Informant NOR Agenda Fusion used "and" as an operator in their "filtering".

Maybe it only seems strange to me that
when you have No categories selected, you see All contacts,
when you have one category selected, you see a small list of contacts,
when you have two categories selected, you see more contacts,
when you have three categories selected, you see a fair sized list of contacts, maybe all of them

Why does this progression start large, get really small, and then grow towards large again?

It would be possible for me to change my thought patterns so I had categories that were named to do these queries for me, but that's not the point of computers, now is it?
As it is, I usually wind up scrolling through a list like "family" a lot more than I would otherwise do, looking george, rather filtering further on "close". (which would also have close work associates, and close friends)

I've asked about this feature before, but obviously to no end. "we're only running on a PDA, you know. What do you expect? full blown SQL queries?"
Well, not that you mention it, sure. Outlook itself had a weakness in this regard, until later versions, where it added an "SQL" tab to it's filter.
Is SQL96 compliance necessary? Probably not for me, I mostly want AND as well as OR, and freedom of NOT would also be good..(you know, good parenthetical action)

I ALSO have a lot of contacts, and would find a feature like that a lot more useful than "pictures in my contact item". Glitzy: yes, helpful: not usually. I couldn't even get photos of half of the people I keep in my contact list if I wanted to.
-greenup

[wing]

PLEASE inform me about Poc Inform....

wrt NOTES

does it do ANYTHING to organize notes better? categories? Folders? reduce the mayhem!

Thanks

:)

[cmlpreston]

We try to do a major upgrade once a year. The last major one was 11 months ago. The previous major one was 12 months before that.

In that case, it's been longer that I thought between updates Don't expect developerone to let you ahead in the race, though :D

cmlp

[ctmagnus]

This is like a monkey learning how to convert fahrenheit to centigrade while his tree is on fire. It is AMAZING.

:confused totally:

Although I agree that it is amazing (heck, it's beyond amazing!) I don't quite get that analogy.

[Jacob]

Maybe it only seems strange to me that
when you have No categories selected, you see All contacts,
when you have one category selected, you see a small list of contacts,
when you have two categories selected, you see more contacts,
when you have three categories selected, you see a fair sized list of contacts, maybe all of them


I agree that more operators are better when creating a query - it allows you to really narrow things down so an and is good.

The above to me at least, makes sense.

When none are selected it just means you don't want to query on category so all are shown.

When you select one you get all in that category etc..

I really like the default being that you see all contacts - partly because not all my contacts are even in a category.

[Pat Logsdon]

This is like a monkey learning how to convert fahrenheit to centigrade while his tree is on fire. It is AMAZING.

:confused totally:

Although I agree that it is amazing (heck, it's beyond amazing!) I don't quite get that analogy.
The analogy is as follows:

It's so easy to use that a simple person (the monkey) can use it in even the most complex of situations (the tree on fire). Would it help if I had added that the monkey was IN the tree when it was on fire? :mrgreen: That might be an important point.

[greenup]

Maybe it only seems strange to me that
when you have No categories selected, you see All contacts,
when you have one category selected, you see a small list of contacts,
when you have two categories selected, you see more contacts,


When none are selected it just means you don't want to query on category so all are shown.
When you select one you get all in that category etc..
I really like the default being that you see all contacts - partly because not all my contacts are even in a category.
I agree that the default should be All, it merely seems to me that adding more and more criteria should progressively limit the results.
One filter: less results.
Two filters: less than that.

-greenup

[Lorenzo]

I love Pocket Informant and use it daily along with TreNotes, but
it's just has tons of features and Modz as they say. The reg code
came by e-mail after the purchase so no need to goto the website.
I recommend the upgrade.

Lorenzo

[Jonathon Watkins]

Would it help if I had added that the monkey was IN the tree when it was on fire? :mrgreen: That might be an important point.

Yes, it helps. :mrgreen: A Bit. 0X

PI is one app that I readily paid for. The fact that Alex fixed the bugs for the previous release, rather forcing people to upgrade is ironically one reason that I am happy to upgrade and pay the extra. :mrgreen:

A great application at a fair price – with great support!

[dh]

PI is one app that I readily paid for. The fact that Alex fixed the bugs for the previous release, rather forcing people to upgrade is ironically one reason that I am happy to upgrade and pay the extra. :mrgreen:

A great application at a fair price – with great support!
Agree 100%. PI4.6 acually already did more than I'll ever need, but it was good to have a reason to make a payment.

[Jonathon Watkins]

.... it was good to have a reason to make a payment.

Now THAT's customer satisfaction. :way to go:

(But lets not take this too far - although PI is one of the (too) few apps we really can rave about for customer care etc.).

[SassKwatch]

Also, the contact photos you can add are great as well. No need to "resize" as PI automatically makes a full sized photo into a thumbnail to use on the contacts detail. Really nifty....
A seemingly interesting feature that I would be somewhat surprised to see get used by more than a few people.

Call me paranoid, 'but'......do I really want everyone with whom I may have contact to...

Have my name...
Have my address...
Have my phone number...
Have my email addy...
Have my birthday....
Have my anniversary....
Have who knows what kind of notes written about me..
*AND* now have my picture as well...

Do I want all that.....wandering around the countryside in a pocketable device that could easily be misplaced or stolen?

Well, I guess I don't mind *IF*....
1) The data itself is encrypted.
2) The device has *strong* password security enforced.

Other than that.....thanks, but no thanks.

Lke I said, call me paranoid.

[jlp]

Sass you paranoid :twisted:

You can find good protection apps like signature enabled or other pin or non pin centered !!

[bigkingfun]

Is anyone else having problems getting onto Handango? It hasn't been working for me all day. Sometimes the link from the WebIS site comes up, sometimes I can get through to the checkout page, but other times nothing. I have yet to be able to actually confirm my purchase on Handango.

[ntractv]

One slight problem so far, when I tap on the picture app box in contacts it locks up my device. (iPAQ 5555). Anyone else have this problem?

[MLO]

PI sounds cool, but I'm not willing to pay for it if it is something I won't use.

So before you buy it, download the trial. I have yet to see anyone on here that bought PI be disappointed in it.

The good thing is, you can get a trial and take it for a spin, so you don't have to rely on others to make the decision for you and you can figure it out for yourself. If you like it, buy it. If you don't, delete it. :dilemma:

Can't hurt, right?

I'm not asking for others to make the decision for me. I'd like to hear other people's experiences with PI so that I can decide whether or not to invest the time...which I have precious little of...to learn how to use this program.

By the way, I did download and install it yesterday afternoon. I experimented with it a little, but was baffled with all of the on screen options. I've got the QuickStart guide...is there a larger reference manual? If it's on the web site, I didn't see it.

MLO

[Kati Compton]

You can find good protection apps like signature enabled or other pin or non pin centered !!
I think Sass's point is that he's worried about his information being on OTHER PEOPLE'S Pocket PCs. Not his own. It's hard to get other people to encrypt.

[Doug Raeburn]

By the way, I did download and install it yesterday afternoon. I experimented with it a little, but was baffled with all of the on screen options. I've got the QuickStart guide...is there a larger reference manual? If it's on the web site, I didn't see it.

MLO

Look in the item placed on your PC's Start Menu when you did the install... the reference manual is one of the available selections.

As for trying it out, I'd recommend simply trying to use it like you'd use the Pocket Outlook equivalents, at least to start, and leave the abundant options for later. You really need to see how effectively the core product replaces Pocket Outlook for you. The out-of-the-box configuration should work just fine for starters. As you use it in this fashion, you'll start to see the basic niceties that distinguish it from Pocket Outlook, and that make it easier to use and/or more powerful. Once you get to appreciate the product at that level, you'll either be hooked (I'd expect that you will be) or you'll decide it's not for you. Once you're past that "getting acquainted" stage, assuming that you're still interested, then start looking at the wide array of options.

My point is, if you try to tackle the options right off the bat, you might be overwhelmed and scared away because it has so many options and it may seem too complex. You really need to understand and appreciate the core product in order to decide if it's for you.

[pelucidor]

By the way, I did download and install it yesterday afternoon. I experimented with it a little, but was baffled with all of the on screen options. I've got the QuickStart guide...is there a larger reference manual? If it's on the web site, I didn't see it.

MLO
On the PC you install PI on there is a 49 page PDF file that is the ref manual (Start/Programs/Pocket Informant 5/Documentation/Reference PDF). I am trying to read it all today.

[SofaTater]

Based on positive comments here, I downloaded a trial of PI5 over my current 4.6 version. I haven't really had time to play with it yet, but did notice immediately that it "flattened" all my parent/child tasks... :(

[Pat Logsdon]

Based on positive comments here, I downloaded a trial of PI5 over my current 4.6 version. I haven't really had time to play with it yet, but did notice immediately that it "flattened" all my parent/child tasks... :(
I think PI 5 has hierarchical tasks disabled by default - you can turn it on via one of the menus on the Tasks window. If that doesn't do it, you can just drag and drop your child tasks to your parent tasks once hierarchical tasks are enabled.

[mr_yellow]

But can someone confirm if this new version really is noticably faster and more efficient than the previous 4.x version on slow PPC's (in particular the 1910 =) )?

One of the biggest reasons i stopped using PI was because of horrendous bootup times and redraw speeds.

[T-Will]

One slight problem so far, when I tap on the picture app box in contacts it locks up my device. (iPAQ 5555). Anyone else have this problem?

PI scans the current folder for pictures and brings up a thumbnail list, so you probably just need to wait a little longer. It takes about 20 secs for mine to bring up thumbnails for about 20 pictures.

[Jacob]

But can someone confirm if this new version really is noticably faster and more efficient than the previous 4.x version on slow PPC's (in particular the 1910 =) )?

One of the biggest reasons i stopped using PI was because of horrendous bootup times and redraw speeds.

I do see an improvement in the speed dept on my 1910. It still doesn't come up as fast as say, solitaire, but from what I can see it has improved.

I'm not so sure about refresh time, it does seem to be a little lagging with a refresh from one view to another.

[JonnoB]

Question to all the PI users out there. Before I buy this, can you tell me if it does the following?

1) Does it support Microsoft Voice command - when I say "Show 'so and so' "
2) Does it support the Pocket Plus repeating alarms or does it have its own instead?
3) Will MS Voice Command announce the calendar items?
4) I use tAgenda... does it work with PI or is there a better Today plugin replacement?

Thanks

[ctmagnus]

A reminder to all who are considering purchasing Pocket Informant for the first time: there is a 25% discount on the subscribers-only discounts page (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/discounts.php) ( :rock on dude!:) for Pocket Informant or any other WebIS appliction, available until March 1. Unfortunately, this coupon doesn't work with the 50% off for current users so the cheapest a current user can get the new version for is $12.49 (unless they find a discount elsewhere).

[T-Will]

There's also a 28% off coupon thanks to Resco Software House and Handango.

Promo code: 106720

[SassKwatch]

I think Sass's point is that he's worried about his information being on OTHER PEOPLE'S Pocket PCs. Not his own. It's hard to get other people to encrypt.

You be right. Thanks for the clarification.

[ctmagnus]

Anyone else notice this?

Open a contact, appointment or task with a note. The background will have a brownish tint, but if you tap on the note icon to show the note, the note portion shows up nice and white.

[pocketpcfox]

Would some PI enthusiast care to explain the merits of the "Journaling" function? Just who records all their various PI activities, and to what end? Thanks.

[Peleus]

I am giving away a copy of this software at www.achilles-site.com

Pleas check the giveaway section to see how to win this great piece of software!

best regards,

Peleus

[MLO]

There's also a 28% off coupon thanks to Resco Software House and Handango.

Promo code: 106720

How long is this offer for?

MLO

[mv]

Question to all the PI users out there. Before I buy this, can you tell me if it does the following?


4) I use tAgenda... does it work with PI or is there a better Today plugin replacement?

Thanks

PItoday. It´s not free ($10) but is the best today plugin ever... you can see your tasks, category and appoinment icons, and edit is one tap away from the today screen. Of course, tAgenda works with no problem. It´s just not so great compared to PItoday.

And remember that there is a 50% family and friends coupon for PI... so if you have a friend who bought, ask him for the coupon. Or take a look at the forum located at brighthand about that.

[Jonathon Watkins]

And remember that there is a 50% family and friends coupon for PI... so if you have a friend who bought, ask him for the coupon. Or take a look at the forum located at brighthand about that.

News to me - I bought PI and have heard nothing about a coupon. How do I get it for anyone else that wants to get PI?

[Mark R Penn]

Question to all the PI users out there. Before I buy this, can you tell me if it does the following?

1) Does it support Microsoft Voice command - when I say "Show 'so and so' "
2) Does it support the Pocket Plus repeating alarms or does it have its own instead?
3) Will MS Voice Command announce the calendar items?
4) I use tAgenda... does it work with PI or is there a better Today plugin replacement?

Thanks

1) Yes, but it will show in the standard PO app. Some have reported getting it to show In PI, but I've never seen any instructions.
2) Yes.
3) Yes.
4) tAgenda will still work, but PIToday is infinately better, and fully integrated with PI.

[John0866]

Man, that sure is a pretty interface. I wish TransACT! was more like this...

I have asked TransACT to drop VO and switch several times. So I just asked PI to consider the possibility of opening TransACT data. I'm a hoping and a praying. Can I get a Hallelujah?!

[mv]

And remember that there is a 50% family and friends coupon for PI... so if you have a friend who bought, ask him for the coupon. Or take a look at the forum located at brighthand about that.

News to me - I bought PI and have heard nothing about a coupon. How do I get it for anyone else that wants to get PI?

http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=653321#post653321

[Jonathon Watkins]

Thanks MV - only thing is - the page pointed to in the 25 page brighthand thread: http://pocketinformant.com/promo.php does not exist. I take it that this promo is now over?

[Ripper014]

Should be working... I just checked it...


http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=653321#post653321

[yildi]

It amazes me how they constantly make this program faster and faster. This thing is BLAZING, now I don't need start pi cause it opens so quick now. Oh and the new and improved features are great too.

Yes, I have tried it and it seems that PI 5 and 4.61 are faster than the preceding version but this is not really very difficult given that these versions were very slow, at least on my iPAQ 1915 with W 2002.

PI was the first soft I have offered to my iPAQ and I was resigned to its slow speed because I loved its features... until I have tried AF. It was like a breeze on my ipaq and its features are quite satisfactory. Sure, even today, I like some of the features of PI and I would have liked to be able to continue to use it but nope, too slow to lauch, too slow to switch from one mode to another, too slow to show new page when you browse...

I have tested AF 5.4 and it is also very slow on my iPAQ... So I am in a way stuck with my AF 5.05 on my iPAQ (even if I boost it with PHM).

I like the features in PI but it is too slow then for me AF 5.05 is some sort of a trade-off...

Murat

[Jonathon Watkins]

Should be working... I just checked it...


http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=653321#post653321

When I open the link: http://pocketinformant.com/promo.php, it takes me to http://www.pocketinformant.com/, with no mention of any promotion.

I looked through the site but could not find it.

Could you be more precise? Where exactly on the site is it?

Thanks.

[tanalasta]

I tried visiting the promo site as well to see whether there were any new promotions with the release of PI5. Unfortunately, it seems to have disappeared and I can't remember my family/friends code.

Might be worth sending a support form and seeing whether the site is available at another address.

[Yo Boss]

Hi,

Can somebody tell me whether the Pictures on the PI contacts are synchronized with the ones in Oulook 2003?

Thanks

[mv]

I tried visiting the promo site as well to see whether there were any new promotions with the release of PI5. Unfortunately, it seems to have disappeared and I can't remember my family/friends code.

Might be worth sending a support form and seeing whether the site is available at another address.

It´s looks likes it´s over... well, lot of us bought PI 4.6 for $12.48 using that coupon, and now we get a free upgrade to 5! That´s what i call a deal...

[mv]

It amazes me how they constantly make this program faster and faster. This thing is BLAZING, now I don't need start pi cause it opens so quick now. Oh and the new and improved features are great too.

Yes, I have tried it and it seems that PI 5 and 4.61 are faster than the preceding version but this is not really very difficult given that these versions were very slow, at least on my iPAQ 1915 with W 2002.

PI was the first soft I have offered to my iPAQ and I was resigned to its slow speed because I loved its features... until I have tried AF. It was like a breeze on my ipaq and its features are quite satisfactory. Sure, even today, I like some of the features of PI and I would have liked to be able to continue to use it but nope, too slow to lauch, too slow to switch from one mode to another, too slow to show new page when you browse...

I have tested AF 5.4 and it is also very slow on my iPAQ... So I am in a way stuck with my AF 5.05 on my iPAQ (even if I boost it with PHM).

I like the features in PI but it is too slow then for me AF 5.05 is some sort of a trade-off...

Murat

Ah, I was about to buy the 1910 years ago... but i resisted and waited for the 1940... everything takes no time. Not seconds, no time. You just can´t measure how fast PI5 is on the 1940... so if you really want to use PI, sell your 1910, and get a refurbished 1940 for $200 (not much price difference) but the speed and BT make a real performance difference.

[MLO]

I've installed PI5 and have been using it for about a week.

I like it, it's a nifty little tool, but I don't think I use it enough to warrant purchasing it.

Those of you who have become die hard PI5 users....did you use it less during the first few weeks of installation and then more so after some time, or were you hard core users right off the bat?

My expiration date is coming up soon on my trial version (I wish that it were 30-day instead of 15!) and I'd like some opinions before I buy.

[tanalasta]

I love PI5 as well as the constantly wonderful development and customer support the producers have in place.

As to whether it is worth purchasing, the question is: Do you use your pocketpc as a personal information manager? Do you intend to?

If you do, then I will strongly recommend you trial it :) There are many enhancements PI has over the standard pocketpc outlook that I am still discovering - it is only when you find them and utilise these you wonder how you lived without it! Also, check out the pocketinformant forum and www.pocketinformant.com/forums

Examples includes:
Multiple calender views, categories/colours (wonderful stuff for organising your day and tasks. Especially once you learn to use the filters), search functions and so forth.

I'm not sure the family and friends discount still applies but the program is an absolute must at half price. But I would still seriously consider purchasing it either way. And with the recent upgrade, you'll be amazed how hard they seem to be working to iron out all the bugs.

In a nutshell, if you're going to use it - buy it. The only reason not to is if you're an Agenda Fusion person or are totally satisfied with the basic but functional calender app included with your PPC.

[MLO]

I love PI5 as well as the constantly wonderful development and customer support the producers have in place.

As to whether it is worth purchasing, the question is: Do you use your pocketpc as a personal information manager? Do you intend to?

If you do, then I will strongly recommend you trial it :) There are many enhancements PI has over the standard pocketpc outlook that I am still discovering - it is only when you find them and utilise these you wonder how you lived without it! Also, check out the pocketinformant forum and www.pocketinformant.com/forums


Examples includes:
Multiple calender views, categories/colours (wonderful stuff for organising your day and tasks. Especially once you learn to use the filters), search functions and so forth.

I'm not sure the family and friends discount still applies but the program is an absolute must at half price. But I would still seriously consider purchasing it either way. And with the recent upgrade, you'll be amazed how hard they seem to be working to iron out all the bugs.

In a nutshell, if you're going to use it - buy it. The only reason not to is if you're an Agenda Fusion person or are totally satisfied with the basic but functional calender app included with your PPC.

Uh, this doesn't quite answer my question.

I'm already trying it...I"ve had it installed for over a week. I do use my Pocket PC as a PIM. As I stated earlier, I haven't used it much (PI5) and I'm wondering if I should purchase it. Hence my earlier question....did people use it heavily right off the bat, or did they use it occasionally at first and more so as time went on.

[Jacob]

I'm already trying it...I"ve had it installed for over a week. I do use my Pocket PC as a PIM. As I stated earlier, I haven't used it much (PI5) and I'm wondering if I should purchase it. Hence my earlier question....did people use it heavily right off the bat, or did they use it occasionally at first and more so as time went on.

The problem is that it is *personal*. I found that I started trying out more of the advanced features as I used it.

However I still mostly use the basic functionality for the most part.

[ctmagnus]

did people use it heavily right off the bat, or did they use it occasionally at first and more so as time went on.

I go through cycles. Sometimes I'll go for a week or more doing very basic pim stuff, other times I'll use PI's advanced features heavily. One thing I use the advanced features for is in conjunction with PIToday and its A-Z sorting.

[tanalasta]

I'm already trying it...I"ve had it installed for over a week. I do use my Pocket PC as a PIM. As I stated earlier, I haven't used it much (PI5) and I'm wondering if I should purchase it. Hence my earlier question....did people use it heavily right off the bat, or did they use it occasionally at first and more so as time went on.

Sorry, I didn't know that was what you meant :P I use PI5 as heavily as I used to use the standard calender application. After installing PI5, i used it about the same but i found that it made organising my day and viewing my appointment/tasks that much more pleasurable. As for the advanced features, I use them as I discover them but tend to stick to fairly basic stuff.

[Ripper014]

I for one bought it and never use it... I still prefer the layout of Pocket Informant 3.6...? I currently have both Agenda Fusion 4.93 and the current Pocket Informant on my PPC and find that I use Agenda Fusion over PI... but in saying all this I am not enamored with the new Agenda Fusion either...

What these programs offer is a better PIM than what came with your PPC... is it worth the money...? Depends on how much you use your PIM... in my case it is the basis for why I have a PPC... so yes it is a must for me... but I could live without the current versions of Agenda Fusion and PI as I find that the older versions are more suited to my needs... though the newer versions do have some nice new functions...

[Ed Hansberry]

FYI - PI 5.01 is out. Tweaks, fixes, etc.

[mrkablooey]

FYI - PI 5.01 is out. Tweaks, fixes, etc.

Thanks. :)