Every six months or so, I try to make the transition from Palm to PPC, but it never lasts. When PPC developers stop wasting screen real estate on bulky controls, maybe the transition will go better for me. There are a few programs I can't live without on my Palm, and there are no good alternatives on PPC:
- SDSTime: a simple timesheet program where I can see an entire week at a glance, with all project names, and times for each day of the week in calendar format... still waiting for something like this on PPC. I've evaluated about 9 apps, and none does this.
- Day Notez - a simple daily journal that organizes entries by date and time, and shows them in a sorted list that allows filtering by keywords. Every equivalent in PPC has a poor UI, no filtering, and builky timestamps.
Can't help you with all your issues, but as a former Palm user (9 devices over 5 years) I used both of the apps noted above and offer the following as viable alternatives;
-Pocket Time ("www.bivrin.com") - Shareware that is very close in functionality to SDS Time (took me over a year to find this after switching over).
-CLC Journal ("www.crownlogic.com") - Syncs perfectly with Outlook Journal which is a pretty capable journaling program. I keep a years worth of journal info synced on my PPC and regularly do searches on keywords when I am looking for a particular group of events or conversations.
It took me a while to find equivilants for many of my previous Palm apps (and I had many) but over time I don't find myself wanting for anything I used to have. Generally, where many Palm apps were sort of amateurish, most PPC apps appear to be professionally written and are more robust in most cases. Maybe too much for some people, but just right for me.
Ed Hansburry has for years been arguing that Palm is or should be dead and I guess we can look forward to another next year. Ed, there is only one thing that counts when you choose a PDA: does it have the software you need? I retired early a couple of years ago so today I apart from bookreading only use a PDA for fun; I tend to stick to the PPCs at the moment but could do with either. But if I were to start working again and needed (see below) a datebook, needed a task management system that works, wanted a PDA where the alarm goes off 100% of the time and wanted a PDA on which things run fast and smoothly, Palm would win hands down (well, I will admit that I haven't checked things seriously the last couple of years but I do follow PPCs loosely). If you just write 5 or 6 days a week in your diary: "7:00 Go to work", you don't need a Palm and can do with either - you may even be able to keep your appointments in your head!
I bought my PPCs to read .LIT books (I like them once in a while), do wi-fi at home and in coffeebars (just for fun though I don't bother much today) and to do PowerPoint presentations (the Palm version was not fully functional at that time). I tried for years to find a good diary system for PPCs but apart from looking very good, the programs were neither here or there; and they are (were?) damn slow.
Rather than write such unhelpful articles, PPCthoughts should write articles that looked at things from the outside: why are neither Palm or PPCs as good as they ought to be and what could be done to make them better.
And, no, don't ask me to write such articles. I only work for money.
ANYWAYS, I have a Pocket PC, I switched over due to my Palm device of old (OS 3) being absolutely terrible. So, I have a Pocket PC 2003 SE device now (replaced a 2002 device). My college is having a mobile programming class... for PALM!
Well, it is an excuse for a new toy... so a Tungsten E2 later, I have both a Palm OS 5.4 device and a Windows Mobile device, and I'm looking over them. One thing I really noticed on BOTH sides of the fence is that people are zellots for their platforms, but it seems Windows Mobile is the worst. Trying to explain that I have the Palm primarily for my programming class usually generates a comment from the other person along the lines of "Gee, that's dumb, Windows Mobile is a bazillion times more powerful and it ACTUALLY MUTITASKS". Sigh...
So, here is what I found out. Both multitask (Palm prefers programs "hibernate" unless they really must run at the same time as other programs, Windows Mobile prefers that you never close any programs...). WM displays the today screen and then you can go to start/programs for program icons. Palm displays the program icons on the screen, and if I hit my calendar button I get the today screen (I'm not kidding you). In fact, most things the Pocket PC does the Palm does as well, just backwards.
<edit> On Palm, if a program is closed the program can save its' internal memory before closing. Therefore, when you start the program, the program starts, grabs the older memory, and continues like it was never closed in the first place. The program in question must support this though. It isn't quite like saving a preferences file but more like the program was never closed. It's kinda nifty, too bad it is a feature that isn't present in Windows Mobile. </edit>
Learning about the Palm in my class, the Palm OS is ARM based, preemptive multitasking, however the OS emulates the older processors from the prior OSes to keep compatibility (with PACE). Yes, you can make native ARM programs but for the most part, people still compile for the older CPU because they know it works. Thankfully the OS is ARM based so any system calls will at least be executed by the faster ARM code.
Palm is toying around with non-volitle memory (first Flash, then NVRAM (on my E2) and finally a microdrive) while Pocket PC went ROM/RAM. It should be noted that there are a ton more companies hacking at mobile issues for Windows Mobile than Palm (Palm just has... um... PalmOne...). True, PalmSource and PalmOne is behind now, but they are doing what the person at the tail end of the race should do, they are poking the leader hard in the back. True, the Lifedrive has issues... but it tells Windows Mobile developers that there IS a hard drive PDA and that they should think about doing something similar soon. The Tungsten E2 has a cell phone style connector to sync with which is very reliable... meanwhile the Axim X50v has MAJOR CRADLE ISSUES... both sides have a lot to learn... and I fear the day when there is no competition.
As for which I like better... I am using BOTH! The Palm is a very very fast organizer, going through calendar and other native applications instantly (much faster than my X30 High!). The Axim just sits on the belt clip playing endless MP3s and serving as my multimedia center. The two devices are in sync with each other (they both sync with Outlook) so it doesn't harm me to have both. Ironically, since I am learning Palm programming, I might end up contributing Palm programs to the mobile community... then agan, Palm was always really nice to developers... to the annoyance of the users (see the PACE emulation above, Palm programmers seem to like programming for OS 3.5 and it is only milding hard to code for clear back to OS 1 (you need a lot of knowledge and workarounds for that OS).
I'm not saying one is better or one is worse and I won't slam anybody for their choice. Either device is really nice and it should be a personal choice in determining which is better (or if both should be at one's side... ). I'm glad I have an open mind though, I get to have twice the fun now!
As for which I like better... I am using BOTH! The Palm is a very very fast organizer, going through calendar and other native applications instantly (much faster than my X30 High!). The Axim just sits on the belt clip playing endless MP3s and serving as my multimedia center. The two devices are in sync with each other (they both sync with Outlook) so it doesn't harm me to have both. Ironically, since I am learning Palm programming, I might end up contributing Palm programs to the mobile community... then agan, Palm was always really nice to developers... to the annoyance of the users (see the PACE emulation above, Palm programmers seem to like programming for OS 3.5 and it is only milding hard to code for clear back to OS 1 (you need a lot of knowledge and workarounds for that OS).
I'm not saying one is better or one is worse and I won't slam anybody for their choice. Either device is really nice and it should be a personal choice in determining which is better (or if both should be at one's side... ). I'm glad I have an open mind though, I get to have twice the fun now!
hhhmmm... maybe i could also do the same - my VZ90 would serve as my PIM/Organizer, while my new Axim x50v (coming June 1st, hopefully) would serve as my multimedia center...
Here's my take on the Windows Mobile vs. Palm OS argument: They're both very capable OS's and what is best is largely a matter of what ones needs are. I have used a number of Palm and PPC devices over the past few years. Last year I switched from using a Tungsten T3 as my "main" device, and moved to a Dell Axim x50v. However, over the past month, I've started again using a Palm OS device, a Treo 650, as my "main" PDA. They're both very capable machines and either one could fulfill all of my needs.
I'm a medical profession, and thus I don't do any "tech maintenance" type work. However, I do run a ton of programs on my Treo and my Axim, and they both are more than up to the task. (PIM, database, medical references, e-mail, etc.)
The two main complaints that Palm users have had over the past year have been 1) the lack of Wi-Fi options in the Palm OS, and 2) the software compatibility issue with the non-volatile memory of the Tungsten T5. However, I have yet to see a dedicated Palm user declare that he had to move over the a Windows Mobile device, because he needed to have true multi-tasking, or a built-in file system. It's not a big issue in everyday usage...
I have to agree with an earlier poster that Ed Hansberry seem to have an obsession with knocking the Palm OS and belittling Palm users. I frankly find it to be a bit silly. And come on, Surer, are all "Palmistas" really suffering from low self-esteem? And you guys are calling Jeff Kirvin biased...
These sort of threads really are a waste of time...
elbowz- in theory any Turing machine can emulate another Turing machine. That does not mean its useful or elegant to emulate a proper modern OS on a Palm.
Perhaps you should consider the question from the opposite direction: does it make sense to try to emulate a modern desktop OS on something with a tiny screen designed to fit in your hand? For my personal use (as aside from my professional needs) the responsive, intuitive access to core applications provided by the PalmOS is both more useful and far more elegant than WM2003SE.
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On Palms the hacks keep multiplying trying to catch up with modern computers e.g the cooperative multi-tasking solution, and this has made the device more and more unstable.
Hacks? Given the leisurely performance of Windows Mobile on even the fastest available handheld hardware I'd say the pre-emptive multi-tasking runs more like a hack.
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On POS its now acceptable to soft-reset 6-9 times per day. 2 seconds lag is now perfectly normal, and 6 seconds is just peachy too. Due to the cobbled together OS they are also not getting the latest software, while WM benefits from easy porting from desktop apps. Music stutters when played in the background with almost every activity. These things are accepted for the much vaunted "Zen of Palm". They even pay over the odds for all this.
Really? You see I support dozens of users who have Palm and WM devices and what I see is the exact opposite. PalmOS devices are incredibly stable. I'm guessing that you are getting the info on 2 and 6 seconds lag times from the early reviews of the LifeDrive - as I haven't seen one yet so I can't comment - I wonder whether you have?
Background music on PalmOS devices is a smooth fluid thing that doesn't interrupt even the most intensive of front-end purposes - again I wonder where you've got this info from. Not first hand knowledge I'll wager...
Finally as to the availability of desktop apps: yep I'm wading through them here - not!
And before you accuse me of being a Palm fanboy, I'd like to point out that I've been a Win CE user since the days of the e105 - and I'm still continually frustrated by the failure of MS to deliver a complete working version of an OS which has the potential to completely blow away the competition.
While I can't say POS is more unstable than WM, I can definately say that POS has gotten more unstable with each revision, while the WM has tended towards more stability. My m100 I almost never had to soft reset, my NR70v would crash (and hard reset) quite often because of all the Sony modifications of the OS. My T3 is a bit better in stability, but it too crashes for random reasons. Tungsten C is the worst. WM2003 (a620) was a lot more stable than pocket pc 2002 (my ipaq).
The stuttering music should also be a LD reference again. You can find it "first hand" from the bargainpda review. The thing that bewilders me about the lifedrive is that it erases the hard drive after a hard reset. very few people will regularly backup 4 gigs of data, and it's a nuisance to do so.
I don't see what's so innovative about Palm's non-volatile memory. My series 60 phone was released nearly 2 years ago and it maintains all its data and almost all the settings (after losing battery power/taking out the battery for extended periods). The on thing i've found missing is the arrangement of programs goes back to default.
WM handhelds with harddrives should be comiing out soon. Samsung had announced its smartphone/mp3/harddrive before the p1 announced the lifedrive. Of course half of samsung's phones also end up in a trash can somewhere.
elbowz- in theory any Turing machine can emulate another Turing machine. That does not mean its useful or elegant to emulate a proper modern OS on a Palm.
Perhaps you should consider the question from the opposite direction: does it make sense to try to emulate a modern desktop OS on something with a tiny screen designed to fit in your hand? For my personal use (as aside from my professional needs) the responsive, intuitive access to core applications provided by the PalmOS is both more useful and far more elegant than WM2003SE.
Tell that to Palm, who actually boots their OS of a hard drive.
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On Palms the hacks keep multiplying trying to catch up with modern computers e.g the cooperative multi-tasking solution, and this has made the device more and more unstable.
Hacks? Given the leisurely performance of Windows Mobile on even the fastest available handheld hardware I'd say the pre-emptive multi-tasking runs more like a hack.
As long as the architecture is right advances in hardware will bring performance boosts. If the architecture is wrong (like in the T5 and lifedrive) nothing will save them. Or are you denying that POS is converging on WM, instead of the other way around?
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On POS its now acceptable to soft-reset 6-9 times per day. 2 seconds lag is now perfectly normal, and 6 seconds is just peachy too. Due to the cobbled together OS they are also not getting the latest software, while WM benefits from easy porting from desktop apps. Music stutters when played in the background with almost every activity. These things are accepted for the much vaunted "Zen of Palm". They even pay over the odds for all this.
Really? You see I support dozens of users who have Palm and WM devices and what I see is the exact opposite. PalmOS devices are incredibly stable. I'm guessing that you are getting the info on 2 and 6 seconds lag times from the early reviews of the LifeDrive - as I haven't seen one yet so I can't comment - I wonder whether you have?
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I just tested this on my review unit with a stopwatch: launch Calendar (1st time since last soft reset so it's definitely not cached): 2 seconds. Switch calendar views: too fast to time- instant.
No matter if 5 or 4GB, The 4GB is still laggy. Imagine the 5GB, OMG. I saw the LifeDrive and tested it. It doesn't take 6 seconds but it takes some time. It took about 2 secondsto open an app. With WiFi. It's even slower. Graffiti lags as well. Not trying to be pessimistic, just telling it as I saw it.
In theory, the T5 seems ideal for me. So what's wrong with it? Having all that flash memory must be good - no more buggering about with JackFlash and no worry about losing data.
Constructive criticism please and just so everyone knows, I'm sticking with Palm, so I hope that the several PPC trolls who are currently littering this site will not waste our space and time by pushing other systems.
I would also be obliged if you could keep it fairly non-technical, I'm no techie!
Thanks in advance.
Simple? It crashes. It crashes. It crashes.
I had one, spent a month trying to get it to synch to two computers and stop crashing every other day, which it did from nearly day 1. It took three month, palm loosing the unit I sent in and then trying to pass off a refurbished unit on me before I got a refund.
T5 = junk
I can tell you that in the 6.5 months I've had my T5, it has never hard reset. Honestly, my T5 experiences upwards of 6-9 soft resets a day, but without data loss, they're an annoyance at worst. If I understand things, it's because of the type of memory used (I don't like getting too technical either, when making overall judgements on whether a unit's "good" or not - just evaluate it's pros & cons). The only comments I've seen complaining about T5 hard resets are either from people who don't even have one, or folks jumping to bad conclusions based on what they've seen others write.
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Background music on PalmOS devices is a smooth fluid thing that doesn't interrupt even the most intensive of front-end purposes - again I wonder where you've got this info from. Not first hand knowledge I'll wager...
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8. An "OKEY" like feature (same as T5) is included which highlights things with a blue "halo" with the D-Pad. I don't like it.
9. The "LifeDrive" (storage - not the device itself) is actually very similiar to "Internal" listed on the T5. So essentially, think of the "LifeDrive" as a 4GB "Internal" - they both act like an internal SD Card. So rather than see "Internal" like on a T5, you actually see "LifeDrive" listed as storage (same as you would the name of your SD Card). 10. Music DEFINITELY SKIPS BAD when playing a Song and even the slightest change in applications or within apps. Unless you like skipping music, you will not want to do anything else with the LD when playing mp3s. It will skip almost every time.
11. The Voice Button can be reporgrammed to "Apps" which is nice. The Landscape can't be changed.
Finally as to the availability of desktop apps: yep I'm wading through them here - not!
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Why is Palm always last to get these technologies. Skype is the only other one that is coming to mind right now (because it is so extrememly big and important), but other platforms always get this stuff first. Hmmmm... I wonder why?
And before you accuse me of being a Palm fanboy, I'd like to point out that I've been a Win CE user since the days of the e105 - and I'm still continually frustrated by the failure of MS to deliver a complete working version of an OS which has the potential to completely blow away the competition.
You may not be a fanboy, but I don't think you have been keeping up with developments on the Palm side... all bad. I hope its not too much for you to read, but you seriously need updating. The current Garnet is a frankensteinian perversion of the original KISS Palm OS.
Now after hearing him in this podcast, I have mental images of him in a large tent on a hot Sunday in the Dust Bowl, holding a rattlesnake in one hand and a LifeDrive in the other, saying "Repent, sinners..." Rock of Ages is being played (or perhaps pounded is the more accurate term) from an old upright piano in the corner.
Good lord, that was hilarious. :lol:
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But that's not for everyone. 95% of the customers I serve aren't after power and bragging rights. They just want to get the job done. In the case of most of the medicos, that means access to medical resources and basic PIM functionality.
I don't have much to add to Janak's comments, but in my experiences (and yes, I'm in the medical field), it is the power and expandability of Windows Mobile devices that make it a preference among the people I work with, as well as myself. Pocket PCs are no longer used for Skyscape, Harrison's and what not. Their functions in the medical industry are being constantly expanded to include wireless data transmission, barcode scanning, etc. This may not be in effect in all countries but I can definitely say it's being put in effect in the US, Australia, and a few countries in Europe. Sad as it is, a Palm would croak if it attempted to do half of that. But granted, Palm still has its place in several industries, including the medical one. And it's the rivalry between Palm and Windows Mobile that brews innovation.
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). I'm glad I have an open mind though, I get to have twice the fun now!
Re: Each serves their own market
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