What's the best Today Screen Plugin you use ?

[crashdau]

Ok...so what do you think are the coolest Today Screen Plugins out there that you use? I've used Dashboard by Snoopsoft since it came out in 2000. I was and still am very satisfied with it. :D The problem is I haven't seen much change since Chris's latest update for the PPC 2002 OS. I'm one of those people that needs change in the programs I use. Just cool tweaks and so forth. :? So...I'm looking to change my today screen and I haven't kept abreast of the latest plugins out there. I thought Jason's site was one of the best places to place this question? So..what do you think?

[renz]

I use Calendar+. Quote from the developer: "Calendar Plus is a program that runs under the Pocket PC's Today screen. It emulates the standard Pocket PC Calendar plug-in exactly, except that it offers more features. Features include the ability to see multiple days, the ability to look a given number of appointments ahead, and multiple ways of displaying the various calendar fields." Works great + it´s freeware = go get it! :D

http://www.mohairsofa.com/main.aspx?page=7&article=26

[crashdau]

Thanks, Renz. I downloaded it and found it to take up a lot of real estate on the desktop. While that's not really a major con, I found it to be a little strange having a scroll bar on the right of the desktop. I found some today plugins by Scary Bear Software ( http://www.scarybearsoftware.com ). The thing I liked about their programs was the feature of expanding and shrinking the screen to show my tasks and appointments. You can even rename the "Task List" to something personal, like "Things I forgot to do!!!". Also, the Powerlevel program is very good for measuring battery life, memory and storage. The programs I talk of are:
QuickAgenda
QuickTasks
QuickCalendar
PowerLevel

Go check'im for yourself. They're pretty good.

[spg]

I found some today plugins by Scary Bear Software ( http://www.scarybearsoftware.com ).


Those are quite nifty little programs.
And I'll have to agree with you on Calendar + the scroll bar is a little wierd.

[crashdau]

Yeah...I thought the Scary Bear stuff was good. Now all I need to find is a Contacts plugin that will allow you to search for any string no matter what field the string may be found in. :o
A friend of mine who jumped, however reluctantly, from the Handspring to the Pocket PC platform continues to point out that he misses that ability. Of course, that search capability is built into the Palm OS and we all know Microsoft will probably take years to incorporate it into the PPC 2002 OS, so I'm hopeful that some enterprising developer thinks to duplicate that function into a Contacts Today Screen Plugin. :D I just won't hold my breath waiting for it. :wink:

[JonnoB]

I am truly surprised that there aren't more freeware or inexpensive Today plugins... actually, there aren't that many at all.

[crashdau]

Yeah I was surprised by that, also. Everytime I look for one it's either more expensive than it deserves to be ( IMHO ) or it just doesn't have the right implementation. There sometimes a little shy of that one step that would make it perfect. Don't get me wrong, they're filling a niche a lot of the OS's leave out, but they could be just a little better. :?

[Xyress]

I just tried Scary Bear's QuickTasks and now I have a problem with the order of my Today Plug-ins. I can set the order in the Today options, but they don't always listen to me ... when I go back in to the options, the order is different. What's up with that?

I am using:

- tdLaunch
- Calendar+
- QuickTasks

Do these apps not play nicely with each other?

[Xyress]

Well ... I uninstalled Scary Bear's QuickTask. I don't know if it's a problem with tdlaunch or not, but I think at this point I'm just going to wait and see if Pocket Informant delivers on their Today Plug-in.

That would only run me $10 since I already paid for the full version.

[crashdau]

Hey Xyress,

If you think tdLaunch and QuickTasks don't play well together, why don't you try Scott Segligmann's Launcher. (www.scottandmichelle.com) I have the following today screen plugins (all running at the same time) and I haven't run into a problem.

1. Scott Seligmann's Launcher
2. Scary Bear's PowerLevel
3. FindItContacts (can't remember the developer)
4. Scary Bear QuickCalendar
5. Scary Bear QuickTasks
6. Scary Bear QuickAgenda

I know it sounds like a lot of real estate lost, but, it really doesn't take up a lot of room because the Scary Bear software can shrink/expand as you check Tasks, Agenda, or Calendar.

[renz]

Crashdau,
how is the speed of the Today screen effected by all the plug-ins running at the same time? Is there a way to have the today-screen update itself only after x hours?

[crashdau]

renz, the speed is very good IMO. It does refresh (read flicker) alot, but that is not bothersome to me. I think it has something to do with the Scary Bear plugins and the shrink/expand function. No, they don't have that x hours option. That would be a good option to add though. Maybe the developers are browsing these posts and may take your suggestion to heart.
But, I like the look of it...it's a nice change from Dashboard for a while. I'll probably switch back to Dashboard for a little time....you know... the never satisfied user...that's me. :) Though I can't wait to see the Pocket Informant plugin that's in development. That should be good! :)

[rix]

To Xyress,

I had a similar problem to yours with the today screen order.

I uninstalled Calendar+ & things seem to be fine now.

Currently using

Todays info
tdLaunch
QuickTasks
BirthdayWranglerPro (medusa software)


YMMV,

Rich

[rbj]

My favorite today page plug-in is Phrase Today. It is free from DeveloperOne. You create a text file with quotes (I use Bible promises) and it displays them randomly or sequentialy. You set how often you want it changed. You can also tap on it to change it.