Pocket Informant 2005 Enters Public Beta

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/index.php?showtopic=6645' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketinformant.com/Foru...?showtopic=6645</a><br /><br /></div><i>"This is the public beta of Pocket Informant 2005. It is in the stage now where we are fixing bugs both small and large. It has some known bugs. Some small. None large. Some feature we plan to change their implementation a tiny bit before we release. This may affect Pocket Informant meta-info such as how we complete appointments or custom views. One major thing to note is that due to the major internal changes for Pocket Informant and its settings, Custom Views from 5.x and earlier are not compatible with PI 2005. They will be ignored. We will not post a list of changes until release. This is the only public beta planned."</i><br /><br />The usual warning about beta software applies (don't expect it to work perfectly, and make sure to do a backup first). For those of you who are brave and give it a try, report back and let us know what we can anticipate. :mrgreen:

[donc36]

Definitely worth the wait!! New features include timeline view, icon scaling, new options (and new settings pages to set them that are more intuitive)
Don

[Ed Hansberry]

Very cool. Found a bug :devilboy: , but the overall app looks awesome.

[Darius Wey]

But the overall app looks awesome.

Agreed. I uninstalled Agenda Fusion 7 for this PI Beta, and found that the uninstalling of AF7 crashes the "New" menu. Great! Better head over to Developer One to report it. ;)

[KTamas]

All i can say WOW! I'm playing with it right now, and its really awesome 8O

[Darius Wey]

Just a heads-up to all you eager beta testers. Earlier in the day, Build 235 was available for download. Since then, a number of bugs have been reported and patched, so if you still have the older build, it may be worth heading over to WebIS again and downloading the updated Build 236.

[SiliconAddict]

Installation thru ActiveStink went smoothly, app itself runs fine, no bugs found yet. All I can say is: awesome 8) !!!

[seeker]

Do any of you who are testing have the IPAQ 4700 with the software?

I hope that there is a smooth imlementation plan for those of us who have the ROM version issues to deal with.

Is that a site which shows some screen views of the new software?

Thanks.

[Ce]

Gave it a try for some hours but wasn't that enthousiastic about it. Both v5.6 as 2005 are getting a bit slow on my 524 MHz loox in "turbo" mode....default settings with only 150 appointments and appr. 200 contacts and 15 tasks!!.
I probably won't upgrade unless there are some speed improvements. No matter how good new features were implemented..the speed decrease is annoying.

[Darius Wey]

Do any of you who are testing have the IPAQ 4700 with the software?

So far from what I have heard, hx4700 users have successfully installed this beta version in main memory, and no errors have resulted thus far. However, as always, backup the current state of your Pocket PC before installing this beta.

Is that a site which shows some screen views of the new software?

Not really. You'll find some screenshots posted around the place, but due to privacy reasons, a lot of the shots are blurred out. It's probably best to install it yourself to see what it's like. :)

However, here's a QVGA screenshot if you're interested. You'll notice some slight changes to the interface.

http://img133.exs.cx/img133/3613/piscreenshot639330zl.gif

[urologyhealth]

When one is a beta tester is there a financial benefit at the end? i.e.discount on the final product??

Thanks

[Darius Wey]

When one is a beta tester is there a financial benefit at the end? i.e.discount on the final product??

That is at the discretion of the developer. There's no set rule to this sort of thing.

It's best not to think of beta testing in terms of financial benefits, but rather, at the end of the day, your bug reports and suggestions help make a good product great, and the end-users will thank you for it when the product is formally released.

[Ed Hansberry]

When one is a beta tester is there a financial benefit at the end? i.e.discount on the final product??

Thanks
Understand this isn't so much a beta as a public preview. He has a dedicated beta team.

[seeker]

I have paid for versions of his excellent product since the 2.x verson series.

The product has always been of great value.

It appears, at this writing, that the only option for PI 2005 is to be loaded in RAM on the ipaq 4700.

I only wish that Alex would include an option or version of the product that would load and effectively operate from the filestore on the ipaq 4700 and thus prevent loss of very scarce RAM on the device.

The requirement to load and operate from RAM is a significant challenge of this device with the vers 5.x system on ROM.

This is just a dedicated user and customer comment that hopefully will get to Alex who ALWAYS listens and acts when possible whether in the latest or soon to be published version...

:(

[canuck 3]

Does it have any project management options like agenda fusion ?
I have been using pi for years, however this new option in agenda f looks like something i would use alot.
Thanks

[Darius Wey]

Does it have any project management options like agenda fusion ?

So far, I haven't seen anything in this beta that resembles it. :(

[xdalaw]

I have paid for versions of his excellent product since the 2.x verson series.

The product has always been of great value.

It appears, at this writing, that the only option for PI 2005 is to be loaded in RAM on the ipaq 4700.

I only wish that Alex would include an option or version of the product that would load and effectively operate from the filestore on the ipaq 4700 and thus prevent loss of very scarce RAM on the device.

The requirement to load and operate from RAM is a significant challenge of this device with the vers 5.x system on ROM.

This is just a dedicated user and customer comment that hopefully will get to Alex who ALWAYS listens and acts when possible whether in the latest or soon to be published version...

:(

How about moving some of PI's DLLs with a program like MemMaid, into your built-in storage? I've done that with the existing version and it works well. I think Alex even posted about it on his own site/blog. I also think CETitanic has an app that does that (if it's not already included in Tweaks2k2.)

[SiliconAddict]

Gave it a try for some hours but wasn't that enthousiastic about it. Both v5.6 as 2005 are getting a bit slow on my 524 MHz loox in "turbo" mode.

I've been playing with the new version for a few hours now, so far I haven't noticed any speed differences. On my QTEK 9090 the new version 6 is at least as responsive as the old version 5.6.

[Jerry Raia]

I have paid for versions of his excellent product since the 2.x verson series.

The product has always been of great value.

It appears, at this writing, that the only option for PI 2005 is to be loaded in RAM on the ipaq 4700.

I only wish that Alex would include an option or version of the product that would load and effectively operate from the filestore on the ipaq 4700 and thus prevent loss of very scarce RAM on the device.

The requirement to load and operate from RAM is a significant challenge of this device with the vers 5.x system on ROM.

This is just a dedicated user and customer comment that hopefully will get to Alex who ALWAYS listens and acts when possible whether in the latest or soon to be published version...

:(

This is why I have to stick with AF on my 4705. I can't afford to give up RAM.

[lmtuxinc]

its disapointing that theres still no vertical week view like agenda fusion and pocket outlook have.

[Phillip Dyson]

This is very exciting.
I'm hoping for a project view. For tasks, and contacts, and appointments, and phatnotes. Oh my! :D

[Darius Wey]

its disapointing that theres still no vertical week view like agenda fusion and pocket outlook have.

Actually, they do, but it's so well-concealed it'll make your eyes bulge out. 8O

When you're in Week (7) or Month (31) mode, double-tap on either the (7) or (31) button and you'll get the vertical week view (assuming that's what you mean by a vertical week view).

[mhowie]

its disapointing that theres still no vertical week view like agenda fusion and pocket outlook have.

Actually, they do, but it's so well-concealed it'll make your eyes bulge out. 8O

When you're in Week (7) or Month (31) mode, double-tap on either the (7) or (31) button and you'll get the vertical week view (assuming that's what you mean by a vertical week view).

Exactly... or, while in Month View, depress and hold the days you want displayed and then select whether you want icons, category colors, status color, or mini-text displayed...

[Jonathan_w]

its disapointing that theres still no vertical week view like agenda fusion and pocket outlook have.

Actually, they do, but it's so well-concealed it'll make your eyes bulge out. 8O

When you're in Week (7) or Month (31) mode, double-tap on either the (7) or (31) button and you'll get the vertical week view (assuming that's what you mean by a vertical week view).
Or when in month view you can just use you styi to select a couple of days ( just drop the stylus anywhere and drag it over any number of days) and those days will be in that view.
More or less I think it's zoom

[Doug Raeburn]

its disapointing that theres still no vertical week view like agenda fusion and pocket outlook have.

Actually, they do, but it's so well-concealed it'll make your eyes bulge out. 8O

When you're in Week (7) or Month (31) mode, double-tap on either the (7) or (31) button and you'll get the vertical week view (assuming that's what you mean by a vertical week view).

That's really simply a zoom function that shows a timeline oriented vertically. It has a similar appearance to the "vertical week" view available in Pocket Outlook and Agenda Fusion, but functionally it's very different. The "vertical week" view in the other products allows you to manipulate the blocks of time directly, dragging them to different days or different times in a single day. The paradigm implemented by such a view is the ability to directly manipulate these blocks of time as you view them, and that's the main point.

The PI zoomed view gives you no direct control over the blocks of time on the screen... you can only do so from a list view for the day that appears when you tap on a particular day. This PI view is unique and it's certainly useful, but it's definitely not the week view that lmtuxinc is looking for.

[Mark R Penn]

Does it have any project management options like agenda fusion ?

So far, I haven't seen anything in this beta that resembles it. :(

There is no direct equivelant. The new view you will find is the Timeline view. Alex has said publicly (and I know from the beta process) that so far this is just the foundation of the view. It's not intended to compete directly with AF's project view, but does already, and will much more in the future, have some of the same applications.

I like AF's project view, but as a project manager using Outlook extensively, and knowing what's coming, like PI's timeline view more. Trouble is that without breaking my NDA, I can't explain why :(

Suffice to say there will always be people who prefer AF overall, and AF's project view in particular, and that's good for all PIM users. There are of course already many who prefer PI to AF, and over the next few point releases the true power of TLV, for project management and many other uses, will become apparent.

[Mark R Penn]

its disapointing that theres still no vertical week view like agenda fusion and pocket outlook have.

Actually, they do, but it's so well-concealed it'll make your eyes bulge out. 8O

When you're in Week (7) or Month (31) mode, double-tap on either the (7) or (31) button and you'll get the vertical week view (assuming that's what you mean by a vertical week view).

That's really simply a zoom function that shows a timeline oriented vertically. It has a similar appearance to the "vertical week" view available in Pocket Outlook and Agenda Fusion, but functionally it's very different. The "vertical week" view in the other products allows you to manipulate the blocks of time directly, dragging them to different days or different times in a single day. The paradigm implemented by such a view is the ability to directly manipulate these blocks of time as you view them, and that's the main point.

The PI zoomed view gives you no direct control over the blocks of time on the screen... you can only do so from a list view for the day that appears when you tap on a particular day. This PI view is unique and it's certainly useful, but it's definitely not the week view that lmtuxinc is looking for.

I agree 100%, they're not the same and aren't meant to be. PI's solution is more useful for some people, AF's is more useful for others. I love the fact that both developers continue to do what they concider "right", rather than simply trying to match their competion feature for feature. Just because the competition do something, doesn't mean you have to do it the same way, or at all, if you don't see the value.

Another good example is project management. AF have decided to go in one direction (and got there first, for which I congratulate them), PI in a completely different way. Between the two apps, I recon just about every PIM user can be sattisfied, while if they copied each other, some of us would be left out in the cold!

Mark

[Doug Raeburn]

its disapointing that theres still no vertical week view like agenda fusion and pocket outlook have.

Actually, they do, but it's so well-concealed it'll make your eyes bulge out. 8O

When you're in Week (7) or Month (31) mode, double-tap on either the (7) or (31) button and you'll get the vertical week view (assuming that's what you mean by a vertical week view).

That's really simply a zoom function that shows a timeline oriented vertically. It has a similar appearance to the "vertical week" view available in Pocket Outlook and Agenda Fusion, but functionally it's very different. The "vertical week" view in the other products allows you to manipulate the blocks of time directly, dragging them to different days or different times in a single day. The paradigm implemented by such a view is the ability to directly manipulate these blocks of time as you view them, and that's the main point.

The PI zoomed view gives you no direct control over the blocks of time on the screen... you can only do so from a list view for the day that appears when you tap on a particular day. This PI view is unique and it's certainly useful, but it's definitely not the week view that lmtuxinc is looking for.

I agree 100%, they're not the same and aren't meant to be. PI's solution is more useful for some people, AF's is more useful for others. I love the fact that both developers continue to do what they concider "right", rather than simply trying to match their competion feature for feature. Just because the competition do something, doesn't mean you have to do it the same way, or at all, if you don't see the value.


And I never suggested anything of the sort. The specific issue was lmtuxinc's expression of disappointment in the fact that PI doesn't have a "vertical week" view like Pocket Outlook and PI. It was suggested that PI's zoomed view was indeed that. It is not. Note that I never said that the PI zoomed view is not useful (in fact, I expressly said the opposite), just that if lmtuxinc was looking for a functional equivalent to the PO/AF view, the zoomed view is really not that, despite suggestions to the contrary. I didn't suggest that PI should do it the same way... it was the end user who asked the question who suggested that. He obviously sees value in the functionality of such a view, and I agree with him. And saying that the PI zoomed view doesn't have the same functionality is saying just that, not that the PI zoom mode doesn't have functionality of its own that has value. It's an innovative approach that has definite value of its own.

And yes, I agree that it's good that the 2 products are beginning to branch out more in different directions. It's becoming increasingly common that features that are introduced in one product don't show up in the other. I guess it just depends on the demand from the customer base.

At any rate, just as with the PI Timeline view, the AF Project View that you see in the current release is also just the foundation. John has been working on this idea for a long time and he has big plans for it. And although the response to the Project View has been overwhelmingly positive since the AF7 release, there are features and enhancements planned for it that will increase its power and functionality dramatically over the initial release. And I can't talk about those either. :wink: All I can say is that as both a project leader and a project team member, I'm very excited at the possibilities. So stay tuned!

[Mark R Penn]

And I never suggested anything of the sort. The specific issue was lmtuxinc's expression of disappointment in the fact that PI doesn't have a "vertical week" view like Pocket Outlook and PI. It was suggested that PI's zoomed view was indeed that. It is not. Note that I never said that the PI zoomed view is not useful (in fact, I expressly said the opposite), just that if lmtuxinc was looking for a functional equivalent to the PO/AF view, the zoomed view is really not that, despite suggestions to the contrary. I didn't suggest that PI should do it the same way... it was the end user who asked the question who suggested that. He obviously sees value in the functionality of such a view, and I agree with him. And saying that the PI zoomed view doesn't have the same functionality is saying just that, not that the PI zoom mode doesn't have functionality of its own that has value. It's an innovative approach that has definite value of its own.


Far too sensitive Doug - I meant that the developers shouldn't add something if they don't see value, regardless of what the competition is doing, not that you hadn't acknowledged value in PI's solution. I was agreeing with you when you said they're different with different functionality, and that lmtuxinc's request maybe wasn't sattisfied by PI's GWV.

But of course it might be. I do think you've assumed a little too much in suggesting that lmtuxinc wants EXACTLY what AF offers. All he said he wanted was a vertical week view "like" AF's and PO's. That could mean "exactly the same as", or it could mean "to compare with". Both requests are valid. PI's and AF's vertical week views are very different, and lmtuxinc may or may not like PI's, but Darius Wey was quite right to point out that PI does in fact have one.

It's very good that AF does it one way, and PI does it another, because if they didn't one of us (you or I) wouldn't have the method we prefered.

[Mark R Penn]

I guess it just depends on the demand from the customer base.

In part it's that, but mainly I think it's that both developers have a very clear vision of what makes a "good" PIM, and those visions are not the same.

More strength to both of them I say.

[Doug Raeburn]

Far too sensitive Doug - I meant that the developers shouldn't add something if they don't see value, regardless of what the competition is doing, not that you hadn't acknowledged value in PI's solution.

Not too sensitive... it's just that your bottom line was less than crystal clear based on your wording. Thanks for the clarification.

But of course it might be. I do think you've assumed a little too much in suggesting that lmtuxinc wants EXACTLY what AF offers. All he said he wanted was a vertical week view "like" AF's and PO's. That could mean "exactly the same as", or it could mean "to compare with". Both requests are valid. PI's and AF's vertical week views are very different, and lmtuxinc may or may not like PI's, but Darius Wey was quite right to point out that PI does in fact have one.

I never said that Darius was wrong in pointing out that PI does indeed have something that at least has a similar appearance. We're all here to help each other out and answer questions to the best of our ability, and that's what Darius was doing. But regardless of the context of lmtuxinc's question, he certainly deserved to get an explanation of the differences between the functionality that he appeared to prefer in the products that he cited and the functionality in PI that's allegedly similar. In that way, he can make an informed decision whether he was looking for an exact functional match, or if he would be willing to consider functionality that has a similar look, but markedly different functionality.

At any rate, &lt;snip>, I feel that my interpretation of lmtuxinc's statement was perfectly reasonable, and I stand by it. If you wish to interpret differently and answer accordingly, be my guest.

It's very good that AF does it one way, and PI does it another, because if they didn't one of us (you or I) wouldn't have the method we prefered.

On that we can agree unconditionally.

EDITED: Removed a comment that was relevant to the discussion, but could be (and unfortunately, has been) misinterpreted as a "shot".

[Mark R Penn]

he certainly deserved to get an explanation of the differences between the functionality that he appeared to prefer in the products that he cited and the functionality in PI that's allegedly similar.

I'd say it's probably more helpful to let him judge for himself, now that he knows PI does have a Vertical Week View. Unless you're going to give a detailed blow by blow account of every feature of the two views, along with an explanation of how a feature in one may not be so important in the other because it has x, y or z to compensate, telling him what one or other can'tdo doesn't really help him.

We've agreed in the past that the ONLY way to be fair in these sittuations is to let people try both products for themselves. The most you or I (both from our biased perspectives) can or should do is to let people know what features are there, and how to use them, so that they can make their own judgements. That's precisely why I'm NOT explaining why I dislike the AF GWV, and in fact refuse these days to make comment at all about what I think is the good or bad in AF. I'll stick to explaining PI, and that's all.

I'm absolutely convinced you're right that many many people choose AF because of this view, and having done so, they tell you. I could tell you all the things in PI that people sight as reasons they chose PI over AF, but don't really see the point.

[Doug Raeburn]

Mark, I'm sorry, but you're way out of line here. I find your attempts to malign my well-intentioned efforts to correct some misleading information to be unwarranted and offensive. This exchange is over.

[mobilemail]

I'm using an E800, so I don't foresee any RAM constraints &lt;grin>, but I'm curious how the beta is working on VGA-capable devices. Does it run in true VGA? Other comments?

[Darius Wey]

But the overall app looks awesome.

Agreed. I uninstalled Agenda Fusion 7 for this PI Beta, and found that the uninstalling of AF7 crashes the "New" menu. Great! Better head over to Developer One to report it. ;)

Well, whoever's in the same boat can now use a fix released by Developer One. More information here. (http://forums.developerone.com/showthread.php?t=898)

[digital843]

Did a very quick download as skipped..Phat notes, Web mail and the other download option(??). Went smoothly and overall looks just like what I already had. Did notice the option changes but not impressive..maybe because I don't use them as much At the end of the download the manual was checked but did not come up. Also had the option for using the today page bujt this did not happen which is just as well as I prefer my own

John

[Sokudo-San]

I guess the biggest changes are the time line view and the catagory groups. Remember to click (Or tap!) on the top left hand box in the time line to add catagories...Then you'll notice how useful it is!