PalmPilot - The Ultimate Guide (2nd Edition)

Thanks to Janice Wright for returning with a review of O'Reilly's PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide (2nd Edition). It's the 2nd edition, written by David Pogue and Jeff Hawkins - click below to learn how to make the most of your PalmPilot.

PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide (2nd Edition)
author	David Pogue, Jeff Hawkins
pages	597,
publisher	O'Reilly
rating	9/10
reviewer	Janice Wright
ISBN	1565926005
summary	An excellent book to teach you how to make the most of your Pilot

Wow - I'm impressed. With my Pilot that is. I bought a Pilot 6 months ago so that I could carry my agenda (which I keep in MSOutlook on my desktop computer) to meetings with me. For six months I used it essentially as an electronic version of my filofax that I could also play backgammon or Sokoban on; and that was all. Then I read David Pogue's "well-written, nicely designed exploration of the Palm" (to quote Jeff Hawkins in the 'Forward').

Now I think of my pilot as a computer, one that will provide almost as much hackish enjoyment as my Linux box... as a matter of fact I'm now following the microLinux project with great interest and wondering how long it will be before I can upgrade to a Palm/Handspring device that will run Linux, a POP3 client and support a wireless modem. In the preface, Pogue says "Taking your Palm further: that's what this book is about." He delivers on that one-hundred percent.

David Pogue's "Palm Pilot - The Ultimate Guide" is absolutely excellent. It did take forever to read, though, because I kept stopping every few pages to optimize my Pilot with the tricks I had just learned, or to turn an easter egg on (yes, the book tells you where all(?) of the easter eggs are). The book has everything from office productivity tips for suits (when transferring lots of data from the expense program to Excel, you can end up with multiple spreadsheets which you have to total seperately, p. 228) to great hackish tidbits for hardcore geeks (like how to turn on verbose hot-sync logging, p.142).

Like many people I completely ignored the manual that came in the box with my Pilot, so some of the stuff Pogue covers, like ferinstance the Ronomatic stroke, is probably actually in the manual (l've only ever looked at it once - to try to solve an installation failure problem. The manual was unhelpful, and I found the information I needed to solve the problem in the FAQs at PalmCentral.com. The problem and solution are on page 181.

What's good and/or my favorite bits:

• the musical notation for the palm chimes on p.137
• the official solution vs. the better solution to upgrading
• the way it explained why a backgammon game I had installed and then deleted kept 'coming back' every time I HotSynched
• even though I will probably never surf the web on my pilot the explanation of how ProxiWeb works is mega cool.

What's bad:

• didn't really need four pages on the various classic games that you can download from 3Com
• doesn't mention quickwrite in the 'graffiti alternatives' section

Table of Contents
I. This Is Your PalmPilot Speaking

The 3x5 inch powerhouse

Setup and guided tour

Typing without a keypad

The four primary programs

Other built-in programs
II. Palm Meets PC

HotSync, step-by-step

Installing new palm programs

Palm desktop (win&mac)
III. The Undiscovered PalmPilot

The electronic book

The secret multimedia world

Database and number crunching
IV. The PalmPilot Online

Email anywhere

The web in your Palm

Paging, faxing, printing, and beaming

Palm VII: wireless email, wireless web
V. Troubleshooting and Upgrading

Troubleshooting

The Palm family, model by model
VI. Appendixes

CD-ROM
A few notes about the CD-ROM that comes with the book: Though it was obviously outdated by the time the book went to press, it will save you hours of hunting for the best software and, depending on the speed of your modem of course, a significant amount of download time (for those of us unfortunate enough to live in corners of the world with metered phone calls, you will probably save yourself the price of the book within weeks). I've been working my way through a variety of 'world' clocks (ones that show multiple timezones), trying to find one that I like; because there are half-a-dozen on the CD, this is pretty painless. The Catalog software resident on the CD makes it easy to find what you are looking for, and in many instances, shows you what the program is going to look like. I've 'trialed' a lot more software on my PalmPilot than I would have ever been bothered to download.

And yes - I did write this review on my Pilot, mostly on trains & on the London Underground. Speaking of which: as soon as I get the time, I'm gonna figure out how to make ImageViewer docs, so that I can update the London Underground map for the Pilot - the one that's currently available still has Mornington Crescent crossed out!

Purchase this book at Amazon.

Janet, please send your name, address, t-shirt size, and this article's URL to roblimo so we can send you your t-shirt. (Everyone who writes a Slashdot review or feature now gets a free t-shirt!)

Re:What's new in second edition?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not much really. I'd rather have the second than the first but it certainly isn't worth buying a new copy for the very small number of changes.

Re:relevant to the visor?

[Anonymous Coward]

95%+ of the book is OS related so would be completely relevent to the visor

Re:Title humour

[Eric Smith]

Yes, there's an upgrade available for the first edition. It's a sticker to place on the cover that changes the leading "U" of "Ultimate" to "Penu".

Hemos -- may want to read this.

[Xerithane]

Hey -- just wanted to let you know that at the bottom you requested Janet to send her info for the shirt. Her name is Janice :)
-= Making the world a better place =-

OS or usage

[redhog]

I don't care about what OS it is running, but i really need a ssh-client for it, and a ppp2tp adapter, so I can plug it in here and tnere where there is a network, and ssh home! By the way, are ther any good source of GPLed software for the Pilot? OK, gcc exists as a cross-compiler for it, but are there any GPLed end-user apps?

relevant to the visor?

[UM_Maverick]

How relevant is this book to those of us who plan on getting a Visor? Since it runs the same OS, I assume it would be ok, but I hate buying things that I can't use...

palmtop v/s mini-notebook.

[PimpSmurf]

I dont see the reason to buy a palmtop except for... of course.. the price.
You can get a cheap AMD K6-2 mini-notebook for about 1300 bucks. about as big, but much more functionality?
Anyone agree? or disagree?

I did it all for the wookie... COME ON!
PimpSmurf

Re:palmtop v/s mini-notebook.

[PimpSmurf]

good point.
guess I will have to turn to wearable computers.
I guess palmtops just aren't that usefull for my life style. It will be a while untill you can compile a kernel on it ;]
I read up a lil on palmtops this evening... and I suppose they could be usefull... and even fun...
but I would rather carry the extra 3lbs and have the ability to play quake2.
then again, if they get linux on a palmtop. I might have to get one.

Re:The _Ultimate_ reference?

[circuit]

"I thought titles like that were reserved for IDG, Sams and other less respectable publishers. "

I know you're just reacting to the marketspeak of the word "Ultimate", but it's justified. I checked out all the competing titles and thought all of them useful to a new owner (for at least a day ;-), but only Pogue's book had no major problems/omissions. Even after using this book, I have no issues with it -- that's rare.

If you're just offended at O'Reilly publshing something other than a ultra hard-core tech book, you've obviously never heard of The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog [oreilly.com] which validated a publishing category (internet books) by it's well deserved success.
I wish one out of ten books I've bought were as usefull as either one of these.

AFAIC Palm Pilot: The Ultimate Guide is just another case of Tim O'Reilly & crew tending to do it better and/or first && better.

-Roger

Which PDA!?

[Kingpin]

I'm buying a PDA in the near future, and I was wondering where I'll get the biggest bang/buck ratio. I checked out the Visors and really wanted one, but I live in Europe... Is a Palm V worth the money? I'm leaning towards a Palm III, but nothing's certain. Anyone have any good/bad experiences they'd like to share?

Thanks

Re:palmtop v/s mini-notebook.

[spencerogden]

sorry, last i checked fitting something like the Libretto in my pocket was decidedly uncomftorble. The who purpose of a plamtop is that you can take with you everywhere, which I do. Three things I always have with my now are my watch, wallet and Palm.

Re:Handspring Visor

[mcmay]

Co-author Jeff Hawkins = Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Product Officer of Handspring.

I bet it's covered. ;)

A great book

[Johnath]

I gotta agree, the part where it tells you that leaving your pilot in the hotsync cradle drains the batteries has already saved me enough dough to justify the purchase.

BTW - Any Canucks interested in buying the book, I'd suggest Chapters.ca. They've got the book on 20% discount right now, and delivery's free in Canada till the end of October. Click here [chapters.ca] to go to the product page. (Heh, note that if you go to it through that link, you also give me a 5% commission, awfully sweet of you. :)

The _Ultimate_ reference?

[urgleburgle]

I thought titles like that were reserved for IDG, Sams and other less respectable publishers.

Sad to see good old O'Reilly jump on the bandwagon.

Urgleburgle

Re:Handspring Visor

[DPogue]

Well, the Handspring Visor isn't specifically discussed in "PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide," 2nd Edition (which came out in July). However, as you probably know, the Visor is almost 100% identical to the Palm III, which is exhaustively covered in the book... the only part that's not covered is the Springboard modules that the Visor can accept.

And since there aren't any yet, I think we're safe. :) Seriously, though, I'll probably write a Visor update to the book and post it at the "PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide" Web site (http://palmpilot.oreilly.com/)... when there's something to say about it.

David Pogue, author of "PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide"

Alternate opinion

[mattdm]

The Palm platform is very cool, but it doesn't take a book to make one realize that. And certainly not this book, which might be interesting for someone without an internet connection, but otherwise doesn't provide anything that isn't already out there [dmoz.org].

--

This is not what I want

[SurfsUp]

What I want is a book from O'Reilly called "PalmPilot - The Ultimate Programmer's Guide"

What's new in second edition?

[Loligo]

I picked up the first edition at a local used bookstore over the weekend ($15 including CD, I couldn't resist) without knowing a second edition was in the works..

Is there anything about the second edition that would make it worth "upgrading" to?

I couldn't care less about the software on the CD, but what about real content, specifically for the newer models like the III(x,e), V(x), and VII?

-LjM

(seems like I always buy something right before something newer is announced.. wish I'd held off on my IIIx untli the Visors or Vx were out)

Wireless Palm

[cumulonimbus]

Hemos wrote: wondering how long it will be before I can upgrade to a Palm/Handspring device that will run Linux, a POP3 client and support a wireless modem

Well I don't know about the first part but if you are interested in wireless POP and telnet there is a palm-cellphone [http] that will make you drool. It is currently supported by Sprint Spectrum, and the other carriers are picking it up too. You've probably seen the ads but they just becams avaliable last week.

Telnet from a cell-phone; every security administrators nightmare (or dream).

Peter
And don't tell me there isn't one bit of difference between null and space, because that's exactly how much difference there is. :-)
-- Larry Wall

Handspring Visor

[Houseman]

i just puchased handspring's visor deluxe.
i was wondering if the book would be useful
to me? does it center around the palmOS? or does
it mention physical aspects of the pilot?

Re:What's new in second edition?

[DPogue]

NOT MUCH NEW!? You must not be looking at the same book I am! The new edition is over 100 pages longer than the first. It has all-new coverage of Palm IIIx, Palm V, Palm VII, and 50 pages alone on the new Macintosh software. New chapters on Palm databases and spreadsheets. A new chapter covering rechargeable batteries. New discussions of memory and how to extend it. Over 200 new tips and tricks. New section on Graffiti alternatives. Writing your own Palm VII query apps. How to make your own Doc files. Getting AOL e-mail from the road. ALL of this is totally new in the 2nd Edition.

And a TOTALLY new CD-ROM with 3,100 apps (over 3 times more than the 1st edition) in an all-new, searchable, illustrated, auto-installable catalog program.

How can you POSSIBLY say there's not much new!?

Your pal, David Pogue (The author of "PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide")

Re:This is not what I want

[Mike Buddha]

There is the Palm Programming: The Developer's Guide. Some people dis it because they say the examples are vague, but I think it's a good book.

Of course, I haven't wrote any Palm Programs, yet. I'm getting around to it... Get off my back!

Palm Programming: The Developer's Guide; O'Reilly & Associates; by Neil Rhodes and Julie McKeehan; ISBN 1-56592-525-4

Re:palmtop v/s mini-notebook.

[Mike Buddha]

Disagree.

As an owner of a PalmPilot, and an owner of a Laptop, AND an owner of a Newton Messagepad (RIP), I can tell you that

A) A laptop is too big and bulky to carry around on a regular basis.

B) a Newton-sized object (slightly smaller than a VHS tape, and only half as thick) is too big and bulky to carry around on a regular basis. Oh sure, in teh beginning its no big deal. You show it off to your friends, use it to meet chicks on the bus or at the coffee shop. After about 2 months you start leaving it at home more often. Eventually, it sits in its special bag (the one you had to buy for it so that you could carry it around comfortably) collecting dust, and you only pull it out to program it, or to play games on when you're on an airplane.

C) The Palmpilot I've had for many moons and I still carry it with me. I don't have to have a special bag for it. I use it daily. I carry it everywhere. I use it when I'm on the throne. How's that for lifestyle integration?

This question is actually almost moot, now that Handsrping is manufacturing PalmOS devices for sub-$150, the question of cash vs. power just went out the door. When I palm can be had for about 1/10th the cost of a subnote, where's the comparison?

Title humour

[turg]

Is it just me or is there irony in a title that contains both "the ultimate [m-w.com] guide" and "second edition"?

:-)
-
<SIG>
"I am not trying to prove that I am right... I am only trying to find out whether." -Bertolt Brecht