Palm Pilot: “Organizing Your Life”

Revised 10/15/01

Organizing. Your life made easy.

The Palm Pilot and similar Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) all provide core functions that offer a handy replacement for myriad examples of DayRunner, Franklin Planners, TimeRunner, DayTimer, and other types of personal organizational notebooks and computer programs.

At their heart, they all provide the same four essential functions: Calendar, Phone Book, Task List, and Memo list. All popular types of PDA provide these core functions with varying degrees of sophistication. Additionally, software companies offer programs that run on PDAs offering enhanced versions of these core functions as well.

Something a Little More. The Palm Pilot is something more than a glorified organizer, but less than a desktop computer. Analogs of popular computer uses provide word processing (text editing), books and references (ebooks), databases, spreadsheets, and specialized programs to meet most needs.

· Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents are available through “Documents to Go” (see: http://www.dataviz.com) or QuickOffice (see http://www.cesinc.com).

· Text editors – a number of text editors extend the word processing capability of the Palm Pilot beyond the built-in Memo function. These programs circumvent a file size limitation and allow writing, editing, and reading documents that are much larger than those otherwise possible in Memo.

· eBook readers allow the reading of many publicly available sources in Palm Pilot compatible format.

· Databases – Allow creation and manipulation of small databases, typically with a desktop computer conduit.

· Spreadsheets– Allow creation and manipulation of small spreadsheets (+1000 fields), typically with a desktop computer conduit to Microsoft Excel.

Yet Again Something More. Specialized programs extending and enhancing a PDA’s capabilities are available to allow their limited functioning as standalone computers.

· Specialized programs support their use in medical, therapeutic, and other domains.

· Academics – Programs focused on the needs of teachers and students abound. Pick your interest.

· PDA specific computing initiatives. Only a few years ago, even the most strident proponent for computer based learning would have been forced to acknowledge that the cost of individual computers was too high compared to their learning benefit. At only a couple hundred dollars per unit, the equation has changed and offers the possibility of a computer (PDA) in the hands of each student. Interested? See the “Learning in the Palm of your Hand” website – http://www.handheld.hice-dev.org/ready/AtHand.htm for a couple of ideas.

Programs.

Text Editors

· WordSmith – text editor with RTF attributes – http://www.bluenomad.com/

· Que – early text editor – http://www.que.com/

· TealDoc – text editor – http://www.tealpoint.com/

· SmartDoc – text editor – http://www.cesinc.com/

Databases

· FileMaker direct connection to Filemaker on your PC – http://www.filemaker.com/

· ThinkDB – handheld database with desktop conduit – http://www.thinkingbytes.com/

· JFile – handheld database with desktop conduit – http://www.land-j.com/

· BrainForest – hierarchical organizer with desktop conduit – http://www.aportis.com/

· Handibase - handheld database with desktop conduit – http://www.ddhsoftware.com/

· Arranger – hierarchical organizer – http://www.olivebr.com/

· ThoughtManager – hierarchical organizer – http://www.handshigh.com/

· PiCoMap – concept maps - http://www.handheld.hice-dev.org/

Document readers

· iSilo - http://www.isilo.com

· FlingIt - http://www.handheld.hice-dev.org/

· Aportis Doc - http://www.aportis.com

· DocVis – http://www.iambic.com/

Spreadsheets

· QuickSheet– Spreadsheet with conduit to Excel - http://www.cesinc.com/quicksheet/index.html

· TinySheet – Spreadsheet with conduit to Excel – http://www.iambic.com/

Specailized Programs

· Element – Periodic Table of the Elements for the Palm – http://www.mindgear.com/

· SpWatch – Stop watch for your Palm – http://station.vallab.com/~higo/

· Secret – encrypted text on your Palm – http://www.lindesoft.com/

· BigClock – http://www.gacel.de/

· StudentM – database for student’s management of assignments – http://www.jet-ware.com/

· 4.0Student – student’s work organizer from A to Z – http://www.handmark.com/

· ThoughtManager – Student – Student focused version of Thought Manager - – hierarchical organizer – http://www.handshigh.com/

· Lesson Plan – lesson plans on the Palm – http://www.tapperware.com/

· Noah – public domain (free) dictionary – http://www.arslexis.com

· LearnerProfile – therapeutic database program supporting special needs assessment in handicap support programs - http://www.sunburst.com/

Other Resources.

• Palm – the source – http://www.palm.com/
• Download.com – convenient source of software for a number of computer types and operating systems – http://www.download.com
• Writing on your palm – Weekly column about uses for the Palm and PDAs in general – http://www.writingonyourpalm.net/

· PalmGear.com – source of things Palm Pilot related - http://www.palmgear.com/