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I've always owned some sort of PDA Device: a Newton Message PAD, a Jornada 820, a Compaq Aero 1520, and, now, my beloved, can't live without it, iPAQ. I love my iPAQ!
How I met the iPAQ
When I am not computing I play drums in a Contemporary Christian Band. One night my band mates and I were sitting around discussing our sound, our Web site, and our bookings….or, lack of. One of my band mates, bass player and a computer professional, pulled out his iPAQ and logged on - wireless - to our band's Web site displaying the images and playing our song clips. WOW! When I saw that I was sold. I wasn't necessarily sold on the iPAQ but on the Pocket PC concept itself. That night, when everyone left, I immediately started researching Pocket PCs.
First of all, being a computer professional and a technology NUT it stands to reason that I needed, and deserved, to own one of these things! I wanted to know everything there was to know about Pocket PCs. The first thing I found out was that a lot had happened in the PDA industry since the early days of my Newton Message pad and even right on through to my WinCE device. I was totally lost. I didn't know what to purchase: a Palm device or a Pocket PC, a Palm OS or Pocket PC 2002. I scoured every magazine that concentrated on the handheld device. I reviewed every PDA Web site I could find, and there's a lot of them. I strolled through every computer store in my area until I was convinced that I could not decide what would be best for me.
And, in spite of all the information I had accumulated I was even more confused. So I sat down and made a list; a list of all the things I wanted to be able to do with the PDA, starting with the most important which was to be able to leave home without my big ol' laptop.
My list
My requirements were the ability to:
1. Access my co-located Win2K based Web server and administer it remotely.
2. Access my customers Win2K based servers remotely and run their accounting and other applications.
3. Browse the Web and send and receive email.
4. Store a rather large DB of historical data covering a wide variety of topics. Mostly the configuration of my client's computers and the history of all my site visits.
5. I also wanted to be able to perform the basics: create documents, mind maps, spread sheets and all the other fundamental processes one is tied to.
6. And, on a personal level, for our band I wanted to be able to project PowerPoint presentations without having to bring a big 'ol laptop to every performance.
Man, I thought, is it all possible?
The answer is YES! Following are the list items and how I managed to fill each one.
Solution To List Item Number One
The first item on my list I knew would be the toughest. The remote control program I use on my Web server is Java based, so, in order to connect to the server a Java based browser is required. Pocket IE is based on IE 3 and is not capable of running Java applets. My search for alternative browsers turned up nothing. I also tried a product called peode on insignia.coms Web site. While it looks like a good initiative it's just not ready for prime time. The Java plug-in bundled on the Compaq CD looked promising but it too still seems to be in a development phase.
After some further study of my remote control programs documentation, I found that it provides a WAP interface. Did a WAP browser for the Pocket PC exist? Yes, there are quite a few. One I found that worked well was Klondike at klondike.com
Now, from the palm of my hand, I can access and administer my web server from just about anywhere!
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| This is the main menu of the remote control software I use. | This is an option from the main menu to manipulate services on the server. Since the WAP interface is all text, it's very fast. |
Solution To List Item Number Two
The second item on my list - accessing my clients' Win2k servers - was solved immediately by using Microsoft 's built in terminal services on the iPAQ.
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| This first image shows the Win2k Login screen. |
This image shows the Win2k desktop. I can check services, stop and start them, as well as any other maintenance the server requires. |
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| This is the main menu of the Synchronics accounting software our clients use. |
This is the Inventory items screen of the software. |
Solution To List Item Number Three
Accessing, browsing the Internet and checking email are simple tasks. The iPAQ comes bundled with the required software. To connect to the Internet from my office I use the iPAQ's built in Bluetooth connection and a 79 dollar Bluetooth adapter ($49 when purchased through CompUSA), available from Belkin (part number F8T001), to connect to my PC. I can literally walk around any part of my home and even out into the back-yard to watch the kids play on their swing set while I browse the net. On the road I use the iPAQ's Bluetooth to connect to my Sony Ericson T68 Bluetooth enabled phone.
Solution To List Item Number Four
For databases I tried most of the true Pocket PC database programs on the market before settling on ListPro from http://www.iliumsoft.com/ . While ListPro is not a true database application, in that it does not provide for the creation of forms or lookups into tables or other real DB functionality, it does provide 100% of the functionality I need, and, it is much quicker to create tables and much simpler to use. With ListPro I can quickly create tables (lists) to keep track of my client's computer hardware and software configurations, server names, IP#s and other important information. There are plenty of relational database/form creation tools for the Pocket PC that are very good. I strongly considered HanDbase from http://www.ddhsoftware.com/ as my first choice.
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This is ListPro. I use ListPro for everything. Here I have set up a list (database) of to-dos for my clients. The red arrow points to a field type in ListPro that links to another application. In this case I am pointing to a proposal in a Word document on my storage card. |
Solution To List Item Number Five
Performing the basics: word processing, spreadsheets and more. To fill this requirement was simple as most of the software required comes bundled with the iPAQ and the Pocket PC OS. The only application I had to purchase was a mind mapping program. I use mind maps for business and personal use. The image below shows how I use a mind map to outline my client's network printers. For mind maps on my PC I use Mind Manager, but on the iPAQ I chose Pocket Mind Map from http://www.pocketmindmap.com/. In my up and coming review I will outline why I chose Pocket MindMap over Mind Manager's Pocket PC version.
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| I love mind mapping. I need to be able to "see" maps of what I am defining. I guess that's just how my mind works. I keep a list of my clients computers and printers on the network, and all the relevant information that is required such as the node name and the IP#. Here I can see, at a glance, all the information I need to support my clients. |
Solution To List Item Number Six
For my PowerPoint presentations I had initially decided on Conduit's Pocket Slides and the Margi Presenter-to-Go from http://www.margi.com/ . After further research I switched to the FlyJacket i3800 from http://www.lifeview.com/ which, for twenty dollars more, provides more functionality and comes bundled with many of iaStyle's products http://www.iastyle.com/ making it a much better value. In a future review I will outline the reasons I chose the FlyJacket i3800 over the Conduit Pocket Slides and Margi product combination.
So, there you have it. All my list items have been checked off and my demands have been met 100%. The iPAQ provides all the functions of my laptop at one tenth of the weight. Since purchasing and setting up my iPAQ I have used it exclusively whenever the occasion arises. I have run it through every possible scenario I can think of that would normally require my laptop. I am convinced that it will be upto the task.
There is only one thing that puzzles me about the Pocket PC. That would be why they gave it the name "pocket" PC? As a result of almost constant use, it is rarely in my pocket!
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John Cesta is a contract programmer. John's current project is designer and lead developer of the automated hosting software at bestcfhosting.com, a ColdFusion MX hosting company. John is currently working on commercializing his programs and offering them to the IIS community at serverautomationtools.com