Herman,
Everything but the light sabre sounds good! :-)
Let me touch on a couple points for those not familiar with Windows Mobile
PDA's and to expand on some items/issues you point out. (Not in any
particular order)
As you mention, the rz1710 is a pretty low end PDA. It comes with a 203Mhz
processor, a little bit higher-end device will likely come with a processor
speed of 400-600Mhz. (although 200Mhz is still no slouch, just slow
compared to what else is available - 4 years ago 200Mhz was SPEEDY) The
biggest problem is memory, it only has about 25MB free for user
applications. Definitely the most important consideration for purchasing a
device is device memory. 64MB or 128MB would be preferable. And although
you can purchase storage cards, it doesn't take the place of device memory
which is not upgradeable. (storage card memory can not be used as "run time"
memory usable by the program during execution.. Storage card memory is more
like a hard disk)
A docking cradle is very nice, you can still get one for your device
(probably for about $30 USD), just the "bundle" you bought didn't have one.
USB is the industry standard for connection to the desktop. (Which is true
for Palm or Windows devices) I don't believe the current version of
Microsoft ActiveSync (comes with the device and is used for synchronization)
supports Bluetooth synchronization. Version 4 of ActiveSync WILL support
it, but of course both the device AND your desktop/laptop would need to have
BlueTooth built in. (For those who don't know, Bluetooth is a wireless
short range communications typically used by one device to communicate with
another such as a laptop and a printer, or a handheld device and a GPS unit
- range is about 30 feet) If you get an IR port for your desktop, you
could also use IR (infrared) to sync.
Every year the devices and the software does get better, that's no different
than any computer platform. As you mention, one valid way to go is to go
for a cheaper device with the intent on upgrading in a year or two.
Some of what you want may never occur ("In other words, something that can
remotely talk to your car, your fridge, your cell phone, your camera, or a
PC without special setups and software and advanced knowledge.")... Some of
which can be done now.
I use a iPAQ h6315 on a daily basis. (Phone/PDA combo) It has Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth built in plus GSM/GPRS. Basically what that all means is that I
can use it as a PDA, use it as a phone, check emails, connect to the
internet and send instant messages from anywhere T-Mobile service is
available. Wi-Fi allows me to connect to my home network without cables,
Bluetooth allows connection to a GPS or a hands-free headset. As a phone
it's kind of awkward and as a PDA it's a low to mid-range device. So I
guess what I'm saying is that's it's not a GREAT PDA or Phone, but with the
combination of features I love it. (It's amazing how handy it is to get to
the internet or email or instant messaging wherever I am) You just have to
decide what features are important and live with the compromises. (it also
has a built-in camera, but in my opinion it's awful) If I could improve
this particular PDA, I would like:
1. More memory
2. Faster processor (it's also a 200Mhz processor)
3. VGA screen
4. A little bit thiner and smaller although that conflicts with the desire
to have a VGA screen.
I can't complain about the battery life, as long as I plug it in every
night.
Some of your quotes:
"It must have a built-in GPS for recording gravesites"
There are some that do have built-in GPS's, I guess add that to my wish list
above for the h6315! In my case I can use an external Bluetooth GPS so I
can't complain. Just about all PocketPC's should work with a GPS as long as
you find one that can interact with the device. (Assuming you don't have
Bluetooth built-in to the device and the GPS) For most PDA's, you can get
cables that will connect the GPS to the device.
"a built in cell phone (for calling 911 when you get bitten by a snake while
photographing the graves)"
That's already available and is one of the "growing" segments for PDA's.
Ditto for internet and email. Whenever you see these lame-brain "The PDA is
dead" articles, what they are getting at is that a Phone/PDA combination
will likely take the place of a "pure" PDA. (A PDA with a phone is still a
PDA hence the lame-brain remark!)
"It must also be able to store and play music, high-resolution video, and
possibly have a smal built-in LED flashlight."
This is one of the big selling points of the PocketPC's... They have always
been very multi-media oriented. They all can play music and play video.
Sorry, no LED flashlight unless you want to use the screen backlight! (And
I know some people who do... They can really light up a room at night)
"Ideally it must also be able to project hollographic images, be waterproof,
glow in the dark, have an atomic battery that will last longer than the
half-life of plutonium, and have a cosmic light sabre that can be activated
at the push of a button... ? ;-)"
OK, OK, I know this was tongue in cheek. (You can get "hardened" PDA's
that meet and exceed military specs, but be prepared to spend $1500 or more)
Battery life is definitely something that needs a major jump in
technology.... The current set of PDA's aren't too bad, but something that
would last for weeks of continuous use would be fantastic. (Palm used to
advertise "Weeks" of use... That was somewhat misleading, that's weeks of
"normal" use... In other words, a few minutes a day. Now that Palm and
PocketPC hardware is similar, battery life is pretty much the same for both
platforms.)
I can't argue that there will be some exciting things in the future, but
that's always going to be the case.
We are in the process of planning Version 3 of Pocket Genealogist, go to
this link to participate and please send any suggestions so we can entertain
the ideas.
http://www.pocketgenealogist.com/PublicBeta
We are looking at adding multi-media (photos) to the sync. Probably more
importantly is the ability to RETRIEVE multi-media objects created on the
device. (Either with built-in camera, or voice recordings)
I agree that syncing directly from within Legacy would be nice, I'll have to
mention it to the Millennia folks again to see if we can work something out.
The software doesn't have to be closed on each side but the database you are
working on must. That's just the nature of the beast, you can't safely
synchronize the data if it's open and potentially in use.
I originally wrote Pocket Genealogist for my own use, ironically I have no
time anymore to do research since I'm supporting/developing the product. It
is REALLY nice to have all your data with you in something that fits in your
pocket!
Kevin Phillips
Northern Hills Software
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Herman
Labuschagne
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 9:02 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Using Legacy with handhelds
Here's my experience with PDA, software and synchronization, for what it may
be worth:
I am using a Hewlett Packard iPaq 1710 PDA with additionally-purchased
Pocket Genealogist software. In South Africa where I live, this was one
notch above entry level in the HP range when I purchased it. For the same
price I could have bought a Palm PDA, which comes standard with a desktop
docking station (I think). The docking station is really useful because it
is a royal pain to have to fiddle around with the charger and USB connecting
cables every time you want to connect to your desktop PC. Nevertheless, I
settled on the HP with its Windows operating system, simply because I think
Windows will probably be the ultimate winner in the PDA software development
race (even though I lament the fact), and also because it comes bundled with
pocket Word, Excel, Microsoft Reader and practically all the MS Office
applications worth mentioning. That makes sharing files between PDA and
desktop very easy. It is thus very much a compatibility issue which swayed
my mind.
I bought the 1710 because the price was good and because it is really small
and light--much smaller than the more sophisticated and more expensive
models with their extensive capabilities. However, this particular model
connects via USB with the desktop PC. In my subsequent experience, I have
decided that it really is worth spending about 75% more in order to purchase
the next model in the range, which has blue tooth connectivity. I would
strongly advise anyone to go for blue tooth if you can, provided you'll
actually be using the function, of course. Another reason I settled for the
cheaper entry level model is because I am waiting for a bit more
functionality in PDAs. I'll rather buy cheap now, and then later on, buy a
big one when something finally becomes invented which will be the ultimate
idiot-proof Swiss pocket knife version of PDAs: In other words, something
that can remotely talk to your car, your fridge, your cell phone, your
camera, or a PC without special setups and software and advanced knowledge.
I want to be able to just put it next to an internet caf� desktop PC, for
instance, inter a bi-directional password, and continue on the big screen,
or synchronize data and download mail or send files, just as if I were at
home. Also I want something that has oodles of built-in memory and high
processor speed. It must have a built-in GPS for recording gravesites, a
built in cell phone (for calling 911 when you get bitten by a snake while
photographing the graves), or at the very least, for browsing the internet
and sending email. It must also be able to store and play music,
high-resolution video, and possibly have a smal built-in LED flashlight.
Ideally it must also be able to project hollographic images, be waterproof,
glow in the dark, have an atomic battery that will last longer than the
half-life of plutonium, and have a cosmic light sabre that can be activated
at the push of a button... ? ;-)
OK. So maybe the Star Wars functions can wait until the next decade. I'm
dramatizing for the sake of humour, but the point is just that I think there
will still be some impressive leaps in PDA technology to come and I'm not
ready to spend a lot now, only to have to repeat the exercise a year or two
later. In the meantime, the entry level models are most adequate for the
needs of the current genealogist. Via USB, the synchronization between
Legacy and Pocket Genealogist works flawlessly in both directions. I store a
9,000 person database on a 1GB memory chip and have read about folks who use
vastly bigger databases with equal joy. The chip has enough space to store a
variety of electronic reference books which I like to have handy at all
times, MS Word versions of family databases, .jpg photos of family, and mp3
and video clips which can be shown to others in order to captivate their
imaginations and help explain just what our hobby is all about.
Here's a tip: I battled literally for half a day to install Pocket
Genealogist with my size database on the native 30MB built-in memory of the
PDA. It kept returning a "not sufficient memory" message which drove me nuts
to the point where I was beginning to consider all manner of exotic
technical explanations. That was until I figured out that although
theoretically it looks as if there is enough built-in memory to run the
database, in practice this is obviously not the case. As with regular PCs,
you seem to need some free memory on the sideline if you plan on having any
joy at all. That was solved when I installed both Pocket Genealogist AND my
database onto the removable memory chip. You've got to select an option that
will install the database on the memory chip itself, and it is situated in a
drop-down box which is not easy to spot and which is by default set to
something different. Look carefully or else you'll also be spending half a
day chasing wind and eating a whole box of anticid tablets. Running the
database off memory chip is a bit slow, though. In more expensive PDAs the
built-in memory can be a lot bigger, so I would think if you have enough
memory, rather install onto the built-in memory and leave your removable
memory chip for storing files you won't be using often. I assume that small
databases should run comfortably off built-in memory, but I doubt whether
the old Palms with their 16MB storage would be much good... (?)
It deserves to be said that the PDA is like being able to carry an entire
library in your shirt pocket. That's where I carry mine all the time. It's
smaller than some boxes of cigarettes, batterly life and screen clarity is
really good these days, and it starts up in no time at all. It is very easy
to flip out during moments of boredom between meetings, while waiting for
appointments, while travelling, or anywhere you could spare 5 minutes to run
through your database and clean up details, or re-arrange things that you
never have time for otherwise. When you're in a hotel room between layovers,
you can even read an e-book in the bath, if you want to. I carry several
books that I can read in case I should get stuck for a week in an elevator,
for instance. It also acts as an indirect backup device in a manner which is
really very reassuring. I use mine as the go-between between my office and
home PCs, and it is nice to know that if either or both machines, plus my CD
backups should vanish, I would still have the complete database in my
pocket. Legacy and Pocket Genealogist deserves my public admiration for the
amazingly effective compatibility that exists between the two. I purchased
Pocket Genealogist based on rave reviews, but was sceptical. Third party
software rarely lives up to all the glorious things that is said about it
and as for the PDA--I took a wild chance, not knowing whether it would be
any good, since I've never personally seen another genealogist use one. One
cannot often confess that ultimately all claims were lived up to, and even
surpassed in Pocket Gene. In this case--even on my entry-level device, this
has certainly been the case.
However, there are two things I would very much like to see in future: It
would be great if the multimedia files could be included on the PDA, and
secondly, it would be even more wonderful if the synchronization between the
two could be done at the push of a button FROM WITHIN LEGACY ITSELF. In
other words, without the need to install and open the sychronization
software. Also, I would like to be able to synchronize with the software
still open on both devices. This is something small, but the small things
count a lot in our hurried world. In the technology race, small things mean
big bucks for developers. Besides that, I can't think of any negative points
to comment on right now. Great work, both teams!
Finally, I have found that PDAs are still relatively unknown among most
genealogists. This is a pity, because this really is a tool which expands
the horizons of one's abilities. It fills the gap between laptop and desktop
PC, the cost is not too bad, the ease of use is OK, and the functionality is
now finally at a stage where it meets most current needs.
Herman Labuschagne
Johannesburg
South Africa
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