PalmPilot Resource Kit (Paperback)

by Glenn Brown (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The PalmPilot Organizer Resource Kit, written by PalmPilot guru Glenn Brown, unleashes the enormous, untapped power and flexibility in PalmPilot and Palm III organizers. PalmPilot converts will especially enjoy the CD-ROM that comes with the package. The disk offers 300 examples of the best shareware and freeware available, ranging from the mundane to the remarkably useful: Tip Calc, Cookbook, Currency Calculator, Loan Wizard, AportisDoc Reader (which converts Microsoft Word and HTML documents to a compressed form readable by a Palm organizer), Thesaurus, Translation (which provides quick English-to-Spanish or Spanish-to-English translations for words or phrases), Holiday Planner, and many others. Downloading some of the programs can be complicated, but most include useful "Read First" files that suggest workarounds for maximize performance.

Brown's accompanying print volume is designed for both the novice and the power user. The first few chapters offer thorough, step-by-step instructions for starting out with a Palm organizer, working with Graffiti handwriting recognition, and improving HotSync performance. After these early sections, the book moves into more advanced topics that will attract long-time users of Palm organizers. Brown tours the top 50 PalmPilot Web sites and shares some arcane troubleshooting techniques gathered from countless hours logged on his own PalmPilot. The book continues with another 300 pages of specialized topics, including, financial and travel tools for the PalmPilot, hidden features of Palm organizers, document-reading applications, and utilities for improving desktop and Internet communications.

If you're new to the PalmPilot you're likely to be surprised by the diversity of tools and games--from MoneyManager to Reptoids--that you can hold in the palm of your hand. If you're an experienced user, you'll revel in the resources provided in this comprehensive kit. As with the PalmPilot itself, the kit's CD-ROM is Windows and Mac compatible; however, a PDF reader (available for free download on the Web) is required to view the files. --Patrick O'Kelley

Product Description
Fine-tune your PalmPilot with this essential collection of powerful tools and resources. Complete with an easy-to-use quick-reference guide and over 300 shareware and freeware applications, the PalmPilot Organizer Resource Kit is destined to become a staple of PalmPilot users at every level.

Author and PalmPilot guru Glenn Brown offers valuable insight and instruction guaranteed to boost your organizer's functionality and transform you into a certified PalmPilot power-user. PalmPilot Organizer Resource Kit features a wide array of tips and programs for troubleshooting, upgrading, and customizing your organizer for maximum performance. Plus, you get Palm Computing Technotes, an exclusive interview with Palm's founder Jeff Hawkins, and volumes of insider tricks and secrets you'll only find here.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 179 pages
• Publisher: Wiley Publishing (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764532197
• ISBN-13: 978-0764532191
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,905,147 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For PalmPilot users needing more than the user manuals, November 9, 1998

By A Customer

Do unsophisticated users of the PalmPilot and Palm III connected organizers need a basic reference guide other than the manufacturer's user manuals, like the Basic Handbook and Applications Handbook that come with the Palm III? Glenn Brown obviously thinks so. Brown's Quick Reference book with companion CD-ROM, collectively entitled "PalmPilot Resource Kit" (IDG Books Worldwide, 179 pp.), is one of two recent how-to books about the PalmPilot/Palm III connected organizers that start from the premise that the PalmPilot/Palm III may not be quite as intuitive as many of us think.

The paperback Quick Reference book is physically and coincidentally the same size as the paperback 3COM user manuals that are included with the Palm III. Brown's book also covers many of the same topics - getting started, setting up the hardware and software, built-in applications, the Graffiti handwriting recognition system, HotSyncing, Palm Desktop software, third-party applications, and websites and other resources. Unlike the 3COM manuals for the Palm III, however, Brown's book covers the Palm III as well as the earlier PalmPilots, and draws appropriate distinctions in features and functions. He also effectively uses screen shots of the PalmPilot display and special call-outs for tips and warnings.

The CD portion of "The PalmPilot Resource Kit" -- or "PPRK", as Brown sometimes likes to refer to his book and CD-ROM--includes the complete Quick Reference book in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. It turns out that the hardcopy Quick Reference stops at Chapter 9, while the CD-ROM version includes another seven chapters and three appendices that are not in the hardcopy version. The CD-ROM also includes 300 software applications for the PalmPilot, in addition to commentary from the PalmPilot's creator and founder of Palm Computing, Jeff Hawkins. The added value of the CD-ROM accounts for a price more than double that of another basic how-to PalmPilot guide that was also just recently published, Michael Steinberg's "SAMS Teach Yourself PalmPilot and Palm III in 10 Minutes" (Macmillan Computer Publishing, 256 pp.).

The split-content approach of the PPRK sort of works. It certainly makes sense, following Palm manufacturer 3COM's lead of including sample or light versions of a number of useful Palm applications on a CD-ROM. Less clear is whether reserving some chapters of the book for the CD-only really adds anything, other than the hardcopy reader's frustration. This is particularly true given that the CD version of the book is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. This requires that the hardcopy reader who wants all the chapters must not only go to another medium, the CD-ROM, to get them, but needs to have installed the Adobe Acrobat Reader on his or her PC or laptop - a lot of unnecessary trouble to pick up some chapters on third party applications, easter eggs, and Jeff Hawkins' commentary, among other things.

If you're not a pick-it-up-and-start-using-it PalmPilot owner, who only consults the user manual or a reference book when you're stumped, then this book and CD combo might be a real comfort in helping you learn your way around. Still, the day cannot be far off when a publisher like Peanut Press-the first Palm text format publisher--will start publishing these kinds of reference resources as Palm texts that you can install and find right in your PalmPilot/Palm III when you need them, wherever you happen to be.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the ultimate PalmPilot reference book., November 5, 1998

By A Customer

The PalmPilot Resource Kit is positioned as a quick reference for owners of the PalmPilot and Palm III organizers. As a Palm III owner, I was disappointed in this book. While it is well organized, there is little information on the built-in applications that is not contained in the handbooks that accompany the Palm III. The difference between the PPRK and the handbooks is more a matter of emphasis than substance in this area. For example, the PPRK suggests that the alternate Graffiti strokes for the letters V and Y are less intuitive but more reliable, while the handbook just displays the alternate strokes with the suggestion that you use what works best for you.

Where the PPRK does have value is as a source of, and review of, third party software that is available for the Palm III and the PalmPilot. One chapter is devoted to an overview of the numerous Web sites that are devoted to Pilot news, software, and technology. Seven chapters are devoted to a review of third party software, comprising freeware, shareware, and commercial applications. In addition, the included CD contains copies of most of the freeware and shareware that is reviewed.

One production choice that I disagree with is the decision to have roughly half of the book available only on the CD as .pdf files. This gives the reader only two choices, both of which I feel are less than satisfactory: to read the last eight chapters and two additional appendices on your monitor, or to print them out. This decision subverts the basic premise of the book, which is to be the reference work for PalmPilot and Palm III users. Either you need to be near a computer to access half the book, or you need to carry around a sheaf of loose paper along with the book. In either case, the book, in and of itself, falls short of its goal.

If you are looking for a tutorial on how to use the applications built into the Palm III, save your money and use the handbook that came with it. If, however, you want a fairly complete overview of software that can extend the capabilities of your Palm III, this book fills the bill. However, I question whether it offers fair value for the money.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, December 16, 1998

By A Customer

It is a very good book on PalmPilot... It talks about lots of freeware/shareware. It is a must-have book for all Pilot users. (Althought some software version was kinda out dated, but I can understand that. It is hard to press a CD and book with the lastest update)

BTW, is there anyway I can contact Glenn Brown via e-mail?