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wizardb
Member

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Collierville(Memphis) TN
Posts: 33

The Simplicity of Palm OS

I was going to post this as a reply to "Where Palm and Handspring wnet wrong" but decided instead to start a new thread.

I don't think Palm went wrong. The simplicity of the Palm OS is what first attracted my to it. I replaced a two inch thick paper orgranizer with a device that was 1/8 that size. It very simply kept track of my contacts, my schedules, some personal information and as a side benefit, I was able to carry my bible, a book and some games. It was and is very simple to learn and operate. It very seldom if ever crashes or gets confused. In doing those simple operations, it never---never--gives me tht dreaded blue screen that tells me I peformed an illegal function.
The Palm OS very simply does what I need.

Why do we have such a tendency to make everything so complicated. I guess this could be called the "Windows Syndrome". Just look at cell phones today. The purpose after all of a cell phone is to make and receive phone calls. I am seldom away from my computer at home or at work for more than an hour. My computer works very well when it comes to email or browsing the web. My cell phone works very well for making a phone call or receiving a phone call. And my visor prism works very well in keeping my data organized. The handheld PC with its Windows environment is just another stressful piece of software.
It tries to do too much.

I suppose I'm over simplifying things. But the truth is still -- why make every thing multifunctional, multi tasking and so complicated. Keep it simple and easy to use and error free and we all will stay in better mental health and better organized.

Recently I evaluated whether or not to move to a Clie or treo. But than I thought, why spend all that money for features that will just over complicate my task. Recently I looked at Date Book 5. Its a neat program and has some nice features, but it also comes with 100 pages of manual. The built in date book function does everything I need and I mastered it in 5 minutes.

I'm very happy with my very simple, obsolete Visor Prism. I'm sorry to see Handspring get away from that concept. If and when it dies, I will replace it with the simplest system available at that time.

Remember the age old adage -- K.I.S.S.

10-21-2002 05:25 PM

alight
Member

Registered: Jul 2002
Location:
Posts: 120

Yes, exactly

10-21-2002 10:08 PM

Alslayer
Member

Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 66

nicely said. I think reviewers are also to blame. They are super weird and want everything all in one. And they complain over trivial details.

I also think that the handheld market is flooded with too many products and not enough compatibility.

Just my thoughts.

10-21-2002 11:51 PM

EJSHUMAK
Member

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: ILLINOIS
Posts: 227

I'm with you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10-22-2002 05:25 AM

Digisane
Member

Registered: Jun 2002
Location: By the toilet.
Posts: 174

Re: The Simplicity of Palm OS

I agree with you, but I still think the OS 5 needed improvement in the interface department for easier user-friendlyness.

For example, sometimes it'll be nice to have a popup calculator and takes you back to your previous app after you've closed it instead of having to re-launche the app again.

Or a taskbar-like thing that allows you to go to a previous 2-3 apps. This would fit perfectly into a virtual-grafitti screen, something which most Palm devices are STILL lacking.

And deleting any apps is still a real pain.

All the above can be solved with 3rd party hacks/software (OF WHICH YOU HAVE TO BUY!!!), but how i wished it were built in.

Or how about hi-res? I wished that all devices built from now on (even the budget mono ones) are high-res, with option for large icons so people with bad eyesight can see them.

------

quote:
Originally posted by wizardb
I suppose I'm over simplifying things. But the truth is still -- why make every thing multifunctional, multi tasking and so complicated. Keep it simple and easy to use and error free and we all will stay in better mental health and better organized.

Recently I evaluated whether or not to move to a Clie or treo. But than I thought, why spend all that money for features that will just over complicate my task. Recently I looked at Date Book 5. Its a neat program and has some nice features, but it also comes with 100 pages of manual. The built in date book function does everything I need and I mastered it in 5 minutes.

Remember the age old adage -- K.I.S.S.

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I'm just a dreamer..

Last edited by Digisane on 10-22-2002 at 05:45 AM

10-22-2002 05:38 AM

Digisane
Member

Registered: Jun 2002
Location: By the toilet.
Posts: 174

Re: The Simplicity of Palm OS

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I'm just a dreamer..

10-22-2002 05:44 AM

bbman84
Member

Registered: Nov 2001
Location:
Posts: 12

quick and easy

I've always liked the simplicity of the Palm OS, but one simple feature I like most over a pc/laptop is the time to start up and shut down the machine. For the equivalent tasks I do on my pc, the visor does it in seconds and is a lot less painful.

10-22-2002 08:15 AM

Tom LaPrise
Member

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Monroe, Michigan, USA
Posts: 244

>For example, sometimes it'll be nice to have a popup calculator and takes you back to your previous app after you've closed it instead of having to re-launche the app again.

I have one in my Visor Deluxe and my m125. It's a combination of App/DA Launcher 0.5.4, X-Master, and the Desk Accessory program CalCal. I set App/DA Launcher up so if I tap the lower left side of the Applications silkscreen button, the Desk Accessory menu pops up. I can then tap CalCal and the calculator pops up over the app I'm using. When I'm done, I tap outside the CalCal "window" and CalCal disappears.

It would be cool if this was a Palm OS built-in function, but not everyone needs/wants it, so... add it if you like. (App/DA Launcher, X-Master, and CalCal are all freeware.)

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10-22-2002 12:59 PM

alight
Member

Registered: Jul 2002
Location:
Posts: 120

quote:
Or how about hi-res? I wished that all devices built from now on (even the budget mono ones) are high-res, with option for large icons so people with bad eyesight can see them.

Saw a Sony Clie SL10 over the weekend. I'm not sure I get it about the hi-res. Maybe it was just the one I got to try out but the fonts were too small and pale - even with adjustments.

CSpotRun reader was okay with bold fonts but not nearly as readable as my Visor Neo.

Puzzled?

10-22-2002 06:14 PM

Timbuktu
Member

Registered: Oct 2002
Location: Singapore
Posts: 5

Re: The Simplicity of Palm OS

quote:
Originally posted by wizardb

Why do we have such a tendency to make everything so complicated. I guess this could be called the "Windows Syndrome".

Remember the age old adage -- K.I.S.S.

Precisely. Lets go back to basics and ask ourselves as Palm users whether we really need to carry loads of extra baggages which we rarely use.

In David Pogue's "PalmPilot The Ultimate Guide", Jeff Hawkins wrote in the Foreword of the book,

"When I designed the original Pilot in 1995, the goal was to create a great tool that was small, simple to use, synchronizable with your PC, and inexpensive."

Its Simply Palm!

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10-23-2002 01:14 AM

Keefer Lucas
Member

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Atlantic Rim
Posts: 570

Simple Madness

Simple is good. Making simple decisions is better. It should be simple for me to load and access a Word or Excel document on a Palm device. Without that "simplicity" Palm will continue to lose ground (and eventually the war) to Microsoft. To echo an earlier theme from a previous string "a Palm can't access a simple text file....a .txt file!" How simple is that?

One of my colleages has a dozen different rosters of children that she keeps in Excel. I showed her different options to load the documents into her Palm (convert to a text list and access with CSpotRun or convert to Acrobat and use the free Acrobat viewer). Having showed her those options and demonstrated Word to Go she instead chose to continue printing off paper to bring into the field. It was too burdensome for a non-techie (with an advanced degree in education) to care to figure out.

Palm users haven't lost faith in Palm. Unfortunately Palm investors have. The company and its brethren Handspring are teetering on financial collaspe. Truth be known, the Visor in your pocket may well outlast the company that put it there.

10-23-2002 01:36 AM

Digisane
Member

Registered: Jun 2002
Location: By the toilet.
Posts: 174

Re: Simple Madness

quote:
Originally posted by Keefer Lucas
Truth be known, the Visor in your pocket may well outlast the company that put it there.

I'm not too sure about that. Few weeks ago, when i turned my Visor on it reset by itself. Then, a few days later the screen went black and i had to reset it. A few days after that i can see flickering on the screen, and it took a lot of resets and annoyance to fix it. Even with all the hacks or overclocking turned off and deleted.

Although nothing much has happened, I already dread the day when something goes haywire and cannot be fixed.

quote:

Saw a Sony Clie SL10 over the weekend. I'm not sure I get it about the hi-res. Maybe it was just the one I got to try out but the fonts were too small and pale - even with adjustments.

That's on a Sony. I did mention that there should be options for high-res with big fonts/icons?

As far as simplicity goes, is a complicated piece of OS on the inside, but extremely simple to use on the outside/interface, considered simple?

If it is, then it is what i think the Palm OS should be headed.

Here's what i think should be considered a simple to use Palm OS:

- Be able to beam contacts and address books/memos/etc. to PPC users and vice versa. Even though this is different platforms, us PDA users still need to contact each other too!

- Be able to sync seamlessly with Word, Txt files, Excel with some sort of software to open them. (Editing is not important)

- Email with multiple accounts, that doesnt sync with HTML emails. Or as option.

- Built-in help for all the functionalities, and tutorial mode. Oh, and a decent manual for the built-in apps!

- Deleting files should be easier and faster.

- I don't think multi-tasking is important. Just a constantly hovering taskbar that displays the previous 3 apps that you've opened is good enough. A taskbar that sits in the virtual grafitti area. (THIS IS WHY I CONSIDER V-GRAFFITI AREAS IMPORTANT! AND MORE SCREEN SPACE TOO)

- Notepad that allows you to doodle, or use graffiti.

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10-23-2002 03:22 AM

Palm-n-Hand
Member

Registered: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 36

I'm not sure what the problem is with people saying the Palm can't read Word, Excel, Txt, ect. Neither can a PPC without Pocket Word, Pocket Excel. We that own Palm OS devices are lucky to have many fine choices of apps that accomplish these tasks. I perfer QuickOffice to Documents to Go. Palm didn't force me to use Doc's to Go and I am thankfull for that. Txt files can be read just fine with a simple freeware utility called NoteTaker. Just drop the txt file in the NoteTaker file and the next time you sync up there it is on your Palm. Write a NoteTaker memo and the next time you Sync there it is in the NoteTaker file on your computer as a txt file. Of course this only is for the Mac! C: Why can't a PPC sync up to my Mac without some third party App???? When is the PPC going to catch up on the times?

10-23-2002 03:35 AM

GSR13
Member

Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 708

quote:
Originally posted by Palm-n-Hand
I'm not sure what the problem is with people saying the Palm can't read Word, Excel, Txt, ect. Neither can a PPC without Pocket Word, Pocket Excel. We that own Palm OS devices are lucky to have many fine choices of apps that accomplish these tasks. I perfer QuickOffice to Documents to Go. Palm didn't force me to use Doc's to Go and I am thankfull for that. Txt files can be read just fine with a simple freeware utility called NoteTaker. Just drop the txt file in the NoteTaker file and the next time you sync up there it is on your Palm. Write a NoteTaker memo and the next time you Sync there it is in the NoteTaker file on your computer as a txt file. Of course this only is for the Mac! C: Why can't a PPC sync up to my Mac without some third party App???? When is the PPC going to catch up on the times?

No one said that a Palm cannot read/edit Word and Excel. The point was, it is not native to the OS and it is not nearly as easy to figure out as it is on PPC. While some may argue this up and down, I know for me PPC definately has the advantage when it comes to managing Office Documents. If the PPC is connected, you manage files just like you would on the PC. So, if people are familiar with the PC, they need not learn about Conduits to move a file. Granted, Wordsmith is far more robust than Pocket Word. I love Wordsmith. But it does take some getting used to. And it is easier than QuickOffice.

As for syncing with a Mac, I find it odd how you justify using third-party apps to manage Word/Excel Documents, but complain about needing Third-party software to sync PPC to Mac?

I still like Palm devices and there are many things that can be done with one. But make no mistake, none of those things are compliments of Palm, Inc. Software developers deserve the biggest props for making the Palm what it is today. The problem is, they are running out of things to do. You can only go so far with the limitations of the OS and the Hardware.

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10-23-2002 12:55 PM

Palm-n-Hand
Member

Registered: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 36

I can pick which third party app I would like to use for my Word/Excel files. I like this! There are several choices in the PalmOS camp. As far as Syncing to my computer I think that is a bigger issue that the PPC can not do this without third party help, where as Palm can.

Here is how I sync a QuickOffice Document to my Palm with a PC. After making the document select quickoffice tab from toolbar. Select SaveAs and name the document, Hotsync.

Here is how I sync a PocketWord Document to my works Pocket PC. After making the document select file tab from the toolbar. Select SaveAs and select the file to save it to, name file. Hotsync.

10-23-2002 01:54 PM

Toby
Member

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:
Originally posted by GSR13
No one said that a Palm cannot read/edit Word and Excel. The point was, it is not native to the OS and it is not nearly as easy to figure out as it is on PPC. [...]

Why on earth would anyone think that it would be? A proprietary document format from a company which refuses to release the format and will change it every time someone manages to figure it out not working well on devices running an operating system made by someone other than that company? All things considered, I find it amazing that some of the Palm programs supposedly 'round-trip' the documents _better_ than Pocket Word does, especially considering that there are two-way format changes involved.

10-23-2002 03:18 PM

Digisane
Member

Registered: Jun 2002
Location: By the toilet.
Posts: 174

quote:
Originally posted by Toby
Why on earth would anyone think that it would be? A proprietary document format from a company which refuses to release the format and will change it every time someone manages to figure it out not working well on devices running an operating system made by someone other than that company? All things considered, I find it amazing that some of the Palm programs supposedly 'round-trip' the documents _better_ than Pocket Word does, especially considering that there are two-way format changes involved.

That's why constant updates/upgrades to the software/OS is important.

An average user would have preferred to just buy a device and have it sync with his/her favorite average office suite software without any problems rather than having to buy additional software to get it to sync and watch their PPC colleages do it seamlessly.

If the MS Office Doc format changes, so should the software on the Palm device with a software update, and Palm should write and provide the updates on a regular basis, unlike *kof*handspring*kof* *kof*

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10-23-2002 03:56 PM

Toby
Member

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:
Originally posted by Digisane
That's why constant updates/upgrades to the software/OS is important. [...]

Even if Palm were providing constant upgrades, Microsoft would still have an unnatural advantage since they control the format. If 'full compatibility' with Microsoft formats is your desired goal, then get a Microsoft device. Palm made their design and philosophy choices from the beginning. Doing a 180 or even 90 degrees in a different direction will cause far more damage to them (by eliminating their own backwards-compatibility) than their 'competition' from Microsoft. And yet, the strange thing is that with all of these supposed advantages of PocketPC, it has never seemed to be able to gain much market share beyond it's initial level, not even when devices like my old E-11 were _cheaper_ than Palm Vs or IIIxes. Strange.

10-23-2002 05:15 PM

alight
Member

Registered: Jul 2002
Location:
Posts: 120

Guess what?

The world doesn't revolve around MS Office. Granted, shrinking corporate America is fairly tied to it but ... it's shrinking.

Many who are not of the U.S. corporate loop have kissed that bloated stuff adios.

10-23-2002 08:38 PM