Palm Desktop Software 4.0.1 File size: 7.6 MB Developer: Palm Download: http://download.cnet.com

A desktop calendar comes in handy for forward-planning and for scheduling appointments. But when you need it most, it’s never around. Now if you spend long hours using the PC at the office, consider installing a software organiser like the Palm Desktop software. Its primary function is to backup data from a Palm PDA to the PC. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t own a Palm yet, for you can still use most of the features in this freeware. Let’s take a look at the features that can help you get organised.

Date Book: You may want to begin your day by going through the Date Book. It’s meant for keeping track of appointments right through the day. And in case you forget about a meeting, there’s an alarm that reminds you about it at a pre-designated time. The alarm sounds off on the PDA. And if your PC is on, a pop-up box appears to remind you about the appointment. Of course you must synchronise the Palm with the desktop PC if you want to be reminded of an appointment while on the go.

Address Book: Lets you store contact information and organise it in categories. Apart from storing information in the usual fields, a note (small memo) can also be attached with each address. Addresses can be organised/grouped under various categories and you can also define your own categories. This makes it easy to find a particular contact later on. Searching a contact is made still easier if you choose to sort the addresses by Company or Last Name. Records (address entries) can be marked as Private for use with the Security option that I discuss next.

This version of the Palm Desktop also includes the Dial and E-mail options. If you right-click on a record (address) and select ‘E-mail’ from the context menu, your default e-mail program will load with the e-mail address of the record filled in the To: field. This is a time-saving feature. And if your PC is connected to the phone (via a modem), you can even dial a number in the address book (and speak through a headset).

Security: The software also offers security features to protect your data from unauthorised access. There’s a password feature and profiles that can be set up for different users. If certain records are for your eyes only, then mark them as Private and choose either the Hide or Mask Private Records options. The security features can be used only if you set a password on the PDA and synchronise it with the Palm Desktop.

To Do: This can be used for listing long-term tasks or tasks that are not time bound.

Memo: For recording short notes on your Palm PDA. It is tedious composing notes on the Palm because it lacks a keyboard. A better option would be creating notes through the Palm Desktop (using the PC keyboard), and later transferring these to the Palm PDA during synchronisation. Memos can be grouped under various categories.

Install: The Palm Desktop Software is also used as a conduit for installing applications on the Palm. After you download a Palm application from a shareware website to the PC desktop, click the Install button, then browse and point to the location of the installable PDB or PRC file. The application will be installed on the Palm the next time you perform synchronisation.

Brian Pereira