Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with palmos

'Roided-Up Aggro MegaTreo

saysthis — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:22:28 -0800

What third-party apps should I add to my Treo 680 to make it awesome? Broad question, I know, but I'm new to smartphones. My dumbphone, laptop, and cheap Chinese mp3 player all failed on me inside of a week, and I decided to replace them with a netbook+Treo 680.

Up to now, I've been all about hand-me-down parts...which is probably why I had that failure in the first place. I've got a pile of desktop junk and crusty laptops wired up in the following configuration:

- a couple headless freeNAS machines in the closet
- non-anciet desktop for heavy CPU lifting+gaming+streaming cable
- networked machines to stream stuff from NAS-->viewing & listening ports
- beater machine for ripping movies

that I manage from the netbook over the network. All but the NAS's are on XP or variants thereof. I've seen and heard of smartphones used as remote controls for similar setups via bluetooth, but I have no idea how. This is one particular flavor of awesome I'd like to add.

But I've also heard tell of SNES emulators, better file management/task managers/ebook readers, map software, all kinds of cool stuff...and in my cursory sweeps of palm app sites I've seen tons of quirky, strange software to make Palm OS phones into handfuls of sheer awesome. I'd like to know what you do with your phones that drops jaws and makes the opposite sex drool for you.

No more PalmOS...buy me a smartphone!

teg4rvn — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:28:49 -0800

I'm done with my Treo 700p and I want to move on to a non PalmOS smartphone. I want to get a phone without having to get a data plan, but be able to sync up with Gcal ideally. My 700p has been a nightmare... innumerable crashes, hot-syncing with data disappearing, etc. IT is going to the trash. I have been using PalmOS products since the original US Robotics PalmPilot. I'd love to have an all-in-one phone and PIM and ideally I'd like for it to be GCal. EssentialPIM would be nice too. I am not familiar with any others.

I do not desire to text, email, or web-surf with my phone and I'd like to keep my existing phone plan (i.e., not get a data plan) Help me duplicate CONTACTS, DATEBOOK, TASKS, and MEMOS with a non-Palm smartphone that I can locally (USB or bluetooth) *hotsync* with my data.

Alltel is my carrier.

Please help me sync iCal to my Palm before my Palm sinks to the bottom of Puget Sound

tristeza — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:28:24 -0800

Please help me sync my Palm Z22 with Mac's iCal and Address Book before I chuck it out the window. I have Googled articles and AskMe all day, followed all instructions to a T, and am still not finding success. Please help?

I have changed the conduit settings in HotSync to enable iSync, as instructed. I have set iSync to sync "iCal" and "Address Book". I have reinstalled the Palm software 5 times and factory reset my Palm 5 times.

I have synced over and over and over, and while both the Palm and iSync/Hotsync act like they're doing something (Palm says "syncing to do list, syncing contacts", spinning icons, progress bars, etc), my Palm remains empty of any information.

The weird thing is that I HAD a Palm Z22 before that DID WORK with iCall/Address Book, but it just died, and now I wonder how I ever got it to work in the first place!

I've read about an app for sale - Missing Sync - that could help, is that my only option?

Many thanks. (Comparable AskMes were at least 2 years old so I thought something may have changed since then)

Palm OS comic book collection software?

MegoSteve — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 10:05:20 -0800

What Palm OS program can I install to keep track of my comic book collection? I just bought a Palm Centro yesterday. I'd like to be able to refer to a listing of comics on my phone when I'm browsing through the bargain bins because I always end up buying duplicates. I don't have an existing list of my comic books, so I can start data entry from scratch. I'm synching with a computer running Windows XP. I am somewhat technically savvy, but have never really used database software before, so I don't know where to start.

Certainly some fellow nerd has done this somewhere, but Google results are overwhelming and pretty much useless. Any suggestions?

MacOSX/Palm OS Finance Software

youcancallmeal — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:01:51 -0800

I'm seeking personal finance management software for OSX / Palm OS or something web-based. I just want something that I can enter expenditures on my Treo 680 and either sync with my iMac or just have the whole thing be web-based for some basic budget planning. Free or cheap is preferred. If I can automaticially pull info from my Bank of America accounts, that would be great, but is not a deal breaker.

Trouble viewing Cyrillic on my PalmOs PDA

gregb1007 — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:28:19 -0800

How can I view Russian (Cyrillic) text on my Palm Zire 31? I've been having tough luck importing Russian texts in Cyrillic font onto my PDA (Palm Zire 31) I've installed PILOC (some Russian localization software) but that doesn't seem to help.

I have tried viewing cyrillic text on my PDA in two formats: unicode text and PDF (as rendered by the conversion process of Adobe Reader for Palm OS)

I tried to access my cyrillic text on three programs on my PDA, namely Palm Reader, Palm Fiction, and Adobe Acrobat. I mention this maybe because there could be another program that I could install on my memorycard that could somehow do a better job than either of these.

Anyhow, I would appreciate any suggestions that you may have. Look forward to your tips. (Btw not sure what version of PalmOS the Zire31 has.)

Reducing font size on a PalmOS device

allterrainbrain — Tue, 23 May 2006 19:59:30 -0800

Is there any way to reduce the font size used by my Palm OS device? Palm OS provides four font-size options for its system apps, but the smallest of these four is still much bigger than my ideal size. I want to reduce the font size used in system apps so I have more info on a single screen (especially in Memos and Calendar), so I'm not looking for third-party apps that happen to have small fonts themselves -- although I'm grateful to AvantGo for enabling tiny fonts that illustrate how wonderful and legible those can be!

I'm running Palm OS 5.2.8 on a Zire 72.

I can't seem to find other people on mefi or on the web who've made this happen on their devices, but I really want to find a way!

Managing Treo backups on a Mac?

pzarquon — Mon, 22 May 2006 11:30:31 -0800

Any advice on simpler backup and device migration for a Treo user with a Mac? I've had a Treo 650 slightly longer than I've been fully committed (again) to Macs. So after living for a few months with Palm Desktop for Windows, I moved to Mac OSX... and immediately panicked. Fortunately, many seasoned Mac geeks (including many of you) pointed the way to Missing Sync, which ostensibly takes all the guesswork and kludges out of the equation and "just works."

And for the last several months, it has. I've been happy as a clam. Everything on my Treo is on my Mac in Address Book and in iCal (and therefore accessible online).

But a recent bonehead move made me realize I don't really know what's going on. (I deleted the iCal calendar thinking it would just be replaced by Missing Sync/iSync, but it instead deleted everything -- so while Mac Backup might not be perfect, it sure saved my hide in this case. This scare is what I get for asking about it!) I'd like to know if you have your own backup practices, or advice on how to keep it all straight. Especially since I'm drooling over the new Treo 700p.

For example, on the Windows side, creating a basic tab-delimited text export of all contacts and all calendar entries was as simple as clicking "Export" in Palm Desktop. On my Mac, it seems backups -- either by iCal or by Missing Sync -- are all going into weird directories with odd filenames and specific formats. So at best I've got backups specific to my setup, but not something I could easily hack apart if, heaven forbid, I needed to get the data into some other program or device. And even with these specific backup files, it's not exactly easy to figure out how to access them or to pick a specific backup. Even the Missing Sync support knowledge base outlines some convoluted steps to do things like replace all data on the handheld with what's on the computer, or vice versa.

I remember part of the reason Missing Sync was so highly recommended was because iSync was unreliable and at the time didn't natively support the Treo. But I did notice in the latest iSync update that they added the Treo to the list of supported devices. Should I consider moving back to the native iSync setup? Or even Palm Desktop for Mac?

Again, I love that so far, things "just work." But I'd like to know a bit more about why and how, anyway, just in case! Any random insights would be appreciated.

Giant PDF file + Palm = Disaster?

onshi — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:46:35 -0800

How can I make this TTC transit system map [pdf 1.6mb] Palm TX friendly? ... without having to write a custom app of some kind, that is.

Can it be done? Creating a series of small jpgs might work, but the map is very large and I was hoping to be able to scroll and zoom.

Attempting to open the unaltered PDF with Acrobat Reader on the Palm crashes my TX and forces it to reboot. Is there a better PDF viewer in shareware or freeware capable of handling large, complicated files?

I know of other city mapping solutions, such as Mapopolis, but as a car-free transit rider an accurate route map is really important to me.

Favorite PalmIII applications, tweaks, and hacks?

loquacious — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 14:42:42 -0800

What are your favorite PalmIII-compatible applications, games and toys? Tips and tricks? Tweaks? Hacks? I recently recieved a Palm IIIc as a hand-me-down. Yeah, it's old and only 8 megs, but I've had a PalmIIIxe before, and it's pretty handy.

What are your favorite applications, games, and toys? Utilities? Tips and tricks? Tweaks? Hacks? Document readers? Hardware accessories?

I'm running PalmOS 3.5.0 - downgraded from 3.5.1 and the mandatory Palm Desktop 4.x installed 3.5.3 "upgrade". The 3.5.3 upgrade somehow makes the IIIc super slow on screen redraws/refreshes, and I'll more than willingly trade off some system stability for this speed increase.

Also, are there any operating systems/user interfaces available to play with that are not PalmOS? Ages ago, I remember hearing about people "running" Linux on a Palm device, but having no UI available - they'd have to telnet through the com port to actually access it.

Can my Treo 650 be a webcam?

Mwongozi — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 09:15:24 -0800

Can I use my Treo 650 as a mobile webcam? The Treo 650 is a PalmOS device with an in-built camera, and wireless internet access. What I'd like mine to do is take a snapshot with the camera at fixed intervals, and then upload the picture somewhere using FTP or WebDAV. Is there any software I can download/buy that will do this?

Palm Tungsten E2 Drivers?

o0o0o — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 09:05:39 -0800

My mom just purchased a Palm Tungsten E2 from Ebay and it came without software. Unfortunately, for some reason Palm's website doesn't have any software available for this model, at all. Is there anything I can do?

PalmOS Killer Apps? Sites?

basicchannel — Wed, 04 May 2005 01:02:12 -0800

I recently purchased a Treo 650 PDA/Phone/Tetris Device/ThingMaJig and would like to know what MeFites consider to be the best of the best apps I should cram this thing with. I have already purchased VeriChat for my Trillian-esque needs. I've scoured ye olde Google for other stuff, but being a n00b, I'm unsure which apps/sites deserve my PalmOS-capable attention.

Help?

Fun with Treos

angry modem — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 15:34:25 -0800

What's the coolest use for a Palm device you've ever seen? I've recently started using a used Treo 270 as my mobile device (only used normal cellphones before) and must say that it's a great experience, but I'm constantly looking for new things to do with it. I've already installed plucker, read a couple of books, VNCed to my desktop at home, SSHed into my colo'd box, IRCed constantly--but I feel like such a platform provides much more in functionality than even I use it for. What interesting uses do you get out of your palm device?

Palm OS 5 MemoPad Alternatives That Allow Editing of Synced Notes in Mac OS X?

brownpau — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 14:34:40 -0800

I don't like the Memos app on my Palm Zire 31. Any suggestions for good -- preferably free -- Palm OS 5 MemoPad alternatives which also allow editing of synced notes in OS X? (I've already tried WikiPad but I the wiki format in the Palm environment just doesn't work for me, and I can't edit synced notes in OS X.)

Good PalmOS games to download?

brownpau — Sat, 14 Aug 2004 00:35:38 -0800

Just got me a new Zire 31, and anticipating a long wait for delayed flights at Dulles today, I'd like your recommendations for good PalmOS games to download. [More inside.] Note that the Z31 has only two application buttons -- Calendar and Address Book -- and a D-Pad (that the right term?) rather than just the up/down rocker; that makes it useless for a lot of games out there which rely on customizations of those keys. Also, the Z31 uses a cheaper low-res screen STN screen, so the graphics aren't so great, and the refresh is too slow to handle fast-moving action.

So the kind of games I'm looking for are of the slower sort: puzzles, adventures, turn-based RPG/Strategy, and DopeWars/SpaceTrader types.

Oh, and the games should ideally be freeware, of course. ;)