Publisher's Message ..... •....•.•• ••.. 1 Letters to the Editor .....•. •.•.. •.•... 4 E New Third Party Products and Services . ••.•.••.•.•••..• 6 '­ Q) .c HP Palmtop Users Groups •.• •.•. •.... •. 7 E ::::l HP Palmtop News .•.••... .. .•.••••. •.• 9 :z:: - I.() P Palmtop Q) E HP Palmtop Resources aper Found on the Internet. ..•.••.••.•.•... 10 Everything from A to Z can be found on the Internet, including support for your HP Palmtop PC. Read this article to find Internet locations that will give youPalmtop news, advice on using the Palmtop on the Intemet, -.----~ World Wide Web pages for the Palmtop, sources of - - Palmtop related software and more. User to User: Everything Under the Sun Found at COMDEX ........••••.•. 15 Hal visits the massive annual computer show in Las Vegas and tests out SkyTel's new 2-Way Pager and a method of converting Casio Digital camera pictures to Palmtop topcards. He also reports on San Disk's new FREQUENTLY AS CompactFlash storage cards. Palmtop QUESTIONS?????????? _ - FREQUENTLY ASKED­ ????????QUESTIONS: FREQUENTLY ASKED­ Goodies QUESTIONS???????: FREQUENTLY ASKED­ User Profile: ?????????QUESTIONS: Staying Organized, FREQUENTLY ASKED­ Motivated and Informed .•.••.......... 19 on the In the world of real estate, success is measured in QUESTIONS??????????: square feet leased and contracts signed. This user stays FREQUENTLY ASKED- organized, motivated and informed with his HP Palmtop. _ ????????QUESTIONS: FREQUENTLY ASKED­ Frequently Asked Questions ........... 27 QUESTIONS???????: Can you use the Palmtop to dial phone numbers? FREQUENTLY ASKED­ Can you customize your Phone Book to suit your needs? For the answer to these and over 35 other frequently QUESTIONS????????? : asked Palmtop questions, read this article. FREQUENTLY ASKED­ QUESTIONS??????????: The 1·2·3 Column: FREQUENTLY ASKED­ USing Formulas in ????????QUESTIONS: a Lotus Spreadsheet .•.•.••. •.. ... 34 - FREQUENTLY ASKED: Learn how to use formulas and @functions in a QUESTIONS???????­ Lotus spreadsheet to calculate loan payments and set FREQUENTLY ASKED­ up a loan payment analysis table. ?????????QUESTIONS: FREQUENTLY ASKED: Programmer's Corner: QUESTIONS?????????? ­ Create an Interactive FREQUENTLY ASKED: Batch File Using ECHO .........••. •.. 41 Ed Keefe shows how to use the MS-DOS ECHO ????????QUESTIONS­ command to tum a batch file into a program that will FREQUENTLY ASKED: accept input. QUESTIONS???????- - Basic Tips ....•.•. •.•.•.......•.• 54-55 Quick Tips ••.•.•.••.•.•.•.••••.•. 56·58 02 Product Index •.•.•........ •• . ...•.. 59 Advertiser's Index ...•..........•.••. • 60 Files on JanJFeb. 96 ON DISK •.•..•. •. 60 o 7447083112 9 The Only HP Palmtop Upgrade That Has It All. To get the most from your HP 100/200LX palmtop, you need 3 advanced upgrades on 1 convenient PCMCIA card. First, you need to send and receive both faxes and data at an exceptional 14, 400 bps speed. Second, you need faxlmodem software that operates easily with the same HP function keys and commands you already use ... without the hassle of downloading software and without consuming precious hard disk space. Third, you need Flash memory for fast, easy access to all your software applications and for effiCiently storing data. Plus you need to fax from and receive faxes into your Flash memory for extra convenience. And, most of all, you need the flexibility to use all your upgrade features together or independently, without inserting and remOving separate fax/modem and memory cards. Now you can have it all with ThinFax 1414LXM. AU THE ADVANCED UPGRADE FEATURES YOU NEED ... ON 1 CONVENIENT PCMCIA CARD. EXP's award-winning MiniFax™ software. High-speed fax/modem. 2 or 4 MB Flash memory. They're all built into the ThinFax 1414LXM card. That's why ThinFax 1414LXM is the Qill: upgrade that's a must for your HP palmtop. So call the toll-free number today for complete ThinFax 1414LXM specifications and the name of an EXP dealer near you. Call: 714-453-1020 Of' Fax: 714-453-1319 MOBILE COMPUrlNG EXPERrlSE IS BUILT INro OUR NAME. Publisher's Message The HP Palmtop Paper Year five of The HP Palmtop Paper begins! Handheld computing, wire­ less computing, and online Volume five I Issue one computing were in their infan­ January/February 1996 cy when we began publishing Executive EditorlPublisher Hal Goldstein in the Fall of 1991. We look at Managing Editor these topics this issue and it is Richard Hall a little surprising we haven't Associate Editor come further technologically. Paul Merrill It's 1996, and everyone isn't Technical Editor Tom Gibson carrying Palmtops, PDA's, or Department Editors organizers. Few of us use wire­ Ed Keefe less services. The Internet has Carl Merkle Contributing Writers taken the world by storm but Conrad Cox still a very small percentage of Alexander S. Arando the world's population, and Administrative Assistant Colleen Rodibaugh Hal Goldstein maybe not even a majority of Advertising/Marketing our readership, are online. Brian 1eitzman Margaret Martin Maybe I'm expecting too much and five years isn't long Diane Wimett enough. Everybody knows or at least pays lip service to the Tiffany Lisk popular theories about why these technologies haven't been Circulation Sharon Ash (Supervisor) more universally adopted -- end users want "user friendly" Sharon Dilmore tools they can use right way, they don't want to have to become Theresa Handy Executive Advisor computer experts. However, computers aren't toasters, they Rita Goldstein have many functions and are by nature complex. Windows and The HP Palmtop Paper (ISSN 10656189) is pub­ the Geoworks operating system for the new HP OmniGo 100 lished by Thaddeus Computing Inc., at 57 East are examples of attempts to simplify things for the end user. Broadway Avenue, Fairfield, fA 52556. Second­ class postage paid at Fairfield, Iowa. Subscription However, user friendliness requires more complex software and rates payable in V.S. dollars, checks drawn on a U.S. bank, or by credit card - one year: $39; two support and the usual result is less flexibility for the end user. years: $69. Postage: V,S. and V.S. possessions free; It is fun from our vantage point as Palmtop visionaries to Canada, Mexico add $6 per year; other countries add $18 per year. Published bi-monthly plus two see the industry take shape. As Palmtop users we enjoy a com­ bonus issues, one in April and one in November. petitive advantage- take a look at our profile of Alex Arancio, a Please allow four to six weeks for receipt of first issue. Executive, Editorial, Circulation, Marketing real estate professional, as an example. For those who want to and Advertising Offices: P.O. Box 869, Fairfield, IA 52556. Telephone: (515) 472-6330, FAX: (515) 472- get up to speed with 1-2-3 check out Carl Merkle's latest Lotus 1879. Copyright 1996, Thaddeus Computing, Inc., tutorial installment and for technical types frustrated by batch aU rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. file limitations, see Ed Keefe's ECHO article. Reasonable efforts are made to prOVide accurate This issue is crammed with bite-sized chunks of useable and useful information, but the reader must make his or her own investigations and decisions; the information. Take a look at Letters, Frequently Asked Publisher and Editorial Staff cannot assume any responsibility or liability for the use of information Questions, Quick Tips, Best Tips, and Palmtop Wisdom to see contained herein. what I mean. POSTMASTER: Please send any address changes to The HP Palmtop Paper, Attn: Thaddeus Have a great 1996! Computing, Inc., P.O. Box 869, Fairfield, fA 52556. THEHPPALMTOPPAPER JANYARY / FEBRUARY 1996 1 The editors of The HP Palmtop Paper welcome you to Other uses for Time and Date stamps Palmtop Wisdom. Palmtop Wisdom takes current thinking You can use the Time and Date about leadership, human relations, time management, stamp feature to track billing time for your clients, keep a diary, record finance, self-development, travel, and entertainment business dealings or medication and shows the concrete application of these concepts using times and their results. HP's100j200LX Palmtop pes. We welcome your feedback, ideas, and contributions. Self Improvement A Quote a Day A quote can be a kernel of knowl­ By Paul Merrill, Rich Hall, Barry the date to it by pressing ~ [) edge that illuminates and uplifts. A Miller and Tom Gibson. (Date). Enter a description of the great way to take advantage of the task you are starting, for example, wisdom contained in the words of "Calling about financial software." great (or ordinary) people is by Finance Then press ~ 0 (Time). The time is starting each day of the year with a entered next to your task. wonderful new quote. Take stock of your day [Note: to change the format of The first thing you have to do is to see where the time goes the time or date display, press I!J come up with the quotes. The I!I (Setup) IMENU! Options Date/­ library is full of "great quotes" It's a common experience at the end Time and choose the formats you books. In addition, you run into of the day to wonder where the time want. Then press I ENTER I (OK) IMENU! good quotes daily, as you read went. To give us this information, (£) (Quit).] books and listen to people. Keep we can track every minute of an When you finish the task you are track of them in a Memo file, or cre­ "average" day and record where we working on, are interrupted, or just ate a custom database to track them. are being unproductive. This can be need to change to another task, make a note of it in your Memo file ON THE PALMTOP extremely useful to anyone who (e.g. "Stopped research on financial Once you have your quotes, create a feels there is not enough time in the software. Started: sales meeting."), new Appointment Book file and day, allowing them to know exactly and press ~ 0 (Time) to enter the enter them into it, on a day.