Handheld Devices 101: Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for Beginners

Recommended Online PDA Magazines and Discussion Lists

  • look for stories about how people use PDAs
  • find reviews, comparisons
  • keep up to date with new applications and technology
  • find many news articles
  • get help with your handheld with the many "how-to" articles
  • often provide links to partners and relevant information
  • may have fun and serious polls for you to respond to about topics of interest
  • AOL Personal Digital Assistants Community

    • Weekly Newsletter (distributed via email. extremely useful information on a variety of topics)
  • CNET (more a portal than an online magazine but has the same characteristics as a journal)
  • Handheld Weekly (distributed via email as well as being available on the Web)
  • Home Office Computing (occasional article; use the on-site search engine to locate articles)
  • Macworld (occasional article; use the on-site search engine to locate articles)
  • Mobile Computing (journal dedicated to anything mobile)
  • Palm Tipsheet (email distribution as well asbeing available on the Web. handy Palm tips & tricks)
  • PalmPower Magazine (if it's about the Palm OS, this magazine will give you information on it)
  • PC World (news, features, downloads; many search capabilities)
  • Smart Computing (great series on operating your PDA)
  • Woody's Palm Watch (great site for criticisms and advice)
  • ZDNet's Palm OS Express (distributed via email)
  • ZDNet's Handheld Supercenter.  (more a portal than an online magazine but has the same characteristics as a journal)

Discussion Groups 

  • the one thing you can say about handheld devices is that they provoke discussions of all kinds
  • this section will give you access to the discussion groups that I favor but there are many others
  • discussion groups are a terrific way to learn about about programming the Palm, get advice, get news, get solutions to problems

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  • 3com-palm 
    • Discuss pda/palmpilot matters. Like new programs, solutions to problems, exchange info, etc 
  • GtD_Palm 
    • People discuss how to implement "Getting things Done" by David Allen on their PDAs
  • HanDBase 
      • The purpose of the group is to exchange tips and tricks regarding the HanDBase database system
  • handspring 
    • Discussion and support list for users of the Handspring Visor PDA.   News, tips, recommendations, incompatibilities, troubleshooting, advice for software (Palm OS) and hardware (Visor) will be shared via this list. 
  • handyshopper 
    • Discusses the use of the flat-file manager called Handy Shopper. Support group for users of the HandyShopper application for the PalmOS computer platform
  • nsbasic-palm 
    • A discussion group for the NSBasic/Palm Programming Tool. Programming tips, techniques and info as well as snippets of code.
  • palm-talk 
    • Somewhat dry discussion group discussing thing Palm OS
  • pda-ebook
    • This list is for Users, Publishers and Content Providers of electronic books (eBooks) that can be view on all Handheld / PDA devices. This list covers commercial and

      • freely distributed eBooks and other eBook related topics 
  • pdatoolbox 
    • Low volume. Provides news, new versions, bug fixes, etc. for PDA Toolbox Graphical Palm Development environment
  • PDA_women 
    • A discussion group for women using using any platform Personal Digital Organizers.   This is a place to ask questions, share ideas and have some fun!
  • pimlicodatebk 
    • Discussion of Pimlico's DateBk product including DateBk3 and DateBk4. Post tips and tricks, ask and answer questions 
  • pprg 
    • Palm Programming. This group is for people who want to learn how to program for the Palm operating system 
  • shadow-discuss 
    • Support for the Shadow Plan outliner for Palm and related handhelds
  • SHEandPDAs 
    • This group is to discuss ways to keep track of

      •  household chores, daily routines, and other items in the SHE cardfile or planner 
  • T-U-G 
      • TRG / HandEra User's Group. It includes discussions about all aspects of hardware and software 
  • ThinkDB 
    • Discuss ThinkDB features and current developments 
  • TRGPro_Users_Group 
    • Promote continued dialogue regarding the TRGPro and HandEra 330. Discussion tends to lean toward medical/health issues