Leslie Franke

Some of the most creative and useful replacement applications for the Palm OS are replacement launchers. A number of excellent Palm OS launchers exist with each one appealing to a different user base. One of the best launchers out there is Facer, PocketCraft’s flagship application, which has recently been updated to version 3.1. Facer is designed to be a simple to use and powerful application at the same time that will run on Palm OS 5 devices and above.

If you currently use or have used a launcher in the past Facer has a lot of the features you would expect in a launcher, including a customizable user interface. If you have never used a launcher before, a launcher application is a piece of software that provides you with an improved user interface to run your applications from. Most launcher applications also give you the ability to customize the launcher’s look and feel to your preferences. You can choose what buttons and add-ons you want to display on the screen, as well as changing the launcher’s skin (theme) and background.

Facer is basically split into two main pages, a Today screen and a launcher screen. Facer also includes a basic file manager and an application uninstaller to help manage files and delete applications. The Today page is where Facer really shines. Your calendar and task events are listed on the Today page along with optionally showing Agendus icons (You can download my free Agendus iconsets from here). You can show today’s and tommorrow’s calendar information and as many days of task information as you please. Here is one place I would make a change to Facer. While I realize that it is a Today page it would be nice to also show as many days of calendar information as you want also, though currently you can scroll through the dates one day at a time. In addition, you can further customize the Today page with more plug-ins, such as email or weather data, to further personalize the page. A nice feature of the Today page is that it itself can serve as a mini-launcher. Facer allows you to define “Shortcuts” to Palm applications or web address links at the bottom of the Today Page which allows you to quickly jump to an application without switching to the launcher. With the seven shortcut definitions and the buttons on my Palm I rarely even need to use the launcher screen, only when I need to change the settings in a utility or want to play a game.

The launcher portion of Facer works like a standard launcher. It automatically imports the category information, for each Palm application, from the default Palm launcher. Additionally, tapping and holding on an application icon will bring up a popup menu to beam, copy, delete, move, or get information on the application. The information display shows the basic application information plus provides the ability to change basic file attributes. The one thing I feel that Facer 3 is missing in its launcher is category tabs, currently you only have a pull-down menu to change categories.

Another launcher type feature of Facer is many of the most used functions/commands are only a single stylus tap away through the use of what Facer calls “gadgets”. These gadgets buttons, positioned in the top right or the bottom of the screen (on both the launcher and Today pages), allow the user to execute actions such as turning the power off, opening the trash bin, using the file browser, adjusting the brightness, etc. Facer also allows the user to specify which gadgets are displayed so only the ones you want to see will be on the screen, and the Today and Launcher Pages have separate gadget configurations.

The look and feel of Facer is quite good. The fonts work well and the default color and graphics are good. Facer allows you to change the font size on the Today page as well as customize the colors thought the application. Additionally, you can add your own background to both the Today screen and the launcher screen. Unfortunately, as of now, there are really no new themes for this version of Facer, as themes from previous versions of Facer will not work in this new version.

If you’ve been looking for a launcher application that is simple to use but also offers similar features to other launchers, I would suggest giving the Facer launcher a try. Overall, Facer is well suited for most Palm users offering ease of use, an excellent Today page, and a launcher and file manager that will meet their needs.

There are many Bible sites available on the web including the popular BibleGateway.com. A new Bible search engine called eBible, currently in invitation-only beta is a welcome addition to the scene. eBible is a “Web 2.0″ on-line Bible service that features a simple, slick interface and very good search capabilities.

eBible allows you to search by verse & keyword or by answers. Searching for a verse of scripture displays the verse in the context of the passage to which the verse belongs. Different translations can be viewed and/or multiple translations can be bought up in parallel, making it easy to compare verses. In addition, Biblical commentary is available in a collapsible sidebar on the left and in popups within the actual text. A search by keyword, delivers results which show the references to the term in scripture. A search by answers gives answers to the term searched for, referencing specific verses and passages in the Bible with links to the related scripture.

eBible is already a great online tool that shows great promise and provides a very useful tool as an online interactive Bible. The ability to compare translations is a nice tool as is the interactivity and accessibility built into eBible. As with any beta software there are areas that could be improved. It would be nice if there were more translations such as the NIV, probably not included due to licensing issues, and not all links are easily bookmarkable (cleaner URLs would be nice). Some people may also consider it a negative that eBible has sponsored links. I have tested eBible in Windows XP with the Mozilla Firefox browser and have experienced no real problems so far.

If you’re a new or veteran Palm user but have not yet visited the Palm Addicts blog you are missing out on some great Palm related content. In my mind, PalmAddicts is the most comprehensive and frequently updated Palm related news site, constantly refreshing with new content. Sammy and his crew do a great job providing both news and software reviews.

I have created a new ZLauncher theme and uploaded to the download section of the website. Graphics are based on the Tango Desktop Project. This is a complete theme with all icons skinned, including the Setup List icons. It should look good under all levels of transparency. One background is available in both a 320 and 480 size. Get the ZLauncher Tango Theme here.

Google announced several new products yesterday as part of their media day, including Google Trends, a frequency query tool that displays how often Google users searched for a certain term over a period of time. It also includes a news volume graph which displays the number of times the search term appeared in Google News stories (this does not include blogs). In addition, you can compare up to five terms by separating each term with a comma and the results are broken down by language, region and city.

While I see the usefulness this will be to PR people and marketers, for the lay person like myself it makes for an interesting look at the popularity of certain products against other products or how their popularity has changed over time. For example, take a look at the Palm Treo versus the Blackberry. The slight lead the Blackberry has held over the Treo has remained fairly consistent over time. Compare the searches for the Treo 650 versus the Treo 700W over the last month or different Palm products in 2005. Google Trends is an interesting way to look at the large volume of search data compiled by Google’s users.

Mozilla has distributed a small, but very important upgrade to the Firefox browser. The software is being upgraded to Firefox version 1.5.0.3 to prevent browsers from DOS (denial of service) attacks that could cause the browser to crash (this was not a threat that could comprise a system). Mozilla is recommending that all users upgrade to the new version. The update should happen automatically or can be forced via the Check for Updates option on the Help menu.

Tam Hanna is a well known Palm blogger and contributor to several Palm based forums and news sites. Under the name of Tamoggemon Software, he has created a product which is inteded to make life easier for a Palm user that docks their handheld on a frequent basis. AutoSync is a multi-functional utility that peforms several functions when it detects your Palm is docked in the cradle or charger. These functions can be individually enabled or disabled. They include:

1. AutoSync will automatically start the Hotsync process when your Palm when is connected to the cradle.
2. AutoSync will allow you to set specific settings with regards to IR (Infrared receiving), sound and screen brightness.

AutoSync is a simple and easy program to run. No frills here, but that is not its purpose. It does what it is supposed to and does it well. If you find yourself always hot syncing your Palm when you dock it (or always forget to hot sync your Palm) and/or would prefer to have different sound and screen settings when the Palm is in the cradle, I would recommend giving AutoSync a try. It just may make your life a little easier.

AutoSync will work on newer Palm handhelds. I have tested and ran it fine on my Palm T3. AutoSync is shareware with a 14 day evaluation period. If you decide to register it a copy can be purchased at Palmgear.