pc companions ONLINE

Handheld PC Magazine's 
Best Windows CE Web Sites 
of the Last 1000 YEARS!

Tom Gibson
Technical Editor

Even though the Third Millennium really doesn't start until 12:01 a.m., January 1, 2001, everyone seems to think it began January 1, 2000. So I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and release my "Best of the Second Millennium" list for Windows CE Web sites.

In the later part of the Second Millennium, Windows CE was introduced, struggled for acceptance, went through a number of revisions and upgrades, and lost some of the original manufacturers and gained some new ones. PC Companions have gotten bigger (some of the H/PC Pros) and smaller (Palm-size PCs). Microsoft released ActiveSync 3.0, which makes the task of synchronizing your PC Companion and PC much easier. Web Companions and other Windows CE information appliances were being shown at COMDEX. You can even see the new HP Jornada Palm-size PC in The World is Not Enough, the new James Bond movie.

The later part of the Second Millennium has also given us a number of excellent Web sites devoted to Windows CE and its users. This column lists my favorites ­ and after looking at them you may want to just plop them into your browser's Favorites list. These are comprehensive sites, giving you FAQs, how-tos, downloads, tips and news about Windows CE.

Microsoft's Windows CE site is where to go for the official word on anything related to Windows CE. Microsoft is revamping their Web site to add more support for the end user. The new site wasn't up when I wrote this, so I can't tell anything more right now. My next column will probably be a review of the new site.

Handheld PC Magazine Online is our site. We are the first and only magazine devoted entirely to users of Windows CE handheld devices, and we have a wealth of information on our site. We have the largest listing of products for Windows CE on the Web, all of the articles that we have published, bunches of tips from Jim Christian and links to other Windows CE Web sites.

Chris De Herrera's Windows CE Website is another great Web resource. Chris is very knowledgeable about Windows CE and very prolific, writing articles not only for his own Web site but for Handheld PC Magazine and other mobile computing publications. Chris is also a Microsoft Uplink Topic Editor for communications issues on Microsoft's Windows CE Web site. I refer to this site often when I am trying to do something I haven't done before, because chances are that Chris has an FAQ or how-to about it on cewindows.net. Chris' site has comprehensive comparison charts, reviews and commentary, and one of the best Windows CE links page I've seen.

Craig Peacock's Windows CE Pages is another great site. Craig has been a contributing author to Handheld PC Magazine since the first issue and just published Windows CE Made Simple, a book for beginning and intermediate users of Windows CE PC Companions. Craig's site has reviews, how-tos, links, news and general interest articles. The Web address takes you to his Palm-size PC site. From there you can link to his Handheld PC site.

CE Station is a relative newcomer to the Windows CE marketplace, but comes with a good pedigree. CE Station is part of the GoPDA.com network, one of the largest sites for other PDAs. They have tons of downloads and software and hardware for Windows CE that you can buy online.

TUCOWS PDA is the site formerly know as "CE Monster." But a rose by any other name is still a rose. I'm not too sure that I like the new color scheme, but this is still one of the best places to download freeware, shareware, or demoware.

CEcity is one the most up-to-date and comprehensive Windows CE sites on the Internet. Here you'll find software and hardware listings and reviews, message boards, support documents, hardware specifications, a shopping section, a travel page, and developer information.

Looking for a new PC Companion? The PDA Page is a great place to find the best price.

These are the sites I use all the time when I'm researching products or trying to find the solution to a problem. They are my "first look" Web resources for Windows CE. Again, as the real Third Millennium doesn't begin for another year, I guess this list is a bit premature. I'll update the list in one year, but I imagine that these sites will remain in the top positions -- they are a safe bet when you need information about Windows CE.