bUSEFULOne of the bEST Windows CE utilities packages available[EDITOR'S NOTE: This review tests bUSEFUL's applications on a Handheld PC, but all applications work on the Palm-size PC as well. ] bSQUARE Corporation recently introduced two new productivity suites: bUSEFUL Utilities Pak and bPRODUCTIVE Essentials Pak. Both products provide Windows CE users with an incredible collection of software for all three devices (Palm-size PC, H/PC, and H/PC Pro). This review looks at bUSEFUL. (Note: bSQUARE is an industry leader in the development of software for Windows CE.) bUSEFUL Utilities Pak is a suite of twelve different utilities that enhance the functioning of your PC Companion (versions are available for the H/PCs, the H/PC Pros, and Palm-size PCs. These utilities include Backup Plus, Analyzer. Script, FindSpace, bFIND, Launch, List Plus, bTASK, NotePad, MoonPhase, HTML Editor, and UUEncode. I installed all of the utilities (1500 Kb total) onto a Flash memory card in my HP 660LX's PC Card slot and they functioned flawlessly. My only recommendation is that you keep your PC Companion connected to an AC power supply when running the more time-intensive applications (i.e. Backup Plus, Analyzer, and FindSpace). Here's a brief look at each utility. bUSEFUL Backup Plus (occupies 244k; also available as a standalone product for $34.95). If you ever crash your PC Companion, you'll thank your lucky stars that you have a current backup. Of course, Windows CE Services lets you do that, and comes free with every PC Companion. But bUSEFUL Backup Plus makes it faster and easier to keep a current backup. The program lets you back up all, or specific portions of your data. You can view the contents of your backup, and restore all, or portions of it (see Screen 1) You can backup to a PC Card, a Compact Flash card, a desktop, laptop or network (network backup/restore for H/PC Pro only). The backup can be restored to any Windows CE device of the same type (H/PC to H/PC, etc.). A complete back up can be accomplished in a matter of minutes (depending on the number and size of your files). The files are automatically compressed by about 70% during the backup, minimizing the storage space required. I have used many Windows CE backup programs and bUSEFUL Backup Plus is by far the most complete, most configurable, and best one I have ever used. bUSEFUL Analyzer (309k) Analyzer evaluates and analyzes every portion of your PC Companion's system, including CPU information, power management, video, battery life, and more. Analyzer evaluates using any of a number of industry-standard benchmarks, including Drystone, Whetstone, Bizstone, Graphstone, Thinkstone, Memstone, or a combination of all of the benchmarks (see Screen 2). Analyzer can be useful when comparing various CE devices. This feature is an easy way to test the speed of your machine. This utility is useful to people who wish to compare Windows CE devices before purchasing (or reviewing) them. This analysis takes a while to complete. (I recommend using this utility while on AC power.) bUSEFUL FindSpace (119k) FindSpace acts to identify and delete unnecessary files from your PC Companion (such as duplicate files, invalid shortcuts, temp files, cache files, etc.) When you uninstall a piece of software on your PC Companion, the process sometimes leaves pieces of the programs "lying around" taking up file storage space. Graphics and HTML files are saved in a cache when you browse the Web. And it's easy to save duplicate copies of the same document you're working on. FindSpace helps you find and delete unnecessary files, freeing up storage space in the process (see Screen 3). If you have a large number of files, or a number of large files on your device, it can take some time to run FindSpace. The process can eat up battery life, so connect up to your AC adapter before you look for that extra space on your PC Companion. bUSEFUL Script (185k) Script is a simple macro writing utility that allows you to automate routine tasks such as logging onto an ISP, retrieving e-mail, and more. You can easily learn the bUSEFUL Script language with the handy script editor that inserts common commands for you. bUSEFUL List Plus (180k) This application can effectively replace the built-in Pocket Task application that comes with CE devices. With it you can easily create multiple lists with hierarchal items and sub items. bUSEFUL List Plus also provides project-tracking features, the ability to sort by importance, support for hyperlinks to Web sites or documents, alarms and more (see Screen 4). List Plus also lets you share lists with others via Infrared transfer. bUSEFUL NotePad (92k) NotePad is a simple text editor - a quick and easy method for creating and editing text files. bUSEFUL Notepad opens and saves text in ASCII (text-only) format and in Unicode format on your Windows CE device. Its "Word Count" feature tells you the number of words in a document. bFIND (104.2k) This is a much-needed global-find utility that lets you search the contents of your PC Companion for files by name or for files containing specific words, phrases, character strings or file names. bFIND lets you search your entire memory (including storage cards) or specific locations in your memory (Calendar, Contacts, Appointments, e-mail messages, and more - see Screen 5). bUSEFUL Launch (132k) This cool utility adds a customized start menu (button bar) for fast access to your most-used programs. Launch also lets you navigate the file system, menus, and more. The Launch icon resides on the right side of the taskbar (a.k.a. "system tray"). Tap on the icon and a menu of applications pops up. Tap a selection to launch an application. Add whatever application you like to the menu. I am also in the process of testing Uniden's Palm-size PC and have discovered just how useful Launch is for Palm-size PC users. If you use a Palm-size PC you will love the functionality of this utility. bUSEFUL MoonPhase (60k) This simple utility places an icon of the Moon on your taskbar. Tap the icon and the current phase of the moon (full, crescent, new moon) is displayed, along with the date and time (see Screen 7). bTASK (31k) bTASK lets you navigate quickly between applications and close applications one at time or all at once. bTASK supports H/PCs and H/PC Pros, but is particularly useful on the Palm-size PC because there currently is no way to easily close applications on the device. bUSEFUL HTML Editor Lets you edit HTML files from the convenience of a PC Companion. Create, edit and save HTML files (.HTM, .HTML) as well as Windows CE Help files (.HTC, .HTP). Includes "find and replace" function, wizards for tables, fonts, images, and anchors, support for selectable fonts and more. bUSEFUL UUEncode Lets you convert files to ASCII for Internet transmission. [NOTE: bUSEFUL HTML Editor and UUEncode were not evaluated by this author.] I tested the bUSEFUL utilities on a Handheld PC, but all are available in H/PC Pro and Palm-size PC versions. The Palm-size PC versions of the utilities are optimized for the different size and orientation of the screen, and for the different input method. Of all the utilities in the package, only the HTML editor seems ill suited for the Palm-size PC. But it does have a lot of drop-down menus for entering HTML code. I cannot give higher praise to bUSEFUL. It is a very functional, reasonably priced package with just about everything you'd ever need. As I mentioned earlier, it works with any Windows CE 2.0 or above device, including H/PCs, H/PC Pros, and Palm-size PCs. bUSEFUL -- $79.99; Available through bSQUARE's online store (www. bsquare.com/development/products/ Online_Store.htmx) or through other bSQUARE resellers. Contact bSQUARE Corp., Phone: 888-820-4500 or 425-519-5900; E-mail: sales@bsquare.com; Web: www.bsquare.com/. Special pricing will be offered to anyone who purchases an individual application and then upgrades to the full bUSEFUL Utilities Pak. A demo version of each of the bUSEFUL applications described in this review can be downloaded at bSQUARE's Web site: www.bsquare.com/. By Ed Zabrek, M.D.
bPRODUCTIVEBy Rich Hall bSQUARE also released bPRODUCTIVE, a suite containing its most popular productivity applications. bPRODUCTIVE is available for the H/PC, the H/PC Pro and the Palm-size PC. The applications have been optimized for the screen size and input method of each device. The H/PC and H/PC Pro version comes with bFAX Pro, the Palm-size PC version comes with bFAX Express (see difference below). The package includes the following: bFAX Pro (for H/PC and H/PC Pro only) - send and receive faxes from an H/PC or H/PC Pro that has a built-in modem or is using a standard PC or CompactFlash card fax/modem, (class 2 or 2.0). The program can send and receive text, bitmap, tiff, Pocket Word, and Casio Digital Camera files. bFAX Pro supports attachments to faxes. bFAX Express (for Palm-size PC only) - send fax text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf) and bitmap (.2pb) files from a Palm-size PC equipped with a built-in fax/modem or using a Compact Flash fax/modem card. Includes fax preview function. Express supports attachments to faxes. bPrint - print text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf) and bitmap (.2pb) files through the serial or infrared port of your PC Companion. You can cue documents for batch printing, and more. Includes print preview function. bTRACK - an expense tracking program for the PC Companions that can fax or print reports using bFAX or bPRINT. bTRACK is customizable, with data input wizards to simplify input. Can also upload data directly to almost any corporate reporting system. bMOBILE News - access Internet newsgroups via modem or through a connection to a desktop PC, and read and reply to news offline. Supports attachments, subject threading, message filtering, and more. bREADY Viewer - view electronic texts or books on PC Companions. bREADY Publisher, sold separately, lets you create your own electronic texts. bTASK - Navigate and close Palm-size PC applications quickly and easily. bPRODUCTIVE retails for $79.99. Special pricing will be offered to anyone who purchases an individual application and then upgrades to bPRODUCTIVE. Demo versions of each of the applications can be downloaded at bSQUARE's Web site: www.bsquare.com/. bPRODUCTIVE is available through bSQUARE's online store (www.bsquare.com/) or through major computer software retail stores. For more information, contact bSQUARE Corp., Phone: 888-820-4500 or 425-519-5900; E-mail: sales@bsquare.com; Web: www.bsquare.com/. Screen 1: bUSEFUL Backup Plus lets you back up all, or specific portions of your data. You can view the contents of your backup, and restore all, or portions of it. Screen 2: bUSEFUL Analyzer evaluates your PC Companion using any of a number of industry-standard benchmarks and gives you feedback on various aspects of its performance. Screen 3: bUSEFUL FindSpace lets you find and delete duplicate files, invalid shortcuts, and other unnecessary files from your PC Companion. Screen 4: bUSEFUL List Plus lets you create multiple lists with hierarchal items and sub items, and provides project-tracking features, the ability to sort by importance, support for hyperlinks to Web sites or documents, alarms and more. Screen 5: bFIND lets you search for files by name, or for files containing specific words, phrases, character strings or file names. You can search your entire memory, or specific locations in your memory.
Screen 6: bUSEFUL Launch adds a user-configurable start menu, letting you access your most important applications quickly. Screen 7: bUSEFUL MoonPhase displays the current phase of the moon (full, crescent, new) along with the date and time. |
Ed
is Medical Editor of Handheld PC Magazine, a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist
in Houston, Texas, and chief technology correspondent for OBGYN.NET (www. obgyn. net), a
Web site for obstetricians, gynecologists, and related industry persons.
