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Welcome
User Tips Development Tips New Tools Related Events Affiliates 
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Welcome
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Welcome to FO's
3rd quarter newsletter!
As before, we have additional tools to announce. Also, together with the standard User and Developer sections; we have added a new section in each issue, where we will discuss one of our affiliated partners.
As always, please feel free to submit requests or ideas through the links at the bottom of this page; where you will also find subscription and removal information. Thank you, 
Bill Shadish, Principal |
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User Interface Issues We've created a list of things to think about if you are purchasing or creating new handheld applications. As a buyer, there are specific points to ask your developer about -- such as:
Pilot News and Information The following web page lists 51 different PalmOS devices, comparing and contrasting each. http://chris.mckinney.net/palmos/. This is a useful tool for preparing proposals or considering which is the best of breed to buy. |
Development Tips Sites with Real Content for Developers
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PalmPilot Software Development - Alternatives to C http://goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au/~winikoff/palm/dev.html Wide and varied information about everything from AppForge to Waba. This is a valuable resource that includes performance comparisons between the languages and similar information. Here's an example reference from the site: Waba from Wabasoft: Java VM which uses its own standard library, rather than the standard Java library. Doesn't implement threads or exceptions. Also targets Windows CE. Cost free. "Waba is perhaps the most exciting development language. The language used is a subset of Java (missing threads and exceptions) but uses the Waba standard library instead of Sun's (much richer) libraries. Applications are compiled using a standard Java compiler and can be executed on a PalmPilot, Windows CE Palm-sized PC, or under a standard Java runtime environment - including netscape! You can put a program on your web page for people to try out before they download it to their PDA ..." Warren's Cool New FAQ Page (previously, "Wade's PalmPilot Programming FAQ") http://www.cyberport.com/~tangent/palm/faq This is another vastly useful site. If you are working with C or C++ on the PalmOS, you simply must have a look here. A tiny subset of the topics on this page include:
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During August we released foInventory; a Palm-pilot barcode scanning & Access database toolset. foInventory has two components. First, there is a full Access Windows tool, from which you can completely manage your inventory as a stand alone process. The only requirements are having Access 97 or Access 2000 on your machine. The Palm Pilot portion (see figure 1) works with Symbol 1500 Palm barcode scanners (or with any Palm OS 3+ unit, via stylus input) to allow you to capture inventory information remotely. You can add to, or relieve, inventory and you have the ability to backdate the change as well. 
Figure 1 - The Palm (left) and Access (right) foInventory screens. Subsequent hotsyncing places any inventory items added or removed on the Palm into the Access database. At the same time, lists of inventory items, prices and so on, are refreshed on the Palm side. You can use Either the Palm or the Access application to manage inventory. See our web site for more. |
 As mentioned above, our biggest news is that FO has added hardware sales to our mix of products and services. We are now a value-added Palm reseller. This was done primarily to help our clients to find the best possible hardware deals, without their having to buy a thousand units at once in order to do so. Feel free to request a quote if you need (>5) additional handhelds. |
Affiliates
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FO currently offers a partnering program (to select companies).
In each subsequent newsletter, we will provide information about one of our affiliated partners. We believe that you will find the skills and services offered by our select partners of value to you as well. In this issue, we cover MobileBizSolutions, who was added as a partner in August 2001. 
Figure 2 - MobileBizSolutions http://www.MobileBizSolutions.com MobileBiz Solutions provides industry specific mobile application solutions, up to the minute news, mobile device hardware and accessory reviews, white papers, case studies, tips and more. Launched in May 2001 by mobile consultant Eriq Cook, the goal of MobileBiz Solutions is to enable business professionals to stay ahead of the competition by staying on the mobile edge. Eriq's latest article, "E-Commerce Goes Mobile," explains the differences in mobile technologies and the common problems many businesses face when implementing mobile solutions. The article also explains the main differences between the various kinds of mobile computing devices and mobile applications available to the enterprise. You can find this article here: http://www.mobilebizsolutions.com/features/articles/ecgoesmobile.htm. More information about the FO partnering program can be found at http://www.fo.com/partnering-info.htm. |
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