List of truly useful software

[Winchell]

Here are a few applications that I found to be useful above and beyond the call of duty. The drawback is that they are mostly commercial applications (so you get what you pay for).

• WordSmith The premier word processor. Get it, you won't regret it. http://www.bluenomad.com
• Shadow Plan The advanced outliner/project planner. Seamlessly integrates with the ToDo and Datebook. http://www.codejedi.com/
• Datebk4 Blows Datebk+ right out of the water. http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/
• FPS Utility One stop shopping for critial PalmOS utility functions. http://www.fps.com/
• HandyShopper The shopping list that is smarter than you are. http://www.palmgear.com/software/sho...35&prodID=5314
• JFile Fast and efficient database program http://www.land-j.com/jfile.html
• Rich Reader A Word/HTML/PDF Document Reader http://users.rcn.com/arenamk/
• ThoughtManager Organizes your ideas, projects, agendas, whatever. http://www.handshigh.com/html/thoughtmanager.html
• ToDo PLUS Blows ToDo right out of the water. http://www.handshigh.com/html/todoplus.html

[homer]

I have NOT used ToDo Plus or Shadow Plan, but from what I have seen, it appears that Progect may do many, if not all of the same tasks.

And it's free.

Just an FYI...

[cnegrad]

Please compare and contrast ShadowPlan & ThoughtManager. I have ThoughtManager, and am wondering how Shadowplan differs.

Thanks,
-cnegrad

[corb]

please don't forget quicksheet...

[MJ]

You must add Diddlebug- the ultimate app to write notes on the run without having to use graffiti.

[joe]

Don't forget ThinkDB! Version 2 has been out for a while, now. I couldn't live without it. You can pay for a desktop companion to it and a direct conduit to Access. both of these still have wrinkles, but the authors are committed to fixing things.

http://www.thinkingbytes.com

[prometheus]

Diddlebug
Handyshop
BART scheduler
Mapopolis
AvantGo (for the HelpInHand page's half Windsor tie knot instructions)

[BaliLover]

Don't forget Filez. http://www.nosleep.net/apps/filez.asp

I'm always using this app to delete, change attributes (so I can beam ANY file) and rename files. Best of all It's totally free. I'm glad I stumbled across this one.

[Winchell]

Originally posted by cnegrad
Please compare and contrast ShadowPlan & ThoughtManager. I have ThoughtManager, and am wondering how Shadowplan differs.

That's a toughie, they overlap a lot.
ThoughtManager is more free form, while ShadowPlan is more structured.
ShadowPlan does link to the ToDo and Datebook while ThoughtManager does not.

http://www.pdasquare.com/reviews/palm/shadow.shtml

[yardie]

I second ThinkDB 2!! What an amazing app.

I should also add:
DiddleBug or bugMe
ATool
BeamBox
Stock Manager
UltraSoft Money (For MS Money users) or AllMoney
WeSync

You can find them all at palmgear.com o eurocool.com

[Winchell]

Originally posted by cnegrad
Please compare and contrast ShadowPlan & ThoughtManager. I have ThoughtManager, and am wondering how Shadowplan differs.

Here are some notes from a friend of mine who has both:

This is from an email I sent to the Shadow Plan developer earlier today:

(1) I like the fact that you can display the Notes inline. This has the potential to allow Shadow Plan to be used as more than just an outliner -- it can be used as a report writer. You create the outline of your report, then write the prose as a note under each outline heading. It would be really cool if there were some option -- perhaps through a conduit? -- to export just the notes. (Note that the 4K limit on MemoPad is problematic. Perhaps export to DOC?)

(2) As an outliner, Shadow Plan has one thing that I consider to be a serious limitation -- you can't edit the titles in place, you have to open a window to do so. This is the main reason that I stopped using BrainForest and started using ThoughtManager, despite the fact that
BrainForest has a desktop version and ThoughtManager does not. (Incidently, I also like the ThoughtManager user interface, specifically the new item plus sign and the left and right arrows. These take up a lot less space than the New and Child buttons on the Shadow Plan screen.) It would be really cool if you could add that capability.

(3) Note, though, that if Shadow Plan were able to replace ThoughtManager in that way, I would be in a quandary, as I would need far more categories than Shadow Plan currently supports. Perhaps you could add some way to create "groups" of categories? Even if the result was two separate databases, it would be very useful. In fact, I think the groups idea would be more useful to me than simply increasing the number of categories available, as my "ToDo" categories and "Outline Notes" categories don't overlap, and putting them in the same list would be > irritating. (I have no idea if other people feel the same way.)

[snip]

(5) I'm a big believer in the idea that you don't need the dot in front of each item in an outline if there is a triangle there. They serve the same purpose -- to let the user know that that is the beginning of the line (with the triangle giving extra status info). On a desktop computer this isn't much of an issue, but horizontal space is SO tight on a PalmOS device that I really think that every pixel counts. Perhaps this could be another option?

[profiler]

My .02:

Action Names Datebook
AllMoney
Backup Buddy
Big Clock
DayNotez
Life Balance
Shadow Plan
ThinkDB
TinySheet
Wordsmith

[Ash]

WebConfidential. A great app for storing passwords and serial numbers with good encryption. There are even conduits for the desktop versions on Mac and other so that you can synch your encrypted passwords.