My Handheld PC: Window into My Desktop

The H/PC replaces a laptop for this data processing manager, who calls up spreadsheets and agendas during meetings, uses PIM software to stay organized, and Pocket Streets to stay oriented.

I have a confession to make. When the subject of writing this profile first came up, I gave it some thought and decided I would be "true to the platform" and write the profile entirely on my Cassiopeia. It didn't take me long to give up on this attempt. I don't write long documents on my Handheld PC normally, so why should this be any different? What I did do, however, was drag and drop this document onto the H/PC with no fuss and take it with me for review and modification whenever free time cropped up. And this is the beauty of the connectivity between Windows95 and NT on a desktop and Windows CE -- it's so darn easy.

I am using a Casio Cassiopeia A-11 with 4 Mb of memory (2 Mb definitely is not enough for serious use), a Motorola Montana 33.6 PC Card modem, and a LandWare 8 Mb Flash Card. The Casio uses the SH-3 RISC processor and is quite fast for most things. The backlighting could be better but I don't really have problems with the screen legibility. I think the problems are with the small screen fonts -- not the hardware. If you use a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or H/PC, you must get used to the small fonts or make them bigger.

I run a small but rapidly growing Seismic Data Processing Center that provides contract Seismic Data Processing services for major oil companies. I am responsible for all facets of our office in Houston including financial, personnel, technical, and managerial matters. The projects we get are complex ones that can last weeks or months and are often broken up into 20 or 30 sub-projects. The bids required to win such projects are often nine or ten pages long and quite technical, with many variables which affect pricing and turnaround time. I must track a lot of information, both contact related and project related, and for me the H/PC fits the bill nicely.

A day in the life

I start the day by checking the appointments and I use the "agenda" view under "Calendar" for planning my day before heading for the office. Once in the office, I use the H/PC constantly for adding and checking tasks, making notes for later referral while conversing with clients on the phone, and generally noting anything of interest. Off and on during the day I also use Outlook97 on my PC. I use whichever fits the task better at the time -- the H/PC or the desktop. The ability of the H/PC to instantly synchronize with Outlook97 on my PC is the real advantage for me. Exchanging information back and forth requires very little effort. I can concentrate on the task at hand, not the platform.

Staying on top of meetings

I attend a lot of meetings, both with employees and clients, and I have a system I use that has evolved with experimentation. I use the outline view in Pocket Word to make an agenda outline before a meeting. I record topics I wish to discuss with the employees or clients. I can easily refer to this while the meeting progresses and add points with very little typing. The outline view lets me group things by sub-topic and add information I collect during the meeting. I always bump up the font size for easy viewing during the meeting.

Using Pocket Excel, I can call up spreadsheets during client meetings to provide on-the-spot calculations of prices in the event they suggest changes in the variables that go into the pricing matrix. This allows me to instantly give them a new verbal figure, which impresses the heck out of them. I also carry on the H/PC a copy of the actual bid, created in Word, for the particular project that is the subject of the meeting. Instant reference pricing and turnaround time promises assures there are no questions after the meeting.

Spreadsheets track projects, billings, bonuses and more

I keep several Pocket Excel spreadsheets in my Handheld PC at all times. These include: Work in House (every project broken down into sub-projects including size and worth to the company), Invoice Register (every invoice we've cut for the last year), Outstanding Bid Register (to make sure I don't overlook following up on bids for which I've gotten no response), Monthly Billing Breakdown (exactly what it says- going back to Jan. 1996), Salary & Bonus Worksheet (for referral and on the spot calculation of employee bonuses), and of course my Budget Worksheet. Just having this information with me all the time is an incredible boon to my efficiency as a manager and planner. I can play what ifs, what isn'ts, and what fors anywhere I have some free time. I can quote information to the appropriate people when they need it, and generally impress clients with the intimate details of their projects.

The important thing to stress about the spreadsheets I carry with me is that I normally just use them for reference. If I really need to modify one I can do so easily, but the significant thing is the ability to carry it with me in my pocket. I can carry more information around now than ever before. Two-way synchronizing makes sure any change I make on either side of the serial cable is always reflected.

Pocket On-Schedule manages contacts

I have all my contacts in the H/PC along with their e-mail addresses, so tracking people-related information is very easy. I replaced the Contact application in Windows CE with Pocket On-Schedule, which allows me to change the font size in the contacts window (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Pocket On-Schedule lets me change the font size in the contacts window.

This program also allows multiple phone books, but I prefer one book with everything in it. I had problems using multiple phone books in the past with contacts that are constantly migrating from one book to another, so I just use the search function to find someone in the big book. Pocket On-Schedule also saves valuable screen real estate by replacing the alphabet tabs with simple functions. Just type a letter in the main contact list and it automatically transports you to the first contact beginning with that letter (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Type a letter in the main contact list of Pocket On-Schedule and it automatically transports you to the first contact beginning with that letter.

You can also sort by company, last name, or any other visible column in the contact list. Pocket On-Schedule uses the same database file format as the native CE Contacts application, so it automatically synchronizes with Outlook97 on the desktop without doing anything out of the ordinary -- a very nice touch.

Feet don't fail me now

Business trips are where the Handheld PC really comes into its own. I don't even take my laptop with me anymore. The H/PC completely replaces it for me. I make an itinerary spreadsheet before I leave and copy it to the H/PC so I can reference my travel times on the go. I've obviously got all my contact and schedule info with me which is nice, but where the H/PC shines on trips can be summed up in one word: CONNECTIVITY. I use Pocket IE to check up on the company Web site and for general surfing around in the hotel on evenings when my schedule permits. I can handle all my e-mail needs, sending and receiving. I can fax text to those not on e-mail using bFAX Lite from bsquare, which was included on a CD-ROM with the Casio. Since it allows me to send faxes but not receive them, I usually just have faxes come to the hotel so this isn't a big drawback. I'll be glad when Exchange is compatible with Microsoft Fax so I can send document files without UUencoding them.

I can check stock quotes using Quote Ticker Bar utility by Starfire Software, or with Pocket Internet Explorer. I keep up with newsgroups of interest (including Handheld PC-related groups) using mobileNews by CEscape (ed. note: mobileNews is now bmobileNews from bSquare) (http://www.bsquare.com). I use Telnet and ScottyFTP to log into my local Unix network while on the road to keep up with the employees’ progress on the various projects we have going all the time. I carried my laptop around for years in order to accomplish these tasks, but now I can put it all in my pocket! I use a Motorola Montana 33.6 modem, which has worked flawlessly for my communications. (A word of advice: don't ever try to use a PC Card modem on battery power alone. Connect your Handheld PC to its AC adapter. Running a PC Card modem off the H/PC's batteries can eat a new set of AA batteries in 5 to 15 minutes.) The only communication-related program I miss is a CompuServe Navigator like NavCIS. I really miss the ability to log on to CompuServe and automatically hit the forums I need to keep in touch with (like HPHAND and PALMTOPB). I'll be glad when someone writes one (Dvorak are you listening?). But otherwise, I'm a happy camper with this arrangement.

The shortest distance between two points is a good map

The killer application for Windows CE is definitely Pocket Streets by Microsoft. This version is compatible with Automap Streets on the desktop, which lets me do one very significant thing: select a rectangle on any map on the screen (almost anywhere in the US) and export it to the H/PC. Once on the H/PC I can search for an address, a restaurant, or other point of interest and odds are Pocket Streets will zoom in with my address pointed out on the screen (Figure 3). The HPC enabled version of AutoMap comes with the Small Business Edition of MS Office.

Figure 3: Once on the H/PC I can search for an address, a restaurant, or other point of interest and Pocket Streets will zoom in with my address pointed out on the screen.

This means I can carry any map I want with me. No more folding maps to put them away. This alone has saved me countless hours finding places. The maps can be large, which slows the program execution down on the Handheld PC. To overcome this problem I have split up Houston into five maps: NW, SW, NE, SE, and a downtown map I use for finding parking garages when I go downtown. When not in use I keep these maps on the Flash Card and can actually run them from the card, albeit slower. If I'm going to do a lot of zooming in or out, I copy the map to main memory where it will run very fast. This is a very nice program and you couldn't take it away from me if you tried.

Tried and true

As you can see, I'm quite happy with the Handheld PC and Windows CE. I don't even have serious problems with the screen under most lighting conditions. I've gone through other PDAs in the past (Zaurus, HP's LX series, Newton MP120) but I just didn't find myself using them much over time. They didn't work for me like the H/PC, mainly because of the connectivity. I must stay in synchronization and communication with all the information on my desktop and this is the way for me.

A final note: Some have complained about missing applications in the first release of Windows CE. Third party developers will fill in the gaps. In fact, I think we are about to be flooded with apps like no other PDA has spawned, and this means longevity for Window CE.

About the Author

James Kendrick is the Data Processing Manager for the Houston office of Kelman Seismic Processing, a company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has been actively participating in the computing industry for over twenty years, is IBM-certified as a speech recognition specialist, and is a volunteer technical advisor on the IBM Aptiva forum on CompuServe. He can be reached by email at kendri3@ibm.net.