A Palm-sized community established<\/p>\n
By Vishnu K. Mahmud<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Many people are now using the Palm Vx PDA
\n(Personal Digital Assistant) to manage their life. They have the
\nchoice of using the phone book, e-mail database, appointment book
\nand memo software to keep their thoughts and plans organized.
\nThey can also play around with hundreds of Palm OS (Operating
\nSystem) software (ranging from games to programming utilities)
\nthat are available to download from the Internet. And more
\ninterestingly, they can establish their own community at ID-Palm,
\nan Indonesian Palm OS Users Group.<\/p>\n
ID-Palm (www.id-palm.com) started off as an Indonesian mailing
\nlist for enthusiasts of the Palm Handheld device. Users can trade
\ninformation, buy and sell units as well as ask for help. The
\ncommunity has about 100 plus members ranging from students to
\nsalesmen, housewives to engineers. They recently held a gathering
\nat Le Meredien Hotel to meet up in person, see a few handheld
\ninspired stories and talk \"palm\".<\/p>\n
PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are now a part of our
\ndigital daily lives. Businesspeople use them to schedule
\nappointments, housewives to organize their households and
\nstudents to get organized for the first time in their lives. You
\nno longer have to buy them in the U.S., or even Singapore, as
\nmost computer shops in Jakarta's Ratu Plaza, Mangga Dua or Taman
\nAnggrek supply them.<\/p>\n
Sacha V. Diest, the creator of the mailing list, says that ID-
\nPalm is an excellent venue to meet with other Palm owners. All
\ntypes of units are part of the group, from the first model Palm
\nPilot to the latest HandSpring Palm inspired Visor. Diest
\nhimself is a proud owner of the colorful Palm IIIc (the only Palm
\ncreated unit that has a color display except for Handspring's
\nVisor Prism).<\/p>\n
The gathering at Le Meridien was an opportunity for the group
\nto meet face to face and to see some presentations from the users
\nand sponsors. PT Triyaso, who has a PDA inspired store known as
\nthe \"Palm Center\" in Ratu Plaza, and InTouch, a cellular
\ntelephone service company, were proud sponsors for the event.
\nBoth showcased their products as well as the range of new
\ntechnology that can be used by Palm.<\/p>\n
Palm is not the only PDA in the market. IBM, Samsung and
\nHandSpring also use the Palm OS. Competition is coming from the
\nMicrosoft Empire with their latest software offering, the Pocket
\nPC (formerly known as Windows CE) that run in Compaq, HP and
\nCasio handhelds.<\/p>\n
Diest says there is a handheld unit for any requirement so
\npeople are free to choose what they need. He may play video or
\nMP3 once in a while on a handheld but it did not justify the
\npurchase of the unit.<\/p>\n
As an engineer, he said he can use his compact unit to store
\ncritical technical data as well as manage project data. He
\nsynchronizes with Microsoft Project to make sure that he and his
\noffice are up to date with the latest data and time schedules.
\nMore importantly, he can do that on site (outside the office)
\nusing his Palm's infra-red (IR) port and his IR-ready cell phone.<\/p>\n
If any user has a question or story to tell, they can always
\npost it on-line. The mailing list uses egroups (www.egroups.com)
\nto run their list and is relatively easy to join. The content is
\nfilled with tips and advice on hardware and stores, as well as
\nsome hardware and software news for the palm. Supermodel Claudia
\nSchiffer (www.claudiaschiffer.com), for example, has just
\nreleased her new signature Palm Vx model. The unit can be
\npurchased at her site and comes with diet software and a fitness
\ntracker.<\/p>\n
More importantly, ID-Palm is a community of people who share a
\ncommon technological preference. As a cohesive unit, they have
\nthe power to demand changes should a store or website disappoint
\nthem. The net adage goes, an upset Internet consumer would not
\njust tell 50 friends, but post his opinion on 5,000 message
\nboards. The same goes for online communities; they have the power
\nto change things. They are also pioneers in the handheld field so
\nthey can ensure that implementing palmtops in any area can be
\ndone efficiently.<\/p>\n
So if you're a Palm OS handheld owner (or are thinking about
\nbuying one), log on to ID-Palm and see what the fuss is all
\nabout. (vmahmud@yahoo.com)<\/p>",
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