New happy user needs advice

joba · 02-16-03, 11:37 AM

Hi all-

I got my Axim 400 about 3 weeks ago and much to my surprise; it came in almost 2 weeks early. Dell must have taken expectation lessons from our modern day doctors; tell them it might be cancer up front, then let them know it was just the flu. Either way, I am very happy. My Palm m515 was stolen out of my luggage off a Frontier airline flight before Thanksgiving. I must admit, I never was able to use that thing to its potential. I use a computer everyday in my work and personal life but never mush deeper than basic MS office applications. There was so much offered for the Palm but I couldn't get my arms around the OS platform. So I was just using it for Outlook (contacts/calendar) and that was about it. I wasn't going to buy another PDA and just go back to using my trusty old daily planner.

Then Bust Buy had a sale on the IPAQ 3835 the day after Thanksgiving. I spent some time researching the Compaq/Pocket PC platform and going through mental rigors of if I wanted to spend $300 on something I really didn't use that much. The God of spending cash won out and I was off to Best Buy to buy the Compaq. Of course it was a scam and they were only selling 2 at that price just to get people into the store to shop and they were gone at 5:00 A.M.. But the damage was done and I had to get another PDA! I really went into research mode and waited until after Christmas to see if there were going to be any earth shattering sales.

I was looking the Compaq but really couldn't get it for under $350. I did a side by side comparison with the Dell and it was a slam dunk.

I had a few problems with the Active sync and MS XP (with Outlook 2002) but I was able to get it to work (even though the Dell support folks stated that there was no way it would work.)

I haven't add any programs or games because I am not really sure how some of utilities work and I do not want to add something that I will not use which might make the devise unstable.

There is a lot of information on all of the posts but hopefully I can get some specific info and advice.

- Is there any way to change the fonts on the desktop?

- I would like to spruce up my today screen. Is Wisbar the best utility for this? What are the best utilities to interface with Outlook and their functions?
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- Are there any of the download sites that are better than others? Are there any I should stay away from (viruses, scams, not getting what you paid for, ect?)

- Are there any programs to stay away from becauuse they do not interface with the Axim and cause it to crash, freeze up or to slow down?

Bottom line is I don’t know what I don’t know.

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

Joel

msneer · 02-16-03, 12:17 PM

Many of the programs listed on sites do not work with the Axim5. The processor is X-scale, so be careful. I loaded a program and then it froze, had to reset.

Raynne413 · 02-16-03, 12:24 PM

For sprucing up my today screen, I use Pocket Facelift which skins your menu bar giving you cascading menus, and a task switcher where you can close programs very easily. In conjunction with that, I also use Theme Master because it allows me to easily switch between backgrounds. So far the only program/game that I have come across that does not work on the Axim is JimmyArk, which is an Arkanoid clone.

Deputy · 02-16-03, 02:51 PM

I second the Pocket Facelift recomendation, I did not like WisBar. Handango is good for purchasing software, and check my sig for links to programs I have found useful.

WindWalker · 02-16-03, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by msneer
Many of the programs listed on sites do not work with the Axim5. The processor is X-scale, so be careful. I loaded a program and then it froze, had to reset.

"Many" is a strong term. I had an Audiovox Maestro before I bought my Axim, and every program that I had on the Maestro worked flawlessly on the Axim.

I am not disputing your experience, but I would say not to use the broad brush. There will be some programs that won't function under the XScale, but these should be few and far between. The XScale processor is, in essence, and upgraded StrongARM. Some programs need to be recompiled/optimized to work well with it, but I wouldn't be afraid of installing anything because it might lock me up. Soft resets are hardly the end of the world...

commoved · 02-16-03, 03:20 PM

To spruce up the today screen & also to add a lot of functionality, look at Dashboard (snoopsoft.com).

To add functionality to your contacts, calendar, notes, & contacts look at Pocket Informant or Agenda Fusion (developerone.com). I favor Agenda Fusion, but they are both great apps and both have a lot of supporters.

Applications don't close when you hit the "x". To give you better control of applications and access to internal functions, look at Gigabar (free!). There are many more similar applications.

If you like calculators, look at Jonathan Sachs Eval, or check out Calc98 (calculator.org). (Both free.)

Any PPC needs to be soft reset. If you're worried about punching a hole in the rubber that covers the soft reset button, try Shutdown (Free!)

It's a big world out there -- plenty of fun things. I haven't heard of a PPC virus yet, although as more of them go online, I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I don't often disagree with advice posted on this forum, but almost all of the programs written for the Arm processor work fine on the Ax. There are a few exceptions, but generally they don't cause a lot of trouble. Most of the major apps that didn't run on the Ax have been upgraded, because of the great popularity of this device.

Relax. Enjoy.