My Highly Recommended list

It's not everyday that I post about another blog that I think that you should bookmark. However, I must say that two Palm sites stand out for their timeliness of reporting and their unabashed, unbiased reviews. In addition, I would like to recommend one technology site that is really at the forefront of the latest breaking tech news.

Sammy at PalmAddicts is just one of the greatest people you will ever have the chance to meet on the web. He created a site a few years ago, based on a "hobby." That site now has over 40,000 hits per day and has become a mainstay for all Palm enthusiasts. Sammy is extremely generous and offers the 24 hour blog as a way to stay in touch with his hobby. However, he has been known to throw open the curtains and let others write for his blog. Infact, he has published an invitation to have people sign up and write for the blog in order to make it one of the biggest blogs in the world. He is also having a meet-up in New York City in July. It was after seeing Sammy's site, PalmAddicts and another smaller blog (in addition to my early frustrations with the LD) that encouraged me to do this site. I owe a debt of gratitude and would like to say thanks to Sammy for writing a small article about my site on his blog last week. There was an avalanche of hits and a few nice words sent to me -- Thanks.

However, the gratitude that I have for PalmAddicts is not just because of the nice write up. It is genuine. I visit 3 or 4 blog sites almost religiously, mainly because of the content. But I also visit because of the quality of not only the writing, but the genuine appeal of the writers. I had the chance to meet with the owners of ENGADGET last year and I could not believe how nice Peter Rojas and Ryan Block were in person. They are a throwback to the late 90's but with a twist of reality. They embrace the future with a hint of self-deprecation that was lost in the hey day of that bygone era. At the meet-up they gave incredible advice to newbies and I'll never forget Ryan's request that if you have something to write/say, just do it and worry about the money later. By the way, Peter uses a Palm device and loves it.

A site that I have listed on the links has now grown to the Highly Recommended List status. It is LifeDriveForum.com I have found this site to be a fascinating one, appealing not only to my desire to have a discussion about the Lifedrive, but for the sheer level of interest brought about by many of the indendent writers on the forum. The discussion is intelligent and on a level that does not make one feel silly that you asked the question or wish that you could "talk to a grown-up." They have just begun a new forum on the potential for the Lifedrive2 and the rumors are really quite interesting.

So, if you get a chance, I strongly recommend the following websites for your consideration:


PalmAddicts


Lifedrive Forum


Engadget


* I have not received any reciprocal endorsement, financial or otherwise in reference to the above recommendations. These sites are listed as a result of my own research and my own opinions.

LDD.

Lifedrive: Lookout for the Google Calendar Palm API

As you may know Google Calendar is now out. There is a lot of potential for this program andit is obviously a beta product at the present time. A trip to PalmAddicts points to an article that may be the entry point to having this product sync with your Lifedrive or other Palm product.

Yahoo already has a wonderful calendar program, but input is somewhat cumbersome and appears to have a lot of commercials which slow down the process of entering simple things.

The Google calendar is clean and purports to be able to link dates right out of your email and other products to follow. We will be on the lookout for this program, because my sources are telling me that Google is releasing the API for Calendar. This is basically the engine. If you have ever used GoogleMaps then you will know the potential for this product.
I would expect a Palm support product very soon.

Link to the PalmAddict article: Syncing the Palm with Google Calendar

LIFEDRIVE: PREGWHEEL.

Pregwheel is a simple program written by a person calling himself Slade. Unfortunately, the website listed, Sladeandmegan .com appears to be a commercial trap. I am not certain whether there is a misspelling of the URL or if this is actually the site.

Anyway, I have had the opportunity to use quite a few OB programs in the past, but many are simply cumbersome. One particular program that I utilized a few years ago, before my Lifedrive days, promised to do just about everything: Store patient data, calculate dates, post reminders etc. Unfortunately the writer charged $19.99 for the honor and kept on updating the program almost every month. The data was not transferrable and I spent a lot of time reentering the data every time he found a glitch. I felt as if I was paying for a beta product.

Pregwheel is a program that has replaced the cumbersome wheel that I usually carry around (and lose :)). It is a freeware program and can be found on PDAMD.COM or www.healthypalmpilot.com. It doesn't do alot of fancy tricks and it is so deceptively simple that I thought that it would be worth a shout on my pages after having used this for a few years.

Essentially, this program does exactly as it states. It substitutes for a pregnancy wheel. You put in your LNMP and your reference date (ie. today) and it produces a host of information, including the date of probable ovulation, the estimated due date and of course the pregnancy status (ie. number of weeks pregnant).

However, where this program excels is in its simplicity. The program shows only 5 lines of data:

LNMP
Prob. Ovulation
Due Date
Preg Status
Ref. Date.

That's it!

But You get the added bonus of being able to enter all but the Pregnancy status as your initial point of entry. This is a God-Send when you have an ultrasound report giving a due date that is off by several weeks. You can even change the reference date to reflect how far along the patient was when the ultrasound was taken.

Given the days of Google, where simplicity and an uncluttered screen are the order of the day, I have found this program immensely helpful when someone walks into the office for the first time. It's easy to use Nagel's rule to calculate the due date, but attempting to figure out how far along the patient is without using a wheel is a little more complicated.

This program has been out for a very long time, but it still stands the test of time and works extraordinarily well on the LIFEDRIVE.

LDD.

Dalhousie Univ. in Halifax on Handhelds

I have just completed reading a wonderful article on handhelds in medicine. The University of Dalhousie, in Halifax, Canada published "suggestions" for their students to purchase a Handheld.

The article is heavily tilted toward Palm. My favorite quote from the article, which by the way is filled with recommendations for Medical Students, is this one:

"Don't go low-end. Although it's always a temptation to buy the lowest-priced unit, remember that this will likely become one of your most essential reference and organizational tools, and it will take a beating. Look for sturdy, "corporate" style units rather than flimsy consumer-grade ones."

Do I hear the chimes ringing for a Lifedrive? Or maybe a Tungsten, still a wonderful machine.

As always, click on the title to take you to Dalhousie University's website.


LDD.

Another wonderful article about Palms.

This one is from Canada and it details the physician addiction to Palm and basic hand computing. Yes, I think they get it! It is too true that not having a handheld will put you at risk on rounds, if you are still in Residency.

In private practice, I cannot live without my Palm. So much so that I have two!!!! In the next few weeks I am going to place a wonderful app that I wrote for Smartlistogo for pregnancy reminders. It has been a life saver, literally !!!!

Presently, I am trying to write a conduit for publishing handheld databases directly to a printer and directly to Access and Excel. It's already been done, but the output is usually a disaster, requiring time consuming formatting.

In addition, I am trying to find the time to write some stand-alone apps that will be available on the startup screen of the Palm and completely independent of Hotsyncing -- a chore that I completely abhor !!!!

Anyway, enjoy the little article from Canada. As always, click on the title.

LDD.

Congratulations Arsenal

Nothing to do with medicine, but just a short ditty to say well done lads!
A fantastic win over Juventus to go to the semi finals of the European
Cup for the first time in our history.

Now Thierry, Stay with us old chap, we need you.

LDD.