LIFEDRIVE ESSENTIALS: My top 5 Products for the Lifedrive 2006

So, we are in another year and it's a wonderful time to reflect on the past products that have made the Lifedrive an invaluable tool. Yes, it's true, the Lifedrive is an indelible PIA at times, but I have to admit that last year, without it, I would have been lost.

So, at the end of 2006, I decided to list all of the products that I own, including software, hardware, trinkets etc. related to the Lifedrive. They were not all medical components, but among them I decided to choose 5 products, both software and hardware related and rank them in a top 5 . The Criteria that I used included:

1. My Frequency of use.
2. My importance of use? What happened on days when I did not have the product or the Lifedrive with me.
3. Simplicity in use. Anything that is terribly complex cannot be used on a daily basis.
4. DNC (does not crash). This of course is a major point if you own a Lifedrive.

My final rankings are as follows for 2006 and remember, these are very subjective:




5. TCMP.

There was a scream for a tie between this product and Pennovate's Notes, but this one won out . In the end I had to decide which was used more, my Notes program or TCMP. TCMP won out. TCMP is the program that has made it possible for most Lifedrive owners to not give a darn about the slew of video gadgets (except the ipod video) and MP3 players that have been going around (Although NormSoft's Pocket Tunes is also a screamer for this position, given its deep array of settings). The fact that TCMP has been a free "beta" product for years, gives it the degree of popularity that it deserves. Although its founders are now going on to making a commercial product -The CorePlayer- it has been TCMP that has caught the imagination of just about every Palm device owner.

In August, I purchased one of the first 4 gigabyte SD cards to play movies for my kids and myself while on vacation. During a long drive I was able to view a full 2 hour documentary and a 2 hour movie in addition to a medical lecture that I had postponed watching (Alright, I know I was on vacation, but what else is a geek to do when everyone else is sleeping and you don't have to drive)? The playback was perfect and I have to say that I achieved 5 hours of video time before the Lifedrive gave up on me. Not bad!

But it was TCMP that allowed me to do this without a glitch. This little piece of software was the real ipod killer for me. But that lasted until the ipod video came out. That device created a genre of H.264 videos that just about killed TCMP. The quality of the iPod is superior and has made my TCMP driven Lifedrive somewhat jealous. Attempting to watch video podcasts is next to impossible if "created for the iPod." No such problems with the Sony versions of MP4, but again, the iPod ones do look better.

But I digress! TCMP is a worthy candidate and a must have for your Lifedrive. It is the program that creates a "wow" factor when people look over your shoulder at your "serious" PDA. It was TCMP that I used when I had to show the motions of a joint; and again when I attempted to show a surgical procedure to a patient that one of our local physicians did routinely in his office.


4. Smartlisttogo.

If there was ever a database that had to be bought without hesitation, I would choose this as the database. Smartlistogo has been a GodSend to me and has been responsible for me not jumping to the other side (Microsoft) for a long time. Every time I think that I want something with a little more complexity (ie. Mobisystems Database or Handbase), I am driven back to this simple program.

First you are drawn into its lair of simplicity, by making simple tables of names and addressess, effectively recreating your telephone book. For no apparent reason, other than to say that you can do it! Then, you become fascinated to the point of lunacy as you find new ways to do things. You begin to realize that there is an online manual and you start delving into a tricky arena or relational databases, combining data from one database with another. You then spend 4 hours in complete and giddy geek utopia, discovering that you can set alerts that will show up to tell you that something is due. You salivate at the possibilities: Crossreferencing touchdowns with attempted carries; Number of touches to goal ratio of Arsenal's Thierry Henry; Rating interviewees based on hastily created criteria that you have made up 5 minutes before the interview and then sorting them; creating an app of movies to see; Creating an ongoing bank account app. And of course, listing all of the CME and expense lists that you could possibly create. And then you finally get to the big enchilada. The App to beat all Apps in your mind: The Patient Rounding Application to record not only the patients that you have seen, but to capture all charges while at the point of service. You then create imaginative databases of patients and obstetrical due dates and other things.

So, what happens when you do not have all of this information available? You grind everything to a halt and go back to get your machine. Or you have two machines, an old Palm that has a back up of the smartlist app on it. That is how important this program is. It is the life blood of my Practice for patients that I see outside of the clinic. I can never remember them all and it places them in nice areas that I can recall them.

So what is the downside? The downside to this program is that you must backup everything constantly when you have to rely on it so desparately. But more importantly, it is not encrypted. Thus, you can use real names but you must shut down the entire Lifedrive to protect patient privacy. For myself, I carry an SD card that is encrypted and then decrypted when I have to use it in the Lifedrive.

With the advent of the Desktop App, creation is much easier of a more complex application, although it is nice to see that the application will work on either the computer or the Lifedrive regardless of where the program is made. Although Microsoft Access activity could be better, I rarely use Access and prefer to use the bluetooth method by sending the information to the memos program and printing it out or copying it directly via SD or Lifedrive to the computer and printing it out monthly.

This is a Lifesaver. Literally. I keep equations and formulae, associations and rankings in this product and although I have been looking for more complexity at times and an encrypted file system, the addiction of programming this software is just too much to leave. For the second year running, this is in my top 5.


3. Palm Lifedrive Metallic Case.

So, in July 2005 I received this incredible instrument - The Lifedrive. It is naked! The very next day I went out and purchased an overpriced metallic case and soon find out that this thing is so flawed that I want to bring it back to the store and get my money back.

First, I couldn't get the case to open without ripping the nails of my thumbs apart. I actually had to check my shot record to ensure that I had a tetanus booster. Then, I noted that there was no room for an SD card. Perhaps there was some belief that we did not need one, given the 4 gig hard drive.

So, why on earth would this contraption come in third? Especially since I have now purchased a Rhinoskin case?

Well, I have used this case for almost 15 months and I tried two other cases to see if I could get used to them. I found them all lacking! Even the Rhinoskin is lacking in all of the areas that I want. Secondly, the case now opens easily and readily. But the one thing that this case brings to the table can be exemplified by an event that occurred a month ago.

I was dining at a very nice Japanese Restaurant. While waiting for my table, the kids became restless. The guests who joined us for dinner also had kids the same age. They too were becoming restless. So I took out the Palm Metal Case with the Lifedrive intact and played movies. The case opens up in such a way that the cover molds itself, via hinges appropriately to the Lifedrive. But when the door is pulled all the way back, it produces a stand for the Lifedrive, thus allowing the Lifedrive to stand in Landscape view. PRICELESS.

But this was not the end of the interesting things found with this case. You may recall a piece I wrote called MacGyvering The Lifedrive Jack? Well that came about because of what happened after the playing of Chicken Little. One of my guests, along with my kids decided that once we were called to our table, they would pick up the Lifedrive and hand it over to me. Well, they didn't quite make it! Instead the Lifedrive went to the Floor! A hard, tiled floor. But it was encased and Chicken Little continued unabated. There was not a scratch on my Lifedrive. Oh, the sound eventually died, but the MacGyver tactic worked without a problem.

Protection, Versatility and function all serve to make the Palm Manufactured Metal Case the Number 3 piece of Hardware/Software for me.


2. Splash ID.


So, it's monday morning and I am up at 5am. I go downstairs for a cup of coffee, listen to the morning news and catch up on some office work. I then run for a half-hour and drive to the
hospital. I receive a call that Ms. Sickly is in the hospital while on my way to the office. I detour and sit to check her data on our computers. I suddenly forget my password, one of 7 that I have to remember and it just so happens, one that I do not use every day, having had no admissions in about 3 weeks. I reach into my pocket and find out that I do not have the PRECIOUS !!! It is still at my bed acting as an alarm clock!

I eventually get the necessary data and return to the office. But at the sight of the last patient leaving for the morning session, I am in my car hurrying back to the house! Why? Because without Splash ID, I have a very good chance of running into the same scenario without being able remember the passcodes for the day or getting help from someone.

If you have to run home at lunch time to get a piece of software, then you know that this product has to be listed in the top 2 of all programs for your Lifedrive. It is so essential that I sometimes question how many times I should back up the data. Once, I even questioned if backing up the data, overwriting the preexisting backup file, will corrupt the backup file! ?

Since November, I have had to have a backup plan! I have chosen to use two other encryption programs not found on the Lifedrive, just in case the day occurs and I have no Splash ID to fall back on.

This is again an essential piece of software, not just for the Lifedrive, but for ALL PALMS!










....drumroll, please, the number one accessory, either Hardware or Software for the Lifedrive is:











1. The Sandisk Ultra II 1- gig SD Card with USB.

This, my friends, is my number one pick for the Lifedrive. This product fulfilled all criteria in terms of necessity, ease of use and frequency.
First, before my family gave me an ipod for Christmas, this was my ipod-killer! It actually created a need. I had to purchase an in-car device to keep the Lifedrive charged while I listened to Podcasts, lectures and music.

So, I can hear everyone who does not own a Lifedrive questioning "why would you need this if you have a Lifedrive and 4 gigs of memory on a hard drive?" The answer to this is not quite that simple. But let's just say that trying to play your songs, podcasts etc from the hard drive was quite problemmatic. There are several delay points and eventual hard resets which make this a thankless task. I wrote something about this a while back (Which Memory do you serve?)

The drive of the Lifedrive is good for one thing --- Storage! Take a picture on your 1 gig SD card and transfer it immediately to the Lifedrive or download a file or a podcast directly to the SD card via USB - for those times when you do not have a cable - and voila it is accessible immediately.

There are a few drawbacks to the SD card approach, but this is mainly a problem with older computers. First, there is sometimes a physical limitation in inserting the SD card into the USB slot. This can be thwarted by using a USB extension or hub, but that defeats the simplicity factor. Secondly, it appears that it works best with just about all USB 2.0 and somewhat touch and go with USB 1.0 or 1.1. Other than that, this is a God Send.

I remember when I had to have a document downloaded as quickly as possible, along with a podcast that I wanted to listen to, on my way to a conference. I was able to go to the website and download the podcast to the SD card, drop my windows document, in the space of 2 minutes to the card and away I went, listening to a CME podcast on my way to a meeting and having the document and speech ready to go. No wires. Additionally, no Itunes aggregator to fool around with, just drag and drop.

The SD Ultra with USB card completes an incredible trifecta of download options what I consider a part of the essentials: The usual linked approach with wires , the wireless simplicity of bluetooth and 802.11 and the aforementioned SD/USB approach. This product makes the Lifedrive a very good tool to own.




Lifedrivedoc's Honorable Mentions:

. Epocrates

Sensational program for the Palm, with automatic updates. Reason not listed in the top 5: They now have a desktop copy that is even better than the Palm version. I find myself using that a lot more. But if I am on the road or in the hospital, it is still the Lifedrive version that I use.

. Mobisystem's Office Suite.

I use this as my default word processing and spreadsheet reader and creator. However, it's core products - spreadsheet and word processing are spoiled by the lack of integration of its Database product and drawing program, which crashes the Lifedrive. Additionally, the Database program is not as good at "input" data as it is in comparatively using data. It is pretty and has a lot of "cool" features, but is much better suited as an advanced slide show or picture database program.

I have yet to upgrade to version 7, given the fact that they are using the Opensource PDF maker and viewer which has been notoriously unstable on the Lifedrive. Thus, Mobisystem's Office Suite did not make it into the top 5 this year.

. Googlemaps.

I went gaa-gaa over this product late last year. A brilliant concept and an even more brilliant program, it is unfortunately only useful to you if you have a very high capacity data mobile plan or plan to do your geomapping from inside of a coffee shop or free wifi area. But it is gorgeous.


. Pennovate Notes.

A fantastic application. It allows me to use my crabscratch handwriting and save the finished document as a jpg file. Priceless during CME lectures or for jotting down something very quickly. Why is it not in the top 5? Lack of room. I have no negatives to report on this product. It's worth every penny.


. Rhinoskin Lifedrive Case.

Yes, I do love this case. Infact I am using it now. It has one major asset: A lot of room for saving those SD cards. Additionally, it has a faster access time than the original Palm metal case. So why is the Palm Lifedrive case in the top 5 and Rhinoskin getting honorable mention? On the grand scheme of things, if I dropped the lifedrive in the Rhinoskin, it's goodbye Lifedrive. Beauty gets you only so far.

. Riley's Kidometer.

An amazing database of facts for children's statistics. Is that heart rate normal for a 3 month old? Is that CBC correct in the newborn? All of these questions are answered in the Riley Kidometer. It is one of the best programs ever written for the Palm. So why is it not in the top 5? Well, I use it only about once per week or two weeks. Again, I have no qualms with this program. It is programming at its best.



Disclaimer: As always, all opinions are mine and there was and is no reciprocal reimbursement or commercial endorsement of any product. I have received no financial or other gains from this report. - LDD.

LDD.

The end is nigh.......

Well, It appears that the end is closer than we think for the Lifedrive. PIC is reporting that there is now a shortage of the Lifedrive in brick and mortar stores. We all expected it. But will there be another one made?

I refer you to Khertan . I believe that there is a new model coming out. It may not be called Lifedrive, but it will be in the Mobile Manager category. Remember Steve Jobs in 2005, when asked about the possibility of an Apple iPhone. He denied it, saying that it was just not feasible; not market worthy; no great demand for it. Silently over a 2 year period Apple worked on this device, even getting together with Cingular to market it and operate as a sole carrier. Rewind to Ed Colligan, CEO of Palm Inc. 2005 December during the now infamous conference call where he called the Lifedrive an experiment, he specifically stated that the company would be focused on smartphones. He has gone on to declare in subsequent interviews that the standalone PDA will drop annually in 20-30% increments. He has been telling this story for 2 years. So, what should we expect from this as we see the Lifedrive declining in sales and inventory? Will there be a new T/X? I am predicting a 4 gig version sometime this year. But I think that we may be seeing something else coming.

There is too much silence coming from Palm. Too quiet as they are being attacked left, right and center. I believe Ed Colligan has something up his sleeve and the great experiment that was the Lifedrive is waiting to be unleashed upon the masses. It may come in June to decrease the noise about the ApplePhone; it may come in October/November the usual cycle, but I think that something may be brewing. The fall in inventory and the smokescreen around releases may be a "head-fake."

By the way, I am currently looking for a used or cheap Lifedrive to put a CF card in. I'll let you know how that goes as soon as I can get one for a reasonable price.


LDD.

Stevie J. issues an ace. Oh Garnet!

Mr. Jobs has just rammed his hummer through the gates of technology and changed all of the rules. - LDD

There are few words to describe today's announcement, but my jaw almost fell to the ground when I saw the Apple iPhone. I stood in awe, as did my coworkers, feeling that we have just witnessed something akin to the changing of an era.

With one presentation, Steve Jobs placed the fear of tech into the hearts of just about every cell phone carrier and maker. But the one that we all worried about was Palm!

Today, Palm's stock suffered a major percentage decline on the announcement. RIMM shares also lost muster. However, is there any doubt that Palm had a great advantage that one can only feel has been squandered in a boardroom debacle! Can one have any doubts that the real Palm Software purchaser should have been Nokia?

I grew excited many months ago when Access purchased the software division of Palm. I thought that Linux would be the saving grace for Palm. However, one year later, there is no device running this. There is, and probably will be, no Lifedrive 2. Instead, as expected, Palm chose to go the route of most income, discarding innovation and staying safe with the Treo smartphones. As they announced at an analyst meeting, they would concentrate on this sector of the market. And so they have. However, they decided to concentrate on the business consumer and to forget about the average Joe. Certainly, the advent of the Treo 680 is possibly an appeasement. But what advantage has any of this served?

In the high end market, the area that is the most coveted by Palm, they are about to receive the greatest competition from a company that was thought to be dead in 1997 - Apple. This company has found a way to work around Telcos dictating the rules of the game. Despite a full version of the product not being available at the present time, one can only picture the quality and efficiency that this device will produce.

But let's not digress. The real problem for Palm is not just the product lineup, which for now is still good, but not revolutionary. The true problem here was Palm's insistence on keeping GARNET, the operating system also known as OS 5. It is this antedeluvian OS that has kept Palm safe and also held them back! They sold the software division to ACCESS, only to buy back OS 5 !!!! Am I confused? While they sputtered around doing these interwoven business plays, Steve Jobs and Co. moved right in, stunning not only Palm, but the entire industry!

If anyone ever doubted what you could do with Linux, you can look no further than the Stevie J. presentation today. OS X, the Mac operating system is basically Unix in disguise. It's really a proprietary version of Unix that excels in multitasking, even with the most complex of tasks. Many today were stunned when Steve Jobs announced that the iPhone will be running OS X. I say to those in the know, why are you surprised? Haven't many of you known for some time that Linux (or Unix) carries a small footprint? It has amazing network operability and with the addition of NeXT, the graphics environment is icing on the cake.

From Mr. Jobs presentation, the device can multitask and do graphics, things that we have been craving for in the Palm world. Things that we thought we would receive some time last year or early this year. Multitasking with Linux should have been developed by Palm first! I was expecting to see Palm appear confidently with the must-have device of the year. Instead, Mr. Jobs has just rammed his hummer through the gates of technology and changed all of the rules.

What I fear now is the obvious inroad that will be made by Apple in this space. Even if Palm comes out with a device that can do everything, there will be a lot of yawning because of the keyboard or because it does not multitask or because it does not do bluetooth with 802.11.... And for those of you who think that the Apple phone is just a telephone with an iPod, perhaps you missed the real meaning of having OS X on the device. Just two weeks ago, Apple announced that they will be including an updated version of Dashboard in OS X 10.4.9, aka Leopard - the next operating system for the Mac. This update will include software to MAKE WIDGETS. Thus, software developers will be able to make small apps to run as widgets in OS X on the Mac and automatically transfer those apps to the iPhone. Essentially, this device is no longer just a telephone, but a special type of Smart Phone with access to Apps in the form of widgets. Essentially, if you can upload widgets to the device, you can probably program it, meaning that this may in fact be the early reentrance of Apple into the PDA market (Or as I told a friend this morning, Apple's Newton has become Copernicus).

Again, Apples are in bloom and it's time for Palm to start moving. The rules of the game just changed dramatically and Palm can no longer rely on its old technology to get through.


LDD.

Why the Google "i-link" will be a good thing and tinkering with OS X?

I recently had the opportunity to try out the iMac and I must say that I have been quite impressed by the operating system. It reminds me of the old Unix days and my slight delving into Linux. This system is so flawless and so natural that I had to pinch myself several times to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. It was so unobtrusive.

So, one of the things that I had to do with this great device was to find a spare Lifedrive hanging around - a friend just happened to have one that he hated, but would not give up - therefore sitting on a shelf gathering dust. So I thought, wouldn't it be great to see how this device works with The Precious.

Well, my friend told me that there was no need for the Palm Desktop software for the Mac, simply because it was just useless ( I hinted that he may actually like his Lifedrive a bit more if he followed the directions of Palm once in a while). He preferred to use a program called i-sync that comes standard with the iMac. Well, the program itself was quite nice. It boasted immediate synchronization with a number of phones, including my Nokia. Access via bluetooth or USB was very simple and it appeared to link the iCal (the calendar program on the mac) quite nicely, not to mention the address book.

Mac's iCal
Absolutely amazing calendar program

So, would it work on the Lifedrive? Well, I did the set up on the imac, introducing the machine to the Lifedrive and it appeared to recognize it without problems.

I then loaded up my friends Lifedrive with a number of addresses and a few calendar dates. He already had a full cache of addresses, appointments etc. in his iCal and address book in the mac. So the sync process would be easy to see.

The results unfortunately were not so stellar. Yes, I was amazed that the program actually worked with the Lifedrive. Essentially, any innovative program that works with the Lifedrive is cause for celebration. However there were a number of problems.

Google Calendar
Notice the similarities with Apple's iCal

First, the iCal format is essentially the same as Google's format. You can place several calendars together to form one calendar, with color codes to separate individual appointments. For example, if Jill has a calendar with her appointments and Sam has a calendar with his appointments, you can superimpose the two or separate them with the click of a button. The result on the Palm is no separation of the meetings. So Jill's meetings coincide with Sam's. In addition, the contacts in the address folder are under the title "other," instead of being separated into their respected folders. The system broke down a few times during the syncing process, hanging for a while. Thus, I would say that this was extremely unreliable and not the best for the Lifedrive. But for the Nokia, a totally different kettle of fish.

Now, there is possibly a solution with another Mac program called Missing Sync, but I have not tried this out yet. It is said to be a bit more stable and more intuitive when it comes to separating Contacts and iCal synchronicity.

For what it's worth, I understand that another solution may be around the corner. See the title for further information. This solution would probably be the answer to many Mac owners who have had trouble using the Palm with the iMac and Palms' less than adequate support for the Mac, choosing to stay the Windows route.

Windows Vista Calendar
Notice the resemblance to Google and Mac's iCal

However, even Palm may run into trouble at the end of the month when Vista comes out. Why? Well, if you take a look at the beta version or corporate edition of Windows Vista, you will notice a very interesting thing. The entire calendar program resembles iCal !!!! In addition, the website touts the iCal protocol interoperability (" Using Windows Calendar, you can subscribe to calendars hosted on websites in the .iCalendar format, and then view those calendars alongside your own..."). Thus, a solution for multiple calendars must be found by Palm in their next rendition of Garnet. It is also the reason why the company that has chosen to follow Apple's way of doing Calendars -Google- (Open source people harken that I pay homage to you first - since the Mac and now Windows players emulated your original designs), may end up leading the calendar wars and leaving everyone in the dust. It would appear that they have found a way to synchronize all of the devices, across the board, including Palm and Windows Mobile, using the iCal and open Calendar format. We know that it can be done, because CompanionLink Software appeared to be one of the first commercial companies to do this.

There are others working on this project, albeit more quietly. One programmer who was at one time posting on PalmAddicts (Shawn Grimes) had a project named Syncplicity (Syncplicity.com), but apparently ran into problems with this. His last post on his web site was June 13, 2006 on the subject. Obviously, we all applaud Open source projects, but I think that everyone is awaiting the Google conduit. It won't answer all of the Apple questions, but it should benefit both Mac OS X and Vista owners. One problem for Mac owners remains the dearth of software compatible with Mac for transferring to the Lifedrive directly. But you need to have back up software in the event that everything crashes. This is particularly true for mission critical applications -- Splash ID, OB and Internal Medicine textbooks, ie. The Washington Manual.

But the most important non-third party application is the calendar. It is what Palms do! The idea of being able to synchronize this with any computer or through the air is mind boggling and makes this an essential piece of software. I do not derive inspiration for appointments or calendar events while sitting in front of my computer. It is usually when sitting in front of another computer, walking down a hallway, conversing with someone else or just opening my Lifedrive. This is a conduit that must happen and I am happy to say that we are not too far from its final release.


LDD.

Addendum: No Lifedrives were harmed during the writing of this article :).


Images and quotes taken from Google.com, Apple.com, Microsoft.com and

Could Khertan Know About the Lifedrive Replacement?

Palm Developer, Khertan republished an interesting article from his website, khertan.net on PalmAddicts, bringing one to question what exactly is in store for us from Palm this year.

He harkens back to a prior interview that Jeff Hawkins gave, stating that Palm had essentially three divisions that catered to new products. Essentially, there is a division that does not even get mentioned (Secret Stuff :)). It is this - and not the other two - that is stirring the pot of speculation.

Like Apple Computers, Palm is as secretive as it can be and Khertan is suggesting that with the advent of new processors, namely the Marvell PXA320, the Mother of all Palm products could be announced in June of this year.

If this were to be the case, we would be looking at a device that would make the Lifedrive look like a Nano! It would have to be larger than usual and that could pose a problem for those of us looking for a small solution. Additionally, with the advent of Microsoft's Ultra Mobile PC, would Palm just be following the leader? Or would this be a continuation of the link with Microsoft, producing a Palm UMPC and a Microsoft UMPC?

In effect, if Palm - as Khertan suggests - continues to use a modified version of Garnet to run this device, instead of going with Linux or the long awaited OS, would this be another example of what the Palm CEO stated in an off the cuff moment during an analyst interview - The Lifedrive was an experiment!

Perfection of this experiment - a disk based Palm device - would be seen as what Khertan describes as "A compromise between an UMPC and a PDA." Obviously we all hope that this device will be much smaller than a UMPC.

It's a great read and appears to be a legitimate contender for first rumor of the year on the device front.


LDD.