Re: [NTLK] BackTalk

From: Mark Rollins (mark_at_mrollins.com)
Date: Fri Oct 12 2001 - 08:11:20 EDT


From: "pjfraser_at_home.com" <pjfraser_at_home.com>
Subject: [NTLK] BackTalk
--snip--
>How useful and robust is BackTalk? Is it worth the $40?
>What sort of info can you beam back and forth with the supplied
>translators? "Names" only, or notepad stuff as well?

Probably the most important (in this Palm-centric world) piece of add-on
software. The only problems I've ever had (mentioned previously) was
with Palm users who didn't know how to receive a beam. (ya gotta love it
- "That's not compatible with my Palm, you can't beam data" "Sure I can,
here you go (tap, tap)" "Ummm, do you know how to turn that feature on,
on a Palm?" **smak!!** (the sound of me b*tch-slapping someone)).

I use a HandSpring w/VisorPhone as my "always with me solution", and I
keep it in synch with the Newton by manually dumping stuff.

Good/Pro
Back and forth with Names, Notes and Appointments.

In the Newton Names app, any notes with a name, such as directions, get
transferred to the Palm's name app "notes" field for that particular name.

Bad/Con
Main caveats are the EXTREME Palm OS limitations.

Stylized text from the Newt notepad app comes through as all the same
text on the Palm. No sending Newton notepad drawings, sketches, or ink text.

There's no "person, group or company" name card choices on the Palm. So
either you see things listed by Co name or last name. Note some 3rd
party apps allow you to list each name category by a particular choice.
So for example "Business" contacts could be listed by Co, whereas
"Friends" could be listed by last name.

In the Newton "Names" app, all e-mails must be identified as "Internet"
from the pop-up choices, otherwise they do not get sent to the Palm
names app.

The Palm names app has only 5 slots for any combo of phone
numbers/e-mail addresses.

As near as I can tell, NewtonWorks can send text to the Palm memopad
app, but no drawings. NewtonWorks spreadsheets get imported to the Palm
memopad app as tab-and-return-delimited data, but apparently there's no
easy way to import from the Palm's memopad app into any Palm spreadsheet.

Note that if the BackTalk translators had some more options, this might
work better. For example, if you wanted to beam a NewtWorks drawing, and
had an option of beaming it to any one of several Palm draw/paint
programs, it might work. Likewise the NewtWors spreadsheet data.

-- 

Mark Rollins, CIH, CSP mark_at_mrollins.com www.mrollins.com mrollins_at_thermo.com

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