Check back here in a couple days to see some new Tips for Google's new Google Notebook feature!

Google Notebook is an online notebook that lets you maintain notes containing Web clips (including images and text), your own text, and links to sites! You can keep notes private, or you can publish them making them publically searchable. 

{mosimage} 

So go over to http://Google.com/notebook , check it out, and then come back here for some Tips! 

I’ve been trying to simplify my life, and one area is in my use of PDAs. I realized that my PDA use tends to have more to do with tweaking and trying to make the device work better than actually using it as a productivity tool. (See my article "PDAs: Back To The Basics".)

So, after some pondering and research, I decided to "step down" to a Palm Z22 PDA. After a couple weeks of use, I have to say that I just love it! No, it’s not feature-packed like other high-end PDAs on the market–in fact, it’s much simpler in design and function. But that was my goal: to simplify. Read on for a review of this fine PDA….

In my "PDAs: Back To The Basics" article, I explained the benefits of the slimmed-down Z22 PDA, but here, I’m going to get into more of the technical details, including features (or lack thereof), what I dislike, and what I like about the Z22. I’m also going to detail the applications that I have installed. Hopefully, you will come to appreciate its simplicity.

The Palm Z22 is Palm’s latest entry-level PDA offering targeted at those who have never used PDAs. But I contend that its usefulness is not limited to the PDA novice. While it is definitely not feature-packed like Palm’s latest Tungsten TX, or LifeDrive, it captures the simplicity of Palm’s original PDA concepts with some nice 21st century enhancements. And at under $100.00, you get decent features that won’t break the bank.

OK, let’s get to some specifics….

{mosimage} 

Construction

The Z22′s case construction is all plastic. Most recent PDAs tend to be mostly metal-cased, so I was a bit unsure about this. It does, however, appear to be very sturdy. After flexing and squeezing it a bit, it seems to be solid. In looks, it looks somewhat like an iPOD from the front with a sleek, smooth white face. giving it a very modern look. The back is a semi-clear blue plastic reminiscent of the iMac. Its design is very curvy, and it fits in the hand nicely. It’s sturdier than I expected for such a low-priced PDA.

On the top is a sub-mini USB connector for HotSyncing, and a holder for the stylus.

On the back is a reset button that is flush to the back surface that is large enough for the stylus tip–no more bent paperclips!

Buttons

The buttons are large and flush to the face of the Z22 with small depressions making it easy to feel. The 5-way navigator pad is a round ring with a select button in the middle. Overall, the buttons feels very good, and there are responsive.

Of significant note is that Palm reduced the number of buttons on the Z22 from most other models. There is a power button, 2 hard application buttons (set to launch the Calendar and Contacts apps, but user-configurable) and the 5-way nav pad…that’s it. If you rely on more buttons, you will be disappointed. However, I did find an excellent workaround in the Hi-Launcher application. See below for details. The limited number of buttons actually simplifies use.

Screen Protection

Like many seasoned PDA users, I’m always concerned with the screen becoming scratched or broken, so some sort of case is definitely needed. The Z22 comes with no case or cover. I have always been partial to Belg Designs’ Leather Flip Case with Belt Clip, but it does boost the geek-rating a bit, requiring you to hang your PDA on your belt. It’s an excellent case, though. I am also partial to Proporta’s Crystal Case for the Palm T3–I simply love it, and I recommend that case in a heartbeat. UnfUnfortunatelyroporta does not offer a Crystal Case for the Z22, and I really don’t want a PDA hanging on my belt.

I discovered that Palm offers a hard, clear "Air Case" that reminds me of Proporta’s Crystal Case offerings. (See my review of the Air Case here.) The Air Case is not as robust as Proporta’s Crystal Cases, but it is still a decent case for the price of under $15.00. The combination of the Palm Z22 and the Palm Air Case really makes for a sleek, pocketable PDA that provides excellent, simple features.

Palm does include a thin screen protector that will help prevent scratching. It sticks to the screen, and is easily removable and replaceable.

Size

Wow…this sucker is small! The Z22 makes other Palm PDAs seem huge by comparison, yet it fits my hand nicely, and is easy to hold. For a size comparison (at least the screen anyway) a look at the included Screen Protector: compare the outline of the Z22 to the rest, and yes, it is Palm’s smallest yet. This kind of takes me back to the Palm V days with its sleek lines, slim form factor, and small size. The size of the Z22 certainly doesn’t disappoint–in fact, it’s one of its assets.

But what did palm pack into the minuscule Z22? Surprisingly, a lot….

Memory

Compared to most other PDAs, the Z22′s 20MB of memory seems minuscule. While it has been a challenge to decide which applications are "necessary" and which are not, it turns out that 20MB really provides lots of space with room to spare. It is so easy to fill it up, (especially if you have amassed hundreds of Palm applications over a decade!) but the challenge was to decide what’s important and what’s not, so eventually, I installed those applications and data files that I really needed. It left me with over 3.5MB of free space! (I’ll detail this later on in this article.)

Screen

OK, this could be the Achilles heel of the Z22 for some people. First, understand that I’m VERY used to Hi-resolution devices, so "stepping back" to a 160×160 screen was very difficult at first. But you know, it really isn’t that bad. Most PalmOS applications are written to accommodate a standard 160×160 screen, so most applications run and look just fine.

That said, there are some notable incompatibilities. The big ones for me is Mobi-Systems’ Mobile Office Pro and AstraWare’s Bejeweled 2. They are designed for high-resolution screens only, and that’s that. So I’m back to using Documents To Go and Bejeweled. While it is disappointing given my investment in both, this is not a major issue considering my stated goal of simplicity.

The next issue is "color bleeding". Colors have a tendency to bleed a bit displaying visible lines of color extending down the screen. I guess the good news is that this is only really noticeable on screens that have lots of color elements. Most productivity applications where the majority of screen information is text, it’s notnoticeablee. It would be nice however, if the screen did not do this. Sure, I would really like to see a high-resolution screen on the Z22 form factor, but given my simplicity goals, it’s turning out to be not really necessary.

Finally, the Z22′s screen is virtually unreadable in sunlight. I really wish it had a screen that would be more visible in sunlight (and South Carolina sun is b-r-i-g-h-t!) Of course, the Z22 isn’t the only LCD-equipped consumer device that’s unreadable in the sun.

Speed

The Z22′s 200MHz processor is pretty peppy. I only notice "lag" when moving from one application to another, and mostly when launching an application that hasn’t been launched in a while. This is a departure from Palm’s very typically snappy application switching. My guess is that the Z22 is caching applications, and if the application you want to run isn’t cached, then there’s a slight "load lag". This, no doubt, likely has more to do with the Z22′s use of NVRAM than with the processor itself.

It is a bit unnerving just seeing a blank white screen for several seconds before app displays, but for most
people, this won’t be that noticeable. The Z22 ran all applications I have thrown at it quickly. After using other high-end Palm PDAs, the Z22 isnoticeablyy slower on some counts, but overall, it doesn’t make you wait.

Installed Applications:

Below is a list of the applications that I currently have installed. This provides me with the "essential" applications and data I need, along with some minor superfluous applications, (I know, I know, simplicity, Jim….) All that leaves me with just over 3MB of free memory space. I had to really strip things down to get to this point, but then again, that was my goal. I simply kept asking myself, "Do I truly need this application"? I could still remove some, but for now, I’m satisfied.

Stock PIM apps
I decided to forgo all third-party PIM replacements (with one exception), specifically Pimlico Software’s DateBK5. This is an excellent application, and its features are rich, but I want to give the stock PIM applications a chance, hoping that they will work well for me. So far, I’m finding them to be robust and effective, especially the Calendar app.

mNotes
This is an essential application for syncing my Palm with Lotus Notes at work.

Things I Don’t Like

OK, those are the technical points about the Z22. Here are some things that I do not like about the Z22. None are deal-breakers for me, but they may be for some.

Brightness/Contrast Setting
When you reset the Z22 (either by selecting a software reset from an app like ZLauncher or pressing the reset button on the back) the screen brightness and contrast revert to factory defaults. This might be desirable for some, but I find it annoying. Of course, the reality is that we shouldn’t have to reset that often…

Sound Volume
Sound on the Z22 is not as loud as I would like it to be. Its alarm is not that loud, though I can hear it–probably due to a decade of familiarity with the standard Palm alarm sound. I really wish it would be louder. Aren’t alarms supposed to be annoying–enough to
actually get your attention?

Older Security Screens
Come on, Palm. You’ve produced countless incarnations of the PalmOS, and yet the Z22 doesn’t have the nice PIN-pad security screen that the Tungsten T3′s security update provides. The Z22′s security screen is a big step backward requiring a stylus for entry. How tough could it have been to implement something a bit more modern?

I’m demoing the AppLock program, and it looks really slick, yet simple to at least provide application locking with easy key entry. Yes, there are other Palm security suites out there, but for simplicity, AppLock seems to be just what I need. Check it out!

Screen
As mentioned above, the screen could be better. Some have complained about getting headaches after looking at it for a long time, but fortunately this hasn’t been an issue for me. A crisper, high-resolution screen that is viewable in the sunlight would be an nice upgrade.

Things I like about the Z22

Now for the good stuff. There are lots of things about the Z22 that i really like.

Battery life
So far, battery life is excellent. It very well might be measured in weeks as opposed to hours. In agreement with another review that I read, the short time connected to my PC via its USB cable during a HotSync (maybe 10-15 minutes) seems to be more than enough to "top off" the battery to full charge. This is a huge boon in that I no longer have to worry about battery life. With regular use, it looks like the batter will last much longer than most modern models.

Brightness/Contrast Setting
While I listed this as a negative, one positive point is that the brightness setting has a simple 2-level setting: Low and High. I find the High setting to be perfect for normal daytime use, and the Low setting great at night in low light conditions. Do we really need the granular brightness control of other models?

Calendar
The Calendar application now has a nice Agenda view. It’s not as configurable as say, DateBk6, but it certainly works well, presenting upcoming appointments and tasks. It’s uncluttered, and very effective fitting in with my simplicity goals.

One-Handed Navigation
Being able to navigate an application without having to pull out a stylus is very nice. Either I never really noticed it, or it just wasn’t as robust, but no other PalmOS PDA I have ever owned had the depth of really decent 5-way navigator integration like the Z22 has. I can navigate almost any application with just the 5-way navigator pad, and it’s intuitive. It works very well with all the stock apps, and most third-party apps I have tried. Major kudos to Palm for getting this right!

USB HotSync Cable
My first reaction to this was "Oh great, yet another HotSync connector that’s again incompatible with every other one Palm has introduced in the past." While this may be technically true, the fact that it’s a standard sub-mini USB connector means that I can HotSync with any standard sub-mini USB cable (most geeks have several lying around.) HotSyncing is quick and effortless like most Palm models. No, there isn’t a nice cradle to put it into, but then again, my Z22 should either be in my hand being used, or in my pocket so I don’t forget to take it with me. I have left other Palms in their cradles too often.

Stability
So far, the Z22 has been very solid. The only reason I’ve had to reset has been when I try to push it too far with less-than-stable applications. I did have to do a hard reset at one point, but it was my fault. I tried to install the above mentioned Security patch from the T3, and the Z22 simply didn’t like it. No file manager I tried would delete it, so I had to resort to doing a hard reset. But a simple HotSync after the hard reset restored everything back to where I needed it to be.

Conclusion

For my stated purpose of simplicity, the Z22 really can’t be beat. It is powerful enough to handle essential applications, yet it’s limitations force you to make important decisions as to just what applications are really essential. No, it’s not feature-packed, and it won’t win any awards for advanced designs, but it is what it is, and it does it well. The sleek, pocketable design, really shines.

For people who have never tried out PDAs, the Z22 is an inexpensive way to jump into the PDA world without breaking the bank. For power users who are expecting a power PDA, you will be disappointed–look elsewhere. But I believe that any user, power or otherwise, who wants to have a decent PDA while maintaining a level of simplicity, may find the Z22 to be the answer.

Google launched its new Google Calendar service, and added excellent integration to Gmail. (Check out GoogleCalendarTips.com for some information about Google Calendar!) Integration includes a small navigation bar to take you right into Google Calendar from Gmail and Event integration in messages. Read on to see how Gmail and Google Calendar work together….

Navigation bar in Gmail:

{mosimage}

Navigation bar in Google Calendar:

{mosimage} 

I’ll be posting some additional Google Calendar information and Tips shortly.  Stay tuned!!!

Do you find yourself repeatedly looking up the same map info at any of the various online map services like Google Maps, MapQuest, or Yahoo! Maps? Here’s a Tip submitted by "Andreas" that lets you maintain a simple Map Repository within Gmail. It’s builds on the concept introduced in the Gmail Tip #3: How to maintain "Notes", but it’s application is different. Read on for details…

Create a Contact with a Name of "Map" and an Email Address of username+map@gmail.com (replacing username with your Gmail username.)

Then, create a new Label called "Map".

Finally, create a Filter to add the "Map" Label to any email addressed to username+map@gmail.com. Check the "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)" checkbox to bypass the Inbox.

Whenever you look after a online city map of a friend or location you visit repeatedly. Save the map as gif-Image and send it to username+map@gmail.com. Include the Name and address of the person or location in the subject line.

Using Gmail’s Search, you can later find the map much faster then by using an online map-service.

Like Gmail Tip #3: How to maintain "Notes", this can be adapted for many other applications by simply changing the word "Map" in the Address, Label, and Filter to something more specific to your need.

Gmail is an excellent service, but I sometimes get concerned about the security of keeping all my messages in one place. It’s not a "privacy" concern, but a "data integrity" concern: If my Gmail account somehow gets corrupted or blown away, I don’t have anything to fall back on…until now. By simply using Gmail’s POP3 access, you can download your entire account for offline storage! Read on for some instructions and Tips inspired by "Edwin" and "Zavie" on backing up your entire Gmail account…

The thought of the possibility of losing over 3500 messages certinaly doesn’t sit well with me, so I decided to investigate Gmail’s POP Mail account options. By better understanding just how it works, you can leverage it to backup your entire Gmail account, and maintain that backup on an ongoing basis. I use the Gmail’s Web interface exclusively because I like the flexibility of being able to access Gmail from wherever I am. But setting up an email client to automatically download any new email permits me to retain the Web access I love while maintaining a backup repository locally.

The first things to do are to activate Gmail’s POP Download feature, and configure your POP3 email client to work with Gmail. See Gmail Tip #44: Using An Email Client for details.

This Tip has some repeated elements of that Tip, but it looks at using POP access from a different angle: Backups.

Here’s the key to this Tip: In order to download ALL email from your account when you initiate a Send/Receive on your email client, you need to reset Gmail’s POP settings. In Gmail’s "Forwarding and POP" settings page, select the "Enable POP for all mail (even mail that’s already been downloaded)" option and click the Save Changes button. This ensures that when you do your first download, ALL email will be sent.

If you have previoualy enabled POP Email, select the "Disable POP" and click the Save Changes button, and then re-select the "Enable POP for all mail (even mail that’s already been downloaded)" option, and click the Save Changes button. This will reset Gmail’s POP settings so that ALL email gets delivered via POP.

Please be aware of a few potential issues:

1. If you already have POP access enabled, resetting the account will re-download EVERYTHING, so you may end up with duplicates. Move any existing messages in your email client to a backup folder prior to resetting Gmail and downloading everyting.
 
2. If you are setting up yout email client for the first time and want to retain the email on Gmail’s server, be sure that the setting "Delete email from server" in the Account setting is UNCHECKED, otherwise the email will be deleted from Gmail after it is downloaded.
 
3. When I initiated a Send/Receive session in both Outlook 2003 and Thunderbird (I didn’t try Outlook Express) it only downloaded about 300-400 messages. Initiating another Send/Receive session downloaded another block of 300-400 messages. With over 3500 messages, I had to initiate about a dozen Send/Receive sessions, but when they all completed, everything downloaded. Over a broadband connection, it was quite fast.
 
4. When downloading with Outlook 2003, a number of the emails that were received had Today’s date instead of the date the email was sent. It looks like this only applied to email that I sent, but I’ll have to verify that–it was quite a few. The majority of messages, however, appear to have the proper dates. Thunderbird retained all dates properly.

Once all your Gmail messages are downloaded, your email client will be "synced" such that when you initiate additional send/receive sessions, only new email will download. To maintain the backup on an ongoing basis, just periodically initiate a send/receive session to bring in any new email. If you have a PC that is always connected to the Internet, leaving your email client running and setting your email client to auto-download any new messages will keep things always backed up locally nicely. If you use the email client as your primary method of Gmail access, then set the auto-download to something frequent like every 10 minutes. However, if you are using the email client like I do (as a backup tool) set the auto-download to initiate every few hours or just once or twice per day. In that case, you don’t need to have it download frequently, just regularly.

Again, Gmail is an excellent service, but it’s nice having the peace of mind that you can always have a backup.

Thanks to "Edwin" and "Zavie" for prompting me to look into this!

Gmail's POP3 access lets you leverage third-party Email Clients like Outlook or Thunderbird, giving you the flexibility you want. Read on to see some quick tips inspired by "Edwin" and "Zavie" on configuring and accessing Gmail's POP3 access…

POP3 email clients are common, handy tools to enable you to manage your email online or offline. Here are several examples:

1. Outlook Express
Outlook Express is included with just about every Windows installation. Setup is simple, and though its interface is basic, it works well with Gmail.

2. Outlook (various versions)
I used Outlook 2003, and it worked like a charm with Gmail. It's robust, a business standard, and you have all of Outlooks advanced features available to you. The only down side is that for the personal user, it can be expensive, either standalone or as part of Microsoft Office.

3. Thunderbird
Thunderbird is an excellent solution. It's Open Source, free, cross-platform compatible, very stable, and feature-rich. I used the "Portable Thunderbird" version because of its portability, and it worked very well. For personal users, Thunderbird has probably more features than you will ever need.

4. Other Email Clients
Just about any modern POP mail client whould work, provided ot allows SSL connections. There are numerous examples that can be found with a Google search.

In all cases, the key to setting up your email client to work with Gmail is to ensure that you can connect using a Secure SSL Connection. These settings are typically found in the client's Accounts settings screens where you must define specific ports to access Gmail's POP3 server. Gmail has an excellent Help section that details the setup for most popular POP3 email clients. This is found by clicking the "Configuration instructions" link found in the "Forward and POP" screen of Gmail's settings.

OK. To setup Gmail to allow POP3 access, click on the "Settings" link in the upper right of any Gmail page. Next, click on the "Forwarding and POP" tab. Depending on how much email you want to manage via POP, choose the appropriate selection:

1. "Enable POP for all mail"
This will let you download all messages you have in your email account as well as any new email that arrives.

2. "Enable POP only for mail that arrives from now on"
This option lets you download only new email that arrives since the time you activate the POP setting.

The second setting, "When messages are accessed with POP" lets you determine how Gmail will handle the messages you download. How you use your email client and Gmail wuill determine the setting you want:

1. "keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox"
This option will leave all new email in Gmail's Inbox with "read settings" intact. This means that regardless of when you use your email client to receive messages, Gmail's Web client settings will always remain independent. Email messages are retained in your Gmail account. If you rely mostly on the Web client and use a POP3 clinet only occasionally, then this is the setting of choice. Think of this as a "parallel" setup with messages managed on both sides.

2. "archive Gmail's copy"
This option will automatically "Archive" the message (remove it from the Inbox and retain it in Gmail's All Mail view) when you download it using your email client. This is useful when you use your email client more then Gmail's Web client. The advantage of this setting is that it leaves the message on Gmail's server as a backup. You still have full Web access should you ever want to use Gmail's Web client.

3. "trash Gmail's copy"
This option deletes the email from Gmail's server once the message is successfully downloaded to your email client. This is useful if you use an email client exclusively, and don't want any email retained on Gmail's server.

Once you have selected your appropriate settings, click the "Save Changes" button. When you fire up your configured email client and receive messages, they will be downloaded seamlessly!

One point of note: When I initiated a Send/Receive session in both Outlook 2003 and Thunderbird (I didn't try Outlook Express) it only downloaded about 300-400 messages. Initiating another Send/Receive session downloaded another block of 300-400 messages. With over 3500 messages, I had to initiate about a dozen or so Send/Receive sessions, but when they all completed, everything downloaded. Over a broadband connection, it was quite fast.

 Update:  Note that you must set up "secure POP" access for all email clients in order to access Gmail from an email client. Follow Gmail's HELP instructions foud at this URL:

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=1555

This article is very, very much off topic from my usual tips & tricks, but I thought it would be at least informative and hopefully helpful to some to relay a solution to a health problem I’ve been having. For years, I was suffering from severe GERD and Reflux which led to complications and severe damage in my esophagis. After discussions with doctors and surgeons, I decided to have a surgical procedure called a “Laparascopic Nissen Fundoplication.” Though it is still very soon after the operation, the results have been excellent. Read on for more information on this procedure…

I’m 39 years old, and I have suffered from GERD AND REFLUX for many years. I had been taking GAVISCON like it was candy, and carried it with me wherever I went “just to be sure.” About six years ago, the reflux was getting worse and worse, keeping me up at night. On occasion, I would bolt up in bed choking and coughing after having reflux that would choke me. It felt like the back of my throat was burning, and it hurt to breathe. I scheduled an endoscopy that revealed that I had a HIATAL HERNIA and severe BARRETT’S ESOPHAGUS. Biopsies came back clean, but I had to change my eating habits, have an endoscopy every two years, and the doctor put me on PRILOSEC. What a relief. Prilosec was truly a miracle pill. My life literally changed being able to eat and sleep with practically zero ill effects.

Unfortunately, over time, the medication became very slowly less and less effective. My doctor switched me to NEXIUM, and again, life was good. After a number of “good” months, the doctor recommended that I try weaning myself off of the Nexium. Our goal was for me to not have to take medication for the rest of my life. Well it seemed that after several days of “backing off” I would have reflux in some form or another.

In 2004, we moved from the Chicago area to South Carolina. I was trying to wean myself off of Nexium, but I still had occasional reflux. I saw a local Gastroenterologist, and after my scheduled two-year endoscopy, he said that my lower esophageal sphincter muscle wasn’t working properly. In other words, the valve that goes between my esophagus and my stomach didn’t work, thus the reflux. He said that while medication could and did control the acid, I still suffered reflux, and it was medically unclear as to what kind of damage non-acidic reflux could be doing.

We discussed a LAPARASCOPIC NISSEN FUNDOPLICATION, and my wife and I decided that it would be a good solution to attempt to “fix” the problem. So I went into the hospital on a Tuesday in January, 2005, they fixed my hiatal hernia and did the fundoplication. I was discharged the following day. The week following, they removed my staples from my incisions, and now I’m healing nicely. Five small abdominal scars, and just a bit of discomfort. (Note to self: Don’t ever shave your chest!)

Eating has been interesting. In the hospital, I was on a “full liquid” diet, and the day I was discharged, the doctor said that I could immediately start on “soft” foods, avoiding certain foods like meats, breads, etc. I have been very faithful to his instructions, and only had a few “incidents” where food got “stuck” while eating. Each time, it was either because I was eating too fast or wasn’t chewing thoroughly. Fortunately, they are “behaviors” that can be modified. I am able to belch slightly, but sometimes it’s difficult. The surgeon said he did a “floppy wrap” meaning it’s not as tight as it could be. THe upside of this is that I should have less problems swallowing, and limited belching is possible. The down side is that it may or may not actually “fix” all the symptoms I was having. But so far, here’s the great news: since my surgery, I have not taken any Nexium nor have I had any reflux! Something I haven’t been able to proclaim for years!

Now, two weeks later, I’m still eating soft foods, but it’s going down very well. I have a followup appointment with the surgeon this week, so I’ll let you know what happens. My immediate goal: Get to a recovery point where I can finally eat sushi–I miss sushi!

Note of disclaimer: Please understand that this procedure is not for everyone. Consult with your physician or specialist to see what other options you have.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Oh, and by all means, do some research on the Internet to better understand your problems. I found a neat “support” site that has a number of personal “stories” from a number of people who have had a fundoplication operation. The site is:

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/1632/index.html

Thanks to “Gene” for maintaining that site!