If you have found the native Palm operating system to be a little clunky, Synergy Solutions has a group of programs that will really expand the utility and efficiency of your Palm computer. Novice Palm computer users may be a little intimidated at first, as I was, but after using these programs for a while you will be wondering why the Palm OS didn't have a lot of these features to begin with. Experienced Palm computer users will be like kids in a candy store with these programs.

The flagship program is PDActivate ($39.95). It is actually a suite of five programs that can also be purchased separately but to do so would cost a great deal more. The five programs are Today, Launch 'Em, SynCalc, ListMaker, and Simple Sketch. Synergy Solutions also sells a sixth program, Magic Text, which is not part of the PDActivate Suite and must be purchased separately. I mention it mainly because Magic Text also extends the usefulness of the Palm OS and seems like it really should have been part of the PDActivate suite. The manuals that accompany these programs are all written in HTML format with lots of illustrations and graphics. With the exception of several minor spelling typos they are very well-written and detailed.

	Today

Today is a program that allows you to see your Datebook and ToDo items in one screen. It has tabs at the top that allow you to quickly move from the present day's items, tomorrow's, and a week at a glance. Touching any of the listed items will immediately transport you to the appropriate application for viewing and editing them further. Unfortunately, once you do that, though, there is no easy way to get back to the Today screen without relaunching Today. That can be rather frustrating if there are several items you're wanting to see in more detail from the Today screen. That annoyance aside, it is a great way to see your schedule and list of things to do at a quick glance. There are a number of different ways it can be configured to display and sort information. You can organize by due-date or priority. It also shows the current date and time at the bottom of the screen. The program launches when you first power up your palm device, so there are no excuses for failing to see your schedule for the day. I have found this program to be one of my favorites of the PDActivate suite. (Price separately is $17.95).

	Launch 'Em

Launch 'Em is probably the best utility of the bunch. For the life of me, I do not know why the Palm OS was not designed this way in the first place. It allows you to organize all of the applications in your palm device in a very easy, intuitive, and highly configurable manner. Navigation tabs at the left of the screen enable you to quickly move from different categories of applications in a much more efficient manner than the Palm OS normally allows. You can configure it so the tabs show on either side, the top, or bottom of your screen. You can easily add or delete tabs as desired to customize how you want to organize your applications. You can drag and drop applications onto the tabs to quickly and easily sort them into your preferred categories. This does not mess up your organization if you prefer to use the native Palm application manager, and Launch 'Em allows you to decide whether or not you want it to be the default screen for your applications. The lower part of the Launch 'Em screen contains a series of icons called "gadgets" that can be configured to perform some quick tasks. For example, you can quickly access the Graffiti help screen, turn on the backlight, and even turn off the computer by just touching a gadget icon. There is also a gadget that can bring up a list of your most commonly used programs so you can quickly launch your favorites without sifting through the navigation tabs. There is a display at the bottom that shows the day, time, and a digital display of remaining battery life. The Launch 'Em utility alone, in my opinion, is probably worth the cost of the whole PDActivate suite. (Price separately is $10.00).

	SynCalc

SynCalc is a full-function scientific calculator. It does not replace the native calculator program in your Palm OS, so you can still use the native one if you want. The calculator that comes with the OS for the Handspring Visor Deluxe is already a full-featured scientific and financial calculator, so I'm not sure Visor users will appreciate any additional benefit from the SynCalc product. I also did not care for the use of computer symbols (e.g. * and / ) rather than calculator-type symbols for mathematical functions. I suppose hardcore computer users will not care, but this did not seem very user-friendly to me. It has a shortcuts menu at the bottom left that allows you to do some quick calculations -- e.g. there is a tip calculation function. You can add and delete calculation shortcuts, too, so commonly used functions can be programmed into the shortcut menu. I believe SynCalc is really intended for people who do a lot of scientific calculations. It is an improvement on the basic Palm OS calculator but does not really add anything for Visor owners. (Price separately is $17.95)

	ListMaker

ListMaker is basically a ToDo list on steroids. You can create any number of different database lists. The program comes with a preprogrammed grocery list database to give you an idea of what it can do. It is not exactly intuitive -- there are really two main screens, the list view and the common item view, and it is hard initially to understand how they are they are to be used. I made the mistake of trying to fumble my way through the program without studying the manual first, and this is one program where taking the time to read the manual is really beneficial. I found it easiest to scrap the sample database and walk through the creation of my own shopping list database instead. Databases are created which can store data for creation of only one type of list (e.g. a grocery list) or they can form a common database of items for several types of lists (e.g. a grocery list, department store list, etc.). You can create several different list categories. This is a great program to organize lists of any task one might do repetitively whether it be a shopping list, task list, or procedure list. The program also can export/import your list to/from either the ToDo or MemoPad applications. After you take the time to really understand how to use this program I think you will find a variety of uses for it. It is not a database program of the nature of JFile Pro or HanDBase, though, so this would not be the one to use for complicated databases. But it is a great program for simple lists, and ListMaker is a real gem in the PDActivate suite. (Price separately is $17.95).

	Simple Sketch

Simple Sketch is just what the name implies. It is a simple sketching program. You can doodle, make a quick handwritten note, or draw pretty decent maps with it. You can add text to your drawings, so one natural use might be to make simple maps. You can also beam your drawing to another handheld computer (although I assume the recipient would need to have Simple Sketch installed to view it). I suppose this program's most relevant function for physicians would be to jot down a quick note (e.g. a phone number, name, etc.) for later review. Since you are drawing right on the screen you don't have to worry about using Graffiti. Frankly, I don't see a lot of use for this program except for playing around and possibly scribbling very quick, brief notes. It looks like it was added to the PDActivate suite as an afterthought since it does not seem to really fit in with the powerful utility of the other programs. But it is fun to play around with, and I'm sure it could keep you amused during a particularly boring meeting. (Price separately is $10.00).

	Magic Text

Magic Text is a great utility that, in my mind, should have been part of the PDActivate suite but (unfortunately) is not. It adds some functionality to the Palm OS that really should have been present in the native OS. With Magic Text you can tap a word to select the whole word, the whole paragraph, or the whole screen. Even better, you can then easily move the selection to another part of the screen. It displays a little box and arrow to show you exactly where the text will be placed after it's moved. This feature alone is worth the price of Magic Text. It is otherwise a very tedious process to cut and paste with the Palm OS. Another nice feature of Magic Text is it adds some quick basic control features. You can quickly tap and drag with your stylus to activate a contextual menu that allows several actions such as checking the date/time, cut/copy/paste, check email, or perform a hotsync just to name a few. The program comes with a bunch of shareware plugins that allow you to do even more things. In some ways it functions like HackMaster (and, in fact, HackMaster is included with the software). With all of the shareware plugins that come with Magic Text it becomes a little confusing to know for sure what you really own when you buy it. For example, you are registered to use HackMaster with Magic Text for free, but if you use any other program with HackMaster you are told you're obligated to pay the registration fee for HackMaster. And each of the shareware plugins has a fee attached to it, too. So if you utilize a lot of the plugins the program ends up becoming quite expensive. But if you want drag and drop editing capability and some quick HackMaster-like functions the basic Magic Text program will deliver a lot of bang for the buck. (Price for Magic Text, including HackMaster, is $17.95. Plugins are registered separately.)

PDActivate is a wonderful suite of programs for anyone who wants to enhance the utility of their Palm device and is by far a great value for the money spent. It squeezes a lot more function out of the Palm OS and is clearly an enhancement. Those who want even more added function will like Magic Text, although I think it should have been part of the PDActivate suite in place of Simple Sketch.