Meeting #1
September 5th, 1998
12:00pm - 2:30pm
General
Well, our first meeting was held this past Saturday and I think it went really well. All those who attended has a good time and some great prizes were won. The food was good and the company was even better. We all had great conversations talking about many different aspects of our PalmPilots; things we liked, thinks we didn't like, and whatever else we could be led into talking about.
Attendance
We had 8 of our members in total attend this inaugural meeting, plus a couple of lovely guests. The following is a list of those members who attended:
Each member who attended received demo copies of several applications for the PalmOS, including Actioneer for PalmOS, CplxCal (a complex Calculator), One-touch communicator, Int’l Traveler 98, Trade Advisor 98, and Int’l Dialer 1.1. Actioneer had asked our group to beta test their Actioneer for PalmOS with the promise that those who answer beta test surveys and submit bug reports and the like will receive the full registered copy of the program when it is released. Also, those who show the most interest in the application will receive a fully registered version of Actioneer for Palm Desktop. If you couldn’t make it to the meeting but would still like to be included in the beta test group for Actioneer for PalmOS, please let me know and I will get you a copy of it.
Introductions
We started the meeting off with a round-table introduction of each person who attended. It was a great discussion of who we were, where we worked and how we started using the Pilot. I think we all got to know each other a little better by the time the intros were complete.
Guest SpeakerNext, Kyle Poole, our Guest of Honour, was introduced to everyone present. Kyle has been our resident Web expert for Canada's Premier PUG. He was the man behind the original web page maintenance and we all appreciate the work he has done. Kyle is also creator of the world-famous game Kyle’s Quest. Kyle started working on Kyle’s Quest last Christmas during a break from his studies at the University of Guelph. Kyle’s Quest has become so popular with the Pilot Community that a publisher has decided to publish the game commercially and it is expected to be release soon.
The $40.00 commercial version of Kyle’s Quest will include the latest version of the game, several levels, a never-before seen level, the Windows 95 level editor, and full documentation. If you don’t have a copy of this game and you love RPG games, I suggest you get it. It is a great game!
Kyle began programming Kyle’s Quest with a development suite called GCC, but now he is using CodeWarrior for his programming. There are currently eight developers that have taken it upon themselves to create levels for Kyle’s games. This is done using Kyle’s Level Editor. This is an application that Kyle wrote for Windows 95 that allows any user to create his or her own levels that can be played using the Kyle’s Quest engine. When Kyle first release his game, he had an on-line contest for the best level design. He is holding another contest now with several judges who will rate each game submitted for Story, Graphics, Gameplay and the like. The winners of this contest can win prizes including a clear body for a PalmPilot intended only for developers of the original Pilot by USRobotics.
As for future projects, Kyle plans to create a Command & Conquer type game for PalmOS. Currently he is working on the WindowsCE version of Kyle’s Quest after which he will port the game over to Windows 95.
If you haven’t had a chance to try Kyle’s game, I highly recommend it. It is fun and addictive and Kyle has done a great job in programming it. Thanks Kyle!
Topic #1Our next topic of discussion at our meetings was what application we liked to use. The following is a list of the applications discussed and the relative web page information for each of these programs.
| Quicksheet................... Zork.............................. Hacks............................ TealEcho...................... TealGlance................... Commander................. Check-in....................... Avantgo Web Client..... Pocket Chess................ Backgammon............... Action Names............... Datebk 3....................... FPS Utilities.................. Parens.......................... BrainForest................... | Cutting Edge Software Pilot Entertainment Zone Find these at PalmPilot Gear H.Q. by doing a search for Hacks Tealpoint Software Tealpoint Software Palmation Palmation AvantGo Scott Ludwig Stand Alone, Inc. iambic Software Pimlico Software Fighter Pilot Software, LLC Rick Huebner Aportis Technologies |
Someone mentioned that they would like to see a more useful To-Do list. One that would allow repeat To-Do items and alarms on these or other items.
Another suggestion was a program that would allow the Pilot to print to any printer by use of a parallel cable.
Finally, the last suggestion was a remote control application. Currently a company has made a device that allows the Pilot to become a remote control, but it needs specific hardware to do so. We would like to see an application that would allow PalmIII and PalmPilots with the PalmIII upgrade to become a remote control by usage of the built-in infra-red port. This would be the ideal remote.
Unscheduled Topic| The Palmtop Shop Handheld Interfaces Batteries + | A web page could not be found for this company. Batteries + is located in several malls in Ontario. Your local mall is likely to have one. |
Prizes
After we had finished eating and discussing several topics, it was time to give away prizes! There were several way to win prizes, including answering Useless Trivia questions, answering MindTrap questions, and guessing a correct number that was sealed in an envelope. Next month, the same thing will happen in order to win a prize, so you better start brushing up on your Useless Trivia!
The following members won prizes:
| Robert Burr Paul D’Auvergne Samuel B. Peralta Vince Mastrantoni Rob Bowen Steve Hetherington | Titanium Stylus Choice of Application from Aramis Communications Wordlet by Oopdreams Software Choice of application from Evolutionary Systems BrainForest by Aportis Technologies Intellisync by Puma Technologies |
Canada's Premier PUG Issues
Several issues regarding our group were discussed before concluding our meeting. It was decided that we would hold our meetings on the first Saturday of each month in the same location (Pizza Hut, 470 Appleby Line, Burlington) at the same time (12 noon).
There were a couple of projects that I would like to begin for our group. In order to complete these projects, I will need funding assistance from our members. The first project is the possibility of having our own web domain of canadapug.com. I would like to register this domain name, but I can not afford the costs on my own. The costs for this are $70.00US for the first 2 years and $35.00US each year after that. There is an Internet Provider in the Oakville area that will host this site for $49.00 per month. If you know of any local providers that are cheaper than this, please let me know. If you are willing to donate funds to help with this project, please e-mail me and let me know how much you will donate. Any donations exceeding the needed amount will be stored for future PUG funding. None of your money will be kept for myself, I assure you. Any work I put into this group is not and will not be paid for.
UPDATE: Obviously, this project is complete as you are viewing the web domain now! The ISP that is hosting this sight is charging us only $30 per month.
The second project discussed was lapel pins for each member of our group. I have researched and received a price quote from a company that makes lapel pins with logos. In order to receive 100 lapel pins with our logo, it will cost approximately $250.00. If the funding is available, I may order more so we don’t run out anytime soon. Members that signs up will receive a lapel pin to signify their membership in our group. I would also like to send a pin to each company that donates prizes as a way of saying "Thank you". If you would like to help fund this project, please e-mail me with your offer.
If I receive enough promise of funding, I will begin these projects immediately. All proceeds from you will be documented and accounted for. If you want a list of these records, please let me know.
Next Meeting
Topics for the next meeting will be the new input software available for the PalmOS. These include such enhancements as Jot for PalmOS, the Fitaly Keyboard, T9, and ScreenWrite. If you know of others please let me know. I would like each member to choose one of these applications, download a demo and try it out. If there is no demo available, let me know and I will attempt to get a complimentary copy from the author for our demonstration purposes. I have downloaded a trial copy of Jot for PalmOS. Whatever software you decide to test, please be prepared to discuss your findings at our next meeting.
Our second topic will be Actioneer for PalmOS. Actioneer has promised fully registered versions of this software to our group for beta testing it. They would like us to discuss our findings on this software and I will submit to them the results. I have promised Actioneer that we will discuss their software at our second meeting, so please be prepared to give me your opinions. If you want to write them down beforehand you can give them to me at the meeting, which would be great.
That was the end of our meeting. A great time was had by all and I look forward to seeing you all again next month. If you have any questions about this or any other issue regarding our group, please e-mail me. Remember that this is YOUR group. Without you, we have no PUG.