I've been relying on a Palm OS device (Palm TX) for contacts/calendar,
etc., and have been working to get my Droid to replace the
functionality of my Palm. The main issues have been with finding
equivalent apps and with security/privacy issues. Here is what I've
got so far.
1. Apps (in no particular order):
File manager (Astro): On the Palm, a file manager was handy for
seeing what all was on my device and for cleaning up after the OS
"deleted" a file or app. On the Droid, this is essential because some
files, such as PDFs, are usable on the Droid even though no app is
obviously present that can do the job. Example: in Astro I can select
a PDF file and get options for viewing it. So far, Astro seems to be
doing the job pretty well.
Shopping program (Dr Shopper): Handyshopper was a great/simple
shopping list manager. I am now using Dr Shopper, which seems to have
similar functionality.
Memos (TextEdit): I'm in the habit of keeping lists and notes (like
list of books I'm planning to read). Textedit is a nice app for this
because it edits text files that can be found on the SD card. This
provides good routes for getting info onto/off of the Droid. It helps
that I still know what a "text file" is. I haven't tried the popular
Note Everything yet.
Reading saved text, Word or HTML files (Documents 2 Go free): I
sometimes download/save HTML, TXT or other files (such as news
articles) for later reading or reference. For now I am using a
computer to open and save these in MS-Word so that I can load them
onto the Droid for later reading, using Documents 2 Go. This is a
fairly awkward solution.
eBooks (Aldiko): The Aldiko app can import eBooks if they are in
epub format, which seems to be common, so it isn't limited to the
books that the app itself downloads. I have a few e-books lying
around, but haven't tried converting them to epub yet.
Expense tracker (no app yet): I used QuikBudget on the Palm to
record when I spent money and what I spent it on. It was a simple and
effective way to keep track of expenses by category. There are
several possibilities for the Droid, but I haven't narrowed it down
yet.
Making a line graph (no app yet): I had a program on my Palm to
make a simple line chart from a set of x,y points. I used it to keep
track of my progress towards various goals. I've looked, but have not
found an app for this. I may have to take a shot at writing it
myself.
Keeping encrypted login info (B Folders?): Like everyone else, I
have enough username/password combos to choke a horse. Or maybe a
Droid. I installed B Folders to store all this info, but haven't
gotten very far with it yet.
Picture viewer (Gallery): for now I'm using the app that came with
the Droid. I like this program a lot, though support for multi-touch
gestures would be fun.
Logging my miles on my bicycle (no app yet): I'm still working on
this one.
Keeping track of gas mileage (aCar): I had a little gas mileage app
on my Palm that was nice for a geek like me who enjoys
collecting/graphing data (Did you know that fuel efficiency peaks in
the spring and summer? Do you care?). This app eventually saved me a
bit of money on my car insurance because it is also a record of my
annual mileage, which had dropped far enough to lower my insurance
costs. The aCar app has functionality for tracking repairs and
maintenance. I haven't used this yet, but I do need that
functionality, so I'll try it (I used to just keep a list).
Mixing drinks (no app yet): This isn't all that important, but the
Palm OS MiniBar app was a handy database of drink recipes that could
be filtered by ingredient. For example, I once used it to get of a
list of drinks featuring the ingredients available in my best friend's
pathetically under-stocked bar. I haven't gotten around to seeking a
replacement yet.
2. Privacy issues:
The Palm OS had the nice feature that individual records or
individual files could be marked as private. These could be seen,
masked, or hidden depending on a global setting, controlled via a
password. I was only able to reproduce this functionality in a
limited way on the Droid. The scheme I use lacks a password, so only
casual and non-tech-savvy users are kept from prying. My current
approach only hides files on the sdcard.
To hide files or sdcard directories: Use the Astro app to hide a file
or to hide a directory containing one or more files. Do this by a)
renaming the file or directory with a leading . (example: "myfile" ->
".myfile") and b) setting Astro to not show these files.
To restore access to hidden files: a) set Astro to show hidden files
and b) rename selected files and directories by removing the leading .
from the name.
This is a highly imperfect solution--experts can access these hidden
files with ease.
That's what I've got so far, which isn't bad for my first week in
Droidville. I've made progress faster than I expected.
Thanks for reading. Questions and comments, if any, are invited.
etc., and have been working to get my Droid to replace the
functionality of my Palm. The main issues have been with finding
equivalent apps and with security/privacy issues. Here is what I've
got so far.
1. Apps (in no particular order):
File manager (Astro): On the Palm, a file manager was handy for
seeing what all was on my device and for cleaning up after the OS
"deleted" a file or app. On the Droid, this is essential because some
files, such as PDFs, are usable on the Droid even though no app is
obviously present that can do the job. Example: in Astro I can select
a PDF file and get options for viewing it. So far, Astro seems to be
doing the job pretty well.
Shopping program (Dr Shopper): Handyshopper was a great/simple
shopping list manager. I am now using Dr Shopper, which seems to have
similar functionality.
Memos (TextEdit): I'm in the habit of keeping lists and notes (like
list of books I'm planning to read). Textedit is a nice app for this
because it edits text files that can be found on the SD card. This
provides good routes for getting info onto/off of the Droid. It helps
that I still know what a "text file" is. I haven't tried the popular
Note Everything yet.
Reading saved text, Word or HTML files (Documents 2 Go free): I
sometimes download/save HTML, TXT or other files (such as news
articles) for later reading or reference. For now I am using a
computer to open and save these in MS-Word so that I can load them
onto the Droid for later reading, using Documents 2 Go. This is a
fairly awkward solution.
eBooks (Aldiko): The Aldiko app can import eBooks if they are in
epub format, which seems to be common, so it isn't limited to the
books that the app itself downloads. I have a few e-books lying
around, but haven't tried converting them to epub yet.
Expense tracker (no app yet): I used QuikBudget on the Palm to
record when I spent money and what I spent it on. It was a simple and
effective way to keep track of expenses by category. There are
several possibilities for the Droid, but I haven't narrowed it down
yet.
Making a line graph (no app yet): I had a program on my Palm to
make a simple line chart from a set of x,y points. I used it to keep
track of my progress towards various goals. I've looked, but have not
found an app for this. I may have to take a shot at writing it
myself.
Keeping encrypted login info (B Folders?): Like everyone else, I
have enough username/password combos to choke a horse. Or maybe a
Droid. I installed B Folders to store all this info, but haven't
gotten very far with it yet.
Picture viewer (Gallery): for now I'm using the app that came with
the Droid. I like this program a lot, though support for multi-touch
gestures would be fun.
Logging my miles on my bicycle (no app yet): I'm still working on
this one.
Keeping track of gas mileage (aCar): I had a little gas mileage app
on my Palm that was nice for a geek like me who enjoys
collecting/graphing data (Did you know that fuel efficiency peaks in
the spring and summer? Do you care?). This app eventually saved me a
bit of money on my car insurance because it is also a record of my
annual mileage, which had dropped far enough to lower my insurance
costs. The aCar app has functionality for tracking repairs and
maintenance. I haven't used this yet, but I do need that
functionality, so I'll try it (I used to just keep a list).
Mixing drinks (no app yet): This isn't all that important, but the
Palm OS MiniBar app was a handy database of drink recipes that could
be filtered by ingredient. For example, I once used it to get of a
list of drinks featuring the ingredients available in my best friend's
pathetically under-stocked bar. I haven't gotten around to seeking a
replacement yet.
2. Privacy issues:
The Palm OS had the nice feature that individual records or
individual files could be marked as private. These could be seen,
masked, or hidden depending on a global setting, controlled via a
password. I was only able to reproduce this functionality in a
limited way on the Droid. The scheme I use lacks a password, so only
casual and non-tech-savvy users are kept from prying. My current
approach only hides files on the sdcard.
To hide files or sdcard directories: Use the Astro app to hide a file
or to hide a directory containing one or more files. Do this by a)
renaming the file or directory with a leading . (example: "myfile" ->
".myfile") and b) setting Astro to not show these files.
To restore access to hidden files: a) set Astro to show hidden files
and b) rename selected files and directories by removing the leading .
from the name.
This is a highly imperfect solution--experts can access these hidden
files with ease.
That's what I've got so far, which isn't bad for my first week in
Droidville. I've made progress faster than I expected.
Thanks for reading. Questions and comments, if any, are invited.
