CIG Notes

Handheld PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) and Genealogical Software
by Bob Wambaugh

1. Handheld computers are also known as PDA's (Personal Digital Assistants). Manufactured by palmOne, Blackberry and Microsoft (perhaps others as well).
2. My Palm Zire 31 Handheld was purchased in late Oct. of 2004 (at Staples) for $149 plus tax. I believe they can be purchased for $120 or less now. The Zire 31 is the cheapest Palm having a colored screen.
   
   (Update: The Zire 31 is being discontinued, I believe, with Bob Coomber buying one of the last ones available locally. I think the Zire 22 at around $100 is the replacement and it also has a colored screen. Bob Coomber is running GedStar on his Palm and I believe he is very satisfied with it.)
3. Handheld computers are a supplement to a laptop or desktop, not a replacement (my assessment). But they are certainly much handier to carry than a laptop for reference when doing research at libraries, etc..
4. Data input to the handheld by "HotSync", by drawing characters on the screen which are converted to text (Graffiti) or by selecting text and other characters using the Character Map. Hot synching (by means of the supplied USB cable) will automatically update the handheld data (initially installed) that has been changed on our desktop/laptop computer.
   
   I haven't been able to master "Graffiti", the Palm method of drawing letters on the screen that are recognized by the Palm software, so I use the character map.
5. Use a handheld to replace numerous business cards, to remember appointments, do math calculations, jot quick notes to yourself, draw simple sketches and many other uses, including referencing our genealogical database.

Some of the Negatives Regarding my Palm:

1. It shuts itself off after too short a time (3 minutes max. while running on battery, not house power). I can't seem to find any way around this nuisance. However, this isn't as bad as it appears, as starting up the handheld and bringing up any of the programs (including GedStar) is almost instantaneous and for GedStar, it will come up right where I was when the handheld shut itself down.
2. There aren't any 'BACK' or 'DONE' buttons for some applications, so one has to press the program icon to exit.

Genealogy on my Handheld

1. I first tried MY ROOTS by Tapperware, but didn't like it as well as the GedStar program that I later discovered.
2. GedStar was offered through http://www.whollygenes.com (The Master Genealogist) and http://www.legacyfamilytree.com. Doug Gordon is the person I dealt with for Gedstar, at http://www.GhcsSoftware.com.
3. I paid $29.95 for Gedstar Pro through Paypal. I then ordered the extension from Wholly Genes Software for $6.95, which allowed me to convert FTM and PAF5 files directly.
4. I initially used GedStar with Legacy Family Tree, as at the time I bought GedStar, the program would only read (directly) a file from Legacy, The Master Genealogist or a gedcom.
5. Family Tree Legends Verson 5.0 was just released (per Dick Eastman) and the Deluxe Edition ($50) includes the Gedstar and Pocket Genealogist programs. Dick cautions that the handheld programs are limited "trial versions" of those programs.
6. GedStar now reads directly (besides GEDCOM files), those of Master Genealogist, Legacy Family Tree, PAF and Family TreeMaker, creating handheld files for the Palm Operating System. For non-Palm handhelds using the Windows CE Operating Systems, the Pocket Genealogist is the Companion Program.

It looks like you can download a trial version of GedStar Pro 2.1 (which includes the user manual). The trial version of GedStar Pro 2.1 is good for 28 days.