Get A Grip
Whether you're gaga over gadgets or reluctant to test technology, this expert will tell you what to buy to simplify your life.
By Mounir Bashour, M.D., C.M., F.R.C.S.C., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In the course of my world travels, I often find myself in a strange city in a foreign country. Yet I never have trouble finding my way around. In fact, I often give directions to people who live there!

Unlike travelers in the old days, modern technology provides me with an amazing array of resources. I carry a handheld computer that (among other things) can:

• access staggering amounts of information, including medical texts, pharmacological information and coding protocols
• provide detailed maps and directions to any location in the world through a global positioning system (GPS)
• act as a telephone in any country, while showing me a picture of the person I'm speaking to and letting me take notes
• access my e-mail (and read it to me over the phone, if I prefer)
• help me plan and prioritize my schedule
• buzz me to remind me that I have an appointment
• turn into a digital camera or video camera
• let me create documents (handwritten directly onscreen, or typed on a foldable keyboard that fits in my pocket).

It also keeps all my personal information updated in synch with my home and office computers. (It can even read bar codes!)

Although some of these features may not be of value to you, most doctors would find a lot of them helpful at work, at home and on the road. In fact, many of the ophthalmologists I meet already own and use this kind of technology.

If you've been considering investing in a handheld computer or other high-tech device, but you've hesitated out of fear that you might buy the wrong thing or find it too difficult to use, read on. In the following pages, I'll offer advice about what to buy if you're shopping for a handheld computer, laptop, PC, organizer or cell phone. I've tested and compared most of the available options, and I'm confident that my recommendations will help you make the best choice to meet your needs, whether you're an eager or reluctant user.

Into the 21st Century

As a person who's well acquainted with -- and fascinated by -- this technology, I've found myself in the position of advising other doctors about what they should buy. This has led to my giving a course on the same topic called "The Wired Ophthalmologist" at two recent American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meetings. (I'm scheduled to do the same this year.)

My presentation at the AAO meeting covers as much technology as I can discuss in the allotted time: not just computers, but handheld organizers, pagers, cellular phones, the Internet and software. Physicians in the audience are free to ask about anything, and questions range from Napster to firewalls. The most common question that arises, however, is "What should I buy?"

In this article, I'd like to share some answers to that question. My opinions are blunt, but I make no apologies to the manufacturers. My opinions are the result of many years of experience in the field.

I've divided the discussion into three sections. In "Which Devices are Right For You?" (below) you'll find a brief outline of the different levels of users and a summary of my purchasing suggestions for each group. In "Hardware Pros and Cons", I discuss different brands and devices in detail. Finally, I outline the advantages and disadvantages of the different services that are available for synchronizing your personal information and resources between multiple devices.

PART 1: HARDWARE PROS AND CONS

In this section I'd like to provide a little more information about some of the options I recommend for the three different levels of technology users. (See "Which Devices are Right For You?")

Handheld computers

Top-of-the-line handhelds offer some pretty sophisticated technology, with features like those I described at the beginning of this article. So one basis for choosing a model is the number and type of capabilities it offers, and how well they match your particular needs. Other considerations, however, should also influence your choice.

For example, right now the hottest feature in handhelds is color screens. Color has a few advantages -- the increase in readability is nice, as are the games -- but it doesn't increase the functionality of the device, just the price and "coolness" factor. Nevertheless, if you want to be "in," you should buy one of the following:

The Palm m505. The m505 is lighter than the others listed below. It has a promising multimedia card add-on, but the add-on technology still doesn't have many software programs written for it. So, for now, the plug-in cards primarily just add memory to the device.

The Visor Prism. The Prism has a better screen than the Palm m505, although the device is heavier. The Prism uses plug-in cards called "springboards" that enable it to act as a video or digital camera, telephone, location finder, and so forth. Another advantage: It's cheaper than the m505 ($399 vs. $449). This is the model I use.

The Sony Clie PEG-N610. This has the best screen available and it's the same price as the Prism ($399). Like the Palm m505, the Sony comes with add-on cards that have minimal software currently available, so they mostly function as additional memory.

If the coolness factor isn't an issue for you and you're not a power user, don't bother spending the extra money to get color. It adds about $200 to the price, and you don't lose anything else by staying with black and white. (However, once you've tried a color version, you may find you're hooked.)

Note: All of these devices have optional foldable keyboard attachments, which make it far easier to type notes, letters or articles on the road. The keyboards fit in your pocket when folded, and work without a separate power source.

Organizers

The Rex 6000 PCMCIA organizer (which plugs into the PCMCIA slot in your notebook to download information) is the only model that I recommend. The advantage of this device is size -- it's tiny, about the same as three stacked credit cards. That makes it easy to take anywhere (jogging, sailing, etc.).

On the down side, it can't do many of the things a handheld can do. (However, it does the most important thing: It carries around all your personal information in a tiny format.) I'd recommend buying a handheld instead, unless you have regular access to another, more powerful device, such as a notebook computer with a PCMCIA socket that you keep with you most of the time. Also, because it's so small, reading the screen can be a problem for people with presbyopia. (Of course, that's likely to be a problem with any of today's ultra-compact equipment.)

Cell phones

A major factor when choosing a cell phone is the wireless protocol the phone uses. The world outside of North America uses GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) as their wireless communications protocol. Unfortunately, the United States still uses four different wireless protocols: analog, TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), and GSM. Because the U.S. telecommunications industry still hasn't adopted GSM as a standard, we're at least 2 years behind the rest of the world in wireless technology.

For this reason, international travelers will find a GSM-based system to be an asset outside the U.S. (If your area doesn't have GSM coverage, it probably will have CDMA coverage, so look for a model that uses that protocol.) A GSM triband is even more advantageous because it can operate on any of the three frequencies (900, 1800 or 1900 MHz) that different countries use. (Actually, a bi-band (900/1900) is sufficient, as the 1800 MHz frequency is rarely used.)

Standalone phones. The two best choices here are the Motorola Timeport 250 (a GSM triband phone) and the Kyocera Smartphone (CDMA-based). These phones both provide some of the capabilities of handheld computers.

If you're not interested in either of these and you have no interest in one-upsmanship, then I'd suggest shopping for a deal. See what phones are available for a low price, or free with a sign-up deal. (If you just want a plain phone, you don't really need a fancy one.)

Visor Handsprings allow you to attach a GSM dualband (900/1900 MHz) VisorPhone extension. I recommend buying the Visor Prism if you plan to use the VisorPhone because the full color screen is a little easier to read. That makes looking up phone numbers and taking notes while talking a little easier.

PART 2: STAYING IN SYNC

Once you begin to enjoy the benefits of a handheld computer or organizer, you'll realize the importance of keeping the information on it linked to other computers, such as your desktop PC. Having information linked -- and located in more than one location -- serves several purposes:

• It allows you to access information from other sources that you can't (or wouldn't want to) store in your handheld.
• It makes it possible to update lists, phone numbers, schedules and so forth, on all of your computers and information sources simultaneously.
• It makes it easy to backup key information and re-access it in case you lose your instrument or data. (It's best to back up your information both on a central program on your desktop or portable computer, and via an Internet service that you can easily access.)

That's where synchronization services come into play. These services make it possible to link, store and update your data over the Internet.

The importance of backup storage was brought home by a recent experience I had in a remote part of the world. An accident caused the loss of my Palm handheld, which contained all of the names, addresses and other critical information I needed on my trip. Because I'd backed up my data on one of the Internet synchronization services, I was able to purchase another Palm handheld, find a cyber café and download all of the still-current data. Just like that, I was back in business.

Note: One important factor in making this work is having a central program on your main computer -- a "hub," if you will -- through which information is synchronized to other computers and locations. The program I use to synchronize personal information is Microsoft Outlook 2000. Outlook is part of Microsoft Office, which is a standard piece of software on most computers. It's a good choice for this purpose because it's more powerful than most personal information managers and it works with all synchronization programs. (I'd recommend waiting to switch to Outlook 2002 until it's been around a little longer and has more bugs worked out.)

Choosing a service

Here's a review of the current Web sync services. (Most of these are free.)

FusionOne. Info: www.fusionone.com

(Rating: 9.5 out of 10)

In my opinion, this is the best and most powerful service available at the moment. With excellent syncing capabilities and a repository for storing your data, FusionOne is an impressive online complement to almost any existing PIM (Personal Information Manager). It offers a range of options for calendar, e-mail, contacts, tasks, notes and files, and it syncs with a wide variety of devices.

Advantages of FusionOne include:

• The sync agent sets up easily, locating your system's PIM and offering to sync with it.
• It syncs with as many devices as you want.
• It syncs data automatically. (Other programs only sync when you give the command.)
• FusionOne (in my opinion) provides the best sync program available for cell phones -- FusionPhone -- and (unlike some others) it's free. It automatically keeps all the numbers in your cell phone updated to match changes you've made in your other computers.
• Many systems occasionally create duplicate records when updating data at other locations. FusionOne doesn't.
• The extremely flexible address book lets you select a default view of up to 45 fields when you call up an entry, from basic business information to personal home page and the spouse's name.
• The task manager also has customizable views. You can program it to display all tasks or just active tasks, and you can customize the number of tasks displayed per screen. It can also display up to five fields where you can input and view such data as start date, date due, and percent completed. Tasks such as contacts and notes can be organized and viewed by category, and also appear in a small window on your calendar page.
• FusionOne provides thorough product support.

Disadvantages of FusionOne include:

• The service doesn't offer data filtering (by date or sender, for example).
• Different devices have different names for similar information fields. Some sync programs let you choose which fields in one device sync to which fields in the other. FusionOne doesn't let you do that.
• Surprisingly, FusionOne lacks group capabilities. There's no way, for example, to share your address book or calendar with other FusionOne users.
• Some of FusionOne's services (beyond basic synchronization) require a monthly fee ($9.95/month). While this is a disadvantage, I pay the fee because the program is so useful. (This is currently the only service I pay for on the Internet.)

In many respects, the FusionOne system is truly impressive. If FusionOne added organization and group capabilities, it could be an extremely powerful solution. Even as is, it may be right for you if your top priority is a PIM with support for a variety of devices.

Important note: Just before going to press I discovered that this service is no longer available to new subscribers directly from FusionOne. (Existing subscribers are unaffected by this change.) However, it appears to be available through FusionOne's partner companies. Their partners can be accessed through this link: http://www.fusionone.com/partner/current_partners.htm.

I tried accessing the service through one of the partners listed there -- www.room33.com -- and it seemed to work perfectly.

Excite Planner. Info: www.planner.excite.com

(Rating: 9 out of 10)

Excite decided that an online contact information manager would make a nice complement to its search engine and customizable home page.

Advantages of the Excite Planner include:

• Excite Planner can search your whole database for keywords. This is a great feature to have -- not even Outlook can do this.
• Excite allows you to selectively share calendar information with other users, making it potentially useful for groups as well as single users.
• You can set the program to e-mail you or page you with automatic reminders.
• It includes a personal notepad that lets you take notes and, if desired, exchange them with other users via the Excite message board.
• You can set priority levels when creating to-do lists, so that the most important items are displayed first. (This becomes important when your to-do lists get long.)
• The address book displays all of your contacts' basic information on one scrollable screen, including phone numbers and addresses. (Some programs require you to select an individual record and then wait for the screen to switch over to that record.)

Disadvantages of the Excite Planner include:

• Items on your to-do lists don't appear automatically on your calendar -- you have to enter them manually.
• The syncing system is a little more complicated to use than some programs.
• Some other programs include canned information on events like sports, television shows, and movies. If you click on one of these events, it's automatically added to your calendar. Excite Planner doesn't do this.

ReadySyncGo! Info: www.readysyncgo.com.

(Rating: 9 out of 10)

One of the real challenges for the road warrior is organizing and making sense of all the information flooding into a mobile device: calendar entries, airline schedules, etc. The trick is not only to pull it together into a single window, but also to keep it current and relevant to what you're doing at the time.

That's the goal of ReadySyncGo!, a Web-based personalized synchronization service from Synchrologic that's designed to meet the needs of business professionals and travelers. The service, free to individuals, keeps day-to-day information in sync between a user's handheld computer, wireless Web phone and PC. This includes calendar, address book, itinerary, to-do list, and other data.

Advantages of ReadySyncGo! include:

• This program makes a great personal assistant. For example, if you make an entry in your calendar, the application generates a map and driving directions based on the calendar entry. (Synchrologic has partnered with such content sources as MapQuest, Accu-weather and Worldspan to access travel information.)
  Your full itinerary is available, complete with hotel, air, and car reservations and confirmation numbers. Personalized alerts, such as flight delays and meeting reminders, are also forwarded to your cell phone or pager.
• Synchronization between devices is easy (although not quite as easy as FusionOne). In its initial release, ReadySyncGo! uses Microsoft Outlook to synchronize information between multiple Windows-based PCs, laptops and Palm OS handhelds, including the Palm VII and Handspring Visor.

Disadvantages of ReadySyncGo! include:

• Although it updates most folders in the devices you've synced, it doesn't update your Internet favorites folder, which is a disadvantage if you use the Internet a lot.
• It doesn't provide any way for you to check your e-mail.

Visto. Info: www.visto.com.

(Rating: 8 out of 10)

Advantages of Visto include:

• The program offers a variety of handy features, including an e-mail account, 25MB of personal storage, private and group calendars, collaboration tools and a to-do list.
• Group collaboration features are where Visto really distinguishes itself from the competition. I've been able to share a group calendar, publish files that the entire group could access and use a message board for group discussions.
• For convenience, Visto lets you access data with WAP (wireless application protocol) devices, as well as by voice from any phone. When using this feature, an electronic voice reads the information to you.
• "Instant Import" lets you import your calendars and address books from Microsoft Outlook and your Palm desktop.
• Visto can receive e-mail directly. Other programs, like FusionOne, have to get your e-mail through an outside program, such as Outlook.

Disadvantages of Visto include:

• Synchronization works as if it were added as an afterthought. The Visto Assistant only lets you sync with a few desktop applications (ACT!, Lotus Organizer and Outlook). It offers no direct PDA (personal digital assistant) syncing at all.
• Filter options for sorting data are limited to e-mail.
• All of Visto's features work from common onscreen menus, and selecting an item causes the entire page to reload. As a result, you can expect the service to be slow over dial-up connections.
• Contact management is particularly limited, with no search capabilities for the address book.

MyPalm. Info: www.anyday.com

(Rating: 7 out of 10)

Some of you may be familiar with the AnyDay service, which has now been acquired by Palm. MyPalm.com offers users an online address book, a calendar and to do lists, but it doesn't provide a Notes/Memo field. Also, MyPalm is capable of synchronizing with almost any device and application you own, and it should offer wireless application support by the time you read this.

Advantages of MyPalm include:

• In a refreshing departure from most of the products here, the screen at MyPalm.com actually looks and feels like a desktop Palm device, which makes it easier to use.
• It's easy to choose the data you want to synchronize, and easy to schedule times for automatic synchronization or data transfer.
• It lets you decide ahead of time how certain types of data conflicts will be resolved. For instance, if you change data at two different locations and then sync, which change should prevail? (Some services create duplicate records, which can be a big problem.)
• MyPalm.com's calendar, my favorite feature, lets you create both private and group calendars, send calendars (or just individual meeting information) to other users, and select from several formats to print your calendar. When you're creating an appointment or event, you can invite others -- choosing from a selection of invitation templates -- and request RSVPs.
• MyPalm.com's to-do feature is impressive, capable of setting up reminders and placing events on your calendar.
• The contact database supports searches.
• Users can create groups and invite others to participate, using tools such as message boards to promote collaboration.

MyPalm.com has one of the best compromises of individual and group features available.

SwiftTouch. Info: www.swifttouch.com

(Rating: 7 out of 10)

SwiftTouch offers basic calendaring, contact, and to-do list functions and also the ability to synchronize data with most desktop applications and Palm OS devices. I had no problems setting up the account and using the available features to synchronize and manage data.

Advantages of SwiftTouch include:

• The service includes SwiftCards, virtual business cards that you can embed in all of your e-mails. E-mail recipients can then click the "mail to" link or URL listed on the SwiftCard to e-mail you or visit the page you've linked to. If you change your information, the SwiftCard is automatically updated. (This is a neat feature unlike any I've seen in other online solutions.)
• SwiftTouch currently supports wireless applications, and has now added SwiftVoice, which will give you voice access to your contact database over any phone (even a pay phone).
• In addition to Palm OS and Outlook, SwiftTouch supports Notes, another popular application.

Disadvantages of SwiftTouch include:

• The synchronization process takes time, and (unlike some other programs) SwiftTouch doesn't let you see how close to completion the process is.
• To start using SwiftTouch, I had to download two separate sync utilities (SwiftSync v2.41 and SwiftSync Palm at the time of writing) -- one for desktop applications and one for Palm devices.
• The service doesn't yet offer group contact management. However, this feature should be included in the next version, which is due later this year.
• The calendar and tasks features don't provide you with reminders or let you send invitations.
• The program doesn't support bookmarks, subfolders, or multiple folders.
• It doesn't have a search function.

Yahoo! Calendar. Info: www.yahoo.com/r/ca

(Rating: 6 out of 10)

In addition to its well-known powerful search site and customizable start page, Yahoo! offers Yahoo! Calendar. This program includes an address book, a calendar, to-do lists and a notepad utility. Like Excite Planner, Yahoo! relies on Starfish's effective TrueSync Plus utility to keep your data current and consistent among all your devices and applications. I was able to set up TrueSync to synchronize all of the data in my Palm device and Outlook calendar with Yahoo!.

Advantages of Yahoo! Calendar include:

• The look and feel of Yahoo!'s calendar and address book are clean and efficient.
• TrueSync allows filtering of data.
• TrueSync allows easy coordination between similar data fields with different names in different devices.
• Although Yahoo! Calendar offers no easy way to manage group contacts, you can share your schedule and contact information with other Yahoo! members.
• Yahoo! lets you create a Web page so that you can share your calendar by distributing the Web page's address (URL).

ScheduleOnline. Info: www.scheduleonline.com.

(Rating: For individuals: 5 out of 10. For groups: 09 out of 10)

If you need an easy-to-use tool for group scheduling, ScheduleOnline is a great choice. ScheduleOnline is specifically designed to provide everything an organization or group needs to schedule its activities. (It's not primarily intended for an individual's online backup of handheld or desktop data.)

Advantages of ScheduleOnline include:

• ScheduleOnline's greatest strength lies in its group features. You can define different groups within your contact base, using any criteria you choose, and then specify which members of the group will be able to access and/or change different types of information within the system.
• The powerful calendar lets you schedule tasks, meetings, and repeating events.
• You can add participants to a meeting, check to find out who has a conflict and use the program to find the times most likely to be optimal for the people you've selected.
• You can send e-mail invitations, with a carbon-copy option, to everyone on your group list.
• The program has powerful sort and search capabilities.

Disadvantages of ScheduleOnline include:

• Although ScheduleOnline's syncing service has been improving, it's still proprietary and rudimentary. It has limited conflict resolution and no ability to filter or coordinate between similar datafields with different configurations in different devices.
• It costs $7.95 per month.

The future is now

So don't be shy. If you have any interest in getting better organized, communicating faster and just plain having more fun, these devices can help.

Go ahead, take the plunge! The water's fine.

Dr. Bashour is both an ophthalmologist and a biomedical engineer. He trained at Johns Hopkins University, McGill University, New York Medical College, George Washington University and the University of Toronto, and he's a partner in LasikMD, an ophthalmologist-owned chain of LASIK eye centers in Toronto, Montreal, Niagara Falls and Windsor, Canada. He's an ASOPRS fellow in Oculoplastic surgery, and is currently the director of oculoplastic surgery at the University of Sherbrooke. He also has fellowships in refractive surgery, and pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. Dr. Bashour has maintained a lifelong interest in computers, gadgets and technology, and is a paid practice consultant in this field. For additional information about the technology discussed in this article, visit his regularly updated Web site at www.Bashour.com/wired.