Letters to the Editor

We cannot respond to all letters or e-mail (but we read them all). Please send us questions, suggestions for improvements in the magazine, ideas for new software, or general comments. All responses, unless otherwise indicated, are from Rich Hall, Editor of Pocket PC. You can reach Rich at rich@PocketPCmag.com.

I recently switched to Pocket Informant after reading the article "Balancing Customer Needs with Long-Term Goals" by Reginald Vickery in the May 2003 issue. I suffered from the same inadequacies as he found in the Franklin Planner Plus software. I have used many methods of managing my tasks, appointments/calendar, and contacts with the last being the Franklin Planner software. I use an iPAQ 3850 Pocket PC and have been disappointed in how it handled all of these things.

I uninstalled all of the Franklin software and installed Pocket Informant. Almost instantly I was impressed with its interface and also pleased that I finally found what I was looking for and lacking in my PIM management on the Pocket PC. The three-part system of Outlook 2002 on my laptop PC, my iPAQ Pocket PC, and Pocket Informant can't be beat, considering the latter's reasonable cost. I want to thank Reginald for taking the  time to write about his experience and the results he achieved.

Jim Shireman
Sales Professional

An iPAQ owner, I am an English teacher who is taking classes to get additional licensure in ESL (English as a Second Language). The article about using the Pocket PC as a language assistant was very valuable (www.PocketPCmag.com/may03/pocketview.asp). Would you have suggestions about Pocket PC software for non-native speakers for learning English?

Rachel Mantik

Hi, Rachel. I don't know much more than what I put in the article. Having said that, almost all of the software I wrote about works both ways. So, for example, with Mobilearn you can go from Spanish to English. A Spanish phrase when clicked will show the English translation and speak the English words. Read my article from the point of view of a native speaker of Spanish (or any other language), then check the Web sites to be sure. Also, a company called Socrat markets a series of dictionaries designed for people learning the English language (www.arssoft.com/promopage/promo.htm). The Socrat Reader is a free program that lets you access these references, but the dictionaries themselves cost $19.99 each.

Hal Goldstein

In your review of the Viewsonic V35, you said, "...the soft reset button is located inside a very small hole on the left side of the device. So small, in fact, that the head of the stylus does not fit into it. To do a soft reset, you have to find a paper clip or pin."

Justin Clay

If you unscrew the top of the stylus, you will notice that it is designed to perform the soft-reset. I, too, was annoyed with the problem that you mention in the article, but I stumbled upon the built-in "tool" when I was playing with the stylus. Enjoy this engineering marvel!

I just wanted to ask if anyone at Pocket PC magazine knows how to get rid of an icon under Programs if the program has already been removed? There is no feature in Pocket PC like Windows XP to remove an icon if it was left behind.

Donald Goerig

Hi, Donald. You need to open File Explorer and go to the Windows>Start Menu, find the icon and delete it. (It may be in a sub-folder of the Start Menu folder). I describe this more thoroughly on the following Web page (www.cewindows.net/faqs/managemenus.htm). Go there and look for the section labeled "Deleting Applications Left Over After You Uninstall."

Chris De Herrera.
Microsoft MVP - Mobile Devices,
CEWindows.Net