Do a search on "Pocket PC" in Google,
which organizes results according to popularity, and the outcome is what you
might expect. Microsoft's
Pocket PC site is first, Pocket
PC magazine is second.

Then come the two wildly popular sites that are the efforts of individual
enthusiasts Jason Dunn
and Dale Coffing.
Lately Jason has added forums to his site, Pocket
PC Thoughts, giving you even more reason to visit.

Some of the forums
are open to all, and others only allow Jason and his team of four volunteer
contributors to initiate threads. The open forums include Just Chattin', which
is general talk about the Pocket PC and is the most active. It ranges from the
sort of philosophical discussion sometimes found on Pocket PC Thoughts to
specific how-to questions.

Other open forum topics include Wireless, Usergroups, and Buy/Sell. There's
also a section of open forums related to specific devices, with the iPAQ forum
being the most active.

The forums that only allow comments in response to posting from the site
moderators are archives of the front page. It's the "front page"
that's brought Jason's site its renown. Here you can find a dozen or more
postings, weblog style, each day, giving you all the latest information
regarding the Pocket PC, with a little philosophizing tossed in. Each of these
items allows users to comment.

Now all of that content, along with the discussion, is archived in the
forums, which is especially useful if you can't check in each day. Categories of
front page content include hardware, software, content, news, and links to
articles elsewhere on the Internet.

Pocket PC Thoughts is a quality site. And it lives up to its name, often
serving up food for thought. Recently, for example, contributor Ed Hansberry
posted a short essay on eBooks, asking the simple but fascinating question: If
you spend a lot of money buying eBooks, how do you know you'll still be able to
read these eBooks in 10 years, given the rate at which technology changes and
given the variety of formats?

It led to an interesting discussion, which you can find in the forum
archives. And which is just the sort of content that helps make this site so
popular.

Many of my recent columns have covered web-based forums, which are excellent
resources for Pocket PC users. Look for an index of these forums on the Pocket
PC magazine web site in the coming months. And find some of them listed on our Best
Sites page.