Change is the
Name of the Game

By Tom Gibson

Technical Editor, Handheld PC Magazine
Email: tom_gibson@thaddeus.com Web site: www.hpcmag.com

The only thing that never changes about the Internet is the fact that everything is always changing.

The Internet comes as close to a living being as any man-made thing I have ever encountered. The Internet is one, big living family, made up of many smaller individuals (Websites) that are always being born, growing and changing, moving around, and sometimes dying. Here are some notable changes.

Handheld PC Magazine OnLine moves (www.hpcmag.com)

Many sites have moved since I started reporting on Windows CE Internet sites a little over a year ago. In fact Handheld PC Magazine OnLine has recently moved to a new location. Not only does our site have a new URL (Universal Resource Locator), but it has a new server. We have moved our site, not our offices, to a server in Florida. We have also moved the site of our sister publication (The HP Palmtop Paper, www. palmtoppaper.com), to the new server. One major reason for the move was that we've chosen to do all of our Web authoring and management in Microsoft Front Page, and the new server can host such sites. Make sure to check out the site and give us feedback on our new look. There will be a lot of new and interesting thing at the site, including our up-to-date Third Party Products pages, selected articles and tips from past issues, Windows CE news, and never-published articles. We'll also have links to other Windows CE sites, including links to all of the H/PC and Palm-size PC manufacturers sites.

Chris De Herrera's Windows CE Website (www.cewindows.net)

Chris De Herrera's Windows Website has also moved recently. Chris has his own domain name now and has added Mobile Channels capability to his site (see Mobile Channels article, page 26). With Mobile Channels, Web page information is automatically downloaded to your desktop PC on a regular basis. When you synchronize your PC Companion to your desktop PC, the Web content is downloaded for on-the-go viewing. Since Chris' site is constantly changing, this is a good way to keep up with him. There is a lot to keep up with at www.cewindows.net. Chris tells us about all of the different Windows CE-based machines, has a very detailed table comparing the Handheld PCs and another for the Palm-size PCs. Chris also keeps a very detailed FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section with answers to just about every PC Companion question you can think of. Chris' site also has Windows CE-related stock quotes and jobs listed.

Microsoft Windows CE Website (www.microsoft.com/windowsce/)

Microsoft has changed their site, adding new sections and moving things around. These changes include:

The site's Mobile Professional Magazine has died off, replaced by the following:

Microsoft's Windows CE section has grown very large, indicating the emphasis Microsoft is putting on Windows CE as an important part of their long-term strategy.

You can't get there anymore

Some Windows CE Websites have gone away completely. Most of these are small sites, put up by individual Windows CE enthusiasts. It's a shame to lose them. User sites add spice to the Internet and value to the Windows CE market place. They are not always the most professional-looking sites, but they are often packed with tips about using a Windows CE device, and sometimes include shareware and freeware programs written by the author of the site. They die because the author lacks time, money, or the energy needed to keep them up. Fortunately, when one of these sites dies, another one seems to spring up to take its place. As we discover them, we'll let you know.

Some new arrivals

There still seems to be a Windows CE Website population explosion. When I'm looking for new sites, I always check out the Windows CE Webring (www.jimmy.com/ morency/webring.html). This is one of the top five Webrings at Webring.org. As of November 20, 1998, there were 190 sites listed in the Windows CE Webring.

Derek's Windows CE Sites
(http://web.a-znet.com/kder/)

Derek Snyder maintains this new site, with a section for Handheld PCs and one for Palm-size PCs. Derek's is a Mobile Channels site, and has a page of other Mobile Channel sites that you can subscribe to from his site. He also has lot of links to other Windows CE Websites.

Tom's Nino Right Now Website
(http://netnow.micron.net/~gilkman/)

Tom Gilkeson's Nino Palm-size PC Website is pretty cool. He has a section that tells you about the applications he currently using on his Philips Nino, lots of news about the Nino and the Palm-size PC, and a bunch of fun stuff like a re-touched picture of John Glenn in space checking his task list on his Nino. In Tom's own words, "OK, so maybe I ate too much Halloween candy and things got out of hand with Photoshop; but a guy can dream, right?"