Dr. Reddy's Guide to HP Palmtops

Palmtop Application Software

(Palmtop-specific and DOS-compatible)

HP's Palmtop Home Page

There is a tremendous amount of software available that was written specifically for HP Palmtops. Much of this software is listed in S.U.P.E.R. (the Simply Unbeatable Palmtop Essentials Repository -- a compilation of almost every software package available for the Palmtop. (CAUTION: at last count, this page was about 400 kbytes long. For the most up-to-date additions, try their New Additions Page.)

However, since the Palmtop is a PC-compatible and runs MS-DOS 5.0, it can run just about any program that can run on a PC-compatible under MS-DOS 5.0. More specifically, it will run any program that will run on an 8086-, 8088-, or 80186-based PC under MS-DOS 5.0. (The processor in the 100LX and 200LX is an 80186; the 95LX uses a clone version of the 8086.) Note that 80286-compatible programs will generally not run on the Palmtops. (Also note that the IBM PC/AT was an 80286-based machine; IBM never used the 80186 in PC's, at least to my knowledge. AT-compatible software may not run on a 100LX or 200LX. Some people have reported being able to run Windows 3.0 (but not 3.1) on the Palmtops, but it apparently takes some doing...)

Among DOS-compatible software I've run on my Palmtops:

• MATLAB: It is possible to run MATLAB on a palmtop. There are a couple of restrictions, however:
  • The only version that works is The Student Edition of Matlab for MS-DOS (a modification of version 3.5) for DOS. (This has been out of print for some time. As far as I know, only Amazon.com has it available; the link here is to Amazon.com's listing for the book, which also includes the program on disk.) This is the only PC MATLAB version that does not require a coprocessor. To install it, perform a regular installation on your desktop or laptop, then move the resulting directories to your Palmtop using connectivity software or by moving the directories onto a PCMCIA memory card.
    
  • Although it's theoretically possible to run MATLAB in a System Manager DOS box, I found the best way is to exit the System Manager completely (in the Application Manager, type MENU A T ) and run from DOS. This gives you the most available memory, and memory rapidly becomes an issue in most DOS versions of MATLAB.
    
  • Student MATLAB restricts the size of vectors and matrices (1-dimensional vectors can have no more than 1024 elements, while 2-dimensional matrices can be no larger than 64x64). This is clearly a problem for large-scale number crunching, but you probably shouldn't be doing that on a Palmtop anyway.
    
  • It's slower than cold molasses in January. (You can't run the regular MATLAB benchmark routine on a Palmtop because of the matrix-size restriction, but the plotting demo takes around 5 minutes...)
    
• Communications Software: I use the built-in Datacomm program to talk to my Web server, and haven't had any major trouble with it, even with on-line text editing. I also use D&A Software's WWW/LX web software package: it includes a TCP/IP stack, TELNET and FTP clients, a combined E-mail and news reader, and HV (a PAL-based Web browser).
• Image Viewers: I use PICEM and LXPIC, both freeware image viewers. They are both pretty compact (LXPIC in particular takes < 20k) and display fairly well. I also use my desktop image editors to convert pictures to 2-bit (monochrome) GIF before transferring them to the Palmtop: this gives me better-quality images on the display, and saves space (since the Palmtop doesn't do colour, why keep the colour info and multiply file size by 2-3?)
• Word Processing and Editing: I personally use the Memo Editor for most Palmtop editing (including writing programs), but DOS versions of Word Perfect (including 5.1, which I have seen described as "the greatest program ever written" -- and I agree) will run just as well on the Palmtop as on PC XTs and compatibles. "Simpler" editors, such as EDLIN (heaven forfend), Microsoft EDIT (packaged with later versions of MS-DOS, and IBM's E Editor, work quite well also.

Palmtop Software Archives

• S. U. P. E. R. -- the Simply Unbeatable Palmtop Essentials Repository
• Monash University (Australia)

Both of these archives contain many freeware and shareware programs for all three Palmtops. I especially recommend SUPER -- it's the largest and most comprehensive I've seen.

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Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 Vinay N. Reddy, M.D. All rights reserved.
Written 08/20/96; major revision 04/05/00; last revised 11/04/04