PP:TUG was written by David Pogue, fellow PalmPower Magazine columnist, and author of a number of other computer-related books. The text is copiously illustrated with PC, Mac, and PalmPilot-based screen shots to clarify various points made throughout the book. My favorite illustration is Figure 2-8 on page 27, detailing the Owner Preferences screen. Yes, you'll have to go look at it for yourself! Sprinkled throughout the text are various tips and hints. Some of these I found obvious as a long-time PalmPilot user, others surprised me.

Highlights
PP:TUG covers all of the built-ins and more, including third-party software and accessories. Chapters on ebooks, multimedia and web browsing enlightened me on some great programs I have overlooked. I also found the programming tutorial based on the accompanying CD-ROM's version of Metrowerks' CodeWarrior Lite fascinating. This tutorial is more than just another 'Hello World'.

If you don't have time to post a question to the PowerBoards, the Troubleshooting chapter provides a good overview of many potential PalmPilot problems and their solutions. And, case maven Fredlet's cameo in Appendix B will help those who want a short list of case recommendations by type and level of PalmPilot protection.

Low points
PP:TUG could have been edited a little more carefully. There were a number of inconsistencies I spotted (in captions, web addresses, and such) that I found irksome. These will definitely confuse new Piloteers who may not be very net- or computer-literate. Yes, I'm picky--we all know that computers do what you tell them to, not what you mean.

There are a few useful PC-based helper programs that may have been overlooked due to the author's Mac-centricity. Most notable of these include RoadReloader, which can come in handy if you have to do a modem hotsync after a hard reset on the road, and PalmPC Alarm, which sounds Palm Desktop alarms from the PC. By the way, both RoadReloader and PalmPC Alarm, along with other useful PalmPilot products and programs, can be found at PilotGear, http://www.pilotgear.com, under the Desktop:PC category.

I also expected, but did not find, a brief discussion of the capacitor problem that plagued quite a few PalmPilot Professional owners. These unfortunate people experienced complete data loss when changing batteries because the capacitor failed and did not supply power to the PalmPilot Professional's memory board. (If you have this problem, the best thing to do is to call 3Com Technical Support for The Box.)

For the sake of thoroughness, it would have been helpful for PP:TUG to have made brief mentions of resources available to Linux and OS/2 users. While Linux and OS/2 users aren't "officially" supported by 3Com like Mac users, quite a few support options are available. See the product availability section at the end of this article for some resources.