Macintosh installation specs
OK here's the nitty-gritty information for all you tech-heads out there. The Macintosh side of PalmBuddy installs several items on the hard drive. I am running MacOS 8.1 but Palm Buddy will run on 7.5 systems and above with at least 2MB RAM available. Nothing was installed into the System folder, but if you don't have the Thread Manager, the Drag and Drop Manager and the Code Fragment Managers, you may have to install them. These MacOS components aren't always part of a system that is pre-8.0. Palm Buddy also installs several other items, the more interesting of the installed items include a very complete guide to Palm Buddy and some nifty little plug-ins for added functionality.

Installing Palm Buddy on the Mac
In addition to the desktop Palm Buddy software, you'll need to install a file onto your PalmPilot that activates the connection between the desktop and the PalmPilot, and as it is only 12K its not much of a bother on your PalmPilot. [Now, aren't you glad we gave you two reviews? Jim said the Palm application was 10K. Fredlet says it's 12K. Life (and editing) is just funny that way. But, in either case, theprogram that installs on the Palm device is pretty darn tiny. -- DG]

To get started with Palm Buddy, all I had to do was four simple things:

1. Install the .PRC file on the PalmPilot
2. Turn off HotSync, so that the serial port is available.
3. Click Connect on the PalmPilot while it is sitting on the cradle.
4. There is no number 4.

See? Wasn't that easy?

As soon as I clicked Connect, Palm Buddy started cranking away and in a few minutes I found out exactly how much stuff I have on my Palm organizer. Yipes! But the process worked flawlessly, and now I have a total backup of all the fluff that comprises my life. Everything from the lyrics of my favorite song to the pictures I have of Joe Bob Briggs. [Fredlet, what IS it with this fixation on Joe Bob Briggs? --DG]

The Palm Buddy desktop
The Palm Buddy desktop itself is organized into specific categories of applications, including the built-in applications on the Palm device and its system, preferences, and other applications (intended for third-party applications). I was mainly interested in the Other category, since most of the PalmPilot stuff is backed up on the HotSync (most, but not all -- so I am glad they do this). Since I now have a mirror of what's on my PalmPilot, it is also a little easier to safely delete databases (especially since I regularly look on my PalmPilot and wonder what half of those databases are for). Palm Buddy keeps track of databases that are active and will alert you when you try to delete one that is in use by another application. For HackMaster users this could come in pretty handy.

Installing Palm software using Palm Buddy
Installation just got a little easier if you run Palm Buddy frequently. All you have to do to install that latest game (to keep you from impaling yourself on your pen during boring meetings) is drag the application from a folder on your Macintosh desktop into the Palm Buddy window. The next time you connect to the Palm computer, your Palm application is downloaded to the Palm device. That's pretty spiffy considering the sheer number of clicks it takes to install an application with the standard Macintosh InstallApp.