FIGURE C

Here's the layout of the Cyphotilapia frontosa main screen.

It seems quite odd that the information and photos would be available in a mobile application. I doubt that the general Palm public would have a use for this one.

BeamMP3
BeamMP3 may be weird in my opinion only. I admit that I have yet to figure out what the attraction is for MP3 files, players, and sites, but guess I can understand why other people might. The name of this PQA, however, sadly suggests much more than the PQA actually offers. In reality, if you'll look at Figure D, you'll see that all you can do is get a list of MP3 sites (without links) and a list of MP3 player software.

FIGURE D

BeamMP3 has a very limited set of options.

While MP3 aficionados may find this useful as a type of bookmark resource, I couldn't divine any other valid use for it.

Tulix-http
Then there's Tulix-http. This is a PQA that allows you to input a URL and receive the time it took to connect as well as what Web server software and modules are being run on that site. See Figure E for an example.

FIGURE E

Here's the response screen of Tulix-http.

Web-based tools with this functionality are fun for the first few minutes, but I honestly don't know how this could be useful or interesting to a mobile user. Theoretically, it could be used to monitor a Web server for response time, but even that may be stretching things. [Personally, as a guy with a ton of Web servers, I think this kind of PQA is an early example of a remote monitoring tool I hope to see realized.--DG]

And now for, quite possibly, the weirdest and most useless PQA I have come across to date...

The ShuttleCAM
A PQA called the ShuttleCAM consists of an entry page and a picture. The program is supposed to allow mobile users access to a live Webcam shot of the space shuttle, but as you can see in Figure F, the picture isn't even really recognizable.

FIGURE F

Here's the live ShuttleCAM picture.

In fact, it's not even really the space shuttle. It's an inflatable space shuttle toy hanging in what appears to be somebody's bedroom. This PQA leaves me with just one thought: Why?

Car and home buying PQAs
In addition to those listed in this article, I have to mention the car and home buying PQAs. There are quite a few of these available, so I won't detail each one. However, I'm curious as to what these could realistically be used for. The car and home buying PQAs allow mobile users to search for vehicles and homes for sale on their Palm devices. Now I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm browsing homes and cars for sale, I want to see pictures. If at all possible, I also want to see floor plans and walk-through tours. Using the mobile applications, you can only retrieve brief information, so what good are they? Maybe it's just me, but I have a difficult time imagining someone hailing a cab and then sitting in the back seat choosing his or her next new home right from a Palm device.

Finding weird PQAs was more difficult to do than I had originally thought, but I must say, it's been both enlightening and entertaining. If you haven't yet taken the time to download some of these applications and try them out, you should do so. Even the weird ones are fun to play with!