Introducing the MyPalm portal
The MyPalm portal lets you sign up for a free Web account to manage an online calendar, to do list, and contact list. The portal itself includes several additional features, such as the ability to include other members into groups that share calendars, an RSVP feature that lets you track invitees to a meeting or other event, and the ability to publish calendars to password-protected or open Web sites outside of the MyPalm user base for others on the Web to see. You can enter the information for the calendar, to do list, and contact list on the Web site, or on your Palm OS handheld; a HotSync conduit lets you synchronize between the MyPalm portal and your Palm OS handheld. Let's take a look at a typical session and each of the major parts of the MyPalm portal in detail.

Logging in
Before using MyPalm, you must first log in. Logging in is easy; you simply navigate to either http://www.palm.net or http://my.palm.com, pictured in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Here's the MyPalm portal login. Click picture for a larger image.

From here, you can sign up for a new account, log in to your existing account, or access your Palm.net account to manage your Palm VII wireless account. Of course, you don't need a Palm VII to use the MyPalm portal. As you log on, you can select either a standard connection, or a secure SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connection, giving you additional confidence that the information you're exchanging with the MyPalm portal is safe while in transit.

The first time you use MyPalm, you must register and complete a quick questionnaire to personalize the service; as a licensee of TRUSTe (at http://www.truste.org), Palm was able to make the form less onerous than many I've seen. Once you register, you can just use the login name you pick and simply log on.

It's hard to find fault with a process as simple as logging on, but one thing bothers me about MyPalm's login procedure. It seems awkward for you to select the portal or the wireless service with a checkbox. It reminds me of a crusty old espresso machine we had at a startup I worked at ten years ago; one of us brought it in from our garage before we could afford any better. When the original switch failed, one of us ran out to Radio Shack and bought a big toggle switch and stuck it on the front, rather than spending the hundred bucks for a new espresso machine.