Comments on: PalmGear Debuts StreamLync AutoInstall Utility

Features like this are great becuase they make computers and software available to more people. Which increases market share. Personally I don't think I need the software, but I might install it anyway.

Also another thing to consider is software like this could be licensed to corporate users.

-James.

I understand what you are saying, but consider this.

1) Download the PRC. - Is it a PRC, EXE, ZIP. And where do you download it. The Desktop, My Documents, The C Drive. Wait, its a zip file, perhaps I put it on my Zip drive.

2) Double clikc on the file. - Well, that's true if it's a PRC or an EXE, but not if it's a Zip. And if it's a EXE, where do they install it? What directory do they use. IF it is a Zip, Do they have Windows XP native Zip capabilities, or do they have to use Winzip?

3) See above.

4) Well, why should I hotsync when I've already installed the software in step 2. Shouldn't it be on my palm.

I of course am exaggerating, but you get the idea of what happens when I try to get non-technical people to understand this process.

If they remove that option from me, well then, we have a problem. :)

One by one, the penguins are stealing my sanity.

( except mine always prompts for which prc and pdb files you want to install :) )

It's also nice to see that PGHQ still seems to be offering the same zip and sit file install options even for apps that have the install utility feature. That way, it's just another option and not mandatory. Make me see it as more benign... or is it??? ;-)

The reason I probably won't use it is because most stuff I install by using a card reader. I find this generally a faster option for me.

-jcm

Also, what is so difficult about making a "Palm Apps" folder and always downloading into that? C'mon the more things work automatically, the less you have to think about what you are doing, the less freedom you have to make your own decisions.

Next, the software companies will be able to tell us what we download and when and then they can automatically bill us for it...What next?

Time flies like an arrow...
Fruit Flies like a banana.

Furthermore in my work (training high school teachers to use Palms) this tool is going to make software installation SO MUCH EASIER! The only problem with StreamLync is that the rest of the sites don't have it. This is especially an issue for sites that don't compete with PalmGear, like MemoWare and Palm Digital Media.

Palm Researcher at the University of Texas at Austin
http://www.edb.utexas.edu/petrosino/pda

Leads to:

" For each file in the archive ending with extension .prc, .pdb, .scp, .pqa, or .pnc, StreamLync attempts to install the file to Palm Desktop.


The only exceptions to this procedure are files which contain a specific directory name in their path. By default, this name is “DeviceSpecific”. If any of the files in the archive being processed reside in a subdirectory called DeviceSpecific, these files will not be installed to Palm Desktop. The DeviceSpecific exception is included to assist software developers’ including multiple versions of a Palm application, where each version is intended for a different type of Palm device. If device-specific files are found, StreamLync alerts you with the message box shown above.


• If a file of the same name exists in the Palm Install directory, StreamLync will not install the second file and will notify you with the warning shown here. Refer to the developer's documentation for more information on the correct file to install.
"