Simplify Making Address Book, Calendar Entries with Anagram

Posted By: Ed Monday, October 8, 2001 1:18:37 PM

Textual has released Anagram, an application that interprets plain English text to create new address book, calendar, to-do list, and memo records. Text from any source on a Windows PC, such as an e-mail, website, or other document, can be captured by the app by pressing a single key. Anagram then makes sense of the meaningful parts of the text and sorts them to the correct fields in a new record in the Palm Desktop app. It costs $25.

Anagram first uses simple cues in the captured text to determine what type of record the user is trying to create. Then Anagram uses a larger set of cues and recursive rules to recognize the individual elements of the record; for example, which words are a person's first name? What time does the meeting start? Which phone number is the fax number? The relevant data is extracted, reformatted based on the user's preferences, and added to the user's Palm Desktop application. After the user reviews it, it's ready to be moved to their handheld when they HotSync.

A version of Anagram that works with Microsoft Outlook is under development.

"Anagram adds a level of intelligence to the PCs of Palm users that is truly useful and time-saving," said Nicholas Maddix, owner of Textual. "People use Palms constantly to keep track of addresses and appointments, and we use e-mail even more often to share these things with friends or co-workers. Anagram serves as an effective bridge between these two technologies, without asking people to change the way they use either one."

Related Information:

PIC: Import Data to Your Palm with Syncplicity

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sounds like Syncplicity...

GregGaub @ 10/8/2001 1:49:47 PM #

This says it does exactly what Syncplicity said it did. I never got into Syncplicity, since I was always having to reformat the data, or fiddle with different import templates. I almost never got the information in a format that it could properly parse into the Palm's fields.
I wonder if this Anagram thing is the same way? Has anyone actually tried it? I don't put much stock in press releases any more.

RE: sounds like AddressGrabber...

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/8/2001 3:06:10 PM #

There's another program called AddressGrabber that works just fine with Outlook, Palm Desktop, and about a gazillion other programs (ACT!, Lotus, Wordperfect, Eudora, etc.). I own it and it works flawlessly.

http://www.egrabber.com/

RE: sounds like Syncplicity...

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/8/2001 5:48:19 PM #

Syncplicity works great and its only $10!
I used it to import addresses from 6 committees I had to juggle.
For a datebook, to-do list importer you can try the free ware Actioneer for the desktop.

I'd like to check out this product to see if it is any better.

cheers

RE: sounds like Syncplicity... but works better

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 1:36:30 PM #

So far, anagram works much better than Syncplicity. I never have to fiddle with the data. There
are no templates, no fuss. This thing really works! The interface is much cleaner, too.

Actioneer?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/8/2001 6:42:03 PM #

Is it just me, or does this sound an awful lot like Actioneer for Windows?
Anybody try it out yet?
I never use Actioneer for addressbook entries, I don't really find entering data too cumbersome. On the Palm Desktop software (Mac), however it's a pain. Of course, it's just wishful thinking that they'd release a Mac version of this. *sigh*

- kezza

RE: Actioneer?

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/8/2001 1:32:39 PM #

Actioneer doesn't seem to recognize addresses at all, unless they are re-typed into Actioneer's
desired format. anagram takes addresses in any format, even with excess ASCII art, and puts
everything in the correct field automatically.

HandStory can do that also.

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/8/2001 11:35:23 PM #

HandStory can converter any text to Doc, Memo, Address from Windows to Palm. Also it has Doc viewer for Palm.

However, this program looks good, too. I will try both programs for my Palm and Windows.

BTW, Syncplicaty is good, tood. I hope there will be more easy and intelligent address converting program for Palm and Windows soon.

- Young

= Newton many years ago

FredLL @ 10/9/2001 3:32:39 AM #

I don't want to look like a veteran but ...
Newton (Apple) had this feature built in.
You could just write a sentence like "lunch with Fred tomorrow" and it would had an entry in your agenda and select the right personn for 12:00 ...
Any thing like this in the Palm World ?

RE: = Newton many years ago

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/9/2001 8:43:58 AM #

Actioneer

RE: = Newton many years ago

DAK @ 10/9/2001 9:16:09 AM #

We still have someone in our office using a Newton.

RE: = Newton many years ago

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/9/2001 10:28:13 AM #

I still have a newton (an eMate 300). True, you can enter in text and have it translated to the datebook, etc, but it's not as streamlined, quick, or accurate as Actioneer has been on my Palm. The speed thing might just be that it's an eMate (read: slow), but usually I find it easier to just open up the Dates application and enter the stuff in manually, rather than bothering with the translation process.

just my $.02

-kezza