From 1SRC member, byteme2.
In the past few weeks, there has been a sudden flurry of news about multitasking of Palm OS devices, with the release of Multitasker, Sub-launcher, and Saguaro Sneak Peek this month. Here, I will take a closer look at the two devices capable of actual multitasking: Saguaro and Multitasker
First the gripes: Both Multitasker and Saguaro had a noticeable startup delay , although the one for Saguaro was much longer. Saguaro also insisted on turning my T|X's 3wireless on every time it started up--which is apparently necc3sary for some widgets to work. Still, I would much prefer a system that would turn on wireless when an Internet-connected widget was opened, not just whenever it starts up.
Not surprisingly, both applications also seemed a little laggy. In both applications, there were often times when you couldn't just tap a button--you had to hold it down a bit longer than normal for the system to respond
That's my next gripe: Applications. It seems like DoMore and PDA Performance put most of their effort into Multitasker and Saguaro, and not much to the bundled applications. Saguaro sneak Peek included just two "widgets"-a weather forecast and a news ticker that didn't even let you read the story), and Multitasker wasn't much better(Sticky note application, timer, drawing pad, some sort of MIDI player, and an application called "Handwarmer" that was supposed to heat your Palm up. None of these were features that I felt justified the startup wait
(Note:Both PDA Performance and DoMore have announced their intentions to create more compatible software, so hopefully this problem will be solved soon)
Now the good stuff: Saguaro has a LOT of eye candy. Fancy translucent windows, hi-res graphics, etc make for a beautiful user interface. Multitasker is more utilitarian, with a white background, non-translucent windows, and a small green toolbar.Multitasker also handled application display's differently from saguaro:In saguaro all the information that a program wants to display is within a window, and the background is the desktop, like on a PC. In Multitasker, applications can use windows, but the "active" application(selected by tapping a pair of arrows) also uses the main screen space. I found that this method was better for PDAs, as the windows in Multitasker and Saguaro are understandably quite tiny compared to their desktop brethren, making it difficult to display large images or videos in them.
Multitasker also has an innovative force-feedback system that does not require a force-feedback module--it can use the device's internal speaker to produce vibration. This worked well on my T|X, although sometimes the vibration was a little faint. The bundled applications integrated this well--when a count-down timer expired it would sound an alarm and vibrate, and in Sketchy(the drawing app), the T|X would vibrate whenever the stylus was pressed down to the screen.
In terms of installation, they were both fairly easy to install--Multitasker required an installation of yBasic and required me to run an installer, but it worked fine. During my testing, both programs were also stable, if a bit slow to respond sometimes
(Note:Some users have reported problems with Saguaro and memory, but I didn't notice any problems)
Speaking of memory, the system requirements for the two programs vary dramatically. Saguaro Sneak Peek's requirements moderate, except for the memory:it needs OS 5, 320x320 resolution, a 100 mhz processor, an Internet connection, and a whopping 7 Mb of storage memory and 2 Mb of dynamic heap. For it to actually work well, you'll want a 300MHz processor.
Multitasker's requirements are more modest--the latest version of yBasic, a few kilobytes of memory, a 100 MHz processor, and a monochrome 160/160 screen. To really get the best out of it, though, you'll need a color screen and a faster processor, as well as a handheld with OS5 enhanced sound.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Both Multitasker and Saguaro are still in their infancy, and neither of them really have anything that special in terms of programs. Saguaro's Sneak Peek is also not the full version of Saguaro, which won't be out for a while.
Still, in my opinion, Multitasker is the better choice, at least for now. While it doesn't have the eyecandy of Saguaro, it's already a platform ready for 3rd-party developers. DoMore also has resources for developers on their web site--PDA performance does not.
Secondly, DoMore seems to be significantly ahead of PDA Performance in terms of innovation, with their force-feedback and application display systems. I also have serious doubts that as Saguaro evolves it will be ale to use more complex applications due to the constraints of using just windows. Although Saguaro hasn't officially come out yet, when it does I'm not going to shell out for it unless there's some great feature that makes it so much better than Multitasker.
LINKS
Multitasker
Saguaro
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