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Coola

© Janice Karin

From the moment I first heard of Coola I thought it was a very cool idea. A service that lets you see information on the web and say "add that to my Palm" is certainly useful, especially one that promises seamless integration -- the information just magically shows up in your Palm the next time you sync.

Basically, web page authors create Coolets, "Add me to your Palm" links that contain Palm-ready versions of pieces of information on their sites. Several types of Palm integration are available -- you can make Coolets that add information to the AddressBook database, the DateBook database, or the MemoPad database. You can now also create Doc files that will be added at the next sync.

But therein also lies the first problem. The web page author decides what information is added and how it will be added to your Palm. Information I might normally keep as a memo might be added in the Notes section of a Datebook event. Reference material I want in Doc format may only be available as a memo. I either accept their choices or I am back to manually entering information with one exception - if I want something in Doc format, I could always create my own Doc Coolet. Of course, this entails going to Coola.com and creating the Coolet myself, then chosing to sync it to my Palm. At that point, it is actually faster to use pilot.screwdriver.net (a free Doc conversion site I reviewed last year) if you are at a machine you can sync with.

There is still an advantage to using Coola if you are not planning on syncing at your current location. If you create a Doc Coolet, instead of the local prc file pilot.screwdriver.net generates, you will have a Doc file installed for you the next time you sync on any Windows machine with Coola installed. It isn't instant gratification, but it is a solution if you are on a library computer or your Aunt Ada's iMac.

From the user's standpoint, download the software and register for free with Coola. Then whenever you see a Coolet you want, just click on it. Enter your email address in the popup window, and the next time you sync the requested information will be added to your Palm. Under the covers, here's what really happens:

1) When you click on the Coolet a request is sent to a database maintained by Coola

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