Palm Computing for Dummies (Book)
A comprehensive guide to using Palm handheld devices.
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Artifact Details
IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.
Bill Dyszel
United States
English
1999
$24.99 US, $37.99 CN, 23.99 UK
Perfect bounds, black and white book with color covers (with enclosed CD).
Table of Contents:
- Getting to Know Your Palm Organizer
- Getting Down to Business
- Palm Organizers and the Outside World
- Extending the Life of Your Palm Organizer
- The Part of Tens
- Index
7.375" x 9.25" (383 pages)
0-7645-0581-5
ba98c2d802642305
2019
Purchased on eBay
2020-07-04
Organizations
People
History
Palm Computing for Dummies is a 1999 instructional guide written by Bill Dyszel and published by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. as part of the For Dummies series.1 The front cover bills the book as "A Reference for the Rest of Us!" and promises to help readers "maximize the power and versatility" of their Palm Connected Organizer.1 Dyszel is credited on the cover as the author of PalmPilot For Dummies.1
The book covers the Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm V, and Palm VII handhelds.2 Presented as a "handy guide to the world of Palm Computing," it walks readers through mastering the built-in organizer functions, exchanging data with a PC or Mac, sending e-mail and browsing the Web wirelessly, enhancing the device with specialized software, and upgrading an existing Palm.2
The back cover describes Dyszel as a computer trainer who specializes in Palm Computing devices and the author of PalmPilot For Dummies and Microsoft Outlook 2000 For Dummies.2 The book shipped with a bonus CD-ROM carrying trial versions of TimeReporter, BrainCells, and Satellite Forms 3.0, along with shareware versions of AportisDoc Mobile Edition 2.1 and Actioneer for the Palm Computing Platform 2.0.2
It carried a cover price of $24.99 in the United States, $37.99 in Canada, and £23.99 in the United Kingdom, and was assigned ISBN 0-7645-0561-1.2
AI generated using primary sources referenced in the footnotes
Footnotes
- IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., Palm Computing for Dummies (Book) (front cover image scan), 1999
- IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., Palm Computing for Dummies (Book) (back cover image scan), 1999
Oral History
In the early 1990s, while a software engineer at Novell, I co-authored four computer trade books — three on networking (Novell NetWare and local area networking) and one on desktop publishing (FrameMaker). At the time, it was necessary to have an agent to pitch and sell book ideas to potential publishers. Through my first co-author, Elna Tymes — a prolific trade author and the person who taught me how the publishing industry works — I secured representation with Waterside Productions, based in Southern California.
Founded by Bill Gladstone, Waterside was a powerhouse agency, representing figures such as Peter Norton (of Norton Utilities fame) and Dan Gookin (DOS for Dummies).
Each year, Bill used to host his most successful authors at his beautiful, multi-level cliffside home in Del Mar, California, on the gold coast north of La Jolla. On my first evening at Bill's home, I ran into Dan Gookin, and he told me about his experiences getting DOS for Dummies published with IDG Books in 1991.
At the time, Microsoft Windows was still a comparatively new product, and many people continued to use the rather arcane (for regular folks) command-line-based Microsoft DOS to launch programs on their IBM PC-compatible computers. People were frustrated, and Dan cleverly and adeptly wrote a book to help millions.
Dan told me that his chosen name for the book, DOS for Dummies, was a difficult sell. Publishers, especially of technical trade books, were reticent to insult their potential audience — considering that almost all book sales went through bookstores, where people often picked up a book based on the cover and title.
Dan mentioned that he was adamant about the title, to which IDG Books finally agreed. Then IDG took it to the next level, making the cover bright yellow and featuring a cartoon on the front. The rest, as they say, is history. The Dummies series is, by any measure, the most commercially successful computer book series ever published.
Dan went on to write several other books in the series. He was an early inspiration to me and to many others around him. Meanwhile, the Dummies series continues to educate and entertain millions in a wide range of fields.
John Jerney
Editor, Pen-Based Computing: The Journal of Stylus Systems
Curator, Pen-Based Computing History Museum
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