The growing popularity of pocket pc shareware has mirrored the popularity of PDAs and pocket pc's themselves. As more and more people discover the usefulness of using a PDA, more and more software writers are focusing their attention on this part of the market. Pocket pc shareware is available in every conceivable category, from games and game emulators to productivity suites that allow the PDA to become a true mini computer.
Before you download all that great pocket pc shareware, however, there are a few basic safety and housekeeping steps the PDA owner should take to make sure the personal information contained on that PDA is well protected.
The first step is to make sure you are running a strong virus scanning program on your PDA, and that the scanning software is up to date. All the major makers of virus scanning software, names like McAfee, Symantec and Computer Associates, make versions for PDAs.
The next step is to make sure all software patches are applied to your operating system and onboard software products. The PDA manufacturer will generally post any patches or fixes to security flaws on their website. In addition, the operating system manufacturer will periodically release fixes for security issues they have found. Applying these uPDAtes on a regular basis is your best defense against viruses and other malicious code.
Once these basic housekeeping steps are out of the way, it is time to download some fun and useful shareware onto your PDA. Freeware and shareware software downloads are available from many sources, including general software download sites, newsgroups and websites aimed at owners of PDAs. No matter what type of software you are looking for, you will probably be able to find some useful and fun shareware for your PDA.
Another thing you should be aware of id that a shareware is in many cases a commercial software in disguise. What does that mean? Well, there are two possibilities: the first one is : after you have downloaded the shareware and have been using it for a while, it will cease to work (after 30 days or 14 days), and the owners of the shareware will ask you to buy a permanent license for this software. The second scenario is that you will gt only a very basic form of the software as a shareware, and you will need to upgrade to the full version for a fee. Now, I'm not saying there is something wrong with that - we all have to make a living. I'm just saying - be aware of that and make a good decision.
Gamers have long used emulators to make their home pc into their personal video arcade, but until recently pocket pc emulators have been lacking. Fortunately for the gamer in all of us, that is beginning to change. The growing popularity of PDA's, particularly among young people, means that software vendors are paying more attention to the vast market for pocket pc emulators.
The pocket pc emulators on the market today can allow the PDA owner to emulate the Atari system, MAME, Nintendo and Game Boy among others. Game playing is an important and growing use for PDA's, and a good emulator can make the PDA fun as well as useful.
Having your PDA act as a handheld game device greatly increases it's versatility and usefulness. Now not only are PDA's replacements for cell phones, digital cameras, electronic organizers and personal stereos, but they can be wonderful game devices as well.
Let's have a look at some of the emulated software that can be found for pocket pc's. Mind you, these are just examples representing this vast world:
1.Pocketnes - http://pocketnes.retrogames.com. This emulator is pure joy. It's free (donation will be appreciated) and it's downloadable instantly to your PDA - preferably iPAQ. All the platform games like classic Mario Brothers3 work well. You can also save a game level and come back later. 2.Pocket Engine - http://pocketengine.emuviews.com/ - this emulator is great. Nothing looks this good, plays this well, and has as many panels. For instance, you can run great Mahjong game, with beautiful tiles and vivid colors. 3.Mame World http://www.mameworld.net/mamece3/ - Runs more than 2,000 arcade machine ROMs including the NeoGeo games.
There are so many other emulators, and the above are just representing examples that I found to be a good starting point. These emulators will help you bring oldies like packman, space-invaders, Mario bros and other good old games "back from the dead" and resurrected right on your PDA. I think nothing beats the old games in terms of pure fun and in many cases the beauty is in the simplicity and not in high tech complicated games. Since these games require much less computing power than the modern games, they are perfect to run on your PDA.
When shopping for a PDA, especially if it will be used as a gaming emulator, it is important to choose one that has a lot of memory, or at least a large capacity for memory expansion. It is also important to choose a PDA with a good solid processor running at a fast speed. As with desktop pcs, gaming takes up more resources than other applications, and having a fast processor and lots of memory will ensure that your gaming experience is a great one.
Ron Hel-or has sinced written about articles on various topics from PDA Phones, GPS Vehicle Tracking and Data Recovery. Ron Heller is the owner and operator of a website devoted to PDA, , PDA accessories, PDA computers and more.. Ron Hel-or's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.