Windows Phone Thoughts: Mac Users, Free Yourself from Palm with PocketMac Pro 3.0

Installing New Software
As a Pocket PC Thoughts reader, you probably love finding and installing cool, new programs on your Pocket PC. I cringe when I look at how much I spend on software! Most developers, however, now force users to install PocketPC programs using a Desktop software installer. The problem with these installers is that you can’t run them on Macs! PocketMac provides alternatives to installing programs, using a CAB file or attempting to install an EXE file. In addition, Information Appliance Associates provides a free developers kit that developers can use to create an installation program for their software. WebIS provides a PocketMac installer for their popular package, Pocket Informant. I’d like to see other developers follow in WebIS’s footsteps.

So how do you install programs from a Mac to a PocketPC? Most of the time, you need the CAB file, which is a package of the program that decompresses on a Pocket PC. Most developers will be glad to send you the CAB files for a program if you need them, so ask away! A CAB file is easy to install on a Pocket PC. Just click on the Pocket PC in the menu bar, and click install new software via CAB file. The file is transferred to and installed on your handheld.


Figure 13: PocketMac’s *.EXE Extractor helps uninstall CAB files.

PocketMac comes with a program called PMCabTool which attempts to retrieve the CAB files from a Windows *.exe file. To tell you the truth, I have never been able to decompress an EXE file using this program. However, IAA states clearly on their web site that this program won’t work most of the time.

One thing that would be nice is the ability to set the installation location of a CAB file. In order to install an application to a memory card, you have to copy the CAB file over to the Pocket PC and then use a program like CabInstl to install the program.

Conclusion
When I originally switched to a Mac, I thought I’d feel abandoned in this Windows dominated world. That can’t be further from the truth! Programs like PocketMac help bridge the two platforms together and unite the users. Okay, if it doesn’t do that, it sure is one heck of a good Pocket PC synchronizer! There are some bugs to work out, but Information Appliance Associates looks like they’ll stand behind their product. I believe this program is well worth the $41.77. If you want to switch to a Mac but don’t want to leave your Pocket PC behind, then this is the solution for you!

If you're interested in another viewpoint on PocketMac, Marlof Bregonje has also written a review of the product. It can be found here.