Wolfgang Rolke WR-Tools ResInfo 1.33
One of the first things that most Handheld PC owners discover rather quickly,
is the importance of good power and memory management when operating their Handheld
computers. The second thing they discover is what a poor job the built-in software
on their Handheld does in keeping them informed about power and memory management.
Waiting for the Low battery warning to show up on your task bar or the Insufficient
Memory Error box to pop up on your screen, is a poor way to manage your H/PC.
There is also no quick and easy way to find out how much storage memory remains
on your Compact Flash card or Secure Digital card! Fortunately, several 3rd
party software developers have recognized this weakness and have responded by
creating some excellent power/storage management software. one of the best freeware
utilities in this category has to be WR-Tools ResInfo by Wolfgang Rolke.
What Can ResInfo do for you?
ResInfo places two icons in your Taskbar, one showing Battery charge (percentage)
and the other showing storage and program memory. Taping on either of these
icons will automatically popup the ResInfo software, which consists of 7 information
folders. Here is a breakdown of the information available in each folder, some
of which I found more useful than others.
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| Figure 1: WR-Tools ResInfo Taskbar Icons
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Memory Folder
The memory folder gives you both visual and written information on the amount
of Storage and Program memory available on your Handheld PC. Memory consumption
and memory availability are shown as exact figures (13mb used - 6792kb free)
or as a percentage (66%) of the total allotted memory. For those who prefer
a visual representation, horizontal bars with boxes showing memory consumption
are also incorporated into the software.
Battery Folder
ResInfo does an excellent job of keep track of the amount of power you have
remaining on your battery. The remaining charge is shown in diminishing 10%
increments ranging from 100 (full charge) to 10 (big trouble) and visually illustrated
with the use of a horizontal bar. One of the functions that I find most useful
is how ResInfo keeps track of the amount of time my battery is in use, whether
my H/PC is in operation mode or in suspend mode. By studying the behavior of
my battery consumption, I usually have a pretty good idea of when I need to
recharge my battery, whether I've been using my H/PC frequently or infrequently.
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| Figure 2: Memory & Battery settings |
Storage Folder
This is where information about Compact Flash memory, Internal Flash memory
(if available) or other secondary storage memory is displayed. Visually and
functionally this folder has the same look and feel as the Battery and Memory
folders.
Tasks Folder
Shows you a history of the 10 most recently used tasks or processes (executable
files). I'm not certain why knowing this would be particularly useful, but it's
here if you need this type of information.
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| Figure 3: Storage & Tasks Settings |
Settings Folder
As the name suggests, this is the folder where options can be toggled on or
off. This includes such things as hiding the main window after the software
starts, settings alternative tray icon colors, whether to automatically reset
runtime, refresh storage times or refresh the task list
System Folder and the About Folder
Gives you some basic information about your Handheld PC (CE version, ram memory,
processor type, etc.) and about Resinfo itself (version number, developers website
etc.).
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| Figure 4: Main Settings & About box |
Final Observations
Generally speaking, WR Tools ResInfo is fairly easy to use and understand,
but if you need clarification on how to use certain functions then Wolfgang
Rolke has provided a pretty good set of built-in help menus to assist you.
It's difficult to say how good the customer service because I haven't had any
problem using this software, so I've had no need to contact the developer. What
I can say is that Mr Rolke's website is only in German, which may or may not
indicate that communicating with the developer in English maybe a problem. In
any event the developer seems to be constantly updating and improving this software,
which is a very positive sign in the lackadaisical world of Handheld PC software
development.
This is high quality freeware at it's very best and something everyone should
consider having on your Handheld PC's.
The latest version of WR Tools ResInfo is available for download from www.handango.com
or www.wolfgang-rolke.de
System Requirements:
Windows CE 2.0 and above
SH3, SH4, StrongARM, Arm720, MIPS, x86
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WR Tools ResInfo can be found at the following URL.
http://www.wolfgang-rolke.de/
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John Ottini
Handheld PC Reviews
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