A little over a year ago HPC:Factor quietly unveiled the missing piece of the Handheld PC community jigsaw puzzle. The Software Compatibility List is designed to provide a listing of software that is (or was) designed to run on Windows CE 1.0 right up to Windows CE 6.0 R3. In itself there is nothing new here; there have been plenty of websites, including some of our partner sites who have offered similar listings over the years.

The SCL is different compared to what has come before because it is backed by a full database system in a similar fashion to that of the HCL or H/PC:Update. This allows us to present applications compatibility against the Operating System (Windows CE 2.11), processor (StrongArm) and with time and your help, actual devices (Jornada 720).

Thanks largely to Rich Hawley, the SCL has surpassed the 500 applications mark and is still growing into what we hope will become the definitive software listing and downloads resource for Windows CE on the internet; one that unlike alternatives will not be polluted with Pocket PC software (unless it can be genuinely made to work on a Handheld PC).

The SCL is also integrated into HPC:Factor’s download centre, meaning that you can download most applications directly from the site, including a large number of lost gems and an increasing number of exemptionware programs – former commercial software that has been re-licensed into a free, but rights protected, support exempt set of terms and conditions.

At the 500 mark, it is clear that the SCL needs your help if it is to live up to its potential to be the most engaging resource that it can be for the wider H/PC community.

You can help new users right now by rating and commenting on applications - a simple 5 star rating system is available for this. We also need your help in gathering first-hand knowledge of exactly what devices and operating systems any given application does and does not work on. Forms are available on the compatibility tab of any SCL entry to help with this.

Finally, we need you to check the contents of your H/PC archives, CD’s and internet bookmarks to help us identify software that we are currently missing. If you find something please let us know via the forums or email otherwise there is a very real chance that the knowledge of that program will be lost forever.

If you have not seen the SCL yet, please head to the downloads section and click on the software banner to access its pages.

View: Software Compatibility List (SCL)