Microsoft Transcriber is the Microsoft-owned version of Calligrapher, so it comes highly recommended. It's one of the many things that Microsoft did right in creating the new operating system. Tighter integration of this program is a major development. It aids in the area of input, thus making you more productive.

Now, if you already own Calligrapher, select No. If you don't own Calligrapher and feel you need a better means of entering text, consider purchasing it. Since Calligrapher is still available and supported on the Palm-sized PC, everybody should put a No here. However, if you try Microsoft Transcriber and really find it works better for you, you can go ahead and put down a Yes.

Microsoft Reader with ClearType
I love Microsoft Reader. It's Microsoft's entry into the ebook arena. Microsoft Reader allows you to read ebooks in Microsoft's proprietary ebook format. It allows you to highlight text and add notes, and it even includes a dictionary for those stubborn multisyllabic monstrosities. It also incorporates Audible software so you can listen to commercial books and programs available from their Web site at http://www.audible.com.

This program will be a major plus in the near future… but we're not there yet. If you want to read public domain books, there are a number available in Microsoft Reader format. These are books you can get for free from many sites on the Web, and you can read them using either a commercial or free reader program. For example, the free ebook reader, MobiBook, allows you to read ebooks in all the common formats, making thousands of public domain texts available to you.

However, if you want to read commercial novels and non-fiction, there's no need to wait for Barnes and Noble to begin supporting the Microsoft Reader format. You can visit Peanut Press (see http://www.peanutpress.com) and purchase a fairly wide variety of novels and non-fiction works for your Palm-sized PC. Their reader is free, but the ebooks have prices similar to their printed counterparts.

Since Barnes and Noble hasn't begun supporting Microsoft Reader, the application's usability is mainly just a promise right now, so select No on this one. Select Yes if you have an extensive collection of files from Audible.com and plan on reading a lot of books from the public domain on your device. Microsoft Reader will greatly enhance the experience.

Improved memory management
You almost have no choice but to select Yes for this one. Though there are a number of third-party add-ons that allow you to selectively close running applications or close them all at once, I haven't found one that really feels integrated into the system. Having an operating system that does a better (if not perfect) job of memory management will aid in speeding up the system, reducing crashes, and making the system easier to use.

Wireless Internet
There's a lot of talk about wireless Internet coming from the Pocket PC manufacturers. However, that's all it is right now--talk--as none of the vendors has released a finished product yet. With Pocket Internet Explorer, wireless Internet will be really cool, but it's not here yet. If, after reading this article, you run out and buy a Pocket PC, you still won't have an access method any more elegant than the ones that exist for our current Palm-sized PCs. This is a major wait-and-see.