Pleco Desktop

[MALAILI]

This getting out of hand and far too time consuming.

I am not suggesting a survey by any stretch of the imagination. A survey of existing customers is almost a mute point. You need to bite the bullet and engage a market research company and let them do what it is they do.

Sheer numbers alone dictate the results, but it's only my opinion.

[mikelove]

We've reached out to a few market research firms, but nobody can do something in this obscure a market for what we can afford to pay - we're not exactly Apple or Microsoft here.

[MALAILI]

Not to worry, after you launch the "Desk-Top" you will be!

[numble]

If you're mostly concerned about flashcards, I really recommend you give Anki a try again. It improves a lot every couple of months, and with the PinYin Toolkit plug-in, it’s a simple process of exporting Pleco word-lists and importing it into your flash cards. There's plenty of things like graphs, a plug-in to track your progress with HSK word levels and top 3500 most-used characters, etc. that I doubt will be coming to Pleco anytime soon. Plus, you can use it on nearly every single platform. I've used it on a Windows PC, Mac, Internet browser, and iPhone, and everything syncs seamlessly.

[MALAILI]

Thank you for your interest, but I am almost computer illiterate. I have no idea how to import/export anything.

I don't even know how to back up my Pleco files. Mike had to do it for me when he visited Beijing a couple of years ago. Anki is for me very complicated and extremely time consuming entering words. Using Pleco, I can test the definition, the character, and the pinyin just by entering a character. That's why I am so adamant on having a desktop version.

Additionally, having shown Pleco to almost everyone I come in contact with who is studying Chinese, and to the best of my knowledge not one of which has purchased it. (I truly believe if it were on a desktop, most of them would purchase a copy.

Again thank you for your support.

[numble]

Frankly, I think spending a little bit of time to learn the ins and outs of Anki will be more efficient than waiting the months (or years) it will take for Pleco to come to the desktop. It used to be very time-consuming for me, until the Pinyin Toolkit plug-in (http://batterseapower.github.com/pinyin ... getit.html), and now everything is streamlined. Perhaps you might want to consider the iPhone version of Pleco, which allows you to e-mail your wordlist with just 2 screen taps.

Additionally, having shown Anki to almost everyone I come in contact with who is studying Chinese, and to the best of my knowledge every one of which has downloaded and used it.

[MALAILI]

Again thank you.

Buying an I phone is not an option at this time. They are about $800.00 plus a two year contract involving $xx.00 per month.

I don't understand what e-mailing my word list(s) would do. I can't figure out how that will help me with my flashcards.

Do you know what the advantages of using an i-Phone is over using a PDA?

Is this the correct for us to be discussing this?

[numble]

My only point is that when you e-mail your wordlist, you are exporting the wordlist, and then Anki can import it just fine--you can use the same definitions, or you can have the Pinyin Toolkit plug-in just add in everything automatically with one extra step.

Frankly, I think Pleco is stuck in a bind--either add more features or add more platforms--they'll have to work on Windows, Mac and iPad versions in the near future, in addition to continually updating Palm, iPhone and Windows Mobile. And then there are the demands for Android, online version, and other flavor of the month platforms.

I thought flashcards would be a neat feature until I delved into Anki and realized that it is unlikely that Pleco will ever have as full-featured of a flashcard program as Anki, which focuses all of its development to improving its flashcard system (compared to Pleco, which must split between supporting multiple platforms, writing programs for new platforms, fixing its file reader/editor, live browser, dictionaries, managing dictionary licensing, etc. ALONG with flashcard development)--maybe it'll have some neat stuff like handwriting recognition, but that's less useful in a desktop version anyway.

Therefore, I'd rather see time spent on improving things like the reader/editor/live view, which have no equivalents out there for the platforms I want (except expensive Wenlin and CC-CEDICT implementations, both that still aren't that good), as opposed to flashcards, which already have free fully featured and multi-platform programs like Anki out there in the wild.

[Zeldor]

Huh, I tried to use Anki, but that pinyin toolkit is not working for me at all, throwing weird errors.

[MALAILI]

Thanks for the input.

In the past, I tried the plug-in(s) for ANKI and it didn't work, but it could just as easily be that I didn't know how to install/use it. I am not much of a computer person.

Additionally, if I were to buy an i-Phone, I am afraid that I will not be able to transfer all of my files (over 300) to the i-Phone successfully. When I first bought Pleco a few years ago, it took me a couple of months and countless tries to download it to my Dell PDA.

[radioman]

@Malaili, I can tell you that the iPhone, especially the 3G and above is a great device. I will not go into any of the arguments with regard to who's got the best screen or best processor, etc.. The killer app is the App Store - so there are thousands and thousands of applications being written, and Apple's support by and large is very good. There is some VERY cool programs out there that you can utilize in your studies, and Pleco is at the front of the line.

You highlight the issue in China well with regard to Unicom. Last I checked, their offering was the most expensive, least feature rich (i.e., no Wifi ). I know they were talking about getting WiFi in the hardware, on later versions, but not sure that has happened yet. I'm so annoyed with Unicom that I even have a China Unicom 3G SIM card right now, all paid for and everything, and I STILL use China mobile and their WAP/Edge data connection with my iPhone. Its a bit slower, but much more reliable, much much cheaper, and China Mobile is easier to deal with in general.

It is very possible to buy a used foreign 3G iPhone in good shape for less than 3000RMB. My guess is that the warranty would be little if at all and could only be taken advantage of in a country that sells the particular version of iPhone you happen to own (after 1 year, there is no warranty unless someone bought an extended one). I know a bit about computers and can hack my way around a jailbroken phone but it just isn't simple. If you are not real (I mean REAL) computer savvy, I am comfortable stating it will NOT be worth you getting a used iPhone.

You could also consider a iPod Touch. Personally, I think this is a great way to go. I have one now along with my iPhone for a while and its a great device. I understand the drive to consolidate their mobile world onto one device (heck, I am one of em), but having two devices is by no means the end of the world. In fact it could be argued that there is some advantage to it with regard to overall battery life.
Advantange - you can find them at relatively reasonable prices; dedicated battery so you do not drain your phone's battery; and in fact, there are many programs that work very well to make wifi calls to landline phones in other countries (I use Skype ALL the time to call all over the world). As long as you have wifi, you can basically do it all. (You would need to get a headset with a Microphone).
Disadvantage - when you are in a taxi, you will not be able to use the data connection for the iPod touch (but you could always still use Pleco ).

Anyway, in summary, I personally think the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch (and I also believe iPad) are a great platforms. And if you can get past carrying two devices, then you have a number of options now that would allow you to utlize Pleco on the Apple platform.

Again thank you.
Buying an I phone is not an option at this time. They are about $800.00 plus a two year contract involving $xx.00 per month.
I don't understand what e-mailing my word list(s) would do. I can't figure out how that will help me with my flashcards.
Do you know what the advantages of using an i-Phone is over using a PDA?
Is this the correct for us to be discussing this?

[MALAILI]

Thank you, but I already have Pleco on my Dell PDA and it is working fine. I am not interested in another handheld. I need Pleco on my desktop.

I am not sure I understand your comment about having to carry two devices. Why would I have to carry two if I purchased an i-Phone?

[radioman]

Ha! Oh let me clarify.

In the past, I was carrying an iPod Touch and a regular phone around (two devices) for a while. My own view was that I would rather carry the iPod Touch and a regular phone (or Blackberry) than my old Palm TX and Blackberry. So I was only replying to your comment with regard to iPhone vs. other PDAs. (for which I have a bias toward Apple). The desktop thing I was not addressing.

Thank you, but I already have Pleco on my Dell PDA and it is working fine. I am not interested in another handheld. I need Pleco on my desktop.

I am not sure I understand your comment about having to carry two devices. Why would I have to carry two if I purchased an i-Phone?

[mfcb]

hmmm. i use QQ and fetion on my phone, at the same time lookup unknown words in pleco, if i want i can listen to music at the same time. i type my messages on a keyboard, no need to type around on virtual keyboards (even mine can vibrate on touch) but i still find it much much more convenient to have a key i can press. ok, i cant look photos at any time, but just today i found out, if its only pleco thats running, then sometimes the album also will work. yes, memory/resource management is a little bit sh*t on windows mobile, but i love my touch pro, and i will never betray it with an apple or any other 2-device-combination...

and, (for not being off-topic) i dont want a desktop version to learn with it, flashcards would be completely useless for me on the PC, i want it to use it for things where the screen real estate is missing on a phone (or pda)... sorting, organizing flashcards, creating flashcards, dictionaries... making backups, a.s.o.

[radioman]

Yeah, I maybe could argue against you with some of the cool things that I do with my iPhone, but I think it holds true that if you have enough screen real estate on the phone to do what you need to do, and the core programs you want, then you are ahead of the game no matter what phone you use.

100% agree on the quote below. Minor organization on the phone (e.g., add a card, or correct a card, is necessary, but house keeping, large scale organization, deck creation I believe belong on the desktop... (preferably with a 24 inch screen!)

and, (for not being off-topic) i dont want a desktop version to learn with it, flashcards would be completely useless for me on the PC, i want it to use it for things where the screen real estate is missing on a phone (or pda)... sorting, organizing flashcards, creating flashcards, dictionaries... making backups, a.s.o.