Most of the press I've found on inter-device communication has been related to Bluetooth, which is a communications standard based on short-range radio frequency transmissions rather that IR. While I hope that Bluetooth works out, I've seen articles that express concern about its costs and functionality. Until problems with Bluetooth get worked out, I'd like to see greater developments in IR utility. Programs like Peacemaker are the kind of developments that make IR communication more practical.

Try it, you'll like it
To try Peacemaker, go to their site at http://www.conduits.com/ce/peacemaker. From there you can download the standard version of Peacemaker for free, which gives you the ability to exchange electronic business cards. You can also try the full version, called Peacemaker Pro, for 30 days. If you simply want more information, Conduits' excellent Web site has loads of information on all of their available software.

I really like Peacemaker, especially for its ease of use. For example, when I want to beam a name to someone, I simply go into Contacts, find the name, and hold the stylus on the name. A menu pops up which includes an option to beam that name. When I select Beam Selected from the pop-up menu, Peacemaker starts and begins looking for the receiving device. You also have the option to beam your electronic business card no matter whose name you start with. The same thing can be accomplished by using the Tools menu. The routine for beaming Calendar entries is about the same as for Contacts. The only one that's greatly different is the procedure for beaming notes or files.

Possible improvements
The only suggestions for improvements are pretty much the same that I'd suggest for any of the cross-OS communications programs. For one, Peacemaker must be running, even if just in the background, to receive beams from someone else, but Peacemaker can't be running if I want to synchronize with my PC. I don't know for sure, but it must be inherent in either the OS or the hardware, since the problem is common with both SyncTalk and Hewlett Packard's JetSend. I've minimized this problem by assigning Peacemaker to a button, making it ready to receive at a moment's notice.

Another suggestion is to show information about the item that's beamed. Even the Palm device identifies the contact name or the appointment time and date, but with Peacemaker, I only get confirmation that something has been sent. I just have to hope that I've been sent the correct name or appointment. You'd think these developers have been given enough fake phone numbers to know the importance of checking them before they get tucked away.

Some users might think that another limitation to Peacemaker is that it doesn't address communications with the EPOC Platform. However, since Psion has even less of the US PDA Market than Microsoft, maybe they should get their own version of Peacemaker that lets them communicate with both Pocket PC and Palm devices.