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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Read your water meter, find a handheld cheaper and sweeter, and get HDTV sans satellite receiver
By David Gewirtz
This week, reader letters take us all over, from HDTV on the roof, to the water meter on the side of your home, to anywhere a cheap PDA can go. This one's interesting, so read it and learn.
Using handhelds to read water meters
One of our readers, working for Versaille, Missouri, asks:
Do you know if we can use a Palm Pilot to read our water meters? If so where do we started? What kind? Where to buy?
We did find a number of interesting applications that will help with water-related or meter-related issues. One of the more interesting applications is from EESIFLO. They offer Palm OS and Pocket PC flow calculator software at http://www.eesiflo.com/flow_calculator.html, as shown in Figure A.
FIGURE A
 
A flow calculator might be a good start. Roll over picture for a larger image.
Given that the EESIFLO has all sorts of flow metering products, both hardware and software, we definitely recommend you give them a look-see.
If you're doing other types of water work, you might want to check out HydroCalc, shown in Figure B, which calculates irrigation flow for lawn sprinkler systems. It's at http://www.arkansoft.com/HydroCalc.html.
FIGURE B
If you're watering your lawn, HydroCalc could be your best friend.
Then there's McMeter, shown in Figure C. McMeter keeps track of your monthly electric, gas and water meter readings. Enter your monthly meter readings, how much you pay per unit, and McMeter will calculate how much electric, gas, and water you used, and how much your bill should be each month.
FIGURE C
Keep track of your meter readings.
You might think this is an homage to a Macintosh product, but it's really a McIntosh product. The programmer's name is David McIntosh, and his site is McIntosh USA. Now, I have to warn you. This is a really, really ugly Web site. David's got some great programs he's written, but he's clearly not a designer. If you want to find out more about McMeter (and enjoy one of the most shockingly bad Web pages with some of the coolest software), visit http://www.mcintoshusa.com/Palm%20Software.htm.
But, mysterious reader from Versaille, MO, we think your best shot is to get ahold of the USGS (United States Geological Survey). The USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center is working on a mobile tracking and metering application. To learn more about this application, visit http://wi.water.usgs.gov/projects/dba/9kn15.htm.
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