Select "Start setup," and Cradle Robber will walk you through the steps to verify it can see your rechargeable cradle. Once Cradle Robber has verified it can identify when the Palm device is in its cradle, you'll be presented with the main screen, as seen in Figure C.

FIGURE C

The alarm is off when you begin.

By default, the alarm is off and no lock code has been set. The first thing you should do is enter your registration number by tapping on the Register icon. You won't be able to set a lock code until you enter your registration number.

Next, set your lock code. This is a series of digits, like a PIN (Personal Identification Number), that you'll use to unlock your Palm device when you remove it from its HotSync cradle.

I probably don't need to remind you that it's incredibly important that you don't forget this PIN! You won't be able to unlock your Palm device without it. The author says there's no back door recovery method, either. The only way I can think of for recovering a Palm device if you forget the PIN is to allow it to sit for 30 days or more until the battery is completely depleted and it loses all its settings. For obvious reasons, I haven't tested this.

Next, tap on the Options icon to bring up the Options screen pictured in Figure D.

FIGURE D

It's time to configure your options.

Here you can set the daily security start and stop times. These are the times when the Palm device will automatically arm itself if it's placed in the cradle. For instance, if you normally work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (yeah, right!), you could have your start time as 8 a.m. and your stop time at 5 p.m. This is the period of time your Palm device is at the greatest risk of being stolen. If you put your Palm device in a cradle at home at 6 p.m., the alarm won't arm itself, and you won't have to mess with disarming it when you remove your Palm device from the cradle.

I set my start time for 7 a.m., as you can see in Figure E.

FIGURE E

My alarm will activate anytime it's placed in a cradle after 7 a.m.

As shown in Figure F, my stop time is set for 6 p.m.

FIGURE F

After 6 p.m., the alarm won't activate when the device is placed in a cradle.

Finally, back at the main screen, tap on Arm, and the background process will start. You'll hear a short beep when the background process has activated the alarm. This will happen every time you put your Palm device in its cradle, if you're between your security start and stop times. As you see in Figure G, the application will now say your alarm system is armed.

FIGURE G

Your alarm system is armed.

My experiences
This is a pretty simple product to use. Once you set it up, you forget about it until you remove your Palm device from the cradle. The numeric keypad that pops up on the screen has nice sized, easy to use buttons for deactivating the alarm, as seen in Figure H.

FIGURE H

The buttons to enter the code are large and easy to use.

The main Cradle Robber interface is easy to use and is logically arranged. I had no problems loading, configuring, or using the software. I was also able to do most of this with minimal reference to the manual, which is always a plus.