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| Use your PDA to master the metric system |
| By Jason Parker: Contributing Editor, Downloads |
| Wednesday, September 10, 2003 |
When I was in grade school, the teachers made us learn the metric system. After all, it's the mostly widely used measurement system in the world, and the fact that it's based on multiples of 10 makes it easier to work with than the unwieldy British system.
Given that the U.S. has yet to go metric, there are times when you need to convert back and forth between the two systems--like when you're on vacation in a foreign country or working with international businesses. I've found a handy way to do this with PDA software There are a bunch of programs out there that make quick work of converting between metric and English units. Here are three of my favorites. Converter lets you convert measurements and weights by using two side-by-side scrolling windows. Just pick the unit you're converting from in the left-hand window and the unit you're converting to on the right. This is the tool I used to calculate distances while on vacation in Europe. (Free/Palm OS) 1-2-Convert! uses a calculator-type interface to perform its conversions. Just punch in the values, select the conversion units from the drop-down menu, and 1-2-Convert does the rest. (Shareware/Palm OS) Better Measure offers a configurable tabbed interface across the top of the screen for choosing between measurements to convert. (Shareware/Pocket PC) One day, we stubborn Americans may adopt other units of measurement. Until we do, these programs make it easy to understand how the rest of the world works. What do you think of these downloads? Know of any other good apps for converting measurements? TalkBack to me!