Sidekick 99: Starfish PIM Goes on a Crash Diet

In an age when bloated applications tip the disk-space scales at 50MB, 100MB, or more, there's no denying the appeal of Starfish Software's notion of "slimware"--sleek programs that do their work without larding on extraneous features or taking over your hard drive. Judging from the shipping version of Sidekick 99, though, Starfish's enthusiasm for weight-watching may be bordering on the obsessive. This new version of the company's venerable personal information manager is all skin and bones.

How so? Rather than adding new tools, the $50 Sidekick 99 mostly eliminates features from Sidekick 98--resulting in a PIM that loads in a flash and consumes just 6MB of disk space. (The earlier version took up 15MB.)

Some of the items Starfish trimmed were more flash than function, such as a wizard that let you publish your calendar on the Web. But power users will be dismayed to learn that Sidekick can no longer track expenses, dial a phone, log activities, or create reports.

What you do get is a well-designed but minimalist PIM consisting of a calendar, an address book, a world clock, and a memo pad. You still have the Cardfile, too--a wonderfully useful minidatabase where you can store just about any type of information you want. Among the few new additions: updated import filters and better synchronization with Palm Pilot and REX Personal Digital Assistants. Support for Windows CE devices is in the works.

With its low price and its streamlined interface, Sidekick remains a good PIM for folks who want just the basics. But among current Sidekick users, only palmtop aficionados or people uninterested in the many deleted features are likely to find the upgrade worthwhile.

SUMMARY

Sidekick 99 PRO: Small, and easy-to-use, with an attractive price. CON: Many features removed, only a few added. VALUE: Most current users should skip the upgrade. But it's still one of the best basic PIMs. $50; $10 rebate for moving from earlier versions or any competitor Starfish Software 888/782-7347 www.starfish.com