🚀 go-pugleaf

In a previous thread, I reported that the ringer in my Visorphone has
stopped working:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=27e4d2e8.0307301245.7aca0305%40posting.google.com

It's only a moderate problem having a phone where the ringer doesn't
work, and maybe I can live with it until my T-mobile contract expires
in nine months.  Or, perhaps there's a software-based solution.

When the phone rings on my Visor Deluxe+Visorphone, there is no sound
but the Phone program comes into the foreground and displays a message
titled "Phone Call" with the name and number of the caller (CallerID).
 After the call is missed, it brings up a different message titled
"Missed Call".  If I could detect one or both of these conditions in
software and cause an alarm to be rung, then I'd know that a call is
ringing (preferably) or that I've missed a call (also OK).  One idea
is for the software to somehow introduce a specially labelled alarm
into the datebook, and thereby indirectly cause the datebook alarm to
ring.

I've looked through the hacks on Handango, and don't see any
appropropriate hacks.  It seems that this would be a hack, rather than
an application, but I'm not sure.

Of course, it will cost me lots more than $100 (the Visorphone
replacement cost) of my time to develop such a hack/application
myself, but I see it as a good opportunity to get my feet wet with
some Palm programming.  I know where to find the Palm emulator and a
suitable SDK and some general Palm programming information, but I
don't have a clue as to where I can find:
1. how to write a (Hackmaster/X-master) Hack in general
2. how to detect that an application (in this case the Visorphone
"phone" application) has moved into the foreground
3. how to programatically read a message title (perhaps impossible)
4. how to ring an alarm
5. how to insert something into the datebook programatically
6. (extra credit :-) how to detect the setting of the loud/quiet
switch on the Visorphone

Thanks in advance for any advice, as specific as possible.  Please
keep in mind that my Visor Deluxe runs PalmOS 3.1.

Of course, if I come up with a solution I will make it freely
available.

Jonathan