Forget the Palm - Give Me The Finger

Handheld computers are cute. Someday I'm sure I'll find one that will wean me away from my treasured pen and pad for fast notetaking, and at least partially from my laptop computer. But I don't think a Palm or even a Linux PDA like a Yopy or Agenda will do it. I'm waiting until someone gives me The Finger.

I've played with a number of the current handheld toys. None of them do me much good. I can't use them to do online research in any meaningful way; their tiny screens just don't cut it, especially with my aging, bifocaled eyes. I keep my important contact information in an alphabetized text file that I print out periodically and shove in my pocket on a couple of stapled-together pieces of paper that can be folded, bent, spindled, and even mutilated without doing them any great harm.

You can always print out a new (updated) homemade paper contact list or calendar in a couple of seconds -- at virtually no cost -- if you spill coffee on it, but if you get caffeinated liquid into a handheld computer or forget that it's in your rear pants pocket and "bend" it when you sit down, you are screwed.

I am reasonably satisfied with pen and paper for notetaking. I have been using them happily for over 40 years. I type rapidly enough that moving the words I am going to actually use in an article from my notepad to my computer is not a big deal, and I prefer to type on a decent-sized keyboard with "deep action" keys, due to my upbringing back in manual typewriter days, and doubt that I could ever adjust to the thin fold-up keyboards some of the more ardent handheld fanatics use. (I spent a long time finding a laptop that was not only 100% Linux-compatible, but also had a keyboard with a "feel" I liked well enough to type on it for hours on end, and I think it will be many years before anyone makes a foldup keyboard that will give me pain-free typing.)

I currently carry three main pieces of electronic gear with me when I travel: a notebook computer (with wireless modem, telephone modem, and NIC); a cellular telephone with a "national" activation plan (long distance included); and a full-featured Olympus microcassette recorder.

I often use the recorder as a handy note-taking device, not only for interviews but to dictate notes to myself while I'm driving or engaged in other hand-occupying activities. My new recorder is reliable enough (and I am careful enough about making sure that my batteries are fresh and that I don't run past the end of a tape) that I no longer take backup notes when I am using it as an interview recording tool. (The latest pro-grade microcassette recorders are so much better than the ones available only a few years ago that I am amazed not only by their reliability but also by their ability to record conversations intelligibly in noisy rooms.)

The one thing I would dearly love, that isn't quite "there" yet, is true voice-to-text automatic transcription. Olympus has a digital recorder that purports to do this if you use the Windows version of IBM's ViaVoice, but when I tried one the results were (shall we say kindly) somewhat disappointing -- and the thing only had a 30 minute recording capacity.

So what features in a handheld computer would really make me want one?

First, it should replace my cellular phone. That way, instead of being an additional piece of gear to carry, it would merely replace an existing item.

Second, it should have audio recording capability, and I don't mean a toylike 30 minutes, but two hours or more. If this means a snap-in audio tape or memory module of some sort, so be it. Voice-to-text dictation would be even better. This would be the handheld "killer app" for me -- and for many others, I'm sure.

Third, it should have a way I can see the equivalent of a laptop-sized screen, which probably means some sort of LCD "eyepiece" device similar to a modern camcorder viewfinder, but with higher resolution.

Fourth, easy hookup to the rest of the world. A wireless Internet connection would be best. Even if it only ran at current dialup modem speeds it would be 95% of what I would ever need, and 100% of what I need when I'm away from my office.

Fifth, the thing should be tiny. With no onboard viewscreen or keyboard, I want the main unit to be no larger than a large man's finger.

The funny thing is, I don't think it's going to take long for a device this small, with the level of technical sophistication I've outlined above, to be available in the sub-$500 price range. With some of the "stripped" Linuxes out there, and Open Source developers starting to think more about handhelds and other tiny computing devices combined with the continuing shrinkage of electronic circuitry in general, I expect to see something close to what I want in no more than two or three years.

So I'm in no hurry to get a PDA. I really don't need a current-generation Palm, not even the Claudia Schiffer model with all of its (hopefully unintentional) masturbatory overtones. I'd rather wait until one of the computing device manufacturers decides to give me The Finger, thank you.

Comments

Re:Techno-weenies won't be happy until...

[KFury]

And you thought handwriting recognition was bad. Just wait until your 'thoughtputer' starts misreading your thought patterns, or worse yet, picks up on the thoughts you don't want anyone, even your PDA, to know about.

How long would it be before someone wrote a 'keystroke recorder' for the neural interface, and emailed transcripts of your every thought to someone else. Bye-bye last vestage of privacy...

Kevin Fox
--

Techno-weenies won't be happy until...

[hardaker]

... we have a wireless direct neural intererface with a heads up display and thought recognition.

The interesting thing is that most complaints about devices or opperating systems are about the interface and the way in which you interact with it, not about its actual functionality.

Imagine a world where everyone has an antenna implanted directly into your head for wireless net access.

great line :-)

[bmabray]

I often use the recorder as a handy note-taking device, not only for interviews but to dictate notes to myself while I'm driving or engaged in other hand-occupying activities.

And the title of the article is "Forget the Palm - Give Me The Finger."

I'd make a joke, but nothing I could say could compete with that...

(BTW, the lameness filter just told me I had to wait 2 minutes before submitting another comment -- even though I haven't submitted any comments yet. There couldn't possibly be a bug in Slash, could there?)
human://billy.j.mabray/

warning: bad jokes ahead

[The_Messenger]

The Finger is truly a wonderous advancement in digital communication. :-)

--

wearable computing or gameboy maginifiers

[firewort]

Robin, I'm with you on wanting a small device-

But you've asked for a lot of features in one device- I prefer devices that do one thing well versus devices that do many things, but are master of none.

I think I'd much prefer such a device to display on the inside of a pair of eyeglasses, or a wearable head teleprompter, to the camera eyepiece you've mentioned.

If it has to be something non-wearable, let it be a clip on magnifier like those used on gameboys- I cant stand looking through a viewfinder for great lengths of time. It's great on my 35mm SLR, it's fine on my nikon 990, where I also use the LCD. It's lousy to look through the viewfinder on my Canon zr10 for great lengths at a time.

I recognize that you're talking about only having to look at the thing from time to time, but goshsakes, don't make it a viewfinder if you expect to look at it when you record while driving!

Wrecked limosines are no fun.

A host is a host from coast to coast, but no one uses a host that's close

Size

[Alien54]

Fifth, the thing should be tiny. With no onboard viewscreen or keyboard, I want the main unit to be no larger than a large man's finger.

Irony of ironies.

that would make it about the size of a common pen or pencil.

Just don't try to sharpen it.

;-)

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