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Do People Really Use Their PDAs?
TAL asks: "With Dell entering the market with their new PDA, the PDA market appears saturated. I work in a high-tech industry and I see more people carrying their PDAs than actually using them. At the same time, I see many people actually going back to their paper planners. I've ran the PDA gauntlet myself and have found that much time is wasted syncing, charging and reinstalling the software. Have there been any studies on PDA turnover? I think the PDA has become more of a status symbol than a useful tool."
I use my Palm IIIxe constantly, and I don't travel a whole lot at all.
The built-in address book, to-do lists, and calendar are all I use it for, with two entertainment apps loaded on it. One is an app that spits out Homer-isms and Bart-isms from The Simpsons, the other is called Space Trader, very much like the old Elite from the Commodore 64 of yore.
Usually the people in the tech industry don't. They get them for a toy and then don't use them. I didn't use mine much, so I gave it to my wife. She uses it constantly and keeps a lot of info in there. It's much easier than the paper system she had before.
At my office the directors and VPs use theirs like crazy. They'd be lost without them. The guys on my team (network team) don't use them much, since we don't have all the meetings and contacts to track.
1. It's easier to bring a synced PDA of information to do quick errands than it is to enter said info into a laptop. As in, I'm more likely to use a grocery list ina PDA that fits in my hand than bring the iBook.
2. I don't tend to install many applications beyond the included suite. So far, the only things I've installed on my PDA since I got it are: an enhanced calculator, an eBook reader, and a couple of text games. If I need a full office-program or media apps, then I bring the notebook computer.
As for paper/pencil, I tend to lose the pieces of paper easily, whereas I'm more likely to pay attention to a piece of electronics gone missing. Yeah, the PDA also won't handle a bunch of the accessibility functions that the iBook does, but for me, it's easier than lugging a several-pound book or relatively large notebook while on the go.
This
I have a Palm OS based PDA, and I have to say that I am using it more and more often. At first I bought the thing more or less as a geek toy (hence going for the colour screen, even if it meant it was more expensive), but I have found it to be of great use.
Not only the usual basics, agenda, planner, but also checklists of things to do that you can actually archive (and not just dump on top of that pile of paper that is already eating up more than half your desk), but for me, most important was to have a database.
I have been collecting Sci-Fi books since I was about fifteen, and used to keep track of them in DBase, keep a printed version of it with me, whenever I went into a used bookstore, so I knew I didn't get titles double (which is hard to keep track of once you go over a thousand).
Now it's so much easier to have it all in a small carrying form (instead of a bulk of papers you have to scribble the new titles on untill you do a new printout), a quick search to see if I already have the title of an author.
Also, I use it to keep track of the things I order at the comic shop, to see when I ordered something, and if it should have arrived already. And with a few touches to the screen, I change the order list into the list of comics I already own if I need to make sure I should backorder anything.
So yes, it started out as a toy I wasn't using too often, all I did was write some appointments in it, but now I'm using it quite a lot.
(As a side note, I have heard that the use of the PDA depends a lot on how easy it is to access, and that some PDA's are just so slow that you rather find the information some other way. So your question might actually result in different answers for different models and PDA OS-es)
I have not yet seen someone in the technical world (which I work in) use one for any extended period of time. However, the real estate agents, doctors, college students, and other busy folks I sell them to seem to use them a whole lot. Another big difference is whether it is a palmos based model, or not. The WinCE models seem to be much higher on the list of discarded PDA's. Too many toys, not enough real work.
Lately, though, I find that my Palm Vx sits in its cradle most of the time. I still need the planner, but a palm-top is just too big a pain. I'm so keyboard-centered. I can use Graphiti just fine (faster than I can legibly write), but it is still to much of a shift.
For my next laptop I'm seriously considering an ultra-light such as the Fujitsu P2000 series. My previous laptop was a Sony Z505ls, and it was almost small and light enough. Too bad the base battery only lasted a hour and a half. Reguardless, something with the following features would be perfect for me:
Best fit I know of is the P2000 series. I think I could work with that. The Apple iBook is in the running, but all the samples I have examined have seemed cheap and fragile. Perhaps just perception. The keybards do have a lot of flex to them, though. Yuck. Also, sigle button "mouse" is a pain. (yes, I know I can define keys as mouse buttons. so what. when I'm using the pointer I want to use the pointer, not the keyboard, and vise versa)
Anyway, that's my take. I still like the Palm the best of all the PDAs I've tried, and I still go through stages where I use I quite a bit. Perhaps if it were even smaller and lighter, like the new ones.
You think so? I think atleast here in Finland the trend is beginning to reverse - if you carry a communicator - like I do - that is a sign of you being just a workhorse :) If you have the luxury of not needing it - then that's a real status symbol :)
Anyway, I don't think just the PDA functionality would be enough a reason for me to carry it. But when it is at the same time your only phone, and a use anywhere SSH client then there is enough value.
I have several clients who might as well have had their PDAs surgically grafted onto them. The first thing they need installed whenever they get a new machine is Palm Desktop.
I had a PDA for awhile, and there were a lot of neat things you could do with it, but it never really stuck with me. Toward the end of my use of my PDA (an older Palm) all I basically used it for was to play chess in the bathroom. Addresses I keep on my laptop, which is almost always on (or closed and asleep for quick access). It's much easier to take notes on my laptop than my Palm. Syching was always a pain in the rear.
Guess it just depends on the person. Some people just love them. Some people can't stand them. Different strokes for different folks. *shrugs*
I was one of the early adoptors of PDA's. My US Robotics Professional model served me well for many years. I upgraded to a Handspring Visor last year, but after many technical problems, I have since left the PDA world.
Here's why. The PDA market has gone in a direction that is completely wasteful in my world. Color screens? Why would I need to color me phone number list? mp3 support? That is what my iPod is for. While Bluetooth will be nice for sync-ing the information, almost all other 'connectivity' devices are too much.
Prices have gone from 'too high' to 'outrageous'. I just want a durable device that I can keep in my pocket, ease of data entry, well planned UI, and a game or two to pass time.
I don't need video editing. I don't need movie playback. I don't need web browsing. I don't need IM features. I don't need SD or PCI cards. I dont' need high res screens. I don't need 90% of the crap they are trying to sell me (yeah, sure, it would be nice, but for $400 you can get laptops these days off eBay that do more for less.)
With as much as tech has progresses in the last several years, a well built, basic planner with Bluetooth connectivity, decent memory, and relatively easy interface shouldn't cost more than $50-$75 bucks.
I'm honestly thinking of finding an old Palm/US Robotics/3Com Professional because it did everything I wanted (ok, no Bluetooth, but work with me here)
Stop trying to feed me my home entertainment system/computer/media center/gaming console in a cigarette pack size case. We're not there yet and that's not what I'm buying a PDA for. I want the PIM features without the bloat for cheap. That's it.
I do admit, there is a bit of the status symbol element involved--all the other computer science majors have PDAs, I don't want to be the only one without a PDA. However, the usefulness factor far outweighs the status symbol factor.
Eagles may soar, but weasles don't get sucked into jet engines...
I'm a teacher/tech and I originally bought my Palm so that I could have a schedule that I could carry with me (I don't carry a bag, and day planners kept getting lost -- I have actually lost one Palm too -- my keys are now on one of those little tethers attached to my belt, as I slowly lose my mind. I'm not even 30, but senility is kicking in. :)
I've been using mine for about 3 years now, and that was after having kept my calendar almost entirely in my computer for the 5 years prior to that.
What it comes down to is: if you have to schedule meetings on the fly, or if you have to consult your calendar to find out what happens in 10 minutes, the PDA makes a huge difference in your quality of life.
Where I've found that the interest has dropped off is in all the "other" features of the PDA -- basically, I need it to store addresses and calendars (and to play Solitaire). I use it for nothing else. I tried other things (eBooks, etc.) and just found that I didn't use it -- and it made syncing just way too painful.
Several of my friends (also teachers) have found that they just love their PDA's for that reason -- rather than trying to figure out when they can meet with a student/administrator/parent based on a dim recollection of their calendar, they can just haul out the Palm and _look_.
The big bugaboo for me has been syncing -- iSync from Apple has been great, in that all my computers, devices are talking to each other (which is very, very cool). The downside is having to buy into all the other crap -- iCal particularly. I'm on the verge of writing my own ICS interface just so that I don't have to have my time wasted by watching iCal think.
These days I'm carrying around a Sony SJ-30 model, running PalmOS 4.1. Color, 16 megabytes, hi-res screen.
What do I use it for? My calendar and address book, certainly. As a diabetic, I use it to record all my blood sugar readings. I have a very nice multifunction scientific calculator on it which I use all the time for anything for simple math or better. I have several games on it. I have a dozen e-books on it, which I read whenever I've got an idle moment. I have a dozen of my less-used passwords stored on it in a triple-DES encrypted form using Gnu Keyring. I use Plucker to download and carry around web clippings from national newspapers, and the Austin Chronicle's movie listings and reviews. I have several technical references stored as well, along with some utility calculators for special purpose conversions.
I carry my Sony around with me all the time; I would feel rather naked without it.
- jon
Ganymede, a GPL'ed metadirectory for UNIX
well, i just dropped for a Fujitsu table, since it is light enough to carry around, actually has a real screen, and functions as a full computer. the oqo (http://oqo.com/) sounded cool, but is likely vaporware. and, the ibm version is nifty (http://www.research.ibm.com/resources/news/200202 06_metapad.shtml). i did have a newton, and would have loved a more capable machine with a bigger and better screen, though it wasn't all that useful when syncing is such an error prone process. i do not get syncing! i want a machine that is fully functional, portable--light, and useful as a desktop when docked. for now this (http://www.fujitsupc.com/www/products_pentablets. shtml?products/pentablets/st4000a) is what i got.
Second ... I use mine to: track my schedule, track my tasks, track my weight, track my diet, track my exercise, read my Bible (in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and English), listen to mp3's, and keep notes. Oh yeah, I use it as a shopping list too. And it has a calorie database for my diet. And I play video games on it. It goes everywhere I go, remembers everything I can't. It has a company phonebook imported, and I"m more likely to use that one than the web-based one.
Geesh... How could I live without it? It must be confessed, however, that I'm ADD, which makes external organization very important. But still... Join the revolution!
"He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
personnaly i bought a Palm IIIx and after a year sold it and went back to pen and papers... (agendas) Syncing is annoying and the palm lose everything if you don't have fresh batteries.. i cant forget it in a corner for a long time. I did read some eBooks but it's not really worth it. I did have some fun with the software available but after a week you do something else :)
I use my PDA (Jornada 690) for writing and that's about it. With the external keyboard (which has very nice action), it's almost as good as working on a full size machine and I can take it anywhwere. Even if I don't have the external keyboard with me, the built in keyboard is just big enough for pretty quick four-finger typing.
As for the PDA functions, I've got one recurring entry. It screeches when it's time to go to the gym. That's it. I don't keep contact info there (that's what my phone is for!). I don't schedule meetings or do email or sync with outlook. If I remember to sync avantgo, I'll have news for the day. If not, oh well.
Same here. Really, I don't do much of anything else with my pda. I keep all my phone number in my cell phone, and my schedule in my head.
I always thought the idea of an ebook was dumb, before I got a pda. Then, when I got my HP Jornada, it came with a couple free ebooks, and I tried reading one. It was great! The screen's backlit, so I don't have to worry about light (I can even read in bed after my wife's gone to sleep), it's flat, so it's easier to hold with one hand, and I never lose my place. I've got 32MB (or is it 64? I forget...) so I can hold a few dozen books. I went on some file-sharing networks and found a few archives containing several thousand books, so every couple of weeks I put another 10 or 15 books on my PDA. Also, since I carry it around with me all the time, I always have whatever books I'm reading right in my pocket. Comes in really handy when waiting in line at the deli, etc. Now, if instead of having to buy a $400 pda to do this, if they could make a $75 ebook reader with a nice screen and large memory card, I'd be happy.
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
The real killer for PDA use is a bad heyboard, or bad pen input (remember the newton?). My favourite PDA is my Psion 3C, simply because of the great keyboard. The point of owning a PDA is tat it's easier to use than paper. If you're scratching away in graffiti at 3wpm, you might as well use a Day Planner and write at 20wpm.
I use my PDA constantly. No not every minute of a day, but whenever I need to write something down quickly or get a phone number or even waste a few minutes. My Calendar is there. Contacts, maps for when I go out of town (Pocket Streets), MP3's occasionally, and some games. I also have vxUtil on there which is a nice tool on and off the network (Ping, spread ping, capture html, time synching, and when off, I can figure out netmasks and ip address ranges with ease without having to sketch the patterns out. Calculator is in there too and I save all my travel info in there (Hotel number, Airline, Gate Numbers...). I also use it as a laptop replacement on the road so I don't have to put up with the inane rule that says I must remove my laptop from it's case. With the PDA stuffed in my camera bag, it just goes right thru. I have a modem, WiFi and soon hope to get a ethernet card to sync avantgo at work. I use it to read on the bus too. There are so many uses I can't name them all here. I say go with power because then it will become more of a necessary tool. Some folks don;t use the calendar that much. If that's so, then get a powerful one rather then a palm. PocketPC's are right on the brink of being just fine for most uses. IM's are very useful for keeping LD bills down low. Now if only more airports had WiFi in them.
Gorkman
- Surrogate laptop.. until I become re-employed (and buy my iBook) it subs as a laptop.. ok, more of a compact email/web terminal. Between PalmEudora and AvantGo/EudoraWeb I still manage to get my various mail/web fixes. I only wish I could find a better NNTP client than the few out there so I could sync ASR.
- Along those lines, AvantGo is great for snagging latest site content from news.com (I can hear the hissing here), AnandTech, BBC, Kernel Traffic (hey, you can roll your own), etc. Nice to read online content while sitting at a park, waiting at an airport, before going to sleep.
- With pocket telnet/term programs, it makes a GREAT serial console in a pinch. I've used my Palm to reconfigure ethernet stacks and capture kernel oopses (doing that right now to debug an aic7xxx error).
- Yes input can be a little cumbersome, but you can pick up a keyboard for ~$30 these days.. and I do a few journal entries.
- I think I have the PDF for Linux LVM1 and a set of release notes for Tru64 in there.
- When all else fails, I have a good Euchre program and DopeWars.
:)
So yes, I still use my Palm. It's not as fancy or new as the latest crap, but for what it is and what it does, it is and does better than I expected.-'fester
I'm not the office going type. i don't carry a beeper unless the job requires it, i don't carry a cell phone because I don't like people to get a hold of me when it's convienient for THEM. I carried a cell phone for a while on the premis that it was for emergencies only (car accident etc) but that got old, especially when I looked back at the previous 25 years of my life and realized i didn't need one then, why should I now?
I don't need a PDA. The important phone numbers I need I have memorized (all 4 of them plus 911). My calendar is basic, nothing I can't remember.
I have a simple life as do most people. These gadgets just make things more complex to us simple folk. I can acknowledge there are people who could use this stuff but honestly, I'd rather have an iPod. It does all the basic functions your typical PDA does plus plays all my music.
I've never understood the fuss over these things. Maybe some people like being bothered 24/7. I'm sure arguments can be made one way or another, i just don't see how these things have significantly improved peoples lives. If anything I think they degrade the quality of life. Email 24/7? Phone calls 24/7? Being paged when on the toilet? Nah, it's my life, I'll talk to you when I feel like it, after I take a shit.
Every person telling a "I don't use my Palm" story is a person that hasn't used Vindigo.
:)
I agree that using a Palm to hold phone numbers and addresses is a waste of a device. Paper can do that. The useful part of a PDA is it's extension of your computer.
When I first got my Palm, and saw all the fancy net-capable ones as well, and each time I needed directions, I wished I had one. MapQuest was the part of my computer that I wished I had with me when I wasn't at my computer. Vindigo does that for me.
Vindigo costs me about $25 per year, and I can load any collection of cities from their list. I mostly just use Atlanta (since I live here), but load vacation cities when I travel. The information they have on each city contains (but probably isn't limited to)
-every resteraunt and bar, with address and phone number, organized by price and location and genre
-movie times and locations and summaries
-maps of the area, with the ability to zoom in and out, AND give walking or driving directions from any location to any other. This feature is linked with the above databases of addresses.
Now, the information is never completely up to date. It only updates when I synch. But I never need information that's newer than a week old. I needed connectivity on my Palm, but I was ok with a week lag.
Most of what I use my Palm for is Vindigo, now. I still hold phone numbers and addresses and stuff, but when I leave my Palm in my other pair of pants, I can get by without everything except Vindigo.
Sam
(Usual disclaimers apply. I don't work for Vindigo. Just a happy customer.)
I turned my GBA into an ebook reader... :-) Managed to pack 45 texts from PG on a 8MB cart
http://tom.iahu.ca [see left frame for link]
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
..uses his for the sole purpose of calculating sight marks for archery.
Nifty little program that takes into account, arrow weight, draw length, draw weight, etc, and generates precise "pin" lications for various target yardages.
He has never sent an email in his life, but somehow figured out how to install the cradle, select the correct COM port, install and synched the device. I was impressed.
I used my cell phone (Nokia 7110) instead, just to keep track of phone numbers and jot down notes. Then I got my Nokia 7650. I carry around a cell phone all day anyway, but this phone also doubles as a very capable PDA. I can even play Doom on it.
The classic PDAs are converging with cell phones to create a new class of devices that people actually do carry around and use everyday. The sheer volume of phones produced by the likes of Nokia and Sony Ericsson will ensure that prices will continue to fall, the devices will become smaller and more capable and the traditional PDAs will morph into cell phones or disappear.
And remember kids: Never trust a computer you can actually lift.
I spend a lot of my free time reading ebooks, but I actually do PRODUCTIVE thigns with mine, too. As a college student, I have more classes and assignments that I can really manage to remember without some central way of tracking them. At the beginning of each semester, I take the syllabi (sp?) for all my classes and enter important dates in the calendar, and all assignments into the tasklist. It makes my life so much simpler. And while I'd be a liar if I said I never turned in an assignment late since, it's always been by choice, and never by accident.
Inconceivable!
Wow, I haven't noticed any mention of "ToDo" lists. This is my personal PDA "killer app" - over 3 years on a Palm V and now a 515. I use the todo list in DateBook5. Whenever I think of something I "ought to do sometime" I slap it in there and it carries along on my schedule every day until I finally finish it off. Once I put something in that ToDo list, I know it will get done sooner or later. I wouldn't bother with paper because there's no decent way to carry over items until I do them.
The key to PDAs ia "small and light." My first PDA, a Psion 3a, fell into disuse because it was a hassle to carry.
- Golf scoring - Intelligolf
- International travel - currency conversions, multi time zone clock, etc...
- A specific task list - I hate forgetting something on my Home Depot shopping spree
Otherwise I find I have either my laptop and iPod with me and the Palm is just redundant.I use mine also to track cash expenses, scheduler, address book, notes for notes, games to pass the time, and now, ebooks, courtesy of the Baen free library and my recent purchase of War of Honor (with the CD of books included.) I also use it to hold dumps of text from my computer, and important bits of info (like how much 16mm Kodak film costs vs. 35mm, IP addresses of machines I administer, etc.)
I'd never go back to a paper planner - if I lose or accidentally destroy my palm pilot (which is 6 years old by the way, an original 512k USR Pilot upgraded to 2mb w/ IR), I have a spare I bought off of eBay for $40 sitting in my desk drawer, ready to be resynched with all of my data. If I manage to kill my spare, then I have a great excuse for picking up that Sony Clie with the WiFi card slot and the nice screen for eBook reading, which would then let me play mp3s while on the road... If I lost my paper planner, I'd have to shoot myself, unless I made scans or photocopies on a regular basis of the stuff in it. You don't know what panic is until you loose that faux-leather patterned Dayrunner, with your entire life stored in it. With the electronic equivalent, I just keep it hotsynced regularly. Much better.
Use it 20 percent as a planner replacement, 5% for tracking expenses, 5% other, and 70% for reading ebooks. Great at night in bed with these mature eyes.
I need and use my PDA because I can't remember shit. I use my beloved Newton 2100 on an almost hourly basis during the workday. I work at a Las Vegas showroom/theatre and the PDA keeps track of the production shows, corporate events, employees/network users, and how much time I spend on various projects.
The offices are filled with HP 2100 printers with infrared ports, so I can print off an email or task list for others just by pointing the Newton at a printer. With the WiFi card I stay shelled into the firewall server to respond to IM's or Emails, and thanks to VNC I can make changes to the Exchange server on the fly.
At home the PDA continues to serve for remembering what the heck is going on next weekend, for keeping track of my user base, and changing the channel on the TV when the wife stashes the remote on her side of the bed.
But, what it really boils down to is that if I didn't have the Newton, I'd still walk around with a paper notebook in my back pocket. At least the Newt allows me to play an mp3 or flip on the backlight to use as a flashlight in the depths of the unlit storage space at work.
I Just Bought a palm Vx on ebay for my wife. its old but its better than the new junk thats not rechargable, etc..
I bought another one for myself a month ago after I lost it in ohio.
Yes, shopping lists beamed to her are excellent.
Plus at work it synchs with my meetings from Outlook, then alarms so I dont forget to go to them. Then the location is in the pda. everyone at work uses them.
plus when I get paged, I do a search on the number and see who it is.
million uses. if you cant find one, you must be on vacation.
The visor's improvements to Palm software were substantial and I completely replaced my paper planner. I had been using calendar creator plus to print a weekly view on 8.5x11 with hours between six in the morning and ten at night. I also kept a rolling do list on the back of the weeks. Visor's "floating events" with attached note pages took the place of the rolling do list very well. The contact list and calculator were also nice to have in the back pocket. It was also nice to have a word search, though it was not as good as grep.
The thing that convinced me to buy one in the first place was a conversation with a spacey peer. As we were talking, his little palm peeped and told him it was time to go to a stupid meeting. It worked better than paper. I was never late to a meeting.
I got fired anyway, but that's another story.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Buy books and rip the binding off. I can usually estimate pretty well how many pages I'm going to read. Just rip a chunk off at a time, the glue binding keeps them all attached.
If that works for you then great, but I guess your reading material consists mostly of mass-market paperbacks. Quite often, I can't easily locate copies of stuff I read in dead-tree form. For example, lately I've gotten into George Orwell. Sure, you can find "1984" and "Animal Farm" in any bookshop, but finding "Down and Out in London and Paris" or "Burmese Days" is a bit harder. Luckily, one can find them on the web.
I've suspected I've had a low-level variety of ADHD for the longest time. I forget to do routine household tasks, because I'm distracted by the next shiny thing. Unless I have something written down for me to do, I'll forget to do it.
I have programmed my PDA to remind me to do dishes, vacuum, clean the kitchen, do my laundry, take my vitamins, go to class, and other regularly recurring tasks. They follow me from day to day, and don't go away until I delete them, or check them off as done.
I don't tend to remember non-recurring or long-cycle events either. I have yearly doctor's appointment reminders, holidays, birthdays, et cetera, as well as deviations from routine (such as when I'm supposed to pick up the kid).
In the past year, my room, and indeed entire household, have progressed from extreme untidiness and mass confusion into something that actually has places to walk, no risk of mice, and everything done with at least a semblance of timeliness. For the first time in my life, I'm setting aside time to do my homework.
For that alone, I could love the thing. The idea that it has an address book, games, e-books, et cetera, is just plain cool, even though I don't rely on those.
I use mine every day, because I need it. If I didn't have that, I'd be using a whiteboard, sticky-tabs, notes on the back of my hand, and innumerable lists.
And that's the problem. They don't know why they want it, just that it's 'cool'. If this is how you are using a PDA, it is a status symbol.
That said, I have a PDA (Clie, bought to replace my Palm V) and use it all the time. The difference is I decided what I wanted to do with one first, then found one that I could do that with. Some uses have come up that I didn't think of (I use PocketQuicken for instance), but I knew what I wanted (easy to cary, keep notes, and my to-do list, maybe do some writing) and bought that. Then I used it.
'Sensible' is a curse word.
Everybody's entitled to my opinion. This week, I've read "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "The Hacker's Diet: How to lose weight and hair through stress and poor nutrition", P.T. Barnum's "The Art of Money Getting", and I'm partway into reviewing "Perl Programming" and Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer Abroad". I did all this while riding the bus (an hour each way for work 5 days a week) and during the odd spare moment here and there.
All this on a little Palm M500 I picked up for $125 at the time. Yes, the screen is small. However, it's perfectly adequate for reading electronic books. My only worry is that I'll wear out the "down" button on the front of my M500.
Matthew P. Barnson
I learn what I think when I read what I write
I live by Pluckerbooks. I also use it to immortalize a whole bunch of other content. I have a "dailypluck.sh" cron job that runs through the front pages & some of the discussion at Slashdot, freshmeat, some other GNU/Linux news sites, the CNN front page, and other places. Before I plunge into my novel or technical reading on the bus to work in the morning, I catch up on my news sites to know what's new in the world.
After electronic books, I use my palm mostly for scheduling. I have terrible memory for non-technical stuff, and the fact that it beeps at me to remind me of something is a huge help. I also set a lot of daily tasks with reminders so that I can remember to do them. They may sound simple to others, but a reminder to "spend an hour or two on your business Disaster Recovery Plan" leads to the important but long-term projects being completed in time.
My wife also uses her PDA for ebooks, contacts, and calendars. She's caught on to the trick of using the calendar as the to-do list, and really prefers it to the built-in to-do. She's gone from carrying around an enormous, clunky planner with her everywhere, and often jotting down notes on sticky pads to get lost later, to jotting all the notes down in her PDA as a note attachment to the calendar event, and then liberally using the Palm's search function to locate those notes later. It's much easier to find that note you jotted down in your PDA three months later than it is to find that yellow sticky you stuck on a page that later fluttered out.
Matthew P. Barnson
I learn what I think when I read what I write
Nobody'll ever get to read this comment, unfortunately, but I've found an absolutely indisposable app for my Palm - GNU Keyring. Essentially, you use it to securely store account/password combinations. It has its own passphrase which you use to enter the database, and timed lockouts. Everything is stored with RC5-64, IIRC. Plus, it has a built-in password generator which can create random passwords with/without a-z, A-Z, 0-9, symbols, and other stuff, between 4 and 20 characters in length. It makes "secure" web browsing a lot easier when I don't even have to try and remember passwords for my online banking and such.
/.ers.
Yeah, a single password is a single point of failure, but since the data is stored on my person, encrypted, and password-locked by me, if someone were to get at my account information, I'd probably have more to worry about than someone making a mess out of my credit. Combined with JotLoc (or a superior gesture-based device security system - I'm sure mine isn't that great), it'd take a rather monumental effort to get at my data.
I also use it to store license keys for software I frequently install. It's really really handy.
Oh...and of course, since it's open source, it'll settle the stomachs of most
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
I don't have any of the problems you mention. The Psion runs for about a month on two AA batteries. It is my only calendar and contacts database so I don't synch it with a PC. And once software is installed on it, that software tends to just work.
But eventually it will give out of course. I just hope that someone launches a decent PDA before then.
My opinion? See above.
I use a Psion netBook to send and recieve mail while on the move, occasional browsing plus all the usual games, ebooks, datebook and contact stuff. The real bonus for me is that I can store other information for access anywhere and if necessary encrypt the really important stuff such as bank details, passwords, card details etc.
It's quicker to switch on the netBook to record details of lottery syndicate payments made to me than it is write things down then lose them.
The latest facility added is that I can now create PDF file from the native applications and mail them out or better yet print them on whatever OS I happen to be playing with at the time knowing that they will look correct. This all allows me to creat documents on the move rather then being tied to a desktop PC. All of this in a sub-sub-notebook form factor with really long battery life, no delicate hard drive and a rock solid OS.
I'm a soon to be layed-off employee of BellSouth. At BLS, every management (i.e. non-union) employee is issued a RIM/Blackberry device (the small ones). I found them hugely more useful than a PDA, even if all you use is email. I sold my Handspring and don't plan on getting another. With wireless email, you can do anything.
However, the dark side to all of this is the concept that you are *always* accessible. 24/7. Vacations. Holidays. Your bosses NEVER leave you alone and your colleagues are even worse!
And since the RIM tells your sender that you read the email, they except a response quickly. Those expectations can make having a blackberry hell.
I've owned three PalmOS devices over the years and I would hate to live without one. However, I don't think PDAs are for everyone. Too many people are thinking "hey, neat" and purchasing one without thinking about why they want one and what they're going to do with it.
When I purchased my first PalmOS device, I had a number of very specific goals: I was already carrying a little addressbook in which I recorded appointments, phone numbers, addresses, and various notes (shopping lists, books to consider, ideas for stories). I knew I needed the book (it replaced my existing habit of having pockets full of scraps of paper with nodes), but I had problems with it. I was frustrated that as the book filled and the year passed, I needed to purchase a new book and transcribe everything into it. (I could get a book with removable pages, but they were too large to be comfortable to always carry.) The book certainly wasn't large enough for my never ending stream of notes (my list of restaurants, movies, and video games that others have recommended I check out, my notes of my flash of insight into something I'm doing at work). Also, as a geek, I was uncomfortable having that one book not be safely backed up somewhere else. (True, I could transcribe it, taking up my time, or photocopy it, but if I lose or damage the original my restore process involves buying a new book and transcribing.) Finally, my little book couldn't remind me that I was missing an appointment.
So, when I looked seriously at my first PalmOS device (a Palm III), I knew specifically what it would do for me. It would hold as much information as I could practically throw at it. It would be backed up to my computer frequently, ensuring the safety of my data. I would never transcribe by hand from one source to another, once it's digital I can copy it easily. And it can beep when appointments come up. Sure enough, it worked perfectly.
Of course, once I always had a small computer at my side, I started doing additional things with it. While I'm not a big fan of reading books on the small screen, when I'm forced to wait for something (picking up a friend at the airport and the flight is delayed, doctor's appointment, etc), having something to read of my choice is certainly convient. And it turns out that with the keyboard, it's still much smaller than a laptop computer, but powerful enough to do real writing on.
In fact, the only thing I dislike about various PDAs is the size. Most PDAs, including much of Palm's line, are uncomfortably large. As a result, I upgraded to the much slimmer Palm V. I know other people who purchased the Handspring Razor for the same reason. These days any PDA is more than powerful enough for my needs. I don't need 16MB of memory, 8 is plenty (and if I'm a bit more picky about what books I upload into my PDA, 2 is plenty). I certainly don't need color, I'm just reading text. I need a long battery life and a small size. I will not trade any battery life or size for memory or color.
Sure, lots of clueless people purchased various PDAs but have no use for them. But there are plenty of people who love their PDAs, use them frequently, and would be very disorganized without them. I know. I am such a person.
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