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PDA for Tech Savy Students?
Kichigai Mentat asks: "When I was a student in High School, I was quite disorganized. I found that a good organizer helped me out, and eventually got myself a reliable Palm m105. As I'm about to go into college, I'm considering picking up a new machine to replace my nearly-dead PDA. However, the selection seems to be either Palm OS, which I find rather limiting in terms of what you can and cannot do on the system (I LIKE being able to organize things into sub-folders), or Window Mobile, which isn't Linux or Mac OS X friendly. What sort of third-party options are available that work with existing PIM apps, will work without Windows, and won't cost an arm and a leg?"
One of the big trends floating around with the "GTD" nerds is carrying a small paper notebook or a pile of index cards. This works quite well--you never run out of batteries & can trade info for people. Some nerd chick thought it was "cool because it was like a lab notebook."
I've gone through the PALM, Clie (which runs Palm OS), and the Sharp Zaurus. The Zaurus is good, but the batteries would always die on me. Paper is great!
Man, I was the PDA king -- back in the day. Original Palm Pilot, Rexx, WinCE, Win Mobile, I forget what all else, latest greatest bestest every year. But when the cellphones began to offer Office functionality that I could barely get in my laptop, let alone my PDA, I re-evaluated my personal electronics. Did I really need to update my spreadsheets on the subway? No. Was I ever really that far away from a PC with a USB port that I couldn't jack into with the thumbdrive on my keychain? Not really. So all the info I need at a glance -- appointments, phone numbers -- are in the phone, and every other file I own is backed up religiously onto my keychain. If you want to be all geeky about it, you can fit an entire Linux distro -- as well as your file folders -- onto your key fob. Sure to impress the co-eds...
More importantly -- and you'll thank me for this in about 10, 15 years -- the arrangement encourages me to think about "computer stuff" when I'm near a computer, and not on line for the ballet or at the beach. Remember, there are other, stealthier ways for the machines to win besides the plotlines for those Terminator or Matrix movies....
I've been using it for a while now (a year and a half or so). The biggest thing I should warn you about is that if you are a early adopter, you may have a problem. What I mean is that when Tiger came out, it took a few months before they released a version that was compatible with iSync 2.0. Since Leopard is going to have iSync 3.0, I'm guessing something like that may happen again.
That said, I've had a Dell Axim X50v for two years now. The hardware is nice. The OS (Windows Mobile 2003) is not. They made some very odd choices (no real way to quit applications without a 3rd party tool or just "force quit"), Pocket IE is a total joke. Network configuration (if you have wireless) is terrible (they were supposed to fix that in the new version that I don't have). If you had to sync to Outlook I bet the device would be great. At this point, if my PDA died I think I'd buy the cheapest Palm with BlueTooth I could (looks like that would be an E2 if I went with a new device). I don't know if the newer version of Windows Mobile is any better, but I was very disappointed by the version I have. I used Windows CE 1.0 (HP 300LX represent!) and I felt like things had moved backwards. The calendar program is ugly. The mail program seems to be designed to work only by having Outlook on the desktop do the heavy lifting. The interface isn't nearly as nice as my old Newton was.
Also, installing applications tends to be a pain, ESPECIALLY from a Mac.
There is nothing wrong with Missing Sync, it's all complications of Microsoft's choices.
Where is a new Newton, Apple? We need you now more than ever.
Try 'em both. You may like using one more than another. You can look into other options (Sharp Zarus, an older iPaq with Linux, etc) too. Or you could just use a fancy cell phone that will let you sync such stuff to your computer.
I should mention that there is (or at least was, I don't follow it) another application to let one sync Windows Mobile devices to Macs. I don't remember the name but it shouldn't be hard to find.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I work for a university spinoff company, and operate all over the place, from remote USAF bomb ranges to KU's campus. I have a UTStarcom PPC6700. It does EVERYTHING. 420MHz Intel PXA270, 128MB memory, 1GB miniSD, EV-DO (~2.5Mbps on Sprint around Lawrence, KS and Kansas City), 802.11b, Bluetooth, 1.3MP camera, WinMo 5. I have loaded a full featured media player (TCPMP) for DivX movies, PocketPutty and Terminal Services Client to manage the office network when I'm away, and AgileMessenger for multiprotocol IMming. The phone integrates seamlessly with Contacts, and that all syncs up to Outlook at the office. Its a serious gadget and it helps me get work done a lot faster. It's damn near a laptop replacement.
You all do realize with always-on global wireless connections and piconets that laptops are going to be cellphones, and cellphones aren't going to be the present forms.
For example in a classroom setting the professor is writing on a electronic blackboard with wireless piconet capability. Your "cellphone" could tap into that (more reliable than using a camera for those of you thinking ahead), and for the professor's voice the "cellphone" microphone will do.* The "always-on" part comes in handy for heavy-lifting which is done with the computer back in your dorm. Imagine coming from a long day of lectures with all that data already processed, correllated, referenced, and otherwise ready for your role in the picture.
*For those thinking "video"! Well use the built-in, or piconet to the video system some labs, and lecture halls have.
I have Zauruses, a Nokia N770, a PocketPC, and a Palm.
The Palm is the one I use day in and day out. If Handera hadn't folded, I might still be on my Handera 330, which wasn't even color.
Here is what you need:
1. Datebook/calendar software of some sort.
2. Usable text entry.
3. A good alarm.
4. Decent battery life.
That's it. Day in and day out, that's what matters. Can you take a note quickly enough to get it down before you forget? Can you get the alarm to go off at the time you need it to, and will it do common things (snooze for 10 minutes, for instance) with simple clicks?
If you can get that, you're done. You have a PDA. Do not let "features" distract you. My Compaq iPaq, with a 640x480 screen, untold memory, both SD and CF slots, wifi, and so on, sits on a shelf somewhere. My Palm with Datebook5 goes with me ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. There is no comparison. PalmOS is technically inept; so what? It works. When an alarm is due, the machine makes a piercing noise I can detect even if the PDA is in a bag. It can go in a bag without breaking instantly. If I forget to charge it for a day, it still works.
In short, it's a kickass PDA. Which is what I want. Yeah, I would like it if PalmOS sucked less. But PocketPC isn't in the running, and after a couple of months trying to run various Linux-hosted PDA apps, I went back to Datebook5. It's just plain better.
If you want a portable computer, think of that as totally distinct from your PDA. The portable computer is for hacking on, for debugging interesting problems, for spending a week wondering why you can't get a new kernel to work with the sound hardware. The PDA runs one or two off the shelf apps and does it reliably and consistently.
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/