[Tfug] PDA non-usage

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Bill,

>Here's my take on the PDAs. I've been a PDA
>user for almost 10 years, 

Cool!

>first with a Palm Pilot Professional (yow!) and
>now a Palm IIIxe: both monochrome screens and

Hmmm... I will have to see how the "xe" differs
from the plain III

>funky. I consider the Palm to be my external 
>brain:

*EXACTLY*!  I don't want to have to clutter up
my mind with all this *cruft* -- yet want it
accessible to me (flashbacks to Kelly Bundy
studying for sports trivia challenge  :> )

>I keep all my daily appointments in MS Outlook
>2003 (for school where we're a Novell shop with
>Windows PCs, soon to be Windows servers) - sync
>with the Palm, indispensable for me! I keep all
>my contacts and NOTES files with all kinds of
>lists and info. I also use Documents To Go to
>sync up Excel files of little flat-file databases
>(Inventory info).

OK, so you use the Palm as an extension of your PC.
An ultrasmall PC, of sorts.

>I do have quite a few eTexts on the Palm. I am
>looking to get a smartphone to replace the Palm
>and cell phone keeping my iPod for music and video.

Because the iPod's video is better than you expect
to find on a (affordable) phone?

>I currently don't do anything online with the phone,
>though that may change. That's the issue I have:
>carrying three things around.

Understandable.  Without sounding misogynistic, I
wonder if this is less of an issue for women?
(though it seems like their purses are always
full *regardless* of size  :< ).  Since I don't
like to carry *anything* (nor *wear* anything on
a belt clip, etc.), I have exactly four places
to store things:  two in front, and two in the
rear -- pockets!  :>

Of course, one of the rear pockets is set aside
for a wallet.  The other tends to be used for a
tool of some sort (knife, side cutters, etc.).
Front pockets have greater restrictions since
sitting down is an issue if whatever you stuff
in them is too large/bulky -- so, they tend to
be useless for any sort of "device" (i.e. better
for spare change and other small items).

I don't like anything with any substance/weight
sitting in a shirt pocket since that tugs on you
as you move around.  It is also a liability as
it is prone to falling out when you bend over,
etc.  (definitely no fun to have a metal-cased
PDA fall into a piece of electronic equipment
while you are working on it!  :-(

And, *wearing* things tends to make me feel far
to geekish.  I.e., when I wear my Rio Forge, I
slip it up *under* my shirt sleeve so the only
cyborg-sign is the wire dangling out from under
my sleeve...  :>

It's too bad as I think a wearble solution is the 
only way to deal with something truly ubiquitous.

--don


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