Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
 
I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
 
It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
electric can opener.
 
Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
nephew or relative.
 
Comments?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Tim923 wrote:
> A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
>  
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
>  
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
>  
> Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
> nephew or relative.
>  
> Comments?
 
It's been a lifesaver for me. Appointment reminders are important for  
me. I was surprised by my dentist asking for a list of meds, so "'scuse  
me while I whip this out" and showed my list on the PDA. Had the boss  
ask me for some information that I had compiled at work, whipped that  
out too. Been asked certain information, so I looked it up on my Little  
Buddy.
 
Funny, I don't use the music feature much, nor the Kinoma movie thing.
 
I guess for a PDA to be useful, you have to use it. And I use mine daily.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Tim923 wrote:
> A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
>
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
>
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
>
> Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
> nephew or relative.
>
> Comments?
 
Mine holds several hundred pages of reference material, software
development tools, a planetarium program, games, ebooks, contacts,
notes, pictures, and music.  For someone who only uses it as an address
book/calendar, paper may suffice as a substitute, but I've had the past
misfortune to lose a paper day-planner; the data on the Palm is always
backed up, and that's reassuring.
 
There's no way I could substitute paper for the software development
tools, planetarium, etc.
 
--
Neal Bridges
Quartus Handheld Sofware
http://www.quartus.net
Home of the Quartus Forth on-board compiler!

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"Neal  Bridges":
>Mine holds several hundred pages of reference material, software
>development tools, a planetarium program, games, ebooks, contacts,
 
OK, I probably don't have the type of lifestyle in which I would need
one badly.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 21:17:44 -0400, Tim923 <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
 
>
>Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
>nephew or relative.
>
>Comments?
 
 
For a reader, they're wonderful.  You can have a whole shelf of books
in the space of less than one paperback book.  I got into using my
little Zire on bus rides to and from work and during coffee breaks.
If I kept it charged I never had the problem of finishing a book and
not having another along.  Any other uses I make of my PDAs are just
gravy after that important (to me) feature.  I still have my first
Zire (21?), but don't use it much as it doesn't have backlighting,
which allows me to read myself to sleep while not bothering my husband
who doesn't want a light on while he sleeps.  My M515 and my T / E
have backlighting.  Love that feature.  
 
I do have the times and amounts of my medications set with recurring
alarms.  When you take meds twice a day, some on waking when you're
still sleepy, it's handy to have something to remind you that you've
taken or not taken them for the day. I take the med, go into the
calendar, remove the current day and feel a lot more comfortable about
neither skipping nor taking a double dose of anything.
 
Cyli
r.bc: vixen.  Minnow goddess. Speaker to squirrels.
Often taunted by trout. Almost entirely harmless.
 
http://www.visi.com/~cyli
email:  cylise@gmail.com.invalid (strip the .invalid to email)

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Tim923 wrote:
> A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
 
Well, I don't want to state the obvious, but PDAs are portable as well.
That's what the "P" stands for.  :-)
 
Anyway, the reason I got a PDA (about 9 or 10 years ago) was that
paper wasn't working for me.  Sure, I can write things on paper.  But
the problem is that I write things down and then proceed to lose the
sheet of paper it is written on.  I had a mound of Post-It notes with
people's phone numbers on them piled on my desk, and parts of this mound
would periodically fall off the edge into oblivion as more got pressed
into the top, kind of like those games at the arcade where, if you're
lucky, the edge of a big pile of tokens will fall your way when you
drop a token into a slot.
 
So, I got a Pilot 1000, and I started entering phone numbers and
appointments and things into it.  Lo and behold, it was sort of fun,
and because it was fun, I was motivated to use it.  Since the Pilot
(and the Palm models that have replaced it) is expensive, I haven't
lost it.  I lose piece of paper all the time, though, because they're
not expensive enough for me to feel bad if I lose one of them.  Plus,
it's really nice to have everything in such a compact form -- there's
only one thing to not lose instead of a whole slew of pieces of paper
to not lose.
 
And, even if I did lose it, I hotsync often enough that I would still
have all the data.  Yes, I'd have to go get a new Palm (or buy a used
one on eBay), but at least I would still have all my data.
 
By the way, I find the hotsync process laborious if you're using it
to enter an appointment on the desktop and then transfer it to the
Palm.  I use hotsync to back up my data, but I always enter the data
on the Palm.  After you spend a little while learning Graffiti, it
becomes second nature, and while the speed isn't quite as high as
with normal handwriting, it's high enough when you're only writing
2 or 3 words anyway.
 
   - Logan

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

It was a time of great turmoil. The strong preyed on the weak, dogs
and cats lived together. One voice cried out in the wilderness: Tim923
<nospam@nospam.com> wrote in
<4pe2g1dqpnn7ve63lrpt8dh6038vf1ja31@4ax.com>:  
 
> A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
 
I've used Palms for about five years -- since the Palm III. I used the
calendar, memos, and todo list at first but began using it for more
and more things. Pretty soon I was reading e-books and news through
AvantGo, keeping all my passwords on it, carrying an entire dictionary
and several Bibles on it. I play games like Bubblet and I read Usenet
with Yanoff. I've even stopped wearing a watch all the time because I
know I can always check my Palm which is synched to the correct time
(through a program called "Time Copy" ) whenever I do a Hotsync.
 
Today my Treo 600 is a lot more than just an organizer, it is also my
cell phone and can fetch useful snippets of information on the road
(Google SMS can be a real life-saver when you're lost in the suburbs).
Similarly, my LifeDrive is far more than an organizer, it is my e-book
reader, web/e-mail terminal, MP3 player, video player, and game
machine. It can even read and edit MS Office documents.  
 
Each Palm I've used has only gotten more and more powerful. My Visor
Platinum was more than twice as fast as my Palm III and held four
times as much information. My Treo 270 held twice as much information
as my Visor Platinum and could also be used as a cell phone. My Treo
600 is a good four times faster and holds more information than my
Treo 270 did. My LifeDrive has built-in wifi and a built-in 4GB hard
drive.
>  
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
 
I personally find it easier to just have all those addresses and phone
numbers in my Palm/cell phone since I can dial anyone in my address
book just by typing in their name.
>  
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
 
I disagree. When was the last time you saw a paper address book which
could encrypt and password protect information? Or one that could hold
a complete dictionary, Bible, and numerous novels? Or one where the
notes you write down are just as legible today as they were five years
ago? Or for that matter, have you ever written a note and had trouble
deciphering it afterwards because you have terrible handwriting? I
know, that used to happen to me all the time before I started using my
Palm Pilot.
 
--
Roberto Castillo
robertocastillo@ameritech.net
http://www.freewebs.com/robertocastillo/

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"Tim923" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message  
news:4pe2g1dqpnn7ve63lrpt8dh6038vf1ja31@4ax.com...
>A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
>
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
>
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
>
> Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
> nephew or relative.
>
> Comments?
 
To add to the previous comments.....
 
With my Palm T3 and a Bluetooth phone I can surf the web on the move or send  
and receive email and I don't need a hotspot to do it.
 
I can also amuse myself with games (Lemmings, Snails, Solitaire etc..), and  
to repeat, music and even video.
 
It can be used as a portable USB drive - I have a 1GB card in mine and so I  
can carry handy computer files around wherever I go.
 
With that much storage it makes a nice portable photo album too. If I shrink  
..jpg files to fit the resolution of the screen they take about 50KB each so  
I could carry 2,000 photos with me and only use 10% of my SD card to do so.  
Could you carry 2,000 printed photos in your pocket?
 
I have passwords to all kinds of things in mine and while the critical  
reminders are sometimes deliberately cryptic they are also encrypted so  
useless to anyone else.
 
With Documents To Go I can have Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and  
PowerPoint presentations with me and even make updates while out and about.  
It will also let me read PDFs too. I keep my divelog on my T3 using  
Smartlist and you can build any number of custom databases with that.
 
I don't have a GPS unit but I do have Mapolis and can carry with me an  
entire map of the UK and several foreign cities too. If I had a Bluetooth  
GPS unit I could use it as a full route planner and navigator. Without the  
GPS bit I can still find places and generate route maps.
 
If you're really in an emergency it might even double as a weak torch in a  
blackout, or a signalling device to reflect sunlight to a passing search and  
rescue aircraft.
 
I can use it with VNC over Bluetooth to control my Media Center PC in the  
lounge, from the dining room when we want a change of music and it will also  
double as a universal remote control for the TV and Hi-Fi.
 
On top of all the above, because it is easy to back up your data is  
reasonably safe. Mine backs its memory to the SD card every time I turn it  
off and I Hotsync once a week or so. If you lose paper it stays lost. If you  
lose a PDA you buy another one and then sync it again and off you go.
 
Don't look upon a PDA as simply a replacement for a diary (but even then the  
alarms are a Godsend). Look upon it as a replacement for a laptop, that will  
fit in any pocket and probably have longer battery life too.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Zombie Elvis wrote:
>I disagree. When was the last time you saw a paper address book which
>could encrypt and password protect information? Or one that could hold
 
One other item.  I also have difficulty converging my eyes up close.
Not a problem with big screens, but for small PP screens for over 5-15
minutes at a time (without break) is a problem.
 
I'd much rather use a 19-21 inch monitor, and my lifestyle is such
that I can wait to get home and use the desktop.
 
I use paper books or MP3/CD audiobooks.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"Tim923" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message  
news:4pe2g1dqpnn7ve63lrpt8dh6038vf1ja31@4ax.com...
>A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
>
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
>
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
>
> Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
> nephew or relative.
 
 
I guess it depends on what you would use one for.  For me it's the  
portability of it.  It only lasts as long as the battery works and you have  
it with you.
 
I use mine for "everything," specifically for appointments, email on the go  
and writing articles for my website (or whatever else I'm doing at the  
time).
 
Oh, and for work stuff, like keeping notes and reference material.
 
--  
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Tim923 wrote:
> "Neal  Bridges":
>  
>>Mine holds several hundred pages of reference material, software
>>development tools, a planetarium program, games, ebooks, contacts,
>  
>  
> OK, I probably don't have the type of lifestyle in which I would need
> one badly.  
 
That's probably it. I don't need a Lifedrive, so I won't buy it. You  
have things under control without a PDA. So does my wife (not entirely  
true, I help out with my own lol). That's the way it goes.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

It is alleged that Tim923 claimed:
 
> A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
>  
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
>  
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
>  
> Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
> nephew or relative.
>  
> Comments?
 
Mine holds my cellular phone book, it reminds me of appointments, it
keeps my checkbook, it calculates tips, taxes, and converts
measurements.  It tells me what time it is where my boss works from in
another time zone.  It tells me when the next train is due, and when
the last train back is.  It generates random passwords and keeps track
of my auto expenses.  I can check the weather report, traffic report,
and movie times with it.  It times my laundry and parking meters.  It's
my shopping list and notes of what cat food flavors my cat won't eat.
And I can play several different solitaire card games without needing a
table, or cards.
 
A PDA is as useful as you want it to be.
 
--  
Jeffrey Kaplan                                         www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled             Send personal mail to gordol
 
"Welcome to Babylon 5, the last, best hope for a quick buck."  (Cmdr.
Ivanova, B5 "There All The Honor Lies" )

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

It was a time of great turmoil. The strong preyed on the weak, dogs
and cats lived together. One voice cried out in the wilderness: Tim923
<nospam@nospam.com> wrote in
<6ag3g1dqoq55o744ch6rhijh1ogsnd9mu9@4ax.com>:  
 
> Zombie Elvis wrote:
> >I disagree. When was the last time you saw a paper address book which
> >could encrypt and password protect information? Or one that could hold
>  
> One other item.  I also have difficulty converging my eyes up close.
> Not a problem with big screens, but for small PP screens for over 5-15
> minutes at a time (without break) is a problem.
 
You mentioned in your original post that you had a Zire 21. This model
has just about the worst screen available for a modern PDA: small, low
160x160 resolution, no backlight. A color screen at a higher 320x320
or 320x480 resolution is much more readable.
>  
> I'd much rather use a 19-21 inch monitor, and my lifestyle is such
> that I can wait to get home and use the desktop.
 
Wouldn't we all. But I've found that my 19-inch monitor tends to be
rather awkward to watch on a crowded city bus or train.
 
--
Roberto Castillo
robertocastillo@ameritech.net
http://www.freewebs.com/robertocastillo/

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Tim923 <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in  
news:4pe2g1dqpnn7ve63lrpt8dh6038vf1ja31@4ax.com:
 
> A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
>  
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
>  
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
>  
> Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
> nephew or relative.
>  
> Comments?
>  
A Palm is a computer.  My T3 is faster and has more memory than the last  
PC I owned.  With flash memory, I have gigabytes of storage.  I use mine  
for everything.  I use it in my job to do flight planning, and give me  
the lat/lon for all the platforms and lease blocks in the Gulf of Mexico,  
whenever I need them in flight or before I take off.  It gives me  
astronomical data, so I know when to expect the sun to set and the moon  
to rise, and what phase, with a couple of taps.  It holds my logbook,  
shopping lists, my car expenses and maintenance history, encrypted  
passwords/PINs/etc for bank cards, websites, everything.  It's an alarm  
clock.  Using Mapopolis and my handheld GPS connected to it, it gives me  
driving directions to any address in the US, with voice directions and  
automatic routing and rerouting, which would cost ~$1000 for a dedicated  
GPS with those capabilities.  I can edit Office documents, I have a daily  
journal, and the list goes on.  *Anything* your PC can do, a Palm can do.    
Many people get by without a computer at all, and you can certainly get  
by without a Palm.  But I wouldn't want to have to be without one again.  
YMMV.  
 
--  
Regards,
 
Stan
 
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary  
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."  B. Franklin

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Stan Gosnell wrote:
 
> A Palm is a computer.  My T3 is faster and has more memory than the last  
> PC I owned.  With flash memory, I have gigabytes of storage.  I use mine  
> for everything.  I use it in my job to do flight planning, and give me  
> the lat/lon for all the platforms and lease blocks in the Gulf of Mexico,  
> whenever I need them in flight or before I take off.  It gives me  
> astronomical data, so I know when to expect the sun to set and the moon  
> to rise, and what phase, with a couple of taps.  It holds my logbook,  
> shopping lists, my car expenses and maintenance history, encrypted  
> passwords/PINs/etc for bank cards, websites, everything.  It's an alarm  
> clock.  Using Mapopolis and my handheld GPS connected to it, it gives me  
> driving directions to any address in the US, with voice directions and  
> automatic routing and rerouting, which would cost ~$1000 for a dedicated  
> GPS with those capabilities.  I can edit Office documents, I have a daily  
> journal, and the list goes on.  *Anything* your PC can do, a Palm can do.    
> Many people get by without a computer at all, and you can certainly get  
> by without a Palm.  But I wouldn't want to have to be without one again.  
> YMMV.  
>  
 
I agree - I see my LifeDrive as a mini laptop. I'm thinking of getting a  
wireless keyboard to make it even more like a laptop. I would be really cool if  
Palm made a docking station for their PDAs that allow you to connect a regular  
monitor and keyboard like you can do with laptops.
 
It's great to have your life on your PDA but it's important to have some way of  
backing it up. Which is common sense, but as they say, common sense doesn't seem  
all that common any more.
 
--  
--
Ben Thomas - Melbourne, Australia
The essentials: Kodak DX6490, Nikon D70, Canon i9950, Pioneer DVR-109,
Hitachi W37-PD2100, DGTEC 2000A, Harmon/Kardon AVR4500, Denon DVD-2800,
Whatmough Synergy, Sony Ericsson K700i, Palm LifeDrive.
 
Disclaimer:
Opinions, conclusions, and other information in this message that do not
relate to the official business of my employer shall be understood as neither
given nor endorsed by it.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Tim923 wrote:
> A few years ago when I got my Palm Pilot Zire 21, I was very
> interested in them.  They were so neat to play around with.  I liked
> the calendar and address features.  However, gradually I used them
> less and less, and went back to calendars on 8.5x11 paper sheets.  I
> found it easier just to pencil in items rather than use the special
> notation or do a USB transfer.  Paper is also portable.
>
> I discovered that I hardly ever need a postal address or phone number
> so badly that I can't wait to get it off my desktop at home.
>
> It seems like a fun high tech way of doing things without making it
> easier than the old desktop and paper methods. Sort of like the
> electric can opener.
>
> Maybe for some people they are more useful.  I may give mine away to a
> nephew or relative.
>
> Comments?
 
Like most things, it's personal preference, and how you live your life.
I've been using a Palm device since 1999, and when I've had to live
without for a while, felt lost.
Besides my address book, appointments and Todo list, I keep my shopping
lists (mostly groceries, but other stuff too), lists of books I want to
read, DVD's I want to rent, CD's I want to buy, plans for vacations,
wish lists, encrypted software to store all my passords and account
numbers (22 of them), a dictionary, an outliner, alarm software (tells
me it's time to go catch the bus on weekdays, etc.), 2 calculators (RPN
 for me, conventional for when a friend needs one), about 25 games to
play while waiting for the bus, bus schedules, and who-knows-what-else!
And as someone else mentioned, I find I use it more than a paper device
because I enjoy using it. It's one of my favorite tech devices.
Of course, YMMV!