Palm IIIe
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What is it?
A Palm is a handheld computer, basically a glorified electronic notebook/calendar. Or, you can think of it as a mobile phone with lots of extras, bigger screen and no telephone function ;-) ... The screen is touch sensitive and you enter data mainly by using a "stylus", a stick shaped like a pen, to write Graffiti, a stylized alphabet. It all works very good and you quickly get the hang of it. Only problem is it may affect your handwriting :-) ... Oh, and the "e" is for "economy", meaning it's a bit cheaper than the other Palm III's and lacks flash ROM. Haven't missed that yet though ...
When?
May 23d, 2000
Where?
Siba, a general electronics store at Marieberg köpcentrum (no need to worry your ears off if you don't know where that is :-). They had an evening discount, which was the final cataclyst needed to make me buy ...
Why?
Uhhh ... Well, not all that long before I had been rather sceptic about handhelds. I sure didn't get the point when Martin bought his a year ago. Then, something changed sometime this spring. I'm not sure exactly when, but I think one reason was all those pieces of paper with cryptic little notes lying around our computers. Another was the fact that most good ideas turn up when you have no paper, pen, computer or anything else to take them down on. I wanted a good way to take notes anywhere and keep them handy. Also, I imagined I'd have use for it at work for similar purposes.
So, Do You Use It?
Yes, I actually do! And even for the things I imagined I'd use it for, strange as it may seem ... That is, shows as above, mostly for taking different kind of notes. The date and address functions are much less used, although I'm starting to fill in stuff in the address book. Still not much of planning things far ahead, so the date function will probably remain pretty empty for a while longer. The odd game is played too, of course. Right now, Desdemona (an Othello game) is replacing the usual reading before falling asleep, very nice game that ...
Addtion on September 18, 2000.
In a shockingly revealing report from the present, evidence indicate the two funtctions I currently use the most are the date book and memo pad. If I hadn't had this toy I probably would have got some paper-based system by now (that means I can't see how I'd get by without it by now :-). Information in the address book has expanded too of course, but isn't even approaching the two above in utilization. By far least used is the todo list, which is currently living a shady and half forgotten life in a corner of the memory, possibly plotting to sieze power by force one day.
Addtion on May 17, 2001.
I'm trying to increase my usage again after a time of relatively low activity. The result was that notes I took on the Palm when away were forgotten when I should have used them to remember stuff. Have used AvantGo a bit since we got ADSL, but the extensive synching seems to drain the batteries in a way I don't like at all ... Plus I still don't synch often enough to have any really up to date news downloaded when I did look at them ... And need to remember the rechargable batteries I've got lying around the next time the power gets low ...
Am trying to increase the use of the todo list as well, it's got many more items nowadays than ever before. Works better when you remember to look at it :-) ...
Any Drawbacks?
Well, first and foremost, I've discovered a drawback of the e-model: the stylus is cheap. That means a joint in it that makes it prone to creating scratches. Martin's more expensive stylus hasn't made a scratch yet, plus it has a much nicer weight to it. I currently cover the screen with overhead plastic to avoid scratching it (and the plastic quickly shows how useful the protection is), but a better stylus would be a very nice investment. Then, we have all the counter arguments (like to use them as a description myself), like how it's just like a paper organizer, only it runs out of batteries. Or that it's like a mobile with all possible extras but no phone function. I find that a bit positive though, no-one calls me at inappropriate times :-) ... Oh, and it makes you want to get a newer, lighter and more spacious one too. Anyway, those arguments are vaild in a way, no-one "needs" a Palm, but some of us think we do and need something with a processor inside to stay organized ;-) ...
