[Tfug] PDA non-usage

[Bexley Hall]

On Sun, Feb 03, 2008 at 01:05:02PM -0800, Bexley Hall
wrote:
>>Do you "carry it" or, like me, do you just keep it
in
>>a desk drawer (despite "maintaining" it
religiously)?
>
>I carry it with me everywhere.  It's only a few
ounces,
>so it's not really a bother.

In my case, it's not the size/weight that's an issue
(though things as big as a Newton would have to sing,
dance, spit nickels AND wash my car to coerce me to
carry them  :-/ ).  Rather, it's the fact that they
dictate *how* I have to carry them.

E.g., I don't want to have something in a front shirt
pocket.  And, I don't carry a briefcase or man-purse.
Things that I don't use often -- but want to have with
me -- belong in a *back* pocket (like a WALLET, knife,
etc.).  And, PDA's just don't survive the sudden "mass
event" when I sit down!  :>

I suppose a phone would be more robust (different form
factor) -- but then you are stuck with a small screen
(or else prone to the same "destructive events" that
the
PDA would experience).

>>Yes, there are apps for the Palms, etc. that do
that.
>>I had occasion to use a Newton as a piece of scratch
>>paper one day while driving (without having a pen
>>*or* paper handy).  But, that wouldn't motivate me
>>to carry the thing -- especially something as large
>>as a Newton! -- all the time.  :>
>
>I am something of an unusal case...

three eyes?  two heads??  :>

>though perhaps not so unusual on this list.  :)

yikes!  *Lots* of three-eyed, two-headed beasts??

>I can't stand cellphones.  I have one, yes, but it
>spends nearly all of its time turned off in my bag.

Ditto.  I don't like phones, period (i.e. even the
land line is never "answered").  I consider them
too intrusive (hey, just because *you* want to talk
to me NOW, doesn't mean *I* want to talk to *you*
now!  :>).  But, I do keep a "service-less" phone
in the glove box for 911, etc.

>As a consequence, I don't store any useful
>information on it.  My Clie (Palm OS 5.1) stores
>all that.  It's address book has all my contacts
>with photos, numbers, addresses, etc.  I even keep
>a few birthdays in the "notes" that you can attach
>to an individual entry.  Also stores their IM names,
>should I need them.
>
>The doodle/notepad stores info that I just want to
>jot down quickly that I won't need to save.  For more
>permanent information, important notes, even a script
>or two, I use the standard Palm OS notepad
application
>which stores plain text.  In addition to the standard
>Palm Graffitti, the Clie actually supports some basic
>handwriting recognition and it works surprisingly
well.

So far, we have similar usage expectations -- though
I just can't discipline myself to carry it *with* me 
:<
All of my contact information sits in it -- updated
each time I discover something to be out of date
(i.e. if I receive an email from someone telling me
they have moved/have a new phone number, that gets
transcribed to the PDA immediately).

But, since I don't carry it with me, it doesn't see
much real use for "notes" and the like -- unless I
come up with something while walking, etc.  (e.g.,
I began noticing "depressions" in the soil in various
places around the neighborhood.  I suspect due to
underground leaks in the water main.  So, I have a
"note" that I use to track these -- since the only
time I notice them is when I am "at ground level")

I'm pretty quick with Graffiti but find myself heavily
abbreviating, incorrect grammar, etc. just to cut
down on the *amount* that I have to write.  This is
not true when I write myself a note on paper.  (And,
you will have, no doubt, noticed that brevity in
*email* is not one of my "problems"  :>  )

>>> My main use for it is, no surprise, reading books.

>>
>>For *visually* reading them or as an "audio book"?
>>(sorry, I've not looked at your "Weasel Reader" to
>>figure out what it does)
>
>Visual reading.  Here's some screenshots, if you're
>interested:  http://weaselreader.org/screenshots.php

Ah, OK.  I will chase them down.  I have a hard time
reading much of anything (besides a short web page)
"on a machine".  I am too heavily wed to the touch
and feel of a real book -- an obsession I have been
actively trying to "break" for several decades, now!
(I actually managed to NOT attend the annual book sale
at the library this year.... SO FAR... :> )

>If I wanted to listen to an audio book, I would just
>use my MP3 player instead

Understood.  Though, do you have the same degree of
control over navigation therein?  (I'm not keen on
audio books, either.  I just don't learn as well
"audibly" as I do "visually")

>>> It's also got wifi and I
>>> frequently use it to SSH and check my email. 
>>> Sometimes I'll use it to browse
>>> the web, but the included browser is really awful.
>>
>>OK.  As I mentioned to Jude, I'm discounting these
>>features.  I'm just trying to figure out why the
>>PIM-type features aren't used more readily.
>
>Well, as you (or maybe it was somebody else)
mentioned,
>age might have something to do with it.

For me, interface is the issue.  E.g., I use a
dual-headed
(two x 21") setup for my primary workstation.  And a
"regular" keyboard.  Even the larger laptops have a
hard time appealing to me (I typically only use a
*small* laptop when I am traveling -- e.g., to hack
up code snippets or to show pix to friends/family).
The quality of most portable keyboards leave much to
be
desired (not much travel in the keys, plus they tend
to
have "printed" legends instead of "molded in plastic")

>I had an summer internship with the NSA just after
>finishing my second year at the UA.  I was exposed to
>Palm PDAs for the first time (a Palm III).  I liked
it
>a lot and also thought it would make a great ebook
>reader so I purchased a Palm Vx that same summer.

I had a III that was disappointing (contrast ratio).
The Vx is somewhat better.  If I could have an m515
that was just monochrome, that would probably be
the best... there, I think the CCFL makes a big
difference
over the electroluminescent one in the III/Vx.

>Since then I've always had one.  At the time, I had
>not spent many years with *any* particular 
>filing/organization system so the cost of changing at
>that point was rather small.

Understood.  I've had to rely on paper, largely.
Even so far as to *print* electronic documents to add
to paper archives (since most of the *paper* documents
were just not available in electronic form -- and,
having a mixture of both means you *never* have what
you want in the *form* you want it... :< )

I've since begun scanning all of my paper archives
and burning to CD as well as disk (which are then
backed up onto tape).  I figure there's no guarantee
that I won't *lose* something at some point... but,
I just can't afford all of this *paper* (for example,
just the paperwork documenting a circuit board may
fill a folder 1.5" thick!)

>>Yes, I do a couple of Soduko puzzles on each of
>>my two daily 30-minute walks.  But, that gets boring
>>pretty fast.  I would imagine crosswords might be
>>a better "investment" for me but that would require
>>a friendlier user interface.
>
>When I still lived in Tucson, I had a 30 minute bus
>ride across town to the UA.  I usually spent those
>trips reading on my PDA.  Now my bus ride is very
>short so I usually just read the newspaper.

Good point!  I can't read while riding in a moving 
vehicle (except airplanes -- probably because there
is no sense of motion... clouds are clouds are clouds)
but this would be a great way of carrying lots of
"paper" without the associated weight!  And, since it
is a regular/planned activity, you *know* you will
have time to access it (vs. carrying something around
"just in case" you have some spare time...)

--don



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