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Who here uses a PDA? If so, what kind. What do you like about it and what do you hate (if anything).
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I love it. I let the battery get too low one time and I lost everything, but since I (finally) synced it with Outlook, I won't have that problems anymore.
I've written lesson plans on vacation and printed them from my PDA. I love having Word on my PDA. I play solitare. I've written a post on Hatrack because we have wireless internet at the house. And, it's made planning and gathering addresses and other information really easy for my wedding.
I'm still learning what all it will do, because I haven't had it that long. But, I LOVE it.
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My understanding (from back when I worked at CompUSA) was that there were three guys who originally started Palm -- and the whole Palm OS and everything. Then these three guys eventually got "bought out" -- so they went out and started Handspring (must of not signed a no-compete clause), and began offering Handsprings with the Palm OS that were better and less expensive. That was about the time I got mine.
So the only real difference between those two is price.
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Hey, FG, did you know you can turn a GBA into a PDA?
I also have a Visor from the good ol' days. I haven't used it in a while, but if this new funding source works out, I might start having meetings again and actually need it. I liked it when I was using it, I just don't have any current need for it. For space purposes (physical purse space, not memory) I might mod the GBA if I need an organizer again. But the not-touchscreen interface would be a pain....
Let's see. Yeah, eats batteries. Love graffiti, and if David's reading, that's what I read both books you sent me on. Bill's got a Pocket PC and that's just way more than what I'd ever want in a PDA. I mean, I could actually get work done on it! Ack! Why would I want to have the option of working everywhere I went?
Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Other thing -- I really don't feel PDA's are made for women. I mean, really. It used to frustrate the heck out of me because all the guys were carrying their PDA's in handy little cases that clipped to their belts for ready access. Or in the inside pocket of their suit jackets.
We women, who usually have to dress in something nicer than pants w/belts for corporate work, have no place to "carry" our PDAs except in our purses or day planners, which makes the whole idea very bulky.
So someone needs to invent a way for a woman to easily carry a PDA without it being a burden and/or not stylish.
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I'm highly in favor of PDAs, thinking they dress up a park considerably, particularly in springtime when all the flowers are in bloom, and love is in the air.
Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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Oh, good one, ak! I was just pondering on the effects technology has on semantics.
PDA when I was a kid = public display of affection. Something to be interested in, certainly, but NOT to be exhibited in the hallowed hallways of the old high school.
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I have one of the Visor Handspring PDAs. It's black and white, small, has a decent amount of storage space (and you can always use a memory card with it too), has pretty good battery life (but I have a charger at home and one at work). I love it. I can more easilly keep track of appointments and contacts for work, plus I have something to do while I'm sitting around waiting (which I have to do a lot) - I can play games and read books. Since getting it a little more than a year ago, I have read probably hundreds of books.
Slacker has a Dell Axim. It's really nice - color screen, can play mp3s and movies, wireless capable (for email, messaging, etc), etc.
Color, high resolution, cheap compared to similar models ($179-$200). Uses the same SD expansion cards as my camera, and can use the same car charger as my cell phone. Can play mp3s, watch movies, see photo galleries, play games, read web pages offline, write. I wrote most of my 2003 NaNoWriMo novel on it.
But mostly what I use my Palm for is reading. There are about 40 books on it right now, completely vanguishing that creeping fear that you're about to finish the book you have with you but you didn't bring a spare. E-books are cheaper, occasionally become available before the print editions, and are way easier to store. I've been slowly replacing my favorite books with either e-versions or hardbacks, depending on whether or not other people in my household like them and what their sentimental value is.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I love my HP 2215 . I had a 1945 before but I found that it was easy to drain the processors power by leaving apps open. The 2215 has never given me trouble. I had a visor before that that finally died, but I'm very happy with my PocketPC. Excel is great to have and it syncs better with my computer than Palm OS did.
Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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I have a dinky old Palm m100. I made a valiant effort to use it, but it just is not useful. Trying to conduct my life from such a small, monochrome screen was a ridiculous farce. Trying to enter text, even though I got fast at it, was irritating at best.
I'd buy a better one if it was at all a priority, but it's not even on my top 100 things to get. Notepad/Pencil OS works just fine.
Posts: 144 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I love my Palm. The m100 I used to have was a gift, and I didn't expect to use it much, not being a calendar/organizer fan. But it was so easy to put in my class schedule (thanks to repeating events), and it was GREAT to have all my phone numbers and such with me everywhere.
The games I have on it are a fun way to deal with spending time in line . . . or just waste time anywhere. And I like having lots of fanfic I can read whenever. I tend to prefer reading printed words, so I'm not a big ebook fan; however, since the fanfics I read are all electronic, my choices are read them on the computer, print 'em out (which gets ridiculous on the longer ones), or read 'em on my Palm. I generally go with option 3.
When my m100 died I replaced it with a (now discontinued) m125 . It's monochrome and was significantly cheaper than many other options. And it takes memory cards, which the m100 did not.
OTOH, one of my brothers has a Handspring which he adores, and another has the Trio (a combo of PDA and cell-phone) and likes it a lot.
Deciding which PDA to buy really depends a LOT on what you'll be doing with it -- how important is it to you to be able to read and manipulate Word or Excel files, for example? They're the reason a friend of mine went with a Palm PC.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I have an inexpensive Palm zire and it's great for what I need it for - to help me keep track of appointments, a handy place to store lists and phone numbers, and a calculator in a pinch when I need to calculate some fabric in the fabric store.
My husband has a much more expensive version that allows him to run Excel spreadsheets and Word - because when he's on a job he can pull up his pricing spreadsheet and calculate a job price for someone, and he stores all his contracts/quotes which are Word files so he can access them.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Back when I had a job, and a life, and went to school, and bought cards for Gospel Supplies, and sold cosmetics, I used my old Palm IIIe constantly. (I called it Palmy. ) But now that I'm a housewife, I use it for a calculator.
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My favorite PDAs have all been Sony ones. Their design is good, and their low-end ones are a great value.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I'm holding out. I have a Franklin planner my grandparents gave me when I graduated from high school. THe planners have a lifetime guarantee, so when it gets worn or something on it breaks, they'll replace it for free.
I really love it. I especially love that all my money stuff is in one place, and the section of quotes and poetry in the back that I've been building since I got the planner. It's like a history of my thoughts and authors, since what I was reading at any given point is in there.
I'll get an electronic one when Franklin goes out of business and my planner is finally too worn to be useful.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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This is my PDA. It is also my cellphone. I absolutely love it. It has literally changed my life. I never forget anything. I never forget to do anything. People view me as unbelievably responsible. I keep track of my finances instantly. I have lost forty pounds. I can download maps when I travel, or make Priceline reservations for that night. I have instant access to all sorts of information. I have used it to post at Hatrack (but not GreNME--GreNME is not friendly to my browser); in fact, almost all of my posting on my New Jersey trip last month was done on it.
I've had it for about a year and a half, and I paid a lot less than Amazonn says it retails for. I did get a government employee discount, but still, given that it's an older PDA phone, I think Amazon is clearly high. In price. They're high in price.
I really love that it's both a PDA and a cell phone. I knew there was no way I wanted to carry two different pieces of technology on my waist. If I had a separate one, I probably would have stopped using it or lost it.
There. That enough gushing for you, Storm?
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Dec 2002
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I love my PDA. I need to get a cell phone with blue tooth so I can sync stuff. I'm still not sure exactly how blue tooth works. Though, I don't think I'll start toothing.Posts: 1735 | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
You know the old saw about getting what you pay for? It definitely applies to sex. I can only imagine what some of these characters look like who engage in this 'anonymous' sex.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Yeah, my wife is constantly referring to my handheld computer as my "public display of affection". Just adds to her belief that I'm having a relationship with my computer.
Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
If anyone clicked on the other link that I provided, it's kind of amusing in its own right. I had provided it as a kind of counterbalance to the first link, thinking it would refute the idea that the British had bad teeth, but after actually reading the posts on that page, I think I failed.
"Any truth to the American stereotype that you Brits have bad teeth?"
"We Brits are just more comfortable with who we are."
"We're just not as vain as Americans with their high falutin' 'dentistry'"
"Yes. We Brits have bad teeth and are proud of it."
What I thought was kind of funny was
quote: I don't know about the States, but here in Mexico the common phrase to describle 'wonky' teeth is 'dientes ingles' (English teeth).
It must be sad to be world reknowned for having awful choppers.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Farmgirl, I have (and love!) my Sony Clie SJ-33. It is the size and shape of - and opens like - a makeup compact, with a hard polycarbonate cover. Drops neatly into purse, not bulky at all (also fits in front pocket of bluejeans). Color screen, quite easy to use; I take notes with it, keep track of calendaring for multiple individuals, phone numbers, driving directions, journal-keeping, scripture reading, and music composing. It's also an mp3 player and an alarm clock - very convenient when traveling, I like it to play sleepy music for planes and hotel rooms. And the games onboard are a lifesaver when my young children are bored waiting someplace. You can buy one online for about $150.
Posts: 6 | Registered: Dec 2003
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