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Ancestry Daily News
12/27/2001 - Archive
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Rootsworks: PDA 2001- Hardware |
Rootsworks: PDA 2001- Hardware
It seems like every product has a life cycle, and that if you made
a graph of the number of manufacturers over time, it would look like a Volkswagen
Beetle. A few companies make the thing at first. The market responds favorably
and then a lot of companies make one. Finally, after a shakeout where everybody
sells them for the cheapest prices you can imagine, only a few are selling them.
It seems that there were only three companies making Personal Digital Assistants
(PDAs) a couple of years ago, and today there are more like ten. What does that
tell you? It tells you that we're in that teenage period of innovation and creativity,
where every idea has a home. And it tells you that we're not yet to the point
in time where everybody sells them dirt-cheap.
PDAs are going to revolutionize the way the genealogists do research in the
field, literally. We'll talk about the hardware and the general uses for them
today. In later articles, we'll talk about the software, genealogy software,
and other cool things you can do with them.
What Is It?
It's hard to tell where the PDA stops and the Hand Held Computer starts. Let's
just agree that we're talking about gizmos that fit in your hand, and that can
perform a set of functions including: addresses, appointments, memos, to-do
lists, documents, spreadsheets, music, movies, pictures, and maps. They hot-sync
with a personal computer. There are lots for PC, some for Mac, and almost nothing
for Unix/Linux.
These machines are differentiated by the Operating System (OS) that they run,
more than they are by the functions available. In the same way that some computers
use MacOS, Windows, or Linux, PDAs can run Pocket PC, Palm OS, and others. Pocket
PC is the new and improved name for Windows CE 3.0. Pocket PC 2002 is the new
and improved name for Windows CE 3.1. When they give me the keys to Redmond
for a day, I'm going to address that silly naming thing before lunch. I'm going
to demand that they serve me coffee with hazelnut creamer, too.
You've probably heard of convergence, the belief that computing, entertainment,
and communications are becoming more alike all the time. Computers, TVs, and
stereos are becoming hard to tell apart. Many people can watch a DVD on a laptop,
a desktop, or a TV set. Well, it doesn't stop there. Some engineers at Sony
got drunk and accidentally made a palm pilot that is also a universal remote
control. No lie. Well, the drunk part is a lie. The convergence thing is the
unvarnished truth. What will they put together with a PDA next? They already
come with cameras, phones, remote controls, and wireless modems.
There are still plenty of monochrome displays made, but color is definitely
the future PDA look. There are still plenty of modems with jacks for phone wires,
but wireless is definitely the future PDA link. Walter Mossberg, who writes
very nicely about technology for WSJ.com, says of the Samsung I300 phone/PDA,
"In essence, the phone is just another program running on the Palm, or a wireless
modem with voice capacities."
Name Two of Them
The list of PDA manufacturers contains some familiar names: Palm, Compaq, HP,
Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, Casio. Did I say something about convergence? There
are others that are not so familiar: Handspring, Psion, HandEra, Kyocera - the
kind of names that won't get past a spell checker. Many of them make several
models. There are more varieties of PDA for sale than flavors at Baskin Robbins.
They don't make the perfect one yet, but there are lots of good ones. These
days, they all have expansion slots, and some have more than one kind!
When It Works, What Does It Do?
People use PDAs for a variety of reasons. I got mine because I wanted to try
to be more dependable. Having phone numbers with me wherever I might go meant
the end of, "I would have called, but I didn't have your number with me." Having
my appointments with me meant the end of, "I'll get back to my office and check
my calendar, then I'll let you know." Of course, a man who needs an excuse can
find one - "I haven't been able to hot sync for a week, sorry." Welcome to the
new millennium.
More recently, I've found that I can carry most of my office with me- word docs,
spreadsheets, databases, e-mails, pictures, you name it. It's like having a
really big tablet when I need to make notes. It is so easy to make an entry
on the to-do list. If someone says that they'd like to check on a book, I can
make a note and it stays there. When I hot sync, it starts to show up on my
PC, too. Frankly, if you like your excuses easy, don't get a PDA. You'll have
to look harder for reasons to forget things.
I can also carry my whole family tree in my Palm Vx. This is handy when I go
to a repository to work on Vaughans and Calicos, and start finding things about
Sharbroughs. It's been very frustrating to realize that I didn't bring that
family's information, and to have to wonder if I already knew anything about
the people whose names were on the document in front of me. Now I can look them
up and, when I find out that they're not in my direct line, dismiss them with
a haughty sniff. Like I said, people use PDAs for a variety of reasons.
When I hot-sync, I get current info from the Web, right in my Palm. For example,
I get the current issues of the Economist, the New York Times. I have a picture
from the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, of some feet, with the caption "Feet in Beat"
-- so I know what went on at the Quixote Hills Polka Booster Club last week.
I also get synopses and reviews of movies, with show times in my neighborhood.
Have you ever had to drive to the movies, or call and sit through a long tape
loop, just to find out what's on and when?
I haven't mentioned the ease with which you can capture the location of ancestral
gravesites, but the GPS attachments make it extremely easy to get the latitude
and longitude for any place you go. I also left out the joys of beaming images,
files, addresses, and appointments to other PDAs using the infrared port. I
won't mention that some people play games on them. I will, in the last installment,
describe how they are used as tape recorders and MP3 players.
What's the Down Side?
First off, these things cost money. The most expensive ones are $600. I've seen
some inexpensive ones under $200. But that's just the basic unit. Just like
when you buy a car or a dress, it's the accessories that will kill you. A modem,
expanded memory, optional folding keyboard, wireless modem, extra charging cradle,
GPS, and a camera can add up to more than the cost of the original item. For
example, Sony has a very nice monochrome Clie for $200, and a very nice wireless
modem for $300.
There's a bit of an adjustment period until you get comfortable without a piece
of paper in your hand.
The other part of the down side is that whatever you get, one of the other guys
will have a bigger one, or will have gotten a better deal. Don't get a PDA for
status -- get it for functionality. Get one because it will make you a better
man. Or at least that's what you might try saying, to get your wife to agree
to the purchase.
Link Me Up (more stars is better)
PDA 2001: Annual PDA Roundup ****
www.sharbrough.net/genealogy/pda2001.htm
A page I created with reviews and recommendations about Personal Digital Assistants
(PDAs).
The PC Mag 11 Dec 2001 survey ***
www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s%253D1474%2526a%253D18206,00.asp
PC Magazine does great comparisons.
A Page to shop for PDAs ****
www.bargainpda.com/
This is one of the best sites I've seen - it mixes news, reviews, and pricing
info.
Dave's PDA Place. ***
www.davespda.com/hardware/pda/compare/
This site has good help and lets you build a comparison table for any PDAs they
have on the list. Dave's not here.
PDAGeek reviews. ***
www.geek.com/hwswrev/ppsubhed.htm
Current reviews, and geeks chic to chic. Don't miss the feature on the PDA comparison
game.
What Else?
It's just me, but I don't want to have a Microsoft OS on my PDA and my desktop,
along with Microsoft applications on both computers. I want more choice. There
is great integration between the components of office on the desktop and the
Pocket PC 2002 versions of Word and Excel -- better and simpler than any other
method. Freedom doesn't come without a price. I'm southern and we're stubborn
like that. Having said that, there's something to be said for a computer with
a color display and 64 MB of RAM that runs Word and Excel, and fits into a pocket.
Don't leave yours lying around near me.
The current market for PDAs is a rich, chaotic stew of pure possibility. There's
all the uncertainty about the future that you had on your first date. You got
through that, and you'll get through this the same way -- by asking a lot of
questions, reading whatever you can, shopping around, and taking some chances.
Let's hope you've learned something.
Beau Sharbrough is the lame duck president of GENTECH, and the founder of the
GENTECH and FGS Web sites. The RootsWorks series of articles focuses on genealogical
applications for generic technologies. He would like to hear from you at beau@sharbrough.net,
but due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail
message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual
computer problems, as he is generally busy developing The Virtual Excuse, a
product to promote harmony in family life. Visit Beau's Web site (www.sharbrough.net/)
for links to previous articles and updates on TVE. Beau is the father of two
college-age girls who make excuses adroitly, and is a proud graduate of Texas
A&M University.
Copyright 2001, MyFamily.com.
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