From: Steven N. Fettig (snfettig_at_hillsdale.edu)
Date: Thu Jun 03 1999 - 17:53:33 EDT
While I am not completely versed in the latest trends with WinCE
machines and also am not familiar with the Workpad z50 from personal
experience, my sympathies go with Jane Loyless, who says "run." A good year
ago I started really investigating PDAs/laptop "replacements" because I was
actually getting sick of hauling out my laptop for small things like finding
addresses, checking on my latest Email messages, reading a pre-written
document, keeping track of appointments, and reading pre-loaded HTMs. It
was too heavy, took to long to load and wasn't as convenient as my stuffed
"little black book." I looked primarily at HP and Philips machines - who
had offered the most memory and expansion possibilities at the time, and
also at Palm Pilots. I ended up with the Palm Pilot and am on my 2nd
already (I sold the old one to get one of the new "toys" - Palm IIIx).
Okay, while the CE machines can do almost anything that a laptop or
desktop can, they were too clumsy, not easy enough to use, and didn't offer
me seamless syncing abilities with data I already had on my desktop. The
most important thing for me was the ability to sync with my main information
on my desktop/laptop - Palm was the only one that did this without too much
of a learning curve. (And this lies primarily with the OS... CE is simply
too big and clumsy in my eyes.) With a few additions - a modem and the new
Landware keyboard - I am set 24/7. Not with everything, but at least the
essentials - and the main part - the Palm itself - fits in my shirt
pocket...
When I went to upgrade to the Palm IIIx (3 weeks ago), I checked out CE
machines once again. Although they can, again, do most of what a laptop can
do - they were clumsy... OS, screen, attachments (also $$) and everything.
Okay, this is my opinion... I have a my Palm with me all the time and use
it all the time - my girlfriend complains that I spend more time with it
than her (joke!) - and have been very pleased with its performance. I have
yet to be disappointed with my ability to integrate it with my Laptop and
Desktop as my needs grow. Instead of always having a newspaper and my
stuffed "little black book," I have my Palm. A definite load off my
shoulders... Not a replacement for a desktop/laptop, but a definite
supplement. Instead of wasting more precious space on the list, write me
personally if you have some more specific questions.
Thanks,
Steve
PS - The Palm IIIx is also offered under the IBM brand, called the Workpad
30x. Same thing, different logo - possibly different support, too.
________________________________________________________________________
Steven N. Fettig Network Administrator
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale, MI
Email:
snfettig_at_hillsdale.edu <mailto:snfettig_at_hillsdale.edu
snfettig_at_pensys.com <mailto:snfettig_at_pensys.com>
Tel:
(USA & Canada - Voicemail) +1 888 835 3268 x2567
(Int'l - Direct) +49 171 812 9667 (from the USA & Canada 011 49 171 812
9667)
Fax:
+1 603 288 0296
ICQ: 15804759
_________________________________________________________________________
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Thu Jan 23 2003 - 09:55:04 EST