Confessions of an Ex-PDA User

About 5 years ago when Pocket PC PDA’s were just taking off in popularity, I bought one of the first iPAQ’s off the assembly line.  As an electrical engineer I felt it was my obligation… nay, duty to purchase this $500+ wonder-toy for the ultra-organized.  It was great.  I used it for everything including tuning my guitar, taking voice memos, and a spare KJV Bible.  I used the Excel spreadsheet to calculate bowling handicaps, the Word documents to store my favorite guitar music for easy reference, and the MS Money application to keep track of all my purchases in real-time and sync up with my PC when I got home.

But then I started noticing something… it was getting pretty tedious to turn on the PDA, navigate to the To-do list application, enter text awkwardly using the stylus, correct handwritting recognition mistakes, save, and turn it off.  Added to that was the hassle of mainitaining battery life and remembering to sync-up with my PC.  I started realizing that my guitar tuner worked much faster and better for tuning my guitar.  The text for my guitar music was too small to read and play at the same time.  And I just looked kind of stupid talking into my PDA in public saying “pick up dry-cleaning.”  So I started using it less and less… until I realized it had been over a year since I really turned that thing on… and I don’t really miss it.

So what’s a detail-oriented, hassle-avoiding, absent-minded engineer to do?  Well, this one decided to go super-low-tech.  I rediscovered the simple elegance of paper and pencil.  In many ways it is superior to PDA’s in my humble [sic] opinion.  So I decided to share exactly how it is in this entry.  So if you will indulge me…

The Advantages of a Steno Notepad Over a PDA

I’ve found that many of the applications that your standard PDA has can be replicated with a notepad.

For Example:

Calculator:

 Granted, the mathematical functions are limited to what you remember from school, and careless errors are more likely, but it has an automatic store function of every step of the calculation.  Also notice the handy stylus/pen holder on top which is compatible with most commercially available writing utensils (sold seperately).

Calendar:

  Montly view… weekly view… daily view… hourly view… you can do it ALL.  Also notice the cool “daily breakout” function for the more hectic days.  It’s fully customizable for Christian holidays, Jewish holidays, Voodoo holidays… whatever you like.

Memos:

  It even has a function where you can merge with other documents.  In this case, a post-it with additional information.

To Do:

  Instant access… just turn to the page with the “to do” list on it.  Edit with ease and even be able to see your edits in real-time.  You could even make notes directly on your “to do” list page for reference later.  Let’s see you do that with a PDA.

Phone Numbers:

  Let’s be truthful.  Who really looks up phone numbers and addresses anymore on their PDA’s?  I mean do you really need to know your cousin Gertrude’s phone number and zip code while you’re out on the road?  Most of the time you can easily wait until you get home to look that stuff up or you have all your numbers stored on your cell phone.  But for those often used numbers, a notepad serves just fine.

Reminders:

  Okay, granted, your notepad isn’t going to spring to life and start beeping like crazy to remind you that you have a dentist appointment in 5 minutes, but do you really have time to get there in 5 minutes if you happened to forget anyway?  With this you can change the urgency of the reminder by increasing the font size or writing “this is really important” next to your reminder.

Word Processing:

  You can write letters, essays, recipes… anything you’d use a word processor for… well, maybe not a resume or something.   And when you’re done – viola!  instant hard-copy.  Let’s see a PDA do that without having to connect to a printer.  With this, the print function is included.  You can change the font to an almost infinite number of different styles and sizes… center/right justify/left justify… bulleted lists… numered lists… mulitple columns… the possibilities are endless.

Games:

  You can play tried-and-true classic games… and multi-player games at that!  The list of possible games is endless… from tic-tac-toe to hangman to sqaures… the beta version of Tetris™ is still being developped… I don’t think it will be compatible without major upgrades or a very very vivid imagination.

I’ve even made some useful customized functions for myself.  See, with PDA’s you have to pay for software for some of the more advanced functions.  With a notepad, you are your own “software” developper… no special schooling or training necessary.  And you won’t void your warranty by making modifications to it.  Here are some of my more advanced bells and whistles…

Mapquest:

  This is specifically directions from Dulles Airport to the White House.

GPS:

  With one minor calibration step, you get the most vital GPS information without all the clutter of map overlays, longitudes, and latitudes.

10 Second Countdown Timer:

  If you start from the bottom, it instantly converts to a “count UP” timer.  Accuracy is somewhat dependent on the user’s rate of speech, but it’s good enough for government work and rushing the quarterback in touch football.

Finally, here are some side-by-side comparison points which highlight the advantage of a notepad vs. a PDA:

Battery Life:
PDA – no more than 3 hours per charge
Notepad – infinite, no charging required

Durability:
PDA – drop it from higher than a couple feet and it is rendered practically useless.
Notepad – you could drop it from a 40-story building, dust it off, and continue to use it – given that you go down the elevator fast enough before someone picks it up and takes it.

Cost:
PDA – a good one will run you $350-$500
Notepad – $9.28 for a pack of 12

Display Size:
PDA – a paltry 3.5″
Notepad – 6″x9″

Extra Memory:
PDA – required compact flash cards which run from $30-$50
Notepad – $9.28 for a pack of 12

Water Resistance:
PDA – are you kidding me?
Notepad – can be submerged underwater for a good amount of time and still have data recoverable.

Actually, I hear that PDA sales have been steadily declining over the last few years.  A bunch of PDA manufacturers have actually abandoned the business.  I guess others are realizing what I am as well.  I know that it may be heresy that an electrical engineer is opting for the low-tech option, but I think that it goes along with an engineer’s desire to use what is most efficient and “close enough” rather than something cumbersome yet exact.