electronic bits
New Year''s resolutions? Naw...too much to think about. Although I would like to sort out my electronic nonsense. Right now, I''ve got an iPod (can''t live without it), a cell phone, Palm pda, PocketPC pda, G4 laptop (can''t live without it), and TabletPC (NEC, very thing), digital camera. Too much stuff to keep track of. So why all the things? Well, for one, since I do bleeding edge media for a living, I need to have devices to test our content. I also am looked upon for advice on how to do things. Anyway, here''s my early new year assesment of my stuff, and what I do/don''t like.', 'iPod - no brainer. Great. The only thing I wish it could do is accept data input (other than with a microphone). Keeper.
cell phone - no brainer...I have to have a phone. BUT, why can''t it do something else? There are ones that do (camera, pda, etc) but I don''t like any of them. The new MS phone scares the heck out of me, and you can''t use a stylus. Frankly, I don''t like navigating with buttons, and it took me too long to figure out just how to use it like a phone. The Treo600 is too bulky and I HATE the mini keyboards....uggh. The old Treos were too big, and the Kyocera is too big too. Still waiting on this front, but I''ve got to replace my v60 as I''ve broken 5 antennas now (I carry the phone in my pocket).
laptop - no brainer. G4 ti book. I''d like to get the new Al body version, but my Ti book has been running flawlessly for well over a year, so why upgrade.
pda - well, I need one to remind me about things. It is also nice to have something to take quick (and sometimes not so quick) notes on. I really want to like Palm, but Grafitti2 is unusable to me. OK for writing a few words, but beyond that, hopeless. In a terrifying state of affairs, I actually like PocketPC2003 fairly well, and the new HP hardware is very good. I can use my 2215 for writing, although the screen is still too small for taking "proper" notes (I like to diagram). So still not perfect, and I don''t really like having MS products controlling my life. So, still undecided. I want a "new" Newton 2100, but that isn''t likely to happen.
tabletPC - an interesting beast. The OS isn''t quite as nice as the PocketPC and you have to have a special pen to use it (bummer if you''ve lost it). But the new NEC VersaPad is a great form factor, very thin and light. And it is big enough to use for taking notes...I can diagram to my hearts content. And I have to admit that the new OneNote app is pretty nice and useful. I have been using the tablet at meetings and it works fairly well. Battery life could be longer (about 2 hours), but not too bad. I still wish it were a bit smaller, but it is pretty close. Same caveat though about having an MS product rule my life.
So, the solution? Apple needs to make a tablet and/or enable data entry in the iPod. I''d like my phone to do more, and my v60 does have calendar functionality that will sync with iSync, but I can''t yet get iSync to talk to our Exchange backend at work (hopefully in January when we upgrade our back end). If my phone can do basic calendar/contact stuff (which it should), syncing with my desktop, then I''m set there. The iPod can just do music and store files, and the tablet can be used for notes, or I can use paper.
Awhile back I had thought about iPod recording audio at meetings, and my Digital Elph snapping pictures of white board drawings. Still haven''t implemented that, but it is a thought. Maybe MacWorld will bring something interesting...