First, the funny stuff:
In a message dated 1/3/00 11:48:04 PM, victor@gear.torque.net writes:
> Forget that. I want something that I can wire into my head so I don't even need the glasses. :-)
Resistance is futile. Prepare to be assimilated by the Borg.
I confessed earlier on this list that one of the dangers of Newt's size is the inability to carry it in a comfortable, simple manner, which then has people like me leaving it down in places like the shelf of sweaters at Macy's or on the roof of a friend's car. I need something smaller, but did not want to surrender Newt to try something that I may be disappointed with.
Peter Rand has recommended to all of us that, should we ever have to replace our Newtons, we should consider the Psion Revo. It sounds like a great device, but I want to take it out for a test drive before I buy...you know, kick the tires, put it through its paces before I lay out a few hundred hard-earned dollars on it.
I've had just that chance this past week or so with the Palm. I have been fortunate in that the electric utility I am a consultant for is in the process of upgrading a number of their IT people to Palm VIIs, which has left a lowly Palm Pilot Professional without a home, and given me a chance to try out what many have touted as 'the replacement for my Newton.' Hardly, and not just because I'm test driving OS 1.0, rather than 3.2 or 3.3 on a Palm III or VII.
Yes, I really do appreciate that when I have to go somewhere in the office, I can just shove the Pilot in my pocket and go, as opposed to carry Newton around in my hand. One of David MacNeill's 'Newton Notes' columns in Pen Computing magazine talked about the invisibility of handheld devices - that the device so integrates with our daily life that we forget we have it and use it constantly. Newton is just too large to be completely invisible.
Shawn Barnett - Palm editor at Pen Computing - shared with me that he thinks that the Palm platform should never be considered a replacement for Newton. He makes this analogy: Newton is a Mercedez, and Palm is a Volkswagen Beetle. Both are well-made vehicles, but serve different purposes. Some people can get by on the basic platform of a Palm, but some are willing to spend the extra to get a vehicle that is bigger, can do more, and is much more well-made. I think I'd actually make the analogy myself between a Beetle and one of those new super-SUVs like the Ford Excursion. The Excursion is an amazing vehicle (like a skyscraper laid on its side with wheels attached, it's just that big) and can do some amazing things as far as all that it can carry and the messes it can get through that would kill a lesser vehicle. But there are places you can drive a Beetle that you just can't - or don't want to - take a monster SUV like an Excursion.
So my solution is the same as what my brother and sister-in-law did: they have two cars - the sedan for the city commutes and other small trips, and the SUV for when the go on longer trips and need the loarger space for the two of them and the car seat for my niece, and have to load up the cargo area with the stroller, high chair, Pack-n-Play, and thousands of my niece's toys. Two different vehicles for two different situations...two different handheld devices for two different situations. As long as Newt works, I will continue to use it for much of my portable computing needs, and keep the cheap-y Palm Pilot for the most basic of mobile information needs.
Not the most elegant solution, but it works. For now.
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