The return of an old friend......
Nov. 16th, 2003 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Three years ago, I purchased a Palm IIIxe personal digital assistant. It was my constant companion for about three years.
This past summer, I started using rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries in my Palm IIIxe. I found that these batteries didn't recharge as high as new alkaline batteries -- even after a full charge, they still registered only about 75% of capacity (i.e. the voltage of a brand new alkaline battery). They'd last for a couple of months, and as soon as they hit 25% of capacity, they'd poop out. Of course, I lost my data when that happened. And so, my Palm went unused for a few months.
This evening, I finally put some fresh alkaline batteries in the Palm, and am re-syncing everything as I "speak" (i.e. type this). I hope to start using it again for the personal data I've been putting on paper in the meantime -- names and numbers, to-do lists, expense tracking, wish lists. It's great for keeping information that doesn't change much over time, but for note-taking, I prefer pen (or pencil) and paper.
As for the software I run on it besides PalmOS, I run Quickoffice, which allows me to read and write Word and Excel documents on the Palm (and sync it with a similar document on the PC), and Qmate, which I use to enter data into Quicken via QIF file imports. I considered switching to Pocket Quicken, but what additional functionality would that give me?
As for upgrading it to a current model, I don't see the need to do so just yet. I don't need a camera or a color screen for most of the things I do. (And if it had a camera, I couldn't bring it to work because they have a ban on cameras, including ones attached to cell phones and PDAs.) I looked at the current models Palm (now PalmOne) has. The Zire is inexpensive but doesn't have a lot of memory. The Tungsten is nice but pricey. If the case is metal instead of plastic, I'd consider that a plus -- the door to my battery case is broken; it is held closed by a piece of electrical tape. Some of the Handspring models are nice, but will probably not be available for much longer, as Handspring and Palm merged recently.
What do I wish this Palm had? One, a built-in voice recorder, so I can take spoken notes. (I had a GoVox Digital Recorder, which took the place of the lid, but it has since been misplaced.) Second, a slot for me to add a small memory card -- SD, Compact Flash, etc. -- so I can keep a backup copy of my data just in case.
I really liked the TRG Pro, and its successor, the Handera 330, but both products have been discontinued by the manufacturer. I think a Pocket PC is overkill -- I don't need all that functionality. So in the meantime, I'll make do with my old friend.
This past summer, I started using rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries in my Palm IIIxe. I found that these batteries didn't recharge as high as new alkaline batteries -- even after a full charge, they still registered only about 75% of capacity (i.e. the voltage of a brand new alkaline battery). They'd last for a couple of months, and as soon as they hit 25% of capacity, they'd poop out. Of course, I lost my data when that happened. And so, my Palm went unused for a few months.
This evening, I finally put some fresh alkaline batteries in the Palm, and am re-syncing everything as I "speak" (i.e. type this). I hope to start using it again for the personal data I've been putting on paper in the meantime -- names and numbers, to-do lists, expense tracking, wish lists. It's great for keeping information that doesn't change much over time, but for note-taking, I prefer pen (or pencil) and paper.
As for the software I run on it besides PalmOS, I run Quickoffice, which allows me to read and write Word and Excel documents on the Palm (and sync it with a similar document on the PC), and Qmate, which I use to enter data into Quicken via QIF file imports. I considered switching to Pocket Quicken, but what additional functionality would that give me?
As for upgrading it to a current model, I don't see the need to do so just yet. I don't need a camera or a color screen for most of the things I do. (And if it had a camera, I couldn't bring it to work because they have a ban on cameras, including ones attached to cell phones and PDAs.) I looked at the current models Palm (now PalmOne) has. The Zire is inexpensive but doesn't have a lot of memory. The Tungsten is nice but pricey. If the case is metal instead of plastic, I'd consider that a plus -- the door to my battery case is broken; it is held closed by a piece of electrical tape. Some of the Handspring models are nice, but will probably not be available for much longer, as Handspring and Palm merged recently.
What do I wish this Palm had? One, a built-in voice recorder, so I can take spoken notes. (I had a GoVox Digital Recorder, which took the place of the lid, but it has since been misplaced.) Second, a slot for me to add a small memory card -- SD, Compact Flash, etc. -- so I can keep a backup copy of my data just in case.
I really liked the TRG Pro, and its successor, the Handera 330, but both products have been discontinued by the manufacturer. I think a Pocket PC is overkill -- I don't need all that functionality. So in the meantime, I'll make do with my old friend.
