VisorCentral.com - Is it really over--??

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Visor General Chat (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=31)
-- Is it really over--?? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=29594)

Posted by Yorick on 11-23-2002 12:59 AM:

Re: We're #1?

quote:
Originally posted by HindeR
I heard Ed's speech on why they moved from Organizers to Communicators.

if I wanted a "communicator" I'd still be a Star Trek geek.

Stupid Handspring.

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Posted by EricG on 11-23-2002 04:25 AM:

Re: Re: We're #1?

quote:
Originally posted by Yorick

if I wanted a "communicator" I'd still be a Star Trek geek.

Stupid Handspring.

Ditto..

I like my dumb little Nokia 5160.. what can I say.. I simply don't want a combo device.. As it is I hardly use it anyway.. I don't have a corporate expense account and at the cost of a communicator I would be afraid to use it outside where it could get broken or stolen, touched by other humans.. etc.. so what's the point in having it. At least the 5160 I don't give a hoot about.. if it breaks or stolen big deal, I'll get another one..

Also, I like Handspring, I really do, I don't want to switch to another vendor, but they haven't given me much non "cell" based alternative choices..

I sit in agony every day just thinking about abandoning my beloved Visor line..

The Palm T|T is looking better all the time..

"Stupid Handspring."

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Posted by EJSHUMAK on 11-23-2002 05:29 AM:

exactly

You drop your cell phone --It cost you 80 bux--maybe less to replace--(I know--I've done it)

And do you need another fifty dollar a month bill for your cell/PDA--

Posted by MIKE STH on 11-23-2002 03:47 PM:

You rock!

GADZOOKS YORICK! You did it! It hit me like a ton of bricks as I read your post...yup, you gave me a new signature and I think it's most appropriate.

Good show

__________________
"Stupid Handspring."

Posted by alight on 11-23-2002 05:22 PM:

Seems like you just cannot kill a good concept:

The New Joy of Reading:
http://www.practicegodspresence.com/newjoy.html

Posted by Keefer Lucas on 11-24-2002 02:37 AM:

Re: Re: Re: We're #1?

quote:
Originally posted by EricG

Ditto..

... I simply don't want a combo device.. As it is I hardly use it anyway..

I've read a number of quotes from PDA users who "resent" having to carry both a cell phone and a PDA. Personally, I can't appreciate the logistics of combining the devices. I have a company cell phone and own my own PDA. If I want a combo device who owns it? Who pays for it? Does it become another of those meddlesome tasks where I am supposed to submit a monthly itemization to break down personal/business calls, emails, etc?

I guess what I don't understand is, if everyone is targetting the profitable "enterprise" user, how come I don't know any enterprise level users who have company supplied PDAs? Are there really law firms, insurance companies, and Fortune 500 companies out there handing Treo-like devices out to the masses and saying essentially, "go forth and use your new-found connectivity in exciting and productivity enhancing way?". Once upon a time dotcom companies handed out PDAs (Visor Deluxes were uber-hip) as perks to both the high-flying and the rank-and- file, but those days are long gone (much to Handspring's chagrin).

I frequently hand ovr my cell phone, to my wife, to a child, to an administrative assistant to accompany them on "a mission". I suppose I would have to do the same with a Treo or other combo device, but [i]how awkward is that[i]?

I have been known to simultaneously carry on my person a PDA (Platinum), a GPS (Garmin GPS 12), a Digital Camera (Kodak DC3900) and a Cell Phone (Kyocera something-or-other which came free with my plan). I have cables and Springboard modules which allow me to interface with all of these devices through my VPL. Pretty neat I think, especially seeing as I have this fantastic connectedness with technology that is between two and five years old. It is dicouraging to think that while I am thinking "this is neat" that there are others among us who "resent" having to carry this many discreet devices...

Posted by EJSHUMAK on 11-24-2002 04:40 AM:

I agree--

I think the time is coming when the convergence of these two important devices may be inevitable---But not yet.

The cell phone and PDA still have very different primary uses--
The Phone still is primarily a communicator and the PDA primarily either an organizer, personal toy, or a business tool.

When WI-Fi or Bluetooth or something new becomes ubiquitous, then --perhaps-- a combination device will be required--

Most still use the two devices--primarily-- for very different uses--

AND--
It coould be that they will never be appropriately combined--

It is always a tradeoff--Size vs screen readability--

A phone is much smaller and doesn't need the screen resolution of a wireless PDA -- They are used differently-- At least for now--
And wireless data costs have to come WAY down---

Posted by Keefer Lucas on 11-24-2002 02:55 PM:

Splendid Ubiquity

I think that what is more inevitable is that all of the devices will migrate into a handheld unit that is effectively little more than a screen with a wireless connection that gives you the option to tap into your desktop system, your camera, your cell or cordless phone, your GPS, the radar system of your yacht, your home entertainment system, etc.

In the future I suspect that rather than manage an operating systems on our desktop systems that we will manage a "radiant dome" of connectivity in specific environments (home, office, boat, car) in which our PDA serves as a universal interface.

We are certainly moving in that direction with the evolution of the tablet system, but it is a long, slow slog...

Posted by Toby on 11-24-2002 04:49 PM:

Re: Splendid Ubiquity

quote:
Originally posted by Keefer Lucas
I think that what is more inevitable is that all of the devices will migrate into a handheld unit that is effectively little more than a screen with a wireless connection that gives you the option to tap into your desktop system, your camera, your cell or cordless phone, your GPS, the radar system of your yacht, your home entertainment system, etc.

In the future I suspect that rather than manage an operating systems on our desktop systems that we will manage a "radiant dome" of connectivity in specific environments (home, office, boat, car) in which our PDA serves as a universal interface.

We are certainly moving in that direction with the evolution of the tablet system, but it is a long, slow slog...

Hmm...sounds like Bluetooth.

Posted by K. Cannon on 11-24-2002 06:54 PM:

Sounds more like Big Brother.

Posted by Toby on 11-24-2002 07:04 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by K. Cannon
Sounds more like Big Brother.

huh? His scenario mentioned nothing about the government controlling it. It sounds more like a lot of things which can already be done with bluetooth.

Posted by Keefer Lucas on 11-25-2002 03:11 AM:

Re: Re: Splendid Ubiquity

quote:
Originally posted by Toby

Hmm...sounds like Bluetooth.

Sounds like something in between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to me...Bluetooth's 30 foot range is a cruel tease in anything other than the cubicle realm. I live for the day all I need to send up the mast of a sailboat is a power cable and don't have to worry about a half dozen different connectors bringing data back down!

Posted by Keefer Lucas on 11-25-2002 02:03 PM:

Connectedness Revisited

Check out the attached picture of the passenger seat of my car to see why I need to invest in bluetooth enabled devices.

Posted by Yorick on 11-25-2002 03:30 PM:

Re: You rock!

quote:
Originally posted by MIKE STH
GADZOOKS YORICK! You did it! It hit me like a ton of bricks as I read your post...yup, you gave me a new signature and I think it's most appropriate.

Good show

in reflection it should have been "Stupid, stupid Handspring!" (cf. Jeff Smith's "Bone")

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Posted by Madkins007 on 11-25-2002 04:11 PM:

Ah, 'communicators' rather than cell phones- the wonderful world of digital convergance.

Remember when cell phones just made or answered calls? Now, they have integrated cameras, play games, run simple PIMs, handle paging duties, and so on- all without integrated PDAs built-in.

When I got my first PDA (Handspring Deluxe), I got it because I wanted to replace my electronic organizer with one that was easier to use and 'smarter', AND replace my kit with the GameBoy (with camera), Franklin Dictionary with Bookman slot and Bible card, digital camera, notepad, and so on. I carried a leather bag stuffed with gear around, and I was intrigued by the promise of doing most of it with one device- so I paid $250 for an Ice Deluxe straight from Handspring.

Now- a lot of people are in a similar place- PDA, cell phone, pager. Many of us are carrying a MP3 and digital camera as well. It sometimes feels like I am back at square one!

Personally, I like the idea of an integrated communicator. It seems to be a continuation of the promise Handspring first made those many years ago to us. I would LOVE to be able to dump my work beeper by having it routed somehow to my PDA, and be able to return calls, etc. without another piece of hardware.

Sure, I miss the Springboard, and really hope they bring it back- possibly as a CF slot. I also am really glad that other companies will continue making basic non-connected PDAs for those who want that choice.

(I also am not really sure that the Treo series is exactly the 'communicator' I am looking for. For one thing, I can't seem to use it locally yet!)

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Posted by K. Cannon on 11-25-2002 05:16 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Toby
His scenario mentioned nothing about the government controlling it.

ah....nothing about the government controlling it...yet

(leave me alone and allow me my paranoid moments)

Posted by Toby on 11-25-2002 09:03 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by K. Cannon

ah....nothing about the government controlling it...yet

(leave me alone and allow me my paranoid moments)

"As you wish."

Posted by Yorick on 11-26-2002 11:44 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by Madkins007
When I got my first PDA (Handspring Deluxe), I got it because I wanted to replace my electronic organizer with one that was easier to use and 'smarter', AND replace my kit with the GameBoy (with camera), Franklin Dictionary with Bookman slot and Bible card, digital camera, notepad, and so on. I carried a leather bag stuffed with gear around, and I was intrigued by the promise of doing most of it with one device- so I paid $250 for an Ice Deluxe straight from Handspring.

Now- a lot of people are in a similar place- PDA, cell phone, pager. Many of us are carrying a MP3 and digital camera as well. It sometimes feels like I am back at square one!

when I was looking into PDA's in the first place, it was so I could replace my paper planner. With my first PP I didn't like having to replace the pages every couple months, because it didn't have room for the whole year -- and one that did was too bulky to carry about -- and because of that I couldn't check on old appointments and see what things I'd done more than those couple months back, at least not without going back to the office and looking them up. The second one I had -- since the first was office property and I'd left that job -- was teeny and had the whole ryear in it, but it was a week to a two-page spread and the re wasn't much room for notes and stuff.

The Visor appealed to me mainly because of the expansion slot. (The see-thru cases were a selling point too, since I have a Mac G4 and it matched.) In addition to having years of data in one little box, plus my whole phone book, plus lots of room for notes, plus any number of reference applications, plus the possibility of adding stuff like a digital recorder and an MP3 player and a digital camera etc ... the techno geek deep in the heart of me said "Yessss!" in its best David Kaye voice.

In theory it's a great idea. In practice .. the modules have always seemed to me to be overpriced, and so I only bought a few. Over time I've lost interest in the modules. the Digital camera turned out to be disappointing for the money I paid and later I got a dedicated DC which is far superior in quality and resolution for about the same price (two years later tho, so it would have been about double the eyemod at the time I got that). I still would like a digital recorder, but with the discontinuance I don't know where to find one.

I've discovered that what I really needed from a PDA wasn't all the trappings and fancy gee-gaws and stuff. I just needed a planner that was bigger and better than my paper planner without having a larger physical size. Which really is what I have.

I do want an MP3 player (tho I lean heavily to replacing my portable CD player with an MP3-capable CD player instead of a separate MP3 device), I'm likely finally going to get a cellphone in the next month (all I need it to do is receive and transmit phone calls, but paging would be useful too), and I'm still on the hunt for one of those digital recorder modules. But in the long run I'm okay with those being separate devices instead of integrated. Integrated means less stuff to carry, but more stuff that can go on the fritz inside -- and what do you do when your phone is out of commission and it's also your PDA, MP3 player, digital camera, and movie player? Just remember you don't *have* carry all your gear with you at all times.

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Posted by MIKE STH on 11-26-2002 02:44 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Yorick

The Visor appealed to me mainly because of the expansion slot. In addition to having years of data in one little box, plus my whole phone book, plus lots of room for notes, plus any number of reference applications, plus the possibility ... the techno geek deep in the heart of me said "Yessss!" in its best David Kaye voice.

I've discovered that what I really needed from a PDA wasn't all the trappings and fancy gee-gaws and stuff. I just needed a planner that was bigger and better than my paper planner without having a larger physical size. Which really is what I have.

I do want an MP3 player (tho I lean heavily to replacing my portable CD player with an MP3-capable CD player instead of a separate MP3 device),

We are on the same page Yorick...always knew you were ok

This is exactly my own evolution...might I suggest the IRIVER SLIM MP3/CD/CDR player? I'm very happy with mine and they are even cheaper now. Drove from Texas to PC Florida on the same disc/same charge. In addition, I just traded out my old datacapeable phone yesterday. After two years with Sprint, I selected a Motorola V60 from Verizon, no web stuff, but great form factor. Comes down to the realization that I WANT seperation in my phone/PDA, I don't want to toss the PDA to my daughter so she can call her friend and othere assorted delimas. I'm now a happy geek guy

__________________
"Stupid Handspring."

Posted by Madkins007 on 11-26-2002 03:09 PM:

Side note on MP3-

I have played with this stuff, but... am I the only one that is disappointed with it?

I can't seem to locate music on-line I am especially interested in, and transfering my cassettes to digital is a major pain in the neck. (CD to digital is quick and simple, but most of the stuff I most want to carry is in tape format).

Play time is relatively short, and the storage media is relatively expensive on a 'per song' basis. 'Fiddling time' of transfering the music from the computer or CD to the MP3 is a nuisance, and most of the players are pretty dang expensive.

I dunno- I had a MiniJam and a SoundsGood- neither lasted long before I got bored with it. Now, I have MP3 capabilities in my Kodak MC3 camera/player and I'm just barely using it.

So, I'm wondering- am I missing something, or is this an immature technology at this point?

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