Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 107

Oh. That's an IRC thing not a CS forum thing Maltair.

Cheers,

Ark.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Oregon
Posts: 115

O

__________________
Rose's are Red
My Visor is Blue...

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 88

quote:

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Originally posted by LennyV
I too have had those same comments Arker. Usually from some of the older people who have had some success in life. They love to comment how they "made it" without any type technology.

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Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Columbia, MO
Posts: 125

You're right, Dave - but that's a different group entirely form the one that LennyV's talking about. You're referring to visionaries and he's referring to curmudgeons

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 107

I certainly don't intend to generalize globally here but in my workplace it's the people my age (30) and younger that think it's neat and are truely interested in learning more about the unit. The people over 40 (which is far from 'old') generally are defensive and think it's silly. This is by no means a solid dividing line, there is some crossover happening. This observation also comes as no suprise as the people in the latter category (again in my workplace, not generally) haven't had alot of exposure to non-mainstream technology. Like I said before, simply by pulling the VDx out of the case they almost seem to think that I'm implying that they, and their post-it note technology is obsolete.

If the Franklin DayPlanner worked for me I'd likely still be using one too. It didn't, and I'm not. I'm also glad because I know now that this thing is amazingly superior.

Ark.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 24

Well, from what I have seen those older people who hold middle to upper management positions in large corporations (many of my family members and their friends with whom I occasionaly hang out with) are those who have poo pooed my IVD. Its this group I was referring to.

My background is in the medical field specifcally in teaching hospitals. Thats were I have seen the most use of PDA's by older people as well as younger people. It's just so damn easy to consult the Merck Manual or Epocretes rather than flip through a book.

I guess the point I am trying to make Dave, is the learning institutions will embrace change more openly then stuffy corporate types.

Let me just add that I am sure there are many forward thinking corporate managers who utilize PDA's, many of whom are probably reading this thread, getting ready to flame up at me. What I am relating is from my personal experience, and not meant to steriotype anyone.

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Lenny Vasile
Career Frustrated?
Check out IWantTimeFreedom.com

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: South Lake, FL
Posts: 103

Interestingly, my experience with PDA acceptance and adoptation has been just the opposite. I am one of a department of software engineers for a large entertainment company, most of whom are over 40 or pushing 40, and almost every one of whom own and enthusiastically find uses for their PDAs. This group has actively encouraged wider use of PDAs within the company, including custom programming for "guest" use and for in-house productivity.
The younger members of our group (20s - early 30s) seem much less interested in PDAs, and none of them own one at this point (granted, it's a pretty small sample.)
I'm sure that the fact that we have all been involved with technology for a long time makes this group different from those in other, non-technical, workplace environments.
I have encountered a fair amount of "what on earth would you need one of those for?" attitudes in the outside world, but my wife has had several very interested people approach her while she was grocery shopping (using the excellent HandyShopper )
I think maybe it's more a matter of demonstrating a concrete and productive use for the device than one of age.
Anyway, that's my 2 (maybe 3) cents worth...

__________________
Eschew obfuscation!

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 38

Like showing a pocket lighter to the natives :)

Yeah, my family (both sides) except for a few rare bright folks are technology impaired. At work, it's another case. At AT&T Research I walk in with my new toy and folks go "looks like you got a Visor", "I just ordered mine", or "so how do you like the visor". Everybody there knows what's going on.

With my family, it's like showing up with a lighter in a remote native villiage. I can understand why you get frustrated. A certain ambassadorship of the technology is one thing, but they just don't get it. For some of them, If breathing required thought, they'd be screwed.

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PropellerHead

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 40

I love to hit them with a few numbers:
Five years of appointments,
Over 300 phone numbers, catigorized,
To Do Lists catigorized (I just scrull through the current ones)
Notes, Countless pages,
Books on Isilo between 12 and 24, Referance and novels.
And point out that my son has found many texts for school for FREE.
Word to Go documents, for work and pleasure writing.
Pocket Quiken, all accounts accounted for to the penny.
Etc.
Then I show them how I search and find any appointment, note, phone number in seconds. Paper can't do it.
It becomes a simple matter to realize the size of back pack the paper version would require.
The fact is they can't do it with paper! And I have more fun than they do, and tell them so. Only takes a minute or two. Some seek me out for serious discussions on choosing one. I'm a school teacher and three of my High School students got PDA's for Christmas.
Part of the fun of the Visor is the show off factor.
But when I don't have time I say so.
If time permits I show them a few extras too, Planitarium (excelent by the way), Scout Track, Geneology, Power One Graph, and a few games. Five minutes to blow someone away. Fun, Great FUN.
Best Regards,
Dafydd

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

I guess it depends on the crowd you're surrounded with. I work with some technologically advanced people. But being in South Dakota I'm also surrounded by farmers. Try explaining to a farmer what use he has for a pda.
Schedule for tomorrow: plowing a field. Schedule for Wednesday: finish plowing field.
Contacts: Earl at the tractor supply company (I have his number memorized), Chuck my brother (have his number memorized, too), Bertha my wife (605-354-7783).
To Do List: Plow a field, plant some seeds, harvest, clip my toe-nails.
Memo pad: I think the discourse by Socrates was lacking in insight, comparitively speaking. Aristotle undeniably led humanity forth from the darkness inherent in our past ...

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 100

Gameboy70 noted: "Lastly, when someone mentions the DayRunner or similar planner, just say, "Why would I want to carry around something thatbig?" "

Don't forget "What do you do if you ever LOSE that thing? With mine, I have a back-up here in this Springboard Module, AND on my PC."

By the way, I *DO* have a Stowaway, and I *HAVE* opened it up at meetings, and people's jaws *HAVE* dropped onto the table. The best thing to do when you get the "What the heck is that ol' thing, a GameBoy or summin??" is, just remember that it is your opportunity to evangelize!!! MacHeads have done it for years.

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<B>Traveliter</B>/ Lani Teshima. 2000: Blue Vdx. 2001: Vpl. Travel writer, <A href="http://www.mouseplanet.com/lani/">MousePlanet.com</A>
Publisher/Editor:
- <B><A href="http://www.pilotlite.org">Pilotlite.org</A></B>: Simplify your travel with a PDA.
- <B><A href="http://www.travelite.org">Travelite.org</A></B>: Learn how to travel with just your carry-on

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 16

Part of my job is to coordinate support for my division's 300+ computers and peripherals.
When I first brought it in to our desktop support department, I met with a lot of scepticism. "Whatdya need that for? It's just a glorified daytimer."
Then I showed them how quickly I could retrieve info on a pc that was on their desk waiting to be repaired.
Using my HanDbase equipment database that I built.
I answered, "Here's the serial #, Make, model, cpu, RAM, HD size, when it was purchased, who uses it, where the user is located, their extension number, how many times it's been called in for service what the problems were, who worked on it, when it was returned to the user."
I even showed them a floor plan I scanned in and uploaded so that they would return it to the right room."
Then I said, "Now, if you had one of these, I could beam all of that information to your PDA but that's OK, I'll print it all out for you." I aimed it at their Ir enabled printer and watched their mouths drop as the printer spit it out.
Show me a daytimer that can do that!