[TriLUG] Maybe OT: PDAs

[John Franklin]

On Wed, Sep 04, 2002 at 09:45:24AM -0400, Tanner Lovelace wrote:
> On Tue, 2002-09-03 at 23:50, John Franklin wrote:
>  
> > No, it is showing it's age.  The 33MHz processor (66MHz if you shell out 
> > for it) is having problems with some larger apps.  By all means, there 
> 
> Actually, if you stop and think about it for a while, the palm OS does
> exactly what it needs to do.  It wasn't designed to be an OS in the
> traditional sense.  Palm had the idea that, although this is a
> computer, it shouldn't be treated as a computer.  It should allow you
> to get your work done and not get in your way.  In this it succeeds
> beyond all expectations.  If you think it's having problems with "some
> larger apps" then I would contend that you're trying to do way to much
> with it and if you really want a computer, you should instead by a
> computer.  


The "larger apps" that I refer to are things like TravelTracker which
uses a fairly large database of airports, or even the contact list which
is growing fairily fast.  There are some games, like Bejeweled which have
noticeable slowdown in the rather simplistic animation.  I suspect it's
main problem is that it can't push memory around fast enough.  The
original design was 1-bit, IIRC.  Now that more and more apps are using
4-bit gray and color, the poor processor can't seem to keep up.

People want their handhelds to do more.  They want to be able to read
memory intensive e-books or AvantGo pages.  They want to be able to have
an app cross reference a couple of databases like birthday, contact and
gift idea or airport, airline hubs, regularly scheduled flights.  They
want their handhelds to do more than they did five or so years ago when
they first got them.

I'm not trying to run pocket SETI.  I have plenty of machines to do that
already.  I don't care about MP3s.  I can get an iPod or whatever for
that.  I don't need it to be a cell phone.  A too-small Palm would still
be too big as a phone unless the "phone" requires an earbud, not holding
the Palm up to your head.

I'm trying to use it as a PIM, but the PIM demands have grown while the
Palm really hasn't.

jf
-- 
John Franklin
franklin at elfie.org
ICBM: 35°43'56"N 78°53'27"W