They say the best computer is the one you always have on you
You sound surprised…
I've been saying as much for a couple of decades! Since I got my first Psion, in fact.
That's why my 5mx has been my only personal device (other than a dumb phone and an old classic iPod) for all that time. I have a MacBook Pro which I love (and am typing this on), but it mostly stays in its dock. It's vastly more powerful than the Psion, but the latter has one drastic advantage: it's always with me. (It lived in my trouser pocket, or on the desk next to me, or on my bedside table. Just about the only time it wasn't within arm's reach was when I shower.)
And, as I've been telling people for ages,
even a slow and limited computer that's there is better than a powerful one that's not.That's why my diary is on my Psion, not my Mac (and probably will be until Planet's agenda app is released). That's why all my text files full of notes and ideas and to-do lists and quotes and work details and stuff are on my Psion. That's why my passwords and account details are all in a file (encrypted) on my Psion. That's why my ‘master’ list of contacts is on there. That's why I read ebooks off its screen. That's why I loaded it up with a dictionary, thesaurus, (very old and limited) snapshot of Wikipedia, Encarta, and many other reference works. And so on. Simply, as Sir Edmund Hillary would have said,
because it's there.
That's also why my Psion lived in my trouser pocket, not in a case or bag or whatever. The quicker and easier it is to reach, the more useful it is.
If I'm out and about, and find myself wondering why (say) whether birds can move their eyes, or wonder which movie or TV show a quote comes from, I can look it up immediately in a few seconds. If I didn't have a computer on me (whether you call it a smartphone or PDA or palmtop or pocket computer or whatever), I would either forget to look it up later, or it wouldn't matter by then anyway.
Similarly, if I see an amusing quote or want to jot down a memo or whatever, I can do so in a few seconds. Otherwise, I'd probably forget.
And if there's some appointment or task I need to remember, I can set it to play an alarm sound. That, too, is only possible because it's
with me.
(Recent example: last week I was on holiday, and gave my Gemini its first real testing. A group of us were on the coast looking out to sea, wondering whether the strange shape in the distance was a ship, an island, or what. With the aid of my Gemini, before long I was not only confirming that it was a huge container vessel, but listing its name, size, nationality, and itinerary!)
For people who are always within reach of a desktop machine, a PDA wouldn't have much point. But for those of us who spend time on public transport commuting to work, or have hobbies or activities that take us out and about, such a device can be phenomenally useful.
Of course, my Psion's already surrendering its spot. It'll be a long while before
all its duties are transferred to my new Gemini (as I use some custom-written apps), but it's already become my phone, my music player, my ebook, and my reference, and my recreation. I'm not sure whether this particular Gemini will be with me for another 20 years, but I hope to be using it and its successors for a long time to come!
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