|
Sunday March 26, 2006
|
 Tomorrow is the tenth birthday of the Pilot, the handheld organizer that pretty much defined PDAs as soon as it appeared. In celebration, I give you a scan of the first PC Magazine review of the Pilot 5000, along with the cover of the issue where the seminal PDA made its debut. From the May 14, 1996 review:
"The Pilot is an innovative entry into the world of hand-held computing, a field that many had come to think of as moribund." In 1996. I suspect the PDA market has been pronounced dead almost as many times as Apple. My own Pilot story: In 1999, I headed down to Johannesburg, South Africa for a three-month stint. I needed email, but I was traveling very light. My "PC" of choice: a Palm III with a LandWare GoType keyboard and a modem attachment. The removable alkaline batteries helped me where there were no plugs to charge things, it was light and portable, and I sent many an e-mail. PC Magazine's Chief Content Officer, Michael Miller, also strolls down the Palm Pilot memory lane in his blog.
|
|
|
Stumble
Digg
del.icio.us
Slashdot
March 26, 2006 11:54 AM
A new use for the Palm has been established Reading Classic Greek texts--and all the programs are Free. Http://www.handheldclassics.com John Jackson
March 27, 2006 6:25 PM
It was 2003 when hurrcane Isabell hit VA, and we lost power for the better part of a week. Cellular was out, and even my house phones were useless. Not because PSTN was down, but because they were all cordless (so the main base required AC power). Regardless, I was emailing loved ones all over the US via Earthlink dial-up on my Handspring Visor Deluxe and Xircom Springboard modem. This also taught me to keep an standard old wired phone handy, just in case.
March 27, 2006 10:31 PM
Receive a Palm V shortly after its introduction as a prize for being one of the first xx people to access a job postin web site as an employer. It kept working until Dec 2005, when the screen detection of the stylus gave up the ghost. A priceless tool! I now have a Z22.
March 28, 2006 10:11 AM
I am amazed at the evolution of palm. I was at Comdex the year that Jeff Hawkins(?) announced that he felt that graffiti had outlived it's usefullness. I am definitely waiting for the new Treo 700P. Everyone keeps telling me that I should get the windows version instead. I have always preferred the Palm platform and hope that it's here to stay!!!!
March 29, 2006 6:41 PM
I have owned a Palm III, V and now a T5. I love using them continuing to grow as their capabilities expand. Hard to believe that 10 years have now gone by. The coolest new use for me is having Bluetooth so that I can synch wirelessly as well as talk to my phone.