In 1998 I began using a Franklin Planner. It didn’t work. I appreciated the level of organization it afforded me, but I would write an appointment or a task in one place and forget to copy it from, say, the daily record to the weekly or monthly log. Hence, I continually wrestled with it. I needed something better–something better geared for a guy who was raised on a TRS-80, not pencil and paper.
Late in 1999 my organizational salvation occured. I became the proud owner of a Palm Vx personal digital assistant. I didn’t miss an appointment or a task due to my own organizational error. I simply entered an appointment one time in one place and like magic it appeared everywhere I needed it to be. Add to this the option to actually search the entire device by keywords–keywords, mind you! I was hooked.
And the add-on software. All of a sudden, given the stunning 8MB capacity of this little device, turn-based text games with minimal graphics hearkening back to my days of playing Zork and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy were back. Not spectacular, but great nonetheless. Greek and Hebrew and German flashcards. “Do you have my business card? Here, let me beam it to you!” It was a whole new world.
Of course the M5xx came out about a year later, at which point I was resolute and did not give in to my techno-nerd perceived need to be on the cutting edge.
So this last week my beloved little Vx gave up the ghost. It’s been in the mail for some time. I’ve gone through several computers since I first bought it, and with each upgrade the Palm had just a little more trouble synching with the CPU. But a different cable here, a software patch there always seemed to keep it running and useable.
We had a good run, but alas, it is now ended.
So I did my research, made my phone calls, and made my purchase. I have made the jump from Palm to Pocket PC. I think it will be a fortunate changeover. OSC will now be keeping his calendar, contacts, and task list in a Dell Axim X51v (You’ve got to believe that anything that boasts a model number beginning with an ‘X’ is going to be high speed!). Dell was running a sale, and this little number came through several independent tests with high marks across the board. I’m not wild about the battery life (even with heavy use my Vx needed charging only once every week or two), but I didn’t find much in which I was interested that had anything approaching good battery life. Expansion slots, VGA graphics (can run PowerPoint presentations with this little gem), and seamless syncronization with Outlook are among its many draws for me.
It is slated to arrive tomorrow. I pray it lives up to my expectations.
Of course, the more cynical among you may subtitle this little entry “OSC finally gets around to entering the 21st Century.” What can I say? I’m Old School.
Posted by OSC 
