index.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinboyce.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinfac_dandrea.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinfac_gill.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinfac_heuvel.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinfac_struhl.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinrevolution.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinsilencing.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinsteffan.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March Bulletinstrangers.htmlLocal DiskThe Harvard University BBS website: March BulletinThe Harvard University BBS website: March BulletinBBS Bulletin Previous Issues | BBS Calendar | BBS Bulletin Staff | BBS Home Page Volume III, Number 8- March 2000Toy or Tool: Palm Review Boyce Reflects or How I Survived the First Semester My First Semester: Leta Steffan Faculty Profiles Making Noise About Silencing The Coming Revolutions in the Biomedical Sciences Alien Impressions (or Strangers in a Stranger Land)Toy or Toolby Hiten Patel (G2)It was a little over a year ago that I joined the techy world and bought a PalmIII. Yes, I know there's already a IIIx, V, Vx, and those who can't step away from the Internet the VII. But when it's all said and done, the usefulness of the Palm Pilot can be seen in the most simple of devices starting with the pilot (forgive the pun) device the Palm Professional.All right, so when I got it, I thought cool, I can play games during those stimulating core classes. I'm not saying my Palm Pilot didn't get used for games, but I quickly found myself actually using it for its advertised function, an organizer. The realm of PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) has been gaining speed in the last few years. Since the beginning, there have always been perks and drawbacks with the devices. You had to choose between size and functionality. On one end you had the Windows CE machines or Apple Newtons which were large, clunky, and slow for simple operations versus the electronic rolodexes of yesteryear (jeez I can't even give away my old one). In the last few years, size and functionality have come together in the Palm Pilot series. (I'll mention some other options in a moment.)You might think with all the electrons flying around, there is the possibility of losing all your personal information. First of all, these things are near indestructible. I have dropped it from my desk many times, still ticking. A friend dropped it down a flight of stairs in Vandy, still ticking. Same friend dropped it in a toilet, well that one's dead, but after some air drying 3Com replaced it. (Reason for the return, "It just stopped working one day.") And even if you do kill your batteries (it'll warn you when you are low), crash the OS (rare event), or the M2 runs it over, your data will be safe and sound on a desktop computer. With single button operation, the Palm Pilot can "Hotsync² all of its data to a desktop computer. And the basic features (calendar, address book, etc) can all be updated on the desktop and downloaded to the Palm. As you can tell I can go on and on about it. file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/JJL21/Desktop/bulletin/2000/March2000/index.html (1 of 3)11/8/2006 1:57:07 PMThe Harvard University BBS website: March BulletinThe Palm series integrates a very compact operating system (Palm OS) with very intuitive user interface (a stylus or pen to the lay person). The OS is fast and efficient. There is never a moment you need to wait for something to load or compute; the flash memory allows for near instant recall of data. And with a little practice the use of the stylus becomes second nature. The basic features include a date book, phonebook, memo pad, to-do list (all one-button operations), and a host of other programs a few stylus hits away.So isn't this just a toy for techy dorks like me. Well, yes and no. Granted if you hate anything silicon based, don't bother joining the PDA world. But if you ever find yourself without your day planner, since you don't like to carry around a two pound book with more pages than there are days in the year, just, so you have your favorite restaurants phone numbers on hand while you are out so you can make reservations in time to get back to lab and add your secondary antibody, a PDA is for you. Time for a true Palm Pilot story. I found myself amongst oohs and aaahs, when I pulled my Palm out at a recent BBS recruitment meeting. I was asked for a contact person's phone number for the famed Sam Adams brewery tour. Like I remember the guy's last name. So I just did a search for Sam Adams, and my quick little assistant was able to fish out from all the data on my Palm the number in about three seconds. Can you do that with a day planner? I think not. Don't even get me into the games. I haven't convinced you. Well I guess I can get into some other functional features. Did I mention games? As I mentioned the basic tools are quite useful and user But it's time for the bottom line. What do they cost? With some models at less than $200, it beats the cost to value ratio of a nice day planner, which needs refills every year. And with the ability to connect it directly to your computer to back up data, share files, and even read and compose email, its functionality cannot be beat.I've been referring to the Palm Pilot for most of this article. In the past few years a few competitors have rolled out very good products. The prices range from $150 to $600, and up to $1000 for built in cell phones. Besides the Palm series, I recommend the Visor, sold by Handspring (same OS, same designer for that matter, and much more upgradeable with things like modems, ram cards, and, coming soon, MP3 players and digital cameras. Think Palm Pilot meets GameBoy.), and Casiopeaia by Casio. The Casio products are a color Windows CE machine; for day to day organizing, it's a bit much and large compared to the Palm and Visor. But could be a fun toy for those who want to dish out $400+. I'm sure my list of possible products is a bit skimpy, but I'm not shopping these days. And my descriptions only scratch the surface. For full descriptions and prices, the following web sites are useful:● http://www.palm.com ● http://www.handspring.com ● http://www.casio.com ● http://shopper.cnet.com ● http://www.pricewatch.com I'm willing to take