Personal organizer as pocket pet
Article Abstract:
The $300 Palm Computing Pilot pocket organizer from U.S. Robotics is small and easy to use, but it needs more software applications to make it a truly useful device. Weighing less than six oz and running on two AA batteries, the Pilot is roughly the size of a tape cassette box. Pilot's diminutive size is attributable mostly to lack of a keyboard. Users enter information on an unprotected touchscreen, using either their fingers or the included stylus device. With the stylus, users may enter data using an on-screen keyboard or Graffiti, a relatively easy-to-learn hand-printing alphabet. The Pilot has buttons for telephone, date book, memo and to-do functions as well as for moving objects around the screen. Touching any function button turns the Pilot on. The LCD screen lacks a backlight, which makes it difficult to read in poor lighting. The Pilot has a cradle that plugs into a PC's serial port and permits the devices to synchronize information.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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Sometimes achieving simplicity isn't cheap and isn't so easy
Article Abstract:
Brother International's $300 PN-8500MDS Super Powernote laptop computer reveals the severe limitations of a computer with little memory and few functions. The 4.5-lb computer comes with software integrated into its ROM, with programs including a spreadsheet, word processor, calculator, calendar, to-do list, clock and communications. The Powernote has a serial and a parallel port for connecting to a printer and a modem. The floppy drive holds 1.44MB disks and typically stores data, not programs. The LCD screen is blue on a chartreuse background and hard to read in dim light and fuzzy in normal light. The Powernote has 63KB of RAM, which severely limits its range of functions, yet it is no easier to use than a typical computer. The operations learned for the Powernote do not transfer to standard computers, and few programs are available for it.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
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