I used to have a Palm M105 with a folding keyboard. I used it as a sort of makeshift laptop, since I didn't have a real laptop at the time and I sometimes wanted to write something while away from the computer.
Considering what I paid for the Palm and keyboard at the time, I felt that it was a piece of crap. Very soon after the warranty ran out, it stopped hotsyncing properly, and (contrary to the manufacturer's claims) it always lost its memory during a battery swap no matter how fast I did it.
When I called Palm to complain, they were complete assholes about it. Their attitude was, "sucks to be you, guess you'll have to buy a better one." They didn't, for example, try to troubleshoot the hotsyncing problem, or offer to tell me where I could send it for evaluation, or even recommend a similar model I might like. Nothing like that. I stashed it away for a while and forgot about it, since I had a laptop by that time anyway.
Some time later, I became a list-making freak, and I thought I'd give the M105 a new lease on life. The only thing I used it for was to maintain lists. When the batteries got low, I'd write down the list items on a piece of paper (I know, how 20th century) and reconstruct the whole mess after the battery swap. (I didn't change the batteries very often, or this would have gotten tiresome.)
The M105 finally crapped out on me for good, but we had a whole drawerful of newer, sexier ones at work - leftovers from a nightmarish project we agreed never to speak of again except in the most hateful terms. I borrowed one for a while, and it was nice. I turned it in when I quit my job, and have been Palmless ever since.
The one and only thing I liked about the Palm was that it let me sort my lists several different ways, categorize them, date them, prioritize them, etc. (Actually, I liked some of the alarm sounds too, but I've already got five alarm clocks I don't use, so that's fine.) I use an ancient Rolodex-like method for keeping addresses, and I have no interest in changing that. I keep phone numbers in my cell phone and on my simm card, which suits me just fine. I still use a regular paper Day-Timer for keeping non-work-related appointments, and I prefer to keep doing it that way. But when it comes to all these lists I make - shopping lists, grocery lists, to-do lists, lists that defy casual explanation - all these pieces of paper are driving me crazy.
Yes I could put them on index cards, but that wouldn't solve the problem. I want to be able to sort the items one way, then another way, reprioritize them, delete things, change things, etc. without having to put them on a new piece of paper every time I want a different view.
That's it! That's all I want! I don't even mind if I have to write them down once in a while for a battery swap. I figured that there had to be a cheaper, non-Palm-brand gizmo that would do this for me. So, last summer I went to Staples, Kmart, and a few other places looking for one. At first, I thought it would be a piece of cake. I thought maybe I'd even find a few in the kids' section. I worried that I'd have a hard time choosing and would be tempted to get something fancier than I needed.
I found that Sharp makes several inexpensive calendar/address devices, some of which have memo functions, Spanish dictionaries, calorie counters and even pedometers, but none of them have a list function (nor the onscreen real estate to show more than three or four lines at a time anyway). I tried to get around that by using the different address fields as different aspects of my lists - categories, priorities, etc. - but this sucked, I couldn't view them as a list, and I didn't have any sorting options. I could tell you what time it was in Hawaii, and the Spanish word for dog, but I still couldn't build a damn list.
I found some other "personal electronic organizers" that were even less impressive, but I could not find anything with a to-do list - with or without all that other stuff I didn't want. My choices seemed to be Palm, a similarly-priced Palm competitor, or nothing.
Someone does make a very expensive thing (more expensive than the cheapest model Palm sells at any given time) that converts your spoken words into an organized grocery list and then prints it for you, but that's not even close to what I want either. I only mention it because if you do a search on "electronic list maker," this damn thing dominates the results.
And of course, there's lots of software that does this, but I'm looking for something handheld-size AND cheap. I'm thinking $30 or less (it really should be less) for something that does what the Palm list function does, or more if it can do a better list (more sort options, maybe, or multiple keywords). I don't care about calendar and address stuff - that is, I won't refuse an otherwise acceptable thing just because it had those on it, but I won't pay extra for them. It doesn't have to hotsync, connect to a network, convert julian calendar dates to Mayan calendar dates, to or play music. It doesn't even have to tell time. It doesn't need to store a thousand pages of data, light up, or display spiffy graphics, though I'd appreciate some nonvolatile memory to compensate for what's inside my skull.
I considered getting an old Palm (maybe even a M105!) on eBay, but I wasn't encouraged by the price vs. condition availability there. Anything that promises to be in good shape goes for more money than I want to pay for it. The old ones probably don't have much life left in them, and the newer ones cost a lot more, even if they've been off the market for a couple of years.
Keeping my lists on paper is no big hardship. I've got LOTS and lots of little pieces of paper and there's no chance I'll run out of them. I'm not crippled by the inability to sort items on the fly. I'm just a little surprised that in the sub-Palm market, there are oodles of electronic address/calendar devices, yet apparently not a single list organizer.
(This is the part where you jump in and tell me about some product that everyone else knows about except me.)
I was going to do a post asking people how they manage their lists, so I'm probably not the guy to ask. Because my current method is to not manage my lists, so... yeah.
ReplyDeleteHere's how I would do it, if I were doing it:
Have a simple, instant way to capture list items. Like the hipster PDA. Later, enter the list items into a website or device. For me, website, since I've pretty much given up on devices. Unless I could have something like an iPhone. But I don't. I don't need yet another device at this point. Moving on:
Next, I would use the site to manage my lists. If I needed a hard copy, I'd print the lists out.
I know, it's kinda sucky. But I spend most of my time in front of a computer, so I couldn't justify a device (unless it replaced my phone , or something) and so I'm never that far from my lists.
And, actually, my phone probably has a notes format that I might be able to hack and get it to display my most transient lists.
I dunno. I know I'm not being helpful.
On managing the lists on the computer side, I've never found a website that worked just the way i liked it, which is why I was going to post. i think, for me, an online spreadsheet is mostly what I need.
In case it wasn't clear, the hipster PDA would just act as a capture device; i wouldn't be maintaining any lists there.
ReplyDeleteHey, you got OpenID!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I've been a Palm booster since forever. I had a Palm III that was my brain that I used until it started booting into a black screen of death three or four years later. My office issued me a Tungsten C several years ago; they asked for it back and I said no!
Generally, people are replacing PDAs with smartphones. Even your dumbest cellphone comes with PDA functions, like calendar, nowadays. I'd kind of like a Treo myself, but don't want to spend that much money. Besides, I just bought a groovy phone and am not ready to replace it yet. :)
I use lots of slips of paper. I try to throw them away frequently, transferring any remaining tasks to the new pieces of paper. Some stuff gets copied into my calendar.
ReplyDeleteThere's these chicks named Romy and Michelle who invented cool yellow paper with stick-um on the back, could you write your notes on those and use a wall to move them around?
I'm totally not the person to ask, since I hate gadgets and love paper, but I wanted you to know I'm here for ya. :-P
Thanks, y'all. I pretty much do as Maggie does with the slips of paper; I'm not big on the sticky-notes or on maintaining lists on the computer, because I mostly need/use the lists when I'm AWAY from the computer and not standing in front of a wall. Like when I'm doing housework, or out doing errands. I get the most use out of my lists on the days when I don't even have time to use the computer - I use them to create an itinerary or script for the day.
ReplyDeleteThe only way the wall thing would work is if I had each list item on a separate sticky note. That's the only way I could change the sort order or easily reclassify things or have an item appear in multiple categories. That would get tired pretty fast. :)
I classify tasks by priority, amount of time needed, location, etc. etc. etc.; shopping items get a whole other set of attributes. Even the Palm wasn't quite able to deal with all the things I wanted to do with a list. Maybe I really do need to use software. There's probably a beefed-up custom app for the Palm that does what I want. Well, there you go, back to the Palm. :)
Perhaps my list needs are more elaborate than the average person's. I think I obsess over lists as a way to manage anxiety. It's somewhat healthier than tequila.
I once maintained several lists on a used Palm Tungsten C and Ultrasoft's Brainforest to-do replacement software but I'm moving away from PDAs and lists now as the Palm platform atrophies and I try to simplify my life.
ReplyDeleteI don't do much with lists except write down the tasks. My big decision is whether to draw a line through a completed task or check it off.
ReplyDeleteMaggie, you can do both. I recommend it. Twice as much fun!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any suggestions, either. In fact, I am in a similar boat. So, I was hoping for an epiphany. I need a way to manage my lists other than slips of paper in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with the 'smart' phones is that most of them require you to get some kind of premium calling plan which is more expensive. Even if the plan is only $10 more a month, that will cost you $240 over the life of the phone for the privilege of being able to use you phone as a PDA. Bleah.
Sorry I'm no help. I think the best solution I've seen here is to manage on paper and transfer to online regularly.
I'm planning to do a followup on this post anyway, but the short version is: I'm getting a "new" Zire 31 from a wholesaler, with a cheap replacement plan. Crazy as it sounds, there are used Zire 31's that are selling for more than what I'm paying for it new.
ReplyDeleteIt's supposed to arrive today, and I'll give you the rest of the story later.