beaty@longs.lance.colostate.EDU (steve beaty) (05/09/90)
well, i promised to do a summary on what people wrote to me
about electronic organizers, so now that school is mostly over and i
can breathe again here it is:
rayde@hpcvia.CV.HP.COM (ray_depew)
suggests that what really is needed a some paper-based answer.
i sure looked into this as the price is right but scheduling
repeating appointments, which you would think i wouldn't forget
but i do, is difficult. for me, there appear to be better methods.
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on the Casio BOSS:
chuck@trantor.harris-atd.com (Chuck Musciano) has a 7500 and likes it
a bunch and states:
Seriously, a DayTimer just doesn't cut it for me. I have a Casio BOSS
7500, and it does everything a daytimer can, plus more. I keep all my phone
numbers in it, plus business contacts, plus appointments for the next several
years, plus notes, memos, and trip reports. I don't even carry paper to
conferences anymore; I just type notes into the 7500 and upload them to my
Sun when I get back.
There are lots of other advantages to the BOSS. Since I can talk to my
Sun, I upload all my appointments and convert them to calentool format, an
electronic scheduler that runs on the Sun. That way, I get e-mail when an
apointment arrives, and my Casio alarm goes off, too. In fact, I also get a
daily appointments summary via e-mail, too.
My office mate has a BOSS, too, and we share data all the time. For
example, I was at SIGCHI three weeks ago, and had entered all the sessions
I would be attending throughout the week into my BOSS. My office mate hooked
up his BOSS, sucked over the data, and then he knew where I'd be all week.
I have written entire newsletter articles on the BOSS and sucked them
onto my Sun and right into Frame Maker. This lets me take advantage of slack
time while travelling and such, without having some huge laptop machine around.
Since I can talk to my Sun, it isn't too much to hack together a program
which handles repeating appointments, creates the appropriate BOSS entries, and
shoots them into the BOSS. Hmmm... I'll have to work on that...
Best of all, the BOSS fits easily in a shirt or pants pocket. Admittedly,
the keyboard is a little tight, but you get used to it quickly. I couldn't
live without it. And I bought it as a toy, never dreaming it would be so
useful.
...
The BOSS beats the pants off a Wizard, in my book. Any other
BOSS owners out there? Anyone interested in talking to your BOSS from
your Sun? I've got an application that runs under SunView and uses the
PC-Link cable to up/download data to your BOSS. You can also build
your own cable (I did) for about $10. Send me mail if you are
interested.
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on the Atari Portfolio:
mec@mtfmi.ATT.COM has one and says:
Up until a few months ago I would have agreed totally with you. I was a
firm believer in the DayTimer system. However, I then started reading
about the Atari Portfolio and finally got a chance to visit an Atari
dealer and try using it. I realized that I'd finally come upon the
"system of my dreams": an MS-DOS system with built-in organizer
software, built-in Lotus 1-2-3 compatible spreadsheet, and built-in
text editor. In addition I could buy a memory card for it to BACKUP ITS
FILES!
Not only has the Portfolio replaced by DayTimer, it's also replaced the
bulky log book I carried everywhere at work. In addition the
spreadsheet lets me fill in my expense report data as it's incurred
when I'm travelling. I can see at a moment whether I can eat steak or
need to eat a hamburger tonight. ;-) It also acts as a terminal when
I'm travelling using the Atari PD terminal program. I've even got a
copy of Tiny Basic 8086 in it for creating quick and dirty little
programs that I need from time to time. Plus I'm able to write custom
applications for it in Microsoft C on my PC and just download the
executables to the Portfolio to perform any special functions I need.
Even the organizer programs do more for me than the DayTimer. The Diary
application not only keeps track of my appointments, can also sound an
alarm when one is about to occur. The name/address/phone number
application can even automatically dial a phone number after I look it
up.
In conclusion, the Portfolio hasn't just replaced my DayTimer. It's
actually made entirely new functions available to me that I've never
had before. I can't imagine living without it now. You're completely
correct though in your warning about possible loss of data. Anyone who
buys such a system without having a reasonable backup strategy for
their data is crazy!
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bdahlen@zephyr.cair.du.edu (Robert L. Dahlen @ U. of Denver USA=) has
one and adds:
The Portfolio comes with 128K of RAM for DATA storage. Programs
(worksheet, editor, diary, etc.) are stored in a seperate 256K ROM.
Now the 128K is normally split between normal RAM and a RAM drive
(your C> drive). One review (PC Computing) says that it can be
expanded to 640K with a seperate add-on.
The machine also has a "CARD-DRIVE", not unlike a floppy disk drive,
built in to the machine. Cards can be used like floppies in sizes of
32K-$80, 64K-$130 and 128K-$200. This is like your A> drive,
although you can now dedicate all of your RAM drive (C>) to RAM.
Plans are for a second card drive to be available in January. Also a
"CARD-DRIVE" that attaches to your desk-bound PC. There are also
plans for application software distribution directly on CARDs.
Some other specifics: The worksheet is Lotus 1-2-3 compatible
(I've use this, it works quite well.) The editor is ASCII compatible,
The Diary and Address book are in a simple ASCII format. I downloaded
my "POWER-UP ADDRESS BOOK PLUS" file without a hitch from my desk-bound
PC. It runs DOS 2.11 and uses 3 AA batteries, I use mine a 5-6 weeks
on each set of batteries and I use it a lot! The speaker is a little
too quiet though. Serial and Parallel ports cost extra, $80 and $50
respectively.
...
After speaking with Atari, (great support BTW) they seem to have big
plans for this little box. For the money, I recommend it highly.
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lades%sapo.usc.edu@usc.edu (Martin Lades) writes:
I have my Portfolio for a year now. Let me give you an evaluation of this
machine:
+ 128 is way better than 32 for an Organizer (I use over 20K for Adresses)
+ All adress and diary files are plain ASCII! Print or transfer it anywhere!
+ The diary can handle dayly, weekly, monthly, yearly repeat.
+ overview modus in diary for a month.
+ download from a PC is efficient. (Norton Sysinfo gives about 1.4 XT)
+ QUERTY keyboard (with click feedback I type with more than just 1 finger!)
+ autodialing from adressbook with different options
+ Spreadsheet, texteditor and pocketcalculator gratis.
+ also portable parallel and serial port (hooking it directly up to an
IBM compatible laser printer looks neat)
- about the size of a VHS casette
- display should be 80*24 instead of 40*...!
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kessler%cons.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Robert R. Kessler) has one and says:
So far, I would say that it is exactly what I want. It is small,
convenient, replaces my day timer, and has other things like the
editor and spread sheet. Thus traveling with it should be fun. The
batteries should last 4 to 6 weeks of reasonable use (I leave it
plugged into an AC adaptor while it sits on my desk).
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on the Psion organizer:
Anthony J Stieber <astieber@csd4.csd.uwm.edu> has one and gives a nice
lengthly review that concludes:
Overall I really like the machine, however the model CM is too
limiting for me. I'm going to return the one I have and buy the model
XP, it has 32K and the ability to use 32K RAMPaks, 128K DataPaks, bar
code and mag card readers.
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on the Microwriter AgendA:
smm12@cl.cam.ac.uk writes:
You might like to consider a UK electronic organizer called the
Microwriter AgendA... I have one, and it is (IMHO) much better than any
of the other machines you mention. Lots more information if you want -
contact me.
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garyf@puente.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Gary Friedman) provided me with a lengthly
review that smm12@cl.cam.ac.uk had written
it looks as though i'll get a chance to examine an AgendA firsthand
and i'll report what i find.
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well, that's the summary, thanks a bunch to all who replied and i hope
this is of some use to somebody. i'll keep y'all up to date as more
information comes in and what i end up with.
steve beaty@longs.lance.colostate.edu
disk-claimer: n. a small computer program that removes all traces of my
employer's responsibility from all media containing these lines.