Tech toys

[hrafn]

About the only time I wish I had a smart phone/PDA/similar is when I am compiling a list of books (or music, or movies) I want to track down, because when I hit libraries or bookstores, I really want all the authors/titles/notes along with me. And I want my ENTIRE list, not just a few things I scribbled on a scrap of paper before I walked out the

Comments

[eanja]

I used to have a second hand palm pilot for stuff like this. Also for keeping some Gutenberg books downloaded in case I got stranded (though the screen about 2-inches square, so it was sort of a pain to read). It was cheap- about $35 off ebay, and eventually I got a keyboard off ebay too so I could make notes more easily. But it eventually stopped synching w/ the computer, and it was too old to put much effort into sorting out the problem. Every now and then I figure I should find something like that again- I'm sure I could get something similarly cheap that would work as a portable notepad for a few more years.

[hrafn]

Yeah, I had a cheapo palm knock-off like that some years ago. The problem is that it was just One More Damn Thing I had to lug around with me all the time, or it wasn't useful. So I guess what I really want IS a smartphone or other phone/pda combo (or even an mp3 player/pda combo), but I just can't justify the expense.

[eanja]

Makes sense. I tended to mostly use it on boring work-jobs, so it just lived in my briefcase and I didn't need to make an effort to remember or carry it.

[zandperl]

Can you make the list on a computer and then print it out?

[hrafn]

Yeah, though that doesn't solve the updateability part of the problem :\ (And if I want notes about the books/authors, it becomes a rather large object.) I suppose if my phone merely had the ability to (inexpensively) access an email account, I could keep a draft email around that I kept updated.

Hmm. Possibly my phone -does- have some Web/Internet access thing. It's several years old, but it might.