A summary of three meetings from the San Francisco area Palmtop Users' Group.
Below are excerpts from some meeting minutes for the S.P.A.M. user group, written by Conrad Cox. S.P.A.M. e-mails the minutes to members not in attendance.
Minutes from January 18, 1996
The Meeting was held at 1 Market St., San Francisco. It was called to order at about 7 p.m. In Attendance: Michael Allgood (our host), Conrad Cox (record keeper), Heather Hollick, Frank Nagle, Markell Simpson.
HP OmniGo 100 Demonstration Frank Nagle gave an overview of his OmniGo 100 organizer. As a self proclaimed gadget nut, he was motivated to get it just to see what it can do. Then he learned that Megahertz may be targeting their new wireless modem and e-mail software for the OmniGo organizer. (Last month Frank demonstrated how he uses a wireless modem from Ericcson as his sole electronic mail solution. He had a problem, though, in that the modem is large and heavy. The Megahertz wireless modem, on the other hand, will be a PC Card with an appendage the size of a nine volt battery. Frank says he cannot wait to stop carrying his brick.)
Many reports about the pros and cons of the OmniGo organizer have appeared elsewhere. Frank reported that after living with his OmniGo organizer for about 3 weeks, it is clear that his Palmtop does things that the OmniGo organizer can't. But the OmniGo organizer is a good solution for someone needing an organizer, something less than a pocket computer.
Alternative Input Devices We discussed the merits of input devices: keyboard, pen, and corded keyboard. Everyone had an opinion.
Regarding pen input: people have been writing for thousands of years. Why would we want to use this old technology when there might be something better? After all, how fast can you write with Graffiti?
Regarding recorded input: Imagine how fast and convenient it would be to hold a Palmtop in one hand, all the while pressing 3, 4, or 5 keys at a time to form letters and words. Note taking would be much less obtrusive at client meetings. Sure, you would have to learn to type again. But it might be worth it.
Regarding keyboard input: I can type on the current keyboard faster than I can write. Why change?
Minutes from February 22, 1996
In attendance: Frank Nagle (host), Richard Kehoe, Mark Scardina, Jose Sabas, Charles Ader, Conrad Cox, and at least one other new person whose name I didn't record. (I could blame it on the OmniGo 100 I was using to take notes, but I wont .)
This meeting had no agenda, so Members discussed many topics.
Mark Scardina demonstrated the new SkyTel two-way pager. Frank Nagle sent e-mail messages (using an Erikkson Mobidem for wireless e-mail) to the pager, and Mark was able to reply. Very little time was needed to pass messages to and fro. The pager is available with various coverage packages, from regional (in California that means statewide) to full United States coverage. And maybe beyond. (I don't remember.) The pager is available from various vendors for sale or month-to-month rental/lease. ACE is offering the pager and service.
Mark also demonstrated how easily Windows 3.0 runs on the 200LX. It actually works! Anyone for Solitaire?
The group discussed the advantages of the 4MB memory upgrade for the 200LX. Also, the clock speed upgrade was mentioned. As many know, the crystal upgrade can significantly speed up CPU-intensive processes. It has little or no effect on I/O operations. A few users suggested that doing the upgrade yourself could be more than a little difficult, especially if one has only beginning level soldering skills. [So far, I've only heard success stories.] ACE will begin offering some of these upgrades very soon.
The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 21, 1996. It will be held in San Mateo again.
Minutes for May 16, 1996
In attendance: Conrad Cox, Michael Allgood (host), Leon Blackburn, Cariak (forgive me if I've mangled the spelling)
Conrad said that, in the old S.P.A.M. tradition of raffles, he will donate a few items for a drawing at the next meeting. If anyone cares to donate Palmtop or computer related stuff, let Conrad know, or just bring it to the meeting. (Actually, it could be anything that might be of value to the membership.) I'm not sure how the door prize will work (names in a hat, furthest distance traveled; we'll figure something out).
Cariak, a new member, is also new to Palmtops. Her questions were answered by all, and Michael and Conrad helped edit her AUTOEXEC.BAT so she could start using her EXP modem/memory card.
Leon had acCIS loaded on his machine, but hadn't yet tried to access CompuServe. Michael found a phone line and successfully ran the join script for the HPHAND forum. Unfortunately, time and batteries prevented us from downloading any messages.
The rest of the meeting time was spent discussing the merits of the 5MB memory upgrade offered by a few vendors. The upgrade is useful for people that want the convenience of more C: drive disk space.
For more information on S.P.A.M., contact the author at:
Internet address: cdcox@ccnet.com
World Wide Web addresses:
WWW: http://ccnet4.ccnet.com/~cdcox (S.P.A.M. Palmtop user group) or
WWW: http :// ccnet4.ccnet*.com/~cdcox/ maillst.htm (For information on the e-mail list for the minutes.
CompuServe address: [76164,467]