As is apparent from previous posts, I got my PDA on Thursday night.
Over the weekend I played around with it to whatever extent I could at work, and ended up staying up a little later than usual playing around with it at home.
Mostly I just filled in all of the “Contacts” information, and put all of my upcoming training (JavaScript and CSS) into the calendar.
I had IMed Kathleen a couple of times to get all of her and Brian’s contact info on Friday, and along with their address and phone numbers she started rattling off her various likes and dislikes, finally prompting me to say “I’m just trying to add you to my list of contacts, not write your Playboy Playmate Data Sheet.”
At home on Thursday and Friday night I tried, and failed, to get the PDA to work with my wireless network. The settings all seemed correct, but it just wouldn’t connect.
It was annoying me that I didn’t have the time to take it to a free Wi-Fi hotspot and ensure that it wasn’t a problem with the PDA’s wireless adapter, but then on Saturday, while messing around with it at work, I left the Wi-Fi turned on inadvertently and noticed that it actually connected to the wireless network there.
Of course, not having the required VPN client on the PDA I couldn’t actually do anything on the wireless network, but the fact that it connected was a good sign.
And when I got home that evening, randomly, it just decided to connect to my network.
I’m not sure what happened, but the end result is that it does work with my network now, which is cool. Now I can sit and watch TV and not have to get up and walk over to my computer when I see someone I need to look up at IMDb: I can just do it from the comfort of my couch!
Okay, there is actually a lot more that I can do, such as streaming audio and video to and from my desktop PCs, and of course send e-mails and IM, but the simple convenience of not having to walk all the way (like ten feet) to my computer is a big plus.
One other cool feature is that, because it has an infrared data port, the PDA can serve as a universal remote control with the included remote control software.
I was especially impressed by the fact that the software actually had codes for my no-name DVD player. I’ve never encountered a remote that had any codes for it before.
I mentioned this in an e-mail to my friend “Zalfiro,” who responded by congratulating me on purchasing a $400 universal remote.
Not being one to let sarcasm slide, I considered the fact that my wireless capability allows me to use the PDA anywhere inside my apartment (and within a fairly decent range outside), I used it to send him this follow-up e-mail:
Correction: a $400 Universal Remote that lets me send you e-mail while sitting on the can.
In any case, Brian had made a similar comment about my purchasing a “GameBoy” over the weekend as I played one of the included games (“Jawbreaker”).
By the way, in response to his comment on the previous entry, there was no “Duddy can suck it” drawing; it was a note I wrote using the handwriting recognition software (which would work really well if my handwriting didn’t suck), and it is included in the notes that go along with his entry in my list of contacts.
On Friday I ordered a 1 GB SD card to increase my PDA’s storage capacity, and I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it arrived today. Even with the extra money I paid for two (business) day shipping, I didn’t expect it until Tuesday.
When I went for my walk during the day I brought my PDA with me to see if there were any unsecured wireless networks in any of the neighborhoods I walk through that I could connect to. I found that there are wireless networks pretty much everywhere, and many of them aren’t secure, though most of the signals were too weak for me to lock onto.
There is a Starbucks across the street that has a free Wi-Fi hotspot, though, if I ever need to make use of it.
As cool as the PDA is, I think I’m still going to buy that Tablet PC within the next couple of months. The capabilities of the PDA have opened my eyes to the possibilities of a larger, more fully-featured computer with a similar interface.
So basically buying the PDA just managed to whet my appetite for more gadgets.
Tomorrow I’ll be doing some accessory shopping for it, as I definitely need a better case than the cheesy little sheath that came with it.
I’ll also be picking up the second (and, sadly, last) season of “Dead Like Me” on DVD while I’m out.
In any case, that’s going to do it for this entry.
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