Item — HN Reader

Perhaps it is ruining yours, but then a little discipline helps. I have multiple pda and cellphones and a hp200lx. Believe it or not, the hp200lx can enter a todo item quicker than any other method, including pencil and paper, berry, pda, whatever.

It is a little bulky, so i always carry a small notepad (like a daytimer) (yes, I know, retro) and a pen, and it is very useful that way.

I also particularly agree with TomOfTTB's comment above.

1 comments

I find it amusing that you carry a hp200lx yet describe the paper notepad as 'retro' :)

Do you just use it (the hp) as a todolist? Do you sync it with anything? What characteristics make it faster than a more modern PDA with a physical keyboard?

Well, there is retro and there is double retro.

I log time on projects mainly, and set up appointments. And use the todo list. I sync it these days with linux.

The speed of entry is a happy combination of several factors. First, of course, it is instant on. Next, there is a very simple database that you can customize which is behind the todo list. Third, there are keyboard macros that I have set up to instantly call up this todo list and pre-fill a blank entry, so after hitting that key, I can instantly begin typing. So the sequence is power on, hit two keys to bring up the database (0.5 sec so far, maybe less) and begin typing instantly. Stylus is slower, berry wheel is significantly slower, I am guessing that the iphone is slower, hp pda with stylus is slower as well.

It can also have phone numbers, but those usually end up in the berry.