Re: OG / HP bashing

Chris S. (feedle@webbwerks.com)
Mon, 19 Aug 1996 16:55:45 -0700 (PDT)

> Chris S. trashed two geos palmtops in favor of a PDA made by a modem
> company:

(for the record, I NEVER in any way stated that I thought the Palm/USR
Pilot was a better machine. I simply stated that I'd have to check it
out, nothing more. I also had a lot of GOOD things to say about both the
OmniGo, and even more so, the Tandy Zoomer. Please re-read my post. I do
not think I "trashed" both machines, let alone in favor of the Pilot.
I've never actually used one, I've just slobbered on the [non-working]
display at the local electronics store.)

> [big snip]

(flame on: Have you ever noticed that when your misquoted, somebody
manages to snip out all evidence of your original point? I find that
amusing. :flame off)

> The Pilot seems to have the combined problems of BOTH the OmniGo AND the
> Zoomer. For example, tiny screen (160x???), no keyboard, no AC Adapter,
> no IR, and its construction is pretty "cheasy" (cracked screens, cases,
> etc..).

It does, however, have Graffitti built in, which is (in my mind) an
acceptable substitute to a keyboard. I'm now good enough at Grafitti on
my OmniGo so that it is the standard method of input into my machine.

While the screen on the Pilot is small, it is very legible (it seems to be
made out of the same stuff that the Zoomer's was, and for whatever reason,
HP didn't go with "that stuff"), and being as the machine has a Graffiti
area OFF the screen, ALL of the screen is usable. Compare this to either
the Zoomer's "keyboard" or the OmniGo's "GrafBox", and it all comes out in
the wash. However, if the connectivity software is good enough, you don't
NEED a keyboard. But, that's another point to discuss later.

Again, lack of IR and AC is a minus. It was my understanding, and maybe
this is incorrect, that when the unit is "docked" into the upload station,
it is powered from the computer. This may be incorrect information, as it
was given to me by the salesperson at the store I usually shop at (which
is well known for hiring salesbots). There's no excuse for no IR, either,
and I hadn't honestly evaluated the Pilot enough to see if it had IR or
not. (I probably was going to take advantage of my local store's return
policy to evaluate whether or not the Pilot would fit my needs, so I
hadn't honestly checked it out that extensively.)

As to "cheezy" construction, well, I've heard many complaints on this
mailing list about cracked LCD displays and the like from seemingly normal
usage of the OmniGo. Being as I have not actually held a "real" Pilot in
my hand, I cannot comment on it's construction. I must admit, however,
the non-functional displays I've seen do seem a little "chintzy".

> The only thing good about the pilot is the connection s/w, and the
> speed.

Two BIG pluses, in my opinion. As a matter of fact, one of the primary
reasons I have a PDA in the first place is so I can access data like my
address book and schedule when I'm away from my computer. To be quite
honest, I actually enter very little data IN my OmniGo.. I mostly pull
data OUT of it. Usually, the only thing I ever enter IN the thing is
updates and corrections to existing address records, "notes to myself",
and new addresses and appointments as I make them. Heavy "database"
activity usually ocurrs on my home PC.

>From this, speed and connection software are !BIG! advantages. We've
already beat the OmniGo Connection Kit issue to death. We know it sucks,
so I won't spend any more time with it.

Speed isn't quite so relevant to my use, but I can understand that if
someone has a lot of data in their PDA speed can be an issue. I've yet to
stuff enough data into my OmniGo to really tax it, so I can't speak on the
speed issue. I can, however, say that the Tandy Zoomer was S-L-O-W,
especially when compared to the OmniGo, or even the original Newton.

[Side Note: GeoWorks promised a "Zip-And-Zing" card for the Zoomer, which
was never released. My understanding was this would have improved Zoomer
performance substantially, by actually adding memory to the main memory
pool (Drive B:) rather than being an additional drive. GWSteve, or
someone else who may know, why didn't this card ever come out? Speed was
my #1 complaint about the Zoomer... waaaaaah! :) ]

---
Chris Sullivan		| 714-648-9433 | At what point does technology
feedle@webbwerks.com    |  Orange, CA  | become indistingushible from magic?
csullivan@xix.com       |    U.S.A.    | !!! Penny Does Mags !!!