From: daver@sunspot.ssl.berkeley.edu (David Ray)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: PDA'S are flop
Date: 5 Oct 1992 23:30:54 GMT
Organization: /etc/organization
NNTP-Posting-Host: sunspot.ssl.berkeley.edu

<begin opinion>

I agree completely, but there will be enough unsuspecting people to buy them
that they will not flop in terms of sales. I expect that after they have been
out for a few months, people will realize their shortcomings and back off.
I would like to be wrong in this -- I would like to see the PDA revolutionize
note-taking. I'm sure that Apple and other PDA manufacturers would like to,
too. Therefore I see the discussion of the possible shortfalls of the PDA
as helpful assistance for the industry, for mutual benefit. If we can identify
what is wrong with the upcoming PDA's, maybe we can get a better product
when it comes out. Or at least we could better evaluate them when they
come out.

So, here are my thoughts on the possible shortfalls of PDA's.

First, what consumers are going to be targeted? I believe, college students.
Too expensive for most families of <college age kids. Not practical for
secretaries taking notes (voice recording is more efficient).

Plenty of college students. Plenty of parents of college students, who want
to invest in their kid's education in some new, better, high-tech way.
PDA manufacturers just have to run some ads written for the parent-of-student 
telling them that without a PDA, their kid isn't going to get as good of a 
grade as the kid next to him/her with a PDA. 

The idea behind the PDA is that you don't have to re-copy your hand-written
notes into the computer. That sounds great. It presumes that the only thing
going on when you are transfering hand-written notes into the computer is
typing them word-for-word. In fact this is not true. When most intelligent
students copy their classroom notes into a more legible form they are also
re-formatting the notes, deciding what to delete, cleaning them up, perhaps
adding more details from another class or a book, or an after-class discussion.
Most of the time is spent evaluating how to reorganize it, not typing the
words.

If I was a student (again) I would not get a PDA because:
(1)Most of the time spent revising the notes into a legible form is *not* from
copying them word for word, but from thinking about how to organize the
material. There just isn't very much time savings
(2)There were many times such as after-class discussion where information
went by so quickly I barely had time to rip out a page of paper and pencil
to jot it down. I couldnt imagine how a PDA could keep up with pencil and paper.
(3) As mentioned by a previous poster, the PDA can't possibly read my
scribbling correctly. Only *I* know how to decipher my handwriting. What if
your only record of an equation was scribbled quickly. On paper you could
tell it is a "q" because you know your own writing, but the PDA thought it was
a "g". And suppose you never checked to see if the PDA interpreted your
writing correctly. The PDA could cause you to get it all wrong. Or, you have
to check the PDA's interpretation of what you write every time, which is a
bigger hassle than pen and paper.
(4)The money used on a PDA could be spent elsewhere, like tuition.
(5)It would be the demise of our educational system if people with PDA's
had an advantage over people without them, because more wealthy people
who could afford PDA's would have an unfair advantage over people who couldn't
afford them.
(6)Too fragile for a daypack. I like to be able to throw my pack across a
room and not worry about what's inside. Leave the computes at home.

<end opinion>

Dave