A handheld computing device, comprising: a user interface (53, 54); a digital data processor coupled to the user interface (53, 54) and programmed to perform operations comprising: over time, detecting cues describing environment of the device and monitoring and analyzing operations of the device to identify user performed actions of configuring the device and operating its application programs; analyzing the user performed actions against detected cues or cue combinations to learn which of the cues and cue combinations are relevant predictors for which of the user performed actions when a cue or cue combination is a relevant predictor of a given user performed action, constructing therefrom a mapping between the detected cue[[s]] or cue combination[[s]] and the user performed action[[s]], for each user performed action having a learned relevant predictor, planning one or more of the following types of machine-executed actions: configuring the device in anticipation of the user action; and causing the device to perform the user action; and responsive to detecting occurrences of learned relevant predictors of user actions, automatically performing the machine-executed actions associated with the learned relevant predictors that occurred. a user interface (53, 54); a digital data processor coupled to the user interface (53, 54) and programmed to perform operations comprising: over time, detecting cues describing environment of the device and monitoring and analyzing operations of the device to identify user performed actions of configuring the device and operating its application programs; analyzing the user performed actions against detected cues or cue combinations to learn which of the cues and cue combinations are relevant predictors for which of the user performed actions when a cue or cue combination is a relevant predictor of a given user performed action, constructing therefrom a mapping between the detected cue[[s]] or cue combination[[s]] and the user performed action[[s]], for each user performed action having a learned relevant predictor, planning one or more of the following types of machine-executed actions: configuring the device in anticipation of the user action; and causing the device to perform the user action; and responsive to detecting occurrences of learned relevant predictors of user actions, automatically performing the machine-executed actions associated with the learned relevant predictors that occurred. over time, detecting cues describing environment of the device and monitoring and analyzing operations of the device to identify user performed actions of configuring the device and operating its application programs; analyzing the user performed actions against detected cues or cue combinations to learn which of the cues and cue combinations are relevant predictors for which of the user performed actions when a cue or cue combination is a relevant predictor of a given user performed action, constructing therefrom a mapping between the detected cue[[s]] or cue combination[[s]] and the user performed action[[s]], for each user performed action having a learned relevant predictor, planning one or more of the following types of machine-executed actions: configuring the device in anticipation of the user action; and causing the device to perform the user action; and responsive to detecting occurrences of learned relevant predictors of user actions, automatically performing the machine-executed actions associated with the learned relevant predictors that occurred.