collectiveSome

collectiveSome
Corporate Heresies, Technology Rants, Personal Observations

Monday, January 02, 2006

megapixel display, zero-learning curve, and with a User Experience that can't be beat - the next generation of Personal Data Assistant

Here's something that's really caught my fancy.

For oh-so-long I've been suspicious of the Business Boys that huddle up in First Class as they engage in one of the few mano-a-mano conversations where 'winning' is done by showing how small one's thing is. Blackberries, PDAs, ultralight laptops, and now, 'pentops...' the specific tool doesn't matter. What DOES seem to matter is how current one's toy is.

None of which has much to do with whether these devices actually improve one's workaday productivity.

The Zenith (or, possibly Nadir) of all of this appeared the other day as I was waiting for a 'service representative' at my local Honda dealer. 'guy ahead of me was inquiring about replacement wiper blades for his car. The service rep patiently waited as tech-boy entered the EXACT part number into his PDA.

Clearly, this was an important part of the gentleman's personal database of critical factoids.

so... I started thinking about a little leather card holder I'd gotten years before - a little nothing of a thing that held a bunch of 3x5 note cards that I could carry 'round to scribble notes on.

AND, by an amazing stroke of intersecting factors, that same day I heard someone mention 'Hipster PDAs.'

Here's the story (as told by Wikipedia)

...

Hipster PDA
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The Hipster PDA is a paper-based personal organizer popularised, if not invented, by San Francisco writer Merlin Mann. Originally a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the increasing expense and complexity of personal digital assistants, the Hipster PDA (said to stand for 'Parietal Disgorgement Aid') simply comprises a sheaf of index cards held together with a binder clip. Following widespread coverage in the media and blogs, the Hipster PDA (abbreviated 'hPDA') has become a popular personal management tool particularly with geeks and followers of David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology and users of the Fisher Space Pen.

Advocates of the hPDA claim that it is a cheap, lightweight, free-form organiser which doesn't need batteries and is unlikely to be stolen. Critics cite the lack of integration with desktop PC productivity software and point out that there is no easy way to back up the often critical information stored in an hPDA.

Although it began as a joke, or perhaps a statement about technology fetishism, the Hipster PDA has rapidly gained a population of serious users, with hundreds posting pictures of their customised hPDAs on photo sharing sites and exchanging tips on Internet mailing lists. Enthusiasts also design and share index card-size printable templates for storing contacts, to-do lists, calendars, notes, project plans, and so on.

The Hipster PDA (perhaps so named because it is a pocket device, or as an allusion to hipster culture) has become something of an Internet phenomenon, gaining popularity primarily among young, technology-literate people especially IT workers. It represents a 'back-to-basics' or Zen attitude to personal management.

posted by Tom | 5:12 PM