Withdrawal pains - a day with "half a Treo"!

Bob Russell · 01-24-2006, 09:57 AM

I was in a hurry this morning. In the rush to get out the door, I forgot something. Thank God it wasn't my whole Treo, but it was close. I forgot my SD card. It sits at home in my card reader attached to my PC, and I'm too far from home to go get it.

That means all my iSilox clips with news, weather, movie listings, daily devotionals and so forth are not in my pocket today. It means that I have no videos or ebooks or mp3s in my pocket. It means that many of my reference materials are not available. I have no dictionary with me. No Bible. Just the basic PIMs. Heaven forbid I end up with a long wait somewhere on the way home like a grocery store line or a car service department.

Now, I have to admit that I don't really need any of that, other than the mp3s and maybe a video to watch at lunch. I may go out for lunch with some friends anyway, and I don't have time for the other stuff until I get home. So why is it such a big deal, and why do I feel so naked?

Basically, given a choice between doing something on a mobile device or another way, I'd choose the device almost every time. It just feels good and makes everything more enjoyable. It's a fascination that doesn't even have to be practical. I could get not a single benefit from a pda and I think I would still use one and enjoy it. I'm just as excited about these little computers now as I was when I saw the very first programmable calculators and home computers. Even remote access teletype machines from the 70s that actually allowed you to write and run programs.

So, yes, mobile devices are fun for me. But suppose I had left my Treo at home altogether. Oh my, what a disaster that would be. Now we're talking real issues, that even a "normal" person might relate to. I would not have had my schedule, my address book, my memo notes, my passwords. No phone, no shopping list. You know - the stuff a regular person might get a pda for. Heck, it would be kind of like back in the 80's before I discovered Franklin Planners. How did I ever do it?

For me, a mobile device is a lot like ATMs and microwave ovens and the internet. Once you get used to having one around, it's hard to imagine life without it. If you're the geeky/techie type, it can easily become one of the great joys in life. And if you are not the techie type, you may just be scratching your head for a long time trying to understand what the fascination is for people like me!

Dick Tracy · 01-24-2006, 10:57 AM

Glad that you know where the card is. That "lost" feeling is far more intense when one is not entirely certain of its last known location...

ReadOnly · 01-24-2006, 11:29 AM

Oh how I can sympathize!
I have long preached to new users about the need to back up PDA's, with SD cards as a most convenient means of doing so.
But I have been very lax in backing up the SD card, and of course last week it become corrupted and is thus far unrecoverable, save for perhaps reformatting it. I have lost a valuable collection of reference material that I use regularly, and will likely have to spend a great deal of time reconstructing it.

I have attempted various things to read the card (with the mechanical lock enabled, of course), including running CHKDSK and a couple of utilities off the web. None have been able to access the card.

If anyone has experience with any utilities that would help (other than reformatting :-), I would be most appreciative.

Bob - be glad that yours is simply sitting intact and safe on your desk at home.
And think about backing it up to a CD or DVD regularly.

sangahm · 01-24-2006, 12:00 PM

I can relate to that naked feeling!! And I use my T3 very similarly -- it's an appendage to my body that makes me feel whole. How did we ever live without these great little devices?

-S

Antoine of MMM · 01-24-2006, 02:33 PM

What you could do is for some items, just use the data abilities of your Treo and go online for those items. That would be expensive datawise for teh day, but in a pinch would work.

Antoine of MMM · 01-24-2006, 04:37 PM

Come to think of it, that reason alone would be why some people are seeing server/browser based services as the way to go for information retrevial and collection. In this way the information wouldnt be dependant on the device, but on the ability of teh browser/service to get to that information. Interesting aint it.

01-24-2006, 09:57 AM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Withdrawal pains - a day with "half a Treo"! I was in a hurry this morning. In the rush to get out the door, I forgot something. Thank God it wasn't my whole Treo, but it was close. I forgot my SD card. It sits at home in my card reader attached to my PC, and I'm too far from home to go get it. That means all my iSilox clips with news, weather, movie listings, daily devotionals and so forth are not in my pocket today. It means that I have no videos or ebooks or mp3s in my pocket. It means that many of my reference materials are not available. I have no dictionary with me. No Bible. Just the basic PIMs. Heaven forbid I end up with a long wait somewhere on the way home like a grocery store line or a car service department. Now, I have to admit that I don't really need any of that, other than the mp3s and maybe a video to watch at lunch. I may go out for lunch with some friends anyway, and I don't have time for the other stuff until I get home. So why is it such a big deal, and why do I feel so naked? Basically, given a choice between doing something on a mobile device or another way, I'd choose the device almost every time. It just feels good and makes everything more enjoyable. It's a fascination that doesn't even have to be practical. I could get not a single benefit from a pda and I think I would still use one and enjoy it. I'm just as excited about these little computers now as I was when I saw the very first programmable calculators and home computers. Even remote access teletype machines from the 70s that actually allowed you to write and run programs. So, yes, mobile devices are fun for me. But suppose I had left my Treo at home altogether. Oh my, what a disaster that would be. Now we're talking real issues, that even a "normal" person might relate to. I would not have had my schedule, my address book, my memo notes, my passwords. No phone, no shopping list. You know - the stuff a regular person might get a pda for. Heck, it would be kind of like back in the 80's before I discovered Franklin Planners. How did I ever do it? For me, a mobile device is a lot like ATMs and microwave ovens and the internet. Once you get used to having one around, it's hard to imagine life without it. If you're the geeky/techie type, it can easily become one of the great joys in life. And if you are not the techie type, you may just be scratching your head for a long time trying to understand what the fascination is for people like me!

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01-24-2006, 10:57 AM	#2
Dick Tracy Detective Posts: 109 Karma: 4455 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: California Device: Palm TX	Glad that you know where the card is. That "lost" feeling is far more intense when one is not entirely certain of its last known location...

01-24-2006, 11:29 AM	#3
ReadOnly Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: P3,P3xe, QCP6035,7135,...	Oh how I can sympathize! I have long preached to new users about the need to back up PDA's, with SD cards as a most convenient means of doing so. But I have been very lax in backing up the SD card, and of course last week it become corrupted and is thus far unrecoverable, save for perhaps reformatting it. I have lost a valuable collection of reference material that I use regularly, and will likely have to spend a great deal of time reconstructing it. I have attempted various things to read the card (with the mechanical lock enabled, of course), including running CHKDSK and a couple of utilities off the web. None have been able to access the card. If anyone has experience with any utilities that would help (other than reformatting :-), I would be most appreciative. Bob - be glad that yours is simply sitting intact and safe on your desk at home. And think about backing it up to a CD or DVD regularly.

01-24-2006, 12:00 PM	#4
sangahm Enthusiast Posts: 48 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin Device: nook HD, Palm T3, iPhone	I can relate to that naked feeling!! And I use my T3 very similarly -- it's an appendage to my body that makes me feel whole. How did we ever live without these great little devices? -S

01-24-2006, 02:33 PM	#5
Antoine of MMM Mobile Ministry Magazine Posts: 119 Karma: 4507 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Charlotte, NC Device: Nokia N75/N800 Internet Tablet	What you could do is for some items, just use the data abilities of your Treo and go online for those items. That would be expensive datawise for teh day, but in a pinch would work.

01-24-2006, 04:37 PM	#6
Antoine of MMM Mobile Ministry Magazine Posts: 119 Karma: 4507 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Charlotte, NC Device: Nokia N75/N800 Internet Tablet	Come to think of it, that reason alone would be why some people are seeing server/browser based services as the way to go for information retrevial and collection. In this way the information wouldnt be dependant on the device, but on the ability of teh browser/service to get to that information. Interesting aint it.

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