the pod bay door

Do you own a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)? I don’t, but have been thinking about it for some time. Yet technology seems to move faster than one can keep up in the 21st century. Ephraim Schwartz, editor at large at Infoworld writes that General Motors believes the time may be approaching for you to get rid of your PDA.

General Motors announced last week that it will partner with wireless carrier Nextel to use Nextel’s Motorola cell phones with data capabilities to market a field-force management application to its commercial truck fleet customers. The announcement casts a shadow over the future of handheld devices in the business marketplace.

By selecting a cellular phone, GM in essence said no to Palm, HP, and Microsoft.

IT departments should consider the reasoning behind GM’s decision before recommending a handheld solution of their own.

The technology includes GPS, Java, and push-to-talk, and in tandem with ease of use, it becomes hard to chose a handheld over a handset. Cell phones are also considerably cheaper than PDAs.

Can someone slow technology down for just a few minutes, please? (From: Roland Piquepaille’s Technology Trends)

:: Kelly‘s friend Chuck is making a movie about blogs, called Blogumentary. Check out the trailer in Windows Media or Quicktime. (PBS has also made a documentary about blogs.)

:: I’m keeping the shoes.

:: I was going to write a piece on the edu-blogging session which Geoff and I presented this afternoon on campus, but Geoff already has posted a good summary here.

:: I’m thinking, my previous post garnered 18 responses, a new PBD record. How can I ever post again? It’s like, I don’t want to post another entry because I’ll break the spell or something…

:: I bought another pair of shoes today. That’s twice in one week. By popular demand, view the first and second pair. Comments welcome. Both pairs are very comfortable, and will make the trip to NYC.

Really, can life get any better?

I watched The Matrix on video tonight, in prep for Matrix Reloaded. I saw the first film in 1999, and it was good to see it again. Maybe I’ll understand the second one a bit better. This site discusses the first film, providing an in-depth analysis. The official site also has a page devoted to the philosophy of the matrix.

:: Today’s NYTimes has a fascinating article by Warren St John, Dating a Blogger, Read All About It. The article details how what is written and published in a personal blog may return to haunt the writer: hurt feelings, relationships permanently harmed, employers ticked off, and the like. A wakeup call for some of us? St John also writes about the state of NYC blogs, including Gawker, a NYC web site that describes itself as “a live review of city news and Manhattan culture.” NYC Bloggers, a site I’ve listed on my page since last year, lists >2,100 blogs in NYC, grouped together by distance from subway stations. (Note: NYTimes member ID and PW: podbay)

:: If you like Steely Dan like I know I do, you’ll be interested in this extensive review of the DVD-A version of their forthcoming album, Everything Must Go, hitting the shelves on 10 June 2003.

:: I’ve spent the last 6-7 days coughing my lungs out with a minor chest cold of some sort. Today’s the first day the coughing has begun to subside. But I’ve missed two Pilates classes, and haven’t really worked out in almost two weeks, so I’m feeling sluggish, and about as sharp as a sack of wet mice.

:: I saw X2: X-Men United on Saturday, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
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