I am using a Hewlett Packard iPaq 1710 PDA with additionally-purchased Pocket Genealogist software. In South Africa where I live, this was one notch above entry level in the HP range when I purchased it. For the same price I could have bought a Palm PDA, which comes standard with a desktop docking station (I think). The docking station is really useful because it is a royal pain to have to fiddle around with the charger and USB connecting cables every time you want to connect to your desktop PC. Nevertheless, I settled on the HP with its Windows operating system, simply because I think Windows will probably be the ultimate winner in the PDA software development race (even though I lament the fact), and also because it comes bundled with pocket Word, Excel, Microsoft Reader and practically all the MS Office applications worth mentioning. That makes sharing files between PDA and desktop very easy. It is thus very much a compatibility issue which swayed my mind.
I bought the 1710 because the price was good and because it is really small and light--much smaller than the more sophisticated and more expensive models with their extensive capabilities. However, this particular model connects via USB with the desktop PC. In my subsequent experience, I have decided that it really is worth spending about 75% more in order to purchase the next model in the range, which has blue tooth connectivity. I would strongly advise anyone to go for blue tooth if you can, provided you'll actually be using the function, of course. Another reason I settled for the cheaper entry level model is because I am waiting for a bit more functionality in PDAs. I'll rather buy cheap now, and then later on, buy a big one when something finally becomes invented which will be the ultimate idiot-proof Swiss pocket knife version of PDAs: In other words, something that can remotely talk to your car, your fridge, your cell phone, your camera, or a PC without special setups and software and advanced knowledge. I want to be able to just put it next to an internet caf� desktop PC, for instance, inter a bi-directional password, and continue on the big screen, or synchronize data and download mail or send files, just as if I were at home. Also I want something that has oodles of built-in memory and high processor speed. It must have a built-in GPS for recording gravesites, a built in cell phone (for calling 911 when you get bitten by a snake while photographing the graves), or at the very least, for browsing the internet and sending email. It must also be able to store and play music, high-resolution video, and possibly have a smal built-in LED flashlight. Ideally it must also be able to project hollographic images, be waterproof, glow in the dark, have an atomic battery that will last longer than the half-life of plutonium, and have a cosmic light sabre that can be activated at the push of a button... ? ;-)
OK. So maybe the Star Wars functions can wait until the next decade. I'm dramatizing for the sake of humour, but the point is just that I think there will still be some impressive leaps in PDA technology to come and I'm not ready to spend a lot now, only to have to repeat the exercise a year or two later. In the meantime, the entry level models are most adequate for the needs of the current genealogist. Via USB, the synchronization between Legacy and Pocket Genealogist works flawlessly in both directions. I store a 9,000 person database on a 1GB memory chip and have read about folks who use vastly bigger databases with equal joy. The chip has enough space to store a variety of electronic reference books which I like to have handy at all times, MS Word versions of family databases, .jpg photos of family, and mp3 and video clips which can be shown to others in order to captivate their imaginations and help explain just what our hobby is all about.
Here's a tip: I battled literally for half a day to install Pocket Genealogist with my size database on the native 30MB built-in memory of the PDA. It kept returning a "not sufficient memory" message which drove me nuts to the point where I was beginning to consider all manner of exotic technical explanations. That was until I figured out that although theoretically it looks as if there is enough built-in memory to run the database, in practice this is obviously not the case. As with regular PCs, you seem to need some free memory on the sideline if you plan on having any joy at all. That was solved when I installed both Pocket Genealogist AND my database onto the removable memory chip. You've got to select an option that will install the database on the memory chip itself, and it is situated in a drop-down box which is not easy to spot and which is by default set to something different. Look carefully or else you'll also be spending half a day chasing wind and eating a whole box of anticid tablets. Running the database off memory chip is a bit slow, though. In more expensive PDAs the built-in memory can be a lot bigger, so I would think if you have enough memory, rather install onto the built-in memory and leave your removable memory chip for storing files you won't be using often. I assume that small databases should run comfortably off built-in memory, but I doubt whether the old Palms with their 16MB storage would be much good... (?)
It deserves to be said that the PDA is like being able to carry an entire library in your shirt pocket. That's where I carry mine all the time. It's smaller than some boxes of cigarettes, batterly life and screen clarity is really good these days, and it starts up in no time at all. It is very easy to flip out during moments of boredom between meetings, while waiting for appointments, while travelling, or anywhere you could spare 5 minutes to run through your database and clean up details, or re-arrange things that you never have time for otherwise. When you're in a hotel room between layovers, you can even read an e-book in the bath, if you want to. I carry several books that I can read in case I should get stuck for a week in an elevator, for instance. It also acts as an indirect backup device in a manner which is really very reassuring. I use mine as the go-between between my office and home PCs, and it is nice to know that if either or both machines, plus my CD backups should vanish, I would still have the complete database in my pocket. Legacy and Pocket Genealogist deserves my public admiration for the amazingly effective compatibility that exists between the two. I purchased Pocket Genealogist based on rave reviews, but was sceptical. Third party software rarely lives up to all the glorious things that is said about it and as for the PDA--I took a wild chance, not knowing whether it would be any good, since I've never personally seen another genealogist use one. One cannot often confess that ultimately all claims were lived up to, and even surpassed in Pocket Gene. In this case--even on my entry-level device, this has certainly been the case.
However, there are two things I would very much like to see in future: It would be great if the multimedia files could be included on the PDA, and secondly, it would be even more wonderful if the synchronization between the two could be done at the push of a button FROM WITHIN LEGACY ITSELF. In other words, without the need to install and open the sychronization software. Also, I would like to be able to synchronize with the software still open on both devices. This is something small, but the small things count a lot in our hurried world. In the technology race, small things mean big bucks for developers. Besides that, I can't think of any negative points to comment on right now. Great work, both teams!
Finally, I have found that PDAs are still relatively unknown among most genealogists. This is a pity, because this really is a tool which expands the horizons of one's abilities. It fills the gap between laptop and desktop PC, the cost is not too bad, the ease of use is OK, and the functionality is now finally at a stage where it meets most current needs.
Herman Labuschagne
Johannesburg
South Africa
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