Intro:
Micro technology is one of the most amazing things in the world. Just think
technology the size of your hand. In the future TV’s will probably be the size
of your watch. But right now the only thing we have that comes close to that is
what we call a Palm Pilot.
Original:
The original Palm Pilot first came out in 1996. Although originally it was
supposed to be a simple digital calendar, it grew into a handheld phenomenon,
downloading music, games, and information from the Internet.
Basic Features:
Not only the ability to download stuff from the Internet but the basic
features of the Palm Pilot were another reason why Palm Pilots are so popular.
One of the things that makes the Palm Pilot so popular is its small size. Since
it is small you can slip it into small places such as your pocket. The Palm
Pilot comes equipped with a stylus pen that is used for entering commands and
data on the LCD screen. The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) lets you see
information as well as enter information and run programs when the stylus is
touching a certain spot on the screen. All Palm Pilot models come equipped with
a built in calculator that can be used to solve math equations. The Palm Pilot
also has the ability to transfer or synchronize data to and from your desktop or
laptop computer. Some different ways you can transfer information is with serial
or USB ports, Infrared ports, wireless, telephone modem. There is a
synchronizing cradle in which you put the Palm Pilot and then press the hot sync
button on the cradle to transfer.
Operating System:
The operating system has to be fast because if it were too slow it would take
forever for a program to load. The display is high quality and makes your Palm
Pilot LCD screen easy to see.
Memory:
How much memory your Palm Pilot has is important. If you don’t have enough
memory it could run out of room and you wouldn’t be able to download new
programs or add data.
Battery:
Different models of the Palm Pilot come with different kinds of batteries.
Certain models of the Palm Pilot come with a rechargeable battery that saves
money because you wouldn’t have to by more batteries. But the models that come
with disposable batteries have more power than rechargeable ones do.
Special Programs:
Other than features, special programs (such as e-mail, MP3 player, MPEG
player) made Palm Pilots popular. An example of that would be spreadsheet, word
processing, voice recognition, and many others.
Applications:
Applications are also what made Palm Pilots popular. Personal information
management (PIM) is one of the Palm’s main applications. It contains personal
information about you such as birthday, credit card number, and other personal
things. The user can set preferences on the Palm Pilot in which you set the
date, time, and sound level you want your Palm Pilot to use.
Address is another program that comes with the Palm Pilot. The address
program purpose is to store names, addresses, and phone numbers.
Very useful Programs:
The welcome program is probably one of the most useful applications for
beginners. The welcome program’s purpose is to teach you how to first start
using your Palm Pilot.
Probably as useful as the welcome program is the graffiti program. The
graffiti program’s function is to teach you how to write on the LCD screen
using the stylus pen.
The ToDo list is also a program that comes with the Palm Pilot. The ToDo list
lets you make a list of things to do without having to write things down on
pieces of paper that you probably end up losing.
The add-on program runtime tells you how much battery power you have left.
This program is useful because it keeps you up to date on how much power is left
in the battery.
Datebook keeps the date for appointments and other events. Date Book is
probably one of the most used programs on the Palm Pilot.
Quick budget is a budgeting program for your Palm Pilot used for keeping
track of how much you spend.
