McGarvey’s Words
by Robert McGarvey
Palms Away
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McGarvey’s Words by Robert McGarvey Palms Away |
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Taos Land Sale:
Click For Details Here's What You Are Saying: Letters to McGarvey's Words . Back Pages: o Email-Country. Of Ricky Skaggs, cruising, Yahoo, and the ubiquity of email. O Google Spying: Much ado
about something good. o Ebay and the triumph of ecommerce.
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I am sitting in Tucson International Airport writing a column but there is no laptop in sight. No pad of paper. No magic either. I am using my collection of cheap and light road warrior toys. Such as? For starters, if you’ve been to Tucson Airport (or any secondary airport), you know the problem I face. Often getting to the gate takes under 10 minutes. This is a tiny airport (the “International” is more wishful than a promise) and passengers breeze through it. But, occasionally, you will hit a snag – and then what? That’s why I allow 90 minutes for the security process and if I pass muster in a few minutes, I fill the hour with work – like the column I am writing. I have a Win laptop (an HP Pavilion ze4145 with more RAM than all of Switzerland had in 1983) but today it is sitting at home because it broke and HP is hunting for the part...and hunting and hunting.** That is why. I am writing on a creaky Palm IIIx, using an external keyboard, GoType from Landware. For software I am using WordSmith which functions superbly on the Palm but also exchanges files with Word (from Blue Nomad). You know what: I am liking this low-ball writing ensemble. Total cost of this set-up: when new, under $500, but that was three years ago. A similar outfit could be pieced together on eBay today for under $100 and that will include a IIIx modem. The big plus here: weight is minimal, scarcely a pound, and – better still – if I lose these toys or they get lifted by strangers in a chaotic airport, big deal. For years I have thought we road warriors brought too much gear with us. And now I am fighting back. Call it a serendipitous byproduct of the collapse of my laptop. Then add in the impacts of today’s more burdensome security which has triggered in me a mounting belief that soon my electronic gear just will walk off in an airport as I’m emptying pockets, getting frisked, and suchlike. A smart response: travel lighter. Recently on eBay I bought a 15 year-old ur-laptop, the Radio Shack Model 100, a battery operated unit with a tiny display screen but this was plenty for me to write up an interview I’d just done with Gerry Adams as I sat in a Belfast hotel room circa 1990. I recall thinking, how cool – but within a year the Model 100 was at the bottom of a closet and then it was given away. Now I’ve bought a well-used but still functional Model 100 and – watch this space – I will write a column on it within a few weeks. (As I recall, I spent under $65 on eBay for the Model 100, a wonderful chunk of nerd nostalgia.) Won’t I ever bring a laptop on the road? You betcha. I also own a five year-old Mac PowerBook, running I don’t know what OS version (I’ve never tracked Mac stuff), but it is powerful enough to run MS Word, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, and the rest of the standard software set – and you’re right: if I lose this one, I couldn’t care less. I bought it for use in connection with a long-gone client that ran a Mac operation and when the client vanished, the PowerBook got demoted to being my road laptop for use on trips where I plan to do a lot of writing (the Palm screen is fine for short columns but you don’t want to make a habit of writing 3000 word reports on it) and some Web surfing (not an area where the IIIx shines). I’ve watched hotel bellmen drop the PowerBook and I didn’t even wince (and, curiously, the machine works fine; the plastic case is a little crooked but it operates flawlessly). Do I feel envy when I see folks in the airport lounges with gleaming Toshiba or IBM top of the line laptops? Gotta confess: no. Increasingly I find myself dwelling on the pre-laptop days when I threw a yellow legal pad in a briefcase and headed for the airport. I love the power and connectivity that come with today’s computing gizmos, but my mantra today has become less is more. That’s why, increasingly, I believe most travelers can get by quite satisfactorily with an old Palm. Mine is loaded with Mobile WinFax (for sending faxes and viewing in a pinch); Sheet To Go (Excel files); WordSmith (wordprocessing); AOL email (an absolutely superb program); and the Palm has been tweaked to interface with Lotus Organizer, my desktop calendar and address book . Add an external keyboard and this rig delivers high functionality at a low cost and little weight. Will I upgrade this Palm set up? Oh, yes. I’ve been eyeing the Palm m515, mainly because it comes with a color screen that could be just the thing to ease eye-strain in badly lighted airport lounges and hotel rooms. At $299 (list; $269 street), it’s not much pricier than my wristwatch and of course it easily fits in a pocket. Less definitely is more when airport lines are long and unpredictable. But, probably, I’ll wait until my Palm IIIx breaks down before I upgrade. Why encourage conspicuous over-consumption by discarding a still usable unit? For now, an old Palm gets my jobs on the road done. What about you? Is this too extreme for you? Or are you, too, a road minimalist? Tell us about your favorite road toys and we’ll post the best emails here. **Re: HP. I am at five weeks and counting, awaiting the arrival of a replacement hard drive for an HP laptop bought in December 2002. HP support personnel are universally cheery, but the part isn't here and I believe it might never be here. It is sad to watch a once great company implode. Click here to visit Joe Brancatelli's Travel Site, JoeSentMe.com Keep coming back, for more of McGarvey’s Words. Copyright 2003 by Robert McGarvey |
Have a cruise complaint? File it with Porthole Magazine's Ombudsman. About Robert McGarvey Author of How to Dotcom (Entrepreneur Press), McGarvey is a onetime columnist for BizTravel.com,and he now is a frequent contributor to dozens of magazines, ranging from American Legion to Electronic Business, Technology Review, and Rutgers. For the past five years, he has served as "The Ombudsman" for PORTHOLE Cruise Magazine. Still curious about McGarvey? Read up on him here. Taos Land Sale:
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