.KEYWORD upgrade
.FLYINGHEAD POCKET PC CHECKLIST
.TITLE When is the right time to upgrade?
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY You’ve seen those compatibility quizzes in trendy magazines that are supposed to determine things like whether you and your mate are right for each other. Who seriously believes an arbitrary scoring system in some magazine can offer real guidance in making the decisions that shape your life? Well, we do. In this fun article, contributing editor Clifford Brooks has put together a checklist to help you decide whether it’s time for you to upgrade to the new Pocket PC.
.AUTHOR Clifford Brooks
So you just bought a Palm-sized PC six months ago and now Microsoft goes and throws a host of new features, enhancements, and speed into Windows CE. Further, they christen the devices with a new moniker, Pocket PC, and encourage their partners to add a bit more sex appeal to the hardware.
.CALLOUT Do I really need to upgrade now?
You lick your lips, rub your hands together, and count out the bills, one by one. As you reach $423, your Palm-sized PC buzzes, faithfully reminding you of your next appointment. You pick it up–thumb resting against its flywheel, fingers curled around its width–and look deep into the depths of its high-resolution display. As you read the clear script, a question surfaces. "Do I really need to upgrade now?"
It’s a question that’s been there–submerged beneath a layer of desire–waiting, threatening to make an appearance. Now it has, and there’s no turning back. Before you rush off and do anything rash, however, let’s clear our heads a moment and spend a little time weighing the pros against the cons.
.H1 Enhancement checklist
I created this list in order to help you decide whether or not it’s the right time to upgrade. Let’s begin by listing what I feel are the most compelling enhancements to the operating system.
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Greater stability;
.BULLET Faster access;
.BULLET Easier-to-use interface;
.BULLET Pocket Office applications;
.BULLET Smaller hardware;
.BULLET Microsoft Transcriber;
.BULLET Microsoft Reader with ClearType;
.BULLET Improved memory management;
.BULLET Wireless Internet;
.BULLET Longer battery life.
.END_LIST
That’s a pretty impressive list. Let’s look at each one in turn and see how it affects you. Take out a sheet of paper and number one through ten. As we work through the list, write Yes or No next to each number depending on whether or not you really need that feature now. At the end, I’ll tell you how to tally your score, and then your upgrade quandary should be resolved.
.H1 Greater stability
Okay, we all know that Windows CE crashes as frequently as Windows 98. Fortunately, rebooting a Windows CE device is relatively painless compared to its bigger brother. That doesn’t mean it’s not annoying, however. After all, it always seems to happen when you need a quick, reliable device the most.
If you enter a lot of contact information in real-time (i.e., with the contact person standing in front of you, dictating), or you use your device to take notes in meetings or classes (masochist!), then this is likely to be a major concern of yours. You should probably choose Yes as your answer for this one. If the occasional reboot is annoying but not necessarily a big deal, write down a No.
.H1 Faster access
Okay, admit it. Right behind fast cars come fast computers. You don’t really need that one gigahertz processor to play Solitaire, but
