Mastodawn

It's a big enough ask to say "do you remember Palm Pilots," but it's an even bigger one to ask "did you know they made a _camera_ for them?"

Because of course they did, and of course I had one (even though I only had the lowest of low-end Palm Pilot model), and of course I still have all the pictures I took with it.

I was taking retro digital photos before it was cool! *shakes fist at cloud*

#RetroTech #PalmPilot #DigitalPhotography

food in training Oct 16

the #palmPilot is infecting me…

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psf Oct 2

More portable #retrocomputing philosophizing: Whether a machine has "Instant-On" makes a huge difference in the tasks it's useful for. By this, I mean whether the machine returns to the same program and screen where you left it, when powered back on from inactivity.

Without "Instant-On", the machine demands to be used for long sessions, (else the boot time is too inconvenient) and demands your constant attention (else the power draw of leaving it sitting around powered on is wasted). Using the machine involves clearing your schedule and devoting yourself to it, like reading a book.

Examples of machines without "Instant-On": DOS-era laptops, #Book8088, #GameBoy, #MailStation.

With "Instant-On", the machine is useful for PDA-style quick jottings, grocery lists, etc. It is also useful for fun activities even in circumstances where you are likely to be interrupted.

Examples of machines with "Instant-On": #HP200LX, #HpOmniBook, #PalmPilot, #PocketPC, #TI92 (and other TI calculators), and, of course, smartphones.

While machines in the first category may offer a more immersive experience, they are far less useful to me than machines in the second category. It's like the difference between a luggable and a true mobile computer.

vga256 Aug 28

today's retro rescue is a palm tungsten T5 - the late flagship model in the tungsten line of PDAs

ten years ago i had nothing but a tungsten for all of my computing needs - i wrote emails and letters on it, and played a lot of Infocom text adventures at night. with a wireless keyboard (which uses the IR port!) it was surprisingly useful and got me a year and a half of daily driving.

the T5 is just the right balance of features and performance - it has the fastest intel XScale processor @ 416 mhz, built-in bluetooth, and a beefy 320x480 lcd.

the previous owner appeared to have turned this into his mp3 player.

#retroComputing #palmPilot

Ivan Jerônimo Aug 26

Esse #obsidian tá me trazendo recordações de um app de Wiki que eu usava no #Palm lá por 2005, o #noteStudio, desenvolvido por uma empresa chamada australiana #DogMelon.

Achei até o backup das notas numa pasta do computador.

#dogmelon #palmpilot