A Library in the Palm of Your Hand

As I promised, here is another installment on how I use my Sony Clie TJ27 PDA. Another maker of PDAs is Palm, so PDAs are often referred to as a Palm. Palm developed a specification called PalmDoc which is a format for reading text files on a Palm. Many of the classic books have been converted to PalmDoc format and are usually available for free. You can find some of these and other formats at http://www.memoware.com.

Some of the reader formats are proprietary. You buy the reader and buy the books. I have the eReaderPro from http://www.ereader.com on my TJ27. I've purchased several books from eReader.com. So why did I say "a Library in the Palm of Your Hand", because currently here is what I have on my TJ27 in eReader format:

US Constitution
7 Habits of Highly Effective People Workbook
Boundaries
Checklists for Life
First Things First
Getting Everything You Can
Getting Things Done
Principle-Centered Leadership
Poems of Robert Frost
Sun Tzu's Art of War
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The Jungle Tales of Tarzan
The Little First Aid Book
The Only Negotiating Guide You Will Ever Need
The Swiss Family Robinson
The Ten-Day MBA
The Time Machine
The Wind In The Willows
Write It Down, Make It Happen
Your Intelligence Makeover
Langenscheidts English-German Dictionary
Merriam Websters 11th Collegiate Dictionary
Merriam Webster English-Spanish Dictionary
Aesop's Fables
Agatha Christie - At Bertram's Hotel
Army FM21-76 Survival Manual
Around the World in 80 Days
Declaration of Independence
Jack London's To Build A Fire

The dictionaries are not small abridged versions, but the complete publications. And this list changes from time to time. Obviously, some of these are reference books which are only there for when I need to look something up. But some are for reading. Many would think the small display on a Palm type device would not be suitable for reading. I find it easy to read with. You can adjust the font size to make it more readable. And I find the portablility to be a big plus. I always have something to read if I'm waiting in line.

USB Key Drives

Now that I've opened the bag about USB Key Drives, I guess I should explain what they are. USB Key Drives are flash memory devices with a USB connector. You plug them into a USB port on you computer or laptop and Microsoft Windows Explorer displays them as a disk drive. You can copy files, pictures, song files, videos from your hard drive to the USB key drive. This means that they are portable storage, much like the old floppy disks. Unlike floppy disks, USB Key Drives are much smaller, much more portable, and contain much more storage.



I use a 512MB SanDisk Mini Cruzer, similar to the one shown in the picture above, which holds the equivalent of about 165 floppy disks. This SanDisk version includes software on the USB key drive to encrypt files in case I want to keep things private.

USB key drives come in all shapes and sizes, and with different utility features. The slimer designs are easier to carry in a pocket. Many come with lanyards to wear as a necklace. Some are built-in to pens and there is a Swiss Army knife with a built-in USB drive.


I don't think I will ever wear one around my neck, but I do carry it in my pocket. If you want to learn more about how these work, there is a good WikiPedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_drive. PC Magazine has an article on how to use these drives as a portable office. There are lots of possibilities!

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done is the title of a new book I just read by author David Allen. I downloaded the ebook from ereader.com, but the paperback and hardback versions are available at amazon.com (GTD) and other book sellers. Getting Things Done lays out a system for managing all the stuff that comes our way. Instead of traditional time management techniques, David Allen uses simple methods for transforming our piles of stuff into a workable system that gets things done!

The methods work in whatever form you are comfortable with. Whether you like pen and paper, a PDA, or personal computer, or any combination, these are just tools to help manage the workload.

The biggest breakthrough I received from reading this book was David Allen's argument that we should get everything (our ToDo's) out of our head and into a workable system. When we carry ToDo's in our brain, it does not distinguish that something does not have to be done right away. The store of ToDo's in our brain cause the brain to make us feel guilty if we don't complete each item immediately. Getting them out of our head and into a workable system that we trust is the core of Getting Things Done. The trust element is key here. If we dump everything into a system that we don't trust, we will just pick the ToDo's back up again in our head.

Give it a read and a try. You might just be amazed at all that suff you've been putting off can finally be checked off.

Also, try a Google search for Getting Things Done. There are several Yahoo groups where others share how they are implementing Getting Things Done in their lives. And, David Allen has his website dedicated to the Getting Things Done concept at http://www.davidco.com/.

Carry Your USB Key Drives In Style

I found a great gadet on Circuit City's website two weekends ago. Went to the local store and there it was ... just what I needed to carry my SanDisk Mini Cruzer USB key drive around ... a
Case Logic Red USB Drive Shuttle (JDS2RED)
. I carry my SanDisk Mini Cruzer 512MB USB key drive in my pocket and use it to store documents, PDFs and other files that I might need on a day-to-day basis. The only problem is that the cap tends to come off in my pocket and the paint was getting scratched off. Now, Case Logic to the rescue. I can put two USB key drives in the USB Drive Shuttle and it has a convenient hook to attach to a key ring. The neoprene case provides adequate protection from scratching and keeps the cap in place. This is a great geek gadget.