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16/03/2002 Interview with MacClie- he's bonkers (but a nice chap)!
MacClie
Which PDA do you currently use and why?
Palm m500, which I have had for 6 months now. It 's my first "palm-sized" PDA, and at the time I bought it, I didn't think that colour was that important, and that mono was all right, which in a way it still is, especially if you are after long battery life. Also, I didn't think much of Palm's colour version, the m505. Nor do I think that the m515 is much better for that matter. I love(d) the form factor of the Palm though. I am just about to purchase a 625 because I am quite impressed by it, except for its battery life. Hmmm... or maybe I should wait until the new models appear... Nah, but then again... You know what they say in the world of computers, "Never buy today".
Who (in your opinion) has made the best PDA OS so far- Palm, Microsoft or Psion and why?
Psion, the "3mx". It does just about everything, apart from connecting to the Net, and it does it extremely well. Even wordprocessing is a doddle. I have a lot of templates set up on it, letter heads, invoices, that sort of thing, and I can type quite well on the keyboard, and then print it out on my aging Lexmark. Absolutely spiffing. It's got a beauty of a screen too. With or without back lighting. Plus around 40 hours battery life!!! Although it is larger then today's palm-sized models, the letterbox format screen aids it's functionality. And I simply can't remember the last time it crashed. Totally agree- the Psion's were(are) still the most functional PDA around in my opinion- the 3 series was just too far ahead of it's time!
What's your favourite Palm game and application (and why)?
Am not yet much of a gamer, although I am game, if you catch my drift, but I guess it's "Vexed", simply because I can't get beyond level 30. I also do play the odd game of "HardBall". I can see myself testing some of the games that appear on Clie World's news pages though as Shaun presents them in such an appetising fashion... Would applications be all right? BackupBuddyVFS Address Plus Webster Unabridged (although it's not an app) SlovoEd (Dictionaries)
Why are you called palmist500 and MacClie on forums and Beautiful Loser on emails?
As a long standing Leonard Cohen fan http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/ and one who certainly doesn't believe in giving out personal information on the Net, I choose the name from a title of a book by L.C., "Beautiful Losers" (see it here) "palmist500" for obvious reasons, and "MacClie" because a) it would not be polite to call oneself something Palm on a Clie site, and also because I am just about to buy one, and b) because I am a Mac user, and this way other Mac users can recognise me as such and we can help each other out more readily, unless they think that I am Scottish of course. Or a Scottish Mac user... Nice to find another Leonard Cohen- if you have not heard his music or read his poetry you are definately missing out. Here's an excerpt sent in by the Mac:- "Teachers"- Leonard Cohen © "I met a woman long ago her hair the black that black can go, Are you a teacher of the heart? Soft she answered no. I met a girl across the sea, her hair the gold that gold can be, Are you a teacher of the heart? Yes, but not for thee. I met a man who lost his mind in some lost place I had to find, follow me the wise man said, but he walked behind.
What's your favourite PDA web site?
Ehmmm... Quite seriously, Clie World is getting better every day, and it is *very* useful to have a site with a U.K. / Europe slant. Don't you just love this guy!
What's your favouite song of all time?
? Impossible to answer of course, but almost everything by Bob Dylan. O.k., "Forever Young" then: May God bless and keep you always, May your wishes all come true, May you always do for others And let others do for you. May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young. --- 1st verse "Forever Young" Copyright © 1973 Ram's Horn Music Email received from the Mac a day after this interview "Can you add "Teachers" as joint favourite song of all time? "
Who will win- Palm or Microsoft? Will Psion make a dramatic comeback through Symbian?
I don't think Microsoft will win, and I don't think Palm will lose, but M/S do have a considerable advantage through their association with PeeCees, which makes many prospective buyers prejudiced when contemplating a purchase. Alas, I don't think there is much hope for PSION. I feel they totally missed the boat, and it's a very fast moving (IT) world.
Will you buy one of the new Sony's announced yesterday?
Possibly. If in reality it turns out that they are as awesome - and they really are a major step forward - as we are led to believe now.
How many PDA's have you owned?
4 PSION's, including the very first one that came out. I still have two PSION 3's, one of them I (still) use for work as my whole contact data is on it and I haven't had time to transfer it yet.
What's your favourite non-PDA web site (why)?
Google, without a doubt. Google *absolutely* rocks. And then this one http://www.topin.ch/deutsch/public_show_ort.php?id_ort=37&id_land=7&id_regio;n=3 I look in about three to four times a day, because I wish I were there.
Thanks to MacClie for a very interesting interview- it was fun!