(This originally appeared in Infoworld in 1994.)
If you have to support a mobile user population, what's their biggest connectivity beef? Remote email? Finding RJ11 jacks in hotels? Getting modems to work? How about being able to manage their voice messages and contacts?
I carry an aging steno pad that I use to write, in longhand, the telephone messages that accumulate when I'm on the road. I've tried various other automated routines and even scribbling things down on small pieces of paper -- but nothing works as well as this pad.
After I write the messages down on my pad, (and call the people back of course) I record them into my contact database on my Mac. So I now have to record this information twice, and often record the wrong phone number or email address in one place or another.
To me it is amazing that no PDA software developer has figured out a way to make this process easier. Just about every traveling executive could use this application, and would gladly pay a few hundred dollars for something that worked and worked well. Even our illustrious editor Alsop has begun using his Newton for something similar, although he will be the first to tell you of its limitations.
The issue is keeping this contact database up to date, which means either it has to be available when you are in front of the pay phone at the airport or hotel (which is typically where I retrieve my voice messages). This means that it has to be portable and take as little time as possible to bring up the application. It also has to be efficient in terms of data entry: if I have to open up five different windows or check lots of boxes, I'll be less inclined to use it. That's one of the reasons why I have stuck with my steno pad: it is instant power-on, it uses the minimum number of keystrokes, and it weighs less than a pound and can be carried easily anywhere. You can't say that about any PDA.
Another requirement is that the application has to connect with my mainstream computing platforms for two functions: first as a backup, since I don't want to lose track of something or someone once I've entered the information. (How many of your executives have never backed up their PDA data since these widgets were purchased? I'd wager most of this data is overripe for backup.)
A second requirement is to make use of the information once I return to the office, such as to create an invoice or send a letter. It would be nice to directly import the contact information gleaned from the trip and not have to rekey things.
Well, call me the king of rekeying. I have so many databases I can't remember which is the most recent copy, and many of them have similar information. While I use several different email programs, I keep all email addressses in one Dynodex address book on my Mac Duo, and try to keep that current.
Note: Dynodex is no longer being sold. If you wish to contact its developer, send email to brian@smiga.com. I wish I could help you.
When I use Eudora or cc:Mail, I just cut and paste the address from Dynodex to these applications. It takes a few extra steps, but I've found it easier to maintain my email addresses in a single database, rather than keep separate address lists in each email client.
I also keep fax numbers in this same database, but end up rekeying the numbers into my fax modem applications on both the Mac and the Windows PC back in my office. I used to be concerned about keeping track of these numbers, but I've found that I usually only send a fax after talking to someone and getting the current number anyway.
What about actual postal addresses? These are entered into my Word glossary, and since I started doing this on the PC I maintain them there.
I know one executive that had his staff write some custom C code for his HP 100 LX palmtop: this software would synchronize his contact and email databases with those on his desktop and network servers. I guess that's currently the state of the art here.
It is a clumsy system, I know. Got anything better? I'd love to hear from you.