Call Me a Luddite, But I Say Palm Pilots Must Die

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/gtnews/TGAM/20030215/STLEAH' target='_blank'>http://www.globetechnology.com/serv...20030215/STLEAH</a><br /><br /></div>This amusing little article highlights one important point: technology should never overtake common sense or customer service.<br /><br />"We arrive at the trendy new restaurant 10 minutes after our reservation time. We wait at the door, bundled up in winter coats. No one looks our way for another 10 minutes. Finally, we are informed that our table isn't ready (don't worry, I haven't turned into a cranky restaurant reviewer), and we are ushered into "the bar," which is really just a low-slung bench along a wall.<br /><br />We pile our coats into a mountain of Gore-Tex and wool that immediately whooshes onto the slushy floor. Whatever. We need drinks. A round of vodka mojitos, please. Hello? Finally, we manage to flag down the waitress, a tanned, sweetly smiling blonde with no peripheral vision. Could we have a round of vodka mojitos, please? She holds her hands up helplessly. "So sorry, but I can't get you a drink. I don't have a Palm Pilot," she says, as though she were informing us of some obvious and terrible disability, a disability so crushing that it prevents her from turning and taking three steps to the left to the service bar and speaking with the bartender."

[jmulder]

Boy, if it wasn't on the internet, I'd think my father wrote this article. Of course, he's much more of a 'purist' luddite than the author.

Does anybody else find it ironic that the internet was used to distribute an article about how everything was better 'in the olden days'?

I like my ice dispenser (and the ice it dispenses)!
-Jim

[Cortex]

if only he'd gone to a pocket pc restraunt, he'd be singing a different tune!

;)

[Duncan]

It's funny how people tend to extremes in so many areas. This guy sees a Palm being used in a silly, non-common sense way and so Palms are, by definition, silly and pointless. Yet at the same stroke I would bet that the owner of the bar firmly believes that using Palms for everything is the way forward and can't wait for the day when the waiters/waitresses/bartenders can be done away with completely...

My Pocket PCs changed my life. Literally. Day by day I make real practical use of them to do my job, to keep my life in order and to assist me in a way that a filofax (BTW - how many people, when filofaxes first appeared, said their diary was good enough for them :wink: ), or a note pad could never do. But if someone rings me and I need to take down an address I grab for the nearest piece of paper and a pen - I don't say - "I can't take your address right now because my Pocket PC is upstairs!"

An amusing article yes (though it aims at targets that are far too easy) - but I fear the writer is genuine in his belief that the diary, pen and paper etc. are in competition and using a technological device is silly - simply because he has seen it used in a silly way... sadly he echoes and reinforced the beliefs of many...

Jason hits the nail on the head with the term 'common sense'. With common sense we see the value of new tech like the Pocket PC (and even the Palm!) with all its value and uses - but also know when a pad and pencil makes sense.

For the record though -

Most people I know with filofaxes take ages to find anything in them, cope with crossings out, missing pages that have half hung out for months and finally come loose, stuff them so full of things they'll never need that they end up twice the size of the fattest Pocket PC.

Paper books are unbeatable - but if I want the definition of a word, to look up an encyclopaedia article, catch up on a digest of the days news - that adds up to a lot of books to carry around and a lot of time spent flicking through them, which doesn't happen with a Pocket PC e-book!

Traditional letters are great - but I don't have to wait days (or even weeks) to hear back from someone who I've e-mailed on the other side of the world!

Live pets poop on the carpet. When was the last time there was an electricity explosion in your town? I agree about the ice cubes though! :)

[Mike Wagstaff]

if only he'd gone to a pocket pc restraunt, he'd be singing a different tune!
She holds her hands up helplessly. "So sorry, but I can't get you a drink. Our WiFi connection is currently down, I haven't got my Bluetooth T68 handy, and to crown it all, my SD card's fallen into Table 5's soup," she says.

[PapaSmurfDan]

Very humorus article. Maybe not as humorus when you see someones palm (body part) and arms covered in notes and then they break out a Palm to look up something.

[daninnj]

I think the name "Palm Pilot" should die before Palms die. :roll:

"Can I play with your Palm Pilot?"
"I wish I had a Palm Pilot like you!"
"How much was that Palm Pilot?"
"OOOOO...Is that a Palm Pilot?"
etc. etc.

If I had a nickel for every time one of those phrases were said...

DanInNJ

[Video11]

What's a vodka mojito? :?:

[Duncan]

Mojito is a mint syrup - it makes Vodka (way too) drinkable! 8)

[Sheynk]

and it isnt drinkable w/o it cough cough cough :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah..............hmmmmmmm :roll:

[Duncan]

I always thought that straight Vodka was enoyed only by drunks, actors, yuppies, Russians and those who had lost the use of their taste buds. Oh, and students of course...;)

[BTS]

I certainly see the author's reasoning. Handhelds are great technology but if they impede on a job or cause even more work, they really have no place in that job.

For my part handhelds have saved me endless hours of paperwork and re-entering information. 8)

[Jonathan1]

2 cents alert:

Is this a typical case of: "If it ain't broke don't fix it?"

Technology is great but enhancing something for the sake of technology itself seems somewhat stupid, IMO. Example. http://www.unna.org/unna/movies/humour/SNL-postit.mov
It’s a Saturday Night Live skit when the Apple Newton was still going strong. Quick summary. It’s basically a post-it note but it’s a e-note. You can change the fonts and make it beep, cut and paste, and all kinds of stupid things. Obviously it’s just a skit but it does ring true. It’s an example of technology being implemented simply because you can not because it’s some amazing enhancement.
But on the flip side there is always a line that does eventually occur where tech becomes cheap enough, and easy enough, to implement everywhere. Lightbulb, cars, cellphones, etc. All these things are designed to make our lives easier but therein is the question of the decade. Over the years marketing and sales of “golly gee wise gizmos” has become all important in this world. (Actually has this ever not been the case. I bet everyone HAD to have a phone when they first came out.) Siphoning out the things that make your lives easier and things that are just there to suck money from your pocket is the real question. This applies to both the business world and the average consumers as well. In the case of this business unless they have a legit business case to use PDA’s in a restaurant setting it seem like a case of using tech for the sake of tech. Then again the author DID say it was a “trendy new restaurant” You never can tell what you’ll run into in places like that.
What are they called? Air bars or something where you breath pure Oxygen :roll: Then again I've heard you can get a nice buzz off of that...

[ctmagnus]

What are they called? Air bars or something where you breath pure Oxygen :roll:

I believe "oxygen bars." Sounds like something you'd eat.

[juni]

I disagree with the book thing, I don't read paper books anymore - I think Microsoft Reader is great.

[Kati Compton]

What are they called? Air bars or something where you breath pure Oxygen :roll:

I believe "oxygen bars." Sounds like something you'd eat.

Anyone remember the movie Spaceballs? Perri-air?

[rlobrecht]

It’s an example of technology being implemented simply because you can not because it’s some amazing enhancement.
W?BIC!
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7144&highlight=

[yschang]

I disagree with the book thing, I don't read paper books anymore - I think Microsoft Reader is great.

uh... it depends, don't you think? I am learning Linux with a 600+ pages paperback book... I don't think ebook can be a very good Linux learning or other software learning tool... unless they publish an ebook version that is...

Call me crazy but I still enjoy a good paperback book...

[jlc61]

if only he'd gone to a pocket pc restraunt, he'd be singing a different tune!

;)

"I'd like a Vodka"
"I'm sorry, but our bar doesn't support Vodka. we do have RussianDrink"
"OK"
(Whatches little spinning circle symbol on wall for 30 minutes"
"Here's your drink"
(Drinking, and spits it out)"This tastes like turpentine"
"Dont worry, RussainDrink2003 will take care of that"
"Good' I'll take it"
"I'm sorry, it's not out yet, and won't fit into that glass anyway"
(Sound of glass breaking)
"What the..."
"Don't worry, just hit the reset button with the little olive spear..."

[WindWalker]

I think the name "Palm Pilot" should die before Palms die. :roll:

"Can I play with your Palm Pilot?"
"I wish I had a Palm Pilot like you!"
"How much was that Palm Pilot?"
"OOOOO...Is that a Palm Pilot?"
etc. etc.

If I had a nickel for every time one of those phrases were said...

DanInNJ

In this day and age, at least for the forseeable future, it would be as if we had to stop using the term "Band-Aid" or "Kleenex."

Like it or not, the copyrighted name has become the defacto description of almost any handheld device of this sort. Maybe one day it will happen....but as long as we have Band-Aids, Kleenex, and Xerox, you will be stuck for a while.

[C Brandt]

In this day and age, at least for the forseeable future, it would be as if we had to stop using the term "Band-Aid" or "Kleenex."

Like it or not, the copyrighted name has become the defacto description of almost any handheld device of this sort. Maybe one day it will happen....but as long as we have Band-Aids, Kleenex, and Xerox, you will be stuck for a while.

Don't forget about 'Coke'. I seem to remember hearing about some legal requirement that if a restaurant sells Pepsi rather than Coke, they are _required_ to ask 'Is Pepsi OK?'

[daS]

Sorry for the long-winded post, but this hits a nerve with me.
:evil:
I agree that using a PDA for order entry in a “trendy” restaurant is the wrong technology for the job. This happens when people focus on a particular issue and not look at the big picture.

The restaurant may have seen this as either speeding up the order process and reducing errors caused by bad handwriting, or as simply making their restaurant appear “modern.” But in the bigger picture…

Using consumer PalmOS PDAs (or even consumer-level Pocket PCs) may not help with speed, because it is too easy for the user to get the device in a mode that is not dedicated to the particular application. Error recovery is generally poor, and with the Palm, you can’t continue working while the wireless is transmitting previous data. This slows things down. A more robust solution is needed which uses a vertical market device with ROM-based software dedicated to the specific application without the consumer software included. You don’t see a “home” button, or “start menu” and Solitaire on the UPS driver’s tablet, or the McDonalds order entry terminals. Speaking of McDonalds… This brings up the second point…

Why would a “trendy” restaurant want to appear like they are competing with McDonalds for high technology efficiency? :roll: Part of the “atmosphere” of going to an up-scale restaurant is the “old world” personalized service. How many of you have experienced a waiter that takes the order for a table of eight people without writing anything down, then brings all the food and gets everything right without having to ask “who gets the…”? It’s a great pleasure.

Of course, there are exceptions: Encounters restaurant in the UFO-like theme building at LAX airport is going for a “Jetsons” feel. They could use a wireless PDA for orders. But otherwise, our modern lives are surrounded by impersonal, computerized “service”. When dining a an up-scale restaurant, most people don’t want the feeling that their orders are being taken by a “customer service rep” for Table Number 3412.

I (try to :wink: ) make my living helping companies match mobile and wireless technologies to their needs. Unfortunately, too many are unwilling to spend the money to do a needs-assessment and cost analysis up front. They want to implement a project “on the cheap” so they contract directly with a developer - who might be excellent at focusing on the task - but doesn’t understand the customer’s overall business needs. The results are most often what that author saw: An application that might have been very well coded, but doesn’t improve the customer’s business. :oops:

[ctmagnus]

In this day and age, at least for the forseeable future, it would be as if we had to stop using the term "Band-Aid" or "Kleenex."

Like it or not, the copyrighted name has become the defacto description of almost any handheld device of this sort. Maybe one day it will happen....but as long as we have Band-Aids, Kleenex, and Xerox, you will be stuck for a while.

Now Velcro is referred to as "hook-and-loop". If I didn't know it was Velcro, I'd think hook-and-loop was a single largish loop that hooked onto a single largish hook. I've seen button setups like this (mostly in my mom's button jar, the contents of which date back to the 60s.)

[bbarker]

This idea of technology governing customer service applies to the use of credit cards as well.

The other day I was in a Media Play and the three checkout lines were 10 people deep and going slowly. The problem was that the store's satellite system was on the blink and running a credit card took multiple tries. Each checkout took 5 to 10 minutes. It was unbelievable.

I notice that credit cards still have raised numbers and letters. Someone should invent a manual device for running credit cards. They could insert the card into a slot, put a small multi-part form on top of it and then slide a roller across the paper to make an imprint from your card onto the paper. Wouldn't that be cool? They could have a device like this on hand for when their communications lines are down.