01-08-2004, 05:44 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 5,133
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On The Job With Pocket PCs
Since I've been watching another thread, I've noticed that a lot of people, while they use their Pocket PCs at work, don't seem to use their Pocket PCs for work.
This surprises me, as it seems like a large proportion of our readers are in high-tech jobs. So now I'm really curious - is there anything you do for your job that is aided by the use of a PPC?
Anything beyond the use of phone number look-up and appointments?
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01-08-2004, 05:57 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 192
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Although I run an IT department, I do not use my PPC directly for work for a couple of reasons:
Geek factor...I already have a pager and cell phone...I don't have room for a PPC anywhere. I wear a tie and suit to blend in with the other executives.
I can't think of anything that is work-related that a PPC is good for. Wireless is out -- not secure enough and runs through batteries.
A Blackberry works better for e-mail and when I'm in the office I'm near my PC.
When I'm in my office I'm near my PC.
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01-08-2004, 05:58 AM
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Thoughts Media Review Team
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 749
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I couldn't survive at work without my Pocket PC. I use it to record voice memos and reminders, to take notes during meetings (with my XT keyboard!), draft documents when I'm away from my desktop, keep notes and 'ahas' when I'm in meetings (usually the aha is about a totally unrelated topic to the meeting!)
I actually use it less at home -- mostly as the only reliable family phone book, since my wife refuses to get one of her own!
__________________
/drt
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01-08-2004, 05:58 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 111
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I write software for Pocket PCs so I use them all the time at work. I have my own personal one here and three others in my desk right now. :mrgreen:
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01-08-2004, 06:04 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,060
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I'm with you, Don! If it weren't for my Pocket PC, I wouldn't be able to survive at work. And, of course, when I'm away from my desk, it's my Pocket PC that lets me know exactly when I need to be back at it.
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01-08-2004, 06:34 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 40
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I use mine to edit and create docs and spreadsheets, doing PP presentations, Pocket Streets for maps of towns when I travel, Vehicle manager for keeping track of maintainance on a company vehicle, TreNotes for tracking projects, FlexWallet for keeping track of passworks.
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01-08-2004, 06:53 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,043
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My work, my home... same place! But I use my iPAQ for lots of work stuff. I'm a luthier, with mostly a bunch of doublebasses to repair and adjust. It's not like a constant thing using the PPC to help with that, but it is useful for a lot of stuff in a sporadic way.
I get a lot of details sorted with clients by email, saving explanation time on the phone (phone calls take longer, no matter how I try for efficiency). Establishing appointments to drop off basses and other fiddles, pickup times, lists of what needs doing, preliminary estimates, those are all easier to deal with by email.
I write insurance appraisals and repair estimates with the iPAQ and Stowaway, printing them to my Canon BJC-85 by IrDA.
Photos and even short videos are easily grabbed with the HP CF camera, then I clean them up, crop, dumb down the filesizes, and send them along to clients during lengthy restoration jobs. It's reassuring to them to see progress, and at times they can give feedback on work when there's a choice to be made. Again, harder to do this on the phone (unless one has a video phone I guess).
I keep a shortcut on my Today screen (Dashboard) to my main spreadsheet, one with everyone's setup measurements listed. It's a breeze to search that while I'm talking with a client on the telephone or while they are there, checking things on the bass against my last record. If the instrument has been bumped (very common with the grand-daddy of fiddles), often a bridge position or soundpost placement can be different, making the feel and sound all wrong. Having a well-maintained list of such data is crucial, and since my PC is almost never on (and it's in the kitchen, not my shop), the PPC is the place to keep it.
FreqTune is another thing I keep a shortcut to on the front page. It's a great sampling tuner for all ranges of sound, and with my external microphone (PocketPCTechs did an experimental mic jack for my 3835) it's a lot faster to use than the internal mic, and less error-prone. I have a clip on the little mic, and attach it somewhere convenient and then quickly and accurately get a bass up to pitch after working on it. My 'perfect pitch' is slowly improving after 15 years in this game, but a lot of times I just can't get an a-440 to ring in my brain. Anyway, relative tuning is less reliable than absolute, and FreqTune's the best tool for that.
Otherwise my iPAQ sits on my desk beside the bench, always waiting to distract me from real work with some forum crawling. It's not the most obnoxious of recreations, and once in a while when I actually get to help somebody it's really satisfying. Sort of a companion to my luthiery; making things work is what I like best. My PPC use on the job isnt't so tech as a lot of folks', but it certainly does help.
__________________
Gerard Ivan Samija
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01-08-2004, 06:57 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,911
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I use it for taking jotting down quick notes (no more stickies for me). I don't use it too much at work. It's more of a at home device.
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01-08-2004, 07:21 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 327
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I originally switched to Pocket PC from Palm because of work, mainly for Citrix. I now use it for everything I do day to day. I have to keep track of loads of passwords, IP configurations, logging of phone calks, as well as a GPS so I do not get lost. I use it much more then any other computer.
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01-08-2004, 07:40 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 54
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I do field service for Fujitsu, working on Point of Sale systems (cash registers and such) for many different customers. They all have different contracts, parts lists and such so I'm constantly referring to the specific Customer Information Bulletin for each. It's gotten so that fellow workers will call me for a part number or setting because they know I can instantly give them the answer, it saves them going out to their van, fire up their laptop, & dig out the answer. I just wish Pocket Word (or any other replacement such as Textmaker, ClearView, or Repligo) would handle embedded documents. The CIB's always contain a few, so each time one is updated I have to cut & paste the info from the embedded doc into the original so I can see it on my E755.
In addition, I have Tom Tom Navigator so I can find locations I'm not familar with. Some weeks I may be in Yuma, AZ one day, El Paso TX the next. Very handy.
Plus there's the WOW factor when I show a Store Manager a Divx video or play an MP3 for them.
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