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Is Handheld Computing Ready for You? You’re increasingly aware that people around you are using handheld electronic devices that aren’t pagers or cell phones. Makes them look organized, doesn’t it? Competent. Up-to-date. Maybe even cool. Should you be one of them? Here’s a quick look at what some of your nonprofit colleagues are doing with handhelds that are available at virtually every electronics or office supply store. A Volunteer with a Disability A long-time volunteer and disability advocate writes about what he sometimes refers to as his wheelchair: "Recovering from a head injury has brought me many challenges, none more overwhelming than poor memory and organizational skills. My cognitive therapist is insightful in suggesting strategies to compensate. "My wife originally purchased an electronic organizer for me that I used to schedule my appointments. Because I had them recorded in my organizer I didn't have any more anxiety about not remembering where and when I had to be places. As long as I could remember where I had put my organizer I was OK. Life was good. "Wrong! My electronic organizer crashed.... I was in a panic. How would I know what my schedule was? How could I make my transportation arrangements ahead of time? My recovery took a major setback and I wasn't really aware why. My therapist helped me identify my need for an organizer that had the capability of backing up the information in case of a crash or loss of the organizer. "Then I discovered the Palm Pilot. Not only did it have the capability to be backed up, but it was smaller and easier to carry around. Now I use it for all my appointments, to keep track of my list of things to do, record important phone numbers, and I use the timer as a reminder to take my medicine or to do certain tasks which ordinarily I might forget to do." The Palm Pilot is a productive device for an individual with a cognitive disability who has the ability to learn to use it. A Board Member’s Electronic Organizer She’s a determined non-techie, a mother of many children, and a nonprofit board member. But she managed to get many of the little notes that used to clutter her home office, and the outside of her refrigerator, into a slim and inexpensive Sharp electronic organizer. Hers cost $40, but others in the product line retail for as little as $20 -- close to the price of a pocket calculator. Of course all her kids immediately had to have them too. At that price, she could buy one for each of them, and did, plus extra ones as gifts. Good investment -- her kids showed her how to use them and did data entry. What really got Tech News’s attention, though, was that her organizer has backup capability to a PC. That eliminates the unacceptable risk of loss of information -- if you actually use that capability and back up your organizer. To restore information, you download your backup into an organizer. At that price point, you can’t enter information on your PC and download it to an organizer, but just having backup capability at that low a price is remarkable. If You Need Help... Go to the Palm Pilot special interest group of NYPC, the largest personal computer usergroup in New York City. For information, telephone (212) 643-NYPC; at the menu, enter the code PDA (personal digital assistant).
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Innovations.... Wireless Innovations: New Wireless Technology Is Good News For Nonprofits (October, 2007) METRIX – A Free Database Solution for Nonprofits (March, 2005) The Case For Wireless Networking (October, 2004) Open Source – New Horizons (May, 2004) The Electronic Data Initiative for Nonprofits (August, 2003) How "Open Source" Can Open Doors for Nonprofits (June, 2002) CUNY Wired! Showcases the Best in Academic Technology (April, 2002) A Handheld Future (June, 2001) Migration to Handhelds: Visiting Nurse Association of Brooklyn (June, 2001) Using Handhelds in the Field: ACCION International Empowers the Self-Employed Poor (June, 2001) Nonprofits Benefit from ePayments Technology (April, 2001) Handheld Computing: Readers Respond (July, 2000) Is Handheld Computing Ready for you? (May, 2000) Community Voice Mail comes to New York (August, 1999) Other Articles of Interest.... How we're using Information Technology to Further our Mission (February, 1999) |
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