On Tue, 16 Jul 2002, Ned Konz wrote:

> In general, I've been happy with the MobilePro 770. It has fairly
> generous RAM, a couple of card slots (CF and PC Card), an OK modem,
> an OK display (except in sunlight), and a pretty good keyboard.
>
> It was the keyboard that drove my decision; I needed something
> comfortably touch-typable.
>
> And now that Squeak, Vim, Perl, and Ruby are available for it, what
> else would I need?

Exactly.  I'm wanting something that can do almost everything I need to,
but be mostly small.  I love my iBook, but I rarely cary it around with
me.  My Newton 2100u is incredible, it can do so much.  But there are a
few things it cannot.  The iPAQ can do it all, but with such a small
screen, even some of the tasks it should do well become a bit of a
nuisance.

<rant type="nutty">
I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of sustainable computing, and hence my
obsession with small computers, and having Squeak drive my pocket
computer. I am disgusted by big, noisy, power-hungry desktops.  So I
traded in my G4 tower for an iBook.  Even the iBook is still to large and
power gluttonous- I want a computer that is easily driven by a solar
panel.  The iPAQ can be charged within 5 hours on a pretty sunny day using
a small (10" x 6" ?) solar panel array.  I hate to rely on all of this
*gesturing arm wave* just to be able to Squeak.

It probably has to do with my eventual goal of just moving to a cabin in
the woods with a pocket computer with something like a ricochet modem and
the other "neccesities."  Having a small, sustainably usable computer
would allow me to leave behind a lot of other stuff- books, and the other
means of obtaining information.
</rant>

Aaron