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Word of
the Week
June
26, 2000
Wireless World
What's the
biggest thing holding back blending technology into the lives
of builders? The cord.
Remember
the first cordless drills by Makita? The sense of freedom you
felt when you got your first one? Makita may not have been the
first but it seems they to popularized them with enough power
to really do some work. Now they are smaller, lighter, stronger,
last longer, and charge faster. Nearly all tools come in cordless
models now and they aren't toys any more. Most builders have several
and I know many who use them almost exclusively. Isn't it cool
how we drive screws into almost anything with them and rarely
do we have to predrill a hole. Not sure if it is because of the
the clutches ( they became popular about the same time) or because
they are cordless, but it wasn't all that long ago I had to carry
around several bits, a couple of drills, and one or two cords
even for simple jobs. Now we pop bits in and out in seconds and
we can drill for hours on one charge. These are true time savers.
I mention
all this because I think the Internet combined with cell phones
will be just as much a revolution as cordless tools. Sure we will
need our office and PC's to do the heavy lifting just like the
power tools still have their place. It will be awhile before we
regularly review a 20 page document on a mobile device, but to
send or receive a short e-mail, fax or specification document,
a cell phone or PDA will soon become the norm.
For those
not familiar, a PDA is a Personal Digital Assistant. They go by
the name of Palm Pilots, Palm PC's, Visor, and a load of others.
Like the early cordless drills they are limited, expensive, eat
batteries if used for any extended or intensive jobs and slow
to access the Internet or other network through a wireless connection.
Unlike cordless tools you won't need a different unit for every
function. They will cram more and more abilities into the same
units.
For many years
I used the Apple Newton daily. This was one of the first PDA's
directed at the mass market, and as much as people put the units
down they were quite good. Unfortunately Apple was ahead of its
time and discontinued these units a few years back. I found it
super for saving me time. I could carry the unit in my pocket
or in my bags and I always had quick access to phone numbers and
notes. I found it particularly helpful to write notes to several
lists. Then when I was at one of several suppliers I could pull
it out and have a list of items I needed from that supplier. Previously
I used yellow legal pads that tended to have a lot of unorganized
lists and numerous pages I continually had to consolidate. Besides,
the note pads didn't fit in my pocket.
I suggest
you get one. You don't need the latest and greatest. It may take
a little while to get comfortable with it and understand how to
use it in your work. Play with it, get a feel for how it can help
you. All of them will synchronize with your PC, which means that
you can always get the latest and greatest next time and not have
to start over. The reason I suggest this route is that wireless
connectivity, large files and advanced uses are just starting.
By the time you figure out how to use the basics and are comfortable
with them, the advanced ones will be half the price they are now
and will be twice as good. What you were told was the latest and
greatest will be yesterdays technology. Just like power cords.
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