My $0.02: I chose the Handspring Visor, even though I've been in the
Microsoft developer community since MS was a wee little tyke (< 35
employees; circa 1981).
Things I liked about Palm (Pilot)
---------------------------------
Huge installed base. I plan on writing apps, as well as using the PDA
features.
Mature, tested underlying OS.
Well-maintained/communicated UI standards.
Every Palm device I saw looked (aesthetically) like it was indeed "..worth
the money..."
Things I liked about Win CE
---------------------------
Familiar OS (subset of Win32 API)
Familiar development environment
Infinite expansion capabilities
Things I didn't like about Palm (Pilot)
---------------------------------------
Limited memory capacity
Limited expansion capabilities (little or none; Palm III, IIe, IIIx, V, VII,
etc.)
Things I didn't like about WinCE
--------------------------------
Every WinCE machine tended to look like my (6yr old) son's toy cassette
player he carries
Large frame
Evidently, the inherent instability of Win16 (i.e., Win9X) made it into the
WinCE Win32 subset/OS
Large price for a "decent" machine.
I was honestly on the fence about this choice for about two months, when a
buddy of mine sent me to www.handspring.com. There I found... nirvana! The
Visor is smack-dab right in the middle of both opposing ends: Large
installed base with familiar apps/behavior/OS, and infinite expansion
capabilities. So, I patiently await the delivery of my Visor...
By the way, I voted for Palm.
-----Original Message-----
From: George Madrid [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 9:30 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Palm vs Microsoft
Anyone else think it's odd that the votes correspond pretty closely to their
market share?
:-)
-gm
> From: "Eric Arseneau" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 08:17:33 -0600
> To: "Palm Developers Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Palm vs Microsoft
>
> Hello people,
>
> Cgeck out the article on zdnet,
>
> http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?/adeska/adt1117ba/4127:902361
>
> At the end of end you get to cast your vote on who will win: Palm or
> Microsoft. The balance is already over 80% with about 1400 votes in.
Let's
> get more in there.
>
> As usual, I think the journalism is really bad. The journalist says there
> are only two options: Palm and Microsoft. Forgetting others like Symbian,
> Sharp, and others. But who cares, the point is to get the votes up as
high
> as we can get them.
>
> Eric Arseneau
> www.PocketSmalltalk.com - Smalltalk-80 on a Palm Device
>
