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Palm Pilot PDA

By: KemoNine

Reading Time: 5 minutes  |  Word Count: 920 words

Published:

Tags: organizers

Related Pages: Rose-Thorn-Bud Knowledge Base and Journal Iconography Anti Bad Habit Notebook (Digital) Pacsafe Vibe 150 Purse Mini Review Anti Bad Habit Notebook (Analog)

Table of Contents

Some History

Recently a friend got me thinking about the old Palm Pilot, Sony Clie and Handspring Visor PDA’s (personal data assistant) and how they were particulary useful.

They existed prior to having the internet always at-hand, they are very focused environments, they use a stylus for text entry which mimicks writing in a notebook and there were a ton of great apps available.

They worked ridiculously well as pocket notebooks, date books, todo list managers, course work managers and a hell of a lot more. I should know, I had a Sony Clie during my Uni years and it’s the reason I didn’t wash out or fail out of Uni. I relied on the Clie heavily and it truly was a second brain for me.

Revisiting the Past

Once I started thinking about these digital assistants, I couldn’t let it go and decided to revisit the Palm OS world. Come to find out there are modern, up to date emulators for Palm OS 4.1 devices and I had access to some apps thanks to the fact I’m judicious about backups.

After some experiments I realized something important: with the emulator I can turn a modern phone into a Palm OS 4.1 device. It works. Graffiti and the main UI even work with finger input (no stylus needed). If you do want a stylus the Adonit generic styluses (Jot / Mini / etc) work quite well for both the UI and Graffiti.

Going even further… I was able to get HotSync working via a virtual machine. It took a minute but snapped together well. I’m using HotSync as a way to move data to my computer so I can more easily transcribe it to my main notebooks and todo lists.

W.T.F.

I re-created my old Sony Clie setup on Android. I proved it works well on a Samsung Z Fold 4, Samsung XCover Pro 6 and a Boox Palma. It works so well that I now have the emulator and my personal config setup on each device.

It Just Works. Scarily well.

Going Forward

For a very long time I’ve kept an analog pocket notebook on my person at all times (think ‘will go back home to pick it up if forgotten’ level of ‘all times’). I use this notebook for mind mapping, brain dumping, laying out dense todo tree’s and more. It’s a way to externalize any and all thoughts so they aren’t lost. When I get back to my ‘main environment(s)’ I cull any new information from the pocket notebook into my usual 2nd Brain, Medical, Task List notebooks and ‘cross out’ the information that has been transferred into my ’normal spots’.

The Palm OS setup allows me to outright replace the pocket notebook. It allows me to more easily enter information due to the fact I still have tremors and Graffiti is far more forgiving than analog. I was able to setup apps for each of my use cases and it’s tied to any device I may have ‘at hand’.

I’ve been piloting (there is a pun here I think) the setup for about a week and I’ve gotten to the point I now reach for the Palm OS environment instead of my pocket notebook.

It’s that good.

Recommendation

If you’re looking for a digital pocket notebook: the Palm OS environment is worth investigating. It can be made to be incredibly flexible and robust. It’s also a focused environment and can be sync’d for backup needs.

I highly recommend investigating this world if the more modern tech stacks piss you off or are enshittified too much or similar for you.

Keep in mind

One thing to keep in mind with this: the Palm OS apps, device images, etc are generally considered ‘abandon ware’ and exist in a legal gray area in many locations. Consider this if you decide to proceed.

Software and Hardware

The below is a breakdown of various bits and pieces I explored. You only need an Android phone plus the CloudPilot PWA or an iPhone and CloudPilot app to get up and running in terms of hardware and core software.

The items below are just general points to consider for creating a more flexible and more robust setup if desired.

Computer / Server Components

Emulation Devices

PDA Software