Why the Visor?
By Dirk
For our St. George's University School of Medicine Class of 2003, with Love J
IN SHORT :
After much consideration, I think you will be happiest going with :
Handspring Visor Deluxe ($249) or…
Handspring Visor Platinum ($299)
THE FULL DEAL :
Hey guys…
I apologize for not getting this out before the holiday season, but I got swamped with relatives "needing to see me" just like everyone else. I know a bunch of people were curious about palmtop computers, either because they want to buy it for themselves or for their loved ones. So I thought I'd still put together what I learned and try to share it with anyone who's curious.
Why get a palmtop, anyway? Well, besides just being trendy gadgets, they are also very useful for keeping track of your scheduling, your phone numbers, your addresses, etc.. Ask anyone who's ever used a Palm Pilot, and they'll tell you how useful they are and how you can customize them to suit your needs. But in addition to being a nifty little gadget, they are also becoming increasingly useful to medical professionals. A lot of software has been written to help medical students and docs alike, from a palm version of the Merck Manual, to ePocrates, a pharm database that automatically updates itself, to patient tracking software, to Pharm flashcards to help study for the USMLE. A lot of medical professionals are starting to use these programs, as you can see by looking at some of the following links.
So you can take a look at those and decide for yourself whether or not you really want to invest the time and/or money into buying one of these things. After all, they are pretty new to the medical scene, and you definitely DO NOT need to have one. I have talked to several medical professionals over the holidays, who told me that there are a growing number of doctors and students using them, but there are still many more who are still using paper and pencil as their "peripheral brain." J
However, if you're the adventuresome type, or just need to have the newest gadget, or are really curious how this technology may be used by doctors in the future, you may want to pick up one of these puppies.
The problem? Which one.
There are several different incarnations of palmtop device available right now (1/1/2001), from the Microsoft operating system palmtops made by several manufacturers, to the original Palm Pilot (biggest part of the market share right now), to the Handspring Visor (a PalmPilot clone made by the original founders of PalmPilots), to the TRG (a new Japanese entry into the PalmPilot market.).
Which one do you buy? I looked around, and thanks to all of the web pages, the people who responded to my emails, and the people who put up with my endless questioning, I think I've come up with the best answer. Don't yell at me if you go out and buy one and don't like it -- I'm suggesting everyone do their own homework. New stuff is popping up constantly. In fact, everything I'm writing here will probably be outdated in a few months.
But if you're lazy and just want someone to give you suggestions, here they are :
Or if you want to splurge, want a slightly faster processor, a cool silver case, and the latest version of the PalmOS Operating System (version 3.5, instead of version 3.1 which comes in the Deluxe)…
I think either of them are fine, but some people need to have the latest and greatest, so go ahead, choose whichever one you want.
Now, before we go on, you can choose some other documents to look at.
Why not get one of the other ones?
What can I do with my Visor / Palm Pilot / TRG once I get it?