I agree with Tom. The search capabilities on a PDA are awesome. You never have to remember what format your stored information was authored; memo, data, reader, etc.

I have way too much info stored on mine (Palm V). I synch it with memo folders from Sidekick, the PIM I’ve used for about 10 years. And I still have info and contacts from 10 years ago, which is why I’m reluctant to switch to Palm Desktop even though Sidekick is no longer sold or supported. Some examples of memos I have include personal info (car data, meds, allergys, voting districts, children’s’ school data, etc.), scouting info, songs, skits & recipes, tropical fish notes, equipped to survive info on gear, kits & techniques; and much more.

Using Avent Go I’ve synch up several web sites, mostly scouting such as Meritbadge.com. This lets me have all of the requirements for all of the ranks and badges handy at meetings.

Using HanDbase I have several databases. Several I use for tracking advancement for scout merit badges. I have one on camps that lets me track al sorts of info, including a link to a S.A.M.E database for weather radio settings. Another to track medical record and contact info for scouts. This let me carry emergency info on all of the scouts with me no matter where I was in camp. I also have a fish auction (yes, there are such things) to track auction items I want to bid on. It links to master species list for killifish, the type of fish I keep. Unfortunately, I’m usually too busy working at the auctions to have actually put this app to test! Lastly, in my previous employment, I synched up several critical reference tables on a SQL database. This let my carry valuable reference info and values no matter where I was in the building, even if I had difficulties logging into the server.

Quick Office lets me synch Word and Excel documents between the Palm and PC. I do retain several reference documents, but usually export such documents to memo format as it takes less memory. The advantage is that I can draft documents on the PDA without having to boot up my laptop and it’s easier to carry around, even with the separate folding keyboard. And the batteries last longer. Although it’s awkward to compose using Quick Sheet the small screen form factor makes it difficult to build a large or complex spreadsheet. So I have a few reference sheets such as a train schedule, troop calendar and survival kit contents (reformatted from ETS pages). The calendar is a file I received from another leader so it’s easier to synch it to my Palm instead of reformatting it into another application.

I also have Mirror and Planetarium loaded. Mirror is so-so in usefulness, but very small in size so I keep it. Planetarium is a VERY cool Palm app. It also doubles as a compass by selecting the Sun and aligning its icon and center point with the sun. You can also use this technique with moon or any visible planet or star (or comet or asteroid, etc.)

Lastly, I have Hackmaster and a bunch of Hacks: Invert Hack, MenuHack, AppHack, Phonelookup Hack, Launch Em Hack, Select Time Hack, Pop Up Names, GlowHack, Dayligh Savings Hack, Drag&Drop, and AfterBurner Hack. Note on Afterburner, which increased the systems clock speed, it affects serial communications, such as beaming and my keyboard. So I have to remember to toggle it on and off all the time. But it does improve performance for my larger databases, such as the S.A.M.E. codes. Also, there was a search hack I tried and liked once that I my look for again and buy.

I’m getting a Blackberry as part of my company issue equipment. I have no experience with it so it’ll be interesting for me to see how it compares. Depending upon that experience, I’m considering upgrading my palm for more memory, expansion slots and a color screen. And then I’d likely add a mapping app and GPS. The grey scale screen makes maps less than optimal.