This kickstarts a new column on the usability of daily things.

In this edition, I'll talk about my PDA. An iPaq.

I'm one of those people who really like writing on paper OR typing. Somehow writing on a PDA never caught on, despite valiant attempts to arm myself with a nice state-of-the-art PDA.

However, even for pen-loving stylo-hating people, there are some useful uses for a PDA:

1. Play games on long boring flights.

Download some free games or buy some games you know you like and play them while on the plane. Trust me, that $6 you pay for that game where you match three different items to see them poof is worth it.

2. Reading while nursing (or bored).

Copy episode synopses of Prison Break from Wikipedia to a text editor and save as a text file. Copy via SD card to PDA. Use hand to scroll while reading. Yay.

3. Surf web while nursing (or lazy to get up).

Self-explanatory.

WARNING: This will cost quite a bit on your bill.

4. Store photos and stare at will.

Self-explanatory.

5. Appear tech-savvy.

Show your friends. "You see (and click deftly and quickly so they don't see you're just fudging) and here's that spreadsheet... *distract* Oh look, a talking cat!"

Technorati: technology, PDA, iPaq, games, web, usability