One year with the Netbook (Almost)

As I’m coming up on the one-year mark with the MSI Wind, it’s a good chance to reflect on whether it’s been a good investment. In a general sense, I would answer emphatically yes! It’s such a convenient machine, I end up carrying it most everywhere I go. The portability of it alone has made it worth the investment.

But in terms of writing specifically, I’ve found the ability to use the couple spare minutes I might have between errands or sitting down for a caffeinated beverage the greatest benefit. While I certainly used to go to cafes and the like with my past notebooks, it was always a chore to do so; I had to ensure that the (low-capacity) battery was charged, worry about getting a seat next to an outlet, and carry the machine in a bag I didn’t necessarily want. However, the netbook fits in whatever bag I’m using that day, has great battery life even on standby, and goes from standby to writing in under 30 seconds.

So, in summary, the Wind has been a huge boon not only to my writing (not that you could tell from the frequency of my posts since then), but to my productivity in general.

Software KVM Switch

In the previous post, I describe one of my favorite tools, x2x, used for sharing the keyboard and mouse across two network-connected machines (i.e. a “software KVM”). This solution worked well for me while I was using Linux on the desktop machine.

However, since then, I’ve switched Windows XP on a desktop for some Very Important Reasons (*cough* Warcraft). As x2x isn’t an option on Windows without some measure of elbow grease, I looked again to Synergy.

I had tried Synergy once before, quite unsuccessfully. Although I had tried all manner of ways to install and configure it between the two Linux boxes, I could never get the two to find each other. I put this down (incorrectly, as it turns out) to the application, and washed my hands of it. In the end, it was a typo on the firewall rule that would have allowed Synergy traffic into the machines that was the problem.

Synergy is an excellent tool. While it performs basically the same function as x2x, there are a couple of key advantages it has:

• Most importantly, it’s cross-platform. So you can have a Linux machine, running alongside a Mac, alongside a Windows box, all sharing a single keyboard and mouse.
• In addition, there is a great GUI tool called QuickSynergy that makes short work of configuration.
• Lastly, it has some nice features such as the ability to be lanuched as a server automatically at start-up (on Windows) and a good tolerance for automatic connection/disconnection (I often leave the Synergy client on the Wind running, and when I get back to the desk and plug into the LAN, the Synergy server on the desktop will grab the cursor automatically).

I’ll continue next time with some of the “must-have” apps and tricks for netbooks, in the vein of Dustin’s post here. Only focused on Linux, natch!

Today I bring you a guest post from Gavin Nachbar. Gavin is a freelance writer who cannot be found anywhere in the world without his iPhone. As a writer, he has written for a couple of magazines including Hyphen Magazine and The Escapist Magazine.

Gavin doesn’t have a site of his own right now, but says you can feel free to email him with any questions about the iPhone!

Back in 2007, Apple.’s iPhone was released to a crowd of cheering fans who couldn’t wait to have their phone and iPod together in one. They were excited to be able to get their email and go online in places where WiFi had previously said “no”. In two short years, though, the iPhone has turned into so much more.

The iPhone has not gone without criticism, though, and many people will swear by their Blackberries. Throughout the election, we heard about Barack Obama’s obsession with his Blackberry, and many of us couldn’t help but think “Maybe I should get one of those?” Both iPhones and Blackberries are great in their own right, and either would be a great choice for a writer.

Then what sets these two phones apart? The iPhone has over 25,000 third party applications ready for download, and that number is only growing. Different applications serve different purposes, and they do all kinds of things. Some of them can identify a song on the radio while others can give you directions back to where you parked your car. Of all of these applications, here are 6 of the best for writers to use.

[Note from Dustin: For more info or to download these apps, please visit the iPhone apps store either on your phone or in iTunes.]

1. Text Editor

One of the major knocks on the iPhone, since day one, has been that it is much harder to type on than other phones, particularly the Blackberry. Anybody with fingers larger than a 12-year old’s will run into problems typing on the small touchscreen keys. The way that the iPhone makes up for the difficultly typing is by having a great spelling corrector. Text Editor is one of the many applications that works to fix the “small keys” problem. With Text Editor, each key is two times as large as the typical iPhone’s keys making it much easier for us as writers to type longer notes, essays, or even books. Cost: $0.99

2. Voice Notes

You know that time you were sitting at work or cooking dinner and you have a “light bulb above the head” moment, but when you’re sitting at your computer later that night you can’t for the life of you remember what that idea was? Enter Voice Notes. All it takes it two taps and you can talk as if you are making a phone call. Just hit the play button when you have a brain cramp later, and you’re good to go. Price: Free

3.Photonote

Just like when you have an idea in your head, most writers know that feeling of seeing the inspiration for an article. Photonote uses the iPhone’s 2 Megapixel camera and combines it with a program similar to Text Editor. This application allows you to snap a picture easily, and then write a caption to remind you of why it is you took that picture in the first place.

4. Dictionary with Spell Check

This app has made the impossible…possible! You can now bring that 5 lb. dictionary on the road with you without being weighed down by a giant book. Easy look up makes it possible for writers to just search a word, or one close, and this app gives you the definition and even more important, the correct spelling! Price: $2.99 (Larger dictionaries can be bought for as much as $29.99)

5. Worklog

This app was made for freelancers. Period. As freelancers, we’re always looking for ways to track how long we’ve worked on a certain project, to know how much to charge, etc. Enter Worklog. With an extremely simple interface, Worklog was made with the freelancer in mind. With that said, it is not perfect. One of te major knocks on the app is that is it not designed to track your work for more than a handful of projects. If you are working on a dozen articles at a given time, the app will have some trouble tracking your work on each individual project. Price: Worklog Lite: Free, Worklog Full: $7.99

6. Pandora Radio

There is only one thing better than music, and that is…free music! We listen to music as we write, we listen to it in the car, and everywhere else we can! With the iPhone making it possible to listen to music in more and more places, Pandora Radio is an application that streams free Internet radio stations directly into your phone. One can choose their songs, sorting by genre, or by searching for a favorite artist or song. With that, the application will sort through it’s database and find the song you are looking for, as well as ones similar to it. Price: Free

All in all, for many writers the iPhone is a dream. Personally, after buying mine half a year a go, I can’t imagine what life was like before it. With that said, the number of WiFi hot spots around the county are increasing every day, and as a writer you often don’t even need the internet, just a computer. The iPhone does not, and will not, replace your home computer or laptop, but it will while you’re on the road.

Image via Wikipedia

While researching an article about iPhones, I was contacted by Cheryl Kaye Tardif, best-selling author of numerous novels such as Whale Song. Tardif has embarked on a new project: writing a complete novel on her iPhone – the first major mainstream author to do so.

I kind of stumbled onto this by accident. One night while watching TV I was inspired by an idea for a new novel; I’m a bestselling suspense author with 3 published novels.

This new novel idea hit hard and fast and I didn’t want to lose one thought, so I reached for my iPhone 3G, which at the time I’d had for a week or so. Opening the Notes application for the first time, I started typing in my ideas. This led to opening a new file in Notes and actually writing the first paragraph or two of the novel.

Then I discovered I could email my Notes to myself. I did this and later that evening after the TV show I was watching was over, I rushed upstairs and opened the email on my PC. Copy and paste brought it into an MS Word doc, and ta-da! I’d officially started a new novel.

The novel, Finding Bliss, is still in the “fermenting” stage, says Tardif – she’s wrapping up another novel to send to the publisher, and editing another that’s due to come out soon. But she’s excited about doing this.

My first question, of course, was “why”?” I mean, I’m a big techie (of course) and I’ve written quite a bit on similar devices like my trusty old Palm IIIe, but the thought of tapping out 80,000 words or so on the iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard fills me with dread!

Tardif gives several reasons for undertaking such a big project on such a small device. First, there’s the convenience. “This is huge for me,” she says, “since I am struck with ideas virtually anywhere, any time.”

Second, she finds the immediacy of the iPhone fits the topic of the novel quite well. “Finding Bliss is told in first person, from the perspective of Bliss Morgan, a damaged teenage girl who must fight to survive in a world of abuse, lies and loss. It will read almost as a diary, and writing my thoughts down when I get them is key.”

But most importantly, she says, writing a novel on an iPhone is great publicity. “To be honest, writing Finding Bliss in this way makes this novel unique, intriguing, and very pitchable to a publisher and sponsors.” Before you dismiss that as shallow, opportunistic, or overly commercial, remember that we live in an attention economy, and writers are not just expected but required to bring with their manuscripts a willingness to market their work and the savvy-ness to do it well. There is a special term for authors who aren’t willing to go the extra mile to capture the public’s attention: “unpublished”.

Tardif has found a great way to distinguish herself from the pack, and the public (and publishers) are paying attention. She’s been featured in several newspapers, and been contacted by retailers and websites looking to arrange exclusive releases of her finished book – and she’s only two chapters in!

Tardif offers this advice for authors looking to use their iPhones to write on:

Writing a novel on a small device like the iPhone 3G requires a fair amount of patience. There’s also a learning curve with the phone, so writers attempting this have to be willing to take their time. This probably won’t be a novel that’s written in 4 months.

I think that anyone attempting this should understand why they want to write this way. Are there advantages? Do the advantages outweigh the restrictions? Keep in mind, there is little room to edit, and certainly major editing would be done once converted into the Word doc.

More importantly, she sets a great example for writers looking for creative ways to promote themselves and their work. It hasn’t all been done before, but you’ve got to be willing to do whatever it takes to get yourself noticed. “Let’s face it,” she told me, “every author needs to get noticed if they want to succeed, especially fiction authors. And I plan to succeed! ”

Good advice!

Image by lingolook via Flickr

Inspired by Aaron Peter’s posts about the MSI Wind (here and here), I finally gave in and bought a netbook of my own. After much consideration, I decided on the Acer Aspire One, a unit roughly the same physical dimensions and with the same specifications as the MSI Wind but which, to my taste, felt and looked slightly better.

The model I bought came with Windows XP installed, instead of Linux — I have nothing against Linux (and claimed my father’s old PC when he upgraded, which I plan to install Ubuntu on when I get some free time) but I was worried that I’d have a hard time finding drivers for some of my older peripherals (like the scanner I can’t use with my Vista laptop because there are no drivers at all available).

After using it for about a week, I have to say I’m very impressed with my Aspire One. It runs smoothly and quietly, handles Office 2007 well, and of course it’s incredibly portable. Acer thankfully didn’t load it up with a lot of “crapware” (unwanted trials of commercial software) — all I had to do to get up and running was uninstall McAfee’s bloated security suite (replaced with the free AVG) and the 60-day trial of Office 2007 (which I replaced with a full install of Office 2007 Pro).

Working with such a small computer does have its challenges, though. The small screen means you look at everything in smaller bits than you would on a full-size screen, and the small trackpad makes maneuvering around the screen, small as it is, a challenge. But I’ve figured out ways to deal with all the challenges it poses, and the Aspire One has rapidly become my primary machine — I might not write a book on it, but writing my typical 1000-word articles on it has been quite simple, and since I can use it just about anywhere (I haven’t tried the bath yet…) it’s quite comfortable.

Here are some of the tricks I’ve discovered to get the most out of my Aspire One. Most of these should work on just about any XP-based netbook, although some depend on the drivers your manufacturer has installed.

• Auto-hide the taskbar for more screen space. With only about 4 1/2” of screen from top to bottom, you’re going to want as little taking up screen real estate as possible. Getting rid of that 1/3” of taskbar at the bottom doesn’t make much difference on a desktop or 15”+ laptop, but on netbooks it can mean a lot. Right -click anywhere on the taskbar, select “Properties”, and select “Auto-hide the taskbar”. Move the mouse to the bottom edge of the screen and the taskbar will pop back up so you can launch your programs, folders, or Windows functions. When you move the mouse away, the taskbar will slide out of view.
• Install RocketDock. RocketDock is an Apple-style launcher that allows you to launch programs, open folders, and switch windows. I’ve got it set up at the top of my screen with icons for the half-dozen programs I use most as well as my most commonly-used folders. Also, you can have programs minimize to RocketDock instead of the taskbar, which puts a little screenshot of the app in the RocketDock. Since I don’t want to use up more screen space, RocketDock is also set to scroll up and out of the way until I mouse to the top of the screen, at which point it drops down and I can instantly access the programs I need or the windows I’m using. (Free)
• Add function to the desktop. Since the goal of having a netbook is to be more  organized and more productive away from home, it helps to have easy access to a calendar. Smashing Magazine, a website devoted to design, published a variety of desktop wallpapers with monthly calendars every month, so you can add a new, gorgeously designed calendar every month. Take a look at November’s calendar wallpapers for an idea of what they offer, and visit Smashing Magazine again next week for a December calendar background.
• “Applify” your favorite web applications with Google Chrome. Google’s new web browser Chrome is faster than just about any browser out there, and it’s optimized for use with web-based applications. While I don’t recommend it as your primary browser, it does something that no other browser does that makes it a useful addition to your netbook’s program menu: it can package any web-based application as a stand-alone app. Visit a web app like Google Docs or Zoho Writer, click the little page icon next to the address bar and select “Create application shortcuts”. Chrome will place an icon on your desktop which will open the application in its own window, without all the toolbars a normal browser would have. Since Chrome has Google Gears built in, you’ll be able to use many apps even when your offline.
• Sync to your home computer with Windows Live Mesh. Since the netbook isn’t likely to be your main computer, you’re going to want an easy way to get files back to your primary computer. Windows Live Mesh lets you synchronize files between multiple computers — create a Mesh folder on one machine and Mesh duplicates it and everything you put into it on every other computer logged into the same account. What’s more, you can access all your synced files online through the Mesh homepage so even if you don’t have the foresight to take your netbook with you, you can still work on your files. Mesh is free, at least for now.
• Crank long pages up and down. The trackpad on the Aspire One is about 1 1/2” tall, which means scrolling a long page involves a lot of pad-strokes. Or you can go into the mouse settings in the Control Panel and make sure that “ChiralMotion” is  enabled. Get there by clicking “Settings” on the “Device Settings” tab to open the Synaptics trackpad settings. Highlight the “Virtual Scrolling” item in the tree menu and check the “Enable ChiralMotion scrolling” box. ChiralMotion allows you to scroll by making a circular motion instead of stroking down, picking up your finger, stroking down again, picking up your finger, scrolling, and on and on. Begin to scroll on the right side of the trackpad as normal, but instead of stopping, change your downward stroke into a counter-clockwise circle. Reverse to scroll back up. To me, it feels like turning a crank to crank the page up and down. (This feature is not limited to the Acer netbooks – check your non-Aspire mouse settings to see if it’s available for you.)
• Change the screen orientation. Reading long files can be more comfortable with the page in portrait layout, holding the netbook like… well, like a book. It turns out that changing the screen orientation is trivially easy — hold down CTRL-ALT and hit the arrow keys to shift the page. Up is for the normal page layout, down turns it upside-down, the left arrow key puts the top of the screen on the left, the right arrow key puts the top on the right. Pretty neat, huh?

That’s all I’ve got so far, but I’ve only had it for a week. Anyone else have an XP netbook? What tips do you have for your fellow writers?

I nearly forgot! One more thing:

• Pinch to zoom in and out. With a mouse, you can zoom in and out of webpages, images, and documents in most other programs by holding down CTRL and using the scroll wheel. And you can usually do that on a laptop without a mouse by holding CTRL and stroking whatever part of your trackpad doubles as “scroll” (usually the far right edge). But that’s not very practical given the Aspire One’s tiny trackpad, so they’ve brought in a gesture familiar to iPhonen users to replace it: pinch. To zoom in to a page, place your thumb and forefinger tips together on the trackpad and spread them apart; to zoom out, pinch them together. No CTRL key needed!

Comparison

Before we start, let’s figure out what each of these things does well, or at least better than the other.

Desktop:

• On a desktop, the wide screen is clearly the biggest advantage.
• Also, the keyboard is likely to be better than the one on the netbook (unless you’re using an HP Mini).
• Graphics- and animation-intensive applications and/or web pages are likely to run better on the improved horsepower of the desktop.

Netbook:

• Although the desktop is bound to have more storage, there is something to be said for keeping certain types of information in one place. For example, I keep my tree-based note-taking application (BasKet, more on this later) exclusively on the Wind.
• I also find it easy to really focus on a particular task when working on the Wind. Perhaps it’s because of the small screen size, and therefore the fact that I can’t have multiple windows open with lots of lights and whistles going off.

Linux Toolset

So, based on this assessment, I came to the conclusion that I wanted some type of set-up that would allow me to access both the desktop and the Wind at the same time. Here’s the tools I use to do just that:

• SSH/SFTP: The Secure SHell, or SSH, is one of my most used applications. I use it to remote into the desktop (which functions for me largely as a server as well) to perform maintenance, install new software, and (via the Secure FTP compatibility), move files back and forth between the two machines. Lastly, SSH will allow me to open an application that’s only installed on the Wind on the display for the desktop. For example, I have the Quanta web IDE installed on the Wind, but I can open it on the desktop through an SSH tunnel.
• SVN: Where I’ll use SFTP for a one-off movement of files, when keeping all of my “working files” organized, I use the version control system called Subversion. Originally designed for managing code, it works very well as a simple-to-set-up document management system. Additionally, it also works through an SSH tunnel, so I can securely access files on my home desktop anywhere there’s Internet access.
• x2x: Finally, possibly the most useful tool in my arsenal is x2x. This “software KVM” allows you to share a keyboard and mouse between two machines with two separate displays (so, I guess it’s really a software “KM”). The effect of this is that I can use the desktop keyboard, and when I move the cursor past the bottom of the screen, control “jumps” to the Wind, and I can use the larger keyboard and mouse to work there.

Based on the above, here’s how I generally use the two machines together.

• I leave my e-mail client and IM window open and tiled on the Wind. Using the smaller screen is useful for things that you need to monitor, such as e-mail, IM, or RSS/news feeds.
• I’ll open non-processor-intensive applications such as text editors/word processors remotely from the desktop (i.e. open the copy of the application that’s installed on the Wind so that it displays on the larger screen of the desktop).
• Twice per day (usually, the start and end of the day) I’ll sync (in SVN parlance, “update” and/or “commit”) changes to files on the Wind into the SVN repository.
• I open windows such as web pages that I’m reading in-depth and development apps on the desktop.

With these two machines connected via the tools above, I have a very functional set-up when sitting at the desk that allows me to unhook the Wind with a minimum of fuss. Drafting on the go and doing layout/coding when “docked” has become my preferred method for working. With the Linux toolset, it’s easy!

There is a great deal of controversy over what exactly constitutes a netbook (versus a “mobile Internet device,” or “MID,” an “ultra-mobile PC,” or UMPC, or any of a dozen other acronyms or buzzwords). But they can be easily summed up by three characteristics:

• Cheap: Probably the main reason that this category of device took off was because of the price, which (although originally slated to be in the $200 range) averages anywhere between $300-$600. This is a far cry from the old “sub-notebooks” or “ultra-portables,” which ran anywhere from $1,500-$3,000.
• Portable: Although there is much bally-hooing about exactly what the maximum screen size and/or weight is for a device to be considered a netbook, the only thing that matters is that you can throw one into a briefcase or day bag and completely forget it’s there.
• Moderately-Powered: The trade-off with a netbook, compared to the old-style sub-notebooks, is that they don’t contain the same components as larger notebooks in a smaller package. Instead, netbooks contain lower-performance (and hence lower power consumption) parts such as the Intel Atom processor or solid-state drives instead of hard disks. But not to worry — read on about netbook performance.

So, having bought a new netbook (an MSI Wind) a few weeks ago, I wanted to outline the reasons why I feel it’s one of the best investments I’ve made towards my writing. I would recommend a netbook as a tool for any writer because:

• It can go wherever you go. In the short time I’ve owned the Wind, there have been at least four occasions that I’ve been out and about when I had an idea for something.  I just broke out the netbook, and started capturing that idea within sixty seconds.
• It holds everything you’re working on. Another thing that sets the netbook apart is that it will let you take all of your work with you. I have all of my writing “checked out” from my file server (more on this later) on my Wind.
• Netbooks can do it all. Although with a device like the Dana (or, in my case previously, a Palm TX with an external keyboard) you can write the words (i.e. plain text), with a netbook you can write it, format it, find a market for it, and submit it. All from your favorite coffee spot.

But what about performance? Well, I’m happy to report that most netbooks will do almost anything you need them to do as a writer without getting bogged down. The only exception I can think of here might be heavy desktop publishing/graphics editing. But not only have I done the usual writing, browsing, and e-mailing from the Wind, I’ve also run web development software and moderate image manipulation.

It may seem odd to group this together with the other posts I’ve been doing on the “Moving to Linux” series. On the contrary, it’s very appropriate: many of the new netbooks coming out are pre-installed with Linux instead of Windows (to help keep the price down, among other things). So, you’ll be relieved to know that all the great tools we’ve been discussing will all be available on your shiny new netbook.

1. Local backup: Use either an external hard-drive or thumb drive to keep local backups.
   • Download and install SyncBack Freeware (Mac users can use the built-in Time Machine or Google “automatic backup software” to find an appropriate program — I don’t use a Mac, sorry).
   • Set up a new backup “profile”. Select the folder you store your writing in, and a folder on your backup drive, and set to backup all files and all sub-directories. (The other option is to set up a “Synchronization” profile, which will keep the files in the two folders identical. If you accidentally delete a file, it will be deleted in your backup, too — this is not a viable backup strategy!)
   • Don’t run the “simulated run”. A window will pop up listing all your profiles. Right-click the one you just created and select “schedule” to create a new schedule for your backup. Select the “scheduler” tab and enter a time to run the backup automatically. Since I leave my PC on all the time, I chose 4 am. Leave it set to “Daily”. Click “OK”.
     

     Note: On XP, the scheduler needs your windows login to run. If you’re like most people, your PC has a blank password — make sure to allow SyncBack to override XP’s restriction against blank passwords. Your password is blank if you don’t have to login when you boot your computer.

   • Your files will be backed up to your external hard drive or thumb drive (leave them plugged in all the time, by the way) every night while you sleep. If you need to recover a file, just surf to the external drive as you would open a folder normally.
2. Remote backup I: Every week, burn a set up backup discs and take them to work or a trusted friend or family member’s house. Every month or so, burn a second set and mail them to someone you know in a different part of the country.
3. Remote backup II: Use an online backup service like JungleDisk, Mozy or Carbonite. You can use Mozy for free if you have less than 2GB of files to backup — after installing the program, right-click it’s system tray icon and select “Configure”. Select the “File System” tab and choose the folders you want to back up. All these services will run automatically, making sure the latest versions of your files are saved.

With the exception of your CD/DVD backups, everything in this system is totally automated, which means you don’t have to think about making backups. If anything happens, you can fairly easily restore your lost files, whether from your local backup or from one of your remote locations — at worst, you’ll have to wait a couple days for your out-of-town contact to mail the discs back to you, and you’ll have lost up to a month’s work. That’s the worst case scenario — not too bad a trade-off for being able to salvage most of your career after a horrible disaster!

Local backups can be stored on one (or more) of the following media:

• External hard drive: For around $80-$130 US, you can get an external hard drive that connects to your computer via USB or FireWire and is big enough to hold your entire computer’s contents.
• USB flash drives: Small, pocketable flash drives, usually smaller than a pack of gum, are now available in sizes up to 16GB (with 32 GB drives starting to come to market). Because text files tend to be pretty small, a writer can easily store his or her entire career’s output on a single thumb-sized drive.
• CD or DVD: A single 650 MB CD will hold years of work; a 4.7 GB DVD many times that. Handled properly, CDs and DVDs should outlast just about any hard drive or flash-based storage — under archival conditions, they can even outlive you.
• Network-attached storage/home server: An “NAS” is essentially a hard drive that connects to your router and is accessible from any other computer on the network. Several companies are now introducing full-fledged servers for home users, which also attach to your network and offer services, including automated backups, to all the computers in the network. Some of these devices can hold terabytes of information.

It is the writer’s deepest fear, losing a manuscript. Fortunately, we’ve come a ways since the days of the Underwood and IBM Selectric; the options for creating backups of our work have multiplied dramatically in the computer age, with minimal effort on our part. In this series, I’ll explain some of the options available to writers, and then describe an effective and easy to implement system for making sure your work is safe and sound, whatever the eventuality.

The key to effective backups is that they have to be routine or, better yet, totally automated. We’ll use some simple software and free or cheap online services to do most of the work of making backups automatic; for the non-automated parts, add an entry to your calendar reminding you to backup.

The other key is that there should be multiple layers of redundancy. By definition, we can’t predict what circumstances we might need backups for, so it pays to be prepared for something as small as a file being corrupted as well as something as big as a flood destroying your home. I’ll describe a system that creates three separate backups to prepare you for any eventuality short of global disaster or war.

With very little preparation, writers need not fear losing their work — or, at worst, more than a few days’ or weeks’ worth. Lots of writers still fear trusting their work to a computer, irrationally favoring their tried-and-trusted paper systems. Paper is far more fragile than computer storage, though — a misplaced cigarette butt (or unruly dog, or spilled cup of coffee, or…) can destroy an entire manuscript! Computers allow unlimited copies to be made, in theory — use as many backup strategies as you need to feel secure.

I’m a longtime Palm user. I got my first one back in 2000 when I was working for a dot-com startup (that went dot-boom later on) while going to graduate school, full-time. I desperately needed to get my schedule in order.

But I soon found that the Palm was really well-adapted to writing on the go. The handwriting-based text entry was useful for writing on the New York subways — I could write a whole 3-4 page essay on the way to work with one elbow wrapped around a pole or hung through a handstrap. And for longer sessions where I could sit down, a couple of companies made nifty foldable keyboards you could attach to the Palm.

Although Palm’s heyday seems to have come and gone, a Palm is still a useful little writing device. There are excellent word processors available, such as Documents to Go, which allows you to write fully-formatted documents, save in Word format, and swap files back and forth with any version of Office. The PDA-only devices (like the Palm TX) still have handwriting support (Treo users like me have to use third-party software like MobileWrite). And there are both infrared keyboards like the Palm Universal Wireless Keyboard and Bluetooth keyboards like the iGo Stowaway that allow you to have a full keyboard to work on wherever you can find a flat surface to write on.

Palm’s can be easily extended with all sorts of third-party software that you might find useful as a writer, from bibliographic reference managers to full relational databases to outliners to memopads. Most of them can also access the Internet, via either a built-in cellphone, an external cellphone connected via infrared or Bluetooth, or built-in Wi-Fi, which means you have access to online resources like Wikipedia, too.

I wouldn’t recommend using a Palm for writing that Tolkein-esque fantasy trilogy you’re working on, but for short pieces (or parts of longer works) it’s pretty handy — easy to carry, easy to use, and with a better battery than most laptops. Jeff Kirvin used to maintain a site for Palm-based writing; the site’s been gone for years now, but the Writing on Your Palm archives are still up if you want some useful tips. There’s also a fairly active Writing on Your Palm Google group committed to mobile writing (including writing on Windows mobile and Apple devices). Check them out if you’re interested in using a Palm to extend your writing life.