A couple of events recently have reminded me that I haven't posted anything "personal" for a while, so here goes. Anyone who reads solely for techie stuff should skip a couple of paragraphs 'til I get onto the PDA bit...

<non-techie>

First off, whilst checking through my referrer logs I noticed a hit from a Google search for "Ulrika Jonsson Bo operation". As I have mentioned previously, Bo has the same congenital heart condition as my daughter Sophie (double inlet left ventricle with transposition of the great arteries, if you're medically-inclined), so the news that Bo's third and final operation is imminent is a definite heads-up for my wife and I (as if we needed one) as Bo is only a few months older than Sophie. "Hello!" magazine have an article on this, which not only has a picture of Catie Chou, the outreach nurse who does so much to make parents' lives that bit easier, but also some quotes from Ulrika that are again right on the money. From memory it went something like:

I've been really dreading this third operation, as Bo is so much more aware of things ... It's bad enough just taking her down to be anaethetised... If there was any way that I could have the operation for her then I wouldn't hesitate to

The second thing was a story that I just had to share. At playgroup yesterday Sophie somehow managed to get a tambourine stuck around her neck. Apparently she was being a princess and her crown slipped (somehow an angel with a slipped halo seems more appropriate :). Luckily the offending article was removed by one of the fathers, in what was apparently quite an intricate process in which all the little "cymbals" had to be kept pointing in the right direction. Aren't kids just wonderful...

</non-techie>

Finally, I'm thinking of getting a PDA (just in case my wife ever reads this I must add that the holiday comes first, of course), and was wondering if anyone had any advice on the matter. My shortlist contains two Palms (Tungsten E and T3) and three HP iPAQs (H1930, H1940 and H2210), though if anyone has any alternative suggestions I'd be most interested. I've tried to be all scientific and objective about the whole thing, and am evaluating them on the following criteria:

  • Processor/memory: looks like you get what you pay for, so I guess I lean towards the more expensive models as a bit of "future-proofing"
  • Screen: looks to me like the T3 wins this one, but all seem more than adequate for what I want
  • Document editing: the Palms have "Documents To Go" and the iPaqs Pocket Word/Excel, etc. so there's not much in it here. Maybe a slight advantage to the iPaqs.
  • Code/HTML editing: I guess there are 3rd party apps available, but haven't had a chance to look yet. Anyone have any opinions to offer?
  • Bluetooth: not sure I really need it. I guess it might be more convenient to carry around a USB bluetooth "dongle" to sync with my laptop or work machines, but will I still need the USB cable for recharging? Also, what can you do over a Bluetooth connection. If it's full IP could I try out some mobile web development over a direct rather than a dial-up connection? Again, more research is required, but if anyone already knows...
  • "Home-brew" development: as a Windows developers I guess the iPAQs win here, though I've always wanted to do a bit more Java and I think J2ME would work equally well in either case.

On balance then, I'm veering towards the HP iPAQ H1930, though I've just checked the PCPro "A" list which brings the Dell Axims into the equation! Decisions, decisions...