Most of us, if we are being perfectly honest with ourselves, have a real fondness for gadgets. We pretend that we buy the latest breadmixer-foot massager because it is precisely the machine that we have been waiting for all of our lives. But actually we just want a new toy with lots of buttons. However, in some cases, gadgets really aren't just gadgets, but are actually tools - machines that help us do work that we would do anyway but faster, more efficiently, more accurately. Into this latter category of "tool" rather than "gadget" we should put the Pocket PC, which can significantly reduce the amount of work. This is especially true for college students, whose needs can often be neatly met by the capabilities of the Pocket PC.
We should perhaps first define what we mean by a pocket PC because the term is a general one rather than a specific one. A pocket PC is any small computer - one that can fit into the palm. Such computers generally run on a Windows platform, almost always the Windows CE Operating System 3.0. Pocket PCs allow a user to do a number of different kinds of tasks: The Windows operating systems includes "Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Calendar, Contacts and Tasks as well as other applications" that include handwriting recognition, Internet capabilities, and an ebook reader (www.cewindows.net/pocketpc/glossary.htm). In other words, the Pocket PC allows the owner of a device not much larger than a calculator to do most of the things that individuals can do on a full-size PC or Mac. The Pocket PC is a specific brand of palm computer, but many different companies produce a similar version. The dominance of the Windows model in this realm reflects its dominance in the PC market.
The usefulness of such a device for a student lies in part in the particular needs of students and in part in the general needs of any individual in our complex modern world. Students today are rarely only students: The college student who withdra...