[Vimoutliner] Taking Notes

[Tim Roberts]

This message is off-topic for this list, but based on past messages, I
expect this group will have strong opinions, and will not be shy about
sharing them.

I attend a lot of meetings as a volunteer.  If I don't take notes,
everything I hear leaks out of my brain almost immediately.  However,
maintaining paper notes is tedious, especially given the quality of my
handwriting.  I'm searching for the ultimate note-taking tool.

A general-purpose laptop is problematic, for several reasons.  One is
battery life.  I rarely have access to power, and some of the meetings
last 5 or 6 hours.  Another is the weight and delicacy of a full-sized
laptop.

I started with an HP Jornada 620, which is a CE-based PDA with a 640x240
screen and a 2/3-sized keyboard.  It worked pretty well, but it was
tedious to use the small keyboard.  I then found the HP Jornada 820.  It
is just about perfect.  Lightweight, sturdy, CE-based, 640x480 color
screen, full-sized keyboard, 32MB, PCMCIA slot for wireless cards,
compact flash slots, all the familiar apps.  I've used it a LOT.

When I bought it, the battery lasted 8 hours.  That's down to about 3
hours now; it failed partway through a meeting last week.  And because
this machine was made in 1998, I can't find replacement batteries any
more.  (Well, I found one for $242, but I only paid $200 for the whole
unit.)

So, I'm looking for recommendations.  I tried an AlphaSmart Dana, but it
isn't backlit.  I've thought about Pocket PC with a foldable keyboard,
but I'm worried that the screen size would be an issue.  I don't
particularly care what operating system it runs.  I need to be able to
type notes in outline form with a small amount of formatting, and either
send them to my PC at home or send them to a printer.

-- 
Tim Roberts, timr at probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.