PDA / pocket calendars
Pocket calendars were wonderful for carrying your own schedule and less wonderful for being the one true office calendar. A small screen makes everything feel settled because there is no room to show the mess.
Generic PDA list view
Short entries, abbreviated notes, and one line that says R/S because the screen did not invite essays.
What mattered
| Item | Practical effect |
|---|---|
| Stylus entry | Fine for one appointment, tiresome for a morning of calls. |
| Sync cradle | Useful when it worked; a small plastic altar when it did not. |
| Alarms | Good for the owner, less useful for a shared front desk. |
| Categories | Helpful until everyone invented different category names. |
| Recurring events | Excellent for standing appointments, touchy when only one date moved. |