So, then look into the Zune HD. Creative's Plaszma also looks promising. The point was that there are great PDA's out there. They just aren't called PDA's anymore.

I'm kind of tired of "this is just a that without the widget." It was an obvious exaggeration when it was first used. Now it's just parrot speak.

Actually the iPod Touch makes and excellent PDA. The Zune HD probably does too. I haven't played with it. I'm guessing there are several other options out there, even an Android one.

It's not that good PDA's went away, they just morphed into PDA style apps on more capable devices. Of course most of those devices are cellphones. Luckily not all of them are.

One of the great weaknesses of our system is that it is polarized into two dominant parties. Every movement or ideology that want's a fighting chance is forced to sleep in the same house with every relative, in-law, and squatter.

Liberals or Conservatives, the only thing holding them together is their fear of the other party.

On the internet, and without a neutral referee, declaring yourself the winner is just declaring the argument lost with a bit of arrogance thrown in.

The purpose of an argument is to convince or prove. The only win is when the other side suddenly discovers that what you've been saying is what they meant to say from the beginning, or would have said if they had possessed all the facts.

For some reason people always seem to forget that apple is really a hardware company that happens to have an OS.

For some reason people keep arguing about Apple being a hardware company, or Apple being a software company. Why? Probably because if they aren't one or the other then it is almost impossible to make a direct comparison between them and other computer related companies. Apple still operates the way early computer companies did. They provide the whole package. The hardware isn't just so they can sell software. The software isn't just so they can sell hardware.

They care about their software. After the ooh shiny shock wears off, this is what keeps a Mac user coming back. They care about the hardware. Besides the shiny factor, without good hardware your software runs like crap.

Apple makes computers the way most companies make electronics devices. Heck, they make them exactly like they make their iPod. Or more accurately, the iPod was a natural extension of thier business model to the mp3 market. Make the whole product. Control the complete user experience.

The only real argument is why Apple does these things. The evil Apple advocates will tell you it is pure corporate greed. The pro Apple fans will tell you it's to provide the best possible product. I say it's some of both. After all, I rarely have a single motive for the things I do, and I'm just one person. A corporation's motives are probably a bit more complicated.

And yes, I use a Mac. For me it is currently the best choice among imperfect choices. And yes, I occasionally take a poke at Windows users. Or did. Of course I put up with my fare share of pokes about being a Mac users in a Windows IT department too. Fortunately no one I worked with (including myself) every felt a need to hate another person or group of people simply because they liked or advocated a particular computer