Saturday, February 23rd, 2019

    Episode IV: A new hope
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Help Me, Palm OS. You're My Only Hope!"

Several weeks ago  I started thinking about replacing  my Xiaomi Redmi
Note 5A  (Android-based, dualSIM)  with two  devices. I  won't explain
right now, why I  want to do that, that's what  episodes I-III will be
about in the future. Instead of that, let me specify the two devices:

 1. The first one  - let's call it an online phone -  will be anything
capable of  running  WhatsApp - that  is  quite  the only  requirement
I have for it.

 2. The other one - let's call it an offline phone - will be a Palm OS
based smartphone.

- Why WhatsApp? 

My wife is at home,  taking care of our little autie.  My father lives
160 kilometers from us and is five days a week alone. My sister and my
mother commute twice a week those 160 kilometers  - that's quite a lot
in a country that is 500  by  300 km.  And we  all are on WhatsApp and
exchange dozens of messages every day, including pictures and videos.

WhatsApp may not be open, secure and good in any of the meanings these
words have, but it  works, at least for  my family. My father was kind
of affraid of computers and cell phones his whole life and now there's
an app he's able to use to see the progress of his only grandchild and
not to feel alone  most of the year. I'm not going to break this.

But as the online phone won't be doing much more than WhatsApp (and of
course calls,  text messages, e-mail +  maybe one or two  another apps
like banking), it  should be small and nonintrusive.  Those big, flat,
touch-operated monsters  slowly enslave us,  steal our time,  bend our
backbones. I can even see it on  myself with the Xiaomi and I think it
has to stop right now.

-Why Palm OS? 

As  far as I can remember, the  only smartphone that did what I wanted
and nothing  more, was my Palm  Centro back in 2009. I want that back.
But as I am now ten years older,  my eyes are not what they used to be
and  I'd  prefer Palm  Treo  as  it has  a  little  bigger screen  and
keyboard.

---

That's quite it.  The scene is set,  persons introduced,  the plot may
begin. It'll be a while before I have both these phones and  have them
in a condition for daily usage. But I'm in no hurry - the Xiaomi works
and  does what  it's supposed to do. It does a lot more,  which really
turns me mad now and then, but I'll manage - it's not forever.

PS: I started this text in the  first half of February, when I thought
I will use my  wife's old Blackberry Q5 as the  online phone. But just
couple of days ago one of my friedns gave me SonyEricsson Xperia Pro -
for  free, in  decent  shape and  with full  packaging.  As it's  even
smaller than the Q5, I have now  my online phone and Episode V will be
about it. Search for Treo continues...