Go check out this image from ThunderHawk and tell me you have a better internet experience.

I'm trying to figure out your comment about melodies. If you are implying that as a conductor I should be able to hear the music in my head, I commend your understanding of the field. My job is to hear the music from the notes on the page, and create a viable, organic interpretation. And as an amateur composer, I enjoy many moments of unheard melodies. That said, there is nothing better to block out the sounds of the noisy bus I use to commute than the music that I am studying. It gets me in the mood for the music I will be conducting the rest of the day, and it's a way of checking my memorization of the score. It is NOT my means of learning the score.

All this is just a moot point anyway, since within a year Pocket PC's will have 640x480 screens, clamshell designs, national wireless broadband from Verizon, and faster graphics processors. I'm sure Palm OS's will make similar leaps and bounds, since they finally started to compete with Microsoft in terms of power, screen resolution, and multitasking. Then, and only until then, will I complain about the brick I used to carry around from 2003-05(except for the stupid cheap gimmick camera, only useful if videoconferencing was available. you can slam that as much as you want!).

EDIT: Sorry, one last comment I thought of, then I'll get off my podium . I read all these comments all at one, so I've got alot spinning in my brain.

Sure there are things you can't do on a PDA, such as create Adobe Paintshop files or work with hugh spreadsheets. But there are enough things that my PDA can do that my laptop can't outweigh the disadvantages:

1) Instant-on connection. I'm already taking notes before others even see their Windows welcome screen.

2) I don't need to pay for an additional $80/month data plan in the form of a wireless modem. I know too many people who lug around their 6 lb laptop all day just to take notes, and they still have to go plug in to some ethernet port and hope they can configure everything just to check email. I can do both of these faster, cheaper, and easier.

3) I can't use my laptop for GPS navigation in the car in a cradle. I get voice prompts and large, clear, screen instructions. This device has also kept me from getting lost on 2 remote backpacking adventures using topo maps, saving me the need to buy a separate (and expensive) hiking GPS.

I think, above all, it is the combination of built-in modem and GPS option that make this PDA a better alternative to a laptop and phone.

I'm sorry if I have come off a little strong. This is all in good fun, and I like being passionate about my toys. To rephrase what I said above, we'll all be ashamed in 5 years of how pitiful these devices are and how much we prided them at the time!