And then you tell them that the program takes up only 17K of the PalmPilot's memory, and they suddenly understand the compact, tightly coded nature of Palm OS software.

Tricorder
PalmPilot newsgroup junkies already know about Tricorder, but it's an absolute must--especially on those occasions when somebody's looking over your shoulder and says: "What's that thing?"

Turn around, flip open the cover (if it's a Palm III), point the PalmPilot at her, and press one of the scroll buttons. The PalmPilot makes impressive, Trekkish scanning sounds. Complicated 3-D modeling animations flitter about the screen. Finally (when you release the button), an analysis of you person you scanned appears: "No intelligent life forms present," it might say, or "COMPOSITION: 29% DOUGH, 28% EXTRA CHEESE, 25% TOMATO SAUCE, 13% ANCHOVIES."

Sure, the readouts are hilarious, and the complex-looking info screens are very cool. But the best part is that for a few seconds there, nine out of ten demo victims believe that they're actually being scanned by your little gadget--and get just the tiniest bit freaked out.

Tips for demoing
Once you've got your palmtop loaded up with demo-worthy software, you've got to master the art of showing it.

You'll quickly discover, for example, that the PalmPilot simply can't be viewed by more than one person at a time. The screen technology simply doesn't permit it. So you'll have to sacrifice your own view of the screen when you give your demo--or at the very least find a position that permits someone to look over your shoulder. But do make a conscious attempt to solve this problem--there's nothing worse for an onlooker than your hogging the screen so that they get only a diluted idea of what you're showing.