Applications for home and body
There are a number of other interesting personal information management applications that are just beginning to garner attention. Here's a sampling of of some interesting applications I found.

HandyShopper
HandyShopper (at http://palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?sid=16950720010625124544&prodID=5314) manages shopping lists of all types, from groceries to DVDs. It's pictured in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Manage your shopping lists with HandyShopper.

AllMoney 1.06
AllMoney 1.06 (at http://www.iambic.com/pilot/allmoney/default.htm), much as the name implies, allows you to manage all of your personal financial information. It's pictured in Figure B.

FIGURE B

AllMoney manages your personal financial information.

Auto Slate 1.5
Auto Slate 1.5 (at http://standalone.com/palmos/auto_slate/) is for those people who need to watch mileage or gas consumption, or for those who like to keep track of all their maintenance. This application provides all of that. It's pictured in Figure C.

FIGURE C

Monitor your mileage with Auto Slate.

Contraction Timer 2.10
You can find Contraction Timer 2.10 at http://members.fortunecity.com/judebert/palm/palm.html. If you visit this site, though, beware the full-on assault of pop-up ads! You have been warned.

But what about Contraction Timer? Well, it doesn't get any more personal than this. It's an application to help manage contractions for expectant families. It calculates how far apart and how long the contractions are, it lets you take notes, and it keeps a log you can scroll through. It's pictured in Figure D.

FIGURE D

Keep track of those contractions with Contraction Timer.

Woman 3.05
Woman 3.05 (at http://www.beiks.com/palmzonebg/woman.htm) allows a woman to keep track of her menstrual cycle. It's pictured in Figure E.

FIGURE E

Woman 3.05 tracks women's menstrual cycles.

4T Medical 1.3
4T Medical 1.3 (at http://www.fortsoft.com/4t_medical.htm) keeps track of all medical information (such as doctors, allergies, insurance, etc.). It's pictured in Figure F.

FIGURE F

4T Medical 1.3 tracks medical information.

And these are but a sampling of the programs currently being developed. Yet they represent well enough the growing trend of developers creating applications to help people manage their lives.

What's next?
Thinking about this more personal shift in PDA usage leaves some questions unanswered, such as "Where will it all go?" and "When, if ever, will it stop?" Will applications be developed to manage when our children leave the house (combined with wireless, location-based services)? A "home-management" company called Xanboo (at http://www.xanboo.com) has developed hardware (cameras, sensors, etc.) to let us manage our homes from the Internet (from the desk at work). And, of course, they've tied it into the PDA, allowing the Xanboo user with a wireless PDA to get notified of events on their Xanboo system (like a door opening or a motion sensor being triggered).