Is this where it will stop? Or will application developers create PDA programs to help us manage the food in our refrigerators and pantries? The electricity usage each month? Our brain-wave patterns?

Perhaps the behavior we exhibit in the workplace--the ever important need to manage data and information--is itself a manifestation of something larger: the pervasiveness of the PC (and personal computing in general).

Our reliance upon computing to carry out many of the tasks we take for granted (such as the proper operation of our cars and the processing of our credit cards at the grocery store) indicates our acceptance that much if not all of our lives can be reduced to data. Of course we may not like to imagine that scenario (that we're all just a bunch of ones and zeros), but we can't ignore the fact that computers have a very interesting way of "digitizing" our lives.

Take this article for instance. The thoughts in my head--fluctuations in chemical levels, firing of neurons, the translation of biological workings into words and ideas--are transformed by this computer into something binary, forever digital.

It's no wonder that the PDA is moving from the business world into the home world. With our countless PCs, we have already laid the foundation for computing devices to help us manage the growing conversion of sensory perception and thought into data.

It may sound like something out of Dune author Frank Herbert's imagination, but, in actuality, it's a good thing. As PDAs become more pervasive in the home and at our schools, everyone will become a little more organized, a little more capable of dealing with the information flow of life in a logical and coherent manner. This is especially important for our children, who will face a far greater and richer information flow than we have.

And, hey, who knows…if they ever come out with the brain-wave management application, finding that "Mr. or Mrs. Right" may be as easy as swapping the digital equivalent of a few Alpha waves. Sure beats dating services.

Jason Thibeault is a freelance technology strategist. He works with startup and established companies to help identify market opportunities, capitalize on trends, evaluate and implement new technologies, and develop new products. As a journalist, Jason applies his on-the-job experience to write articles and features about the technologies and trends that are helping to change the way we live. He can be reached at http://www.jasonthibeault.com.