"Is it politically correct to ask for a person's phone number and then fumble to Graffiti it into the PalmPilot?"

"Do business people really want to zap their business cards back and forth?"

The most frequent question I, and many of you, get when someone recognizes that you are using the PalmPilot is "Oh, is that the PalmPilotÉdo you like it?" I get this a great deal when I travel. When I answer, most of the conversations go the same way. "Ah, yes I love it. I traded in my paper planner about two years ago when they first came out and haven't looked back since." This immediately establishes me as an expert because two years ago my inquisitive friend traded in their Atari for a QVC Pentium for $999 and is now paying their bills on line through Quicken and has heard of the PalmPilot. Or, possibly they have owned a "Casio" type of device and forgot to change the batteries or dropped it and lost all of their data. Either way, I am now smothered in a conversation with them because they are intrigued about this powerful gadget and its touted PC integration. [I've had this experience as well. And, for some unfortunate reason, the person asking never seems to be an attractive woman. --DG]

This conversation always happens on an airplane. I sit down, look at my ever-growing to-do list, check the appointments that I have missed and sure enough the person next to me (we'll call him John Doe) starts a discussion. Why is the PalmPilot such a marvel? Seeing me scribble with a pen-like device into the face of a computer-looking device seems almost freakish in nature and is certainly interesting enough to provoke a chat. After this verbal exchange, I usually end up in a feature and benefits demo showing the Calendar, Phone Book, To Do List, and a Memo or two. If I really like the person I will show them how and where to write and then allow them to fumble around in a blank memo for a while and then our conversation ends up sounding something like this.

John Doe: "How long did it take you to learn the writing?"

Chris Guella: "About two hours to learn and a lifetime to master."

John Doe: "Really!? Wow, I have to get one of these things, how much do they cost?"

Just like that, I just made another sale. I should be getting a commission from 3Com.