In 1996, when I visited the Mount Sinai hospital in New York as a visiting surgeon, I noted that there was a surgeon using a small computer. It was an HP 200LX. I was fascinated and bought it immediately at 47th Photo. I also got The HP Palmtop Paper. Later I was, however, swept away by the Windows 95 wave and got a HP360LX and was rather disappointed. There I was with 2 unused handheld computers and a Dell Desktop at home which I used on a daily basis and a Tulip computer at work. This summer I worked abroad to make an extra buck and needed a small computer with a good screen which I could use outdoors. I needed the computer for two reasons: research and administration. I dug out the 200LX and I suddenly realized the full potential of the computer and have since increased my productivity approximately 200% as well as my salary, unfortunately not with the same percentage. This past summer 1999 I read your article in the 1997 bonus issue and think it was directly aimed at the category to which I belong. What I mean to say is that the handheld computers with the Windows CE system are aimed mainly at employees in big companies who are mobile and want to keep in touch with their head office as well as with their customers, national and international. To them the important thing is that the computer is fairly small and that it is compatible with the Windows 95/NT interface.
I am a representative of another category. Since I am an active surgeon with some research and also a lot of administration and have a family which I also would like to be together with during my active life, to me the HP 200LX is the only computer to use. Since July I have used my desktop mainly as a backup station. The advantages of the HP 200LX are:
1. The screen and battery life!! Nobody talks about the screen. It is fantastic to have a portable laptop computer with a color screen -- but what's the use if you can't see the screen outdoors and the battery lasts for 2 hours.
2. The speed!! To start writing in a document on the 200LX takes me about 3 seconds whereas it takes me several minutes on the desktop.
3. The portability!! I have the 200LX in my pocket all day at work and can use the small amount of time between operations etc. to write mail, do calculations, etc. I am responsible for the time schedules for the surgeons at the clinic (35 doctors) and have their schedules in a database so when they, for example, approach me to ask if it is possible to have a week off for a congress or journey I can immediately tell them.
4. The silence!! The desktop is rather silent but it still makes some noise that I find irritating. The programs I use mostly after reading your articles are: Memo, Lotus, Buddy (fantastic!), DocRtf, View, Database. I use a SanDisk ImageMate CompactFlash External Drive and a 48MB SanDisk CompactFlash Card which is perfect. I, of course, would have preferred a 96 MB card, but since I am a Swedish surgeon and not an American one, I have to stick with the cheaper version.
Lars Enochsson
Lars.Enochsson@Kirurg.SOS.sll.se