FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The parcel arrives and I hurry to open it . There it
lies, smooth matt charcoal grey. I pick it up, it is surprisingly light. It really is no
bigger than a paperback book, or a shorthand notepad, and so slim too! I open it up. The
screen is surprisingly large, the keypad spacious.
The screen is poised on a central hinge, which I can set at any angle, even lying
it flat like an open book.
I turn it on, and the desktop displays several folders and a menu bar in a
strip down the right hand side. There is a mouse on the screen - I've never used a
GlidePoint™ mouse before. If I gently move my finger over the small sensitive pad
just below the central hinge, the mouse moves. If I tap once it hightlights the folder it
is over, tap again and it opens. I am away!
The first thing that strikes me is how like my PC this system is. There are
files and folders to store them in.
The machine opens into the folder called Documents, and shows me all my
current documents, whatever their type, Word docs, Agenda diaries, Databases.... I
can see them all at a glance.
Navigating
Tapping in the top right corner of the glide pad, or pressing
the Menu key just below it, brings up the main navigating system - drop down menus.
I quickly learn how it works, and each command has a keyboard alternative, so I
soon begin to memorise the most useful ones.
Just press ESC and the menu disappears.
Each major application has its own "Launch" button too, to the left
of the glide pad. I used to have a Psion S3c and thought I might miss the system bar
- but no - these buttons are really useful!
Another feature reminiscent of my PC is the Control Panel
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