Filofax

I'm not party to Filofax's marketing strategy. But they may be thinking that, long after people have tired of electronic gizmos, they'll still want to keep pen and paper.

I know which I prefer.

G

Maybe Filofax thought that PDAs would be a passing fad....

Tony

I still prefer good old fashioned pen & paper to a pda.

Living quite happily in the past.

Mike

Perhaps they paid too much attention to the "stick to your knitting analogy." They would have had to partner with both hardware and software developers to build, from the ground up, an unfamiliar technology (to them). It would have been expensive and there would have been a lot of unhappy shareholders if it had failed - have no idea of their working capital at the end of the 80s, but it probably would have required debt issuance on their part with lots of bps above the then risk free rate. Too risky, maybe?

My Sony Ericsson P910i is an excellent PDA, handy multi-media player, internet browser, emailer, oh, and makes a fine mobile phone too. My job and life don't demand that I have a PDA, but I'd be lost without it. It even rings or vibrates to remind me of appointments etc. Bits of paper and pens don't do that.

Tony

Filofax are still selling paper products though. What did everybody do before PDAs and mobiles eh? They still seemed to turn up at meetings and used a land line to talk. Worked for me, out on the road without the boss harranging you every 5 minutes. Luxury.
At least a Filofax didn't looses all your info if you left it for a few weeks or during a lightning storm.
Cue several stories of "friends " Filofaxes which spontaneously combusted etc.

With everyone being so fond of these one thing does everything items how come this isn't a music center with built in TV and Sattelite forum?

Howard

And some people still ride horses instead of driving cars. I've even heard of one or two wierdos listening to vinyl!

Tony

Isn't Filofax a British company? Would that not explain everything?

IIRC in the '80s people could both read and write but now they can just about read and "thumb talk" so no need for a filofax then.

quote:

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What is "thumb talk"?

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Texting I should imagine.

CUL8R

Howard

What is this "filofax" of which you speak? Sounds like Gandalf's horse.

I use something called a "diary". I can add entries - as easily as jotting them down - by using an ultra-modern hand held slim cylindrical device, called a "pencil". Should I need to change or cancel an appointment or note, I can shift+invert this device which activates a part of it called an "eraser".

It has never crashed. Because of its lovely red leatherbound firewall no one has yet hacked into it. It fits neatly into my pocket without stretching and weighs so little one might almost suspect it was made nearly wholly of paper...

It informs me of things, too. Today for instance, I note that it is "Groundhog Day {US}", and that on this day in 1951 the "First X-Ray moving picture process was demonstrated". It informs me of things, too. Today for instance, I note that it is "Groundhog Day {US}", and that on this day in 1951 the "First X-Ray moving picture process was demonstrated".
It informs me of things, too. Today for instance, I note that it is "Groundhog Day {US}", and that on this day in 1951 the "First X-Ray moving picture process was demonstrated".

And to think that technology used to faze me...

Didn't the Americans spend huge amounts of dosh trying to develop a pen that would work in space?

What did the Russians use? A pencil!

I remember the "diary"; a hardware device, curiously of paper derived material with a built in obsolescence of exactly one year, causing the user to completely discard the device for a new one each December, so ensuring the longevity of the product demand. As I recall, there was no backup system and users would have to enter personal details and contacts manually each year, a thoroughly laborious exercise. I also remember Filofax users having counselling if the item was lost, as it contained their whole spiritual essence, again with no backup facility. It had a density of 593 kg/m3, so was very bulky for the information it contained. I think my grandfather had one as a boy.

Thanks Rasher!
And a diary doesn't have google.

Tony

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And a diary doesn't have google

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As if you can't wait and use the PC at home.

Howard

I bought a PDA in the early 1990s, a Hewlett Packard HP95LX (this was a nice pocket computer that I could run my MS-DOS applications on, and the battery life was weeks). Unfortunately, I lost everything (appointments, addresses etc.) twice through random crashes over a couple of years. While I could retrieve an older backup from my PC, I still lost a lot of information. At this point, I gave it away to a curious younger relative and went back to a Filofax organiser which I still use.

Nick

I had once my folifax stolen, found by someone and sent back to me. It would have had probably been a different story with a palm ...

Usually I can wait until I get home and use the pc, but there have been plenty of occasions where that would have been simply far too late.
None of us really needs a pc. It's just another tool that, hopefully, makes life more informative or productive.
I spent a week in the middle of the Zambian bush last year and had no radio, tv, car, pc or phone. Didn't miss them one bit.

Tony