If you spend part of your day away from your desk or outside of your home, you'd probably like to have a convenient way to access your most important personal or business information from your desktop computer, no matter where you are.

There are all sorts of new handheld computers on the market today that will let you do just that. These devices synchronize and exchange data quickly and easily with your Windows 98 computer, allowing you to keep important information handy and keep up with your work, whether you're across the hall in a meeting or across the country on vacation.

Personal Digital Assistants
Handheld computing devices go by a number of different names, the most common being Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and PC Companions. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and with different displays, options, peripherals, and software configurations. Mainly they are all small, lightweight, and easy to carry in your hand.

PDAs store information that you load onto them from your computer, allowing you to take some of the functionality of your desktop computer—such as e-mail, Web browsing, or your calendar—with you when you are away. You can view and edit data on one device and then transfer it to the other.

But a PDA is not a replacement for your desktop computer, but rather an adjunct, or a companion. It extends and enhances the capabilities of your Windows-based desktop or laptop computer, and provides the convenience of being very small and portable. There are two main types of PDAs.

Stay organized with a palm-sized PDA
Palm-sized PDAs are the smallest portable computers. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand or slip easily into your pocket, they are designed for quickly recording and accessing small amounts of data. Palm-sized PDAs are best for organizational tasks like maintaining an appointment calendar, storing addresses and telephone numbers, taking notes, or creating a list of tasks you need to accomplish.

High-end palm-sized PDAs also allow you to download e-mail or Web content from your desktop or laptop computer so you can read it on the go—on a bus, airplane, or at a meeting. In addition, some even allow you to record voice memos, play MP3 music files, or download Internet content like news or stock quotes from your desktop computer.

For on-screen navigation, palm-sized PDAs have a few basic buttons for common functions, but they mainly use handwriting-recognition software and a stylus for entering or editing information.

Work on the go with a handheld PDA
Handheld PDAs, also called handheld personal computers (H/PC), offer more portable computing power than palm-sized PDAs. They look and function more like standard laptop computers, though they are smaller, lighter, and cheaper. Handheld PDAs let you work on text documents and spreadsheets, browse the Internet, or send e-mail.

Handheld PDAs use a smaller version of a standard keyboard for entering information, and have larger screens than palm-sized devices. They also feature scaled-down, or “pocket” versions of common desktop applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to let you work on the go, then transfer your work back to your desktop or laptop computer.

If you plan to use your Microsoft Office applications from your portable device, or if you plan to send e-mail or enter and edit large amounts of information, a handheld PDA is considerably easier to use than a palm-sized PDA.

Synchronization gives you power on the go
Since both palm-sized and handheld PDAs are companions to Windows-based computers, connectivity between the devices is of primary importance. This connectivity is achieved through a physical connection—you plug the device into your main computer using an infrared or a cable connection—and through the interaction of the software on the PDA and on the desktop machine.

A PDA has its own operating system and software that links with Windows 98. The operating system a PDA uses depends on its manufacturer and its particular hardware configuration. Many manufacturers use Microsoft’s Windows CE operating system, though all PDA operating systems will synchronize with your Windows 98 system.

If your PDA uses Windows CE, it comes with a CD-ROM containing Windows CE Services with Microsoft ActiveSync™, an information synchronization technology that works between your Windows-based desktop and your PDA. When you install the software on your desktop computer, it automatically synchronizes information with your PDA, and enables the devices to exchange e-mail messages, documents, schedules, contacts, task lists, and other kinds of information.

Whichever type of PDA you choose, it will extend the power and convenience of your Windows 98–based computer, and help you stay organized, on top of your work, and in touch with your friends and business associates.

Mark Reed has been known to give a public display of affection for his PDA.