Turn Your Laptop Into a PDA

Now wait a minute, has your tech-loving Hutchster slipped a cog or something? Why would anyone want their Laptop to function as a PDA? My feeling exactly, at least until I read a recent cNET roundup of pre-boot applications. Now we've all seen the cool media laptops that play CDs (and now even DVDs) without you having to boot into windows. Just imagine if you could quickly open your PC and launch, say, Outlook. How many times have I had to sit and wait through startup (even when I use standby mode) just to get a phone number. Well Phoenix Technologies (yes, the BIOS folks) have created FirstWave Assistant to allow you do simply turn on the PC, hit a key prior to boot, and see your Outlook data. I haven't tried it yet, and strangely enough the webpage does not mention you needing to have Phoenix BIOS to use it, but I think that's because they're trying to sell it to their current OEM clients--I can't imagine it working on an AMIBios chipset. But if your laptop (or PC) happens to have Phoenix BIOS, give it a try and let me know what you think.



- Hutch