Personal Digital Assistant

(PDA) A small hand-held computer used to write

notes, track appointments and otherwise keep your life in

order. PDAs provide all the functionality of a cheap pad of

paper at hundreds of times the cost, and with far less storage

capacity. Early PDAs required data to be input using a keypad

with keys the size of Chiclets, but more recent models

(e.g. the {Apple Newton}) use a combination of pen-based input

and {character recognition} software to render your data

incomprehensible.

(1994-11-22)