How to be less distracting is certainly one of those things. Modern computers are constantly begging for one's attention. It's one of the things I really resent about a lot of modern platforms, leave me alone.
> You can sync Newtons and Palm Pilots with modern desktops
Yep and I am seriously thankful JPilot exists, even though it's one of the most homely programs I've ever used. Keeps my Palm Pilot and laptop in sync with each other with absolutely no issues. Without it I'm not actually sure what I'd do.
Exactly what mine was designed for. It keeps my contacts, appointments, and todos in check.
I have major, major issues with distractibility, so having a device that only makes sound when something actually important needs to happen is helpful. I find even with notifications reduced on my phone about half the time when it makes a noise it's not actually important. As such I turn off my phone for the majority of the day.
Additionally, once I clear a notification on the Palm it's not like I can then fall into web browsing on it.
Whether one believes it's a thing or not, I've been diagnosed with severe inattentive ADHD and I find simple, limited use devices really do help me stay on track.
I admit I often wish my phone had the design aesthetic of a PDA from two decades ago. Contoured to the hand, a real d-pad with buttons right on the front, no camera cutouts or rounded corners to block my view, root access right out of the box, headphone jack, multiple memory card slots (damn having an SD Plus card that folded into a thumb drive was convenient!), and a thriving freeware community with no microtransactions, a jog dial, a removable battery, and a case held together by tiny screws instead of glue. You could break a screen and the replacement cost forty bucks and took ten minutes with a screwdriver.
Christ, being able to stick it on a dock and hit one button to mirror your entire device onto your desktop was great.
> You can sync Newtons and Palm Pilots with modern desktops
Yep and I am seriously thankful JPilot exists, even though it's one of the most homely programs I've ever used. Keeps my Palm Pilot and laptop in sync with each other with absolutely no issues. Without it I'm not actually sure what I'd do.