• Security I, Identification: non-monetary, secure data banks, such as drivers licenses, company ID information, etc. to make folks comfortable with the security level provided and accustomed to use of a device as the data bank;

• Security II, Digital money and eWallet solutions: "pay anybody anywhere with your Palm device" vision growing far beyond the recently abandoned PayPal for Palm idea and involving early talks with Visa and MasterCard.

The plan Carl laid out sounded like it would probably stretch over the next five years or so. He commented on the need to move attention from "e-commerce" to person-centered "me-commerce" in which the device and the empowering services have a vital role to play. Palm has clear plans to not only push for adoption of the Palm operating system itself, but to intertwine their future with others through partnerships with leading firms such as Nokia, Motorola, and Sony. Add their wireless services ambitions to the mix, and it's easy to see that there will be some more exciting things to come.

Seeing the vision set out with an organized, logical plan for the company's product and services mix was compelling. I came out of the presentation with a far more positive feeling about the few Palm shares that I bought six months ago. As a handheld enthusiast it was exciting to hear the vision Palm is building toward.

And Carl's closing comment? "Think simple, elegant, transparent technology. We'll be there." I can hardly wait.

Michael Connick is a Senior Project Manager at BusinessEdge Solutions, Inc. He can be reached at mconnick@monmouth.com. You can also visit his Palm handheld oriented Web site at http://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/palm.htm.