Suddenly, corporate information was scattered hither and yon. Everyone was running different software, nothing was particularly compatible, and, of course, the MIS departments were going absolutely bonkers trying to figure out how to control it all.

Well, as we now all know, PCs became de rigueur. Networking systems like Lotus Notes began to weave some sanity among scattered computers, and networking, file sharing, email, and, eventually, the Internet became part of everyday work life.

More importantly, all new classes of applications became possible. The whole graphic arts/desktop publishing discipline could never have existed on a mainframe-centric world. Sales force automation, presentation software, even software like Microsoft Office fit the PC genre far more than the terminal or batch-oriented approach of big iron.

If you thought PCs decentralized computing, wait until you get a load of this. Palm devices are the ultimate decentralization. First of all, they're cheap. If PCs grew in a grass-roots manner, handhelds will explode.

While most of us thought long and hard before spending a few grand to give us a leg up at work, a hundred and fifty bucks for a Palm m100 is a no brainer. So lots more of us are just buying our own Palm devices and using them for work.

One reader asked me, "It's mine. Why should IS care?" Well, if all you keep on your Palm device is your own recipe list, no one will care. But if you use any of the enterprise tools to, for example, HotSync a client list or access information from the network, all of a sudden your Palm Vx becomes a corporate concern.

When PCs first showed up in the 80s, individual users were empowered, and those tasked with managing computing resources were challenged. Eventually, of course, PCs proved to be such a boon that an entire generation of IS folks were educated on how to manage PCs, rather than to fight them. But that took a few years.

And it took a few years to get right. Initially, many PCs were stuck in central "resource areas," where workers could go to visit them when they needed to get something "serious" done. But that really cramped everyone's style. For example, I keep my email, QuickConference, and Palm desktop open at all times, and it's all within reach at my desk. I'd never use my PC to track contacts and to do items if I had to leave my desk and stand in line to get onto a machine.

Now, of course, most companies have made the PC the central element of each worker's desk.

I think carrying a laptop is a lot like that central resource. I have a hot little ThinkPad, but I left it home today. Yet, wherever I go, there I am. And, of course, I have my Palm V and keyboard. So when I found myself at Barnes & Noble and the muse (and guilt for having an article due) struck me, I was able to just start writing. That's very much like the convenience of always having a PC at the desk as opposed to in a central room, and it's just one of the subtle ways PC usage evolved and tuned itself to the style in which we work. In my case, today, I didn't have to plan ahead to carry my laptop. Since my Palm device is always with me, it's always available.