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agenda.htm
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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>AgendA</TITLE>
<META NAME="DC.title" CONTENT="AgendA">
<META NAME="DC.creator" CONTENT="John Honniball">
<META NAME="DC.language" CONTENT="en-GB">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="organiser, AgendA">
<META NAME="author" CONTENT="John Honniball">
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="All about the AgendA organiser.">
<LINK HREF="index.htm" REL="home" TITLE="John Honniball's Home Page">
<LINK HREF="index.htm" REL="top" TITLE="John Honniball's Home Page">
<LINK HREF="eee.htm" REL="made" TITLE="John Honniball's Contact Page">
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffcc">
<H1 ALIGN=CENTER>AgendA</H1>
<a href="index.htm">HOME</a> > <a href="comp.htm">Computers</a> > <b>AgendA</b>
<P>
<IMG SRC="agenda2.jpg" ALT="AgendA" HEIGHT=133 WIDTH=275">
</P>
<P>
The AgendA is a British-designed personal organiser (PDA) from the mid-80s.
Its most striking feature is the microwriter keyboard.
As if to encourage the use of the microwriter,
the conventional keyboard is arranged alphabetically instead of in the usual
and familiar QWERTY layout.
One of the main design goals was to extend battery life,
and that has certainly been achieved.
The built-in <ABBR TITLE="Nickel-Cadmium batteries">NiCads</ABBR> would last weeks
on a single charge (when they were new).
</P>
<P>
The microwriter is a descendant of the first chord keyboards,
pioneered by Doug Engelbart (inventor of the mouse).
Part of the innovation involved in the AgendA was a system of mnemonics to assist
the user in learning the chords.
Once the user had learnt the basics,
it was possible to move on to more advanced uses of the chord keyboard including
a full set of single-chord commands for the machine.
In fact, this advanced usage may have gone too far, with all sorts of special
chord combinations for every conceivable command.
Only the most determined and motivated users could memorise all of them.
</P>
<P>
There was an article about the machine on page 154 of the February 1989
issue of Personal Computer World.
</P>
<P>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.bellaire.demon.co.uk/">Bellaire Electronics</A>, designers of the AgendA
<LI><A HREF="http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~len/boog/aghome.htm">Microwriter AgendA home page</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.geoff.org.uk/museum/microwriter.htm">AgendA</A> at Geoff Macdonald's Computer Museum
<LI><A HREF="http://home.c2i.net/trygveh/english/gadgetman/pocket/assorted/agenda.html">Microwriter AgendA</A> from the Gadgetman's Shelves
<LI><A HREF="http://www.ericlindsay.com/palmtop/mwrite.htm">Chorded Keyboards</A> from ericlindsay.com
</UL>
</P>
<HR>
<DIV ALIGN=CENTER>
<P>Return to <A HREF="comp.htm">John Honniball's Computer page</A></P>
<P>Return to <A HREF="index.htm">John Honniball's home page</A></P>
<FONT SIZE="-1">
Copyright © 2007-2008
by <A HREF="eee.htm">John Honniball</A>.
All rights reserved.
</FONT>
</DIV>
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