My hack, I have used large diary/planners for a couple of years now, just blows my PDA efforts away with ease. Currently the a 2005 Moleskine Large Daily Desk Planner (see http://www.moleskineus.com/largediary.html) is doing the job (regret many of the changes from 2004 version but still good). I carry it compulsively in my hand all day at work and in bag the rest of the time. My problem was availability of free form pages to mind dump, idea catch, project plan, to do lists etc etc. I have now solved this with a pack of the soft cover Volants (see http://www.moleskineus.com/volant-notebooks.html) which are exactly the same size as the diary. I use a blood pressure elastic strap on the back cover which allows me to 'piggy back' the volant onto the diary where it is instantly accesible. I have cut a letter-box slot into the cover of the volant which then stores my handful of tools (0.5 pencil, gel ball, penform eraser and fountain pen) securely and ready for instant access. The body of the tool inside the volant and clipped through the slot as though in a pocket. The blood pressure ligature positioned close to the diary spine also hold the accordian pocket securely closed so I can store valuables with confidence but is instantly accessible if I rip the velcro join of the ligature (rather than just using the elastic to slip the volant back in place in normal use. The disadvantages are those arising from the tools making the diary sit up unless the volant is removed (fixed in a single wrist flick if more than jotting into diary) and the need to remove the tools if you want to write on the left hand page in the volant (not a real problem in my experience at all). Hope all this makes sense. I have a hand-sized tool with all the implements I need at any moment that I am away from my desk to capture anything I need and the Moleskine combined with quality writing tools on its 'back'(and a good quality decal to make it 'mine'on the front) gets admiring comments everywhere I go. Whole set up, including a good fountain pen is less than $300 and I've never had a PDA for 4 times that which worked as well, drew as much positive comment and gave me as much pleasure to use.