Tomorrow is the tenth birthday of the Pilot, the handheld organizer that pretty much defined PDAs as soon as it appeared. In celebration, I give you a scan of the first PC Magazine review of the Pilot 5000, along with the cover of the issue where the seminal PDA made its debut. From the May 14, 1996 review:

"The Pilot is an innovative entry into the world of hand-held computing, a field that many had come to think of as moribund." In 1996. I suspect the PDA market has been pronounced dead almost as many times as Apple.

My own Pilot story: In 1999, I headed down to Johannesburg, South Africa for a three-month stint. I needed email, but I was traveling very light. My "PC" of choice: a Palm III with a LandWare GoType keyboard and a modem attachment. The removable alkaline batteries helped me where there were no plugs to charge things, it was light and portable, and I sent many an e-mail.

PC Magazine's Chief Content Officer, Michael Miller, also strolls down the Palm Pilot memory lane in his blog.