Custom-written SF story about the future of portable computing

Question

Around 15–20 years ago I was in touch with someone who had been a member of a UK-based handheld computer society, maybe in connection with HP calculators. Their society had recently had its 25th anniversary. To commemorate it, they had published a small softcover book collecting the best articles from the past issues of their newsletter.

The book opened with an original story that they had commissioned from a well-known SF author, who wrote a speculation about what handheld computers would be like in the future.

The story concerned a man who was traveling from one place to another. Stopping over in an airport along the way, he learned that his connecting flight was delayed. So he used his PDA to reroute his itinerary. (At the time the story was written, this would have been impossible.)

The thing I found remarkable about it was that the protagonist couldn't use his PDA without first finding a special terminal chair in the airport, with a network slot he could plug the PDA into. The author had done a great job foreseeing the way handheld computers would be used in the future, but had completely failed to predict wireless networking.

I thought the author was Poul Anderson, but I have not been able to find any evidence that this is correct.

I do not know if the story was reprinted anywhere else.

Does anyone know who wrote this, what it was called, and where it appeared?

Answer 1

I found it. It was “Thank you, Beep…!” by Gordon R. Dickson. It was originally published in HP Calculator Journal #5, 1979.

I read it reprinted in RCL 20: People, Dreams & HP Calculators, which was prepared for the 20th anniversary of the London Handheld and Portable Computer Club. My copy was kindly provided by Paola Kathuria.

While I was looking for it I had wondered if it was by Dickson and not Anderson, so I also checked the Gordon Dickson bibliography on ISFDB. But it doesn't mention this story.

Here's a brief excerpt:

"I'm lost. Beep," Walter said now. "My flight aborted. I'm somewhere in a terminal at Jakarta, Indonesia. Also, I'm out on my feet, and I don't know where to go, and how do I get to London now in time for tomorrow's conference?"

"Don't concern yourself, Walter," said the HP-XX2050. "I'll take care of everything. Tell me, do you see any tie-in computer consoles near you?"

Walter has to plug his device into a slot in a special console to get full functionality.

The London HPCC is still going. It celebrated its 40th anniversary with another conference and another book.