Instant "On" & The Best Tool For The Job

I've had the opportunity to work with several different PDA operating systems now (GEOS/Zoomer, Palm, Newton & Windows CE), and I am still at a loss as to how these operating systems fail to capture more of the market. I know, ultimately it comes down to what seems to be the main driver for computer technology these days, that being multimedia, and let's face it, PDA's are a long way from being true to that idea. They get close, and then seem to fall behind.
The appeal to PDA's for me has always been they are "on" the moment you turn them on. My eMates? Open them up, they're on. My Palm IIIxe? Ditto. Same for my new HP Jornada, though it seems a little slower then the Palm or Newton (more tests are pending, of course). For me, they are more than adequate.
Which brings me to my point. I don't really need a multimedia powerhouse all the time. I have a television, a stereo, a DVD and VCR... I'm pretty set. While I can use some of my computers for multimedia, I choose not to. Makes me a fuddy-duddy? I guess, but to me they have always been tools, not an end in themselves. In order for a computer to be capable of multimedia, it has to have a fairly complicated OS and components, most of which are software driven. Currently, this equates to slower boot time. For the typical computer game enthusiast, a wait time of up to (or over) a minute is worth it, just to enjoy their passion. For me, though, a minute is sixty seconds when I can be doing something useful, like writing.
It comes down to what you want. For me, lean and mean does the trick. Whether it's a stripped down System 7 on my old PowerBook or Palm, Newton or WinCe, a light, fast booting OS and lightweight applications are far more important than being able to play "Star Wars" with people whom I've never met. I live in the here-and-now, and when I have an idea, I want to be able to work on it post haste.