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  • From: "jeremy snyder" <halffinn AT hotmail.com>
  • To: internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] Palmtops
  • Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 16:40:35 +0000

Hi,

I've actually visited the OQO offices in SF, met a couple of the people there, and seen a demo unit. It was OK. Their demo unit worked fine - it's just an XP workstation with kind of low specs, but very portable. They've done a bit to work on the interface to make it a comfortable portable, like they took the keyboard design and spacing basically from BlackBerry. And they decided to make the screen with a standard width (well, if 800 can be a standard width) and then you scroll the height.

The OQO people told me that the FlipStart machines have a few engineering problems. They should have released by now, but they haven't been able to fix this. FlipStart is a Vulcan company. Vulcan is Paul Allen's venture capital firm. FlipStart has made some interesting features with a low power display for new email, MP3 playing, calendar, contacts.

I've also seen the Sony unit when I was in Japan earlier this year. You can already get this in the US from a few specialty resellers. And Sony just announced that it would be bringing the unit to the US in the next couple of months. It was OK, mostly like a very small tablet PC.

One of the big disadvantages that these machines, and all ultra-portables have, is that pretty much everything is external, aside from the CPU, memory, HDD and screen.

Jeremy

From: Ilan Volow <listboy AT clarux.com>
Reply-To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/"; <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/"; <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [internetworkers] Palmtops
Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 20:18:22 -0500

I've always tended to be skeptical of people trying to shoehorn user interfaces and os'es that were made for full-size desktop computers into tiny palm-sized hardware that often gets more design input from electric engineers that ergonomists (I've owned a Sharp Zaurus--can you tell?) These things virtually always end up as nothing but geek toys whose sole purpose is to be used by systems administrators who sit in coffee shops and run ssh terminals into who-knows-where when they're not playing anime on the damn things.

IMHO, a well designed mobile device is designed from the ground up both in UI and in OS, and is designed around how people work and move when they're on the run. I think that some mutation of the iPod or BlackBerry would probably make a better mobile device than most of the below devices, and would probably gain more market acceptance. Especially if there was some kind of cell-phone integration.

As for looking to the future, I'm curious as to why most "primitive" humans from 50,000 years ago knew more about how to make mobile tools that fit comfortably in the hand than most silicon valley engineers know today. Perhaps what the tech industry needs to do is to commandeer a Klingon vessel, go back and time, and rescue a few extinct neanderthals who will save them from making yet even more mediocre stuff. ;)



On Nov 14, 2004, at 1:44 PM, Alan MacHett wrote:

Anyone have or ever use a palmtop? What's your experience or opinion?

OQO:
http://www.oqo.com/
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4054087444.html

Vulcan FlipStart:
http://www.flipstartpc.com/

Sony VAIO U, coming soon:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=3662


Any of you older folks ever use the Atari Portfolio?
http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/pccomputers/portfolio.html

just curious; I'm still waiting for that future promised to us, oh, 20
years ago...

-Alan







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