Slashdot Mirror

Pepper Computer already tried this, and they failed. It turns out that producing a device that can sell for $200 is quite difficult.

It also turns out that people aren't willing to spend $N for a limited-functionality device when they're able to get a full-featured laptop for $N, or even $N+100

I wish TechCrunch luck!

I think that Flash is excluded from the standard configuration. However, Pepper has made a version specifically for this laptop and it includes Flash and Java. See http://www.pepper.com/linux/olpc.html

You might be interested in the Pepper Pad Linux tablet. I got my PP3 a couple months ago, for exactly the same reason: something smaller/lighter to lug around on vacation, and less at stake if it got lost/stolen/damaged. It worked out great for that trip, and I'm likely to end up carrying the laptop around less and less as I move more of my stuff over to it.

Or, there's the Pepper Pad 3 (I'm writing this on mine.) 800x480, Wifi/BT/USB/IR, Linux, AMD CPU (x86 binaries), very hacker/OSS-friendly system (SDKs, dev community, etc.) Different kind of thing, though -- a tablet PC, not a phone/PDA/pocketPC.

The Pepper Pad 3 isn't quite there with video messing or VoIP, but it might be adaptable. It's Linux-based, which is nice (even though it is Fedora Core 4 based).

Not kidding when I say this...

1. Apple needs to identify all the shortcomings of UMPC or the PepperPad

2. Infuse Appley goodness into a perfected formfactor, and sell it,

3. And profit.

I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

There are alternatives - Pepper Computer's Linux environment runs on the OLPC. It's more mature than the OLPC software, and was designed from the beginning for consumers. It focuses on web browsing and media rather than education, although it's possible to run things like eToys too. Pepper integrates Firefox, MPlayer, Helix, and a number of other open-source projects into something much simpler and easier to use than your standard GNOME/KDE clone of the Windows desktop. If you're at CES, stop by the booth for a hands-on demo of Pepper on the OLPC.

(I work for Pepper)

Simple. Übergeek. My employer put it on my business cards. Hell, they even put it on my offer letter.

Have you looked at the Pepper Pad? Unlike the i-Opener it's portable (2.2lbs, built-in Wi-Fi so you can use it on your couch). Our third version, the Pepper Pad 3, has an x86 chip + runs a variant of Fedora Core. The software is based on Firefox 1.5. It includes Flash and Acrobat plugins, and has a popup blocker. It starts shipping this month.

We've designed the Pad and its software to be an appliance. The user never needs to interact with the underlying OS, although it is an option for those who want to. While we do provide software updates on a regular basis, the Pad can be configured not to get them.

Disclaimer: I work for Pepper.

This is not a new device, and has never really caught on, regardless of how many times you might scream it has Linux inside. It might be neat for those that just have the burning desire of throwing money away, and that's about it.

See for yourself...

- It was announced back in 2004, and Engadget mentioned it:

http://www.engadget.com/2004/09/08/the-pepper-pad- 2/

Then Tux Magazine reviewed it in April 2005, and it was still not available to the public:

http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000125

Now it's available for sale, but for the price it's selling ($850), you can easily pick a cheap laptop with far more expandability for quite less.

Do you think it's portable? Think again. Look at the dimensions:

http://www.pepper.com/products/specifications.html

12.1" x 6.6" x 0.8" (309 x 175 x 20mm)
2.3 lbs (1043 grams)

Now, for something this big, why not get something that's cheaper and just better like say, the Dell Inspiron B120 for $499, with free memory and wifi upgrades? See for yourself:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features. aspx/featured_basnb?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Just my 2 cents....

We did.

The Pepper Pad has an 8.4", 800x600 screen, a 624Mhz Xscale CPU, a 20GB disk, Wi-Fi, bluetooth, USB, and a full keyboard for about $800. It runs Linux and includes both Firefox 1.5 and Flash 7.

Between the 770 and the pepperpad http://www.pepper.com/products/pepper.html
there's no appeal for the origami.
The 770 is actually pocketable, and much cheaper.
The pepperpad is cheaper than the samsung, has built in hardware keyboard with the same concept, has useful battery life, other input hardware. 256mb ram and 20gb space is useful enough.

Having a faster processor, and XP, is not even close to worth the extra cost and low battery life

The Pepper Pad runs Linux on ARM and has Flash 6 support, hopefully Flash 7 soon now that Macromedia's introduced the Flash 7 SDK.

Whups...the cross-compiler SDK link in the above post should be http://www.pepper.com/linux.

Insert obligatory Pepper Pad self-promotion here. ;) Seriously though, the future of a lot of these devices is how hackable they are and how easy they are to add third-party apps. The Pepper Pad has a rather small hacker following right now and we're in the process of putting together a full cross-compiler SDK in addition to giving users tools to compile natively.

Insert obligatory Pepper Pad self-promotion here. ;) Seriously though, the future of a lot of these devices is how hackable they are and how easy they are to add third-party apps. The Pepper Pad has a rather small hacker following right now and we're in the process of putting together a full cross-compiler SDK in addition to giving users tools to compile natively.

How about the Pepper Pad? It has similar specs to the Asus, plus an 8.4" 800x600 screen, 256MB RAM, a 20GB HDD, and a built-in keyboard.

Maybe you're looking for a Pepper Pad? It has video out in addition to a hard drive, bigger screen, built-in keyboard, and all sorts of other goodies. Plus the CPU is clocked 3x faster, at 624Mhz.

Maybe you're looking for a Pepper Pad? It has a USB host port in addition to Bluetooth, WiFi, a built-in SD card reader, and an 800x600 screen. It runs Linux, and both VNC and RDesktop are available.

So what you're saying is that I want to pepper my comments with random links in hopes that people can find my pet hedgehog?

You mean like the Pepper Pad? It doesn't have a swivel screen, but the integrated split keyboard is easy enough to use in real life (yes, I've tried).

...and want a larger screen, you can get a Pepper Pad and get it now. I'm a satisfied customer...

From their technology page: "The Pepper Platform includes Pepper's own patent-pending Application Framework for plug-in application programs..." Software patents are not cool.

From the Pepper site:

E-mail-Send and receive e-mail using the virus and spyware resistant Mail application. Mail keeps all your messages until you delete them [...]

It is surprising that Apple hasn't reacted to Pepper's choice of name for their email client.

The pepper pad looks pretty neat, but I guess it's not quite small enough to be considered a PDA....

It's Linux based too, and includes Java + Mozilla

Sounds like you want a Pepper Pad

I had an incredibly witty thought that I wanted to share with the rest of the world, so I launched ecto, my blog client. An update was available, so I downloaded and installed it. That reminded me that I hadn't run versiontracker pro for a while, so I proceeded to launch that. Of course, an update to the software I use to check for updates with was available, so I downloaded and installed the update. Then Acrobat, BitTorrent, LimeWire, Poisoned, etc. While everything was downloading, I checked on the make install status of glibc on my Pepper Pad. Halfway done.

Why the heck was ecto open again?

Might even be available soon (they say Jan 2005)

It would greatly help if they showed someone actually holding one.

Its located on the upper right of the device.

Couldn't find any exact info other than the following in the press release:
"It has a rechargeable lithium polymer battery with power management providing support for a day's worth of activities"

Unless I need thick glasses, I'd say http://www.pepper.com/content/press_room/images/20 040514-018-PepperPad2_Model-D-09-4x6-300.jpg at the top right corner of the picture.

BTW, I know that SDRAM is kind of different from all those solid state memory cards, but I thank you for confirming it...

What makes you think it's Gentoo? It isn't. It runs MontaVista Linux: Read the Spec

1. Data Entry... and this has a full qwerty keyboard (tho it's arguable how usable it is, being so small keys)
2. Sync capabilities... palm was good, but ipod/iCal is better, and so is my SonyEriccson T610 that supports SyncML. Can't recount the number of times that I lost data due to bad sync or lack of sync {sigh}.

From the site's page on PK, it looks pretty good. Gotta try the download and see if it's better than my palm desktop.

You thought you snuck one past the editors huh?

Look folks, of course `Sean wants one of these for his rally car...he's in on the damn thing!

Check out these pics.

good job /. editors for plugging this thing for Sean Hamor.

News for nerds. Shills that matter.

You thought you snuck one past the editors huh?

Look folks, of course `Sean wants one of these for his rally car...he's in on the damn thing!

Check out these pics.

good job /. editors for plugging this thing for Sean Hamor.

News for nerds. Shills that matter.

According to the photos page it just has USB 1.1 and only one USB port.

No it won't
It has only 32MB video RAM.check the specs here

You mean like on the Pepper Pad?