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Linux Based Webpad
nordicfrost pointed us to a Web site that has announced a Linux based Webpad. It's got
lots of nifty features (although I really want an 802.11 wireless ethernet as an option) including changable color plates, cable TV Viewer and other stuff. I still want to see one of these things that isn't vapor.
Please. I hate MS as much as the next guy.. however...
1) WinCE licensing fees are *nothing* compared to the cost of the hardware. Really. In software development, often, licencing fees are *FAR* from the biggest cost in the product.
2) One cannot compare the percieved speed of WinCE over 98, ME, or NT, or 2k. THey are *all* different, *especially* wince. Now, I'm no wince fan... but have you used some window managers lately? They actually feel much SLOWER than windows, (though to a seasoned user, the machine is obviously faster in the end)
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
It shouldn't cost a fortune to make a remote display. Kill the local disk (along with overkill power hungry processors) and battery life skyrockets.
This is the 'KILLER-APP' that Linux needs to rule the SOHO market. The OS is already multi-user, but that is only a minor advantage to most people in a home with only one computer. (I find it a major advantage, in that I can give my 6yr old his own account and not worry about him deleting system.dll or config.sys)
A cheap remote display will make the multi-user features of Linux a must-have. Now you only have to buy and maintain one PC in the house. That PC can be hidden in a closet. And for only a small price, everyone can access and use the computer at the same time.
Just run NIS/NFS on the server and the remote display should be trivial. But I don't seeing it happening anytime soon. The rest of the world is locked on MS mindset (1 user==1 computer). The advantage of having 5 people logged on with remote pads will take some advertising, a paradigm shift, if you will.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
If it's linux based, I can hack the crap out of it.
That's completely wrong. Linux is a kernel. The Palm could be running Linux, for all most people know (it isn't, but bear with me). All we see is the supplied interface.
When many Slashdotters hear "Linux," they immediately think about distributions and command line access and hacking up configuration files. In the case of a webpad, game console, or other similar application, Linux exists simply to provide services for the software sitting on top of it. A webpad running Linux is not some sort of portable hacker toy with Perl and gcc right there in front of you, unless the designers specifically decide to create that kind of access.
Who really cares what's under the hood? "Operating System" is an irrelevant concept for web pads, PDAs, etc. When you're administering systems, doing software development, etc., then you care. But you just don't care otherwise.
Stability? It's not like a Palm crashes all the time...
At PC Expo this past June, Transmeta had web pads running Linux. And they used 802.11 for wireless networking. No cords. They expected something like 8 to 10 hours of running time (with a color LCD screen, no less).
However, the case had a industrial prototype feel to it - no logo or insignia of any sort visible anywhere. I asked the Transmeta booth-babe (who talked quite knowledgably about the pad and what was in it - she sounded like a real geek employee, not your typical "Hi I want to be an actress!" show floor model) about it, and she explained that the product hadn't been announced yet, but that the expectation was that pricing would be very low, because it would come with a ISP or service contract of some sort.
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Klactovedestene!
One positive point- they plan to use the Opera browser engine.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
I think Palm has nothing to worry about. Why? The Palm VII fits in your hand. As does the RIM Blackberry. THIS monstrosity is freaking HUGE! It's not a webpad - it's more like a beach blanket!
Once you get into a device that size, why bother to make it wireless? Just so you have have the pleasure of lugging it around in its own suitcase so you can browse for gaspacho recipes from the park? I don't think so. I'd be more inclined to just leave it at home, in which case a short-range wireless connection to my home Internet port would be much better. A lot cheaper, too, I'm betting - I didn't find any mention of a service price on the site.
Mr. Ska
original post at
h tml
http://slashdot.org/articles/99/11/10/1235226.s
Go and get a gridpad pen based computer, Install Linux on it. Tweak and Fix the mouse driver to support the touch screen (if it isnt already) and Voila! you have a pen based Linux pad! (Wireless? add a wireless modem into the pcmcia slot)
This is simple, I have a linux pad made from a Gridpad (386, B&W screen 640/480) that I paid $100.00 for at the Dayton hamfest.. I just wish that gridpads that are pentuim class are easier to get ahold of (Or that the Dauphin Orasis didnt cost $4000.00)
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.