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Sony Announces Transmeta Notebook
VF/VT Hunter was first with the news. Could you gush about a product announcement for us, Mr. Hunter?
"Oh hell yes :)
This link
over at C|Net details Sony's plan to release a
Transmeta-powered notebook by year's end. I KNEW I should wait! What's better, it will include a built-in digital camera. Add standard USB and iLink (aka Firewire) support which seem to be prevalent on most Sonys, plus Sony's reputation for making the coolest looking gizmo's, and I think I've found my next big purchase. It just better not come with a Winmodem."
But since it's not a full-sized laptop, should we assume it will be full-featured? Update: 08/15 11:15 AM by michael : The Picturebook line of Vaios doesn't sell very well - it's too small to be useful as a "real" laptop. If only Sony were smart enough to put this chip in their regular Vaios, they wouldn't be able to keep them on the shelves.
Or is this another cool thing that stays in Japan and eventually trickles down to the U.S.?
Most of the power consumption goes to the screen and disk drives. Much of the criticism of the Transmeta business plan from competitors says that power savings in the processor don't amount to much in the overall system.
There's more to it than this.
I'd rather IBM or someone more dependable. Hey, Panasonic can get into the laptop market, no? =)
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ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
The press release doesn't actually state that it's "not a full-sized laptop", it says that it's "slightly smaller than the company's current laptops".
For me that doesn't suggest any reduction in features, Sony's VAIO range generally comes with a great feature set and from those already listed, this doesn't sound too different.
I would *guess* that the reduced size could have as much to do with the Crusoe's reduced power consumption as anything else. At least I would hope that this helps it reduce the size.
One other thing - isn't is possible on a laptop to bypass a Winmodem and use a PCMCIA modem instead if one wishes? I would certainly hope so - any confirmation or denail of this would be interesting.
"Give the anarchist a cigarette"
A little planning goes a long way...
I have an IBM Workpad z50 which runs WinCE and NetBSD. Love it. It has spoiled me on one unique feature: 8 hour battery life.
I go to conferences and don't worry about plugs or extra batteries. I can take notes, or do some work (usually), while the conference proceeds.
The only drawbacks are: DSTN LCD screen (not viewable at the beach) and limited OS/apps.
When the Crusoe-powered notebooks come I will definitely be looking to buy. But, which one??
Now hiring experienced client- & server-side developers
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Gateway and America Online have also added their support, committing to use chips from Transmeta for an Internet access device.
:O Very cool, indeed.
Hmmm. So, we combine this with the earlier article from today, and we get a Gateway-built AOL set-top box, running Linux on a Crusoe, correct??
Well, this should be a good little boost for Sony's laptop division. They should get plenty of extra sales, just by riding on the Transmeta buzz.
On the flip side of the coin, other PC makers will want to see how well this thing performs. Hopefully it'll get good marks from the press: if it does, then Transmeta should get quite a few extra orders on the back of this one.
(Spudley Strikes Again!)
ok, since Transmeta 'came out' I've been ready to buy a crusoe-based machine. Yup, eight months. Nope, none here yet.
I know everyone is saying 'later on this year', but I'm dyin' ova here. Are there any real ETAs on any of the announced devices?
In fact, the only thing that could make the z505 better is a less power-hungry processor. The stock battery in the z505 only lasts an hour under normal use.
As for the Vaio C1 series, it has almost all of the equipment that the z505 has, without the extra usb port and the built-in ethernet. It even has the same screen resolution (1024x768), albeit in a smaller size. With the Crusoe processor, that little 2-lb machine may be even more neat.
I've see demos of Sony's mini cameras designed for use with next gen mobile phones/PDAs. The lens is smaller than a dime and the whole thing is about the size of a sugar cube. The camera plugged into the side of the phone to take an image and upload via wireless data connection to the net. The camera also had a mode for close in (macro) shots of text for OCR purposes. They demonstrated shooting a business card and having the text appear on screen.
A laptop with this built-in camera feature would add little mass/bulkiness. Sony was a little slow to the PC marketplace, but they do understand ergonomics and proper feature implementation better than most other laptop makers. I've worked on a Vaio laptop and it has 'the feel' that a Toshiba or Compaq lacks.
Note to self-> Order replacement laptop at office today...
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After following a few links on the Sony site, I dug up the following:
:)
This product line, C1, exists, and it's first model powered by a Celeron 400. It's about the 10 by 6 inches, making it look like a really big WinCE device, only it runs 98 SE.
The standard battery lasts between one and two hours. That is, as you can imagine, pretty unacceptable. Moving to the Crusoe is a good move here, because can probably get another hour to 90 minutes out of it. Then, when upgrading to a "quad capacity battery", you can get about 12 to 16 hours out of it, which means you can use it most of the day.
And for those people bitching about it's small size, this is the market Transmeta was aiming for, so there.
Is this post not nifty? Sluggy Freelance. Worshi
Is it too much to ask for some non-proprietary features? Like standard interfaces for perifrials?
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Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
As the subject line says, why the excitement over Crusoe?
Admittedly it should lead to longer battery life, but it's "just" an x86 (yes, I know about the code morphing, but for all intents and purposes it's an x86).
As far as I can see, this is just some sort of cult-of-celebrity thing, ohh look, Linus Torsvalds, whatever it is must be good.
(Also, with 15-inch XGA screens on some of their machines, what benefit is a Crusoe chip going to afford? Isn't most of the power going to be sucked through the screen anyway?)
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
These Sony devices are always cool until the price comes around.
When the Sony PDA came around, I was very enthusiastic. This thing had the ability to kick Palm's ass. But then I saw the price. It was well over 600 dollars.
So although these Sony devices are truly cool, the price just makes them an unreasonable substitute to cheaper brands.
I, of course, ordered a sturdy dell. Then my co-worker quit so I took the sony he just ordered instead. Unfortunately, I've had more problems with it than you can imagine. If you stare at the plastic funny, it'll break. They are *really* cheaply made. I'll never buy one again. My co-worker, against my advice, just ordered 4 of them for a different department. They arrived last week and he's already told me he wished he'd listened to me.
The next site to slashdot will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and start slashdotting it early!
Linus for working at Transmeta and signing NDA's should be feeling pretty silly if he managed to bring Linux on to Sony notebooks..
Obviously you have never dealt with Sony. For the world: If you're running anything but the CD that came with your notebook Sony will not talk to you. Hey world: Sony's technical support SUCKS.
I run a oldschool P233 Sony Vaio 505 I picked up for a good deal online; It runs linux like a charm, it has a real modem, and one of these days I'll get the extended battery for it so I can get a 3-4 hour life (get about 1h 25m now, in linux. Would do better if I got the HD spinning down). It's ironic that a company with such HORRIBLE technical support makes one of the most linux-compatible notebooks (at least this particular model). Thank god it hasn't broken (although it really needs that extended battery and more memory :).
All you people that are drooling over the C1: Yeah, it runs linux, and yes, Linus has one, but the almighty himself couldn't get the specs on writing code for that little camera it comes with. Or the winmodem that's in it. Hopefully the transmeta version will have a Penguin on the side, but I doubt it.
I'll believe these will make good linux notebooks when I see it. Sony is very entrenched in the consumer electronics mentality, and in the consumer electronics world, you don't fuck with it, and likely, you don't even bother to get it fixed.
There's my rant for the day. To their credit: My 505 is the only piece of computer hardware I have ever had a female tell me was "Sexy". Cool. :)
..don't panic
I'm lucky, my vaio is screen flawless.
A quick search on the web will bring up some information on how you can get a couple more bad pixels on the screen / dead pixels and then you can get a new screen. Those things cost so much there is no reason you should have to deal with a stuck pixel.
Of course, I'm not encouraging fraud, or anything. *grin*
..don't panic
The Picturebook line of Vaios doesn't sell very well - it's too small to be useful as a "real" laptop.
I disagree that it's too small. My usual computer is a similar mini-notebook. The low weight makes it something I don't think twice about throwing in my briefcase *everyday*. Now the market for weight-conscious mobile computing is small, but that dosn't make the device "not useful".
I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
--
These things may not have sold well before, but with one of those babys inside it...
:)
I remember one of the UK PC mags - PCW IIRC - going mad over this when it first apeared, and I can see why. It's just so _cute_, that size and with that camera. I was sorely tempted when I saw a 233 model going for UKP900 a while back, but managed to be good
I've just got a Psion 5. Lovely machine, not without its problems - but neither was my Palm III. Gave up on that because I realised I needed a keyboard.
Now. A Psion 5 is already too big for a pocket. This isn't much bigger - certainly no bigger than an LG Phenom Express. Except it's got a 1024*480 colour screen rather than my Psion's 640*240 16 greyscale. It can run Windows so I don't have such a limited software range. And, with this chip, it'll now run all day.
Yes, it's heavier. Yes, it's more fragile. Yes, it's more expensive and yes, it won't power up instantly. But let's be honest here. If we're sensible with the install, Windows will still boot within 30 seconds, which is good enough nost of the time. It'll also be a lot faster. And you still have to be careful with PDAs. I cracked my Palm III's screen, for example...
They're not as stupid as they look, releasing it first in one of these. Were I a little richer, I'd look at one.
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
I couldn't disagree more. It's pretty much the perfect size. A regular laptop is just too big to carry around all the time. The Vaio Picturebook line, like the Libretto before it, is pretty much ideal. A "real" laptop, as you call it, has no practical value as far as I can see. They're too big to be portable, and too underpowered for the desktop. Apparently, however, Toshiba were forced to withdraw the Libretto from the American market, because the general public couldn't cope with the small keyboard. I expect the picturebook line to go the same way. Sigh. From my point of view, the keyboard size is just right. It's quite big enough to type at full speed, unlike those found on traditional palmtops and many CE devices. It's worth noting that here in the UK, the smaller Vaios seem to be more prevalent than their full size brethren (although this is purely anecdotal -- I don't have sales figures). Perhaps it's a US thing. Either way, I'm still having to resort to importing my Libretoo ff1100V from Japan, 'coz that's the only place it's available anymore :-(
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
Is there such a thing as "Certified Linus Compatible" on laptops?
The only thing I know for sure is that Compaqs are always incompatible.
Have a look at Linux on Laptops. They link to Linux reports on just about every notebook model you'll find.
And yet, here comes a new toy! Nevermind the three or four calls for "boycotts" and "buycotts", I've gotta be the First On My Block To Have One! Especially due to -- and this is the kicker -- "Sony's reputation for making the coolest looking gizmo's"
Ugh, this was a bit more vitriolic than I expected. Ah well, (Score: -1, Troll).
Yep, Toshiba came up with this. Apparently it uses the SRAM to prevent the screen from needing to be refreshed when the picture is static. (Think of the difference between SRAM, which does not to be refreshed, and your standard stick of DRAM, which does) Check out the eetimes article he re. The problem I see with this is that SRAM can get mighty expensive in large quantities....I don't see them making even an 8" screen with this technique.
Email me.
Don't trust anyone over 90000.
+++ATH0
Like Sony PCG-C1XS Picturebook Camera Capture you mean?
How does he find the time to work on so much neat software?
"don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
I stand corrected. Have to put the C1 on my list of replacements for the 505 to watch for next year, I guess. Their tech support still sucks donkey --- though. :) Most people would just be happy if they'd acknowledge when stuff is busted and not make you reinstall the crappy-OS it came with to prove the point. There was a time when Sony customer service kicked ass, but not anymore. At least not their computing division..
..don't panic
In addition to the other two replies so far, there is a HOWTO especially for the cute little VAIO PCG-C1XD.
With the extra battery life Crusoe offers, I think it would be a crime not to do a keyboard-less tablet with built-in Bluetooth, once the technology is out. Imagine how nice a Sony tablet, RF cordless keyboard and mouse would look - and to be able to just pick it up and work off-site for a whole day would be heaven.
You're missing my point. What I said was that a traditional laptop is poorly suited to being either portable or useful on the desktop. For mobile computing, something like a Libretto or a Picturebook Vaio is much better than a full sized laptop. Similarly, a desktop is better for when you're not travelling.
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
Doesn't matter who made the cleaning cassette. Don't use them, they're very destructive.
The dry ones are abrasive and sand down your rotating video heads (which widens their gaps and therefore reduces their frequency response (resolution)). Further, as the heads protrude less and less from the video head drum, they contact the tape less, and the net effect is that the output is reduced. This means that the AGC in the video amps is cranked up higher and the amplifier noise ("hiss", in an audio amplifier) becomes more visible as snow on the screen. It's usually especially visible when the VCR is displaying a dark and rich color.
The wet video head cleaners tend to stick to the head drum, and it takes a lot of force for the capstan to drag the wet tape. The VCR, of course, just tries to play the tape, and it defaults to attempting to spin the capstan at a given speed. If the capstan motor won't do x RPMs, the VCR's computer just runs the motor harder until it either does the right speed or pops the motor. They're multiphase AC motors, and the driver transistors often fry with these wet head cleaner cassettes. Other stuff that happens with wet cleaning cassettes is that since the capstan is pulling on the tape really hard to drag it over the drum, the guideposts and stuff between the capstan/pinch roller and the head drum all get bent or knocked out of alignment. Take up reel tables and clutches often die, too.
Simply, a dry cleaning cassette is like trying to clean your glasses with fine sandpaper. A wet cleaning cassette is like trying to clean your glasses by throwing them over Niagara Falls. Either technique will remove fingerprints.
Go to Borders, pick up a book on VCR repair, and read the chapter on cleaning your VCR. It's easy, everything you need is available at Radio Shack, and your VCR's picture will be better than with any cleaning cassette. Don't try to clean your VCR without reading the book - they're very delicate; it'd be as dangerous as guessing at syntax for rm while logged in as root.
And then, give your cleaning cassettes to someone you don't like. The best part is, they'll even thank you.
I not only took it straight off to repair, but I bought a 2000S the same day. When the old deck came back, I gave it to my mother, who swapped out her old Teac thing. It was left off for a couple of weeks and when it was plugged back in the power supply fried itself, just like my old Teac deck. It was duly binned.Well, anything electronic can and will eventually fail.
I have only a little experience with Teac consumer-grade stuff: I've replaced the heads in a Teac cassette deck, and I've gotta say, it was great. Flip the lid off, pull the knobs off the front, flip the door open and up, then take out the two screws holding the facepanel on. From there, I was able to change the head in a few minutes. All the test points to attach my oscilloscope and true RMS voltmeter (no Stallman jokes) were nicely labelled on the PC board, which make aligning it very easy.
I've never touched a Teac home VCR.
But, remember that Teac is one of the best regarded name in recording equipment. Teac/Tascam open-reel audio tape decks are right up there with ReVox and Ferrograph in reputation. And Teac VTRs are up there in the same rarefied atmosphere as Sony and Ampex.
Everything eventually will break. But I've never had any reason to knock Teac, either.
BTW, when something like that, normally plugged in all the time, dies when you first attempt to use it after it's been idle for a while, check all the filter capacitors, especially those near transformers and regulators. They dry out, lose their "form", and short out. This creates hum in the DC power and overloads the regulators, shutting down either that leg of the supply, or the whole supply. A fix is usually a trip to the electronics store, a bunch of electrolytic capacitors, and 20 minutes of soldering.
Fire and Meat. Yummy.