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Computer Or Docking Station?
vbrtrmn writes: "A company called Mobility, has recently introduced a cross between a docking station and a desktop PC. It's called the EasiDock 5000.
It looks like a normal Desktop PC, though the EasiDock plugs into a laptop's PCMCIA card slot, using it as a highbandwidth bus (1,250Mbps).
The EasiDock comes with: 5 drive bays, 3 PCI slots, 2 IDE controllers, a 2-port USB hub; get the PDF datasheet.
Unfortunatly, it currently only supports Windows 98/98SE and Windows NT 4.0, though they boast, 'Coming soon... Win 2000 & Millennium, Apple, Linux.'"
Why "unfortunately"? I happen to use Windows 98 SE and NT 4.0 on some of our lab machines.
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
I'm not saying "delay the stories". But stories DO spend some time in the queue as it is, so why not let the readers who take active interest vote on them while they're there? That way, by the time an editor sees one, he has an indication how the slashdot crowd will react to the story. Might also give sites a warning that they're about to be slashdotted :)
Ñ'
Look, Malda and company have their specific interests, and that's reflected in the stories they choose to run. No matter who chooses the stories, somebody is going to say, "who cares about that?
If you want user-moderated stories, try Kuro5hin. Or take the Slash code and start your own site, with your own editorial criteria. But I suspect that, like me, you'd find that wading through hundreds of story submissions to be tedious in the extreme.
In summary: if you can do better, quit moaning and go do it. If you can't, just stop moaning.
__________
The Easidock makes use of a technology called Cardbus. PCMCIA is an extension of the ISA bus and as such 16-bit, while Cardbus comes from the PCI bus, hence 32-bit. The Easidock 5000 uses a Cardbus controller and in order to get the damn thing working the laptop's Cardbus controller needs to be 100% PCI 2.1 compliant. Which is something I have yet to encounter.
Little info for who's interested, Cardbus controllers are backwards compatible and will accept PCMCIA devices. Not the other way around though...
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
It's not a PC. It is just a backplane (and probably an IDE interface)
That is to say, there is no memory or processor.
Doesn't seem so inexpensive now, does it?
-Peter
using FireWire, which while not as fast as PCMCIA
Ultra Wide SCSI-3, not as fast as a crappy connection to a 16-bit bus? Good thing you're posting anonimously...
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
I on the other hand AM the target market for this and I think its great. I NEED this. Its a "Universal Docking station". I's going to allow me to do things I only dreamed of, like having ONE workstation. I use (4) four computer now and need to consolidate. I have to use a laptop, period. Now I can have my laptop, and when I'm in the office, Two 21" monitors on seperate 32MB 3d cards, (I Love XF4) and my scsi array, and still pick up and go to the coffie shop, work and have all of my apps and docs setup like I like with out upkeeping and supporting multiple computers and sets of software.
This is a product for "mobile developers", and it's great. (As soon as it gets linux support.)
=================
macbert@hcity.net
macbert@hcity.net
http://www.hcity.net/mac
Hello. I'm the AC who you decided to blast for no good reason. As you are so offended by my wish for anonymity (By the way, can you post your full name, address, telephone number [work & home please], so we can all get in contact? Won't be a problem will it? Thanks!)
I think you'll find that the overall problems with Slashdot are actually due to the bunch of sad wankers who inhabit this website. Most of them are under the delusional impression that they know everything there is to know about life, the universe, and everything. It seems that you also believe this is true of yourself.
The thing that most people who do the whinging around here forget, is that Slashdot is owned and run by a handfull of geeks. They can do what they want with the site, and you have no say in the matter. Thats it. Period. If you don't like, please take my previous advice, and fuck off.
I am also aware of the irony of posting a complaint to Slashdot. Please don't bother to correct me. Thank you.
Syllable : It's an Operating System
There is/was a company many years ago that built PCI expansion bus cabinets. You plug a card into one of your unused PCI slots, run a cable to the expansion bus and voila - get about a dozen new slots. The cabinet looked like a PC or optionally in a much larger box for self contained SCSI devices etc. I can't remember the name of the company but I do remember that this was, at the time a side business to their much more lucrative VME bus expansion business. The VME connecting adapters alone were a few thousand bucks each.
it doesn't have a mainbord/motherboard. it's just an extesnion of the PCI bus of the laptop. it's like a really big docking station that has more PCI slots, hard drives, other gizmos in it then a normal docking station.
Write to the following adress for Europe: techsupport-europe@mobl.com and I will read your mail within 24 hours. Stop whining. You could also check on http://www.mobilityelectronics.com and look on the compatibility list. If your computer is there, it works. If it isn't, it might work, but no guarantuees...
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
Its not pcmcia, thats a 16-bit isa based standard that current cardbus controllers support. Cardbus controllers operate as a PCI bridge that really does have huge amounts of bandwidth... its a 32 bit protocol that is really under-utilized. ~Bryan
Actually the reason we don't have Linux support for the product on notebooks is because of a limitation in the kernel. The current code will not enumerate a Type 1 bridge behind a Type 2 bridge. I have not had the time to find out if the problem is in the PCI or the CardBus section of the kernel. We had/have similar problems with Windows 2000.
If the appropriate people want to discuss getting is working I would be more than happy to supply information.
I have connected a unit up to a desktop running Linux and have been able to get a number of cards working in the expansion chassis. Based on that I think that the Linux support is definatly possible.
Hartley Sweeten
Senior Development Engineer
Mobility Electronics
Newsflash, Mobility now owns MAGMA... http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001003/az_mobilit.html
That's nice... what about if you wanna use a PCI/ISA card?
Maybe install one of those sweet 128MB video cards that you just can't get anywhere close to in a notebook?
Or how about a cheap SCSI card? PCI = cheap... PCMCIA != cheap
I for one run 2000 Pro and Linux on my Dell laptop. W2K is very much better than the 98 it shipped with and handles things like sleep mode better than NT4.
:-)
As for linux, I am not a kernel hacker but I got a CVS tree, web server, X with Gnome, and a host of other stuff on there and it never gives me trouble. Little quirks like the eth0 device coming up before PCMCIA does are a little irritating, but I have been too lazy to fix it
Someone else mentioned having to use a boot disk- not me. Lilo does the trick booting into both W2K and Linux. No Probs. Just don't use Partition Magic to mess with your linux partition without a boot floppy- pain in the ass to get it back to a bootable state...
I am sure there is a huge market for Linux laptop users, anyone at my campus is running Linux on thier laptop (unless they have an IBook). And I work in technical support. I get people calling up about Windows 2000 and thier laptops all the time.
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
OK, If these are the guys I saw at Comdex '99 this is *NOT* a PC like some people seem to think.
They built what they call a split bridge PCI bus. It's a PCI bridge chipset that can have the two ends seperated by up to 25 ft of cable.
So what this particular product is, is a PCI bus on a PC card. It adds a few PCI slots, an IDE chain and a couple of other things (USB, PS2) on the end of a wire.
Personally I thought the technology was a lot cooler than than what they planned for it, but hey who am I to say.
-Rob
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
I already saw it on CeBit last year, they told me they were not going to make linux drivers, because it had been too much work for them even to make the drivers for windo~1
... and it's a pretty nice place. They design and build minature electronics and have made accessories and small custom units for years. I'm glad that they've designed an actual PC now.
IBM had PL/1, with syntax worse than JOSS,
And everywhere the language went, it was a total loss...
Some of the new Dell Inspirons have a screen that does 1600x1200. Windows users don't need that res on a notebook, but it would make a great X setup.
Why would users of one particular OS not need high resolution? I use it all the time, along with the two headed output.
The Dells are sweet and I use it as a mobile embedded development box. I use Win2k for CE and VxWorks stuff and I must say (as a Windows user) I do need the resolution. All those debugging windows and such. I actually need it less than on the Linux side (X@1280x1024) because I have fewer apps running at once.
Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
Hrmm. Is it me or does 1.2Gbps through PCMCIA seem lofty? I doubt highly that this device, or the laptop it's plugging into can handle that sort of throughput, especially through PCMCIA.
I will try and get a life, one that is better than the one I have and like, although I may have to search a for a long time for it to get any better than I've already got it.
Define 'life' for me. Go on, have a gooood think about it.
I'd classify it in the relationships I have, the things I do that make me happy, and the things I do that make others happy. Sometimes the inexpressible joy at smelling a crisp spring morning, or the feeling of being alive and warm when a winter storm is blustering against your window. And no,
Todays twin 1st posts were a fluke. I got a lucky fp when I first checked out
I think you're misinterpreting the gist of my posting here; my ultimate happiness and quality of life aren't really affected by what goes on with
Taco is not just a guy like you and me. He's under pressure from his position of wealth and celebrity (Wired, the Register, Salon and NTK all link to
I'm halfway tempted to return your personal comments to you, "get a life yourself etc", thinking you're a troll, but I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here and I've got more important things to do right now.
That'll be my quality of life kicking in, then.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Laptop users have always suffered the lack of expansion. I've looked everywhere for a PCMCIA graphics card so i could add monitors at full res. One thing this could use is an AGP. Could their bandwidth support such a thing?
I think this is a great alternative for those of use who live and die by our laptops. I could personally stand having two of these, one for home and one for the office.
-oc
Most laptops don't have decent graphics cards or 3D accelerators. With this you could add a nVida or 3dfx card, just as you would with a desktop. My notebook is my only computer, so a solution like this is the only way I can play most modern games.
I care...greatly. My laptop is very, very powerful (700 Mhz P3, 128 MB RAM), but has no-name video card. I'd like to install BeOS on this laptop, but the video card is holding me back. With this, I could install a Voodoo 3, and Creative Labs SoundBlaster Platinum/LiveDrive! combo, and still have an open PCI slot. This would let me get my Q3 fix, my BeOS fix, and a decent 4 channel sound-card for my Klipsch ProMedia speakers rather than having to settle with this college laptop. It's a great product, a little pricey, but a great idea nonetheless.
Maybe that's why Mac support will be available soon. ;)
What does a PCI-to-PCI bridge have that needs to be reverse engineered. I laughed aloud at your RIAA comment but this is not a technology that is wrapped in mystery and intrigue (like dvd's). Its a PCI bridge. Lots of people make them just none that plug into a cardbus slot. The real key is finding out when David Hinds or someone else associated with the kernel will discuss why they don't support bridges behind cardbus slots. He doesn't return my email... ~Bryan Starbuck
There are a lot of uninteresting stories, and it's not as though you can block them with some "uninteresting-blockage magic". There are so many stories submitted to Slashdot, who knows how many truly interesting stories are passed over for some boring product announcement, or whatever?
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson
A few years ago I did support for a company and we ended up supporting mobility made port replicators. The bane of our support center's existence is what appears to have been the precursor to this model. It was a simple port replicator (dubbed the universal port replicator) that replicated the serial, parralel etc. ports through a connection into the pcmcia port. This thing had more bugs and flaws in it than any product I have ever seen and just flat out didn't work most of the time without alot of tweeking.
On top of that, the support directly from Mobility simply sucked--it's existence was even in question at times--and their quality assurance was the worst I had ever seen. The amount of time our department spent supporting and RMA'ing these units had to have wasted most of the profits.
I own a laptop and Mobility makes several products that would be useful, but I avoid them like the plague. It is possible that these things have changed at Mobility, but I am not taking my chances. Just my two cents, but I had to get this off my chest when I saw this story post.
Im going to play the devils advocate for once....how big is the market share of Laptop using linux users out there? And for the life of me I wouldnt see why you'ld run 2000 on a laptop. But thats besides the point. Normally most laptops are pretty proprietary, and third party docking stations, hell, even OEM docking stations have caused problems. With all the compatibility problems you have with laptops anyway, should we be concerned that a docking station doesnt support linux, which is a small user-base anyway? just gotta wonder.
"sex on tv is bad, you might fall off..."
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
And what's wrong with networking your laptop to your Desktop? All the drives and services like printing can be shared through ethernet...
This device sounds like that lollypop watch invention on "The Simpsons".
Ñ'
I thought it was more in the order of 1.2 not 1250?
That's interesting, but it has a $599 sticker. For $600 I can pick up a very nice system at least in the 500-600 MHz range. Unless you've got a $4000 laptop, this is going to be a tad useless. Most affordable laptops could be matched or outperformed by a $600 computer.
Now, if the price drops to *$199*...
jeb.
It's a PC, but hey, if you can spin it, why not? That's marketing.
At least it's inexpensive, which means they might sell a few. Now the fun question is: If I have this docking station and a PC, how do I copy it onto my PC? Simple, just go get a regular docking station for your main PC and quit fooling around.
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Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
MAGMA makes this for Powerbooks-- a pcmcia card that extends to sort of a PCI backplane -- it's patented, too! (gulp)
I find it amazing that Microsoft purports to care about code unity when they currently have no less than five OS's to port to. Why would a company like this pander to such a thing when they can just port to Mac and Linux?
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*Condense fact from the vapor of nuance*
25: ten.knilrevlis@wkcuhc
*Condense fact from the vapor of nuance*
how big is the market share of Laptop using linux users out there?
At least one more, once I get a dual boot desktop system. Then I'll put Linux on my VAIO laptop and watch that sucker really smoke.
--
Chief Frog Inspector
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
This concept is actually very useful. Gives laptop users the ability for mass storage, and perpherial use, using just one PC.
I am just wondering if the size could be cut down, the thing seems as big as a regular desktop case (mini-tower model).
And according to the datasheet the thing only has a 150W power supply. Sort of limiting. Motherboards don't really need more than that (never have), only reason really to get 300W is the amount of perpherials, and from the looks of things, this one supports up to that many. I wonder if there are going to be any power consumption problems?
One good thing is the expansion PCI slots, my new Toshiba 4043's sound card is crap compared to my Sound Blaster Live.
And I guess the BIOS of this thing would have to auto-detect hard drives on boot, unless the software to configure it programs the FLASH ROM/RAM or something.
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
This product makes me say two things...
Hey! That's neat!
and
Hey! What a waste of money!
First off... most people buy a laptop for that portability factor, not to mention desk space saving capabilities. You start adding stuff like this, you might as well just buy a whole desktop for the fraction of the total cost.
Then again, it helps if you're going to use it to do as much as you can with one single computer. Do *everything* on your laptop. Bring it along, do whatever, take it home, do everything else.
I would say the one saving grace of this unit is that it probably won't be limited to the laptop that you buy, like docking stations can be... and docking stations are close to the same price that unit is being sold for.
My question is whether or not he PCMCIA bandwidth could really handle everything I'd put in that tower. When you do what I do on my desktop... If everything was externally connected, even firewire wouldn't have sufficient bandwidth.
Most high end laptops usually come with SCSI ports built in, plus two serial (or just one), parallel and USB. Hard to imagine what else could possibly be added to the case that wouldn't normally be taken care of with a PCMCIA card. Take two cards, one ethernet, one scsi if one isn't built into your laptop... and you're close to about as capable as that thing is, save the hassle of numerous external power cords and units.
Suppose I wanted to stick my Voodoo3 card into that desktop unit, how would I keep the laptop from 'enabling' its own video card and expecting that to be used. Even docking stations don't add video capabilities, they just extend the plug that's already built into the lappy.
There also comes the concern that it'll all be through PCMCIA. What if you're a SCSI fiend like me? Nothing in that tower would be usable until after drivers are loaded (presumably), so how do you boot from SCSI on the desktop adaptor if that's your preference?
Sounds like a nifty fad-gadget to me, but what you could really stick on that system wouldn't be much more than extrataneous stuff that your laptop would probably most likely be capable of doing on its own.
My best guess would be you could just add a CD Recorder (and even then, internal laptop CDR drives are getting cheap), ethernet card (and if you take your laptop to work, chances are you ALREADY have a PCMCIA lan card), sound card (oh wait, they're already built in), uhh..er... another floppy drive? (Cheaper to buy an external floppy if your lappy doesn't come with a hot swappable drive bay)
Gee, it sounds like I can't really come up with too much use for this sucker. Just another neat-o expensive novelty item. Like an iOpener. (though the iopener was a bit cheaper.)
Whee.
For some odd reason, no one here owning a mac wants to migrate to Linux
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
Uhh, no, you started it, IIRC... Where I'm from the words "fuck off bitch" aren't considered the best way to make your point in polite company. And yes, posting inflammatory language with AC UID _does_ offend me, but I won't lose any sleep over it. It reminds me of kids hiding behind trees so they can throw pinecones at passers by.
"Most of them are under the delusional impression that they know everything there is to know about life, the universe, and everything. It seems that you also believe this is true of yourself. [...snip...] Please don't bother to correct me"
Can you see the irony here? Bueller?
I could go on, but obviously I'm well out of
Please don't bother to reply, Vanners, I'm feeling underwhelmed with your debating skills as it is, and I'd be grateful if you'd retain a little dignity in public.
Thank you.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
FWIW, I know these guys (without going into the relationship) and their Numero Uno software dude is a serious Linux user. Fear not.
Also, since the setup is basically just a PCI bridge it's pretty much OS transparent.
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
This not a PC. Not even sort of. Nor is it a new concept. Nor is it an especially cutting-edge version of anything. It's just a deluxe docking station with card slots. for people like you who buy consumer laptops like the Sonys only to figure out later that Sony doesn't make docking stations, just those dinky port replicators.
Rob, you really ought to peruse some product catalogs. You'd be amazed what they're making these days. Digital cameras! CD recorders! Floppy disks that store 120 megs! We live in miraculous times.
Hints for possible future stories:
The duodock.
Anyone else remember that? A basic Powerbook with just a modem/printer port and a Processor-direct slot on the back, and a dock with hard drive space, a floppy, nubus (Apple's old PCI-like bus) slots, monitor ports, etc.
You can still find them in use once in a while...
I do know why I'd want to use this baby, as I'm doing the European helpdesk for it right now. They're cool toys, but not really something spectacular. You plug the damn thing in and you've got a couple of ports extra, some PCI slots and two IDE controllers. It's basically a complete computer running on the CPU and memory of your laptop. The only problem is that you can buy a complete system for about the same price...
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
This makes your laptop a FULL PC. It has some features that most dont have, Internal Bays, and works with All laptops.
I picked up a c/dock2 docking station for my laptop 799 bux, only thing it gave me was 2 pci slots, and 1 place to plug in my floppy. But then I was able to add a voodoo3, (only pci card i could find)..
The thing is, this works with all laptops, no need to buy any more docking stations every again! Just need linux drivers, and it would be perfect..
Brook Harty
Port replicators have existed, but a cross-platform way to add any PCI card to your laptop and use it at over 1.2GB/s is new.
Fsck this hard drive! Although it probably won't work...
foo = bar/*myPtr;
Check out Project Upper/Mute, an all-around awesome compiler fra
Digressing back onto your topic, the reason this won't work as an upgrade for non-3D-accelerated laptops is that most laptops new enough to use the riser probably have 3D acceleration. Aside from that, anyone willing to shell out $600 for the privilege of connecting a 3D card probably won't cringe at the cost of a decent monitor to go with it.
Fsck this hard drive! Although it probably won't work...
foo = bar/*myPtr;
Check out Project Upper/Mute, an all-around awesome compiler fra
An abridged repost of something I wrote before, to someone who couldn't see the use of this product:
Fsck this hard drive! Although it probably won't work...
foo = bar/*myPtr;
Check out Project Upper/Mute, an all-around awesome compiler fra
Well I havent had an opportunity to evaluate 2000 yet, but Hell, if it runs better on my laptop than NT...im game.
"sex on tv is bad, you might fall off..."
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
Linux on a notebook is a GREAT troubleshooting tool for any network person. It also handles the dynamic nature of a notebook much better than Win9x. I run Linux on my Compaq Armada that I won at LinuxWorld (Thanks Mandrake!) as well as some Dell Latitudes. Some of the new Dell Inspirons have a screen that does 1600x1200. Windows users don't need that res on a notebook, but it would make a great X setup.
And as for 2K... 2K is GREAT on a notebook. Much more stable than 98 and NT. It handles sleep and standby very well so that I don't have to shut it down at all. I just put it in sleep mode and bring it back out when needed.
who needs this crap? just use shares...
The datasheet is vague on the type of mainboard being used. Is it ATX? Since they don't support Win2K, Linux, etc. I suspect that there are a lot of proprietary junk on it. Who would want that? It would be a pain to upgrade CPU/motherboard combos later on.
Are you really that upset by seeing a less than stellar story posted on slashdot? "Who cares?" is exactly right. If you don't like the story, so what? I am sorry that you didn't have the self control to stop reading it and move on to something more interesting. Worse, you waste even more time with an less interesting, yet irritating, post.
I have a few moderator points left, but I chose not to use them here so I could ask you a few things:
I guess that is it.
Never in my life would I have decided to say what I am about to say now.
Get a life.
Is slashdot all you do during the day. It is just a website after and does not warrant your constant attention. You speak as if you have some cause or some noteworthy goal in life for slashdot. Go feed the hungry and shelter the homeless...do something that is worth doing... but for god sakes figure out what is meaningful in life and what isn't. Slashdot is a great website, but that is all it is... a website.
And for god sake leave Taco alone... he is just another guy like you and myself. Just like everyone else in this world he is trying to get by in the best way he knows how.
Two words, Grow Up.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
jeb.
All three of Britain's major political parties appear to have bought into the homosexual agenda.
Well, I can't speak for Britain, but here in the US, 60% of homosexuals are registered Republican.
So, if you want documentation of the "homosexual agenda", you need look no further than the Republican Party's 2000 platform
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How many PCMCIA slots do most notebooks have? I am seeing 1 more than two, and only the Ricoh Magio/IBM TP235/Hitachi Traveller have ever had 3 that I know of. This thing takes advantage of the CardBus slot, which is akin to a PCI slot in its speed, and brings out a PCI bus in an external cage. Do you have FireWire/video capture/scsi/100bt ethernet all at once on your machine? Assuming its not a sony of course... oh and of course you have that 4 75 gig IDE raid setup in your notebook too? I don't work for them, but I looked it up a while ago, and if your notebook is all you use, it would be great to have expansion...Voodoo? DXR3? for what your notebook doesn't come with. PCI no AGP but still great if that is all you have... bryan