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First Transmeta Notebook
ggrappone writes: "CNet has a story on the first Transmeta notebook." Looks to be the same as the mini Sony VAIO picture book. Runs a 600Mhz Crusoe chip, and they claim substantial battery improvements with no performance hit. But apparently they'll be available in the states soon, so we can see for ourselves.
But not everyone wants a fancy, frilly laptop. A lot of people want a cheap laptop which can perform adequately. Why should you go out and buy a laptop with the fastest chip when all you're planning on doing is running a word processor, surfing the web, and playing mp3s? You don't NEED anything more, and this is Transmeta's strength-they can deliver to the low-end market. If Transmeta-based laptops started cracking the $1000 barrier, I'm willing to bet that a lot of people would start switching from desktops to laptops. I know I would.
Colin Winters
On the German page http://www.heise.de they already have a first benchmark result for the notebook. They say its performance lies between a 400 and a 600 MHz Pentium III, while the memory throughput is much better.
***Quis custodiet ipsos custodes***
(Interesting note: the quad-capacity battery on the SuperSlims such as my 505TX is the same one as the PictureBook C1XS, and hopefully this unit... and did you see the battery times with the quad on the new unit? Up to 20 hours!)
The battery life on the previous PictureBooks, with any use, quickly dropped to under 2 hours. So, for it, this is a huge improvement. And this is why the Transmeta chip is so useful.
Of course, we'll have to see whether or not the claims pan out to reality.
--bdj
No performance hit as opposed to what? What other processor are you comparing the Crusoe to. I seriously doubt it could compete with most mid-range laptops on the market today in terms of performance.
-atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.
I am really sick of reading these stories too, but remeber that our Lord and Savior, Linus is 'employed' by Transmeta!
Transmeta is a nice company that has lost billions of dollars in their 4 year history. They are going to put those evil, profitable chip companies like Intel and AMD out of business.
Transmeta is going to change everything. The Crusoe is soo amazing it will simulate p3's sparcs, powerpc, and a kitchen blender at the same time! It actually generates electricity and will probaly improve your sex life too. You can even build a beowulf cluster of S/390's in your basement, all thanks to Transmeta and the miracle Crusoe chip, aka mircoprocessor-o-matic.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
http://www.emperorlinux.com will have these later this month, and they'll be preconfigured for Linux. They already sell the non-Transmeta version of this notebook (Sony PictureBook w/ Pentium II). The camera does work under Linux, and I suspect the Transmeta chip will improve the battery life and performance quite a bit. If you want to get one of these soon, I can recommend these people (and no, I don't work for them, I just know them).
-John
Hi all.
As I said in the subject, Andreas Stiller from c't-Magazin has a TM5600-Vaio in test.
Check it out on heise news.
For all non-germans out there: Basically it says that the speed of the systems lies between a P-III 400 and a P-III 600. Memory transfer rates are quite good, approximately like a Coppermine 800 in an i815-Motherboard.
But: The Code Morphing Software of the Crusoe seems to generate a CPU-ID (that means: Not hardcoded into the Chip), which cannot be switched off at least in the VAIO. Nevertheless, the Athlon-compatible "real" CPUID-Command doesn't report a number.
These are only officially sold in Japan, but this web site imports them (expensive though!):
(this one has the DVD)
http://www.dynamism.com/loox/looxt.shtm l
http://www.dynamism.com/loox/looxs.shtm l
Run MacOS 8/9/X or run Linux.
The Linux option's useful if you're using software that you've the source to. Most of the applications out there for Linux are Intel only and the only games other than Civilization:CTP is the open source ones (Because of a distinct lack of support for the 3D accelerator on the laptops. While I'm working to fix that, it's going to be a while yet before I get it working and Loki and others makes versions for sale for PPC.)
The MacOS option's useful if you like being in the same boat as the Windows people with a cooler looking OS with more limited options for software.
Why would anyone buy a Crusoe- to run Windows or Linux on it. While I agree with your appraisal of the Windows option, the Linux option holds merit as everything worth having on Linux is available for x86- and Crusoe runs x86 applications surprisingly enough.
I want it NOW- not later.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
I use a Vaio 505TX with a quad capacity battery. It easily lasts 6 hours and is great for intercontinental flights. If you're happy with 300MHz you'll easily find one 2nd hand or reconditioned for a good price. The battery costs $500 though and you want that new. Runs Linux, FreeBSD and Windows 2000 with very little difficulty.
--
-- SIGFPE
All I can see at Sony's site under VAIO C1 PictureBook Computer, PCG-C1VN is the following. The picture makes it look just like the other Sony Picturebook. The half-height (480 pixel) screen display is innovative but I don't know if I can get used to it. The battery life (5.5 hours) seems less than what was first claimed--maybe for the other Crusoe chip. Does it have a headphone jack? Is the USB port the only way to dock it?