Slashdot Mirror
Crusoe To Power Microsoft-Based Tablet PC
buzzini writes: "Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft's upcoming Tablet PC will be powered by the Crusoe chip. An announcement is expected tomorrow during a BillG speech at WinHEC." According to the article, "the development versions of the Tablet PCs will likely follow a hardware outline given at Comdex. Aside from the Transmeta chips, they will likely include 128MB of RAM, a 10GB hard drive, a docking cradle, a USB (universal serial bus) keyboard and mouse, along with built-in local-area networking based on the 802.11." Wireless webpads will rock -- hope they're here before 2000! OK, before the new millenium. Well, errr ...
Bill and Linus working on the same end-result project? Cats and dogs living together. "C'mon Martha, time to get to the bomb shelter."
DanH
Cav Pilot's Reference Page
Cav Pilot's Reference Page
UNIX - Not just for Vestal Virgins anymore
The Tablet PC is NOT a Palm or WinCE device. Microsoft has demo'ed these units at several of its conferences, and they are a full-fledged PC running Windows 2000 or XP, with a touch-screen LCD. Basically, imagine breaking the screen off your notebook, turning it over to lay flat and upwards, making it touchscreen, and then as thin as a paper notebook and you'd have the Tablet PC. The large benefit Microsoft hopes to gain from this deal is in terms of power consumption and lowered heat output.
.NET strategy: Suppose you want to edit a document on your Tablet PC while you are in New York, but the document is still on your home PC? No problem... the Tablet PC can dial out through whatever Internet access you have, connect to your home PC, and download the document, all without any user intervention. The possibilities are endless, since it is a full PC after all. One might even be able to get Linux running on it, only sans the neato software.
The software for these devices is also very interesting. You can handwrite notes, and the software can spell-check, in handwriting! Also, you can doodle pictures, which are then automatically converted to images, which can them be resized and placed elsewhere. If you happen to be reading a book, you can drag the text down to create blank space in order to write your own personal notes. When you walk into your home (assuming you have wireless access on your PC as well), your documents and settings are syncronized with your desktop PC automatically; no having to put the Tablet in a cradle and manually run a program. It all just 'happens.' This is also part of the
-------
-- russ
"You want people to think logically? ACK! Turn in your UID, you traitor!"
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
Why is it that a pen is considered to be more natural than a keyboard for typing (a typewriter)? I mean, even writing itself is not something natural in the animal kingdom. We came up with the idea of writing with a stick in some sand, with some paint on the cave walls and now with a keyboard on a computer screen. How can we possibly claim that one way us more natural than another to do an unnatural task?
And forget the writing. Information should be entered into a computer directly with a thought. Evaluating the thought context is what they should concentrate on.
You can't handle the truth.
ZdNet is reporting that Transmeta "will assist Microsoft with tweaks to the Tablet PC's Windows XP operating system." So we could have Linus actually developing Windows XP.
Best Slashdot Co
Step 1 - The XBox. This is a box that will sit in your house, connect up to your internet connection (broadband) and aslo have the side benifit of running games and DVDs. It Will act as the "Computer furnace" for the rest of the devices (coming soon)
Step 2 - The Webpad. You have these screens (Of various sizes and color depth, just watch you'll see all sizes dorn to a cheap 160X160 B/W model) that connect up wirelessly to your information furnace (Step 1) and give you neat-o keen connectivity from anywhere within range.
Step 3 - Terminal Services. As the limitations of the webpad become apparent, Microsoft starts to roll out the ability to use your "Information Furnace" as a Terminal Server. You have all the applications on all your webpads updated at once. No fuss no muss. This is accepted because of:
Step 4 - Application Subscription. The cost for this will be ongoing because the new software will be subscription based. You won't even need to administer your furnace, because the subscription includes monthly maintenance of your furnace. Of course, with persistant internet connectivity, they will always have complete access over all the Microsoft computers on your home network.
This is how Microsoft will get complete control of the home computer arena. They don't tell you to bend all the way over all at once. First, you lean a little, then a little more. Pretty soon you are completely bent over and you don't even know it.
Of course, I could be wrong.
-Joe
After using first a Palm III and then a Vx for a couple of years now, I came in last week to find a new Jornada on my desk. I was instantly excited and went to work setting it up....
What a horribly mangled interface. There's no easy way to switch between applications without quitting back to the main menu and getting a list of all the applications. There's no way to just close the app you're working with, you again have to go out to the main menu and pull up a list of running programs.
Many of the applications written for the "Pocket PC" or WinCE platforms don't deal well with the screen shape and dimensions.... sometimes you're running an app, but you can't pull up the keyboard, and since there's no area set aside for the "scribbling," you're screwed unless you can access the menu to pull it up.
Basically, the PocketPC isn't 1/100th as elegant as the Palm, and I'm completely frustrated every time I pick the thing up. They're basically trying to cram the Windows95 interface into a 2"x3" screen, and it's just not possible, or even worthwhile to try.
Yes, I realize that they're talking about using XP on these tablets, but if they can't get WinCE right in 6 years, my hopes aren't very high.