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10GB In A Linux PDA
Deep Penguin writes: "Perhaps attempting to captitalize on the concept of data mining (mixed with turtles?), Serial Systems of Singapore has announced the
Terapin Mine,
a hand-held the size of a 35mm camera that looks to be a fusion of a double-fistful of geek toys: network storage (10-12Gb), audio record/playback, digital picture display (composite video out), PCMCIA reader and e-mail sender. It's attached to the world via 10BaseT, USB or whatever I/O card is in the PCMCIA socket (modem, LAN, wireless, etc.) Of course, all complex systems evolve until they can read Usenet news, leaving them an upgrade path to version 2.
Price? $599. Delivery? End of August, they say. And it runs Linux, so no Microsoft tax." An anonymous reader points to this CNET article on the device as well. I was afraid this would live as vaporware on the Terapin site forever.
...because it has a built in network connection and a small LCD display? Seems to me I could save money by buying a portable harddrive and taping an existing PDA with network attachment to it.
Sorry, looks like a sleek package and has all the right buzzwords but without full PDA functionality, it seems like it misses the mark -- at least at $599.
--- -- - -
Give me LIBERTY, or give me a check.
I think I would buy three of these things, export the disks as network block devices, and then do software RAID-5 on them from a fourth machine. Or something like that...
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
Why do people keep saying this, and why did some even mark it up as insightful? The website does NOT say that this is intended to be a PDA. It's just unfortunate that /. decided to use that term in the headline. It's an information storage device, and it does exactly that perfectly well.
From their website:
mine is a powerful, handheld, internet enabled, personal data storage device ready to meet all of your digital information needs at work and at play.
load "linux",8,1
Remember Apple's Newton? I really thought that was a great PDA, especially because of the PCMCIA slot that you could plug anything into. Unfortunately, it still needed drivers, so most things were useless. But having a PCMCIA-ready toy in my pocket would be great - no need to go get still more network cards/modems/etc...
Posted from the wireless couch.
I have an iPAQ with a PCMCIA card slot, sometimes hooked to a AirCard card (sweet wireless 128k download speeds in a taxi!), and sometimes to a Cisco Aironet wireless LAN card. We recently demoed this working through a Tachyon 1.5 meter dish satelite connection, routed to a wireless base station. I was streaming MP3s to a cow farm in Germany. Amazing applications, but one Achilies heel...
The problem: Power. My battery (even with the extra battery in the PCMCIA sleeve) runs out in less than 2 hours. As soon as I pop in an 1 Gig IBM Microdrive, it drops to about 1 hour, if lucky. To counter this, I've build a little laptop backpack that has 4 rechargable D-cells putting out the 5V DC that the iPAQ wants... backed up by a 12V DC-AC car converter and 3 solar cells mounted on the backside of the backpack (yes, I know it looks geeky, but stick on a couple Rage Against the Machine stickers and people think it's just a fashion statement, the latest in do-it-yourself geek-wear.)
So, the bottom line is now I carry a bag as big as a laptop whose sole purpose is to power my handheld laptop. Of course, I also charge my Digital Camera and Cell Phone off the same bundle, but I still feel like I'm missing something...
-Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned for
Hell, the only thing a sane male would use the 10 GB for is pr0n! And it wouldnt be much of a viewing experience on that screen. Who would waste such precious GB on music for goodness sake!
Actually, smaller hard disk are more resistant to shocks. The smaller the parts, the higher the mechanical eigenfrequencies. Therefore, a shock is experienced by the miniature part as a smooth motion.
Don't forget that most people do use windows - so you can just connect it to the built-in Ethernet port it got, and use smbmount command - and presto - share files between your Linux and this device..
As for "scandisk" - I belive they mean fsck, but go tell a windows user what is fsck..
Hetz (Heunique)
Any drive that's bouncing around in my pocket for a while would tend to be a good candidate for the occasional disk integrity check. Defrag, maybe not...but something like scandisk would be a really good idea.
"That's Tron. He fights for the Users."
Ahem, if you do a search for the MyLinux PLW (Pocket Linux Workstation) you'll find a device that can do almost all this unit can and more - It's now going into production and you can actually place an order for one.
Search google for it, or better yet, search google for the mailing list archives for the Mylinux PLW as that's where the developers are talking about the whole order process.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
Wondering who came up with the name......
The same people who came up with "Take ME Home", perhaps?
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
from this? If you really want that much functionality, you might as well just go all-out and get a portable PC. -Angron
Airport Security: What's that in your bag?
You: That's a Mine.
Airport Security: You're under arrest.
"If I have seen further than other men, it is by stepping on their glasses." - Michael Swaine
I have an Archos Jukebox 6000, which is essentially a USB HD with the ability to play MP3s. Granted it doesn't have all the expandability that this thing does, but you can get one for a third of the price ($200).
I find it very handy to transfer up to 6GB of files from work to home, and play MP3s in my car while doing so.
What I'd really like is for my Archos to be merged with my Handspring. I don't understand why no-one has done this yet. Add in Bluetooth connectivity to my phone, and I'd be a happy man. That would solve pretty much all my portable electronic needs.
How does this compare to http://ssiamerica.com/products/neojukebox/
I've been debating buying the Neo25 and now they've apparently come out with a new version. It's sold as an MP3 player, they specifically say it appears to the PC as a USB hard drive that can hold any type of files.
It's sold with a choice of 10GB or 20GB harddrive, but you can get it without a drive and add your own. Presumably this makes upgrades easy since it doesn't have the "don't open" policy of some companies.
Looks nice, but the site hasn't been updated in a while. I think it's dead.
And given that the PLW is supposed to go to production by Aug 20, I'd put my money on the Mine.
The real strengths of mine are apparent as soon as you take it online. As a dedicated Internet device, mine gives you the power to distribute, share and exchange data securely from anywhere in the World, and to automatically backup and synchronize the digital information it stores with your online archive.
Does this mean it would act as a server in your pocket?
Can you imagine a be-Oh.. Nevermind.
air and light and time and space
...then explain this question from the FAQ:
Q:Why does ScanDisk run automatically when I start mine?
If mine is not shutdowned properly, mine will run ScanDisk so that your data can be recovered. You can cancel ScanDisk process if you do not want to wait.
load "linux",8,1
Who actually buys things like this?
I mean, I don't think I would even want all of this stuff bundled together.
Knowing myself, I would probabally lose it, and since it has everything all in one, I would lose the company's records, my favorite pictures, my mp3 collection, and my new wireless lan pc card.
Or, I'd drop it.
I don't know, but it seems like all of these products that try to combine everything together ususally do a less than satisfactory job.
I'll stick to my Visor/Nomad/Cell Phone/Laptop and just duct tape them together.
From what I hear the duct tape look is in now, but when was it ever out?
"We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it" -- Winston Churchill
This device would be really interesting if a good GNUtella servant or Freenet node was tied to it in a way that freed the user from running P2P services on their workstation, yet still let them share music.
Oh, and 10GB is just about right, for my collection, which is around 7GB of mostly MP3s.
Looks like real good advice.
Be careful unpacking that mine Billy, It may be dangerous.. Looks like it's sustained some shipping damage and the detonater's a little loose..
air and light and time and space
What's it's target function? They don't seriously expect users to implement this as NAS of course... Is it then intended as an MP3 player... a PVR (player) ?, an email client? This device seems to be sufering from schizophrenia.
Whatever happened to the idea to Keep It Simple, Stupid...? Do one or two things and do them well. That's why PalmOS has seen the success it has, while WinCE still flounders trying to decide if it wants to be A PDA platform or a PC platform.
--CTH
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
This is an even neater invention than the Internet for moving files from one place to another! You can't move 10GB quickly over the Internet, but with the Mine's 10BaseT connector, (10Mb/s = 1.3MB/s) you only need 2.27 hours (10GB / 1.3MB/s = 8192 sec = 136 min = 2.27 hours) to fill it completely, plus the time to drive to your friend's house to trade MP3s. Who needs Napster and the crap the ISPs are dishing out in trying to block it? Back to old swap meets we used to trace C64 and Amiga games at! Now, where did I put my credit cards?
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
Its online features seem a little too little. A mobile device, which lets you email mp3s and image files, wow! Oh and lets not forget the file sharing. For me if there's something I want to share online, I'll put it on server where the connection will be reliable, and the files will be available.
It doesn't seem to have many applications that I could use, and at $599 its too expenisve (for my pocket) to get as a toy. A bigger screen, some kind of useful input device, applications I can use productively and I'll buy it^h^h^h^h^h^hhave a laptop.
This Practically Networked article has a review of a bunch of products like the mine, and they list it as their favorite. Could be cool for college students with ethernet jacks everywhere.
---
Hey man, can I bum a sig?
Lemme just clean the drool from my keyboard...
;)
I am very concerned about the storage - 10-12GB HDD... what kind of HDD? I've heard bad things about the Creative Jukebox where the HDD can be sensetive to motion. While the prospect of storing this amount of data on a very portable PDA, I am worried that it is (1) easily lost, (2) easily stolen, (3) easily broken. 10GB is a lot of data...
I like my smartcards and compact flash media. You can store/organize information and worry less about total loss (if you loose or break one, you aren't completly lost).
Before I run out and buy one, I'd want to know:
- reliability
- HDD specs (can I replace it cheap or do I need an expensive part)
- warranty options
I was just looking at a picture of the device and I was thinking - cellphone. It looks like a cellphone but does everything except make phone calls and prepare dinner... now if it could only prepare dinner... mmmm... dinner...
Price, Quality, Time. Pick none. What, you thought you had a choice?
It's obviously a kick-ass portable MP3 (and WAV) player, with the ability to store about 150 CD's worth of music! Or will be if it's got decent audio hardware. (Headphones provided.) Likely.
... or could, with a consumer grade device. ("Sorry, sir, if you forgot your password, there's no way you can retrieve those, um, important documents from your office PC. Sir?")
Mostly what it appears to be is a 10 GB "removable drive" designed for consumers. Big emphasis on storing photos (and the ability to show them on a TV as well as transfer to and from PCs). Think about it: The capacity of 16 CD-R's, totally re-writable, that can be used between two PCs without CD-R or CD-RW drives.
(Prediction: This will be used to transfer pr0n downloaded at work via the office T1, to a PC at home where it can be, ahem, "enjoyed." Lovely.)
What don't I see:
It says, "Fully versitile. Totally secure." I don't see where the security comes in
No PDA functionality. (20 character x 4 line display; cheap, but don't try to bring up your calendar, or a big phone directory.)
No ability to rip CD's. Not a problem; it begs to be hooked up to a PC, so count on the computer to rip.
No support for Windows 95 (98 or 2000 need a device drive; Windows ME appears to have native support for USB disk drives), Mac, or, ironically, Linux.
Robustness. You need to "eject" the virtual drive (how the Mine looks to a PC) before disconnecting. Yeah, like that'll happen every time.
Stupid job ads, weird spam, occasional insight at
Oh yeah! This gadget will really rock my world! Can't wait 'til next reboot! ;-)
.3) #1 Tue Mar 13 22
:37:59 EST 2001
.. 119.19 BogoMIPS M
Linux version 2.2.19
pre17 (herbert@arnor
) (gcc version 2.7.2
BIOS-provided physic
al RAM map: BIOS-88:
000a0000 @ 00000000
(usable) BIOS-88: 01
f00000 @ 00100000 (u
sable) Detected 6000
3 kHz processor. Cal
ibrating delay loop.
emory: 29788k/32768k
available (1744k ker
nel code, 408k reser
ved, 672k data, 156k
init) Dentry hash ta
ble entries: 4096 (o
rder 3, 32k)
I deal with large files all the time, and I'm constantly looking for work arounds that don't involve lugging my 8-pound laptop to another workstation or burning something on CD. This little device would revolutionize my life if it lives up to its vaporware specs. Consider the following:
After shooting 5 minutes of DV footage on someone else's camera, I want to bring the video home to edit on my PC. Instead of borrowing their DV camera or buying my own, all I need is a PCMCIA FireWire card to transfer footage and a NIC to bring it back out to my laptop editing machine.
or...
I want to listen to MP3s in the car, but I'm on a 4-hour road trip and compressing all my songs to 64k mono versions for my old 32mb Rio just doesn't cut it for me. Now you can take those 7 gigs of Elton John and Styx without sacrificing quality.
but what about...
You've been taking a lot of pictures at some social event for the company you worked for, but you'd rather not go download all those photos into your computer in the other room nor do you want to be the nerd behind the laptop for the party. Transfer all your images into your silver device, and as an added bonus, you can even have everyone view those pics on TV when it's over. I'm sure this also would apply to making and giving presentation. Much cooler than Powerpoint when done right.
and let's not forget...
Looking at pr0n on your computer in your office isn't as appetizing as viewing it on the couch in your living room.
-Mr. Fusion
By what stretch of the imagination is this a PDA? A four line, 20 character display? They make a big deal about being able to transfer pictures from your digital camera to the device. What then? View them on a display that makes my cell phone look good? ;)
Cool to be sure, but I'll keep my iPaq thank you very much. This ain't taking the place of a Palm anytime soon either.
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they talk about this being able to hold thousands of digital images...and about some sort of photo album. I'm sorry, but that tiny little display doesn't seem to be adequate for the task.
10GB In A Linux PDA
Hmm, is that big enough for a complete Debian installation?
(including emacs)
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Mod up a post Rob doesn't like and you'll never mod again
I'll wait until solid state lets us have hard-disk like capacities.
There's 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.