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Webpads, Anyone?
crons writes: "Just found this on the LinuxDevices.com website. FIC is releasing a webpad called the AquaPAD that runs Midori Linux and has a Tranmeta 500MHZ Crusoe cpu. Here's the story from LinuxDevices.com, and here are a few specs. An 802.11b wireless LAN card is supported in the PCMCIA slot, as are modules for GSM, GPRS, and Bluetooth." For around $600, this looks like it might make a great living room terminal.
This looks sweet, and it's cheaper than one of those LCD touch screen remote controls I was thinking of getting... Does it have an IR port that can be reprogrammed to work like a universal remote control for my entertainment system???
---
Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
Imagine the possibilities, distributed load balanced address books and calendars!
Hitachi also has a webpad that uses the Crusoe and runs Midori, the FLORA-ie55mi. I have actually had the chance to play with one, it is really nifty. Great on screen keyboard.
Here is the link. It's in Japanese. Babelfish to the rescue?
Execute? [Y/N] _
For giving users a choice of OS. That way, it can appear to the 'ease-of-use' folks and to the people who want to put Linux on thier TI-83.
Could this be a replacement for PDAs? Just pull one of these babies out of your portfolio. They seem a bit bulky for that, but with a platform like this, wireless web might gain popularity.
If municipal wireless (or unsecured corporate wireless) networks gain ground, then these could really take off, especially with the wide flexibility it offers.
Rambling furthur, if you stick one of those quarter-sized IBM harddrives in this thing, and it puts my computer to shame. Maybe all laptops will head this way, using Crusoe to lengthen battery life.
Just a thought.
Your first post is duly recognized and you are hereby awarded the Grand Imperial Medal of the Majestic Order of the Supreme Llama Poop.
I seem to remember when these first appeared as prototypes floating around comdex a couple of years back. It seems that most everyone thought that a PDA on steriods was a great idea and wanted one. I vote we all go out and get one anyway (whether you like it or not) and help the economy. Oh, you can't because you lost your job, in hock to your neck from debt built on equity in the form of high-tech stocks and your too busy papering the walls that load of options to a closed-up dot-bomb ....shucks!!!!
Well, there is a much cheaper living room terminal availible. It's called a TuxScreen (originally called a shannon.) You can get the information here: http://www.tuxscreen.net , but please, leave 6 for me.
They only cost $99, and have a reasonably sized touch screen, PCMCIA slot, StrongARM processor, run Linux, IR Keyboard support, and have a phone attached.
This type of thing could wipe out the $600 palm and pocket pc devices... it is a sub-sub-notebook, with enough power to do apps, not just organizer type things. 800x600 screen? That beats out th 160x160 for doing something other than scratching out a quick memo.
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Why do programmers always confuse Christmas and Halloween?
Because Dec 25 = Oct 31.
Can we please see some more spelling classes throughout elementary and middle school?
Soon, legions of The Furry Ones who call me late at night with answers to questions like what harddrive do you have as "it's grey, and it has a green light on it", will purchase these systems, sparking some twisted new trek episode on Enterprise where some stupidity fissure corrupts space-time and they need to rescue some microcosm from $evil_bad_guy. Why me, lord? Why do they make these devices so fucking simple to use, when an obscure and difficult to learn system, with a command-line syntax that would send shivers down the back of even the most hardened LISP coder would have been so much better?
((((( Oh)), shit),((( oh shit...)))))))))
Trapped in Time... Surrounded by Evil... Low on Gas.
Unless you think it's cool to sit at Starbucks and check your email. I don't think it's very cool to even enter a Starbucks, unless you really need to pee.
Microsoft's new PocketPC software came out today too. When will these devices start converging? They won't be ubiquitous until JoeAOL starts using them. What's it gonna take?
Obviously, they have to be very light, easy -to-use, etc.. What else to make these devices converge and become totally mainstream? I dunno, maybe PDAs and webpads will always be different devices?
Also, is more better? Should a handheld BE a fully-functional computer or supplement your computer? This is the old Palm vs. WinCE quandary.
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
"AquaPad? Quick!! Sue them over the use of the word "Aqua" before we go bankrupt!!"
-- Everyone employed at Apple, Inc.
Bowie J. Poag
This is also the first award I have ever won. This is truly a phenominal day.
Mmm... Midori... I need a drink.
For something a little sooner and a little cheaper, check out the now liquidated Audreys. Sure, they aren't the newest toys, but I just ordered a handful from Tiger Direct for $90 a piece, plus $30 for the usb network adaptor.
Out of the box, it supports web browsing, email, and palm syncing among other things. And with a little hacking, it can play mp3s, be an X server/client, VNC server/client, web server, etc.
I have priorities. They dont rank those particular 6000 (SIX thousand) people much higher than the other 200000 people who died that same day, and the 200000 who died the day before, and the 200000 who died the day after. How about YOU get your priorities straight?
For around $600, this looks like it might make a great living room terminal.
I would have thought anyone that wanted a living room terminal would have bought a 3COM Audrey a couple months ago when they were going for $100...
-Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
I disagree
http://www.overclockers.com/tips665/
read it... you are the one who needs to get your priorities straight. (besides it is not 20,000 more like 6,500 not that that makes it any less tragic, just less sensationalized)
==>LaznWhy do people constantly feel the need to pit devices against each other, especially when they are clearly in different niche markets?
Palm's are small enough to fit in your pocket, and are designed for taking short notes, keeping appointments, contact information, diet logs, cell phones, GPS guides, MP3 players, etc. Things you want in your pocket. Their screen sizes are adequate for these needs.
Laptops are mobile PC's. Enough said on that.
And in the middle now are webpads. A laptop with a touch screen instead of a keyboard, wireless connectivity, emphasis on internet and information access, roughly the size of a pad of paper. These are not meant to be carried EVERYWHERE like a PDA, and are generally not going to be used for the same things as PDA's.
If anything, webpads could evolve into laptop-killers for most people, NOT palm-killers.
Enough already!
"And like that
I use maxipads, and when I'm out, I use VA stock.
I'm having the strangest sense of Deja Vu on this article. I'm 97.3% sure I've seen this on /. before, but I can't find the link. And since my web browser remembered that I've been to the FIC webpage and all the links to their aquapad were already visitied, I know this has been here before.
So what's the big news? Did the price drop? I seemed to remember them being around $1000, I suppose $600 is more reasonable, but built in 802.11b would make it a lot more appealing.
Things you think are in the Constitution, but are not.
With the wireless connections, these will fit in great for our logistics personnel who wander around the warehouse taking inventory. Being able to utilize a decent sized, common web interface will be great as we already have that infrastructure in place...unfortunately it is only accessed at fixed terminals currently.
There have been other solutions, but they were either too bulky, poor battery management, but mostly only interfacable through proprietory inventory management software.
- AC
It's interesting to see Windows CE on the Crusoe. I know that WinCE has been ported to the Intel architecture - might be nice to know what they've done in the way of optimizing for Crusoe.
Have Linus and the Microsoft WinCE team been working together? And if so, how?
Sigmentation fault - core dumped
I hate to be negative here, especially because this looks so cool and is running Linux on a Transmeta cpu, but how useful could this ever really be to the average geek?
I understand that this might be great for those unable to get around or confined to bed, as it would be small and unobtrusive and allow easy access to the net, but at a pricetag of $600, could this ever be justified for someone perfectly capable of getting up and walking 15 feet to their machine?
For around $600, this looks like it might make a great living room terminal.
A great living room terminal? Do you really feel the need for a living room terminal? I spend about 10 hours a day in front of my machine, seriously, and that'd be more if I was working instead of attending class. When factoring in sleep (which is becoming less and less) and eating and simple things like transportation, I have very little time for anything else, and I very rarely find myself sitting around *itching* for the Internet, because normally I'm right there in front of it. I can't really imagine myself sitting in a recliner and thinking, "damn I wish I could get on the Internet but that'd mean I'd have to walk all the way over there, and use a keyboard, nahh I'll just sit here."
Also, configuration/ease of use becomes an issue, because I like to be webbrowsing in a comfortable and familiar environment, where I have my bookmarks at hand, I have my mp3s playing, I have Kinkatta up so people can IM me, I've got about 25 windows open, maybe even KVirc on #debian; in other words, if I'm only 15 feet from my computer, I'd rather just get up and go full Internet mode than sit around, dealing with a small screen and uncomfortable interface. Yes I read the specs and saw that it offers a "full" range of Internet tools, but you ever try to communicate on IRC with handwriting recognition?
Basically, I can't see buying one of these as anything but self-indulgence, unless of course you have an understandable need such as a disability preventing you from using a regular computer/terminal set up. If I had a spare $600 to burn on geekstuff that I'd never fully use, I'd think about building a cluster or an mp3 jukebox/mapping+gps system for my car, at least I'll have the parts left over in a couple months after I realize how little I used it.
Sorry to be so cynical, but after dropping $500 on a PDA that I only used to play Doom and for playing mp3s and it didn't help me get organized one bit, I've started to rethink my approach to gadgets.
Just my $0.02,
Mike
Yes, yes, I'd like to be able to browse the web in my living room using a comfortable wireless webpad about the size of an etch-a-sketch. But what about when I have to move beyond point and clicking to enter text. Laptops, especially when balanced precariously on knees, cause my shoulders to stress up because I have to be soooo careful not to hit the wrong key.
Yes, I need a personal organizer, but this is too big to strap to my belt.
Things that could really ingratiate this into a living room setting:
- is there an Uber-remote app for it and necessary IR hardware peripheral
- make it a nicely integrated controller to a media server in a different part of the house to stream digital video and digital audio to your TV and stereo.
My current home electronics system is a mess due to the multiple I/O ports on the VCR, DVD player, satellite TV, TiVo, TV, Receiver. If this device could make my life more convenient from that perspective (and it sure looks like it could), then it would get my vote for a purchase."Provided by the management for your protection."
transmetazone had this article out way back in january. http://www.transmetazone.com/articleview.cfm?artic leID=543
cheap web pads are becoming one of the many casualties of the dot com bust. i remember when companies were claiming availabilites in 1999, with sub- $500 prices. The only two web pads (honeywell, and progear) have prices at $1600~$3000. I just can't get myself to buy one at that price range yet, even for my business.
Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
Not quite in time. These would have made good kiosks for DNA Lounge.
potential uses: looking up movie listings, online banking, imdb access while watching a movie or show,
doodling, reading online magazines, photo album viewing, etc.
if this comes out at that price and has a useful handwriting input mechanism, i'd buy one. it gets rid of most desires for a computer in the living room.
Touch screens still don't cut it for me. My stubby callused fingers are about as precise as a horse's hoof for a pointing device.
Also, the 'soft' keyboards that can be displayed on these touch screens are frustratingly inaccurate due to a lack of tactile feedback (no click-clack).
Combine a Web pad with a chording keyboard-mouse combination and we would have something great. 'Til then I'll stick with my Palm.
I have no pants and I must scream
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of THESE!
And of course, flaming them only exposes their incompetence, so you get modded down.
The guilty parties should mod those up, who expose spelling errors as a thank you for helping them be a better employee.
Wake me up when there is a Windows version. Thanks. Goodnight!
Love And Kisses,
BiffJerky the Troll
Some might say this isn't where the market needs to be, but this is starting to hit the sweet spot.
/.
Most people want a way to surf the Net and be able to watch (and control) their TV and stereo. This gives them both, is priced reasonably, and has a reasonable form factor.
I'll buy one when it hits the $500 price mark - looks right to me, and better than the $1600 Linux webpad previously covered on
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
for them to fail on the market so I can pick up 6-7 at 100.00 each!
I plan on using them for game terminals.PnP games. my player can send my private communication, they can keep a complete history of there character, I can store them on my server, pretty much completly automate the mechanics of the game. excellent.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I wish someone would make another tablet-type computer with the form factor of the now-defunct Vadem Clio -- with the ability to be used as a tablet with the touch screen, or as a laptop-type device with the keyboard.
Now that Vadem no longer makes these devices, perhaps some companies can purchase the patent/rights to produce devices (hopefully Linux capable) with this form factor.
-schussat
The hour of noon has passed. Let us go and get some Kentucky Fried Chicken.
A webpad running crusoe that is only a year (2 generations) behind the current technology. Transmeta has more than exceeded my expectation. Heh, I never thought that company would get off the ground without openning their code morphing tech. Maybe in a few years they'll come out with a webpad that meets my requirements: minimum 1024x768 res, 128+ ram, 10+ GB HD, built in 802.11b or faster wireless, 100Mb ethernet, pcmcia, 1" thick, and preferable 3d accel. gfx. In fact the aquapad would meet my requirements if they had a better display and built in wireless/ethernet. Afterall that is what a webpad is about, isn't it?
think 'star trek'
She says she wants to hug me.
I dont really wanna hug whoopi.
Shes kinda fat dont you think?
On topic however, why not just get a nice simple laptop?
Better screen, easier interface, and laptops are wireless too.
I wish my laptop wasnt a slightly upgraded version of an etch e sketch.
The real obstacle would be convincing my wife that I need it...
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
So, how long until this latest appliance is disowned (scuse me, "minimized due to a re-prioritization of the corporate mission") by its maker? I wish it all the success in the world, but so far similar products haven't enjoyed a very long shelf life.
Think about a Beowolf cluster of these!
Sleep is for the weak!
When I heard "WebPad", I immediately flashed on an image of a commercial:
WebPad -- for those light-traffic days when you still need complete protection. WebPad fits your information needs perfectly, but still fits inside your purse. WebPad will absorb all your information with no leaks, and no bulky installation.
WebPad, 133t enough for a geek, but made for a woman.
For the real manly types it needs a name like "DataSlab"
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Did you mean polynomial day? To be accurate you should have said 'this has been a polynomial day/collection of hours.
helping them be a better employee
/.? Wow, where can I get some of that?
People get paid to
That sort of brings new meaning to karma whore, doesn't it.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
go to ebay.
search for pen computer
buy one that costs at least $400.00
plug in a 802.11 card
Voila webpad. no brains required.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I don't know about anyone else, but my wireless experience has been less than thrilling. I've got a D-Link access point at home and a D-Link wireless broadband gateway at another site and a D-Link DWL-650 wireless card in my laptop. it seems that either place I go I can only go about 40 or 50 feet away (through several walls) from the wireless access points before my signal drops off completely. I'm not worried about whackers attacking my wireless LAN.. hell, I can barely pick up my access point in my living room.
Holy shit that is hilarious. I'm going to bring that up to my assembly teacher to get extra geek credit.
The problem is, it's mostly a visual joke. I told it once verbally, and no one got it.
The version of Linux is the one Linus himself works on. That is the one tru version of Linux.
...I don't want to even know what kind of terminal that would be like.
bash: command 'poop' not found
For me, I really want this space to converge.
1)I want (BADLY) for something that is more powerful than a PDA - thus why the wince pocket pc's appeal to me - they have enough power to do more than just keep appointments and sync email. The form factor makes it tough to do anything but basic app - but even something like MP3's are tough to do with under 64M of storage. If this thing uses standard SDRAM, then w00t! 512M today is an easy thing to see happening. That does not even include the micro HDD advances... I want something less than a super mobile PC, more than a PDA.
2) I want something smaller than my thinkpad. I end up lugging this think in and out of meetings all day long. Toss it in my carry-on, and I don't have a lot of space left.
3) I want something I can code to - if that's IBM's j9, Microsoft's wince c++ package, whatever, I want to build some custom apps. If its a closed systsem - thanks, but no thanks. Give me a compiler and a resonable chance of building something, and hey, I'm in....
4) The only reason I don't have a pocket pc right now is the bloody price. If palm could run a JVM and had enough space to store a few hours of MP3's I'd shell out the $400 for one of the sony jobs. Its close... The wince kits have almost enough power and RAM, but come on... $600 is way to much when I compair it to some of the laptops out there. Get the price down to $300, and things get interesting.
In short, I'd like to see my laptop and PDA killed off. Way to many "wants" in this post....
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
It's a bit of a cheek not to include 802.11 or Bluetooth in the unit, AND only have one PCMCIA slot and one CF slot. It means that you use up your most valuable expansion ports just adding in the wireless connectivity. As an owner of an Ultralight portable with no internal drives and only one PCMCIA slot, I can tell you that it's a pain having to choose between your CD drive and a 100Mb/s network. I'm sure there are plenty more examples like that...
I bought my first Palm in 1997 and am now onto my second one. I has NEVER locked up on me* and I have never lost any data. Simple and reliable.
* I have intentionally locked it up when mucking around with some alpha software, but that is understandable.
And if you do a real good job, you'll get promoted to shit wiper.
If I could actually order one, I would. But lots of nifty Linux-based devices have been announced (Sharp's PDA, HP's Linux Jornada, Yopy, etc.), and they just don't seem to be making it to market. I believe that this thing exists and ships when I see it.
Learn to read. He said 200,000 and not 20,000! And also learn to do the math right... 200,000 is a decent estimate of the number of people dying each day, not 6,500.
you're dumb. That's the bottom line. Using the word polynomial in a sentence doesn't make you smart...
I think that folks with the money to spend on wireless net access would just fork over a couple hundred more and get a full-on laptop. This not-quite-a-PDA-not-quite-a-laptop thing seems to fill a nonexistent market niche, the way those Sony "internet appliance" whatsits did.
Unfortunately the current screens aren't reflective, so they wash out in bright light, but the next line will be sunlight readable.
Judging from specs of the current crop of Crusoe single board computers, the Crusoe was only giving a power saving relative to same clock rate x86 CPU's. My 200MHz SBC uses 8W, whereas the 500MHz Crusoe SBC's all use about 8-10W. Sure I get more cycles, but in a mobile computer you want maximum uptime, not sitting around tethered to a power cord.
Everyone around here beats the "Palm is better because it lasts longer" drum, why not do the same over webpads?
Yup. and there is a REASON the audrey is now on the discount shelves. actually two: 1. they used to cost too much ($499/549 depending on the color of the box you wanted - very silly). 2. 3Com got into deep doo doo financially and dropped their IA (internet appliance) division, called Ergo. I bought two audreys from tigerdirect.com. $89 bucks each plus $29 for a USB NIC. Very sweet little girl with a touchscreen and QNX. Very hackable. You should see what people are doing with these things. everything from x10 touchpads for the home to 14 watt webservers.... and more to come. Gotta love it! (and now because of it, I'm completely in love with the QNX OS. Ever install an OS in LESS than 5 minutes and that boots in 14 seconds on a crappy little box? Nice RTP boys and girls. and audrey likes it.... lol!)
Maybe $150. $600? no way. I paid less than that for my main box.
Here is a direct link to FIC's Aquapad page.
Gotta love its specifition!
*** I am the real stylewagon
According to FICA's website, the processor is a Transmeta TM3400 CPU (400MHz) . No, 400 doesn't mean "Five Hundreds"...
This thing is great. Have a digital camera? This takes Compact Flash cards! Need to edit those photos while out on the road? Nice colour touch screen with stylus. Since its running Linux, you can run Gimp. Need to print those photos? USB and a printer works good. Need to type up a report and the main system is down? Plug in a usb keyboard (or use adaptor) and go to town. The only thing Im a little worried about is that they dont state (or did I miss?) that it has a hard drive... just 32mb internal flash card. Although having it connected to a lan would help the storage problem. I assume, as well, that you can buy USB hard drives(?). Maybe the IBM micro drive? Those come in 1gb and larger(?) or at least a CD burner. It would have been nice if it had a firewire port, or at least 3 or 4 USB ports. Having power problems? I hear 12v car batteries last a long time :) Hook up a GPS receiver and some mapping software and you have a way to find that remote lan party location. Smaller, easier to hold than a laptop and great for that long airplane ride... Just think of what you can do with these types of things! Wireless video streaming from your own "tivo" type box? Sounds good to me!
An optimist believes we live in the best world possible; a pessimist fears this is true.
Not two mention storage options concerning the USB ports and PC-Card slot.
I didn't see any mention of this on the specifications page. This would be my biggest concern. If I had an extra $600, I'd buy one of these if the OS is upgradable and the system space has enough memory to fit the apps I want (primarily emacs and TeX). If I have to put those in the flash, there isn't a whole lot of space left unless I buy a bigger flash card.
Note: if you want to check out its linux distro, it's here.
This is yet another arena where there is lots of cool vapor and little actual product.
Intel has something similar and should be shipping soon: http://www.intel.com/home/webtablet/index.htm
but for the price.. who really wants one?
to the portable (sneek into bathroom / closet / conference room ) E-Porn wacking machine.
THANK GOD
-- www.globaltics.net
Political discussion for a new world
...How about a LaunchPad?
Or maybe a LilyPad?
I'm enthused to see that this has a tablet form factor -- I'd rather tuck something under my arm or slip it into my shoulder pad if it means a screen big enough to comfortably read (and if not yet, eventually write on).
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
Of course, web pads are only part of the solution. We still don't have the "last-mile" technology we need to get content into the webpad. And we still need some kind of economic model that will compensate content providers.