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Another $99 Web Terminal
An Anonymous Coward writes: "If anyone is looking for a fun $99 hacking project, Tiger direct has Compaq Ipaq's for $99, great little web browsing terminals, they support Flash, jJava, ActiveX. The parts (LCD screen etc) are probably worth more than this. You'll need to get a USB Ethernet adapter so you can use broadband." Tiger Direct seems to have a mixed reputation for service, but at under a hundred dollars, this looks pretty tempting even if only used as a digital photo frame, or an adjunct mail terminal.
I bought my ThinkPad X20 from them for a great deal, and they treated me right.
When it came time for me to get a server for my Ph.D. research, they offered me educational pricing.
I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.
Before this generates another spate of email about Linux and the IA-1, I have modified versions of Jailbait available on FBM.
They are for a 16MB CF card. Do this to put an image on the CF card:
dd if=image.img of=/dev/CF-DEVICE bs=1M
I will not tell you the root password. Boot single-user to not have to use the password, then do "passwd root" to change it.
You can boot single-user by adding the word "single" at the lilo prompt. For instance, "hdc single" -- where "hdc" is the lilo profile name.
Enjoy. The jailbait site has information on rebuilding Jailbait images.
p.s. avoid the Netgear EA101 USB Ethernet adapter, and perhaps any other adapter that uses the kaweth driver -- the hardware isn't reliable. Get a nice Pegasus adapter, like a D-Link.
Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
Here's a place that lists all the IA-1s specs along with other thin clients and PDAs.
Compare to $299 elsewhere! At my unholy place of employment we sell these for $99 in the store - with a multi-year contract to MSN.
Are we sure they're not doing this?
You can get a USB ethernet adaptor and then you can use broadband
The DLink one mentioned is $30
Accessories Supported:
USB Mouse
Standard Speakers sets
USB Ethernet Adapters
Supported USB/HPNA 2.0 adapters
- Netgear Phoneline PA101 10MB USB Home Network adapter
- Linksys USB200HA
Supported USB/Ethernet adapters
- Linksys USB10TX v3
- Linksys USB100TX 100T
- D-Link USB 10/100 Ethernet Adapter
http://www.thehungersite.com
According to CNET's Review, while you can use another ISP you still have to pay MSN a $9.95 monthly fee. I don't know if this still applies, but be forewarned.
TigerDirect is also selling the IA-2 model for $99, just look here.
These are refurbished models, meaning they were broken at one point, returned to the factory, and fixed, but then never sold again.
So, Caveat Emptor; you may never have a problem with your unit, but from my experience with refurbished items, I will never buy another refurb/recertified product again. (read: would work for about a week, then need fixing again) You'd be better off checking on ebay to see if you can get a deal on a new item, if you really want one of these.
There is an explanation of "recertified" elsewhere on the site (this one for an IBM product)
These monitors are recertified by IBM. They are not used. These monitors have been returned to IBM for a number of reasons, i.e.: a customer refused shipment, returned the monitor without opening the box, or received the shipment in a damaged box. IBM completely recertifies these monitors--at their factory--and repacks them in brand new packaging. They are recertified to "as-brand-new" condition and pass quality control checks. They carry the full IBM one-year warranty. Why pay more? These monitors are in brand-new condition, with full factory certification--and you pocket the savings!
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I like buying refurbished. You have to think about refurbished products in terms of the company selling that item. That item has already been brought back for whatever reason. That has already cost the company some money to have that product replaced.
Now they take that refurbished product and fix it up. They sure as hell do not want to lose any more money on that item by having it come back so the company will perform more exhaustive tests on it then they would an off the assembly line item.
I have never had any problems with Refurbished products. I see refurbished being more reliable then buying off the self. Not to mention the discount you can find.
I wonder if recertified means that it came back and it was found that it had absolutly nothing wrong with it and was deemed recertified?
Tiger Direct seems to have a mixed reputation for service
Having bought a bunch of Audrey's off them and following the hacking community at linux-hacker.net I'd just like to put in a positive word for Tiger Direct. They have treated us well with the Audrey's, taking back defective units even though they expicitly said up front when you bought them that they were not returnable. They repeatedly asked the board for input and comment on pricing and product offerings and finally sold off all the returned machines (some of which there was nothing wrong with) for parts at a dirt cheap price. I would not hesitate to deal with them again.
The difference between Canada and the USA is that in Canada healthcare is a right and gun ownership is a privilege.
I bought one around three weeks ago from Tiger, you didn't need to sign up for any MSN services back then, however you can get 6 months free MSN service if you want.
:)
Since I'm in the UK I can't sign up for MSN even if I wanted to because the device is configured for MSN North America only, and like I want to use MSN anyway
If anybody is wondering the device has a 110-220v 60/50hz switching power supply so you can just plug it in using a standard 'kettle' type lead, or 'euro lead'.
I have never had any problems with Refurbished products. I see refurbished being more reliable then buying off the self.
I agree with you 100%. A refurbished product is normally gone over by someone who has some technical expertise while the "new" product is something that was put together by monkeys taught to wield a soldering iron.
So, you want to hack it?
Well then I'd start here if I were you:t raBoard.pl
http://www.linux-hacker.net/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/Ul
On this web-board, it's called the MSN Companion.
Random signature string.
Now it's on debian-sid with gnome running nicely (Trident video driver). USB networking fine (2.4.16 kernel with kaweth and pegasus both rolled in for 3com usb + linksys adapters).
The only outstanding item I've not been able to get working is the audio chip. Here's a link on what it is. The annoying bit is support for this does exist in the current 2.4.16 a97 codec drivers but via an intel i810-type chip. This is AMD based.
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess? - Joshua (Wargames)
quote
e ndone.cgi?TigerDirect
Tiger Direct seems to have a mixed reputation for service
/quote
Here is Tiger Direct's Reseller Ratings rating table:
Overall Score for Tiger Direct:2.8/7.0
These are in yes/no form:
Do you feel that you received a fair/competitive price for the item that you purchased from the company? 110/22
Were the salespeople courteous, knowledgable, and helpful? 43/72
If the product you purchased was shipped to you, did it arrive as expected without any delivery problems or delays caused by the company? 72/60
If you returned a product to the company for exchange or refund, did they exchange the product without a big hassle or refund your money without a large restocking fee? 10/64
Would you buy any products from the company again? 41/90
Would you recommend the company to a friend? 37/93
Overall, were you satisfied with this company? 43/92
Link:
http://www.resellerratings.com/cgi-bin/reseller/v
Note: I've never used Tiger Direct nor do I know anything about them. I'm merely stating the information found on the website mentioned above.
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It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
Actually I used to think this way too, but I've had really bad results (had to return three Sony monitors in a row before giving up once). Maybe it depends on the company, but if the original problem was intermittent or in some way non-obvious, they're apt to just turn it on, see that it works for a bit, then slap a "refurbished" sticker on it. Had a similar problems with a printer, car stereo and VCR too.
Go here Despite it's name the message boards are pretty OS agnostic
Personally I want a eVilla.
First of all, it runs MSN messanger. (which supposedly can be changed)
Second, there is a 9.95/month surcharge to use an ISP other than MSN Here is some linkage to compaq to prove it, athome.compaq.com Follor the "2" below the asterisk at the bottom
Third of all, there is a 9.95/month surcharge for using the broadband adapter (check the same linkage, but number 3)
There are other reasons as well, but here is an alternative: The 3com Audrey. It runs QNX, there are lots of hacks and stuff for QNX, it doesn't have those freaking monthly fees, it looks cooler, it has the light up stylus etc etc etc...to see more of my reasons, go to JesusGeeks.net. The 3com audrey is OOP, but it is a sweet machine. My friend got it off (ironic?) TigerDirect a few months ago, but unfortunately they don't have it there anymore. THere are lots of ebay offeres for it. The only changes I would want with an Audrey is a full size keyboard.
The anti-salmon