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Midori Linux Powered FIC Aquapad
quantumgravity1 writes: "Check out this review of the FIC Aquapad. It has a 500MHz Transmeta Crusoe CPU, runs Midori Linux, is wireless capable, and is totally portable. According to pics included it is comparable to the Iopener in size. There's no hard drive, but it comes with up to 256MB of memory with 32 embedded for the os, but you can expand it with compact flash or the IBM Microdrive. GPS support is in the works, but it already supports MP3 and MPG. Now I just need a wireless setup at home, or perhaps I can do some mobile sniffing. :)"
Video for Online Dating Profiles
A 500MHz Crusoe CPU with 256MB is probably fine for most applications, guys, but trying to run the Slashdot site off one for an hour and a half was, I think, a case of foolish geek bravado.
So, does anyone know what happened?
I wonder why the linux version is the same price as the windows version.. I see mozilla, xmms.. all free as in beer. Are they charging everyone the Microsoft tax?
Liberty.
My only question is why?
Why wouldn't you want a keyboard attached to the thing so you could enter text at a decent speed and fold shut to protect the screen? I mean, I can see the appeal of working with a tablet pc, but I thought the best design for this would be something like the Vadem Clio, which has a keyboard that folds behind the screen - Now if I only I could find a real machine in this configuration!
air and light and time and space
... then I can pick one up for 80 bucks. :-)
http://www.audreyhacking.com
Later,
-Ryan
As a portable PDA / computer, the AquaPAD doesn't seem like an ideal solution. It seems that for the $700+ that the AquaPad costs, plus the $250 for the wireless access point, you could get a laptop that does everything it does and more. It looks a little too bulky to use as a PDA, and doesn't have all the features I'd want in a PC. I'm sure the touchscreen is limiting, and when you add the keyboard and mouse seen here it looks a little clumsy and loses all the appeal of a portable device. However, I think it would be really cool to mount it in the car as an mp3 player, GPS, etc.
While I am tickled pink to see such new devices emerge (especially those with linux), I just pray that these companies spend money/effort in moderation when looking into such workpads. For all intensive purposes, these workpads are one-way devices with very little input meant to come from the user.
/.'d-ness.
In order for that to be useful, it has to come with the ability to accept a variety of data from a variety of sources (IR, Radio, Laser, etc) and display it back to the user. In a world where you can gather information simply by walking around and grabbing datastreams, I can see the workpad being a useful and hip thing to carry around for the traveling businessperson, or the college student (less books!)
But... until that day, the $1000 laptop + 56k modem will still be the reliable source to get connected when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere. So... I just hope that these companies don't expend too much of their energy in making devices that are a bit too ahead of their time...
As for the article, it's great... hope ya'll get a chance to read it... Me? I've already mastered the art of anti-slashdotting...
1) Open Article
2) "Open in New Window" all the relevant pages
3) Read, enjoy, ignore screams of
Why would people put hand writing on a device. This is really bizarre. I hate writing and the last time I did it was when I wrote a check sometimes last year. Beside the design of this device is plain ugly. I wish they could resurrect this laptop you could rotate the screen on the keyboard to act as a tablet (forgot the name...) and power it with an SA-1110. But a Transmeta, bah...
During the course of the past two years, I've spent all my money on computer stuff. I bought an iPaq (which I still have and it runs Linux), a Sony Transmeta rev 2 (600MHz) which I sold because it was really slow and the keyboard barely usable. I bought an iBook with an iPod which I really like for MP3 and OS X fun. I bought a Sony Clie, which I sold on eBay, because what's the use when you have laptop with a keyboard (I hate graffiti) etc... The result of this, is that when I have serious work to do on the computer, you find me on my thinkpad which I got about 2 ago and when I have serious games to play I go to the PS2 or an AMD box which I rev up every now and then. The rest is just a waste of money.
So what's this thing will do for me?
-- I feel better now. Thanks for asking.
Isn't amdzone not an official AMD site?
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
funny stuff...
Uninnovate - Only the finest in engineering.
I didn't look at the technical part of the review, but went straight to the part where the usability of the webpad was explained and there was the biggest error of the machine. It doesn't have an adequate user interface to input text. Neither the handwriting recognition, nor the onscreen keyboard seem to suffice. For this to become a success it needs applications that support its presence in the marketplace. One of the great things of a palm is that the user interface for inputting text is good enough for most people. (go ahead flame away) This has made that people are willing to buy it and other people to develop aps for it.
My prediction: The first webpad to be commercially succesful will be made my Microsoft and have adequate text input, like a Pocket PC a version of Office, Internet Explorer and a possibility to port your own aps to it easily. Why? A Dutch journalist spoke to Bill Gates recently in The Hague, Bill was carrying some kind of pad computer. We all know he wants to dominate and we all know he knows what is nescessary to get the product to succeed in the market.
Use Adsense for Charity
As another user pointed out earlier the battery life of 2.8 ~ 3.5 hours is surprisingly unimpressive.
Aside from that I've decided it might be nice to have a little wireless web pad for when i just wanna cruise through the web sites I check out every day. (slashdot, UserFriendly, dilbert, Get Fuzzy, and Dozings.com.) As a replacement for a laptop or pda it wouldn't cut the mustard, but if I had the money something like this (but with more battery life) might be a nice little addition to my bag of electronic gizmos.
Dozings.com -- Its kinda funny... If you're as crazy as me.
Seriously, look at it. it looks like a very interesting product, with nice specs, but whos gonna buy it? its too big to fit in your pocket, and if you are going to bother to carry it around in case, (as one of its features is its wirelessness) then you might as well carry a full fledged laptop (except that a laptop is heavier). The only use i can see is for someone you really needs a laptop, but can't afford/doesn't want the extras of a laptop, then this would be a good option. But, there arn't many businesses that 1) have a need for lots of people moving around and 2) will take a chance on this product, and businesses are one of their primary targets.
Only dead fish swim with the stream...
Okay, I have to ask : why so much power in a device like this ? I know faster is better, and you can't stop progress, yadda yadda, but exactly who is this destined to ? Meteorologists who need to get tomorrow's forecast while on the plane ? Serial killers on the run who happens to like finding large prime numbers as a hobby ? Linux geeks who want to compile their kernel in the john ?
Seriously, the only explanation I can come up with is the thing is designed to run XP, but it doesn't. Makes you wonder how Palms got away with a lousy 68K CPU for so long ...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Looking at this product does suggest some use in an automobile application. I have installed two PC's into cars. It's really hard to find the right solution. So basically, I had to design the make the thing. One solution was to use a laptop. The laptop I could just wire in DC power from the car 12vdc. Power issue solved. The screen was removed from the base unit and a cable was made for 20 feet. Everyone including my mother told me it was not possible to run the video cable at 2" into 20 feet. Well that was no problem with the video. Works great!!! The mouse and keyboard I just ran 20 feet from the base in the trunk of the car to the front. Again, no problem with signal. It's the better solution than this product. Bigger screen and better functionality.
Now with the problem of upgrading a laptop. I installed in a friends car a full size desktop. It give me the power to upgrade anything at anytime. I just installed it in the center console area with a leather covering. Bought the screen with anolog screen from http://www.flat-panel.com for $349 dollars. Wireless keyboard for $20. Done, full dvd with win2000. Again, more functionality than this device, with cheaper hardware/faster/smaller.
With the Garmin GPS device that is the size of a mouse with serial input. Mint GPS/MP3 with wireless upgrade solution.
I like the product, but again. You can hack someone better, which fits your requirements better.
"[..supports MP3 and MPG..]"
*Sigh*.... Kids these days..I swear.
Time for a clue, children:
One of those formats is called MPEG Audio Layer 3 Compression. That's what you youngsters call "an MP3 file".
The other is called MPEG Video, or, as you call it, an "MPG file".
See the similarities between the two? Those four pesky little letters that you keep hearing about? Its an acronym, gang. Motion Picture Experts Group. The same standard yeilds two different media formats.
Saying your product supports both MP3 and MPG is redundant. Its like saying your vaccum cleaner pulls up dirt and as an added bonus, it also pulls up dirt as well.
Bowie J. Poag
I didn't look at the technical part of the review, but went straight to the part where the usability of the webpad was explained and there was the biggest error of the machine. It doesn't have an adequate user interface to input text. Neither the handwriting recognition, nor the onscreen keyboard seem to suffice.
:)
:)
:D
/. for the info. :)
User interface to input text? It isn't necessary.
I'm looking for an embedded device on which I can build a GPS-navigation prototype for cars. This seems to be a very suitable choice for us. As long as it has a development kit to feed in the apps in there, that's it! (woo MP3 is surely an extra, a good idea, and Linux-based would be much welcomed):)
No keyboard; touchscreen or buttons control would be enough. We don't want our users having car accident merely by a GPS query or searching a MP3.
The first webpad to be commercially succesful will be made my Microsoft and have adequate text input
Webpad...well, may be. Though I'm pretty new to embedded industry but I'm sure MS doesn't get any advantage in this market. Man I love it.
P.S. I know this device isn't designed to be an embedded system from groundup, but I still find it very suitable to be one. Thanks
I am involved in developing a data collection system for a medical practice. This is actually the 3rd implementation of the same idea from the (more or less) same group. Where the system had previously stumbled was the user (read: Doctor's) interface.
Previous systems used a web-based application accessed via terminals (well - in the test case, they were cheap white-box PCs) located in each examining room. The problem was that Doctors tended to feel uncomfortable juggling a keyboard / mouse and the patient at the same time. The software itself received high marks.
The software involves a lot of checking boxes as it burrows down a path of diagnotic observations. Actual text entry is at a very minimum.
The webpad / tablet form factor seems ideal. Some testing was done with PDAs and they were found to be a little restrictive on available screen realestate to be comfortable. The Aquapad seems to offer ample space for even a fairly complex form without loosing the user. Doctors are often already comfortable with interacting with a patient and ticking off notes on a pad. Putting the data in front of them in that pad will enable them to (we hope) easily note their observations and collect accurate data while still maintaining patient interaction.
Nobody ever says, "when I grow up I want to be a Linux developer"
Surely because Linux developers never grow up?
Matt
Now, as for Pocket PC, all the might of Microsoft hasn't managed to displace Palm. For Microsoft to throw money at porting bloated software to handheld devices is not going to magically make them usable. Microsoft never gets these things right; at best, they have the good sense to buy or copy what they need, a few years late.
You are right that this thing doesn't come with the "right" set of applications, and it's also a bit too expensive. But it's a great platform for starting to develop those applications, which is what I'm planning on using it for. And as a portable web browser for reading the news around the house, it's also pretty nifty.
I've been reading AMDZone (off and on) since it was first started, or at least very close to its inception. (My last Intel CPU was a Pentium 100 and I paid top dollar for it. I dumped it for an AMD K6 166 and have used AMD ever since. So I came across AMDZone while looking for AMD info early one.) Anyway, the site has never been that good, and has certainly never been objective.
Some of AMDZone's low points:
A typical news story is either about some arcane chipset that AMD is making for an embedded device, a complaint about another review (or reviewer) on some other site, a self-congratulatory blurb about AMDZone.com, or a combination of all the above. I could paraphrase a typical AMDZone news item like so:
OK, so the good stuff? Well, their site is awful and the authors are petty, but they have a lot of news coming to them. Not much happens AMD-wise without them having a link to it. It's a bit like Slashdot, except very focused and very blatantly immature. So if you want to keep up on AMD, then you can scan their site a couple times a week and get the news they link to without having to wade through the mind of a peevish adolescent.
But don't buy anything from them, especially something they review. As far as I can tell, the site is run by a couple kids from Texas (brothers, I think). They aren't real long on cash (who is, eh?) and so wouldn't have any real incentive for scruples. If I see a good review on dansdata.com or anandtech.com, I'll think about buying. But for all I know, these guys might have borrowed against their college fund and could soon be sitting on a whole garage full these Aquapads.
AMDZone.com is like any other online site: you assign a level of trust to information based on your knowledge of cross-checked facts, your perceptions about the site and its authors, and the past history of the info's source. If you trust biased opinions, then please buy.
He has a whole new web site created specifically for a device he intends to sell. He's linking to it from a page which reviews that same device. What are the odds the review will be objective? "In conclusion, Aquapads thoroughly suck. Click here to buy one from me at a special review-only price..."
AMD Zone sounds like a great site. I'd trust his reviews. Way more so than Tom's or Anandtech or Dan's data. None of those guys has a deeply personal involvement with the hardware in question.
-B
Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.
Personally I'm getting a little tired or reading about interresting products that never seem to make it to production.
Sure it looks neat.
Even neater it runs Linux.
Defitiely cool because it has a Transmeta CPU.
But will we ever see one at Wal-Mart?
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Then again PC hobbyists tend to be cut from different cloth than Mac enthusiasts, who believe that the only good ideas in computing came from Steve Jobs...
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
The typical wristwatch is both reflective and backlit. IIRC Casio's older WinCE (the ones with black and white screens) had reflective/backlit screens as well. I think the main problem with them is the reflective components cost more because they have to be partially transparent so when you fire up the backlight you can actually see it. Oh yeah before some jackass flames me I realize Indiglo watches are the most popular variety of wristwatch backlights, that's the model I meant. Most watches have only a reflective backing and the light is houses above the reflective layer.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
I think this sucker comes close to being a real winner in the wireless connectivity pad with extra features market. For the most part Palms and PocketPC devices are glorified datebooks. Now of course they're jammed with features like video playback and web browsing. Laptops are portable but awkward to use when on the move or not sitting down because you interface with them exactly like a regular desktop machine. I've been waiting for a really good tablet system since I first saw ST:TNG.
I think in many cases tablet systems offer a more intuitive interface than laptops and definitely give you more real estate than a handheld device. With a web enabled device you want to have something that can view a web page with reasonable clarity and functionality. Most of the web simply does not mesh well with handheld devices. Then on the other hand laptops don't work well when you're really on the go. Tablets fall inbetween both of these catagories (which is a boon and a problem). On the one hand you can have a highly portable system with most of the functionality of a full fledged PC. With a well thought out GUI you won't miss a keyboard for any task other than typing which is when you whip out an attachable keyboard or a soft keyboard on the screen. On the downside you're limited in function by how portable the system is. In order to be viable a tablet needs a long battery life but enough power to do what you need it to. A tablet also runs into trouble when running anything not specifically designed for it. A tablet PC running Windows or Linux could run all sorts of programs but would you really want to run some stuff where a mouse was really intended to be used?
Personally I'd like something the size of a note pad that I could run lots of different software on and interface with all kinds of network services. I don't think the Aquapad is quite there yet, in fact I think we're still a couple of generations away from what I'd (not to mention lots of other people) spend money on.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
Go to Ebay, pick up any of the linux supported touchscreen computers. you can usually get them for less than $220.00 and by the time you buy an 802.11b card, an accesspoint and a server you sill have spent less than this webpad will cost for the next 3 years.
webpads are a neat idea, but until they're affordable ($250.00 MAX) and can run at least 24 hours withuot a charge/ use magnetic coupling charging so I dont have to physicall dock the thing to it's charging station (Just lie it on the proper end-table with magnetically coupled charging)
webpads have a really long way to go before they are going to be actually useful and adopted by the masses.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I've seen people support the larger size of Pocket PCs because they plan to take them on airplanes and play games. Well, this looks like a much better candidate for that kind of application. (God knows you cannot carry any of those monsters around in a shirt pocket all day.)
Games! Build games for this da*n thing and someone will buy it. Maybe I will.
The processer is twice the speed of any Pocket PC, the screen is 4 times (or more) bigger. Yes, games.
--- -- - -
Give me LIBERTY, or give me a check.
According to the 'order AquaPAD' page, the base prices are $660 for either Midori or WinCE included.
I sure hope the situation is that the Midori distribution team is getting money for each Midori AquaPAD sold, instead of the more likely case of Microsoft being paid per-cpu whether it includes WinCE or not.
Anyone know for sure?
[
>which is covered by wire-tapping laws and is thus illegal
Actually, there is yet to be a court case establishing wireless snooping as wire-tapping. There is considerable reason to consider that it wont be, based on the rulings around private band (police), television, and radio. Same idea, slightly different use.
Odds are that since it isnt "tapping a wire" it wont be held to the same standard.
GPL'd web-based tradewars themed space game
Readers here will know that I want to stream media (uncompressed audio and at least MP@ML MPEG2 video) from a central server a the headend to entertainment devices throught the home with quiet (i.e. fanless, diskless) set top-box style client boxes. The issue becomes: how to control everything.
The Web browser has become a rather useful and ubiquitous interface, espescially with the advent of MIME and plug-in technology. You just go the the appropriate site and get what you want. One can imagine controlling home entertainment devices and requesting streamed content this way. But, where do you put the browser display?
On the TV? It's of klunky to have to turn on the TV to stream some music. Do you really want a browser window on the same screen on which you're watching a movie? O.K., so we add another screen, say an LCD panel, nice and flat, for that display. Great, now you have to squint across the room at your browser. Spend the bucks on a big enough plasma display and once again, you've integrated the control display with the content display. Double plus uncool. What you (well, I) want is a high-resolution (compared to broadcast TV, 800x600 is fine, but 1024x768 would be better), separate display, that is unobtrusive. A tablet PC on the coffee table fits the bill nicely.
There are some technical issues to work out: when you stream content you probably want it to go to the big-ass TV screen and big honkin' Dolby Digital 5.1 speaker system, and not the small display and speaker in the tablet PC (though that should be an option, for previews, or quiet viewing). But, that doesn't strike me as something that can't be handled with some kind of selective proxy in a room (that splits off the right kind of content for local processing rather than send it to the tablet PC).
Of course, the tablet PC now doubles as a convenient Web Pad, letting you surf the net without having to tie up the entertainment devices, perhaps even while watching a movie, or listening to music (perhaps you want to order more pizza). The unit is going to be expensive no matter what, so it should be functional. And this leads to a weakness in all such devices.
You really, really, do want some convenient means for data entry, like the ability to fire off a short email, or response. It doesn't have to be designed for hours of continuous use, but it should not be so difficult as to make one want to leave the room to send that two line email, or order that pizza, using a "real" computer instead. A slide down or even an unfolding keyboard would be nice, but not a clamshell design: you want to lay the thing flat on a coffee table and still be able to glance at the display and pick it up and use it "like a remote" on a moment's notice -- no fumbling to open a clamshell just to see a display or hit a few buttons on the touch-screen.
So, such a unit needs two things: (a) easy (though not for long periods of time) keyboard data entry, and (b) a fast enough data link to support content-rich browsing in it's own right.
Make that, and I might just spend $1000 for one.
You could've hired me.
Secondly, can we please stop using raw processor speed as the only benchmark of performance? Everybody should know by now that not all XXXMhz chips are created equal. This is particularly important for a Crusoe processor, a design which does not emphasize raw computing power.
Like the ones who said MULTIPLE TIMES to hold your Enron stock and that the company was ok???