Slashdot Mirror
Dreamcast as a Web Browser?
Chris asks: "Last Christmas
I gave my grandmother a cheap Windows PC with the hope that she would
begin conversing with the rest of the family (some on the other side
of the country) via e-mail. I don't believe she has turned it on
since I was last over there, several months ago. So, this Christmas, I'm giving
her a Dreamcast (only $50!) so she can use the Internet from the
comfort of her television. I'm wondering if it will be easier for her
to use the PlanetWeb browser that comes with the system (version 2) or
should I install Linux or netBSD on it and give her a real browser?
Ease of use is the single most important thing here. Hardware-wise,
she'll be getting the unit, 1 VMU, 1 controller, and the keyboard.
Thanks." It's good to see the Dreamcast hardware finding other uses
with Sega out of the business; however do you think the Dreamcast
would make a decent browser? Update: 12/25 02:50 GMT by C :Perhaps
talk of the Demise of the Dreamcast comes a bit prematurely, at least
according to this
article from Gameswire.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
Linux can be easy to use, just ask any TiVo owner. All he would need to do is set it up to launch Mozilla without making her log in, and dial her PPP connection as needed. He could even have Mozilla and the PPP dialer store their preferences on a VMU so that she could change them as needed.
Heck, Lik Sang sells a DC to PS/2 adapter so he could set her up with one of those nice wireless keyboards.
As for being powered off unexpectedly, I doubt that the OS will care, what with it being on read-only media. And as long as grandma doesn't turn off the DC while it's writing Mozilla or PPP prefs, then it should be fine.
Why can't I moderate something "Wrong" or at least "Grossly Misinformed"?
Some people just aren't all that interested in e-mail. She'd probably tell you that it's a great present because she doesn't want to hurt your feelings, but she probably wouldn't use the dreamcast any more frequently than she does the computer she's already got.
The newer ones (I don't know date off-hand) will not run Linux or NetBSD last I heard.
I would NOT recommend this. I love the Dreamcast, but it's a very clunky web browser, and considering it probably won't be supported for very long, you could probably do better. If it's just for email why not get one of those e-mail stations? Not too expensive, and they're more intuitive.
(bought a dreamcast for my grandmother so she could get on the Internet), she didn't want a computer because they were too hard to use. Of course, she was basing this on the C-64 she had 10 years ago, but.... Within 6 months she got pissed off and bought a computer because the Dreamcast couldn't do...get this...Napster. Probably doesn't answer your question, but I had to share.
Brian
Well, she had better have a decent sized TV! I have a 35 and 800x600 running on the S-video output of my Nvidia 2MX400 is still hard to read even for my 30 year old eyes. Imagine what it would be like for Grandma! Hooking these things up to the TV will only make it worse!
I think the best I have seen for e-mail only has been those Cidco Mailstations. I have no idea of teh requirements for the ISP except that I think they have their own. These things do E-mail ONLY and they even dial out on their own every once in a while to check the box. Messages can be typed in and sent now, or later as well (I think!:))!
Gorkman
What planet are you living on? Unix runs on virtually no embeded systems or ATM machines or public terminals. You need to lay off the purple twinkies man. Suggesting sticking any Unix varient on these sorts of systems is ridiculous. Why in the holiest of holy fucks would you use a time sharing OS on an ATM machine or embedded computer? That is just ridiculous. Most embedded systems don't even run an OS, just some firmware that is definitely not related to Unix in any way. As for the comment about customized systems you're just tilting at windmills. Have you ever seen WinNT embedded? No you probably haven't because it doesn't look like Windows. Where do you come up with this stuff?
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
As for what "embedded systems" are and what they run, there is obviously a wide spectrum of them. Some don't run much of an OS. Others are full multitasking systems with GUIs, used for applications like data entry, high-end medical devices and scanners, surveillance, and vehicle control. Both NT and UNIX play in that space. When NT is used for those applications, a lot of its desktop heritage shows through; after all, what's the point of using NT if you don't use its "industry standard, advanced development environment (Visual C++)" as Microsoft likes to call it? This is usually not to NT's advantage.
...maybe she just doesn't like the Internet. Don't force-feed it to her.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Did I mention mainframe systems? No I didn't. Of course those run Unix of some variant. I've never seen an ATM that ran anything more complex than DOS for the simple reason is multi-user time sharing systems are not right for the application. ATMs are NOT merely terminals to bigger systems. They are entirely dependant on mainframe systems to operate but the front end is not just a terminal emulator. Embedded systems often times don't have a traditional interface one might think of as a computer. A couple of buttons and LEDs are usually the only user interface embedded systems have. Most of the shit you listed DOES NOT run NT or Unix. Look it up man. Most systems just have some firmware which runs a piece of software on them while other have RTOSes. Both NT and any Unix variant are ill suited for these environments because they are time sharing systems. There is no fucking reason to have a multi-user OS running on something that only interfaces with other machines and never people. NT and most Unix variants you find have too many problems with latency and poorly manage high priority processing. With something like a computer driving or piloting some vehicle you need stuff to process in a set amount of time and handle errors seemlessly. You can't have an autopilot computer pop up an hourglass on screen saying its busy.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.