Posted by
michael
on from the penguin-in-a-box dept.
red5 writes: "Newsforge has a
report of a new "iMac-like" internet computer from the good people over at OEone. On an interesting note it uses Mozilla as its GUI. Read the article for all the details." Another submitter sent in an interview with the company.
Re:Why not spin off the desktop software?
by
IamTheRealMike
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I read their page yesterday, before it was slashdotted and I believe it says somewhere that they will be selling the software separately sometime in the future, but it didn't give an exact date.
I'd guess this would introduce a lot more complexity because of the myriad of different hardware types out there etc.
Re:Hello Apple Legal......
by
inthehacker
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Future Power are the ones who build the machine and the hardware, not OEone. Future Power has already settled their lawsuit with Apple. (Article Here) The main difference in the two machines is that the OEone unit has a 17" monitor, as opposed to the iMac's 15".
Re:Hello Apple Legal......
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1, Informative
The hardware manufacturer did get sued by Apple. They reached a settlement in May 2001 which prevents them from selling a 15" iMac lookalike but allows them to produce a 17" unit, which is what OEone is selling.
Re:Analysis
by
inthehacker
·
· Score: 3, Informative
The next version of the software, due out in a few weeks, is based on Mozilla 0.9.5. 0.9.3 isn't that bad, but 0.9.5 is a lot better.
They don't use a web browser for their main interface... They use Mozilla. And if you think that Mozilla is just a web browser, then you better wake up and smell the coffee. Mozilla is more of a development platform than a web browser. You can build really cool stuff in XUL, JS, CSS and XPCOM, as OEone has shown.
Re:Neat but Restricting
by
tftp
·
· Score: 2, Informative
If someone is already familiar with IE and Windows then this guy is not likely to buy a dumbed down appliance. The market for Internet appliances is in homes of people who never used Internet before. My parents, for example, haven't even seen Windows, and they can't care less; they are more interested in gardening and politics:-) Any appliance that is easy to use will do, and AOL is a living proof of that. The extremely simple, automated installation of plugins in Mozilla fully justifies its use - the browser becomes the OS.
While most web browsers were indeed designed to browse the web, mozilla was designed to not be limited to browsing the web. Each component of the mozilla browser (UI, rendering engine, javascript engine, etc) was created independantly of the other components. In fact, the glue that binds them together (xpcom) is itself a standalone component.
One of these components is a user interface language called XUL, or Cross-platform User-interface Language. Mozilla-the-browser (or Seamonkey) uses this language for all of it's UI, but don't make the standard assumption that mozilla == mozilla-the-browser. Seamonkey is merely the union of all of the modular subcomponents.
A user interface that was designed with XUL and Javascript can be indistinguishable from that of the Windows, Mac, X, or even Star Trek interfaces. (Assuming of course that it's well-written.) There need not be the slightest hint that you are not using a native interface. In the case of new appliances such as this, they are trying to create their own native interface; something unique to their box.
The advantage to using mozilla technologies for the UI is that the UI is not only easy to implement (it's xml-based), but it's inherently cross-platform. If they wish the next generation to be based on MS-Windows, and the one after that to be based on OS-X, and the one after that on HP-UX, they can do so with absolutely no effort. 0 UI redesign/porting effort. And even an extremely computer-literate person would never know the difference.
I personally expect and hope to see many more companies using this technology in the future. So in short, when you hear "mozilla-based user interface", please do not assume that it is an html-based user interface being displayed in Seamonkey. More likely than not, your assumption will be incorrect.
I am a proud owner of a Iopener :)
by
timecop
·
· Score: 0, Informative
That I bought for $99 and put a 8gb hdd in it, great machine for word processing, runs win98 great.
Slashdot Mirror
I read their page yesterday, before it was slashdotted and I believe it says somewhere that they will be selling the software separately sometime in the future, but it didn't give an exact date.
I'd guess this would introduce a lot more complexity because of the myriad of different hardware types out there etc.
Future Power are the ones who build the machine and the hardware, not OEone. Future Power has already settled their lawsuit with Apple. (Article Here) The main difference in the two machines is that the OEone unit has a 17" monitor, as opposed to the iMac's 15".
The hardware manufacturer did get sued by Apple. They reached a settlement in May 2001 which prevents them from selling a 15" iMac lookalike but allows them to produce a 17" unit, which is what OEone is selling.
The next version of the software, due out in a few weeks, is based on Mozilla 0.9.5. 0.9.3 isn't that bad, but 0.9.5 is a lot better.
They don't use a web browser for their main interface... They use Mozilla. And if you think that Mozilla is just a web browser, then you better wake up and smell the coffee. Mozilla is more of a development platform than a web browser. You can build really cool stuff in XUL, JS, CSS and XPCOM, as OEone has shown.
If someone is already familiar with IE and Windows then this guy is not likely to buy a dumbed down appliance. The market for Internet appliances is in homes of people who never used Internet before. My parents, for example, haven't even seen Windows, and they can't care less; they are more interested in gardening and politics :-) Any appliance that is easy to use will do, and AOL is a living proof of that. The extremely simple, automated installation of plugins in Mozilla fully justifies its use - the browser becomes the OS.
While most web browsers were indeed designed to browse the web, mozilla was designed to not be limited to browsing the web. Each component of the mozilla browser (UI, rendering engine, javascript engine, etc) was created independantly of the other components. In fact, the glue that binds them together (xpcom) is itself a standalone component.
One of these components is a user interface language called XUL, or Cross-platform User-interface Language. Mozilla-the-browser (or Seamonkey) uses this language for all of it's UI, but don't make the standard assumption that mozilla == mozilla-the-browser. Seamonkey is merely the union of all of the modular subcomponents.
A user interface that was designed with XUL and Javascript can be indistinguishable from that of the Windows, Mac, X, or even Star Trek interfaces. (Assuming of course that it's well-written.) There need not be the slightest hint that you are not using a native interface. In the case of new appliances such as this, they are trying to create their own native interface; something unique to their box.
The advantage to using mozilla technologies for the UI is that the UI is not only easy to implement (it's xml-based), but it's inherently cross-platform. If they wish the next generation to be based on MS-Windows, and the one after that to be based on OS-X, and the one after that on HP-UX, they can do so with absolutely no effort. 0 UI redesign/porting effort. And even an extremely computer-literate person would never know the difference.
I personally expect and hope to see many more companies using this technology in the future. So in short, when you hear "mozilla-based user interface", please do not assume that it is an html-based user interface being displayed in Seamonkey. More likely than not, your assumption will be incorrect.
That I bought for $99 and put a 8gb hdd in it, great machine for word processing, runs win98 great.