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Transmeta Powered High-End Portable?
NETHED writes: "CNet is running a
story on the oQo (Very flash heavy) ultra portable computer. 'Along with Windows XP, it will come with a 5800 Crusoe processor from Transmeta, a 10GB hard drive, 256MB of memory, connection ports for FireWire and USB (universal serial bus), and wireless networking connections through either WiFi or Bluetooth.' Sounds like a winner, considering they want it to cost LESS than 1000USD. Now, only if this didn't sound like vaporware."
Start-up shrinks PC to palm size
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
April 16, 2002, 9:45 AM PT
First there was the pocket calculator. Then there was the pocket organizer. And if start-up OQO gets its way, the next big thing will be the pocket PC.
The Seattle-based company is showing off a full-fledged "ultra personal" computer this week at Microsoft's WinHEC 2002 conference. The computer is slightly thicker but roughly the same size as handhelds currently coming out from Palm or Hewlett-Packard.
The major difference is that the OQO device, which will come out in the second half of the year for around $1,000, is a complete Windows XP computer. Along with Windows, it will come with a 5800 Crusoe processor from Transmeta, a 10GB hard drive, 256MB of memory, connection ports for FireWire and USB (universal serial bus), and wireless networking connections through either WiFi or Bluetooth.
The screen measures just four inches in diameter, roughly the same size as those on a Palm, but the company will also sell docking stations so that it can be used like a normal desktop or laptop. The device measures 3 inches by 5 inches, is 0.9-inches thick and weighs about half a pound.
"We see this as 'This is your only computer,'" said Colin Hunter, executive vice president of OQO. "It isn't a PDA (personal digital assistant). With this device you can dock it in and it is your PC."
The hardware market is notoriously harsh on start-ups. Other companies, including a Taiwanese manufacturer called Saint Song, have also tried to promote miniature PCs before. OQO executives and partners, however, say that current market circumstances have opened opportunities for super-small devices.
The technological foundation to make robust, miniature computers finally exists, for example. The OQO uses the same tiny hard drive from Toshiba that Apple Computer incorporates into the latest iPod. The company also worked with Micron to ensure that memory could be packed into the device as densely as possible.
A lot of the design work at OQO, which was founded by engineers who worked on Apple's Titanium PowerBook went toward reducing the size of the power supply and the overall integration of the components, Hunter said.
Another factor at play supporting handhelds is that consumers and corporate America have become acclimated to portability. The explosive growth, until recently, of handheld devices and cell phones established the market for portable devices.
Once the infrastructure for wireless networking is established, ultra-portable PCs will become more popular than PDAs because they can do more, said Dave Ditzel, chief technology officer of Transmeta. Plus, it also gets rid of the data synchronization problem because everything moves to one device.
"You can do full Web browsing with Internet Explorer. You can't do that on a PDA," he said. The Crusoe processor inside the OQO, he noted, runs at 800MHz and contains 512KB of cache, a data reservoir for quick data access. Current handheld processors max out at 206MHz and have much smaller caches.
The OQO is actually the first of a wave of computers with nontraditional designs. The device weighs 250 grams, about half a pound, but there are other computers coming out that will weigh 800 grams. PC manufacturers will also begin to show off tablets that can convert into notebooks, Ditzel said.
"This is a smaller form factor than Microsoft envisioned," he said. "There is a trend toward everything getting smaller."
Despite the faster chip, the batteries on the OQO run about 9.5 hours, Ditzel and Hunter said. Although the Crusoe processor runs on fairly low amounts of energy, the small screen size helps enormously.
Two different docking stations will also be released with the device. One will allow the PC to be used like a desktop. A second will look like a notebook with a 14-inch screen. However, except for an extra battery and a CD or DVD drive, it will be empty. The OQO will slide into a slot.
The first version of the OQO measures 0.9-inches thick, but thinner versions will follow, Hunter added.
That is pure and simple FUD and you know it. I am running a 650mHz PIII with 256 Megs and 11 Gig and I have more than enought room for everything plus. XP runs just as stable and fast as any Linux box with KDE or Gnome running. (for those of us who like a GUI)
...And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me." - Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)
To alleviate DoS effect:
e ss / qo_16apr02.html
http://www.transmeta.com/about/press/special_pr
"Seattle, Washington - April 16, 2002 - OQO (pronounced "oh-q-oh"), today at Microsoft's WinHEC Conference, announced the world's first ultra-personal computer, representing a new PC category that could transform personal computing the same way the cell phone has revolutionized telecommunications.
OQO's first product is a highly functional and versatile handheld wireless computer that easily becomes a notebook or desktop PC. Measuring just 4.9 x 2.9 x 0.9 [inches] and weighing less than nine ounces, OQO's PC is a full-function computer running Microsoft Windows XP Professional and incorporating up to a 1GHz Crusoe TM5800 processor from Transmeta Corporation (NASDAQ:TMTA); four inch, super bright VGA color LCD; Synaptics touchscreen; 256MB onboard RAM; 10GB+ hard drive; 1394 FireWire, USB, audio, OQO-link connectors; and 802.11b and Bluetooth wireless networking.
"We're impressed with the direction that OQO is showing in developing its ultra-mobile, ultra-connected Windows XP-based PC," said Jim Allchin, group vice president of the Platforms Group at Microsoft Corp." These types of small-form-factor PCs, with their ability to deliver the power and richness of Windows any time and anywhere, will enable exciting new user experiences and opportunities."
"The OQO device represents an exciting new mobile computing platform that delivers full desktop applications in a handheld form factor," said Tim Bajarin, computer industry analyst and president, Creative Strategies, Inc. "It clearly breaks new ground and opens the door to a new category in mobile personal computing."
As a standalone device, OQO's ultra-personal computer slips easily into a shirt pocket. When inserted into an OQO-designed enclosure, it becomes a notebook PC. When placed in a cradle with a standard screen and keyboard, it becomes a desktop PC. This modular design allows for ease of use and convenience when traveling, whether to and from the office, across the country, or around the world.
"Modular computers have been identified as one of the most desirable form factors by Giga's IT audience every time we have surveyed for it," said Rob Enderle, research fellow for Giga Information Group. "This is one concept that actually could transform the technology industry and ensure a more steady revenue stream preceded by unprecedented--and potentially incredible--growth."
"After years of designing Apple and IBM laptops, the OQO team felt the time had come for the next step--but a revolutionary one--of the full-featured, wireless PC." said Jory Bell, president and CEO, OQO. "We wanted an ultra-personal computer that you always carry, but that was still powerful enough to be your only PC. We sought a device that incorporates wireless access as a central idea to the whole mobile experience. Moreover, we tried to instantiate something that would make people optimistic about the future."
"Crusoe is a catalyst for innovative, small, cool and quiet computing for emerging wireless platforms," said David Ditzel, vice-chairman and chief technology officer, Transmeta Corporation. "Until Crusoe, no one imagined that you could run Windows XP on a computer weighing less than nine ounces."
The first OQO PCs are expected to be commercially available from leading consumer electronics manufacturers in the second half of 2002.
OQO was founded in 1999 and is based San Francisco. The company includes executives, engineers and designers with exceptional credentials, including key positions at Apple Computer (Powerbook Design), Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory, IBM Almaden Research, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Oracle Corporation and Transmeta Corporation."
I went to the city because I wished to live without deliberation.
A friend of mine had a site that was slashdotted. His bandwidth got saturated, which limited the number of incoming requests, and the cpu hit (although he was on business-class cable, so he didn't have the bandwidth racksace might have).
His real problem was that his apache logs ballooned and the system became unresponsive (from the excessive IO transfer and possibly a kernel panic). After rebooting, his web server disk was so full of errors, he had to go to backup.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
I hate to say this to all you Linus-junkies, but the Crusoe processor runs SIGNIFICANTLY slower than a similar Intel or AMD processor.
For instance, check this out. The Crusoe laptop does SIGNIFICANTLY worse than the other "ultra-portables". The hyped "larger cache" is an absolute necessity for the Transmeta processors; they rely on the larger cache to do stuff like "code morphing", because Crusoe is naturally a 128-bit proc, and all these apps are 32-bit, kinda like an emulation mode. That's really why the larger cache is necessary.
I would imageine, however, that a Linux distro with all software compiled on a crusoe would run a lot faster than Windows XP.
"Despite the faster chip, the batteries on the OQO run about 9.5 hours, Ditzel and Hunter said. Although the Crusoe processor runs on fairly low amounts of energy, the small screen size helps enormously."
Power consumption of a 4" LCD CCFL is around 1W, which is the same for any 4" - 15" single lamp LCD panel. The small screen size does not help any with the reduction of power consumtion. Power consumtion for this device will about the same as any Crusoe powered laptop since memory and the hard drive will still draw the same amount of power. This unit will only see a 9.5 hour battery life if the CCFL is off and the hardrive is powered down with the processor running at under 20% with not many accesses to memory.
Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
- ibm research
/. article
Strikingly similar in concept.With GPRS connections, bandwidth is much higher but so is cost - the US providers with high-bandwidth solutions seem to be around $40/month for up to 10 MB of traffic during the month. That's not megabytes per second, that's megabytes per month. If you can afford to play MMORPGs over those connections, you probably won't be doing it on the bus because you're probably independently wealthy.
CDPD ("I'm not dead yet!") is still around, but maxes out at 19.2 Kbps.
In a few areas Ricochet may yet come back, and that's about the only option for this in the US.
fencepost
just a little off
Crusoe comments...
As somebody using a Toshiba Libretto L1, with a 600MHz crusoe chip in it, I think I can offer some insight.. basically, the 600MHz crusoe is similar to 450MHz PII. So... yeah, it's slow. But the speed is fine. I'm currently running Debian with Mozilla + KDE as my main apps. But then, I only really do basic web browsing, etc on it.
Also, you can't compile for the Crusoe. it spends a lot of memory on code morphing caches (16MB of main memory), and looks to all the world like an x86 chip. And it's very much an emulation mode... only thing is, you can't get out of it. Which Transmeta sees as a good thing, 'cause they can change the underlying chip without anyone noticing from one rev to the next... the 5800 could have a different ISA from the 5600, if they wanted. They haven't said, so I assume it doesn't, but still...