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Charmed Announces Crusoe-based Linux Wearable
isdale writes: "Charmed Technology, founded by MIT Media Lab graduates, announced what it claims is the fastest available wearable computer -- 800Mhz Crusoe TM5800 processor. The CharmedIT comes standard with a 266 Mhz Pentium MMX for about $2k. The Crusoe upgrade costs another $500. The OS is extra ($250 for RedHat or Debian), as is the display, input device, carrying case, battery, charger, usable application ... if that isn't enough options, you can also get a DIY kit."
You get a chip that runs as fast as the Pentium 200 MMX.
Look! I'm cool cuz I run a Transmeta backpack computer! Freaking l337 d00dz!
thank you!
The Crusoe upgrade costs another $500. The OS is extra ($250 for RedHat or Debian)
*cough* *sputter*
Be the first kid on your block to blow $2500 on this ultra cool wearable PC! Not only will you really look like a geek, but everyone will know who to talk to for some extra gas and grocery money! For an additional $15k, you can get the Honda walking robot docking station and play Ultraman with your friends in your front yard. (Turbo Jet and wing kit for robot sold seperately.)
Well... first of all, it causes a lot of problems when it rains and you don't have an umbrella.
However, it is perfect for 802.11b hunting!
At the time, it was pretty darn cool. But soon we laughed hard at the people who bought one.
See Osborne History
Here's an OEM that shows the true cost of Windows 2000. Directly beneath the RedHat price is the price of Windows 2000 pre-loaded - $450, which means it's $200 more.
This is likely an off-the-shelf, non OEM price (since our Redmond frinds aren't too kind to PC makers who don't feature thier OS exclusively)
Nice to see.
Soko
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
Charmed Announces Crusoe-based Linux Wearable???
I liked the episode last season better, where the three sisters fought the Gnu Debian C# compiler.
:)
With all that gear it'd be like strapping a Desktop PC to your back.
why is the site so slow? slashcode bugs again?
$2,000 for a 266 Mhz Pentium MMX Processor Board ?? Wow that's what I paid for mine in 1998. Can't believe prices haven't risen... Must be because the OS isn't included.
There's no emoticon for what I'm feeling!
http://www.debian.org -- it is much cheaper to get it from their. Might as well donate the $250 to them instead.
If I could buy a mess of these, throw them into a pile, and create a Beowulf cluster, I could see a future in this product. But I can't, so it's doomed.
These people are idiots.
It's obvious why half of the fundamental computing technologies have come from MIT. They set high standards, their solutions are elegant, and they always stay ahead of the curve.
They set up their wearable computing lab seven or eight years ago already. They were patient and the market came to them. Now they are reaping the rewards. Kudos to MIT, another job well done.
umm... who is ACTUALLY going to pay 2500 dollars for a piece of crap computer just so they can wear it? if someone wants to make these things mainstream, they have to be somewhat affordable. how much R&D can there possibly freakin be?!? i refuse to believe that the parts come anywhere close to being this expensive.
The page won't load. Has it been /.ed?
Let's see here...
$1995 for the basic board.
$1500 for the EveryDay Use Bundle (it includes Linux, so no $250 charge for a free OS, and I'd like to be able to use the computer for more than 2 hours)
$875 for the TM5800 (I'm not going back to a 266 mhz processor and I'd like to be able to listen to my MP3s with this thing)
$2500 for the CO-3 monitor (so I can actually see what I'm doing)
That'd be a bit expensive for something that's not even as powerful as a laptop. I don't think it's even as useful - those Twiddlers are confusing (I've tried), and I doubt a 1" high screen would be particularly easy to focus on when it's 1 inch away from your eye.
If I really wanted all that, why not just get a Xybernaut poma for $1499?
And for that matter, $450 for Win2k?
Something about that just does'nt sit right. Red hat or Debian typically install with ease.. so does this mean that the hardware is so tricky and propritary they feel they need to charge $250 just to get the thing to work?
Or are the marketing people just on something.
The Internet is generally stupid
Put one of these http://www.theregus.com/content/54/24709.html in your pocket i'm sure it will run your favorite flavor of *nix and it's half the price..with the docking station...
Just Limin' Mon
Or has the host carrier gone and crashed for the night? I mean I would hate to think that someone /.'ed a wearable computer. Wouldn't that make it luggable?
-Rusty
You never know...
...when i get stranded on a desert island. does it come w/ girl friday?
So, I'm thinking one's money might be better spent on a zaurus at this point. Sure, it doesn't have a heads up display, or a twiddler, but if those turn out to be truely useful input devices, I'm sure one of us will hack them to work for the zaurus. I'd like to see some compelling use cases.
airport securities would love to have a chat w/ u... :)
Thank god someone else feels the same way. I've felt that way for a while, too.
If I overclock it, will it help keeps me warm next winter?
Just look at his picture.
Yes!!!! One more expensive thing to wear around and end up breaking in one odd way or another. You have got to love this stuff....its great!!!!
Do you power it by sticking the cord up your ass?
Figures MIT guys would come up with this crap -
only _they_ would use it.
From what I can see this is a company that is just starting up. This thing that they are selling, in my opinion, is pretty overpriced. With the money that it took to buy all the accessories, you could probably make yourself for cheaper. I hope they do well, but I don't see the masses of people buying any of those, let along a single person.
I would do something like this:
Make a wearable computer for lets say.. people that stock large amounts of stuff in warehouses. Would be pretty handy to have the full inventory at the press of a button, without having to look away. Make a few of these units, approach some large company who have a lot of these workers, and see if you can get a few of them to use it for a few days to see if its useful. It probably will, or they didn't make it right. Do this to a few different companies/different markets, and you have quite a base of users out there, and you then market it to the public, using the above examples of how good it works.
I read thru their website a bit, didn't really see much of any of that going on. Like I said, I hope they do well, but I don't think they are doing it right if they want it to take off..
but I'd still 'do' Ricki Lake. She's cute. Bouncy.
This is one of those ads that's supposed to look like news, isn't it? It just doesn't seem newsworthy enough.
I thought Infocharms/CharmedIT, with their cyber-fashion shows, was basically a brilliant excuse for hot models to get close with technogeeks ;) Hrm, I guess every company has to put out a product or two to keep the VC money flowing, and if that's what it takes to retain those models, so be it!
I'm looking forward to the bluetooth G-string and PDA bra (under-wireless of course)in the next show. Keep them coming!
I've got an old Pentium 266 MMX that I've been using as a server (running OpenBSD)... If you had asked me, aside from use to me, how much it was worth, I'd have said no more than $50, and that's for the new power supply in it.
Thanks to the boys from the Media Lab for giving my computer a new pricetag. All I have to do is fit this puppy into a smaller box. =)
What my Wearable Computer Is (and Isn't)
I am developing a device I call the PIASYS (pie' AH sis), or Personal Intelligence Augmentation SYStem. It is a specialized Wearable Computer.
When most people hear the term "Wearable Computer", they usually picture things like big ugly head-mounted displays, cumbersome input methods (including voice control), bulky hardware, and of course, just plain looking too "different" (or as described on Slashdot: "like a borg reject").
So, there are plenty of preconceptions about wearable computers.
However, the PIASYS has neither a mouse nor a keyboard. Neither does it use voice recognition as its primary interface. The only input is a few conveniently-located buttons (on a ring, a pen, etc). The screen is embedded in a pair of sunglasses, superimposing the computer's output onto the "Real World". A video camera accompanies the display in the glasses. The hardware all fits into a small package, easily worn under clothing. In fact, it's not obvious a person wearing the PISYS is in fact wearing or even using a computer.
Does it replace a "Real" computer? No. Why? Because the PIASYS does mostly totally different things than a desktop system. And for good reason. The PIASYS is not made to allow you to write code on the bus, or to use a CAD program in the park (though you could do these things if you wanted). The PIASYS is instead intended to enhance those abilities we already have and use in our everyday lives. It helps you see, it helps you remember, it helps you memorize, and it helps you think more efficiently (just as a calculator helps you do math more efficiently). And most importantly, it is private. The data, unless explicitly shared, is no one's but yours.
The PIASYS is designed around two core concepts. First, my concept of "Personal Intelligence", and secondly the concept of "Intelligence Augmentation". It is the idea of having a system available to you that is both personal and private, and designed to greatly enhance your ability to gather, store, and recall useful news, information, and resources (intelligence) pertaining to you and your personal space.Also, it serves as an additional "brain", offering the brute force computational ability of a computer at your fingertips, as well as the resources of the Internet, and the resources of other people (whom you can connect to and confer with via the PIASYS or similar wearable system).
For example, the PIASYS effects a great enhancement of personal intelligence by being able to perform such tasks as:
Face Recognition
Intelligent Reminder Management
Navigation Aiding
Retroactive Recording of Audio and Video
Instant Messaging
Providing a limited (and sometimes literal) Photographic Memory
Providing realtime Reference Materials
Allowing Live Collaborative Conferencing
That's only a few of the immense possibilities.
So, without a mouse or keyboard - how does one "use" the PIASYS? The short answer is that it mostly uses itself. It is designed not to be used like a desktop computer, but rather to sit in the background, quietly assisting you in whatever ELSE you may be doing, rather than requiring you to spend your time interfacing to IT.
In practical terms, the PIASYS uses environmental and contextual factors as most of it's input. The rest is supplied in the form of commands or confirmations by the user. A few simple buttons are sufficient to allow the user to tell the PIASYS what to do in any given situation.
Some functions require explicit input (commands). For example, imagine someone has just told you a name and phone number. You could (with a simple button click) tell your PIASYS to "record video and audio from five seconds ago" immediately after hearing the needed information -- which could then serve as a reminder. You could do a similar recording of an event that has already happened in other circumstances: after witnessing an accident, after dealing with an official you suspect may change his or her story, or after seeing or hearing something especially interesting.
Other inputs are implicit, rather than explicit. Your PIASYS may automatically record recent events after your pulse rises sharply, for example. A video or audio or textual reminder may be presented automatically once you have reached a certain location. Or when you see a certain object, or a certain person (Face Recognition).
A simple input from the user (like clicking his or her ring) can serve as confirmation, rather than command. For example, the PIASYS can record every direction change you take as you are travelling, then ask if you would like them replayed to retrace your steps when it detects you may be lost (which it may infer by your uncertain movements).
The point is that the PIASYS is not a desktop replacement - nor is it even a desktop contender. It is a computer, but with a completely different purpose: to help you in your everyday life and allow you more control over yourself, your data, and your private space -- not less.
For more information about the issues I attempt to address with the PIASYS (as well as other solutions), visit the Philosophy links here at Man-Machines.
Some good information can also be had from Professor Steve Mann's "Cyborg - Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer".
As someone who went to MIT for four years, I would like to second this post.
I worked hard, destroyed my health, (only recently lost enough weight that I can start running twice a week again . . . pathetic) and had no social life. If I had gone to a state university, I would have been able to take more of the classes I liked and could have afforded to stay an extra year if necessary to learn what I thought was important -- I wanted to learn Russian and Hebrew in addition to all the technical stuff, for example. But instead I was stuck struggling to pack it all into four years because the damn place is so expensive. I completed all the requirements for the 6-3 degree, and didn't get the degree because a professor rejected the final project/AUP/thesis thing. I got a job in Boston just to be able to stay around the re-write it my spare time, and the guy kept wanting more work out of me, and screwed up an attempt to take an institute lab in my spare time by getting caught doing a lot of traveling for work. Finally I left the place, but where I live now rent is so cheap, and no income tax, that I have more take-home pay on just about half the salary.
I've moved to a big state university town since then. The kids I meet who are in this college are more balenced, and most of the time smarter (but not intensely obsessive about things) than the kids at MIT. I feel happier the more interaction I have with non-MIT people. When I meet MIT people in the course of work, it seems half of them are kind of recovering like me and half are bitterly hated by everyone they interact with.
I have made several career choices in order to make sure I do not have to meet or work with MIT people any more. Among these was a conscious decision to give up lisp, the best way to program there is, but lisp people seem like the worst of MITers even when they are not from MIT. Read Erik Naggum's posts on comp.lang.lisp if you need a striking example. In all fairness, it's not just MIT people, I treat anyone from the northeast, a big school, or jewish as having two strikes against them until they prove they are real people. Only lawyers have more constantly been sub-human than people from MIT.
As for the MIT Media lab, they are a different sort of dispicable character. They seem to be focused on selling the reputation of the rest of MIT for their own gain. They take a corporate donor, wave a bunch of smoke and mirrors and invoke the MIT reputation, get money, and then when the guys finally realize that all they are doing is hooking up random junk to each other about and then hyping it in the most oily dot-com style, they toss that donor and search out more. They had a wearable computer FASION SHOW. Nuff said.
If you are a high school student considering going to MIT, here's what you should do. Find an MIT alumni to talk to who is not a member of the any of the alumni clubs or shit (that means hooking up with them outside of MIT's recruiting, which is hard.) Ask them to look you right in the eye, and say "if you did it all over again, would you go to MIT again ?"
A large portion will have to admit the answer is no. They will point out that their experience wasn't totally bad, etc, but on the balence, they would have gone to a good state school. (A factoid often quoted is that MIT alumni contribute proportionally less than all the other high-reputation places to their school; I think this is only partly due to the fact that a lot of them viciously hate the place, and more related to the fact that the demographic of MITers is more middle class than the likes of Harvard, Princeton, etc.)
I look forward to discriminating again MIT people in jobs and any other way (I'm buying some rental property in the next year or so, no MITers will rent my place) for the rest of my life. I'm still trying to give northeasterners and jews a fair shake in the interest of an equal society and all that, but MITers are right out.
This ought to be an Ask /.
I went to Georgetown University and can't complain at all about the school, except that the CS department was severely neglected. While they've got some top-notch professors (Mahe, Squier, Denning to name a few), the facilities are sorely lacking.
GU is one of the schools that you'd find alums encouraging people to attend. The breadth of subjects that can be broached there is excellent and the city itself (DC) is interesting in its own right.
The downside is that it's fairly expensive, much more than a state school. A good alternative in the DC area is George Washington which is just down the street. Certainly not as prestigious as GU, but a very good school in its own right.
For CS in DC, try Howard, but as a historically black university, the vast majority of pasty white CS geeks would stand out like a sore thumb.
This guy is a crackpot... Apple is not a bunch of devil worshipers, communist, pagans or atheists. Look at the color scheme!!!! They're obviously gay!
[This comment for MT readers only! :) ]
I'd rather have a better PS2 pherpherial myself.
Move faster
GU is one of the schools that you'd find alums encouraging people to attend.
That's not surprising, considering that DC is one of the most livable, well-rounded cities in the nation. Unlike the west coast, where there tends to be a rampant hedonism, east coast cities tend to be progressive, enlightened, and civic-oriented. DC, as our capital, is surely the best example of this.
Xybernaut owns nearly all of the significant patents in the Wearable Computing area. Perhaps it's the patent royalties that are causing Charmed to have such high prices (can't just be economies of scale...)
Was there. Like Theo's speach BTW. And also, this is why people should use GPL rather than all those prehistoric licences that can be revoked and played around without notice. It's a sad case that Xfree86 is going commerical, that was one of my fav non commerican endevours! I guess now only Linux kernel is left... and debian. Anyway, this should be good, people would get out of the couches and make some good GPled free graphical systems (maybe even a 3d one?)
I hate to say it, but we've all talked about this before... why not the Cappuccino?
I know the DC in makes it a problem, but it'd be great for a ultraportable computer. (possibly wearable)...
http://www.cappuccinopc.com/
Safe Journeys Space Fan, Where Ever You Are
So the truth comes out. You only like the GPL because it gets you stuff for free.
OSDN | Our Network | Newsletters | Advertise | Shop Slashdot ----------- All OSDN Sites freshmeat Linux.com LinuxGram NewsForge OSDN.com Slashcode SourceForge.net X ... if that isn't enough options, you can also get a DIY kit."
.NET, xml, and why Microsoft should not be penalized for its role as 800 lb. Gorilla. (Developers, Developers, Developers)" Other readers point to the BBC story on Gates' testimony, as well as a similar one at Yahoo!.
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Charmed Announces Crusoe-based Linux Wearable
Posted by timothy on Monday April 22, @10:46PM
from the gargoyles-take-heed dept.
isdale writes: "Charmed Technology, founded by MIT Media Lab graduates, announced what it claims is the fastest available wearable computer -- 800Mhz Crusoe TM5800 processor. The CharmedIT comes standard with a 266 Mhz Pentium MMX for about $2k. The Crusoe upgrade costs another $500. The OS is extra ($250 for RedHat or Debian), as is the display, input device, carrying case, battery, charger, usable application
( Read More... | 39 of 95 comments )
Apple: Apple Deals with Devil, Communists
Posted by pudge on Monday April 22, @09:05PM
from the hail-satan dept.
rschroeder writes "I keep thinking that this article can't be real, but it looks like it. Among the juicier bits: 'The real operating system hiding under the newest version of the Macintosh operating system (Mac OS X) is called... Darwin! That's right, new Macs are based on Darwinism! While they currently don't advertise this fact to consumers, it is well known among the computer elite, who are mostly Atheists and Pagans. Furthermore, the Darwin OS is released under an 'Open Source' license, which is just another name for Communism.'" Yes, of course. And I am still waiting for Jesux to be released.
( Read More... | 280 of 404 comments | Apple )
Your Rights Online: Hardball Tactics For The Geek Lobby
Posted by timothy on Monday April 22, @08:22PM
from the freeze-your-snowballs-of-love dept.
sfjoe writes: "The San Francisco Chronicle has this story on how to effectively make the point about online freedom of speech. In a nutshell, until a legislator gets slapped around (electorally-speaking) for kowtowing to the narrow corporate interests, nobody in Congress will take online civil liberties seriously. On the other hand if, for example, Senator Disney gets his balls whacked (electorally-speaking), monstrosities like the DMCA will start getting bottled up in congressional committees. The NRA has been doing this for years and it works."
( Read More... | 146 of 201 comments | Your Rights Online )
Recycle Fee For Each PC?
Posted by timothy on Monday April 22, @07:12PM
from the officious-permissionism dept.
UncleJosh writes: "The New York Times (free reg rq'd) has a story about a $25-30 fee to be added to the price of a new PC to cover the cost of recycling it. Sort of like a bottle deposit, but you don't get the money back." What if I just want to buy the case?
( Read More... | 170 of 251 comments )
Ask Slashdot: Finding the Programming Zone?
Posted by Cliff on Monday April 22, @06:05PM
from the attaning-coder-nirvana dept.
SlashDotDashDot asks: "As a developer for 20+ years, I've developed a fairly fine tuned way to find 'The Zone' for optimal programming - a combination of furniture arrangement (PC and chair), lighting and music. I also have a pretty good sense of what time of day is best for working on a particular set of problems. But this is what works for me. My company is growing and I'm needing to mediate working conditions between my clients and consultants. This has me wondering what others have found important for finding 'The Zone' in their programming lives. How fast can you get there? How long does it last? What do you do that helps keep that state? What are the major interrupters?" We also touched on this issue in a similar article, last year. However, many of you may have ways of attaining "the zone" that don't depend on any of the factors listed above. If you have a method that works for you, please share. It may work for others.
( Read More... | 355 of 496 comments | Ask Slashdot )
Review of Hancom Linux 2.01 Standard
Posted by timothy on Monday April 22, @05:08PM
from the but-there-are-no-apps-for-linux dept.
ELQ writes: "The Korean-based Hancom Linux announced that the professional version of Hancom Office Suite 2.0 is canned, but the standard version has just been released, four days ago. It seems to be a capable alternative to Star Office, for a very reasonable price. It includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation app and a rasterized painting app. OSNews has the review."
( Read More... | 37 of 73 comments )
Gates Testifies in Antitrust Suit
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday April 22, @04:25PM
from the man-takes-the-stand dept.
teamhasnoi writes "Bill Gates is testifying today in the Microsoft antitrust case. Here's the 5 page executive summary (pdf) and here's the 163-page full version (1.1 MB pdf). Bill waxes on about the early days, talks about
( Read More... | 265 of 405 comments )
UK Lab Responsible for VNC To Close
Posted by chrisd on Monday April 22, @03:52PM
from the we-have-the-way-in dept.
NexUK writes "Guardian Online has an article about the imminent closure of the UK based AT&T lab , the place that brought us VNC, the popular desktop remote control system. The article talks about a nice "Toys" budget where the employees could buy gadgets without prior authorization." AT&T Strikes again, I'm surprised they haven't bought PARC and closed it down too.
( Read More... | 108 of 155 comments )
History of Video Games Exhibit
Posted by Hemos on Monday April 22, @03:01PM
from the look-into-the-past dept.
Mandi Walls writes "Wired is running an article about an exhibit on the history of video games at Barbican in London. It's supposed to hit the US next year. They start at Space War! from 1962 and move forward from there."
( Read More... | 45 of 78 comments )
MS Pressuring NW Schools: Pay Up, Or Face Audit
Posted by timothy on Monday April 22, @02:15PM
from the must-eat-more-money dept.
razvedchik writes: "As reported in this article in the Portland, OR newspaper, The Oregonian, Microsoft is pressuring 24 school districts in the northwest to agree to their Microsoft School Agreement licensing scheme or undergo an audit in 60 days. Multnomah ESD, which covers the greater Portland area and has around 25,000 computers, has to either decide to accept the license at about $500,000 or undergo the audit which it does not have time to prepare for. Of significant interest is the fact that a significant majority of these schools are experimenting with using Linux. Multnomah ESD has its own thin-client Linux distro called K12LTSP."
( Read More... | 567 of 759 comments )
Phil Zimmerman and PGP at CNN.com
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday April 22, @01:19PM
from the stuff-to-encrypt dept.
rick_campbell writes "CNN is carrying an article about Phil Zimmerman and the fact that Network Associates is dropping support for the commercial version of Pretty Good Privacy. The article includes a little bit of Phil's take on the situation, a little history and some discussion of why this happened and what alternatives exist."
( Read More... | 83 of 127 comments )
Slashdot Subscription Update
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday April 22, @12:30PM
from the throwing-quarters-in-the-guitar-case dept.
A few things have changed in the Slashdot Subscription System since we originally announced it a few months ago. Most important to many of you is that we now can directly accept Credit Cards in addition to paypal. We also added some control to allow subscriptions to be time based instead of page view based. Read on to see how.
( Read More... | 2801 bytes in body | 403 of 562 comments )
Google vs. DMCA and Scientology
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday April 22, @11:39AM
from the stuff-to-read dept.
Uebergeek writes "This article at the NYTimes (free registration, blah blah) details how google is dealing with the many complaints it gets from organizations when one of its links potentially violates a copyright (or just irritates the copyright's owner). Specifically, it talks about how Google is dealing with the Scientologist's complaints about the list of the Operation Clambake site... now Google features a prominent link to another site that shows the complaint that the Scientologists filed, along with the delisted links."
( Read More... | 250 of 363 comments )
Book Reviews: Zope Bible
Posted by timothy on Monday April 22, @11:00AM
from the in-the-beginning dept.
Reader the_rev_matt writes with this review of Hungry Minds' Zope Bible. He finds both merit and shortcomings in this book, and suggests that "Bible" may be too grand a word for this decent-but-spotty work. Read on for his reasoning.
( Read More... | 6981 bytes in body | 42 of 91 comments | Book Reviews )
Salon On Computer Forensics
Posted by chrisd on Monday April 22, @10:16AM
from the keep-those-tape-drives-handy dept.
splorf writes "Salon has a good new article on computer forensics, focusing on Lee Tydalska, a guy in Southern California who started collecting old computers and peripherals as a hobby, and now has a nice business doing data recovery from weird and obsolete media for investigators (or normal users who just need media conversion). "It hardly needs saying why this craft has grown in importance", the article says, "but if one word sums it up, it's 'Enron-itis'". Oh yes, the #1 outfit in the field is apparently a UK firm called Vogon International. You've got to love this stuff."
( Read More... | 74 of 134 comments )
Open Meta Tools Make It Big
Posted by Hemos on Monday April 22, @09:05AM
from the but-who-watches-the-meta-watchers dept.
Morgahastu writes "Byte.com has a great article about open meta tools and open software in general: "After more than 10 years of open-software development in the scientific community, open software now holds a preeminent place in the operation of the computing community. The three products I have written about simply scratch the surface of the powerful tools available. OpenLDAP and OAI both enable a wide variety of sharing and automated access.""
( Read More... | 14 of 67 comments )
GPL's Strength
Posted by Hemos on Monday April 22, @07:52AM
from the the-strength-of-the-gpl dept.
Morty writes "So, why hasn't the GPL been successfully challenged yet? In this article, Eben Moglen, General Counsel to the FSF, explains that the GPL is in a stronger legal position than most licenses. Most licenses restrict the user from doing what would otherwise be legal. Because the GPL (and presumably, other free/open software licenses) let the user do things that are otherwise illegal (copy and redistribute software), the GPL is in a stronger position to dictate terms. If the user doesn't accept the terms of the GPL, the default is for copying and redistribution to be forbidden under copyright law. I had never looked at it that way before. .
( Read More... | 219 of 306 comments )
Smart Cameras To Predict Crimes
Posted by chrisd on Monday April 22, @05:55AM
from the the-computer-is-your-protector dept.
hairybacchus writes: "The Independent News is reporting that scientists at Kingston University in London have developed video processing software that is able to predict behavior patterns of the people on-screen. They say it will be used to alleviate congestion in the London Underground or alert police to potential muggings. I wonder how long it will be before this is combined with face-recognition technology? It's spooky." I can't wait. "We searched you because the computer told us to." Trust the Computer.
( Read More... | 156 of 237 comments )
GeForce4 Ti 4200 Preview
Posted by michael on Monday April 22, @02:29AM
from the CGA dept.
Mike Chambers writes "Hi All, I've completed a preview of NVIDIA's GeForce4 Ti 4200 graphics chipset. Although the preview contains your typical benchmarks, it's centered around game play and antialiasing image quality. Here's a list of the games involved - Quake 3 & Team Arena, IL-2 Sturmovik, Nascar Racing 2002 Demo, Jedi Knight 2, Serious Sam 2, Max Payne Demo, Comanche 4 Demo, Dungeon Siege and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 Demo. Since antialiasing image quality, especially Quincunx and 4XS, was an important aspect of the preview, all of the screen shots were saved in high quality PNG format. For those Slashdot readers that are avid gamers, you might want to check this out."
( Read More... | 121 of 242 comments )
The Lone Gunmen Are Dead
Posted by chrisd on Sunday April 21, @11:16PM
from the and-I-feel-fine dept.
Mike Perry (And many,many others) writes: "In an astounding move after the cancellation of the show, Chris Carter killed off the Lone Gunmen in tonight's episode of the X-Files. After a short introduction that re-introduced the group as trying to save "a world that isn't too kind to idealists," the episode progressed until the Gunmen realized their destiny with Langley's quotes about Joey Ramone, and then Byer's quote "We never gave up, and we never will. In the end, if that's all they can say about us, it'll do." The episode then built to an ending where the Gunmen group gave their lives to thwart a bio-terrorist financed by a business tycoon.I don't know about you guys, but back in the prime of the X-Files, these guys were as close a role model as I could find on television as a kid. I was deeply disappointed with the cancellation of the show (sure the pilot sucked, but the next few episodes were good). I feel glad that these characters were allowed to retire with dignity before the end of the show."
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Finally, somebody decided to make a wearable computer. I mean, what were they thinking not making one earlier? When my PDA died on me last year, where was my wearable PC? When my laptop ran out of battteries, where was my wearable PC? Thought so. I congratulate Charmed for bringing supply to the urgent demands. Bravo.
No way! I'd just run FreeBSD for free on it. FreeBSD is better than leenucks anyways.
The image TechFitsYou.jpg (the bottom of the article) should be saved as a PNG, instead of JPEG (just a 4 or 8 color PNG would look great and would be small, while the highly compressed JPEG looks terrible). The same with the header logo (Header_wireless_everywear.jpg) and the photos (charmit.jpg, CharmITTwiddler146.jpg). If someone knows the webmaster, please tell her/him about it, because it looks very unprofessional. And while I believe that they know the technology and I can believe them about this product, if I hadn't read the Slashdot comments I wouldn't be so sure. Thanks.
My company tried to get a demo unit from Xybernaught for trials with our clients. They finally shipped one. The bad news: they neglected to send us a head-mount display. I mean, what's a wearable PC without the display?
Ok, so we call them. Mind you, we'd had this deal worked out for a month. Their answer: "we don't make them, can't get them, never even had any" --- never mind the fact that we had one with the head-mount about 3 months prior for about 2 days from them.
Ok, so we call $BIG_VENDOR who got us involved with Xybernaught in the first place, and $BIG_VENDOR decided to make a few heads roll. Xybernaught finally ships the head-mount display that they said they didn't have.
While waiting for the display to arrive, the PC breaks. I don't remember what we had to do to get it working, but finally we did. Oh, and part of our presentation was to stream video, but Xybernaught never bothered to send us the camera they promised us. We had to tape a webcam to the demo guy's jacket in order to do video.
Oh yeah, I guess Xybernaught is gonna sue me now for half a mil.
It slips our minds that some of the best connected, high-tech clothing are no further than the local law enforcement. Next time you have a chance, take a look at police officer belt straps and clothing. Pretty slick and they're capable of fragging those uglies too!
Interesting stuff from Charmed.
Lots of applications for doctors, engineers, UPS deliveryboys etc etc. You name it.
I'm sorry if I haven't offended anyone
While supplies last...I will offer my black backpack for you to put your computer in and only charge a fraction of the price!
Niiice.
I'm sorry if I haven't offended anyone
A wearable with a Red Hat, sounds good to me :)
Linda Boreman, who starred as Linda Lovelace in the 1972 pornographic film "Deep Throat" and later became an anti-porn advocate, died Monday of injuries she suffered in a car crash.
She was 53.
Whether you liked her or despised her, I think everyone would agree that she was a contributor to the fabric of America.
small lightweight,firewire,usb,pcmcia,built in camera,15gig harddrive 128+ram, sound,tv out, audio in.
$1500-$2000 - depending which processor and any extras added
add extra long life battery +400$
The case is probably not as rugged but I havent had any problems. Also it has a lcd/monitor for the interim while you wait for that highe res low price covert monitor to come. For "My" list of uses it came out better for me to grab the vaio.
Also, the $6000 price tag is not particularly unreasonable for a commercial wearable computer, eg. Xybernaut's stuff isn't much cheaper. Last year I had the job of purchasing a wearable for our lab -- we almost went with the earlier model of CharmIT, but in the end decided that we needed a bit more power and expandability, so we rolled our own. Had the Crusoe version existed then, we quite probably would have chosen it.
Cheers,
-j.
Wide? Your post formatted nicely at 40 columns. Nice try.
I saw Thad Starner demonstrate a Charmed prototype last year.
I really want one. When the color display becomes affordable I'll buy one.
What makes a wearable computer different from a palm or laptop computer is that you don't have to look away from the real world to see the display. The display appears to float within the real world. Wearable computers have long battery life and keyboards that allow you to type at near full speed while walking.
If you only use your wearable computer to run regular programs or play music it isn't worth the extra money. The only benefit is an extra half hour to do email as you walk to your office.
The target audience for the Charmed kit is people working on wearable-only applications, like the "remembrance agent" or "augmented reality."
Charmed Technologies (once called "Infocharms") has been on Slashdot before, I suggest you go read some threads that criticize the founders and the bogus claims that they've been making.
This company is hype city, nothing but trouble. According to a friend at the Media Lab, the students at the Media Lab think this the company, and their products, are a total joke. One of the founders, Sandy Pendland (prof at the Media Lab), apparently had to quit because of apparent conflicts of interest.
I would stay far, far away from these folks. Take the advice from someone who knows these folks.
Just what am I supposed to do with this - am I missing something? The already existing handhelds are smaller, lighter and even if I buy every type of accessory and CF card out there they are probably still cheaper. And there are some of them that are able to run Linux.
At $200 I would say "OK, nice platform for embedded solutions". But for an order of magnitude more I just don't see the gap that the CharmIT is trying to fill.
their case is made of flexible aluminum
i am holding out for flexible AND transparent
(and i hear rumors that flexible transparent aluminum is also a dessert topping)
Wake me when I can get affordable 1024x768 display sunglasses with a standard connector.
This is such an over-the-top troll it's not even funny. I appreciate the skillfulness, as it actually makes me think you might have gone to MIT, but a few key things just make it unbelievable.
I loved hanging out with a much more down-to-earth middle class demographic instead of the more upper class (or, worse, _aspiring_ to be upper class) demographic of academically comparable schools like Harvard or Yale. I had a great social life since there were plenty of parties, and the people were friendly and never pretended to be anything other than what they were. Plus, you got the freedom and flexibility of a state school with students who had the smarts of a top university.
The crankiest people at MIT were those with a lot of "natural smarts" who never had to work much in high school and/or the ones whose parents refused to (rather than couldn't) contribute to their MIT tuition. When they "woke up" to what was required of them, they never quite recovered, and if their parents didn't support them, it was even worse because their family wouldn't even appreciate the sacrifices they were making.
It's not for everyone, but you can always go to Harvard, where you won't have too work to hard, and everyone will tell you you're golden, along with a near-guarantee of graduating with honors.
Plano eyeglasses (for use if you do not wear eyeglasses),
Now that's knowing your audience.
If you fall off a building, go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will be like hey, free dummy
One of the funniest things I've seen on here in a while. Thanks for the good laugh man, I really needed it. :)
Keep Austin Weird!
Imagine a Beowolf Cluster of THESE!!!
I like this guy.
Check the bottom of his Comparametric Equations page.
He calls PDF, Proprietary Document Format.
The message on the other side of this sig is false.
Wahhh. For the first time, the warmth generated by an overclocked CPU can be used efficiently during winter!
Hi,
I'm a grad student at Georgia Tech. I've been wearing an Espresso in a vest every day, all day for about a year and a half. The Espresso is a smaller version of the Cappuccino.
I went to a lot of trouble to rig it up so that it would work as a wearable, since the fastest off the shelf wearables at the time (266MHz, IIRC) weren't beefy enough to do continuous voice recognition. The Espresso's Pentium III 800MHz is barely adequate for what I want to do, but I'm mostly happy with the system. It runs both Linux and NetBSD (my OS of choice) just fine. I use the USB ports for networking (Ethernet, Ricochet, Wavelan). To power it I just plugged a couple 7.2V Sony InfoLithium camcorder batteries (in series) directly in to the DC input.
In general, the Espresso is a nice little machine; it's put up with a lot of abuse over the last 18 months and I'm going to miss it.
Now that the 800MHz Crusoe is out, I'm switching to a CharmIT as soon as I can. The amount of work it takes to maintain the Espresso has been costly. The designers at SaintSong probably didn't expect that anyone would be wearing an Espresso on a daily basis. I have to constantly deal with things breaking. That's not where I want to spend my time or money, so I see a CharmIT as cheap.
The CharmIT will also be a lot lighter than the Espresso. My Espresso runs for less than three hours per pound of lithium ion batteries. Since I want my wearable to be active during all waking hours, but I don't want to carry four pounds of batteries just for the Espresso, I have to swap batteries when I get to my office and plug in to a wall outlet if I'll be sitting down for a while. (For those of you who were wondering, battery life is one of the main reasons previous wearables ran at such slow clock rates. The CharmIT can get up to 800MHz only because the Crusoe is very efficient.)
Ben Wong
Disclaimer: The professor I work with at Georgia Tech (Thad Starner) is one of the founders of Charmed, so I'm probably biased.