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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."
Fr00st Ps0000t!
fp
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!
Hello, there is a gaping anus:
here.
old enough to set the table, old enough to pass the meat
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.
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
...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... :)
i went to mit and i fucking hated that place. most people are smart enough to avoid it, but every once in a while an innocent kid like me falls for the hype that mit is the best teaching institution in the world, and gets the shaft straight up the ass.
mit is a chaotic place, full of otherwise-intelligent people who could never agree to move a sofa, let alone write an operating system or stratificate into an army for world change. it's a clone farm of supermen who can't tie their own shoes. it's an utter human waste.
linux programmers at mit? never met one. mit people think they are too good for linux, they are too good for everything. but as a result, they never learn to do anything at all. meanwhile the kids at state schools are whipping out device drivers like it's nothing. so much for that top-tier education.
i lost the best years of my life to that place, and in recognition of that fact, today i would gladly hit an mit dork in the face with a baseball bat rather than give him the time of day. and if you look at the way mit dorks are treated by their managers in the workplace, it's pretty clear that this contempt is universal.
mit dorks should be wiped from the face of the earth. let our kids grow up happy and strong, queer and hippify them no longer!
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.
Take this and drink
©1995 Pan Productions
In the Beginning...
Professor Pan was a normal guy until a friend talked him into trying an experimental "smart drug" imported from Switzerland. This drug, known as "Male-X" was touted as an intelligence enhancer, mood elevator, confidence builder, and, most interestingly, a sex-enhancer. Since the good Professor had been a little down-in-the-dumps, and his friend seemed so vibrant, healthy and successful, he agreed to give it a try.
"It just takes a single drop," his friend said. "Keep it refrigerated and a bottle will last you six months."
That night Professor Pan added a drop of the mail-order pharmaceutical to his National Bohemian beer and invited his girlfriend, Chloe, over to his apartment. They had wild jungle sex until 4 a.m., when they were both too sore and tired to go at it again.
"What the hell's gotten into you?" Chloe asked.
Professor Pan winked, but said nothing.
While rooting through the refrigerator the next morning, Chloe found the Male-X hidden behind a jar of cherries. She smiled wickedly
Chloe returned bright and perky the next evening with a bottle of wine. While the Professor was taking a pee, she poured 1/4 of the bottle of Male-X into his wine glass and then, hoping to spend the weekend mostly horizontal, poured another 1/4 of the bottle. She laughed to herself, replacing the bottle in the back of the fridge.
When the Professor returned, she held out her glass in a toast. "To whatever lusty demon crawled into you last night," she said. They clinked classes. "Amen to that," Professor Pan said. He drank his wine.
Within minutes, the Professor felt a rush of lust. His eyes dilated. "Let's get naked," he grunted, pulling off his shorts. Chloe hurriedly pulled her t-shirt over her head and slid out of her jeans. He had never seen anything so beautiful--Chloe seemed to be shining with a supernatural light. His vision was seemingly magnified and enhanced--he found himself staring into her pores, her cells, then backing out to look at her as she changed. She metamorphosed before his eyes, her breasts swelling, growing fantastically large, her hips expanding outward. Her body had begun to balloon into a figure 8, with a small head and legs tapering down to almost nonexistent feet. Chloe's face was tiny and featureless. Am I having some kind of flashback? wondered the Professor. But he was feeling far too good to worry about his state of mind. When Chloe climbed on top of him, he felt like his entire body was ready to shatter into a million little pleasurable supernovas.
The first spasm hit him like an electric shock. The force of his twitching threw Chloe off him and onto the floor. An intense pain wracked his head, and he began screaming. A sudden crack! filled his ears and white light blinded his eyes.
Chloe screamed. "Your head! Your head!"
The Professor, reeling, touched the top of his head.
Something--somethings--were growing there. They were hard. Kind of pointy...
The second wave threw him from the couch. Pain shot through his feet and exploded. He screamed wordlessly. He looked down and saw that his feet had warped, twisted, and become nubby--like hooves. Hair was sprouting out of his skin, thick and coarse.
Chloe had gone silent. She was huddled by the door, terrified.
Professor Pan shook violently again, then slumped against the coffee table. For a moment the room was silent except for Chloe's gasps. Professor Pan's eyes opened and he looked at Chloe--the radiant, archetypal, beautifully misshapen goddess/woman that she had become--and felt a rumbling force rising within him. Color exploded into radiant tadpoles in front of his eyes and he felt all of his soul, all of his being, coalescing into a swirling, white-hot ball of plasma between his legs.
Chloe began screaming, and ran down the apartment stairs when she saw the look in the Professor's eyes. He was no longer the sweet, somewhat melancholy nerd she'd grown to love--he had somehow morphed into a horned, devilish looking,lust-driven beast.
As she ran off into the dark city street, she could hear the clip-clop of his hooves on the asphalt, and his maniacal laughter, approaching from the distance.
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!!!!
why you bothered to obsfucate the goatse link when you clearly announced it as such in the message ?
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..
timothy! you FUCK will dunn goats!
Troll hunters may soon be cheering, as the Canadian government intends to pass a bill removing trolls from the endangered species list, and making them legal to hunt.
This Northern Canadian Spotted Troll eyes the photographer with suspicion, ready to attack if he moves any closer.
Trolls have been protected by the Endangered Magical Creatures Act, passed in 1958, when only an estimated 300 breeding pairs of Northern Spotted Trolls were estimated to be still in the wild. Since then an active captive breeding program and strict anti-hunting legislation have allowed several sub-species to rebound.
Now with numbers in the thousands, altercations with humans are becoming more common. Also, the expansion of human habitation threatens traditional troll territories, and confrontations are inevitable.
"Everyone likes to see trolls in the wild," said Ed Thunter, a senior officer of the Wildlife Management Branch of the Federal Ministry of Peculiar Animals, "but no one wants them in their backyard."
"Unfortunately, once a troll smells human blood they usually camp out nearby and then people start getting killed and eaten. Nature is funny that way."
Ed Thunter should know. His job includes shooting troublesome trolls with a tranquilizer rifle and relocating the creatures to the barren wastes, far from humans, and hopefully far from trouble.
"There are several sub-species that trouble people along the Rockies," said Ed. "There are the common cave trolls who prefer to inhabitat holes dug into the rock and then venture out to hunt, and then there are the rare bridge trolls. In the wild they live in streams under rotting logs, but they can easily adapt to living under bridges or even in culverts. They will stay hidden coming out to grab prey that walks right over their heads. Those ones are really dangerous."
"They seem particularly attracted to fat German tourists," said Ed, shaking his head, "although they also seem to like environmentalists. I think it may be the teal and purple fleece and Goretex. In those cases we don't mind having their numbers thinned...the environmentalists I mean."
The proposed bill will initially open a hunting season of three months in the Fall, and will be run by lottery.
"It seems some days like there are a lot of these creatures out here," said Ed, "but their recovery is still quite fragile. I'm worried that a legal hunt on them will open the floodgates of poaching. There are a lot of people in rural areas who just see trolls as a nuisance."
Despite the hunting ban for the past 44 years, there has always been a market for trolls shot by poachers.
Troll organs are valuable to some traditional mainland Chinese, who will pay vast sums on the black market for the bladder and other bits of offal. The bladder is believed to aid in the production of sperm and improve virility. Others say that it make your feces turn to stone.
"When I was a young man, living just outside of Jasper, we would shoot trolls for sport," said one ex-poacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Their hides weren't worth much, and they were pretty slow and easy to shoot--as long as you could spot them. Sometimes you could come up to a group of them arguing on the best way to cook Eskimos. Once we realized there was money to be made on selling their guts and stuff, I used to supplement my part-time paving job with knocking off a few trolls."
"You had to be careful though," he continued, "I lost my brother when his shotgun misfired, and an angry troll crushed his skull with an oak branch."
Both hunters and wildlife management personnel agree that the way to find trolls is to look for where they live.
"You look for their signs of habitation," said Ed. "Things like heavy iron cooking pots, wooden cages, and piles of human bones. They especially like gnawing on the femurs, so if I see a few of them broken up and scattered around the fire pit I know I've found a nest."
The aboriginal peoples call the trolls I'naq'wa, "giant rats with clubs".
but I'd still 'do' Ricki Lake. She's cute. Bouncy.
1. Rent movie about mean headmaster spanking bare bottoms of naughty boys at private Britain school.
2. See doctor. Get arm up ass surgically removed.
--Metrollica
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".
1. Build wearable computer
3. Profit!
JESUSWANKSCIENTOLOGYDICKOLD
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Horror/Sci Fi writer Stephen King was found dead in his Maine home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.
Hello,
/. If you've seen the XFree86 webpage lately, you'd notice the realy weird "Commerical Products -- comming soon" and etc. Well what's happening is that Xfree86 is being converted into a corporation (yes yes... I think they are currently an Inc), and guess what! They will be giving the source free, but pre compiled binaries would cost 2 dollars a pop. And if you have some exotic hardware you want xfree86 ported on, hehe, it would cost a lot. So where is this headed? Also, btw, they are going to close the cvs (for stability reasons they say), but you can subscribe to the cvs for 1 dollar per 100 MB (not bad?).
... oh Divx fsckerS?)
I just came from BSDCon02, and wondered why no one has mentioned this here on
What do you guys think of this? About everthing we know that's not GPL going commerical at some point (even the ones that we thought were GPL
One more thing I just remembered, under this the advanced driver modes.. Xv.. blah blah would cost (they are trying to modulize those that arnt already as well). But, the basic core would still be free. And the price is not a set price, it's all subscription based just like m$
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
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...)
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
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!.
."
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
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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."
( Read More... | 181 bytes in body | 370 of 645 comments )
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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.
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.
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.