Slashdot Mirror
New Tablet PCs With A Linux Option
Oliver Wendell Jones writes "InfoWorld is running an article about a new kind of inexpensive (starting under $800) tablet PC that runs your choice of Windows 2000, Windows XP or the Lindows distro of Linux. The PC is called the DocuNote and features an 8.4" touch screen with digital camera and microphone. The PCs are being created by a company called StepUp, which is formed of a lot of people from the old eMachines organization. DocuNotes are scheduled to start shipping in mid-December."
They're shipping in time for Christmas!
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
GeneralEmergency
I'm glad it runs linux but has a touch screen. That will prevent me from touching 'rm -rf
Seriously, linux w/ a touchscreen?? How useful is that?!
-- People who hate Windows use Linux. People who love UNIX use BSD.
I wonder if Lindows handwriting recognition software will be GPL'ed. Even if it isn't, perhaps it would be usable on other flavors of Linux?
AFAIK there is no high-powered handwriting recognition software readily available for linux. Is that so?
Wah!
I hate to reveal my Mac OS affiliation here in Linux heaven -- but does anyone know of any Apple plans on this front? Tablets have interested me for a really long time, so what if laptops are probably better for most things? ;-)
This is a disadvantage of a single-source hardware platform. Or not: oddly enough Apple has been an innovator there many times over -- SCSI, USB, Firewire, flat-panel iMac, dropping-the-floppy, Newton (oops), Superdrive and so on (please don't bother to correct the ones I got wrong) -- not to say these were all earthshaking, but you'd expect the innovation to come from the huge Wintel market (or not I now have learned, given the slender margins, 3rd-party hardware headaches, and pressure for cloning over novelty).
At this stage Linux doesn't have anything even close to that. Of course it would be fun to hack a Tablet PC but not much productivity could be expected.
And here an article about Tablet PC software.
'It's basically a cheap imitation of Windows.' at which point the customer says:
'No thanks, I'll go with the genuine thing.' As I said, Lindows does nothing for Linux and in fact probably strengthens Microsoft's ability to sell its OS.
?-|||-----x<*))))><
Operating system aside, the form factor _is_ similar. I have my 2k here with me now. The Stepup's will be 8x10, 2.5 pounds. It's actually quite a good size- it'll be obvious if you're carrying it around, but should fit in the crook of the arm nicely. And the price is good, too - $800 is the price of a low-end laptop, and I think this could be more useful. Add a wifi card and VNC, and all of a sudden you have the web pad that MS goes on about, but take it on the road as a separate machine. Could work.
Ditto what others have said - what kind of HWR will this thing have that'll run on Linux?
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
Why not? Perhaps some of the features in Lindows are suitable for a tablet where other linux distributions wouldn't cut it, not to mention that Lindows is much more user friendly than the average linux distribution.
Marketing Dept - Fill the hardrive with Bonzi Buddy and other BundleCrap(TM).
Quality Control - Easy to strip screws included at no additional cost!
or Purchasing - "These Fujistu hard drives are a great deal!"
Ok, this may be slightly off-topic, and it may be a stupid question, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who is wondering -
What's with Lindows everywhere? First they get distribution with Wal-Mart PCs, and now these tablet PCs which look to me like they could be a serious competitor to the $2500 alternatives. Does anyone know anything about the company? Are they a "good" company as far as their open-source work? Are they looking to make any sort of corporate push? And on the technical side, I've never messed with Lindows myself. Is it similar to RedHat, or Debian, or what? Is it stable? Could anyone with experience with Lindows share their opinions and thoughts?
Thanks
Will these tablets be similar to eMachines in quality? In other words, none whatsoever?
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
Here's the site of the company that's making this thing:
http://www.stepupcomputing.com/
Wonder if they'll sell an OS-less version, so we don't have to pay the Windows tax?
---- I made the Kessel Run in under 11 parsecs.
I mean really - why does everyone just suddenly believe these things have a future? I don't mean they would not, but why now?
Is at http://www.docunote.com/.
It looks pretty nice, even has a d-pad/mouse, but alas no thumbboard.
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
And many functions of pen computers don't require handwriting recognition at all (ink notes, browsing, e-books, etc.)--just getting rid of that bulky keyboard alone when it's not needed would be worth the pen computer.
A few things of note:
1. You CAN run Linux on a MS Tablet PC. No one's stopping you. Woo hoo.
2. These have TOUCH SCREENS. MS Tablets have electomagnetic pens, kinda like a Wacom tablet. NOT pressure sensitive like a touch screen.
3. MS Tablets have XP Tablet Edition, with the handwriting recognition/Ink software. Linux doesn't, and seeing the state Linux fonts are currently in ("Linux fonts are fine!! Just copy the TrueType fonts from Windblo... um, nevermind"), I don't think handwriting recognition software is on its way anytime soon (and before anyone brings it up, SourceForge projects below stage 3 or 4 DON'T COUNT).
So what we have here is a glorified Palm running linux or WinXP. Glue a touchscreen LCD onto a brick PC and you're done. Wahoo. I can go back to sleep now, because this in no way offers competition to the MS-based tablets. HAND.
So its about the same as a laptop, but has less power, is way more expensive than a PDA but doesn't fit in your pocket.
How is this inexpensive ? What next "Inexpensive Ferrari" ?
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
A keyboardless computer, that is running Lindows, that is designed by the people who brought us the e-machine. There are so many problems with that idea I don't know where to start.
Give a hand, not a hand-out.
Tablet PC's: "If a PDA can't cut it, you have enough money for a laptop but can't stand keyboards -- this is the platform for you."
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
There is plenty of Linux software designed to run with pen input--after all, Linux has been used on handhelds for a number of years.
Most mouse based applications work naturally with a pen anyway. Web browsing, e-book reading, marking up text, drawing, and things like that work like a charm with standard Linux applications on a Linux-based tablet. And even with no handwriting recognition, an on-screen keyboard makes entering text and data quite easy and quick and, again, requires no application changes (given the modular X11 architecture). And fully integrated handwriting and gesture recognition also already exists for X11.
Maybe it was a lot of work to integrate pen input into Windows, but Linux and X11 are modular and mature enough that this is not an issue.
:wq
Here're a couple of links which may help with this sort of thing:
c ollaboration w/ PDAs)
t ural UI design)
t ch and ink-based toolkit)
o rmal tools for GUI and web design)
- http://www.linuxslate.org
(drivers &c. for Fujitsu and other pen slates, also XScribble (graffiti-like handwriting recogntion)
Various Berkeley Java based Pen / gestural UI things (w/ source):
starting at:
http://guir.cs.berkeley.edu/projects/
NotePals - http://guir.cs.berkeley.edu/projects/notepals/
(
Quill and GDT - http://guir.cs.berkeley.edu/projects/quill/
(ges
SATIN - http://guir.cs.berkeley.edu/projects/satin/
(ske
DENIM and SILK - http://guir.cs.berkeley.edu/projects/denim/
(inf
Someone else already mentioned Squeak, a SmallTalk implementation suitable for use w/ pens www.squeak.org, as well as www.handhelds.org, (which should be obvious)
www.mira2go.com had Linux pen systems pretty recently (and was even advertising here on Slashdot).
The critical issue to my mind is getting some sort of natural ink handling w/ nicely integrated gesture support as well as document annotation.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Jaguar (OS X 10.2) has Inkwell handwriting technology built in (for tablets et. al.). So they have a good foundation.
The typing issue is trivial. I'm nearly certain you can plug in a standard keyboard (it's basically still a laptop, after all), and for those occasions when you can't, a simple app could put a keyboard on the screen and you can type on that.
Also, there's a neat gadget ( http://www.time.com/time/2002/inventions/rob_keybo ard.html )
that could be incorporated pretty easily, although I'm sure it's not in the machine under discussion. (Sorry if the URL is broken in half -- I couldn't figure out how to fix it.)
That's just one reason I consider a passive touchscreen (anything which can depress it can activate it) to an active one (has a special pen that is the only thing that will activate it.)
Here's a few others:
* Losing your stylus doesn't require a $15-$20 (at least) replacement, and render your machine completely dysfunctional until you get it.
* It allows software to become much more intuitive. The original concept of a mouse was to simulate being able to touch the objects on the "desktop" and move them around. The objects will still be a simulation, but the touching will be reality.
This has one medium serious drawback, of course. It means Apple was right to stick with a one-button mouse all this time...
* It opens up a whole bunch of new interface interaction possibilities. For example, to address the one-button,two-button,three-button issue, you could tap with one, two, or three fingers. (Some of the stuff that's been done with right-clicking I actually like. I'd rather not give it up.)
Even more, it makes possible interactions that could not possibly be done with a mouse, such as moving a window around with one hand and resizing it with the other at the same time (or resizing with two fingers on the same hand); or moving two windows (maybe even three or four if you've got big hands and coordination) at once.
How'd you like to design a web page layout by literal "hands-on" design? Eye-hand coordination is built into the species. Remote control devices like mice, trackballs, graphics tablets, etc all make it more difficult to use your mind for the creative, aesthetic side of the work. (Geeks, who usually don't have any aesthetic sense worth speaking of, and who use mice and keyboards more often than any other object, will not get as big a boost in productivity. Sorry.)
Add to that any other activities that involve multiple fingers (musical keyboards, 10-key pads, phone number pads and so on), and I consider a passive touchscreen a much better option than One Pen to Rul... Sorry, started to get carried away.
I am using a tablet pc in compusa right now. cool wireless internet access not compelling enough to compensate for nightmareish pen input interface. Getting this text entered correctly has taken more than 5 minutes...finally had to swith to soft keyboard.which sux to.
novelty at best
This article and many others convince me that Lindows is just what we need to bring GNU/Linux to the masses.
They're engaging in very aggressive, very smart business.
Firstly, naming it Lindows. Sounds like Windows, but doesn't violate the trademark, as a US Court found; partially because, to the dismay of the fuckwits at MS, they don't have rights over everything that sounds like Windows; partially because, as the court also found, Windows is a generic name. This move makes it more likely that Windows users will convert over.
Secondly, making their website look like Apple's Web site, and making their default desktop setup looking like a mix between WinXP and OSX. This helps to bring over Mac and Windows users.
Thirdly, aggressively pursuing OEMs and third parties to sell PC's with Lindows pre-installed. The partnership with Walmart is particularly brilliant. Millions of people shop at Walmart to get a value, and Lindows can capitalize on that by allowing people to get tons of software and a good OS on a $500 dollar PC with the monitor included. Most people already have printers, so it isn't necessary to include the cost of a printer.
Fourthly, by implying this relationship with AOL. Yes, its sneaky, but the only way a company can beat MS and Apple is to play by their game. It doesn't matter that they use sly tactics; what matters is that they're our natural allies.
Fifthly, by basing their distribution around Debian GNU/Linux. Couldn't have picked a more solid distro to base it off of. Also, being true to the GNU ideal will please the faithful.
Sixthly, for, while obeying the GPL, not offering the source code for download over the web free of charge, nor offering their binaries for download free of charge. The GNU GPL does not require that you give away the source for free, it only requires that you mail people the source if requested at no more than what it costs you to mail it to them. GNU GPL also doesn't require that you offer binaries for download over the web. Lindows is taking advantage of that, and employing a real business model. As dot.bomb taught us, its not a viable business model to plan your business around giving something away for free but hoping people will pay for it anyways.
Yes, Lindows is a serious business. Yes, they're aggressive. Yes, they're SOB's. But because their software is based off of the GPL'ed Debian, they're our SOB's. Lindows is a GNU/Linux distribution that will appeal to the masses by offering easy setup and configuration at a very cheap price. PC's sold with Lindows are definately much cheaper than the equivalent PC's sold with Windows. I see it gaining ground. I'd even suggest investing in Lindows as a stockholder.
social sciences can never use experience to verify their statemen
the device from StepUp Computing can be navigated by touching the display with any object
;)
This is going to revolutionalize porn..
(sorry, had to be said