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Linux Based Tablets Are Coming
CrypticSpawn writes "Read some good news on Diracian; there will be a Linux tablet coming out running Lycoris's Linux distribution, Lycoris Desktop/LX Tablet Edition. What's great is the tablet is the Protege by Toshiba, so you get a laptop and a tablet wrapped up into one. I guess I am a gadget fanatic, I love my Zaurus, now I want this. They even have pictures of it here. Also found another reference of this tablet on PC World, without the pics."
Right now one of the things it is lacking that it really needs is handwritting recognition, which they say will be in the next release.
Did I tell you I'm just about to submit my perpetual motion machine to manufacturing? Motion will be in the next release, though.
But seriously... I hope they're talking about the "next release" as in "the version that will go onto the tablet when it ships." A Tablet Pc is just an expensive doodle pad without the handwriting recognition.
It all goes downhill from first post
This is probably one of the most innovative parts of the posting :-) I don't recall anyone else claiming that before.
yeah..... 1.4 Mhz is definitely the minimum i'd be willing to get.
Let me just make sure I understand this correctly:
/. ramblings...
Windows Tablet PC == Bad
Linux Tablet PC == Good
Ok, continue on with the mindless
Im dreaming ofa big bndwdth, That can resist the
I disagree. The laptop/tablet combination is really a neat idea. You have a keyboard with a touchpad or nipple for mouse movement, but also a touch screen and stylus. The LCD rotates 180 degrees so you can have it in a laptop form factor (LCD and keyboard at 90 degrees), or in a tablet form (like a closed laptop, but with the LCD screen facing outwards). That way, you can carry it around like a notepad and write on it in tablet form, but then sit down, swing it around into a laptop, and use it for typing in a meeting.
I've been thinking about selling my current laptop and buying a tablet to replace it, but prices need to come down a bit more before I do that.
what's great is the Tablet is the Protege by Toshiba
Actually it's a Portege - we have one at work. I really like it quite a lot. There are a few software enhancements that need to be made to XP Tablet, but for a kick-start it's really quite nice. I could even go for one that is a bit thinner, has no keyboard, no hard drive, and 802.11G. Basically a thin client tablet that connects to a server and does everything "Terminal" or X-Server style. That way you additionally wouldn't have to lug around the processor and cooling. You'd get killer awesome battery life too. It would still need a simple 'cradle' style charger, though.
Tables are cool - they just need a little work.
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
This is probably one of the most innovative parts of the posting :-) I don't recall anyone else claiming that before.
Perhaps they meant to say "I consider myself to be very technically inclined, having programmed while drinking VB for the last 8 years doing kernel level programming."
I wonder if the Linux tablets will come in both red and blue?
Windows Tablet PC == Enormous licencing costs that bite into already razor thin margins
Tablet PC sales have been disapointing, and I understand that Microsoft made a deal with one of the manufacturers (I forget which one) that bundles the handwriting recognition software free with the OS while everyone else has to shell out for both. That's gotta be pissing the rest of 'em off.
Once the handwriting app's written, this'll be a perfect market for linux to make some headway in. I only hope they're not boneheaded enough to release the thing without handwriting recognition (maybe banking on the ability to use it as a laptop instead).
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Well, I guess I'm not people then. This is exactly what I want in a laptop. Tablets suck because of the lack of keyboard and I don't want one at all. Laptops suck because of the form, I want to be able to hold it flat and hold it like a book or clipboard when I'm reading text, or just scanning data. Throw in a little stand and it even functions as an electronic picture frame.
This looks just about right.
The Linux part is good. Linux on my desktop, Linux on my laptop.
Lycoris. Oh man. Icky poo! Linux for Windows users for dummies. Who is the intended market for this thing?
Who woulda thunk that they'd make a computer with Linux preloaded that the first thing you had to do was wipe the drive so you could install Linux?
KFG
I mean. It's not a laptop. You can't type on it.
It's not a PDA. You can't put it in your pocket.
It relies on recognizing your handwriting with this pen.
I dunno about the rest of the geeks out there, but I would *much* rather type than write. Typing is faster and more accurate (vs recognition).
Why on earth doesn't their website have more details about the Tablet specific technology that's been integrated into this thing?
They have no details about the character recognition technology at all. I'm also curious about the type of stylus they use. Windows TablePC's use an electromagnetic type detection of the point of the stylus so that you can wrest your hand on the screen without accidentally pushing window controls. In other words, its NOT really a "touchscreen." In this Lycoris tablet, they do call it a "touchscreen." But if this is the same Toshiba then it too must have the same type of LCD right... maybe not necessarily?
In any case, their site is very short on details.
Didn't notice if this has been mentioned yet but this tablet is an exact clone of a Toshiba model that has been available for quite some time now. The Protege 3500 runs on the PIII-M as well, only it comes with Windows XP. The price for the Toshiba version with Windows is around $300 cheaper in retail stores.
Speak for yourself -- don't be so quick to determine what "people" want. I have personally owned a Fujitsu Stylistic slate-style tablet PC, a Toshiba Portege 3500 Hybrid style tablet PC, and of course various standard laptop computers. The style I would choose? The hybrid. There is simply no loss of "convenience" as you put it. There is the obvious ADDED convenience of having ONE device instead of TWO.
Um, you do realize that Centrino is just the brand name for a particular bundle of hardware, right? Intel requires a low power proc, wireless ethernet and a couple of other things for a notebook to be certified Centrino. Most of the Centrino notebooks I've seen have had Pentium M processors, which is *gasp!* a PIII! Why? It's more efficient clock-for-clock than the P4 and draws less power. So why the rebranding? For people like yourself who think P4 > P3 without really understanding why they're using the "old" architechture.
Nope, it's a good thing.
As a Toshiba TabletPC user for the last year or so, I've had numerous times where I've needed to switch between tablet and laptop in a matter of minutes. As a freelance developer, there's no way I'm taking a tablet and a laptop to a clients, that's just nuts.
I tend to use the Toshiba in slate form at meetings - typing can be distracting and too time consuming, whereas with a slate I get to show my notes around and have others annotate them - it's much more natural. When I'm coding, it goes back into laptop mode because there's no way I'm using the handwriting recognition to do that!
Now I'd agree that a traditional laptop with pen input (Acer makes one I believe?) is a bit of a waste of time, but the Toshiba screen swivels around and lies face up on top of the keyboard which gives you a very useable tablet. To this extent, it does give you the advantages of both form factors in one package.
The other issue is market acceptability. Your market is much smaller if you release pure tablets. Making hybrids means that people are willing to try out the tablet features if it means spending a little more than they'd splash out for a laptop, rather than blowing thousands on something they might grow tired of after a month or so.
So to sum up, hybrid tablet/laptops are a good thing and in my opinion, they couldn't have chosen a better hardware platform for the Linux tablet.
You're missing the obvious advantage of having one device instead of two.
In fact, I was just passively reading slashdot in tablet mode on my Portege 3500, when I decided to flip it into laptop mode to quickly write this rebuttal to your ignorant posts. Now I will flip back into tablet mode and continue browsing slashdot like a book.
Now -- let's see... you suggest having two different devices... Am I supposed to carry two devices with me at all times? And if I were browsing this same article on my slate tablet, and wanted to write a length reply like this, I would have to boot up / start using my tablet, navigate to the same page I am already at, and write this reply? Or use a pen that is made for only short input?
I hope you can see that there are clear advantages to the hybrid style.
And when they arrive, the peoples of earth shall TREMBLE under the gaze of their never-closing eyes! The very core of the earth shall be smitten by unquenchable fire, and those who resist the glorious new world order of the Tablets will be used as fuel for the flames!
THE END IS NIGH, 'WARE THE COMING OF THE LINUX BASED TABLETS!!!11
using namespace slashdot;
troll::post();
What is this, some kind of new pain reliever? Take two linux-based tablets and call me in the morning!
-- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
The PC World article says that there is no handwriting recognition included. I would have thought that using X-Stroke would be the best idea. I use it on my iPaq (flashed with Familiar and GPE) all the time!
Come on, now that's a bit hard to swallow...
Pentium M is not just a PIII, it's a mcuh improved PIII with many features borrowed from P4, like a faster front side bus and sse2. ...also, why a tablet would need a lot of cpu power, pentium m is comparable to p4m running at much higher clockspeeds, so i would not say it's underpowered. Oh, and almost forgot: 1 MB L2 cache.
Microsoft, with their market share and cold hard cash, couldn't convince people that tablets were a "good idea" but some minute outfit, using an OS that's has the most arcane GUI of any of the major OSs is going to succeed ?
I don't think so.
Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
I finally was able to use a tablet computer running Windows XP tablet edition.
I was distinctly underwhelmed.
I can certainly see why it would be interesting for vertical applications where it is in essense a replacement for a clipboard. But as a general purpose computing tool? Its clunky, the interface is bad, the software feels prototype-ish.
And while I like the newest toys, I couldn't think of a single practical use for it. I wonder how Microsoft managed to talk companies into building this thing, because I can't believe they'll sell more than a handful.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Wacom's graphics tablets are fully supported by Linux using these drivers. If a tablet PC manufacturer isn't arrogant enough to adopt a Not Invented Here attitude and instead uses the Wacom protocol, their products can work with Linux, today.
All that's needed is some handwriting-input software.
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Even though I work with a bunch of MS consultants who all carry these, I'm yet to see the killer use for tablet PCs that actually makes them more useful than a laptop PC. While laptop vs. tablet remains largely a matter of personal preference, tablets just won't sell.
I can see several potential vertical markets for tablet PCs, but they lack the following:
- a killer app or suite of apps for any one vertical market
- a distinctly "better" interface than laptop PCs for any market
- a new group of users; ones that wouldn't use laptop PCs, but would use one of these
- a cost point that makes them a worthwhile investment. In particular, the Windows OS+tablet interface and the hardware requirements to run them blows the cost out too much
- a much simpler interface. Current tablets are too complex for current non-PC users to use; manufacturers should be looking to *remove* stuff from tablets to make them simpler to use and cheaper to purchase in bulk. Something like an X-terminal with local storage and the ability to sync to central servers makes more sense than an all-singing-dancing laptop-like thing; the only people likely to buy the current crop of tablets are current laptop owners
However...
If the price of the hardware came down, and the tablet was reasonably rugged, I could see some opportunities for schools to take these up. I'm talking primary/secondary schools, or K-12 in US-speak. Take out the price of the Windows licence, and they're suddenly a lot more attractive.
Most schools are having their budgets slashed, so IT spending is very low, but imagine taking a bunch of these and hooking them to something like an LTSP server:
- teachers could use them to mark attendance; most current teachers are hopeless with a keyboard, and prefer writing. I'm inclined to think that a full-screen app that looks just like an attendance book, which has the names of all the students and check boxes next to their names, would go down very well with teachers, particularly if they could enter a "tick" or "cross" with a pen rather than typing stuff in or using a mouse. Laptops just aren't working out for most non-maths/science teachers who have them, in my experience
- teachers grading assignments, particularly if they could take the tablets home, enter their data then do a seamless sync back to the central server
- kids using them in test environments; imagine entering all your answers on the tablet, having the handwriting recognition neaten up the answers, then (for some subjects) getting your results at the end of the class. The marks could immediately go into a central database, and be exposed to parents over the Web; lots of possibilities here...
- learning tools for specific, visual/factual subjects (e.g. geography; imagine all those maps coming to life when you point to them...)
In particular, using LTSP, there's no need for every kid to have one; they could be tied to a class or classroom rather than an individual kid. Maybe physically lock them to desks somehow, or use RFIDs to track their whereabouts - I don't know, ask a hardware guy...
I'd say this could be an interesting opportunity for a vertical market in education.
BTW, IANAT (...teacher), but I have a mother who's an English teacher, and who constantly complains about using laptops because they're just too complicated.
This all comes in the form of Intel's Centrino chipset. So when you look at the specs, you say, "gee, this Tablet has all three of those features", but it doesn't get the Centrino name because it didn't use Intel's chipset.
However, if it looks like a Centrino, and smells like a Centrino.... then it acts like a Centrino.
You can have my one-button mouse when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.
But I'm sure Apple won't be entering the tablet market until it's more stable, they don't need to try anything new right now as they're making money on iPods.
I think for many applications the ability to draw directly onto the screen is much more intuitive than drawing on an off-screen tablet. Getting used to a wacom tablet is like learning to use a mouse for the first time. I don't think the two approaches are equally comparable.
-- Solaris Central - http://w
I want it cheap and lightweight, and I mean 'lightweight' two ways.
The tablet should barely be able to run an OS. It should have minimal RAM, a really small harddrive, and no keyboard, but come with the fastest wireless networking hardware available. For me, a useful tablet is one that I can leave laying around my house and pick up just to wander around and read an email, or browse a website, or read a paper or something. I have a desktop computer for all the hard stuff. If I needed proper portable computing, I'd buy a Powerbook.
I figure this would be most useful for business, too. You install a good wireless network in the building, and people bring the tablets to meetings, or wander the hallways reading whatever it is they think they need to read so urgently. Checklists and meeting notes are sync'd to your PC automatically and wirelessly, so you can just sit down at your computer and do work when you get back to your desk. Forget doing work while walking...nobody does that very well right now with pen and paper anyway.
Because the specs for the machine would be so low, it would be a lot cheaper. You don't have to pay the price of making things really small like a PDA, and you don't have to pay the price of making things powerful, like a good laptop, so you should be able to come up with something farily reasonable.
HUGE misinformed flamebait! Don't you believe it. We just migrated from enterprise Novell servers that were barely keeping up with DNS to linux that totally rocks. We hammer those machines, and they barely notice, AND they just plain work better. For being an Enterprise NOS, Novell's DNS implimentation sucks rocks. I've also replaced IIS servers with Apache on identical hardware, Apache blows IIS away, even with non mod-perl scripts replacing ASP pages. I'm now in a predominantly M$ shop, and believe me, M$ is VERY restrictive. And, I'm sure SMP was in 2.4.9... Oh, and even back then reizer was the choice for robust file systems. Now, EXT3 seems solid. My IBM servers run JFS, unfortunately IBM was a day late porting it to Linux. I will say, though, that Win2k is probably the best Windows release to date. We still have a boat load of problems with it, and the weekly patches eat up time like crazy, and half the time the patches break other stuff.... And it still doesn't perform like linux for network services like DNS or web serving. I just wish more commercial software vendors supported it. I'm starting to see some, our enterprise online radiology imaging package is available on Linux vs. Sun now. Now, back to topic... Linux is pretty awsome on a laptop, as long as the hardware support is there. The support for my Toshiba notebook is only marginal, it takes a day or two of tweaking to get Redhat working on it. Hopfully Toshiba will do a good job of using Linux supported hardware on this thing.
What I was saying was that if the Tablet PC manufacturer had the tablet/pen portion of their hardware use the Wacom protocol (and I can't think of any reason why they couldn't), then drivers already exist.
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Here's a review by pcworld: First Linux Tablet PC I realize it's not as optimistic as most of us would like to think, but we need to remember that the average buyer is the PCWorld technologist or lower.
Given some time and a bunch of developers really motivated to get an awesome linux tablet, I would consider this do-able, but unfortunatley, I don't think that is the case right now.
The Banias CPU, now known as the Pentium M, forced Intel to come face to face with the Megahertz Myth. It was an extension of the Pentium III, this is quite true. Banias is also faster, megahertz for megahertz, than a similar speed Pentium 4. This proved to be such an embarrassment to Intel that they decided not to create a desktop chipset for it as once planned.
I suspect that Pentium M will show up in blade servers and 1U servers eventually, but alas, I will never see a Banias desktop.
Oh yeah...the Pentium III is still pretty damn powerful too, MHz for MHz, and it sucks way less power too. Banias is proof that PIII still had room to scale.
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