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Japanese Pocket-Size PC Cube Demonstrated
rocketjam writes "The Japanese company, Personal Media Corporation, has demonstrated a prototype of a cube-shaped pocket-sized computer called the T-Cube (tentative name). The T-Cube runs the T-Engine OS, an operating system apparently being developed by a consortium of Asian companies for embedded devices and networked computers. The machine is about the size of an orange, uses a CPU made by NEC and sports a desktop written for the Chinese Market supporting Multi- and Super-Chinese Character sets. It is scheduled to ship in Q1 of 2004."
End up going home in a pocket.
While it might be the size of a small orange it isn't exactly flat and I don't consider it to be conducive to fitting in my pocket. The other PDA to the left of the screen shot, while being quite a bit taller, is far thinner and would probably fit into a pocket easier than this.
;)
So the OS is some non-standard thing w/probably little or no support, the shape is not really good for "pocket PCs", there is no screen, and everything is in yen and Japanese
No thanks. I'll stick to my rarely stable PocketPC for now.
We've had PDAs for years, since the days of the Apple Newtons and early US Robotics Palms. We've had handhelds like the Casio handheld computer with the 200MHz MediaGX processor from Cyrix in it. We've had HP and Compaq handhelds that are powerful enough to play mp3s for about three years.
Another small computer is cool, but is it really especially newsworthy?
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I know that it's a pain for the Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, et cetera speaking people in the world to use systems mainly built by and for people who speak English, French, and German.
It's a little scary, though, that the east Asian countries are developing their own track of OSes with which we in the west may have to learn to deal. It's also a scary thought that having a group of OSes for one set of people and another set of OSes for another set of people may slow or even reverse the growing commonality of international communication.
Of course, this is coming from an American spoiled by the fact that most of the world is willing to learn my native language. I know enough of two other languages to make do, and enough of a fourth to find a taxi, hospital, restaurant, toilet, and hotel -- enough to travel in a pinch I guess. So I'm not the average Anglophonic snob. But still, it's a bit scary.
Hopefully all the multi-byte character support and such built into the systems such as this can improve the same on other OSes. It' be a shame if we were to be separated by both language and platform from a substantial part of the world.
They're portable: but so are PDAs. And unlike the tcube, PDAs come with an integrated screen and some means for inputting data. These don't, so they're of limited use on the road. Even for telecommuters, you might as well stick with your laptop.
I suppose if you wanted to transport an entire data center to the other side of the floor, or even across town, these could be carried in a crate rather tna shipped on a truck. But, honestly, how often is this a consideration when choosing hardware?
I suppose they could come in handy for a home network or informal hosting operation out of your basement. But unless they're cheap, I doubt people would choose them over the eight too-obolete-for-gaming-but-perfectly-good-for-any- other-purpose desktops they already have in their basements.
What is the target market for these? People who like cute little multicolored boxes?
But...who actually wants this thing? And what are you using it for?
Seems like a natural for the wearable computing platform. This thing can be easily concealed inside a fanny pack, and still be hooked up to more traditional perhiperals when not on-the-go.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
How does a box the size of an orange fit into anyone's apparel? Even with the emphasis on thinness in the PDA/cellphone market, we have to choose between cargo pants and bulging pockets.
Integrated ethernet port? I guess you can wear the computer as a necklace by using the ethernet cable that you'll also have to carry around. Why in the world wouldn't they build in an 802.11(something) chip?
Integrated audio? I hope but doubt that it's also got integrated speakers.
This is just about the low point in bad tech design. I am crazy about the idea of truly portable computing - schlepp your entire data store and OS on a high-density flash card; pop it into any computing device - handheld, notebook, public-access workstation, kiosk - and get instant and full access to your data, according to your preferred interface style, in a presentation appropriately scaled to the device. But toys like this represent a step back from that movement. They're totally useless for a dozen reasons, and they lead people to believe that buzzwords like "wearable computing" have no non-geek future.
- David Stein
Computer over. Virus = very yes.