Slashdot Mirror
Spotlight On Windows-Powered Gadgets And Gizmos
An anonymous reader writes "WindowsForDevices has published a big article showcasing seventy-three consumer devices that were on display in Microsoft's device expo at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Each device runs Windows CE, Windows Mobile (Pocket PC, Smartphone, etc.), or Windows XP Embedded. A photo and brief description are provided for each. Some cool stuff!"
Does it run linux?
The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches. -- ee cummings
Does anyone know how to change the colour of my MS Tablet PC? It's just blue all the time...
Here ya go: http://www.linuxdevices.com
(humming the tune "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better...")
*** *** You're just jealous 'cause the voices talk to me... ***
Now the worlds most hated technology item. can be combined with world's most hated OS!
It already did!
Each device should be spec'ed with its estimate of MTBR (mean time between reboots).
what about the [far superior] devices that run linux? :-/
And what about the perpetual motion device, anti-gravity machines, and the fountain of youth too? Why aren't we hearing about them? Sounds like a conspiracy to me, and you've blown the lid off of it, Mr. 'tuxismyfriend.'
Dunno if this was one of the amazing devices shown, but recently an LCD display was installed outside of a food court at my school. All it seems to do is go through a powerpoint-like slideshow, telling us all of our lovely options in eating. For the past two days, however, all it has displayed is the Windows XP default screen saver.
Oh, I'm glad the money I'm paying for my education is going somewhere useful. Though this Windows-based LCD advertisement probably cost thousands of dollars, it's worth every penny in its ability to cause me to ignore the dining halls and make my own food.
Somehow, an advertisement running Windows seems to enhance my ability to ignore it - I'm ignoring two birds with one stone!
-agent oranje.
Cool, a handy list of what not to buy!
an actual quote from one of the devices
"They also wanted to reduce the footprint of their OS image to further harden their OS image from viruses & hackers, just another reason they chose Windows XP Embedded for their device. "
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Recently I was shopping around for a high-end German-made sedan. The new ones were just way out of my price range so I was looking for a recent used model.
After searching everywhere I found an incredible deal. When I questioned the salesman about the extremely low price he explained that the previous owners had died in the vehicle. At first I thought "Yeah, so what?"
It turns out that the previous summer they had been driving through the Florida everglades and gotten lost. They eventually baked to death in the car miles from nowhere when it ran out of gas.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the door was that the seats were permanently stained where the bodies had rotted for over a month in the summer sun. This was followed by a terrible nauseating wave of putrescence. But when I turned the key, I was like, "Ugh gross! The GPS navigation system runs on Windows CE!"
Needless to say, I abandoned all thoughts of purchasing that particular vehicle.
---
Raising the bar on Slashdot trolling since 2003
Engineering is the art of compromise.
do you /. geeks count as a linux device?
rofl...
I wonder why he chose to be anonymous?
ringtones...make the owner of a ringing phone look asinine
Or dead.DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE
okFor posting news about windows on slashdot. ;)
Okay now mod me up
Python script to convert photos into "artsy" portraits: http://p2pbridge.sf.net/pyPortrait/
We were looking at using the X86 version of Windows CE for a kiosk application. I tried to explain why this was a bad idea to the less technically inclined with the following metaphor:
Picture a Steam Locomotive. Its big, robust, kind of ugly, but purely functional. It requires a lot of finesse to operate one, and if you are not careful, you can blow yourself up. On the other hand, it has a rugged, simple design, being mostly a network of pipes. As such, anyone with a pipe wrench and a basic understanding of plumbing can repair a steam locomotive. This is what Linux is like.
Now imagine a Diesel Locomotive. The whole thing is controlled by a simple lever. Push the lever forward, it goes forward, pull it back, the locomotive backs up. The diesel can't pull as much as the steam locomotive, and diesel fuel costs more than coal, but anyone can operate the diesel. However, the diesel engine itself and its accompanying systems are very complicated. Most people (even people knowledgeable about trains) cannot fix a diesel locomotive, because they do not have access to the special tools and knowledge needed to fix the diesel engine. That is what Windows NT is like.
Now picture a handcar. You can't see how the handcar works, but you know that when you pump it up and down, it moves down the track. So you can kind of imagine how it works and use it effectively. Anyone can use it, but most people don't have the patience for it anymore. That is DOS.
Now, to understand Windows CE running on an X86 processor, picture a pleasure yacht sitting on the railroad tracks...
We all had a good laugh, but deployed what may be the world's only X86 CE application anyways.
Unknown host pong.
Windows is great. Install it and you'll turn any useful computer into a buggy gadget.
I was in a building once where the lifts had an LCD display above the door saying what level you were on.
:)
Found out that these displays were running windows.
How I found out - got into a lift and saw 'this program has executed an invalid instruction'.
The Blue Screen of Death does not inspire confidence when stepping into a metal cage hundreds of feet above the ground!