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On the Possible Handtop Paradigm Shift
captainJam writes "Handtops.com has a piece
about the effects of handtops (text
version) such as the OQO,
FlipStart and others
on the computing experience. With a physical size that's slightly larger than
a PDA, a handtop has the power of a standard ultra-portable laptop - 1GHz, 256-512MB
RAM, USB, FireWire, etc. These factors, coupled with a dock (plug in a monitor,
keyboard and mouse) allow one to imagine a world where maybe they won't need a
desktop, or laptop, or mp3 player, video jukebox, digicam, etc. Maybe one day
companies might even be willing to pay for part of your handtop, knowing that
they would have to invest less in upgrading? It's not all rosy, the devices are
still under $2000 and aren't due out until later this fall (OQO) or
Q1-2 2005 (FlipStart), but this is an important shift worth letting the mind ponder." Of course, the OQO has been in development for a while, now.
Handtops.com has a piece about the revolutionary effect of the new handtops? You don't say...
There's a lot of technology that goes nowhere, even with a vocal group of geeks behind it.
These handheld devices are getting more powerful and more useful, but with the specs listed (1GHz, 256-512 RAM), you're not really talking desktop or even normal laptop computing power. That's especially true given that these devices aren't coming out until the Fall or early 2005 (yeah, I'll believe it when I see it).
Post a story when they pack computing power equivalent to a six-month old desktop into a handlheld form factor.
Actually, its not just that...there's one other part that needs improvement...the display. They could put a 9 ghz Opteron and Geforce 99999 in it, but watching on the dinky little screen would be a pain.
I've read ebooks on a pda before and yes- it does work, but I'd really like to see some big innovation in display- like a small holograpic generator...I seem to recall seeing something about a micro projector that might work well even... combine that with that laser-traced displayed keyboard that you can display on any surface and use it, and there might be something pretty keen...Of course you'd have somewhere around 5 minutes of battery life... One problem at a time I guess.
Sig currently under construction. Mind the gap....
Yes, but today, the laptop actually works.
There was this story not long ago on a Laptop that would have primitive PIM functions in BIOS. Sounds a lot cooler to me.
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
It's super that they want to stick faster processors with better screens into smaller devices, however I think we forget the main limiting factor. Batteries have not changed in 10 years, and I think until we can develop a device that runs reasonably well (> 2 hours) on current technology we're still at the same point we are now. Give me better batteries, not faster processors!
truth is i actualy like to have shitty cheap gear that just doesnt do everything. for example if i go hiking or whatever and my cell falls out of my pocket on some rocks im not worried that im going to lose all of my music, designs, etc.
its just a cell so whatever its going to be fine, but if i had to tote along along a handheld does all unit id be a little nervouse to have fun with it in my backpack.
I'm so damned sick of all these stupid gadgets. I want a cell phone to be a cell phone. A computer to be a computer. wtf, quit limiting my product choices by throwing them all into one.
Asshats
A mix of politics and once-bitten, I think. The Newton was a beautiful piece of hardware that turned out to be a financial disaster -- and right when it was showing signs of not being a disaster was when Jobs came back to Apple, and IIRC the Newton was one of the first things to get "Steved." Which is really too bad, because if they'd stuck with it, it could have captured the mindshare (and market share) Palm did a couple of years later. Now, I suspect that anyone who suggests any kind of handheld computer at Apple is greeted with a mix of disdain and horror.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
and they will fail miserably because of one thing...
Vendor lock in mentaility. Until these "new" systems are based on a 100% open system they will fail. eBooks fail because everyone and theri brother hasto have their own format. So when Danny and his old RocketEbook part ways and he buy's a new-fangled ebook he now has to RE-BUY every one of his books. I'm not about to do that with my data and software. If I rely on a expense tracking system that holds it's data in a special XYZ file and then switch to a different brand of palmtop that now runs a completely different OS, I have to re-buy all my software just to access my data!
Bull, make these things run a standard OS... windows if it has to be using a "popular" OS.
This is one reason I settled on a Sharp zaurus, my data is 100% open and I can access it on my pda, my PC and elsewhere if I need to. and in 40 years that data is still readable by me.
These things will be a failure until we start getting cooperation and open standard implimented.
The concept is great, if I could snag my palmtop on my way out of the house, it has my music, the morning tribune, my schedule, mapping data, email etc.. that will allow me to listen to some music while I read the morning paper and alert or even innterupt me about important appointments that morning it would be great. The technology to do this wonderful information convergence is here today, but companies absolutely REFUSE to use open standards to make this happen.
the hardware means nothing, It's in the stupid tricks companies try with these portables that lock a device to a specific vendor that kills them.
and I do not see that changing within the next 10 years.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Without RTFA (it's already /.ed), I'd have to say this sounds a lot like the Apple Newton. I.e. it won't work because it's too big to fit in a pocket, and to small to work comfortably on it. Until we get usable and affordable goggles, and/or plus some kind of input technology that's truly portable [1], these devices won't take off.
1: e.g. digital paper, so I can fold an A3-sized screen/tablet into an A6 package.
I don't think that's really an issue; in 6 years of S/W development at this job, I have *never* had a computer upgraded piecemeal: IT just rolls out completely new PCs every 2 years (or earlier if we complain about something). Right now we have 1.6GHz Thinkpads with 512M ram running Win2k Pro and that'll be just fine for a few more years development.
But I don't see the need for any more portability in the office environment. If I have to take my notepad to a meeting, I just eject it from a docking station and go to the meeting where it will automatically connect to the wireless network if I don't plug it into a network outlet. If I had a smaller device, now I'd need to also take along a full size keyboard to use it efficiently and that would defeat the whole portability issue.
Where I do see these things taking off is in lab and service use. There have been many times I've wished for a tiny PC that I could use to snoop on a serial line as I'm integrating a new device our EE dept just built, instead of having to balance a full size PC and monitor on a lab cart. Service people could connect to a machine with a tiny handheld device that could have service manuals and extensive diagnostics. This is where it would be really useful in my world.