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Mobile Phone as Home Computer?
theodp writes "Citing millions of Japanese consumers as proof it can work, MIT's Philip Greenspun hasissued a call for comments on his hypothesis that the mobile phone can function as a home computer for a substantial number of consumers if it's paired up with an appliance that drives the phone from a full-size keyboard and display."
This is already happening, as functions of the pc are co opted by smaller dedicated devices, mp3 players, pdas for contact storage and other devices. Its long been known that J6P doesn't need 512mb of video ram or a terabyte of disk storage and as the capabilities of "phones" increases this will become a viable option. Unfortunately this is probably what the content providers really want, a movement away from general purpose computers that give users too much control over the content that they buy. Os and device managers will be able to lock in proprietary file types and of course the OS themselves. No not the end of the personal computer just the end of the general computer.
"It's so convenient to have a system where everyone is a criminal" - A. Hitler
Monkey Ball and Snake at 1600x1200 at 76Hz!
Will be a very real threat then.
For the past year, 99% of my data needs have been met with my HP iPAQ h6315 PDA Phone.
All my
My news, weather, e-mail, VNC, ftp, Excel and Word apps are perfect -- no bloat.
My home TV-PC-PVR gets its e-program guide via Bluetooth to my phone to the net. No DSL needed.
When I'm at a customer's office, my WiFi kicks in, automatically.
I write articles, use the built in camera (VGA res only) every day, and even use GPS with it.
No more laptop, desktop or server anywhere. My home TV-PC is nothing but a Tivo made my way. No Internet or office apps.
FWIW, I type with my cokehead-style thumbnail on screen faster than 90% of people with normal keyboards.
So what he's saying is... the phone makes a good computer if you fundamentally change it's features? A full sized keyboard and monitor are not pocket sized. Pnoto.Net, Greenspun's own site would be a very different experience on a pocket sized device.
Email, calendar, text processing and /very/ light web surfing, sure.
But the limitations will be many and huge.
Try running Croquet [ www.opencroquet.org ] on it.
Has anyone else found that the images he used in the article make no sense at all? Is that him standing on that grave? :>
It's not the idea that's bad, its the system. Laptops have come far enough to replace desktops for 99% of people, the cell phone is a long way off.
While my RAZR is a nice little device, the Java engine is slow. Until they can fix the power/heat/speed thing, it's going to be a while still, bluetooth keyboard or not.
AF-Design, web development.
this whole thing assumes I am going to go and buy a phone that has some processing horsepower ... sorry. The phone I have is the model the carrier offers for free every 2 years when I re-up for another service contract.
So, you content providers out tere, here's a tip: get in cahoots with VZW and subsidize my Treo 690 or whatever they will call it, and I might use it. In 2006, when this old Nokia gets swapped out.
From the article:-
The PC is a scaled-down circa 1965 mainframe.
Actually, it's been argued that the microcomputer/personal-computer is actually a scaled up circa 1971 calculator; the first microprocessors were designed for calculator use, and the first microcomputers were exploitations of these by hackers who wanted their own computers. They weren't designed by someone trying to scale down a mainframe, they evolved from someone trying to build a computer from a crude microprocessor.
But that's perhaps disingenuous; I think what he is referring to is the OS; and it has to be said that as they grew in power, personal computers took their cue more and more from powerful mainframe/minicomputer operating systems like Unix.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
.. who thinks that this endless pushing of features onto our mobile phones are stupid?
Why turn our phones into games consoles, video cameras, mp3 players, computers and whatever else we can fit into it, if it doesn't do anything well? We've got digital cameras that can play mp3s badly, mp3 players that can take photos badly, phones that play mp3s and take photos badly. Most people I know who want to listen to mp3s will use an ipod or zen, since the quality is higher and they have more storage, and most people I know who actually take many photos carry round a digital camera. Most people I know who have a camera phone have used the camera only once or twice.
On my ideal phone it would have a phone book, ability to phone people, and the ability to function as a modem for my laptop. Just a plain old black and white screen would be fine though. Maybe there should be an ability to keep a small diary/timetable on it, since we carry it round and it could function as an alerting device.
A friend bought a new HipTop phone/PDA/camera device. It is amazing. The various functions are about 80% of what a laptop can do, but that 80% is done right and only the stuff you need. It could easily replace most of my phone, e-mail, web and photo needs plus it's always on and you can fit it in your pocket.
This is BS. I personally refuse to allow electronic devices inside my psychic aura around my body. I keep my PC keyboard at arms length, and I don't use cell-phones, nor do I wear a watch. My personal time is too private to be constantly interrupted by annoying ring-tones. I have no trouble knowing what time it is, I've memorized the location of every clock at work and other places I go. You can train your body to be a human clock. I look at other peoples watches whenever they are visible. As long as I can access my home computer at least 4 times a week for a couple hours, I'm in touch with the rest of the world.
The Japanese mobile phone market is very distinct from its western counterparts in terms of things such as business model, consumer profile and usage patterns. I'm not sure the Japanese market can be a basis for a deriving a general hypothesis, unless it pertains specifically to Japan. Bear in mind that Japan also has a very high penetration of broadband connectivity, which suggests - at least to me - that the widespread adoption of mobile telephony has not come at the expense of personal computing devices.
I think that in a couple of years when phones have hardware comparable to say, the PSP, this might be a real possibility. I think the biggest barrier to this will be that manufacturers and service providers will try to control the architecture so it is not open like the pc is. Mobile carriers like Vodafone are scared to death of users using free wifi combined with something like Skype to bypass their voice services, which is where they make all their money (Image taken from Economist article). Sony has already shown they are not keen on having homebrew software.
Americans like bigger cars, bigger computers, amd more fries. That's just how it is. There's more space in America. And I don't know about others, but I don't like to squint to read stuff and keep clicking scroll. Maybe the Japanese words take up less pixels so this isnt an issue?
I have heard that it's actually faster to type japanese words on a cell than english words on a keyboard. Can someone confirm or refute this?
American innovation focuses on making things easier. It's a step backward to have to type on a tiny number keyboard. If there were a better way to input data into the cellphone (touchscreen/voice?), and to read it without squinting or scrolling, then it would sell. It's a whole lot easier to call someone than to text them.
People have been saying this for some years now. But he'll get the credit for saying it because he's got fame left over from the Travels with Samantha days.
Let's strip the pc to the mobile phone. Keyboards will be obsolete as well from the moment speech recognition is a mature technology. So away with it. Than we still have the burden of the screen. No problem, my next glasses will strip them away as well.
So, glasses are the hardware of the future! They will replace the pc, phone, camera (just look & shoot), gps navigation, mp3 & video player, etc... Imagine the streets full of people talking to their glasses. Let's hope than the iGlasses are scratch proof.
I for one don't understand what the point of this idea is. Yes, it could be done, but why? What advantages would we get from this? All I can see this doing is make it easier for people to lose every single one of their documents.
A wise man once said, "wtf h4x."
The last thing I want is a phone that crashes and is more susceptible to viruses.
What we really need is a PC that acts as a cell phone, with some kind of fancy belt that lets me wear my mini tower and allows me to attach a lightweight LCD. Lets me game, trade and work anywhere and promotes weight loss.
While the idea is good. I don't think this will fly in the US. I live in Japan and while it is true that people here use it like a computer, its under different circumstances. In Japan mass transit is the way of travel, meaning lots of time on the bus or train when people use their phones. Also the technology and population density is much higher than in the USA.
For a summary of all the stories that would qualify for that section read here
Super brainy? check. Major contributor of code to the community? Check. Absurdly over-inflated sense of own intellectual superiority only offset partly by the fact that he's a professor at MIT? check... (dammit!) But let us not forget that this is the man who asserted that only fools would use a differnt technology stack than tcl (for programming) on AOLserver (for HTTP serving) and Oracle, all running on HP/UX (server O/S) for building database-driven websites. A shame, cos the book on the topic he wrote (and gave away for free) was very insightful, funny, and informative whilst being one of the first books to draw obvious-in-retrospect conclusions about the whole domain of rich applications running over HTTP. I certainly learnt a lot from it without ever using tcl, AOLserver or HP/UX. And I had enough exposure to Oracle to realise that life's too short for that, for at least 99% of users.
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
Both a computer and an appliance these days may have a powerful CPU inside, interface screen and controls, and communications capability. An "appliance" hides this under a focused user interface. A computer comes up with a more generalized interface, afterwards you may select a particular fuctionality. For example people think of an iPod as "music appliance", even though it contains more memory than most PCs in the 20th century and nearly as powerful CPU. If you can "see the computer underneath" in an apppliance either the architect was making it multi-purpose, or implemented the user interface poorly.
It really sounds like Greenspun is just calling for computers that are easier to use and share. He talks about automatically saving documents, having just a single application available for any task, doing backups, etc. The mobile phone seems to come in mostly as a portable storage device (with documents, passwords, contacts) that you can plug into any other computer--err, "Appliance."
The article mainly suggested that we replace a home computer's CPU with a mobile phone. It's implied, or outright stated, that the appliance would have its own hard drive; it'll definitely have its own display, and if you can get a new appliance with different features, you'd need to carry around an indefinite number of drivers on your phone. So your phone OS has to load drivers from the appliance, most likely.
And why shouldn't we use a computer and a phone, and just connect the two? Viruses (and phones are immune, I suppose), upgrades (I suppose phones never need firmware upgrades, security fixes, or anything like that--much less their applications), and the possibility of harddrive failure (again, mobile phones are immune to memory issues).
The listed 'deeper problems' of regular computers boils down to choice.
"A standard PC offers multiple ways to do any given task"
"A standard PC always has the potential for someone to come along and install performance-hogging software or otherwise compromise the system with configuration changes."
"A standardly configured home PC running standard programs cannot have all of its software updated remotely and without the owner's intervention."
I for one welcome our new Telecom Overlords.
I agree. It's stupid. IF I wanted to carry a phone around, I'd want one that had buttons big enough for my manly fingers. No display necessary, just a bloody phone.
I see these things and think; Gee, I can drop this out of my backpack some day and instandly destroy my phone, my mp3 player, my camera... in other words Single Point Of Failure.
It's crap, oh so much crap.
No sir (or madam), you are Not Alone.
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
You have got to be kidding if you take this seriously. So many premises, so many assumptions. For example: "...this requirement could be relaxed on the assumption that a game-lover will own a separate Xbox or PlayStation". Not only do I think that's a bad assumption; but the attraction of the mobile phone as a pc is to _reduce_ clutter, no? Carry on to his reasons why a PC is a bad thing (just the ones I thought were interesting) 1) "A standard PC offers multiple ways to do any given task, thus creating confusion (e.g., email can be sent from Outlook Express, Outlook, clicking right on a document, using a Web-based mail system such as Gmail or Hotmail)". So; we must let someone else (Bill Gates maybe?) decide what we use? 2) "A standard PC needs to be told who are the users and what are their privileges.". Not gonna even touch that one. Needless to say, I think a good few people would love it if this is removed - your bank balance may be a little empty, but hey less hassle. For families, it's even worse. 3) ...
4) "A standard PC always has the potential for someone to come along and install performance-hogging software or otherwise compromise the system with configuration changes.". Author: read your own point 2.
All in all, an interesting concept but very poorly thought-out document.
...more like supporting opinion. It probably should have been included in the article posted yesterday where the president of Sun claimed PCs are relics and advocated computing thru mobile phones.
SSDD
-Charles
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
It doesn't matter how small our laptops get on the inside (save for cooling purposes), it's still going to have a keyboard and a full sized screen. WE aren't getting any smaller. A mobile phone with a keyboard and a full sized screen is... a laptop, except that it's auto-connected to a wireless phone network.
I understand what you're saying, but the proof is in the concept. The keyboard is great, the screen is great, the thumbwheel works a treat. It's the best interface you're going to get in something that small.
Perhaps I'm just being thick, but this seems like another variation on the "make the PC an appliance" theme. The idea certainly has some appeal, but past efforts toward this sort of goal (e.g., the MailStation, WebTV) have had only modest success, if that.
One other thing: I am slightly skeptical of the use of Japan as a demonstration that a Cell phone can catch on as a general-purpose computing device. The Japanese writing system is complicated: two different sets of ideograms plus a set of phonetic symbols. I think this may mean that the difference in input speed between a regular keyboard and the phone keypad is considerably less in Japanese than in a language that uses the [Western] alphabet. (If you have ever seen a Japanese word processor, I think you'll understand what I'm getting at.)
All were failures.
The key line in his article is this: Because nearly every Appliance will generate a $200-600 per year DSL or cable modem revenue stream for the carrier ...
This sounds like a fantasy written to entertain telco executives.
What's more likely to happen is the return of the "Internet appliance", but at a really low price point comparable to a DVD player.
My vision of the future is that "trusted platform" computing will allow things like phones to carry just enough intelligence to run small java (or other platform independent) programs that can authenticate back to the host computer that they have vetted the local hardware and trust it. Establish a secure channel, and then let me mount my desktop.
Computers can become sealed kiosks. Ideally sealed in clear epoxy with a laser etched holographic seal visible inside, for a modicum of mildly hard to defeat physical security (Yeah nothing's perfect--security is an onion).
Let IBM or whomever I want to be my Host service provider take care of keeping my applications up-to-date and conflict free, remotebacking up my data, and upgrading my hard drive space as I need it. I can even add in processors dynamically if I'm doing some real computing
When I need something faster locally, well it aint going to be my phone. Maybe it will be an Xbox or mac-mini with my movie editor and photoshop.
ideally my phone will just authenticate me to the server and validate any local hardware, then get out of the way. the local hard ware can negotiate with the server for how much data it get's trusted with and the ratio to local to remote processing.
So no my phone wont be my computer. and if I leave it in my jean's and wash it I wont care.
Ok, so I assume the Slashdot "editors" at least give a casual glance at the stories before they post them. Would you all mind terribly correcting the often atrocious grammar stories are submitted with? Posts like this give the Grammar Nazi inside me a nervous twitch.
___ alwaysBETA.com - Hey, you've got nothing better to do.
More likely somebody will come up with a bluetooth enabled monitor that can support VNC or X Windows type protocols.
You are absolutely correct. But, he is talking about most people, whose needs are pretty minimal. Right now, I can do simple photo taking, manipulation, and forwarding on my high-end mobile device. I can read various Office documents. Why can't I create these documents efficiently? Yes, power is one such requirement, but the need by others for bizarrely "pretty" documents, which have absolutely no purpose. We all love PowerPoint, no?
The perfect device would be something like the Psion Revo or Nokia Communicator, with the ability to share processor resources. Plug it into the dock, and I have more capabilities. Importantly, these capabilities cannot be eliminated without the dock, simply reduced in power.
I believe that something like emacs holds the key. Graphically it is a low footprint, conceptually it is very powerful. The abiltity to use such a system, combined with remote connections, could drastically change the computing landscape. If I were Google, I wouldn't worry about Microsoft, I'd worry about SBC. Perhaps they recognize that the network holds the true power of computing in the future, as evident by recent moves. Mobile devices replcing computers will be a viable option in the not too distant future.
The regular grandma as a home user, is just as obsessed over the speed and performance of her computer as her teenage grandson playing HL2.
In concept, the phones can do the work, but being accepted to do the work is another story.
-Alex. http://bit.ly/1iVPtfA
Right now, I'm using my PC via an ancient (233Mhz) laptop, via ssh and vnc. I get to use a very light laptop that I bought 3 years ago for $200, and I get the power of my PC's desktop. This laptop is too slow to run a decent desktop convincingly on its own.
My desktop system is more of a blob of data that I latch on to with different terminals over the network. Sometimes I use the PC itself, sometimes I use this laptop, sometimes I use a computer at my parents' house. I've visted people and used a live CD.
It doesn't really matter how big my PC is, if I run it this way. In fact, the smaller the better.
It would be cool to carry an object that had everything in it (like a phone) instead of connecting to my desktop over the network. I think that would be an improvement.
Yea, right. Isn't that "appliance" basically the computer then, and the cel phone the Internet access or digital modem? I guess if you want to really cripple yourself you can limit the processing power of the appliance to the point that it's useless without the cel phone, but is there any point in doing so?
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
"The Japanese writing system is complicated: two different sets of ideograms plus a set of phonetic symbols. I think this may mean that the difference in input speed between a regular keyboard and the phone keypad is considerably less in Japanese than in a language that uses the [Western] alphabet."
You're close but a little bit off. Japanese has two syllabaries, and they represent the same sound combinations. This is a bit like our alphabet having two versions of each letter - uppercase and lowercase. Japanese also uses 2000 or so Chinese ideograms (kanji).
On a Japanese cell phone, each number key has a few syllable characters marked on it, and pressing it a few times gets a Japanese person the desired character. That's not so different from North American phones. But where an English word can be 6-10 letters long, most Japanese characters are 1-3 syllables, so somewhat less typing is involved. Once a word is entered, the software substitutes the right kanji (if any are needed).
For a Japanese person, this can be less awkward than qwerty input on a computer keyboard, which involves an extra step: inputing Roman letters, which turn into Japanese syllables, which turn into kanji as needed.
He who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
Even with today's PCs, "grandma at 65" as well as her ten-year-old grandson can easily be taught the basics in one afternoon - and then they'll be better off (avoiding the most ignorant blunders) for years to come.
Contrary to the claims in TFA, the "secret" to producing happy first-time users may very well be to start explaining "the computer" (i.e. how a machine works in general) before moving on to less important things such as "Windows" (rather not at all) and "the mouse".
1) Most people aren't at home most of the time (this is the worst generalization, but it works). So most people are not sat in front of their computer, most of the time.
2) Most people have long commutes.
3) Most people don't commute by car, so have time to play with the phone.
4) PDAs don't do well in Japan. Most phones have PDA-like features, which means there is no need for PDAs but actually this is wrong because most phones don't synch with computers in any meaningful manner (and I'm looking at you, Sharp. In fact, while I'm looking at you, Sharp, I'd like to ask how it's possible for you to engineer such ill-conceived user interfaces into your phones time after time after time. Maybe you need to think on this when Vodafone finally gets a clue and asks Toshiba to lead with new-generation phones. Not that Vodafone will be around in Japan much longer unless it stops the ex-pat/in-pat/Japanese in-fighting and gets to grips with the way its phone providers make better phones for the competition than for Vodafone. Hello NEC).
5) Cellphone charges are pretty low, in the great scheme of things, so people can use them as recreational devices.
6) For several of the above reasons, phones are used to coordinate meeting up after school/work, are used on trains where voice is banned, and use to access content to pass the time commuting. They combine elements of recreation and communication tools.
In terms of business models, i-mode is more business model than technology, and the i-mode approach works well where it has been introduced outside Japan. Compare that with Vodafone's idiot Live! service, which is painful in comparison.
Well, not enough infoi there to sway anybody, but I'm in the industry and cellphones can be personal computing devices, but only in some or the majority of cultures. I don't think the US is one of those cultures right now: phones are utility devices, rather than fashion statements and recreational devices. Nothing wrong with that. But I think in Japan, gadgets are likely to be in the pocket, whereas in the US they're more likely to be on the desk.
What is described here is exactly what Realm Systems http://www.realmsys.com/ is building - a mobile personal server that projects it UI onto a PC. The biggest flaw in Greenspun's logic is the idea that of selling the applicance. Instead, the Realm MPS focuses on the device side innovation and relies on existing PCs to provide the keyboard, monitor, mouse, and network connection.
What Cell-phone is the best one for running Linux?
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
So they want to have a docking port for a phone. The average user doesn't need much more than 300MHz and 256MB RAM depending on the OS, XP is a resource hog and needs more, so something like Palm OS or the Zaurus OS or maybe even WinCE/Windows Mobile will require a lot less. Other than games the only other need for lots of RAM is playing media, DivX and other compressed video. Yes, it seems lots of people have cell phones these days and more than enough people loose or break them. Would you really want your PC to have a 2yr $50+ a month contract and be technically owned by your cell provieder? I wouldn't
The smallest I see a PC getting anytime soon is the Mac Mini and then only because of the DVD drive. Once high density mini DVDs become common then the size can drop to that of a mini-DVD drive. And what about storage? I have many GB of TV recordings. The article lists "two big hard drives" so it's not using the phone as the home PC, it's just making the home PC more modular with the cpu, mboard and memory being contained in a phone. Without the processor and mboard and video card and all the fans that go with them, there's no need for a large tower case. The largest/fastest hdds are still 3.5" So instead of having everything contained in one location on/under/next to your desk you'll have a docking port and hdds and DVD drive scattered all around your desk. No thanks, I'll pass on that one, just make the phone be a USB device like a PDA. I wonder which cell phone company he's working for. Cell phones are already being loaded with "gadgets" to replace the PDA, the only setback is the small 4-6line display and the multi year few thousand dollar contracts. The next step is to try to replace the PC.
F7 doesn't work, ignore spelling and grammar
It's no full blown computer, but with a few more apps standard (Office apps) and maybe the ability to plug in a USB keychain drive to it I know I wouldn't need much more then that on a regular basis.
I think most people will still need a PC. I mean, you're not ever going to have a good experience running Photoshop on your phone. I don't think all the attachments on a phone make it a good experience either. I'm not hauling all that junk around all the time just in case if I need to use it. There's no reason why there can't be more client-server or cached apps to access larger systems (CRM's, whatever) that would be perfectly suited on a small screen device.
I think one issue the US mobile phone companies have to straighten out before any advanced devices can be released is the 3G and other high-bandwidth systems. You can't realistically expect to have your data hosted at a service provider or have reasonable web browsing without it. And you can't expect people to pay $200 a month either.
Definately these new products need to be Linux-based or at least comaptible. I think the major companies are still a bit scared/confused about the Linux thing, but a lot of great apps come from open-source type projects and even more so in the Linux community. If this doesn't happen, we'd just be at the mercy of the vendor and we won't get very far waiting for them to make us apps.
Will always be watching...
-m
http://www.invisik.com
Or, perhaps, a palmtop that can function as a cell phone? And I would be remiss not to mention that internet connectivity should continue while using the phone capacity.
Whoever said that I ask too much?
Retired from software... maybe. Sort of.
My bet is they will be white and trashy....
"Absurdly over-inflated sense of own intellectual superiority only offset partly by the fact that he's a professor at MIT? check... (dammit!)"
Greenspun does seem to teach at MIT, but his resume doesn't claim that he is a professor. Courses are frequently taught with people from industry. Greenspun doesn't show up in the MIT staff directory.
If people were shown how to install software (including Windows) before they used it, they'd get a better picture of how a computer works and be less worried about things going wrong. It would also show them that most PC/Mac applications work in pretty much the same way. But most computer training goes straight for the option of showing how to use a few applications whilst ignoring even the most simple of operating system tools.
Prefer Linux? Well, maybe check out the Nokia 770 internet tablet. Despite the "Nokia" label, it's not a phone, but a compact internet tablet that you can use with a compatible Bluetooth phone or a WiFi connection. The screen is 800 pixels wide, which is pretty good for web browsing. I'm pretty sure that they'll be a keyboard available for it in 2006 when it gets its first software update. The Nokia 770 should be hitting the streets very soon for a rumoured $300 or so.
Of these two competing products, the Nokia is perhaps the more interesting as it has a modular approach and it means that you don't have to lug a half-pound handset around just to make calls. Just how much access to get to the Linux innards is unknown, but really it's just an appliance rather than a full blown computer. You can betcha that I'm going to get one though!
Never email donotemail@WeAreSpammers.com
I'd like a phone that was just a good phone. It's not just that the phoneness is degraded by the extra features. It's also that the phone is harder to use as a phone just because of the presence of the other features. Sometimes I turn it on and it uses it's last bit of charge to show me a bunch of bright color pictures (promoting the carrier) and then shuts itself down. I suppose there's a way to change that but that's how it came setup. I just want to use it not study it. The way it came set up, I sometimes answer it in speaker phone mode without even realizing it. Another thing: If I had a good phone _and_ a good computer, I could _call_ the computer and talk to it. The phone doesn't have to carry the capability around to give you access to it.
As soon as cell phones can catch up in processing speed to run the latest Windows OS... which will never happen. Windows req's always go up faster than cell phones will be able to catch up. And don't give me that "all most people need is email word and excel". Documents To Go can do that easily, yet I don't see any Palm or PocketPC users using them as their primary computer.
If my phone had a VGA out and the ability to run Powerpoint or
Impress or some such (with embedded full speed video and complex
transition effects - note that my videos are circa 1 Gb in size
each so you figure 10 Gb of fast storage) then I guess I'd
consider giving up my laptop.
Actually no, I also edit my presentations before conferences so
I'd need things like Adobe Illustrator and Matlab to run. So
I guess I'd need a full desktop OS with 50 to 100 Gb HDD and
a processor equivalent of 2.8 GhZ P4. Oh, it also better be able
to read CD and DVD (and soon Blu-Ray as my lab is buying that as
soon as it comes out).
So no, the more I think about it, the less I like the idea of
everything on a cell phone. In fact most people need to be able
to read CDs or DVDs so this idea seems rather inadequate.
If your only use for a computer was checking email, browing websites, and basic time management stuff. For those of use to do actual work on our PC's, with larger programs, a la matlab, etc etc, a cell phone just doesn't have the same functionality of a pc. To have comparable speed, screen size, and input capability, a PC is still unmatched. I've seen tons of nifty apps for the treo and hiptop platforms, but for the large part, I still need to sit in front of a full size screen and get work done. If I want to check the news, weather, email, etc, I could use a phone and that would work just fine, but I'll stick with my monolithic pc for when I need to do some work.
that more people continue to think in old ways. What will replace the current plethora of computing devices in the home is a voice/audio interface, and it won't matter what the device looks like. The wireless phone will become the human interface, and when a display is required, the ubiquitous television will suffice. Keyboards are wireless already, as are mice. When required (which won't be much at all) they will interact with the hidden computer that is part of the entertainment center, using the tv for display, and normally the wireless phone as the interface. If its not as simple as gossiping over the fence, it will never get past the religious OS wars, and on to something really important.
... anyone that needs that little computing power at home is NOT likely to buy a wireless device that complex.... sheeesh, I wish people would remember the human factors... all of them: form factor, human interface, money/cost, usability, coolness, function/usefulness and a few others that marketing guys at Sony know all about.
IM-not-so-HO, until we get past fanatacism over small things, we'll never get to the larger more important issues. Computer science is really only beginning... Windows is not the end of development for computers. Think about the voice operated computer systems on Star Trek or any other scifi show. We have a long way to go. The home computer will not be replace by a mobile device... DUH
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Right now, you get crappy internet features on phones that you need to pay for. If you got the internet and could plug it into a display+keyboard, I'd use it for maybe doing ebay on the road, and checking my email.
God spoke to me.
...do not need a full size keyboard...
I know several journalists who use or has used it as a computer when they are/were out of office.
The newest versions (9300 & 9500) could use their predecessors keyboard...
a cd/dvd drive, a good sized hard drive, 3 usb ports, a fan, a mouse, etc.? Are those also additional add-ons? I'm sorry, but for me, those are non-negotiable pieces of a computer.
When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl
If I read correctly, he advocates putting the components of a PC and some networking equipment into a box and then connect the mobile to said box via USB. Hm. How does connecting a PC and mobile make the mobile into a replacement for the PC? Or alternatively, how does that make the PC any easier to use? How is this any different from a PC, a mobile and synchronization software?!
Oh yeah, there's also the rant how a PC's OS is too complicated for his granny. Guess what, Phil, your granny can't use her mobile either. She can barely remember how to punch in a number and then press GREEN to phone and RED to end the call. She will lose her documents in any environment, and being able to lose them either on the PC or the mobile doesn't change the fact that they are still lost.
A more complicated design will not makes things simpler. No matter how many buzzwords you put into it.
I've echoed similar. A PDA like smart phone thing and a couple of docking stations appliances (work/home) is pretty spiffy, given the main PDA/phone has enough integrated oomph. Mix n match, suit to taste then. Want primarily games and tunes besides the wireless connectivity? Do it then. Primarily a dev environment? Mix to hit that goal. Primarily web surfing and IM? Do able. And yada, yada. With replacable solid state drives the same machine could be several machines in an instant depending on what you want to do, and still be portable and much smaller than a laptop. Not for everyone of course, but this is one very large potential niche market, and it is the direction that convergence is going anyway.
This is my first post, so be kind... :)
/K
Versions of his idea have been floating around for some years now. I don't mean to be sour grapes, but not much novelty here, IMHO.
I think the real need is one of mobility. We're tied to our laptops/desktops because they have OUR applications, OUR environment, configured OUR way, with OUR data. If we could create an appliance that allowed us to carry all of that with us, or network protcols that gave us fast, 24/7 access to those reosurces, then we are not tied to a specific device or place. Right now we are tied to a specific computer for some tasks (e.g. work that requires our personal environment to be productive), or to a specific device (e.g. for listening to music). This is starting to change in exciting ways, but we're certainly not there yet.
I'm not saying we access all that data with the same device or interface, only that it's mobile. We still might normally access that data through different devices, but we would have more flexibility. So a cell phone is a reasonable candidate for this "hub"-like function, in the so many people carry it with them all the time. A wristwatch might be an even better candidate, although the interface to such a tiny object would be an obstacle.
In short, I see the issues of data mobility and interface as distinct concerns.
The move to a pda computer-erplacement would put us back 10-7 years.
If Linux, which in ALL respects is beyond that level of joe-average-usership, is not "ready for the desktop", then why is this?
...they start using something else than Java.
Obviously you have not considered that my modded toaster webserver running BSD is already my home computer.
except the applicance will cost as much as a budget pc, and then what happens when you change phones? oh, well sorry folks, the phone makers will make you buy another 80 dollar appliance connection cable, or the bluetooth will no longer work properly. you think pc interfaces are bad? cell phone interfaces are horrible.
ignorance is bliss. googlefiberatx.com
if that is the primary function you want, don't hang a cheap camera off the phone, start with what you think is a good camera, then add features to that. You just emphasize what is important to you, prioritize. this lets the manufacturer have a lot of products to sell, and lets the consumer have exactly what they want, no more and no less. the no less is the interesting part about miniaturization today. Look at swiss army knives, you can get them from a few blades to egads lookathatthing, and most folks prefer the in between sizes. It's a popular enough device that has stood the test of consumer time. Eventually it spawned the multitool/leatherman concept, another well received idea.
The deal with convergence is, it is possible that most everyone's niche demands can be met, in the priority that they want. You primarily want a simple phone with big numbers and good audio? Fine, you can have that. The next guy wants that, but with some sort of camera that does at least passable photos or real time wireless cam streaming. And on and on.
I think the point is, there's no one size fits everyone, but with todays tech you should soon be able to get a lot closer to exactly what you want, and making the basic unit modular and powerful, it makes it easier to personalise and customise to suit the individual. Hmm, here is a for instance for me, I'd like a phone that did an outstanding job on the wireless part, as well as being a multiband radio receiver, I like talk radio, news, shortwave broadcasts, etc, and would also like it to function as a powerful walkie talkie. A simple webrowser and simple camera would suffice on top of that. I am frequently out in the field (literally, field as in "farm" field), but would like a fast way to see the latest weather radar images, and check on some websites during the day, and also be in close walkie talkie contact with the old homestead. I wouldn't be using it as a primary surfer, but back in the living room if I could plug that thing into a normal display and keyboard and some speakers, well, fat city. Heck, up to a few months ago I was still primarily surfing on an old PP200 system, worked fine for my particular needs, so I know that they are "good enough" now for my purposes horsepower-wise (joe current PDA/smart phones), just waiting for them to drop in price a scosh more before I get one. and where I live, wireless will most likely be the only way I'll ever be offered any sort of broadband, so might as well make the most of it with a better quality PDA/phone thing at the same time. A seemless plug in to make it function as a desktop would be great! If photography is primarily someones gig when they are out and about, what would be wrong with a killer nice camera that could instantly stream your snaps back to some server someplace? have all the nice features and lenses you want, add literally just a couple ounces to that to make it also function as a phone and data transfer unit. I have no idea what a good camera and decent lens weighs, call it a lb or two now. Add just two ounces of wireless to make it a lot more. The weight differential is negligibile then. Maybe you wouldn't like it, but I bet a lot of folks would like that little additional convenience touch.
I've been considering this myself for some time now. It seems kinda redundant to put data on a PDA, then sync it to a desktop, or vice-versa. PDA's are becoming more and more powerful. With increased speed, it would be possible to replace a desktop PC with a PDA and some form of docking station, similar to what a laptop would use, so that you could use a full size keyboard, mouse and monitor. Throw in the right print drivers, and an external ROM drive, and you've got yourself a desktop PC that you can pickup and take with you when you leave the house. If the OS where properly written, it could switch between small screen and full screen modes depending on whether it was docked or not. Personally, I think it's a wonderful idea, and could very well be the direction that home computers are going in. Even if some vendors did try to lock you in to proprietary OS's and applications, someone would figure out a way to change that. Look at the Zaurus, it didn't take long for an open source OS and software to become available for it. You can't run around fearing change because you are afraid it won't change the way you want it to. You have to believe that no matter what, the free and open market will prevail. I mean, even with the PC, it could have very easily been locked into a proprietary system that only ran certain applications, but the market pushed it in the open direction. This is nothing more than a new evolution of an old device.
My software never has bugs.
It just develops random features.
For me, a cell phone just doesn't have the resolution I'd like for a "detached" device, and even PDAs are really too small for general purpose computing. Instead, what I've long wanted is a WiFi thin client with at least an 800x600 touch screen and little else (maybe a USB plug). This is what I *hope* Apple is working on when I see their TabletPC-ish design patents. It'd be nice if it was OS independent (unlike what ViewSonic put out), but there are also some compelling features that would require OS support. Ideally you could have a number of these screens all tied to one computer, so each family member (or small business group) could log into their own account on just the one computer. I would gladly drop a grand for a way to simply use my G5 from another room in the house. The current features of PDAs and cell phones are a cute way to spend upwards of $500, but keeping everything in sync would be a hell of a lot easier if I just had a wireless monitor.
This is an excellent idea, if I don't say so myself. Especially since I told Sharp about this years ago when the SL5000 was out to developers. My idea was that they design the Zaurus so that it can slip into a sled on the back of a custom LCD( with keyboard/mouse ). There, it would get power, drive the LCD, have a fullsize keyboard/mouse, and networking. Hey, my mom still uses the IOpener for email, browsing and games, surely the power in a handheld or "smartphone" can provide these features... With a 3G phone, the network is already there.
It goes with the fact that it makes more sense for iPod users to have the ability to play their music, automatically, to audio devices( car, home stereo, etc ) when in proximity to those devices, instead of having totally different input sources everywhere you go. That's starting to happen in the auto industry with builtin iPod interfaces but a more generic interface is needed. A lowend capability is available with that FM addon and so playback happens in both locations( home and auto ) with just a tuning change. This concept of a handheld also being your computer follows in that concept. The concept of taking YOUR data/information and access personality( applications ) with you. I like it.
This seems to be is a step toward the STNG( Star Trek: Next Gen ) communicators, only instead of centralized computational capabilies, the computer comes with the wearer. Just a beefed up pendant. Actually, the STNG system could be somewhat emulated with a Bluetooth pendant, with the voice profile, combined with a central voice command system and an office full of SunRays. The SunRay system would have to be using Bluetooth instead of the physical ID system they deploy with now.
I like the idea and hope it gains backing, though I see the Microsoft / PC sector fighting this like they did the network computer concept. It means fewer Windows PCs being sold, the PC no longer is the holder of YOUR data/information. Also, the idea of SIMPLIFIED computer features instead of more more more is not the one Microsoft way. But, the phone companies are quite large and would love to be THE network, and this would provide another revenue stream in sales of more devices and add-ons for them. This will be fun to watch.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
This is not an article about phones, it's an article about how to sell computers.
/.) who treat a computer as an appliance to do a handful of things (Websurf, email, Outlook, Word), and are quite dissatisfied with it, because from that perspective, a Windows PC as standardly setup is not very good -- it exposes too much of its internals, has a UI with too many modes, and has some unnecessary choice. Nevertheless, if you sell a computer too many people have slightly conflicting expectations of what it should do, so it is hard to get away from these problems.
The essential observation is that there is a large, wealthy population (including roughly no one on
Now look at this same community. What ARE they satisfied with? -- by and large, their mobile phones (or in some cases their Blackberrys). This may be more true in Europe and Japan than the US. Anyway, how do we make a computer as popular with this group as a phone? Answer sell it as a booster box for that phone. Buy this box, or sign up for a years contract and get this box for free, and your phone gets better! When it's in bluetooth range, or plugged in, it gets to use a bigger screen; has unlimited storage for songs, etc.; is backed up against loss of phone or data; can process faster; can print; etc. etc. In fact, the computer is doing all this, but you don't tell the user that.
If done right, it could be killer idea. All these people will be saying, "I don't need that annoying computer any more. Now I have a booster box and I do everything on my phone". This isn't really true, and most of the people saying it would know that if you challenged them, but that doesn't matter.
I teach at a University and our less technically minded students are exactly the people who would buy this. Not our Gramdmothers but our kids!
1. Many high profile sites and publications (like Popular Science) gave step-by-step instructions on unlocking your hiptop/Sidekick and where to get third-party apps.
2. An application called Hiptones allowed you to add your own ringtones and circumvent T-Mobile's catalog cash cow. T-Mobile is (or was) the only provider to intentionally disable loading external ringtones via email, so the only other way to get them was to purchase them. The author of Hiptones began selling it, and this made Danger and T-Mobile very unhappy. The author and Danger quickly reached an "agreement" where Hiptones would no longer be sold or available at all, and shortly thereafter, Danger was no longer freely giving out developer keys.
I'm really tempted to blame T-Mobile and the other carriers here. From my experiences with the Danger crew, it seems like they'd really like the hiptop to be as open as possible, but the carriers are insisting that they lock it down to pad their precious pockets.
The major concrete technical point made in this article is that the file system should be invisible to the user. This has been tried by literally dozens of groups and all of them have so far failed to produce something usable. Maybe when WinFS comes out it will change things. Steve Jobs and other people at Apple have been trying to erase the distinction between open files and saved files for years (it was done in the Newton) but it never caught on. So I think all these academics who advocate the same GUI innovations for 20 years in a row should
a) Try to make the innovations themselves and either succeed or prove to themselves why it's a bad idea
b) Think of a new GUI innovation that hasn't been beaten to death yet
What does some picture of a clown surfing on a grave have to do with the price of cheese?
... are belong to one basket.
The biggest disadvantage I see in having my phone be my next computing platform -- aside from miniscule storage (solvable) and tiny screen (less solvable, although the rollable OLEDs have potential to 'fan-out' a more media-friendly viewscreen) -- is that the phone companies lock these things down like the Fort Knox of revenue that they are (OK, lousy mixed metaphor, deal with it).
F'rinstance: My Verizon-servivced LG VX4400 has a "Brew"-based OS, which is a Java-like system owned by Qualcomm. Qualcomm gives away a compiler, but alas, you can't give away your software without getting it certified by the carriers, which takes some pretty hefty fees. Because of this, I can't even get a Solitaire program on my phone without paying $2 and up a month. No other software is available for upload, even with tools that can transfer data to and from the device, such as BitPim. I don't know if there are any locks on Verizon's Treo's, I would hope it's still basically a Palm device like any other.
Shareware has made these PC and handheld platforms what they are today. Free and low-cost software for the Palm and Pocket PC make these devices indispensible. Meanwhile, the phone companies have no interest in supporting your use of uncertified software: it costs them time and money to deal with issues they cause, and the more open the system, the bigger vulnerability to malware of all sorts.
I'm also concerned about cost and performance of networking: high-speed wireless data is starting to trickle in, but at outrageous prices ($80/month for Verizon's service for the Treo). And that's for each handset/computing platform. I've got 6 computers in my house (one for each of the four of us, a company-owned laptop and a media server). There's no way I'd shell out those kind of fees for even the four computers for the four of us.
More open platforms, such as WinCE-, Palm-, and Linux-based smartphones make this a possibility, but there's got to be some kind of reasonable family data plan: If I pay someone such as SBC (my local phone carrier) for DSL and cell service, is it reasonable that I can get DSL-based wireless service in my house, and WiMax or similar outside, all at one price?
Design for Use, not Construction!
My cell phone occasionally has trouble making or recieving calls despite 5 bars of signal. They need to get that worked out before I trust it to store my files.
> the mobile phone can function as a home computer for a substantial number of consumers if it's paired up with an appliance that drives the phone from a full-size keyboard and display
;-J
But only if it runs Linux.
Now I can use my cell phone as really small computer. Except that the keyboard and screen are real big. And the computer itself has the power and speed of a Commodore 128. Wheeee! Seriously, I know that the latest phones have much more capable processors memory than the 128, but I'll be really impressed when they have a system the size of a cell phone which can perform all the functions of my desktop. Frankly, most cell phones' user interfaces and capabilities have seriously failed to impress me. But damn I look cool yakking on them, which is the important thing :-)
Who is this delectable creature with an insatiable love of the dead?
Take 2: As of now, I can call my cell remotely, enter my PIN and then hear to the voice messages.
A similar idea: Imagine I have a PC at my school or home, to which I can make a call, and make a request to search for a particular location, or address (you know google around), or maybe get a detail or phone number, of a place I dont know or a place I fed into the system, and then it sends me the info via SMS or as a voice?
If I could remotely log-in to my system at home via cell phone. I can send email by using Blackberry but thats not what I am looking for..
I am not sure if anything from the above is already in implementing stage/implemented that I am unaware of.. if somebody could throw some light..
On se Internetz nobody noes your German.
I live in Japan and have a Japanese cellphone. I use it about less than 10% of the time. Perhaps, since I work out of a home office, and I am more used to the keyboard and widescreen it is a secondary device for me. But, whenever I travel it is indespenible. It has many functions that work effortlessley. Such as the train route finder. I can calaculate routes and fares on the go to any location in Japan rapidly. It has a SD card in it so I can move some data back and forth between my pc easily. I see the younger generation using cellphones extensively, and perhaps they would have more trouble typing on a qwerty keyboard. I think the Japanese Language is well suited for the evolution of language into the next medium. They use a lot of ""Smiley Icons" which match well with their Kangi Characters. I think they are adept at using the tools they have to convey subtle information in increasingly consise formats. As I am studying Japanese speaking, reading and writing. I am admiring in the linguistic simplicity and the brevity of using characters to express complex ideas efficiently. I think the same evolution in chat is hapening in the us for example. Laugh Out Loud is something that is never said in real life. But in online roll playing games. When somebody does or says something funny. People will say LOL. It is ubiquetous in the Massive Multipayer Online Role Playing Enviroment. The avatars will perform a laughing animation on screen. While language changes as our needs for it change, I think the input devices, such as cellphones effect how the change occurs. The politness of the Japanese society, precludes the use of speaking on a cellphone in crowded trains, so the users use a lot more text, images, ...smileys to convey consise thoughts. I think to be really seamless the devices need to interact on much more levels. When people will be able to log into their WOW; World of Warcraft account or their SWG; Star Wars Galaxies account with their cellpphone and control their avatars, than the evolution of control and expression will evolve faster. The evolution inot a seamless form of cummunication has already occured. I admire the young Japanese business people who will, Chat on their cellphones with each other in the same room. They build consensous on a topic before they verbally present it, knowing that they already have majority support from the others in the room. I bet people have gotten married in chat in Japan on their cellphones! LOL
Can you imagine a beowolf cluster of all your common appliances. No need to buy a bigger computer, just buy anouther MP3 player or toaster, running Linux (of course), plug it in, and more computing power for the home based lan.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/05/09/24/215 251.shtml?tid=95&tid=137
Schwartz is of course talking about the web services part of this, but both ideas converge from the opposite direction on the same principle.
I dont know if I agree that PCs will go away, but the idea really holds alot of charm for content providers. The problems for them is that PCs arent really portable, (no, laptops dont count). With a cellphone, which is constantly connected, there is a truly portable device for the providers to push their product to.
"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
what about something a bit bigger - like the much speculated on mini-tablet? That's the next killer app I'm waiting on. Something that runs a full OS but is not as big as a laptop. But still a bit bigger than a PDA. You know - something Newton-sized.
Take it easy. But take it. And if you can get it easy - take it twice.
"MRAM that can think," mimic the functions of the brain. The design is using "a complex interconnected network of nanowires, with computing functions and decisions performed at the nodes where they meet a similar approach to neurons and axons in the brain."
http://www.primidi.com/2005/09/13.html
Slashdot = Sarcasm
The reason for phone lockdowns have less to do with a desire to keep it unaltered but more with infrastructure protection. At the moment, these devices (AFAIK - it's been a while) do not have the capacity to run two isolated platforms, so the air interface (which is also software) is part of the same, single computer. That's also why WinCE based devices are so incredibly crap - the ability to walk and chem gum is quite low if you've wasted so mnay resources. The control an O2 XDA has over its air interface is pathetic - switching it on or off is night impossible if the device is otherwise engaged - it slows to a complete crawl.
Giving unrestricted access to that platform is asking for all sorts of interface problems and attempts to subvert the metering by the great unwashed who will get access to scripts the moment the opportunity is there. I can't quite recall what a mess you can make from the terminal end, but part of the trouble is that the platform uses TCP/IP literally from the receiver onwards as opposed to prevous generation phones which used proprietary forms of signalling and control (also has some potential privacy implications, but if you're worried about that you ought to know that part of getting a carrier license in most countries is agreeing to providing legal intercept - just read the applicable laws - which also explains the nervousness re. VoIP).
So, in a nutshell, I think that in some cases the restrictions exist because of what amounts to a lack of interface isolation. I imagine that to improve because the innovation pressure certainly exists, but as always it'll take time. Not in the least because kit suppliers aren't that bright either - I recall one equipment manufacturer having the bright idea of putting an unrestricted and uncontrolled RJ45 jack on the front of receivers - you thus ended up with a live connection to the control core in some muddy field. I recall that the interm solution was mainly based on epoxy glue.
= Ch =
Insert
A high resolution (at least 1024x768) heads up display. No more high wattage big screen tv at home. Only the keyboard need be exposed on a laptop so liquid spills wont be a major trajedy. Read Ebooks -- all that you need is a way to change page. I use my notebook at present but it is only possible on a hard flat surface because of cooling constraints. The display can't exclude the external environment though-- As all that I have seen do. These mini displays are toys.
this experience was the last straw. i canceled my pay-per-megabyte plan and i have not used the network features since. my next phone will just be a phone.