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Cool Linux-based web device
DrStrange writes "I just noticed that Screen Media has updated their pages with info about their upcoming "FreePad"... It's a Linux based wireless
web device and phone with touch screen, and according to one of their techs it's only 2.4cm (less than an inch) thick! The same tech also
told me they'll be using NanoGUI for the graphical frontend! "
One "1 inch = 2.54cm" comment would have been sufficient. :) You guys DO read comment replies before posting your own, yes?
Vidar Hokstad (who works for Screen Media)
you must have really tiny fingers.
tcboo
What on earth is reading a comment reply?
Anyways, in Canada, we have a few people who know how to translate from Metric to people-who-live-in-the-US(weird-measurement) "standard," and one "inch" is 2.54 centimetres.
I really hope you people get with the 20th Century, and become metric. I don't know how you can live with 2.27 stone to one nibble, and 5.67 nibbles to one ounce (or ouch, as it's one of those really evil US measurements).
;-) (Tongue firmly in cheek here)
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
aha this is where you need a convieniently placed tower ashtray, to set the laptop on, flick ash in bowl {my bathroom is my only haven}
Hellooooo!!! Anyone with more than 1 room and access to The Outside World, would want one of these to escape being chained to his immobile computer. I have been scouring the web for just such a product for almost a year now. The closest I came to it was the J-Slate which is very expensive and proprietary. The convenience and price would make all the difference in getting one of these vs. a notebook computer. Short of a voice-activated control panel in every room (a la Star Trek), this would finally bring the computer into daily utility.
tcboo
I can see why they're aiming at the home consumer appliance market in order to sell more units, but I would buy one even if if had to use a PCMCIA(spelling?) modem card and spend a few extra hundred bucks - as long as all the components are perfectly standard (or have open-sourced drivers).
I *hate* using keyboards and would much rather program using a touch screen and a stylus.
Please open this box up to developers!
You know what the imperial system reminds me of? The various hacks and kludges in the Linux Kernel used to deal with the CMD 640 chipset :-)
;-) :-)
;-) is aprox 62 miles an hour (ack, evil). I'd hate to have to do trip calculations in miles. It'd be like doing time calculations, but worse ;-)
It's absolutely horrible.
Here's a rundown of metric for you yanks
Celcius:
0 -> Water freezes (32 f)
100 -> Water boils (212 f)
21 -> Room temperature (70 f)
10 -> Cold enough you want thick clothing (50 f)
36 -> Human body temperature (96.8 f)
32 -> Saskatoon in Summer (90 f) (this is too hot to me
-40 -> Saskatoon in winter (bad days / -40 f)
-20 -> Average winder (-4 f)
Of course, 100kph (the standard for highways in Canadia
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
I'd just like to thank Vidar for answering EVERYONE's questions and providing more info. for "enquiring minds" like ours. Personally, I think this sounds like a cool product -- the thought of checking Slashdot and my e-mail from bed before switching out the light gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Ahh.. technology that might conceivably make my life simpler... Plus it runs Linux -- what's not to love? Please tell me it has at least 16bpp color, and then sign me up!
Nah, it's free as in 'Free speech' ;)
Have you ever noticed how, when somebody wants to work on some data (like recalibration of the shields or something) they have to go SIT BEHIND A WORKSTATION and then DOWNLOAD THE DATA TO THE WORKSTATION before they can start to work on it? I guess that Voyager must be running Windows 4000 or something...
This seems to me like we're getting closer and closer to having those PADD things they have in Star Trek. First there was the palm pilot which was nice, but didn't have much connectivity (I know the newer ones have it now), and now we have this which is even closer to the PADD's level of connectivity.
According to the Technical Manual, the PADD is just a portable computer terminal that also has some local memory.
Now just imagine in a few years when we have college students walking around campus with something like this in hand to write english papers, catch up on reading for their next class, or just play some minesweeper.
...The man of the house ruled supreme in his own restroom. When he would feel a large bowel movement coming on, he would gather a newspaper (magazine etc) and a smokable substance (pipe, cigar, cigarette) and head on down to the bathroom to spend a little quality time.
NOW, however, the man spends considerably less time in the restroom with his BM's. Newspapers just don't cut it anymore. A man is lucky to actually finish his smoke before he flushes.
The FreePad will change this! Back are the days of smelly, smokey, informational fun! The freepad will be a hit in many families!
While I can't speak to the seeing them compete in this market I think this is a great use for it. say you have mechanics, shipping/recieveing folk, etc. They need to see manuals, etc. Put the manuals on the web and use this thing. Great fit I think. Generally you don't care who reads a manual. I knida see them used more as wireless ebooks to the web. True security can be a concern depending on what you are accessing, but if you have pages of how to fix conveyor X then you generally don't care too much who sees it. Or even things like MSDS (?) sheets. The ones that say which materials are stored in the area and what hazards are associated with them. This would be a great application.
I would just be worried about people walking off with em.
-cpd
Well then, HOW MUCH & WHEN CAN I GET ONE?!
tcboo
Looking at the Ericsson's page (as mentioned in an earlier comment), DECT uses ~ 1.9 GHz. Is that
band available stateside?
Obviously 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz are the norm for cordless phones. What exactly are the US-bound DECT devices using?
ISDN speed sounds a little slow compared to all the 11 Mbps 802.11 devices coming out these days.
1) Can I attach it to my network without having to hack around its phone support
2) Does it support either X-Windows client/server or VNC
Personally I would find it extremely useful to be able to wonder about with a pad like this for email, documentation access, continuous systems monitoring whilst away from my desk, etc.
Steven
Stealing a rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly.
The current base stations from Dosh & Amand (who created DMAP, and who are our partner on the wireless technology and also other hardware issues), has an ISDN interface, a serial port and a parallel port. New versions are close to mass production with ethernet and CATV support too.
So the base station is completely stand alone, and acts as a "router" for incoming and outgoing telephony traffic, and as an arbiter for the local DECT units to know which ones are "trusted" (so that you don't get to hijack your neighbours calls, for instance :-)
Almost all major telephone manufacturers that deliver cordless phones in the European market have DECT products. One of the most popular DECT solutions is the Siemens "Gigaset" family.
All DECT handsets use the GAP protocol, and can speak to any DECT base station. So if you install a DECT DMAP capable base station, you can use it with both GAP handsets and for instance the FreePad. (not all base stations are DMAP capable yet, though)
I believe Siemens also recently started shipping Gigasets to the US, but the US systems works on another frequence (as usual with RF equipment, the bands allocated are different in the US and in Europe...), and it's our intention too to use DECT in the US market as well.
Vidar Hokstad
(who works for Screen Media :)
ISDN is dead in the US and only the US. I know DSL is a lot cheaper and better over there, but here in Greece you can get an ISDN line from the (only) telco for about $20 a month (the time charges are the same as for POTS) and the ISP accounts cost a trivial extra amount compared to a 56k modem dialup. AFAIK it's also taken off in Germany and other places in mainland Europe. I also spend half the year in the UK where prices from telcos (actually I've only checked out BT) are crazy, but over here ISDN is the best solution for a digital dialup connection. I'm getting an ISDN line Real Soon Now and I'm really looking for devices that support it. I also have a DECT wireless phone that would work with the FreePad base station (doing what, I don't know, but hey, it works).
Give a monkey half a brain and still he's bound to fry it - Placebo
Actually, it has a smartcard slot that could be used for authentication. But you are right, this isn't our primary market. We want it to be as cheap as possible, and are making lots of deals to bundle it to get it subsidized by misc. service providers, to get it into the hands of people that either don't have PC's (and don't want them), perhaps because they don't want a complex PC just to access the net, as well as the geeks who want it as a simple web access device and advanced phone (look up a number in the white pages on screen, and touch the number to make it dial, etc.) in addition to a normal PC.
All you would have to do is stick one of these devices on every bench. Add a stylus (NOT a screwdriver) and voila, instant access without ever having to leave your bench.
Yes, of course. I thing Boeing did (or is trying to do) exactly this thing. But the problem is that you need hardened hardware for that. You need a pad that will survive drops onto a concrete floor, huge amounts of oil and grime, screwdrivers used in place of styluses, probably also closeness to motors (magnetic fields!) and a myriad of other stuff that I am too lazy to think of right now. Such hardware can be build, but it tends to be expensive, much more so than the $400...
Kaa
Kaa
Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
What kind of standalone processing will this thing do? Handwriting/voice recognition?
Just this week I saw an ad for an AT&T Megaphone center that sounds like the DMAP system. The base system alone was 200.00, and I laughed as I turned the page. I may have to go back and reread the ad again.
This is the first close-to-production item of its kind, and its going to be big. I've been looking for one since I heard about the WEB-Pad. I work from a clip-board, and spend at least an hour a day retyping my notes into the network. The time this will save me rekeying is worth $500 in less than a month. I don't have 20/20 vision, and won't go to a screen smaller than a full size sheet of paper.
I think its great that we're hearing about Linux driven Web-Pad's coming to market before or at the same time as windows based boxes. I think that the open source movement is only beginning to show its potential in new product development, where time to market is everything.
I think within a year Microsoft will be looking for ways to turn off the software patents that keep them out of the new markets linux opens.
Hmm. The website is very light on content... anyone knoe whether there are more detailed specs of this machine anywhere?
So, do I just send them my address, and they send me one?
Ericsson is first with a new device using a new protocol enabling data transmissions at 112 KBps over existing GSM networks. It's called GPRS, and it's currently being implemented by a German operator called T-Mobil. There's more info at www.gprsworld.com.
%japh = (
'name' => 'Niklas Nordebo', 'mail' => 'niklas@nordebo.com',
'work' => 'www.pipe-dd.com', 'phone' => '+46-708-444705'
Although I could see this being useful for corporate types who never get to sit down at their desks and are always lugging 8-lb laptops around, waiting for them to boot, and typing in a 15-word note.
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To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.
I would deffinitely be interested in pricing and ability to run other apps. It would seem to be a viable client machine for linux servers.
I would just like to have one so I could surf the web and check E-mail in my backyard. Unless you could take it with you and use it anywhere you wanted.
Another High tech Toy that I really don't need but it would be cool to have.
It looks like the DynaBook has finally come into fruition. Especially when someone develops a set of Python bindings for whatever widget set they develop on top of NanoGUI.
I want one!
Overall, this looks like a great idea. It is much like Cyrix/NatSemi's Web Pad; only it is smaller and runs Linux instead of QNX. If they can offer this at an attractive price, I'm sure a lot of people will buy it. However, the wireless connection needs a bit of clarification-the system contains a DECT phone and I understand it utilizes the DECT system to connect to a base station in the house. DECT is another great European wireless technology standard (don't want to start another GSM vs. CDMA[insert any American(=Qualcomm) digital wireless technology abbreviation here] debate here; but they are pretty good at this stuff); but it is not common in the U.S. From a geek's point of view, the device looks wonderful. To be able to tap into the vast American market, though, they will need to come up with some other means of wireless connectivity, IMHO. Most people will not trash their existing phone system and go get DECT systems just for being able to use this in their home. And remember, this has a very limited range and will only let you access the Internet in or near your house (or wherever the DECT base station is).
Still, given the incredible track record of Nordic people in wireless communications; I believe they should be able to find a way to make this work in the US using a different technology. Until then, I think this is strictly for Europeans. I am not even sure if DECT is permitted by the FCC in the US. Anyone with info on this??
Zigbee Central: A Zigbee weblog
Damn that thing looks a lot like an old etch-a-sketch!
I am somewhat unsure of the usefullness of such a device. It seems that it needs a normal computer somewhere in the house/office which is actually connected to the net and which feeds the wireless hub that transmits to the pad. So it's not independent like a laptop, and not a PC replacement for the great unwashed. Given that there is already a computer around, and given that the pad is mostly useful for passive web surfing and dealing with small-volume email, I wonder who needs it (besides the buy-the-latest-gadget crowd).
Sure it's cool to sit in a bed/recliner/bathtub, stretch out a hand, pick up the pad, and check some web news. But it's likely to be a bit too expensive for this convenience. I don't think you can do much useful work on this pad, and if I already have a full-blown computer around, I'd rather haul my ass to it to do real thing.
Of course, this is all IMHO and YMMV.
Kaa
Kaa
Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
There are 2.54 cm in 1 inch. So 2.4 cm is
approximately 94% of 1 inch.
The Information Revolution will be fought on the command line.
they say it connects wirelessly to a home network or uses ISDN etc to connect to the internet.
what would be really great is if they built a mobile phone into it so I can suf the web and post on slashdot from anywhere.
'ang on - if i want to post then it will need a keyboard really and will just turn into another Psion 5 clone.
What happened to the wireless terminals that were out there? Wyse used to carry a wireless X terminal and a (shudder) wireless WinTerm quite a while ago, but they dissapeared. IMO they were way way better than all of these low power, limp portables. It was quite something to carry around a 2 pound, wafer-thin screen and keyboard that was really just another display on the mega-computer down the hall.
~GoRK
It's 2.54 cm to the inch.
1 inch = 2.54 cm
Well, well, well; three holes in the ground...
Think NOT... An inch is 2.54cm...
Actually, 1 inch is 2.54 cm. Try units(1) if your on a UN*X box.
%japh = (
'name' => 'Niklas Nordebo', 'mail' => 'niklas@nordebo.com',
'work' => 'www.pipe-dd.com', 'phone' => '+46-708-444705'
Well as a followup to my own post, I actually found the wireless Winterm 2930 on Wyse's discontinued products page (Didn't know they had a page for that!)
~GoRK
This is really interesting actually.
An inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters. Several years ago (never mind how long exactly -- probably in the 70's with the metric hoopla) in order to make EngishMetric conversions absolutely precise for worldwide scientific use, the inch was actually standardized to the centimeter. As far as I know, the inch is now defined as 2.54 centimeters.
~GoRK
I'm still somewhat unclear about the setup. Let me describe how I see it, and you correct me where I am wrong.
OK, the Freepad is, basically, a full-blown computer, in particular it runs the TCP/IP stack and all the accompaniments to it. The Freepad talks IP (among other things, maybe) to the base station, which is essentially a modem (also among other things). Presumably, the Freepad can tell the base station to dial a certain number and log in to the ISP. After the log-in, the base just shuffles IP packets between the phone wire and the Freepad. Currently the base station can handle POTS and ISDN (haven't you noticed it's dead? must be pretty smelly by now). Real soon now it will also support ethernet and CATV. BTW, does supporting CATV mean that the base can act as a cable modem? Or you need a separate cable modem?
So, what is correct and what I got wrong?
BTW I am still doubtful about the utility of a computer larger than a palmtop without a keyboard. And what't the expected price point? At $100-150 it may work. At, say, $400 and above -- fuggedabutit.
Kaa
Kaa
Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
Hey, speed costs money, so if it saves a few bucks, I'm perfectly happy at 2Mb/sec.
One of the primary uses as I see it for a "toy" like this would be to "send" www pages to it from my stationary computer. Say that I find a neato page about a review or something, I want to be able to "sync" this to the pad. So that I can read it eating breakfast, outdoors or just on my bed.
;-)
Streaming MP3's, surfing, email, ICQ etc would also be nice but a portable, large screen is only that wonderful IMHO.
I recon this would be easier if it was just permanently hooked to a computer. Is there any possibilty of a PCI/ISA card as a base-station? (The ethernet option isn't as good actually for me since I have a LAN connection for my stationary computer.) Would this be cheaper or more expensive than a separate base-station? (I would recon cheaper, but who knows?
It is just something I have long wanted someone to make so that I could get it. What can I say, I'm a geek. (Unfortunatlely not a very rich one, so I hope it won't be too expensive.
Ok, so it's got at 12" LCD touch screen. That means absolutely nothing to me. What's the resolution on it? VGA? SVGA? XGA? Those are well defined standards each of which has an exact resolution.
:-)
Laptop makers routinely do the same thing and it really bugs me. Personally, I'm waiting for a portable device with (at least) an 24-bit color XGA touchscreen.
Please?
Marv
I'm not a journalist, but I play one on slashdot
Seriously, the last realm of print magazines in my home is the toilet, since I still spend idle time there, and I haven't figured out a nice way to put in a computer.
Taking a laptop with one isn't really desireable, to heavy to hold up, and resting on the legs is a little to close to the active regions during that particular activity to be confortable.
Ok, 500 USD might be a bit much for 10-15 minutes a day, but if I had that sort of money
I guess one would have to install Cybersitter or something to discourage any guests from improper activities. (I'm going to be moderated down now...)
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If you're a programmer, and happens to live in Norway, and would like to work on the software for the FreePad, mail me at vidarh@screenmedia.no.
</SHAMELESS-PLUG>
Vidar Hokstad
(Yeah, I work for Screen Media)