The US DDR Disney Mix also had a battle mode, which added steps and modified the tempo of your opponent's arrows based on your performance.
As usual in DDR, you have a meter. When you miss steps, your meter starts to drop. Once it hits zero, you lose.
While there might be a slightly new twist on the mechanic in Feet of Fury, it certainly doesn't seem very different from a DDR mode which has been available for at least a year.
I don't get the problem with this. If the military drops a bomb from a mile up on a potentially strategically important location, are they cheating?
If it's important enough to continuously bomb into rubble, then do it. That's just how wars are fought. Now, if there's a glitch in the game that's letting you fire the rocket through what should be solid matter, that's a different story altogether.
Sadly, I was at home the other day watching Cartoon Network, and it seems that Strawberry Shortcake is alive and well, as they're manufacturing new toys, or something. I wasn't paying much attention, but the brand *is* still alive, and I'm assuming that AG has to protect their trademark to prevent any dilution thereof, especially as it pertains to publishable artwork, since that's a decent chunk of their business.
While Penny-Arcade was simply providing a parody of McGee's work, they used a copyrighted name. MAD Magazine, who does this sort of parody all the time, always changes the names to prevent any confusion.
While you have a valid point in the general sense, this specific case actually *does* pertain to a property which is still in use.
Umm... do you have any idea how large PruSec *is?*
16.7 million IPs is overkill, fine, but 256 Class Bs, or 65536 Class Cs (yes, I'm overgeneralizing) might actually make sense for them. Granted, VPNs eliminate a lot of the need that they might have had in the past for public IPs going everywhere, budon't like thatt any corporation of Prudential's size will have enough employees, offices, and servers to utilize a fairly large portion of a class A. It's not like it's some simple flat address space which can have small chunks allocated off willy-nilly to any physical location. Routers don't like that. Netadmins used to not like it. Everything has to be done in powers of 2, and it gets... sloppy at best.
In a perfect world, yes, PruSec and companies like them should be using NAT, VPNs, and at best, a handful of Class B networks. However, we don't live in that perfect world, and any sufficiently old network simply can't be adapted to make more efficient use of the available address space without spending lots of time and money which can be better allocated to projects which would increase profits.
While I agree to some extent that all the above listed groups can make do with a smaller address space, I wouldn't go so far as to call them all squatters.
These days, with enough additional OS packages, Windows and OS X are about equal. I've got a coworker in my office running the US version of Win2K with everything set to Japanese. It's rather annoying when I've got to use that workstation, but it's certainly Japanese. OS X, of course, is known for having excellent language support, and Apple is committed to supporting the Japanese market, so she should be fine either way.
The real issue, then, isn't the CPU. It's the overall design.
In Japan, anyone using a full sized laptop will stick out like a sore thumb. I strongly recommend something small and light, especially since she might need to carry it around a lot. No one wants to lug an 8 pound laptop around.
I used to own a Toshiba Libretto 110CT, one of the smallest laptops available in the US. It was a great system, but with a 233 MHz processor, I decided it was time to move on. As a whole, though, subnotes are completely usable systems, and I can't remember a single time that I ever left it behind due to packing constraints. Sure, I left it at home when I went canoeing, but that's just common sense. Get her something like a Libretto (almost any Japanese ultralight, really, although I've heard that Sony's stuff is somewhat flaky,) and she's almost guaranteed to have her laptop handy whenever she needs it. A good modern example might be the Fujitsu P-series laptops.
The other option, bringing you back to full-size keyboards and the like, are the Powerbooks (and iBooks, although those haven't been updated in a while.) The 17" is simply massive, and has no place in a traveling student's hands. The 15" is pretty nice, but hasn't been updated with the new Aluminum Powerbooks. The 12" Powerbook may actually be a bit more power than she needs, of course, and you may want to lean towards a 12" iBook. Out of the Powerbooks, the 12" is still the cheapest, although I'm sure if you looked at refurbished and used models, you could find a great deal on a 15", which is a bit older, and a bit more "tried and true."
In general, though, you should look at portability over power. A nice small laptop will end up in her bag a lot more often than some 6-8 pound behemoth. And, as long as she's got an Ethernet connection, I don't think there are any major issues to worry about re: adapters and the like. Power should be close enough to the US norm to work fine, and the only thing I'd really worry about are modems, and drivers if she gets some crazy Japanese cellphone and wants to hook it up to the laptop.
Well yeah... Aside from the G4 chip, GeForce 420, SuperDrive option, 802.11g, doubled disk capacity, and built-in Bluetooth, it's basically an iBook.
I'm using one right now, and while it sometimes gets a bit warm, it's never been so bad that I was forced to stop using it. This is with it running full tilt burning CDs and the like, and most power management features turned off.
If for some reason, you *need* all the features which set the 12" Powerbook apart from the iBook, by all means, go for it. I personally think that the combination of options and the form factor are perfect for my needs. It's certainly more than an iBook.
Now, if you're willing to spend $100 on the GBA SP, then you've got a point:)
I've got a GBA, and while visibilty is crap in some cases, that's more than made up for in the sheer bulk of good games. Now, if you already have the PDA, I suppose there's no harm in grabbing a few games for it...
You clearly never worked on the other end, did you?
I did. It's all scripted. The trick is to learn their scripts better than they know them. When I first dealt with Dell Support, it was just as hellish for me as you claim.
Once I caught on to their pattern, I started calling, stating a Service Tag, and then mentioned the problem, along with a laundry lists of tests which I had already run (I hadn't, but much like you, I knew what was wrong.)
This made their job easier (they could technically claim that they followed the script) and I usually had a replacement part sent via next-day air as soon as it broke.
They're just support guys. The guys who answer the phone are trained to narrow down issues so that they don't end up giving parts away all the time. Once you learn their system, though, it's a cakewalk.
I don't see why anyone would add the ports without adding the hardware to use them, but otherwise, it's a good idea. PCMCIA-style devices in the back of a PC would make life easier for upgrades and the like.
I'd love to be able to plug 6 or 7 PCMCIA cards in the back of a desktop, for example, and upgrade from 10 Mbit Ethernet to 100 Mbit without rebooting, or drop in a modem in an emergency. Some of these features wouldn't work very well with Type II cards, but a load of Type III slots would work wonderfully.
Of course, the main issue is, as always, one of engineering. Bus speeds increase over time. PCMCIA can't handle anything close to 100Mbit/sec, so I've got a Cardbus Ethernet Adapter instead. Gigabit might eventually become an option, or Firewire 800, and then we'll need a new bus *anyway.*
You'd need an expansion backplane to handle this properly, such that you would crack open the box, replace the backplane, and then you can support the next PCMCIA standard. Of course, ideas like this have been done before, and tend to fail miserably for consumers, if only because they're too expensive to implement.
There are a handful of desktops that have had PCMCIA slots, though. DEC Multias come to mind, although I'm sure that there are others. It's a good concept, although it's apparently just not useful enough to take off.
It was more like "Linux is free only if your time has no value."
As an SGI user at the time, that probably made sense to him. And honestly, back when he said it, Linux wasn't even halfway usable on a workstation. It was a toy. A freely distributed model kit with half the parts missing, and garbled instructions for fabricating your own additional pieces.
So yes, Linux has improved, and he went back to it once it did. Hell, it works well on a lot of hardware now, and it's actually a usable workstation. I'm happy enough with my Linux box here at work, since I'm even less inclined to goof off anyway, as long as I ignore the fact that xkobo is installed... =)
Re:A tale of two pricepoints: Mossberg vs. IDC
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It gets worse when you load up the systems.
I'm a big subnote geek, so until recently, I didn't really care much for the Mac platform. There simply wasn't a decent subnote that didn't feel like a compromise to me (I'm sorry, but a G3 laptop to a nerd like me might as well be a hand-me-down.)
So, I started loading up 12" AlBook configs, and compared them to other laptops of similar size and battery life.
I still haven't found anything as cost effective as the AlBook. Most PC laptops with decent battery life are Crusoe-based, and I've used a Crusoe laptop. It's painful. It's not bad for your average user, but it's bad for me.
When I spec out the mini AlBook to the hilt, it's maybe $200 more for a system with double the RAM and disk space of the nearest x86 competitor, and that ain't bad.
Now, how are subnotes a "declining category" to this bozo? Who in their right mind wants to lug an 8 pound system that's much larger than a typical (paper) notebook? I'll happily give up a few features for a smaller laptop which I can always take with me than the massive powerhouse which tends to stay at home.
Then again, this is IDC. It'll be a cold day in hell before they say anything positive about Apple.
My Tivo has a PowerPC CPU, and it hardly screams. Then again, it's only running at 50 MHz or so.
Most G4's these days are running at 800+ MHz, and the slowest ones to my recollection are maybe 400 MHz. This chip tops out around 380 MHz, and slows down to 152 MHz when necessary. That's far from "screaming." I don't even know if this 405LP has an FPU, though, since it's not a low-power G4 chip. It's probably closer to the early PowerMacs than the G3, and more crippled from there to save power.
Most CPU cores have low-power variants. Ask anyone with an HP 200LX, for example. As it stands, the PowerPC architecture can be very fast, but it can also be tuned down and still provide acceptable processing power in a handheld. You just have to determine what you need. It's not like people will be carrying around G4 handhelds too soon, although it's certainly possible in the future.
XIP's in Pocket PC's now? Wow, I'm really out of the loop these days. Not that I'm surprised by that, mind you.
"Easier," on the other hand, is very subjective. These days, you don't actually *need* files to be in PDB format to be usable. Finally, that "design" that you're mentioning has been in place for years. The interface didn't really get locked in until Palm finally added SD slots, but it's not as rare as you seem to think. Whatever inefficiencies you've noticed simply haven't cropped up yet. Anyway, the main reason I picked the Clie was because it's the only line of OS 5 devices to support two slots. I'll readily admit that the Memory Stick is an inferior design, but just because 512MB cards aren't out now doesn't mean they'll never be released. It's just flash RAM.
As for your Axim, there's a good reason I left it out. Currently, it's undercutting every competitor on the market. You simply won't find a cheaper PPC with as many features without robbing a supply truck. I wouldn't be surprised if a deluge of dirt-cheap Axims finally gives MS the advantage, and hell, I'd consider getting one.
However, the Tungsten T (and probably the Clie NX-series in short order) can play Ogg files, thanks to Aerodrome Software, and now that the platform can probably handle DivX, I'm sure someone's about to write the player. From tooling about with an NX-70, I know that it can at least handle blitting the video, now it's just a matter of decoding. Quake and Doom, on the other hand, might take a while. I'm not bothered by this, but that's mostly because I go mad without a very specific keyboard and optical mouse combat in any FPS. That's a matter of opinion.
Yes, the Axim wins. Slap a PalmOS Emulator on it, and it still wins, and lets you treat it like a Palm (ideally.) Sure, one out of four isn't great for the Palm to try to compete, but they also *just* entered this end of the market. Prior to OS 5, the Palm platform was designed for working as a PDA, not as a full blown PC-like platform. I'd have to give it at least a year before assuming that it's even close to maturity.
Actually, his point was that they seemed overpriced for their capabilities as compared to a Pocket PC.
He's comparing the OS 5 handhelds based on some kind of functionality/price ratio, and I'm simply arguing that he's pretty much missing what the OS 5 handhelds are capable of, as opposed to an m515.
Anyway, the original poster referred to "Palm devices." Last time I checked (about 5 minutes ago,) the Clie *is* a Palm device. So is the Tungsten T. And they're both around the same price. The difference is that I've actually tooled around enough with an NX-series Clie to go on about its specifications, while all I know about the Tungsten is what I see on websites.
Now, for that 5Mb Spreadsheet, I'm sure that it's a major issue for some people, but when you need to allocate another 5 Mb to load the damned thing, plus the overhead for Pocket Excel, where is your advantage? You just wasted a chunk of RAM to copy your program out, which is already at least double the size of its PalmOS counterpart.
More efficient use of RAM means that the difference you've cited essentially becomes worthless. Besides, anyone crazy enough to want to carry around multiple 5MB spreadsheets is going to need a memory card, no matter which platform they're on.
On the basis of raw capabilities, the OS 5 devices are simply priced very fairly compared to most Pocket PCs, regardless of the hardware inside.
OS 5 handhelds are about half the speed (at worst) of the latest PPCs using the same CPU, and have half the RAM.
However, with Execute In Place, and the generally more efficient Palm software, those 32 MB of RAM and 150-200 MHz of CPU power are actually getting you a lot more than the PPCs can provide.
Let's just pick one example, the Clie NX60 (no camera, so we're back at a reasonable price)
- 200 MHz ARM chip (XScale, I think) - 32 MB of RAM - CF slot (currently only supports an 802.11b card, third party support may come later for other devices) - Memory stick slot - Keyboard - 320x480 resolution - Audio recording and playback
Say what you want about Memory Sticks, the point is that it can hold extra storage space and still have room for wireless.
With the exception of the Dell Axim, which is horrendously inexpensive, I'd say the new OS5 handhelds are very reasonably priced, given their capabilities.
9 volt battery adapters exist for the rechargable Palms, too, making life even nicer, since you can then get the best of both worlds. I think you can possibly use one with the Tungsten T as well, so you'll have a decent amount of power, lots of apps, and an insane battery life (relative to anything else in that class, at least) in a nicely portable device.
Honestly, I get by without my laptop fairly often, but it's nice as a portable HotSync station and a decent way of getting online when I absolutely need to, thanks to the wireless modem and WiFi cards. Expansys carries the 9V adapter, for those who are interested. They claim it works with just about any rechargable with a Universal Connector.
They're doing so in response to their competitors.
When Sony dropped the PS2 to $200 per unit, it was in response to the lower price of the Gamecube (a less expensive system to manufacture and distribute,) but they were also capable of sustaining profit at the lowered cost by that time.
If Microsoft were to have lowered their prices first, it would be considered dumping since they would be selling at a loss *to attempt to outlast their competitors.*
They're not lowering the Xbox prices to hurt Sony, they're lowering it to keep up with them.
Now, admittedly, that would get fuzzy if Sony were actually capable of selling $75 PS2's and still turning a profit, but at that point, Sony would be absolutely permitted to sell their PS2 at that cost, because they're not selling at a loss to hurt their competition as much as they're selling at reduced profit to match the lowering demand.
There's a fine line between price wars and dumping, and Sony is presently in control of that line.
They can't chip away forever when Sony makes money on raw hardware sales.
Remember, Sony drops money into hardware R&D anyway. The PS2 can essentially be written off as a happy coincidence, as the funds going to that development were as good as spent. Now, add in the fact that this is a custom piece of barebones gear, and you've got a console that costs less than $200 to assemble, package, and distribute. Sony put in a fixed cost for development, and then pay a per unit cost for manufacturing (well, per 1000s of units, more accurately) of the system unit. That total per-system cost was under $300 at launch, and is only going down as they sell more units.
Now, Sony expects to sell a minimum of 2 games per console, but will most likely sell four or more over time. Not to mention, those old PSX classics also run, so they can make profits from those games without selling the original console.
Accessories? Also pure profit.
If Microsoft is losing $177 million in three months within that division, and Sony is *turning a profit,* then how are they going to chip away at anything? MS can't legally start dumping consoles at $75 a piece since they'd be selling at a loss. In a few years, Sony can do exactly that, and get away with it, too. Then MS will be forced to follow that lead in order to keep up.
Sony isn't exactly the kind of company that you try these practices on, as they're well prepared to deal with the consequences. The real problem is that MS spent too much time hyping the box and not enough time figuring out how to make it *cheap.* The Xbox needed to be a dirt cheap system, and MS simply lacked the infrastructure to pull that off. Does that mean it will fail? Maybe. It wouldn't be the first time that Microsoft made a mistake, but you can be sure that they'll learn from it.
In the end, though, the Xbox will have had a semi-decent run, and MS will just use the information to make a better Xbox 2.
I'm usually not a big fan of disposable batteries, but there *is* a way around the rechargable problem for handhelds. Companies are releasing adapters that let you hook up a 9 volt battery. It's ugly as hell, but it can be a lifesaver. Google for it, if you care. I'm not sure if anyone's doing this for Pocket PCs, or if it would even work for those.
I just saw Rashomon recently. It told the story from different points of view, but had completely different tellings of the same event based on the point of view in question. The Simpsons episode didn't change a thing, it just added more detail with each retelling. There was a brief bit of Lola Rennt in it (the scoring and the scene with Lisa running to school) as well, but I don't dare consider it much of a parody of either.
I've been a soft lens user for the past 7 years or so, and honestly, I can't imagine using anything that's any less comfortable. They work well enough, but I just don't get very much sleep these days, so I end up feeling some minor irritation every so often (which goes away once I get a good amount of sleep)
For me, my eyes are the first to protest about sleep. However, I'm a sysadmin, and spend a good 12 hours a day or more in front of a screen of some sort. Even with the irritation, I've never actually had a problem seeing the screen clearly. This might actually lead back to my lack of sleep, of course, since I end up blinking a lot more.:-)
In my case, I don't really need the improvements that hard lenses might provide (I use torics, actually) so I've been quite happy with what I've got.
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The US DDR Disney Mix also had a battle mode, which added steps and modified the tempo of your opponent's arrows based on your performance.
As usual in DDR, you have a meter. When you miss steps, your meter starts to drop. Once it hits zero, you lose.
While there might be a slightly new twist on the mechanic in Feet of Fury, it certainly doesn't seem very different from a DDR mode which has been available for at least a year.
I don't get the problem with this. If the military drops a bomb from a mile up on a potentially strategically important location, are they cheating?
If it's important enough to continuously bomb into rubble, then do it. That's just how wars are fought. Now, if there's a glitch in the game that's letting you fire the rocket through what should be solid matter, that's a different story altogether.
I'll keep this as spoiler free as possible and just say that you're right, and the film addressed that just fine.
Sadly, I was at home the other day watching Cartoon Network, and it seems that Strawberry Shortcake is alive and well, as they're manufacturing new toys, or something. I wasn't paying much attention, but the brand *is* still alive, and I'm assuming that AG has to protect their trademark to prevent any dilution thereof, especially as it pertains to publishable artwork, since that's a decent chunk of their business.
While Penny-Arcade was simply providing a parody of McGee's work, they used a copyrighted name. MAD Magazine, who does this sort of parody all the time, always changes the names to prevent any confusion.
While you have a valid point in the general sense, this specific case actually *does* pertain to a property which is still in use.
Umm... do you have any idea how large PruSec *is?*
16.7 million IPs is overkill, fine, but 256 Class Bs, or 65536 Class Cs (yes, I'm overgeneralizing) might actually make sense for them. Granted, VPNs eliminate a lot of the need that they might have had in the past for public IPs going everywhere, budon't like thatt any corporation of Prudential's size will have enough employees, offices, and servers to utilize a fairly large portion of a class A. It's not like it's some simple flat address space which can have small chunks allocated off willy-nilly to any physical location. Routers don't like that. Netadmins used to not like it. Everything has to be done in powers of 2, and it gets... sloppy at best.
In a perfect world, yes, PruSec and companies like them should be using NAT, VPNs, and at best, a handful of Class B networks. However, we don't live in that perfect world, and any sufficiently old network simply can't be adapted to make more efficient use of the available address space without spending lots of time and money which can be better allocated to projects which would increase profits.
While I agree to some extent that all the above listed groups can make do with a smaller address space, I wouldn't go so far as to call them all squatters.
These days, with enough additional OS packages, Windows and OS X are about equal. I've got a coworker in my office running the US version of Win2K with everything set to Japanese. It's rather annoying when I've got to use that workstation, but it's certainly Japanese. OS X, of course, is known for having excellent language support, and Apple is committed to supporting the Japanese market, so she should be fine either way.
The real issue, then, isn't the CPU. It's the overall design.
In Japan, anyone using a full sized laptop will stick out like a sore thumb. I strongly recommend something small and light, especially since she might need to carry it around a lot. No one wants to lug an 8 pound laptop around.
I used to own a Toshiba Libretto 110CT, one of the smallest laptops available in the US. It was a great system, but with a 233 MHz processor, I decided it was time to move on. As a whole, though, subnotes are completely usable systems, and I can't remember a single time that I ever left it behind due to packing constraints. Sure, I left it at home when I went canoeing, but that's just common sense. Get her something like a Libretto (almost any Japanese ultralight, really, although I've heard that Sony's stuff is somewhat flaky,) and she's almost guaranteed to have her laptop handy whenever she needs it. A good modern example might be the Fujitsu P-series laptops.
The other option, bringing you back to full-size keyboards and the like, are the Powerbooks (and iBooks, although those haven't been updated in a while.) The 17" is simply massive, and has no place in a traveling student's hands. The 15" is pretty nice, but hasn't been updated with the new Aluminum Powerbooks. The 12" Powerbook may actually be a bit more power than she needs, of course, and you may want to lean towards a 12" iBook. Out of the Powerbooks, the 12" is still the cheapest, although I'm sure if you looked at refurbished and used models, you could find a great deal on a 15", which is a bit older, and a bit more "tried and true."
In general, though, you should look at portability over power. A nice small laptop will end up in her bag a lot more often than some 6-8 pound behemoth. And, as long as she's got an Ethernet connection, I don't think there are any major issues to worry about re: adapters and the like. Power should be close enough to the US norm to work fine, and the only thing I'd really worry about are modems, and drivers if she gets some crazy Japanese cellphone and wants to hook it up to the laptop.
Well yeah... Aside from the G4 chip, GeForce 420, SuperDrive option, 802.11g, doubled disk capacity, and built-in Bluetooth, it's basically an iBook.
I'm using one right now, and while it sometimes gets a bit warm, it's never been so bad that I was forced to stop using it. This is with it running full tilt burning CDs and the like, and most power management features turned off.
If for some reason, you *need* all the features which set the 12" Powerbook apart from the iBook, by all means, go for it. I personally think that the combination of options and the form factor are perfect for my needs. It's certainly more than an iBook.
Yeah. The PDA has a backlight.
:)
Now, if you're willing to spend $100 on the GBA SP, then you've got a point
I've got a GBA, and while visibilty is crap in some cases, that's more than made up for in the sheer bulk of good games. Now, if you already have the PDA, I suppose there's no harm in grabbing a few games for it...
You clearly never worked on the other end, did you?
I did. It's all scripted. The trick is to learn their scripts better than they know them. When I first dealt with Dell Support, it was just as hellish for me as you claim.
Once I caught on to their pattern, I started calling, stating a Service Tag, and then mentioned the problem, along with a laundry lists of tests which I had already run (I hadn't, but much like you, I knew what was wrong.)
This made their job easier (they could technically claim that they followed the script) and I usually had a replacement part sent via next-day air as soon as it broke.
They're just support guys. The guys who answer the phone are trained to narrow down issues so that they don't end up giving parts away all the time. Once you learn their system, though, it's a cakewalk.
I don't see why anyone would add the ports without adding the hardware to use them, but otherwise, it's a good idea. PCMCIA-style devices in the back of a PC would make life easier for upgrades and the like.
I'd love to be able to plug 6 or 7 PCMCIA cards in the back of a desktop, for example, and upgrade from 10 Mbit Ethernet to 100 Mbit without rebooting, or drop in a modem in an emergency. Some of these features wouldn't work very well with Type II cards, but a load of Type III slots would work wonderfully.
Of course, the main issue is, as always, one of engineering. Bus speeds increase over time. PCMCIA can't handle anything close to 100Mbit/sec, so I've got a Cardbus Ethernet Adapter instead. Gigabit might eventually become an option, or Firewire 800, and then we'll need a new bus *anyway.*
You'd need an expansion backplane to handle this properly, such that you would crack open the box, replace the backplane, and then you can support the next PCMCIA standard. Of course, ideas like this have been done before, and tend to fail miserably for consumers, if only because they're too expensive to implement.
There are a handful of desktops that have had PCMCIA slots, though. DEC Multias come to mind, although I'm sure that there are others. It's a good concept, although it's apparently just not useful enough to take off.
It's entirely possible that he just smells funny, you know.
Not quite...
It was more like "Linux is free only if your time has no value."
As an SGI user at the time, that probably made sense to him. And honestly, back when he said it, Linux wasn't even halfway usable on a workstation. It was a toy. A freely distributed model kit with half the parts missing, and garbled instructions for fabricating your own additional pieces.
So yes, Linux has improved, and he went back to it once it did. Hell, it works well on a lot of hardware now, and it's actually a usable workstation. I'm happy enough with my Linux box here at work, since I'm even less inclined to goof off anyway, as long as I ignore the fact that xkobo is installed... =)
It gets worse when you load up the systems.
I'm a big subnote geek, so until recently, I didn't really care much for the Mac platform. There simply wasn't a decent subnote that didn't feel like a compromise to me (I'm sorry, but a G3 laptop to a nerd like me might as well be a hand-me-down.)
So, I started loading up 12" AlBook configs, and compared them to other laptops of similar size and battery life.
I still haven't found anything as cost effective as the AlBook. Most PC laptops with decent battery life are Crusoe-based, and I've used a Crusoe laptop. It's painful. It's not bad for your average user, but it's bad for me.
When I spec out the mini AlBook to the hilt, it's maybe $200 more for a system with double the RAM and disk space of the nearest x86 competitor, and that ain't bad.
Now, how are subnotes a "declining category" to this bozo? Who in their right mind wants to lug an 8 pound system that's much larger than a typical (paper) notebook? I'll happily give up a few features for a smaller laptop which I can always take with me than the massive powerhouse which tends to stay at home.
Then again, this is IDC. It'll be a cold day in hell before they say anything positive about Apple.
I wouldn't say it's the exact opposite.
My Tivo has a PowerPC CPU, and it hardly screams. Then again, it's only running at 50 MHz or so.
Most G4's these days are running at 800+ MHz, and the slowest ones to my recollection are maybe 400 MHz. This chip tops out around 380 MHz, and slows down to 152 MHz when necessary. That's far from "screaming." I don't even know if this 405LP has an FPU, though, since it's not a low-power G4 chip. It's probably closer to the early PowerMacs than the G3, and more crippled from there to save power.
Most CPU cores have low-power variants. Ask anyone with an HP 200LX, for example. As it stands, the PowerPC architecture can be very fast, but it can also be tuned down and still provide acceptable processing power in a handheld. You just have to determine what you need. It's not like people will be carrying around G4 handhelds too soon, although it's certainly possible in the future.
XIP's in Pocket PC's now? Wow, I'm really out of the loop these days. Not that I'm surprised by that, mind you.
"Easier," on the other hand, is very subjective. These days, you don't actually *need* files to be in PDB format to be usable. Finally, that "design" that you're mentioning has been in place for years. The interface didn't really get locked in until Palm finally added SD slots, but it's not as rare as you seem to think. Whatever inefficiencies you've noticed simply haven't cropped up yet. Anyway, the main reason I picked the Clie was because it's the only line of OS 5 devices to support two slots. I'll readily admit that the Memory Stick is an inferior design, but just because 512MB cards aren't out now doesn't mean they'll never be released. It's just flash RAM.
As for your Axim, there's a good reason I left it out. Currently, it's undercutting every competitor on the market. You simply won't find a cheaper PPC with as many features without robbing a supply truck. I wouldn't be surprised if a deluge of dirt-cheap Axims finally gives MS the advantage, and hell, I'd consider getting one.
However, the Tungsten T (and probably the Clie NX-series in short order) can play Ogg files, thanks to Aerodrome Software, and now that the platform can probably handle DivX, I'm sure someone's about to write the player. From tooling about with an NX-70, I know that it can at least handle blitting the video, now it's just a matter of decoding. Quake and Doom, on the other hand, might take a while. I'm not bothered by this, but that's mostly because I go mad without a very specific keyboard and optical mouse combat in any FPS. That's a matter of opinion.
Yes, the Axim wins. Slap a PalmOS Emulator on it, and it still wins, and lets you treat it like a Palm (ideally.) Sure, one out of four isn't great for the Palm to try to compete, but they also *just* entered this end of the market. Prior to OS 5, the Palm platform was designed for working as a PDA, not as a full blown PC-like platform. I'd have to give it at least a year before assuming that it's even close to maturity.
Actually, his point was that they seemed overpriced for their capabilities as compared to a Pocket PC.
He's comparing the OS 5 handhelds based on some kind of functionality/price ratio, and I'm simply arguing that he's pretty much missing what the OS 5 handhelds are capable of, as opposed to an m515.
Anyway, the original poster referred to "Palm devices." Last time I checked (about 5 minutes ago,) the Clie *is* a Palm device. So is the Tungsten T. And they're both around the same price. The difference is that I've actually tooled around enough with an NX-series Clie to go on about its specifications, while all I know about the Tungsten is what I see on websites.
Now, for that 5Mb Spreadsheet, I'm sure that it's a major issue for some people, but when you need to allocate another 5 Mb to load the damned thing, plus the overhead for Pocket Excel, where is your advantage? You just wasted a chunk of RAM to copy your program out, which is already at least double the size of its PalmOS counterpart.
More efficient use of RAM means that the difference you've cited essentially becomes worthless. Besides, anyone crazy enough to want to carry around multiple 5MB spreadsheets is going to need a memory card, no matter which platform they're on.
On the basis of raw capabilities, the OS 5 devices are simply priced very fairly compared to most Pocket PCs, regardless of the hardware inside.
I think it's just you.
OS 5 handhelds are about half the speed (at worst) of the latest PPCs using the same CPU, and have half the RAM.
However, with Execute In Place, and the generally more efficient Palm software, those 32 MB of RAM and 150-200 MHz of CPU power are actually getting you a lot more than the PPCs can provide.
Let's just pick one example, the Clie NX60 (no camera, so we're back at a reasonable price)
- 200 MHz ARM chip (XScale, I think)
- 32 MB of RAM
- CF slot (currently only supports an 802.11b card, third party support may come later for other devices)
- Memory stick slot
- Keyboard
- 320x480 resolution
- Audio recording and playback
Say what you want about Memory Sticks, the point is that it can hold extra storage space and still have room for wireless.
With the exception of the Dell Axim, which is horrendously inexpensive, I'd say the new OS5 handhelds are very reasonably priced, given their capabilities.
It's a rip alright, but Gabe wrote it, not Tycho.
Either way, he's getting karma for cutting and pasting, but let's give credit where it's due.
9 volt battery adapters exist for the rechargable Palms, too, making life even nicer, since you can then get the best of both worlds. I think you can possibly use one with the Tungsten T as well, so you'll have a decent amount of power, lots of apps, and an insane battery life (relative to anything else in that class, at least) in a nicely portable device.
Honestly, I get by without my laptop fairly often, but it's nice as a portable HotSync station and a decent way of getting online when I absolutely need to, thanks to the wireless modem and WiFi cards.
Expansys carries the 9V adapter, for those who are interested. They claim it works with just about any rechargable with a Universal Connector.
They're doing so in response to their competitors.
When Sony dropped the PS2 to $200 per unit, it was in response to the lower price of the Gamecube (a less expensive system to manufacture and distribute,) but they were also capable of sustaining profit at the lowered cost by that time.
If Microsoft were to have lowered their prices first, it would be considered dumping since they would be selling at a loss *to attempt to outlast their competitors.*
They're not lowering the Xbox prices to hurt Sony, they're lowering it to keep up with them.
Now, admittedly, that would get fuzzy if Sony were actually capable of selling $75 PS2's and still turning a profit, but at that point, Sony would be absolutely permitted to sell their PS2 at that cost, because they're not selling at a loss to hurt their competition as much as they're selling at reduced profit to match the lowering demand.
There's a fine line between price wars and dumping, and Sony is presently in control of that line.
They can't chip away forever when Sony makes money on raw hardware sales.
Remember, Sony drops money into hardware R&D anyway. The PS2 can essentially be written off as a happy coincidence, as the funds going to that development were as good as spent. Now, add in the fact that this is a custom piece of barebones gear, and you've got a console that costs less than $200 to assemble, package, and distribute. Sony put in a fixed cost for development, and then pay a per unit cost for manufacturing (well, per 1000s of units, more accurately) of the system unit. That total per-system cost was under $300 at launch, and is only going down as they sell more units.
Now, Sony expects to sell a minimum of 2 games per console, but will most likely sell four or more over time. Not to mention, those old PSX classics also run, so they can make profits from those games without selling the original console.
Accessories? Also pure profit.
If Microsoft is losing $177 million in three months within that division, and Sony is *turning a profit,* then how are they going to chip away at anything? MS can't legally start dumping consoles at $75 a piece since they'd be selling at a loss. In a few years, Sony can do exactly that, and get away with it, too. Then MS will be forced to follow that lead in order to keep up.
Sony isn't exactly the kind of company that you try these practices on, as they're well prepared to deal with the consequences. The real problem is that MS spent too much time hyping the box and not enough time figuring out how to make it *cheap.* The Xbox needed to be a dirt cheap system, and MS simply lacked the infrastructure to pull that off. Does that mean it will fail? Maybe. It wouldn't be the first time that Microsoft made a mistake, but you can be sure that they'll learn from it.
In the end, though, the Xbox will have had a semi-decent run, and MS will just use the information to make a better Xbox 2.
If you believe that, I've got a monorail to set up in your town.
While I hope that you're right, I fear that you're wrong.
I'm usually not a big fan of disposable batteries, but there *is* a way around the rechargable problem for handhelds. Companies are releasing adapters that let you hook up a 9 volt battery. It's ugly as hell, but it can be a lifesaver. Google for it, if you care. I'm not sure if anyone's doing this for Pocket PCs, or if it would even work for those.
That's not how I remember it!
I just saw Rashomon recently. It told the story from different points of view, but had completely different tellings of the same event based on the point of view in question. The Simpsons episode didn't change a thing, it just added more detail with each retelling. There was a brief bit of Lola Rennt in it (the scoring and the scene with Lisa running to school) as well, but I don't dare consider it much of a parody of either.
I've been a soft lens user for the past 7 years or so, and honestly, I can't imagine using anything that's any less comfortable. They work well enough, but I just don't get very much sleep these days, so I end up feeling some minor irritation every so often (which goes away once I get a good amount of sleep)
:-)
For me, my eyes are the first to protest about sleep. However, I'm a sysadmin, and spend a good 12 hours a day or more in front of a screen of some sort. Even with the irritation, I've never actually had a problem seeing the screen clearly. This might actually lead back to my lack of sleep, of course, since I end up blinking a lot more.
In my case, I don't really need the improvements that hard lenses might provide (I use torics, actually) so I've been quite happy with what I've got.