The screen will be smaller then most Palms because it's going for a small size like the V and Vx. I went from a III to a Vx and didn't mind the smaller screen, because the entire PDA shrank to a nice new pocket fitting size. The resolution will stay at the same 160x160 though.
I'm sure Bleem will have a PSX and possibly a PS2 emulator out for the X-Box a few months after it's release. That is, if Bleem is still around Q1 2002.
I just can't wait for the DC version of Bleem to come out. Seeing side by side the differences at E3 was amazing.
CMOS battery dies, and the defaults are loaded every time. That either means the CPU is detected and set to normal speed every time, or it does what a few old PII boards I saw did. They underclocked the processor all the way down to 100 somehow.
BIOS with the options to set the CPU can also detect what CPU is installed and set parameters correctly. Why do you think it was ok to install a lower voltage CPU like a Celeron into a board with no jumpers that previously had a PII or similar?
Thats there from I believe the BH6. Certain chips around the 350-400 range could have the multiplier changed. But they were rare at the time, and probably next to impossible to find now.
The Matrix does use other features as well that some DVD players didn't bother to implement. Some can be fixed with firmware upgrades, but that still means a trip to service. By what I know of DVD's, the rabbit is a subtitle, and the DVD then has the possibility of jumping to a different part if enter is hit when that is up. One of the Bond movies does some nice tricks with alternate angles to show a storyboard frame by frame with the action. My Panasonic A110 has had no problems with any movie with features like this, because they know how to properly support a standard.
As far as tapes being cheaper, I have typicially found that in the same store, yes. Media play's average VHS tape is probably $12-$15, while DVD's are $20-$30. Online, that price is much different, but for DVD to reach even more people, the price has to drop. The major studios have all the equipment now, and have probably well payed for it, so the price drop should happen any time now.
There is a snandard for DVD. Just some cheap DVD players that came out around last Christmas didn't bother to support dual-layer DVD's. The Matrix is dual-layer, so any player that can't support it will act weird. If I remember right, the GE and RCA under $120 or so players were the ones with this problem. The local Best Buy saw almost a 100% return on these.
I'm glad more companies are supporting Anime on DVD. So far, my collection only includes what is out on DVD. I refuse to pay $25 for 2 episodes subbed, and $30 for 2 dubbed of Neon Genesis VHS when I can buy 4 episodes subbed, and dubbed in English, French, and Spanish for $15 on DVD.
Now all we need is the average street price of all DVD's to come down to compete with VHS movies. I've been supporting DVD since late 1998, and so far, only good things have happened. (Special editions of movies, lower prices, better quality, no more flipper movies, etc...)
The way I see a virus working on the Palm would be for it to beam it's self alongside any other data being beamed. It would remain hidden, and be in the system when the user accepted someones information or program. Then when either a reset or hotsync occurs, the virus can then initialize it's self, and then begin to beam it's self with any other data.
Also, this potentially could introduce a new virus for the PC. PayPal is able to install a conduit when it is beamed from another PayPal Palm user and that Palm that recieved the beam is then Hotsynced.
I can't remember too many of the details, but the HP48 calculators had 2 different virii for them that both beamed themselves anytime anything was beamed. In theory, a Palm virus could keep trying to beam, but the sudden drop in battery life would probably alert the user. But if the virus attached it's self to any normal beaming activity, it could go undetected for much longer. It would still be a big threat this way, because how many Palm users just beam their info instead of telling it to the other Palm user to type in? Or the users who enjoy beaming the newest game to others...
IE is the best browser around? Dropping any anti-MS additude I may have, I still like Netscape better. Why? Well, for one, Netscape tells me "404 not found" instead of "DNS entry not found" at the bottom of some long error page. Also, Netscape tells me what the FTP server said instead of "The server returned extended information". And finally, Netscape gives me error boxes instead of full page errors with the actual error in small print at the bottom. Oh, also, I just despise the ftp in newer IE's. Don't turn into an unstable explorer window, thats just wrong.
Plus, Netscape has had print preview since before 1.0. IE added it in what, 5.5?
I'll admit, IE 3 was better then Netscape 3. And Netscape 4 has it's problems as well, but IE went the wrong direction once MS played around with it for 3 versions.
Keep in mind Nintendo still ships cartridges in those boxes with protection. The box size is just a bit bigger then the included manual for both the Game Boy and N64 games. Also, PSX games came in huge plastic cases when the system first came out.
Windows media player is about to get worse then it is now when version 7 comes out. And since MS will bundle it with every new version of Windows, people will be stuck with crap. I'd kill for a decent player that will play any media file I have, and support playlists. If only MS had kept Active Movie player alive and somehow got the codec for Quicktime 3 and above to work with it.
Anyone know of an AVI->Mpeg or MOV->Mpeg converter for either Windows or Linux? I'd rather just convert my gigs of media files to one format.
No, not quite. I recieved training on the Promise Ultra 100 cards about two weeks, with hands on experience in checking the drivers for Windows. Being a Linux fan is fine, but having the facts straight is also a good thing.
Is the X-Box going to be giving the PS2 some competition?
Well, the X-Box is a gaming console. The PS2 is a gaming console. So I believe they will compete. Just common sense here.
But the competition is going to be more like the upcomming competition between the PS2 and the Dreamcast in the US. You have 2 very advanced consoles, with one already out with a decent lead time. But the new one comming out is more powerful (Hmm, computing equipment getting more powerful as time goes on, thats odd). That point seems to be what people keep forgetting. An Athlon based system today will not beat a Pentium III or IV based system tomorrow in peformance. Same with the consoles in most situations.
I remember the hacked togther cable I made to get my HP48G online with an external 2400 baud modem. I also logged into a few BBS's, since when I did this, BBS's were very active and the internet had maybe a hundred thousand people online.
Very easy though and possible for the longest time.
After I did this to a few of my MODs to load onto my empeg, I was on the unofficial BBS requesting that MOD support be added. The programmers said it can be done, and will probably come down the road. (Aka after the Mark II and Release 1.0 of the software).
That seems to be the most portable device for now that may be able to do MODs.
Hmm. Some reason, I just don't think so. Here is why:
The empeg is an in car computer. It just happens to play MP3's very well. It runs Linux. It's only competetor runs WinCE. (And can't play MP3's yet since it's so underpowered). Soon, my empeg Mark II equipped car will be pumping out over 200 hours of music, tell me what exit to get off on, checking the traffic ahead, allow me to control it via voice, and be the server for an in car ethernet network. (GPS+CDPD modem support is under way right now).
Somehow I don't think a $300 10 hour MP3 player is going to compete directly with empeg that well.
Also, for those worried about supply of the empeg, the Mark II (http://www2.empeg.com/mark2) will ship June 9, and exhaust the waiting queue by the end of summer. Also keep an eye out on eBay for Mark I units up for sale.
I'm at home right now because my IT department got so parnoid they basicially said don't use any program that uses the network. For my company, it will be a mess to clean up, and seeing that they think an AS/400 system needs to be isolated until this is over, it will be a while.
I checked my Outlook before leaving and only a few copies had made their way to me. Problem there though is any copy will use the Global Address book IT set up, and spam many thousands of accounts across several sites.
The empeg Mark 2 ships June 9th, and empeg is predicting the queue will be run through by the end of summer, thus allowing non registered people to buy one. Also, you can still hop on the registration queue, and get one of the first Mark 2 units. Prices did change, and $1299 will get you a 12gb unit.
Oh, and another gripe... The EMPEG has a friggin SA-100 Processor in it! WTF! You can get MP3 decoder chips for cheap.. Why the overkill?
Hmm, because MP3 won't be the only format people may want to use. While everyone else is having to upgrade their $600 MP3 PC in a trunk players, I will just have to download an upgrade to enjoy other future formats that will use more processor time. Also, the SA-100 200mhz is one of the cheaper processors for an embedded system.
Lets do some basic math for the Smart media based players. I have herd of an upcomming player with 5 smart media slots for MP3's. A smart media card can hold up to 64mb, and cost up to $100. 5 of these will cost $500, and the storage will be 320mb. In the car, a decent sound system usually exists, so the tricks of the Rio players do of reconverting MP3's to 64kbps or 96 will definitly be noticed. So at 320 mb, you could fit a little over 4 CD's worth of music at a decent quality. And to have more music, you either have to buy more smart media cards, or keep reloading them. At that price, a 6 CD changer under the seat makes much more sense.
The empeg on the other hand has a minimum of 6gb of storage at $1199 (Mark 2). It can easially be used outside the car as well. So, does a in car only smart media based player or CD based player offer more value over a player that can be enjoyed without the hassle of old media and in many places? Oh, someone made a case that turns the empeg into a portable player powered by a battery. So with things like that, I think my money is well spend on an empeg instead of an in car player, and a player for the home, and a player that can hook into a friends stereo easially, and...
No CD based MP3 player will ever kill this unit or the empeg-car. If I am going to be spending more then $500 on a radio for the car, it needs to elliminate a few things. One of the things I hate is having to exchange CD's. This would still be needed for MP3 CDs. I enjoy listening to all my They Might Be Giants songs on shuffle, and one MP3 CD still would not hold them all. With my empeg, I have all of TMBG, and many other songs, so a genre or year shuffle is very possible and rather nice to have.
This person keeps forgetting some of the major differences between his player and the empeg. Size. My empeg Mark 1 fits in the dash. My empeg can be removed from the car at any time easially for security. My empeg can be used in the house easially. A PC box somewhere in the car has none of these advantages.
Also, the sound quality of the empeg is great. The people who installed mine said it was the best sounding head unit they have ever installed. Also, the empeg is very powerful, and will play many future formats with no problem. MP3 and visuals uses around 20-30% of the CPU. The rest of that time on my unit is used to crack d.net RC5 keys. GPS and CDPD support is underway, and the people working on GPS plan on using the IR to beam maps to the Palm.
The empeg is a well developed product. The prices will change with the Mark II. The Mark II ships June 9th with voice control, ethernet, and other new features. I'll probably see if I can get an Airport to work with the empeg while in the driveway once I recieve my Mark II. Also, I feel the price I paid for my empeg is well worth it. I didn't buy a simple MP3 player. I bought an in dash computer that runs Linux, and I can do whatever I want with, compaired to the similiarly priced AutoPC running WinCE.
Lets see, Navy builds smart ship, installs Windows NT for OS, and is stranded in the ocean for a few hours because of a divide by zero error somewhere. Navy realises NT sucks for ships. Army builds smart suit with CE, and during a test, a building is mistargeted and downtown Colorado Springs would have been hit had it not been a test. When will they ever learn. I guess they looked at the MS page compairing Palms against Palm PC's and never wondered why the battery life, size, and readibility outside were missing in the compairsion.
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The screen will be smaller then most Palms because it's going for a small size like the V and Vx. I went from a III to a Vx and didn't mind the smaller screen, because the entire PDA shrank to a nice new pocket fitting size. The resolution will stay at the same 160x160 though.
I'm sure Bleem will have a PSX and possibly a PS2 emulator out for the X-Box a few months after it's release. That is, if Bleem is still around Q1 2002.
I just can't wait for the DC version of Bleem to come out. Seeing side by side the differences at E3 was amazing.
CMOS battery dies, and the defaults are loaded every time. That either means the CPU is detected and set to normal speed every time, or it does what a few old PII boards I saw did. They underclocked the processor all the way down to 100 somehow.
BIOS with the options to set the CPU can also detect what CPU is installed and set parameters correctly. Why do you think it was ok to install a lower voltage CPU like a Celeron into a board with no jumpers that previously had a PII or similar?
Thats there from I believe the BH6. Certain chips around the 350-400 range could have the multiplier changed. But they were rare at the time, and probably next to impossible to find now.
The Matrix does use other features as well that some DVD players didn't bother to implement. Some can be fixed with firmware upgrades, but that still means a trip to service. By what I know of DVD's, the rabbit is a subtitle, and the DVD then has the possibility of jumping to a different part if enter is hit when that is up. One of the Bond movies does some nice tricks with alternate angles to show a storyboard frame by frame with the action. My Panasonic A110 has had no problems with any movie with features like this, because they know how to properly support a standard.
As far as tapes being cheaper, I have typicially found that in the same store, yes. Media play's average VHS tape is probably $12-$15, while DVD's are $20-$30. Online, that price is much different, but for DVD to reach even more people, the price has to drop. The major studios have all the equipment now, and have probably well payed for it, so the price drop should happen any time now.
There is a snandard for DVD. Just some cheap DVD players that came out around last Christmas didn't bother to support dual-layer DVD's. The Matrix is dual-layer, so any player that can't support it will act weird. If I remember right, the GE and RCA under $120 or so players were the ones with this problem. The local Best Buy saw almost a 100% return on these.
I'm glad more companies are supporting Anime on DVD. So far, my collection only includes what is out on DVD. I refuse to pay $25 for 2 episodes subbed, and $30 for 2 dubbed of Neon Genesis VHS when I can buy 4 episodes subbed, and dubbed in English, French, and Spanish for $15 on DVD.
Now all we need is the average street price of all DVD's to come down to compete with VHS movies. I've been supporting DVD since late 1998, and so far, only good things have happened. (Special editions of movies, lower prices, better quality, no more flipper movies, etc...)
The way I see a virus working on the Palm would be for it to beam it's self alongside any other data being beamed. It would remain hidden, and be in the system when the user accepted someones information or program. Then when either a reset or hotsync occurs, the virus can then initialize it's self, and then begin to beam it's self with any other data.
Also, this potentially could introduce a new virus for the PC. PayPal is able to install a conduit when it is beamed from another PayPal Palm user and that Palm that recieved the beam is then Hotsynced.
I can't remember too many of the details, but the HP48 calculators had 2 different virii for them that both beamed themselves anytime anything was beamed. In theory, a Palm virus could keep trying to beam, but the sudden drop in battery life would probably alert the user. But if the virus attached it's self to any normal beaming activity, it could go undetected for much longer. It would still be a big threat this way, because how many Palm users just beam their info instead of telling it to the other Palm user to type in? Or the users who enjoy beaming the newest game to others...
IE is the best browser around? Dropping any anti-MS additude I may have, I still like Netscape better. Why? Well, for one, Netscape tells me "404 not found" instead of "DNS entry not found" at the bottom of some long error page. Also, Netscape tells me what the FTP server said instead of "The server returned extended information". And finally, Netscape gives me error boxes instead of full page errors with the actual error in small print at the bottom. Oh, also, I just despise the ftp in newer IE's. Don't turn into an unstable explorer window, thats just wrong.
Plus, Netscape has had print preview since before 1.0. IE added it in what, 5.5?
I'll admit, IE 3 was better then Netscape 3. And Netscape 4 has it's problems as well, but IE went the wrong direction once MS played around with it for 3 versions.
Keep in mind Nintendo still ships cartridges in those boxes with protection. The box size is just a bit bigger then the included manual for both the Game Boy and N64 games. Also, PSX games came in huge plastic cases when the system first came out.
Windows media player is about to get worse then it is now when version 7 comes out. And since MS will bundle it with every new version of Windows, people will be stuck with crap. I'd kill for a decent player that will play any media file I have, and support playlists. If only MS had kept Active Movie player alive and somehow got the codec for Quicktime 3 and above to work with it.
Anyone know of an AVI->Mpeg or MOV->Mpeg converter for either Windows or Linux? I'd rather just convert my gigs of media files to one format.
No, not quite. I recieved training on the Promise Ultra 100 cards about two weeks, with hands on experience in checking the drivers for Windows. Being a Linux fan is fine, but having the facts straight is also a good thing.
Make sure to see the dubbed version. It's one of the few anime series where the dubbed is better then the subbed version.
Well, the X-Box is a gaming console. The PS2 is a gaming console. So I believe they will compete. Just common sense here.
But the competition is going to be more like the upcomming competition between the PS2 and the Dreamcast in the US. You have 2 very advanced consoles, with one already out with a decent lead time. But the new one comming out is more powerful (Hmm, computing equipment getting more powerful as time goes on, thats odd). That point seems to be what people keep forgetting. An Athlon based system today will not beat a Pentium III or IV based system tomorrow in peformance. Same with the consoles in most situations.
I remember the hacked togther cable I made to get my HP48G online with an external 2400 baud modem. I also logged into a few BBS's, since when I did this, BBS's were very active and the internet had maybe a hundred thousand people online.
Very easy though and possible for the longest time.
After I did this to a few of my MODs to load onto my empeg, I was on the unofficial BBS requesting that MOD support be added. The programmers said it can be done, and will probably come down the road. (Aka after the Mark II and Release 1.0 of the software).
That seems to be the most portable device for now that may be able to do MODs.
Hmm. Some reason, I just don't think so. Here is why:
The empeg is an in car computer. It just happens to play MP3's very well. It runs Linux. It's only competetor runs WinCE. (And can't play MP3's yet since it's so underpowered). Soon, my empeg Mark II equipped car will be pumping out over 200 hours of music, tell me what exit to get off on, checking the traffic ahead, allow me to control it via voice, and be the server for an in car ethernet network. (GPS+CDPD modem support is under way right now).
Somehow I don't think a $300 10 hour MP3 player is going to compete directly with empeg that well.
Also, for those worried about supply of the empeg, the Mark II (http://www2.empeg.com/mark2) will ship June 9, and exhaust the waiting queue by the end of summer. Also keep an eye out on eBay for Mark I units up for sale.
I'm at home right now because my IT department got so parnoid they basicially said don't use any program that uses the network. For my company, it will be a mess to clean up, and seeing that they think an AS/400 system needs to be isolated until this is over, it will be a while.
I checked my Outlook before leaving and only a few copies had made their way to me. Problem there though is any copy will use the Global Address book IT set up, and spam many thousands of accounts across several sites.
The empeg Mark 2 ships June 9th, and empeg is predicting the queue will be run through by the end of summer, thus allowing non registered people to buy one. Also, you can still hop on the registration queue, and get one of the first Mark 2 units. Prices did change, and $1299 will get you a 12gb unit.
Oh, and another gripe... The EMPEG has a friggin SA-100 Processor in it! WTF! You can get MP3 decoder chips for cheap.. Why the overkill?
Hmm, because MP3 won't be the only format people may want to use. While everyone else is having to upgrade their $600 MP3 PC in a trunk players, I will just have to download an upgrade to enjoy other future formats that will use more processor time. Also, the SA-100 200mhz is one of the cheaper processors for an embedded system.
Lets do some basic math for the Smart media based players. I have herd of an upcomming player with 5 smart media slots for MP3's. A smart media card can hold up to 64mb, and cost up to $100. 5 of these will cost $500, and the storage will be 320mb. In the car, a decent sound system usually exists, so the tricks of the Rio players do of reconverting MP3's to 64kbps or 96 will definitly be noticed. So at 320 mb, you could fit a little over 4 CD's worth of music at a decent quality. And to have more music, you either have to buy more smart media cards, or keep reloading them. At that price, a 6 CD changer under the seat makes much more sense.
...
The empeg on the other hand has a minimum of 6gb of storage at $1199 (Mark 2). It can easially be used outside the car as well. So, does a in car only smart media based player or CD based player offer more value over a player that can be enjoyed without the hassle of old media and in many places? Oh, someone made a case that turns the empeg into a portable player powered by a battery. So with things like that, I think my money is well spend on an empeg instead of an in car player, and a player for the home, and a player that can hook into a friends stereo easially, and
No CD based MP3 player will ever kill this unit or the empeg-car. If I am going to be spending more then $500 on a radio for the car, it needs to elliminate a few things. One of the things I hate is having to exchange CD's. This would still be needed for MP3 CDs. I enjoy listening to all my They Might Be Giants songs on shuffle, and one MP3 CD still would not hold them all. With my empeg, I have all of TMBG, and many other songs, so a genre or year shuffle is very possible and rather nice to have.
This person keeps forgetting some of the major differences between his player and the empeg. Size. My empeg Mark 1 fits in the dash. My empeg can be removed from the car at any time easially for security. My empeg can be used in the house easially. A PC box somewhere in the car has none of these advantages.
Also, the sound quality of the empeg is great. The people who installed mine said it was the best sounding head unit they have ever installed. Also, the empeg is very powerful, and will play many future formats with no problem. MP3 and visuals uses around 20-30% of the CPU. The rest of that time on my unit is used to crack d.net RC5 keys. GPS and CDPD support is underway, and the people working on GPS plan on using the IR to beam maps to the Palm.
The empeg is a well developed product. The prices will change with the Mark II. The Mark II ships June 9th with voice control, ethernet, and other new features. I'll probably see if I can get an Airport to work with the empeg while in the driveway once I recieve my Mark II. Also, I feel the price I paid for my empeg is well worth it. I didn't buy a simple MP3 player. I bought an in dash computer that runs Linux, and I can do whatever I want with, compaired to the similiarly priced AutoPC running WinCE.
Lets see, Navy builds smart ship, installs Windows NT for OS, and is stranded in the ocean for a few hours because of a divide by zero error somewhere. Navy realises NT sucks for ships. Army builds smart suit with CE, and during a test, a building is mistargeted and downtown Colorado Springs would have been hit had it not been a test. When will they ever learn. I guess they looked at the MS page compairing Palms against Palm PC's and never wondered why the battery life, size, and readibility outside were missing in the compairsion.
MS AND IBM wrote OS/2. Primarially IBM while MS wrote this program called Windows to get people used to the basic idea of a GUI.