I purchased an iPAQ back in Feb... I just sold it yesterday, and am back to using a Palm Vx.
A bit of background first: I'm an embedded Linux developer, working on StrongARM platforms. So obviously, the iPAQ interested me. Not only that, but my company bought several and asked me to work with them.
WinCE on the iPAQ is nice, but nothing special. Sure you can play MP3s on it, but I found that I preferred playing MP3s on my HipZip player - the media is certainly cheaper than a compact flash card, and the battery life lasts much longer. The built in PIM features on the iPAQ are "OK", but nothing special. I disliked the address book and calendar apps. I also disliked the iPAQs method of memory management, but that's the developer in me, being picky.
So I tried Linux from handhelds.org on it. Nice job w/the port, and it's true, it gives you full Linux functionality (with X!) in a PDA form. Only thing, I don't *need* full Linux in a PDA. The iPAQ is just too much computer for a handheld, and too little computer for a desktop.
I ended up purchasing a Palm Vx at a great discount (because of the introduction of the m500 series) - and it does everything I need, and more.
All in all it's a matter of personal taste - for me, the iPAQ was expensive overkill... you might think differently.
"Ah-boot" is *not* how most Canadians pronounce *about*. What you are referring to is an Acadian/East coast accent, from the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Newfoundland areas...
Shadowfactor was "purchased" by Microsoft about a year or so ago, and have been maintaining Battlecom as a service to the community. Most of Shadowfactor's proprietary VoIP technology has been put into DirectX 8, and is now called DirectVoice. It's also been used in Microsoft's GameVoice software/hardware combo.
(Rod Toll of Shadowfactor is an acquaintance of mine, and he and the Shadowfactor team are now at Microsoft).
Ottawa AP (S) 45 19' N, 75 40' W
Toronto AP (S) 43 41' N, 79 38' W
Montreal AP (S) 45 28' N, 73 45' W
Granted, we don't have launch facilities, but there are parts of the US (excluding Alaska) that are farther north than where I currently live (Ottawa).
People! Mandrake's donation program was user requested. It is *well documented* in the forums on the Mandrake site, and goes back many, many months. The whole point of the program was to give users who download the ISO and don't want to spend $$$ on a full distribution a way to say "thanks" to the company who created it, without paying $80.
It's completely voluntary, and was initiated at the request of a number of Mandrake users on the website. Every time it seems this issue is settled, someone who doesn't know the history brings it up again. Perhaps it's time Mandrake put a FAQ up about it, to prevent articles such as this from making it onto Slashdot.
Re:What's attractive about a palmtop?
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Palm In Trouble?
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> I tried someone else's unit that had a wireless modem. It didn't work indoors. What's the point of something that can't hook up to the Internet?
Damn. So *that's* what's wrong with my toaster... I knew there was a design flaw somewhere. No internet access. Doh! Next time I'll know better.
Seriously, PDAs aren't for everyone. And yes, there are those that purchase them simply because they are gadgets. However, some of use find them useful. I'm a very disorganized person by nature, and have never been one to use a Daytimer. I like the ability to fill the Palm with useful information and then search for it quickly and easily. My girlfriend had pretty much the same attitude as you towards PDAs, but once she used a Palm for a month, she was hooked. But it's a habit that takes getting used to, and as I mentioned earlier, they aren't for everyone.
Bye bye iPAQ, hello Palm (again!)
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I *just* purchased a Palm Vx from a local store - as Palm has recently introduced the m500 series, the Palm Vx was nicely discounted.
The interesting thing is that I used to own a Palm IIIc, then "upgraded" to a Compaq iPAQ. I've switched back to Palm now, for the following reasons:
Palm's battery life is *much* better.
WinCE/PocketPC still has some usability issues as far as interface design is concerned.
Far too much "demoware" and "shareware" software in the WinCE world.
I *don't* want to deal with a "file explorer" on my PDA when trying to launch a program.
WinCE/PocketPC doesn't play nice with non-Microsoft OSes
PocketPCs are just that: an attempt to squeeze a relatively full-featured computer into a pocket form factor. Only I don't want to mess with registry entries, file explorers, and the like while using a PDA. Given their relatively high-powered CPUs and capabilities, they *suck* power like nobody's business. I was used to charging my Palm IIIc once every month or so. I left my iPAQ off for about a week (went on vacation), and when I returned, the battery was dead and all my contacts, notes, and software was gone (my own fault... but still, 6 days, starting with a full charge, and the unit turned *off*?!)
I've switched to a predominantly Linux environment at home, and the PocketPC, while supporting TCP/IP, doesn't sync with anything except Microsoft's Windows-based ActiveSync tools. On the other hand, there is support for the Palm on most major computing platforms, including MacOS and Linux.
For those that want an all-in-one MP3 player, contact list, organizer, and don't mind being trapped in Windows, then the PocketPC might be for you... Personally though, I'd rather have a Palm for a PDA, and save the MP3/multimedia functions for a dedicated MP3 player. I personally own and love the Iomega HipZip MP3 player - it's USB based, and works wonderfully under Windows, MacOS 9, Mac OS X and Linux (in OS X and Linux, it appears as a simple SCSI drive).
Does anyone here want to buy a iPAQ 3650 w/USB cradle, CF sleeve, serial adapter, manuals, disks, etc? In great condition...;)
Try 1986... not 84. Marc Garneau did in fact go into space aboard a shuttle - several times. The first of which was in '84... Challenger blew up in '86...
Again... Chris Hadfield is *not* the first Canadian in space. In fact, *he's* been in space before. The first Canadian in space was Marc Garneau, in 1984...
The "first" part of this mission is the first Canadian to spacewalk... we've been going up in shuttles a lot longer...
I wish people would read articles before commenting. I also wish that the average American bothered to learn a little bit about their neighbor to the north...
(insert various comments about how I wish that US citizens knew a bit more about their neighbor to the north...)
Now, back to the question: Canada a space power? Well, first off, Chris Hadfield is *not* the first Canadian in space. He will be the first Canadian to make a spacewalk. However, Marc Garneau (who currently heads up the Canadian Space Agency) had the distinction of becoming the first Canadian in space on October 5, 1984. For more information about Canadians in space, you can take a peek at: Canadian Astronaut Missions
Canada, being a relatively small country population-wise (approximately 31,000,000, although geographically we are the 2nd largest country in the world) doesn't have the resources to maintain a full space program like the US. What we *are* good at is providing infrastructure - the Canadarm (shuttle and ISS), communications hardware (we've become quite good at telecom over the years, due to the geography of the country), manpower and technology. This arrangement works well, as it complements the US launch systems...
So, as for Canada being a space power? Depends on your definition. We definitely have had multiple people in space (11 missions so far), we've got experience with space and space-systems... building the necessary hardware, and we've providing a great deal of that hardware to the US and other country's programs. Many of the comm satellites out there have Canadian tech in them. So, I would have to say yes, we are a space power of sorts - or at the very least, we *enable* the other space powers.
(as for not owning much of the sky - see the part above about comm sats and enabling technologies!)
Funny - I studied Physics in University, but ended up being lured away by a tech company before I finished. Now, I'm tired of the business scene and have been wanting to get back into some sort of research/programming position. Likewise, my girlfriend has a degree in Chemistry, but has gone back to school to do CS. Her ideal job: A computer programming/research position.
These positions aren't easy to come by - whereabouts is this one located?
That lab did not *send* a letter to anyone. Get the story straight.
A couple weeks back a letter was sent to a government office here in Ottawa that contained a strange powder. It was tested onsite, someone decided there was a possibility it contained some sort of bacteria, so the letter and its contents were sent to the Winnipeg Level 4 lab for additional testing. It turned out to be a false alarm.
The Winnipeg lab did not send a biohazardous letter to the government. Cripes, not a good way to get funding...!
The original WinCE handwriting recognizer was based on Pen Windows.
However, as I mentioned, Paragraph has *ported* their recognizer to WinCE (Calligrapher). I didn't say it was the default recognizer. Only that it's become quite popular with users and is shipping with several of the HPC units (the PocketPCs usually rely on MS's graffiti-like Transcriber app). See Paragraph's website for more info. At any rate, from what I've read Calligrapher is based on the old Newton HWR engine.
Mainly because the specific impulse generated by this sort of propulsion is pretty low - works really well in the frictionless environment of space, but wouldn't even be able to get a Fiero (motorized skateboard imho) above 1/2 mph on Earth.:)
Speaking as a Canadian, with some understanding of my country's laws, I can say: "probably not much". The US company is not bound by the same laws as a Canadian company, so as long as the webserver that served the information was located in the US, I don't believe the Act would be enforceable.
A shame in some regards, but on the other hand, at least we aren't in the habit of forcing our country's laws on another (see any of the stories about France and the Yahoo Auction sites).
*sigh*
One of the problems in the Linux community is that there are more than a few trigger-happy people that will jump all over a company for GPL violations, without even downloading the code to verify that it *does* violate the GPL.
I downloaded this code a couple months ago. It is Compaq's *own* application. The code I grabbed contained no 3rd party GPL-licensed code. The term "Download Linux Source" indicated that the source for Compaq's app *compiled* on Linux. NOT that it was the Linux Source code.
I wish people would verify this stuff before submitting a story to Slashdot and getting the whole community worked up over nothing. Yes, GPL violations do occur and we must watch out for them. On the other hand, you need to *verify* facts before jumping on a company.
Actually, it was abnormally and completely unseasonally COLD the week of OLS. I live in Ottawa, and can tell you for a fact that right now it's a comfortable 85 F now... normally we sit somewhere in the 80's to 90's this time of year. So pack a jacket next year, but hopefully the weather won't be so weird and you won't need it.
Who are "they"? (oh, I can just see the thread of conspiracy theory messages that'll pop up from that simple question). In the case of the Ottawa Linux Symposium, there is a strong Linux following here in town... Corel, Rebel.com, Newlix (shameless plug - I work there), LinuxCare / Puffin Group, NRC, OCLUG, Nortel, Espial, HBE are all located in the Ottawa area, with Zero Knowledge an hour and a half away in Montreal.
With that kind of grouping of Linux Power, there's an awful lot of Linux interest in this town - hence, a great deal of interest in running a Symposium (Thanks AH!)... if you want a symposium in your neighborhood, start one up! Can't guarantee that Alan Cox will make it (I got to sit next to him and Telsa during Miguel's keynote speech... I think I absorbed some kernel-kung-fu via osmosis)... but you never know what might come of your attempt. Maybe a few attendees will create the next great OpenSource project...
No, no booth babes. Why? There were no BOOTHS. This wasn't a show, it was a conference / symposium -> many, many, many lectures (and free Guiness... mmmmm) Mind you, I'd like to attend a show with boothbabes sometime, but not at the OLS... I'm glad I was able to focus on the topic at hand.
No venture capital in Ottawa? Yikes. Been skipping the Globe's business section lately, haven't you? I live in Ottawa and work for a startup Linux company, and can confirm that there are mucho VC dollars flying around here now...
Interesting timing - I was just discussing voice-controlled MP3 players with a friend of mine here at work. I've recently started the CarOS project on sourceforge.
CarOS is an open-source project (GPL) whose goal is to design and implement the hardware and software platforms necessary to provide a mobile computing environment for a vehicle. We're focusing on "Entertainment" (MP3), GPS/navigation, security, and a few other areas. If you're interested in helping out, feel free to drop by (the home page is a bit sparse right now, but there is a link there to the SourceForge site where we've been discussing some ideas). The platform of choice is Linux...
I don't Caldera / Lineo is targeting the handheld PC/Palmsize PC market with their Windows CE port.
Frighteningly enough, Microsoft has been promoting Windows CE as a viable operating system for *embedded systems*... and this is what Lineo is targeting. There are a number of manufacturers our there that sell WinCE-ready PC-104 boards... This is the market Lineo's going after.
Ummm... The area code prompt is not likely meant as a means to prevent them pesky Americans from invading the site and watching Canadian TV. More than likely, the company is using it as a quick way to gather demographic information about who is watching from where. Of course, that information is pretty much useless to them now that there are all these area codes being posted on Slashdot... by now, their database probably indicates that there's a high percentage of Americans living in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Innuvik.:)
Slashdot Mirror
A bit of background first: I'm an embedded Linux developer, working on StrongARM platforms. So obviously, the iPAQ interested me. Not only that, but my company bought several and asked me to work with them.
WinCE on the iPAQ is nice, but nothing special. Sure you can play MP3s on it, but I found that I preferred playing MP3s on my HipZip player - the media is certainly cheaper than a compact flash card, and the battery life lasts much longer. The built in PIM features on the iPAQ are "OK", but nothing special. I disliked the address book and calendar apps. I also disliked the iPAQs method of memory management, but that's the developer in me, being picky.
So I tried Linux from handhelds.org on it. Nice job w/the port, and it's true, it gives you full Linux functionality (with X!) in a PDA form. Only thing, I don't *need* full Linux in a PDA. The iPAQ is just too much computer for a handheld, and too little computer for a desktop.
I ended up purchasing a Palm Vx at a great discount (because of the introduction of the m500 series) - and it does everything I need, and more.
All in all it's a matter of personal taste - for me, the iPAQ was expensive overkill... you might think differently.
"Ah-boot" is *not* how most Canadians pronounce *about*. What you are referring to is an Acadian/East coast accent, from the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Newfoundland areas...
(Rod Toll of Shadowfactor is an acquaintance of mine, and he and the Shadowfactor team are now at Microsoft).
Quebec, is *not* a nation.
Ottawa AP (S) 45 19' N, 75 40' W
Toronto AP (S) 43 41' N, 79 38' W
Montreal AP (S) 45 28' N, 73 45' W
Granted, we don't have launch facilities, but there are parts of the US (excluding Alaska) that are farther north than where I currently live (Ottawa).
This, AGAIN?
People! Mandrake's donation program was user requested. It is *well documented* in the forums on the Mandrake site, and goes back many, many months. The whole point of the program was to give users who download the ISO and don't want to spend $$$ on a full distribution a way to say "thanks" to the company who created it, without paying $80.
It's completely voluntary, and was initiated at the request of a number of Mandrake users on the website. Every time it seems this issue is settled, someone who doesn't know the history brings it up again. Perhaps it's time Mandrake put a FAQ up about it, to prevent articles such as this from making it onto Slashdot.
Damn. So *that's* what's wrong with my toaster... I knew there was a design flaw somewhere. No internet access. Doh! Next time I'll know better.
Seriously, PDAs aren't for everyone. And yes, there are those that purchase them simply because they are gadgets. However, some of use find them useful. I'm a very disorganized person by nature, and have never been one to use a Daytimer. I like the ability to fill the Palm with useful information and then search for it quickly and easily. My girlfriend had pretty much the same attitude as you towards PDAs, but once she used a Palm for a month, she was hooked. But it's a habit that takes getting used to, and as I mentioned earlier, they aren't for everyone.
The interesting thing is that I used to own a Palm IIIc, then "upgraded" to a Compaq iPAQ. I've switched back to Palm now, for the following reasons:
Palm's battery life is *much* better.
WinCE/PocketPC still has some usability issues as far as interface design is concerned.
Far too much "demoware" and "shareware" software in the WinCE world.
I *don't* want to deal with a "file explorer" on my PDA when trying to launch a program.
WinCE/PocketPC doesn't play nice with non-Microsoft OSes
PocketPCs are just that: an attempt to squeeze a relatively full-featured computer into a pocket form factor. Only I don't want to mess with registry entries, file explorers, and the like while using a PDA. Given their relatively high-powered CPUs and capabilities, they *suck* power like nobody's business. I was used to charging my Palm IIIc once every month or so. I left my iPAQ off for about a week (went on vacation), and when I returned, the battery was dead and all my contacts, notes, and software was gone (my own fault... but still, 6 days, starting with a full charge, and the unit turned *off*?!)
I've switched to a predominantly Linux environment at home, and the PocketPC, while supporting TCP/IP, doesn't sync with anything except Microsoft's Windows-based ActiveSync tools. On the other hand, there is support for the Palm on most major computing platforms, including MacOS and Linux.
For those that want an all-in-one MP3 player, contact list, organizer, and don't mind being trapped in Windows, then the PocketPC might be for you... Personally though, I'd rather have a Palm for a PDA, and save the MP3/multimedia functions for a dedicated MP3 player. I personally own and love the Iomega HipZip MP3 player - it's USB based, and works wonderfully under Windows, MacOS 9, Mac OS X and Linux (in OS X and Linux, it appears as a simple SCSI drive).
Does anyone here want to buy a iPAQ 3650 w/USB cradle, CF sleeve, serial adapter, manuals, disks, etc? In great condition... ;)
Try 1986... not 84. Marc Garneau did in fact go into space aboard a shuttle - several times. The first of which was in '84... Challenger blew up in '86...
The "first" part of this mission is the first Canadian to spacewalk... we've been going up in shuttles a lot longer...
I wish people would read articles before commenting. I also wish that the average American bothered to learn a little bit about their neighbor to the north...
*sigh*
(insert various comments about how I wish that US citizens knew a bit more about their neighbor to the north...) Now, back to the question: Canada a space power? Well, first off, Chris Hadfield is *not* the first Canadian in space. He will be the first Canadian to make a spacewalk. However, Marc Garneau (who currently heads up the Canadian Space Agency) had the distinction of becoming the first Canadian in space on October 5, 1984. For more information about Canadians in space, you can take a peek at: Canadian Astronaut Missions
Here's the Main CSA page
Canada, being a relatively small country population-wise (approximately 31,000,000, although geographically we are the 2nd largest country in the world) doesn't have the resources to maintain a full space program like the US. What we *are* good at is providing infrastructure - the Canadarm (shuttle and ISS), communications hardware (we've become quite good at telecom over the years, due to the geography of the country), manpower and technology. This arrangement works well, as it complements the US launch systems...
So, as for Canada being a space power? Depends on your definition. We definitely have had multiple people in space (11 missions so far), we've got experience with space and space-systems... building the necessary hardware, and we've providing a great deal of that hardware to the US and other country's programs. Many of the comm satellites out there have Canadian tech in them. So, I would have to say yes, we are a space power of sorts - or at the very least, we *enable* the other space powers.
(as for not owning much of the sky - see the part above about comm sats and enabling technologies!)
These positions aren't easy to come by - whereabouts is this one located?
That lab did not *send* a letter to anyone. Get the story straight.
A couple weeks back a letter was sent to a government office here in Ottawa that contained a strange powder. It was tested onsite, someone decided there was a possibility it contained some sort of bacteria, so the letter and its contents were sent to the Winnipeg Level 4 lab for additional testing. It turned out to be a false alarm.
The Winnipeg lab did not send a biohazardous letter to the government. Cripes, not a good way to get funding...!
The original WinCE handwriting recognizer was based on Pen Windows.
However, as I mentioned, Paragraph has *ported* their recognizer to WinCE (Calligrapher). I didn't say it was the default recognizer. Only that it's become quite popular with users and is shipping with several of the HPC units (the PocketPCs usually rely on MS's graffiti-like Transcriber app). See Paragraph's website for more info. At any rate, from what I've read Calligrapher is based on the old Newton HWR engine.
Mainly because the specific impulse generated by this sort of propulsion is pretty low - works really well in the frictionless environment of space, but wouldn't even be able to get a Fiero (motorized skateboard imho) above 1/2 mph on Earth. :)
A shame in some regards, but on the other hand, at least we aren't in the habit of forcing our country's laws on another (see any of the stories about France and the Yahoo Auction sites).
*sigh* One of the problems in the Linux community is that there are more than a few trigger-happy people that will jump all over a company for GPL violations, without even downloading the code to verify that it *does* violate the GPL. I downloaded this code a couple months ago. It is Compaq's *own* application. The code I grabbed contained no 3rd party GPL-licensed code. The term "Download Linux Source" indicated that the source for Compaq's app *compiled* on Linux. NOT that it was the Linux Source code. I wish people would verify this stuff before submitting a story to Slashdot and getting the whole community worked up over nothing. Yes, GPL violations do occur and we must watch out for them. On the other hand, you need to *verify* facts before jumping on a company.
Actually, it was abnormally and completely unseasonally COLD the week of OLS. I live in Ottawa, and can tell you for a fact that right now it's a comfortable 85 F now... normally we sit somewhere in the 80's to 90's this time of year. So pack a jacket next year, but hopefully the weather won't be so weird and you won't need it.
With that kind of grouping of Linux Power, there's an awful lot of Linux interest in this town - hence, a great deal of interest in running a Symposium (Thanks AH!)... if you want a symposium in your neighborhood, start one up! Can't guarantee that Alan Cox will make it (I got to sit next to him and Telsa during Miguel's keynote speech... I think I absorbed some kernel-kung-fu via osmosis)... but you never know what might come of your attempt. Maybe a few attendees will create the next great OpenSource project...
No, no booth babes. Why? There were no BOOTHS. This wasn't a show, it was a conference / symposium -> many, many, many lectures (and free Guiness... mmmmm) Mind you, I'd like to attend a show with boothbabes sometime, but not at the OLS... I'm glad I was able to focus on the topic at hand.
No venture capital in Ottawa? Yikes. Been skipping the Globe's business section lately, haven't you? I live in Ottawa and work for a startup Linux company, and can confirm that there are mucho VC dollars flying around here now...
On a somewhat related topic, here's a link to a Slashdot-style news site that deals with wearable & mobile computing devices: The Gravity Well
CarOS is an open-source project (GPL) whose goal is to design and implement the hardware and software platforms necessary to provide a mobile computing environment for a vehicle. We're focusing on "Entertainment" (MP3), GPS/navigation, security, and a few other areas. If you're interested in helping out, feel free to drop by (the home page is a bit sparse right now, but there is a link there to the SourceForge site where we've been discussing some ideas). The platform of choice is Linux...
I don't Caldera / Lineo is targeting the handheld PC/Palmsize PC market with their Windows CE port.
Frighteningly enough, Microsoft has been promoting Windows CE as a viable operating system for *embedded systems*... and this is what Lineo is targeting. There are a number of manufacturers our there that sell WinCE-ready PC-104 boards... This is the market Lineo's going after.
Ummm... The area code prompt is not likely meant as a means to prevent them pesky Americans from invading the site and watching Canadian TV. More than likely, the company is using it as a quick way to gather demographic information about who is watching from where. Of course, that information is pretty much useless to them now that there are all these area codes being posted on Slashdot... by now, their database probably indicates that there's a high percentage of Americans living in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Innuvik. :)