Hmmm, I was thinking more along the lines of iPhone and Android, to tell the truth.
Can't you just use VLC on Linux? Plays back H264 fine (albeit with relatively high CPU usage, but it works well and doesn't require nearly as much horsepower as Flash-based H264 in a browser)...
Video sites are having enough trouble moving away from Flash to H264 streams already... please, please, please (!!!) don't introduce another new video format without ubiquitious hardware decoding support into the fray!
I'm using an IBM Thinkpad X41T. Bit faster than the EeePC T91, and the Wacom digitizer on the X41T is far more accurate than anything available on the EeePC. I'd recommend looking for a used Thinkpad (or possibly HP) tablet if you're planning on actually working with the device (i.e. writing/drawing with the stylus)...
Although you actually sound like you want to use your fingers for navigation, and not a stylus... which is not something I'd buy a tablet for. Windows is still heavily optimized for a mouse and keyboard, and navigating as well as text entry via the touchscreen are more of a last resort, IMO.
It's definitely something you should try out before shelling out the dough.
Windows 7 does this as well. With the page file activated, switching between open programs can take a while, and in these cases there's always a flurry of disk activity.
It runs fine if you're careful and don't turn on the page file. Once programs are open they're just as snappy as on my main systems... you just have to be careful about how many programs you open at once - especially memory hogs like Photoshop or Firefox.:)
Windows 7 seems to place a lot of data in swap, even when gobs of RAM are available. With a large enough page file and Superfetch+Prefetching enabled, physical RAM that's actually in use (not cache!) is usually between 50% and 60% full.
Disable the page file, and the RAM that's in use skyrockets to 70%+ with the same processes running.
Since I have a tablet with a dead-slow 4200RPM 1.8" hard drive, disabling the page file and Superfetch gives me a huge performance boost (Firefox scrolls more smoothly, programs start more quickly), which is what leads me to believe that Windows 7 fills up the page file with active program data in order to keep RAM free. However, with this setup I regularly get Out of Memory warnings when I've got a few browser windows open and Photoshop + Excel + Word - which is a pretty common scenario.
In this case, memory usage (not including cache!) runs up to 85-90%... 2GB is NOT enough for a Windows 7 system unless you have a nice fast hard drive for the page file (the WD 5400RPM 2.5" SATA drive in my desktop replacement does fine for this, but still has a performance hit compared to running without a page file). 4GB without a page file is the sweet spot right now, but sadly, my tablet maxes out at 2GB.
As for all the idiots saying the RAM isn't actually full and is actually just being used as prefetch: The Windows 7 task manager shows how much RAM is AVAILABLE. This is cached + free, meaning the total RAM available for use with programs... and it's very much possible to hit 2-4GB of actual FULL RAM with just a few simple office programs and a web browser.
Hell, I'm using 1.3GB right now and all I've got open is Firefox with 3 tabs, Winamp and MS OneNote 2010... Win7 is a pig.
tbh, I've never tried a Palm product other than the Pre...
The HTC Touch was more of a low budget device, however... VGA devices are where the fun was at in those days... turn off sense/touchflo and you're good to go:)
Maybe I should clarify a little: I ride the train for a few hours every week, and I always have one of my laptops (Matte Thinkpads or a glossy Toshiba) and my smartphone (glossy Motorola Milestone) with me... the glossy displays are practically useless, even on not-so-bright days, while the matte ones are good enough to get work done. Not great, mind you, but OK.
These are actual observations... not just some theories I thought up.
There exists no consumer LCD device that can attain "searing levels" outside. Unless you mean outside on a moonless, overcast night in the wilderness.
All LCDs are way dimmer than the sun. They are not going to cause eyestrain from the brightness, unless it's for the lack of it.
Maybe not searing compared to direct sunlight, but still bright enough to cause eyestrain when reading black text on that hella bright white background most web sites etc. have...
I was thinking more along the lines of using an LED backlit dislay on full power in order to overpower glare. It does work to a certain extent (if you turn the display in the right direction and make sure you're not wearing a brightly colored or white shirt)...
It may not be as bright as the sun, but it's still hella bright, and it does hurt my eyes after a while - especially if the reading is intermittently interrupted by patches of glare.
Also, matte LCDs are crap outdoors because of the way they scatter the light. It's the same idea as why you can't see stars in the daytime. With glossy LCDs, you can at least turn or shade them.
Take a glossy screen and a matte screen outside, place them side-by-side and rethink that statement. I've done it, and I call bullshit...
When every manufacturer turns the OS into their own little freakshow in order to appease the eyecandy-hungry mob, which phone you buy is a HUGE factor in the experience - and that's without taking the actual hardware into account, which, on Windows Mobile, tends to differ greatly depending on manufacturer and model...
Hell, Windows Mobile without any third-party programs or add-ons is surprisingly stable. Of course, without third-party programs or add-ons, an OS is pretty much useless...
It WAS phenomenal when it came out, and still holds its own pretty well. There are now better alternatives, IMO, but the iPhone is still a device that does certain things leaps and bounds better than many of its imitators (reliably smooth kinetic scrolling comes to mind)...
If you're going to compare WinMo to the iPhone, at least do it with a decent WinMo implementation. The TG01 was a trainwreck hardware and driver wise, and the screen wasn't all too great, especially without a stylus.
An HD2 would have been a much more fair comparison, IMO...
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Hmmm, I was thinking more along the lines of iPhone and Android, to tell the truth.
Can't you just use VLC on Linux? Plays back H264 fine (albeit with relatively high CPU usage, but it works well and doesn't require nearly as much horsepower as Flash-based H264 in a browser)...
Video sites are having enough trouble moving away from Flash to H264 streams already... please, please, please (!!!) don't introduce another new video format without ubiquitious hardware decoding support into the fray!
Now if only you could go to any video site that works fine in Flash and get videos in H264... If that were the case, nobody would be complaining.
Why not just leave it at the HTML site?
He probably meant "flashy" Flash and Javascript. Mouseovers, animations everywhere, background music without an "off" button...
And this even though probably 3/4 of the people who want Flash on their mobiles only want it for embedded Flash video...
Of course this is just speculation, but that's what it feels like as a smartphone user.
Corecodec is actually very efficient compared to most other decoders... decoding in software, it uses about 40% less CPU time than the Win7 decoder...
Actually made 720p halfway enjoyable on an N270...
Corecodec won't play back 1080p on an AspireOne with gma950 without stuttering either, unlress you're dealing with VERY low bitrates.
720p worked fine though...
Hmm, what exactly is so great about having a touchscreen for comics and ebooks? Or is it more about the form factor?
I'm using an IBM Thinkpad X41T. Bit faster than the EeePC T91, and the Wacom digitizer on the X41T is far more accurate than anything available on the EeePC. I'd recommend looking for a used Thinkpad (or possibly HP) tablet if you're planning on actually working with the device (i.e. writing/drawing with the stylus)...
Although you actually sound like you want to use your fingers for navigation, and not a stylus... which is not something I'd buy a tablet for. Windows is still heavily optimized for a mouse and keyboard, and navigating as well as text entry via the touchscreen are more of a last resort, IMO.
It's definitely something you should try out before shelling out the dough.
Windows 7 does this as well. With the page file activated, switching between open programs can take a while, and in these cases there's always a flurry of disk activity.
I'd be interested in a way to turn this off.
Oh, and to answer your actual question: It's mainly because of the tablet features and indexed search :)
It runs fine if you're careful and don't turn on the page file. Once programs are open they're just as snappy as on my main systems... you just have to be careful about how many programs you open at once - especially memory hogs like Photoshop or Firefox. :)
Windows 7 seems to place a lot of data in swap, even when gobs of RAM are available. With a large enough page file and Superfetch+Prefetching enabled, physical RAM that's actually in use (not cache!) is usually between 50% and 60% full.
Disable the page file, and the RAM that's in use skyrockets to 70%+ with the same processes running.
Since I have a tablet with a dead-slow 4200RPM 1.8" hard drive, disabling the page file and Superfetch gives me a huge performance boost (Firefox scrolls more smoothly, programs start more quickly), which is what leads me to believe that Windows 7 fills up the page file with active program data in order to keep RAM free. However, with this setup I regularly get Out of Memory warnings when I've got a few browser windows open and Photoshop + Excel + Word - which is a pretty common scenario.
In this case, memory usage (not including cache!) runs up to 85-90%... 2GB is NOT enough for a Windows 7 system unless you have a nice fast hard drive for the page file (the WD 5400RPM 2.5" SATA drive in my desktop replacement does fine for this, but still has a performance hit compared to running without a page file). 4GB without a page file is the sweet spot right now, but sadly, my tablet maxes out at 2GB.
As for all the idiots saying the RAM isn't actually full and is actually just being used as prefetch: The Windows 7 task manager shows how much RAM is AVAILABLE. This is cached + free, meaning the total RAM available for use with programs... and it's very much possible to hit 2-4GB of actual FULL RAM with just a few simple office programs and a web browser.
Hell, I'm using 1.3GB right now and all I've got open is Firefox with 3 tabs, Winamp and MS OneNote 2010... Win7 is a pig.
You're right... just tried it on my Milestone and got direct links to H264 content. Now if only everyone would adopt this system...
So they've moved to HTML5? Or are you using a Flash hack of some sort?
tbh, I've never tried a Palm product other than the Pre...
The HTC Touch was more of a low budget device, however... VGA devices are where the fun was at in those days... turn off sense/touchflo and you're good to go :)
Maybe I should clarify a little: I ride the train for a few hours every week, and I always have one of my laptops (Matte Thinkpads or a glossy Toshiba) and my smartphone (glossy Motorola Milestone) with me... the glossy displays are practically useless, even on not-so-bright days, while the matte ones are good enough to get work done. Not great, mind you, but OK.
These are actual observations... not just some theories I thought up.
There exists no consumer LCD device that can attain "searing levels" outside. Unless you mean outside on a moonless, overcast night in the wilderness.
All LCDs are way dimmer than the sun. They are not going to cause eyestrain from the brightness, unless it's for the lack of it.
Maybe not searing compared to direct sunlight, but still bright enough to cause eyestrain when reading black text on that hella bright white background most web sites etc. have...
I was thinking more along the lines of using an LED backlit dislay on full power in order to overpower glare. It does work to a certain extent (if you turn the display in the right direction and make sure you're not wearing a brightly colored or white shirt)...
It may not be as bright as the sun, but it's still hella bright, and it does hurt my eyes after a while - especially if the reading is intermittently interrupted by patches of glare.
Also, matte LCDs are crap outdoors because of the way they scatter the light. It's the same idea as why you can't see stars in the daytime. With glossy LCDs, you can at least turn or shade them.
Take a glossy screen and a matte screen outside, place them side-by-side and rethink that statement. I've done it, and I call bullshit...
So basically the gripe is, "I want everything I need built into the OS."?
Hmmmm, I'm just a dumb Windows user, but isn't that "everything including the kitchen sink" approach what many FOSS users refer to as bloat?
When every manufacturer turns the OS into their own little freakshow in order to appease the eyecandy-hungry mob, which phone you buy is a HUGE factor in the experience - and that's without taking the actual hardware into account, which, on Windows Mobile, tends to differ greatly depending on manufacturer and model...
Hell, Windows Mobile without any third-party programs or add-ons is surprisingly stable. Of course, without third-party programs or add-ons, an OS is pretty much useless...
It WAS phenomenal when it came out, and still holds its own pretty well. There are now better alternatives, IMO, but the iPhone is still a device that does certain things leaps and bounds better than many of its imitators (reliably smooth kinetic scrolling comes to mind)...
If you're going to compare WinMo to the iPhone, at least do it with a decent WinMo implementation. The TG01 was a trainwreck hardware and driver wise, and the screen wasn't all too great, especially without a stylus.
An HD2 would have been a much more fair comparison, IMO...
Actually, I've never seen a BSOD on a WinMo phone. In my experience it's usually a direct reboot or a simple freeze...
Videos please.