+ USB or PS/2 + 3 buttons, like the creator intended + Multiple sizes + Lefty, righty models + Great thumb action scrollwheel and scroll-slider
Con's:
+ BIG - especially the larger sizes + Not 100% ergo IMO - still can have a bit of discomfort + Optical pickup only, no more ball model (I prefer a ball)
Before you go and start crapping all over Psion, consider the way that patents and trademarks work. I think that a lot of folks here are applying what they know about one to the other. It is a common enough problem.
A patent is enforceable whether you decide to enforce it or not. So, if you decided to enforce it vs. one single company while many others were ripping you off, you could do that.
A trademark, however, becomes diluted if you either selectively enforce, or if you do not enforce it. In other words, if Psion continues to allow everyone to use the term, especially more public entities like websites, their trademark will quickly become diluted, unenforceable, and worthless.
It is pretty clear that Psion either intends to license the trademark, or to introduce a consumer line of what they'll call Netbooks. Or perhaps, license the trademark along with a number of related patents (I think that they patented some stuff relating to form-factor that would be useful in a, well, N/netbook.
In other words, they need to do this to make money from their own IP. Not so awful.
The problem is - pretty basic stuff doesn't work on what is the slickest Ubuntu so far.
For example, Wi-Fi - The driver for a last-gen Intel card just doesn't work very well. Can't connect on 802.11a at all, and 802.11g runs at under 1Mb/sec. Not very good.
I understand that the limitation is probably in the kernel, but it doesn't change the fact that Ubuntu still isn't quite there yet.
FYI, if anyone has had a good experience with ANY WiFi chipset that's available on a Mini PCIe card, please let me know!
TFA didn't really get into detail, but does this mean:
1. Taxpayers fund research, 2. Government patents results, 3. Government sells patents to private concern, 4. Taxpayer gets to pay for research again via the consumer channel, 5. Private concern profits?
Seems like another form of corporate welfare to me. Is this the case?
Why isn't this an issue with rights-encumbered photos and images on the web?
You can buy photos today. Some are licensed for a Web audience, some are not. There are technologies to find illegal use of photos out there, and more coming.
Fonts can be same way - either licensed for a Web audience, or not. It should be trivial to detect those that abuse such licensing, much more so than images.
So - what is so special about fonts that they require the DRM treatment? Let the free market sort it out. If paying for Web license is too much, people will just use "standard" fonts, or they'll resort to using flash or other silliness.
The E61 sucks *with* the last released firmware, it just sucks less. They never did ship a fully stable device, and I see no evidence that they fixed the E61 issues in any successor devices. Again, no more Nokia for me.
Same here. My E61 will crash and freeze if messaging is open in the background. They have memory leaks or something; it really isn't much good at doing anything other than being a phone.
No more Nokia for me, not until they fix my E61. Not holding my breath:)
If someone called you right now and said "I need a 500 dollar Cat-5 cable", would you sell it? If I was going to be in the business of selling Cat-5 cables, and didn't really care much about the long term, sure.
If I'm in the business, for the long haul, of selling equipment that has a (supposedly) respected brand because of quality, nope.
Compare how you feel about the Denon name to how your feel about Monster Cable. Why would they sully their reputation so? In short, they can sell a few stupid cables to a few stupid people, but they could also lose more than a few sales to competitors that don't feel the need to engage in such stupidities. Are they going to make so much from these pure-copper Cat-5 cables that it'll be worth the negative PR that they're getting just here on Slashdot, and the mocking that will ensue by thousands of potential consumers (and likely, to be seen on Gizmodo, Engadget, Fark, in some corners of AVS forums, etc. etc.)
I'd speculate that Nokia has never user-tested their phones, at least not the one I have (E61). The thing simply does not work as advertised - and the UI is anti-intuitive. There is no consistency. Cut and paste is present in some apps and GUI elements, not others. You can shut down messaging by restarting it, but no other application works the same way. You can't tell the difference between a successful and unsuccessful attempt at connecting to the Internet. Leave email running in the background, and your phone crashes hard. I could go on, but I can't wait to get rid of this Nokia piece of crap.
I don't think that Trolltech will help, unless they're given authority over the user experience. And existing Qtopia based devices don't indicated that things will completely improve over the miserable experience that Nokia currently provides.
I just upgraded to two Gateway 24" displays (BTW, they're great for the money. I got two for under $800).
The truth is that once you get past this size, monitors become un-ergonomic. Bigger monitors make you have to swivel your head up and down; they also will exceed the limits of your non-peripheral vision if you sit at a "normal" viewing distance.
My favorite presentation software was Aldus/Adobe Persuasion. Easy to use, flexible, never got in the way, and I was always able to get what I wanted out of it.
Powerpoint still isn't as good, and Persuasion was killed off 10 years ago.
Sure, this seems stupid, but consider some consumer behavior I've seen recently:
- A household where every family member has a Mac and an iPod. Family members often buy the same song instead of using sharing because it is "too difficult".
- A household where working computers are thrown out on a yearly basis and replaced with new ones because that's "easier".
- A household where computers with sensitive records are just left out on the curb.
Different households, all fairly affluent, all in the NYC area. So while ringles may be stupid to the Slashdot crowd, they'll sell to the people that are even dumber than the record execs.
I own a Nokia E61. You will be very disappointed with a Nokia smartphone - buggy, crap features, etc. I was completely surprised at the shoddy execution.
I'm guessing that in the UK you get return rights, tho. Make sure that you do.
Slashdot Mirror
See:
http://www.contourdesign.com/pmo/
Pro's:
+ USB or PS/2
+ 3 buttons, like the creator intended
+ Multiple sizes
+ Lefty, righty models
+ Great thumb action scrollwheel and scroll-slider
Con's:
+ BIG - especially the larger sizes
+ Not 100% ergo IMO - still can have a bit of discomfort
+ Optical pickup only, no more ball model (I prefer a ball)
Definitely worth trying out.
Before you go and start crapping all over Psion, consider the way that patents and trademarks work. I think that a lot of folks here are applying what they know about one to the other. It is a common enough problem.
A patent is enforceable whether you decide to enforce it or not. So, if you decided to enforce it vs. one single company while many others were ripping you off, you could do that.
A trademark, however, becomes diluted if you either selectively enforce, or if you do not enforce it. In other words, if Psion continues to allow everyone to use the term, especially more public entities like websites, their trademark will quickly become diluted, unenforceable, and worthless.
It is pretty clear that Psion either intends to license the trademark, or to introduce a consumer line of what they'll call Netbooks. Or perhaps, license the trademark along with a number of related patents (I think that they patented some stuff relating to form-factor that would be useful in a, well, N/netbook.
In other words, they need to do this to make money from their own IP. Not so awful.
Can you be more specific? I'd really appreciate it :)
The problem is - pretty basic stuff doesn't work on what is the slickest Ubuntu so far.
For example, Wi-Fi - The driver for a last-gen Intel card just doesn't work very well. Can't connect on 802.11a at all, and 802.11g runs at under 1Mb/sec. Not very good.
I understand that the limitation is probably in the kernel, but it doesn't change the fact that Ubuntu still isn't quite there yet.
FYI, if anyone has had a good experience with ANY WiFi chipset that's available on a Mini PCIe card, please let me know!
You are assuming that the corporation will be paying at least the R&D costs, or more.
As this is an auction, they may be getting very valuable patents, which cost dearly to research, for very cheaply.
And, even if they get the patents for the cost of the R&D, they may still make horrendous profits off the backs of the consumer.
I fail to see why the government should be spending tax dollars to solely benefit private companies.
TFA didn't really get into detail, but does this mean:
1. Taxpayers fund research,
2. Government patents results,
3. Government sells patents to private concern,
4. Taxpayer gets to pay for research again via the consumer channel,
5. Private concern profits?
Seems like another form of corporate welfare to me. Is this the case?
Why isn't this an issue with rights-encumbered photos and images on the web?
You can buy photos today. Some are licensed for a Web audience, some are not. There are technologies to find illegal use of photos out there, and more coming.
Fonts can be same way - either licensed for a Web audience, or not. It should be trivial to detect those that abuse such licensing, much more so than images.
So - what is so special about fonts that they require the DRM treatment? Let the free market sort it out. If paying for Web license is too much, people will just use "standard" fonts, or they'll resort to using flash or other silliness.
T-Mobile is in the process of rolling out serviceable 3G. The new phone will have 3G, at least in some markets.
The E61 sucks *with* the last released firmware, it just sucks less. They never did ship a fully stable device, and I see no evidence that they fixed the E61 issues in any successor devices. Again, no more Nokia for me.
jh
Same here. My E61 will crash and freeze if messaging is open in the background. They have memory leaks or something; it really isn't much good at doing anything other than being a phone.
:)
No more Nokia for me, not until they fix my E61. Not holding my breath
If I'm in the business, for the long haul, of selling equipment that has a (supposedly) respected brand because of quality, nope.
Compare how you feel about the Denon name to how your feel about Monster Cable. Why would they sully their reputation so? In short, they can sell a few stupid cables to a few stupid people, but they could also lose more than a few sales to competitors that don't feel the need to engage in such stupidities. Are they going to make so much from these pure-copper Cat-5 cables that it'll be worth the negative PR that they're getting just here on Slashdot, and the mocking that will ensue by thousands of potential consumers (and likely, to be seen on Gizmodo, Engadget, Fark, in some corners of AVS forums, etc. etc.)
Someone is going to get fired over this.
I was thinking of buying a Denon AV receiver for my home theater upgrade.
Then I see this. Are all their claims just sheer puffery? How can I take their brand seriously?
If this Ethernet garbage is just an aberration, don't they know that doing it will have the reverse effect on consumers with clue?
Here's one that not only comes in lefty models, but you can choose from different sizes, too:
http://www.contourdesign.com/pmo/
I bought it because "normal" mice caused me pain, and because I must have a three button mouse (I'm guessing that I'm not the only one here).
I have the righty version, and it is pretty comfortable, much better than anything else currently on the market that resembles a standard mouse.
The most comfortable mouse of all time, bar none:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/wingmanmouse/
It was just amazing. I'd kill to get one in new condition - I never had any pain with it. Shame that Logitech killed it.
I'd speculate that Nokia has never user-tested their phones, at least not the one I have (E61). The thing simply does not work as advertised - and the UI is anti-intuitive. There is no consistency. Cut and paste is present in some apps and GUI elements, not others. You can shut down messaging by restarting it, but no other application works the same way. You can't tell the difference between a successful and unsuccessful attempt at connecting to the Internet. Leave email running in the background, and your phone crashes hard. I could go on, but I can't wait to get rid of this Nokia piece of crap.
I don't think that Trolltech will help, unless they're given authority over the user experience. And existing Qtopia based devices don't indicated that things will completely improve over the miserable experience that Nokia currently provides.
I just upgraded to two Gateway 24" displays (BTW, they're great for the money. I got two for under $800).
The truth is that once you get past this size, monitors become un-ergonomic. Bigger monitors make you have to swivel your head up and down; they also will exceed the limits of your non-peripheral vision if you sit at a "normal" viewing distance.
My $.02.
jh
In other words, please start inventing faster because I don't want to die a trembling mess.
In all seriousness, I hope that he gets them moving, and that such cures are not only for folks with Groves' wallet.
My favorite presentation software was Aldus/Adobe Persuasion. Easy to use, flexible, never got in the way, and I was always able to get what I wanted out of it.
Powerpoint still isn't as good, and Persuasion was killed off 10 years ago.
Please, Adobe, bring it back, OK?
jh
Thanks!
Can someone help a brother out and tell me how to take out the tripods at the end _easily_?
:(
I think that I'm too old to continue playing FPS games
Seriously, better gaming availability and I'd be running to buy a Mac. Like, tomorrow.
Of course, the same could be said for Linux. If the "bigs" showed up on Linux, I'd be dumping my Windows desktop, too.
Bottom line: first non-Windows OS with decent, supported, modern gaming and I'm off to the races.
I have a feeling that Shuttleworth isn't as silly as the Mac folks on this issue, wouldn't be surprised if he's had the same meeting, too.
Sure, this seems stupid, but consider some consumer behavior I've seen recently:
- A household where every family member has a Mac and an iPod. Family members often buy the same song instead of using sharing because it is "too difficult".
- A household where working computers are thrown out on a yearly basis and replaced with new ones because that's "easier".
- A household where computers with sensitive records are just left out on the curb.
Different households, all fairly affluent, all in the NYC area. So while ringles may be stupid to the Slashdot crowd, they'll sell to the people that are even dumber than the record execs.
I bought my niece a computer that she wanted. It only came with Vista. I ordered it anyway.
The machine arrived from Dell yesterday. I fired it up to see Vista. The damn thing blue-screened on first boot. It has since booted fine.
This tells me that either the software is broken, or the hardware is. Either way, it is going back for a refund.
Nice job, Dell. Nice job, MS.
Summary: Ubuntu is the biggest Linux distro because I say so. Discuss.
How much did they pay slashdot for the traffic being generated?
I own a Nokia E61. You will be very disappointed with a Nokia smartphone - buggy, crap features, etc. I was completely surprised at the shoddy execution.
I'm guessing that in the UK you get return rights, tho. Make sure that you do.