So basically, Microsoft is saying that they'll violate your copyright unless you create data in your page telling them not to. Microsoft is taking it upon themselves to modify and distribute your content in a form that you did not intend to.
If I create a webpage, I own that page. No one is legally allowed to modify it. We all know that browsers might change the appearance of a page (color, font, images, etc.), but it should stop short of modifying the content of a page.
I definitely agree with you, this should be something that you can opt IN to. What about all of the websites in existance already that aren't being actively maintained? Should their content be altered just because they didn't know that Microsoft was requiring them to add a special "Don't violate the copyright on my page" tag? IANAL, but Microsoft's "feature" certainly seems to violate the intent of copyright.
-Sean
Before I begin: I've been a VR3d developer for the past six months. So this might be a little biased.
The VR3 is not intended to compete with PocketPC. Who could expect a $180 device ($250 for consumers) to compete with a handheld in the range of $400-$800? In the same way, the VR3 is not meant to compete with Yopy. This is simply a very flexible low-end PDA.
Also, Agenda has not been too clear about their plans, but their PR person mailed out the following schedule for those who are interested.
Week of 5/21
Agenda VR3 ships with Linux QuickSync software
Week of 6/4 (our goal)
Windows QuickSync software available for download
Week of 6/25
Agenda VR3 ships with Linux & Windows QuickSync software (plus e-mail, fax &
other added software)
I admit that Agenda Computing has not made it very clear that they have developed the Linux sync software. In fact they did not develop any Windows sync software. They contracted it out to another company as one of their employees said on the developer list:
We have contracted out the windows portion of syncing the VR3. They are writing the software to sync the VR3 with Outlook, Outlook Express, Scheduler +, Lotus Notes, Lotus Organizer, Acts, Goldmines, Palm desktop. It is not finished yet, but I'm sure a message will go out to the list when it is ready.
This review was done with software that is at least two versions older than the current release. (The icons on the launchpad have some question marks that were removed on the latest versions of the romdisk). Romdisks and kernels are released about once a week since the beginning of March. Bugs are being fixed constantly. In fact, I am currently upgrading my VR3d to today's software release.
It is important to note that this is not a consumer release. It is easiest to use the VR3d with Linux, not Windows. (Although, I just synced mine with my PC and am upgrading using 3rd party developer tools under Windows).
Non-hackers should wait until a consumer version is released. Hackers will probably have fun doing what they want with the system. The VR3d is completely open (except for the bootloader, or PMON). When I see a bug in the system, I am free to download the source and fix it for myself.
I don't personally use the CueCat, but it does have more use than the RadioShack catalogue.
The Dallas Morning News prints CueCat bar codes with newspaper articles. You can scan them in and see online coverage that is more current than what's printed in the paper. I'm not sure if other newspapers do this (Dallas Morning News was the first).
These are rough figures off of the top of my head:
LinuxVR kernel (2.4.0-test9): 4MB
Current Romdisk: 8MB
Total Flash: 16MB
So, it is fairly stripped down, but not perfectly yet. These numbers, particularly the romdisk, should shrink soon. (an enhanced compiler and linker that will make programs smaller and faster, is currently being worked on).
Time to address some of the concerns about running linux on a PDA. These comments are based off of the Agenda VR3d "Developer's Edition"
Graffiti: this is a concern for usability. The only one that I've seen mentioned is xscribble. It's characters are similar to Palm's graffiti, but not exactly the same. I don't know how well it works in general, but on the Agenda VR3d, it needs a little work.
Speed and Memory: Definitely a potential problem. A Palm responds nicely at ~16MHz (don't know for sure). Linux needs a little more power. VR3 is using a 66MHz processor, but it's not as responsive as a Palm. The beta kernels/roms do improve this. They also need a lot more memory to run well. Not a problem for the highend PDA's that have 16-32MB of RAM, but for the VR3 with 8MB, it might be a problem.
Portability: I haven't ported anything myself, but others have. How easy it is will depend on the program. The limitations of a PDA (small screen, less colors) can make it harder to directly port. On the other hand, programs written for the VR3d can easily be compiled to run on an x86 box.
Open source: I'm not sure if this was mentioned before or not. A linux PDA with flash memory can be customized. Compile your own kernel and applications. If you don't like the way the Planner works, you can modify it for yourself. You can't do this for other PDA's.
Free software: This goes with being open source. If you've ever looked through the Palm program archives, there are many shareware apps that cost about 10 bucks each. While some of those might be worth the money, many are not. A linux PDA encourages developers to write free software. This will certainly benefit the end user.
The future of Linux in the PDA world is far from certain. It's quite possible that it will lose to Palm's near monopoly on cheap PDA's. It could, on the other hand, do far better than Palm ever will. It really depends on how many people will support Linux in the handheld environment.
On a side note... I've repeatedly seen people calling the Linux PDA's vaporware. Some might be, but I have one sitting in front of me. Sure, it hasn't been officially released, but it is definitely real.
I have one of the Agenda VR3d's sitting in front of me right now. Sure, it's not a finished product. The handwriting recognition isn't nearly as good as the Palm's. There are some speed issues as well.
But it's still a great product. By the time it's released to the consumers, it'll be much better. As far as the "iMac" style, it's actually fairly nice. I don't know what the consumer versions will look like for sure, but the original black and white developers model is nice. The current developers models are blue and white, but I haven't seen one for my self.
Personally, I think that it's a great system. The entire system is open sorce. The hardware developers in Hong Kong are listening to developers' comments and modifying the hardware to make it better. The VP of R&D is actively answering questions on various aspects of the design.
There's also a coolness factor involved in running linux on a handheld. Mine is set up as a fully functional webserver. Somebody even ported Apache to it. Not really necessary, but kind of cool. It may not be perfect now, but check again when it's released to the consumers.
The DataHand can only type 20 characters per hand. They have the demo of only one hand, but in real life you would use one for each hand. Plus they have the standard ALT, SHIFT, and CTL for any extra characters.
-Sean
My high school already has this for some classes. My math class is so small (3 other people) that they have it linked by camera and microphone to the other four high schools in the district. One teacher teaches all 5 schools at the same time.
The downside to this (from a teacher's perspective) is that students don't have an incentive to pay attention in class. The remote control to all of the video conferencing stuff has a little "mic-off" button.
Speaking of Linux on PDA's, the Agenda VR3 will be out by March hopefully. Mine will arrive by next week and any other developers can order one at the developer site.
Slashdot Mirror
If I create a webpage, I own that page. No one is legally allowed to modify it. We all know that browsers might change the appearance of a page (color, font, images, etc.), but it should stop short of modifying the content of a page.
I definitely agree with you, this should be something that you can opt IN to. What about all of the websites in existance already that aren't being actively maintained? Should their content be altered just because they didn't know that Microsoft was requiring them to add a special "Don't violate the copyright on my page" tag? IANAL, but Microsoft's "feature" certainly seems to violate the intent of copyright. -Sean
The VR3 is not intended to compete with PocketPC. Who could expect a $180 device ($250 for consumers) to compete with a handheld in the range of $400-$800? In the same way, the VR3 is not meant to compete with Yopy. This is simply a very flexible low-end PDA.
Also, Agenda has not been too clear about their plans, but their PR person mailed out the following schedule for those who are interested.
Week of 5/21
Agenda VR3 ships with Linux QuickSync software
Week of 6/4 (our goal)
Windows QuickSync software available for download
Week of 6/25
Agenda VR3 ships with Linux & Windows QuickSync software (plus e-mail, fax & other added software)
See their CVS
I admit that Agenda Computing has not made it very clear that they have developed the Linux sync software. In fact they did not develop any Windows sync software. They contracted it out to another company as one of their employees said on the developer list:
We have contracted out the windows portion of syncing the VR3. They are writing the software to sync the VR3 with Outlook, Outlook Express, Scheduler +, Lotus Notes, Lotus Organizer, Acts, Goldmines, Palm desktop. It is not finished yet, but I'm sure a message will go out to the list when it is ready.
It is important to note that this is not a consumer release. It is easiest to use the VR3d with Linux, not Windows. (Although, I just synced mine with my PC and am upgrading using 3rd party developer tools under Windows).
Non-hackers should wait until a consumer version is released. Hackers will probably have fun doing what they want with the system. The VR3d is completely open (except for the bootloader, or PMON). When I see a bug in the system, I am free to download the source and fix it for myself.
-Sean
The Dallas Morning News prints CueCat bar codes with newspaper articles. You can scan them in and see online coverage that is more current than what's printed in the paper. I'm not sure if other newspapers do this (Dallas Morning News was the first).
-Sean
These are rough figures off of the top of my head:
LinuxVR kernel (2.4.0-test9): 4MB
Current Romdisk: 8MB
Total Flash: 16MB
So, it is fairly stripped down, but not perfectly yet. These numbers, particularly the romdisk, should shrink soon. (an enhanced compiler and linker that will make programs smaller and faster, is currently being worked on).
Graffiti: this is a concern for usability. The only one that I've seen mentioned is xscribble. It's characters are similar to Palm's graffiti, but not exactly the same. I don't know how well it works in general, but on the Agenda VR3d, it needs a little work.
Speed and Memory: Definitely a potential problem. A Palm responds nicely at ~16MHz (don't know for sure). Linux needs a little more power. VR3 is using a 66MHz processor, but it's not as responsive as a Palm. The beta kernels/roms do improve this. They also need a lot more memory to run well. Not a problem for the highend PDA's that have 16-32MB of RAM, but for the VR3 with 8MB, it might be a problem.
Portability: I haven't ported anything myself, but others have. How easy it is will depend on the program. The limitations of a PDA (small screen, less colors) can make it harder to directly port. On the other hand, programs written for the VR3d can easily be compiled to run on an x86 box.
Open source: I'm not sure if this was mentioned before or not. A linux PDA with flash memory can be customized. Compile your own kernel and applications. If you don't like the way the Planner works, you can modify it for yourself. You can't do this for other PDA's.
Free software: This goes with being open source. If you've ever looked through the Palm program archives, there are many shareware apps that cost about 10 bucks each. While some of those might be worth the money, many are not. A linux PDA encourages developers to write free software. This will certainly benefit the end user.
The future of Linux in the PDA world is far from certain. It's quite possible that it will lose to Palm's near monopoly on cheap PDA's. It could, on the other hand, do far better than Palm ever will. It really depends on how many people will support Linux in the handheld environment.
On a side note... I've repeatedly seen people calling the Linux PDA's vaporware. Some might be, but I have one sitting in front of me. Sure, it hasn't been officially released, but it is definitely real.
But it's still a great product. By the time it's released to the consumers, it'll be much better. As far as the "iMac" style, it's actually fairly nice. I don't know what the consumer versions will look like for sure, but the original black and white developers model is nice. The current developers models are blue and white, but I haven't seen one for my self.
Personally, I think that it's a great system. The entire system is open sorce. The hardware developers in Hong Kong are listening to developers' comments and modifying the hardware to make it better. The VP of R&D is actively answering questions on various aspects of the design.
There's also a coolness factor involved in running linux on a handheld. Mine is set up as a fully functional webserver. Somebody even ported Apache to it. Not really necessary, but kind of cool. It may not be perfect now, but check again when it's released to the consumers.
Sean
The DataHand can only type 20 characters per hand. They have the demo of only one hand, but in real life you would use one for each hand. Plus they have the standard ALT, SHIFT, and CTL for any extra characters. -Sean
The downside to this (from a teacher's perspective) is that students don't have an incentive to pay attention in class. The remote control to all of the video conferencing stuff has a little "mic-off" button.
-Sean
Speaking of Linux on PDA's, the Agenda VR3 will be out by March hopefully. Mine will arrive by next week and any other developers can order one at the developer site.