Dyolf Knip said:
"Usually more expensive, too. Check out IBM's thinclient lines. $500 and up, not even including the monitor."
I've been hacking on a $199.99 New Internet Computer and am impressed. If more companies offered a reasonably priced thin client they'd be a lot more popular. Add in a $300 Samsung LCD screen and you got a system that's cheap, quite (no fans) and takes up very little desktop real estate.
Here's the specs:
- VIA Cyrix MII PR266 processor
- 64MB RAM (single DIMM and upgradable)
- 4MB Flash Memory Disk
- 24X CD-ROM Drive
- 56K Modem
- 10/100 bT Ethernet
- 2 USB Ports
- Keyboard & Mouse
- Speakers
- Linux and X boot CD with Realplayer G2, Netscape, Citrix and an IRC client.
We [2600 et al] decided it would be a good idea to register verizonsucks.com because, if our experience with past phone companies is any indication, Verizon will in all probability be thought of in this way in the near future. But we didn't move fast enough. Apparently, Verizon realized this was going to happen and they went and had their lawyers register verizonsucks.com themselves! (The logic of owning a site that says your business sucks really escapes us.)
We did the next best thing and registered verizonREALLYsucks.com. We kept the domain in reserve for when we might need it. That day has come.
I also heard somewhere that 2600 was suing Verizon under the domain "Cyber Squatting" law for registering "verizonsucks.com" for the express purpose of not using it. Just curious, when Verizon's management have nightmares do they see themselves trapped in a red box and hearing a 2.6kHz tone? Nice to see someone keeping honest (or trying their best)...
Well, it seems that Microsoft has fired another shot across the bow of the Open Source community. This time it's in a speech on May 3rd given by MS's Craig Mundie (Senior VP of "Advanced Strategies") at New York University. He's quoted as saying "The GNU Public License poses a threat to the intellectual property of any organization making use of it," Craig believes that "... a sharing of knowledge, through source code and broader interaction, while respecting the importance of intellectual property rights." Translation: "Your source code will be assimilated and become part of the Collective. Resistance is futile."
Yes, PDAs (Linux based or otherwise) have come and gone. What's different about the Simputer is:
1.
It's designed by the people it is meant to serve. As much as I don't want to refer to India as a "Third World" country, some parts of it is. Maybe they know what there fellow countrymen need better than us (many of who consider a PIII under 1 Ghz passe).
2. There's some pretty sharp people designing it. Check out the member's resumes. MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Purdue, Stanford, University of Maryland, etc. Most hardware companies in the US would pretty much kill to get these guys working for them.
3. Sometimes "used and cheap" isn't the best. Although recycling older systems from the "First World" to the third has it's benefits to us and them, why not give them something fast to start? The software written in some village in the middle of nowhere might just help us all. As I recall some other good ideas that came out of India.
4. It's not just a PDA. According to the objectives of the Simputer Trust this is meant to be a "low cost computational device... for the rural, semi-rural and lower income bracket persons".
5. It's built to take a beating. IMHO the Simputer should last a lot longer than any Palm or iPaq after a drop in a rice patty (or someplace worse).
Before you complain about the type/number of ports, screen or color of the case remember this: if you are reading this posting chances are you're not their targeted customer.
Re:Big money for encoder / server??
(Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 28, @10:35AM EDT
The Quicktime Streaming Server is free and works on Linux, OS X and NT. The encoding software is around $199 (not 'big bucks' in my book) and you don't even need to upgrade Quicktime to 'Pro' for $30 to watch streaming content. I'm using this combination and it kicks ass! Easy, cheap and effective - I'm maxxing out my 100Mbit connection no problem on an older G3 mac.
"Score:0"? This AC gives accurate information about Apple's software and he gets a "0"? Yet the article above [it] talks about the same thing with M$ and gets a "4". Bad karma indeed...
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Here's the specs:
- VIA Cyrix MII PR266 processor
- 64MB RAM (single DIMM and upgradable)
- 4MB Flash Memory Disk
- 24X CD-ROM Drive
- 56K Modem
- 10/100 bT Ethernet
- 2 USB Ports
- Keyboard & Mouse
- Speakers
- Linux and X boot CD with Realplayer G2, Netscape, Citrix and an IRC client.
BTW, Dyolf is right, except for the thinknic, thin clients [that I've seen] are $500+. Too rich for my blood.
pherris
Also see: Verizon backs down from lawsuit threat
pherris
Upside.com has an article covering this mess.
2. There's some pretty sharp people designing it. Check out the member's resumes. MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Purdue, Stanford, University of Maryland, etc. Most hardware companies in the US would pretty much kill to get these guys working for them.
3. Sometimes "used and cheap" isn't the best. Although recycling older systems from the "First World" to the third has it's benefits to us and them, why not give them something fast to start? The software written in some village in the middle of nowhere might just help us all. As I recall some other good ideas that came out of India.
4. It's not just a PDA. According to the objectives of the Simputer Trust this is meant to be a "low cost computational device
5. It's built to take a beating. IMHO the Simputer should last a lot longer than any Palm or iPaq after a drop in a rice patty (or someplace worse).
Before you complain about the type/number of ports, screen or color of the case remember this: if you are reading this posting chances are you're not their targeted customer.
pherris
"Score:0"? This AC gives accurate information about Apple's software and he gets a "0"? Yet the article above [it] talks about the same thing with M$ and gets a "4". Bad karma indeed ...
pherris
Tim Higgins rocks! www.practicallynetworked.com is, IMHO, the best site for SOHO networking info.
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/02/08/062321 6&mode=thread