It's worth noting that the patch came out several days ago. I can't think of another time when the patch was actually released ahead of the project (in the games biz, anyhow). What does that say about game S/W development?
Having seen the recent BattleBot competition, we've concluded that what the audience wants is blood and shrapnel. Watching a bunch of wedges slam into eachother is rather boring, unless a bot gets pushed into the arena blades. If we ever do an entry, it'll have at least 4 layers of Lego armor, so when the saws/flails/mower blades hit it, bits will fly everywhere. Ideally, we'll build it upside down and fill random sets of bricks with some fluid for extra blood effect. And it'll also have hammers, and blades, and a chainsaw, and sharp sticks, and foul language...
Before committing to a cell phone solution, make sure you get the full scoop on costs. I did a little research not too long ago about the cost of using a Nokia w/PacBell as a modem alternative to a Palm VII. The Palm VII was $40/mo flat free anywhere there's coverage in the US. For the same $40, assuming I'm not roaming, I figured out I'd get about 15 minutes of digital phone servce (not including any ISP fees). Roaming dropped that to 5mins.
For now, probably your best bet is to just make sure the content can format to a small screen and you're using the most basic HTML. Both WAP and Palm VII's Web Clipping can use proxy servers to convert regular HTML content into WAP/WC friendly content, and you're already covering the dozen or so "standard" browsers than run on PDA's and allow you to surf freely. The whole WAP protocol/corporate support is still very unstable and Web Clipping hasn't caught on outside of the Palm VII, so I think it's premature to commit to either one exclusively.
I followed the links from the O'Rielly article, and they discuss how to route IP from the Palm through the cradle through Win95. Anyone know how to do it under NT? Knowing NT, it cant be as easy as adding the serial link modem and RAS services. I remember seeing a link to something about this many many moons ago but can't find it now.
Maybe it's time to wean developers from hardware-specific code? Nothings worse than being held back from great new hardware technology by 20,000 pesky developers who just couldn't code by the rules.
If Palm really wants the Palm OS to gain momentum in the future, one thing they're going to need to do is shed the hardware factor. They can't expect cell phones and refridgerators and automotive GPS systems to all rely on the Dragonball and a 120x120(?) screen.
Better to clean up the mess now, while the competition is still floundering, I say.
"Palm devices will either contain receivers for connecting to the Internet directly or a Bluetooth chip that will allow them to connect to the Web via a cell phone bridge, or they will come with a cradle or add-on option to facilitate connections."
There will still be cheap low-end units. You'll just have to buy an OmniSky or GSM phone cable/connector to get your wireless connectivity if you need it. I dont think Palm is foolish enough to sacrafice the low-end market (students, 1st time buyers) for net connectivity.
It's worth noting that Palm has technology deals with Sony, Qualcomm, and Nokia. Why keep all your personal information on the not-so-secure, pain-to-navigate-on-a-PDA-size-screen, DOS-vulnerable, slow-connection web when you've got the only-in-your-hands, built-for-the-small-screen, always-available, directly-connected, Palm address book already in your phone? I agree with you that the Palm Pilot device will lose a lot of ground to PIM-enabled phones, but I think the Palm OS will be the OS of choice in those phones.
Palm VII Service can now be had at a flat rate of $40/mo w/no roaming charges and no per-byte charges (with nation-wide service). By comparison, the charges for digital connect time on my PCS cell phone (PacBell in the SF Bay Area) looks like: ~$25/mo for minimum phone service with data. $.15/min for data connection for the first 30 minutes during weekdays or the first 250 minutes after hours. $.55/min for each minute after the above freebies. Tack on another $.60/min if you're roaming (PacBell's service area covers most of California and bits of Nevada only). If I did the calcs right, for your $40, you'll get a total of about 49 minutes of wireless connectivity for $40/mo if you stay in your home region. Oh, and I think you'll need an ISP as well. Include the fact that you've got to carry a cable and deal with hooking things up each time you want to connect versus raising the antennae on the PalmVII to initiate connection and suddenly the cell-phone/cable solution isn't so attractive.
http://www.wap.com.sg/ have a WAP browser for Palm units other than the Palm VII. I think Palm OS 3.0 and above includes a TCP/IP stack (which is not active over the Palm VII's wireless link). I could be wrong about that.
"no serious motorist would ever choose to buy a car with a diesel engine. Diesel engines are just too noisy and don't have the performance of a petrol engine"
And yet our roadways are clogged with low-performance cars who's great fuel economy was a bigger purchase motivator than 0-60 time.
Turns out "Serious Motorists" are still in the minority.
Something to think about... TiVo currently chargest for service... TiVo is connected to the net for this service.
What will happen: I see a not-too-distant future model (competitor?) of TiVo where the service is free in exchange for banner advertising in the TiVo menus. And a slightly more distant future where commercial-free programming is offered in exchange for banner advertising in the TiVo menus. These banner ads are stored on the local HD and served up according to the "projected" interests of the TiVo's user.
Why every advertising exec wants it to happen: -"Banner" commercial content is cheaper to produce and deliver (a banner ad takes up a LOT less space and production resources than 30 seconds of FMV). -Targeted banner ads based on watching habits of each and every individual viewer are a lot more effective than targeting a single ad for the entire viewership of a program. -Given the choice, more people would rather watch commercials (even if it's just a banner ad) for things they're interested in rather than not interested in. -People are a lot happier with the idea that it's the box on your thier very own shelf that watches what they watch, and not some huge invisible server somewhere in the Evil Empire's headquarters. -You can FF or channel flip past a commercial, but you cant use a TiVo without a menu (your ad WILL get eyeballs).
I'm somewhat suprised the same hasn't been done by IE or Netscape. All of the components are there, it's just a matter of implementation.
I noticed overall the quality of reception through the TiVo was a little worse than the TV's internal tuner (it's an older Mitsubishi 601 35"). The loss in quality looks more like an artifact of having "yet another link in the system" rather than any MPEG artifacting. I'd do a more expensive A/B comparison, but I just can't bring myself to unplug the TiVo:)
That the name is used in a variety of other ways doesn't negate the copyright. Witness the Pilot pen company's ongoing (and so far successful) legal effort to prevent Palm from calling thier handhelds "Palm Pilots". While I dont have a dictionary in front of me, I'd bet there are more definitions for Pilot than Coke:)
I think most people are missing the point. Battle Sphere has been in development since almost before the PSX came out. It takes some serious devotion (and capital, I'd imagine) to put out a game (a console game, no less!) that's been off and on for over 5(?) years. I bet there's a hell of a story behind the development of this game.
Out of curiosity, did Gibson credit the visuals of Blade Runner, or the storyline/setting of Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Sheep? I thought the world in Dick's novel was much bleaker than the world created in the film, Neuromancer definetely left me with more of the book's bleak feeling than the movie.
Have you checked out the Qbit? Looks to be a little more fleshed out than the ScreenMedia. Sounds like they'll have product out in the next few Q's. I also question whether the ScreenMedia (as described) is U.S. ready.
I think a lot of people are underestimating the power of color to increase data "digesting". Using colors to denote priority, urgency, serious/informative, categorization are all much more powerful than using numbers or symbols (especially where real-estate is at a premium and icons are reduced in size or eliminated completely).
It seems like that kind of power in that small a package (IE - minimal battery & cooling requirements) would go a long way towards improving the lives of those with accessibility challenges. Hand-held Text/speech converters that could accurately read text from a book or newspaper or scan & read a street sign 100 feet away would be helpful for the vision-impaired. A speechtext converter in a cell-phone profile would be a boon for the hearing-impaired.
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It's worth noting that the patch came out several days ago. I can't think of another time when the patch was actually released ahead of the project (in the games biz, anyhow). What does that say about game S/W development?
Having seen the recent BattleBot competition, we've concluded that what the audience wants is blood and shrapnel. Watching a bunch of wedges slam into eachother is rather boring, unless a bot gets pushed into the arena blades.
If we ever do an entry, it'll have at least 4 layers of Lego armor, so when the saws/flails/mower blades hit it, bits will fly everywhere. Ideally, we'll build it upside down and fill random sets of bricks with some fluid for extra blood effect.
And it'll also have hammers, and blades, and a chainsaw, and sharp sticks, and foul language...
Before committing to a cell phone solution, make sure you get the full scoop on costs. I did a little research not too long ago about the cost of using a Nokia w/PacBell as a modem alternative to a Palm VII. The Palm VII was $40/mo flat free anywhere there's coverage in the US. For the same $40, assuming I'm not roaming, I figured out I'd get about 15 minutes of digital phone servce (not including any ISP fees). Roaming dropped that to 5mins.
For now, probably your best bet is to just make sure the content can format to a small screen and you're using the most basic HTML. Both WAP and Palm VII's Web Clipping can use proxy servers to convert regular HTML content into WAP/WC friendly content, and you're already covering the dozen or so "standard" browsers than run on PDA's and allow you to surf freely.
The whole WAP protocol/corporate support is still very unstable and Web Clipping hasn't caught on outside of the Palm VII, so I think it's premature to commit to either one exclusively.
I followed the links from the O'Rielly article, and they discuss how to route IP from the Palm through the cradle through Win95. Anyone know how to do it under NT? Knowing NT, it cant be as easy as adding the serial link modem and RAS services.
I remember seeing a link to something about this many many moons ago but can't find it now.
Maybe it's time to wean developers from hardware-specific code? Nothings worse than being held back from great new hardware technology by 20,000 pesky developers who just couldn't code by the rules.
If Palm really wants the Palm OS to gain momentum in the future, one thing they're going to need to do is shed the hardware factor. They can't expect cell phones and refridgerators and automotive GPS systems to all rely on the Dragonball and a 120x120(?) screen.
Better to clean up the mess now, while the competition is still floundering, I say.
As the articles state:
"Palm devices will either contain receivers for connecting to the Internet directly or a Bluetooth chip that will allow them to connect to the Web via a cell phone bridge, or they will come with a cradle or add-on option to facilitate connections."
There will still be cheap low-end units. You'll just have to buy an OmniSky or GSM phone cable/connector to get your wireless connectivity if you need it. I dont think Palm is foolish enough to sacrafice the low-end market (students, 1st time buyers) for net connectivity.
It's worth noting that Palm has technology deals with Sony, Qualcomm, and Nokia.
Why keep all your personal information on the not-so-secure, pain-to-navigate-on-a-PDA-size-screen, DOS-vulnerable, slow-connection web when you've got the only-in-your-hands, built-for-the-small-screen, always-available, directly-connected, Palm address book already in your phone?
I agree with you that the Palm Pilot device will lose a lot of ground to PIM-enabled phones, but I think the Palm OS will be the OS of choice in those phones.
Palm VII Service can now be had at a flat rate of $40/mo w/no roaming charges and no per-byte charges (with nation-wide service).
By comparison, the charges for digital connect time on my PCS cell phone (PacBell in the SF Bay Area) looks like:
~$25/mo for minimum phone service with data.
$.15/min for data connection for the first 30 minutes during weekdays or the first 250 minutes after hours.
$.55/min for each minute after the above freebies.
Tack on another $.60/min if you're roaming (PacBell's service area covers most of California and bits of Nevada only).
If I did the calcs right, for your $40, you'll get a total of about 49 minutes of wireless connectivity for $40/mo if you stay in your home region.
Oh, and I think you'll need an ISP as well.
Include the fact that you've got to carry a cable and deal with hooking things up each time you want to connect versus raising the antennae on the PalmVII to initiate connection and suddenly the cell-phone/cable solution isn't so attractive.
http://www.wap.com.sg/ have a WAP browser for Palm units other than the Palm VII. I think Palm OS 3.0 and above includes a TCP/IP stack (which is not active over the Palm VII's wireless link). I could be wrong about that.
"no serious motorist would ever choose to buy a car with a diesel engine. Diesel engines are just too noisy and don't have the performance of a petrol engine"
And yet our roadways are clogged with low-performance cars who's great fuel economy was a bigger purchase motivator than 0-60 time.
Turns out "Serious Motorists" are still in the minority.
Something to think about...
TiVo currently chargest for service...
TiVo is connected to the net for this service.
What will happen:
I see a not-too-distant future model (competitor?) of TiVo where the service is free in exchange for banner advertising in the TiVo menus.
And a slightly more distant future where commercial-free programming is offered in exchange for banner advertising in the TiVo menus. These banner ads are stored on the local HD and served up according to the "projected" interests of the TiVo's user.
Why every advertising exec wants it to happen:
-"Banner" commercial content is cheaper to produce and deliver (a banner ad takes up a LOT less space and production resources than 30 seconds of FMV).
-Targeted banner ads based on watching habits of each and every individual viewer are a lot more effective than targeting a single ad for the entire viewership of a program.
-Given the choice, more people would rather watch commercials (even if it's just a banner ad) for things they're interested in rather than not interested in.
-People are a lot happier with the idea that it's the box on your thier very own shelf that watches what they watch, and not some huge invisible server somewhere in the Evil Empire's headquarters.
-You can FF or channel flip past a commercial, but you cant use a TiVo without a menu (your ad WILL get eyeballs).
I'm somewhat suprised the same hasn't been done by IE or Netscape. All of the components are there, it's just a matter of implementation.
I noticed overall the quality of reception through the TiVo was a little worse than the TV's internal tuner (it's an older Mitsubishi 601 35"). The loss in quality looks more like an artifact of having "yet another link in the system" rather than any MPEG artifacting. I'd do a more expensive A/B comparison, but I just can't bring myself to unplug the TiVo :)
That the name is used in a variety of other ways doesn't negate the copyright. Witness the Pilot pen company's ongoing (and so far successful) legal effort to prevent Palm from calling thier handhelds "Palm Pilots". While I dont have a dictionary in front of me, I'd bet there are more definitions for Pilot than Coke :)
According to the page, it's 800x600x16.
I think most people are missing the point. Battle Sphere has been in development since almost before the PSX came out. It takes some serious devotion (and capital, I'd imagine) to put out a game (a console game, no less!) that's been off and on for over 5(?) years.
I bet there's a hell of a story behind the development of this game.
Out of curiosity, did Gibson credit the visuals of Blade Runner, or the storyline/setting of Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Sheep? I thought the world in Dick's novel was much bleaker than the world created in the film, Neuromancer definetely left me with more of the book's bleak feeling than the movie.
"I was a nice try the first time... when it was called The Matrix. "
Oh, so you never saw Tron?
So does this mean Samsung's got a handwriting recognition client for Linux? I wonder if they'll GPL it.
Have you checked out the Qbit? Looks to be a little more fleshed out than the ScreenMedia. Sounds like they'll have product out in the next few Q's. I also question whether the ScreenMedia (as described) is U.S. ready.
I think a lot of people are underestimating the power of color to increase data "digesting". Using colors to denote priority, urgency, serious/informative, categorization are all much more powerful than using numbers or symbols (especially where real-estate is at a premium and icons are reduced in size or eliminated completely).
The IIIc does have a Flash ROM. The Palm IIIe is the only shipping device that cannot be flash upgraded.
It seems like that kind of power in that small a package (IE - minimal battery & cooling requirements) would go a long way towards improving the lives of those with accessibility challenges.
Hand-held Text/speech converters that could accurately read text from a book or newspaper or scan & read a street sign 100 feet away would be helpful for the vision-impaired.
A speechtext converter in a cell-phone profile would be a boon for the hearing-impaired.
Would that be the look of 6,000 Coca Cola employees newly laid off?