There's quite a scene of Atarians still out there and I would be one of them. I run the web portal atari-source.com and also am a programmer of some small atari software pieces. The site also reviews stuff. Seeing as how I am just now getting into midi and audio in the last week or so, the atari midi hardware, software, and interface is significantly better than anything I have seen for pc's. Where else can YOU find a $10 midi sequencer? They're very nice machines. Anyway, relating to the actual topic, I think it's good that someone is carrying on the Atari name but their computer systems were just as lengendary as the video game systems.
Actually I use efilive pro from Starr Performance, an Australian Company. Efilive will do data logging, gauge monitoring, tell you everything from what gear your automatic transmission is to what voltage your o2 sensor is in. It's really helped me tune my car out and I managed to get quite a few more horsepower just out of sensor readings alone. The kicker is, it's a $200 piece of software but if you make the vehicle definition for your car, you get it free. There's a guy at Wot Electronics who sells the adapters for OBD1 systems (or kits). I happened to have bought a kit from him and he managed to pull out of nowhere a factory ALDL specification for the 94 3100 engine! I simply plugged this information in (literally, anyone who is competent can do it), to the software and wahla, I created a vehicle definition for 94 3100 beretta z26. Then they gave me a free copy of the software. I use it most every weekend and logging information about each and every sensor at the drag strip is uhmm.. uesful;) Oh and PS. The OBD1 kit is only $40, comes with all parts and is buildable in roughly 20 minutes as long as you have a soldering iron and a clue.
This is crap. Sharp just released in Japan a tiny little video player that is more or less the size of a screen. It's pretty close to this but it does Mpeg4 video just like their Japanese Zauruses do. It's about $350 depending on how you convert the yen cost.... but the bread and butter is that this tiny box has all of the functionality of a vcr... including hookups for composite audio and video to record shit in mpeg4! So if _I_ were shoppers looking for something like this, I would at LEAST by the one that has some advantage over an IPAQ or a Zaurus and can record. Oh btw, it uses SD cards for memory and I believe a 128 meg SD card can hold a full length movie in reasonable quality... these things are _COOL_ They measure about 2.5" x 2.5" just a little square box about the same size as a new md player. We should all import stuff from japan rather than buying lackluster american crap like this flipster. Or at least buy an Ipaq or a Zaurus SD-5000 which can do much more for around the same money.
I'm sorry Wilkesbarre isn't doing *that* badly. It's a simple matter of someone trying to cut costs without knowing what they are doing, screwing up along the way and then people like these acting like they shouldn't be held responsible. I grew up in a small Lancaster, pa town, but let me tell you, people knew that if they didn't know how to fix something, and it was extremely important. You just have a maintenance contract. In the end it boils down to pure common sense, not "computer know-how" or dying towns. End of story.
Yes, History repeats itself and in the case of the internet, it will happen again. The geeks will start up a new completely separate network, perhaps called internet2?;) BBS's will come back, perhaps in different form, etc. The simple fact is that commercialization can't ruin our lives, only things that are presently available to us. Just like bell bottoms, there'll be another network to rise up in place of the current internet.
I for one think this review is crap. Perhaps the niche of the people he is reviewing for (suits) would concur with his findings, but just because he (perhaps) did something wrong trying to use it does not mean everyone else will. As far as the interface? Easier than a microwave. I have used the SL-5500 and I own the Japanese version the MI-E1. The Japanese version doesn't run linux and has a Hitatchi SH-3 processor. It runs ZaurusOS and apparently the deal is probably that Sharp saw translating the Japanese version of ZaurusOS to English as being a more monumental task than using QPE. The Japanese version which has a similar form factor has a lot of features the american one doesn't. It syncs with outlook just fine, and in addition allows you to essentially turn off the PDA while playing mp3's (not just the backlight). Battery life is roughly 4+ hours I'd say. I use the thing for many hours per day taking notes and the likes, usually listening to music. The Japanese version is very similar to the american one in design, and I must say I love the design. As for as QPE, I don't have an SL-5500 but I have used QPE on my desktop and I'm sorry, it doesn't get much easier. One of my gripes with PalmOS is that it's too simple and reminds me of a TI Calculator versus an HP48. I want something that can be simple... SL-5500D... yet has the power and backend resources to be complex (install ssh, code, expand, etc).... SL-5500D. I think this reviewer didn't give any credit to this thing that he might have given to Palm and WinCE devices in their blooming days. This is a completely new release for god's sake. This is the same heresay that caused witches to be burned at the sake. We seriously don't need this kind of behavior. The fact is that for a new device, the SL-5500D has features making it suitable for ANYONE, making this reviewers review... crap.
Hey, My roomate has the japanese equivalent, the Zaurus MI-E1 which has been out in japan for over a year now. He was over there last winter. He has all sorts of attachments for it including the Compact flash digital camera. This device is pretty amazing, the japanese one has an SH processor and runs ZaurusOS but it's very very sweet. Full screen mpeg4 video is not a problem for it. It's very fast, and this american one should be faster and a lot more amazing. These things put Ipaq's to shame, trust me;)
You could just ditch the C/C++ effort and pick up something like Kylix. Yes, it is pascal but you can seriously do pretty much anything in it that you could do in C without much difficulty. That and hte professional version would have most of the networking and gui libraries you need, already cross platform. Want it to work in linux? Load up the project and compile. Just my $.02.
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There's quite a scene of Atarians still out there and I would be one of them. I run the web portal atari-source.com and also am a programmer of some small atari software pieces. The site also reviews stuff. Seeing as how I am just now getting into midi and audio in the last week or so, the atari midi hardware, software, and interface is significantly better than anything I have seen for pc's. Where else can YOU find a $10 midi sequencer? They're very nice machines. Anyway, relating to the actual topic, I think it's good that someone is carrying on the Atari name but their computer systems were just as lengendary as the video game systems.
Actually I use efilive pro from Starr Performance, an Australian Company. Efilive will do data logging, gauge monitoring, tell you everything from what gear your automatic transmission is to what voltage your o2 sensor is in. It's really helped me tune my car out and I managed to get quite a few more horsepower just out of sensor readings alone. The kicker is, it's a $200 piece of software but if you make the vehicle definition for your car, you get it free. There's a guy at Wot Electronics who sells the adapters for OBD1 systems (or kits). I happened to have bought a kit from him and he managed to pull out of nowhere a factory ALDL specification for the 94 3100 engine! I simply plugged this information in (literally, anyone who is competent can do it), to the software and wahla, I created a vehicle definition for 94 3100 beretta z26. Then they gave me a free copy of the software. I use it most every weekend and logging information about each and every sensor at the drag strip is uhmm.. uesful ;) Oh and PS. The OBD1 kit is only $40, comes with all parts and is buildable in roughly 20 minutes as long as you have a soldering iron and a clue.
This is crap. Sharp just released in Japan a tiny little video player that is more or less the size of a screen. It's pretty close to this but it does Mpeg4 video just like their Japanese Zauruses do. It's about $350 depending on how you convert the yen cost.... but the bread and butter is that this tiny box has all of the functionality of a vcr... including hookups for composite audio and video to record shit in mpeg4! So if _I_ were shoppers looking for something like this, I would at LEAST by the one that has some advantage over an IPAQ or a Zaurus and can record. Oh btw, it uses SD cards for memory and I believe a 128 meg SD card can hold a full length movie in reasonable quality... these things are _COOL_ They measure about 2.5" x 2.5" just a little square box about the same size as a new md player. We should all import stuff from japan rather than buying lackluster american crap like this flipster. Or at least buy an Ipaq or a Zaurus SD-5000 which can do much more for around the same money.
I'm sorry Wilkesbarre isn't doing *that* badly. It's a simple matter of someone trying to cut costs without knowing what they are doing, screwing up along the way and then people like these acting like they shouldn't be held responsible. I grew up in a small Lancaster, pa town, but let me tell you, people knew that if they didn't know how to fix something, and it was extremely important. You just have a maintenance contract. In the end it boils down to pure common sense, not "computer know-how" or dying towns. End of story.
Yes, History repeats itself and in the case of the internet, it will happen again. The geeks will start up a new completely separate network, perhaps called internet2? ;) BBS's will come back, perhaps in different form, etc. The simple fact is that commercialization can't ruin our lives, only things that are presently available to us. Just like bell bottoms, there'll be another network to rise up in place of the current internet.
I for one think this review is crap. Perhaps the niche of the people he is reviewing for (suits) would concur with his findings, but just because he (perhaps) did something wrong trying to use it does not mean everyone else will. As far as the interface? Easier than a microwave. I have used the SL-5500 and I own the Japanese version the MI-E1. The Japanese version doesn't run linux and has a Hitatchi SH-3 processor. It runs ZaurusOS and apparently the deal is probably that Sharp saw translating the Japanese version of ZaurusOS to English as being a more monumental task than using QPE. The Japanese version which has a similar form factor has a lot of features the american one doesn't. It syncs with outlook just fine, and in addition allows you to essentially turn off the PDA while playing mp3's (not just the backlight). Battery life is roughly 4+ hours I'd say. I use the thing for many hours per day taking notes and the likes, usually listening to music. The Japanese version is very similar to the american one in design, and I must say I love the design. As for as QPE, I don't have an SL-5500 but I have used QPE on my desktop and I'm sorry, it doesn't get much easier. One of my gripes with PalmOS is that it's too simple and reminds me of a TI Calculator versus an HP48. I want something that can be simple... SL-5500D... yet has the power and backend resources to be complex (install ssh, code, expand, etc).... SL-5500D. I think this reviewer didn't give any credit to this thing that he might have given to Palm and WinCE devices in their blooming days. This is a completely new release for god's sake. This is the same heresay that caused witches to be burned at the sake. We seriously don't need this kind of behavior. The fact is that for a new device, the SL-5500D has features making it suitable for ANYONE, making this reviewers review... crap.
Hey, My roomate has the japanese equivalent, the Zaurus MI-E1 which has been out in japan for over a year now. He was over there last winter. He has all sorts of attachments for it including the Compact flash digital camera. This device is pretty amazing, the japanese one has an SH processor and runs ZaurusOS but it's very very sweet. Full screen mpeg4 video is not a problem for it. It's very fast, and this american one should be faster and a lot more amazing. These things put Ipaq's to shame, trust me ;)
You could just ditch the C/C++ effort and pick up something like Kylix. Yes, it is pascal but you can seriously do pretty much anything in it that you could do in C without much difficulty. That and hte professional version would have most of the networking and gui libraries you need, already cross platform. Want it to work in linux? Load up the project and compile. Just my $.02.