I disagree that the development suite is a POS. I'm not one for not using a product just because alot of "people" (i.e. Linux/Unix/Mac zealots) don't like the company. But just because I'm curious about where your comming from... What development suite do you use?
Microsoft is making a real effort (i.e. Activation in Windows XP and Office) to eliminate software piracy. If Microsoft is serious about it's licensing policy, then the company shouldn't have a double standard in regards to it's own people handing out software. If Lance wants to make sure that he has a legitimate product before investing the time to learn it and use it, that seems to me like the right thing to do.
Either make the product free/open source/what ever and give it away, or license the product and charge for it. You can't do both and be legitimate. If you do, people like us will just make snide comments at you and not take you seriously.
Maybe your not understanding. The "Pad" idea has been around for a long time (think tricorder from Star Trek, circa 1970's). I agree that the WebPad or small form factor hand-held computer idea may have come from alot of hard work from you and others at National Semiconductor.
What I'm saying is that Microsoft's invention or innovation is the "ink" technology. The Pad isn't using a touch pad like LCD panel.
Here is a quote from one of my links above.
[snip]
Inking is actually a broad term that represents a set of technologies, according to Gounares. "A number of technologies had to come together to make inking possible. Many teams across Microsoft -- including Microsoft Research teams on several continents -- were involved in solving the technological challenges that came together as inking," he said.
First, there were hardware considerations. The input screen required special features. On Tablet PCs, a digitizer overlain on the LCD screen creates an electromagnetic field. When the pen comes in contact with the screen's electromagnetic field, its motion is reflected on the screen as a series of data points. As the pen continues to move across the screen, the digitizer collects information from the pen movement in a process called "sampling." The Tablet PC digitizer is capable of sampling 130 "pen events" -- units of motion that correspond to data points -- per second. These electromagnetic pen events are then represented visually on the screen as pen strokes.
Because of its high sampling rate, the Tablet PC is able to create the effect of "real-time inking;" that is, as the user writes on the LCD screen, digital ink appears to flow at the same speed that the pen writes, no matter how fast the pen moves.
The high sampling rate also enables written ink to be displayed and stored with very high graphical resolution. Not only is this important for visual legibility on the screen, it is necessary for maximizing accuracy during the process of handwriting recognition. The more data points collected in the ink objects, the greater the accuracy when the data passes through the recognizer and is associated with words.
I have not seen one innovation from their research dept make it to market
I believe the tablet PC provides adaquate proof that material from Microsoft Research makes it into production software products. They developed the "digital ink" concept and the ability to use "ink" in e-mail/other document types.
Want another example?
Try SQL Server. The way that the SQL Server engine parses a statement into a query execution plan is another example of Microsoft Research putting resources into production software products.
IMO, Microsoft Research is invaluable to Microsoft, inc. in staying innovative.
[quote]
At the recent Telecom Asia exhibition in Hong Kong, Samsung showed for the first time its M400 handset. Based on Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition, the device runs on CDMA 2000 1x EvDO (Evolution Data Only) networks, which are in commercial service in South Korea and offer data transmission at speeds of up to 2.4M bps. Features of the phone, which is based on an Intel Corp. XScale processor running at 400MHz, include a display capable of showing 65,000 colors, voice recognition and a text-to-speech engine, a TV tuner and GPS (Global Positioning System).
[/quote]
Slashdot Mirror
What kind of "freedom" does a citizen have in a communist country?
Obviously this wouldn't apply to Russia, being a recent convert from communism.
I disagree that the development suite is a POS. I'm not one for not using a product just because alot of "people" (i.e. Linux/Unix/Mac zealots) don't like the company. But just because I'm curious about where your comming from... What development suite do you use?
Microsoft is making a real effort (i.e. Activation in Windows XP and Office) to eliminate software piracy. If Microsoft is serious about it's licensing policy, then the company shouldn't have a double standard in regards to it's own people handing out software. If Lance wants to make sure that he has a legitimate product before investing the time to learn it and use it, that seems to me like the right thing to do.
Either make the product free/open source/what ever and give it away, or license the product and charge for it. You can't do both and be legitimate. If you do, people like us will just make snide comments at you and not take you seriously.
What I'm saying is that Microsoft's invention or innovation is the "ink" technology. The Pad isn't using a touch pad like LCD panel.
Here is a quote from one of my links above.
[snip]
Inking is actually a broad term that represents a set of technologies, according to Gounares. "A number of technologies had to come together to make inking possible. Many teams across Microsoft -- including Microsoft Research teams on several continents -- were involved in solving the technological challenges that came together as inking," he said.
First, there were hardware considerations. The input screen required special features. On Tablet PCs, a digitizer overlain on the LCD screen creates an electromagnetic field. When the pen comes in contact with the screen's electromagnetic field, its motion is reflected on the screen as a series of data points. As the pen continues to move across the screen, the digitizer collects information from the pen movement in a process called "sampling." The Tablet PC digitizer is capable of sampling 130 "pen events" -- units of motion that correspond to data points -- per second. These electromagnetic pen events are then represented visually on the screen as pen strokes.
Because of its high sampling rate, the Tablet PC is able to create the effect of "real-time inking;" that is, as the user writes on the LCD screen, digital ink appears to flow at the same speed that the pen writes, no matter how fast the pen moves.
The high sampling rate also enables written ink to be displayed and stored with very high graphical resolution. Not only is this important for visual legibility on the screen, it is necessary for maximizing accuracy during the process of handwriting recognition. The more data points collected in the ink objects, the greater the accuracy when the data passes through the recognizer and is associated with words.
[/snip]
I believe the tablet PC provides adaquate proof that material from Microsoft Research makes it into production software products. They developed the "digital ink" concept and the ability to use "ink" in e-mail/other document types.
Want another example?
Try SQL Server. The way that the SQL Server engine parses a statement into a query execution plan is another example of Microsoft Research putting resources into production software products.
IMO, Microsoft Research is invaluable to Microsoft, inc. in staying innovative.
Just my $.02.
A couple of links to prove my point:O ct02/10-29tabletinking.asp
http://research.microsoft.com/db/
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2002/
-- Joshua
Price: $7,995
Damn... I like the $100 figure better.
Laptop Hard Drives?
What kind of a hard drive configuration would you use in automobiles?
Just curious,
-- Joshua
Only 2.4 Mbps? Compared to Wi-fi's 11 Mbps?
Link: here
[quote] At the recent Telecom Asia exhibition in Hong Kong, Samsung showed for the first time its M400 handset. Based on Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition, the device runs on CDMA 2000 1x EvDO (Evolution Data Only) networks, which are in commercial service in South Korea and offer data transmission at speeds of up to 2.4M bps. Features of the phone, which is based on an Intel Corp. XScale processor running at 400MHz, include a display capable of showing 65,000 colors, voice recognition and a text-to-speech engine, a TV tuner and GPS (Global Positioning System). [/quote]