How much does it cost to stage a Capricorn One-like scam?
Doesn't seem so difficult to me: buy a remote island, build a sound stage on it, stage the lift off, have the "astronauts" live there while continuing to rake in the dough on subsequent missions to send supplies, after a while "build" the technology to bring them back... book/movie deals for the "astronauts", scammers get paid.
I'm impressed with my G1 out-of-the-box (coming from a T-Mo Dash). And as long as there are significant improvements I will be delighted with it.
I use Eclipse for Java development on my job but I didn't want my leisure coding activity to feel like work so I went poking around. I stumbled across http://phonegap.com/ which is an add-on to the Eclipse/Android SDK that allows developers to create apps using html and javascript.
I downloaded, installed it, and manage to compile the sample code pretty easily. Reminds me a bit of ForwardPass for the PocketPC.
Oh, I know what it means. It means that you (generic, not you specifically) are so clueless as to what might actually be the solution that you are willing to try ANYTHING no matter how dumb it sounds.
So "being clueless" and "a willingness to do even dumb things" are appropriate comparisons.
That's all nice in the theoretical and spoken by someone who doesn't actually own an XO laptop.
A big reason for getting a flavor of XP on the XO is due to the fact that Sugar is broken and incomplete. Progress on implementing missing features is moving extremely slowly. There's still no viable power management for the XO, the ebook mode is incomplete, the stylus areas are still non-functional, and the "view source code" button is missing.
I don't care what OS is running on it. I just want one that fully utilizes the hardware to its fullest.
The fact that Sugar is open source hasn't made things quicker and easier for implementing those missing functions. Maybe if the open source community comes to the assistance of the Sugar development they can help get Sugar where it needs to be.
I find it amazing how people who were all "visualize world peace", "think of the children", "let's sing cumbaya", and "brotherhood of mankind" who became part of the OLPC community via the G1G1 program can turn on a dime and be so vitriolic, judgmental, intolerant, and cynical when people don't fall lock-step into their beliefs.
As long as one toes the party line about Linux being the only platform viable for educating children, then all is well. But dare to consider the possibility that a slimmed down XP might also be a viable option... you better duck. You're immediately branded as shill for Microsoft.
Sugar on the XO is slow and incomplete. There still is no viable power management. The stylus areas are still not functional. The "view source code" button is "under development. 10,000's of XO laptops have been deployed worldwide that are not completely functional. Without working hardware drivers for particular aspects of the XO, how can anyone be certain that those features will actually work when the drivers ARE available? Finding out about a hardware design defect at that point in time is a little too late.
And the whole, "but if we don't use an open source operating system then little Johnny won't be able to view and tinker with the virtual memory manager!" justification just masks their own personal agenda.
Why not? Most of those posting anti-MS comments seem to think that if any version of Windows makes it to the XO, then MS will completely control the whole shebang. For some reason I don't think that would happen with OLPC. And as much as many applaud the selection of Linux as the underlying OS, I think that GEOS would've been better. I'm trying to get DOS booted on my XO to see how Geoworks Ensemble (or New Deal Office) would run. Performance-wise, it should run MORE swiftly than WinXP does on the latest and greatest hardware.
While it is true that point of the OLPC is education, and that presenting source code is one way of doing that, it doesn't mean that the source code to the underlying OS needs to be exposed. There is nothing preventing an XO laptop from running a very trimmed down version of Windows (XP, CE, whatever) and supplying applications that can have their source code available.
You might like to think that your have weird musical taste, but based on your list of artists, you are pretty "normal".
There are internet radio stations that play stuff that simply isn't available anywhere... or would take dozens of hours to track down and purchase. One such station is LuxuriaMusic. I'm sure there are other, but that is the one that I listen to.
Provide a way to easily purchase the songs in their playlists and THEN we can talk about how unnecessary web radio is.
If you've never won an auction by sniping then I suggest upgrading from your 14.4 dial-up connection.
I have found eBay's "time remaining" clock to be extremely accurate. I have yet to miss out on sniping an auction because eBay said there was "5 seconds" remaining and it was actually less (or more).
Obviously you aren't aware of Bill Gates' humanitarian efforts.
Also, don't you think it is a bit stupid to provide computers to people who don't have electricity? If you don't have electricity nor indoor plumbing, access to computers is the LEAST of your problems.
I'm very interested in testing the GBA Movie Player cartridge on this new device. It works fine on bot the GBA and GB/SP but the screen on the GBA is pitifully dull, and the lighted GB/SP screen isn't bright enough.
For those who don't know what the GBA Movie Player is, it is a GBA cartridge w/Compact Flash slot. It can play videos, music, images, ebooks, and NES game ROMs. Not bad for a $15 cart.
If this works as well as I hope, then it'll make a nice little mobile entertainment system.;)
Have you actually used both OSes?
on
Palm's Mistakes
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I respectfully have to ask if you have had any extensive use with Palm and Windows Mobile devices to draw the conclusion that "they both suck".
I have an Audiovox SMT-5600 Windows Mobile smartphone and it has replaced all of my portable devices.
Here's a link to a review I wrote about my experiences using only a Windows Mobile smartphone for a week.
Have you seen the texture of those lowriding, skater-dude, fat pant jeans? They're like 100 grit sandpaper! Put a diamond-tipped saw blade in the pocket of those jeans and it too would be scratched.
What's been overlooked so far as to the reason to design games to be playable with or without a hard drive is the possibility of a portable XBox handheld.
Design a game to operate in a dual-mode fashion and every console game becomes a portable game. It's easy to imagine a portable XBox handheld that is no larger than a typical CD walkman-type form-factor.
DreamWriters are incredible little devices that were originally designed for use in schools. They have readable screens, full keyboards, and include calculator, calendar, address book, etc.
I bought a few different DreamWriter models off of eBay for $5 each. For those without a floppy drive, I cobbled a serial data cable. They worked great. Although they are older than dirt, Branium of Canada provides some amazing support for them.
If you are looking for something new and enjoy a tinkering challenge, then pick up a brand new MailStation from OfficeMax for $9. Even though they are configured for their own ISP, it is a simple matter to wipe out the presets and customize it for your own use.
For Linux tinkering types, it is possible to transfer data via a null modem cable. For those of us not inclined to tinker to that extent, simply attach to a phone line and email your docs to yourself.
This is great news! I used the Yahoo toolbar extensively with MSIE solely for the bookmark management. It was the easiest (for me) to use in maintaining bookmarks across multiple systems.
I've had to go without it because the web browsing experience using FireFox was so far superior that it outweighed the usefulness of the Yahoo! toolbar.
Perhaps I'm the only one on the planet that used it, but now I have the best of both worlds.
vBulletin Version 2.3.0, and vBulletin Version 2.3.2 (at least) are two of the culprits. People who follow the FF/Moz support forums suggested to contact the forum owner to upgrade their software to newer versions (that supposedly fix the problem).
The problem is that the sites that use these versions of software are pretty big, DVDTalk and Brighthand. They're not likely to disrupt service to upgrade in order to provide a fix for the handful of people who use FF/Moz
...from using Firefox. When posting to forums, Firefox's input text box is way too narrow. FF Developers have said that it is a bug in the html generated by forum software.
Both MSIE and Opera handle this "bug" just fine. It is one thing to adhere to a standard, but when it impacts usability, a little flexibility is needed.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the non-SE Original Star Wars Trilogy will be the first title released for Blu-Ray discs.
IIRC, Lucas is a fan of Blu-Ray... and may even have some financial interest in the technology. What better way to kick-start a new format than to have it debut with one of the most sought-after titles for the format (DVD) that it is replacing?
The best type of device for this purpose is the NTS DreamWriter T400. It was originally designed for use in schools, but they work for any text entry needs. They have a full-sized keyboard, and can transfer data via serial cable and software (runs under Windows, Mac, and DOS).
Battery life is superb. It can remain in standby mode for 2 weeks on a fully charged battery, and can operate for 10-12 hours. There is an upgraded model of this device that has a fold-out screen and 1.44MB floppy drive which makes data transfer a bit easier.
There are plenty for sale on eBay. I picked one up for $5 and it works beautifully. Brainium Technology (http://www.brainium.com/) provides excellent support for these old devices.
Some people may suggest the venerable Tandy notebooks, but the problem with those is that they are still in high demand and the configuration to transfer data back and forth is pretty convoluted.
If you're looking for a little something more "substantial", I recommend the NEC MobilePro 780 Handheld PC. These devices offer HVGA (640x240) color screens, and run Windows CE 2.11, and include Pocket Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook.
Battery life is very good on the MP780 though no where near as good as the DreamWriters. But with VGA port, PCMCIA, Compact Flash, and internal 56K modem, there is plenty possibilities for expansion. There are plenty of 780s for sale on eBay for $90.
As others have mentioned, this is most likely vaporware (like the OQO). Any "first generation" of a form-factor typically makes compromises in functionality to get the product out into the market. This device has everything but the kitchen sink, so it makes me highly suspicious of it ever becoming a real product.
There is definitely a need for a mobile/transportable computer, but taking a desktop/notebook PC and shrinking it down, is not the answer IMO. I would like to see a PPC-on-steroids.
A viable mobile/transportable device would be approximately the size of today's PPCs but have the ability to connect to external peripherals like keyboards, monitors, mice, etc. Include a "mini-dock" for large harddrives, etc. and we'd have something that wouldn't replace a desktop PC, but provide some very useful capabilities.
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I would like to live in a world where this is possible.
How much does it cost to stage a Capricorn One-like scam? Doesn't seem so difficult to me: buy a remote island, build a sound stage on it, stage the lift off, have the "astronauts" live there while continuing to rake in the dough on subsequent missions to send supplies, after a while "build" the technology to bring them back... book/movie deals for the "astronauts", scammers get paid.
...the reality of the Kin fit in with your fantasy view of Microsoft?
I'm impressed with my G1 out-of-the-box (coming from a T-Mo Dash). And as long as there are significant improvements I will be delighted with it.
I use Eclipse for Java development on my job but I didn't want my leisure coding activity to feel like work so I went poking around. I stumbled across http://phonegap.com/ which is an add-on to the Eclipse/Android SDK that allows developers to create apps using html and javascript.
I downloaded, installed it, and manage to compile the sample code pretty easily. Reminds me a bit of ForwardPass for the PocketPC.
Oh, I know what it means. It means that you (generic, not you specifically) are so clueless as to what might actually be the solution that you are willing to try ANYTHING no matter how dumb it sounds. So "being clueless" and "a willingness to do even dumb things" are appropriate comparisons.
"I'd piss on a sparkplug if I'd thought it would do any good." ...which also happens to be President Bush's approach to foreign policy.
That's all nice in the theoretical and spoken by someone who doesn't actually own an XO laptop.
A big reason for getting a flavor of XP on the XO is due to the fact that Sugar is broken and incomplete. Progress on implementing missing features is moving extremely slowly. There's still no viable power management for the XO, the ebook mode is incomplete, the stylus areas are still non-functional, and the "view source code" button is missing.
I don't care what OS is running on it. I just want one that fully utilizes the hardware to its fullest.
The fact that Sugar is open source hasn't made things quicker and easier for implementing those missing functions. Maybe if the open source community comes to the assistance of the Sugar development they can help get Sugar where it needs to be.
I find it amazing how people who were all "visualize world peace", "think of the children", "let's sing cumbaya", and "brotherhood of mankind" who became part of the OLPC community via the G1G1 program can turn on a dime and be so vitriolic, judgmental, intolerant, and cynical when people don't fall lock-step into their beliefs.
As long as one toes the party line about Linux being the only platform viable for educating children, then all is well. But dare to consider the possibility that a slimmed down XP might also be a viable option... you better duck. You're immediately branded as shill for Microsoft.
Sugar on the XO is slow and incomplete. There still is no viable power management. The stylus areas are still not functional. The "view source code" button is "under development. 10,000's of XO laptops have been deployed worldwide that are not completely functional. Without working hardware drivers for particular aspects of the XO, how can anyone be certain that those features will actually work when the drivers ARE available? Finding out about a hardware design defect at that point in time is a little too late.
And the whole, "but if we don't use an open source operating system then little Johnny won't be able to view and tinker with the virtual memory manager!" justification just masks their own personal agenda.
Why not? Most of those posting anti-MS comments seem to think that if any version of Windows makes it to the XO, then MS will completely control the whole shebang. For some reason I don't think that would happen with OLPC. And as much as many applaud the selection of Linux as the underlying OS, I think that GEOS would've been better. I'm trying to get DOS booted on my XO to see how Geoworks Ensemble (or New Deal Office) would run. Performance-wise, it should run MORE swiftly than WinXP does on the latest and greatest hardware.
While it is true that point of the OLPC is education, and that presenting source code is one way of doing that, it doesn't mean that the source code to the underlying OS needs to be exposed. There is nothing preventing an XO laptop from running a very trimmed down version of Windows (XP, CE, whatever) and supplying applications that can have their source code available.
You might like to think that your have weird musical taste, but based on your list of artists, you are pretty "normal".
There are internet radio stations that play stuff that simply isn't available anywhere... or would take dozens of hours to track down and purchase. One such station is LuxuriaMusic. I'm sure there are other, but that is the one that I listen to.
Provide a way to easily purchase the songs in their playlists and THEN we can talk about how unnecessary web radio is.
If you've never won an auction by sniping then I suggest upgrading from your 14.4 dial-up connection. I have found eBay's "time remaining" clock to be extremely accurate. I have yet to miss out on sniping an auction because eBay said there was "5 seconds" remaining and it was actually less (or more).
Obviously you aren't aware of Bill Gates' humanitarian efforts.
Also, don't you think it is a bit stupid to provide computers to people who don't have electricity? If you don't have electricity nor indoor plumbing, access to computers is the LEAST of your problems.
The Play-Yan has a few nice features, but the price ($80), less features, and the fact that the UI is in Japanese makes this an inferior product.
But somebody may find it useful.
I'm very interested in testing the GBA Movie Player cartridge on this new device. It works fine on bot the GBA and GB/SP but the screen on the GBA is pitifully dull, and the lighted GB/SP screen isn't bright enough.
For those who don't know what the GBA Movie Player is, it is a GBA cartridge w/Compact Flash slot. It can play videos, music, images, ebooks, and NES game ROMs. Not bad for a $15 cart.
If this works as well as I hope, then it'll make a nice little mobile entertainment system. ;)
I respectfully have to ask if you have had any extensive use with Palm and Windows Mobile devices to draw the conclusion that "they both suck".
I have an Audiovox SMT-5600 Windows Mobile smartphone and it has replaced all of my portable devices.
Here's a link to a review I wrote about my experiences using only a Windows Mobile smartphone for a week.
Review - SMT-5600 as a notebook replacement
Have you seen the texture of those lowriding, skater-dude, fat pant jeans? They're like 100 grit sandpaper! Put a diamond-tipped saw blade in the pocket of those jeans and it too would be scratched.
What's been overlooked so far as to the reason to design games to be playable with or without a hard drive is the possibility of a portable XBox handheld.
Design a game to operate in a dual-mode fashion and every console game becomes a portable game. It's easy to imagine a portable XBox handheld that is no larger than a typical CD walkman-type form-factor.
Just something to consider.
DreamWriters are incredible little devices that were originally designed for use in schools. They have readable screens, full keyboards, and include calculator, calendar, address book, etc.
I bought a few different DreamWriter models off of eBay for $5 each. For those without a floppy drive, I cobbled a serial data cable. They worked great. Although they are older than dirt, Branium of Canada provides some amazing support for them.
If you are looking for something new and enjoy a tinkering challenge, then pick up a brand new MailStation from OfficeMax for $9. Even though they are configured for their own ISP, it is a simple matter to wipe out the presets and customize it for your own use.
For Linux tinkering types, it is possible to transfer data via a null modem cable. For those of us not inclined to tinker to that extent, simply attach to a phone line and email your docs to yourself.
A pretty neat device for $9
This is great news! I used the Yahoo toolbar extensively with MSIE solely for the bookmark management. It was the easiest (for me) to use in maintaining bookmarks across multiple systems.
I've had to go without it because the web browsing experience using FireFox was so far superior that it outweighed the usefulness of the Yahoo! toolbar.
Perhaps I'm the only one on the planet that used it, but now I have the best of both worlds.
vBulletin Version 2.3.0, and vBulletin Version 2.3.2 (at least) are two of the culprits. People who follow the FF/Moz support forums suggested to contact the forum owner to upgrade their software to newer versions (that supposedly fix the problem).
The problem is that the sites that use these versions of software are pretty big, DVDTalk and Brighthand. They're not likely to disrupt service to upgrade in order to provide a fix for the handful of people who use FF/Moz
...from using Firefox. When posting to forums, Firefox's input text box is way too narrow. FF Developers have said that it is a bug in the html generated by forum software. Both MSIE and Opera handle this "bug" just fine. It is one thing to adhere to a standard, but when it impacts usability, a little flexibility is needed.
If it weren't for that annoyance, I'd use FF.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the non-SE Original Star Wars Trilogy will be the first title released for Blu-Ray discs. IIRC, Lucas is a fan of Blu-Ray... and may even have some financial interest in the technology. What better way to kick-start a new format than to have it debut with one of the most sought-after titles for the format (DVD) that it is replacing?
The best type of device for this purpose is the NTS DreamWriter T400. It was originally designed for use in schools, but they work for any text entry needs. They have a full-sized keyboard, and can transfer data via serial cable and software (runs under Windows, Mac, and DOS).
Battery life is superb. It can remain in standby mode for 2 weeks on a fully charged battery, and can operate for 10-12 hours. There is an upgraded model of this device that has a fold-out screen and 1.44MB floppy drive which makes data transfer a bit easier.
There are plenty for sale on eBay. I picked one up for $5 and it works beautifully. Brainium Technology (http://www.brainium.com/) provides excellent support for these old devices.
Some people may suggest the venerable Tandy notebooks, but the problem with those is that they are still in high demand and the configuration to transfer data back and forth is pretty convoluted.
If you're looking for a little something more "substantial", I recommend the NEC MobilePro 780 Handheld PC. These devices offer HVGA (640x240) color screens, and run Windows CE 2.11, and include Pocket Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook.
Battery life is very good on the MP780 though no where near as good as the DreamWriters. But with VGA port, PCMCIA, Compact Flash, and internal 56K modem, there is plenty possibilities for expansion. There are plenty of 780s for sale on eBay for $90.
As others have mentioned, this is most likely vaporware (like the OQO). Any "first generation" of a form-factor typically makes compromises in functionality to get the product out into the market. This device has everything but the kitchen sink, so it makes me highly suspicious of it ever becoming a real product.
There is definitely a need for a mobile/transportable computer, but taking a desktop/notebook PC and shrinking it down, is not the answer IMO. I would like to see a PPC-on-steroids.
A viable mobile/transportable device would be approximately the size of today's PPCs but have the ability to connect to external peripherals like keyboards, monitors, mice, etc. Include a "mini-dock" for large harddrives, etc. and we'd have something that wouldn't replace a desktop PC, but provide some very useful capabilities.