Actually, you've left one important require. If you disconnect the power cord (from both the computer and the electrical outlet) you can be more confident that your machine will be safe.
Just in case, you might also remove the hard drive and the CPU as stray electrical currents might cause these components to receive signals from "them".
This device seems more designed for tracking people than animals. If I was marketing the device, I'd sell it as a security device for children/memory impaired adults. The value of tracking is higher, and the wearer is more likely to respond to voice commands.
It didn't say if the phone is two-way so the responder could respond--but I guess it would be useful to be able to hear the background. I wonder if there is a "stealth" mode, where the owner can hear what's going on in the background, but the wearer doesn't hear any ringing or other noises---kind of scary.
I could also it be useful in an auto--I wonder if the GPS is good enough to find your car in a parking lot--uncovered of course. Presumably, all the auto theives/chop shops have learned to put stolen cars in covered building, but the voice listen capability might be useful--hey you could hear your car being chopped up until the very end.
When the net was still young to e-commerce and AT&T was still a force, they tried a service very similar to this. It was sold as an extension to AT&T's 800 service. You would click on a link, enter your phone number and get a call back connecting to the mechant.
I don't think it was ever very successful--no one quite understood how it worked, AT&T didn't understand how to sell it (what is the flash in the pan web thing?), and there weren't search engines yet.
Someone should integrate it seamlessly into Vonage or Skype to bypass the phone piece completely.
The market will be stronger when PCs are sold with handsets that look more like phones, rather than headsets.
Actually, the average person will buy the OS pre-installed for someone like Dell. Then they pay just a few dollars over the OEM price. It's pretty rare that a user upgrades their OS without replacing the machine. Even at the big box stores, the preinstalled versions of the OS only add $50 to 100 to the cost of the machine.
Office is a bit different, although many of the cheap PC options include MS Works for nearly free--a full copy of Word and stripped down version of Excel.
The tax on Macintosh is actually higer than that on a PC. You get taxed on the software and on the proprietary hardware. Even where you can find non-proprietary hardware it is frequently more expensive or has fewer options than the PC equivalent.
And don't forget the tax of needing a backup PC to access some web sites or run specific software.
I've looked at small business server and it's a pretty attractive product. For about $80/user you get a pretty full featured server. It includes a full copy of exchange which is hard to beat for calendaring and shared contacts, sharepoint server and of course print and file server.
Only downside is it maxes out at 75 users and can't join a domain.
For a business with 50 or so employees it's a pretty good deal.
Actually to complete the package you need to buy it with an pre-installed counterfeit version of Windows and bundle of Office and Photoshop for only $75 more.
It's too bad that the original poster didn't provide any more details about his organization--how many users does he have? How many need full office? The $65K is the cost of about 2/3 of an employee (after benefits, etc.) If changing for Office to some alternative (training, support, help desk calls from clients) will cost an additional person, he's better off stick with Office. However, I'd recommend waiting until the upgrades for Office 12 are are available to get everyone on the newest version. (Yes, there will be training involved, but he will be up to date.)
He should also consider whether everyone needs full Office--perhaps many users just need Word. Since he's considering OO the users don't need Access, so he could get away with Office Small Business. In the quantities that he should get a discount.
Office Upgrade (Small Business=Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher) costs about $200. So he must be talking about a $65,000/$200 = 325 person upgrade. At that quantity there is room for negoitated prices. Also, if the environment requires outlook (for shared calendars or contacts) then he probably needs Office--or at least Outlook.
The original poster is considering using OO to save money. The cost of thumb dries (even in bulk) will be $15/piece. Formatting, distribution, training and replacing lost drives will add another $20 to $30 per user. Add in the cost of a couple of snapped off USB ports when someone whacks the PC with the thumb drive in it, and you're pretty close to the cost of just buying office.
Does anyone appreciate the irony in Microsoft using the PowerPC chip in its XBox and Apple using Intel in its laptops? Both need to implement "on the fly" code conversion to maintain compatibility with older programs. I wonder who has done a better job at an universal converter. (With the XBox 360 some programs have not been made compatible. I wonder if Apple can hit 100%?)
Of course, as of right now Intel is behind the curve in performance compared to AMD. Presumably if MS can get custom PPC chips, Apple will be getting the hottest and latest Intel chips--maybe even custom.
What's interesting is that the company that developed the software is keeping "mum". If you check out their web site they have nothing to say and from the reports, phone calls are answered by the "office manager" who has no comments. Based on the reports of buggy code, I'd be doubtful of their "ability to code their way out of a paper bag". What I haven't heard is Sony or any other clients of first4internet to publically drop them. Other clients (according to first4internet related company) include MessageLabs, Vigil, Renaissance, SurfControl, Telcotec, Sohphos.
FYI,./ reported the story on December 18, 2004. See slashdot
web page
And what happened to all the research about one-button mice? It seems that the marketplace has spoken, and customers (silly of them) wanted two button mice with scroll wheels.
Of course Apple offered to donate a crippled version of their OS, probably knowing full well that it wouldn't be accepted. That's really trying to get free publicity--because what they are giving away costs nothing and wasn't going to be accepted anyway. Thus they get all the benefits and none of the cost.
However, the pod casts will cost $.99 and self destruct after 1 listening. Attempts to circumvent DRM will cause you to go deaf due to an autorun feature inserted in your brain via the headphones.
Thomas Edison wasn't a scientist--he was at best an inventor. More precisely, a dedicated tinkerer and later in life a manager (today would be called a PHB). He also excelled in managing what today would be call IP. Many of his inventions were the work of other people (some staff, some "borrowed").
In trying 3,000 items it was just trial and error--no planning or modeling the appropriate characteristics. Edison's success was in commercializing his (or other's) inventions.
It's software like Sony's that makes windows unstable. A clean install of Windows with only "certfied for windows XP" software is rock solid. It's once you start added badly written drivers and other code the mucks into the OS that it becomes unstable. As the systeminternals article indicated, the driver doesn't follow the rules for unloading itself and other violations that can lead to the blue screen of death. Perhaps MS should increase the level of warnings about non-certified code, but users would still click-thru and blame the OS when it crashes.
It's not a Windows-specific problem, it's just that Sony has only implemented it for windows.
This story should be followed up by the one about the chap who discovered that a new BMW could be used to move important medical files from one location to another. After making this remarkable discovery, the entire department quickly put in purchase orders for "medical information transit devices".
The story is sort of in the "duh" catagory...chap discovers that iPod can be used to store data, justifies purchase. (There was a/. story the IT adminstrator purchased iPod as "boot" devices.)
As medical imaging/storage devices go...the PDAs (Axim with 640x480 & wireless) or tablets are a better choice. The TCO (total cost of ownership) savings betweeen a $300 iPod and a $2000 tablet are relatively small when you add in the security, training and deployement costs.
Photoshop really is a professional program. People who use it day in and out can make it do amazing things. There is a whole class of professional applications, depending on your job. GIS, development environments, CAD/CAM, etc. All have steep learning curves and once you get good at them you can do amazing things. This is unlike professional woodworking tools--just because I bought a $4,000 lathe doesn't mean I can turn out fine furniture. Or if I bought a $10,000 telescope doesn't make me a astronomer. Photoshop probably isn't a good application for the casual user. (Same thing with buying a $5,000 camera.)
Consumers/moderate users should look into Paintshop Pro.
It's priced appropriately at about $100
Has most common-used features as built-in or wizards
Doesn't limit you-as you get more experienced there are features for the serious pro
Relatively small footprint
Lots of "gimmicks" for cool effects
Downside is that no pro worth his salary will touch it.
The same could be said about OS X. The hardware vendor forced all the customers into buying OS X.
Cust: Hi, I'd like to buy an Apple Computer... Apple salesperson: That will be $3,000; no free flat panel, no printer and only 512 MB of memory Cust: I'd like it without the operating system AS: Sorry. We don't offer custom configurations. Cust: I'll shop elsewhere
Actually with the Dell you can have both a SD and a CF card at the same time... In about 512 MB you can store an entire 120 minute video... thats gets you to 4 video "on line". Stick a spare in the carrying case and an entire day's worth of music.
Don't forget the Pocket PC device also has WiFi and bluetooth, so you're all set for a BT GPS receiver.
Although a bit more pricy than an iPod...it does much more. The only downside is that you don't get those trendy earbuds and the battery life is short. (Not taking a page from Apple, the Axim has a user replacable battery--in fact you can pack a spare for long trips.
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Actually, you've left one important require. If you disconnect the power cord (from both the computer and the electrical outlet) you can be more confident that your machine will be safe.
Just in case, you might also remove the hard drive and the CPU as stray electrical currents might cause these components to receive signals from "them".
This device seems more designed for tracking people than animals. If I was marketing the device, I'd sell it as a security device for children/memory impaired adults. The value of tracking is higher, and the wearer is more likely to respond to voice commands.
It didn't say if the phone is two-way so the responder could respond--but I guess it would be useful to be able to hear the background. I wonder if there is a "stealth" mode, where the owner can hear what's going on in the background, but the wearer doesn't hear any ringing or other noises---kind of scary.
I could also it be useful in an auto--I wonder if the GPS is good enough to find your car in a parking lot--uncovered of course. Presumably, all the auto theives/chop shops have learned to put stolen cars in covered building, but the voice listen capability might be useful--hey you could hear your car being chopped up until the very end.
When the net was still young to e-commerce and AT&T was still a force, they tried a service very similar to this. It was sold as an extension to AT&T's 800 service. You would click on a link, enter your phone number and get a call back connecting to the mechant.
I don't think it was ever very successful--no one quite understood how it worked, AT&T didn't understand how to sell it (what is the flash in the pan web thing?), and there weren't search engines yet.
Someone should integrate it seamlessly into Vonage or Skype to bypass the phone piece completely.
The market will be stronger when PCs are sold with handsets that look more like phones, rather than headsets.
Actually, the average person will buy the OS pre-installed for someone like Dell. Then they pay just a few dollars over the OEM price. It's pretty rare that a user upgrades their OS without replacing the machine. Even at the big box stores, the preinstalled versions of the OS only add $50 to 100 to the cost of the machine.
Office is a bit different, although many of the cheap PC options include MS Works for nearly free--a full copy of Word and stripped down version of Excel.
The tax on Macintosh is actually higer than that on a PC. You get taxed on the software and on the proprietary hardware. Even where you can find non-proprietary hardware it is frequently more expensive or has fewer options than the PC equivalent.
And don't forget the tax of needing a backup PC to access some web sites or run specific software.
See it's always the software.
I've looked at small business server and it's a pretty attractive product. For about $80/user you get a pretty full featured server. It includes a full copy of exchange which is hard to beat for calendaring and shared contacts, sharepoint server and of course print and file server.
Only downside is it maxes out at 75 users and can't join a domain.
For a business with 50 or so employees it's a pretty good deal.
Actually to complete the package you need to buy it with an pre-installed counterfeit version of Windows and bundle of Office and Photoshop for only $75 more.
It's too bad that the original poster didn't provide any more details about his organization--how many users does he have? How many need full office? The $65K is the cost of about 2/3 of an employee (after benefits, etc.) If changing for Office to some alternative (training, support, help desk calls from clients) will cost an additional person, he's better off stick with Office. However, I'd recommend waiting until the upgrades for Office 12 are are available to get everyone on the newest version. (Yes, there will be training involved, but he will be up to date.)
He should also consider whether everyone needs full Office--perhaps many users just need Word. Since he's considering OO the users don't need Access, so he could get away with Office Small Business. In the quantities that he should get a discount.
Office Upgrade (Small Business=Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher) costs about $200. So he must be talking about a $65,000/$200 = 325 person upgrade. At that quantity there is room for negoitated prices. Also, if the environment requires outlook (for shared calendars or contacts) then he probably needs Office--or at least Outlook.
The original poster is considering using OO to save money. The cost of thumb dries (even in bulk) will be $15/piece. Formatting, distribution, training and replacing lost drives will add another $20 to $30 per user. Add in the cost of a couple of snapped off USB ports when someone whacks the PC with the thumb drive in it, and you're pretty close to the cost of just buying office.
Does anyone appreciate the irony in Microsoft using the PowerPC chip in its XBox and Apple using Intel in its laptops? Both need to implement "on the fly" code conversion to maintain compatibility with older programs. I wonder who has done a better job at an universal converter. (With the XBox 360 some programs have not been made compatible. I wonder if Apple can hit 100%?)
Of course, as of right now Intel is behind the curve in performance compared to AMD. Presumably if MS can get custom PPC chips, Apple will be getting the hottest and latest Intel chips--maybe even custom.
Or how about portable music players (aka iPods) for a monopoly? I forgot-this is /., Apple: good. Microsoft: bad.
What's interesting is that the company that developed the software is keeping "mum". If you check out their web site they have nothing to say and from the reports, phone calls are answered by the "office manager" who has no comments. Based on the reports of buggy code, I'd be doubtful of their "ability to code their way out of a paper bag". What I haven't heard is Sony or any other clients of first4internet to publically drop them. Other clients (according to first4internet related company) include MessageLabs, Vigil, Renaissance, SurfControl, Telcotec, Sohphos.
./ reported the story on December 18, 2004. See slashdot
web page
FYI,
And what happened to all the research about one-button mice? It seems that the marketplace has spoken, and customers (silly of them) wanted two button mice with scroll wheels.
Of course Apple offered to donate a crippled version of their OS, probably knowing full well that it wouldn't be accepted. That's really trying to get free publicity--because what they are giving away costs nothing and wasn't going to be accepted anyway. Thus they get all the benefits and none of the cost.
How about donating some cash to go with it?
However, the pod casts will cost $.99 and self destruct after 1 listening. Attempts to circumvent DRM will cause you to go deaf due to an autorun feature inserted in your brain via the headphones.
Dell revenues are not growing as fast on a much larger base. Dell sales are $52.7 Billion. Apple sales are just shy of $14 billion.
It's a lot easier to have high growth on a smaller base.
Thomas Edison wasn't a scientist--he was at best an inventor. More precisely, a dedicated tinkerer and later in life a manager (today would be called a PHB). He also excelled in managing what today would be call IP. Many of his inventions were the work of other people (some staff, some "borrowed").
In trying 3,000 items it was just trial and error--no planning or modeling the appropriate characteristics. Edison's success was in commercializing his (or other's) inventions.
Just like (pick one): Microsoft, Apple, SCO.
It's software like Sony's that makes windows unstable. A clean install of Windows with only "certfied for windows XP" software is rock solid. It's once you start added badly written drivers and other code the mucks into the OS that it becomes unstable. As the systeminternals article indicated, the driver doesn't follow the rules for unloading itself and other violations that can lead to the blue screen of death. Perhaps MS should increase the level of warnings about non-certified code, but users would still click-thru and blame the OS when it crashes.
It's not a Windows-specific problem, it's just that Sony has only implemented it for windows.
Lame. No USB. No firewire. No iTunes. What good is it?
This story should be followed up by the one about the chap who discovered that a new BMW could be used to move important medical files from one location to another. After making this remarkable discovery, the entire department quickly put in purchase orders for "medical information transit devices".
/. story the IT adminstrator purchased iPod as "boot" devices.)
The story is sort of in the "duh" catagory...chap discovers that iPod can be used to store data, justifies purchase. (There was a
As medical imaging/storage devices go...the PDAs (Axim with 640x480 & wireless) or tablets are a better choice. The TCO (total cost of ownership) savings betweeen a $300 iPod and a $2000 tablet are relatively small when you add in the security, training and deployement costs.
And you forgot... the generic term for an OS: "windows-like". As in, my Macintosh runs windows-like
Consumers/moderate users should look into Paintshop Pro.
Downside is that no pro worth his salary will touch it.
The same could be said about OS X. The hardware vendor forced all the customers into buying OS X.
Cust: Hi, I'd like to buy an Apple Computer...
Apple salesperson: That will be $3,000; no free flat panel, no printer and only 512 MB of memory
Cust: I'd like it without the operating system
AS: Sorry. We don't offer custom configurations.
Cust: I'll shop elsewhere
Actually with the Dell you can have both a SD and a CF card at the same time... In about 512 MB you can store an entire 120 minute video... thats gets you to 4 video "on line". Stick a spare in the carrying case and an entire day's worth of music.
Don't forget the Pocket PC device also has WiFi and bluetooth, so you're all set for a BT GPS receiver.
Although a bit more pricy than an iPod...it does much more. The only downside is that you don't get those trendy earbuds and the battery life is short. (Not taking a page from Apple, the Axim has a user replacable battery--in fact you can pack a spare for long trips.