The gorgeous 320x480 display...
on
Palm's Mistakes
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· Score: 1
Like them or not, Palms that came out with 320x480 displays were gorgeous to view. Software slowly caught up with this display's capabilities (too little too late), but the displays were amazing.
Everyone here is correct: Palm pulled a Lotus 123/Harvard Graphics/WordPerfect -- they didn't innovate fast enough.
Cell phones are the future. All that matters is communication...
My Nokia 3650 was FREE (as in beer) through Amazon. I know that's only 1 phone and not three; this must be how Verizon's "business model" works. A family-plan scam:
You get lotsa cheap phones for the rugrats, lotsa cheap plans, and ZERO FREE services. So the parents buy the goods and just make calls (because they don't know how to do anything else) and their kids rack up HUGE bills courtesy of SMS, MMS, WAP, HTML, and what-not. Then the kids get grounded, the parents get screwed, and Verizon gets bigger checks.
Get T-Mobile...
I removed an old, clogged-up clunker from my girlfriend's dad's house, went to Renaissance Computer and bought him a used Compaq 733 with a 16 GB drive, and installed Windows 2000 and Netzero for him (he's a member). I didn't install Norton or Spybot but did made sure everything worked fine when I set it up at his house. I also remembered to disable Windows Messenger service.
Two days later I get the call...
Well, I've learned the dumb (hard) way that if you plan on using Windoze, GO GET A VALID COPY OF NORTON and INSTALL SPYBOT or AD-AWARE and GOOGLE TOOLBAR. There is no alternative. Warez Norton won't cut it because you need constant updates.
So now he's on week #2 with no access. My sister just called me last night and said "I can't use my computer because it slows to a crawl." Oh yea, and don't forget my friend Bryan who just called me this weekend "I can't get on the net for some reason. What happened?" UGH!
Elements has ~80% of Photoshop 7 functionality. It does NOT have Channels or CMYK and its' color space management is uber lame. A patch must be applied to ensure digital camera images from EXIF-compatible cameras do not import as sRGB.
That said (the bad stuff), Elements has some amazing tools in it that the programmers seem to have hidden from the accountants. Elements does NOT have paths, but you can use the magnetic lasso tool to create paths, then just save them as layers (Layer>New>Layer via Copy) or Selections. That's right: no channels to speak of but you CAN save selections. Not sure how they got that by the beancounters/QA but hooray for providing this power.
Adjustment Layers are available, but layer groups are not available. Also, there is no Curves in Elements so if you import an image from PS7 with a Curves adjustment layer, it's locked. You can turn it off/on but you can't double click and edit.
I haven't seen Photoshop 8 yet so cannot comment on its file browser, but Elements 2.0's file browser is just as good as Photoshop 7's. Which isn't saying a TON but you get my drift. Also, Elements file format is 100% compatible with PS7. Opening and editing in either is seamless.
If you edit images exclusively then the price point of Elements is totally amazing (compared to all the other inflated Adobe products). But I think Paint Shop Pro is a better deal, although I've never liked its trailer-park UI...
All I know is the Zire 71 has a beautiful screen. Get one off Ebay for ~$150 and use it as a flashlight. It's brighter than my NX70 screen, which is also beautious and perfect for movies/South Park.
Someday soon the cheapy cameras on these devices will be real cameras (The NZ90 doesn't count because it's a brick) and you'll be able to record 640x480 30fps MPEG4 video onto an SD. Sony is dreading it...
The Zire 71 is tiny, long battery life, and color. The screen is gorgeous. I just wish Palm had better games. The games suck...
I love my Sony NX70 with its gorgeous big screen, but the writing is on de wall...
Best Buy stopped selling PDAs. Cell phones sell VASTLY more than Palms/PPCs so Best Buy said sayonara to geeky handhelds. Also geeks like me kept taking back their old handheld and exchanging it.
If a handheld isn't "connected" via Bluetooth or 802.11 then its lifespan is about zero. Pocket PCs have Palm beat in this department. Stupid PalmOne and Sony are just NOW getting 802.11 and Bluetooth on their entire line.
Palms stink in the game department. We now have Warfare, which is great, but thats' about it. My favorite game is a freeware game called Bee, but what do I know. PPCs have tons of great games.
The bottom line: the days of unconnected PDAs are gone. PalmOne/Palmsource/Sony had better get with it. The T3 is a beautiful device (as was the Palm V and 515) but unconnected ain't gonna cut it any longer.
Sony knows the future of personal video is solid state machines like the NX70 / NX80 / etc... but they are SCARED TO DEATH of eating into their cash cow called DV cameras. The result: their nifty "PEO's" (Personal Entertainment Organizers) include better digital cameras but NOT better digital video recorders. Come on: 160x112!!! Who's kidding who!?
When Palms/Pocket PC's/Symbians/Linux include hard drives and MPEG4 chips, there will no longer be a need for DV/Sony DV tapes. Bad for Sony, good for little people.
I love my NX70 with its CF driver (thank you eruware!) but the video capability borders on ridiculous. The built-in mp3 player is nice and the 640x480 camera is fun too. But the video player -- what could be the coolest show-off -- is anemic.
This is all possibly irrelevant anyway because GSM phones will kill the PDA industry. Or significantly morph it. Although there will be some diehards out there who go the bluetooth route. I may be one of them. My next PDA will be the Tungsten C with the Bluetooth SD card (via expansys).
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Like them or not, Palms that came out with 320x480 displays were gorgeous to view. Software slowly caught up with this display's capabilities (too little too late), but the displays were amazing. Everyone here is correct: Palm pulled a Lotus 123/Harvard Graphics/WordPerfect -- they didn't innovate fast enough. Cell phones are the future. All that matters is communication...
My Nokia 3650 was FREE (as in beer) through Amazon. I know that's only 1 phone and not three; this must be how Verizon's "business model" works. A family-plan scam: You get lotsa cheap phones for the rugrats, lotsa cheap plans, and ZERO FREE services. So the parents buy the goods and just make calls (because they don't know how to do anything else) and their kids rack up HUGE bills courtesy of SMS, MMS, WAP, HTML, and what-not. Then the kids get grounded, the parents get screwed, and Verizon gets bigger checks. Get T-Mobile...
Two days later I get the call...
Well, I've learned the dumb (hard) way that if you plan on using Windoze, GO GET A VALID COPY OF NORTON and INSTALL SPYBOT or AD-AWARE and GOOGLE TOOLBAR. There is no alternative. Warez Norton won't cut it because you need constant updates.
So now he's on week #2 with no access. My sister just called me last night and said "I can't use my computer because it slows to a crawl." Oh yea, and don't forget my friend Bryan who just called me this weekend "I can't get on the net for some reason. What happened?" UGH!
That said (the bad stuff), Elements has some amazing tools in it that the programmers seem to have hidden from the accountants. Elements does NOT have paths, but you can use the magnetic lasso tool to create paths, then just save them as layers (Layer>New>Layer via Copy) or Selections. That's right: no channels to speak of but you CAN save selections. Not sure how they got that by the beancounters/QA but hooray for providing this power.
Adjustment Layers are available, but layer groups are not available. Also, there is no Curves in Elements so if you import an image from PS7 with a Curves adjustment layer, it's locked. You can turn it off/on but you can't double click and edit.
I haven't seen Photoshop 8 yet so cannot comment on its file browser, but Elements 2.0's file browser is just as good as Photoshop 7's. Which isn't saying a TON but you get my drift. Also, Elements file format is 100% compatible with PS7. Opening and editing in either is seamless.
If you edit images exclusively then the price point of Elements is totally amazing (compared to all the other inflated Adobe products). But I think Paint Shop Pro is a better deal, although I've never liked its trailer-park UI...
All I know is the Zire 71 has a beautiful screen. Get one off Ebay for ~$150 and use it as a flashlight. It's brighter than my NX70 screen, which is also beautious and perfect for movies/South Park.
Someday soon the cheapy cameras on these devices will be real cameras (The NZ90 doesn't count because it's a brick) and you'll be able to record 640x480 30fps MPEG4 video onto an SD. Sony is dreading it... The Zire 71 is tiny, long battery life, and color. The screen is gorgeous. I just wish Palm had better games. The games suck...
I love my Sony NX70 with its gorgeous big screen, but the writing is on de wall...
Best Buy stopped selling PDAs. Cell phones sell VASTLY more than Palms/PPCs so Best Buy said sayonara to geeky handhelds. Also geeks like me kept taking back their old handheld and exchanging it.
If a handheld isn't "connected" via Bluetooth or 802.11 then its lifespan is about zero. Pocket PCs have Palm beat in this department. Stupid PalmOne and Sony are just NOW getting 802.11 and Bluetooth on their entire line.
Palms stink in the game department. We now have Warfare, which is great, but thats' about it. My favorite game is a freeware game called Bee, but what do I know. PPCs have tons of great games.
The bottom line: the days of unconnected PDAs are gone. PalmOne/Palmsource/Sony had better get with it. The T3 is a beautiful device (as was the Palm V and 515) but unconnected ain't gonna cut it any longer.
AIM for Palm is still free (beer). Go to the AOL UK site. It's still free there.
Stop being such a dull cheapskate and just buy something. You're talking $200 max. Go for it...
When Palms/Pocket PC's/Symbians/Linux include hard drives and MPEG4 chips, there will no longer be a need for DV/Sony DV tapes. Bad for Sony, good for little people.
I love my NX70 with its CF driver (thank you eruware!) but the video capability borders on ridiculous. The built-in mp3 player is nice and the 640x480 camera is fun too. But the video player -- what could be the coolest show-off -- is anemic.
This is all possibly irrelevant anyway because GSM phones will kill the PDA industry. Or significantly morph it. Although there will be some diehards out there who go the bluetooth route. I may be one of them. My next PDA will be the Tungsten C with the Bluetooth SD card (via expansys).