EEExactly.
Strech the Palm OS concept to a tiny cell phone screen that doesn't even have a touch screen, all the benefits and reasons that design choices were made break down.
The smart thing would be to completely redesign an interface for cellphones that does NOT have to look at all like the Palm OS we know and love.
Learn the lessons of Microsoft - do not try and fit a wolf into a dog house.
The flower project was out of BT Labs, there is talk of it over at an ambient fan site.
This is certainly not a new idea, probably why it came out of MIT research labs, lots of people have been working on it for a while, including those boys. I like what Ambient is doing (and I'm a little biased as an Orb owner I got from Thinkgeek) because they are trying to find ways other than the tray icon to display internet info.
Hell of a lot better than an "information appliance" (read: crippled computer)
Has anyone downloaded an AAC track using the software yet? I'm curious, if this is just plain-jane AAC - if I can just copy the file to any portable audio player as long as it plays AAC format?
For instance, most of the Panasonic players support AAC - so shouldn't you be able to just copy a file from Music Player to a Panasonic player and take it on the road?
Is the AAC format the only reason that the iPod is only supported right now?
Basically they are saying why be stupid enough to wait 10 years for WiFi to finally be broad enough that everyone can buy one, just put it on a wide-area network so anyone can buy one today.
Probably they'll make a wifi one later for compusa crowd, but by making it wireless this Orb can be in Chiasso as well as compusa..
This is an excellent idea -- but does require the family to have some basic HTML skills do be able to operate the ambient developer channel.
Ambient should sell an accessory that let's you remotely configure your ambient device through another device.
For instance, send an orb to your son. Then have a jog dial with similar pager technology in your house, and let you set it to several different states to control the color of a remote Orb. Could be a great way to discretely message amungst people.
Ambient has released schematics for building your own orb, or to control the Ambient Orb locally through a serial port, or controlling it remotely through their developer channel.
Unless you happen to be rich and feel incredibly wasteful - perhaps you should have just ONE (instead of three) orbs, and have it show different colors based on where the mouse is. For instance: red=left, yellow=middle monitor, green=right.
This would be completely doable with a software development kit for the Orb. They need something that will just let you bypass the wireless if you like and plug directly into the serial port, then control via some basic software.
There is some talk over at Ambient411 about an API for controlling the Orb, either locally or having developer access.
I hear that remote developer access is already available to some users (I haven't used it yet). You just spit query strings to a URL with the color & serial number of your Orb and it will change colors. This, however, has a delay due to the wireless network
For a "roaming mouse" application you'll need a serial or USB input for faster feedback... Some of the Ambient guys sometimes post on Ambient411, so I'd try petitioning there.
I don't know where you get your pager service from, but its about $30 A YEAR here on earth...
Check how many often you want this device to update... every 15 minutes? Once an hour? Updates every 15 minutes (certainly the case for stocks during the trading day) is 2,880 msgs a month.
Skytel's current rates:
Advanced 1Way 250 Plan - Motorola PF1500
Guaranteed delivery & nationwide coverage
250 messages/month, up to 500 characters each
Additional messages $0.25 each
Service Costs: $14.95 Per Month
$20.00 Activation Fee
-- you send 2880 msgs on that plan and it's $657.
How about a bulk plan you say?
Advanced 1Way 2500 Plan & Value Bundle - Motorola PF1500
Guaranteed delivery & nationwide coverage
2500 messages/month, up to 500 characters ea
Additional messages $0.05 ea.
Value bundle: Toll-free Personal Access Number,SkyTalk voice mail (30 mins), Caller ID
Service Costs: $69.95 Per Month
$20.00 Activation Fee
You are paying $70/month for regular updates. Now you could argue that you only need to send updates during the trading day (or whenever the peak hours are for whatever data you are sending to the ambient device) -- but you still see that it's got to be more expensive or at least comparable.
Mathmos also makes color changing stuff you can buy and hack. ThinkGeek sells the ColorBubble, which doesn't color change -- but they have the Tumbler on their site which does change color (just random color changing, not connected to information).
The CK Sauce stuff sucks, don't buy it.. it really is the $3 LED version of the Ambient stuff. The Mathmos and Ambient products are much higher quality. If you're going to hack anything, grab those.
Well, heat depends on the design of the circuitry... as many others will be able to describe better than I.
If you are looking for fanless, get a Transmeta powered laptop, just about all of them are fanless because the Transmeta chip is much better at keeping itself from getting too hot. (I can see the rifs on that phrase already)
(naturally the Transmeta heat is about the only thing it's better at -- and don't tell me battery power because I can make a 386 in my basement that get's better battery power than a pentium too)
As ridiculous as the information as, logging in as a guest a myambient.com seems to show that they actually have a Homeland Security Channel. I can see paranoid old men in camos huddled in the basements waiting for the oracle of light to glow green before they will leave.
Seems like a pretty clean proposition to me... do you have information that you think is valuable (network security, blog traffic, your mother's ovulation cycle) and do you want to be able to monitor it at a glance, even when away from your PC.
Stocks might be the dumbest thing I've every heard of, especially considering your likely to burn out the red LEDs rather quickly... but I wouldn't mind plugging the thing in my living room and getting a update on how my server is doing (which is in my basement).
I could spend a few weeks on learning LED color mixing, as discussed here, ordering and building a wi-fi version, and finding a glass ball or other housing for it from Ikea or whatever.. but that sounds like at least a couple hundred in developer kits alone. Now buying it and cracking it open to take a look, that's another thing -- wonder if they'd have a TIVO-like at least hands-off approach to tapping it into tcp/ip or inputs.
$300 sounds like a bit much (their starting price) -- $200 sounds reasonable but you better have info on it you care about -- $100 get's into the general market -- $50 I buy it for the "pretty lights connected to the web!" factor
Judging by all the talk about "hand-blown french glass" over at Ambient my guess is the $200 comes from the materials used, plus the cost for the wireless. I'd imagine a small plastic one sold at Compusa could go for $50, but of course it would look like a $50 item.
Step #7 - pay $6000 a month in wireless bills as you ping your pager constantly
I don't know about you, but after I got burned on the first month of using GPRS on my laptop because of overage (can you say $200 phone bill) - I'd much rather Ambient give me a flat rate.
That said, I'd also like for the the paging service provider to go ahead and give me the service at a flat rate AND sell me the Ambient Orb subsidized so I get it for $50.
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EEExactly. Strech the Palm OS concept to a tiny cell phone screen that doesn't even have a touch screen, all the benefits and reasons that design choices were made break down. The smart thing would be to completely redesign an interface for cellphones that does NOT have to look at all like the Palm OS we know and love. Learn the lessons of Microsoft - do not try and fit a wolf into a dog house.
It is.. notice that John Seely Brown of calm computing and Parc fame, is an advisor.
This is certainly not a new idea, probably why it came out of MIT research labs, lots of people have been working on it for a while, including those boys. I like what Ambient is doing (and I'm a little biased as an Orb owner I got from Thinkgeek) because they are trying to find ways other than the tray icon to display internet info.
Hell of a lot better than an "information appliance" (read: crippled computer)
We could all use them to reduce our needed interaction with the suits.
For instance, most of the Panasonic players support AAC - so shouldn't you be able to just copy a file from Music Player to a Panasonic player and take it on the road? Is the AAC format the only reason that the iPod is only supported right now?
you can buy the developer kit if you want to hook it up to your computer, but it works great just wireless, no computer or net connection necessary.
Basically they are saying why be stupid enough to wait 10 years for WiFi to finally be broad enough that everyone can buy one, just put it on a wide-area network so anyone can buy one today.
Probably they'll make a wifi one later for compusa crowd, but by making it wireless this Orb can be in Chiasso as well as compusa..
Ambient should sell an accessory that let's you remotely configure your ambient device through another device.
For instance, send an orb to your son. Then have a jog dial with similar pager technology in your house, and let you set it to several different states to control the color of a remote Orb. Could be a great way to discretely message amungst people.
Ambient Devices Releases Hardware/Software SDK
This would be completely doable with a software development kit for the Orb. They need something that will just let you bypass the wireless if you like and plug directly into the serial port, then control via some basic software.
There is some talk over at Ambient411 about an API for controlling the Orb, either locally or having developer access.
I hear that remote developer access is already available to some users (I haven't used it yet). You just spit query strings to a URL with the color & serial number of your Orb and it will change colors. This, however, has a delay due to the wireless network
For a "roaming mouse" application you'll need a serial or USB input for faster feedback... Some of the Ambient guys sometimes post on Ambient411, so I'd try petitioning there.
Check how many often you want this device to update... every 15 minutes? Once an hour? Updates every 15 minutes (certainly the case for stocks during the trading day) is 2,880 msgs a month.
Skytel's current rates:
-- you send 2880 msgs on that plan and it's $657.How about a bulk plan you say?
You are paying $70/month for regular updates. Now you could argue that you only need to send updates during the trading day (or whenever the peak hours are for whatever data you are sending to the ambient device) -- but you still see that it's got to be more expensive or at least comparable.yeah, there's a little talk of it over at some ambient devices fan site and I think one of the guys from that program posts over there.
The CK Sauce stuff sucks, don't buy it.. it really is the $3 LED version of the Ambient stuff. The Mathmos and Ambient products are much higher quality. If you're going to hack anything, grab those.
If you are looking for fanless, get a Transmeta powered laptop, just about all of them are fanless because the Transmeta chip is much better at keeping itself from getting too hot. (I can see the rifs on that phrase already) (naturally the Transmeta heat is about the only thing it's better at -- and don't tell me battery power because I can make a 386 in my basement that get's better battery power than a pentium too)
Ahh.. and not to forget the Terror-O-Meter
Stocks might be the dumbest thing I've every heard of, especially considering your likely to burn out the red LEDs rather quickly... but I wouldn't mind plugging the thing in my living room and getting a update on how my server is doing (which is in my basement).
I could spend a few weeks on learning LED color mixing, as discussed here, ordering and building a wi-fi version, and finding a glass ball or other housing for it from Ikea or whatever.. but that sounds like at least a couple hundred in developer kits alone. Now buying it and cracking it open to take a look, that's another thing -- wonder if they'd have a TIVO-like at least hands-off approach to tapping it into tcp/ip or inputs.
$300 sounds like a bit much (their starting price) -- $200 sounds reasonable but you better have info on it you care about -- $100 get's into the general market -- $50 I buy it for the "pretty lights connected to the web!" factor
Judging by all the talk about "hand-blown french glass" over at Ambient my guess is the $200 comes from the materials used, plus the cost for the wireless. I'd imagine a small plastic one sold at Compusa could go for $50, but of course it would look like a $50 item.
Step #7 - pay $6000 a month in wireless bills as you ping your pager constantly I don't know about you, but after I got burned on the first month of using GPRS on my laptop because of overage (can you say $200 phone bill) - I'd much rather Ambient give me a flat rate. That said, I'd also like for the the paging service provider to go ahead and give me the service at a flat rate AND sell me the Ambient Orb subsidized so I get it for $50.