One of your dream PDA features mentioned in your journal was a "tack-sharp black-and-white screen" that doesn't suck up all the battery power.
A great solution to that is digital ink. E-Ink makes exactly this kind of technology that fits your needs.
Power is only used when parts of the on-screen image is changed. If you're just staring at the screen, lost in thought (for, let's say, a few hours), no battery power is used for the screen itself. Throw in a CPU that puts itself to sleep unless there is activity and you could easily come up with a PDA that is small, light, easily readable in any condition in which you could read a book, and has a *long* battery life.
Unfortunately, E-Ink still seems to be in the beginning stages of working with other manufacturers and OEM's, so you can't exactly buy a 4"x3" screen at your local Fry's to tinker with.
I'd like to see a digital camera with the ability to translate text in foreign languages into English (or your local language). For example, if I'm vacationing in Moscow and can't understand the metro map because it's in Russian, I could snap a picture with my digital camera, ask it to translate it, and bam... it runs an OCR on the image, translates the text into English, and replaces the Russian words with English words so I can zoom in and scroll around. Instant sign translation! Great for menus in foreign restaurants, signs, hotel bills, etc.
I get most of my news from here. But even better, I found a great techie download site that has LOTS of free utilities and software, though most of it is, eh... pirated.
Slashdot Mirror
A great solution to that is digital ink. E-Ink makes exactly this kind of technology that fits your needs.
Power is only used when parts of the on-screen image is changed. If you're just staring at the screen, lost in thought (for, let's say, a few hours), no battery power is used for the screen itself. Throw in a CPU that puts itself to sleep unless there is activity and you could easily come up with a PDA that is small, light, easily readable in any condition in which you could read a book, and has a *long* battery life.
Unfortunately, E-Ink still seems to be in the beginning stages of working with other manufacturers and OEM's, so you can't exactly buy a 4"x3" screen at your local Fry's to tinker with.
I'd like to see a digital camera with the ability to translate text in foreign languages into English (or your local language). For example, if I'm vacationing in Moscow and can't understand the metro map because it's in Russian, I could snap a picture with my digital camera, ask it to translate it, and bam... it runs an OCR on the image, translates the text into English, and replaces the Russian words with English words so I can zoom in and scroll around. Instant sign translation! Great for menus in foreign restaurants, signs, hotel bills, etc.
Run Kazaa (or any P2P that uses port 1214) and try the second link again.
I get most of my news from here. But even better, I found a great techie download site that has LOTS of free utilities and software, though most of it is, eh... pirated.
In the directory you referenced (http://images.wsdot.wa.gov/nwflow/wireless/Webflo wUpdates/), click on Readme.txt for a message to hackers. : )