but even of those who are not, some would promote Python, some Ruby, etc.
You say that like language diversity is a bad thing. HTML's SCRIPT tag has supported multiple languages for some time. The only problem being that the only alternative to JavaScript was something only IE supported.
Assuming some, if not all, of these new-fangled JS virtual machines, operated via an intermediate 'bytecode', support for multiple dynamic languages shouldn't be too hard if enthusiasts of Ruby, Python & others do the legwork.
Target the open source ones and too bad if your clients use Internet Explorer. It's a new decade; browser wars are so 1990s.
You must have a kindred spirit on the 903 smartbus. There's a guy who's constantly coding Lisp on his device. Me, I'm stuck in Java IDE land which would be painful on such a small device, particularly sans mouse.
I think you answered your own question in the first sentence - "350MB of space". Though Ubuntu's netbook page mentions CD installation, many netbook class devices won't include one. Thus having a small footprint in order to have a functional desktop via netinstall is perhaps the goal.
That said, ChromeOS will obviously also use Google Docs so familiarity is also a factor. Ubuntu would be aiming for 'gPad' class devices too. i.e. power-users will buy a ChromeOS tablet but wipe the default install so they can have debiany goodness underneath. I expect the RAM and storage for such devices to be substantially lower that of your typical netbook - at least the low cost versions.
In any case, perhaps unlike ChromeOS, OO.org is only a 'sudo apt-get install' away...
For one thing, I dispute your assertion that Google is doing evil. It's a company, it's doing what's in its best interest. Still, I know of few companies who have contributed so much to open standards and yes, even open source software, to the technological community. But I digress...
Sorry, I was paraphrasing Steve Jobs! My point was, in the context of the article, if patented codecs are "evil" then to an extent Google is not exactly doing "good", whatever their contributions to open source.
Would open-sourcing 'Flash' solve the problem? It sounds to be that the codecs are the crucial point.
Most likely you'd get an open-source plugin but the patent-encumbered codecs themselves would be delivered as binary blobs. This is a dilemma similar to that AMD and Nvidia face in graphics drivers and Sun had with areas of OpenJDK.
Moonlight 3.0 will support Theora.
Since Apple is competing with Google for the title of the company that can "Do most evil", should we be cheering on Miguel and MS in the hopes that Theora gains some traction?
Agreed - anyway, who needs massive *internal* storage for portables? My last laptop died leaving an orphaned disk. One USB cable and an enclosure smaller than a paperback novel - hey presto I have 160MB of external storage!
Companies mightn't embrace the netbook form factor but businesses might be swayed to run 'nettop' computers based on the Atom platform. After all, what percentage of business users actually *need* a flagship Core i7? They cost more and use more electricity, which for companies of several thousand employees is a contributing factor.
Dual core Atoms running Windows 7 might feel just as sluggish as the ageing P4 machines they replace, of course.:)
ARM based machines could fill a niche in those mythical 'progressive' companies without a substantial investment in windows-only software (Outlook) who were considering going Wintel-free. The organisation I work at had a recent outbreak of a well known worm yet refuses to budge...
If you've seen GNU/Linux running on a 256MB Cortex-a8 system you would be thinking, 'wow, there's potential here'. If you see GNU/Linux running on an a9 system, you'd be saying 'OMG that is amazing - I want one'.
How much RAM exactly with that a9?:) I realise ARM Linux mightn't be as bloated as Wintel but some of us see potential for these tuxPad devices to be something more than just a tablet for the rest of us.
So I'm concerned about Google undercutting Apple with Android/ChromeOS, if that means 256-512MB is all one would ever need in a locked down Googly-embedded tablet. Good for smartphones but sucky for those of us who just want a regular portable machine.
I'd personally like a fanless mobile development platform that can morph into a regular 'desktop' class machine when docked. Quad core A9 promise a decent level of performance but running an IDE, web server, virtualization and database all on the same tuxPad will require more considerably RAM than your gPad cloud device. Hopefully at least one manufacturer looks beyond 'iPad killer' and serves the high-end niche of Slashdotters! I fully expect the Atom platform to stagnate, performance wise, without strong competition.
Well if you want a keyboard, good luck typing on this device. If you look at the picture in the article, compare the man's hand span to the size of the keyboard. My personal preference is that anything smaller than 11" is too small for real typing (and yes I have battled with 10.4 inch screens at work). Unless you have very deep pockets, you still need a satchel or backpack to carry these things in be they 7 inches or 11.
A keyboard-less iPad would suffice but my preference for external output is that one can dock one's on-the-road device and plug in a keyboard, mouse and display when at home.
Without this, you still need a secondary desktop machine for anything more than basic computing. My point is that these higher-end ARM chips are reaching a point where aside from playing crysis and other heavy operations they'll suffice for the average desktop. But not at a $100 price point and if you have to maintain a separate home machine is it such a bargain? I'd rather spend more on a single device that can do both.
News for nerds, hardly - it's a toy. With all the hype over the iPad, here are a few pointers for something some of us would actually buy:
Pick a standard LCD size that can display 720p content, e.g. 1366x768 seen in some 11" netbooks.
Use a mainstream distro like Ubuntu on it but allow those in the know to install distro-of-choice. e.g. Ubuntu is hinting at support for android's software stack
Stick a decent amount of RAM in it. 4GB seems to be the limit on 32bit, make it an option.
Mini HDMI so we can plug into our 1080 TVs
Touch screen, xorg has multitouch now. But allow choice, some prefer styluses...
A camera, if only for skypeing relatives
Bluetooth, wifi, 3G, usb, ethernet
keyboard optional, iPad will show there's a market for both
In short a real competitor to both the iPad and Atom Netbooks. Cut out the Windows tax and Apple DRM and there's your niche. All these things are possible today with a decent dual core SoC like Tegra 2. Wake me up when such a device actually exists but be warned it won't be for $100.
Yes I know there's a detachable machine with beagleboard specs but let's see the next-gen that doesn't feel as sluggish as a desktop from 1999.
Well in a sense that many pages expect to layout at 1024 horizontal pixels. Even with pages that flow properly, 480 pixels high still makes for a lot of scrolling.
I wouldn't buy one myself but it seems no coincidence that Apple's new device has standard XGA, 1024x768.
Slashdot Mirror
With multi-core ARM SoC chips on the horizon, have we FOSS drivers for X?
Were nvidia to use similar interfaces to their desktop cousins, they could steal the jump on the competition via nouveau.
For those of you too occupied to RTFA, the crossed out terms are enlightening: 'conspiracy' (twice), 'flawed', 'tricks', 'gravy train'.
Such emotive language doesn't help their cause when opponents could just as easily frame "denialists" with such terms.
Linux based? meh.
In case you missed it, Symbian went open source this month.
Boomerangs have delighted children for millenia.
You say that like language diversity is a bad thing. HTML's SCRIPT tag has supported multiple languages for some time. The only problem being that the only alternative to JavaScript was something only IE supported.
Assuming some, if not all, of these new-fangled JS virtual machines, operated via an intermediate 'bytecode', support for multiple dynamic languages shouldn't be too hard if enthusiasts of Ruby, Python & others do the legwork.
Target the open source ones and too bad if your clients use Internet Explorer. It's a new decade; browser wars are so 1990s.
Dude, time to step out of Mom's basement!
Thanks for clarifying, I haven't read the article so naturally assumed you were talking about the Mexican beer!
You must have a kindred spirit on the 903 smartbus. There's a guy who's constantly coding Lisp on his device. Me, I'm stuck in Java IDE land which would be painful on such a small device, particularly sans mouse.
I think you answered your own question in the first sentence - "350MB of space". Though Ubuntu's netbook page mentions CD installation, many netbook class devices won't include one. Thus having a small footprint in order to have a functional desktop via netinstall is perhaps the goal.
That said, ChromeOS will obviously also use Google Docs so familiarity is also a factor. Ubuntu would be aiming for 'gPad' class devices too. i.e. power-users will buy a ChromeOS tablet but wipe the default install so they can have debiany goodness underneath. I expect the RAM and storage for such devices to be substantially lower that of your typical netbook - at least the low cost versions.
In any case, perhaps unlike ChromeOS, OO.org is only a 'sudo apt-get install' away...
Sorry, I was paraphrasing Steve Jobs! My point was, in the context of the article, if patented codecs are "evil" then to an extent Google is not exactly doing "good", whatever their contributions to open source.
Would open-sourcing 'Flash' solve the problem? It sounds to be that the codecs are the crucial point.
Most likely you'd get an open-source plugin but the patent-encumbered codecs themselves would be delivered as binary blobs. This is a dilemma similar to that AMD and Nvidia face in graphics drivers and Sun had with areas of OpenJDK.
Indeed, as been mentioned in this thread, Theora support could be very easily added to any browser supporting NPAPI plugins for Flash, Java or *Light.
Let me know when there's an app for that!
Moonlight 3.0 will support Theora.
Since Apple is competing with Google for the title of the company that can "Do most evil", should we be cheering on Miguel and MS in the hopes that Theora gains some traction?
Agreed - anyway, who needs massive *internal* storage for portables? My last laptop died leaving an orphaned disk. One USB cable and an enclosure smaller than a paperback novel - hey presto I have 160MB of external storage!
Companies mightn't embrace the netbook form factor but businesses might be swayed to run 'nettop' computers based on the Atom platform. After all, what percentage of business users actually *need* a flagship Core i7? They cost more and use more electricity, which for companies of several thousand employees is a contributing factor.
Dual core Atoms running Windows 7 might feel just as sluggish as the ageing P4 machines they replace, of course. :)
ARM based machines could fill a niche in those mythical 'progressive' companies without a substantial investment in windows-only software (Outlook) who were considering going Wintel-free. The organisation I work at had a recent outbreak of a well known worm yet refuses to budge...
How much RAM exactly with that a9? :) I realise ARM Linux mightn't be as bloated as Wintel but some of us see potential for these tuxPad devices to be something more than just a tablet for the rest of us.
So I'm concerned about Google undercutting Apple with Android/ChromeOS, if that means 256-512MB is all one would ever need in a locked down Googly-embedded tablet. Good for smartphones but sucky for those of us who just want a regular portable machine.
I'd personally like a fanless mobile development platform that can morph into a regular 'desktop' class machine when docked. Quad core A9 promise a decent level of performance but running an IDE, web server, virtualization and database all on the same tuxPad will require more considerably RAM than your gPad cloud device. Hopefully at least one manufacturer looks beyond 'iPad killer' and serves the high-end niche of Slashdotters! I fully expect the Atom platform to stagnate, performance wise, without strong competition.
Ever wonder why there's no camera in the iPad? It wasn't ready yet. That's right, it's a mobile Telescreen.
Well if you want a keyboard, good luck typing on this device. If you look at the picture in the article, compare the man's hand span to the size of the keyboard. My personal preference is that anything smaller than 11" is too small for real typing (and yes I have battled with 10.4 inch screens at work). Unless you have very deep pockets, you still need a satchel or backpack to carry these things in be they 7 inches or 11.
A keyboard-less iPad would suffice but my preference for external output is that one can dock one's on-the-road device and plug in a keyboard, mouse and display when at home.
Without this, you still need a secondary desktop machine for anything more than basic computing. My point is that these higher-end ARM chips are reaching a point where aside from playing crysis and other heavy operations they'll suffice for the average desktop. But not at a $100 price point and if you have to maintain a separate home machine is it such a bargain? I'd rather spend more on a single device that can do both.
In short a real competitor to both the iPad and Atom Netbooks. Cut out the Windows tax and Apple DRM and there's your niche. All these things are possible today with a decent dual core SoC like Tegra 2. Wake me up when such a device actually exists but be warned it won't be for $100.
Yes I know there's a detachable machine with beagleboard specs but let's see the next-gen that doesn't feel as sluggish as a desktop from 1999.
Well in a sense that many pages expect to layout at 1024 horizontal pixels. Even with pages that flow properly, 480 pixels high still makes for a lot of scrolling.
I wouldn't buy one myself but it seems no coincidence that Apple's new device has standard XGA, 1024x768.
Since you sound adventurous, these guys may be able to help. :)
Tasmanians?
Well, the article is titled, "A Peek Inside the 'Eleonore' Browser Exploit Kit".
I had a friend at university named Eleonora . You've just besmirched her name by referencing an article about 'Eleonore'. :(
Hmmm, then you're doing it wrong.