"Hear now my sad tale of why Linux isn't suitable for my desktop."
My standard response to anyone who complains about computers, even Macs
*YAWN*.. go buy a Mac.
Hardly the first, and a long way to go...
on
Pacebook Tablet PC
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· Score: 2, Insightful
There are many tablet PCs already on the market. Microsoft has yet again tried to claim they invented something that has been used by the industry for years. What is really sad is that this one has nothing over the others in terms of usability other then being transmeta based (which should benefit the power usage). Microsoft's standards HINT and what a Tablet UI should be to be usable but it will need substantial changes to get market buy in.
I've been writing software for a year now for an in-house psych/neuropsych testing package and have had to evaluate many tablets for this project. Most are used for specific applications like data entry in the field or map/contextual content. None are overly better then others but we ended up choosing the all but defunct QBE tablet because of the most mitigating factor: cost. new tablets are over $2500 and QBE's can be picked up for $800. Since they can double as a PC when not being used as an idiot proof data collection tool, they have great value for a small office/lab setting. But not when they cost $2500 a pop.
having lived with a tablet as a dev-platform and using it as notepad for meetings, I now understand why tablets haven't caught the public's attention. they suck for getting work done. I love lying in bed surfing with my finger,reading in full page portrait layout. But try to use these things for any input beyond point and click and you quickly see that your finger is not a mouse pointer. it's a big blunt object. using stylus on large screens is inherently iffy for targeting small little GUI widgets.
After a week of testing we changed our program's UI to use a minimum of 80x80 pixel widgets just to avoid incorrect input. On a 1024x768 screen, this really limits what you can fit on the screen. Suddenly all fonts must be over 24 pt if you plan on selecting text. Radio buttons have to be replaced with "SONY My First Button" like nobs, and handwriting with a styles consumes the entire screen just to write a few words...then you wait for the coversion to text, correct...correct...correct, and try to continue. it's maddening and a waste of time. Grafetti at least reduces the number of errors by changing the operator's input, not using cycles to compute what it thought you wrote.
And let's not even get into using voice recog for input..it's just not going to happen for a few more years. A 90% recognition rate means a lot of mistakes that have to be corrected, and this only becomes efficient when you are streaming your words like dictation, most people speak in fragments
...a notebook that doubles as a tablet, ala the pivoting reversible screen is a good start, allowing scribbles when you want to jot down diagrams and simple notes and a normal keyboard when you want to really get work done
All windows apps rely on fitting large amounts of GUI items on the screen. Developers will first need to take on the Palm GUI theme to provide public access...just a few items for reduced chance of incorrect input and apps that accomplish a specific task.
Go pick one up and try it. you'll return it in a week and get your money back. unless you only surf.
I write touch screen applications. But the hardware cost is really prohibitive to appeal where it is needed by the computer illiterate masses.
This device could replace the screen, computer; the whole setup while allowing participants to touch regions of a surface to answer questions. Don't think of coding with this, think of remote distributed input devices with zero ware, instant customization and limitless input devices available.
I was in there in '90. My inspiration was the first few lines of Clifford Stoll's "Cuckoo's Egg"
it went something like
"computer people call me an astronomy genius and astronomers call me a computer genius"
basically, find something else you like, merge the two and impress everyone. Don't try to change CS..a rock is a rock and a tree is a tree and you can't make a rock into a tree.
I used to have this problem, and then I grew up. I'm 28 and have been working for computer companies since high school. Though I'm not perfect and I don't pretend to be either. The following is just my experience and opinion.
Forgive me for even suggesting that anyone might not see your genius, but I've had some experience with this and I would like to suggest a possible scenario. Even if the original person doesn't have this issue, I've seen this a lot in the tech industry and hope this will help someone out there.
There is a large population of young hyper kids with amazing talents and no social skills. I used to be one of them. When I realized it was the way I was communicating to others, trying to influence their decisions and show them why my solutions were better, the tone and delivery was just as important as the content. After this discovery, things got a lot easier. Learn to manage yourself and be helpful, not aggressive in countering them.
I've seen too many examples of people my age in meetings or classes tangent into soapbox diatribes about how illogical X or Y is, and then wonder why no one listens to them later. Who cares if it's wrong? Are you going to manage it? If not, let them fall over themselves managing NT. (example) If you are going to manage it then it's your right to say you don't like it for whatever reason. It's not your job to save the world or correct every stupid misguided idea. Stop trying, you will only frustrate yourself. Those ignorant people you are trying to save will only resent your effort.
I'm not going to analyze you, but stop for a moment and try to see how you might be perceived. There is a good chance your perception and theirs don't mesh. Yes, they might be wrong, yes some managers really don't know their ass from a hole in the wall. But if this frustrating situation occurs more then once with different people...it might be you. And only you can make it better.
A long time ago, I forget when exactly:), I made a conscious decision that I would stop duplicating effort when writing things down. I started using computers to keep notes, I scanned text from books, I hacked into my Profs account and copied his class notes instead of writing it down on paper while waiting for him to copy his printed notes onto the board. Yes this doesn't work for things like learning a language where memorization and autonomic response must be set by constant familiarization.
But I am more efficient then the guy scribbling like mad with a pencil next to me.
College Profs are now beginning to understand the advantage of printing notes for students. In Doctorate level classes, everyone now expects there to be a custom book, written by the instructor that contains all the info you need.
We could be OLD SKOOL and force everyone to copy text off the board, but that would waste everyone's time. True, I can't remember my mother's phone number without consulting my pilot or online address book, but I personally feel that's OK.
I don't have the sources but my wife works in NeuroPsycology re: biological causes for behavior, and this is what I heard.
One topic that is starting to get accepted as a modern phenomenon is the new breed of Neurosurgeons and their abilities dramatically exceeding their teachers. Apparently one cited cause it the increased training the new breed had in early adolescents with, that's right, video games.
Increased exposure to hand/eye coordination tests throughout developmental periods looks to be a common factor in the "new breed of doctors" and there seems to be a direct correlation to who had the most "gaming" and who's a good microsurgeon.
I need a Playstation Mom!. I want to be a doctor when I grow up!
I think the math here would be simple. Space (the stuff between matter) is more densely packed the more mass there is. Space is very dense inside the sun. Space is less dense outside the sun. Space is even less dense 1M miles from the sun. Space is made up of regions of densely packed space and not so densely packed space.
If you are traveling through a less dense subject, you travel slower (relatively)...the further away from the local source you go, the greater your acceleration in the opposite direction would appear to be from a distant reference.
Here's a kitchen reference: sound travels about 700 mph in air at sea level and 680mph about 10,000 feet up where the air is less dense.
" Fresh water at 20 degrees C is 1481 m/sec. Seawater at 13 degrees C is 1500 m/sec. "
Seawater is....yes, that's right...MORE dense then fresh water.
Now there are some variables here such as heat from the sun creating a less dense "atmosphere" at the surface of the sun and into regions close by, but i think that matter ejected would have much greater effects on the satellite and therefor would be a more noticeable acceleration.
I can't find the article but didn't the Prez of Amiga post a note two months ago stating that they had decided to go with BeOS because Be had the Amiga UI built in? Anyone remember that German MacOS Clone Vaporware last year...what was it...COS?
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My standard response to anyone who complains about computers, even Macs
*YAWN* .. go buy a Mac.
There are many tablet PCs already on the market. Microsoft has yet again tried to claim they invented something that has been used by the industry for years. What is really sad is that this one has nothing over the others in terms of usability other then being transmeta based (which should benefit the power usage). Microsoft's standards HINT and what a Tablet UI should be to be usable but it will need substantial changes to get market buy in.
,reading in full page portrait layout. But try to use these things for any input beyond point and click and you quickly see that your finger is not a mouse pointer. it's a big blunt object. using stylus on large screens is inherently iffy for targeting small little GUI widgets.
...correct...correct, and try to continue. it's maddening and a waste of time. Grafetti at least reduces the number of errors by changing the operator's input, not using cycles to compute what it thought you wrote.
I've been writing software for a year now for an in-house psych/neuropsych testing package and have had to evaluate many tablets for this project. Most are used for specific applications like data entry in the field or map/contextual content. None are overly better then others but we ended up choosing the all but defunct QBE tablet because of the most mitigating factor: cost. new tablets are over $2500 and QBE's can be picked up for $800. Since they can double as a PC when not being used as an idiot proof data collection tool, they have great value for a small office/lab setting. But not when they cost $2500 a pop.
having lived with a tablet as a dev-platform and using it as notepad for meetings, I now understand why tablets haven't caught the public's attention. they suck for getting work done. I love lying in bed surfing with my finger
After a week of testing we changed our program's UI to use a minimum of 80x80 pixel widgets just to avoid incorrect input. On a 1024x768 screen, this really limits what you can fit on the screen. Suddenly all fonts must be over 24 pt if you plan on selecting text. Radio buttons have to be replaced with "SONY My First Button" like nobs, and handwriting with a styles consumes the entire screen just to write a few words...then you wait for the coversion to text, correct
And let's not even get into using voice recog for input..it's just not going to happen for a few more years. A 90% recognition rate means a lot of mistakes that have to be corrected, and this only becomes efficient when you are streaming your words like dictation, most people speak in fragments
...a notebook that doubles as a tablet, ala the pivoting reversible screen is a good start, allowing scribbles when you want to jot down diagrams and simple notes and a normal keyboard when you want to really get work done
All windows apps rely on fitting large amounts of GUI items on the screen. Developers will first need to take on the Palm GUI theme to provide public access...just a few items for reduced chance of incorrect input and apps that accomplish a specific task.
Go pick one up and try it. you'll return it in a week and get your money back. unless you only surf.
I write touch screen applications. But the hardware cost is really prohibitive to appeal where it is needed by the computer illiterate masses.
This device could replace the screen, computer; the whole setup while allowing participants to touch regions of a surface to answer questions. Don't think of coding with this, think of remote distributed input devices with zero ware, instant customization and limitless input devices available.
I was in there in '90. My inspiration was the first few lines of Clifford Stoll's "Cuckoo's Egg"
it went something like
"computer people call me an astronomy genius and astronomers call me a computer genius"
basically, find something else you like, merge the two and impress everyone. Don't try to change CS..a rock is a rock and a tree is a tree and you can't make a rock into a tree.
Divide and conquer!
I used to have this problem, and then I grew up. I'm 28 and have been working for computer companies since high school. Though I'm not perfect and I don't pretend to be either. The following is just my experience and opinion.
Forgive me for even suggesting that anyone might not see your genius, but I've had some experience with this and I would like to suggest a possible scenario. Even if the original person doesn't have this issue, I've seen this a lot in the tech industry and hope this will help someone out there.
There is a large population of young hyper kids with amazing talents and no social skills. I used to be one of them. When I realized it was the way I was communicating to others, trying to influence their decisions and show them why my solutions were better, the tone and delivery was just as important as the content. After this discovery, things got a lot easier. Learn to manage yourself and be helpful, not aggressive in countering them.
I've seen too many examples of people my age in meetings or classes tangent into soapbox diatribes about how illogical X or Y is, and then wonder why no one listens to them later. Who cares if it's wrong? Are you going to manage it? If not, let them fall over themselves managing NT. (example) If you are going to manage it then it's your right to say you don't like it for whatever reason. It's not your job to save the world or correct every stupid misguided idea. Stop trying, you will only frustrate yourself. Those ignorant people you are trying to save will only resent your effort.
I'm not going to analyze you, but stop for a moment and try to see how you might be perceived. There is a good chance your perception and theirs don't mesh. Yes, they might be wrong, yes some managers really don't know their ass from a hole in the wall. But if this frustrating situation occurs more then once with different people...it might be you. And only you can make it better.
"A preliminary study of 150 people aged 20 to 35 has shown that more than one in 10 are suffering from severe problems with their memory"
1: that's not a suprise.
"One sales assistant aged 28 said she suddenly found herself unable to recall written words and was dismissed from her job. "
2: that's not a suprise.
A long time ago, I forget when exactly :), I made a conscious decision that I would stop duplicating effort when writing things down. I started using computers to keep notes, I scanned text from books, I hacked into my Profs account and copied his class notes instead of writing it down on paper while waiting for him to copy his printed notes onto the board. Yes this doesn't work for things like learning a language where memorization and autonomic response must be set by constant familiarization.
But I am more efficient then the guy scribbling like mad with a pencil next to me.
College Profs are now beginning to understand the advantage of printing notes for students. In Doctorate level classes, everyone now expects there to be a custom book, written by the instructor that contains all the info you need.
We could be OLD SKOOL and force everyone to copy text off the board, but that would waste everyone's time. True, I can't remember my mother's phone number without consulting my pilot or online address book, but I personally feel that's OK.
I don't have the sources but my wife works in NeuroPsycology re: biological causes for behavior, and this is what I heard.
One topic that is starting to get accepted as a modern phenomenon is the new breed of Neurosurgeons and their abilities dramatically exceeding their teachers. Apparently one cited cause it the increased training the new breed had in early adolescents with, that's right, video games.
Increased exposure to hand/eye coordination tests throughout developmental periods looks to be a common factor in the "new breed of doctors" and there seems to be a direct correlation to who had the most "gaming" and who's a good microsurgeon.
I need a Playstation Mom!. I want to be a doctor when I grow up!
There will be three devices. the First will be the wired device you see now. the last (and not in production yet) will be an 802.11 version.
expect it after january .
Space (the stuff between matter) is more densely packed the more mass there is.
Space is very dense inside the sun.
Space is less dense outside the sun.
Space is even less dense 1M miles from the sun.
Space is made up of regions of densely packed space and not so densely packed space.
If you are traveling through a less dense subject, you travel slower (relatively)...the further away from the local source you go, the greater your acceleration in the opposite direction would appear to be from a distant reference.
Here's a kitchen reference: sound travels about 700 mph in air at sea level and 680mph about 10,000 feet up where the air is less dense.
From alt.sci.physics.acoustics Speed of sound in water is
" Fresh water at 20 degrees C is 1481 m/sec.
Seawater at 13 degrees C is 1500 m/sec.
"
Seawater is ....yes, that's right...MORE dense then fresh water.
Now there are some variables here such as heat from the sun creating a less dense "atmosphere" at the surface of the sun and into regions close by, but i think that matter ejected would have much greater effects on the satellite and therefor would be a more noticeable acceleration.
not that I'm an expert or anything though :)
I can't find the article but didn't the Prez of Amiga post a note two months ago stating that they had decided to go with BeOS because Be had the Amiga UI built in? Anyone remember that German MacOS Clone Vaporware last year...what was it...COS?