because when enterprises start using these things they start to store very, very expensive data on them. Not only do they need logins they need encryption.
Just think if your competitor got a hold of your PDA with all the sales/costings/forcast figures and all the future strategy presentations for your company. PDA's are easier to lose than your wallet so you better watch out.
PS: If you think people won't carry that kind of info around on their PDA think again. Execs can't wait until they have a Powerpoint viewer and VGA out on their PDA's so they don't have to lug their laptop to a 3 hour meeting just so they can show a presentation and access email.
I am writing this from the floor at Cebit. I saw the device yesterday afternoonn and it looks sweet. Super smooth design and definately a cut above other similar devices that out there. Of course the price is high but the manufacturing costs are also high. Maybe in 5 years they will actaully be cheap enough so I can buy one for each room...
I asked the guys about linux support, they are looking into it but at the moment there is not enough support for the hardware so I guess we better get hacking.
The main problem with this is having an SMS gateway to send the messages through. It costs around 3p a message (bulk) to send SMS messages in the UK so there would need to be a decent free gateway to use. kinda unlikely (ever notice how slow some of the free Web->SMS websites are)
So the concept seems cool. Pity it sucks in practice...
A friend has a MemoryStick walkman and we tried to install the software on her machine. Only one problem, the software only supports Win98 and ME (she was running W2K).
Oh, and you have to buy the MusicGate variety of memory stick thats $50 more expensive than the regular one.
Oh, and the music format is proprietory, so no mp3's (it will convert them for you when you download then however).
I personally have a memory stick in my digital camera and love it, super easy to use, 40 HiRes photos on each stick and nice and small. I even have the USB memory stick reader attached to my linux box and use gimp to edit the photos, no problem.
But when it comes to music (and video?) forget about it. Sony has copy control coded in.
You can't take a game that's as exciting as watching paint dry and make it exciting.
You have to play a different game and that games Rugby. Real men, no helmets, no padding and a game that that has 80 minutes of playing time only takes 90 minutes to play...
Oh and they play it in more than one country...
And, they have a world cup that all countries are invited to...
Thats 'cause your site is just like every other 'rate my...' site out there, sure its got some extra features but its not very unique. I have had a similar idea for a variation on the same old theme that I might put up in a couple of weeks, but unlike you I don't expect to make a million of it. These sites are first and foremost for fun, not profit.
Why in God's name would I want someone to a) use up my LAN bandwidth, b) use up my cable connection bandwidth and c) most importantly, gain access to my LAN?
So that when you are outside of your LAN (You do get outside don't you?) you can have wireless access for 'free' from other like minded individuals. Case in point, I live in Brixton (London) and work from home. Most of the time I'm around the area, however I quite often have have meetings in the 'City' and would like to be connected when I am there. Consume.net (A free 802.11 network) will allow me to do that. And I don't mind someone using my bandwidth when I don't need it all 24/7. It is a mutually benefical(sp?) arrangement. Simple.
This has a large article on Open Source alternatives for Multimedia, including streaming audio and Video. It also looks at what is on the horizon in the next little while. Well worth the £4.25 ($5.00USD).
Only if the orginal song was now in the public domain. The latest Backstreet Boys single would still be covered by the copyright holders rights for however many years those rights last.
The Stowaway rocks for typing. The only problem is I have a Visor and a Palm IIIc which have different connectors...But they don't make a keyboard that allows me to change the connector on it to suit my PDA which sucks. Considering the connector is the only difference in them it makes sense for the consumer to be able to swap them.
You should try oput KDE2. I haved use GNOME a bit and just installed KDE2. I am pretty impressed with its 'look and feel' and generally how it behaves (Time will tell how it holds up in the long run). Of course it is going to be personal opinion (As the Gnome vs KDE flame wars will attest) but I say you should definately give it a try.
Well let me see, something techie of course. But also something a little retro, something with a little class if you will. Nothing better than a device that plays video through your old record player and TV. http://www.vinylvideo.com/ $2000.
But of course you will need the records to go with them, this don't play none of those silver CD things. Limited eddition set. $12,000.
Bargin
Its not the players that are the problem, its the content. All DVD players are 'Region Free' if the content is released as Region 0. That is all players should play region 0 DVD's. An example is a Dead Kenedy's DVD that I just bought. It is region 0 so should work in all players. Unfortunately it doesn't work in my PC DVD drive. Still working on that one. oh well... b
Simple. I suck at games that require 20 keys combinations to do anything. I grew up with Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Gallager. One stick, one buton (Defender was to complex for me;) ).
Diablo is simple, Slash 'n Dash fun. No *real* skill required. I even managed to finish it.
Anyway I have just started playing Baulders Gate. I will send an update in a couple of years once I finish...
The trouble that most people have is that they just don't pay tax on the purchase and think its tax free. BUT if you live in certain states (New Jersey for me) you *should* pay tax at the end of the year. I belive you calculate it by subtracting the tax you paid from the tax you should have paid if you bought the product in New Jersey. So if I paid no tax online then I owe them 6%. Its the same with any out of state purchases. Of course who actually does this?
A friend went to see the live presentation of this. A must see if it comes your way. Its a cross between a art show and infomercial. The device is so cool, you can even scratch the vinyl and get warped visuals.
The company that I work for retains all Interlectual property rights to all code we create for clients. That way we can resell the same piece of code again and again. If this is the case then there may be something in their case. They have some nerve though. 'We suck and can't finish the project. But we will sue the person that can.'
Slightly off topic but It really pisses me of that this PC is £3500 in Britain and only $3299 in the USA. When will other countries actually start getting a good deal on gear?
OK, so a lot of the posts have gone on about screen size, lack of content, cost, etc. Most issues will be solved with time so are really not compelling arguments against the technology. We must really think how will we use these devices. Take these situations:
I have a day job doing NT/SQL work which requires me to be out and about lugging around my notebook. I need access to the net to download data, access technical articles, etc. Of course I can't do that on a mobile phone but I don't want to either.
After work I might go shopping for stuff. I would like to be able to compare online prices to what is in the shop and I sure ain't going to stand around the middle of a shop with my notebook out connected to my mobile phone. A wireless palm/Visor would be ideal. A quick look at MySimon.com and I can start to bargin with the sales guy.
Of course after shopping I might be around at friends hanging out. With my Nokia 7110 at my side I can check the movie listings without having a Visor in my pocket which is to big to be comfortable when loungin'
Later we go to a club and you can't hear your phone in a club and its liable to get broken anyway as your state of mind gets altered..What I might want then is a Wireless WAP watch so I can (Not sure what I would do with a wireless watch, read the time maybe?:) )
The point being is that each device fits a specific purpose. The PC is great as a general tool for computing and I will never trade mine in for a mobile phone. I will however one day have them talking to each other accessing my home network and all sharing the same information wirelessly. Global address books that can be accessed from any device, email notification on all your devices, and any number of apps that currently require wired syncing will benefit from this technology.
Interestingly the article never mentioned the fact that it was Australia and New Zealand (ie Me) that dug all the bird shit off the island.
We made a lot more money off that island than the local islanders ever did so its good to see they can now make some money for themselves and not be ripped off so much.
With 80%+ posts being anti Microsoft I challenge you (us) to come up with a better service. The privacy issues are real and I agree there is a need to be concerned but we do need something like this from some vendor. I have to log into just about every web site I visit and typing user names and passwords just plain sucks. (I use a shared computer at work so getting the computer to remember my password is not an option). A Passport like service that managed to deliver just the information I want to let go would be great, even if it did only handle the simple task of logging into sites and had nothing to do with e-commerce.
It was reasonably fast a couple of weeks back. I just think its all the traffic in the last couple of days. I couldn't even finish the ordering process when I tried yesterday.
Also check out http://www.uk.orange.net/news/index.html There is an article for a device Orange is developing for release next year. Of course it runs on Windows CE so I wonder how they are going to fit start menu of such a small screen:)
Slashdot Mirror
because when enterprises start using these things they start to store very, very expensive data on them. Not only do they need logins they need encryption.
Just think if your competitor got a hold of your PDA with all the sales/costings/forcast figures and all the future strategy presentations for your company. PDA's are easier to lose than your wallet so you better watch out.
PS: If you think people won't carry that kind of info around on their PDA think again. Execs can't wait until they have a Powerpoint viewer and VGA out on their PDA's so they don't have to lug their laptop to a 3 hour meeting just so they can show a presentation and access email.
I am writing this from the floor at Cebit. I saw the device yesterday afternoonn and it looks sweet. Super smooth design and definately a cut above other similar devices that out there. Of course the price is high but the manufacturing costs are also high. Maybe in 5 years they will actaully be cheap enough so I can buy one for each room...
I asked the guys about linux support, they are looking into it but at the moment there is not enough support for the hardware so I guess we better get hacking.
check out http://jabber.org They have an open XML based IM protocol that they are pushing.
The main problem with this is having an SMS gateway to send the messages through. It costs around 3p a message (bulk) to send SMS messages in the UK so there would need to be a decent free gateway to use. kinda unlikely (ever notice how slow some of the free Web->SMS websites are)
So the concept seems cool. Pity it sucks in practice...
A friend has a MemoryStick walkman and we tried to install the software on her machine. Only one problem, the software only supports Win98 and ME (she was running W2K).
Oh, and you have to buy the MusicGate variety of memory stick thats $50 more expensive than the regular one.
Oh, and the music format is proprietory, so no mp3's (it will convert them for you when you download then however).
I personally have a memory stick in my digital camera and love it, super easy to use, 40 HiRes photos on each stick and nice and small. I even have the USB memory stick reader attached to my linux box and use gimp to edit the photos, no problem.
But when it comes to music (and video?) forget about it. Sony has copy control coded in.
And... www.consume.net in London
You can't take a game that's as exciting as watching paint dry and make it exciting.
:)
You have to play a different game and that games Rugby. Real men, no helmets, no padding and a game that that has 80 minutes of playing time only takes 90 minutes to play...
Oh and they play it in more than one country...
And, they have a world cup that all countries are invited to...
And the americans suck at it...
'Rugby New Zealands Big Game'
Thats 'cause your site is just like every other 'rate my...' site out there, sure its got some extra features but its not very unique. I have had a similar idea for a variation on the same old theme that I might put up in a couple of weeks, but unlike you I don't expect to make a million of it. These sites are first and foremost for fun, not profit.
www.dirtyeye.com
Why in God's name would I want someone to a) use up my LAN bandwidth, b) use up my cable connection bandwidth and c) most importantly, gain access to my LAN?
So that when you are outside of your LAN (You do get outside don't you?) you can have wireless access for 'free' from other like minded individuals. Case in point, I live in Brixton (London) and work from home. Most of the time I'm around the area, however I quite often have have meetings in the 'City' and would like to be connected when I am there. Consume.net (A free 802.11 network) will allow me to do that. And I don't mind someone using my bandwidth when I don't need it all 24/7. It is a mutually benefical(sp?) arrangement. Simple.
This has a large article on Open Source alternatives for Multimedia, including streaming audio and Video. It also looks at what is on the horizon in the next little while. Well worth the £4.25 ($5.00USD).
Only if the orginal song was now in the public domain. The latest Backstreet Boys single would still be covered by the copyright holders rights for however many years those rights last.
The Stowaway rocks for typing. The only problem is I have a Visor and a Palm IIIc which have different connectors...But they don't make a keyboard that allows me to change the connector on it to suit my PDA which sucks. Considering the connector is the only difference in them it makes sense for the consumer to be able to swap them.
You should try oput KDE2. I haved use GNOME a bit and just installed KDE2. I am pretty impressed with its 'look and feel' and generally how it behaves (Time will tell how it holds up in the long run). Of course it is going to be personal opinion (As the Gnome vs KDE flame wars will attest) but I say you should definately give it a try.
Well let me see, something techie of course. But also something a little retro, something with a little class if you will. Nothing better than a device that plays video through your old record player and TV. http://www.vinylvideo.com/ $2000. But of course you will need the records to go with them, this don't play none of those silver CD things. Limited eddition set. $12,000. Bargin
Its not the players that are the problem, its the content. All DVD players are 'Region Free' if the content is released as Region 0. That is all players should play region 0 DVD's. An example is a Dead Kenedy's DVD that I just bought. It is region 0 so should work in all players. Unfortunately it doesn't work in my PC DVD drive. Still working on that one. oh well... b
Simple. I suck at games that require 20 keys combinations to do anything. I grew up with Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Gallager. One stick, one buton (Defender was to complex for me ;) ).
Diablo is simple, Slash 'n Dash fun. No *real* skill required. I even managed to finish it.
Anyway I have just started playing Baulders Gate. I will send an update in a couple of years once I finish...
b
The trouble that most people have is that they just don't pay tax on the purchase and think its tax free. BUT if you live in certain states (New Jersey for me) you *should* pay tax at the end of the year. I belive you calculate it by subtracting the tax you paid from the tax you should have paid if you bought the product in New Jersey. So if I paid no tax online then I owe them 6%. Its the same with any out of state purchases. Of course who actually does this?
A friend went to see the live presentation of this. A must see if it comes your way. Its a cross between a art show and infomercial. The device is so cool, you can even scratch the vinyl and get warped visuals.
Move over DVD, vinyl will always rule.
b
The company that I work for retains all Interlectual property rights to all code we create for clients. That way we can resell the same piece of code again and again. If this is the case then there may be something in their case. They have some nerve though. 'We suck and can't finish the project. But we will sue the person that can.'
Slightly off topic but It really pisses me of that this PC is £3500 in Britain and only $3299 in the USA. When will other countries actually start getting a good deal on gear?
OK, so a lot of the posts have gone on about screen size, lack of content, cost, etc. Most issues will be solved with time so are really not compelling arguments against the technology. We must really think how will we use these devices. Take these situations:
:) )
I have a day job doing NT/SQL work which requires me to be out and about lugging around my notebook. I need access to the net to download data, access technical articles, etc. Of course I can't do that on a mobile phone but I don't want to either.
After work I might go shopping for stuff. I would like to be able to compare online prices to what is in the shop and I sure ain't going to stand around the middle of a shop with my notebook out connected to my mobile phone. A wireless palm/Visor would be ideal. A quick look at MySimon.com and I can start to bargin with the sales guy.
Of course after shopping I might be around at friends hanging out. With my Nokia 7110 at my side I can check the movie listings without having a Visor in my pocket which is to big to be comfortable when loungin'
Later we go to a club and you can't hear your phone in a club and its liable to get broken anyway as your state of mind gets altered..What I might want then is a Wireless WAP watch so I can (Not sure what I would do with a wireless watch, read the time maybe?
The point being is that each device fits a specific purpose. The PC is great as a general tool for computing and I will never trade mine in for a mobile phone. I will however one day have them talking to each other accessing my home network and all sharing the same information wirelessly. Global address books that can be accessed from any device, email notification on all your devices, and any number of apps that currently require wired syncing will benefit from this technology.
Glen
Interestingly the article never mentioned the fact that it was Australia and New Zealand (ie Me) that dug all the bird shit off the island.
We made a lot more money off that island than the local islanders ever did so its good to see they can now make some money for themselves and not be ripped off so much.
With 80%+ posts being anti Microsoft I challenge you (us) to come up with a better service. The privacy issues are real and I agree there is a need to be concerned but we do need something like this from some vendor. I have to log into just about every web site I visit and typing user names and passwords just plain sucks. (I use a shared computer at work so getting the computer to remember my password is not an option). A Passport like service that managed to deliver just the information I want to let go would be great, even if it did only handle the simple task of logging into sites and had nothing to do with e-commerce.
It was reasonably fast a couple of weeks back. I just think its all the traffic in the last couple of days. I couldn't even finish the ordering process when I tried yesterday.
Also check out http://www.uk.orange.net/news/index.html There is an article for a device Orange is developing for release next year. Of course it runs on Windows CE so I wonder how they are going to fit start menu of such a small screen :)