As everyone knows, Microsofts R&D department isn't really coming up with anything new and never has. IMO, that money sink is just a way for MSFT to buffer the financials. Notice how all those losing business unit just recently had it's earnings propped up? They were all losing money for years and years. Look at the WinCE unit with it's ($250) million losses almost every quarter since day one( 8+ years ago ).
Nope, the future of MSFT is changing and creative financing is the new innovation at Microsoft. They faked the computer tech industry( read PHB's ) and not it's time to do the same to WallStreet. Bill and Steve don't like to lose but they also don't realize they won the lottery back in the early 80's and though the ride isn't down yet, it sure isn't what it used to be.
[QUOTE]The dual facts that the XBox is the first modern console I've ever bought and that I've since bought ten other games is icing on the cake for them. There are a lot of people being pulled into modern consoles who were never tempted before by them.[/QUOTE]
So, I see Microsofts xbox unit broke even on you. Now THAT's impressive...but "icing on the cake"? Not likely. Go out and purchase another one or two games and THEN you've given something back to Microsoft. Otherwise, all you've done is reduce their loss on the product/sale. The last I know, it was estimated that the sales of 10 games were required to makeup the loss on the hardware but that was when the box was $199 at retail.
You know, Microsoft COULD afford to lose money on all it's other business units( like MSN, WinCE, Xbox ) but not any more. It's growth has flattened and investors could start dumping now that the one-time payout( $3/share )is over. It's time for them to find a way to make it look like they have growth prospects outside of the desktop/server OS and MS Office units.
Cutting R&D by $1.5 billion and fancy book keeping can do that. More smoke and mirrors IMHO.
I read your post and just read it over a few times but I guess what you are talking about is out of my reach. I've used and developed for the Zaurus since the beta 5000 version came out but I must be a dummy and can't figure out what you are talking about... good luck.
1) Select/tap the contact to bring up the summary view.
2) Select/tap the edit icon in the upper right corner( just below the titlebar Help and Exit buttons ).
Geesh, that was hard. NOT. As a matter of fact, if you tapped the Help button( icon="?" ) from the summary view, you could have read how to edit your contacts there. This is in the owner manual on page 49 AND if you looked at the "Data" menu you'd see it has an "Edit" menu item. How many ways to edit contacts do you need?;-)
I found this over a year ago and haven't tried it but they have a unit all set for the kind of GPS overlay you mentioned. UK based so if you're in the US, the 60(GBP) is going to cost you 115.57(USD)
http://www.blackboxcamera.com/Stv5730a/STV5730A. ht m
There are others in the US for around the same price but this one looks very flexible in that you can program / configure alot of it or all of it since it's a flash based PIC running the show.
Have you ever heard of Tivo, or maybe iPod? These ARE computers too and just because they are used for one purpose, it does not mean they are going to be as difficult to understand/figure-out as a Windows based computer.
I guess I have to spell it out.... screw it... sounds like there ARE some guys in your club who are prime candidates for this xmiter with a BUILT-IN COMPUTER. Good luck with that. As I mentioned, I would not want one of these and would opt for a way to do the same thing without threatening lose of craft and shorter battery life. If you think that has to be a computer running Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, SpongeBob, and MS Explorer(+ the usual spyware and virus ) then that's your fault.
Open your eyes! Not every RC pilot has one of these overpriced xmitters either. But, I'll bet most RC pilots with expensive aircraft with a NEED for the configuration features of this all-in-one xmitter either has a laptop/computer or has the money to purchase one if it makes flying safer and more fun.
Think about it, a $2000 xmitter with a display that has an OS which is known to fail and will probably cut xmitter battery life over 50% besides possibly losing a plane or two.... or a $1,000 tried, true, and tested xmitter with an interface for $1,000 laptop/computer for configuring at the air field as you mentioned.
well, my wifes friend and daughter( highschool ) have been using Linux for over a year, a realtor friend is now on Linux( about 8 months ), my brother got it( Knoppix ) on his laptop a year ago, My wifes mom used it to get back online when her system was taken over by spyware before having the manufacturer fix it.... I think it's ready for AMD's PIC.
It just doesn't jive anymore when people say that Windows is easier than Linux or that Linux is more difficult to use than Windows. I've seen otherwise. Not all cases but most can use Linux today. Most home/school users can use Linux today. And you can't get much lower priced than FREE.
then hook a laptop or computer up to the xmitter instead of building the computer into the xmitter.
Make and add-on module or computer interface to the xmitter instead, it'll sell more units. Rookies with too much cash will be the only ones buying these.
good point. It would make way more sense to have put a USB connector on the xmitter and allow a laptop/handheld to connect to it for all that GUI stuff. That way, it's there when you might want it, trimming/programming/etc and NOT bulking up the xmitter when you don't need it, like flying. Which, BTW, should be most of the time.
Dumb idea. Mod that poster up with the title of "The Hammer Revolution has begun". It's got to be a reference to having a hammer( WinCE ) and everything looks like a nail.
That would be fine and good but the article said that all INPUT is handled by WinCE and the 2nd processor handles the radio bits. Because of this, WinCE is not used for just fine tuning the controls but for all of the pilot input.
We've all heard the old saying, "garbage in, garbage out" but we also know that with Windows, input can be valid and you still get garbage out. This would wreck a very expensive airplane.
I'll pass. IMO, that kind of GUI belongs on the PC with data downloaded from the xmitter for manipulation on the PC. Like it was mentioned before, an R/C airplane pilot needs to be looking up, not down. When looking down too much, bad things either already happened or are going to happen.
but MicroChip PICs are known to the techie crowd and not the marketing types. They are targetting this to consumers so even if they did know about PICs in the MicroChip sense, they probably figured they could take it over by using it in the larger market...
Exactly and that's why I figured Microsoft was helping fund this somehow. That and the fact that a Microsoft exec( Stevie? ) mentioned that the world needed a $100 computer just weeks before AMD announced this device and the MS press gobbled it up at the time.
We might find that the BIOS isn't locked out or something about another way to get a real OS installed so I'm still not 100% sure who is funding this "project". My tin-foil hat make me think Microsoft has its hands in this though...
That's a surprise to me... If Microsoft is not funding this, then why would they use WinCE instead of GNU/Linux?
The target audience is 3rd world countries and it's not being sold as a full-up PC so what is the advantage of using WinCE? Email works fine with text and/or html and the browser is not biggie.... What would someone do with the word processor when it's not likely to be used in school and expecting them to purchase a printer and paper would be too much for 3rd world populations....
So, as an internet appliance, I see this as a helpful device for the target audience and as such, paying anything to Microsoft for WinCE is a waste of money and it'll lock those users into a proprietary and costly system upgrade if they ever move beyond this device.
What am I missing here? Is there free Microsoft support or something? I know RoadRunner support was originally funded by Microsoft so this isn't new.
NEED them? From what I read, the target audience for these devices NEED food, clothing, and a roof over their head. Not a Microsoft Windows based, locked down and proprietary computer.
Send out library cards and donate a GNU/Linux based( cheaper ) PC to the local library instead. It'll help these people more than a small $200+ computer and an annual phone fee. IMHO.
The subsidizing is likely to be coming from Microsoft. The reason for this is because they want to be "THE crack dealer" of OS's and software to the 3rd world before they learn about freedom and GNU/Linux. If AMD REALLY wanted to help these people out, they would be using GNU/Linux and GPL'ed software and not Microsofts proprietary junk.
This is a business deal for Microsoft and nothing else. Do you think that Microsoft "donates" software to schools because they want to be nice? It's about getting them hooked young and to take the huge rightoff they get at the retail price of the software they're handing out. IMO.
So, letting people get addicted to Microsoft is a good thing? Not in my book. Hack away people, hack away.
Not only do Firefox users NOT click on as many ads as Microsoft IE users( +80% without pop-up blocking ), Microsoft made sure to NOT add the pop-up blocking to the majority of it's users browser. They only provide pop-up blocking in the MS-Winxp SP2. The likely reason, because MSN, MSNBC, MSxyz get $$$ from selling ad clicks.
People must realize that Microsoft IS A MARKETING COMPANY first and foremost and a solution provider second. I wouldn't doubt that Microsoft will one day release a "patch" for IE which requires the user to click and ad before shutting down the OS. Or something like this... It's in their blood.
But who knows, maybe it's just because the typical Windows user can't tell what Window is a browser window and what window is an ad window. After all, tab browser also makes it obvious what's a pop-up and what's not....
Sorry, but DEC made the fatal mistake of thinking a partnership with Microsoft was going to be good for them so DEC started moving it's customers to Microsoft Windows on DEC hardware( x86 PC's and Alpha ). It wasn't long before many figured they didn't need DEC PC's and could purchase cheap LeadingEdge, Compaq, Dell/etc instead. So, DEC didn't know how to transition it's customers from VMS/mini's and terminal frontends to a PC frontend and let Microsoft help them. But, as usual, Microsoft helps like a vampire helps its victim in relieving it of blood pressure. Very seldom getting out alive.
HP survived the Microsoft "partnership" mostly because it had the printer business to hold it up while it figured out that moving it's customers from PA RISC/HP-UX to x86/Windows was effectively giving it's customers away to Microsoft. And they wouldn't be better for it and decided to keep Microsoft at arm length away instead. DEC went to bed with Microsoft every night and even provided support and training for Microsoft....
Way back when, I worked for a company/div which was a VERY gungho DEC partner. Seeing the transistion to Microsoft made me sick. Almost all of the systems engineers were getting free Microsoft software and forced that on the rest of the division. Project after project went from using cross platform C++ frameworks( some Smalltalk even ), CORBA to MS C--, MFC, COM, VisualBasic. These were the MS Windows 3.11 and NT 3.1/3.5 days, so you know what kind of functionality and reliablility there was/wasn't on the Microsoft/Intel PC.
I also think that DEC overpriced the Alpha so it didn't gain as much traction as they needed. Like Sun, HP/Apollo, and IBM( Power ), the workstation market was the low volume/high price market and it's very hard on investors moving hardware down to the high volume/low price markets.
IMHO, LoB
Re:If Kerry had won, there'd be no "controversy"
on
Buggy Voting Machines
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I think that is because a VOTING system has to be designed for ALL kinds of users. From the youngest voter to the oldest, from the illiterate to the PhD'ed. If there were problems with users then it has to be considered that it's the fault of the voting machine or the instructional/assistance systems.
Regarding that comment about a Kerry win and the docile nature of the opposing party: It also helps that there are actual choices on the ballot too. Though I doubt very much that nobody in the Republican party would have questioned a Kerry win. Logic seemed to escaped YOU.;-)
I wonder how much Microsoft REALLY wants to start taking companies/people to court for IP claims. Think about it, they have WAY more to hide than any other company I can think of( governments not included ).
A court case would legally allow the defendant to request internal Microsoft documents in the discovery phase. IIRC, Microsoft has, in the past, settled most if it's cases before discovery occured and has even required that "discovery" documents be destroyed in cases it settled after discovery.
I wonder if their new policy of deleting / destroying documentation over 30 days old will bite them in their desire to try to use IP claims in fighting the spread of GNU/Linux?
Sorry but my mom uses and Iopener and my support for this is walking her through resetting the phone/dialup numbers when she moves it to another room( unplugs it ). That's it.
I've also migrated 4 friends off Microsoft Windows and onto Linux in the past 1.5 years. Support for them is typically with doing stuff in OpenOffice or setting up GAIM. Oh, once one purchased a new printer and I walked her through that but now, they are all setup with icons for starting/stoping VNC so I can help them remotely if needed. But that's now a rare occurance.
2 friends actually purchased new computers to fix the fact that their old one was so infected with Microsoft targetted spyware and viruses. They know I don't do MS Windows so I wasn't able to "help" them with Linux before they purchased new computers. They are running FireFox now though.
So, as the subject says, "Sons don't let Mom's use MS Windows" and that goes for friends too.;-) So migrate them this Thanksgiving so you can enjoy the rest of them for years and years going forward.
looks like this took quite a bit longer than the last trip to the moon but, IIRC, wasn't this same tech considered to keep Mir up in orbit? I thought they were considering bolting on a couple of Ion-Propulsion units and shuttle up some fuel ever now and then. I thought there was even a concept of a very long Ion absorbsion line they might extend down toward Earth to almost elimate the need for external fuel. Or I was just dreaming....
So what are those things that you are looking for and are missing? I will agree that PalmOS PDA functions are much the same as they were 4 years ago but I will also tell you that they got it right when they shipped the Palm III model. And you don't need to keep changing something that's right in the first place. They have added slight improvements to these PIM apps over the years but nothing major since they were designed right already.
I'd also like to note that a PDA is NOT a pocket PC( general term for small computer ). If people are puchasing HP,Dell,etc( WinCE devices ) for PDA use then they are wasting their money and time since the low end PalmOS based devices are THE STANDARD for ease of use and simplicity in that regard.
So, please do tell us what applications you are missing on your PDA. There might be free, shareware, or commercial versions available for the PalmOS. Then again, you might need a pocket PC instead of a PDA.
BTW, I'll bet that Dell is getting it's profits from it's Axiom line directly from Microsoft. Dell already was getting over 20% of it's profits directly from Microsoft for it's Windows based PCs.
Slashdot Mirror
As everyone knows, Microsofts R&D department isn't really coming up with anything new and never has. IMO, that money sink is just a way for MSFT to buffer the financials. Notice how all those losing business unit just recently had it's earnings propped up? They were all losing money for years and years. Look at the WinCE unit with it's ($250) million losses almost every quarter since day one( 8+ years ago ).
Nope, the future of MSFT is changing and creative financing is the new innovation at Microsoft. They faked the computer tech industry( read PHB's ) and not it's time to do the same to WallStreet. Bill and Steve don't like to lose but they also don't realize they won the lottery back in the early 80's and though the ride isn't down yet, it sure isn't what it used to be.
LoB
[QUOTE]The dual facts that the XBox is the first modern console I've ever bought and that I've since bought ten other games is icing on the cake for them. There are a lot of people being pulled into modern consoles who were never tempted before by them.[/QUOTE]
So, I see Microsofts xbox unit broke even on you. Now THAT's impressive...but "icing on the cake"? Not likely. Go out and purchase another one or two games and THEN you've given something back to Microsoft. Otherwise, all you've done is reduce their loss on the product/sale. The last I know, it was estimated that the sales of 10 games were required to makeup the loss on the hardware but that was when the box was $199 at retail.
You know, Microsoft COULD afford to lose money on all it's other business units( like MSN, WinCE, Xbox ) but not any more. It's growth has flattened and investors could start dumping now that the one-time payout( $3/share )is over. It's time for them to find a way to make it look like they have growth prospects outside of the desktop/server OS and MS Office units.
Cutting R&D by $1.5 billion and fancy book keeping can do that. More smoke and mirrors IMHO.
LoB
I read your post and just read it over a few times but I guess what you are talking about is out of my reach. I've used and developed for the Zaurus since the beta 5000 version came out but I must be a dummy and can't figure out what you are talking about... good luck.
LoB
To edit a contact item:
;-)
1) Select/tap the contact to bring up the summary view.
2) Select/tap the edit icon in the upper right corner( just below the titlebar Help and Exit buttons ).
Geesh, that was hard. NOT. As a matter of fact, if you tapped the Help button( icon="?" ) from the summary view, you could have read how to edit your contacts there. This is in the owner manual on page 49 AND if you looked at the "Data" menu you'd see it has an "Edit" menu item. How many ways to edit contacts do you need?
LoB
these people sell this from Canada at $99(USD)
I D= 5&SubCatID=23
:-)
http://www.hvwtech.com/pages/products1a.asp?Cat
They have some other cool "toys" too.
LoB
I found this over a year ago and haven't tried it but they have a unit all set for the kind of GPS overlay you mentioned. UK based so if you're in the US, the 60(GBP) is going to cost you 115.57(USD)
. ht m
http://www.blackboxcamera.com/Stv5730a/STV5730A
There are others in the US for around the same price but this one looks very flexible in that you can program / configure alot of it or all of it since it's a flash based PIC running the show.
LoB
Have you ever heard of Tivo, or maybe iPod? These ARE computers too and just because they are used for one purpose, it does not mean they are going to be as difficult to understand/figure-out as a Windows based computer.
I guess I have to spell it out.... screw it... sounds like there ARE some guys in your club who are prime candidates for this xmiter with a BUILT-IN COMPUTER. Good luck with that. As I mentioned, I would not want one of these and would opt for a way to do the same thing without threatening lose of craft and shorter battery life. If you think that has to be a computer running Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, SpongeBob, and MS Explorer(+ the usual spyware and virus ) then that's your fault.
Cheers,
LoB
Open your eyes! Not every RC pilot has one of these overpriced xmitters either. But, I'll bet most RC pilots with expensive aircraft with a NEED for the configuration features of this all-in-one xmitter either has a laptop/computer or has the money to purchase one if it makes flying safer and more fun.
Think about it, a $2000 xmitter with a display that has an OS which is known to fail and will probably cut xmitter battery life over 50% besides possibly losing a plane or two.... or a $1,000 tried, true, and tested xmitter with an interface for $1,000 laptop/computer for configuring at the air field as you mentioned.
LoB
well, my wifes friend and daughter( highschool ) have been using Linux for over a year, a realtor friend is now on Linux( about 8 months ), my brother got it( Knoppix ) on his laptop a year ago, My wifes mom used it to get back online when her system was taken over by spyware before having the manufacturer fix it.... I think it's ready for AMD's PIC.
It just doesn't jive anymore when people say that Windows is easier than Linux or that Linux is more difficult to use than Windows. I've seen otherwise. Not all cases but most can use Linux today. Most home/school users can use Linux today. And you can't get much lower priced than FREE.
LoB
then hook a laptop or computer up to the xmitter instead of building the computer into the xmitter.
Make and add-on module or computer interface to the xmitter instead, it'll sell more units. Rookies with too much cash will be the only ones buying these.
LoB
good point. It would make way more sense to have put a USB connector on the xmitter and allow a laptop/handheld to connect to it for all that GUI stuff. That way, it's there when you might want it, trimming/programming/etc and NOT bulking up the xmitter when you don't need it, like flying. Which, BTW, should be most of the time.
Dumb idea. Mod that poster up with the title of "The Hammer Revolution has begun". It's got to be a reference to having a hammer( WinCE ) and everything looks like a nail.
LoB
That would be fine and good but the article said that all INPUT is handled by WinCE and the 2nd processor handles the radio bits. Because of this, WinCE is not used for just fine tuning the controls but for all of the pilot input.
We've all heard the old saying, "garbage in, garbage out" but we also know that with Windows, input can be valid and you still get garbage out. This would wreck a very expensive airplane.
I'll pass. IMO, that kind of GUI belongs on the PC with data downloaded from the xmitter for manipulation on the PC. Like it was mentioned before, an R/C airplane pilot needs to be looking up, not down. When looking down too much, bad things either already happened or are going to happen.
LoB
but MicroChip PICs are known to the techie crowd and not the marketing types. They are targetting this to consumers so even if they did know about PICs in the MicroChip sense, they probably figured they could take it over by using it in the larger market...
I don't think the AMD term/usage will catch on.
LoB
Exactly and that's why I figured Microsoft was helping fund this somehow. That and the fact that a Microsoft exec( Stevie? ) mentioned that the world needed a $100 computer just weeks before AMD announced this device and the MS press gobbled it up at the time.
We might find that the BIOS isn't locked out or something about another way to get a real OS installed so I'm still not 100% sure who is funding this "project". My tin-foil hat make me think Microsoft has its hands in this though...
LoB
That's a surprise to me... If Microsoft is not funding this, then why would they use WinCE instead of GNU/Linux?
The target audience is 3rd world countries and it's not being sold as a full-up PC so what is the advantage of using WinCE? Email works fine with text and/or html and the browser is not biggie.... What would someone do with the word processor when it's not likely to be used in school and expecting them to purchase a printer and paper would be too much for 3rd world populations....
So, as an internet appliance, I see this as a helpful device for the target audience and as such, paying anything to Microsoft for WinCE is a waste of money and it'll lock those users into a proprietary and costly system upgrade if they ever move beyond this device.
What am I missing here? Is there free Microsoft support or something? I know RoadRunner support was originally funded by Microsoft so this isn't new.
LoB
NEED them? From what I read, the target audience for these devices NEED food, clothing, and a roof over their head. Not a Microsoft Windows based, locked down and proprietary computer.
Send out library cards and donate a GNU/Linux based( cheaper ) PC to the local library instead. It'll help these people more than a small $200+ computer and an annual phone fee. IMHO.
LoB
The subsidizing is likely to be coming from Microsoft. The reason for this is because they want to be "THE crack dealer" of OS's and software to the 3rd world before they learn about freedom and GNU/Linux. If AMD REALLY wanted to help these people out, they would be using GNU/Linux and GPL'ed software and not Microsofts proprietary junk.
This is a business deal for Microsoft and nothing else. Do you think that Microsoft "donates" software to schools because they want to be nice? It's about getting them hooked young and to take the huge rightoff they get at the retail price of the software they're handing out. IMO.
So, letting people get addicted to Microsoft is a good thing? Not in my book. Hack away people, hack away.
LoB
Not only do Firefox users NOT click on as many ads as Microsoft IE users( +80% without pop-up blocking ), Microsoft made sure to NOT add the pop-up blocking to the majority of it's users browser. They only provide pop-up blocking in the MS-Winxp SP2. The likely reason, because MSN, MSNBC, MSxyz get $$$ from selling ad clicks.
People must realize that Microsoft IS A MARKETING COMPANY first and foremost and a solution provider second. I wouldn't doubt that Microsoft will one day release a "patch" for IE which requires the user to click and ad before shutting down the OS. Or something like this... It's in their blood.
But who knows, maybe it's just because the typical Windows user can't tell what Window is a browser window and what window is an ad window. After all, tab browser also makes it obvious what's a pop-up and what's not....
LoB
Sorry, but DEC made the fatal mistake of thinking a partnership with Microsoft was going to be good for them so DEC started moving it's customers to Microsoft Windows on DEC hardware( x86 PC's and Alpha ). It wasn't long before many figured they didn't need DEC PC's and could purchase cheap LeadingEdge, Compaq, Dell/etc instead. So, DEC didn't know how to transition it's customers from VMS/mini's and terminal frontends to a PC frontend and let Microsoft help them. But, as usual, Microsoft helps like a vampire helps its victim in relieving it of blood pressure. Very seldom getting out alive.
HP survived the Microsoft "partnership" mostly because it had the printer business to hold it up while it figured out that moving it's customers from PA RISC/HP-UX to x86/Windows was effectively giving it's customers away to Microsoft. And they wouldn't be better for it and decided to keep Microsoft at arm length away instead. DEC went to bed with Microsoft every night and even provided support and training for Microsoft....
Way back when, I worked for a company/div which was a VERY gungho DEC partner. Seeing the transistion to Microsoft made me sick. Almost all of the systems engineers were getting free Microsoft software and forced that on the rest of the division. Project after project went from using cross platform C++ frameworks( some Smalltalk even ), CORBA to MS C--, MFC, COM, VisualBasic. These were the MS Windows 3.11 and NT 3.1/3.5 days, so you know what kind of functionality and reliablility there was/wasn't on the Microsoft/Intel PC.
I also think that DEC overpriced the Alpha so it didn't gain as much traction as they needed. Like Sun, HP/Apollo, and IBM( Power ), the workstation market was the low volume/high price market and it's very hard on investors moving hardware down to the high volume/low price markets.
IMHO, LoB
I think that is because a VOTING system has to be designed for ALL kinds of users. From the youngest voter to the oldest, from the illiterate to the PhD'ed. If there were problems with users then it has to be considered that it's the fault of the voting machine or the instructional/assistance systems.
;-)
Regarding that comment about a Kerry win and the docile nature of the opposing party: It also helps that there are actual choices on the ballot too. Though I doubt very much that nobody in the Republican party would have questioned a Kerry win. Logic seemed to escaped YOU.
LoB
This latest gaff shows that he's still the same old Gilligan. ;-) He's going to get hit over the head with this one for sure.
LoB
I wonder how much Microsoft REALLY wants to start taking companies/people to court for IP claims. Think about it, they have WAY more to hide than any other company I can think of( governments not included ).
A court case would legally allow the defendant to request internal Microsoft documents in the discovery phase. IIRC, Microsoft has, in the past, settled most if it's cases before discovery occured and has even required that "discovery" documents be destroyed in cases it settled after discovery.
I wonder if their new policy of deleting / destroying documentation over 30 days old will bite them in their desire to try to use IP claims in fighting the spread of GNU/Linux?
IMO.
LoB
Sorry but my mom uses and Iopener and my support for this is walking her through resetting the phone/dialup numbers when she moves it to another room( unplugs it ). That's it.
;-) So migrate them this Thanksgiving so you can enjoy the rest of them for years and years going forward.
I've also migrated 4 friends off Microsoft Windows and onto Linux in the past 1.5 years. Support for them is typically with doing stuff in OpenOffice or setting up GAIM. Oh, once one purchased a new printer and I walked her through that but now, they are all setup with icons for starting/stoping VNC so I can help them remotely if needed. But that's now a rare occurance.
2 friends actually purchased new computers to fix the fact that their old one was so infected with Microsoft targetted spyware and viruses. They know I don't do MS Windows so I wasn't able to "help" them with Linux before they purchased new computers. They are running FireFox now though.
So, as the subject says, "Sons don't let Mom's use MS Windows" and that goes for friends too.
LoB
looks like this took quite a bit longer than the last trip to the moon but, IIRC, wasn't this same tech considered to keep Mir up in orbit? I thought they were considering bolting on a couple of Ion-Propulsion units and shuttle up some fuel ever now and then. I thought there was even a concept of a very long Ion absorbsion line they might extend down toward Earth to almost elimate the need for external fuel. Or I was just dreaming....
LoB
So what are those things that you are looking for and are missing? I will agree that PalmOS PDA functions are much the same as they were 4 years ago but I will also tell you that they got it right when they shipped the Palm III model. And you don't need to keep changing something that's right in the first place. They have added slight improvements to these PIM apps over the years but nothing major since they were designed right already.
I'd also like to note that a PDA is NOT a pocket PC( general term for small computer ). If people are puchasing HP,Dell,etc( WinCE devices ) for PDA use then they are wasting their money and time since the low end PalmOS based devices are THE STANDARD for ease of use and simplicity in that regard.
So, please do tell us what applications you are missing on your PDA. There might be free, shareware, or commercial versions available for the PalmOS. Then again, you might need a pocket PC instead of a PDA.
BTW, I'll bet that Dell is getting it's profits from it's Axiom line directly from Microsoft. Dell already was getting over 20% of it's profits directly from Microsoft for it's Windows based PCs.
LoB