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Pepper Pad, an Open Alternative to MS Origami
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Sun May 07, 2006 01:34 AM
from the fun-toys dept.
from the fun-toys dept.
SilentBob4 writes to tell us that MadPenguin has a look at an open alternative to Microsoft's Origami, the Pepper Pad. From the article: "The Pepper Pad, like Origami, is a mid-point form factor PC that is bigger and more powerful than a PDA, but smaller and less optimized for traditional desktop PC tasks than a notebook computer or a desktop PC. The Pepper Pad is a good buy for people who would like to have a light-weight, dirt-simple, point-and-click open source device for watching videos, listening to music, reading e-books, and doing simple web surfing with a view screen that is actually easy to read. If you want do more than that, you are really better off getting a small Linux notebook, unless you are willing to get under the hood (which you can do with the Pepper Pad!) and start compiling for yourself."
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What is Microsoft's Origami Project? 243 comments
An anonymous reader writes "Rumors are running around the web about a new Microsoft gadget codenamed Origami that will be unveiled on March 2nd. Speculation can be found on Designtastesgood, Scobleizer, and Thatedeguy, and WindowsForDevices has a description and photos of a prototype Origami device built by National Semiconductor 2001. Anybody out there know more about this new device?"
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Input (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Input (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Input (Score:2)
Re:Input (Score:3, Interesting)
I think that handwriting is a MUCH better approach than trying to do voice recognition, which another poster said. You could use it in a croweded room and not worry about either interference or being heard, or in a library. Depending on the application, handwriting recoginition could be better than a keyboard too. It'd probably be faster for almost everyone (even if it would be possible to type faster, I would guess almost no one would sp
Re:Input (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Input (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Input (Score:3, Insightful)
We don't buy products to do what others want to do, we buy them for what WE want to do. At least, that's what the sane among us do.
To try to confine our views to what the machine claims to do is to fall prey to marketing.
Re:Input (Score:2)
Re:Input (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Input (Score:3, Interesting)
Probably because the article is pretty much Linux boosterism. They start with the untrue claim that this has beaten the windows devices to market. Some Windows devices have already shipped.
I get a bit tired of apple/linux advocacy of the 'lets ignore every defect of our system' variety. Its like watching the idiot tal
Not Bad (Score:4, Insightful)
Other than that - cool!
One question though - how do you hold these things safely? You know, like Laptops not being recommended for use in your lap? Laptops (or notebooks, whatever), will sit fine on a table, these things don't look like they would. I noticed a small stand on the back of the image but - I dunno - it seems more like a device I'd want to hold rather than have it set up on a table or desk - sort of kills the portability aspect for me.
I dunno... (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't get the "gotta have" with this.
Tablet PCs that are able to run Linux are cheaper, if you're looking for a hard-disk based solution.
Re:I dunno... (Score:3, Informative)
The PepperPad has been around for ages... (Score:5, Informative)
See for yourself...
- It was announced back in 2004, and Engadget mentioned it:
http://www.engadget.com/2004/09/08/the-pepper-pad
Then Tux Magazine reviewed it in April 2005, and it was still not available to the public:
http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000125 [tuxmagazine.com]
Now it's available for sale, but for the price it's selling ($850), you can easily pick a cheap laptop with far more expandability for quite less.
Do you think it's portable? Think again. Look at the dimensions:
http://www.pepper.com/products/specifications.htm
12.1" x 6.6" x 0.8" (309 x 175 x 20mm)
2.3 lbs (1043 grams)
Now, for something this big, why not get something that's cheaper and just better like say, the Dell Inspiron B120 for $499, with free memory and wifi upgrades? See for yourself:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features
Just my 2 cents....
Re:The PepperPad has been around for ages... (Score:5, Insightful)
Nobody gives a stuff what OS it runs. As long as you can double-click the movie/audio icons to play them, most consumers won't notice that it's different to windows under the hood. They'd expect a device like this to have differences to a fully-fledged computer.
Second, it's got a strange keyboard that you probably can't touch-type on.
And yet, people are destroying their thumbs on mobile phone keypads daily. This is a step up from that, at the very least, and is not designed to be used to enter a lot of information. The article specifically says it's designed for media consumption - playing audio, video and surfing the web. If you think you're going to be using this thing to write reports, buy a laptop.
And finally, it's slow. I don't care what kind of IPC it has; 624 MHz just isn't fast enough for something big enough to be a real computer.
It's not trying to be a real computer. It's trying to be a media station. Nobody who uses it will care how fast it's clock-cycles are as long it doesn't skip during DVD playback.
Now, you wanna know how to fix it? Turn it into a convertible tablet with a real keyboard, put in a bigger (10.4") screen, give it a decent CPU (e.g. 1+ GHz) and more RAM, and (as much as it pains me to say it) put Windows Tablet Edition (or better yet, Mac OS, but that's just a fantasy) on it.
So, turn it into a laptop? I think all you've done is prove that you're not the target market for this device.
Parent
Re:The PepperPad has been around for ages... (Score:3, Insightful)
People writing vertical apps certainly do. And being one of the few devices running Linux in that form factor makes it quite attractive, in particular given the price.
Paper Pad (Score:5, Funny)
"At this time, you cannot do this"... (Score:3, Informative)
Currently, it only synchronizes with Windows (even though its marketed for the open source community)... being a software issue, I'm certain that they'll eventually port it to Linux.. The 2 hour battery life will need some improvement.. Their FAQ contains too many "At this time, you cannot do this".. and worst of all is that it may not support 3rd party applications...
I'll check in on the Pepper Pad in a few months to see how its improved...
I'm interested... (Score:3, Insightful)
1) Input
So far, it's hard to beat a keyboard for actually getting stuff done. Even when playing games, I tend to like having lots of little keys to use instead of a chunky controller with buttons, knobs and levers. Touch screens will do for a pointing device, although touching a screen is less continuous than holding a mouse, so mice still have their advantages. Still, touch screens are very useful for some things (market checkouts or anything with an incremental flow of finite options) and I'd like to see them become more commonplace, but you still can't use them for text entry.
2) Software and Flexibility
TFA also mentions that the "Pepper Pad" also lacks useful preloaded software (eg. a calendar). Hardware is useless without some intelligent, useable software to run on it. Also, the Pepper Pad would make a wonderful handheld media device if not for the price tag, which begs that the device be used as more than just a replacement for a portable DVD player. As per the "solution waiting for a problem" comment, people are yet to really think of what software you'd want specifically for a device like this, with these abilities, that you can carry with you.
3) Internet Availability, Battery Power (Wirelessness)
This last one is rather simple, in that an Internet-aware device is useful for accessing all that the Web and Net have to offer... provided you have access to the Internet. Wi-Fi is still far from obiquitious. And, if a device needs to suckle on a wall socket (or a car's 12V plug) after 45 mins of heavy use, its not really very "wireless" or "portable".
And there are my 3 cents.
Nokia 770 anyone? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Who chooses these names? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Another product solution (Score:4, Interesting)
Add in a fresnel lens (think Brazil [quxmore.com]) to keep from going blind, and I don't see any advantage. And for those who like to keep their hands on the keyboard, using a touch pen is worse than a mouse. I saw a video demonstrating some of the earliest interfaces (early Englebert groundbreaking stuff in the 50s). At first they used a pen but found that people became very tired very quickly when they had to point at the screen with it repetively. With the Sony mentioned above in the propped up position, using the stylus pointer would be very tiring.
The fact is, we have hands of a particular size, visual capabilities of a particular resolution, and pockets too small to fit a device that meets those physical requirements. A pocketable AND usable computer is going to take some big leaps -- for instance glasses that function as high res displays (at reasonable prices, weights, and appearances) and a real break from finger oriented input. Whoever figures out how to free input from dependence on the human hand will make a bundle -- and they should because it isn't going to be an easy feat.
Parent
Re:That's nice, but give me an ARM powered laptop. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Newtons, all of 'em. (Score:4, Interesting)
You say that like it's a bad thing.
Everyone who sees my Newton 2100 (which I still use on a daily basis) is impressed by one particular thing: its screen real estate. Yeah, it's bigger than a Palm Pilot, but it also does more. Plus, you don't have to learn some new inane way of writing; you just write (or print). That's the second thing that impresses...writing in English (and yes, we've all heard the Trudeau jokes, but the HWR on the 2000 and 2100 was simply superb) anywhere on the screen instead of writing hieroglyphs on top of each other in one spot and numbers in another until the touch membrane is deformed.
This Pepper Pad needs its bright color screen combined with the Newton's ease-of-input and battery life. Then then they'd have a winner.
Parent
Re:No thanks (Score:3, Insightful)
I like this design a lot. good subway, bathroom, and meeting computer. Not so great if you just want something to take from office to home to hotel, or need something more pocketable and forgettable.