A reader writes "America Online and Gateway are launching their Linux/Transmeta internet appliance today. The webcast can be seen here." The webcast is in Real Audio - you can also find our original coverage of this, back in late May 2000.

BigBragger writes: "Upside has an article declaring that ViA will begin using the Crusoe chip in the wearable computers it currently designs for the US Army. Crusoe will debut in the next version. There's hope for a Transmeta PC yet, but will I have to enlist to get one?" WillSeattle points to C|Net's story on the same thing and adds harshly: "Soldier, when was the last time you compiled this kernel! You are a disgrace to the uniform! Give me 10,000 lines of code, pronto!"

The ongoing Slashback assault on previous stories here reveals that (among other things) 1) Maybe Compaq's Transmeta plans are at least slightly more up in the air than previously claimed; 2) Hasbro has again been unable to nab a clue(.com); 3) Hope still springs eternal that you won't have to give your address and DNA sample to RadioShack in order to use some nice (but high-ping) satellite bandwidth. Read on.

scott1853 writes "Accroding to this article on ZDNet, based on this article at G2News, Compaq has decided to put off use of Crusoe in favor of Intel's P3. Unlike IBM, Compaq isn't claiming to put the processor on hold, they appear to have made their final decision not to use it. Could this be Intel flexing it's influential muscles, or is Transmeta not being competitive enough price-wise?"

sheckard writes: "News.com reports that IBM has suspended a project geared toward releasing a ThinkPad notebook with a Crusoe processor. This could be a very bad thing for Transmeta, since their IPO is rapidly approaching." The Transmeta IPO is supposed to be on the sixth of November - IBM has been doing work on examining it, but have decided to put off plans for it for the time being.

duffbeer703 wrote to us with a ZD story regarding Transmeta's Crusoe speed and benchmarking. As we've heard the benchmarks haven't overwhemled people - but are we measuring things the wrong way? Of course emulation is slower then native chipsets - that's a given - but are the other elements of Crusoe enough to make up for it?

Vandermar asks: "AMD's 'PowerNow' promises to vary clock speed in 50mhz increments on the fly similar to Crusoe. If I remember correctly, Linus had to make changes to the Linux kernel to keep it from freaking out when the clock speed changed. Will the variable clock speed of AMD's new mobile chips require changes to the kernel (or will PowerNow need to be disabled)? How was the kernel modified to allow it to run on Transmeta chips?"

In Take 1 of this two-part series, I described some of the current technology in wearable computing as seen at ISWC 2000, this year's just-finished iteration of the International Symposium on Wearable Computers, from head-mounted displays to intelligent jackets. In this round, a little more speculation about where the future of wearability lies, with a peek in the door at some of the things being done in top university labs. What forces will shape the future of wearable computing? Hint: GeForce 2's are still hard to carry, and there's never enough power.

FurBurger writes: "Another interesting article from Discover.com on NeuroComputers . 'Although scientists have developed software that attempts to mimic the brain's learning process using only the yes-no binary logic of digital computers, all the connections in a personal computer are wired back at the factory. Breaking a single one of these connections usually crashes the computer.' (a la Windows =))" The promise of neuron-based computers is greater flexibility and fault tolerance, with components that require very little power. Or, as FurBurger puts, it, "Watch out, Transmeta!" Mike also points to a June article on the BBC about the same group and their "leech-ulator."

Polo writes "Sony has a new small-sized transmeta powered PCG-GT1 laptop with a stronger focus on video. The lcd screen reverses and [swivels] for easier shooting. With so much hardware support required, I wonder if linux drivers will be difficult to implement. Interesting camera/pc convergence stuff (besides that, with hard drive costs coming down so far, its probably a good idea. Definitely looks like fun. Here's a ZD Net Review where they aren't so hot on a slightly different transmeta vaio. (not the one with the crazy sidemounted video camera)

axis-techno-geek writes: "It seems that Intel now is trying to fight back against Transmeta with their new chips. Intel plans to have their new speed-step Pentium III's out in about a year (which in computer time means about 18 months :)."

This episode of Slashback brings a quartet of deja-vu inducing tidbits for your continuing edification and amusement: SuSE, not just Red Hat, will run on all those fancy schmancy new machines from IBM; DialPad sends a nearly bewildering apology to be-spammed e-mail recipients (bewildering because not enough other companies have done the same); laptops of the non-Transmeta variety; and some more information on optical switching, etc. Brush up on randomness, read at your own risk.

Fernando Ribeiro Corrêa writes: "Richard Payne, Alpha Processor's Tech Support Manager, talks about Alpha's Linux strategy, market competition with Intel, Transmeta and its Alpha plans for the future."

Godfather writes: "According to the heise-people the 600-MHz-TM5600 performs somewhere in between a Pentium III-400 and a Pentium III-600. It seems to be amazingly fast in memory access. The article is in German so you have to try the fish." A better translation would be appreciated, too, since Babelfish still leaves certain things murky. And if you've heard enough about the upcoming Picturebook, Timothy Brown writes: "Fujitsu is releasing (in early November) the Loox-T laptop, with a 500Mhz Crusoe chip. It's only available in Japan, but Dynamism, a company which sells Japan stuff to purchasers in the U.S., is accepting preorders." Here's that link.

ggrappone writes: "CNet has a story on the first Transmeta notebook." Looks to be the same as the mini Sony VAIO picture book. Runs a 600Mhz Crusoe chip, and they claim substantial battery improvements with no performance hit. But apparently they'll be available in the states soon, so we can see for ourselves.

zakath writes "This story on Techweb is telling us that Rambus' legal dept. is still working overtime - going after Transmeta and AMD this time." Well, its trickier then that. They're trying to reach out of court deals, but the article has a lot more info about Rambus and assorted acronyms that they're trying to get money for.

valmont: "The folks at cnet have this article about Sony's latest toy: The Airboard. It seems to merge all kinds of wild stuff in a pad hooked to a base station with TV Antenna and wireless modem: simultaneous TV and Internet/web browsing, remote-controlling of home appliances. Looks pretty nifty ..." And considering that Sony is hep to Transmeta, I wonder what chip and OS will power this thing.

safariman writes: "An article on Yahoo news reports that Transmeta is claiming a five year lead over Intel and AMD. Does anyone else think this claim is a bit excessive? After all, Transmeta itself is not five years old. Besides, once an idea is public, it is a lot easier to copy."

Pulzar writes: "Fujitsu will release two notebooks containing Crusoe processors from Transmeta in November, the company said today, bringing the total number of companies coming out with Transmeta-based products to seven."

Crazy Diamond writes "Transmeta has bought back its technology licenses from IBM and Toshiba in order to market its products on its own as a fabless chip supplier. This story comes from EETimes for more information."