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Hardware

Midori Linux Powered FIC Aquapad 134

Posted by timothy from the tiger-direct-please-get-my-telepathic-message dept.
quantumgravity1 writes: "Check out this review of the FIC Aquapad. It has a 500MHz Transmeta Crusoe CPU, runs Midori Linux, is wireless capable, and is totally portable. According to pics included it is comparable to the Iopener in size. There's no hard drive, but it comes with up to 256MB of memory with 32 embedded for the os, but you can expand it with compact flash or the IBM Microdrive. GPS support is in the works, but it already supports MP3 and MPG. Now I just need a wireless setup at home, or perhaps I can do some mobile sniffing. :)"
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Midori Linux Powered FIC Aquapad More

Midori Linux Powered FIC Aquapad

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  • damn.. any mirrors?

    • Re:/.'ed (Score:2, Informative)

      by HMC CS Major ( 540987 )
      It's not slashdotted, but I'll give you the text of the front page anyway ...
      FIC was demoing their AquaPAD at this year's Comdex. Several pads were connected to a wireless network in their meeting room. They have been working on the AquaPAD design for a couple of years, and the growing popularity of wireless networking could spell a hot product. Immediately upon using the demo pads at the show test units were requested. The AquaPAD is a web pad class device powered by a 500MHz Transmeta Crusoe TM5400 CPU. This CPU uses the Long-Run power saving function with a core voltage that can vary from 1.2V to 1.6V. The CPU has a 96KB L1 cache and has the Northbridge functions integrated. The Crusoe is paired with the ALi Super South M1535 that handles the IO functions including IDE and USB support. The embedded OS, which can be either Transmeta's Midori Linux or Windows CE, is stored on 32MB of internal flash memory. SDRAM memory is available from 128MB to 256MB. Larger OS installations can be used if they are put on an external drive or on a compact flash card or IBM Microdrive. There is no internal hard drive, however support for the IBM Microdrive and compact flash memory is included. The screen is an 8.4" TFT touchscreen which runs at 800X600X16. The pad also includes a small speaker and microphone. A headphone jack and USB ports and an infrared port are also provided. Power comes either via the included power cord, lithium battery, or the optional base charger. An attempt to open the pad was made, but proved to be more difficult than expected so no pictures of internal components are provided. Below are the specifications as provided by FIC. Item Feature DIMENSION 274mm(L) X 164mm(W) X 26.7mm(H) WEIGHT 1.15 Kg PROCESSOR Transmeta Crusoe TM5400 / 500MHz oe Core Voltage support of 1.2V to 1.6V oe I/O Voltage support for 2.5V and 3.3V oe Transmeta Long-Run function oe Cache L1: 96KB oe Northbridge integrated SOUTHBRIDGE ALi Super South M1535 MEMORY SO-DIMM Support, Default 128MB SDRAM 64bit data bus, non ECC support Max system memory support: 256MB STORAGE CompactFlash 32MB/64MB/128MB/256MB MicroDrive support 1GB (CF Type) DISPLAY TFT-LCD 8.4h, 800X600 color. With Touchscreen BATTERY / LIFE 3600mA, 7.2V, 4-cell Panasonic Lithium battery. Battery Life: 2.8 ~ 3.5 hours Battery charge time: 2 hours - must Gas Gauge Support (bq2050H) POWER ADAPTER 36W Max, 100-240V Output Voltage : 12V, 3A Dimension: 105mm(L) X 60mmX 30mm(H) EXPANSIONS One CardBus PCMCIA Type II One Compact Flash (IDE available now) INPUT / OUTPUT & CONNECTORS One DC in power jack Two Standard USB ports (Host) One Audio jack for Line out (3D Audio) One Build-in Speaker 1 Watt One Build-in Microphone One IrDA 1.1 (FIR 4Mbps) One Cradle Connector SWITCHES Power Switch (slide) x 1 Brightness Button x 2 (Up and Down) Volume Button x 2 (Up and Down) LED INDICATOR Support for three LEDs : 1 (Left) for Suspend: Blinking and Off (Yellow) 1 (Middle) for Power: On and Off (Green) 1 (Right) for Charger: Blinking for Battery Low, On for DC-in Charging, and Off for others (Amber) BLUETOOTH (Optional) USB dongle module UART interface support by v2.0 (next version) Case Material Magnesium Alloy O/S Midori (Mobile Linux), WinCE 3.0 ACCESSORIES Userfs Manual Stylus Pen AC Power Adapter with power cord Cradle (Optional) -Power charging function -Additional socket for battery unit recharging -Auto priority circuit for system recharging Carry Bag AGENCY LISTING EMC: FCC / CE Safety: UL / C-UL / TUV PACKING Single Packing including : -AquaPAD system unit (with a plastic protection cover) -AC Power Adapter with power Cord -Userfs manual -Carry Bag
  • A 500MHz Crusoe CPU with 256MB is probably fine for most applications, guys, but trying to run the Slashdot site off one for an hour and a half was, I think, a case of foolish geek bravado.

    So, does anyone know what happened?

  • OS's (Score:3, Interesting)

    by 7-Vodka ( 195504 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @03:13AM (#2724867) Journal
    I wonder why the linux version is the same price as the windows version.. I see mozilla, xmms.. all free as in beer. Are they charging everyone the Microsoft tax?

    • Re:OS's (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Mr.Spaz ( 468833 )
      Some people here in Florida got busted a while ago for charging sales tax on bills that mixed goods and services (services are not taxed in FL). When they turned around and paid their taxes to the state, they reported the items correctly and then made off with the difference. Sounds like a similar little game going on here. Charge to cover all avenues, and just keep the profit if it happens to be cheaper to produce.
    • The original is slashdotted. I can't get there and read.

      What I think, they spend effort to make sure the Midori Linux is working well on their Aquapad. Also, does it mean they provide support too? If so, it's reasonable to charge a price on these. Of course, I expect to receive at least the same support level from Microsoft for windows (which is none) from this company for linux.

  • Tablet PC? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by PopeAlien ( 164869 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @03:13AM (#2724868) Homepage Journal
    My only question is why?

    Why wouldn't you want a keyboard attached to the thing so you could enter text at a decent speed and fold shut to protect the screen? I mean, I can see the appeal of working with a tablet pc, but I thought the best design for this would be something like the Vadem Clio [pocketpcmag.com], which has a keyboard that folds behind the screen - Now if I only I could find a real machine in this configuration!
    • I can see what you're saying - the foldaway keyboard is a slick feature. However, for my interest its not all that necessary.


      I am involved in developing a data collection system for a medical practice. This is actually the 3rd implementation of the same idea from the (more or less) same group. Where the system had previously stumbled was the user (read: Doctor's) interface.


      Previous systems used a web-based application accessed via terminals (well - in the test case, they were cheap white-box PCs) located in each examining room. The problem was that Doctors tended to feel uncomfortable juggling a keyboard / mouse and the patient at the same time. The software itself received high marks.


      The software involves a lot of checking boxes as it burrows down a path of diagnotic observations. Actual text entry is at a very minimum.


      The webpad / tablet form factor seems ideal. Some testing was done with PDAs and they were found to be a little restrictive on available screen realestate to be comfortable. The Aquapad seems to offer ample space for even a fairly complex form without loosing the user. Doctors are often already comfortable with interacting with a patient and ticking off notes on a pad. Putting the data in front of them in that pad will enable them to (we hope) easily note their observations and collect accurate data while still maintaining patient interaction.

    • I agree. I love my Clio Clone (Sharp version) just wish that you could flash the ram for linux but *sigh* it does do the job. Specially fun on a long flight. No fighting for power connections. It runs for 10 hours straight. hehe.

      But seriously. Pads like this would be great in places like hospitals, for inventory control, and other such applications where the info inserted is either a check box on a form or a short message. The larger screen makes it easier to read, and strangly enough enter data accurately. As a doctor I know noted. " I love the PDA system at the hospital, just wish I could read the screen with my glasses on." As such I'm pulling for this one to succeed.
    • Why wouldn't you want a keyboard attached to the thing so you could enter text at a decent speed and fold shut to protect the screen?

      May be it isn't targeted on general purpose computing. If it has GPS I'd imagine it's targetted on GPS-navigation device for cars. In this case, keyboard is not very important. (Unless you've two extra hands and one extra eye ^_^)

      It'd be very interesting to have MP3 too - A combination of GPS and discless Hi-Fi system in a car! Now pray RIAA wouldn't track you down with the GPS system against you. :)
    • I would love to have one of these to prop up on my table and just surf on while eating breakfast. Much broader (and current) news than my newspaper can provide, takes up less space, and I don't have to flip it inside out to continue a story.

      Hell, I can browse mail without needing a keyboard. At least then I can filter out all the mail I don't care about, and reply to the stuff I do care about later when I'm at a computer.
    • I know why I don't want a full sized keyboard. I would like take a small portable, plug in a twiddler, sound out, my phone, and maybe some extra memory to make a wearable. Keyboards take space I don't need taken up.
    • The Aquapad supports USB Keyboard and mouse. As mentioned on Page 3 [amdzone.com] of the article.

      --

  • Cool... Can't wait until it flops... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by affegott ( 104661 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @03:18AM (#2724878)
    ... then I can pick one up for 80 bucks. :-)

    http://www.audreyhacking.com

    Later,
    -Ryan
  • on amdzone? that almost seems like a conflict of interest...or does transmeta farm out the manufacturing to amd?

    as a side note, i'd like to point out that this puppy also runs "windows CE 3.0", somthing not mentioned in the post....i think some of the other crusoe-based books/pads run linux....but it's only an extremely stripped down version for quickboot-MP3 playing.

    it's neat to see webpads finally making it to market

  • Is it worth the cost? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by e1en0r ( 529063 )
    As a portable PDA / computer, the AquaPAD doesn't seem like an ideal solution. It seems that for the $700+ that the AquaPad costs, plus the $250 for the wireless access point, you could get a laptop that does everything it does and more. It looks a little too bulky to use as a PDA, and doesn't have all the features I'd want in a PC. I'm sure the touchscreen is limiting, and when you add the keyboard and mouse seen here [fic.com.tw] it looks a little clumsy and loses all the appeal of a portable device. However, I think it would be really cool to mount it in the car as an mp3 player, GPS, etc.
  • Funny that AMDZone is running a story about a TRANSMETA powered system. But i guess the Transmeta Zone, or whatever it was, has closed due to nothing happening with transmeta.
  • While I am tickled pink to see such new devices emerge (especially those with linux), I just pray that these companies spend money/effort in moderation when looking into such workpads. For all intensive purposes, these workpads are one-way devices with very little input meant to come from the user.

    In order for that to be useful, it has to come with the ability to accept a variety of data from a variety of sources (IR, Radio, Laser, etc) and display it back to the user. In a world where you can gather information simply by walking around and grabbing datastreams, I can see the workpad being a useful and hip thing to carry around for the traveling businessperson, or the college student (less books!)

    But... until that day, the $1000 laptop + 56k modem will still be the reliable source to get connected when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere. So... I just hope that these companies don't expend too much of their energy in making devices that are a bit too ahead of their time...

    As for the article, it's great... hope ya'll get a chance to read it... Me? I've already mastered the art of anti-slashdotting...

    1) Open Article
    2) "Open in New Window" all the relevant pages
    3) Read, enjoy, ignore screams of /.'d-ness.
  • Why would people put hand writing on a device. This is really bizarre. I hate writing and the last time I did it was when I wrote a check sometimes last year. Beside the design of this device is plain ugly. I wish they could resurrect this laptop you could rotate the screen on the keyboard to act as a tablet (forgot the name...) and power it with an SA-1110. But a Transmeta, bah...

    During the course of the past two years, I've spent all my money on computer stuff. I bought an iPaq (which I still have and it runs Linux), a Sony Transmeta rev 2 (600MHz) which I sold because it was really slow and the keyboard barely usable. I bought an iBook with an iPod which I really like for MP3 and OS X fun. I bought a Sony Clie, which I sold on eBay, because what's the use when you have laptop with a keyboard (I hate graffiti) etc... The result of this, is that when I have serious work to do on the computer, you find me on my thinkpad which I got about 2 ago and when I have serious games to play I go to the PS2 or an AMD box which I rev up every now and then. The rest is just a waste of money.

    So what's this thing will do for me?
  • For only a couple of hundred dollars more, you can get a full laptop. And at "2.8-3.5h", the battery life isn't all that impressive. On the other hand, the Midori is simpler and lighter. Is that good enough? That remains to be seen, I suppose.
  • ...put reflective TFTs in web pads and laptops? Don't they save a lot more power than normal LCDs? Also, LCDs are really hard to see in sunlight. What does this device use? It says it uses a TFT, but is it the reflective kind?
  • So everyone is posting that it is a conflict of interests that AMDZone is posting a -transmeta- review... Well if you read the article, at the end they say they (as in AMDZone) are taking pre-orders for the device. Pre-orders??? When was the last time Tom's Hardware or anandtech took personal preorders for the device at the end of the review.

    funny stuff...

    • Yes, funny (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      funny stuff...

      I've been reading AMDZone (off and on) since it was first started, or at least very close to its inception. (My last Intel CPU was a Pentium 100 and I paid top dollar for it. I dumped it for an AMD K6 166 and have used AMD ever since. So I came across AMDZone while looking for AMD info early one.) Anyway, the site has never been that good, and has certainly never been objective.

      Some of AMDZone's low points:

      • They complain about others both personally and incessantly. Personal attacks on Tom Pabst are not uncommon. The attacks are typically transparently jealous.
      • They are always whining about how other sites have multipage reviews (they seem to think this is some sort of banner ad conspiracy). They haven't seem to have been droning on about it as much as they used to, but it must have been a real pet peeve.
      • They say things like "of course the dumb stock analyst downgraded AMD -- it's because he doesn't know the whole story" without bothering to remember that stock analysts are paid great big gobs of money to be as knowledgable as possible.
      • They exhibit blatant hatred for Intel and rarely (I've only seen a couple times) explain why Intel is so darn bad.
      • They make no pains to hide their wish that AMD would supplant Intel. (Why? Who knows. I can imagine some sample dialog, though. "Q: If we didn't have AMD can you imagine how high prices would be for CPUs? A: Yeah, and if we only had AMD making chips prices would be super low, sure...")
      • AMDZone always seems to have reviews "posted up" well after anyone else. When another review is mentioned as a news item, the topic of a superior upcoming review from AMDZone is always mentioned as a better source of information (and on just one page, to boot!).
      • They can't be bothered to proofread their news items (which gives them something in common with my post :-). This leads me to believe that they don't check their sources. Journalistic integrity is not real high on their list or priorities.

      A typical news story is either about some arcane chipset that AMD is making for an embedded device, a complaint about another review (or reviewer) on some other site, a self-congratulatory blurb about AMDZone.com, or a combination of all the above. I could paraphrase a typical AMDZone news item like so:

      XTC Extreme's Gamez Sitez has another review posted up about the AMD Warhammer 2200+P. It doesn't cover very much, and they use the wrong motherboard. It's on like 72 different pages, probably because they want you to see their ads. Our upcoming review will kick ass and be on one page, so check back here in a couple months when we review this chip.

      OK, so the good stuff? Well, their site is awful and the authors are petty, but they have a lot of news coming to them. Not much happens AMD-wise without them having a link to it. It's a bit like Slashdot, except very focused and very blatantly immature. So if you want to keep up on AMD, then you can scan their site a couple times a week and get the news they link to without having to wade through the mind of a peevish adolescent.

      But don't buy anything from them, especially something they review. As far as I can tell, the site is run by a couple kids from Texas (brothers, I think). They aren't real long on cash (who is, eh?) and so wouldn't have any real incentive for scruples. If I see a good review on dansdata.com or anandtech.com, I'll think about buying. But for all I know, these guys might have borrowed against their college fund and could soon be sitting on a whole garage full these Aquapads.

      AMDZone.com is like any other online site: you assign a level of trust to information based on your knowledge of cross-checked facts, your perceptions about the site and its authors, and the past history of the info's source. If you trust biased opinions, then please buy.

  • Applications, Applications,.... Aplications, App.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Raindeer ( 104129 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @03:37AM (#2724911) Homepage Journal
    I didn't look at the technical part of the review, but went straight to the part where the usability of the webpad was explained and there was the biggest error of the machine. It doesn't have an adequate user interface to input text. Neither the handwriting recognition, nor the onscreen keyboard seem to suffice. For this to become a success it needs applications that support its presence in the marketplace. One of the great things of a palm is that the user interface for inputting text is good enough for most people. (go ahead flame away) This has made that people are willing to buy it and other people to develop aps for it.

    My prediction: The first webpad to be commercially succesful will be made my Microsoft and have adequate text input, like a Pocket PC a version of Office, Internet Explorer and a possibility to port your own aps to it easily. Why? A Dutch journalist spoke to Bill Gates recently in The Hague, Bill was carrying some kind of pad computer. We all know he wants to dominate and we all know he knows what is nescessary to get the product to succeed in the market.
    • I didn't look at the technical part of the review, but went straight to the part where the usability of the webpad was explained and there was the biggest error of the machine. It doesn't have an adequate user interface to input text. Neither the handwriting recognition, nor the onscreen keyboard seem to suffice.

      User interface to input text? It isn't necessary. :)

      I'm looking for an embedded device on which I can build a GPS-navigation prototype for cars. This seems to be a very suitable choice for us. As long as it has a development kit to feed in the apps in there, that's it! (woo MP3 is surely an extra, a good idea, and Linux-based would be much welcomed):)

      No keyboard; touchscreen or buttons control would be enough. We don't want our users having car accident merely by a GPS query or searching a MP3. :)

      The first webpad to be commercially succesful will be made my Microsoft and have adequate text input

      Webpad...well, may be. Though I'm pretty new to embedded industry but I'm sure MS doesn't get any advantage in this market. Man I love it. :D

      P.S. I know this device isn't designed to be an embedded system from groundup, but I still find it very suitable to be one. Thanks /. for the info. :)
    • First, the Palm input method is not particularly efficient and requires a significant learning curve. For a custom-designed symbology, Unistrokes is a couple of times faster, and a tappable keyboard is both simpler and somewhat faster. I would expect that an on-screen keyboard on this device is better than the Palm.

      Now, as for Pocket PC, all the might of Microsoft hasn't managed to displace Palm. For Microsoft to throw money at porting bloated software to handheld devices is not going to magically make them usable. Microsoft never gets these things right; at best, they have the good sense to buy or copy what they need, a few years late.

      You are right that this thing doesn't come with the "right" set of applications, and it's also a bit too expensive. But it's a great platform for starting to develop those applications, which is what I'm planning on using it for. And as a portable web browser for reading the news around the house, it's also pretty nifty.

    • I've seen people support the larger size of Pocket PCs because they plan to take them on airplanes and play games. Well, this looks like a much better candidate for that kind of application. (God knows you cannot carry any of those monsters around in a shirt pocket all day.)

      Games! Build games for this da*n thing and someone will buy it. Maybe I will.

      The processer is twice the speed of any Pocket PC, the screen is 4 times (or more) bigger. Yes, games.
    • Well if you want handwriting recognition check out the FrontPath ProGear http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT5771747599. html

      pretty much the same, only a 400MHz transmeta, but You can get a 6.4 gig hard disk.

  • Battery Life (Score:3, Interesting)

    by dozing ( 111230 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @03:40AM (#2724916) Homepage

    As another user pointed out earlier the battery life of 2.8 ~ 3.5 hours is surprisingly unimpressive.

    Aside from that I've decided it might be nice to have a little wireless web pad for when i just wanna cruise through the web sites I check out every day. (slashdot [slashdot.org], UserFriendly [userfriendly.org], dilbert [dilbert.com], Get Fuzzy [comics.com], and Dozings.com [dozings.com].) As a replacement for a laptop or pda it wouldn't cut the mustard, but if I had the money something like this (but with more battery life) might be a nice little addition to my bag of electronic gizmos.

  • Another great product with no market (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Gaccm ( 80209 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @03:44AM (#2724924)
    Seriously, look at it [amdzone.com]. it looks like a very interesting product, with nice specs, but whos gonna buy it? its too big to fit in your pocket, and if you are going to bother to carry it around in case, (as one of its features is its wirelessness) then you might as well carry a full fledged laptop (except that a laptop is heavier). The only use i can see is for someone you really needs a laptop, but can't afford/doesn't want the extras of a laptop, then this would be a good option. But, there arn't many businesses that 1) have a need for lots of people moving around and 2) will take a chance on this product, and businesses are one of their primary targets.
    • Seriously, look at it [amdzone.com]. it looks like a very interesting product, with nice specs, but whos gonna buy it?

      Oh I dunno, someone who like surfing the web from anywhere in and around their house, instead of being chained to their desk, or forced to sit uncomfortably with a hot laptop on their lap?

      Don't get me wrong, this device looks like shit, but the idea sounds wonderful.
    • If they aim at the enterprise market it might take off. I work for a large pharmaceutical company on IS support staff for the sales force. Right now we're using a combination of laptops and HP Jornada's running Siebel's CRM software. The rep takes the handheld into the doctor's office and records what samples where left and collects the doctor's signature. They need the laptop to do analysis (ie what doctors should I visit tomorrow), email, etc. because the handheld is too small, underpowered and storage challenged for this sort of work. This device with a microdrive added would be an almost perfect fit for replacing what we have now.
    • Nobody seems to be talking about the very specific markets out there, where access to your company's intranet services in unusual spots or from a variety of locations would be beneficial, but a laptop is too much (money, weight, complication) or too insecure or too difficult to support.

      For example, I run the IT department at a museum, and we're pretty stumped when it comes to how to provide access to a variety of services in a variety of situations:

      1) read access to the collections database in the storerooms, so art handlers can look up locations while they're in the vicinity of the object. A laptop costs more, does more (which is inappropriate in this situation), theoretically breaks down more (more moving parts, more software complication), and is more worthwhile to steal for more people.

      2) public access to web-based information in the galleries or lobby areas. You know, exhibition related materials, maps, brochures, etc. For the most part this does not require advanced input by the visitor, so I don't care much about the lack of a keyboard, in most cases. Laptops fail for same reasons as above.

      3) public access to web-connected "Art learning center" stations. Which are a lot like gallery and lobby stations, except they can browse arbitrary web content, not just what I provide, and need keyboards, absolutely.

      4) front-desk check-in. Currently we use windows terminals accessing servers via citrix, which is fine, since we don't currently do numbers 1, 2, or 3. But I would like to have one solution for everything, you know. Probably never will, but I can imagine other people do this over the web and might like a little internet appliance thingy.

      Is it interesting that only one out of four of these applications involve mobility? What I really need is just a web-browsing, wireless, cheap, storage-less, unalterable-by-the-user appliance. It needs to be mobile and lockable, so it can stay put or not, and it needs to either have a keyboard and mouse, or be touch-screen. If it looks good, great, because then maybe our exhibition designers will be happier about putting some in the galleries.

      Obviously I'm a pretty small market, but there are other industries that have analogous uses. I have a feeling the issue is that mostly these services are not provided by web servers and accessed via web clients. That's changing, of course, but given that you can test out your new web accessible Oracle application with your PC, and you already have PC's, lots of people are not heading over to the thin clients yet (how long has this been going on?).
    • I would buy one if it was a cuple hundred cheaper and there was a universal remote app. Would be great in my living room. I could use it as a universal remote, surf the web, and keep conencted to my email all from the comfort of my couch. :)
    • I would want one so my wife can read her email while I use the computer for important stuff, lke Quake...
      Any body who owns hotels, and isn't looking into renting these to guests is missing a huge opportunity.
      same with resorts.

      I can think of a lot of uses aroung the house, now that I'm really thinking about it.

  • Holy smokes ! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @03:54AM (#2724942)
    "Check out this review of the FIC Aquapad. It has a 500MHz Transmeta Crusoe CPU"

    Okay, I have to ask : why so much power in a device like this ? I know faster is better, and you can't stop progress, yadda yadda, but exactly who is this destined to ? Meteorologists who need to get tomorrow's forecast while on the plane ? Serial killers on the run who happens to like finding large prime numbers as a hobby ? Linux geeks who want to compile their kernel in the john ?

    Seriously, the only explanation I can come up with is the thing is designed to run XP, but it doesn't. Makes you wonder how Palms got away with a lousy 68K CPU for so long ...

    • Think consumer. Do you think it would sell if it had less? The masses see the numbers and ogle. Sure, I use 486s for routers and file servers. But you put something on the market with a low rating and people will have an idiotic adverse reaction

      99% of what most people think/say/believe about computers is FUD/crap/wrong. This follows in with that. People are suckered by crap.

    • Moore Shock and Number Fallacy (Score:4, Insightful)

      by fm6 ( 162816 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @11:16AM (#2725904) Homepage Journal
      First of all, 500 MHz is no longer considered a high-end processor. Intel no longer bothers with anything slower than 450 MHz, and that's for a mobile Celeron. Shocking, isn't it? I'm writing this on a 450 MHz PII that I lucked into when I was hired for my current job. Got a few jealous looks at the time (two years ago) but now it's actually one of our wimpier machines.

      Secondly, can we please stop using raw processor speed as the only benchmark of performance? Everybody should know by now that not all XXXMhz chips are created equal. This is particularly important for a Crusoe processor, a design which does not emphasize raw computing power [transmeta.com].

      • Everybody should know by now that not all XXXMhz chips are created equal. This is particularly important for a Crusoe processor, a design which does not emphasize raw computing power [transmeta.com].

        And of course, everyone knows why Transmeta doesn't emphasis the raw power of the Crusoe, becuase it doesn't have any raw power TO emphasis! Transmeta is selling by far the slowest x86 processor out there, so it would be utterly stupid to try for them to say that power is important! It would be like Geo trying to convince people to buy muscle cars!

    • The obvious use for excess CPU power in a portable computer is speech recognition. Also requires lots of memory.

      For those about to dock, we salute you!
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Art (Score:1)

      by pavon ( 30274 )
      There are a couple of reasons that I would love to have a webpad, but the main application where a webpad would kick the ass off anything availiable is art work. I've played around with wacomm tablets and they make both 2d and 3d stuff (espessialy 2d) much eazier, quicker, and more enjoyable. Having something that I could carry anywhere and sketch directly onto would be awesome, and you bet that it would need a lot of processing power. (and a big harddrive - hint, hint).

      I would buy one of these for that purpose, but once I had it, I think it would be usefull for many other things like taking notes. Just try typing advanced math (yeah TeX works but this is a case where I'd like a program where it would be much nicer to be able to read what I wrote imediately instead of compiling it first) Also, in just about any class or meeting Ive been to, the speaker always uses drawings at some point during the lecture, and drawing with a mouse takes way too long to keep up (and don't even get me started on drawing with those touchpads/eraser tips). It would be ideal to have a program that accomidated easy entry of text, math, and plugins for other stuff, and use plain graphics as a fallback when nothing else works better, but on a normal laptop the only reasonable input method you have is text, so this application can't exist.

      I would definately prefer a webpad over a laptop any day. (If only I could afford either :) so all you nay-sayers who keep saying that webpads are worthless devices ought to think again. FIC did make a fatal mistake by not including some sort of handwriting recognition, however.

      PS - if anyone is looking to hire a good coder / linux hacker to write applications or drivers for a webpad-like product, Im graduating in May and that would be a dream job for me :)
  • Looking at this product does suggest some use in an automobile application. I have installed two PC's into cars. It's really hard to find the right solution. So basically, I had to design the make the thing. One solution was to use a laptop. The laptop I could just wire in DC power from the car 12vdc. Power issue solved. The screen was removed from the base unit and a cable was made for 20 feet. Everyone including my mother told me it was not possible to run the video cable at 2" into 20 feet. Well that was no problem with the video. Works great!!! The mouse and keyboard I just ran 20 feet from the base in the trunk of the car to the front. Again, no problem with signal. It's the better solution than this product. Bigger screen and better functionality.

    Now with the problem of upgrading a laptop. I installed in a friends car a full size desktop. It give me the power to upgrade anything at anytime. I just installed it in the center console area with a leather covering. Bought the screen with anolog screen from http://www.flat-panel.com for $349 dollars. Wireless keyboard for $20. Done, full dvd with win2000. Again, more functionality than this device, with cheaper hardware/faster/smaller.

    With the Garmin GPS device that is the size of a mouse with serial input. Mint GPS/MP3 with wireless upgrade solution.

    I like the product, but again. You can hack someone better, which fits your requirements better.
    • I to am very interrested in the automotive uses of these kind of devices. the laptopmod suggested also crossed my mind. The thing I am most likely to build will just be a dash-mounted support for any laptop. The aquapad is just not powerfull enough for my liking, everything else is right down what I want: Toughscreen, small keyboard, etc. etc. I only doubt if there are sufficient ports and input devices cuz I would like to do just about anything with it: MP3 player (from CD), connect it to my Palmtop (COMPORT), GPS (another comport+CD with maps), Emulate a PSX (JoyStickPort), Play DivX, and maybe plug in an extra TFT for movies to the backseat (TV OUT).

  • With products such as this actually seeing the light of day, how long until we see the big innovation i've been waiting to happen:

    Electronic Textbooks.

    yes, we already haev Ebooks, but they are _so_ limited in what they can do, compared to what they _should_ be able to do. I want to be able to have all of my books on 1 small device. I want to stop paying so much to buy books when i'm going to sell them back anyways.

    Anyone else agree?


  • "[..supports MP3 and MPG..]"

    *Sigh*.... Kids these days..I swear.

    Time for a clue, children:

    One of those formats is called MPEG Audio Layer 3 Compression. That's what you youngsters call "an MP3 file".

    The other is called MPEG Video, or, as you call it, an "MPG file".

    See the similarities between the two? Those four pesky little letters that you keep hearing about? Its an acronym, gang. Motion Picture Experts Group [mpeg.org]. The same standard yeilds two different media formats.

    Saying your product supports both MP3 and MPG is redundant. Its like saying your vaccum cleaner pulls up dirt and as an added bonus, it also pulls up dirt as well.

  • perhaps I can do some mobile sniffing
    which is covered by wire-tapping laws and is thus illegal. just because you have the ability to sniff wireless networks doesn't mean that you should.

    • Re:hacker! (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      the correct term is "cracker" not hacker.
      a hacker is just a coder.
    • >which is covered by wire-tapping laws and is thus illegal

      Actually, there is yet to be a court case establishing wireless snooping as wire-tapping. There is considerable reason to consider that it wont be, based on the rulings around private band (police), television, and radio. Same idea, slightly different use.

      Odds are that since it isnt "tapping a wire" it wont be held to the same standard.
      • In general, you're allowed to listen to anything that's coming over the airwaves but you are not allowed to divulge that information in any way. So it's not wiretapping, but if you actually use the data you've obtained for anything meaningful you've broken the law anyway. Or have you?
    • Actually, if these other people using wireless networking are sending their packets into his network card, then they're the ones who are intruding - which, you will find, is the illegal thing. If someone stood in the street and shouted things out, could he bring a lawsuit against you for invasion of privacy just because you listened to what he said?

  • Aw, man, FIC?!? (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    C'mon, FIC? Transmeta couldnt find a better partner than that?!?

    Geez, FIC sucks. Everything FIC touches turns to shit!

    I've had two FIC motherboards (a VA-503+, a K6/Socket7 motherboard, and a SD-11) and they were both the most rotten, buggy, broken-as-designed examples of crappitude you could possibly imagine. Dozens of BIOS flashes later, and they still havent fixed the bugs. As motherboard manufacturers go, FIC is the bottom of the barrel. FIC's the sort of company that use the "rush a half-done design to market, fix it later" paradigm. Bleah.

    I suppose it serves me right for buying two of them - had to be the first one on the block with a K7 - no one else had any problems making a stable K7 motherboard. (except fsckin' FIC, of course)
  • From the front page of AMD Zone [amdzone.com]:

    While I've been waiting for the site to come up I've put up a new site, AquaPAD.org [66.39.100.10]. This site is meant to support the AquaPAD which I am starting to sell now. I'll have the review up here as soon as the server issues are fixed.

    He has a whole new web site created specifically for a device he intends to sell. He's linking to it from a page which reviews that same device. What are the odds the review will be objective? "In conclusion, Aquapads thoroughly suck. Click here to buy one from me at a special review-only price..."

    AMD Zone sounds like a great site. I'd trust his reviews. Way more so than Tom's [tomshardware.com] or Anandtech [anandtech.com] or Dan's data [dansdata.com]. None of those guys has a deeply personal involvement with the hardware in question.

    -B

  • Personally I'm getting a little tired or reading about interresting products that never seem to make it to production.

    Sure it looks neat.
    Even neater it runs Linux.
    Defitiely cool because it has a Transmeta CPU.

    But will we ever see one at Wal-Mart?
  • I think this sucker comes close to being a real winner in the wireless connectivity pad with extra features market. For the most part Palms and PocketPC devices are glorified datebooks. Now of course they're jammed with features like video playback and web browsing. Laptops are portable but awkward to use when on the move or not sitting down because you interface with them exactly like a regular desktop machine. I've been waiting for a really good tablet system since I first saw ST:TNG.

    I think in many cases tablet systems offer a more intuitive interface than laptops and definitely give you more real estate than a handheld device. With a web enabled device you want to have something that can view a web page with reasonable clarity and functionality. Most of the web simply does not mesh well with handheld devices. Then on the other hand laptops don't work well when you're really on the go. Tablets fall inbetween both of these catagories (which is a boon and a problem). On the one hand you can have a highly portable system with most of the functionality of a full fledged PC. With a well thought out GUI you won't miss a keyboard for any task other than typing which is when you whip out an attachable keyboard or a soft keyboard on the screen. On the downside you're limited in function by how portable the system is. In order to be viable a tablet needs a long battery life but enough power to do what you need it to. A tablet also runs into trouble when running anything not specifically designed for it. A tablet PC running Windows or Linux could run all sorts of programs but would you really want to run some stuff where a mouse was really intended to be used?

    Personally I'd like something the size of a note pad that I could run lots of different software on and interface with all kinds of network services. I don't think the Aquapad is quite there yet, in fact I think we're still a couple of generations away from what I'd (not to mention lots of other people) spend money on.
  • Go to Ebay, pick up any of the linux supported touchscreen computers. you can usually get them for less than $220.00 and by the time you buy an 802.11b card, an accesspoint and a server you sill have spent less than this webpad will cost for the next 3 years.

    webpads are a neat idea, but until they're affordable ($250.00 MAX) and can run at least 24 hours withuot a charge/ use magnetic coupling charging so I dont have to physicall dock the thing to it's charging station (Just lie it on the proper end-table with magnetically coupled charging)

    webpads have a really long way to go before they are going to be actually useful and adopted by the masses.
    • Go to Ebay, pick up any of the linux supported touchscreen computers. you can usually get them for less than $220.00 and by the time you buy an 802.11b card, an accesspoint and a server you sill have spent less than this webpad will cost for the next 3 years.

      Yes, I've picked up two Fujitsu Stylistic 1200's [geocities.com], one is being used as a mobile webcam [thesync.com] running Win98, and the other is a "programmable picture frame" running Linux on the wall next to me. These pads rule!
  • been waiting for. With wireless networking, a nice touchscreen, running linux so I can have my own apps on it, sweeet. And if I get bored lounging on the couch listening to music I can browse online news papers, check and read email. I can have it laying around so that people can look through the digital-camera pictures from the latest trip, and with a small wireless keyboard I might even get them to write some comments to the pictures while waiting for me to get ready to leave. It's a bit pricy, but I'd love to have one.

  • Midori or WinCE, same great(?) price! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Speare ( 84249 ) on Wednesday December 19, 2001 @09:39AM (#2725476) Homepage Journal

    According to the 'order AquaPAD' page, the base prices are $660 for either Midori or WinCE included.

    I sure hope the situation is that the Midori distribution team is getting money for each Midori AquaPAD sold, instead of the more likely case of Microsoft being paid per-cpu whether it includes WinCE or not.

    Anyone know for sure?

  • I could see how the AquaPad might make a nice in-car GPS (Global Positioning System) platform. Laptops are unwieldy in cars, and the screen displays on most GPS units are too small.

    Hey...I'ld be glad to port my open source, java-based GPS access library and demo programs to the AquaPad (avail for d/l at GPS Java Library [chaeron.com])....IF they send me a loaner AquaPad to port and test on! ;-)

    I find these announcements more interesting when taken in concert (ie. AquaPad, Sharp Zaurus, etc.) as an indication of where technology is evolving towards, rather than as the coming of the holy grail of new machines.

  • I've drooled at the idea of tablet PCs. They would fit right in with my idea of a networked home.

    Readers here will know that I want to stream media (uncompressed audio and at least MP@ML MPEG2 video) from a central server a the headend to entertainment devices throught the home with quiet (i.e. fanless, diskless) set top-box style client boxes. The issue becomes: how to control everything.

    The Web browser has become a rather useful and ubiquitous interface, espescially with the advent of MIME and plug-in technology. You just go the the appropriate site and get what you want. One can imagine controlling home entertainment devices and requesting streamed content this way. But, where do you put the browser display?

    On the TV? It's of klunky to have to turn on the TV to stream some music. Do you really want a browser window on the same screen on which you're watching a movie? O.K., so we add another screen, say an LCD panel, nice and flat, for that display. Great, now you have to squint across the room at your browser. Spend the bucks on a big enough plasma display and once again, you've integrated the control display with the content display. Double plus uncool. What you (well, I) want is a high-resolution (compared to broadcast TV, 800x600 is fine, but 1024x768 would be better), separate display, that is unobtrusive. A tablet PC on the coffee table fits the bill nicely.

    There are some technical issues to work out: when you stream content you probably want it to go to the big-ass TV screen and big honkin' Dolby Digital 5.1 speaker system, and not the small display and speaker in the tablet PC (though that should be an option, for previews, or quiet viewing). But, that doesn't strike me as something that can't be handled with some kind of selective proxy in a room (that splits off the right kind of content for local processing rather than send it to the tablet PC).

    Of course, the tablet PC now doubles as a convenient Web Pad, letting you surf the net without having to tie up the entertainment devices, perhaps even while watching a movie, or listening to music (perhaps you want to order more pizza). The unit is going to be expensive no matter what, so it should be functional. And this leads to a weakness in all such devices.

    You really, really, do want some convenient means for data entry, like the ability to fire off a short email, or response. It doesn't have to be designed for hours of continuous use, but it should not be so difficult as to make one want to leave the room to send that two line email, or order that pizza, using a "real" computer instead. A slide down or even an unfolding keyboard would be nice, but not a clamshell design: you want to lay the thing flat on a coffee table and still be able to glance at the display and pick it up and use it "like a remote" on a moment's notice -- no fumbling to open a clamshell just to see a display or hit a few buttons on the touch-screen.

    So, such a unit needs two things: (a) easy (though not for long periods of time) keyboard data entry, and (b) a fast enough data link to support content-rich browsing in it's own right.

    Make that, and I might just spend $1000 for one.

  • Midori powered. I was expecting the French green liquor advertised as "the feminine way to puke" by a magazine ad showing a woman puking all over a guy in a tux.

    Just as well I guess.
  • wow, a webserver listed on slashdot.org with only 16mb of ram? ouch.

    Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 16777216 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 50001 bytes) in /usr/www/users/ruined/aquapad/modules/NS-User/pass word.php on line 81

    Chris Lee
    lee@mediawaveonline.com

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