Web Tablets - Wireless Web Browsers? 44
Polaris writes "Article
in PCWorld
about web tablets, which are wireless handheld PCs,
about the size of a thick magazine with touchpad color
LCDs. Cyrix and Anigma are said to be releasing soon.
Although they both run WinCE, the Cyrix one is apparently
capable of running other os's." One of those puppies running
Linux would rule. Are tablets the future of computers? Maybe
if laptops put the muscle in the screen half, used touch screen
LCDs, and made the keyboard detachable we'd have something interesting.
No Subject Given (Score:1)
surf, code, preview enlightenment themes, etc all
in the cosy comfort of your favorite exported linux desktop.
Whoo! Sounds like an excellent kit!
I have a bit similar thing - Palmpilot+ricochet... (Score:1)
...hanging on my belt (BTW, how one is supposed to carry that large and quite fragile thing? In a briefcase? under the arm? In the hand like a big clipboard? Even similar-looking things in Star Trek seem to be handled like big paper files are handled now, but those people have poor imagination anyway) and the most annoying problem is not a screen size or color (get rid of fluff, and everything fits nicely), not even a cable that connects PalmPilot with modem, or null modem/gender changer in it (fits nicely in the pocket), not even Metricom SE modem's antenna that sometimes refuses to stand upright, and not even a direction, where Metricom's LCD is pointed (away from me, not at the top where it can be read without turning it or disconnecting from the belt). It's a battery life time. Since the thing on the belt is not limited by weight as much as handheld PalmPilot or that WebPad, I have attached a pack of 4 "C" batteries to the same belt, so now the time, PalmPilot can spend constantly reconnecting to Ricochet is greater than the time, I spend outside of home, and things kinda work. However while people are accustomed to various stuff with antennas hanging off someone's belt, an open Radio Shack pack with batteries looks really strange to them.
With something that can be carried in the hand things are worse, you can't take a notebook without its carrying case and go around -- the weight of batteries that will last any reasonable time will be too much. Sure, Windows CE devices and PalmPilots normally work reasonable time, but most of people don't have wireless modems working as often as the purpose of this device suggests, and screens of PalmPilot and even some Windows CE boxes use less energy than magazine-sized color display of WebPad. If the problem with batteries will be solved, there is still some concern about those things being too large and fragile -- my PalmPilot fell from my hands/table/... multiple times, and once I had to re-solder its LCD cable (PITA with tools, designed for a bit larger components). Palm III case seems to be better, but what works for its size won't be of much help with large device unless something very radical will be done, like Palm III-style titanium case with screen cover.
I think, it will be a good idea to make a nice and inexpensive wearable with glasses-based display (with projection, reflected by the glasses, not "Borg-style" huge optical thing or "screen on the stick"). Glasses are easy to handle, easy to protect from damage, and they can be attached to the box (that can be heavy if necessary) with a cable, or even by RF link. Too bad, all displays of that kind, I have seen are either insanely expensive, or too low-quality to be of any use.
Convincing Buisness the way to go (Score:1)
Just some encryption thoughts....
We have always struggled with ITAR, and
now the Wassanar...
My thought is that all of the moral and practical
arguments mean NOTHING. There are 2 things we have
to realize to get encryption used and available
everywhere.
1)the USA influences International Policy
look at it... The USA is constantly going
around and bullying other countries to comply
with us.
2) the USA bends for one thing only: Big Buisness
One fine example was seen yesterday in an article
I read. The USA is on its silly religious
"Drug War" yet at one of the boarder entry points
at the Mexican boarder, out of 1300 trucks that
go through DAILY only 10-14 are checked for drugs.
What does this say? no matter how much the
poloticians go on their tirades and religious
quests...they let big buisness walk.
Look at it...if they searched every truck...
each truck driver would be delayed by over an
hour (I figured it out on paper yesterday)
and that means big buisness who moves the product
is loosing money for that hour.
What am I saying? I am saying that if companies
outside the US push encryption tech...and make
SURE that good encryption is not only used
but becomes a PREREQUISITE for doing ANY buisness
then the USA will bend because the corps will
want it to bend.
To do that...companies like RSA have to majorly
push their products on Big Buisness...make them
cheap and secure and not a hassle to use
That is the key
Cyrix WebPAD (Score:1)
The Cyrix WebPAD could have many different configurations of hardware. Many of the configurations mentioned on this site are mentioned in this article [cyrix.com] at Cyrix. This baby can even support a harddrive if OEMs want to support it. It would be great to have my PC as a base for this thing. I'll start saving my money right now for when this comes out.
Perfect for the living room (Score:1)
cool, but not with linux (Score:1)
And as for the multiuser part.. Think of it as a profiling system for people using the tablet.
Oh no, not again!!! (Score:1)
Amen (Score:1)
Tablets = Star Trek (Score:1)
Could thin clients go tabletized?
Fun stuff
-Hoagie
CE != smaller NT (Score:1)
Microsoft is separately talking about an embedded version of NT, really designed for routers, thin servers, etc - no spec or dates on this yet, of course.
Worthless (Score:1)
Limitations are not features!
--Only a 500 foot wireless range. So it's good for reading on the john, but that's about it.
--Size of a thick magazine. Who wants that? That's how big my laptop is, and it does oh-so-much more.
--Color LCD. Well, for $500, its got to be some cheap-ass technology like dual-scan. A color WinCe device with its tiny screen cost up to a grand.
The current pilot keeps me in touch, and is useful for reading books etc. The Palm VII will provide wireless in a really useful way; easy and quick access to internet content and email. FYI, those interested in this should check out the video at ZDNet; there's a guy giving a demo of his Palm VII prerelease version.
cool, but not with linux (Score:1)
/.'s don't seem to understand that simple means not editing files in
Exactly--"Perfect for the living room" (Score:1)
1) Silent operation. You would be surprised what a relief it is not to have the grinding of the hard disk and the whine of the fan. (the eMate's backlight whines, but one could imagine that being fixed in a later version, had there been one.)
2) Instant on/"off". I'm in the middle of giving a dialog box the "OK" and something pressing calls me. I just close the lid. When I come back, I open it and I'm immediately in the same place I was. It made me more likely to use it when I didn't have much time, because there was no time-cost "waking it up", etc.
3) Much more "anywhere" than a laptop. You can curl up in whatever position and use it to read, etc. for "comfortable position use" the pen is a huge improvement over the mouse.
4) (don't know if this would hold true in a tablet) about ten hours to a battery charge.
One way I see the tablet being used is to cut down on junk printing. Sometimes when i'm at the computer and I'm tired I print what I'm reading so I can sit somewhere comfortable and read it in any position I want, or while walking the baby around, taking it in the car, etc.
I think once you have one of these, you'll be surprised at how much difference it makes to be able to sprawl on an easy chair with it in your lap at a comfortable angle, scrolling with the pen, as opposed to being forced to look at the monitor and clicking a mouse button or "page down" or whatever.
As for text input with a pen--in addition to handwriting recognition, there is also the 'fitaly' keypad (http://www.twsolutions.com/), something else that can make a lot more difference than you'd think. An optional and hot-pluggable keyboard would be a good thing, though.
This is exactly what I need. (Score:1)
I've even heard rumors Transmeta might be looking along these lines.
Plam III Runs Linux already (Score:1)
Of course, the Palm III connected orgamiser
already has a Linux port and almost a JVM
Roll on the new radio-link Palm !
Asmo
cool, but not with linux - must disagree (Score:1)
(And why multiuser? I'd bet that there are folks out there somewhere who have bookmarks that they don't want their moms/dads/wives/boyfriends/drinking buddies/house pets to see... )
JHP
Not quite there, yet (Score:1)
500 feet of portability doesn't do it. When these devices become truly portable by tapping into satellite or digital cellular networks, and when they become free of Wince (Go Palm! Go pMac!), and when screen and battery technologies improve further, then we'll have arrived.
Read Being Digital by Nick Negroponte.
higg
cool, but not with linux (Score:1)
Old News (Score:1)
If they can get this stuff down to the profile of a letter sized notebook, get the screen dpi somewhere aproaching the even half the dpi of lasterjet output, and make it all seemlessly integrate with the network it would revolutionize the way we use computers.
Wouldn't do much for me at home, other than allow me to browse easily on the couch. But imagine the corporate application. Bring your wireless PC to the meeting with you. All your notes are in the PC. Someone wants to see your presentation? Zap it to their wireless PC. No more printing. Hurrah!
-josh
Piece of junk (Score:1)
I've never been patient enough to teach it my writing, or to learn the special characters for the non-letter keys.
No Subject Given (Score:1)
Looking for an equivalent product? (Score:1)
You guys keep saying "that'd be nice to put linux on it when it comes out" but there are already several products that are touchscreen laptops. Most with attached keyboards, one or two without. Here are two of them:
- Fujitsu Biblio MC8 [jpd.com] - touchscreen laptop (2.6 lbs, P200-233)
- Panasonic CF01 [panasonic.com] - touchscreen notepad, external keyboard (2.2 lbs, Am586-133)
There are more, but these are the ones I could find easily.Additionally, wireless networking is starting to be cheaply available (albeit a short range of ~150 feet indoors) - Diamond HomeFree [diamondmm.com] costs only about $100-$150 a node. CHEAP compared to previously available wireless network cards! NOTE: Proxim [proxim.com] is offering a product (Symphony [proxim.com]) hat has identical specs. I'm not sure whose product is whose here. I suspect that proxim is the mfg, and diamond is OEM'ing it.