Crusoe To Power Microsoft-Based Tablet PC 187
buzzini writes: "Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft's upcoming Tablet PC will be powered by the Crusoe chip. An announcement is expected tomorrow during a BillG speech at WinHEC." According to the article, "the development versions of the Tablet PCs will likely follow a hardware outline given at Comdex. Aside from the Transmeta chips, they will likely include 128MB of RAM, a 10GB hard drive, a docking cradle, a USB (universal serial bus) keyboard and mouse, along with built-in local-area networking based on the 802.11." Wireless webpads will rock -- hope they're here before 2000! OK, before the new millenium. Well, errr ...
My Goodness (Score:5)
DanH
Cav Pilot's Reference Page [cavalrypilot.com]
Wireless tablets will rock (Score:2)
Linus working for Bill (Score:1)
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More Information (Score:5)
The software for these devices is also very interesting. You can handwrite notes, and the software can spell-check, in handwriting! Also, you can doodle pictures, which are then automatically converted to images, which can them be resized and placed elsewhere. If you happen to be reading a book, you can drag the text down to create blank space in order to write your own personal notes. When you walk into your home (assuming you have wireless access on your PC as well), your documents and settings are syncronized with your desktop PC automatically; no having to put the Tablet in a cradle and manually run a program. It all just 'happens.' This is also part of the
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-- russ
"You want people to think logically? ACK! Turn in your UID, you traitor!"
Hrm.. (Score:1)
Makes no sense. (Score:3)
Original Newton? (Score:1)
why is pen more natural? (Score:5)
And forget the writing. Information should be entered into a computer directly with a thought. Evaluating the thought context is what they should concentrate on.
Good Idea! (Score:2)
I'm glad to see the Crusoe finally getting used in some devices. It's been available for months now, and this is the first major product I've seen it in. A web tablet or other sub-laptop device will work just perfectly with the Crusoe processor.
The Crusoe isn't nearly powerful enough to suffice for most notebook users, as users are looking for a device that can handle professional applications like MS Office and StarOffice, and most users will also be playing limited games. The Crusoe simply is not powerful enough to meet the processing demands of the latest games and business software, but it should be ideally suited to a web tablet device, that will be used primarailly for web surfing and light text editing.
Cheers to Microsoft for pioneering the Tablet PC, and choosing Transmeta to power the device.
You mean Pigassus? (Score:1)
I wonder if they'll be able to run Linux. (Score:2)
Sweet... (Score:1)
Pricing (Score:1)
So ... (Score:1)
Re:My Goodness (Score:1)
Great idea. (Score:1)
The spec sounds reasonable, the components exist to have small current requirements, and a long battery life.
No need to wonder which o/s will be running on this baby.. I don't care - I will still want one.
A mystery? (Score:3)
The brethren of Slashdot joining together to praise Microsoft?
The end is nigh.
familiarity (Score:1)
Re:Makes no sense. (Score:1)
proprietary OS tied to limited useability. If I buy a tablet PC, it better damn well run whatever *I* want it to, up to and including Linux, games, office suite, whatever. Today it's a web server, tomorrow, my newspaper, next day it's my gamepad while I'm in the crapper.
This just in: Simplicity shouldn't be bundled in with limitations. Keep it simple but keep it open. Let the masses find their own uses for the device.
sheesh. It's like buying a car that only drives on one freeway.
3C
Re:Once again... (Score:1)
I guess I was behind. (Score:1)
Transmeta's official Crusoe web site [transmeta.com]
ZDNet > Reviews > Hardware > Crusoe [zdnet.com]
Apparently the chip delivers as you would expect any chip to, but it runs cooler. That alone is advantageous in several ways. I'm never the first to jump on the bandwagon, but I'm not the last either. I hope this thing really takes off...
ignorant (Score:2)
Re:Once again... (Score:1)
Um no. Only Judge Jackson found that Microsoft is a monopoly. Judge Jackosn is a District Court Judge (the lowest Federal Court).
And yet, Transmeta is aiding Microsoft in their quest to dominate the planet
Maybe Transmeta is a small company that sees a great opportunity to sell their chips to the LARGEST software ocmpany in the world? If they didnt persue this opportunity, they would be sued by every single one of their shareholders.. dont forget, they are in the business to make money!
Re:Good Idea! (Score:1)
Remember what it was like back in the glory days of, say, pII-233? More than fast enough for office. Limited games, yes, but will be held back by lack of input device, and graphic adapter. A crusoe powered desktop and a GF2\kyro2 would be well powerful enough for the 95% of games available out there..
Re:Makes no sense. (Score:2)
Re:More Information (Score:1)
In all seriousness I think its very cool tech (love my Newton and would probably love one of these too) but I wonder how they'll do mass market wise. They won't be any cheaper than a laptop (prob more expensive due to the touch screens) without too much added benefit.
The Bastard.
Does that mean? (Score:1)
Re:why is pen more natural? (Score:2)
Microsoft's making computers... (Score:3)
It used to be that everybody was Microsoft's friend, back when MS was an OS-and-tools company. It didn't matter that they controlled the OS, because everybody was making money with the growth of the PC. Then MS moved into the applications area, and suddenly, companies like Lotus and Corel (and Netscape!) were history.
All along, the PC manufacturers were happy with MS's domination, because it made life easy and profitable to them. Why bother installing other OS's or applications, as long as they could keep moving boxes?
I wonder how Michael Dell feels now, with MS poking its tentacles in his direction?
All Your Torvalds Are Belong To MS (Score:2)
hehe... karmma to spare. Do your worst.
Get yourself an ePods Instead (Score:2)
Not only that... (Score:4)
Re:why is pen more natural? (Score:2)
Wireless Tablets (Score:1)
These things aren't cheap, but they are pretty neat. Don't know about linux on it yet, but maybe in the future.
Re:All Your Torvalds Are Belong To MS (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft + Consumer Electronics == Chapter 11 (Score:2)
PDA's didn't make a dime for anyone until the Palm. Of corse I already have a nice 802.11 laptop, so I'm not going to buy this unless it is dirt cheep and can run my OS of choice.
Just because nobody else has made that market niche pay off doesn't mean MS can't. It also doesn't mean they can.
I hate to break this to you, but there are lots and lots of places that do go for WinNT or 2000 on servers. Maybe they are insane. Maybe NT/2000 really is better for their task (probably because MS has kept the protocol closed). Maybe both.
Learning Curve (Score:1)
A pen is NOT more natural (Score:2)
Remember Go, Eo, General Magic, Grid, Windows for Pens / Winpad, Compaq Concerto, and various WinCE flavors? All crashed and burned. I don't see why this will be any different.
Re:More Information (Score:1)
IMO, this is especially bad if the software will be juggling your "personal information" back and forth (including Wallet) as often and as automaticly as this information susggests.
Makes perfect sense. (Score:1)
I absolutely love the idea. It bridges the gap between PDAs and notebooks far better than sub-notebooks like Toshiba Libretto or Sony Vaio C1.
We're not scare-mongering/This is really happening - Radiohead
Re:Microsoft + Consumer Electronics == Chapter 11 (Score:1)
Re:More Information (Score:1)
Unfortunately, I don't have broadband at home. But if I did, I could do the same in a couple ways today.
In KDE:
Click on "home PC" icon.
Click on document to edit.
Anywhere:
"telnet myhomePC"
"emacs mydoc"
Re:Good Idea! (Score:1)
I have a Sony Picturebook with a 600 MHz Crusoe for months now. I must say, it simply rocks. The thing has a 1024x480 wide screen (perfect for two xterms next to each other), 12 GB HD and 128 MB RAM. Although webpads are a great idea, I just love having a keyboard standard attached to this device.
I run Win2k on it because of the (partly offline) strength of IE and the power management support. But FreeBSD ran on it too (a make world of FreeBSD 4.2-STABLE took only about 4 hours, which doesn't disappoint me at all).
Most DiVX movies I've encountered run great on this little gadget. Only when the highest bitrates were used for encoding, playing is problematic. You should see the faces on the people on the train when I'm watching a movie on my picturebook. I didn't know people could actually physically turn green from jalouzy.. ;-)
It's hard to give an exact performance indication of the processor, since it's performance increases over time as it caches the optimized VLIW (very long intruction words) into the 16 MB of RAM it uses for that purpose. It's for sure a lot faster than my K6-300 which doesn't play DiVX at all. Some benchmarks have shown the Crusoe 600 to be about comparable to a Celeron 533.
When plugged into the network at home (most of the time) I run an X-server to my FreeBSD box so I can have the joys of UNIX (I like Windows/IE for movie/sound media and browsing, but everything else, incl. mail, I do in UNIX).
There's one drawback to this baby: the price. Other than that it's simply perfect for my needs.
O yeah, battery life is about two hours on full usage. But bear in mind the battery is small. This things weighs 1 kilo including the battery! The extended battery doubles uptime.
Rogier
Re:Exploding head! (Score:1)
Frontpath (Score:2)
On the other hand, the people there from Frontpath said that at the moment they are concentrating more on B2B deals - many businesses want to use it for things like taking inverntory, medial purposes, etc. Whether or not this will catch on with the general public remains to be seen... but with all the places that have wavelans set up, it might soon be possible to surf anywhere, anytime
Re:why is pen more natural? (Score:1)
If it was not for writing, mankind would still be an animal today.
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Sig
abbr.
Re:Good Idea! (Score:1)
z
Re:More Information (Score:2)
Re:More Information (Score:1)
Yes Apple invented everything.
Microsoft has been doing this pen based/table evangelizing for many, many years. With Windows 3.1 they had all sorts of pen/table APIs written and they tried to push it. I remember PC magazine announcing the death of normal laptops and PCs...albeit a decade or so too early.
Re:I wonder... (Score:1)
Re:Microsoft + Consumer Electronics == Chapter 11 (Score:1)
Besides -- even if it is running Windows Table Edition -- using one of these things would be pretty cool... (Me in my Crocodile Dundee voice to Palm user: "PDA? That's not a PDA! THIS is a PDA!")
Re:ignorant (Score:1)
You probably also think carseats are 'lame' because they aren't as comfortable as your couch at home?
But what about... (Score:1)
. . .
Just enough memory & HD space... (Score:1)
Re:Once again... (Score:1)
Somebody flunked their high school citizenship course...
Let's see if I can't walk you through this: Above the highest state courts (such as the Florida Supreme Court or the Maryland Court of Appeals) is the lowest federal court, called the U. S. District Court. This is where Microsoft has been found guilty of violating anti-trust laws.
So, they appealed the finding, and they are now appearing in the next step of the ladder, the U. S. Court of Appeals. Only after they're done here and need to appeal again does the case appear before the U. S. Supreme Court (maybe).
Yes put the archival must not be written (Score:1)
As for the input method: it's all a matter of training. This weekend I had the occasion of trying a pen as input device (my uncle is an artist and well, you know Mac + Pen-Input is his thing). Honestly: he had to explain it to me how to use it (the pad is the monitor...), I still wanted to use it as a mouse. For me it was very difficult....I still did the movements I was used from using a mouse which is clearly not the idea.
Oh, and to end in beauty with a quote (contradicting yours, sorry):
"For millions of years mankind lived just like animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk. -- Pink Floyd / Division Bell / Keep Talking
Re:familiarity (Score:3)
Wha...?
That doesn't even make sense - you learned the alphabet, right? You are too lazy to learn a second? Actually, the Palm's glyphs are relatively easy to adapt to, from what little I have played with them. I would personally buy a Palm and fully learn it, if I had a real world use for one (actually, I am beginning to think I do, what with all the information I keep, etc).
Give it a chance, and don't be so lazy...
Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!
Re:Good Idea! (Score:1)
So, if your testcase consists of a lot of things, each of which is only tested once (the usual case for benchmarks), the results are not flattening.
On the other hand, if you also test repeating things (as in the normal world: like watching DiVX and other things with lots of repeating instrucions), things look a lot better.
Hope they're here before 2000? (Score:1)
2000? We going retro these days?
Seriously though, what's the pricing on these tablets going to be? I have a feeling it's going to be caught in a nasty place between palm-tops and laptops.
Oh and let's not forget battery life.
Re:All Your Torvalds Are Belong To MS (Score:1)
Re:Good Idea! (Score:1)
Pen Computing (Score:3)
Pen computers running Windows are used primarily in vertical markets such as utilities, insurance, health care, transportation, government, and sales force automation. Unbeknownst to the general public, there are dozens of different pen computers available from companies such as Telxon, Symbol Technologies, Fujitsu PC, Fujitsu-ICL, MicroSlate, WalkAbout, Xplore, Melard, Panasonic, Intermec , Itronix (now including Husky), and others. Pen computers come as tablets, clamshells, and slates in many different sizes, configurations, and degrees of ruggedness.
Check out the link for lotsa info and lotsa links.
I wonder about visio (Score:3)
I also see a future for this type of thing in the medical field as long as the security is not by M$FT...
Re:ignorant (Score:2)
Actually it is lame if you use Windows, too many dialog boxes don't fit on the screen, and you need (as far as I know) 3rd party software to let you drag (some of) them so you can fill 'em out!
Oddly enough, under Unix way fewer things didn't fit, and virtual desktops took care of the not fitting problem (plus the window manager can be instructed to let you drag any non-override redirect window anyway).
The larger Viao 505PCG-JS was far more usable, and didn't weigh much different (it did cost a lot different though). The even larger and heftier PowerBook G3 works out even better for me, but YMMV, esp if you want a built in video cam.
Note: this was with the older Intel powered version, and I assume a older version of Windows. The new CPU won't change any of this, a newer Windows may.
Re:More Information (Score:1)
You're right about MS and their fettish for a pen based computer. I remember some of the first incarnations on WinCE: the tablets. I think it was an HP design that included a keyboard and a screen that you could flip around. For a "tablet/web pad" I thought it was the best of both worlds. You could write on the screen AND type and the form factor was fairly light. Good idea, crap sales. The trade off seems to be pay almost the same as a laptop for less functionality, or pay a crap load more for equivalent functionality.
The Bastard.
Re:why is pen more natural? (Score:2)
Don't confuse unnatural with unique. Writing is perfectly natural, and we are the only species on the planet (AFAIK/as far as we can tell so far) that communicates using written language. How is writing unnatural when it is the product of nothing but purely biological thought processes? (Yes, yes, apologies to those that believe that humankind was endowed with the ability to write by monolith/aliens/divine providence/etc.)
In regard to whether a keyboard or pen is more "natural" for writing, consider this:
Information should be entered into a computer directly with a thought. Evaluating the thought context is what they should concentrate on.
Pssh. We shouldn't even need to enter information into computers; they should be able to do it themselves, thanks to amazingly powerful AI routines. But then again, that isn't even close to reality yet, nor are thought-controlled computers.
Re:Once again... (Score:1)
Re:Microsoft's making computers... (Score:2)
If you are talking about WordPerfect, it had already lost against Word long before Corel bought it (remember Corel was the third owner of WordPerfect). Corel also wasted a lot of money trying to rewrite WordPerfect in Java.
Netscape made the same mistake, trying to rewrite Navigator in Java instead of competing with IE.
Come to think of it, you could probably make the case that Sun had more to do with Corel and Netscape's problems than Microsoft, at least indirectly.
Re:Good Idea! (Score:1)
Re:My Goodness (Score:1)
Another step to control the home.... (Score:5)
Step 1 - The XBox. This is a box that will sit in your house, connect up to your internet connection (broadband) and aslo have the side benifit of running games and DVDs. It Will act as the "Computer furnace" for the rest of the devices (coming soon)
Step 2 - The Webpad. You have these screens (Of various sizes and color depth, just watch you'll see all sizes dorn to a cheap 160X160 B/W model) that connect up wirelessly to your information furnace (Step 1) and give you neat-o keen connectivity from anywhere within range.
Step 3 - Terminal Services. As the limitations of the webpad become apparent, Microsoft starts to roll out the ability to use your "Information Furnace" as a Terminal Server. You have all the applications on all your webpads updated at once. No fuss no muss. This is accepted because of:
Step 4 - Application Subscription. The cost for this will be ongoing because the new software will be subscription based. You won't even need to administer your furnace, because the subscription includes monthly maintenance of your furnace. Of course, with persistant internet connectivity, they will always have complete access over all the Microsoft computers on your home network.
This is how Microsoft will get complete control of the home computer arena. They don't tell you to bend all the way over all at once. First, you lean a little, then a little more. Pretty soon you are completely bent over and you don't even know it.
Of course, I could be wrong.
-Joe
Re:Good Idea! (Score:2)
Apologies to CowboyNeal for that one.
Re:ignorant (Score:2)
This thing long pre-dates Win2K. It might have had Win95 on it, but I think it was Win98. It was a very very old PictureBook, maybe bought within a month of release (it is actually broken now). I didn't use KDE on Unix (I havn't ever really used it or GNOME), I ran FVWM2 on it, and some xterms mostly (gcc, gdb, nvi...), and netscape and a few other things. Maybe that isn't all that fair, but that's all I needed :-)
I think most of the windows dialogs fit, but 3rd party ones (maybe the SecureCRT host set up?) didn't allways. I seem to recall at least one MSIE box not fitting though. It was two+ years ago though, so I don't 100% recall.
Re:why is pen more natural? (Score:2)
Re:1P baby (Score:2)
Microsoft is such a powerfull company because they leverage their monopoly power to eliminate competition. IMHO
LoB
Re:Not only that... (Score:2)
Can he do that? Doesn't this create a potential violation of the GPL, if (for example) he lays his eyes on some proprietary bit of WinXP? Would he have to hand off the Linux kernel to Alan Cox until the non-disclosure with Microsoft runs out?
ObJectBridge [sourceforge.net] (GPL'd Java ODMG) needs volunteers.
but MS can't build a handheld GUI (Score:4)
What a horribly mangled interface. There's no easy way to switch between applications without quitting back to the main menu and getting a list of all the applications. There's no way to just close the app you're working with, you again have to go out to the main menu and pull up a list of running programs.
Many of the applications written for the "Pocket PC" or WinCE platforms don't deal well with the screen shape and dimensions.... sometimes you're running an app, but you can't pull up the keyboard, and since there's no area set aside for the "scribbling," you're screwed unless you can access the menu to pull it up.
Basically, the PocketPC isn't 1/100th as elegant as the Palm, and I'm completely frustrated every time I pick the thing up. They're basically trying to cram the Windows95 interface into a 2"x3" screen, and it's just not possible, or even worthwhile to try.
Yes, I realize that they're talking about using XP on these tablets, but if they can't get WinCE right in 6 years, my hopes aren't very high.
More info - Re:Pen Computing (Score:2)
Re:Makes perfect sense. (Score:2)
It sounds like TabletPC is basically the same thing with even better ergonomics. It's going to be interesting to see if I feel like trading my C1 for one of them.
Set your resolution to 1024x768... (Score:2)
In short, RTFM before flaming the PCG-C1VN. It's easily the coolest toy I've run across in the last 5 or 6 years. If it helps, don't think of it as a PC with a small screen -- think of it as a PDA with a huge screen.
Re:Microsoft + Consumer Electronics == Chapter 11 (Score:2)
Nothing kills quicker than believing your own press.
Re:Good for Slashdot (Score:2)
Re:Too Much Power ("nobody needs that much X") (Score:2)
Eh?
Not that a less-endowed web pad would not also be cool (the Epod is a cool one), but I dunno
But whatever it ends up being used for, you sound anxious to limit its options -- why?! A webpad might end up being the guts of a wearable, a remote data station, a giant remote control, home automation doodad, e-book, portable knowledge base, whatever. It's like "640kb ought to be enough for anybody"
And re: "a full desktop OS" being insanity, well, it depends what constitutes "full" and "desktop" -- certainly I'd like the OS to be appropriate to the device, but in a device with a moderately powerful x86, memory, and a nice screen, why cripple it with a weak OS? There are small Linux distros all over, and 128MB isn't too slouchy. Not huge (anymore) but not bad, and plenty to play with.
timothy
Re:Microsoft + Consumer Electronics == Chapter 11 (Score:2)
Re:Another step to control the home.... (Score:2)
Not entirely true. I'm working on a terminal server with 24 bit color right now... Of course, it's running Citrix On top of NT4 Terminal Server Edition... It works with Win2K too.
But that's OK. No sense in letting a little fact get in the way of bashing my paranoia.
Whoever said taking over the world was going to be cheap?
-Joe
Re:My Goodness (Score:2)
Have you forgotten that Paul Allen has money invested in Transmeta?
Re:All Your Torvalds Are Belong To MS (Score:2)
The the GPL finally gets it's day in court, and is defeated
Or at the very least the programmer who does it gets fired. There probably aren't criminal penalties, but perhaps a civil suit. Picture forfeiting assets and having your wages garnished for a very, very long time.
OTOH, you could just as easily blame the management for not having some kind of policy in place for the use of 3rd party code. If I were in charge of the team you could be d#%@ sure that any programmer working under me is going to run 3rd party code by legal before we use it.
Re:My Goodness (Score:3)
First of all, my superiors and I have agreed that if possible, I will not be working on this project. If unexpectedly it should be necessary that I work on the project, there will first be checked thoroughly what private knowledge about any Microsoft software I will get by working on it. If this information is or might be taken in any way as being competative with Linux, I will not be put on the job.
In practice, I think -- but IANAL :) -- any knowledge about XP is competative with Linux, therefore chances that I will personally work on the project are small.
Hoping to have assured you all, I will continue coding on my Crusoe powered Vaio.. :)
-- Linus
Re:Another step to control the home.... (Score:2)
what if step #1 contains something that automatically reads who you are and starts doing whatever... I am scared they are really going to take over the world...
Control us through our video game console! Ha, preposterous.. Maybe not...
You will be assimilated..
software availability isn't at issue. (Score:2)
Re:familiarity (Score:2)
What would actually be pretty fast would be some sort of dataglove (or maybe a video digitization system) and use a form of signing. ASL would be a pretty neat way to do input on a computer, if the computer could be taught and it could recognize the patterns fast enough. This would be easiest with the dataglove system, rather than the video capture system.
I am not sure if it would be faster than typing, though. Perhaps a new kind of keyboard needs to be developed - think of a chorded keyboard system, but using all of the keys on the keyboard, and both hands - perhaps that would be quicker (though I wonder if increased RSI would result as well). We already know the chord for "reboot" - who says other chords couldn't be devised as well (in other words, more complex than other familiar multi key inputs that are already allowed)?
Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!
Who said it was more natural? (Score:2)
I'm sure down the road you will see these tablets using voice recognition, freeing one hand (at least).
And eventually, you won't hold the tablet at all, you'll wear it, and the interface will appear as though it's floating in, translucently, before you, but only when you want to see it.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Re:Good for Slashdot (Score:2)
Re:Another step to control the home.... (Score:3)
Don't forget:
Step 5 - Interactive Wallpaper. Sold by the square yard, the resolution is just good enough that you have to get close to see the pixelization. You run Active Wallpaper for a month, watching the 3-D clock bounce around, then convert to a simple tiled pattern for half a year, then a solid color again after a year - but hey, no repainting, ever!!! It even house-trains the puppy with little electro-shocks when it does wrong!
Of course, it's a real power hog. It now makes sense why Microsoft bought up all those generating plants on the west coast in 2003. Real hackers leave it black all the time or display tty1, and Wil Wright is a billionare, now that people use the Sims 4 to pick wallpaper patterns.
Re:Makes perfect sense. (Score:2)
It's possible to get used to the C1's keyboard, but it's more of a user-attitude adjustment than a practice-makes-perfect routine. Just keep asking yourself if you'd rather be using a Palm Pilot.
That's interesting... (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft + Consumer Electronics == Chapter 11 (Score:2)
I wasn't specific because it was a general point. It could be their Kerb5 extension. It could be Office2000 file formats (which I think of as protocols). Having their protocol closed makes their program no better at implementing it, but it makes all other programs worse because they have to work off of guesses and experiments. Their protocols are also (likely) to be worse then openly developed ones.
Where did you see me feeling sorry for them? Or rooting for them? I only said they might not fail. I didn't say if I wanted them to fail or not. I doubt this box makes a big difference, the Xbox is probably much more important to them. WindowsXP is way more important then either. I want all three to fail. However my desire for them to fail doesn't change their chances of failure.
I can want the webpad to fail, but that doesn't mean it will. If the only reason someone else says it will fail is all others in the niche have failed, I think it is a damn good idea to point out the flaw in that argument, even if I want the same thing they do.
I may want the Xbox to fail, but I have to admit that there seems to be a lot of people who are talking like they will buy it.
I may want WindowsXP to fail, but I have to admit it doesn't sound like they have screwed it up badly enough to lose out (they would be screwed if someone else had a "decent" offering that could run all the Win98 crud).
Nice to be mistaken for a snot-nosed kid. I assure you, I remember pre-microsoft. Or at least before they had an OS (they were cranking out BASIC interpreters for 8biters when I started).
Bet it runs in x86 emulation. (Score:2)
They have certainly never been able to port their OS to any other platform.
To those who say that M$ has never implemented an OS on the x86 either, I say "yeah, ain' dat da troof!"
Re:Good for Slashdot (Score:3)
Re:Another step to control the home.... (Score:2)
Let's see:
Step 1 - The IceBox. This is a box that will sit in your house, connect up to the power company (AC) and also have the side benifit of allowing you to eat "frozen dinners" and other foods that didn't exist before. It Will act as the "Electricity furnace" for the rest of the devices (coming soon)
Step 2 - The Radio.You have these speakers (Of various sizes and quality, just watch you'll see all sizes dorn to a cheap 3 inch model) that connect up wirelessly to an Electricity furnace (Step 1) and give you neat-o keen connectivity from anywhere within range.
Step 3 - More Appliances. As the limitations of the radio become apparent, General Electric starts to roll out the ability to use your "Electricity Furnace" as a means of pitching other devices (such as hair dryers and blenders). You have all the devices on your home power grid powered at once. No fuss no muss. This is accepted because of:
Step 4 - Electricity Bills. The cost for this will be ongoing because the power will be subscription based. You won't even need to administer your elecritity, because the subscription includes monthly maintenance of your furnace. Of course, with persistant electric connectivity, they will always have complete access over all the General Electric appliances on your home power grid.
This is how General Electric will get complete control of the home power arena. They don't tell you to bend all the way over all at once. First, you lean a little, then a little more. Pretty soon you are completely bent over and you don't even know it.
Of course, I could be wrong.