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Manufacturers Exploring Intel Atom-Based Designs
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I'm holding out until these small computers are offered in a suppository form. Then I wont need a case.
1. Ugly
2. the reason it would be too small is because people are thinking of running "current apps". the problem with current apps are check boxes, buttons, and links get shrunk down making them too small to acurately click unless you have a stylis. You would need specialized apps for proper functionality (or like the iphone where you can pinch/expand the viewing area, then you got the scroll around the screen issue.
technology is just not there yet, niether are companies providing the applications - but we are closer than ever before to making a good mainstream hand held computer. I think in about 2-3 year we could see some amazing things.
they already make hard drive the size of a postage stamp (now we just need one that is 1tb - if it is not already available).
2. the reason it would be too small is because people are thinking of running "current apps". the problem with current apps are check boxes, buttons, and links get shrunk down making them too small to acurately click unless you have a stylis. You would need specialized apps for proper functionality (or like the iphone where you can pinch/expand the viewing area, then you got the scroll around the screen issue.
technology is just not there yet, niether are companies providing the applications - but we are closer than ever before to making a good mainstream hand held computer. I think in about 2-3 year we could see some amazing things.
they already make hard drive the size of a postage stamp (now we just need one that is 1tb - if it is not already available).
Is that suppose to be insulting?
All I need is something to send emails. What else is there to do on a computer? Nothing much, unless it is work related.
iPod is a great little device, with basic internet functions. Problem is, Apple didn't make it an independent product. These rumors about a tablet are not looking good.
Yeah, that thing looks horrid. It looks like something featured in a 70's sci-fi that a hardcore fan recreated.
I have no idea if there's a market for it or not, but I'm not one of the buyers.
@punkybadhip: I love your username. =)
I have no idea if there's a market for it or not, but I'm not one of the buyers.
@punkybadhip: I love your username. =)
Apple take a 30% cut (or there abouts) on everything that is sold on iTunes. Sure they've got overheads - staff, servers, bandwidth, gift voucher commission, card processing and so on but I can't see that taking up the entire 30%. Even if it all accounts for 25% of sale price, that sill leaves them 5% which is a lot of money when you consider the sales volume.
I can see the App Store being a really big in years to come, easily becoming more important than the music / video side of iTunes. Given the success, it won't be long before the they start selling Mac apps as well and then it will hit the big time. It will mean a nice, quick, simple way of buying and installing apps and upgrading them. Plus it should in theory make for better quality apps as Apple will have some level of control over them.
You're over-thinking it. Any device they make today is limited by input methods, output methods and storage. Processing power is a secondary concern as it's already "there" - it's not the limiting factor.
The iPhone/Touch size is good enough for some pointing and clicking, but the keyboard is unusable. Any device that size will have an unusable keyboard. This is not Apple's fault, nor can Apple do anything about it.
To have a decent sized keyboard, you can go a little smaller than a Macbook keyboard, but not much. A 8" width is the least that would be comfortable for nomal-sized hands. That goes with an 9-10" screen. Anything below it might as well be an iPhone as far as size is concerned, because it won't have a comfortable keyboard.
As I google, everyone and their brother is jumping on the ulta-mobile and small touch/tablet with some type of real or virtual keyboard. I say Apple and Axiotron nned to get their heads together, work together and come up with something other than what we got now. an iphone/touch-ipod or a modbook.
we need a touch-ipod/modbook combination that would work for the masses.
me on the other hand, who does real programming and database support - I do not see myself moving from the 19-inch screen. a 12-13 inch on a laptop is the smallest I could stand for my line of work.
For my home use or doing presentations on the other hand, I say yep - this is what I need...
Funny, I just bought the wife a mini (retired the 3 year old HP AMD athalon 64 tower). Man, her little tiny computer desk is clean and she can do her school work on it without having to run between the kitchen table and the computer. plus she can now leave her books out, rather than have to move everything aside a dinner time.
She is loving it.... And it does not crash on her either.
side note, applying the 10.5.4 combo update was a pain. it would not update correctly through software update, I had to download it from apple's support website and load it manually....
we need a touch-ipod/modbook combination that would work for the masses.
me on the other hand, who does real programming and database support - I do not see myself moving from the 19-inch screen. a 12-13 inch on a laptop is the smallest I could stand for my line of work.
For my home use or doing presentations on the other hand, I say yep - this is what I need...
Funny, I just bought the wife a mini (retired the 3 year old HP AMD athalon 64 tower). Man, her little tiny computer desk is clean and she can do her school work on it without having to run between the kitchen table and the computer. plus she can now leave her books out, rather than have to move everything aside a dinner time.
She is loving it.... And it does not crash on her either.
side note, applying the 10.5.4 combo update was a pain. it would not update correctly through software update, I had to download it from apple's support website and load it manually....
Is that suppose to be insulting?
All I need is something to send emails. What else is there to do on a computer? Nothing much, unless it is work related.
iPod is a great little device, with basic internet functions. Problem is, Apple didn't make it an independent product. These rumors about a tablet are not looking good.
LOL.
Go ahead and get the PS3. Since you haven't figured out "what else there is to do on a computer besides e-mail", you're better off just spending your time playing MGS4.
Toshiba isn't stupid in saying it's not viable because it's too small.
It's because they don't write software or have any control over that, you know, kind of important part of the computer.
For them, it's using a shrunk and incredibly difficult-to-read Vista or no product at all.
It's because they don't write software or have any control over that, you know, kind of important part of the computer.
For them, it's using a shrunk and incredibly difficult-to-read Vista or no product at all.
oh yeah! I can't wait for AAPL to clean up shop with a super sexy super thin UMPC.
Huge beautiful screen + extensive Multi-touch library.
Something I can edit my documents, financial info (quicken,iBank, etc) and surf the web.
++ for bootcamp ability ( for Visual studio)
Room for a playlist or two and maybe even a Movie or so would be icing on the cake.
Tether to my iPhone when I'm out of wifi's reach and we're in business.
mmmHMMM. I'd buy this in hurry.
Huge beautiful screen + extensive Multi-touch library.
Something I can edit my documents, financial info (quicken,iBank, etc) and surf the web.
++ for bootcamp ability ( for Visual studio)
Room for a playlist or two and maybe even a Movie or so would be icing on the cake.
Tether to my iPhone when I'm out of wifi's reach and we're in business.
mmmHMMM. I'd buy this in hurry.
It should be small. 5-inch or so. We want it in our pocket. Like the
OQO model e2
http://www.oqo.com
But with true Mac OS X inside, FireWire, Ethernet, wired and wireless video out. The ultimate Keynote and PowerPoint presentation remote for full NATIVE files. We just need thousands for our University.
OQO model e2
http://www.oqo.com
But with true Mac OS X inside, FireWire, Ethernet, wired and wireless video out. The ultimate Keynote and PowerPoint presentation remote for full NATIVE files. We just need thousands for our University.
You hit the nail on the head
LOL - yeah, I've gotten pretty quick with typing with my thumbs on my palm and blackberry type keyboards. But I would not want to do that all day...
My dell xps m1210's keyboard is 11-inches wide. you might be able to shrink it down a little more with making the keys a little smaller, but I woulds not go as small as the function keys across the top (maybe a little wider and sturdy feeling - the function keys are just barely the size of my finger tips and feel flimsy).
But like you said... From the ESC to the F12 is 8 1/4'' so yep. if it were to have a "usable keyboard" about 9 inches is the smallest we could get.
although I like Apple's aluminum keyboard and the macbook keyboard - nice and quiet and it is hard to get dust and crumbs in it (ok I am one who eats at my desk).
why is it all these companies think that typing is not important anymore????
Lets put every character of every alphabet in the world in a jpg and use drag/drop to write our letter's documents, etc. now that would be fustrating.....You wouldn't be writing lines of code with it.
but for regular maintenance programming combined with intellisense. why not?
once you've become accustomed to the tools then you could possibly move at a decent pace.
People bitch about the keyboard on the iPhone. Honestly I love it. An enhanced version and maybe the possibility of customizable buttons for an Apple UMPC would be fantastic.
hoping for something similar to this
On a "standard" keyboard the spacing between keys is usually about 18 to 19 mm, measured horizontally, center to center; and maybe 18 to 21 mm, measured vertically. Many of the so-called "netbooks" coming on the market are around 17 to 17.5 mm spacing, which isn't bad for most touch typists unless they have wider than normal fingers. Reduce the spacing below about 16.7 mm, or drop it down to something like 15 mm, and touch typing starts to become a problem for anyone with fingers of average width.
LOL - agree with you there..... I remember when our whole internal network went out and a guy I work with had to support a linux server through VPN and a terminal emulator on his blackberry......
Picture long command lines on a vpn app that only used abut 1/2 the blackberry screen and then reading what those lines returned. with no way to zoom or enlarge the window.....
