I've just read a /. article about TechCrunch looking into creating their own Tablet PC for $200. I just thought I'd throw my own 2¢ into the mix.
I've seen a lot of comments in both sites where the spec just seems to be getting bigger and more powerful as time passes, as I like to say "Keep it Simple, STUPID!"
Well lets first start with the design, since that's short and sweet. The mock-up, is almost perfect, only the camera, microphone & speakers require inclusion, of course it'll never look like that, but one can only dream.
Hardware
- ARM, VIA, Geode or equivalent CPU (400MHz+)
- 7"/9" LED Touch Screen (High Resolution would be ideal eg 1024x600)
- 256-512MB RAM
- 1-2GB SSD
- SD-HC Hidden Slot
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
- Bluetooth (It really is a must)
- 0.3-1.3 megapixel video camera
- Microphone (next to camera - it's no good at the back or side)
- Stereo Speakers
- 1-2 usb ports
- Headphone port (Mic port really not needed)
- No physical Keyboard or Mouse (It's a Tablet, ffs)
- Removable Battery? Preferably but it hasn't stopped Apple with iPod and iPhone, plus you have to think about the cost vs design
- Battery life around 3-4 Hrs
- Graphics - as long as you can watch youtube and such, so the least you can get away with
Software
- Ubuntu MID or similar
- Firefox + Flash
- Thunderbird / Web Based
- Abiword (OOXML + PDF Support)
- Gnumeric
- Evince (Simple PDF Viewer)
- µBook like ebook reader - FBReader (Ability to change colour schemes eg High Contrast, green/white text on black background)
- Pidgin for IM
- Skype / Ekiga
- Blogging Software (like dare I say it, Windows Live Writer)
- Tomboy
- Camera Software - Take photos & video
- Vinagre, rdesktop/tsclient (just Vinagre when RDP is supported)
I've probably will have missed lots of other software but you should get the gist of where I'm headed. Also it would be fantastic if something along these lines made it for $200 or less but some might think TechCrunch only posted this to get some more adsense views, but at least it got people talking about the cost Tablet & NetBook PC's.
Base line taken from :
ASUS Eee PC, OLPC XO-1, Elonex ONE, Elonex ONEt
Just a side note, the Elonex ONEt looks pretty cool especially if it's retailing at £100 even my better half might be interested...
Birkoff - General - -
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I came so close today to own a 100% legal copy of Delphi 7 Enterprise (I do own a legal copy of v5 but that was bought via college), beaten to the punch by another like minded ebayer. If there is something I really want I wait till the dying seconds to place a bid, if only I had waited another few seconds I might have got it.
As anyone who knows Delphi, Delphi 7 was the last version to feature the Original IDE, v8 saw Borland copy Visual Studio's IDE look and the Enterprise version its self was the most expensive, feature complete edition you could get. Over a thousand easily...
| Delphi 7 | Delphi 2007 (11) |
 |  |
Anyway, right up until 1 min, the auction had been sitting at £46, at the 30 second mark I put my bid in at £100 hoping it'll be enough to see off anyone else's bids, plus it would be a bargain at that price not so much the pro version though. Straight away there had been another bid, shooting up the total to £94. Suffice to say the same person put a higher bid in, in what had to be less than 10 seconds to go. In the end I did manage to put another bid in but alas not high enough, but I wasn't going to pay anymore that what I put so I stuck to my guns and let it slip away.
Gutted I am, but I'll keep looking, as people move to Java & .NET there are sure to be more auctions. Now if anyone has a old copy of Delphi 7 Pro or Enterprise be sure to give me a shout, I will be interested less of course it's an academic license then no thanks.
Birkoff - General - -
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Birkoff - General - -
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Well strictly speaking just one feature, Shared Folders. I've been running VirtualBox 1.6.2 for the last 2 days ago. I thought it was about time I tried it out properly, which just coincided with me wanting to create my very own Performance/Tiny XP.
Out of the last 20 or so installs (Testing my TinyXP) I've done of windows the last couple of days I have only managed to get Shared Folders functioning, even then I'm not too sure how I did that. After another search on Google for help, I noticed the VirtualBox forums are pretty damn full of people reporting the same problem. Thank God, at least it wasn't just me. This time I have two leads on getting Shared Folders working correctly, Reinstall Guest Additions or Install the 1.6.0 Guest Additions.
If anyone is wondering where the hell they can get the previous additions, they're here, and here is the direct link. Although I have yet to try either there does appear to numerous reports that it works.
Ignoring the Shared Folder problems just now, VirtualBox is IMHO the best performing Virtualization software out there, the smallest download too.
I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone, get it here.
Birkoff - General - -
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