Home Messages Index
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Author IndexDate IndexThread Index

Re: [News] Web Browsing (and Linux) Coming to the Sofa

begin  oe_protect.scr 
damon <damonriley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:


> I already have web browsing on the sofa with Linux.  And everywhere 
> else.  It's called a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet.  It's got Gaim.  And it 
> fits in my pocket.  WiFi, Bluetooth.  VOIP, calendar, contacts.  Plays 
> mp3, ogg, etc.  It was just under $250 US at CompUSA last week.  It's 
> got a command line, pdf reader, ebook reader, web browser, debian 
> package manager, and a Free developers kit called Maemo.  It's not 
> perfect, but what computer is?
> 

Please don't top-post.

I agree, I too have a Nokia 770, and am quite addicted to it.  I think,
however, they're referring to the lounge armchair with wifi or bluetooth
keyboards, pointers and so on and a wide-screen hidef TV display nailed
to the facing wall.

The interesting thing is that the computing world is expanding in an
amazing number of directions, and the level of application integration
between peers across the telecoms networks is amazing, mainly due to the
ever increasing bandwidths. 

It's worth considering that people refer to this as speed, but this is
a significant misunderstanding - the speed has not changed a great deal
over the years, indeed, digitalisation slowed things down a little,
but the bandwidth has increased by several orders of magnitude.  This
misunderstanding is very important, because in order to serve
wide-bandwidth links, hi-speed serial terminating devices /are/
required.  So, the speed of the *terminating* devices has increased at
the same time that the *bandwidth* of the networks has increased,
although the /speed/ of the networks has somewhat reduced due to a)
fibre and b) packetisation.

So, they key to the evolution of applications is having the
highest-possible speed terminating devices on the widest bandwidth
network, something the folk at Google recognised some time ago, but many
others have not done (yet).  Sony /have/ realised this with the PS3.
Back to where this started, the limiting factor (salutations to Mr Iain
M Banks) is battery life for portable devices;  the Nokia 770 is well
optimised for battery life, in my view.

-- 
| Mark Kent   --   mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk  |
If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for tomorrow
morning, sleep late.
		-- Henny Youngman

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Author IndexDate IndexThread Index