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We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

techcrunch.com

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Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#81

Post by rms »

ph0rque wrote: post #80
cubrilovic wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

our supply chain guys sourced it - we haven't set yet if we are going LCD or exact specific specs (we need to run power tests). the dual touch pad sitting behind it is coming out of a company that hasn't seen their tech integrated into a major product yet. im sorry we cant mention company names just yet - we are doing this through proxy (ie. using a supply chain company, design firm and manufacturer). I am hoping I c…

I really hope the screen company is Pixel Qi. Here is their prediction for a touchscreen price: "INTEGRATED TOUCHSCREENS Touch should just be an incremental cost increase to the screen and embedded directly into it. Pixel Qi is working on low-cost approachs to integrated touch with a target of a $5 -$10 pricetag." ( http://pixelqi.com/products )

They aren't selling the touchscreen yet, only the original OLPC XO screen.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#82

Post by ph0rque »

rms wrote: post #81
ph0rque wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really hope the screen company is Pixel Qi. Here is their prediction for a touchscreen price: "INTEGRATED TOUCHSCREENS Touch should just be an incremental cost increase to the screen and embedded directly into it. Pixel Qi is working on low-cost approachs to integrated touch with a target of a $5 -$10 pricetag." ( http://pixelqi.com/products )

They aren't selling the touchscreen yet, only the original OLPC XO screen.

I realize that, but hopefully TC is in talks with PQ about trying out prototypes, etc...

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#83

Post by khangtoh »

cubrilovic wrote: post #52
khangtoh wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and the firefox default homepage is techcrunch.com and yes, you cannot change it according to the EULA.. now you see it.. ah...

you can finish my sentences with whatever you want for however long you want. the conclusion is that no matter what anybody does there will always be people like you who find it easier to troll

Nik

I don't think that my comments above are trolling much compared so don't get so sensitive. Why be on the offensive, just think about it, doesn't that sound possible?

And welcome to HN, although you've been here for 9 hours or so.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#84

Post by krschultz »

steveplace wrote: post #76
greyman wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds to me like you are implying that journalism is a less important profession, since they are only criticizing things and writing about them, and not actually change them directly? Or, I don't get your point... (ok, Arrington is something between journalist and a blogger, but my objection still applies).

Fine. If noone wants to say it, I will. In my opinion, Journalism is a less important profession. Why? Because it depends on the movers. Arrington's job would not exist if there weren't people out starting companies. Journalism cannot exist in a vacuum. Also, I would argue that journalism (as we know it) does not create value. Rather, it is an arbitrageur of information.

Agreed. Journalism in the Watergate sense is extremely important. "Journalism" in the "I blog about Twitter" sense is basically worthless.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#85

Post by krschultz »

ivankirigin wrote: post #27

Can someone point out a successful open source hardware effort? I'm tracking bug labs, open moko, and some router efforts. None are mainstream. None come close to the appeal of Apple products. Hardware is really hard. Most people reading TechCrunch probably don't understand this.

Flying Tiger 10m - open source boat, raging success. $65,000 a pop and they have sold over 100.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#86

Post by g00dn3ss »

sd wrote: post #31

Back at the 2001 Comdex, Bill Gates announced that by 2007, such devices would be the most popular form of PC in the U.S. Although his timing was off, I think Gates was definitely on to something. Yet as brm notes, it's probably going to take more than just the open source community. Open source seems great for advancing the bleeding-edge; but honestly, unless money is on the line, how many devs are going to cut out…

I do think Bill Gates was on to something. From a UI perspective, a pen/touch screen is superior in that it removes one level of indirection in a UI paradigm that is attempting to be "direct manipulation".

However, for this to be the most popular form of PC, I think there will need to be a breakthrough in text input. I've looked at a lot of alternative text input techniques and I don't think any of the current ones will cut it. This includes soft keyboards, crazy dasher-like things, predictive stuff, handwriting recognition, gestures, voice, etc. The huge advantage of keyboard entry is not only the tactile feedback, but that it has a fairly low cognitive cost. In other words, you can think about other things while you type - it's automatic. Pretty much anything aural or visual will take away from thinking about your real tasks.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#87

Post by mtw »

steveplace wrote: post #76
greyman wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds to me like you are implying that journalism is a less important profession, since they are only criticizing things and writing about them, and not actually change them directly? Or, I don't get your point... (ok, Arrington is something between journalist and a blogger, but my objection still applies).

Fine. If noone wants to say it, I will. In my opinion, Journalism is a less important profession. Why? Because it depends on the movers. Arrington's job would not exist if there weren't people out starting companies. Journalism cannot exist in a vacuum. Also, I would argue that journalism (as we know it) does not create value. Rather, it is an arbitrageur of information.

I disagree.

Journalism fuels newspapers. And newspapers/blog in themselves are essential. Without Techcrunch or ArsTechnica, you might have not been aware of "startups" at all. You wouldn't know about startup failures or successes, and might have less motivation to build a startup. Also, there comes a time where you were looking for employees and those are the only destinations where you could get the word out.

I have a friend that says that small towns have a symbiotic relationships with their local newspapers. With those, people cannot know what's going on in the community, they wouldn't be able to post small ads, economy would slow down by lack of information.

So yes, journalism might appear as "easy" but they are the blood of society.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#88

Post by god »

Do we really need that button on the front?

I would find it much cooler, if the front was symmetrical and without any buttons. It would probably be eays to put a little on/off switch on the back. I would like a switch, that shows in a physical way if the thing is on or off. Buttons are much more confusing.

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#89

Post by wmeredith »

cubrilovic wrote: post #52
khangtoh wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and the firefox default homepage is techcrunch.com and yes, you cannot change it according to the EULA.. now you see it.. ah...

you can finish my sentences with whatever you want for however long you want. the conclusion is that no matter what anybody does there will always be people like you who find it easier to troll

Try throwing a period on the end of one of those bad boys. That should stop him completing them for you. ;-P

Re: We Want A Dead Simple Web Tablet. Help Us Build It.

#90

Post by steveplace »

mtw wrote: post #87
steveplace wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine. If noone wants to say it, I will. In my opinion, Journalism is a less important profession. Why? Because it depends on the movers. Arrington's job would not exist if there weren't people out starting companies. Journalism cannot exist in a vacuum. Also, I would argue that journalism (as we know it) does not create value. Rather, it is an arbitrageur of information.

I disagree. Journalism fuels newspapers. And newspapers/blog in themselves are essential. Without Techcrunch or ArsTechnica, you might have not been aware of "startups" at all. You wouldn't know about startup failures or successes, and might have less motivation to build a startup. Also, there comes a time where you were looking for employees and those are the only destinations where you could get the word out. I hav…

That wasn't the point. The original question was whether the journalism industry is less valuable than other industries. And I said yes because they aren't first movers; they are reactionary.

Sending a PR release to Ars is valuable but it's not like you wouldn't have a business if it didn't exist. They may enhance value, but they certainly don't create any on their own.

I have a friend that says that small towns have a symbiotic relationships with their local newspapers.

Absolutely. Newspapers are helpful in society. But the example you use just has the paper as a medium of information exchange. The front of a church door served the same purpose a couple centuries ago. As information becomes more fluid through other technologies, the newspaper will fall into irrelevance.

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