SSDs are replacements for common (aka old fashioned) hard drives. They’re better in every way except their cost. Even the lowest performing SSDs are twice as fast as hard drives and they have no moving parts so are more resilient in a mobile computer.
For most users, an SSD is an extravagance. Until now. A typical consumer will be just fine with 30 – 60 GB of hard drive space. I base this on annecdotal evidence from those I know. A modern fresh computer installation takes about 5GB. A large photo collection adds 5 – 15 GB and a large music collection 10 – 20GB more. Documents, email and work often take under 1 GB but on a very busy person’s system make take as much as 5GB.
(as a follow-up to “How data affects wifi range“)
It’s also important to realize that if a country consumes more media on the Internet than it produces, the electrons will get shifted from the creating country to the consuming country.
Because electrons have a negative charge this will leave the creating country with a positive charge and the consuming country with a negative charge. In effect, “polarizing the nations.” This was actually discussed in ancient biblical prophecy and is a sign that the battle of Armageddon and the end of the world is near.
On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 11:53 AM, David McLaughlin wrote:
> I’ve had much better luck with range by placing the router as high as
> possible within the house.
That’s because the newer wifi signals are actually slightly heavier than air so they fall down gradually after they’re broadcast. Kind of like the branches of a willow tree.
It’s that time where people make their predictions. I’ll chip in my 2 cents worth regarding technology changes in the future. The last decade, I think, can be described as the decade of the web. The next, in a word, will be mobile.
A wise person said back in the mid-90′s that people need to communicate and be entertained but they don’t need to compute. This is so true. A lot of people have a big fat computer in order to email their family, share pictures and chat with their friends on Facebook or twitter. Over the last three years we’ve started to be able to do this nearly as well, or in some ways even better, with a mobile phone. Some people will start to think that they don’t really need a PC at all.
A little over one year ago I received a Logitech V220 cordless notebook mouse as a gift. It’s small, high resolution and amazingly, it works for nearly six months on a single AA battery (I put a high quality battery in it). The first time the battery died I was so impressed. I put the new battery in and started working. Coincidentally I’d recently upgraded to Hardy Heron Alpha 2 or 3. I was noticed some erratic behavior where holding the mouse button down produced multiple mouse clicks. You didn’t notice it unless you were clicking and dragging, for example using the selection tool in a graphics program or highlighting a paragraph of text.
I assumed it was something related to Hardy Heron and discussed the problems with a few people. It was really a head scratcher so someone suggested I test the mouse with a different computer so we could rule it out as the culprit. Remarkably, the problem followed the mouse to the other computer. I was stunned. I opened the mouse and looked inside to see if it was a worn button. Everything looked OK. I called Logitech and they gave me instructions to return the mouse and they would send me a new one. The new one was fine and I was happy and promptly forgot the problem.
It’s been about 6 months since that incident and I’ve recently upgraded to Intrepid Ibex Beta 4. You’ll never guess what happened… my mouse battery died. Amazing how long that single cell lasted! I replaced the battery and you won’t believe it, but I’m getting the sporadic extra click problem again. Two mice in a row! What are the odds? Could this be a problem with their firmware? I don’t know. I’m getting creative… I’ve pressed the “connect” button on the bottom. I’ve also pulled the battery a few times to “reboot” the mouse. So far no improvement. I’ve just now tried turning the mouse off and holding the connect button in for a while while I turn the mouse on again. Interestingly, this causes the mouse to not function until you pull the battery.
__Rent – a – mouse__
So this causes me to think… if you go and buy a mouse for $35, what are you certain to get? I think that you can reasonably expect to have a functioning mouse for as long as the warranty period of the mouse lasts. If it dies before the warranty period you will get a replacement, but if it dies after it’s gone. In a sense its like when you purchase “software support and maintenance” instead of purchasing a perpetual license (or use OSS). In these cases you can use the software for as long as you keep paying for it, but once you stop buying support you have to stop using the product.
In the case of a product with a one year warranty, you’re basically renting the product for a year but you _may_ be able to use it slightly longer. This is especially true today when hardware feels like it’s designed to be disposable and to have a limited life in order to ensure you keep upgrading.
The good news is, Logitech’s warranty on this mouse is 3 years. The bad news is, I don’t have the receipt (it was a gift), so lets hope the support dept will be helpful.
The PC world to this point has been severs, desktop computers and portable notebooks. This will remain true for a little while longer, but soon (as soon as 18 months) this will change for good.
In Bill Gate’s book, “The Road Ahead” he makes the statement, “People need to communicate and be entertained, they don’t need to compute.” This quote has stuck with me for years because of its simplicity, because of its accuracy and because it goes against what many of us computer lovers feel.
Think about common computer tasks – communicate via email, look up maps or directions on the web, share photos and videos, buy stuff, get information, play games. Now which of these tasks are hard to do with an iPhone or other portable device? Typing out a long email or having a lengthy chat can be arduous on such a small device but its getting easier.
Now think about what device you’d rather have for doing the above kinds of things… a 6 – 9lb (2.5 – 4kg) notebook or would you rather having a 1lb or less device that you can slip into your pocket and also use as a cell phone? _(read more for some fascinating quotes)_
You’re probably thinking, “well, I’d like to have an iPhone (or whatever) that could do all of that, but I couldn’t imagine giving up my main PC.” You’re right, I couldn’t give up my PC either, but my wife would. My son could care less if it were a PC or a mobile device.
The [manufacturers of PCs realize this](http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/HONSHI/20080625/153861/?P=1) and are dumping tons of resources trying to be the leader in these new markets. From Eeepc like mini-pcs to Nokia N series/MID hybrid devices and iPhone/Instinct like mobile devices – the device we currently call the PC is getting smaller and every manufacturer knows it.
The mainstream “PC” of 2010 will be under 1Kg and the only place you won’t take it is the swimming pool.
From the above article there are a few grabbing quotes:
Toshiba Corp of Japan, in fourth place, has “…little interest in leading a price-cutting competition, but also little choice but to join it,” according to Shigeyoshi Shimotsuji
A high-level manager at one of these Taiwan outsourcers said: “We can’t afford to worry about how this might impact any existing notebook PC business. We’re committed, because this could well grow into an enormous market. And we can’t survive future competition unless we grab a piece of it now.
The “common sense” of the PC industry no longer applies, however, for two major reasons. The first reason is that computing performance, function and other characteristics need not be cutting-edge. Most consumers only need performance sufficient to provide access to Web-based content, services and other assets. This same point is suggested by the way that Windows Vista, released in 2007, totally failed to generate significant replacement demand.
(_emphasis added_)
Recognizing the potential size of the market, Microsoft has made the decision to continue offering Windows XP Home Edition to compact, lightweight PCs. The original strategy was to switch entirely over to Windows Vista. A high-level manager at one domestic PC manufacturer suspects the decision was made in an effort to prevent the spread of Linux machines.
For PC manufacturers hoping to slash parts cost, actions by Intel, Microsoft and other firms are not as important as the fact that there is less and less need to use their products. The goal, remember, is to provide performance sufficient for Internet access. For manufacturers, this objective means a wider range of component choices, possibly at lower cost. By utilizing less expensive components from vendors other than Intel and Microsoft, they increase the pressure on those firms to cut prices.
“If the operating system (OS) doesn’t need to emphasize business use, Linux is a good choice, because its graphical user interface (GUI) software is quite mature. Retailers and contract manufacturers in Taiwan say that novice PC users there, like students and housewives, tend to buy the Linux version of the Eee PC701, while geeks go for Windows XP. The Linux version comes with a launcher providing pre-installed applications, Web services and other features at a click. The design was probably adopted to make the system even easier to use.”
_(end quotes, sorry, apparently my site is butchering block quotes at the moment)_
The consumer looking for a PC in the near future will be asking themselves these questions:
* Can it access the websites and content I want?
* Is it portable (and connected) enough to go where I want to go?
* Does it look cool?
Buying a PC will be a lot like buying a mobile phone… actually, eventually, buying a PC will be _just like_ buying a phone because the device you buy will be both your PC and your phone.
Here are some things you should consider:
* Who considers the OS when buying a phone? (few people)
* How do your web pages and applications look and work on a mobile device?
* Who are your target users and do they want to use your product/content/website when they’re not sitting at their desk?
* Will people feel cool carrying this portable device?
Things are going to change, and they’re going to change faster than a lot of people think. Before you know it, nearly every phone will have a respectable web browser on it. People will just upload their photos and videos from their mobile device and they’ll begin asking themselves, “What is it I need a PC for?”
I firmly believe that mobile devices are the future and many people will forgo a regular PC because their mobile hand-held thingy does everything they need. Embedded Linux is one of the major platforms enabling such devices, but how is a person supposed to experiment with it when the slick development boards are so expensive or, for most of us, literally impossible to legally get into our hands?
I asked David Mandala, who is the project manager of the Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded team and a good old fashioned tinkerer, for a suggested platform. It was an IRC conversation so I can’t be certain of his attitude, but I’m pretty confident he was excited to tell me about the tool he likes to play with – the Tin Can Tools Hammer – an Arm9 based embedded Linux development board that is the same size as a 40 pin dip. Just drop it into your breadboard and away you go! Or better yet, pick up the Nail Board kit (see the same page linked above) which includes the hammer board and adds a built in jtag, usb ports and serial interface and only increases the board size and cost a little bit.
When plugged into your PC it will be detected as a USB ethernet card and you can ssh right into your new embedded linux computer. Because the nail board has onboard jtag you don’t have to worry about bricking your device (corrupting the firmware rendering the device unbootable until reflashed) so in theory you should have full reign to fiddle with the settings. It can be powered right from the USB port so no external power is needed! And my favourite part is that all of the connections are 0.1″ spaced headers so it will work on a breadboard and its no problem to solder on.
It’s still about twice the cost of the AVR32 based NGW100 which goes for $80 – $90. Like the hammer, the ngw100 allows you to solder on the board making it hacker friendly. It can also appear as a usb ethernet, mass storage or HID device. Unlike the hammer it has two ethernet ports, an SD card slot, an onboard serial connection but does not have a USB host port. It’s also quite a bit bigger (but still quite small).
The real problem with the ngw100 though is that it’s a new platform (AVR32). Arm9 is so popular and so mature, it’s hard to resist. Intel’s atom platform has a lot of muscle behind it so I have no doubt it will get a foothold in the market (and I’d love a $150 eval board!) but is there room for avr32? Jury is out. I’m going to save up my money for the hammer + nail board.
OK, that subject line makes this sound more cool that it really is. The process was pretty simple. A little python script is attached that you can run locally. I’ll probably remake this in Javascript using a cool image based font that looks like the display on the speak and spell, but for now I just wanted to post this before I forgot about it. (I almost recycled it while cleaning off my desktop!)
In case you’re not familiar with the Speak & Spell, the code feature is a simple, reversible encoding program where you enter a short phrase and it will encrypt it. If you encrypt it again you get the original phrase. It is *not* rot13 but it works similarly.
I’m getting excited to see embedded Linux showing up in so many places. The reason I think it’s cool is because very often it can be hacked to do something far cooler than the original intent. By hack, I mean disassembled, modified or improved in some unexpected way.
The Kindle is an expensive e-book reader that has an innovative screen and form factor. It also has a cellular data connection so that you can download books and apparently surf some websites. I did not realize that it is [based on Linux](http://igorsk.blogspot.com/2007/12/hacking-kindle-part-2-bootloader-and.html).
I’ve been playing with the Arduino board. I’m going to write an article for an electronics mag (already talked to the editor and he gave the go-ahead). No guarantees anything will get published of course. It’s a fun system, but I really wish I could get my hands on an embedded Linux system that was compact and had some free GPIO’s. The [NGW100](http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=4102) is nice and I’ll probably get one, but I could see wanting a USB host controller and/or the ability to use wifi.
If the kindle were truly hackable it’d be a pretty slick system. Except that it costs $399 of course. In the grand scheme of things, I’d probably wanna hack the iphone before the kindle I guess. (And before that an android phone).
Javascript is cool and things we only dreamed of 8 years ago are now common. However, the trends are leaning towards writing tremendous amounts of application code for web sites and web applications that run client-side in the web-browser. Sites are using more and more animation and effects. Now [people are contemplating][0] how to do cpu intensive computations in web browsers.
There is nothing bad about this, but something that needs to be pointed out is that a wide range of devices will be accessing your website. Do you test on older, slower systems? Do you test on laptops and mobile devices? I can’t tell you how often I visit websites these days and hear the fan on my laptop kick in. (It just happened now, as I write this… someone just started a chat with me in gmail)
I’ll be honest, I don’t test as well as I should, but I do tend to notice when sites are cpu intensive because my laptop’s battery suffers greatly. I just don’t hear people talking about this topic, which concerns me a little bit.
[0]: http://www.julienlecomte.net/blog/2007/10/25/running-cpu-intensive-javascript-computations-in-a-web-browser/