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Fun Stuff => CLIKC => Topic started by: notselfcreated on 06 Mar 2009, 18:51

Title: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: notselfcreated on 06 Mar 2009, 18:51
OK, so sight-unseen, without reading any actual reviews, I have preordered one of these things (http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/home/index.htm). I thought I'd given up the fantasy of having an "all-in-one" device, but I nergasm'd so hard at this that my spastic arm punched in my credit card number completely against my volition.

It will NEVER be able to run Windows, but I'm sort of not caring about that now.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: Melodic on 06 Mar 2009, 20:06
I lolled throughout the demo video, especially when they claimed that "users can install practically any OS they want" on it, and that, since the screen is bigger than an iPhone, it's graphics will be "amazing".

Personally, I think it looks terrible. Ten-to-one it doesn't have the touchscreen prowess of a Wacom or Apple product, the power of an eeePC, or the mobility of a traditional mobile phone. Then again, I'm a skeptic, so by all means please prove me wrong.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: est on 07 Mar 2009, 19:39
I stopped reading after "power-hungry Intel Atom" and "outdated 90s OS"
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: est on 07 Mar 2009, 19:41
OK I lied, I read a bit more.  The FAQ makes it pretty plain that it's actually just a PDA with a keyboard attached.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: Trollstormur on 08 Mar 2009, 07:40
i'll stick with my p-p-p-powerbook!

(http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/pp01.jpg) (http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/index.html)
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: clockworkjames on 08 Mar 2009, 10:04
Yeah it doesn't really tell you anything at all about the tablet...

Set sail for fail.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: imapiratearg on 08 Mar 2009, 10:48
The dude in that video sounded like Dr. Strangelove.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: notselfcreated on 08 Mar 2009, 17:09
Aw, now you guys are just using this as a reason to make fun of the French. (Not that I disapprove)

Quote
Ten-to-one it doesn't have the touchscreen prowess of a Wacom or Apple product, the power of an eeePC, or the mobility of a traditional mobile phone.
You're probably right on all three points (though we can't judge the touchscreen yet, besides knowing beforehand that it isn't multitouch).

All technology is a tradeoff. This thing looks like it has the mobility and price of an EeePC, the flexibility of the forthcoming "OpenPandora," (http://www.openpandora.org) and the instant-on of, and better battery life than, a mobile phone. Arm processors != PDAs, especially when you're dealing with a delightfully hackable and open machine. Initially I was more interested in the Pandora, but as a teacher I felt that something with a 9" screen, and that wouldn't be confused for a gaming device, would better suit my needs.

There are decent x86-based convertible tablets coming out by Asus (http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/23/asus-eee-pc-t91-sits-down-for-photo-shoot-early-critique/) and Gigabyte (http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/18/gigabyte-shows-off-10-inch-m1028-convertible-netbook/) that are not much bigger. But for heavy use away from a power outlet, the "TouchBook" looks ideal.

To each his/her own. I thought this was nifty.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: est on 08 Mar 2009, 18:53
When I said PDA I didn't mean featureset, I was more talking about the power of it.  It's running a TI OMAP3, which is normally found in PDAs and mobile phones.  Don't get me wrong - on its own it looks like a pretty cool thing.  The thing that makes me annoyed is that they have basically taken the Pandora and are trying to pass it off as a netbook replacement, which for most people (including who it looks like their target market is with this page) it isn't.  If you take a look at the FAQ it is full of evasive (ala the iPhone apps answer) or "No, but we don't think that's necessary" type answers, and they straight up say that they will be launching with beta software.  Who the hell launches a product with a beta OS?
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: notselfcreated on 09 Mar 2009, 01:44
Who the hell launches a product with a beta OS?

(http://avatars.cc/data/thumbnails/7/Bill%20Gates.jpg)

 :roll:






I know it's a cheap shot, but c'mon man, you left the door wide open.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: est on 09 Mar 2009, 02:18
I know it's a cheap shot, but c'mon man, you left the door wide open.

How?  I'm not getting the joke.  Is the joke that Vista is shit?  That joke hasn't been funny for the last 6 to 10 months.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: David_Dovey on 09 Mar 2009, 04:26
You see it's funny because Vista is shit.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: Jace on 09 Mar 2009, 05:09
You see it's funny because Vista is shit.
Man, I wish someone would show me where all of this shit in vista is. I haven't had any problems. It actually works better than my system running XP.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: snalin on 09 Mar 2009, 06:29
I know it's a cheap shot, but c'mon man, you left the door wide open.

How?  I'm not getting the joke.  Is the joke that Vista is shit?  That joke hasn't been funny for the last 6 to 10 months.

I thought it was about the fact that Gates allegedly sold the first Windows version before any programing even had started.

I thought that was a myth, but still.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: clockworkjames on 09 Mar 2009, 18:13
Microsoft didn't make a computer to sell windows on, they just made an OS so not is it just totally different but windows works pretty fucking well, the amount of testing it goes through before being released is staggering. You could pick flaws in any piece of software released, it's why we have updates and patches.

tl;dr don't be a retard about OS's.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: clockworkjames on 09 Mar 2009, 18:22
No, I used a beta release of xp64 for over a year.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: Melodic on 09 Mar 2009, 20:32
I'm amazed you're choosing xp64 to represent Microsoft's committal to quality releases.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: notselfcreated on 09 Mar 2009, 21:16
Dudes, relax! It's just poking a little fun at a major corporation. Isn't that what we do? Microsoft releases buggy software that you have to buy because of the monopoly. Apple is a Starbucks-sipping cult whose followers will pay a 200% premium to fit so-so hardware into clean white plastic. And Linux is, well, who the fuck cares, it's Linux.

Of course these are all silly exaggerations, but that's what makes them funny.

Re: the Touchbook being ugly, well, that's your call. I actually think it is kind of Apple-ish. Clean straight lines, rounded corners. If it were thinner and silver, you'd swear it was a Macbook. But aesthetics are subjective. I mean, I remember it being 2001 and people swearing that this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cassiopeia_26d06.jpg) was the pinnacle of technology design.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: clockworkjames on 10 Mar 2009, 02:07
The touchbook was designed by some dude and he has a website where his designs are shows including a toothbruush with disposable heads. Make of that futility what you will.

xp64 was good for me, ran all the games I wanted, Avast had AV for a 64 bit OS before most other people, steam client worked, browsers and drivers worked, it was stable, I could go on.

And if we are finding untrue stereotypes to be funny how far should we take it?

Bottom line is it's not funny, it's just being a prick :/
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: David_Dovey on 10 Mar 2009, 02:35
IT'S A FUCKING OPERATING SYSTEM
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: Hat on 10 Mar 2009, 02:55
he has a website where his designs are shows including a toothbruush with disposable heads. Make of that futility what you will.

This is not a new idea and it is actually pretty cool, I don't know why you'd single out this idea to pick a fight with.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: clockworkjames on 10 Mar 2009, 08:33
Because it's a fucking toothbrush, they cost like £2 for a good one that will last for ages and a disposable head will last just as long, but even if it costs half the price you will save a total of maybe £3 a year but then you have to put up with the possibility of it falling out while in use, or what if you have to buy a toothbrush while you are away from your home and you cannot find replacement heads zomgwaste.

I don't get how it's a good idea.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: bicostp on 10 Mar 2009, 15:27
From their FAQ:

Q. Does the Touch Book support multitouch?
A. No. And we don't think that it's an issue

Q. Does the Touch Book use a stylus?
A. There will be no stylus

Q. Can the Touch Book be used with an external monitor?
A. This feature is still under development. We will update the website as soon as the final decision has been made.

YouDontReallyNeedThat™

In my opinion, this should be called a Mobile Internet Device like the Nokia tablets, not a Netbook. ARM is underpowered compared to even the Atom (which only uses 2 watts of power, it's not "Power-hungry" considering what it does, and it's 2-3x as fast as their system-on-a-chip.) I also like how they don't have any screenshots of their OS running on their website.

According to PC World, it costs about $400 with a keyboard. :lol:

Get a real netbook, an OpenPandora, or wait for Nvidia to launch the ION platform in a netbook if you want performance.
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: notselfcreated on 11 Mar 2009, 17:03
YouDontReallyNeedThat™
Sounds like Sony.
Quote
Get a real netbook, an OpenPandora, or wait for Nvidia to launch the ION platform in a netbook if you want performance.
Good arguments. I was disappointed to read that there might not be video-out from the TouchBook; that might be a dealbreaker for me. But I do like the "internernal USB" ports (will make it very easy to add internal 3G).

I already have a netbook; I'm looking for something with the long battery life of the ARM. So, basically for me it's between the OpenPandora and the TouchBook.

OpenPandora advantages:
TouchBook advantages:
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: bicostp on 12 Mar 2009, 12:53
I'm hoping something like this makes it to market:

(http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3176/overview.png)
(I posted this on another forum. [link] (http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=28617))

It's just Nvidia's core ION board stuck in a case the size of the original DS with a 5" touch screen. (The screen could even be replaced with a 1024x600 widescreen, I suppose.) Different controls could be added through the dock port. If you want a Samsung Q1 style keyboard, you can add that cradle. (Or a portrait model like a big Treo 650 keyboard for vertical use, so you can see the whole page on a wide screen held sideways.) Want game controls?  Add a controller cradle. It would also have a dock with Ethernet, DVI-I, power, and more USB ports, and a slot-loading DVD drive. It would run Windows Tablet Edition, so you get handwriting recognition and a decent on-screen keyboard.

I figure this way you get the possibility of a handheld gaming device, and it won't be dismissed as a toy. (Sort of like the OQO but with better video hardware.)
Title: Re: Always Innovating "Touchbook"
Post by: clockworkjames on 13 Mar 2009, 05:46
Yeah I don't get how they can call it a gaming device, can it run CoD4? Does it even have a dedicated graphics card?