Steroscopic

It's not 3D.

Just stereoscopic.

Causes eye stress for most and headaches for many because unconsciously you try to focus on further or nearer objects, but's an illusion, all the image is at the screen distance. Up to 1/5th of people don't get much perception of it.

It's an illusion that relies on different image for each eye. But real Life or real 3D (holograms or spinning offset translucent screen) has true depth and will give 3D view even with one eye closed.

Try it. (close one eye and micro-jiggle head). With fake basic stereoscopic view the image is unchanged by head micro-movements.

overview of the Curren fake 3D (really Stereoscopic) here http://www.techtir.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=1459 and Wikipedia of course.

Indeed there is some value in a codec for Stereoscopy as there is much redundancy.

So if they ever release real 3D what will it be called? "Full 3D" ?

iPhoney

It's a fail because Apple controls what goes on it.

I'd not buy a DVD player where I can only buy DVDs via the Maker's store.

I'd not buy a Laptop/Netbook where I can't decide what to install, and where from. So ChromeOS is a fail.

I'll not buy an iTouch/iPod/iPhone while Apple continues to totally control and charge a premium.

Apple iTrip styled FM transmitter €60

Generic 3.5mm Jack model (fits even my E65 via adaptor) €8

Also NO buttons and having to buy a screen protector is a FAIL for something primarily for making phone calls.

Your reviewer has succumbed to the Jobsian Reality Distortion Field.

MS copying? Not news

Copied Products:

FAT, DOS (from CP/M, DR-DOS)

Directories and Utilities: MS DOS 2.11 and later (UNIX)

Windows 1.x, 2.x (Xerox Star, DR-GEM, Apple Lisa)

Windows 3.x (Xerox Star, Apple)

Win7 GUI (OS X)

C# (Java)

IE (based on Mosaic)

Basic (for CP/M and DOS from Dartmouth Basic)

MS 32bit TCP/IP (Win32S on Win3.x and later, All current Windows) from BSD/UNIX

MS origami/Tablet Edition

MS Media Centre

MS Surface

Bought in:

Autoroute, Visio, SQL, Microsoft Services for Unix, MS Terminal Services and many more.

Good Original Design & Implementation:

GUI version of Word and Excel (but implemented for Mac first)

Core of NT3.1 inc Kernel, now polluted by NT5x & NT6.x (Win2K, XP, Win2003, Vista, Win2008, Win7), based on VMS and OS/2.

Kernel of WinCE/Mobile (but the GUI concept of copying desktop windows was a fail).

Total Rubbish:

Exchange Server.

ChromeOS

This is a Gimcrack Gimmick Gadget anyway.

It's like the "pda" that only can display a built in Wikipedia or the HarryPotter Trivia toy. If it's cheap enough some people will buy a dedicated Google Browser. If they want to do anything else they will buy an open platform (Netbook, MID, Laptop, phone with Windows, Maemo, Linux, OSX, Symbian).

iPhone, Android and ChromeOS are not open. available source nor open source does not make an open Platform.

Opera are right not to worry (yet).

7s?

I've seen 15s on XP.

I'm sure 5 to 10s is achievable in Linux with a Browser only by any Linux expert if you assume the hardware is fixed, turn off all logging & probing etc..

A 500MHz ARM dedicated Qtopia PMP can boot from cold in 20s.

ChromeOS is a marketing con to ensure targeted advertising.

EXT2?

My XP has integrated EXT2. You'd not notice if an SD card/USB was FAT, FAT32 or EXT2 on it.

But it's not installed by default. About 95% of users have a flavour of Windows. A flat $300K is small beer to have your consumer device work automagically,

Actually EXT2 is fairly rubbish compared to FAT except has security descriptors. It's easily corrupted, hence EXt3, EXT4. NTFS is still superior to EXTn FX, but has about a 20Mbyte overhead and was not designed for Removable storage. Used to be if you formatted or Mounted a MO archiving optional disk with NTFS you had to shut down to be able to eject it!

Modula-2 and OccamPi

Unlike C and C++, Modula-2 was supporting Co-routines, Stack-frames, Mutex, and Semaphores -- AS PART OF THE LANGUAGE -- over 25 years ago, without any OS support. I have Z80, x86 16bit and x86 32bit Compilers that produce very nice multitasking code for CP/M, DOS, Win16, OS/2 and Win32. In theory the design was to support Multiple Processors too, but my compilers don't have that.

I played a bit with Occam back in 1984, but it was more of a demo toy then. This is worth a look if you want an OS properly designed for Multicore/multicpu.multithread http://rmox.net/ using OccamPi

Additionally (which Apple tries to solve with Grand Central) it's easier to design for a known number of cores/processors rather than an unknown.

It's a pain when the co-routine when inside the Mutex doesn't flush the toilet before leaving. Or even goes with poor aim without sitting down.

Cheap? @Narg; @Bob18

Data is NOT cheap on 3G. it's over 150x more expensive per second than voice for an operator. SMS is practically free to an operator, but that is not the data we are talking about.

In network voice calls in fact could almost be free. But ALL data is I/O outside the network and all upload AND download has to be paid for per Mbyte by the operator.

On voice if incoming and outgoing originated calls are equal, then costs of Termination and revenue from Termination could cancel. There is NO revenue from Data other than the customers. It costs the operator coming and going.

The other issue is capacity. A DSL or cable connection for one use *CAN* have as much capacity as an entire Mast's Backhaul! The speeds quoted on Mobile are NOT the speed, but the peak capacity for 0.5% to 5% of the cell area! See http://www.techtir.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=1832 and http://www.wattystuff.net/issues/mobile-and-nbs/

If a 10Gbyte limited data package is sold at similar price to a 50mins voice package, they are actually losing money.

http://www.wattystuff.net/issues/issues/mobile-and-nbs/is-mobile-in-ireland-destroying-infrastructure/

Mobile Data packages SHOULD and need to be limited to improve the performance for those that need Mobile, and should NOT be attractive for Fixed users. It's not technically or Financially possible to have the Pricing or Capacity to compete with Cable or DSL, even With WiMax or LTE.

Control

Moblin, Symbian, Bada, WinMo and Maemo are all preferable.

It doesn't matter how open the source is of Android, nor how cute and good the UI or apps are. Android also isn't about Linux or native Linux apps, but about running apps in Google's concept of Java.

Android (like the brain dead ChromeOS) is about Control & Lockin. Just like iPhone, except worse as Google no doubt will store everything.

Which phones do you have to jail-break to install native apps from arbitrary source or your own?

I don't wish to assist Google in their World Dominationo plans.

Windows?

Not only but Also

Compromised servers Apache with a 777 directory exposed.

Not just WinDoze.

Pointless

They claim it saves money, less cables.

Nonsense. The charger STILL needs a cable and this is less efficient, slower charging, more cost, less reliable and creates interference.

It's a gimmick.

Nor (unlike a cable) does the device charge when in your hand in use.

RF

Don't stare into strong RF (like concentrated in a Waveguide). That will cook your eyes. No cancer. Just cataracts.

"There is an invisible Cat in that chair!"

> Plonk <

"you didn't feel her when you sat down because she leapt away when she saw you coming"

This won't do AI

The cognitive & AI allusions are nonsense.

Or else 100 interconnected Z80s or Transputers or Pentiums would have AI.

There is no software/functional design spec yet for what is a real AI or Cognitive computer.

Local Access needed?

If someone has local access all bets are off anyway...

DVB-t?

DVB-t is so ten years ago.

You need DVB-T2 (UK HD) and MPEG4 (Anywhere in Ireland, Estonia, NZ etc for SD, or UK/France HD) now. Plus MHEG5 for Interactive (Ireland), Plus something else they will think of in 2011.

Please! Stereoscopic

It's not remotely 3D. There is no Z axis (Raster/Image based 3D) or Wavefront creation.

NOT 3D but Stereoscopic.

It's just a Left Eye and Right Eye Picture. A trick.

It doesn't even work very well for some people and without LCD shutter "glasses" doesn't really work for perhaps as much as 20% of people.

This is an epic waste of money and bandwidth. To have the same quality you need up to twice the bandwidth. Of course real 3D using Image/Raster Z-axis would need over 100 times bandwidth. Holographic 3D bandwidth is worse.

Of course for "fake 3D" Stereoscopic TV you only need two cameras side by side.

Shutters or Polarising?

LCD shutters work best. Hence the tech chosen by all 3D laptops and most 3D TVs in production.

No-one is suggesting Anaglyphtic (amber/blue or red/blue) glasses. Apart from the recent C4 fest.

Sky seems to be going for Shutter Glasses with their 3D launch, which needs a suitable TV, but existing Sky HD box.

some collected Reg articles here with text tying them and Wiki articles to a more coherent overview?

http://www.techtir.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=1459

Obviously the man with Goggles Icon.

Who needs native apps?

Everyone.

Otherwise you have no personal control, no private data. You only have an appliance like a DVD Player, Phone, Calulator or Satellite Set box.

There is NOTHING new about Android or ChromeOS. Both concepts are old. There are examples of both locked for other Vendors Gadgets.

The point of Android & ChromeOS is not the user, flexibility, Open source, Freedom or Privacy but Google and Gadget Vendor Control.

There will be reference HW for Chrome and anyone that wants to Run ChromeOS on anything not locked to it is an idiot or has a lot of time to waste.

$69?

Lots of excellent FREE Icon editing SW on Windows and Linux.

But if it's important, get a graphic designer involved.

Having the right tools doesn't make an Artisan.

Mobile isn't Broadband

It's often only a little better speed than 2 Ch ISDN and easily disconnects. Not always on.

But I think they are just making excuses.

They can do this. Any Small Office with 50 users NAT or Proxy on a single ISDN IP could do this 10 years ago.

Encryption

It's a bit more nasty than locking up the EPG.

The idea is that ONLY approved PVRs would be allowed the EPG. A PVR is useless without an EPG. Also the EPG would prevent the PVR recording if desired.

The fact the raw video is not encrypted is irrelevant if some Sports or Hollywood Company is deciding what you want to record and watch later because you are out.

Catchup/iPlayer/VOD TV of broadcast programs on Internet is so incredibly wasteful, and only available to a proportion of users. Decent 2Tbyte PVR with several Tuners could even record EVERYTHING, so you don't even need to plan in advance... Quality VOD at up to 20Mbps...

Open Source

Seems people still missing the point.

It's not about how good or bad the SW is or how good/bad MS is.

As the article suggests, Google's Open Sourcing is misleading as what they want are closed locked platforms with no user freedom.

There are Netgear Routers with GPL published Linux source. But you can only load Netgear supplied updates.

The Archos 605 family and others use Linux before their newer Android tablet. Both only allow install of Apps/Firmware supplied by Archos.

Many Setboxes use OpenSource Linux. The User has no access to add or change software on many.

Android and ChromeOS should not be hyped or lauded for being Open Source. Both are insidious parasites.

Cheshire

I agree. What ever it is they are doing, it's not a simulation of a Cat's Cortex. It's a bigger version of pointless "neuron" models that tell us nothing much about cognition.

Crazy Talk

"Space Data claimed it could save a new national wireless player $2bn, or construction of 8,500 new towers across the country,"

If you have the same amount of spectrum, then contention just got 8,500 times worse.

HSPA uses 5MHz per sector, or 15MHz per mast. To get near BB speed LTE needs to use 20MHz per sector, or 60MHz altogther.

Let's be generous and say the HAP has 400MHz. Covering the equivalent of 8,500 cells means 8,500 more people on average. Be generous and say the averaging is better on a big cell than loads of little ones, so call it 1000 times.

so per equivalent cell area we now have 400/1000 = 0.4MHz max. 24 times WORSE than 3G/HSPA and 96 worse than LTE.

Such a system is ONLY any use for a small number of emergency Workers, if accessing Internet as well as voice only about 1 simultaneous user per MHz of Spectrum.

In storm conditions it's useless. Storms has always been the problem for HAP. You need them at about 70,000ft even so.

@Nigel Whitfield Neotion

I tested the Neotion Cam with the ethernet connector...

1) You can only record via Ethernet if the TV recognises the channel

2) Playback fails on most TV & Setboxes if there is no channel to select.

It "pretends" to be a CAM. So only works under the conditions and bitrates that the Setbox or TV supports.

It also was inferior picture quality to a couple of Native DVB-t MPEG4 solutions I tested. I used both off air RTE tests and a PC with a Dektec PCI DVB Modulator card (About 1,200 Euro worth). All tests MPEG4 720x576 25i

Captions and sharp edges had noticeable artefacts with the neotion "CAM" Pocket Duo. Given the cost compared with a real set box, the Real setbox is a better solution.

Neotion adaptor

It can't solve the DVB-T2 issue, it uses the built in tuner. Also since it converts from MPEG4 to MPEG2 the bit rate is very high, to avoid re-compression artifacts, a bit higher bit rate than native MPEG2 of same quality would be. HD is FIVE times the data of SD. The CI simply can't manage that amount of data.

The Neotion is a stop-gap solution for Countries with some DVB-t TVs that do MPEG2 and have launched DVB-t MPEG4 SD TV, New Zealand, Estonia, Ireland, France. About 20 countries.

Frankly I'm sceptical about the claimed 60% saving of DVB-t2 compared with DVB-t, I can't see how in real life it's much more than 30%.

Sony's PlayTV USB dongle for PS3 has just recently got MPEG4 fully working (odd that it didn't from start as it could view and pause MPEG4 TV, but failed to play recordings). However it and virtually all other USB tuners, PCI cards and PCIexpress cards/modules won't do DVB-t2.

Most countries just starting Digital Rollout are using DVB-t + MPEG4 for regular non-HD (rather than MPEG2) as that gives 2x to 3x more capacity compared to UK/German/Dutch MPEG2.

Given the continuing failure of Irish Digital TV to launch in 1999, 2001, 2008 and 2009 some people are asking if Ireland should be using DVB-t2 MPEG4 rather than DVB-t MPEG4. Others of course say Ireland should use DVB-t MPEG2 so that the existing Import UK sets with Digital tuners will work... The Neotion "CAM" does however work with Irish test transmissions, but not on all models of TVs.

Pointless

USB Wireless is an absolutely pointless protocol for HDD. Or possibly for anything.

If you have WiFi already, or Video senders what ISM band or channels does this use?

About Time

Years ago when Teachers Smoked in Class and I had a Company repairing Apple II, Research Machines and BBC micros the damage from Cigarette Tar was staggering...

I don't know about "biohazard", but it can certainly be nasty. It's no wonder either that it's a PLUS point in Car and Electronic Gear sales when they say from a "non-smoker" home.

I have always wondered can the tar vapour or smaller volatile particles get in to the HDD surface via the breathing hole filter? HDDs are absolutely not hermetically sealed.

Some discussions here: http://discussions.virtualdr.com/archive/index.php/t-178020.html

(Safety Goggles and mask...)

Psssft!

It's just a Graphics Terminal

Understands HTML instead of VT100 commands.

Anyone that Promotes this or "buys into" this 1960s view of computing is a fool.

It's not a Computer as we know it Jim. Like Android, the "Open Sauciness" will seduce some people, but like Android it's about Google Control, not Freedom.

I don't want iPhone, Andriod or Chrome. EVER. Windows XP is more useful and open than those. Fedora, Unbuntu, Moblin, Maemo are the real Open Source Distros for Phones, Netbooks and PCs.

Mine's the one With Symbian, WindowsCE/Mobile, Moblin, Maemo and Unbuntu Source in the pockets.

Bandwidth

"Bandwidth is a limited resource and 3 would much prefer to support 200 users on a cell with only a few hundred kilobits each, than 20 users downloading video files while the rest can't get at their email - though the 20 users concerned might not feel the same way."

In your dreams... A 21Mbps sector has less than 2Mbps average throughput, and there are up to 3 sectors to a cell typically..

You would be lucky to have 2 sector users able to stream YouTube at once. That's 6 cell users.

3G/HSDPA is rubbish.

It uses CDMA, so fully loaded the range shrinks and available total capacity can be 1/4 as much.

They need to do this and have < 1G caps or it is worse than Dialup. In Ireland due to mad expensive line rental (26 Euro) and poor BB availability they sell this as a fixed solution. Fixed users are online longer than Mobile, so even if many "mobile" are mostly fixed, 3's own assertion that 50% of users are "fixed" makes system 5 times slower than it would be for only mobile users...

See why 3G is poor and Mobile can't Deliver Broadband. True Fixed Wireless can as it is x16 better in the same spectrum:

http://www.radioway.info/comparewireless/CompareHSPAandFixed-v4.html

http://www.techtir.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=1832

Midband Forum. Clue. What's not Dialup but worse than Broadband?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1147

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=60

P2p?

It's a phone network.

Not designed for continuous data.

It's not Broadband.

Some good points

@Eddie Edwards

Great valid point.

I'm sorry to say that UK & Irish goverments, Ofcom and the even worse Comreg don't understand the concept of National Assets.

Also even if relocated there is no need for Digital.

There are huge savings on Video going digital as MPEG4 is so much more efficient. But for real time audio Analogue is superior.

Even FM Broadcast doesn't need closed ever and replaced by DAB. DRM might be a good idea eventually on LW, MW, SW/HF.

CCTV

Probably Central Chinese TV

They have a bunch of free (boring) channels on various Satellites that can be received in UK & Ireland

www.lyngsat.com

FreeTV category is not the country to receive in, but originator:

http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/China.html

CCTV4, CCTV9, CCTV E, CCTV F can be received in UK and Ireland. Though a 110cm motorised dish rather than Sky's soup strainer pointed at 28.2E is recommended for those keen to sample a wide range of non-UK TV.

On a bigger dish in UK and parts of Ireland you'll get Badr (if you have it pointed correctly) for CCTV Arabic.

Future

It's even harder to see one for Windows Mobile.

We'll see what adding QT instead of UIQ and S60/S80/S90 does for Symbian.

And moving Maemo to use QT also

A bit early to write the obituaries.

We may see Android & Symbian competing for top place.

iPhone in 3rd

Maemo (nokia and others?), Palm & RIM compete for 4th, 5th & 6th.

and WinMo in 7th.

Symbian (Symbian + QT, not Symbian + S60) and Maemo (Linux + QT) are more "open" than Android. Android may be OS, but the idea is phones as locked to Google & Operator as iPhone is to iTunes and Operator.

QT != Quicktime, but the formerly Trolltech QUI Tool environment that has I believe been used for KDE and runs on OS X, Windows, Linux, Symbian etc...