* Posts by mmeier

1326 publicly visible posts • joined 31 Jan 2013

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F-35s grounded by spares shortage

mmeier

Re: Let's make planes that can't fly......

Actually the M26 Pershing was a nice "Kitty Killer". Fielded late in the war but had the need been there it would have been available earlier. And the "lesser panzers" (Most german tanks where Panzer III and IV) could reliably be killed by the Sherman (Both 75 and 76mm variants). Or by the british Cromwell and the Comet.

mmeier

Re: Let's make planes that can't fly......

Actually the Shermans, Cromwells and Comet where all superior to the oh so great Panther and Tiger in three important areas:

Reliability and Repairability

Numbers

Capabilities of crew

The vaunted "Panther" averaged a major breakdown in the running gear one per 150km and fixing that was very time consuming. The oh so superior Tiger (and more so the Tiger Ausf. B "Königstischer" - that actually was closer in many ways to a Panther btw) had major weight and reliability problems with the engine and where only rail-transportable with special tracks. Tracks that where not useable off-road due to ground pressure. All three had an extremly underpowered turret traverse engine and more than one of them died due to that (The Cologne Panther is a nice document on this - the M26 simply out-rotated the poor lil Nazi Kitty and boom - instand roasted Nazis). Situational awareness was lousy for the gunner, crew training, in the SchweineStaffel even more then in the Wehrmacht was high on indoctrination and low on skill and so on

Two leading ladies of Europe warn that internet regulation is coming

mmeier

Re: But Angela has a working brain...

More important our "Federal Gerbil" learned her political skills in a very oprersiv dictatorship (she was a FDJ propaganda specialist back in the GDR) and had an interesting initial political mentor (a Stasi IM - Wolfgang Schnur). And old people often fondly remember the golden "years of their youth" and "want them back". So she does her best to re-create the GDR currently with a secret police state that will make Mielke green with envy

Samsung's Chromebook Pro: Overpriced vanilla PC with a stylus. 'Wow'

mmeier

Can I remove GoogleSpyOS<<<Chrome, stick a bigger SSD in and install a proper OS like Win10 on it?

Microsoft’s ‘Home Hub’ probably isn’t even hardware at all

mmeier

Re: AD for the home user?

Can't say for W10/Home (I have the Pro-Version running) and joining AD domans. But if MS builds another WHS - why not use a "hidden" AD domain (With a nice, simplified UI) for this? No need for exposing all the capabilities to the end user nor is telling them needed. If MS does a "bundle" (Let's call it Surface/Homeserver) they can add some NFC/BT/Whatever based hardware for "auto registration" of new network devices and a simple UI from the store to enter the data on the device.

Hiding complex stuff is the idea of most developments in the Win10 UI. May not be useful in more complex stuff like a company network. But to network 2-3 tablet pc and 3-5 mobiles it would be "good enough".

mmeier

Maybe a new "Windows Home Server" running their excellent (and likely Dragon Natural based) offline speech recognition is coming. After all MS IS producing computers now. Then link the various MS devices your WHS using household will likely have to that (They are on the AD and network already anyway at that point) and use that (And use it as a sales feature to get WHS boxes in-House, killing a Penguin or three). Spreads the processor load (The Surface/Pro will run the Software locally, the phone will use the WHS and so on) and allows for a central box at the same time.

Sounds like something I might buy as a replacement for my aging NAS.

SQL Server on Linux: Runs well in spite of internal quirks. Why?

mmeier

Sounds very interesting depending on what features they will have in the final version and on the price. Today quite a few customers on Linux go "Oracle" for a commercial DB with "all the bells and whistles" but do not need some of the top end (and top cost) features.

mmeier

Re: Benefit

More people that know T-SQL may be an advantage in programming that thing.

mmeier

Re: I have to wonder WHY

80 percent of the customers using Windows and SQl-Server

20 percent using Linux and whatever database there is (If they pay for it - likely ORACLE)

If you can get the 20 percent over to SQL-Server - you reduce your support costs. And Oracle on Linux is not "for free" nor "cheap" so you may be able to argue for it.

Microsoft's Surface Studio desk-slab, Dial knob, Surface Book: We get our claws on new kit

mmeier

Re: with virtually no lag on the unit we tried out when using the Surface pen or...

Well this is theReg so the MUST find something "baaaad" with MS. My guess - no one except some "tech journalists" will ever notice lag.

mmeier

Re: Surface pens

There is no "Bluetooth" tech. It is an NTrig pen, the old "rival" of WACOM used in quite a few other systems and around for a loooong time. For long it lacked good drivers but ever since MS bought a chunk of NTrig THAT was fixed (Around the same time they switched to NTrig on the S/Ps IIRC).

mmeier

Re: In summary.....

Actually the Surface Studio is a closer competition for this beast:

http://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/cintiq-27-qhd-touch

Just with NTrig pen (MS owns part of that company). Given that NTrig Support in W10 is on par with the (excellent) Wacom support and the "typical" tools all exist on Windows for those jobs the work environment is there. And the Studio actually has better color management/range than the Wacom unit removing the need to switch monitors during photo retouching.

Pricing also "fits the range".

An anniversary to remember: The world's only air-to-air nuke was fired on 19 July, 1957

mmeier

Re: just goes to show how little ...

Well 20Megatons would have been rather rare. The USSR deployed them as specialised Silo/Bunker Busters on the SS-18 "Satan" ICBM. The more typical warheads where in the 500-750kt range, good enough for city busting. (The 9MT warhead on the Titan was the biggest US warhead deployed)

mmeier

In the 1950s they likely still used vacuum tubes...

mmeier

Re: ICBMs was the end of air to air nukes etc

Actually no. The Safeguard (US) and Galosh (USSR) ABM systems used nuclear warheads to intercept ICBMs. At least the US system had both Space (Spartan) and Air (Sprint) interceptors.

The ABM treaty was a clever Commie Plot since it allowed two systems per nation only. Doable in a dictatorship (The system still exists and has been upgraded quite a few times) not doable in a democracy...

And according to some sources the S-300 and S-400 SAM (that do have an ABM capacity designed in) do have the option of a nuclear warhead as well for exactly that job...

Windows 7's grip on the enterprise desktop is loosening

mmeier

Re: If they'd made Windows 10...

Define "runs fine" and "Wacom". External tablet or penabled? Pressure support or "as a mouse" etc.

On the german page I find references to external units but not to the internal one on a Helix (Or a Surface/Pro 1 resp. 2, or...)

mmeier

Re: You can't use tablets for everything

I could see 2in1 with a good Wacom or NTrig replacing many of the company notebook+dock that are in use today. Basically they ARE a core-i or Atom notebook that can be used as a simple notepad in meetings, project data wireless to the beamer etc.

Sure in "tablet" mode I am not producing the 10.000 word document. But I sure can produce the outline, draft notes, comment/review/annotate etc. Actually I have been doing that for years....

mmeier

Re: Microsoft are keeping quiet

Let's be honest: Joe Average Enduser does not read the websites where he can read the "Oh Update x does y if you have z" news. He either has Auto-Update on since the days of Win7 or not. And since an unpatched desktop with a 92+ percent market share is a prime target for criminals forcing updates to Joe Average is actually a benefit for the net.

Companies OTOH still can just buy a Enterprise version of W10 and have full decision power over when/what and can/will do it centrally through WSUS.

mmeier

Re: Consumer Win10 upgrades

Actually I asume a lot of them are older boxes getting W10. Why not, Win10 is smaller/less power hungry than W7 and runs on a 2011 core-i box just fine. Not that MS cares as long as the user base, most important in the companies, stays the same and Surface/Pro (and Surface/3) make money.

mmeier

Re: The demise of the PC is greatly exaggerated

Well aside from the fact that I don't need Android for that (WP10/Continuum will allow that as well) the question is Why?

If I really need a "desktop" I'd rather go with a Atom or core-i based tablet pc with LTE. That will likely offer a better performance/price ratio and is useable on the go for reading complex documents and note taking. Let's go "spending crazy" for a second:

+ Surface/3 with LTE (4GB/128GB SSD) and Stylus and a book case => 900€ at around 700gram

+ The dock (if wanted/needed) comes an extra 230€. Or I can simply use the USB-port and HDMI port

The closest android equivalent is a Samsung Note 5/64GB at around 750€ and 200gram

Yes, the Note is lighter but has a smaller screen, a toothpick stylus and 3 month after the Note 6 is out (maybe sooner) there'll be no more bugfixes etc. for it (Cyanogen does not count since it can not support the stylus)

Both are to big for a normal pocket and either end up in a backpack etc or carried along in the bookcase. One is a mere Android phone the other is a fully capabel PC that can run (and due to stylus use) standard programs. And external USB-3 devices without adapters and prayers. Want a checkcard-sized 256GB SSD - For just 99€ you get one, plug and go (Samsung T1) that can be used just like the internal one (Okay, USB-3 speed)

mmeier

Re: Mobes replacing enterprise desktops?

I have also heard stories of guys walking over water and others (from the same region) bending spoons with their mind. I don't believe them either. Win10 installs itself when you allow it to do so. and ONLY then. So the "installs without the users permission" is likely "Freddy Fastclick" going off half-cocked

As for the rest - people who see a OS as an "App launcher" are generally quite open as long as their software runs and is easy to find. Something that for many end users (That have 10-20 regular programs) work just fine with Win8 or 10 and Modern UI.

mmeier

Re: If they'd made Windows 10...

Group 3) is not really a "hater" but the "We have just recently migrated to Win7" group is strong in company IT. And why not, after all to quote Scotty: "A good engineer is always a bit conservative. At least on paper"

Our staff here does Windows (Client and Server), SOLARIS and (for a few "cheap" customers) Linux (Red Hat) and they still do not hate Win10. It's just that "We went W7 in 2013 so why change again now". W8, W8.1 and W10 are tested and supported by our products (and our external IT support) but except a few QS and BYOD boxes currently not in "general deployment".

mmeier

Re: "huge numbers of people thought that sucked so hard that they are still running XP"

My guess is there is a third group of XP users that did not upgrade. The "borrowed the OS from a cousins cousin" group. A lot of the boxes that report XP in internet statistics come from regions with a "loose" approach to intelectual property.

And a "mission critical" XP box most likely will NOT show up on internet statistics anyway. That is more like the SCO Unix box I maintained well past SCOs turn from "builds a brilliant UNIX System 5" to "patent troll". No internet connection, access either remote through RS422 or the console.

mmeier

The Interface is "a matter of taste". I prefer it to W7 (even more to W7+Aero) and many people who see an OS as "a tool to run my 10 prefered programs" liked W8 and W10 as good as/better than W10.

The store is a "use if you like, ignore if not". I actually installed ONE program from it (Miracast setup for the MS Miracast receiver), the other programs came in the "old fashioned way" (DVD)

Cloud is a "what type of cloud/what for". The company runs a Sharepoint server. That is basically a "local" cloud with backup and all when you add VPN access. Works fine and data security is "how good is your admin".

Privatly I use OneDrive for syncing documents over to a PC at my parents house and Amazon as a secondary backup for pictures. Works fine so far but the data is "not really important/replaceable"

mmeier

Re: Saddo!

I still do not see the link. Yes, a good hardware like an Optiplex-series DELL lasts a LONG time (I have a pre core-i box here running SOLARIS, that box was a XP initially) but that same old hardware often runs Win10 just as well (my core i5 tower came with Win7 and is now Win10. And yes, I bought W8 for it as well)

mmeier

Re: is this bit a leftover from earlier draft

For some a iThingy or Fandroid will work in the consumer/private use field. For others - not so much.

If you are into photography with a DSLR/DSLM, into drawing on/with the computer or into some serious gaming the ARM CPU and attached hardware won't do. That is (and will be for the near future) the domain of full sized CPU and often Windows/CS Software (i.e GIMP can replace PS Elements - if your time is cheap)

mmeier

One wonders why sales of hardware and sales/activations of an OS that has a smaller footprint that Win7 are mashed together. Basically every box that could run Win7 "fast enough" can run Win10 just fine (some notebooks with missing drivers excluded) so this is a first (well second if you count Vista) time that the new Windows version does NOT call for a new hardware.

My Win10 systems are basically all "2010/11 vintage" (The Helix is a 2014 production run but the design is older) and all run as fast/faster unter W10 than they did under W7 (or W8 in case of the Lenovo). Same for other systems of similar age. So the hardware stays (maybe a new drive) and the OS changes.

mmeier

Re: If they'd made Windows 10...

Let me see. My private/BYOD "Notebook" is a Lenovo Helix (A-series). If I put a Linux on it I will loose:

+ Use of the WACOM hardware (Linux drivers are "early beta" IF they exist for the choosen Distri)

+ Use of OneNote and Journal with their local storage / store in company Sharepoint capabilities (It's Windows so it's allowed in the company network/domain, Evernotes "cloud only" approach does not work for my usage)

+ Use of DPP, Lightroom and PS Elements (With an external USB-3 SSD)

+ Use of EyeFi Cards and Selphy Photoprinter

+ Use of MiraCast

+ Use of about 20 programs for my hobby that do not exist in non-Windows versions

+ Use of Outlook/Exchange (It's Windows so it's allowed in the company network/domain)

Hey Windows 10, weren't you supposed to help PC sales?

mmeier

Re: My next machine will be a desktop.

I do not care about ALL PC. All I do care are MY units and MY needs (Unless payed for that I care about other peoples PC as well)

And for ME - those items are enough to drown the penguin on desktop/mobile units (including phones). Servers get SOLARIS anyway...

mmeier

Re: Windows 7 Is Keeping Sales Up

Actually the "compatibility problem" is far less W10 and far more "idiotic third party software companies". IF one follows proper rules than stuff like changing locations for files will not matter. I have some "fan written" software for games around here that was written in the days of Win2000 and still installs/runs on W10 without a problem since Installer and software follow "da rules". And some commercial XP software that had problems with Vista/W7.

Same for drivers. The ones that "worked in W7 and now fail" are typically NOT true W7 drivers but made use of MS support for older driver models (Typically 2 versions) for (in that case) XP and just changed the label. Well, in W10 MS finally cut that support of.

mmeier

Re: Hmmm, but I thought ...

It has a smaller size on the harddrive than W7 (but so did W8) and has a slightly smaller memory footprint since it ditched a driver model and some "old stuff" support.

That overall makes it run a bit faster on older boxes with 2-4 GB of main memory (Net/Notebooks, some tablet pc)

mmeier

Re: Improve PC Specs

Strange, my version of W8 and W10 consume LESS hard drive space, LESS memory and run slightly faster OOB because the shitty Aero is gone (Granted, I killed that Aero crap within 5 min of getting a W7 box). Are you sure you are not running an X-Windows Manager that LOOKS like W8?

mmeier

Re: My next machine will be a desktop.

Because the Penguin has

+ No/beta level support for Wacom/Ntrig digitizers

+ No real equivalent to Lightroom (Nope, Darktable does NOT

+ No real equivalent to Photoshop or even Photoshop elements

+ No equivalent to the full OneNote (or even MS Journal)

....

mmeier

Re: The Purpose of 10

Not really. The shop is the same, the Win8.x apps run on W10. W10 HAS a better integration of the two worlds (Tablet and Desktop), blurs the line between classic applications and apps a lot and actually added a few nice DESKTOP features to the mix. But it runs classic desktop software just fine and most of the time even a tad faster than Win7.

Win10 gets interesting when/if Universal Apps start coming out and that depends on W10 hitting the phones. We'll see...

mmeier

Well, a 2011 core-i unit runs Win10 just fine, actually a bit faster and with less memory needs that it ran the original Win7. So why get a new unit if I do not need some special features (like MiraCast)?

As for the Surface - my guess is MS will take from the OEM in the privat sector (Surface/3 and Surface/Pro are in the big chains Mediamarkt/Saturn here in D) and less from the companies that buy "one source". Ie all our units are Lenovo and that includes tablet pc (Thinkpad/10 and some Helix-B)

And in the privat sector they mostly take from iThingy and Fandroid. The latter is happening quite a bit around here since even a used TPT10 will run circles around any Andy tablet or tablet-pc once you need more than one complex PDF open or review/comment a more complex document.

mmeier

Re: Stopping PC sales Dead!

Not really. They basically make only three systems:

An Atom tablet pc with NTrig (Surface/3)

A core-i tablet pc with NTrig (Surface Pro/4)

A 2-1/convertible with NTrig (Surface Book)

They do not produce a simple notebook or desktop, they do not have a WACOM unit (and some people prefer WACOM), no "rugged" systems and only "low power consumption" CPU so not the first choice for a "replaces all" unit either. That leaves quite a bit of market for the others. And MS is not cheap, the units are priced relatively close to some of the competitors systems of similar capabilities.

How Microsoft will cram Windows 10 even harder down your PC's throat early next year

mmeier

Re: We are thankful

The "For the gifts..." talk typically starts "St. Barbara be praised!" and is typically given when the enemy starts to throw the big stuff on you.(St. Barbara is, among others, the patron-saint of Artilleryman)

Not that I mind MS bringing out the K5(E)s to shell the Penguins at Anzio...

mmeier

Re: Linux is working for me.

Thankfully MS was NOT stupid and did NOT follow the brain dead advice to block Flash or other Adobe software!

Since Windows in various versions runs on 92.x percent of the desktops that would quickly result in lawsuits from users AND Adobe. Lawsuits that MS would LOOSE!

So wipe the froth from your moth, stop stomping with your little floppy feet and leave the adults alone, will you?

mmeier

Re: Linux is working for me.

The problem with Linux is not the core OS, that is POUX - Plain Ole UniX. The problem with Linux for me is the rest. An OS is just a means to run Software and support Hardware, not something important in itself (unless you are an OS programmer). And that is where it is lacking for my needs.

At work I have no choice anyway since company decrees (not that I need one) and it is Windows. Even if given a choice quite a few things would not run (OneNote - no the Apps are NOT the same, local SharePoint, Outlook/Exchange - the only competitor is Notes/Domino, etc)

Privatly I have no choice since needed programs will not run / only run with a lot more effort on Linux. One MAY be able to run Lightroom in WINE - but why spend more effort? There may be a way to run AutoRealm - but the thing is fiddly enough in Windows. And so on

Surface Book: Microsoft to turn unsuccessful tab into unsuccessful laptop

mmeier

Re: Nice hardware, shame about the OS

Actually the Surface/x86 and similar pen equiped units are quite useable under Win7 (actually Win XP tablet edition or better) and have been used that way since 2003/4. The pen is extremly precise and the HWR is fully integrated on the OS level so you have a useable to (very) good "mouse and keyboard replacement" with it. No need for touch on a WACOM/NTRIG equiped unit

mmeier

The equivalent to a decend (brand named) Android tab is a Surface/3. Even that has quite a bit more computational power than a high end ARM unit while achieving similar endurance. Same for the high(er) end BayTrail units from Lenovo (TPT10) if you prefer Wacom over NTrig. With the stylus the whole set of MS Applications is useable within the limits of memory and the CPU.

If you are living in an "MS centric" world with AD based networks and Exchange/Outlook/Sharepoint or Office set - the 10'' Windows unit with inductive stylus is a better choice than any 10 or 12'' ARM unit due to ease of integration (It's "just another Win/x86 PC after all)

mmeier

Re: I wonder how well this would run Linux?

As for "Wacom and Linux drivers": To my best of knowledge the "official" drivers exist for the external grafik tablets NOT for the Penabled technology used in the S/P 1 and 2. The only Penabled drivers for "Linux" are the ones used by Samsung in the Note series and those are "Android", "Closed Source" and IIRC not available for purchase from third parties. There are "open source" drivers for the Penabled system but when I last looked they lacked basically all features that make a Wacom (or NTrig) pen. Basically the pen was recognized as a mouse (No pressure/tilt support, no button support etc)

The S/P3, S/P4 and S/3 all use NTrig and that is (partially) owned by a certain company in Redmond. That may or may not be a problem (MS actually DOES OpenSource and Linux stuff)

The WiFi module may be supported. The S/P2 and better can do MiraCast and that somewhat limits the choice of modules and makes an (open) documentation more liklely.

Grafik either is or soon will be supported for at least the "internal" chip. Intel does produce/support that after all. Any Skylake GPU new features may take a bit before they are available but I'd say they will.

Not sure about power saving modes. Linux is generally not up to the same capabilities as MS here when dealing with new Intel CPUs. I'd expect at least a delay until the systems can get to similar endurance levels / effective use. And depending on the drivers MS delivers with their own hardware they may not get there (MS knows the heat curves of the Surface better than outsiders and may run "optimized" throttlings)

mmeier

Re: $1500 probably means £1500

Lenovo makes one at the same price range, the Helix-B.

Dell could make one, their Venues are basically very fine systems by now and they have done tablet pc before (and well). What they currently lack is a good pen. Going back to WACOM like they did in the generation prior to the Venues would nicely solve that.

Samsung has the knowledge (They did a number of Win7 and Win8 tablet PC) and their prices (and sadly their build) are cheaper. Still, the final batches of the Ativ 500 series where sturdy and well behaved. An aquantance of mine still uses one without problems.

Asus could do it but strangely they never followed up their quite successful EP121 with a similar unit. Even their R7-572 "mobile grafik tablet" is no longer on the market. Nice and sturdy if huge and heavy unit loved by some painters/artists

mmeier

Re: Just like the Acer Iconia then...

Recently bought myself one of the last batch of Lenovo Helix-A systems for 500€ (gen 3 i5/4GB/128GBSSD) as a replacement for my privat tablet pc. Similar design and for my usage pattern more than good enough. Basically a "digital notepad" with Journal or OneNote. Won out over a Surface/Pro 3 due to price and LACK of a retina display(1) and over the Surface/3 due to bigger screen and WACOM.

In my usage pattern the CPU generally runs at 800MHz and the two batteries easily get me 9h of usage. Good enough for a workday without charger. Works nicely under Win8.1 and MiraCast is VERY useful. OTOH if I NEED power - the old beast even runs Lightroom 5 (Pictures on an external USB-3 SSD) resonably fast for "on site/in holliday" work

(1) Font scaling outside MS Software is still a "hit and miss" and without the pixels are to fine. 1920x1080 OTOH on 11.6'' are "just fine".

mmeier

Re: $1500

Lenovo Helix-A and Helix-B - basically the same approach and price tag. The A sold so well that Lenovo did a complete overhaul (Broadwell CPU IIRC). And some of their Yogas while classic "convertibles" play in the same field/use case (Notebook that can be a tablet pc)

Fujitsu Q70x and T70x/T90x series. The Q is close to the book, the Ts are classic convertibles now in the 4th generation.

HP just (re)entered the segment with a range of units in their business line (not commonly seen in the greater retail shops) in that price range.

==================

If one wants a "resonable" priced Win/x86 tablet pc that can run rings around iThingys and Fandroids the Atom-Based units will provide that below 1000€. Again from quite a few companies (Surface/3, ThinkpadTablet, Q5xxx, Dell Venue, HP has some) with capabilities that ultimately even a Note-Series Andy or an iThingy Pro can not match since they lack the support software and "no cloud / company operated cloud" option (OneNote Application, Sharepoint Server etc)

mmeier

Re: But why do I have to choose?

Lenovo Helix-B basically is what you are thinking off. Has a light "keyboard only" cover and a heavier "with battery" keyboard unit that is similar to the Surface/Book in design (well, other way round).

TPT/10 with dock can do the same, has a "classical cover" and IIRC a "folding stand" as an alternate.

mmeier

Re: In your dreams

Depends on what you need/want.

Fujitsu for "mobile workstations". Their T-series convertibles and the matching "pure" Notebooks are monsters when it comes to performance and due to user/hot swap batteries endurance and user-upgradeable/maintainable parts

Panasonic when it "has to follow you to the construction site" with the Toughbooks

High End Lenovo units are still the "system of choice" in many banks. Fujitsu is second to them, often depending on wether the business has desktops in use as well (In that case Lenovo)

Oh and at least here in germany the "upper end systems" are NOT sold in the typical shops (These days mostly MediaMarkt and Saturn), sometimes even the whole BRAND is not (Fujitsu, Lenovo higher end notebooks/convertibles, HP "Business Line" systems).

Microsoft's HoloLens: Here by 2016, mere three THOUSAND dollar price

mmeier

Re: Price doesn't matter

Actually it IS useful for other things. What MS currently shows is "easy to do eye candy" and "selling it to tech journalists, MBAs and other simple persons" rather than "useful application". We'll see AR like Hololense (and likely HoloLens if MS does the integration into Windows as expected) in commercial (and military) use far earlier than in home/game use (The cheaper VR solutions are "good enough" there).

Just two:

If properly done an AR system that displays messages and/or text into my "field of view" (and maybe acts as a BT headset) would be nice for quite a few use cases. Tied into my TabletPC that (with the power guzzling screen of) is waiting in my briefcase it will be a great "reading emails while in the train/plane" device. Depending on what it can do even a "virtual keyboard" like the old "Laserkey" is doable.

Fire departments here in germany carry "cut here" cards for most cars with them to speed up rescue after a bad crash. Add such a system to the safety visor they have on the helmet and instead of sorting through cards and matching them to the wreck the AR system (talking to a box in the fire truck) highlights the spots (and maybe even recommends tools)

Police: No more typing - just look at the number plate, make a gesture and the system tells you the cars record. And since german ID cards and passports are maschine readable (as are the newer drivers licences) you can do that with personal data as well. Police in germany is on the states level (with a second layer on the national level) so funding is likely better that in the US with the city level police.

mmeier

Re: re. battery life

Actually for commercial uses I can see a "complete belt system" with batteries and maybe even an Atom based "PC" (sans display etc) for this. Not as a standard kit but as an add-on for certain environments. Ie logistics or field maintenance personal (Look at a rack / part, system identifies/highlights critical components i.e). These people are used to tool belts or other carried equipment.

Office guys might get a Qi based "wireless" charger that they can put hololense on when going for lunch / coffee / watercooler (or a "Glasses case" with build in batterie and Qi - you'll want a sturdy carry case after all). Or even go for the tool belt approach (I can see quite a few IT guys do that)

MS currently uses games since they are easy to do, show the speed of the system to the "layment" and do not require complex coding compared to useable applications. But AR is more likely to appear in commercial fields first IMHO. Oh, and the military

mmeier

Re: Not going to happen

To put the price into perspective look at the amount of money people are willing to spend on consumer/prosumer camera gear. A "basic DSLR setup" well below the "professional grade" can easily cost around 3000€ ("Full frame": EOS 6D, Tamron 24-70VC and 70-200VC, chances are you add a UltraWide Lense or some fast primes later, going APS-C a similar Kit with a 70D is still easily around 2000€) Professionals pay 2500+ for the camera alone (EOS 5D3)

Or if you want software: A complex graphics package for graph/bpml etc. has licencing costs of 7000-14000€ plus a yearly charge for upgrades in the 1500-3000€ range depending on what features you buy. Still even small/mid sized companies buy that if the see a potential market. Cost of doing business.

So 3K is "peanuts" for a developer/company that sees use for AR applications and even some "interested amateurs" might be willing (and able) to spend the money. And depending on a few features/elements one can see quite a few commercial and semi-commercial applications for this little beast.

Oh and the "openness" never has been a problem for those targeting the MS platform. The MS Dev tools are quite useable and rugged and Windows still is THE client platform in the company environment (where AR will likely appear first). What counts more is a good and easy integration in existing environments. Ie how difficult is it to link HoloLens to Outlook/Exchange or integrate Cortana.

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