Is it me, or is this article just segments of what basically amounts to the comments section of a Slashdot article? It seems like everyone who is quoted is referenced as a "Slashdot blogger".
Post PC Era will begin in earnest when the functionality that we currently see in the home computer is replaced by numerous small appliance-type devices
The truth is that large numbers of home PC owners don't really want a computer for everything a computer can do. They want to be able to do email, surf/shop, maybe play games and stream movies, without having to deal with a lot of "geeky" system stuff. This is why iPads are doing so well at replacing computers in homes.
Other devices we're already seeing include "the oven that you can turn on with a text message, the espresso machine that you can control with a text message, home security systems and cars that can be controlled from your smartphone
Here I disagree. When I want to make a pizza, I want to walk up to the oven, turn a dial to 425, done. I do NOT want to send a text message to my oven telling it to turn on. This whole idea of "smart" appliances seems to me to be pushed by people who don't actually use appliances.
It's nice (but maybe not safe) to preheat an oven as you leave the office. When used with combo fridge/oven like some high-end models, you can put in a roast and it will stay cool until the timer goes off and the oven kicks on. Dinner's ready when you get home.
> This is why iPads are doing so well at replacing computers in homes.
Are they? Do you have any stats on this? I don't know anyone who has a tablet and no computer. I know a guy who briefly considered buying at tablet with no computer, but ended up buying a laptop instead.
I've worked with some people at lower-end jobs through college who asked to come over after work because they got a new iPod and needed a PC to load some music. They didn't have a computer, but they had an iPod. There's no reason to believe the same couldn't hold true for an iPad.
Myself, I have a tablet (HP Touchpad) and my desktop is used almost exclusively for mass storage. I can kick back in the recliner and bash away on a bluetooth keyboard.
I think smart appliances will catch on eventually, but not until you can say "Siri-- I'd like pizza for dinner" and the phone takes care of everything. Until then, there's just not enough benefit.
Nevertheless, I think I would appreciate an oven that let me toss a pizza in there, say "Pizza" and it would preheat the elements, expose the pizza to heat for a set time, then shut off automatically. We have this for microwaves today, and even though popcorn bags sternly warn "Do not use the popcorn button", the popcorn button works just about every time.
> When I want to make a pizza, I want to walk up to the oven, turn a dial to 425, done.
My problem is that, when I want to make a pizza, I'm usually at work. What I'd like to do is put a pizza in the oven in the morning. Then, the oven starts itself in the evening so that, when I get home, my pizza is already waiting for me. If work runs late, I just send the oven a text and it delays the cooking.
The knob should still be there, on the off chance that I'm home, but I'd be nice to have more than one interface.
Not to dump on the ARM love, but you can get Intel Cedar Trail boards which compete really well on performance and price (especially if you need RAM) with those offerings. And of course have the advantage of being plain old PCs:
True enough. Embedded devices are never 1:1 in feature sets. So you'd have to add a $10 DIMM and a $20 power supply. And then you'd have the choice between a $74 stick based on an unknown SoC ("Allwinner A10" apparently is a single 1GHz A8) with minimal software support and a $110 dual core 1.6GHz Atom with 8x the RAM. And it runs Ubuntu/Fedora/SuSE/Mint (hell, even windows if you're into that) out of the box.
I'm not dinging the ARM stuff really, just pointing out that for a lot of these "cheap computer" applications the best choice is often just a PC.
Is it just by clock rate (and # cores), or is Atom faster than Celeron M, per clock-cycle?
The ARM cortex-A8, -A9, -A15 give performance of 2.0, 2.5, 3.5 DMIPS/MHz, so I'm thinking Intel might have done the same (though they probably focus on improving performance per watt). Other factors influence performance, but at least this gives some idea.
This has always struck me as inevitable.
People always joke about "the year of the Linux desktop", implying that there must at some point be some head to head battle with Microsoft that must be won.
In reality Linux is more like a treacle , slowly moving through the computing world filling in gaps and commoditizing everything it touches.
If you already have the guts of a system for free, it moves the value elsewhere which currently seems to be in providing user experience or "service" computing.
Research In Motion has been working on this, but with BB10. They are already hooking up their blackberries with the auto. BB10 is a RTOS, but if anyone here knows the compatibility, if any, with Linux please spill the beans.
It's not Linux but somewhat related: the Always Innovating HDMI dongle. They were talking about a price point of $80 for Android 4.0 on a dongle that plugs into your tv HDMI slot.
Any idea where these will be available?
Would it be possible to make a DIY version of this (it doesn't have to be as small or as attractively packaged, just that it would be great to have those functionality now). Would make a fantastic hardware/software hacker project.
23 comments
[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 44.2 ms ] threadThe truth is that large numbers of home PC owners don't really want a computer for everything a computer can do. They want to be able to do email, surf/shop, maybe play games and stream movies, without having to deal with a lot of "geeky" system stuff. This is why iPads are doing so well at replacing computers in homes.
Other devices we're already seeing include "the oven that you can turn on with a text message, the espresso machine that you can control with a text message, home security systems and cars that can be controlled from your smartphone
Here I disagree. When I want to make a pizza, I want to walk up to the oven, turn a dial to 425, done. I do NOT want to send a text message to my oven telling it to turn on. This whole idea of "smart" appliances seems to me to be pushed by people who don't actually use appliances.
Except that I got stuck in traffic, had to run an unexpected errand, etc.
Almost every stove that I've seen for the last 20 years has had a "delayed start" feature. Do you know anyone who has ever used it? I don't.
I don't think that the ability to trigger the timer remotely makes a significant difference.
Are they? Do you have any stats on this? I don't know anyone who has a tablet and no computer. I know a guy who briefly considered buying at tablet with no computer, but ended up buying a laptop instead.
Myself, I have a tablet (HP Touchpad) and my desktop is used almost exclusively for mass storage. I can kick back in the recliner and bash away on a bluetooth keyboard.
Nevertheless, I think I would appreciate an oven that let me toss a pizza in there, say "Pizza" and it would preheat the elements, expose the pizza to heat for a set time, then shut off automatically. We have this for microwaves today, and even though popcorn bags sternly warn "Do not use the popcorn button", the popcorn button works just about every time.
My problem is that, when I want to make a pizza, I'm usually at work. What I'd like to do is put a pizza in the oven in the morning. Then, the oven starts itself in the evening so that, when I get home, my pizza is already waiting for me. If work runs late, I just send the oven a text and it delays the cooking.
The knob should still be there, on the off chance that I'm home, but I'd be nice to have more than one interface.
MK802: $74, 1.5GHz single A8, single Mali400, 512MB http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/563764893-Freeshipping-... (NB: many websites give 1.5GHz/Mail400, but not listed on the device's own site...)
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BOXD2700MUD-Dual-Core-Mini-ITX-M...
I'm not dinging the ARM stuff really, just pointing out that for a lot of these "cheap computer" applications the best choice is often just a PC.
People really think super tiny machines are very very amazing. I wonder if it's a discontinuity in value perception.
The Atom probably uses a bunch more power, though.
(Personally I am fond of x86 SBCs such as PCEngines Alix, since they run normal OSs, like you said.)
Do you know how this compares with the original eee PC 701? (Celeron M ULV 353 (512K L2 Cache, 900 MHz, 400 MHz FSB), underclocked to 600MHz http://ark.intel.com/products/27157/Intel-Celeron-M-Processo...)
Is it just by clock rate (and # cores), or is Atom faster than Celeron M, per clock-cycle?
The ARM cortex-A8, -A9, -A15 give performance of 2.0, 2.5, 3.5 DMIPS/MHz, so I'm thinking Intel might have done the same (though they probably focus on improving performance per watt). Other factors influence performance, but at least this gives some idea.
In reality Linux is more like a treacle , slowly moving through the computing world filling in gaps and commoditizing everything it touches.
If you already have the guts of a system for free, it moves the value elsewhere which currently seems to be in providing user experience or "service" computing.
Any idea where these will be available?
Would it be possible to make a DIY version of this (it doesn't have to be as small or as attractively packaged, just that it would be great to have those functionality now). Would make a fantastic hardware/software hacker project.
Edit - link: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/01/always-innovating-hdmi-an...
http://elinux.org/Development_Platforms