Tongue in cheek (sorta)

Story: The Computer I NeedTotal Replies: 21
Author Content
mrider

Nov 10, 2011
12:34 PM EDT
Quoting:Speed of thought: I predict that in the next five to eight years we will see scientific studies proving that the speed of your devices are directly correlated with your speed of thought. Several years ago we met a researcher who spoke very slowly. Conversations with Mike were interesting due to his area of research, but were remarkably slow. Several months ago, he asked us, "My laptop is finally dead. It took eight years, but I really need to get a new one. Could I buy a refurbished one from you?" We got him an old laptop that fit the budget of a PhD researcher. The next week when we spoke with him his speech had doubled in speed. It continues to increase gradually and now nearly matches a typical speech tempo. This is an extreme example, but try it yourself: take note of what type of computer someone uses and see if it correlates to the way they speak and interact.


So that's why Windoze users are so slow. :)
JaseP

Nov 10, 2011
12:51 PM EDT
Cool,... Maybe ZaReason will start producing Linux based tablet computers.

Well,... Tuxchick?!?!
henke54

Nov 10, 2011
1:43 PM EDT
ZaReason 'to arms' maybe ? ;-P :
Quoting:According to them you’ll be able to classify something as powerful as a Samsung Galaxy S II, the most advanced Android smartphone you can buy from a shop right now, as “entry level” in just over 2 years.
http://www.intomobile.com/2011/11/10/telefnicas-european-gen...
Koriel

Nov 10, 2011
3:07 PM EDT
When I first came to the USA folks said I spoke incredibly fast over the years ive been here I have managed to slow my speech down and toned my accent down.

At least it cuts down on all the blank stares I used to get or the "was he speaking english" look.

It was actually fun while it lasted, this would put us Scots way ahead in the speed of thought league!
Fettoosh

Nov 10, 2011
3:08 PM EDT
I don't have a tablet and I hope I will get one when their prices go down a bit. It sure will come in handy as on-the-road computer.

As I always said, tablets have their role and supplementary to desktops.

Good convincing article for those who still bash the Touch Interfaces (Unity, G3, & Plasma Active).

mortenalver

Nov 10, 2011
4:34 PM EDT
I don't think many people have problems with touch interfaces, as long as they are used for tablets and smartphones.The problem is when they want us to use them on laptops and desktops.
jdixon

Nov 10, 2011
5:05 PM EDT
> The problem is when they want us to use them on laptops and desktops.

Especially laptops and desktops which don't have a touch screen. :( Sort of defeats the point doesn't it?
kenjennings

Nov 10, 2011
5:42 PM EDT
I hate touch interfaces. I don't want to see grody, finger schmutz smeared around all over the screen. Keep your fingers to yourself.

Compare the size of a mouse pointer on screen to the average adult finger and see how much more screen real estate is hidden by the finger. To prevent the controls from being lost the user interface has to compensate with larger controls making the high-tech, hundreds-of-dollars tablet look like something from Fisher Price. (Need I point out Windows 8 Metro? ) Consequently, that high res display now presents less information and so is less useful.

The absolute minimum tablet I can tolerate uses accurate, pen input (i.e. Wacom) and a real user interface, not finger painting. And that itself is constraining to the point of discomfort if keyboard support is dodgy. I'm not a glazed-eyes, web-browsing, tube-watching mushroom. I need to do useful work using computers. Keyboard and mouse are standard requirements. Anything else become a compromise and irritating impingement on working comfort.
Fettoosh

Nov 10, 2011
5:54 PM EDT
Quoting:The problem is when they want us to use them on laptops and desktops.


That was the mistake Canonical & Gnome made. They would have been better off if they kept the classical desktop interface as an option and concentrated on the development of touch interface. I guess the bashing is justified for that reason but I also see why they didn't. I believe they see a good opportunity to get on a new trend but don't have the resources to support both.

Quoting:Especially laptops and desktops which don't have a touch screen


Come on Jdixson, Touch Interface doesn't have to be "fingered" to work, it could also work if it was touched by a cursor. :-)

I have a colleague who is using Unity with a mouse, he is not impressed but manages to do the work.

jdixon

Nov 10, 2011
6:01 PM EDT
> ...it could also work if it was touched by a cursor. :-)

It can, but it's like low calorie alcohol free beer: Why bother?
theBeez

Nov 10, 2011
6:14 PM EDT
I find a decent netbook much handier. They're cheaper, have just as good a battery life, can do everything a tablet can - including all these things a tablet can't (like development). I need a decent keyboard. And no, I don't need a cell phone. They're awful and killing for your productivity! (a - can't prioritize, b - single user only, c - blocking). An internet connection and an email client is all I need.
BernardSwiss

Nov 10, 2011
6:16 PM EDT
Tablets are much easier to use on the bus.

Other than that, you're right.

techiem2

Nov 10, 2011
6:33 PM EDT
Quoting:Cool,... Maybe ZaReason will start producing Linux based tablet computers.


They've had it known they are working on one for a while now (a couple months or so maybe? don't remember exactly when they announced it).

Fettoosh

Nov 10, 2011
7:21 PM EDT
Quoting: Maybe ZaReason will start producing...


ZaReason makes good products but they are on the higher end in cost compared to what is on the market. They need to produce a good tablet with Linux installed and be lower cost than what is available now and come with Windows.



mrider

Nov 10, 2011
7:24 PM EDT
Quoting:They need to produce a good tablet with Linux installed and be lower cost than what is available now and come with Windows.
(My emphasis)

That's a pretty tall order for a small manufacturer, don't you think?
henke54

Nov 10, 2011
7:28 PM EDT
kenjennings wrote:I hate touch interfaces. I don't want to see grody, finger schmutz smeared around all over the screen. Keep your fingers to yourself.
I would like that Logitech or an other firm would develop a round-mini-finger-wireless-trackball...here is something, but not wireless and not round : http://androidforums.com/android-accessories/437690-good-min...
Fettoosh

Nov 10, 2011
8:04 PM EDT
Quoting:That's a pretty tall order for a small manufacturer, don't you think?


Let me rephrase my statement

They need to produce a good tablet with Linux installed and be lower cost than what is available now, and which come with Windows.

If you still think that is a pretty tall order, I say how else would you expect them to compete!

Grishnakh

Nov 10, 2011
8:52 PM EDT
kenjennings wrote:I hate touch interfaces. I don't want to see grody, finger schmutz smeared around all over the screen. Keep your fingers to yourself. Compare the size of a mouse pointer on screen to the average adult finger and see how much more screen real estate is hidden by the finger. To prevent the controls from being lost the user interface has to compensate with larger controls making the high-tech, hundreds-of-dollars tablet look like something from Fisher Price. (Need I point out Windows 8 Metro? ) Consequently, that high res display now presents less information and so is less useful. The absolute minimum tablet I can tolerate uses accurate, pen input (i.e. Wacom) and a real user interface, not finger painting. And that itself is constraining to the point of discomfort if keyboard support is dodgy. I'm not a glazed-eyes, web-browsing, tube-watching mushroom. I need to do useful work using computers. Keyboard and mouse are standard requirements. Anything else become a compromise and irritating impingement on working comfort.


Don't be ridiculous; touch interfaces absolutely have their place, on smartphones and tablets. No one wants to use a pen to use their phone; MS tried that a long time ago and it didn't work out too well. Tablets aren't much different; people just want to use their fingers. It doesn't matter if the pen is more accurate, or your icons need to be bigger; for the things you use these devices for, that's an acceptable compromise. You talk about doing "useful work using computers": that's not what smartphones and tablets are for!!! Smartphones are for talking to people, sending short text messages, and sometimes surfing the web if you're bored and not near a real computer. They're also handy for various specialized apps, which again, are things you use when you're not near a normal computer. Tablets are NOT for doing real work (though some misguided people do attempt to use them for that); tablets are "content consumption" devices; they're for watching movies, surfing the web from the comfort of your recliner, and other not-so-serious tasks. Neither of these devices is a replacement for a normal computer.

The problem is when certain software people try to force us to use the same UI on our real computers as we use on these limited-use devices.

Finally, as for Wacoms and tablets, I could be wrong, but I don't think it's currently possible to get Wacom-like accuracy from a tablet touchscreen. I used to work with capacitive touchscreens, and the accuracy of these things is cr@p. Basically it's two sheets of glass with a grid of ultra-fine wires sandwiched inside. There's only a couple dozen wires or so in each axis, so for the 5" touchscreen I was working with for example, there were (IIRC) 128 screen pixels between each wire. The touchscreen chip measures the capacitance between your finger (or an option wired pen) and the screen, and again the results aren't very accurate. I had to implement all kinds of filtering and correction to get somewhat-linear output out of the system, otherwise drawing a diagonal line would yield massive waviness. It was a little better if you used a wired pen with a metal ball at the tip, but still not great. I believe the resistive touchscreens are better for accuracy, but they suck in other ways: the picture looks cr@ppy (because the resistive layer is a not-so-clear layer of plastic which isn't rigid), and worse the plastic gets scratched up very easily so pretty soon your device just looks like cr@p. There's a reason all the successful consumer touch devices use capacitive touchscreens: they look nice, and they're highly durable (glass is very hard and scratch-proof, unlike plastic), and the surface isn't mushy when you press on it. After reading the Wikipedia Wacom page, it does appear they have their own LCD tablet which uses their patented technology, but since it's patented, they're the only one who uses it; I've never seen one of these "Cintiq" devices to say how it compares to the regular touchscreens I've worked with.

mrider

Nov 11, 2011
11:59 AM EDT
Quoting:They need to produce a good tablet with Linux installed
I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that they can do this.



Quoting:and be lower cost than what is available now
This one is iffy, since a small manufacturer is going to have less purchasing power than a large manufacturer. Since they purchase in smaller quantities, they're going to get lesser discounts.



Quoting:, and which come with Windows.
Do you think that Microsoft is going to offer the same discount to a known primarily-Linux manufacturer? Those monopolistic cretins will charge ZaReason a much higher price than they would a Windows friendly lackey.



Quoting:If you still think that is a pretty tall order, I say how else would you expect them to compete!
I'm guessing by doing the first two things (quality and price), and only offering the third (Windoze) at a we're-just-passing-the-cost-on price.

JaseP

Nov 11, 2011
3:00 PM EDT
@rider

As long as it was an x86 tablet, a user could install their own M$ junk...
zentrader

Nov 11, 2011
3:14 PM EDT
Quoting:I find a decent netbook much handier. They're cheaper, have just as good a battery life, can do everything a tablet can - including all these things a tablet can't (like development)
I agree, and you can purchase a netbook without paying a tax to MS.
Grishnakh

Nov 11, 2011
3:46 PM EDT
mrider wrote:Do you think that Microsoft is going to offer the same discount to a known primarily-Linux manufacturer?


I think Fettoosh mistyped here; he's not asking Linux tablet makers to include Windows, he's asking them to make a good product that's also cheaper than the Windows-based competition. That really shouldn't be so hard, since the Linux tablet makers don't have to pay the M$ tax.

This is a good example of how the English language is deficient. We should re-engineer it to have many more cases and tenses, to be like Latin. You'd never have this kind of confusion in Latin.

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