386 Based Linux Powered Telephone 122
nizo writes "A touchphone that sits on your desk running Linux! Has a builtin
touchscreen for dialing a number, makeing notes, etc. Wonder if
these are for sale in the U.S. ? " The website isn't english, but it looks pretty cool. Very nice design. Features an 8 inch touchscreen, and does email and faxing just for good measure. Runs what is described as a stripped down Red Hat 4.2 (there does seem to be some issue about them releasing the code as required by the GPL, but I'm sure they'll make good on their obligation in that dept should they ship the product). Good to see Linux running small appliance devices like this. I'm sure we'll see a lot more in the coming months.
Windows CE (Score:2)
Le sigh.
VoiceMail. (Score:2)
mp3, recording quality sound is disk intensive.
Can somebody (perhaps the LWN author?) comment? (Score:2)
Obviously this thing runs Wince, but whoever wrote the article seems to have talked to somebody who implemented Linux on the thing. So...
1. Linux was implemented first and now they' re switching to Wince, or
2. Wince was implemented first and now they're switching to Linux, or
3. They have two versions, one Linux and one Wince.
Choice three seems unlikely - why would you support two operating systems for an embedded device? Sadly, choice 1 seems the most likely based on the flashing "New Windows CE" text on their web site.
Can somebody who actually speaks Italian or is associated with the company clear this up?
Perhaps they'll change their minds... (Score:2)
With all the Linux hype lately, they might find that the Microsoft marketing hype isn't as useful as it was a year ago.
A prominant Tux logo might actually do more for sales than a 'Windows Powered' logo.
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:2)
That said, when I did it as root, it certainly slowed things down incredibly. Can't remember if it crashed it though.
Re:Imagine what's next (Score:2)
John Carmack had an interesting take on that in his
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
TouchPhone followup (Score:4)
The site is in Italian, as many have surmised.
The sad thing is that the next version of the TouchPhone is evidently going to be based on Windows CE instead. One of the developers from Prisma (who did the TouchPhone code) tells me the change is due to "Microsoft's extreme marketing power." He also points out that the CE-based phone has been nothing but talk for a long time, while the Linux-based system has been out there and working for even longer.
I plan to talk to the people at Sorgenti and do a followup once I figure out what's really going on.
jon
WinCE (Score:1)
Well, I dunno. Ask the editors at Pen Computing magazine who note, in this month's editorial, that while the Palm platform is rocketing (another source quotes something like a 25% surge in 4Q99 sales above predictions), the CE platform appears to be tanking.
> Many people don't realize that an operating system is only as stable as its applications.
Certainly. But James Bond doesn't give a crap. If his Jornada crashes while he's trying to save the world, he's not concerned whether it's because the OS is flaky, or it's that special program Christmas Jones gave him for calculating radiation density... or even just that she's got nice boobs.
It broke. End of report.
I have a Pilot Pro with about a dozen aftermarket apps on it; I use it hourly.
It has locked up _twice_ in 8 months, requiring no more than a soft reset either time. Never lost a byte of data, even though it's developed that "LCD panel cable pulls out of the connector" problem that requires pulling off the back and plugging it back in tight. I can live with that for $129.
Try _that_ on a CE device. Go ahead.
One of these days, the Microsoft apologists will take note that Hotmail _still_ isn't running on NT/IIS... and ask themselves why.
Cheers,
Doesnt it run windows CE? (Score:2)
Scorpi il nuovo !Windows CE! --?!
--
Hmmmm.... (Score:1)
Anyway, this ought to reinvigorate the phone phreaks... now they have an "intelligent" phone to hack into and make it do the free phonecall bit. Wonder how vulnerable they are to EMR...
The wonders of open source (Score:2)
It'll also be interesting to see if any of the hand-held vendors go a similar direction, due to the lack of source, stability, and customization available with Windows CE, combined with the high expense of writing an operating system from scratch.
Re:That slashdot authors.. (Score:1)
On the other hand.. (Score:1)
Slashdot disinformation... (Score:1)
Grazie alla versatilità della sua tecnologia e al sistema operativo Microsoft Windows CE, il Touchphone rende disponibili insieme a partners di primario rilievo , nuove funzioni e nuovi servizi per i suoi utenti. (from the website...)
check your sources...
That slashdot authors.. (Score:4)
Re:TouchPhone followup (Score:1)
Good thing it's not french... (Score:1)
(refer to Leonardo story if you don't get the joke)
Re:TouchPhone followup (Score:1)
One of the developers from Prisma (who did the TouchPhone code) tells me the change is due to "Microsoft's extreme marketing power."
Really? What is this developer's name?
He also points out that the CE-based phone has been nothing but talk for a long time, while the Linux-based system has been out there and working for even longer.
So where can I buy one of these Linux-based phones?
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
Well, that's a pretty small error... (Score:1)
when compared to the fact that, ummmm, well... this thing doesn't even run Linux! It runs Windows CE.
Comedy, thy name is Slashdot.
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
Please, he's just Karma whoring again (Score:2)
If you've seen one Signal_11 post, you've seen 'em all. You know the truth no matter how low you moderate this post.
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
Re:Hmmmm.... (Score:1)
--
Leonid S. Knyshov
Network Administrator
Re:More clarifications and translations. (Score:1)
"fonte" means more of a (smallish) fountain, but it's a somewhat archaic word (the commonly-used is "fontana").
"sorgenti" can be many things: it can be what you say, but it can also be a particular for of the "sorgere" verb, whose meaning would be "those which are rising".
But it could also mean mean sources as in "programming code".
The word has many meanings, but (IMO) is not a very good marketing word: it has a bad "sound" to it, too many consonants, and is too ambiguous (the basic meaning is common, and implies something changing state or rising).
But in the end, it's just probably the last name of the company's founder
More clarifications and translations. (Score:2)
"sirio" is a very common telephone model here in Italy. Just your basic phone, nothing fancy. It's common because it's supplied by the (soon to be ex-) phone monopolist company.
Now about the press releases:
First one:
SMAU '99
Communicate touch after touch
TOUCHPHONE is the new easy-to-use telephone which makes using comunications systems easier: thanks to a big touchscreen, all functions can be activated by simply touching a display.
(skip, they talk about where it will be introduced to the public).
The TOUCHPHONE is an intelligent telephone, an instantaneous Internet access, a PDA, an answer machine, an e-mail manager; a synthesis of the higher electronic technology, expressed as an intelligent product allowing simple and fast communications. Thanks to its versatile technology, and to the OS WindowsCE, the Touchphone allows new functions and services for its users. (skip, it talks of dedicated services from some commercial partners, including banks and phone companies).
With a modern and elegnant design, TOUCHPHONE adapts to different settings in an essential and beautiful manner.
produced by:
Sorgenti s.r.l.
Via Borgomanero 13
28040 Paruzzaro (NO)
Tel. +39-0322-230071
Fax. +39-0322-538400
Notice: SMAU is Italy's biggest IT showcase (If I remember correctly, we're talking about 1 million visitors in 5 days). It's held at the beginning of November.
The second press review is very short, and only deals with the thing's price: Lit. 1.400.000, or 723 Euros (or USD).
The word "Sorgenti" that's all over the place is the producer's name: it translates to "Sources".
Re:Don't Be Absurd, It's Linux (Score:1)
a 486, not a 386.
10" B&W LCD, not a 8".
Maybe WinCE, not Linux...
Slashdot retracted the "French" part after they found it wasn't, but no recognition of that.
Thanks Slashdot. We appreciate the facts that you give us. Maybe the WinCE/Linux thing wouldn't be obvious, but everything else was clear.
"stable apps?" (Score:1)
Come on, even if this were true, it would be pretty pathetic.
And would invite more monopoly attitudes.
And I don't consider ANY part of Office to be well-written. OK, maybe I can give it a "miracle" award for the amount of crap that's completely unnecessary to running a word processor grafted onto it, and it manages to run at all.
Pope
Re:More clarifications and translations. (Score:1)
Sorry for nitpicking, but "sources" may not be the best translation. The concept is closer to that of an artesian well - the "mountain spring" type of water source. There is a more specific word for "spring" in the water source sence in Italian ("fonte"), but if I understand correctly (I am not a native) it connotes a less active type of spring or a well.
The fun part of the word "sorgenti" is that it doesn't necessarily imply water: it could be an active source of something else - crude oil or, in this case, innovation, for example. It's also in the plural (singular is "sorgente"), implying that they are an active source of many different (presumably desirable) things.
In any case, "Sorgenti" still carries with it the mental image of "artesian wells" of whatever it is that you're getting out of it. The verb most closely related to it, "sorgere", means to spring or emerge energetically, like water from an artesian well. The adjective for this is "sorgente" (same word for both noun and adjective! And they say European languages are less ambiguous
Yes, but how much? (Score:2)
As for do we need it, think about everytime you dial up someplace and get the typical "Please listen carefully to the following options..." I know I personally would like to just be able to read them as opposed to sitting through all of them as they "may have changed". Another one would be getting bank info. Most banks are still not convinced they should put services on the Web due to security and use the direct dial method.
This is actually just what I've been looking for.
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:2)
Granted however, I think WinCE is more stable, but that is in it's design.
Re:TouchPhone followup (Score:1)
Sorgenti has no idea what they've created! I want to buy one of these and then rewrite the software to my own liking. I would add an X-10 interface, a little recipe book, a kitchen timer, maybe even add SLIP so I could network to it. Why not make it part of a miniature home security system? Or use it as a calendar?
These kinds of applications take on a new meaning when they are available all the time and don't drain enough power to matter. I can't leave my PC on all the time--it's too noisy. But if I had basic computing functions available just by flipping a switch or touching a touchpad, well, that would be fun.
Re:Update on the web site, and an little idea. (Score:1)
Seems like a good way to handle things to me. I have no idea what the cost would be like, though.
--Bernie
Uhhh, that's Italian, not French. (Score:3)
By the way, pretty sweet looking phone. Sure like to have it to replace this crappy phone on my desk.
--Bernie
Re:"stable apps?" (Score:1)
One word: Emacs
Kaa
at ? (Score:1)
Maybe it HAS been Linux (Score:1)
Embedded Linux Solutions
Among the Linux-based projects developed by us there is Touchphone [touchphone.com], a smart phone that allows to send and receive calls, fax and email, other than having the functionalities of an organizer/agenda. The user interface is aimed toward the maximum ease of use, and it's based on an LCD display with a touch screen. There isn't any keyboard other than the one displayed on the screen.
The phone is based on a relatively simple and cheap hardware platform. Linux presence is seen only at power-on and power-off; other than that, the specific graphical user interface hides the underlying complexity of the product.
Kernel robustness and the environment as a whole is proved by the hundreds of Touchphones in exercise among the final users, with an high satisfaction index. In addition, Touchphone does not require administration by the user, who is completely unaware of using a real Unix system in its phone.
It's not clear.
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:1)
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:1)
Some more points... (Score:1)
And, as a small point of contention, the manufacturer is not required to release any code GPL if it runs in user space. As I'm sure you realize, apps can be closed source in Linux and not violate the GPL nature of Linux itself.
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:1)
NO.
Operating system stability is NOT dependent on application stability. If your applications bring down your OS, there's something wrong with the OS. Sure, you can slow things down to a crawl (intentional or otherwise) even on a `correct' OS, but it should NOT be possible for user-level applications to bring down the OS. If it does, you've either found a bug and/or a design flaw. In the Windows 9[5|8] world it's mostly design flaws (DLL hell, etc) which cause the instability. In the Unix world most of those flaws have been ironed out by now. There are bugs, and there will probably will be bugs forever, but there are far fewer glaring design faults in Unix then there are in `consumer Windows'. Windows NT is probably somewhere in between, with a more solid foundation (probably more solid than the original Unix foundation) but a lot of `implementation issues' (euphemism for bugs) and `speed tradeoffs' (video not fast enough? Move it to the kernel!). WinCE is terra incognita for me in this respect, so I'll refrain from commenting on it.
And that forkomb example you give can be defused quite easily on modern Unixen. Process limits, resource limits and `fork bomb detector gizmos' (as recently seen on Freshmeat) take care of this.
Cheers//Frank
Re:"stable apps?" (Score:2)
And would invite more monopoly attitudes.
I was just trying to make a point.
--
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:3)
Why do people assume Windows CE is unstable and uncustomizable? Windows CE is well-suited for its task -- powering embedded devices on a number of architectures. It's actually a very stable OS, as any user will tell you; it's also very flexible, as any developer will tell you.
Many people don't realize that an operating system is only as stable as its applications. Windows is perfectly stable as long as you're running well-written (don't laugh) programs such as Office and the Windows Accessories. And just as third-party apps can crash Windows, a simple main() { while(1)fork(); } will bring down any Unix box.
--
Sure, a 1.2 GB HDD is the smalles you can buy! (Score:1)
Translation...? (Score:5)
The Profilo Tecnico says this:
Cpu 486 " Intel " Ram Memory: 8 Mb Simm Hard Disk: 1.2 GB -- parallel for external connections 10.4" LCD DISPLAY, monochromatic, backlit VGA 640 x 480 Low emission
Hard Disk: 1.2 GB
9.4" TOUCH SCREEN High precision and fast Activation -- touch with finger or pen
MODEM/FAX 32 V. bis - 14.400 bps Group 3 fax reception and transmission: Protocol T.30 supported In agreement with standards V.33, V.17, V.29, V.27 ter and V.21 channel 2
Power loudspeaker: 200 mW microphone sensitivity: 44 dB
One of the press reviews (in italian as well) says this:
GPL Anyone? (Score:1)
Re:*italien*, pas français! (Score:2)
I want one! (Score:2)
posted with mozilla m12!
That Aint French (Score:1)
Looks like Italian to me. I found this site
nearly a year ago, IIRC, and they still have
not released the source code. The phone it's
self is pretty cool, as is what they've done
to the kernel. It's got a little hard drive
in it and they've tweeked the file system
so a fsck is not needed if tou kick the plug.
Still I'm wondering if they will ever release
the source.
That Aint French (Score:2)
Looks like Italian to me. I found this site
nearly a year ago, IIRC, And they still have
not released the source code. The phone it's
self is pretty cool, as is what they've done
to the kernel. It's got a little hard drive
in it and they've tweeked the file system
so a fsck is not needed if tou kick the plug.
Still I'm wondering if they will ever release
the source.
Re:Please, he's just Karma whoring again (Score:1)
--
BluetoothCentral.com [bluetoothcentral.com]
A site for everything Bluetooth. Coming in January 2000.
Re:huh? (Score:1)
The phone runs on a 486 (not 386), has a 10.4" VGA display and the OS is...
Windows CE!
No mention of Linux is on the website. Absolutely. Now, either linuxnews is victim of a nice christmas hoax, or they made up the article without checking anything at all.
And of course, slashdot is here to report all the facts, yeah right.
Re:*italien*, pas français! (Score:1)
Re:Can somebody (perhaps the LWN author?) comment? (Score:1)
And I don't think the the lack of an embeddable web browser is proof of "Microsoft's extreme marketing power"...
And in reply to 101001110101 (I think
The new interface is a loadable UI module that replace the normal CE interface.
Another thing, giving the extreme modularization of the code modules, Windows CE can run in 140kb of ROM, kernel and filesystem only. The fact that the AutoPC, the Palm sized PC and the H/PC have quite different user interfaces should have been noted by now. Whoever talks and balks about something without being informed is not giving a good service to his/her "cause". It only makes him/her look like a moron when the facts are presented.
Re:Probably Linux (Score:1)
Re:Maybe it HAS been Linux (Score:1)
Probably a first prototype (with the 386 and the 8" screen) was developed in linux by Prisma, and the current product uses Windows CE.
Again, they're targeting this device as an internet appliance; Windows CE has a good browser (not at the level of IE5, but getting slowly there), meanwhile I'm not aware of any embeddable browser for linux. Remember, there are only 8mb of RAM and they're not going to use X.
I'd say that linux has even less opportunities in the internet appliance market than Windows CE, all the internet graphical software (browser, email client) requires X, and X requires gobbles of RAM. Windows CE can run in almost no RAM (well, you probably want some to store the loadable modules
Re:GPL Anyone? (Score:1)
Re:But it DOES run Linux OK? (Score:1)
Re:huh? (Score:1)
The babelfish thing was for the general population around here...
Re:WinCE (Score:1)
And this referes to stability... how?
I have a Pilot Pro with about a dozen aftermarket apps on it; I use it hourly.
Good for you.
Try _that_ on a CE device. Go ahead.
What? Pulling off the LCD? Or simply have a Casio E-10 running without any lock/crash/whatever since April 1998? (used hourly, thankyouverymuch)
One of these days, the Microsoft apologists will take note that Hotmail _still_ isn't running on NT/IIS... and ask themselves why.
First: Microsoft apologists?! Slashdot posted an old and, by now, incorrect piece of news, religiously showed down our connection simply by the fact that linux is mentioned and without any checking whatsoever! This is bullshitting the readers, not providing news, damnit! The least anybody can do is pointing out the fact that this device ran linux (in early 1999) and since April it's sold running Windows CE. What's to apologize here? It's not my fault if editors around here are not multilingual...
Second (NT/Hotmail): why, oh why you should change a system that works fine? Just for the heck of it? I understand that it would be a great PR stunt, but it looks like Microsoft cares most about the fact that the system is running and providing a reliable service than trying a (never without problems) complete transition to another OS and other hardware (somehow I don't think that the database server under Solaris is running on intel processors...)
Again, and this is a trend I'm noticing more and more around here, people talk just because they have a mouth (or a keyboard, in this case). You obviously have never used a Windows CE device.
One last minor point: Windows CE has not been developed as a palm-sized device OS. Eventually it found a way there, but the PalmOS is probably better suited to the task, given the limited hardware resources on the Palm platform. It works fine, not incredibly snappy, but it does its job. With the introduction of color Palms, we're going to see a HUGE reduction on battery life and speed and a general increase in bulkiness of Palm devices. Guess what? They will start to look like... Windows CE devices!
It's entirely a speculation, but I can't see technological breakthroughs that will allow Palm to be better at the same hardware level than a Casio E-105, for example. And if they use reflective LCDs, they'll have developed a nice paperweight. Reflective LCDs work fine with the Color Gameboy, but put it near a TFT and it simply disappears.
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:1)
May I ask why?
Re:huh? (Score:4)
Now, running Babelfish on their press release:
TOUCHPHONE is the new telephone, simple to use that it facilitates the telecommunication services: thanks to a screen touchscreen, of great format and visibility, all the functions come activated touching the display simply. The new TOUCHPHONE will come introduced to Smau ' ' 99 (Milan, 30 September 4 October). Microsoft Stand (pad.22), Wind (pad.15/1 b 37), Ambrosian Bench Veneto / Cariplo (pad.14/1 b12 - c13), Sources (pad.15/1 b 36). The TOUCHPHONE is an intelligent telephone, an immediate access to Internet, an agenda electronic, one telephone secretariat, an electronic mail manager; the synthesis of worst electronic expressed in an intelligent product for one simple, fast communication and without limits. Thanks to the versatilità of its technology and to the operating system Microsoft Windows CE, the Touchphone makes available with partners of primary relief, new functions and new services for its customers.
linux phone available now, $80USD (Score:1)
Instead of putting the computer in the phone, you connect your phone's base station to the computer. It logs Caller ID, does voice dialing, etc.
Just look for [microsoft.com]
Microsoft PC Phone System MP-900... hey, dont laugh, it just attaches to your PC via a serial port, it woulwnt be bad to reverse engineer it. Would it be great to make calls via your computer on a phone with the MS logo replaced with the penguin?
Re:huh? (Score:1)
without the need of babelfish. It seems
to me that they are using Windows CE,
and not Linux. Probably they have switched
to Windows, since in June they announced
that they were using Linux.
Re:Lazy bastards.... j/k (Score:1)
No, our friends and relatives have a home phone, work phone, cell phone, second line for the FAX/modem and a pager. And they keep moving every few years just when we start to remember how to find them. And the ones that don't move live in area codes that are being split. This often involves changing from a 7 digit to 10 digit dialing plan.
I can punch the numbers, but I can't remember them.
Amazing... (Score:1)
Moderate this down (-1, Sleazy)
--
Re:Amazing... (Score:1)
--
and what about multimedia kiosks? (Score:1)
jaguar / negative edge
OK, I see (Score:1)
Of course, I still don't think it had to be moderated down for disagreeing with the rest of
Especially that blocking thing; that would be really cool
Re:The wonders of open source (Score:1)
Linux IS involved !!! (Score:1)
"Solutions Linux Embedded
Between the plans based on Linux and from developed we we can cite the Touchphone, an
intelligent telephone that allow to send and to receive telephone calls, fax and electronic mail,
beyond to having funzionalitá of agenda and organizer. The interface customer is imporontata to
the maximum semplicità of use and is based on display a LCD and a touch screen; keyboard does
not exist, if not designed to video.
The telephone is based on one platform relatively simple and economic hardware.
The presence of Linux in the Touchphone is only revealed to the ignition and the extinction; for
the rest, the interface graphical customer purposely designed completely hides the real one
complessitá of the machine.
The robustness of the kernel and all the atmosphere is testified from the migliaia of exemplary of
Touchphone near the final customers with highest degree of satisfaction. Between the other,
Touchphone does not demand administration from part of the customer, of all the unaware of one
of trovarsi to use a true Unix system to the inside of just the telephone.
Prisma Engineering has developed completely the software of the Touchphone, realizing from
zero the applicativi and adapting the software giá available for Linux. Particular attention has
been dedicated to the configuration of the kernel and the distribution of installation, choice
purposely for the funzionalitá of the Toucphone.
Analogous solutions to the Touchphone, in which the presence of an operating system standard
is hidden the customer and all the system is dedicated to the realization of a particular one
funzionalitá can be adopted in many other fields, from the consumer to the instrumentation.
The advantages can be reassumed in a null cost for the royalties of the operating system, joined
to one extreme affidabilitá, advanced to that one of many commercial systems. The disponibilitá
of sources of the kernel not standards and the realization of driver dedicated to peripheral new
concur hardware adaptations or however not standard. "
Linux Phone (Score:1)
(JOKING!)
Flame Bait Follows.
Re:Lazy bastards.... j/k (Score:1)
Re:1.2 GB HDD?!?!?! (Score:1)
I'd rather have flash RAM, but a fair amount of some kind of storage is needed.
Re:Update on the web site, and an little idea. (Score:1)
Update on the web site, and an little idea. (Score:2)
Reading the article on linux weekly news, I see that the only problem these guys had was related to a corrupt file system.
I never shut down gracefully my phone, and I know that I am not the only one.
My question is : how expensive would it be to use Flash Ram instead of a hard drive? Look at Cisco routers, they don't have HD
But I don't know anybody who unplug his router to make room for the coffee machine though
Too bad that the next version uses WinCE (Score:1)
Ciao
Stefano
Tight HW requirements (Score:2)
I just love it. Just when MS is burning mountains of cash trying to force CE down people's throat in the embedded market, the little Penguin comes along and says, "Hey, got a spot in this embedded phone project?" -- "Yeah, but we have tight HW requirements..." -- "No prob, I can run on a 386 with minimal RAM!" Bye-bye MS bloatware, Linux rules!
Linux has been a lot of things since it came into being. One of the best things it still is (and hopefully continue to be), is that it does not come with idiotic system requirements. MS bloatware's requirements (need i80986 at 500MHz, 2.1GB of RAM, 4GB of spare HD space, at MINIMUM) is just ridiculous. OK, I'm exaggerating. But you get the idea. To me, it sounds like both a marketing strategy to milk the cash cow by not bothering about bugs in your software so that users need to continually upgrade, and making each upgrade require so much *minimum* hardware that the poor user has no choice but to dish out more cash and upgrade hardware as well as software. Then along comes Linux, minimum requirements? i386, couple of MBs of RAM, and away you go. OK, it's not quite that, if you want X and other big software like that, but at least Linux is adaptable enough to be able to run on minimal HW. Windows? It comes as a 500lb package. Take it or leave it. Either you show your $$$ or go sit in the corner and cry. (Until a nice Penguin comes your way :-)
Something available now? (Score:1)
I know this is late, but here. (Score:1)
Sources propose a system of communication absolutely innovative, easy to use and still more suit today.
Touchphone is an intelligent telephone, an agenda electronic, one telephone secretariat, a manager of mail electronic, the ideal vehicle in order to surf immediately in Internet. Touchphone is the synthesis of the highest technology electronic expressed in a studied product in order to facilitate one simple, personal, fast communication and without you limit.
Touchphone arranges of a intuitivo software of management and immediate that will guide you to the best one I use of the apparatus. Moreover, it is equipped of one screen touchscreen of large format and visibility, that it concurs to select, to activate and to manage all its functions, simply grazing the commandos who appear to video.
Windows Ce, new and the revolutionary arrange operating of Microsoft, still exalt more the performances than Touchphone, the point of arrival for the " network " of the communication and the information. Browser the Internet of Windows Ce will transport to you in the network with extreme praticità and it will allow you to know Whappy, new portale Intenet, in order to approach more the services and the news modernized on:
Economy
Sport
Technology
Events
Music
Travels
Culture
Equipped of a personalizzabile system, Touchphone autoaggiorna and adapted to the most varied requirements, as an example making to find you to mattino a complete picture of the news that to more interest you, of e.mail and the calendar of the main events of your city.
Characterized from an essential and elegant design, Touchphone very adapted to every type of atmosphere.
But can it encrypt? (Score:1)
I'm not the engineer I'd have to be to actually build one myself, but it seems to me it shouldn't be hard. The bit I got stuck on was how it would interoperate with regular phones - it might have to be able to understand what kind of device was on the other end of the line, and I think Joe Consumer probably won't like a phone that starts off every conversation with a burst of static as the secure phone tries to figure out if there's a modem on the other end of the line. Nonetheless, I'm sure it's possible. A coworker just mentioned the possibility of building a switchable-mode phone - if you know the other person has a secure phone, you turn the "secure switch" on before calling. Comments?
Imagine what's next (Score:1)
Soon we will have open sourced PDA's, Smart House controllers, Lots of cool widgets for the car to link in GPS etc.
I wonder whats next??
Automation city (Score:1)
"There is infinite hope, but not for man." -- Franz Kafka
Lazy bastards.... j/k (Score:2)
Re:1.2 GB HDD?!?!?! (Score:1)
Babblefished (Score:1)
"the synthesis of worst electronic expressed in an intelligent product for one simple, fast communication and without limits."
and
"All the services of fixed telephony of Wind and all the resources of the Web within the new Touchphone immediately available on the tip of the fingers."
Looks like babelfish has a sense of humour
Why not? (Score:1)
Probably Linux (Score:1)
One of the most interesting Linux based project developed at Prisma Engineering is the Touchphone , which is an intelligent phone, fax and email capable, integrated with and answer machine, with a touchscreen and LCD based user interface. The telephone is based on a simple and inexpensive hardware.
They go on to briefly explain what they did with Linux, etc. Though it seems they have beefed up the hardware of the phone, it is doubtful they would've made a complete 180 in such a short period of time. The mention of Windows CE in the press reviews and on the Touchphones own website is probably just disinformation.
Don't use Flash Ram instead of a Hard Drive (Score:1)
Cisco Routers use Flash to store the Operating System, but they use NVRAM to store the configuration and logged information.
Flash devices have a finite number of writes (usually 400-1000) before they start to fail, but a practically infinite number of reads.
It's not overly expensive to do (Since you don't need to have a full distribution loaded, just the essentials) but you need to run the system from ram and find another way of storing frequently changed data if you want it to last. See the Embedded-Linux-HOWTO for more information.
Re:Tight HW requirements (Score:1)
linux AND ce! : interoperable s/w call switching? (Score:1)
your call is being held in a queue whilst our voice systems support group resolves an intense debate to decide the correct device architecture for low cost appliance operating systems . . .
your call will be answered just as soon as one of our operators settles on a consistent user - interface paradigm,
you are caller number . . "
(yes i know not good use of "architecture" or any other technical bit - let me be, i should be asleep now)
1.2 GB HDD?!?!?! (Score:2)