Re: wouldn't it be cool to ...
 

About baby-monitor. Great idea - for audio we ALMOST have perfect solution :( with bt-headset and Qole's gnome-mixer but... it's auto muted (with fancy auto checkbox selection in mixer panel) 8-| after few seconds of work <cry>

Re: wouldn't it be cool to ...
 

This is similar to something I've had in my mind for a while. Whether it's "cool" or not is for others to decide, but for me it would be useful. For lack of a better name I'll call the app "lifebase".

The app runs whenever you're not using the screen for anything else. You can add notes and jottings and sketches, which get stored chronologically. You can scroll back in time to find old stuff, or you can find old stuff by using powerful search facilities.

But it's also integrated with the rest of the device. Whenever you take photos, mini thumbnails get added automatically. Whenever you travel somewhere, a GPS track of the journey gets added automatically. Whenever you browse the web, a (collapsible) set of thumbnails gets added automatically. Whenever you play some music, a collapsed list of songs played gets added automatically. Any app can submit notifications to add content.

Whenever you have internet access, everything gets uploaded to the cloud and synchronised with your other devices.

Everything is private by default, but you can mark any item as "share with friends" or "share with everyone". Others can then access the shared parts in all kinds of interesting (cool?) ways. Your public articles and sketches become your blog. Your travels can go to twitter ("10.15am - roger arrived at university"). Your friends can play your playlists on their devices. The stuff you share with your friends becomes available to them in an RSS feed.

And at this point I remember that the Nokia 5800 lets you put thumbnails of four of your contacts onto the home screen, each of which can be associated with two RSS feeds, so that you can keep track of what your friends and family are up to.

So the receiving client already exists. We just need the sending client and the cloud storage and processing.

What's my motivation for an app like this? If I want to jot down a piece of information, I don't want to have to open up an application, write something, save it somewhere, remember a filename, then close the application. I just want to put it straight into an app that's running all the time, and whose data I can access from any of my devices, and which can be readily searched and shared.

Roger.

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roger,
i hope you are aware you just described some of the future version of liqbase :)

the GTD (get things done) principles inside liqbase allow me to instantly throw things into a media stream, at the moment its sketches and images, but I want everything from GPS crumbs, barcodes, text notes, urls, accel events ("omg I dropped my nokia), pictures sketches and any other logical data.

it all comes to time and priorities, night times are meant to be for rest, and this year has really strained me just building as far as I have.

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Hey that's great to hear! I'm impressed by the software that you have already created.

That's for sure.

Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to do any substantial work on the tablets until I see what's coming with the N900 hardware. I can't stomach the thought of putting hundreds of hours into a project, if I might decide to move to a different device.

Roger.

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for me the 810 I got at the start of the year is proof of concept, the time is not wasted.
I've never had a touchscreen device powerful enough to even glimpse what I would like to create, though the ideas have been on thousands of sheets of paper over the years.

Its felt so good to actually start to touch my own code, and I'm looking forward to doing more.

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wouldn't it be cool to get rid of questions like 'why don't you see me - I have a camera!' and have Video Enabled Skype client since we alll (not to mention 770) have built-in cameras?

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xtc, I have to admit, that was the first shock I had with the device.
I read in the reviews it had skype, and everyone I know with skype has a cam.

It was a big let down to know it was voice only.

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I just can't see time spent developing for the existing tablets as any kind of "waste of time". Unless, like lcuk, you are writing really low-level stuff. But if you are a good developer, you go only as low-level as you need to get the speed you want, and you only write that low-level code once. Then you start building on top of that. If the hardware changes, you have to change the low level stuff, but you should be able to drop your higher level stuff on top of it and just recompile. We know that newer maemo devices will be using most of the same toolkits (like GTK), so I don't see how you could waste your time...

Re: wouldn't it be cool to ...
 

I am of the opinion that if the Skype client had been video capable, and the Gchat also video capable there might have been a different sales scenario for the tablets.

I already run liqbase whenever I am not doing anything else on the tablet by default so any added functionality to this great proof of concept is awesome.

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funny thing is that what liqbase is aimed at becoming, one could do today without having to build it all into one app.

whats needed is really a interface for the filesystem(s) that tie into a database and can rapidly pull up a cronological story of the content, complete with previews.

desktop search basically.

but then full screen "swiss army knife" style apps always irks me for some reason. its bordering on stacking one os on top of another.

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I would like to become a publisher. The books would be read to you while the text scrolled. You could turn off either one, of course. What mainly stops this from being done is that commercial voices are expensive, and free voices are lousy. I think that implementing it the way I have in mind could dramatically affect the educational system; most of the books I would publish would be classics, not protected by copyright, and thus available at very low cost. All I would need to kick off this project would be a few very good voices and the software to synchronize the scrolling text with the voices.

This is a continuation of the old idea that hearing text read aloud is good for creating good readers. The problem that exists is that people are being force-fed with information all the time, so they become expert skimmers and ignorers. The way to put a dent in that habit is to encourage people to read or listen to every word in selected literature, at a comprehensible speed. The books would also be enhanced with pictures, word definitions, and maps.

Yes, current technology could do that now, but no one is trying very hard to actually do it.

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geneven,
you sent a chill down my spine as I read that.
That is such a clear understandable and practical idea :)

time codes and syncing are already possible and very real (as you say), however currently its done in reverse: subtitles on tv.

I can hear the speaker go mental as I do a big fast kinetic scroll!! (sure beats the wind noise I was thinking about)

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or maybe a flipping of papers? ;)

like some professor finding himself far out on a tangent, going over his notes, mumbling "where was i..." ;)

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hahaha tso, that would indeed be cool.

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I would like a desktop with more power than all of the gaming computers and supercomputers in the world combined, with a 100,000,000 Thz prosesor and 900,000,000,000 Thz gpu with 900,000,000,000,000 PB (petabytes) of disk space and 900,000,000,000,000,000,000 PB of RAM and a HD3D holigraphic 500 inch display with the resolution of 900,000,000,000 X 980,000,000,000,000 and It would also have the inteligents of a person with an iq of 300 so i can ask it eny question possible and it would know and it's release date is only 900 years away!

900 years later after he steps out of his time capsule.......

I finally have it, it's mine, Mohahahahaha!!!, MOHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

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Dude, in 900 years we will be computers. Enough Said...

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As I said, I'm not that fluent with this stuff... I was thinking initially to initiate the SIP call on a remote tablet via ssh and the CLI. I realized this evening that all you need is x11vnc running on the tablet in the baby's room, and vnc viewer running on the tablet that you are using as the monitor. Then its simply a matter of vnc'ing into the remote tablet to initiate the call, and then answering that call on your own tablet. And yes, I know I'm off topic from the OP's initial post. Haven't tried it, but should work.

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We already have that. That sounds like Wikipedia.

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mmm starwars holographic projector. XD
on the "RealWorld" I think SNES emulation would be cool enough for me.

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After he is done hopping with joy he suddenly pauses, and then realized everyone around him was a robot!!!, he suddenly staggers to his knees and screems NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!, ROBOTS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!, AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

-the end...

:D

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Yes, but can you socialize with Wikipedia? no. :p

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You mean like, "Hey, Wiki baby, can I buy you a drink? Maybe we can go back to my place later and you can tell me all about Sri Lanka and cochineal dye, and I can update your article on tumescence..."

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i have mixed feelings about the day when we can sit down and have a conversation with a computer, just as if it was another person...

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I couldn't date Wikipedia. I don't like girls who are 1000x smarter than me. It'd be like bedding the Sibyl.

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Thanks for your response, qole. I have no technical problem with development of Maemo software for new hardware.

The problem for me would be if the future hardware doesn't meet my needs and I'm forced to reluctantly switch away from Maemo. (Hypothetical example: if I had to move to Android, my Maemo work would be wasted because it wouldn't be written in Java.)

I no longer have the eyesight of a 20-year-old, and if the new tablets have a smaller screen than the current ones, they're not going to be usable for me (unless they include a cellphone in which case I would use them differently and develop much simpler apps).

When the hardware details are announced, if the new device has either a cellphone OR a screen as big as the N800, I'll write software. But if the new hardware turns out to have a 3.5 inch screen and no phone, I won't use it.

I admire just about everything about the current tablets, and I think Nokia has done a wonderful job so far with the hardware and the software, so I'm cautiously optimistic...

Regards,
Roger

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Hi there,

so what I'd like to do or wish for the new device....

1) a reliable, fast PDF reader with notes, wich can handle bigger PDFs - as roleplayer it would be quite cool not to hve haul half a ton of books around and dozens of character sheets when packng for a convention... more space for snacks *grin*

2) better handling of windows shares. Don#t know why but mine are sometimes seen, sometimes not

3) faster processor - it can be annoying to listen to MP3 (audio books mainly) and using feed circuit at the same time....

4) 3D support - there are some nice games flooting around *g*

5) something I love my N800 for: 2 SD slots

thats all for the moment....

Glasswalker

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That's called flerting dude..... :p

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I would like a extra row of keys so numbers could be entered with one stroke. How cool is that

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It's interesting reading through this topic, as there seem to have been a lot of tangents off on hardware related requests and general "I wish the tablet had x,y,z" rather than what the original thread was about "What cool things would you do?".

Here's a few of my coolness offerings... they're certainly not impossible or far fetched (some of them I'm already working on, some already exist but are just difficult for end users, and some are just crazy... or are they ;o) )

Home automation integration - Come on guys... everyone's talking about ir blasters... forget that, go big AND go home... what about, say, controlling the lights, stereo system etc from your tablet. Go one step further... how about when you get close to your house the tablet automatically associates with the local AP and turns the lights on for you if it's dark, adjusts the thermostat/etc. You could go one further and have it so that if you've got a cell/3g/whatever connection, it monitors your GPS location and does things like thermostat changes/etc when you get closer/farther from your house.

Same sort of lines, what about music integration? How awesome would it be to be listening to a set of MP3s or something on your tablet as you walk around, and when you get to your home computer/stereo/wherever and press a button on your tablet, your home stereo/computer/whatever just continues to play the playlist from your tablet at exactly the same point as you were just at, seamlessly. Same time, press a button on the tablet when you're leaving and have the opposite happen. Yea, sync and technical things involved, but that's what the development team is responsible for taking care of! And heck, while you're at it, same deal for videos...

I'm not sure if they're working on this in the latest carman or not, but about things like oil change reminders if you have one of those ODB interface things hooked up; you punch in a setting of how far/how long in time, and the tablet in the background silently tracks the data from your car and notifies you when it's time to schedule an oil change.

These tablets have so much potential for very cool applications, let's stop worrying about "oh the hardware is missing this piece" as inevitably hardware will change according to demand, and instead focus on the bigger picture of "what cool things" are possible/do you want to do.

Thanks,
-Rob

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Small-scale cool: a bedside photo-frame / clock radio. The tablet shows a photo slide show (from local or network dirs, picassa, flickr, etc) with a clock of adjustable size, colour, and font. You can set alarms and it will play mp3s, radio, whatever. The app detects the rotation of the tablet and only shows photos in your collection of that orientation (portrait / landscape). That'd be really nice.

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Qole, that's really interesting because it's an example of something you can do with a non-Phone that you wouldn't want to do with a phone (because you always keep your phone in your pocket).

Roger.

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@jolouis: I agree with you that anyone thinking about IR blasters actually connected to the tablet are missing the big picture. Or they want to control sh*t that's not theirs. Let's face it, some day one-way IR will be a thing of the past. But maybe not in your lifetime. So just accept that one-way IR is gonna be here for a while; as is one-way X10. With that said and if you haven't already, please read the irreco thread and this post and you'll see how some of us already use our n8x0's. The first steps have been taken.

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Something like this whihc Nokia is developing ?
http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/27/n...ter-next-year/

That would indeed be cool.

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software wise I would love to see:

- ability to print. Yes, I would like to be able to have a print option in my text file/pdf and wirelessly print to my network printer. This idea seemed very odd to people some threads ago when I mentioned it. But sometimes I just need a hard copy of a document and transfering it to a computer just to print a list is just ... inconvenient. Hell, my old Nokia cell phone could print to a IR enabled printer years ago. My even older handspring PDA's were able to do it and an N800 is light years ahead of it in terms of technology.

- NO MORE STUPID CELL PHONE GUI. Man, when is nokia going to stop with the tiny cell phone thinking. Why are dialog boxes to open/save need to be small. Why can't we move or expand columns (widths). I have file names that are longer than 12 characters long yet even in full screen mode, I can't read them, yet... the stupid file size column is unnecessarily wide! Also Let us change the 3 iconson the left to things we need.

- How about a media player that IS NOT so finicky about what it can or cannot play?!?! Mplayer is great but I am not going to type in a terminal just to play a video, and the GUI is just stupid. Thank goodness for apps like KMplayer but the built in osso player should be more robust.

- oh, and how about a way to lock down applets....

Now for the "wouldn't it be cool" part.

- it would be cool is there was an app like "Puppet Master" (http://www.users.on.net/~jtlim/Puppe...creenshots.php) for my old Nokia 6230 cell phone. It has the BEST mousemode I have ever seen and it worked in my 4 year old phone! Imagine controling your home computer's cursor from your cell from miles from your house and seeing what is exactly on your monitor(s). I loved this app. I was able to control winamp connected to my stereo from another room via my cell phone. Yeh I know about VNC and VNC viewer, but it's just not quite there yet.

- it would be cool if there was an app like Mobiluck (http://www.mobiluck.com/en/). Essentially it was a method to see around you who had their bluetooth on and send them a message. It was fun at bars and corner restaurants. I met quite a few people randomly picking a bluetooth name that popped up. Also at crowded malls or on busy streets, it was cool to know if someone on your friends list was within bluetooth range.

- it would be cool if there was an app like "ConverterII" from Nokia S40/60 cells. It converted one measurement for another. Is there an app like that? I couldn't find one in maemo.org. I hate having to remember the ft--->meter thing or f-->c temp etc.

- it would be cool if there was an app like "UpcodeBasic" that read upcode glyphs (http://tinyurl.com/6cfx9t). The N8XX has a camera and should be able to do the job. It would also be cool if more stores/restaurants/companies would use the technology. If a old cell phone can do it, why can't an IT?

- it would be cool if there was an app like "bar code lookup" that would read a barcode and look up the item on google/ebay/etc or even review sites. It would really come in handy this holiday season.

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Sorry, what's not there yet? It works great for me! Granted, the tablet's 800x480 screen only shows me a part of my home computer's big desktop, so I have to scroll around a bit, but everything else works really well, including mouse and keyboard.

Well, we've got something like that, link-local messaging. It works with anyone on the same local network. I was able to successfully test it at the Maemo Summit. But something like this on bluetooth would be cool, and fairly easy to implement, I would think. Do both people need to have the mobiluck client?

A bunch of guys are working on something like this, but it is still pretty alpha at this point.

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I love you, man.

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It works ok on my Macs, but on XP it's clunky, and on Vista, it doesn't work at all. Puppet Master had specific apps it also controlled in a very simple way. VNC viewer isn't as reponsive as well, it might be the IT itself but double clicking is a bit awkward.



yeh I don't care about people on local networks. It would be the opposite of the point of the app. It's about social networking in very public spaces, usually with no available wifi. No, people don't need the app to recieve a message (at least on cell phones) it just showed up as a text message (not like sms). You didn't even need Mobiluck to send a message. But it just made it easier to do (without digging thru various menus) and managing friends lists and keeping track if people on those friends lists were in range. Example, I was shopping in downtown San Francisco and in a crowded Macy's, Mobiluck let me know that 3 people on my friends list were near by and I sent them a message and we met up.

cool!