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johnkzin is offline johnkzin
2008-09-22 , 17:25
Posts: 1,878 | Thanked: 646 times | Joined on Sep 2007 @ San Jose, CA
#31
Originally Posted by Benson View Post
The battery could definitely be a backpack design, though. Make the device flat-bottomed with rubber feet, so it sits nice on a table, but also have slide-lock notches to slap on a battery. (I'm thinking 3.5" drive but 2/3 the thickness for the bare device, and that much more for battery.)

If you do it right, you could slap a HDD on instead of the battery pack, and power the whole mess via wall-wart. (And if you do it really right, you could slap on both, and get limited shock-resistance and battery-life, but still have mobility and cheap storage.)
I like that idea a lot.
  • Basic device with _some_ internal storage (2 or 3 SD cards, one for OS, one or two for user storage).
  • External battery pack (people already make those, just have to be sure it'd work with whatever is delivered)
  • Ability to power an external storage device (either directly over USB, or via the battery pack ... so hopefully the battery pack chosen can power at least 2 devices).
  • Some sort of casing that will allow you to conveniently attach them together for easy carrying (slots and rails? lego snaps ?)

Though, that's starting to sound an awful lot like what the Buglabs project is for. I don't remember if they have battery and storage modules, though. That and a PCMCIA or ExpressCard module would probably be enough for _me_.
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johnkzin is offline johnkzin
2008-09-22 , 17:29
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#32
Originally Posted by GeneralAntilles View Post
. . . and pay several hundred dollars more than the stack of SD cards for it? No thanks.
a) then leave the slot empty

b) someone already makes a "build a SATA SSD from (SD or CF?) cards" device. Plug that into it, and you've got your card array.
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talmage is offline talmage
2008-09-22 , 17:32
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#33
Would a fit-PC do? I found it on Engadget.com

It has a 500MHz Geode and runs on 12V. Price w/WIFI but no HD is $245. W/WIFI, 60GB HD, and Linux it's $295.
 

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Texrat is offline Texrat
2008-09-22 , 17:55
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#34
That's a better price than the OpenBlockS... hmm...
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johnkzin's Avatar
johnkzin is offline johnkzin
2008-09-22 , 18:19
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#35
Originally Posted by johnkzin View Post
I like that idea a lot.

Though, that's starting to sound an awful lot like what the Buglabs project is for. I don't remember if they have battery and storage modules, though. That and a PCMCIA or ExpressCard module would probably be enough for _me_.
I went and checked on BUG's site.

They have battery and storage modules proposed, but not already in the works. But they do have some existing storage options. They _are_ working on a GSM module though.
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allnameswereout is offline allnameswereout
2008-09-22 , 19:07
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#36
If you're going to host game servers on it some are closed source and require x86 (or x86 compatibility). Some also require quite some resources. If this is important maybe Intel Atom is an option. I read today they're going dual-core.

Quake1/2/3 servers are very portable though. I even ran this, with client, on SGI MIPS. Enemy Terrirory I don't know, its basically a Q3 mod.

I'd also love DVB-H on it because public television broadcasts (similar to the Beeb) on DVB-H are free here (already paid for via tax).
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2008-09-22 , 20:07
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#37
Originally Posted by allnameswereout View Post
If you're going to host game servers on it some are closed source and require x86 (or x86 compatibility). Some also require quite some resources. If this is important maybe Intel Atom is an option. I read today they're going dual-core.

Quake1/2/3 servers are very portable though. I even ran this, with client, on SGI MIPS. Enemy Terrirory I don't know, its basically a Q3 mod.

I'd also love DVB-H on it because public television broadcasts (similar to the Beeb) on DVB-H are free here (already paid for via tax).
Please check the original post. The goal here is for applications (games, etc) that are highly portable. Forget x86 dependencies. That's too Microsoft-centric. I'm talking flash, java, silverlight, etc.

Personally, I don't care to support ANY closed source apps for this premise.
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2008-09-22 , 20:59
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#38
Originally Posted by Texrat View Post
Please check the original post. The goal here is for applications (games, etc) that are highly portable. Forget x86 dependencies. That's too Microsoft-centric. I'm talking flash, java, silverlight, etc.

Personally, I don't care to support ANY closed source apps for this premise.
No, it's not just Microsoft-centric; Apple makes closed-source x86 stuff, too!

I'm not sure quite what you meant earlier about revisiting, but I'm gonna take that as a request/license to look at the first post and ramble something ~5 times as long as it. See you in a few!
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2008-09-22 , 21:04
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#39
Originally Posted by Benson View Post
No, it's not just Microsoft-centric; Apple makes closed-source x86 stuff, too!
I know, but I think we both realize who has the lion's share. Plus I said "too".
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jolouis is offline jolouis
2008-09-22 , 21:04
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#40
The "Fit PC Slim" is one option that I'm currently looking at, the other would be with a CF configuration instead of the 2.5" HDD slot, but the price points would also be lower (thinking somewhere around $200 with wifi and a small CF, larger CF/HDD/SDD obviously adding more costs). Comparable specs in terms of processors/etc as FitPC (based around the same processor and chipset). Big advantge to this hardware would be that it has a second MiniPCI slot, so if you wanted to add more hardware that's a pretty good expansion option.

I think the external battery pack is a better idea than trying to intergrate it into the device; that way lots of options for size/capacity/etc are available and taken care of.

We all know that GA loves his OMAPs, and I'm in no way saying that the Beagle board and OMAP3 systems aren't awesome, but I just can't see them being ready for this sort of application right now, both from a development point of view and from a cost point of view.

For the record as far as power consumption goes the x86 Geode equipment is quite conservative; the big difference between it and the OMAP/ARMs is the sleep/low power modes which in this scenario I don't see as a big factor.

-Rob
 

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