From: Hannes Wolf (TeddyTheBear_at_magnet.at)
Date: Fri Jan 21 2005 - 14:01:44 PST
> Richard Kilpatrick <dmc12_at_btconnect.com> wrote:
> Why on earth would you want to do truly interactive work on the remote
> machine using a PocketPC/Palm solution, though? It seems impractical.
> There are, for the Palm at least, alternatives for the built-in eMail
> client, and using Webmail via Netfront 3.1 is no headache.
I use a Palm Tungsten W and a Treo 600 90% of my time, but the lack of=20=
VGA screen and WLAN (I know that I can have WLAN on CLIEs, but than I=20
have to use MemorySticks...) gave me the idea to try out the VGA=20
PocketPCs and as the software there was so bad I tried the VNC client,=20=
and suddenly the PocketPC behaved like my PowerBook, albeit a little=20
slower due to VNC...
It is very practical for me, to work, as if I would work on my normal=20
Mac. I can bookmark URLs and they are on my Mac, I can download stuff=20
and they are at my main machine,, where there is automatic backup. I=20
can even use Hypercard, my answering machine (Ovolabs), my VCR (EyeTV),=20=
FirstClass, just about everything on my MacOSX Mac.
BTW: some websites just don=B4t work on the PalmOS browsers, but are =
easy=20
to use via Safari...
When you are used to a Mac since nearly 20 years you want the same=20
experience abroad, too. Especially tabbed browsing is nice to have...
> Which is a total non-event, non-news, and it's a completely irrelevant
> article engineered for self-promotion via a tenuous concept which is
> then utterly disregarded. There is no technical information to speak
> of, no opinion, no speculation as to the suitability of OS X as a
> potential handheld platform. Just VNC. Big woo. Real experts have been
> using VNC for donkey's years and will be quick to point out that
> fundamentally that's how X got started; remote GUI control (regardless
> of the format) of a computer via a client. Frankly, if I was that
> determined I would at least be using the Zaurus clamshells, since =
Linux
> VNC is pretty well developed, the Zaurus is only around $700 itself
> (which begs the question; if the MS software is so bad, why did you go
> with Pocket PC?)...
if the Zaurus would be available more easily, if it had WLAN and=20
Bluetooth, I would rather use Linux than PocketPC!
And you are totally right, the whole idea of VNC is ages old, but=20
interesting enough, I now get feedback from all over the world from=20
people, that didnt know about VNC before! And as Wired is a CondeNast=20
publication, they cater to the nontechnical people, too.
> It's useless filler and not newsworthy; no-one gains anything from the
> publication of the article - there are no hints on what alternatives
> you could use for example. Hell, it doesn't even really touch on the
> idea that in the future PDAs could be thin client extensions of your
> home computer.
I tried concepts like Soyo (http://ww.soyo.com), but VNC is just=20
working right for me. When I have access abroad to a real Mac with=20
1280*854 pixels resolution, I use VNC in fullscreen mode to access my=20
Mac at home quite well, but for a portable solution, I prefer the=20
PocketPC with the VGA screen. Hopefully I will get my hands on one of=20
the Sonys smaller than a Newton with SVGA resolution and WinXP and a=20
real touchscreen, that you can use with your fingers instead of using a=20=
special pen.
I guess every solution depends pretty much on what you try to do and as=20=
portability is of utmost importance to me, VNC helps me solve a lot of=20=
my computing problems quite well. Nobody forces you to do the same...
-- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/ WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/
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