Re: [NTLK] new Asus mini computer

On Nov 16, 2007, at 7:56 AM, Jon Glass wrote:

> On 11/15/07, Ben Sanford <dethl.selin@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I have no problem with Linux and the e3PC is very nice (the black
>> model is hot!). Still lack of touchscreen is a big negative to me
>> when it comes to a subportable computer.
>
> I don't know... Certainly having a touch screen is no guarantee of
> success. Microsoft has come out now, with several iterations of
> stylus-controlled OSs and none of them are worth using... ;-)

> Also, this is no subportable in the normal sense. This is a real
> computer at the edge of usable sizedness (sic).

Well, Microsoft is doing it all wrong IMO. I have the Motion LS800 <http://www.motioncomputing.com/products/tablet_pc_ls.asp
> which is a wonderful machine per se, but running WindowsXP on it is
a huge pain! WindowsXP simply was never made with pen input in mind.
Even the table edition is quite unusable. Only two pen-specific apps
were added: a notepad that works ok, and an onscreen keyboard - but
wait a minute, didn't I just buy that machine to avoid a keyboard? Sigh.

I tried a different Slate with a much higher screen resolution and XP.
The high dpi makes the machine completely useless because it is simply
impossible to hit any buttons using the pen. Microsoft would either
have to correctly scale the entire desktop, or understand that pen
computing is entirely different to desktop computing and redesign
their desktop and application *and* add a whole set of tablet apps.
How can I justify a laptop without keyboard costing twice as much as
the same complete laptop if I have to spend another grad to get
software that runs on it?

But when I load Einstein fullscreen, I suddenly get a very usable
Newton with an 800x600 screen. If I now find a way to solve the high
CPU load due to emulation, the Motion will be a very nice (and pricey)
Newton replacement with the right sizedness(sic the sic :).

Matthias

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