Rodfather Mobile

Thank you for being one of the first to participate
in Give One Get One.
All of us at One Laptop per Child were inspired by the number of people who joined our Give One Get One program on its very first day! Your participation makes you part of the growing community of people working to give children all over the world new opportunities to grow, explore, learn and express themselves.

Your XO laptop is on the way.
Your donated XO laptop will soon be delivered into the hands of a child in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Mongolia or Rwanda. In one of our recipient children’s own words, "I want to thank you people because you had given us the laptop and I love it so much." Your generosity will make a world of difference in these children’s lives, and in the future of their respective countries.
Thanks to your early action, your XO laptop is scheduled to be delivered between December 14 and December 24. Our "first day" donors are our highest priority and we are making every effort to deliver your XO laptop(s) as soon as possible. We will send you an update upon shipment.

Just a quick update.
I used the restore CD to install XP Tablet Ed. I noticed in the setup, it has a partition manager. Thing is, it’s set up to use two partitions by default. This explains the rogue 1GB partition. It’s not used for anything and can be deleted or merged with your primary partition.
I ended up setting aside 6GB’s and installed Ubuntu again.
The XP restore is a full restore. You don’t need to install any drivers or applications.

Few differences I noticed.
The Realtek HD audio app has more features than the one on Vista.
Using UStream and justin.tv to broadcast video is much more efficient on XP. When streaming video to ustream while on Vista, the CPU% was hovering close to 100%. With XP, it was around 40%. I’m assuming the differences are due to drivers.

I started messing with the webcam on the Fujitsu U810.  The overall quality is poor.  The framerate is much less than 15FPS and the picture quality isn’t all that great.  But hey it’s there and I can find a use for it.

First thing’s first.   The audiodg.exe process shot up 25% to 100% CPU% whenever I tried to use the cam.  This is the process in Vista that basically handles audio processing.  It ended up being bad Reaktek HD audio drivers that came preinstalled.  Whenever the mic was accessed, the audiodg.exe process would shoot up.

I ended up going to the Realtek support page and installed the updated the Vista drivers.  Now whenever the mic is accessed, the audiodg.exe process doesn’t go crazy.  The most I’ve seen it go up is around 10% now.

Software

It comes with ArcSoft’s WebCam Companion 2 software.  It’s fairly basic which does the job of capturing images and video from the webcam.  It also has a motion capture mode and the ability to edit the clips you have recorded.  It’s not the greatest piece of software but it does the job.

Online Video Sites

Ustream.tv works.  The CPU% shoots up close to 100%.  For some reason, ustream.tv performed a bit better when using IE7.

Justin.tv worked fine but there’s a very long delay of 10-20 seconds between what’s live and what is played back.

Flixn.com works great.  There’s no need to register.  You basically record a video clip from the webcam straight to the site and the end result is a webpage and links to embed the video to another site.  I can see myself using this service the most.

Viddler.com is quick and easy.  Great use of the webcam to record clips.

Youtube’s quick capture feature didn’t seem to work.  It sat there waiting for the server to respond.  I’ll try again later but doubt I’ll use it since you have to go through the process of filling in required fields before even capturing a video.

Recording a clip to ‘my library’ with Operator11.com worked fine.  I didn’t try joining a live broadcast but I’m sure there wouldn’t be too much problems.

Well, I went ahead and bought a Fujitsu U810 UMPC from newegg.com.  It arrived yesterday I’m just about done installing apps on it.  Since I just installed Live Writer, I figure I should write my first blog post from it.

I will try to piece up some kind of review and express my reasons for choosing this device.

For now.. something strange happened.  The touchscreen sensitivity has turned super light.  It’s weird.  When I first booted up, I swore the screen was medium to heavy touch since it took a good amount of pressure to register a click.  Now, the screen is so sensitive, I can draw with the fat of my fingers.  Vectoring is a given.  It’s a lot more sensitive than even my Samsung Q1.  While it does make navigating the screen a lot easier — for inking, it’s almost impossible.  I really don’t know what happened.  I may install XP anyway so we’ll see if the issues remain.

Phew.. it’s going to take some time getting used to this keyboard.  With a bit of practice, I can 6 finger touch type very fast with this.  Definitely much faster than thumbing it.  After writing this post, my fingers are feeling a bit cramped though.

I logged into Second Life last week.  I still have a soft spot for the metaverse since I was one of the pioneers who joined around its release in 2003.  My claim to fame was creating the Roach Coach (Taco truck vehicle) among other projects.  I even had a chance to work for Linden Labs.  Like everything else, addictions shift and I haven’t been active in the metaverse in years.

Recently, the geeky devs at Intel set up their own island to have a presence in Second Life.  Josh Bancroft was the one who told me about their presence so I went to take a look at their island.  It ends up they have really useful info and host some very informative events.  Far cry from the usual clubbing or gambling events.

Anyway, I received an email from the Intel Dev Group last week announcing Intel Technical Consulting Engineer Bob Steigerwald will be doing a presentation on techniques for creating energy efficient apps for mobile devices. 

Thursday, November 8th
4:30PM SLT - Intel Software Network
You are invited to spend an hour with Intel Technical Consulting
Engineer Bob Steigerwald who will be speaking on how to design software for
energy efficiency.  Topics will include: Demand for Mobile devices; What
is energy efficiency?; Power basics; C-States and P-States & Designing
for energy efficiency.
This event will also be available streamed live on slcn.net

They are working with slcn.tv to broadcast their events live and archive them.  Their show page is here and you can replay the entire event.  Bob will be doing a repeat event on the 15th if you want to check it out and ask more questions.

The event itself was great.  It was basically a Q&A with a PowerPoint presentation.   You could actually hear him talk and he responded to all the questions typed in the chat.  I couldn’t help myself and asked more hardware related questions concerning processors on MID’s and UMPC’s. 

If you’re interested in the Intel dev group’s presence in Second Life, check our their Intel and Second Life forum.  They list all their hosted events on that page.

I am Ironchef Cook by the way.  Shoot me an instant message if you’re in-world.  All my IM’s end up in my email so I’ll eventually get it.

I just received an email announcing the OLPC "Give One Get One" program is starting today.  A nice addition to this program is free complimentary access to T-Mobile HotSpot locations for one year.

You can participate by going to www.laptopgiving.org.  Orders are being handled through PayPal.

I’m ordering one right after I hit the publish button.

—–

From all of us at One Laptop per Child, thank you for your interest in our mission. Today marks the first day of our limited-time "Give One Get One" program. Starting today, when you donate an XO laptop to a child in the developing world, you’ll receive one for the child in your life. The price for the two laptops will be $399, $200 of which is tax-deductible. Additionally, T-Mobile is offering donors one year of complimentary access to T-Mobile HotSpot locations throughout the United States, which can be used from any Wi-Fi-capable device, including the XO laptop.

Please visit www.laptopgiving.org to participate in Give One Get One and discover more about the revolutionary XO laptop. You can also donate by calling toll-free 1-877-70-LAPTOP (1-877-705-2786). This is the only time we’re making the XO laptop available to the public and quantities are limited, so early purchasers have a better chance of receiving their XO laptops by the holidays.

Once again, thank you. We sincerely hope you’ll join our growing community of people working to create a connected, educated, enlightened future for the world’s most essential resource - it’s children.

Joel Johnson of Boing Boing produced a humorous video review of the Fujitsu U810. I think he should push out more videos.

Top quotes of the video:
“On the outside.. the Fujitsu Lifebook U810 UMPC is a strange little toad of a machine”

“Is that not the f*cking future?” (After pressing the keyboard light button)

“This is exactly the device I thought I wanted 10 years ago”

Zing!

I Made A Talking Head Video Review: Fujitsu Lifebook U810 UMPC - Boing Boing Gadgets

There’s word from the Sansa Connect User Group the Sansa Connect’s firmware has been updated!  Finally we’ll be able to browse and stream Yahoo Unlimited’s 2 million song catalog all from a WiFi connection.  There’s also a new menu for Video.

Looks like the rumor was true!
I just finished updating my player with the new firmware… which
now lets me browse/stream specific tracks from the Yahoo Music
catalog!
There also seems to be a “video” addition to the photos menu. Looks
like this requires downloading the Sansa Media Converter to let you
transfer video from your PC. This wasn’t high on my wish-list, but
nice to know it’s there, I suppose.
I’ve just been playing with it for 5 minutes, but those are the two
big things I saw. Anybody see anything else?
this is a nice present for a Tuesday afternoon!

If you don’t know about the Sansa Connect, it’s a WiFi enabled media player that ties in with Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go subscription service.  I’m currently paying around $15/mo to have access to the entire music catalog with the ability to download tracks.  I’m a big fan of music subscription services.  It’s definitely a great way to explore new music or listen to newly released albums.  If you’re tired of paying $1/track from iTunes to listen to tracks you probably would never buy normally, this is the way to go.

The Connect runs on Linux.  The device and interface was developed by Zing who were recently bought out by Dell.  You can stream internet radio directly with Launchcast, view your Flickr photos, and download tracks/albums/playlists straight to the player through WiFi.. as long as you keep paying.  If you’re not a subscriber, you can still stream Launchcast radio but lose the ability to skip tracks.  You can also plug the Connect into a PC with the USB cable and transfer songs the normal way.  Since it’s using a real OS underneath the hood, it multitasks well.  You can download tracks in the background, listen to Launchcast radio, and view your Flickr photos all at the same time.

Search, browsing, and streaming the entire catalog has been the #1 request since its release.  This is something the iPhone/iPod Touch just cannot do.  Sure you have a fantastic interface to browse and search the iTunes catalog with the iTunes WiFi Music Store, but you have to purchase and download tracks first before you can play them.  With the Connect and a subscription, direct streaming baby!

The price has dropped down considerably as you can find one for around $100.

Since James liked the last one, I’ll focus on some devices that are hot in the news.

There seems to be a lot of demand for small, cheap devices but still retain a full sized touch keyboard.  But how small could you go?  By most accounts, the smallest you can go and still have the ability to 10 finger touch type seems to be around 9″ width devices like Panasonic R7 or Fujitsu P1610.  As of now, these devices can go up to the $1500-$3000 range.

Now we’re starting to see cheaper devices with the same width to provide the ’smallest you can go’ keyboard.  The differences here are the rest of the parts.  The innards use first generation UMPC’s components, such as the 7″ 800×480 screen,  but with stripped components, reduced storage and low memory.  Not to mention the lack of Windows which reduces costs considerably.  At $399 for the Asus Eee PC with Linux,  this is generating a lot of interest.

Size Breakdown

The Packard Bell Easynote XS and Asus Eee PC are in this same boat and are the most similar in size.  These are the OLPC clones/cheapass  subnotebooks with 7″ screens. 

The keyboard on them should be similar to the Vye S37/Kohjinsha SH since the width is around the same.  It’s funny how long the Vye S37/Kohjinsha SH is even with the 3 cell.  With the 6 cell, it may extend up to an inch more.

The Shift is interesting since it lacks length and a bit of width compared to the ‘bigger’ devices.  Along with the screen mechanism, there doesn’t seem much room for the keyboard.  The keys must be squashed vertically quite a bit.  I’m not sure if you can 10 finger touch type on this. 

Chippy was able to type fairly fast with just his thumbs though.

As for the Fujitsu U810, well, it has a touch keyboard but by no means full.  There’s been a lot of flak about whether the keyboard should even be there since it’s not very useful as a touch keyboard.  With all the keyboard combos with the function key, it may be frustrating.

It sounds more appealing to me looking at U810 as a thumb keyboard clamshell device but with the ability to touch type with four fingers if you want to have it sitting on a tabletop.  Plus it’s a convertible Tablet PC.

Going small this time.  The biggest device on the list is a Panasonic R7 with its 10.4″ screen.  It’s interesting to see how very different each device is.