Aus,
Greetings - my work has kept me very busy and I have not been here for a while but I am still long SNDK. You posted this some time ago but I felt I should comment as I have strong opinions:-)
I wanted to discuss CF as it relates to PDA applications and Windows CE
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When I assess my current PC use it is limited to the internet (80% of total use) including web browsing and e-mail, photo editing and digital photography (15%) and Microsoft Office applications (5%) such as Word documents for letters and Powerpoint for occasional slide presentations for work. There are additional uses such as my tax preparation once a year and the like, but no other "killer apps" which demand PC access. My wife uses the PC for Word documents (*.rtf files for translation services) and e-mail. Other common applications for the average PC user may include things such as computer games, "Living Books" for kids, Internet-aided telephony or others. These could be classified under the general category of multimedia applications. I have intentionally excluded common business applications for the sake of simplicity.
Although I realise this is what most people do with a PC this is a complete under utilisation of a PC IMHO :-)
If you carry this one step further to the mobile computing market, the domain of the laptop computer, such streamlining determines the functionality one demands in a laptop computer. To go yet one step further, streamlining of mobile applications directed initially at the intrepid PDA user has emphasized personal information management such as contact lists, phone lists, to-do lists and the like. These are relatively simple applications consisting mostly of lists and required only gray scales for display. They stand no chance of converting laptop users.
There are several problems here:
1) Many of the current crop of CE palmtops are almost as large as a Toshiba Libretto and its equivalents - all of which run 'real' Windows without the drawback of the crippleware features in WinCE.
2) The crippleware features in WinCE are designed to prevent WinCE replacing MS real operating systems - WinCE is cheaper per license than the desktop OS - MS does not want to loose that margin. There is an article concerning this on the CNN web site - unfortunately I did not keep the URL.
3) There are 'PDA' users that do far more than your list (my self among them) - actually I do more on my 'PDA' than you do on your desktop:-)
4) Colour vs grey scale. Have you seen those glossy adverts where some guy is sitting on the beach computing away - have you ever tried to do that? I have - it doesn't work! However the grey scale on my palmtop is perfectly legible. I also have an older laptop, a HP Omnibook300 that I keep because it has a grey scale screen that is legible outside. It also has no harddrive but can support 3 type II flash cards, runs for hours (more than 8) on 4 AA batteries, has MS Office in ROM, a fullsize keyboard and weighs ~3lbs but those are other advantages <G>)
5) Streamlined communication applications - I have one application on my palmtop that will access email and newgroups for multiple accounts on multiple servers all in one online run, will send SMS messages on my digital GSM phone, upload/download my phonebook to the phone, automatically filter incoming messages (email, newsgroup) according to content into appropriate folders, supports telnet, ftp, web browsing, automated collection of information from web pages (e.g. news/stock info) without user interaction required. The WinCE comms have a way to go yet:-)
It is becoming clearer that the domain of the laptop clearly overlaps the subnotebook, handheld and palmtop Windows CE and Palm OS markets. Laptops are expensive, (most considerably more expensive than a comparable desktop PC), bulky (many airlines consider it a piece of carry-on luggage), and difficult to travel with (battery lives of around 2.5 hours). The biggest plus is clearly the screen size, the full keyboard and the full-fledged Windows 95 or 98 OS.
I agree with the overlap but disagree with everything else as arguments against laptops - you just haven't been looking at the right laptops :-)
Realizing this, Microsoft is trying to narrow the chasm between Windows 98 and Windows CE. In my opinion, one of the goals is to be create a platform whereby the essential software applications/classifications (see my first paragraph) are practical and functional in a scaled down version. Practicality comes at the price of convenience.
The CNN item contradicts this.
For example, the mobile CE devices do not pack enough punch to allow full document creation and editing capability currently (such as is experienced with Powerpoint), but perhaps this is not an immediate goal. If it were, the devices would still be several years away waiting for system-on-chip semiconductors to evolve.
Buy a Libretto or its equivalent and get it all now!
During my recent trip to Sunnyvale I was able to carry my PDA in a backpack without concern about a separate piece of carry-on Samsonite, read my e-mail on AOL, view web pages off-line that I had intentionally downloaded the night before, post on SI (a favorite pasttime), take notes at the Shareholders' meeting, preview digital photo images from our travels without wearing out the batteries on my digital camera, and draft a response to the inquiry Limtex posted.
I have been able to do all of this plus some for the last four years with my 'obsolete' greyscale palmtop.
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Where does that leave CompactFlash? Well, think about this. The trend for the desktop PC (or a laptop) is to be a fortress where all the full-featured software and their offspring (personally created documents) are stored on a gigantic hard drive. Along with this vast amount of storage space you get a token amount of RAM and a floppy drive the holds 1.44 MB of storage. On the other end of the spectrum, the "Palm" PC's possessed a scaled-down OS, RAM for storage of personal data, and no modem or memory expansion slot. Contrast this to the new Windows CE devices that possess a contantly evolving OS (from the same software Gorilla that fathered its big brother) embedded in an upgradable ROM module, sufficient RAM for basic functions, and one or more expansion slots for memory expansion or additional functionality compatible with these PC/CF slots.
Talk to some of the early adopters of WinCE about the upgrade ability of their hardware/software. Each new upgrade of the software has so overwhelmed the previous generation of hardware that a hardware upgrade has generally been required.
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SanDisk CompactFlash Memory Card: A place to store your big ideas.
Now this I agree on. I am currently contemplating a 96 MB CF card for my 'obsolete' palmtop to supplement the three 20MB type II cards I have. I'd really like one of the 220MB Type II cards but can't justify the cost.
If you really depend on your handheld PC, you know how important it is to back up your data. SanDisk CompactFlash memory cards are the ideal solution...Need to share files between your handheld PC and your desktop PC? SanDisk CompactFlash memory cards excel at that task, too, letting you bring all of your important PC files with you everywhere you go.
I agree. This is how I transfer between my laptops and my palmtop. I use a Jaz drive to transfer between laptops and desktops.
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I hope this doesn't come across as too combative but you seem to be accepting the MS worldview of palmtopping a little too much:-) I might also add that although my palmtop is what led me to buy SNDK shares I agree with Eli that it is probably not going to be a Megamarket for some time. There are few palmtop obsessives like myself;-)
GaryS |
