Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 12

Has anyone else seen this article? I assume the authors of this article are referring to the Visor as "open source", but the picture they display sure doesn't look like a Visor currently in production. Furthermore, I realize Handspring makes their Springboard interface specs available for free, but that is a far cry from making the design (implied is the PDA's complete design) itself free for developers to use.

Here is the article:

http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagen ame=View&c=Article&cid=FT3GKVH0Z7C&live=true&tagid=ZZZC00L1B0C&subheading=information%20technology



[This message has been edited by Kevin Culp (edited 05-13-2000).]

Registered: Apr 2000
Location:
Posts: 24

what in the world is that picture of? Man, it looks like a visor without a graphiti area, with a bigger microphone in the corner and with a jordana like case? Hmm could this be the next visor? If it is it doesn't appear to have a color screen?

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 12

Yes, I wouldn't mind knowing what this picture represents, either! It doesn't look at all familiar.

The device shown has no visible hardware buttons on the lower part of the unit, and the silkscreen icons appear to be side-by-side instead of being arranged around the graffiti area. The right-hand side of the device looks like it has an extendable antenna, as well.

Any ideas?

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

Maybe the European Visor looks different from the US version...

I cannot distinguish what on earth it could be, other than a really bad picture of a... um... whatever...

------------------
MarkEagle - Ice is nice!

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: bright side of the moon.
Posts: 996

If you look closely, there are scroll arrows in the middle of the minaturized graffitti area. The larger mic could also contain a speaker. And obviously there are no quick launch buttons on the front. Could we be looking at Palm's new voice activated Palm?? The fact that it has no buttons (it appears like the minature graffitti area has squares representing something) and no graffitti area (for writing) might suggest either voice recognition or character recognition (able to write anywhere on the screen kinda thing). The fact that it's longer also might account for bluetooth/wireless internet capability (i remember reading somewhere about an increase in size for these features when Palm announced that it's next palmpilots would contain the capabilities).

Hmmm..could a writer's error leaked a valuable image of what's to come????

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Enumclaw, Wa
Posts: 268

The most likely thing is the european version looks different from ours. ToolKit, do you have any opinion on this?

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Miami, Florida, USA
Posts: 8

Looks like a Newton to me!

Alex

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: bright side of the moon.
Posts: 996

quote:

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Originally posted by D ev R ay 4Real:
The most likely thing is the european version looks different from ours. ToolKit, do you have any opinion on this?

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

I have a credibility problem with the whole article. For one thing the author confuses a licensed hardware standard (abeit gratis), the Springboard, with "open source" principles. The Springboard technology is proprietary hardware which the licensor chooses to charge nothing for. That's vastly different from open source development "similar to Linux." For instance, Palm cannot add a Springboard slot to its PDAs without prior authorization from Handspring.

As for the GIF, I seriously doubt its authenticity. It looks to me like the journalist or the editor mixed up pictures. It's possible that it's a picture of the apocryphal Crusoe-based model that Handspring is said to be developing, but I don't think the company would just casually throw an image of it into their press kit.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 12

I guess we can keep on dreaming about speech recognition, bluetooth, etc., but I think the case has been solved... I believe Alex hit the nail on the head. Take a look at this picture:
http://www.msu.edu/~luckie/gallery/images/mp_photo.jpg

See any resemblence? It appears to be a slightly-altered picture of a Newton MessagePad.

I suspect the author couldn't find any suitable pictures of the Visor to include in the article. ;-)

Yes, not a well-written news story, to be sure!

Thanks,
Kevin

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Oak Grove, Kentucky
Posts: 211

Hi All,
This device looks like a eBook Reader to me.
Like the Rocket eBook Reader device.

Byron

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

The picture is, as others have pointed out on Usenet, a Newton Messagepad 100. I guess they just wanted a stock picture of a handheld and that's what came up.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: bright side of the moon.
Posts: 996

HAHA!! great work sherlock!!

Thanks for that link Mr. Kevin Culp!!

i love this place...what should we solve next??? i say world hunger!!

Registered: May 2000
Location:
Posts: 23

quote:

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Originally posted by Kevin Culp:
Has anyone else seen this article? I assume the authors of this article are referring to the Visor as "open source", but the picture they display sure doesn't look like a Visor currently in production. Furthermore, I realize Handspring makes their Springboard interface specs available for free, but that is a far cry from making the design (implied is the PDA's complete design) itself free for developers to use.

Here is the article:

http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagen ame=View&c=Article&cid=FT3GKVH0Z7C&live=true&tagid=ZZZC00L1B0C&subheading=information%20technology

[This message has been edited by Kevin Culp (edited 05-13-2000).]

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