I Love the Palm Foleo

The game changing news to come out of the computing world today is not the Microsoft tabletop computer, but rather the Palm Foleo. The idea is something that has been a pet project of mine for some time now, and Palm got it 70% right in my opinion. Ultraportable devices have been around for some years, with Sony making some amazing models, usually exclusively sold in Japan. As with all things geek, eventually the truly great ideas start trickling down into the mainstream. Let’s start with what I like about the device:

• Smartphone companion: So you can edit the same documents and share files, natural and instant syncing via bluetooth. Messaging inbox sharing and other goodies too.
• Selling this as a new class of computer. Not trying to do everything at once.
• Instant On! No waiting for it to boot up. Excellent. Very consumer electronic-ish and uncomputer-ish.
• Reasonable good price point: < $500. I would have knocked off a 100 more off the price, especially if you already have a Palm phone, but then I think the current price is still within limits of reason.
• Focus on the internet: Documents are mundane. The killer app for the Foleo is the internet. Connectivity over WiFi and bluetooth for (probably) using the smartphone as a modem means that you can always be online, anywhere.

What I don’t like about the Foleo focuses less on the specifications (full specs are yet to come out, really) and more on the positioning of the product.

• Runs Linux: I know i’ll get flack for this, but Windows still sell’s. Yet, they could twist this to their own advantage by not even calling the Foleo a “Laptop”, but rather a personal productivity device.
• Poor Battery life: 5 hours of juice when running WiFi might be a lot of a laptop user, but most subnotebook users get that much already with smart power management. I remember the old old (2001?) HP Jornada 720 used to get almost 9 hours of battery. Sure, the screen is bigger here and the connectivity options grander, but hey, 6 years is a lifetime in this business and they should be able to offer the same battery at the very least.
• “Laptop”: At the unveiling, some Palm personnel kept calling the Foleo a “laptop”. Is that the best they can do. They have laptops retailing at WalMart that are cheaper and faster, and you have laptops that are smaller (Vaio, etc.). They DO NOT want to go there with this. This is more like a supplement to your smartphone and full fledged desktop/laptop, a little device you can carry on trips/to meetings/to school so that you can remain productive on the go without carrying a heavy laptop around.

Palm needs as much good news as it can possibly get at the moment. But will the Foleo deliver the goods? Comments on the usual tech blogs have been bleak, but they usually tend to be so towards things aimed at the mass market (and not made by Apple). Anyways, the idea is to passionately appeal to 20% of users rather than be something 70% might consider maybe. Personally, I don’t think this is enough to save Palm as an independent company, but its definitely a step in the right direction after several false mis-starts (read: UMPC) in the ultramobile personal computing segment. Will be keeping an eye on this one.

The Ubuntu-Girlfriend Experiment

 

 

I should start this blog off with a confession. I haven’t really used Linux too much. But I am sort-of fimilar and Ubuntu has been my favorite flavor of Linux in the brief periods I’ve used it, for the Bohemic spirit it embodies if nothing. The reason I haven’t had the opportunity to explore Linux is because I have way too many gadgets, the drivers/software for which is usually unavailable for Linux (examples being my Bluetooth mouse, Canon Printer, etc.)

Enter Rubab. Her computer fritzed out again under the load of assorted malware. Again. This happening for the 3rd time this year, I thought she might be open to coersio.. er, accepting Linux on her desktop. I also wanted to test out whether Ubuntu could walk the walk (it can certainly talk the talk, with countless amateur evangelists preaching its gospel of ease of use everyday on Digg and other tech sites). But could a general computer user with absolutely no knowledge (or interest) in things technical be comfortable with Ubuntu right out of the box? Could it be a suitable replacement to Windows in the long run?

All of that happened a week ago. I started Rubab off by installing the latest Ubuntu version (6.06) for her. I left her Windows installation intact, just in case. I also installed multimedia support, updated her kernel and did all the messy crap you need to do with Linux to make it work well after installation (the reason being, Linux is free and mostly doesn’t come with support for patented file formats, like MP3 or DVD, which cost money. Support for these has to be obtained from other, more murky, means. Shhhhhhh.) Now we were set.

The first problem she faced was with her Printer. Predicable. Her Canon laser printer, LBP3200, was not really compatible with Linux. I solved this by checking out the Ubuntu Forums for a solution. Luckily someone had written a script that . Unluckily, it took 30 minutes and much muddling with the terminal and kernel to install. But I finally got it to work. But goes to show, if you are just a regular user, it might not be worth your time using Linux just to save a few $$ on Windows. On a side note, the Ubuntu Forums is really the reason why, I believe, Ubuntu is the best free Linux distro out there (well, that and the fact that they send you free CD’s with their software). The community is very responsive to newbies and almost every question someone might face when starting out, from the obvious to the obscure, is answered in detail, with comprehensive steps, when required.

Her actual experience with Linux has been quite sweet. Its fast. Looks nice (especially because I changed the annoying, depressing default brown color scheme to a much nicer Suse green). And it doesn’t crash. Music organization is much better, with Amarok running rings around Windows Media Player and even iTunes (IMO, Apple fanboys, please take a seat).

Meanwhile, her printer is giving her problems. While it prints at 18 ppm on Windows, Ubuntu barely gives out 4 pages per minute. That’s unacceptable, but it’s where that stands for now. Everything else, Wifi, LAN, power management, support for USB storage devices, etc. is working just dandy.

Some software related hiccups: streaming video doesn’t seem to work as well as it should. Some software, especially stuff she uses for her Engineering course at NUS, doesn’t have Linux replacements. But this is understandable and even excusable in my opinion. Good thing I left the Windows intact

End result: Linux is a great product on its own. Much superior to Windows. But no piece of software is an island today. Work needs to be done on making devices work out of the box and on device drivers. Device makers will not add linux support until it’s more widespread and it wont really become widespread until such support is available. Chicken and Egg.

Sadly, the anti-MS flame does not burn strongly enough for most people to endure the pain of switching to Linux. Until Linux requires a smaller time investment to get up and running properly, it can hardly challenge MS as a viable option for most people. But anyways, kudo’s to the Linux developer community for creating a great piece of software.

A note on adopting Linux for the general user: There are many companies out there, including Mandriva, Linspire and Xandros (really boys, if you’re going to hit end customers, get a better name), which sell Linux versions which can take out much of the pain from installing and configuring Linux. While this might be a good option for some, its not really in keeping with the free (as in beer water) software philosophy completely. But pragmatically, if I had to advice a total newbie to install and use Linux, it would be one of these options. If you have a geek knowledgeable person who has your back, then stick with OpenSuse or Ubuntu.