11-16-2007, 09:08 AM | #16 |
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If you have grayscale images to display, it could make a huge difference. Those who can read small text at high enough resolution would also find it helpful.
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11-16-2007, 09:22 AM | #17 |
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That sounds more like Flash RAM. I was thinking of flash ROM, I don't know if it is possible at all? ROM does all the calculating realtime towards input, display and software. Flash ROM would do calculations relative to software ingrained to it. That would be a totally new way of computing. It might not exist for the simple reasons that you need to modify software once in a while and that displays have to be maintained by a refresh rate. If you didn't, then it could be in ROM, completely unified to the device's use. Being in flash it could be awakened at each command and go to sleep microseconds after. This is one benefit of eink that it does not need refreshing and could help optimize processing power use. To my knowlege it does not exist yet.
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11-16-2007, 11:07 AM | #18 |
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I think we have a semantic confusion going on here: ROM (or Read Only Memory), flash (and yes, it does exist, Palm, for example, has had it for years) or otherwise, is for storing information that doesn't change very often. It's not where you'd want to do calculations. In fact, since it's memory, all it can really do is store data.
What you're talking about sounds interesting, though, yvanleterrible, kind of like a distributed processor, with static rather than dynamic memory, so that its state is saved even without power, and it can pick right back up where it left off when the power comes back on. Back when I was designing my own e-ink reader (totally dreamware, but I thought about it a lot), I envisioned a system that would use static ram to boot, run a single function, then shut down. If it doesn't have to load a full OS then it could be very fast booting indeed. For instance, I saw the "next page button" booting the device, running a routine to display a page, and then calculating the next page for display and storing it in a static buffer before shutting back down. The idea I had was to have the current, previous and next pages all stored in static buffers all the time (when they weren't being generated, anyway), or to have the file processed upon loading so that a book would be pre-generated as "pages" and stored that way, so that all the Next button would have to do is turn on, load the next page, and shut back down. All the pages would effectively be memory spaces and would just have to be transfered to the display, which would also kinda be a memory space. I wanted to take advantage of that to capture handwritten notes. I don't think I'm explaining it clearly, but hopefully the idea is coming through somehow. |
11-16-2007, 11:17 AM | #19 |
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Exactly! My, you have a way with words!
Just imagine the power consumption if every portable device functioned this way, with the aid of eink, most every display oriented device could function. Let's start a company! |
11-16-2007, 11:32 AM | #20 |
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I think the idea is to use static RAM for the working memory of the CPU... I am guessing it would be slower than dynamic RAM, but it would save the state when the CPU is not powered, so when power returns, one wouldn't have to load the OS again. Sort of. The CPU itself has registers, and they would lose their contents without power. Apart from the expense of creating a CPU that would use static memory for its registers (design, fabrication, etc.) it would probably be too slow to be workable. But the contents of the registers might be saved out to a special static memory module on power-off.
I only know enough about this level of hardware to be dangerous, though. Someone else will probably be able to point out why this wouldn't work. |
11-16-2007, 11:35 AM | #21 | ||||
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Quote:
True ROM could only be written into once and was then static. Later versions allowed the ROM to be re-written but only be erasing and re-writing the whole thing. A limited number or re-writes were permitted. The latest ROM is called Flash ROM and can be written by updating individual information without redoing the whole thing. However, as compared to RAM there is a speed penalty for this. This sort of ROM is used in Flash Drives such as CF cards and SD cards. Quote:
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Dale |
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11-16-2007, 11:38 AM | #22 | |
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Quote:
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11-16-2007, 11:42 AM | #23 | |
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Quote:
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11-16-2007, 11:43 AM | #24 |
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At the time I was looking for the xfer software to do the pagination, rather like the Sony PC-side software does if you use it.
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11-16-2007, 11:46 AM | #25 | |
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Most (all?) of the newest crop of palms have non-dynamic memory so that everything doesn't go bye-bye (that's the industry technical term ) when the power completely dies, but the power will still completely die even when "off" eventually -- it's always running enough to keep the time and watch for your alarms, etc. |
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11-16-2007, 11:51 AM | #26 | |
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11-16-2007, 11:57 AM | #27 |
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I'm afraid if I kept it in the cradle, I'd always forget to pick it up when I left the office. It doesn't do me much good at the dentist if it's still sitting on the desk at work.
The backlit color screens are one of the main reasons I haven't upgraded. (Well, that and not wanting to spend money when the current model is still working just fine.) I really don't understand this fascination people have with color on a PDA. |
11-16-2007, 12:06 PM | #28 |
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11-16-2007, 12:17 PM | #29 | |
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11-16-2007, 02:05 PM | #30 |
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Nah, wouldn't work. I leave my keys in my trouser-pockets - otherwise I would close my door, try to lock the door and realize I forgot my keys inside.
So either the PDA wouldn't get loaded (I don't have a PDA but use a Smartphone - same problem) or I would stay outside the door - and the phone inside. Better to just have an empty pda/smartphone, especially now that winter is coming |
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