Raon Digital Everun is launched

[Bob Russell]

For those of you that find the Foleo disappointing, maybe this device will strike your fancy. It's the Raon Digital Everun. You can find some pictures here, and it is a full Windows XP computer with the following delightful specs:

* LX900-based (600Mhz AMD Geode)
* 4.8" 800x480 screen (Touch)
* HDD and SSD options
* Full qwerty keypad
* Wifi and BT2.0
* HSDPA integrated
* 7 hours of battery life with the standard battery.
* 500g (with standard battery)
* 170mm x 25mm x 83mm

It even fits (sort of) in one hand! Availability is expected for July delivery, at an expected price of around $1,000 when imported.

From UMPC Portal.

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

it is a full Windows XP computer

It fails right there. XP is a poor OS in general and is really poor for any low-powered system.

[Moonraker]

It fails right there. XP is a poor OS in general and is really poor for any low-powered system.

I like XP for its ease of use. I have tried other OS including Linux but found I only tinkered with it. I always went back to Windows to do my real work.

I would love to use Linux but my frustration with it is that I never found any real help in learning it. Many Linux techies seem to be so anti-newbie that they either insult you for asking a damn stupid question or they will point you to a maze of "How To's". Sifting through these to find the latest information is impossible because so many are out of date. Rarely did I find a step by step guide for any given task so I could learn to walk before I could run.

I mostly had trouble with installing drivers -- a very simple task in Windows.
My life was made hell with having to type strange text strings at a command prompt only to be told "permission denied" or that I needed to run the app as a "super user".

And how do newbies sort out what apps they want? Many distros just install too many. I only want one graphics app, one cd/dvd burning app, one media player etc to get me started. Finding that I had half a dozen of each installed overwhelmed me in trying to sort them out. To see thousands of folders on the root and not knowing the purpose of so many of them is just too much.

[nekokami]

Ubuntu Linux has a very nice interface for installing things like drivers, and comes with some basics. You might give it a try sometime. You can test it first by booting from a "live cd" without actually installing it.

[wallcraft]

I like Linux, but it can be daunting for new users.

In the case of reading e-books, Windows XP has a wide range of available software and at least some of it will work ok on a small screen. The only serious choices for Linux are FBReader and (perhaps) Adobe Reader and eventually Adobe Digital Editions. FBReader and the Abobe products are also available for Windows XP. So I would expect the Radon to be a good choice in the UMPC category for reading e-books. The only comparable devices that come with Linux pre-installed are the Nokia 770/N800 (less expensive, FBReader only option for e-books) and the PepperPad 3 (larger screen, with very basic version of MobiPocket Reader as well as FBReader and Adobe).

I have a Nokia 770 and a PepperPad 3, and I expect my next UMPC will also be Linux based, but Windows XP is a viable option for small devices with a keyboard.

[Azayzel]

Just saw this while searching for a suitable UMPC. Think I'm still gearing toward either the OQO or Samsung Q1 (no sign of the latest models just yet and I'm a bit impatient). This one implents a weird orientation for the keyboard, not sure if I like the whole portait mode for the keyboard.

Here's a website that sells UMPC's, but it does have some good comparisons between most of what's available: http://www.dynamism.com/Notebooks/UM...orygroup.shtml
Good place to start, though I think their prices are a bit over-inflated.

[nekokami]

I think Mobipocket intends to make their java-based reader more widely available on Linux, and you can run some other readers using wine, but yes, that's a good point. The other feature I see missing is decent, integrated handwriting recognition. (Though I got a note from Vision Objects saying they're considering a port.)

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by Moonraker

I mostly had trouble with installing drivers -- a very simple task in Windows.
My life was made **** with having to type strange text strings at a command prompt only to be told "permission denied" or that I needed to run the app as a "super user".

*Ahem* allow me to channel Bruce Schneier for a moment.

All systems are trade offs. One of the most important trade offs we make is security vs. ease of use. Secure systems are less user friendly because the system makes us prove that we are who we claim to be and verifies that we have permission to do what we want to do.

On Linux, users are encouraged to run as "normal" users (i.e. not as a super user). This increases security because as a normal user, I cannot do something like, oh, run a trojan program that hooks into the OS. But when we need to run something as a super user - like installing a driver - I have to be verified first, which results in more hassle.

On Windows, users are encouraged to run as administrator (i.e. a super user). So it's much easier to install a driver. The trade off is less security.

Obviously most people trade security for ease of use. I believe that is because people are not held responsible for the damage that their insecure systems do.

If a law was passed that made people responsible for what their insecure computers do (ex: send out spam), people would make different trade offs.

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I think Mobipocket intends to make their java-based reader more widely available on Linux, and you can run some other readers using wine, but yes, that's a good point.

Of course, if we wouldn't keep telling companies like Mobipocket that we want closed, proprietary eBook formats, maybe we could finally get an open eBook format. That would result in many good readers for many different systems.