“Two Singapore programmers claim to have created an operating system that can run programs written for different platforms such as Windows and Linux. Called MXI (Motion Experience Interface), the new operating system will allow handhelds to run any desktop program, said R. Chandrasekar and Sam Hon Kong Lum, the 22-year-old co-inventors.” Read the report at ZDNews.
I don’t think Palm has anything to worry about but it’s intersting.
I wonder about the approach that MXI uses for this.
Can the protocol be used by other OSes to run Winblows and Linux apps?
Is it like MS RDP for handhelds?
Can other operating systems be added as modules?
Why run desktop apps on a handheld?
Shouldn’t the UIs differ?
… interesting indeed.
ciao
yc
I don’t think it is RDP, or at least not in the sense that we are used to it now. They say they it also interrupts application signals, so files can be stored locally on the pda. (or at least that’s what I understood it to say).
when a program–say a word processor–makes a call to a specific part of the Windows operating system (to save a file, for example), MXI intercepts that call and acts on it. It will then let the program know if the operation was carried out, just as Windows would.
Plus, if it was RDP, how would you be able to modify the file off line, which they say you can do?
Because MXI saves interim data on the PDA, you can edit a document without being online.
Anyway, it requires a server. So, if Joe Schmoe wants one, his cellular provider, or someone, will need an MXI server, with Word installed on it. Which also brings up BIG privacy concerns. Unless, you can have an MXI server behind your corporate firewall, which then raises security issues.
but, who knows. at this point, it is still vaporware.
Sounds nice and all but, it seems that you could do that last year. I know that there are WinCE based palmtop like devices around here that do the same thing. I don’t have one so I can’t remember the name of the software.
From what i gather from that article, it uses some type of “emulation” ala WINE, but an x86 binary just CANT run natively on a PDA (unless of course its powered by an x86). I find this interesting because the same type of technology could make me able to run x86 apps on my Alpha (not that there are that many that i’d want to run or anything). But until they start talking betas atleast, i’ll consider this vaporware like arougthopher.
What I don’t see is how this is going to be practical on PDAs. The Word toolbars alone would gobble up that little display. How would the mouse <–> stylus conversion work? Would it really be practical without a keyboard? That, combined with the mystery surrounding the technology leads me to believe that it’s a hoax or vaporware.
Ever use Pocket Word (dunno if its still called that)? It makes great use of the stylus, i found it very usable even in the WinCE 1.0 days. Most of the Word toolbars could be disabled, which would clean up the screen. How would it be any different than what PDA users are using right now as far as efficiency? those people are used to the hand writting recognition, and you can get full size foldable keyboards for PDAs now, which i find to be a godsend.
My friend owns an iPaq, and its a really cool little machine, quite powerful, what i find it lacks are good applications, this would bridge the gap, but as you said, tis be vaporware until they prove otherwise.
What I want is one of those new flexible ones (the one’s advertised as virtually unbreakable) to connect to a PDA.
Pocket word does run fine on pocket pc devices, but it was designed to do so. Word 2002 (for example) was designed to be used with a full keyboard and mouse with at least a 640×480 display, it wouldn’t translate well to a pda screen, stylus and grafetti system.
They accidently stumbled upon the code
Maybe I one day might stumble upon the code of the Next Big Thing. (Besides, that Indian Singaporean’s name sounds awfully familar, I would be supprise if it was one of my many unknown distant cousins.. or uncles)
Ever use Pocket Word (dunno if its still called that)? It makes great use of the stylus, i found it very usable even in the WinCE 1.0 days.
But they’re not talking about pocket Word, are they?
Most of the Word toolbars could be disabled, which would clean up the screen.
Then there’s the titlebar, the menu bar and the other window components that are sized for a VGA+ display. You’re talking about doing major surgery to each and every application, just to get them to fit onto that tiny screen,
How would it be any different than what PDA users are using right now as far as efficiency?
For crying out loud, read the article!
My friend owns an iPaq, and its a really cool little machine, quite powerful, what i find it lacks are good applications, this would bridge the gap, but as you said, tis be vaporware until they prove otherwise.
For that kind of money, a lack of applications reflects badly on the vendor. If there aren’t enough Windows CE (or whatever they’re calling it this week) apps available, then why not try the simple solution first? It’s only been a few months since the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 was introduced, and I’m finding plenty of good Zaurus software available, much of it for free. The Zaurus compares favorably to the iPaq, the main differences being the built-in keyboard and the absence of Windows CE (or whatever they’re calling it this week). So there is a better solution.
Considering how many people here think that microkernels are still “in” I guess I’d better explain that the whole thin client concept is a failure. It failed on the desktop because it promised savings, but instead of saving money it only shifted costs around. In the end, the net cost of TC is significantly higher! I don’t see any reason why it would be any different on PDAs. In fact, since many PDAs aren’t equipped with wireless LAN, I would expect this kludge to be quite expensive.
I thought you had gotten me with the “read the article!”, then i rememberd, i DID read the article, and i see nowheres where what i said would be stupid. Running Windows Apps, doesnt mean they have to look just like windows, the widgets could be manipulated at draw time to fit better. Can your Zaurus run at 640×480 resolution? My friend’s iPaq sure can, but that really doesnt matter cause the article doesnt really talk about Zaurus Vs. iPaq now does it.
I thought you had gotten me with the “read the article!”, then i rememberd, i DID read the article, and i see nowheres where what i said would be stupid.
If I were to name the single largest turn-off of this forum, it would be the surplus of people who think that everyone is out to get them, turning everything into a fight. The place to deal with paranoia is in a therapist’s office, not on the Internet. Same with fears of looking “stupid”. There’s an old saying that says it’s better to keep quiet and risk looking stupid than to speak and remove all doubt. In other words, if you know nothing about the subject matter, there’s no way that you will be able to bluff your way to accolades and respect.
The article does in fact focus almost exclusively on the networked client/server nature of the product, and talks specifically about how network bandwidth affects the efficiency of the program. It’s kind of hard to miss, since it’s the whole article!
Running Windows Apps, doesnt mean they have to look just like windows, the widgets could be manipulated at draw time to fit better.
OK, so how do you propose doing that?
Can your Zaurus run at 640×480 resolution? My friend’s iPaq sure can, but that really doesnt matter cause the article doesnt really talk about Zaurus Vs. iPaq now does it.
How old are you? Like ten? Do you really think that you can intimidate a grown man with a “my pop can whip your pop” bluff? Not that it makes any difference, since it’s not germane to the topic, but I don’t believe you. I went to HP’s website to verify your claim, and they (the authority on the matter) say that you’re full of it. Yes, that does make you look pretty stupid.
“How would the mouse <–> stylus conversion work? ”
the same way that the mouse <–> stylus conversion works when you have a stylus/pen for a pc instead of a mouse. there is nothing fancy or special about a mouse, windows applications recieve mouse events with coordinates, this wouldnt be any different between a mouse and a stylus for input.
“Would it really be practical without a keyboard?”
this will greatly depend upon the application and also upon the pda’s handwriting recognition.
as for vaporware? most likely.
Ophidian, youre dismissing it as if it’s no problem. But as a Psion 5mx owner who has played around with the Citrix client for that platform, I can tell you that there are a number of problems that might not be evident until you try it in practice. For instance, since the stylus has no tracking mechanism or buttons, it can’t do all that a mouse can. When you touch a stylus to the screen, the meaning is ambiguous to a program that’s expecting mouse input. IME unintentional drags were all too common. For the keyboard, again it’s something that you might not think of until you try. Those keyboard shortcuts that are so simple to do with a real keyboard become awfully cumbersome with handwriting recognition software!
It’s hard to understand how they can do it.
However, it sounds to me like they have hacked desktop OS(Linux, Windows, etc.) kernel(that is, intercept system calls for handing native GUI) to add a X-protocol-like mechanism
Speed since you have one of these what do you think its chances of survival are? I’ve drooled over one since they came out, but who knows if they’ll still be around in a year since palm and ms have the pda market pretty sealed up. Also is the keyboard easy to get used to? I have pretty fat fingers and from the look of those keys I’d press at least 2 letters everytime I touched it. before you say go try one out I haven’t seen any display models yet and I’m not interested enough to shell out the cash to only have to come back and return it.
Speed since you have one of these what do you think its chances of survival are? I’ve drooled over one since they came out, but who knows if they’ll still be around in a year since palm and ms have the pda market pretty sealed up.
You know, it’s hard to say. I’d like to say that the future is rosy, but that would be wishful thinking. On the plus side, Sharp is promoting the Zaurus adequately. At least it will not die of neglect (not yet, anyway). On the minus side, the main market is supposed to come from the business world, and I have yet to see a big business adopt the thing.
I really don’t care, myself. It works for me today, and that’s all that really counts. If the thing breaks and I can’t replace it with another Zaurus like it, so be it. But even if it fails, I think that somebody will copy the keyboard design, which is why I bought it in the first place.
Also is the keyboard easy to get used to? I have pretty fat fingers and from the look of those keys I’d press at least 2 letters everytime I touched it. before you say go try one out I haven’t seen any display models yet and I’m not interested enough to shell out the cash to only have to come back and return it.
I understand completely! I didn’t buy one until I was able to go into Fry’s and fat-finger to my heart’s content.
The keyboard is a two thumb affair, which might sound inefficient, but it’s nice and organic in practice. I got my Psion to replace a Palm because I thought that its more traditional keyboard would allow me to type faster than I could use Grafitti. But the traditionally styled keys didn’t cooperate. The little “nub” keys on the Zaurus are actually easier than the Psion keys!
The key (no pun) is pressure. You can’t help but touch a bunch of keys at once, but you quickly learn to use your sense of touch to find the right one. Your results may be different, so by all means go and find one to play with first.