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IP: IBM"s "MetaPad" Index Card-Size Computer Prototype
From: David Farber <dfarber () earthlink net>
Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 13:29:33 -0500
-----Original Message----- From: Ari Ollikainen <Ari () OLTECO com> Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 10:12:51 To: farber () cis upenn edu Subject: IBM"s "MetaPad" Index Card-Size Computer Prototype http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&u=/nm/20020206/tc_ nm/tech_ibm_portable_dc_1 IBM to Unveil Index Card-Size Computer Prototype Wed Feb 6,12:16 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp.'s research division says it has developed a prototype of a portable computer module that is the size of a small pad of paper and has the computing power of a typical notebook or desktop computer. The portable computing device, which IBM Research will unveil on Feb. 11 at a technology conference in Phoenix, Arizona, includes 128 megabytes of dynamic random access memory, a 10-gigabit hard drive and a microprocessor -- which is the brain of the computer -- that runs at 800 megahertz, or 800 million cycles per second. "We've taken the PC down to where you can take it home and finish your work," said Kenneth Ocheltree, manager for next generation mobile at IBM Research. Code-named "MetaPad", the module is 5 inches long, 3 inches wide and about three-quarters of an inch thick. The module fits into a larger accessory piece that features a small, flat screen on front and is about 6 inches long, 4 inches wide and 1 inch thick. The index-card sized module can also be plugged into a docking station for a personal computer, enabling the user to move all of his or her information and applications from one location to another. It runs Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system. Ocheltree said IBM doesn't have specific plans to sell the prototype, which could be ready for market in few years. IBM is talking to computer makers and customers about how it could be used, he said. "We're trying to understand how people would use it and interact with it," Ocheltree said. Ocheltree said some possible uses are in areas like medicine, international customs, and airline and hotel check-in. He said IBM is working on how wireless technology could be used with the device. Companies like Palm Inc., Handspring Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. all make pocket-sized computers with various degrees of computing power that handle anything from calendar functions to e-mail transmission. PC makers Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. also make handheld computers. Rapid growth in the handheld market has slowed amid the overall economic downturn as consumers have tightened up on spending, and the industry is increasingly introducing wireless devices for communications. IBM, with a $5 billion research and development budget in 2001, does everything from exploratory research to application development, working in computer science, material science, mathematics and physics. For example, it has worked on making semiconductors smaller and faster. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ You can't depend on your judgement when your imagination is out of focus. -- Mark Twain. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ OLTECO Ari Ollikainen P.O. BOX 20088 Networking Architecture and Technology Stanford, CA Ari () OLTECO com 94309-0088 415.517.3519 For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- IP: IBM"s "MetaPad" Index Card-Size Computer Prototype David Farber (Feb 06)