More Random thoughts of Josh Dye

I was browsing http://www.linuxdevices.com the other day, and found a device that I think is very interesting.  It is called the “Touch Book”, and the article I read about it in is at http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9011409662.html.  After reading this article, I still had some questions about this device; so, I emailed the developer- and they said they would answer some questions for my blog.

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QUESTION: When did you first decide to start the touchbook?

RESPONSE: August 2008

QUESTION: Does the touchbook have any relation to the Open-Pandora (www.openpandora.org) ?

RESPONSE: No except that we are working in the same community (Beagleboard /OMAP). We like what they are doing. We hope that they will like what we are doing. The market is big enough to handle muliple players. Moreover,we are both small players. I consider that the enemies are more the established companies (HP and others) when they will come later to this market,.

QUESTION: How did you decide on such a radical new design?

RESPONSE: To innovate!

QUESTION: I heard the touchbook will not be using a traditional X86 processor, is this true?

RESPONSE:Yes, it’s using an ARM process (like open pandora).

QUESTION: How will the internal USB ports work?

RESPONSE: The innovative design includes internal USB plugs. We all hate having dongles hanging from our laptop - we often end up disconnecting them accidentally — so we opted to put the USB inside. If putting a USB device inside your Touch Book sounds hard - don’t worry! We’ve designed the Touch Book so you can easily open it up to add and remove USB devices.

QUESTION: What is the touchbook going to use as a hard-drive?

RESPONSE: 8GB Flash memory.

QUESTION: How does one put the computer in keyboard-mode?

RESPONSE: Please visit the website and watch the video.

QUESTION: What kind of screen is the touchbook going to have?

RESPONSE: Please visit the website. It’s a 8.9 inches screen.

QUESTION: Can the touch-book be powered through an external AC adapter?

RESPONSE: Yes.

QUESTION: What Operating System is going to ship with the touchbook?

RESPONSE: We are shipping our own flavor of Linux though users will be able toinstall any OS they want, including Google Android.

QUESTION: What kinds of applications will run on this?

RESPONSE: Open source applications.

QUESTION: What is your general opinion of the opensource movement?

RESPONSE: We strongly support the open source movement and we believe in openness.

QUESTION: I heard that the touchbook will be available in late spring; have there been any issues that could delay it’s release?

RESPONSE: We will see!

QUESTION: Any other comments for us?

RESPONSE: No!

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The touchbook webssite with detailed specs and more is at: http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/