Who needs a desktop PC anyway?

Not sure if a similar thread exists elsewhere in the forum but I'd be interested to know opinions of other HPC users.

I'm lucky enough to own a Sharp Telios with a superb 800x600 TFT screen and a very usable keyboard, not to mention a USB port for an external mouse. I use this device as a standalone PDA/Computer which just about replaces a laptop and allows me to do both personal and work based tasks with a decent (practically full working day) battery life.

All the software I install is done via .CAB files where possible or just using the desktop as a method of extracting the CE installers where necessary. With such a capable HPC I rarely use Outlook on the desktop and file conversions (again, where necessary) can be done right there on the device. Apart from the obvious uses where a desktop PC scores much bigger such as mutlimedia (video editing, etc), I rarely find a need for ActiveSynch or otherwise connecting to a desktop PC.

So, my question is, how many other users use their HPC as a standalone computer?

not yet. i still have to figure out a wifi prob.

Edited by Jornada 660lx 2005-05-06 4:07 PM

it only replaces the laptop for me but a jornada 728 isn't a telios 7000.. i don't need it for a desktop replacement anyway. PC + hpc is fine with me
but if your question is about using it without a desktop pc, then my answer is yes. i never synchronize etc, AS is for only file transfer and even that's replaced often by direct access to my shared folders on the lan

Edited by cmonex 2005-05-06 5:20 PM

I've been using H/PCs for years - first a Newton and the last few years a MobilePro 700 and currently a MobilePro 780 - and yes, it's pretty much replaced my desktop.

Although I have a variety of computers at home, my primary computer is now the 780. It's used for writing, HTML, birthday reminders, e-mail, reading newsgroups and about a thousand other things. I also use it for travelling - a 2 gig CF card holds everything I need with room to spare to dump photos if I run out of storage cards for my cameras.

My desktop computer (a Mac) doesn't get a lot of use anymore. I also have a Windows laptop but it's primary purpose is loading new programs onto the 780, otherwise it doesn't see a lot of use.

A little story - some of you may remember the blackout that hit Ontario and a couple of U.S. states in August of 2003. We were camping in Algonquin (a beautiful provincial park in Ontario and one of my favorite places on Earth) and I had my MobilePro 700 and a couple of cameras with me. We ran the MobilePro, the cameras and flashlights on AA batteries, which were charged with a solar-powered charger. We never ran out of power for anything and didn't even find out about the blackout until we came out and it was over.

I don't know if the 780 will hold up as well as the 700 in terms of battery power (I did buy the AA battery holder, I just haven't put it through it's paces yet) but it does go with me everywhere - it's always in my backpack.

Rick

I still need my desktop pc for developing apps on eVB, editing HTML, browsing web, etc. My Handheld PC is a little slow for all that. My Handheld PC is very hard working though, it's up 24/7 for few months straight as a Web Server.

I'm the same as stingraze, I only need my laptop for Web Editing and eMbVB.

I'm not the same though with the web server though!

Nick

If only PocketIE was better (i.e. with security certificates), and someone had ported gcc to h/pc sh-3 ... Jornada and I would be all alone

[The result of me thinking browser had timed out and re-sending post - Ooops]

Edited by Mart 2005-05-07 9:24 AM

My Netbook was at one time a fully independent computer. I know some people still running their business entirely on a Netbok. My Jornada 728 is not quite there yet, I use it mainly to accompany the Netbook and my laptop.

My laptop is mainly used as a multimedia tool, movies mainly.

Yes and no.
My d/t is just a file store and DVD ripper since I got my hpc. I keep all my PIM info on my hpc and don't sync. I do wish all developers would offer CABs for install. Using AS is tedious and slow. I actually use a tiny Libretto to install apps that require AS. Pretty funny when the AS host is smaller than the AS client.

Now, if only, we can bring the hpc up to speed with a made-for browser and security certificates.Let's face it, lots of our hpcs were made/sold only 3-4 years ago. I don't think the timelines for d/ts and hpcs are the same. d/ts evolve radically in a year while IMO hpcs are fundamentally not that different than basic ppcs made yesterday.IMO, arguments from vendors that our devices are too old to warrant support are a cheap cop-out.

Case in point, lots of ppc owners are angry that xyz inc. won't give them a WM2003SE update for a year-old model.

Anyway, after long and considerable thought I'll keep my 6651 for a long time to come. I don't need 2ghz to type documents or use a spreadsheet. I *know* the day I sell my 6651 would be the day a browser/killer app would appear. I have friends still kicking themselves after selling their 6651 just before the PPC app hacks and USB drivers appeared.

I have managed to reclaim my "computer room" for other purposes since I got my hpc. My d/t is now just an appliance in the corner rather than the central focus. I think it will go in a closet if things continue they way they are.

I just completed a 4 day business trip. All I took was my 780 and my Axim(for web use). I gave presentations that my partner made in Power Point, made field diagrams, did 6 spreadsheets, 3 proposals, sent production notes to my fabrication shop, etc, etc. All without missing my 9 lb. laptop for one minute. I even watched a 1.5 hour movie (wodeon) on my last flight.

I had a 2 hour Layover in Atlanta. While my parntner and I passed the 780 back and forth, as we did some sketch revisions, there must have been a dozen people ask where I found the ,"little laptop"!!!!

The TSA lady in Charlotte thought it was ,"cute", when she saw it come thru the xray machine.

Due to an inter-city move that took a lot longer than first anticipated, I was without my desktop for about six months and relied exclusively on my NEC MobilePro 900 and a portable printer.

I managed very well without the desktop, but there are things, many things, that I had to concede.

> the limitations of PIE and inability to access certain financial sites
> inability to scan documents
> slow dial up connection
> printing issues
> PlanMaker glitches (which have since been fully addressed)
> CDR-W - had to do without, obviously!

But other than that, I did just fine. I was able to keep up-to-date with my email and NGs, I was able to receive and send faxes, write and print letters, get the daily news from Avant-GO ....

Did I still miss my Desktop? You bet! HPCs, even when it was at the forefront of the gadgetry world, had a long way to go to claim its place as a desktop replacement ... and now that the major vendors have abandoned the platform completely, I don't expect the platform to be rejuvinated any time soon.

Personally, I will wait for the sub-notebooks to come down in price - some of them, as you all know I'm sure, come loaded with Windows XP, touch screen, plenty of RAM and disk space, and pretty darn close to Instant-ON capability. Goodbye AS, good bye CE applications and conversion issues ...

hmmm ... so for those of us (lucky people!) who own an intermec and tried a J680 or MobilePro 780/790, or even a J720, any diff on performance? Given the 'slower' CPU?

IMHO I think the *slower CPU* of the Intermec/HC-7000 is a bit misleading. I have owned (and in some cases, still own) an Intermec 6651/Sharp Telios, MobilePro 790 and a Jornada 720 among others.

I have found that the 6651/Telios is *definately* faster than the MP790 at performing basic operations (opening Word, Excel, etc) even though the MIPS CPU in the MP790 has a higher MHz rating (168Mhz compared to 129MHz). In fact, the only speed advantage I've found with the MP790 over the 6651/Telios is when playing video. AVI Video clips taken with my digital camera play back OK on the 6651/Telios but are slightly choppy with a fair number of dropped frames and the sound is out of synch slightly. The MP790 plays the same clip much faster with hardly any dropped frames and the audio is close to the original recording.

Personally I don't think either the 6651/Telios or the MP790 can match the Jornada 720 though - I think the J20 is the fastest of the bunch but the smaller screen/keyboard do not really suit me.

While the performance comparison between the Intermec 6651 and the MP790 is very interesting, you must keep in mind that the Intermec needs to draw 2.5 times the pixels that the MP does. And if you run the video in "full screen" mode, you need to multiply that for the rescaling process as well.