HPC vs Netbooks

I recently got a little laptop, and it very much rides the line between Handheld PCs and Netbooks, with it being very small for a netbook and a non-x86 (MIPSII) architecture more like that of a HPC, though it lacks the pocketability seen in most HPCs and is more geared towards internet use, so I was curious what your personal definitions for each were.

Curious as to what is the netbook you are referring to?

What OS does it run?

To me netbooks run Windows or maybe linux, while handhelds run other OS's such as WinCE, DOS, EPOC, Synergy, etc.....

So my first computer back in 1991 was a handheld?

I think the term "handheld PC" (as distinct from "Handheld PC" with a capital H, which is a Microsoft initiative involving Windows CE) is a form factor thing. If it's small enough for you to comfortably support it in your hands while using, then it's a handheld. If it's large enough that it pretty much has to be supported by a surface, it's not a handheld. Could be a subnotebook, netbook, laptop, notebook, etc, but it's not a handheld.

My $0.02.

p.s. I too am curious what you got...

That's exactly how I feel about it too Re: handheld vs Handheld. And I view a netbook as something that doesn't traditionally have a touchscreen, but is smaller than a normal laptop. Like the Smartbook G138 or the Sylvania 7" Netbook

Here it is, the Skytex/Sky Tone Alpha 400. Runs some kind of Linux (3mx Ultra I think), and I can use it in my hand, but calling it a full hpc just kind of feels wrong.

Yeah, in my opinion, I'd call that a netbook, a type of handheld PC.
So if handheld PC (not capitalized) was like the "Species", netbook would be like "Sub-Species" - kinda animal kingdom analogy
Nice pictures by the way! Always love seeing unique devices

Yeah, the Linux install is utter garbage though, so I'm trying to find something else that will work on it, or at least a version of firefox with HTTPS support, but this is tricky due to it's fairly unique architecture. The sylvania netbooks were more or less the same thing, only they used ARM from what I can gather, locking me out of the comparatively vast support for it.

As the person who created that distro, i'm a little offended. 3MX is 10x better than the stock Linux that came with those machines. You do realize 3MX was last released 14 years ago right? The included browsers are now ancient and lack TLS 1.2/1.3 support needed for the modern web.

You have 2 options:

1) Install a https proxy like Squid on another machine and connect to that to have access to modern https sites. A ready to use docker can be found here: https://hub.docker.com/r/valdikss/oldssl-proxy which i use for all my retro needs.

2) Install current Debian on it. There are numerous sites still available with the documentation on how to create a restore.img for those old mips netbooks.

As for the topic at hand.... These days i actually prefer EOL ChromeBooks with custom firmware loaded, ChromeOS wiped, and Linux installed in it's place. Can't beat 15 hour battery life, a current OS, and no ties to g00gle. I have a few i've picked up for $30 or less and converted.

Well, I have nothing against the distro, it's the install itself, as it's incredibly locked down to the point where you can't really do anything beyond use the included programs, and just other junk and limitations added on by I presume the OEM, which this is the stock install for. I will try to install Debian on it, and this isn't so much something practical to use as much as it's just a fun little project.

@RTFM! Man, where have you been? We've missed you. I used 3MX with great success on all those cheapo umpcs (until they gave up their $50usd ghosts). Miss the Little Linux Forum as well. Do pop in here now and then and catch us up, you're always into interesting stuff.

Jake

I did the Chrome-to-Linux on an Acer 720 and C771--the day they finally cracked the sound issue was a big day.

I use MX ahas on a no-name UMPC. xfce remains a proven winner. @RTFM -- do you post over at the official forum?

Jake

Hey Jake!

Yeah, it's been a while. I've been delving in to many different projects over the years. After hpc's and the mips netbooks i moved on to the cheap wm8650 netbooks and tablets. Then on to the zipit z2 (awesome little device). Then i got hooked on collecting vintage Macs and started writing and porting software to PowerPC OS X Tiger and Leopard, including some modified Linux distros as well. I've been hanging out on MacRumors since. I also upload a lot of my stuff to MacintoshGarden and i have a blog i update once in a blue moon here.

I still have 2 of those mips netbooks, and they still worked when i packed them up when i moved a few years back. I should dig them out some day. They were fun to tinker with back in the day.

Cheers

Hey @rtfm! We were looking through the old x86 software list you had made earlier!