Skip to Content

Submit your nominations for the Luxist Awards' Best in Decor
AOL Tech

umpc posts

Filed under: Hardware, OS, Hacks, Mods

Mac OS X hacked to run on UMPC, tablet fans rejoice

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Dec 15th, 2006


For those who don't obsessively refresh Engadget, UMPC stands for 'Ultra-Mobile PC' - an emerging hardware form factor for a device smaller and more mobile than a notebook, but nowhere near pocketable (by any stretch of the imagination) like a PDA or iPod. For now it's definitely a niche device (most don't even have built-in keyboards), but that didn't stop Engadget from finding 'Igor', who managed to get a hacked version of Mac OS X 10.4.7 installed on an Asus R2H UMPC. Play the video above for a demo of this home-grown Mac OS X tablet, complete with Safari, iChat and iTunes action, with support for the Apple Remote to boot.

Come on Apple! If DIYers can whip this together at home, where's my Mac OS X Tablet mini?

Update:Removed incorrect video. Thanks to all who pointed that out.

Tags: diy, DLS, hack, hacked, mac, os x, OsX, tablet, umpc

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Apple

Newton bests Windows UMPC in Cnet competition

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on Jul 27th, 2006

Way back in March Dave Caolo wrote a post called 'I already have an Ultra-Mobile PC: It's called a Newton' with tongue planted firmly in cheek. It would seem that Cnet UK agrees with Dave.

They pitted a Messagepad 2100 against a Samsung Q1 and unbelievably the Newton won. It won based on battery life (two double AA's power it for 30 hours) and price. I'm not expecting to see a resurgence of Newtons out there but it would be nice, wouldn't it?

[via jkOnTheRun]

Tags: battle, newton, UMPC

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware

I already have an Ultra-Mobile PC: It's called a Newton

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Mar 10th, 2006

Yes, everyone's going crazy over the Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC), the new class of handheld devices that run Windows XP and are supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread (sliced bread with two and a half hours of battery life, but that's a different story). I don't know what all the hype is about, really. My Apple Newton 2100, which was discontinued about a decade ago, does just about everything else a UMPC does, and has a similar form factor. Let's do a modest feature comparison. According to Microsoft, a UMPC boasts:
  • A touch screen. My Newton does as well. Check.
  • WiFi connectivity. Using the drivers written by Hiroshi Noguchi and any 5 volt Lucent/Orinoco/Agere WaveLAN, I can connect to an 802.11b access point for internet (using either the NewtScape or Net Hopper browsers), email (with SimpleMail), IM (over jabber with NewtJabber), blogging (with nBlog) and web hosting (with NPDS. Go here to check out a few live Newton web servers). Check.
  • Bluetooth connectivity. With a compatible card and the Blunt driver, I'm exchanging/synchronizing data with my desktop Mac and enjoying wireless printing from my Newt. Check.
  • A good sized hard drive. Ok, the UMPC has me beat, but with Paul Guyot's ATA Harddisk/Flashcard drivers, I can have a few gigs of storage space available to me. Check.
  • Digital music. MAD Newton lets me store and play Mp3's. Heck, I can even stream internet radio and download music directly to my Newt from iTunes 3. Check.
  • Movies on the go. Well, I can watch The Simpsons and South Park on my Newt. Check.
  • Customizable wallpaper. Thanks to Avi's Backdrop, I have a picture of my daughter as my Newton's "wallpaper," and there's a slew of other images I can choose from. Check.
  • Word Processing/Spreadsheet apps. Newtonworks. Check.
  • An optional, external keyboard. Check. In fact, I'll say "good luck" to anyone trying to enter information onto a UMPC without the keyboard, while the 2100's handwriting recognition is great.
  • A weight of about two pounds. Check.
  • A 7" diagonal display. Actually, the Newt's display can rotate to either landscape or portrait. Double check.
  • Entertainment. Well, I can play games and read books, plus all of the other stuff I mentioned. So, check.
  • Plays nice with both Windows and Apple desktops. Ooh, sorry! This one appears to be Newton only. Now how did that get on the list?
Plus, the Newt gets a lot more that 2.5 hours of battery life (?!?), boots almost immediately since there's no hard drive, has a built in voice recorder and does all of the PIM stuff you'd want to do. Really, people. There's nothing to see here with "Origami." Move along.

Note: This is all a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun, folks.

Tags: newton, origami, ultra-mobile PC, Ultra-mobilePc, umpc

Tip of the Day

Reply in the Mail.app with a specific quote.
Select the text you want quoted and then hit the reply button.
Only your selected text will copied to the reply email.

Learn More

Follow us on Twitter!

TUAW flickr Pool

www.flickr.com
 TUAW [Cafepress]

Featured Galleries

DNC Macs
Macworld 2008 Keynote
Macworld 2008 Build-up
Google Earth for iPhone
Podcaster
Storyist 2.0
AT&T Navigator Road Test
Bento for iPhone 1.0
Scrabble for iPhone
Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase
Apple Vanity Plates
Apple booth Macworld 07
WorldVoice Radio
Quickoffice for iPhone 1.1.1
Daylite 3.9 Review
DiscPainter
Mariner Calc for iPhone
2009CupertinoBus
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
MLB.com At Bat 2009
Macworld Expo 2007 show floor

 

Most Commented On (7 days)

Recent Comments

More Apple Analysis

More from AOL Money and Finance

AOL Radio TUAW on Stitcher