Geek Brief TV #396

Mike Arrington has an idea [1] and I like it. He wants the tech community to build an Internet tablet that is inexpensive and that does one thing well...he wants it to browse the Internet. He's laying out the specs and for the most part, I like his specs.

Mike wants an Internet tablet that isn't meant to do much beyond browsing the Web. Simplicity should lower the cost. He wants it to be Macbook Air-thin, with a touch screen that runs Firefox and Skype on top of a Linux kernel. He just wants a single button for power, a headphone jack, a built-in camera, low-end speakers, a mic, Wi-Fi, a USB port, a built-in battery, half a gig of ram, and a 4 GB solid state hard drive.

I'm on board in support of the mission. This is actually my dream for Geek Brief ... the democratization of product development. I want the tech community to work together to create a piece of kit that we want to own. If you want to jump on board, Mike is arranging the details at, Mr. Cynical's post here [2].

Samsung added something new to the digital camera mix [3]. A couple of analog meters show photographers the status of their battery and their smart card and it looks better than anything I've ever seen before.

The Periodic Table of Videos [4] is right up my alley. I love when scientists figure out how to present science in a way that makes it fun. With the Periodic Table of Videos you get a standard Periodic Table of Elements where clicking on an element leads to a very fun video demonstrating what that element is all about.

Also The Big Lebowski is 10 years old [5] and available in a commemorative edition that collectors will want.

Links:
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[1]
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/21/we-want-a-dead-simple-web-tablet-help-us...
[2]
http://www.techcrunchit.com/2008/07/21/techcrunch-web-tablet-part-2
[3] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001BS80ZC/ref=nosim/cali-20
[4] http://www.periodicvideos.com
[5] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001AEF6CW/ref=nosim/cali-20

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Geek
• Brief
• TV
• #396

[quicksite]

I don't know how I stumbled upon this video (it was a related video that showed re Firefox 3.5's new built in video player) -- but geez I'm practically one year late. What i'm wondering is why the hell hasn't there ever been a comment here? (Maybe it's "Pending Approval" channel?).

Your thoughts are brilliant re the democratization of Product Development, but what I want to know is: how can you talk that fast and not mess up? It's like you're using 2 to 1 word-compression. Not bad!