20050525
Follow-up
One other device that actually does exist: the hand-held browser. I don't mean those abominations of mobile phones (WAP, anyone?), but this device from Nokia looks as though it's heading in the right direction. In fact, I want one. Now, where's the GPS and MP4 playback?
Devices to die for
We've been talking about a few potential gadgets or devices that we'd find useful at work. I can't believe that no-one has come up with these yet.
First off, why do we put up with horrible patch panels and switches? What about integrating the whole thing, so the port leads are connected straight into the back of the switch, and all you'd need as a couple of RJ45 ports for servers and stacking? Lose that rat's nest.
There's been some discussionon the perfect PDA/phone device. I think it's still unreasonable to expect it in the near future, but such a device would have to contain GPS functionality as well as all forms of wireless networking, be able to act as an MP3 player and have USB connectivity to make use of its 20 Gb on board storage for file transfer. And all in a form factor easy enough to hold in one hand. Batteries that last longer than twenty minutes might be a good idea, too!
My personal preference is for a terminal device. I'm bugged by the lack of serial ports on so many systems nowadays. Laptops seem to have retained the all-but-useless parallel port at the expense of a decent 9 pin serial connection. But what I'd really like is a handheld unit with serial and network connectivity built in, to allow for device testing. Suggestions welcomed.
First off, why do we put up with horrible patch panels and switches? What about integrating the whole thing, so the port leads are connected straight into the back of the switch, and all you'd need as a couple of RJ45 ports for servers and stacking? Lose that rat's nest.
There's been some discussionon the perfect PDA/phone device. I think it's still unreasonable to expect it in the near future, but such a device would have to contain GPS functionality as well as all forms of wireless networking, be able to act as an MP3 player and have USB connectivity to make use of its 20 Gb on board storage for file transfer. And all in a form factor easy enough to hold in one hand. Batteries that last longer than twenty minutes might be a good idea, too!
My personal preference is for a terminal device. I'm bugged by the lack of serial ports on so many systems nowadays. Laptops seem to have retained the all-but-useless parallel port at the expense of a decent 9 pin serial connection. But what I'd really like is a handheld unit with serial and network connectivity built in, to allow for device testing. Suggestions welcomed.
20050503
Update
OK, OK, I was supposed to keep this up to date a bit more often. Excuses? Well, on the biking side, the weather has been almost uniformly miserable, bad enough over the recent weekend that I couldn't even see the end of the road. Not conducive to riding with confidence.
Work-wise, I've also been somewhat busy: most of the details are perforce not things I can write about here, but the generalities are OK. Spent some time in Wales setting up a system - interesting people and work, but a long way to go. We need to plan how we're going to support this with care, since I don't want to let anyone down or leave them feeling neglected. Back in Scotland, the local support requirements remain, and we're making more efforts to get out and press the flesh a bit. Although we do maintain systems remotely, it's not he same as being seen on site.
Plus we've had a couple of near-disasters on the networking side on our own site, including losing our Internet connectivity through waht I can only imagine was a phoneline spike - took out both the router and firewall. Somewhat fortunate that I had spare kit to replace the aging boxes we used, but it is not as effective. The upside of this is that it's forced us into investing in new kit, with all the concomitant enjoyment of configuring it. Joy - not.
Work-wise, I've also been somewhat busy: most of the details are perforce not things I can write about here, but the generalities are OK. Spent some time in Wales setting up a system - interesting people and work, but a long way to go. We need to plan how we're going to support this with care, since I don't want to let anyone down or leave them feeling neglected. Back in Scotland, the local support requirements remain, and we're making more efforts to get out and press the flesh a bit. Although we do maintain systems remotely, it's not he same as being seen on site.
Plus we've had a couple of near-disasters on the networking side on our own site, including losing our Internet connectivity through waht I can only imagine was a phoneline spike - took out both the router and firewall. Somewhat fortunate that I had spare kit to replace the aging boxes we used, but it is not as effective. The upside of this is that it's forced us into investing in new kit, with all the concomitant enjoyment of configuring it. Joy - not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)