Random Notes
============
After about three weeks without using my SGI Indigo I have started it
and now I'm browsing the gopherspace. I'm not sure why but I feel
better when I access the gopher from this old machine than when I'm
using anything more modern (even my SGI O2 is modern here).
I noticed soma days ago that Logout changed structure of his gopher
site but only now I found that there is also a screenshots gallery [1]
(too bad that my Netscape 3 cannot open PNG files..). Opening of single
screenshot takes time on my 33MHz CPU (some tens of seconds until the
file is shown in full details) so one feels like in late 1990s (tun the
MIPS R3000 CPU was long obsolete even then).
One of his latest screenshots is a RedHat 6.2 desktop on a dual-CPU PC
(a pair of Celerons on an ABIT motherboard).. There was an interesting
Czech article at the DIIT.cz [3] (by Logout, I you can guess). In early
2000s it was dream machine for many folks (me, too - but I never
managed to get such computer). Also the RedHat 6.2 (its Czech mutation
with a lot of added tools for Czech and Slovak languages) was my last
RedHat Linux and the one which I used for the longest time (I never
liked 7.x line so I went for Slackware, the 8.1, I think). It was the
first Linux where all my software was well supported and everything
worked for me. Tons of good memories...
Today I saw in my mailbox and advertisement from Gemini PDA people -
some of them are working on something called "smart wallet" - actually
a tiny Android portable computer with 3.5" screen (an unnecessary big
screen for this purpose) with 4G support, WiFi, NFC and camera (to scan
QR codes). It should be used for wireless payments. IT has a few
hardware buttons which allow it's used just like the wallet and not as
a phone or a PDA. A black box without proper user control to be used to
manage one's finances? Why?
I have been using a dumb phone (a Punkt MP01 [4]) since October and
there is still no need to return to a smartphone. I actually found that
I have no good use for a smartphone. The smartphone simply does not fit
into my daily routine: I don't need on-line maps because on weekdays I
travel by walk only. I cannot browse RSS/WWW/Gopher during my journeys
to and from work for the same reason. And so on. Well, I can use
phone's camera to take some pictures. But I did that less than once a
year. It makes no sense to use just for such reason a device which have
to be charged almost daily. And when I have to synchronize my Pebble
smartwatch the I can use my Ubuntu tablet (which I still have).
I still use Palm III as my main PDA. I must confess that I
underestimated actual qualities of the Sony PEG-UX50/U (after some
training I'am able to use its keyboard relatively effectively and
battery life - even with my weak battery - is quite good and screen is
excellent) but the old good IIIx/IIIxe is better for my needs. There
was little time to play with my new PocketPC device (a Toshiba e750).
Its specs are promising but its OS (a pocket version of the Windows)
are more limiting that I thought. I managed to install a few apps (a
DopeWars, for example) but that's all for the moment. Some things
simply are not available and some I was not able to install dues to
some incompatibilities. Maybe I will find a more time for that toy
later. IT still seems to me that the PalmOS (technically more limited
and running of a weaker hardware) is much more intuitive and faster.
References:
[1]
gopher://i-logout.cz:70/1/screenshots/
[2]
gopher://i-logout.cz:70/I/screenshots/files/PC_dual_Celeron_RedHat62-2019_01_19.png
[3]
https://diit.cz
[4]
http://punkt.ch
