Transmeta (Semiconductor) (TMTA)

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Info from DEMO 2002

http://www.idg.net/spc_810156_8814_1-4801.html

Glitz Gives Way to Practical Products
Demo 2002 highlights PC diagnostics, easier surfing for travelers, a second look at the Tablet PC, and palatable avatars.
Ramon G. McLeod, PCWorld.com
Tuesday, February 12, 2002
PHOENIX -- Sobered up by two economically horrendous years for the technology industry, exhibitors at the Demo 2002 show here this week are offering up products and services that might, just might, actually have a chance of succeeding in the world most of us live in.
. . . .

The Big Boys
Both Microsoft, which hasn't been much of a player at recent Demos, and IBM brought hardware that is attracting a lot of attention.
Microsoft's oft-maligned Tablet PC looked quite a bit more interesting than it has at other shows, mostly because this time the company is showing it with a tool to attract folks who must attend meetings bearing notepads.
Instead of using pen and paper, a person armed with a Tablet PC writes directly on its LCD monitor. The monitor sits flat on the top of an ultralight notebook and the image on the screen looks like a digital version of a legal pad. The person writes on the screen in normal handwriting.
The handwriting, including some pretty awful chicken scratch produced by a reporter, can be converted to text and moved to a Word file, copied into an e-mail message, or used in any fashion normally associated with text. The interpretation of the handwriting is quite accurate, although not perfect. The original document can be stored, and best of all, its key words can later be searched. This is very handy if one needs to go back over old notes.
Microsoft expects the product will begin shipping near the end of 2002.
The IBM Meta Pad, also on display here, is a computer about the size of a small paperback book. The device is equipped with an 800-MHz Transmeta processor, 128MB of SDRAM, a 3D graphics chip with 8MB of RAM, and a 10GB hard drive.
The device was built with the idea that all other parts of a PC--the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and so on--are "only accessories" that can be plugged into the device with docking ports. The advantage is that the device can be plugged into a desktop, then moved to a notebook, or even to a handheld, says Ken Ocheltree, exploratory devices manager for IBM Research. When he demonstrated it, the handheld prototype was extremely clunky. The device could also be used as a wearable computer with a headmount display or a detachable LCD monitor.
While interesting, the device is by no means the first of its kind.
Last year, a small California company called Acquis demonstrated working models of its interputer, which has similar components and capabilities.
IBM says it has no plans to sell the device itself, but may license its technologies to other companies.


Regards, wsh