iBrowse 1.0

Let me put it in slightly less sarcastic terms and concentrate on one point... Nope I can't do it.

Think on these facts:

1) There is no technical explanation on the website. None. Given the geek chic quality of what they purport to have accomplished you would think they would proudly expound upon it.

2) "Web signals" is just plain silly. Especially without explanation.

3) The headphone jack is by nature analog. So transferring a binary signal (which internet traffic is by and large) through a analog line without a modem (modulator-demodulator) is problematic at best. Now perhaps there is another connector on top of the iPod, I do not have one. If there is however it is probably very specialized in nature.

4) In order to accomplish what they advertise would require at a minimum a rewrite of a moderately large chunk of the firmware. Even if they did do this successfully I sure as heck would not want to be one of the early souls who would risk bricking their iPod by using 3d party firmware. Maybe there is a way to accomplish interaction with the iPod without using the USB/Firewire port and without rewriting the firmware. But again there is no explanation or even credible meanderings on how they accomplish this.

Basically ur ipod has no processor of its own duhhhhhh, well wait it has one but not capable of doing that.

It would also be interesting to see how you click those buttons on the scroll bars (or even scroll at all) when you have no type of pointing device. Another thing.. where exactly are you suppose to enter URLs and navigate with this thing?

What a laugher!

You use your mind powers to navigate.

johninc said:

Basically ur ipod has no processor of its own duhhhhhh, well wait it has one but not capable of doing that.

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Actually it has the same processor as many PDAs (such as the Jornado or Palm Pilot for example), what it doesn't have (that I'm aware of) is an OS capable of such feats.

Basically if you could solve the data input problem and the internet connection problem there is nothing inherently to stop an iPod doing anything a mobile phone could do, i.e it could render text only web content and maybe even black and white images but you would need to write an awful lot of software to do it.

Amen-Moses

BadjahBoy said:

It would also be interesting to see how you click those buttons on the scroll bars (or even scroll at all) when you have no type of pointing device. Another thing.. where exactly are you suppose to enter URLs and navigate with this thing?

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Read it carefully, it supposedly comes with a "scroll through" keyboard!!!
:dummy:

Wouldn't that be absolutely awful to use.

Somehow I still think it is fake though.

Amen-Moses

Amen-Moses said:

Read it carefully, it supposedly comes with a "scroll through" keyboard!!!
:dummy:

Wouldn't that be absolutely awful to use.

Somehow I still think it is fake though.

Amen-Moses

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Yikes. And I thought entering URLs using my cell phone's numeric pad was a PITA, but a scroll wheel? I can't see apple's "it just works" philosophy meshing all the well with that.

The iPod uses a pair of embedded ARM7's. In the same family as most PDAs but woefully underpowered with no proper MMU and 32 MB, (64MB for iPhoto I think). Comparing it to an XScale processor is a bit misleading don't you think?

It comes with a scrolling keyboard which I assume to mean a software keyboard. Regardless of any of this, how would they do it without reflashing the iPod (no mention of such a requirement) and I hate to harp on it but "Web Signals"?

Kokopelli said:

Yeah. And maybe I'm a Chinese Jet Pilot.

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Nice Army of Darkness/ Bruce Campbell quote!

-Chris

You've never heard of web signals? Wow I thought everyone had... They're kinda like the electric signals that power your TV or computer.

Kokopelli said:

The iPod uses a pair of embedded ARM7's. In the same family as most PDAs but woefully underpowered with no proper MMU and 32 MB, (64MB for iPhoto I think). Comparing it to an XScale processor is a bit misleading don't you think?

Click to expand...

Who is comparing it to an XScale? The Jornado and Palm both started out with bog standard *single* ARM7 (in fact I think the originals may have been ARM6 and they can both browse the internet quite happily.

I still have an 1980s vintage ARM3 based system with 4Mb of RAM and it is quite capable of browsing the web, slowly of course.

Amen-Moses

It's pretty amazing what the iPod is capable of, especially with linux on it.. I could see them doing some pretty spiffy things with the linux install.. Im quite impressed with the graphics.

Yes but that linux install means you are not playing music. From reports, even mp3 playback skips.

Want to surf the web from your ipod? don't want to pay monthly fees? ok!

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ok! how?! Fairy dust, I need some fairy dust.

just get iBrowse 1.0 and brouse the web from your ipod for free.

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I will interrupt this regularly scheduled derision to point out that they misspell browse.

This program allows you to not only surf the web, but it allows you to have up to 20 pages open and it comes with iAIM, in which you can have up to 40 conversations/ chatrooms open along with your pages open.

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What is the lightest graphical browser you know of capable of displaying multiple pages simultaneously? How much memory does it consume when presenting 20 full pages? it is doable but of course there is the OS, the lack of an MMU, and the lack of an IO interface to consider (they are not using the docking port). There is not currently any platform to run a program on, you need that first. AIM can actually be crammed into a fairly small memory space so I will let that pass the sniff check.

it also comes with a scroll through keyboard.

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But no pointing device evidently.

if you're good with computers, they need you to help finish up the job. if you want to help, e-mail the project lead at [email protected]. thank you

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No.... thank you. If they pull it off I will try and hire a team to port the fairy dust to a real computer so I can browse for free though. I can justify the ROI.

Just buy this $25 attatchment which will allow you to receive the web signals and the rest is free!

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(Misspell attachment)

WEB SIGNALS!!!! Something about that phrase just gets my knickers in a knot.

*laugh* well I have no doubts at all that it is false, but I do have linux installed on my iPod and the software they have for playing music is very similar to layout and functionality as the regular iPod OS, plus a bit more functionality.. It works great for me though.. so I don't know about that skipping stuff you are talking about.. or maybe they have fixed it since then.

They probably have fixed it. I do not have an iPod, ergo I have no real experience with Linux on iPod. Just what I have read on the web.

Off topic but only MP3s or do they have other codecs working?

Yep many other codecs.. take a look here:

http://www.ipodlinux.org/Project_Status

Actually it has the same processor as many PDAs (such as the Jornado or Palm Pilot for example), what it doesn't have (that I'm aware of) is an OS capable of such feats.

Basically if you could solve the data input problem and the internet connection problem there is nothing inherently to stop an iPod doing anything a mobile phone could do, i.e it could render text only web content and maybe even black and white images but you would need to write an awful lot of software to do it.

Amen-Moses

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Dude thats exactly what I said when I corrected myself

word32 said:

rumor has it that there's some new program that's coming out called iBrowse 1.0 that will allow you to access the web from your ipod photo, or give you aim only on ipod normal and ipod mini.

full story here

hm....... what do you think?

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I hope they dont use that name since its registered and is an Amiga web browser right now.