The Holy Grail of personal computing miniaturisation has to be the wristwatch PC. You might imagine that this was always doomed to be a typical example of form fighting function, and for a long time t
The Holy Grail of personal computing miniaturisation has to be the wristwatch PC. You might imagine that this was always doomed to be a typical example of form fighting function, and for a long time that did appear to be the case. Casio has come close by bringing devices to the market that almost defy belief, from the MP3 player watch to the GPS SatNav watch, and the digital camera watch. The closest the companys got to placing a computer on your wrist, at least for public consumption, is the PC Unite model - a PIM and watch combined.
This combines a custom 4-bit CPU, 24KB of memory, 48 x 10mm LCD screen and IrDA built in with basic PDA software that can sync appointments, and so on, with your desktop machine. Its clever - Ive got one - but it isnt a PC by a long stretch. The IBM Linux watch, however, which is just a prototype at the moment, has all the signs of a real PC in the making.
The slightly bulky device runs Linux 2.2 and the X11 graphic library, has 8MB of flash memory and another 8MB of DRAM. It packs in a motherboard measuring just 1.08 x 0.48in and features a touch-sensitive display and IrDA, as well as RF wireless connectivity. The IBM Research Labs have already demonstrated it working and hope to enable it to view email messages and access Internet-based real-time content, as well as standard PDA-like capabilities.
A wristwatch PC is currently little more than a gadget or a gimmick and has little real-world use beyond that. As an exercise in wearable computing, however; its a good introduction to the concept. And now that weve been introduced, why not go the whole hog and see what a wearable PC really looks like, courtesy of Xybernaut?
At the end of May this year, US-based Xybernaut (www.xybernaut.com) released the latest, fifth-generation of its wearable computers, the MAV. Some call this a ThinkPad in parts, and theres some truth in that; IBM produces the MA V for Xybernaut and it does share many core components with the ThinkPad. However, thats where the comparisons end.
Xybernaut has developed a truly remarkable and, from a design point of view, unique device. For once, the form is entirely driven by function, yet the end product is both functional and aesthetically pleasing - even desirable. A small 6 x 4in magnesium chassis contains the CPU, a Celeron 500MHz with 256MB of SDRAM, a full-duplex sound card, 8MB of SDRAM video memory and a 32GB hard disk. Connectivity is no problem, as it has FireWire, PC Card, CompactFlash and USB built in.
This unit clips onto your belt or backpack and connects to a XyberPanel full-colour, flat-panel display, with options ranging from a 640 x 480 resolution, 6.1in touchscreen to a 800 x 600 8.4in screen and all-light readability. Pen or voice activation come as standard. If you prefer, you can opt for the HMD (head-mounted display) unit that makes you look like one of the Borgs from Star Trek but provides an integrated colour digicam that can record direct to the hard disk or transmit images via LAN, WAN or Internet. It also features a 1.1in monocular eyepiece display that gives the equivalent of a 15in 800 x 600 screen.
An integrated microphone and earpiece enable voice activation and communications. Finally, the XyberKey is the missing link, a lightweight, wrist-mounted, 60-key Qwerty keyboard.
Load it up with any Windows OS, Linux or SCO Unix and standard applications and you have the ultimate in go anywhere personal computing. While this kind of technology doesnt come cheap - the basic Xybernaut MA V model costs more than $US5,000 and peripheral components send that figure skywards - its already in demand for a variety of jobs.
These include telephone engineering, underground pipelines, clean machine rooms and warehouse aisles - anywhere that it can be used without interrupting other tasks, looking away or letting go of a safety grip, in fact.
It doesnt take the wildest of imaginations to visualise how such a form factor could change the way we think about personal computing in the home or office.
Bill Gates recently stated his continuing commitment to the PC, believing that despite its troubled times of late, the future of computing remains with the PC.
That may be so, but these future PCs might end up being unrecognisable from the original boxes that made the PCs name.