Technology WTF of the Day

This morning I woke to the news of a new touchscreen coffee table computer from Microsoft. I quickly decided that I would not want one for my house anytime soon, but that I would see how such a device would be fun in a bar. Once I started reading the morning news I saw that Microsoft is on the same page with me. That was a Tech WTF avoided.

I am not a heavy user/purchaser of Microsoft products anyway. Palm on the other hand is a company who has a solid place in my everyday technology usage. I have only had my Treo for a few months, but I don’t see myself giving it up until there is something even more powerful available. I like the Treo b/c it has the right mix of features without being too proprietary (i.e. Blackberry which works best with Blackberry server products).

I knew Palm was supposed to be announcing something they were proud of today. I even knew it wasn’t going to be a phone or a PDA in the typical sense. Still, they managed to surprise me.

Never in a million years did I think Palm would release a grossly underpowered laptop. I can’t believe they are actually expecting people to get excited about this device. When I first saw the picture to the left I thought, “wow, that looks a lot like the two devices on my desk right now. The only difference is that the Treo doesn’t have an antenna sticking out and the laptop is slightly smaller and can only do a fraction of what my MacBook Pro can do.”

Here is how I understand the specs of the device. It is a small laptop (10″ screen). It runs Linux with the Opera web browser. It does not have a hard drive. It does not have a cellular card. It does not have WiFi (though later versions will). It has instant on and off. The battery lasts all day (kinda like how my Treo battery lasts “all day”?). It costs $600, but there is hopefully going to be a $100 rebate. Oh, and by the way, they seem to have limited Linux’s multi-tasking ability. You can only work with one application at a time. Brilliant!

This device has absolutely no appeal for me. In fact, it has negative appeal. Now I look at my Treo and think “We have no future together. I just don’t understand what your makers are thinking. I am afraid they are not going to be able to keep up.”