Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 14:29:54 -0400
Reply-To: "Joe L." <mejoe100@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Joe L." <mejoe100@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Net Appliance GPS Conversation
In-Reply-To: <18.25c63fe.26f594a3@cs.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
If you have seen a "Web TV" commercial the "I-Opener" and other machines
like it are something along these lines but they have their own screen
(don't need your TV) and are a lot smaller. The generic name of them is "Net
Appliance" meaning something you buy to get on the net and that is the only
thing it can be used for. There are a bunch of companies making these "Net
Appliances"; "I-Opener" is just one of many.
About the size of a small laptop they are kind of like actual laptop
computer with everything ripped out of them except for what a person
actually needs to get on the internet. I-Opener sold their net appliance for
$100 (a big loss) thinking they would make their money on the internet
subscriptions. There was no requirement for anyone who bought them to
subscribe to their internet service as the I-Opener was designed and built
so there was absolutely nothing else anyone could do with these things other
than to get on the internet using their service. Wrong!!!
The thing with the "I-Opener" is that some guy figured out how to put all
the ripped out guts back into it and end up with a real computer that could
run real computer programs (like Windows GPS programs). Word went flying
around the internet that this was a way to get a $100 laptop. While it was
never really that simple or cheap and what you ended up with was somewhat
limited in what it could do the sound bite "$100 Laptop" caused a stampede
of folks buying the "I-Opener" with no intention of ever subscribing to the
internet service that was the only way for the company to make a profit.
That was with the original "I-Opener" the new one is selling for $300
instead of the original $100 and includes a contract for you to purchase
their internet service upping the price ever more. Whether or not they are
still hackable is a moot point for new buyers because the cost has risen to
the point they are no longer worth hacking. By the time you got through
paying for the new "I-Opener" and the internet contract you would have been
better off taking that money and getting a good used laptop. But hackability
is still a question worth the answer when one realizes that these things are
likely to end up suffering the same "dime-a-dozen" fate as the Nintendo
machines. Certainly not worth a dedicated search for a hackable I-Opener but
nice information to know just in case one turns up at a yard sale.
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Ron Semko
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2000 11:30 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Net Appliance GPS Conversation
I'm confused. Could someone explain to me:
What is an I-Opener, and how does it relate to GPS?
Sorry, but I'm lucky to be using the internet (not computer literate)
Ron
Orlando, Florida
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