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Monday, June 7, 2010

2 screen Linux tablet/e-reader to replace textbooks | Handle With Linux

Ok, this is the first time I have ever thought this about a new innovative product... and there is no denying that it is Innovative. But, I have to say... What a Colossal Waste of Linux!:O This new "Kno", 2 Screened Text Book Tablet thing, looks like nothing more than a Split Screened LapTop and it is supposed to Cost $1000!!!:O And it's targeted for kids to use in School, in place of Text Books. Many Schools are already Issuing LapTops for their Students with so much more Potential for Teaching and Learning. All you need is the right Apps and a Wireless Connection to a School Server and the Internet if desired. You can get a good LapTop for $500 these days or a 17 inch-er for under $1000! So, Why, Why, Whhhyyyy!!! And on top of all the waste of money and limited usefulness of the Kno... I looked for an Open Source Version of the Kno App and found nothing! Zero Zilch Nada! So, are they also Violating the GPL Linux Copyright and not Sharing the Code!???

Don

2 screen Linux tablet/e-reader to replace textbooks

Posted June 4th, 2010 by cool

This is the prototype of the Kno a Linux based dual screen textbook replacement shown by californian startup Kakai at at the 8th Annual Conference of D: All Things Digital, otherwise known as D8

Features known:

Two capacitive touch screen IPS displays (1440 x 900) of 14.1-inch
weight around 5.5 pounds.
Tegra 2 chip
16GB of storage
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi

full internet browsing
Flash 10.1 support
support for most types of e-Book formats

Clamshell

The Device has 2 reasonable sized screens in a clam shell form factor, a smart design for a device which children are thought to be carrying around in their backpacks.

The Kno is heavy, and it probably has not much future as a luxury item, but for students it may well be what they need. Replacing a backpack filled with heavy books this could prevent anybody from taking the wrong books to school.

Big device

The Kno is really huge. It's not much of a portable, but as students would need to place it on a table to work from it as they would in a school it may just fit right.

The Kno will be hooked up to an online store for purchasing books. The reason it’s so large is that it needs to display already created textbook materials. Stylus input will allow for students to make annotations, highlights and sticky notes.

The developers want to price the device below $1000 and it will be available for pre-order in October.

HD Video

The Kno will also feature HD video, I guess I want to go back to school as soon as this is common teaching material. This would make school more fun for me.

Kno Movie from Kno, Inc. on Vimeo.

More info at Kno.com

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Go there...
http://www.handlewithlinux.com/linux-dual-screen-e-reader-tablet

Kno tablet wields dual 14-inch, 1440x900 displays
by Geoff Gasior — 11:29 AM on June 3, 2010

Just over a month ago, Microsoft confirmed that it has no plans to produce the dual-screen Courier tablet that been rumored to be in development. Courier enthusiasts need not fret, however, because the dual-screen concept has been given new life by a company called Kno, Inc.

Designed as a textbook replacement for students, the Kno is considerably larger than most of the slates making the rounds at Computex. It's basically two tablets bound together like a book, which makes for a relatively portly system that's over an inch thick and weighs 5.5 lbs. The payoff is two massive 14.1" touchscreens, each with an impressive 1440x900 display resolution. Gesture support is promised, and the screens will also accept stylus input, hopefully with some form of handwriting recognition.

Nvidia's latest Tegra system-on-chip does all the heavy lifting behind the scenes, which should enable smooth HD video playback on those massive screens. Flash is supported, as well, and I'd expect some form of hardware acceleration for streaming video.

The Kno runs a variant of Linux, but you won't need to be a *nix nerd to write applications for the device.  According to the company, "if you can build a website, you can build a Kno app."  The SDK supports JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS, and it appears that the WebKit browser engine is being used as a conduit for apps.

As always, there's a catch. In this case, it's the system's price, which company execs have pegged at "under $1,000." That doesn't seem entirely unreasonable for a device that's very nearly two tablets, but it's still an expensive proposition given the target market. $1,000 buys a lot of Ramen noodles, and that price presumably doesn't include digital textbooks.

Go there...
http://techreport.com/discussions.x/19025

Don

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