Comments on: Palm OS Program Defeats Chess Grandmaster

Mark Uniacke writes, The Palm HIARCS 9.5a chess program defeated chess grandmaster Jan Gustaffson by a 3-1 margin in a chess match held 22nd-24th Jan 2005. This is the first time in history a chess Grandmaster has been defeated by a handheld chess program.
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The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hardware

Wollombi @ 1/28/2005 1:29:47 PM # Q
This reinforces what I said in VOR's Sonly article about the PalmOS being more than capable of doing everything a Windows "microlaptop" can do if paired with the right hardware and applications.

All PalmOS really needs is good development and a good hardware engineer. Make it able to process the necessary files from the Windows world, and do it well, and there is no reason it can't do this.

_________________
Sean

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hardware
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 1/28/2005 3:32:50 PM # Q
The CLIE UX50 was a decent proof of concept for the microlaptop paradigm. I don't think it would have taken much effort to produce a bulletproof, crashproof, ultra-cheap-to-support PalmOS microlaptop (PalmTop™). The only problem is Palm didn't have the vision to create this as an offering to businesses three years ago and now they can't afford to take chances on radical new hardware.

Yet another lost opportunity for PalmOS to become entrenched in the business world.


******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hard
Cikub @ 1/28/2005 4:07:58 PM # Q
This is virtually nothing to do with hardware and everything to do with the software application. If this program can beat a master on a Palm, it could do the same thing running on an Apple II (albeit slower).

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hard
svrontis @ 1/28/2005 7:26:28 PM # Q
Forget the microlaptop idea. This has been tried before - remember the HPC line of WinCE devices a few years ago? On paper they had some impressive specifications but they were always let down by basic issues such as:

1. the size of the keys on the keyboard (they were universally derided as 'chiclets');

2. the screens were impractical - in fact they had screens which were bigger than what we normally get on palm-pilots (even today), but they were nevertheless very hard to read when trying to type; and

3. poor battery life.

Note that these problems were so bad that the total sales by HP, Hitachi and others together (despite a massive marketing effort by M$) were much less than what Palm achieved with the humble IIIx (at a time when it was being phased out). The whole HPC line was soon dropped in favour of the Palm form factor, because nobody was able to find an engineering fix to any of these problems.

Ryan, thanks for the link to the HIARCS site. That site has some links to articles which compare HIARCS with ChessGenius and other programs. Fascinating stuff. I'm amazed that HIARCS is even stronger than ChessGenius (which, on my TE, regularly beats me 8 games out of 10 - and I'm no slouch!).

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hard
MountainLogic @ 1/28/2005 8:01:09 PM # Q
This really is just a pure CPU problem. Operating system, screen, input method etc just don't matter here. If I were doingthis I would try to tun off screen refresh while I was "thinking."

For that matter, th euser interface could been performed on a simple calculator display (input with calculator buttons too). How fast are programable calculators these days?

It shows that given enough clock you can accomplish the task at hand.

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hard
Wollombi @ 1/29/2005 2:42:21 AM # Q
My point is that there is no reason a PalmOS device couldn't do everything an OQO device can do, including the ability to drop in in a dock and use it just like as PC, like many do with laptops today. Only this would fit in your poocket. Put the right hardware with the OS, and there's no reason Windows has to dominate the world of portable devices. PalmOS is just as capable, without the bloat, crashes, and general headaches and non-useful complexities of Windows.

PalmOS running on a Linux kernel would only strengthen the case for doing this.

_________________
Sean

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

PalmTops™: the best PDA idea of the past 5 years
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 1/29/2005 3:40:59 AM # Q
Forget the microlaptop idea. This has been tried before - remember the HPC line of WinCE devices a few years ago? On paper they had some impressive specifications but they were always let down by basic issues such as:

1. the size of the keys on the keyboard (they were universally derided as 'chiclets');

2. the screens were impractical - in fact they had screens which were bigger than what we normally get on palm-pilots (even today), but they were nevertheless very hard to read when trying to type; and

3. poor battery life.

Note that these problems were so bad that the total sales by HP, Hitachi and others together (despite a massive marketing effort by M$) were much less than what Palm achieved with the humble IIIx (at a time when it was being phased out). The whole HPC line was soon dropped in favour of the Palm form factor, because nobody was able to find an engineering fix to any of these problems.

What you conveniently gloss over is the real reason those PPC models failed: THEY CAME WITH THE HORRIBLE WINDOWS OS. A Sharp Zaurus-sized PalmOS 5.2 PDA built with the quality of the CLIE UX50 + running Documents To Go, NetFront, SnapperMail, etc could easily replace laptops for many business users. (And reduce business support costs to almost nothing.) These PalmTops™ would pay for themselves within a year...


******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hardware
Masamune @ 1/29/2005 6:00:09 AM # Q
True, up to a point. The main reason the UX50 wasn't the blinding success it could have been was because of the collosal price for it As one review mag pointed out "For £600, you could buy a pretty decent laptop".

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hardware
Altema @ 1/29/2005 7:57:48 PM # Q
"it could do the same thing running on an Apple II (albeit slower)"

That's the problem; the program must come up with every move in 30 minutes and 10 seconds, and every move must be good enough to beat a grand master. The same app running at 1.4 Mhz would not make the cut.

In regards to the mini-laptop being discussed, yeah the UX50 came real close to the target and only needed a few adjustments (bigger screen and less blank plastic around it), but the price was the killer for me.

Re: Palmtops
dm @ 1/30/2005 11:29:04 PM # Q
You say the HP's were a failure but what about Psion. I would love a modern PalmOS device in a 5 series form factor.

RE: The OS is capable... Just pair it up with the right hardware
grg @ 1/31/2005 7:10:38 AM # Q
> What you conveniently gloss over is the real reason those PPC models failed: THEY CAME WITH THE HORRIBLE WINDOWS OS.

Strange, the only PPC models I know came with either AmigaOS or MacOS ;-)

Also, nobody remembers Window$ "microlaptop" but Psion was a success as long as it existed. Nevertheless, I personally want my PDA as compact as possible without any kind of keyboard. I don't consider typing the most efficient way of human computer interaction and, hopefully, other modalities will replace it sometime in the long future, .... eventually.


Stratospheric pricing for UX50
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 2/1/2005 9:58:06 PM # Q
True, up to a point. The main reason the UX50 wasn't the blinding success it could have been was because of the collosal price for it As one review mag pointed out "For £600, you could buy a pretty decent laptop".


I agree - the UX50 was expensive, but in this case, you get what you pay for. The UX50 is easily the slickest PDA design yet prodoced and will probably become the most sought-after model in a couple years. I know quite a few people who bought backup UX50 last year when it was announced that Sony was retreating from the PalmOS market. And the model was as rugged as hell: in the past year I've dropped mine several times (including onto cement), fallen asleep on it with the screen unfolded and abused it in uother unspeakable ways, but it just keeps on running perfectly. A few dents, but the magnesium case still isn't even scratched! If only the screen was a little bigger...



******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

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