Vulcan Flipstart Update!

I saw over in the Pocketpenguin forum that Vulcan's Flipstart website had been updated, and I signed up for the "first to know" thing right away. I would buy a flipstart the very instant it becomes available, as I view it as the perfect Zaurus killer:

Flipstart:
5.8"x4"x1"
454g
256mb ram (although I hope they bump this to at least 512 in their release)
30gb HD
1024x600 screen
wi-fi
USB2.0
Camera
VGA out

vs the Zaurus
4.9"x3.4"x1"
298g
64mb ram
4-6gb HD (very slow)
640x480 touchscreen
USB1.1

vs Kohjinsha
8.1"x6.5"x1.5"
980g
512mb-1gb ram
40-80gb HD
Wi-fi/BT
USB2.0
VGA out

The flipstart is half again heavier, only 0.9" wider and 0.6" deeper, same thickness. You gain x86 compatibility, built in wireless, a useful screen resolution, more memory (very, very important) and a much larger and faster HD.

The size might put it over the top for some, but I keep my Z in my coat pocket. The reduced battery life (3-4hrs) is still pretty good, and wouldn't affect my usage. The loss of the touchscreen will be harder to take, though.

It's like they compressed a Kohjinsha down into the size of a Z and left a higher res screen.I just bought a Macbook, which probably means my use of the Libretto will go down. If Vulcan comes out with this little wonder I'd probably sell off all but 1 Z and the Libretto, then carry the Flipstart. (And either an FIC open moko phone or an iPhone )

Kohjinsha SA1F00A

I've recently recieved a poetically named Kohjinsha SA1F00A that I bought for a friend of mine. As it isn't mine, I won't have it for long, but I did get to apply my other new toy (A Kodak D70s) and took a moneybarrel full of pictures. I've posted these pictures at Flickr (giving my Google Life a bit of a Yahoo scent...)

• Unboxing A Kohjinsha
• Comparing the Kohjinsha and a Libretto U100
• Screen Rendering Comparisons - Kohjinsha, Libretto, and Zaurus.

Back to Book Basics

One of my newest toys happens to be a Sony Librie eBook reader - a dedicated device for reading ebooks with a 6" e-ink or electronic paper display. Fascinating gadget that re-writes the rules for reading electronic texts. Problem is, unlike it's newer North American progeny - the Sony Reader - the Librie only understands one file format. Everything else must be translated to fit in the wee beastie.

Originally, Sony wasn't very forthcoming with the file format so it fell on the community to create tools for translating content. Several good utilities now exist, but they tend to be pretty simple and the output can be rather lacking at times.

There is another solution - there is a commercial product from Canon called Book Creator that seems to be the official implementation of the .LRS/.LRX standard. There is even a fully function trial version that can be used for 1 year.

There are 3 things that suck:

1. The program is Japanese only
2. Canon pulled the download early in 2006
3. It expires this month, and doesn't like to install anymore.

1 and 2 were solved by the Librie group at Yahoo. 3 is a little trickier, but - Virtual machines to the rescue! I wrote up what I went through installing a virtual version of windows that's dedicated to running Book Creator - without disturbing your real Windows distribution - all with free tools. Check it out.