iPad..

[mckirdy-services]

It's just a big iPhone then?

I thought you could run programs on it like a laptop personally not got any use for it if you cant. oh well, maybe the Ipad 2 or 3 will allow this

[Vultch]

Yes you can run programmes, but if you want mobile high performance number crunching buy a one of their laptops.

It can run a word processor, spreadsheet, pretty much whatever you want... the apps being developed will open it up, Its closest cousin would be a netbook....from storing movies, GPS notebook, contacts, surfing, ....etc

Apple stayed away from Netbooks for years, approx 2 years ago they bought a high spec chip design company in the US, these guys specialized in portable military hardware. It caued a flap in the press about the buy out, thats where the A4 processor design came from. iPads breakthrough is its size, speed and battery performance.... The A4 chip is pretty cutting edge

[Albannach]

Yes you can run programmes, but if you want mobile high performance number crunching buy a one of their laptops.

There are better supported and just as stable OSs out there. I don't see the point in buying a Mac. They are way too expensive.

[Vultch]

The iPad is a small very portable computing device, if your into mobile big number crunching buy a laptop, Apple or PC.

[Apache]

Vultch, got any links to this 'buyout'?

Generally when you look inside in service military hardware, even brand new stuff, the chips are a few generations old at least. Most designers stick to the adage of 'better is the enemy of good enough' as reliability is God - the opposite of the domestic markets 'tech for the sake of tech' approach.

Defence contractors tend to shy away from leading edge technology as in general they tend to be minor buyers of semicinductors compared to the domestic markets. This means they buy off the shelf, proven, supported prioducts as new stuff sometimes doesn't get taken up by the domestic markets or proves unreliable and they end up with military kit that is unsupportable.

About 15 years ago, I was trawling component recoverers as far away as the States for certain rare Motorola processors to support an UAV control system as the parts were no longer available. It ended up being redesigned at a cost of 'rather a lot of tax payers money' to run on a PC based framework (286's I seem to recall - millions of them floating about at the time so we bought loads!).

[Rustinho]

Generally when you look inside in service military hardware, even brand new stuff, the chips are a few generations old at least. Most designers stick to the adage of 'better is the enemy of good enough' as reliability is God - the opposite of the domestic markets 'tech for the sake of tech' approach.

I used to know a guy who was in the navy (he had moved between various roles over the years but had ended up in the Royal Navy Police I believe) and it was only a couple of years ago he was going on about ships still running computers on Windows NT because they knew it inside out and hence how to fix any problems quickly.

He also related an amusing story about someone switching off the "wrong computer" and disabling a ship for 24 hours...!

[Vultch]

here is one story on it

here too

Funny enough all the stuff we used for fixed microwave links and mobile sat comms all had military origins, It seemed to be Military grade stuff that trickled through to the domestic market...Now weather that was because it was too specialised and there was no domestic market at the time but you could park a van on the components with no damage... only in the last 5 years has has true domestic stuff being around...

[Apache]

Generally, 'Mil Spec' componentry tends to have broader temperature specs (pretty cold at 50kft / hot in a steel box in full desert sunshine) and extended burn in tests etc but apart from that its usually pretty much the same as domestic componentry, and lots of military kit, if its not safety critical, does use off the shelf domestic bits.

The boxes they put stuff in has to be seen to be believed though! I recently had a bit of kit in about 8" x 12" x 4" in size, and the case was milled from a solid aluminium billet! I wouldn't be surprised if you could run over it with a Mastiff and it would be fine! Mind you, some of the squaddies I know, I wouldn't be surprised if they DID run over it!

[Vultch]

Even the electrical connectors, you would need to be vigorous with a hammer before you could dent it... we still have a lot of it in service...
The factories we would buy the kit off, would have "other projects" being built ...

[puddlesurfer]

Anyone got one..got mine today, downloading memory map now. Will have laptop-gps nav setup for sale if it's any good.

What's the spec on your laptop? how much do you want? mines soooo old and slow

[Calos]

This is why I buy digitech equipment for guitar related stuff, they are owned by DOD (Dept Of Deffence) US the tolerances are very very tight and the stuff lasts and lasts, my FX floor pedal is the same age as my Surf oO and it still works extreamley well.

peace
cal