Hello everyone-
My recent letter to this list inquiring after more current resources did not suffer from overwhelming replies, and I believe that this is because no such resources exist. At least, I cannot put my hand to them so far. With so many new hardware releases and changes in price point, this facet of the FAQ alone requires additional assistance.
To that end, I put myself forward as a volunteer to maintain a wearable FAQ for this list. I should point out some facts regarding myself to assist the list subscribers in deciding my suitability for this task
(*) I am a rank beginner in this area.
(*) I develop software for a living
(*) I have published technical articles
(*) What I know about electricity and electronics is on the order of
what Ben Franklin knew
I think that ignorance of the area makes me more likely to know what needs answering for the beginner. You may judge otherwise.
Areas of the FAQ that I should like to see fully treated:
(1) How to build a PC/104 system. This would, of course, draw on existing web resources that describe various phases of this task. I believe amplification in the basic areas, such as "what is a carrier board" and "why should I buy this extremely expensive cable kit" would be helpful. I realize that these things can be found in the list archives, but the whole point of a FAQ is to remove the need for such a search in the case of essential information
(2) A survey of available hardware, including price information
(3) A sample set of wearable components to suit a particular purpose and budget. Here I have in mind something along the lines of Ars Technica's sample systems. For example, a "budget" system, a "newbie" system, a "full out" system. Perhaps it would be as well to include samples based on so-called "alternative" (non-x86) hardware. I think a brief discussion on how one calculates battery life by looking at the battery rating and the power consumption of the various components would be helpful to many - it certainly would have been to me.
(4) A brief survey of some of the tasks to which people are putting these systems. Introduction to mediated reality, remembrance agent, and so forth.
(5) As usual, a set of links to other resources, to hardware vendors, to driver pages, and so forth. Much of this work has been done, and I have no hesitation in crediting it with what small amount I do now know.
I would be pleased to hear from anyone regarding their views on the appropriateness of engaging in this task, as well as my own suitability for it. Also, any additional topics or sub-topics that may occur to anyone will be welcome.
Thanks,
Steve Salkin
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