Say hello to the webbook
We don’t often talk directly about our business activities on this blog. But once in a while something happens that rightly deserves a mention.
Our Open Source consulting business, The Open Learning Centre, has been very busy of late. We’ve been working with a household name hardware manufacturer and a very well known high-street retailer to deliver a really exciting and innovative product to the consumer market.
Say hello to the webbook (click for a very big image).
The webbook is manufactured by the UK electronics company Elonex and is being sold exclusively by The Carphone Warehouse.
The webbook is a high specification UMPC that has a 1.6Ghz Via C7 processor (x86), 512Mb of RAM and [currently] an 80G HDD. The screen has a very usable 1024×600 resolution and it has the usual assortment of USB, LAN and an SD socket, plus built in WiFi too. We have setup a blog specifically for the webbook here so users can get access to all the latest news, tips and advice. Be sure to add it to your feed reader.
The really cool thing about the webbook is the software. The webbok comes pre-loaded with Ubuntu 8.04.1, Hardy Heron, and some new software written especially for this application that delivers broadband connectivity over 3G Mobile networks.
With Ubuntu you get pretty much everything you will ever need included right out-of-the-box. You don’t need to go out and pay several hundred pounds to get legal copies of a word-processor, spreadsheet and email client. The webbook comes pre-installed with the fantastic OpenOffice.org applications suite and the Evolution mail and calendaring client. Web browsing is provided by the most excellent Firefox 3 and there are many more high quality and fully functional applications provided on the hard disk. A couple of examples are The Gimp for photo editing and Pidgin for Instant Messaging. Of course you also have access to Ubuntu’s on-line software repository where there are literally thousands of other programs and applications to choose from. And they are all free and are not “demo” or limited functionality versions either. Open Source gives you freedom, not restrictions.
The 3G communications software called Wader (GPL licensed, and funded by Elonex) was written by Warp Networks of Zaragoza, Spain. Their knowledge of this specialised area of communications technology and Python programming is superb and the chaps did a fantastic job to get the software ready for production in what were ultimately very tight time-scales. We have plenty of plans for new features and enhancements, and as the software is open source, community involvement is welcomed and encouraged. We will be communicating more on how to get involved shortly.
For anyone interested in Mobile Broadband, or just getting their mits on a webbook for that matter, the proposition from Carphone Warehouse is very attractive indeed: simply take out a contract (with Carphone Warehouse) for 3G Mobile Broadband with either Orange, T-Mobile or 3 and you get the webbook for free! Or, you can just buy the webbook outright. If you are in the UK, there’s probably a webbook near you now. They are available on-line or from their many high street shops.
Our role in this was to work with Elonex to get the right software packaged and delivered on time to Carphone Warehouse. We introduced Elonex to Canonical in London (now can you guess where I am?) who are the commercial enterprise behind the world’s most popular Open Source Operating System, Ubuntu. We orchestrated the 3G development track with Warp Networks and carried out testing as the code was being produced. And we coordinated and managed the packaging and development of the software bundle as a whole.
Here’s the other side of the webbook:
Very interesting - and well done chaps! Does Elonex provide support for the whole package too? Thought hard about mobile broadband but as it turned out neither of my locations has any sort of signal strength so it was a bit of a non-starter. Interesting market at the moment with Vodafone offering free connectivity via the Thinkpad. Congratulations and hope it all goes well.
@Kyttkat
Thanks, yes to support. There is a hierarchy of support services: Elonex run call centre, The Geek Squad and through to third line support (i.e. software bug fixes etc) from Ubuntu.
Hi, Followed your link to Carphone Warehouse and they are advertising the webbook preloaded with XP and no Ubuntu version. What is happening?
Rgds Rob.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for commenting.
I believe that you can get the Ubuntu version from the Carphone Warehouse shops. I do not understand why the Linux unit isn’t on their website yet - perhaps they want to get rid of the XP devices first? I don’t think they have many of them… All the production I know of is now on Ubuntu.
[...] Nuestra contribución en este proyecto ha venido de la mano de The Open Learning Centre, que también nos ha dedicado un alagador post en su blog [...]
[...] Elonex Webbook [...]
[...] that has changed. Now you can order a webbook, with Ubuntu pre-installed without having to go out at [...]
Awesome work guys!
how comes my orange mobile broadband wont install with ubuntu?
@rza,
You’ll need to provide a bit more detail than that if you want anyone to try to help you.
But, this isn’t a support forum so you would probably be better getting in touch the support organisation.
hi all, i got my web book from carphone warehouse yesterday with an orange contract, just wondering what people prefer Ubuntu or xp and why? mine came with ubuntu installed, i’ve only ever used windows so im finding it a bit tricky navigating around ubuntu but im getting there. the more i use it the easier its getting though.
@Paul,
Thanks for the post - that’s a good question. Linux (Ubuntu) is definately NOT Windows and your experience will be different. Personally, I prefer the reliability, stability and security that is inherent in Linux. I also like the fact that if I want to install a new application, it takes a few mouse clicks and that’s it. We built the webbook image with a pretty good application set pre-installed. Some of the good ones are OpenOffice.org, The Gimp (similar to Photoshop), Inkscape (similar to Illustrator), My personal preference in to install Thunderbird and Lightning for email/calendaring rather than the current Evolution but they are both good. Also, remember that *all* the software on the Ubuntu webbook is free. You can pretty much do anything you can do on Windows on Ubuntu using free software.
Please check the webbookblog for some good tips and ideas too: http://webbookblog.com/
Enjoy.
im using my new webbook now.its a fab little thing, but the touch pad keeps freezing whilst trying to move the cursor. if i let go and then go back to the touch pad it starts ok. its very intermittant, and rather anoying, would anyone care to guess weather the mouse is at fault?
i did laugh when i asked the staff in carphone if it came with xp or linux.they didnt know there was a choice!!
Hi, please can someone tell me the best place to get one apart form CPW? Thanks.
@Dean, sorry but I haven’t heard of that problem myself.
@Brett, you can’t. The webbook is exclusive to CPW.
[ Although I have seen a couple on eBay already...
]
Well, where do I start.
It’s a nice machine, with a bright display, and a keyboard that is the inevitable compromise. Sound is good, but don’t bother trying to download / watch videos there just aren’t enough pixels or the video drivers are unsuitable.
Have you tried to set up the evolution email software yet. On a 1240×600 screen with panels that mean you can’t see the ‘forward’ (or any other) command buttons on the fixed size evolution setup dialog box ? Please try, I need you to feel my frustration.
The touchpad is annoying - it keeps zooming off up the screen. Seriously annoying when trying to write a document or input to a blog.
Every so often maybe one time in eight or ten you turn it on and find the screen isn’t anchored to the top left and is peppered with random numbers of vertical lines. Probably some wierd memory issue in the making.
Oh yes, it would be NICE if the broadband software were to FIND the orange USB broadband stick every time.
And don’t bother with CPW or Elonex Support they are, to be blunt, unable to help. FORTUNALTELY I have significant experience with linux down to writing kernel modules so I know what to do. I wouldn’t recommend this little number to any of my own non-technical clients though.
@John,
Thanks for the message. There were a few teething issues with the release that were driven by time contraints more than anything else. I’ll try and help with those I know about.
Video watching will be much improved when VIA ship a new graphics driver for the Ubuntu Kernel (coming soon). We have tested it and it works fine, even allowing the webbook to run compiz happily. The intermittent screen corruption is also down to the graphics driver.
We know about Evolution, and it has been a bug on Gnome’s bugzilla for many years now which they seem unwilling to fix. However, using the ALT key modifier allows you to move the window so the buttons are visible.
On our testing, the Orange dongle worked every time.
As for your other comments I don’t have an answer.
There are plenty of tips and tricks on the webbook blog that would have answered several of these issues: http://webbookblog.com/
Thanks again.
Alan
Hi Please could you help me when i try to play my bingo it only shows part of my cards i have tried what you told some1 in an earlier post hold ALT but it only moves down i carnt move it up and its the bottom part of the cards that are missing, i have also noticed that a recent post has said their screen size is 1240×600 mine will only go upto 1024×600, i really wished i could have got the xp edition because this edition is driving me mad and the Elonex support team just carnt give me any help at all i bought it yesterday from the CPW on standalone not on contract, and im ready to throw it at the wall, at the moment im using the ASUS Eee and this was so easy to set up and this is running on Linux but not enough memory.
@Lesley, I am sorry you appear to be having some trouble although I am not familiar with an application called Bingo.
This blog isn’t really a support forum but indeed, by clicking somewhere on the application whilst holding down the ALT key you will be able to move the window in any direction.
As for the resolution comment, I think that was a typo by a previous commenter. The webbook has a screen resolution of 1024×600.
Try the webbook blog too, you might get more help from individuals on that site: http://webbookblog.com/