PCs In Your Pocket

Written By: Khang Nguyen

            Two Stanford University researchers built the Tiqit, a tiny PC that is comparable to the size of a matchbox. The PC currently runs Microsoft Windows 95 but is also can act as a web server.  Tiqit may represent the future of computers, since it may be carried in clothing. “The name of the game is smaller, lighter, faster, cheaper,” said Ed Newman, CEO of Xybernaut, a leader in the ‘wearable computing’ movement.

            Actually the Tiqit is already out and is for sale for about $1495, but the company only has managed to sell eight.  Currently the Tiqit does not have a case built onto it, but has four microchips piled onto each other and has PC ports for other add-ons.   The product is still being worked on.

            The Tiqit only has enough power to run Windows 95. It runs at 66 MHz, and contains 16 MB of RAM. Tiqit’s power is mainly derived from IBM’s Microdrive (the Tiqit contains a 340 MB hard drive), which IBM has just recently upgraded to 1 GB.  The machine is slow and silent, but is also hot since it doesn’t contain a fan.  Crusoe, a new chip from Transmeta, may soon give the Tiqit an enhancement of speed since it will run at 500 MHz.  The Crusoe will also be able to stay cool rather than heat up.

            Several other companies are developing certain products for this wearable computer.  Micro Optical, a small company of optics engineers, will make a display that will be attached to a pair of eyeglasses, producing a 320x200 resolution.  MIT’s Media Lab is currently working on some sort of fabric-based keyboard and touch pads that may be sewn onto clothing.

            In reality this device could be a cool thing in the computer environment.  I still, however, don’t quite fully understand why a portable web server might be useful, even though I want one.  Actually, if this small PC does become successful, I still can’t imagine hooking up wires to it like headsets, keyboards, and other peripherals that run throughout my body.  Oh yeah, I forgot, the Tiqit computer also appears on p.162 of Guinness World Records 2000 as the world's smallest webserver.

For more information:

Tiqit, www.tiqit.com

Xybernaut, www.xybernaut.com