Sony CF Driver Petition Brainstorming

[Reggie]

As a result of the following threads,
Cf Driver Campaign, Please Everyone!!!!! (http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2438)
Cf Driver Petition Thread, Please Everyone Sign (http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2793)
Has anyone else had positive feedback on cf driver from sony? (http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2796)
I am starting this brainstorming thread in the intention of creating a formal letter to Sony, to ask them to support other Compact Flash (CF) devices on the Clié NX-series, the upcoming Clié NZ, and future Clié models with integrated CF slots.

Let us try to make this thread focused and organized. I would like to request everyone to post intelligent replies. Instead of demanding Sony to release drivers, let us give them all the reasons why they should. Let us offer them solutions.

If you would like to make a comment regarding the petition, please DO NOT do it on this thread. Instead post your comments here:
Do you think the CF Driver Petition would work? (http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2827)
I would like to encourage everyone to support this petition by signing their names on the following thread (names added to the thread will be appended at end of the petition):
Cf Driver Petition Thread, Please Everyone Sign (http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2793)
I would also like to ask help in formatting the petition -- layout, wordings, grammar, as contributions are added. Everyone is welcome to suggest changes and make corrections.

Let us allot the whole month of February to fully organize the petition. At the end of the month, I will be sending whatever we have to Danny Yang of Sony.

I know we can do this. Let us show Sony that we are a Clié community with one voice.

Thank you.

[GoldenTiger]

Excellent idea! This space is reserved for me for tomorrow afternoon when it will be replaced with a good post :).

[Molerat]

Alright, I'll give 'er a go:

I think our goal should be to convince Sony to release the technical details of the CLIE -- CF, sound, camera, etc.

Unlike other Sony products, the community plays a significant role in the success or failure of the platform. Digtial cameras and other peripherals are largely static devices. Sony's VIAO is built around the well-defined x86 architecture. Playstation content is developed by an established industry (gaming).

The CLIE enjoys none of these benefits. While based on the Palm platform, OS5 is relatively new, and the CLIE includes many proprietary enhancements (sound, camera, CF). There is no established Palm development industry. Community, yes. Industry, no.

And in today's market, it is the software (and peripherals) that drives a handheld platform. I believe it would be advantageous to Sony to facilitate an open platform. Technical information will allow developers to truly leverage the potential of the Sony/PalmOS platform. And if not full disclosure, drivers (for, in this case, the CF slot) will allow developers to expand the capabilities of the CLIE.

Drivers will, in the short term, enable the end-user to better use the CLIE. CF drivers will not depricate the memory stick, rather, it will augement the usefulness of the device. The drivers (beit memory or peripherals) will enrich the user experience. A CF bluetooth device could be used in conjunction with memory stick storage, or vice-versa. CF GPS and storage. CF storage and MS camera (for non "V" models). The key is to provide options. Options are what will help Sony further compete against Microsoft's PocketPC and Sharp's Zaurus, as well as other Palm-based devices. Options will further the momentum behind the CLIE platform.

Again, I believe it would be best if Sony released the technical datasheets and APIs for the CLIE lineup. This is what will empower the developer community over the long term, and maximize potential innovation. Drivers are, at best, a short-term solution -- welcome, certainly, but only if their development is sustained. That would of course be expensive for Sony. Releasing the information to the developer community is a more promising long-term solution, and ulimately cheaper for Sony.

[Drexer]

I completly agree with Molerat.

I am waiting it this out but if i dont get this driver in 6 months, which I feel is a reasonable request, I will be changing over to the Zaurus. My major reason is that i can use just about any product on the market with this device. I chose sony on 2 reason
1) I feel it is one of the better ele. comp. out there
2) system is sweet
but with out full use of the device it is a flashy toy not a tool

[pelaca]

Reggie,

Can you put the petition on the start page, like the CF driver contest...
Regards


Juan Pablo

[stevejohnson460]

Sony could become the tall tower of the handheld world.

For the PC power user, a desktop tower gives you open slots and open bays for adding strength and flexibility to your computer. The more slots and bays, the more components you can add, for a robust machine.

Opening the CF slot to "off the shelf" components, along with the established strength of the MS slot, could make Clie the power user's machine of choice.

[adh]

Has anyone heard from / talked to Kopsis Engineering (http://kopsisengineering.com/index.php) about a CF driver. I believe they were the people who first developed the flash adapter, along with the software, for the Handspring Visors. They seemed very easy to work with, and very knowledgealbe.

[blueflame]

here is my question, to reggie and to anyone from sony looking, why cant we jsut get a strait awnser? if they are making drivers, why wont david yang just tell us a defenite yes? if they are not, why wont they just say no. I think that the awnser to these questions is so close, all we need to do is push for it. i think that if sony gave us a definite yes, and said it would be released in 2 months we would cool down, why cant they do this, im just getting worried that sony is stringing us along, they are bringing us to water, and not letting us drink.

[ballistic]

Well put, molerat, I completely agree with your points. The more functional and expandable a device is, the more likely potential customers will choose that device over another, less functional and less expandable device.

I know Sony is trying to build a multitude of devices with a broad appeal. If they were to incorporate the ability to add expanded functionality through the CF slot, it would increase the appeal of the device exponentially.

Think about all of the existing CF options that are available; solid state and Microdrive storage media, Bluetooth cards, WiFi cards, anolog fax/modems, CDPD/CDMA/GSM/GPRS wireless modem cards, barcode scanners, GPS receivers, just to name a few.

Now think about how much more functional your NX/NZ series Clie would be if you had the ability to use any of these devices in your device, WITH a memory stick card (regular, Select, or PRO) in the MS Slot.

This added functionality would make the NX/NZ more appealing in the horizontal (consumer) and vertical markets (sales, workforce automation, etc).

The Clie could become the defacto PDA for consumers and large work forces. It already has the CF slot, all it needs is the CF drivers, and the floodgates will open.

[Phalanx]

Reggie,

I believe that the petition, in its final form, should be printed on a nice physical document that will be sent to Sony. It will make the petition that much more "professional".

[blueflame]

anyone still reading this?

[Unregistered]

Unless Sony releases technical details for the Clie's
CF slot theres very little chance of us being able to
write a driver for it.

--
- Kopsis, Inc.


On Thu, Feb 13, 2003 at 05:32:59PM +0100, Tommy Lundtoft Grundsøe
wrote:
> Dear Sir/Madam
>
> I think you would be really popular in the clie NX and NZ community
if you
> could make a CF driver for this CF slot in these products. I actually
think
> every owner of a new clie would pay for the driver.
>
> For more info on the topic see
> http://cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2825
>
>
> MVH / Best Regards
> Tommy Lundtoft Grundsøe

[pelaca]

Originally posted by Unregistered
Unless Sony releases technical details for the Clie's
CF slot theres very little chance of us being able to
write a driver for it.

--
- Kopsis, Inc.


On Thu, Feb 13, 2003 at 05:32:59PM +0100, Tommy Lundtoft Grundsøe
wrote:
> Dear Sir/Madam
>
> I think you would be really popular in the clie NX and NZ community
if you
> could make a CF driver for this CF slot in these products. I actually
think
> every owner of a new clie would pay for the driver.
>
> For more info on the topic see
> http://cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2825
>
>
> MVH / Best Regards
> Tommy Lundtoft Grundsøe

Why you expect something different?
Is too much work develop a driver with out any API or Documention for it...

[nike33]

Long Live Pelaca!!!!!!!!!

[clie_wannabe]

i participate both in ClieSource, and in ClieClubJP (the most popular Clie users' site in Japan); and even for the conservative japanese, there are already voices calling out for a petition to sony...

ill try to see what happens next, and let us see if we can merge BOTH ClieSource and ClieClubJP...

what do you guys/gals think???

[pelaca]

Originally posted by clie_wannabe
i participate both in ClieSource, and in ClieClubJP (the most popular Clie users' site in Japan); and even for the conservative japanese, there are already voices calling out for a petition to sony...

ill try to see what happens next, and let us see if we can merge BOTH ClieSource and ClieClubJP...

what do you guys/gals think???

I can imagine, the people of Sony, making meetings all the time for find a solution to this mess...