Re: [NTLK] Soybo

From: Daedalus (daedalus_at_digitalinkwell.net)
Date: Sun Mar 30 2003 - 08:48:16 PST


>Can someone explain Soybo and how it works with the Newt and other
>platforms. Slowly.. and in layman's terms.
>
>TIA.
>
>RB
>

I can try. Adam was kind enough to give us a demonstration at the SNUG
meeting last week, and it was pretty cool.

Basically, Soybo sits on your computer at home, and then you can access
any application on your home computer that has a Soyvice made for it from
basically any internet-enabled device (laptop, handheld, cell phone--
anything that has an XML-RPC library, I think).

So, for instance, Adam could move files around on his home Macintosh from
the cafe we were at through his laptop, Palm, and cell phone (using the
"Finder" Soyvice). He was easily manipulating the iTunes music-playing
software on his Mac from all of these devices (using the "iTunes"
Soyvice) and his Mac at home would start playing whatever music tracks he
chose. He could send e-mail (or read e-mail) *from his home computer*
using his laptop, Palm, or cell phone (using the "Mail" Soyvice). He
could take a picture from his digital camera, hook it up to his laptop,
and transmit it to his home picture files using the "iPhoto" Soyvice. I
don't think he had his Newton with him, but you should be able to do the
same from there as well (he has a picture of a Newton on his Soybo
website using Soybo, at least).

It is better than something like VNC (virtual network computing) because
cell phones or handhelds don't have the memory or graphical capabilities
or screen real estate to show the entire host computer. The interface
for Soybo scales to fit the capabilities of the device you are using to
access it. For instance, on Adam's laptop, the Soybo interface was shown
as a full graphical application, whereas on his cell phone the interface
was simply a bunch of word/command lists (no graphics at all). Also,
because of this, Soybo can be much less bandwidth intensive than
something like VNC, and therefore much more speedy.

Potentially, you could control and access any application on your home
computer while you're away through, say, your Newton--as long as you have
an internet connection.

That's about what I got from it. I'm sure I'm missing some important
facets of it, and hopefully I haven't made any mistakes in my
description. If you really sit and think about it for awhile, you begin
to realize what a powerful tool this has the potential to be. What
applications on your home computer would be useful for you to access
while on the road with your Newton/Palm/cell phone/laptop?

Daedalus
http://www.digitalinkwell.net/

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