There were rumors.  There were assumptions.  Then, in January, Sega USA started teasing us on their blog.

Now, at long last, we know what “Project Needlemouse” is…

Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

This is not a 3D adventure game in the vein of Sonic Adventure.

Nor is it a 2 1/2 D (sorta-ish) game like Sonic Rivals.

It’s also not a pinball game, an Olympic sports game, a racing game or a role playing game.

No sir.  Remember the game called, simply, “Sonic the Hedgehog” for the Sega Genesis?  How about Sonic the Hedgehog 2?  And then Sonic 3?  You know… “The Sonic Trilogy”.

Well now, after years and years of waiting… Sonic team is about to release Sonic the Hedgehog 4.  And it’s got the same style and game-play as the original 3 games.  And it picks up where the third game leaves off.

Awesome.

Set to be released for XBox Arcade, PS3 and Wii (as a downloadable game) this summer.

This, alone, is enough to make my inner Sega fanboy let out a little girlish shriek of glee.

But, the extra cool part?  This is, officially, “Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1″.  Yep.  They’re going episodic.  Which means, if Sonic 4 is good… we can expect more sonic games soon.

This is something new.  This isn’t just another netbook.  It’s not a tablet.  It’s not running Windows or Android or MacOS X.

So what, exactly, is the litl webbook (usually just called the “litl”)?

It’s like a Netbook.  Kinda.  But not really.

The basic idea is this: An always connected, web-focused device that anyone in the house can use… that transforms from netbook into an easel-shaped internet appliance.  And it has a wheel on it.

With me so far?  Let’s go over this one feature at a time.

The Hardware

From a purely physical standpoint, the litl is a remarkably odd thing.  And I mean that in the best way possible.

The screen is 12.1 inches (1280 x 800) with an excellent viewing angle (meaning it looks great no matter what angle you look at it from).  I would say the screen in the litl rivals that in many LCD TV’s in terms of quality.  This is a rather astounding thing in a device that is, to the casual observer, a “laptop”.

Under the hood, the litl is powered by an Intel Atom Z540 (1.86GHz) processor backed by 1GB of RAM and an Intel GMA 500 graphics chip.  (AKA: Plenty of horsepower for a web-focused device, but nothing out of the ordinary.)

Here’s where things start to get a little crazy:

There’s no user accessible storage.

None.  Nadda.  No hard drive.  No Solid State Disk.  The only storage at all is a 2GB Compact Flash drive that is used by the OS (no direct access by the user).

“Say whuuuuu?” you ask.  To which I can only say, “Yes.  It makes sense.  Keep reading.”

In terms of ports, the litl has HDMI (for plugging in to your TV), a singular USB port, an audio out jack and a spot to plug in the power adapter.  Not a lot of options.  But, then again, not a lot of options are needed.

On the front there is an IR sensor (for using with the remote control… oh yeah… there’s a remote control.  Don’t let me forget that!) and on the side are the audio volume controls.

Which brings us to “Easel mode”.

“What in the deuce is ‘easel mode’?!”  A great question!

Easel mode works like this:

You open up a laptop by lifting up the screen.  But what happens if you keep going? Keep lifting the screen until, before you know it, the screen has gone so far as to turn, what was once the keyboard… into a stand for the screen.  (Allowing you to set down the litl on a table top more akin to a TV than a laptop.)

That’s “easel mode”.  That’s right.  The litl is a transformer.  We’ll get into how this works in just a second.

But the first question is, how do you interact with the litl when the keyboard is up-side-down behind the screen?  Typing on it in this mode would be… problematic.

On the hinge of the screen there is a small wheel.  And, next to it on the edge of the hinge, is a singular button.  These are used to interact with the litl when it is in “easel mode”.  And, if you aren’t standing right next to the litl, there is also a remote control.

What controls does the remote control have?  Just that same wheel.  And that single button.

The battery life on the litl is not great.  About 2 hours in my testing.  But, then again, the litl isn’t meant to be a traditional “laptop”.  It was designed to be more of an appliance (kinda) at home, where it would stay always on and always plugged in.

In total it weighs around 3.4 pounds.  Definitely more than your average netbook.  But not huge and hefty.

And it has built-in wifi (802.11 b/g) and a fairly simple VGA resolution webcam.

The whole unit has a design aesthetic that is both unique and appealing.  This isn’t a metal box (in fact it’s entirely plastic).  It’s not some pure white Apple-ish laptop.  It doesn’t look like a business machine in any way, shape or form.  It also doesn’t look like a machine you’d find on the desk of a gamer or most nerds.

It is… in a word… adorable.

The Software

To start with, don’t think of the litl as a typical computer.  This is not your standard laptop or desktop, and trying to approach it as such is just going to frustrate you.

There are no “normal” applications.  You aren’t going to find any icons to double click on your desktop.  Heck, you aren’t even going to find a desktop.

The litl has an entirely new system called, appropriately litl OS.  And here’s how it works:

When you turn on your litl it displays a black screen with the word “litl” on it.

Then it connects to your homes wireless network and checks for any updates.  If you leave your litl on overnight it will also check for updates in the background while you sleep.  This cannot be disabled.

Normally forced auto-updating of software would annoy me to no end… but for the litl I’m actually pretty okay with it.

The whole point is to provide an always-up-to-date (and always virus free) connected device.  And, since you can’t install any desktop applications (like Photoshop, etc.), this really doesn’t pose a problem.

Once this update is complete, you are presented with the main litl screen, which is a thumbnail view of all your “cards”.

Think of “cards” as windows or tabs in a web browser.  For every tab you’d have open in your browser on your desktop computer… on your litl you’ll have a card.

Clicking on that card with the built-in trackpad opens up that “card” to full screen mode.  Clicking on the “litl” button in the upper left corner of the screen will return you back to the main thumbnail card view.

(Interesting note: There is also a “litl” button in the bottom left corner of the keyboard that performs the same function.  And… get this… there’s no “Windows” key… or anything like it.)

All applications (or cards) on the litl are web applications.  There is even a litl version of an “application store” called the “Card Catalog” (all the cards there are free).

So expect to be using a lot of things like GMail, Google Docs, Pandora (for your music), Meebo (for instant messaging), Facebook and Flash-based games (such as on Kongregate).

When I first learned about the litl, and it’s complete lack of “native” applications, my gut reaction was roughly like this:

“Are you freaking kidding me?  Why on this green earth of ours would I ever want to be stuck only using web applications?!  Not a chance you’ll ever catch me with a device like that!”  (If memory serves I ranted on like this for some time.)

Those of you who know me from Jupiter Broadcasting have an idea of just how opinionated I can be, and that I don’t exactly relish the idea of being wrong.

But, in this case, I was absolutely wrong.

The web-application-only approach that the litl has taken works extremely well.  In my daily usage of the litl over the last several weeks I have found that there is very little I can’t do with this little device.  Turns out: Most of what I do with my normal computer is all web-based already.

In fact, more and more I simply reach for the litl when I want to look something up online.  Or check my email.  Or watch something on youtube.  Or hop in to Facebook.  Or check my schedule for the week in Google Calendar.

Does this make the litl a glorified Web Browsing-only device?  Kinda.

Or at least it would… if that’s all it did.

There are several cards that are written specifically for when the litl is in easel mode.  Simple things… displaying the current weather, a picture slideshow (the litl makes a stellar web-connected digital photo frame), a digital alarm clock, etc..

They all look and work great.  You can cycle through all the Easel optimized cards you have running by turning that wheel that is built in to the display hinge, and select them by hitting the button next to it.

And, if you think having this display on and going while you sleep will be annoying, there is a setting to turn off the display between any hours you choose.  Very handy.

The interface is not really customizable at all.  It’s simple and attractive, but not overly “flashy”.  There’s no pulsating “aqua” blue buttons.  Just simple, classy lines and smooth animations (such as when going from the thumbnail view of all your cards, to the full screen view for a card).  About the only customization you can do is re-order the cards (which is a simple matter of dragging them around).

Packaging

Normally I don’t care about the box a device or computer comes in.

It’s just a box.  I view boxes as obstacles that are there to keep me from playing with a new toy.

But this box… is great.

On the font of the box reads the following:

“Inside you will find an internet computer, not a laptop.  We believe computers have become too complex.  We hit the reset button by designing an experience different than a PC.  Simplicity over features.  Design over options.  Entertainment not just work.  Sounds like a lot, but actually it’s a litl.”

Then, on the inside, there is a small black box.  In it are a series of… flash cards.  Drawn by David Macaulay (author and illustrator of “The Way Things Work“) to teach you how to use the litl.

It is freaking adorable.

Some Uber Nerdy Notes

The litl OS is Linux based.  Ubuntu to be specific.  But it bears no resemblance (from a user standpoint) to any operating system out there.  There’s no command line.  No application repositories.  No Gnome Panel, KDE bar or Start menu’s to be found.

The user interface makes heavy use of Clutter (a toolkit for building animated user interfaces).  Which I think is very cool.

The litl company itself has some very interesting folks working there.  Including Havoc Pennington who, if you are off-the-charts nerdy, you will recognize as having been the chair of the Gnome Foundation (among other things).

All of this brings some substantial “nerd-cred” to the litl.

Many of you might note some similarities to Google’s Chrome OS.  Both Chrome OS and litl OS are entirely “web based” (no non-web applications).  That’s where the similarities seem to end.  The litl OS has a more unique interface (the cards) whereas Chrome OS seems more a traditional tab-based web browser look and feel.  Plus, and here’s a big point, the litl is here.  Right now.  Chrome OS based devices will ship “in the future”.

The Future

The guys over at litl have sat down with me to go over what they’ve got in the works for the litl.  And, to be clear, every new feature they’ll be releasing will be an automatic (and free) update for all litl owners.

The big update for me will be webcam functionality.  Currently… the built-in webcam doesn’t really do anything (as it needs software to power it).  They have stated this is in the works but can’t go into further details or time-line.  So that will have to do for now.

But there’s also a bunch of new updates coming that are, according to litl, planned to be quite soon (possibly during the month of February if all goes according to their plans):

• Google Picassa and Shutterfly cards plus the ability to upload pictures from a usb device.
• A new Calendar card.
• Some family games.
• NPR radio.

According to litl they also are in the process of upgrading to Flash 10.1 which will speed up video playback and, with that, they will also be releasing an SDK to allow developers to create Flash-based content that specifically takes advantage of the litl (and its Easel mode).

Based on the fairly rapid improvements they’ve made to the litl software in just the short time since release, I feel pretty confident that we are likely to see these updates soon.

The Verdict

I love the litl.

Let’s just get that right out of the way.  It is an incredible and unique device that was designed with amazing grace and engineered with some serious talent.

But it does have some downsides.  And I am going to list them all here.

• The Price.  At $699 the litl is not cheap.  I think at, say, $499 I could easily recommend the litl to just about everyone.  But, until the price comes down a little, I think the litl is going to be a tad outside most people’s price range.  That said, after being able to use it for this review, I will likely be buying one myself.
• The webcam currently doesn’t have software for video chat.  This isn’t a deal breaker.  In fact, that it has a webcam is a plus (the new Apple iPad doesn’t have one for example)… but I am impatient for being able to use it (especially now that I know it will be coming).
• The battery life is not great.  While 2 hours of battery life is enough to carry around the house for a while, it’s not stellar.  But, then again, this isn’t a laptop in the conventional sense.  And I’ve only fully drained the battery when I’ve actively tried to do so.

I am a nerd.  I like command lines.  I like being able to tweak my system to do things my own way.  I like hard, metal edges.

And, yet, I love this… cute… little device.  Even with the downsides listed above, the litl has become a key part of my home computing.

I would, without hesitation, recommend the litl to a few key types of people:

• Grandparents.  Grandparents.  Grandparents.  This device will, literally, have no tech support once it’s up and running.  No viruses (virii?).  No Spyware.  No way for grandpa to accidentally delete some important system files.  Easy to use, only a few buttons to click.  Boom.  Grandparents are online and looking at your pictures from flickr or facebook.
• Kids.  The litl is sturdy as heck (no hard drive built in) and has rounded corners.  So kids aren’t likely to hurt it or themselves (at least not unless they go Hulk-Angry-Smash on you… but then you’ve got bigger problems to worry about).  And, again, they won’t be downloading stuff on to your computer by accident.
• Nerds who want at least one device at home they don’t have to worry about (plus it’s a good conversation starter).

Will the litl be a financial success?  I have no idea.  But I really hope so.  The litl dares to do things differently (and succeeds).  And that is something I want to see a lot more of in this industry.

And, in the interests of full disclosure: I don’t own a litl.  The litl that is currently sitting in front of me is on temporary loan from the company.  That’s right.  I have to send it back.  And, believe me, when FedEx picks up this box to take the litl back to its home… that day, if you listen carefully on the internet, you just might hear a grown nerd-man cry.

For more information: http://litl.com/

12pm (aka “high-freaking-noon”) - Coding with Bryan

On this Coding with Bryan I’ll be taking a look at Runtime Revolution (and their newly announced “RevMobile” that allows mobile platform development) and Appcelelrator for using web technologies to build “native” applications on desktop and mobile devices.  And, of course, I’ll be taking your calls.

1:30pm (aka “OMG IT’S 1:30″) - Computer Action Show

There will be news!  There will be opinions!  And there will be so much more.

3pm (aka “It’s 3 already?″) - We eat some lunch!

For one hour NOT MUCH WILL HAPPEN.  We will eat lunch!

4pm (aka “THE QUAD HOUR”) - STOked

Guess what is, after waiting for what seems like an eternity, being released?  Star Trek Online.  If you ask us really nicely we might consider talking about it.

And, as usual, you can watch the whole thing go down in real time (and with live chat) over at http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/live.

And, with that unveiling, Apple is jumping into both the eBook reader world, and the tablet world.  So lets take a quick moment to compare the iPad to two of my personal favorite devices in those categories: Amazon’s Kindle and Always Innovating’s Touch Book.

So where does that leave us?

Well, if you’re interested in primarily an eBook reader… the Kindle still looks like the way to go.  Significantly cheaper with significantly better battery life (7 days compared to 10 hours).  Not to mention the always-on (and 100% free) wireless connection and the far lighter weight.

But what if you’re looking for something more than an eBook reader?

Well, the iPad has a great screen.  But no multitasking.  No multitasking in a tablet is definitely going to be a deal breaker for some people.

The Touch Book has a (detachable) physical keyboard.  Basically it’s a transformer that turns from a tablet into a netbook.  Whereas the iPad has no keyboard (unless you count the optional dock that you purchase separately and place on a desk).

But, really, this comes down to two things:  Price and Nerd-Factor.

The Touch Book is quite a lot cheaper.  In fact you could buy both a Touch Book and a Kindle or the cost of the iPad.  So it definitely wins there.

Then there’s the “Nerd-Factor”.

This is a tough one.  It all depends on what kind of nerd you are.

Are you an Apple Nerd?  Do you like sporting Apple gear?  Then you obviously just need to buy an iPad.  Hell, you should probably by three.

Are you more of the “tinker with things” nerd?  More of the “open source” nerd or the kind of person that complains about DRM?  Then you need the Touch Book so you can dual boot between multiple Linux-powered operating systems (the Touch Book supports Ubuntu, Android, Mer and Gentoo as well as their own custom distro).

Plus, and I’m just going to throw this out there, the Touch Book would make a killer digital comic book reader.

One final thing worth noting: The Apple iPad won’t be available for 2 months (3 months for the 3G version) and the Touch Book currently has a 2 month lag time according to their store.

Notes on the table:

1 - iPad has a physical keyboard docking station that can be purchased separately.
2 - iPad has an SDK but applications (like with the iPhone) cannot be loaded onto devices directly.
3 -  Kindle SDK is reported to ship in February of 2010 (a few weeks from this writing).
4 -  Weight of the Touch Book is without the detachable keyboard.

It’s not an Android phone.  It’s not an iPhone.  Nor is it a Palm Pre, a Blackberry, a Sidekick or a Windows Mobile phone.

In fact, it’s not a phone at all.

Here’s what I want (and how I’m planning to achieve it) :

Goal: I don’t want to be bugged by phone calls.  But I still want to be able to make (and receive) them when I want to.  I’d also like to have this be super cheap if possible.

Solution: Skype

Rates are cheap, flexibility is high.  In the US you can get a phone number and a subscription (that includes unlimited calls to any US number) for a little over $100.  Per year.  No limits on calls or calling time.

By comparison: The cheapest plan AT&T offers (in my area) is $40 per month.  $480 per year.  And that’s limited to 450 minutes.  $380 dollars saved per year?  That’s a brand new netbook or game console thank you very much.

Plus with Skype the calls can be made from any computer or device with skype support.  Kinda rad.

Goal: Voice mail transcripts.

Solution: Google Voice

Google Voice is free.  You get a number.  People call that number.  Google then forwards the call to any other number you like (if you have one).  If you don’t answer that number?  Google Voice takes a voice mail.

And then auto-transcribes it for you so you can quickly read your voice mails and find the important ones.  Super handy.  In a big meeting and get a voice mail?  No problem!  Just glance down at your device and you know if the call was important or not!

Plus, if I give people my Google Voice number I have complete number portability.  If I stop using Skype I can just point Google Voice to a new number.  No biggy!

Goal: Always-on Data and Instant Messaging.

Solution: 3G or WiMax

Pretty flexible here.  Just need some form of always on data service that is fast enough for Skype voice calls.  And 3G or WiMax will both work dandy.

The always on instant messaging here is key.  Most people that want to get ahold of me have one IM service or another available to them at all times (or close to it).  This would replace text messaging for me nicely (and would be free… as opposed to the ridiculous rates we normally pay for text messaging).

Goal: Multitasking is a must.  I need my IM client running along with Skype and a web browser.

Solution: Maemo, Android, WebOS, Windows Mobile

This one is straight forward.  Basically it just rules out the iPhone as a possible candidate.

Result:

So where do that leave me?  I need an always on, 24×7 data-service device that fits in my pocket, has a good Skype client, a good (multi service) IM client and a good web browser (with flash preferably).  Ideally I’d also like a physical keyboard (I’m not a huge touch screen keyboard guy).

This brings me to only a few options.  Android is out of the running (no full Skype client).  As is WebOS (Palm Pre).

Really, there are only two actual options: Windows Mobile and Maemo (Nokia N810/N900).

Both will do the job that I’m looking for.

Nothing against Windows Mobile… but I’m going to go with a Maemo powered device.

Now the real question is this:

Do I shell out for an N900 (with no voice cell phone plan and only a 3G data plan mind you) or go for the older N810 WiMax edition (perhaps getting one used off eBay)?

Both look like fully valid options.  The nerd in me loves the idea of getting the newer N900… but it’ll likely be far cheaper to go the N810WiMax route.

Of course, by going this route, I’ll save a substantial amount of money each year on cell voice plans.

Anyone have any experience doing what I’ve described here?  Good or bad?

Linux Fest NW is a small event (by comparison to the big conferences like OSCon, etc.) but that is part of its charm.  It’s big enough to have plenty of interesting sessions going on, but not so big that you get lost in the crowd.  Plus… attendance is completely free.

Jupiter Broadcasting will be there this year (as we have in the past) to talk with all the cool kids and get some video interviews.

Last year I presented a session entitled “Why Linux Sucks (And What We Can Do To Fix It)” at the Fest.  And the response was… responsive.

So I figured, why not present again this year!

I’ve proposed two sessions for Linux Fest Northwest:

Why Desktop Linux (Still) Sucks. And What We Can Do To Fix It.

A follow-up to last-years “Why Desktop Linux Sucks” session, we’ll take a look at the progress Desktop Linux has made over the last year. Then we’ll look at where it is still broken and what needs to happen to fix it.

Options for Developing Desktop Linux Applications

We’ll take a look at the wide variety of tools, IDE’s, SDK’s and languages available for developing desktop Linux software. Including their strengths and weaknesses, with recommendations for both new and experienced developers, as well as developers coming from other platforms (Windows, Mac, etc.).

If you think you might be attending this years Linux Fest, I recommend that you go to their site and register (it’s free, of course).  Then go to their Sessions page and pick the sessions you’d like to see.  This is how the conference will be selecting the sessions this year and gives them an idea of the possible turn out.

This Sunday (January 17th) we’ll be recording (and live streaming) Coding with Bryan, Computer Action Show and STOked.  Back to freakin back.

And, as usual, you can watch the whole thing go down in real time (and with live chat) over at http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/live.

Here’s the schedule (all times are PST and subject to change, slippage and general morphing at our very whim):

12:30pm (aka “noon-thirty”) - Coding with Bryan

On this Coding with Bryan I’ll be playing with Palm’s new WebOS IDE: Project Ares.  Ares is a 100% online, web-based development environment for building Palm WebOS mobile applications.  Does it work?  Is it cool?  Join me as we find out!

1:45pm (aka “… 1:45″) - Computer Action Show

Lots of action packed into this episode of the Computer Action Show.  The second part of Chris’s Droid review followed by our big review of the litl webbook.  And, this is just a guess, but there might be so much more.

3pm (aka “THE BIG THREE”) - STOked

We’ll probably talk about Star Trek Online.  Just a guess.

That’s several hours of live streamed, condensed, awesome nerdy-ness (or is it nerdiness? … that’s a word, right?  Ah, heck, it is now!).  How can you pass that up?

POP QUIZ, FOOL:  You can’t!  You can’t pass that up!  That is not something that is pass-up-able!

After arriving, me and my wife quickly decided two important things:

1. Phoenix is not for us.  It’s nice enough and has some great points.  But it’s not our cup of tea.
2. We live in Western Washington (the greater Seattle area).  This is our home.  We love it here.

So… we’re back!  Just got off the road last night.

And now we are going to take advantage of having so much of our stuff packed up… and get a little house work done.  Some painting, etc.  Good times shall be had.

After spending the last 15 years (or maybe 16?… something like that!) in the greater Seattle area, it’s time for me, and my little family, to run away from the rain — and find some sunshine.

On January 1st, we’re hitting the road and driving straight there (I love the symbolism of moving to the other side of the country, and to an entirely different climate and a brand new job, on New Years Day).

We’re still working out the details of how this impacts Jupiter Broadcasting but, rest assured, the shows aren’t going away.  I’ll just be… remote.

For reference, as of this exact moment:

Everett, WA (Just north of Seattle) : 42 degrees and raining.  Will be raining and in the 40’s for many days to come.

Phoenix, AZ : 73 degrees and sunny.

The Linux Action Show put us on the map (even if as just a small blip) and Computer Action Show (the, more general-computer-not-just-Linux version of that show) is going strong.  Heck, we even do a full show about a massively multiplayer online Star Trek game that is not even released yet.  That’s what I’d call crazy nerdy.

Then there’s Beer is Tasty.

On every episode we drink a beer, pair it with some sort of “food” (usually something microwavable from the freezer section that no grown man is supposed to eat) and then tell the world what we think of it.  Often there are curse words used.

It’s not scientific.

It’s not well researched.

And it’s not, at all, nerdy.

But the results are entertaining (often at my expense).

Perhaps you partake of some of the other (super-nerd-fueled) Jupiter Broadcasting shows.  Perhaps you don’t like beer and so assume you wouldn’t like a show called “Beer is Tasty”.  Perhaps you’ve never heard of me or Jupiter Broadcasting and have no clue what I’m talking about.

If any of that applies to you, here is a crash course on what Beer is Tasty has to offer in the form of three of my favorite recent episodes (the rest of which can be found here).

Here is our review of the Michelob Pumpkin Spice beer.  And we pair it with some weird McGriddle-like microwavable bit of terrible-ness.  I call this “taking one for the team”.

In this episode we review the SkullSplitter.  Then we eat some sort of weird, fake mashed potato thing.  Then… well then… stuff happens.  The word “pubes” and “man-sculpting” are involved.

And finally we review Wells Banana Bread Beer (You read that right… beer… that tastes like banana bread).  What do we eat with it?  Why a Hungry Man Turkey Dinner, of course!  (We were doing a “Bachelor Thanksgiving” theme.)

There you have it!  This, in a nutshell, is Beer is Tasty.

Sometimes we like the beers.  Sometimes we don’t.  Either way we usually get emails from true beer aficionado’s informing us that we’re drinking the beers wrong (seriously).