You’re Never Too Old to Tweet [Retromodo]
This Commodore VIC-20 is running software from a cassette tape, has only 5 KB of RAM, and a processor that runs at 1 MHz. Yeah, it’s vintage. But it’s also the first VIC-20 to tweet.
Using software called TweetVER (short for Tweeting from a Vintage ComputER), the folks at the PC Museum will be accessing Twitter from this VIC-20. You can read the first tweet on Saturday February 20th at 11am EST by following the museum’s Twitter account. (There appear to be some test tweets from a modern computer on the page, so disregard those.)
While we don’t think much about accessing Twitter from any one of our desktops, it should be kept in mind that the average computer today runs on about “3000 MHz and contains 2,097,152 KB.” This translates to about “419,430 times the memory power and 3000 times the speed” of a VIC-20. And despite all that, grandpa VIC-20 is still ready to tweet. [PC Museum]
TwitterPeek, A Twitter-Only Handset
Take a peek at the new TwitterPeek, an always-on, always connected Twitter machine. It comes from the folks that make the Peek and Peek Pronto, two bare-bones email-only handsets that can be bought and used without monthly contracts.
The TwitterPeek stays with the simple approach, and does nothing but send, receive and search Twitter posts. It doesn’t do SMS, and it doesn’t even do email. At first we thought this was a joke, but the Amazon listing looks real enough and a quick visit to the Peek discussion forums shows this request from the company: “As usual we have a couple things cooking in the Peek oven. We’re looking for Peeksters that use Twitter a lot.”
The package will cost $200, and that includes a lifetime of Tweeting — you’ll never pay for your connectivity. We expect that we’ll start to see more and more devices with “free” internet connections over cell networks, where the seller does a deal with the telcos to provide low-bandwidth hook-ups. It has worked for the Kindle, so maybe we’ll get the long promised internet-connected Toaster after all. One which burns a Tweet into your breakfast slice.
The picture, by the way, is from Peter Hu’s (of Time and CrunchGear) Twitter feed. We’re running this instead of the regular product shot because a) it is ironically appropriate and b) there’s a huge WIRED logo on the front of the box.
Product page [Amazon via Peter Hu’s Twitter]
See Also:
- Peek Now Available in Cheap Packs of Five
- Peek Leak: Pronto Email Device is Twice as Fast
- Official: Peek Pushes Pronto with Unlimited Texting
- Peek Could Kill Subscription Fees For Its Email Device
- Review: Peek Device Delivers Peak Email Performance And Not Much …
Peek To Release Dedicated Twitter Device
By Chris Scott Barr
Are you an important person? I mean someone that people hang on your every word, simply because even the most mundane actions in your life are news-worthy? Well I’ve got some awesome news for you. Peek, the makers of the Pronto email device have a new gadget up their sleeve. It looks very similar to the Pronto, but this one is dedicated to Twitter.
That’s right, if you don’t have a smartphone with a data plan, you can still tell everyone about the tiniest details of your life when you’re away from home. I honestly think that this is simply the worst idea ever. This is only encouraging people to post even more boring facts about their everyday life that no one cares about. Unless your life is filled with the same level of excitement of James Bond, you don’t need to be updating everyone hourly on it. There’s currently no word on pricing or availability.
[ Peek ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]
The TwitterPeek is… a Peek for Twitter?
Peek’s never been one to shy away from the wacky and opportunistic marketing schemes but launching a whole product just for Twitter? That’s courage, drive, and possibly a mental health issue. Yet here’s the TwitterPeek — what looks to be the same old Peek you know, love, and probably haven’t purchased, stripped of its email and SMS functionality and re-oriented towards telling the entire world too much about your body and what you’re doing to it every waking moment of the day. Now, to be fair, we’re getting a distinctly strange feeling of phoniness about this whole thing, but there’s already an Amazon listing and a picture of the box has already surfaced on — where else? — Twitter, so this could really be happening. Just think about that for a second. And then tweet about it, of course.
[Via LiveDigitally]
Read – Amazon TwitterPeek listing
Read – Peter Ha’s TwitPic of the box
Continue reading The TwitterPeek is… a Peek for Twitter?
Filed under: Handhelds
The TwitterPeek is… a Peek for Twitter? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted: October 27th, 2009
at 7:13pm by Nilay Patel
Topics: Peek, TwitterPeek, amazon, leak, leaks, rumor, rumors, twitter, twitter peek
Peek goes Twitter and is now available at Blockbuster
Peek, the tiny non-smartphone smartphone dedicated to email and messaging, is now available at Blockbuster stores across the nation. Peek buyers will also receive one month free of Blockbuster Total Access, a Netflix-like service that lets you rent DVDs and BR disks by mail or in-store. You can also refer a friend and get a $15 Blockbuster gift card.
The Pronto costs $59.99 with $14.99/month service. The Classic costs $19.99.
In related news, it seems the company has created a new version of the hardware with dedicated Twitter access. We’ve seen images of the box, above, and we’re asking for more info right now.
