computer science

Virgin Webplayer

Virgin Webplayer is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Virgin Webplayer rather than just read about it. In short: The Virgin Webplayer is a discontinued Internet appliance from Virgin Group. The device was intended as a standalone Internet access device, running a specialized operating system which limited it to the Virgin Connect ISP.

Key takeaways

Virgin Webplayer belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Virgin Webplayer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Virgin Webplayer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Virgin Webplayer is a discontinued Internet appliance from Virgin Group. The device was intended as a standalone Internet access device, running a specialized operating system which limited it to the Virgin Connect ISP. It was discontinued on November 15, 2000. The remaining Webplayer hardware was liquidated and embraced by the hardware hacker community. The Virgin Connect service was innovative — for $50, a user would get the Webplayer and unlimited dial-up Internet access (provided through Prodigy) for three years. However, the Webplayer displayed advertisements while the user was online.

Hardware The Webplayer is essentially a compact x86 PC and was manufactured by Acer under contract by Boundless Technologies and is also known as the Boundless iBrow. Input came through an infrared keyboard with an integrated trackball, and the webplayer came with a modem for connecting to the Internet. The Webplayer is powered by a 200 MHz Cyrix MediaGX CPU, 64 MB of SO-DIMM RAM, and a 48 MB M-Systems Disk-On-Chip 2000 for storage. It included two USB ports and contained a Mini PCI Type IIIB slot and 44-pin IDE header inside. CompactFlash, VGA, and PS/2 keyboard and mouse headers are present on the motherboard, but the physical connector is not included.

Hacking After the demise of official support, the Webplayer drew the attention of computer enthusiasts. A grassroots Co-Op effort was created to purchase a lot of Webplayers from a liquidator, with over 50 members signing up. Eventually, the units were shipped out at $100 each and the hacking began. The Virgin operating system was locked to dial into Virgin Online, but a password-protected setup screen was available. A user discovered the scheme and created a utility to guess the rotating password frequently enough to allow an owner to reprogram the device to call into any ISP. However, the experience of using the Virgin OS was not what users wanted, so more serious hacking attempts quickly began. Since the Webplayer is architecturally similar to a typical x86 PC and included an IDE header, initial attention was focused on accessing the password-protected system BIOS. An insider leaked the password schwasck and the device was quickly converted into a full-fledged PC. Users could simply purchase a 44-pin IDE cable and hard disk drive and run any PC-compatible operating system. The next efforts included creating a version of Microsoft Windows that would fit in the 48 MB Disk-On-Chip device. This was quickly accomplished, with a version of 98lite widely distributed. Attempts to create a specialized Linux distribution were less successful, since the Webplayer included specialized graphics hardware which was not well-supported at the time. Users eventually turned to the Mini-PCI slot, adding Ethernet and 802.11 adapters designed for notebooks. These proved far more reliable than the originally-used USB Ethernet adapters, as the Webplayer's USB hardware was not entirely stable. Other popular modifications included increasing the system RAM (it used a standard 144-pin PC100 SO-DIMM) and overclocking the CPU. Some users modified the Webplayer case to accept a built-in CD-ROM drive, Ethernet ports, and Wi-Fi antennas.

Issues The Webplayer hardware proved to have a few stability issues:

The USB ports are somewhat unreliable with Ethernet adapters, though they seem to work well with storage and input devices The audio system will distort unless the Line-In is muted The display adapter is not well-supported and its VGA modes are incomplete The ACPI/APM BIOS does not work well, with suspend and resume problems common

See also Internet appliance i-Opener 3Com Audrey

References

"Virgin Web player Hack". Dougpile.com. Retrieved April 20, 2006. "Hacking the Virgin Web player". larwe.com. Retrieved April 20, 2006.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Virgin Webplayer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Virgin Webplayer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Virgin Webplayer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Virgin Webplayer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Virgin Webplayer

In research: Virgin Webplayer appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Virgin Webplayer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Virgin Webplayer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Acer Inc. products, Computer-related introductions in 1999, Information appliances, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Virgin Webplayer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Virgin Webplayer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Virgin Webplayer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Virgin Webplayer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Virgin Webplayer in simple terms?

Why does Virgin Webplayer matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Virgin Webplayer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Virgin Webplayer.