Some Cute Computers

[Quadibloc]

I was looking for information on older laptops with interesting form factors, to
find inspiration for ideas on my own.

One search result led to an image of a laptop where dual screens unfolded after it
opened. I haven't tracked that one down, but it led me to a search which led to
this one:

http://www.mobilemag.com/2002/07/03/xentex-dual-screen-flip-pad-voyager/

By having the screen cut in the middle, and the keyboard folding in the middle,
the laptop can be twice as big for a given size - only having to be thicker, not
wider, when folded up.

I also came across this Kickstarter project:

https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/

a Linux laptop in a handheld game form factor, intended to replace your smartphone.

Another cute computer was this one:

https://www.crowdsupply.com/yellow-beak-computer/ello-2m

This Kickstarter project was fully funded, and the computer is now available.

They're also working on a modular Linux laptop:

https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop

I think that a modular laptop is a wonderful thing, but if you can _only_ put an ARM processor in it, and only, therefore, use Linux with it, its usefulness is crippled.

The ELLO, the cute computer that led me to their site, is... interesting.

The idea is for it to be something that makes computing fun again, by returning
to the days of 8-bit computers that you programmed yourself in BASIC.

So this doesn't even have an ARM processor like the Raspberry Pi, but instead a
PIC32 micro-controller.

Ah, that thing to the left of the screen isn't a touchpad, it's a place to
connect things to the computer! And the fact that it's made from stacked printed
circuit boards without the need for a box is interesting.

It can't be as cheap as similarly powered devices for the mass market, they
note. That's understandable, but I had issues with the way they explained the
device on their site: "inspires creativity without distracting with greed".

I didn't like the use of a morally judgmental word in a way that seemed to
suggest people were greedy to want the most powerful computer for the money they
were spending, or the most useful one - one that would let them run, oh, say,
Witcher 3, if that's what they were interested in. Telling people "this is
what's good for you" is, in my view, a sure recipe for failure - among other
things.

John Savard

[Robert Swindells]

On Sat, 29 Apr 2017 05:54:34 -0700, Quadibloc wrote:

> The ELLO, the cute computer that led me to their site, is...
> interesting.
>
> The idea is for it to be something that makes computing fun again, by
> returning to the days of 8-bit computers that you programmed yourself in
> BASIC.
>
> So this doesn't even have an ARM processor like the Raspberry Pi, but
> instead a PIC32 micro-controller.

PIC32 is just MIPS, it isn't fundamentally different to an ARM SoC.

[Quadibloc]

On Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 6:54:35 AM UTC-6, Quadibloc wrote:
> I was looking for information on older laptops with interesting form factors, to
> find inspiration for ideas on my own.
>
> One search result led to an image of a laptop where dual screens unfolded after it
> opened. I haven't tracked that one down,

I tried again, turns out it was this one:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6105506/Dual-screen-laptop-on-sale-by-Christmas.html
http://newatlas.com/gscreen-spacebook-dual-screen-laptop/19250/

the gScreen Spacebook.

There are others:

https://www.engadget.com/2008/12/21/lenovo-thinkpad-w700ds-dual-screen-laptop-details-and-pics-unear/

the Lenovo W700ds, and

http://newatlas.com/kohjinsha-dual-screen-laptop-on-sale/13479/

the Kojinsha DZ, and

https://www.engadget.com/gallery/onkyos-dx-dual-screen-laptop/
https://www.engadget.com/2009/12/10/onkyos-dx-dual-screen-laptop-is-a-far-better-deal-than-kohjinsh/

the Onkyo DX.

John Savard

[Quadibloc]

And I see that somebody has already beat me to it - someone else has already designed the machine of my dreams:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/12/10/eye-roll-the-dragonfly-futurefn-on-indiegogo-is-a-dual-screen-dual-os-computerphone-hybrid-presumably-powered-by-unicorn-tears/

John Savard

[Quadibloc]

On Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 7:40:06 AM UTC-6, Quadibloc wrote:
> And I see that somebody has already beat me to it - someone else has already designed the machine of my dreams:
>
> http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/12/10/eye-roll-the-dragonfly-futurefn-on-indiegogo-is-a-dual-screen-dual-os-computerphone-hybrid-presumably-powered-by-unicorn-tears/

Or maybe the Andromium Superbook,

https://liliputing.com/2016/07/andromiums-99-superbook-turns-android-phone-laptop-crowdfunding.html

the NexDock

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3052807/hardware/hands-on-with-nexdock-the-laptop-that-isnt.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nexdock-dumb-laptop,31613.html

the HP Mobile Extender, the Microsoft Surface Dock, and so on, are what the world needs.

However, instead of plugging a smartphone into such a thing, a small
form-factor PC is what I would think of as more useful. And if instead of just
being a keyboard and monitor, the screen was switchable, so the thing also
functioned as a laptop of some sort... that would be new and useful.

John Savard

[Charlie Gibbs]

On 2017-04-29, Quadibloc <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:

> I didn't like the use of a morally judgmental word in a way that seemed to
> suggest people were greedy to want the most powerful computer for the money
> they were spending, or the most useful one - one that would let them run,
> oh, say, Witcher 3, if that's what they were interested in.

Often, though, that's not what they're interested in. Often they're looking
for the most powerful computer so they can brag about it to their friends,
not because they need the power.

> Telling people "this is what's good for you" is, in my view, a sure recipe
> for failure - among other things.

On the contrary, it's standard practice nowadays. It's not often stated
explicitly, but there's a lot more coercion in modern user interface
design than we might care to think...

--
/~\ cgi...@kltpzyxm.invalid (Charlie Gibbs)
\ / I'm really at ac.dekanfrus if you read it the right way.
X Top-posted messages will probably be ignored. See RFC1855.
/ \ HTML will DEFINITELY be ignored. Join the ASCII ribbon campaign!

[Andreas Eder]

On Sa 29 Apr 2017 at 05:54, Quadibloc <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:

> They're also working on a modular Linux laptop:
> https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop
> I think that a modular laptop is a wonderful thing, but if you can
> _only_ put an ARM processor in it, and only, therefore, use Linux with
> it, its usefulness is crippled.

What else would you use?
Cripple your computer with a version of windows?

'Andreas

[Michael Black]

On Sat, 29 Apr 2017, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

> On 2017-04-29, Quadibloc <jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>
>> I didn't like the use of a morally judgmental word in a way that seemed to
>> suggest people were greedy to want the most powerful computer for the money
>> they were spending, or the most useful one - one that would let them run,
>> oh, say, Witcher 3, if that's what they were interested in.
>
> Often, though, that's not what they're interested in. Often they're looking
> for the most powerful computer so they can brag about it to their friends,
> not because they need the power.
>

Well it's no longer "good enough" to have a computer that was better than
the one on the original space shuttle, you "need" something better than a
Cray supercomputer.

Michael

[Walter Banks]

On 2017-04-29 8:54 AM, Quadibloc wrote:
> I was looking for information on older laptops with interesting form
> factors, to find inspiration for ideas on my own.
>
> One search result led to an image of a laptop where dual screens
> unfolded after it opened. I haven't tracked that one down, but it led
> me to a search which led to this one:
>
> http://www.mobilemag.com/2002/07/03/xentex-dual-screen-flip-pad-voyager/
>
> By having the screen cut in the middle, and the keyboard folding in
> the middle, the laptop can be twice as big for a given size - only
> having to be thicker, not wider, when folded up.

There was a laptop that folded in half horizontally with two touch
screens. The bottom screen was normally a touch screen keyboard but it
could be a graphic input device and could have keyboard over a second
screen display. It was a reasonable laptop size. I will see if I can
find a link.

w..

[Quadibloc]

On Monday, May 1, 2017 at 9:03:36 AM UTC-6, Walter Banks wrote:
> keyboard over a second
> screen display.

I saw a prototype of such a laptop, but the article said that the company holding the patent was merely going to license it, not make a product themselves.

Near the bottom of this page:

http://tidbits.com/article/10799

John Savard

[Quadibloc]

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/08/14/the-sketch-n-send-a.html

Here's coverage of an attempt at a revival.

John Savard