I really like lots of ports, but, quite frankly, when I'm on my desk, I'd prefer to plug in a single cable over plugging in HDMI, Ethernet, USB and power. I like the fact my monitor has a USB hub that connects keyboard and mouse and, if the next one can do power, video, Ethernet and USB over a single USB-C connector, I'm all in for it.
VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
211–220 of 238 posts
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Are there really millions of people who walk around with a laptop cradled in their arms every day? Yes. The sales force of almost very company I've worked at can be described this way. And their computing needs are pretty basic. A browser, email, word and excel mostly does it for them. They also need to be able to connect to a variety of I/O for presentations at different sites. This may not be a coder laptop, but…
Coders can and should use remote systems for heavy lifting tasks IMO. A laptop should be setup more like a thin client and not have any ip on it that can be lost/stolen.
I don't know why this was downvoted. As connectivity gets more and more pervasive my laptop is increasingly only a front to a cloud instance somewhere.
20 years ago I was running an e-mail client on my laptop. Now most of the client runs on Google's servers.
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand the appeal of anorexic laptops. Sacrificing repairability, cooling, features, and connectivity. All so it can be thinner and lighter? What's the use case for that? Are there really millions of people who walk around with a laptop cradled in their arms every day? Surely these laptops spend the majority of their active time either on a desk or in a lap? Have desks become so flimsy that they can no lo…
Travel. So, yes, shaving weight and bag space is pretty important for some of us.
I can't open my 14" laptop on a regular airplane seat. My (much slower) 11" fits comfortably.
I guess I should move to 15+" when I finally move completely to business class. Until then, I'll prefer to travel light.
And I really miss my first-gen Acer Aspire One.
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
I got a full HD (vertical, IPS), 2k (IPS) and a 4k (TN) screen on my desk. All have VGA. I also have a 4k tv on my wall. It also has VGA.
You have 4K equipment with a VGA port. But does it actually do 4K when using VGA or does it just downscale? I haven't ever seen any VGA cable which can go above 2048×1536, and that's also the maximum wiki mentions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA_connector#Cable_quality
When I set my mom up, in 2003 or so, I gave her one of mine 21" Integraph monitors. I was a bit jealous when I realized her computer was able to do accelerated 24 bpp 2048×1536 on that gorgeous (and back-breaking) screen. My laptop at the time could drive on external screen at 1024x768 and that was it. :-(
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#215It has often been said that you can't have a thin / small laptop that also has a large number of ports... apparently this isn't such an impossible feat after all.
If only it had a docking connector and hot-swapable battery.
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#216Its just moronic how laptop companies are rushing to make smaller laptops at the cost of basically everything. A ThinkPad-X220-sized laptop would still be absolutely acceptable both in size and weight, and could have all (or at least, most of) the ports that one could need. And swappable battery, keyboard, ram, disk etc.
I don't understand the appeal of anorexic laptops. Sacrificing repairability, cooling, features, and connectivity. All so it can be thinner and lighter? What's the use case for that? Are there really millions of people who walk around with a laptop cradled in their arms every day? Surely these laptops spend the majority of their active time either on a desk or in a lap? Have desks become so flimsy that they can no lo…
Have you heard of ultralight travel?
https://jamesclear.com/ultralight-travel
These days I travel with only a 19-liter backpack. It doesn't matter if it's a day trip to San Jose or a 3-week vacation in Europe. That pretty much eliminates all of the stresses, costs, and inconveniences that luggage has a way of inflicting on you when traveling. My last multi-week vacation to London, Amsterdam, and Paris with only this relatively small backpack was a revelation. I'm never going back. For me you can't make a laptop that's lightweight or small enough.
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#217Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#218Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can install OSX on most intel based laptops, getting the drivers for certain things can be a pain. For wifi and bluetooth you may need to replace the internal card.
Sure I get all that -- my comment was that if someone made an easy to use alternative with OSX on this machine (basically buy it and it works, simple Hackintosh), there's likely a good market for that. Anecdotally, I'd pay essentially up to what I'd fork out for a Macbook Pro now. It just needs to work, the way Apple stuff works, without any headaches. The problem with Apple machines for me now is that they've done a…
> Edit, to clarify, I'm talking about a legit copy of OSX purchased properly, no piracy whatsoever. I just want the creature comforts of OSX on a machine with ports! (and MagSafe too, if possible)
Technically, by installing it on a computer that isn’t a Mac, you’re violating the EULA. So it doesn’t matter if you purchased it, it’s still illegal to use it for that purpose (but no one’s gonna stop you)
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funny, to me it just reminds me of a standard laptop from a few years ago. I have a consumer lenovo from a few years back, and it has all those ports except the USB-C.
Sadly, the trend has been to copy Apple. Even Lenovo has been taking some Apple design cues into Thinkpads. While Macs are good, it's better to have more variety and different design compromises to choose from. Especially, if you run Linux as only a tiny proportion of sold models will have trouble-free hardware. So I applaud this move by VAIO. The same frustrating thing happens in the smartphone market. Practically n…
The X1 Carbon is somewhat an attempt to have an Apple-like glass trackpad. But other models have different trackpads.
Re: VAIO announces tiny laptop with tons of ports
#220Half the comments seem to be surprised by VGA. But just about every 1080p monitor has the port, and even Steam statistics[0] show that over 60% of their users use 1080p, and about 75 percent use resolutions that are VGA compatible. 4K computer monitors are still uncommon - and Steam is likely tilted towards higher resolutions. In short: Most existing monitors support VGA, and probably a good deal of those actually us…
Sure. But monitors don’t move around, so who cares what ports are on them? A VGA to whatever adapter can just hang there.
I fully understand that there’s a network engineering / hacker group that goes place to place hooking into all manner of legacy hardware, and that this laptop is a welcome sight to those who have been left behind by the push towards simplicity.
However, the implication (in other comments) that VGA is a necessary laptop port for the mostly desk-to-conference crowd is a bit absurd. Docks are fine.