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Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

expanscape.com

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Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#91
post #77
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zero compromise doesn’t mean you get what you want. Actually the opposite sometimes.

Yes it does. That's why "zero compromise" is usually a losing proposition, because there are often requirements that conflict with each other. You can't have 7 screens, long battery life, and have it be light weight. That would be zero compromises. It's basically the old adage: Fast, cheap, good - pick two. They've sacrificed any kind of portability for more screens.

Believe it or not there are alternatives to our Aurora 7 prototype but those are too large to fit in standard backpack. They usually consist of monitors bolted on to a standard desktop chassis and don't feature integrated batteries. The Aurora 7 folds down then fits into a backpack.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#93

They also have a 'teenyserv'. Handheld computer with 64GB RAM and an 8 core i7 processor. [1] It really seems like these are variations of The Homer. [2] I don't see a use case in mind for them, and the designers seem mostly really excited about the designs . So it looks like these are pet projects that got taken a little too seriously. [1] https://expanscape.com/teenyserv/the-teenyserv-prototypes/ [2] https://simpso…

Not quite. The designs are only part of the picture. We care mostly about utility. We're quite fedup with this trend of unsustainable, premature obsoletion [1] that is the current norm for hardware. Our design philosophy is very simple. [1] https://expanscape.com/about-us/the-3-us/

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#94

I think I might be one of their primary targets. My main computer: https://imgur.com/a/f5nj4pC

This looks like you just kept buying monitors without ever giving one away.

Although they all look like 24". I would have expected you to gradually buy better models

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the specs, this 12KG laptop gets 28 minutes at full power on batteries >_ And it's not allowed on airplanes..

This is due to regulations regarding max Watt Hour ratings for lithium batteries on planes. However we are still working on this.

Battery regulations are the weirdest goddamn thing. TSA forced me to stow batteries in checked in luggage when I literally pointed to the regulation (I had a copy on my phone just in case this exact scenario happened) that I had to bring it on carry on. Nope didn't care, I guess the battery looked scary

I had to pay like 80 bucks to check a random bag with those batteries.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#96

I think I might be one of their primary targets. My main computer: https://imgur.com/a/f5nj4pC

This looks like you just kept buying monitors without ever giving one away. Although they all look like 24". I would have expected you to gradually buy better models

You're almost correct! The center monitors are 23" and the side monitors are actually 1440x900 in portrait mode. The middle 23's are yard sale monitors, the "wing" monitors were from a friend whose employer was disposing of them. My biggest expense was a second video card, since they are DVI/VGA, and that was only $50. Other than that, the monitor stand was about $40.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the specs, this 12KG laptop gets 28 minutes at full power on batteries >_ And it's not allowed on airplanes..

Why even waste weight on battery at that point. That is a built in ups, not a portable device.

For a device that may be deployed in or from a vehicle or locations which may or may not have 100% stable power, a built in UPS is great.

Also, that 'ups' allows one to move the device around - it is called out as a mobile SOC.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#98

I'm also not quite sure what I'm looking at, but hn_expanscape seems to be serious about this, so I'll bite. hn_expanscape, what is the actual use-case for this device? You mention day-traders, but what about tiny screens sliding out from behind larger screens swiveling out from behind yet larger screens is helpful? Why is this better than one, much larger screen (i.e. a laptop with a 24" monitor or larger)? Why is t…

Hi Thomas,

Founder here.

Thanks for your questions:

- The use case of this is a portable multi monitor desktop with desktop class performance.

- I designed this to specifically facilitate my use case (DevOps, SecOps, SIEM, SOC/NOC stuff). I got frustrated and fedup waiting on the G Screen Spacebook and Project Valerie so one day I decided to just get on with making it myself. I am expected to respond to alerts for the many customer systems I manage so I usually have monitoring panels from Cisco, PRTG, Rapid7, Okta, Solarwinds, Vectra AI, open at the same time all day. Suffice to say this gets really stupid on a laptop with one screen especially when you sometimes have to spend whole days at customer sites or in the data center.

- Due to immense interest from people in the finance and content creation industries I decided to build these to specification.

- One crucial objective was that all the screens should slide out of the main chassis as this facilitates easy setup and folding down when leaving a customer site.

- The screen in the keyboard allows me test touch screen apps I'm writing for linux for another project that will be revealed shortly. The palmrest screen was originally designed to also support a WACOM pen but I'm still working on that.

- The tiny screen on the bezel is not connected to the GPU. It is connected to an Arduino micro controller and provides additional stats on battery life and system resource usage.

- YES to my surprise there are many digital nomad types, film studios, CEOs and other execs who are very interested in our prototypes.

- The battery in the Aurora 7 can be considered a mobile UPS however we are still working on that aspect. One of the big problems we have is Airplane regulations regarding the max Watt Hours for Lithium batteries...

There have been a few prototypes before this one and our latest that will be revealed shortly features various improvements.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#99

This looks super-rough, and some of the screen look dubiously useful, but a more polished 4 screen variant of this could be pretty great.

Looks like your looking for our A5 15 or A5 13. send us a message on our website and we'll let you know when they are available.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#100
post #3

Eh, I actually like this :D Unfolding [0] is quite something, I'd love to see this in video format Also, nitpick: > Designed for for professionals [0]: https://expanscape.com/the-aurora-7-prototype/screen-transit...

Hmmm. Thanks for the feedback. We will have a think about better phrasing.
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