Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop • Hacker News Board

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#171

Post by alanbernstein » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 7:50 AM UTC

bserge wrote: post #82

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That actually looks quite nice. What's the keyboard?

That's a Rapoo e9060 combo. I bought it in ~2015, it's impressive that it lasted this long. The mouse is average, but I liked the keyboard so much I bought another one (English-only layout, sadly). Everyone's talking about mechanical keyboards, but I like the laptop-like keys and the small footprint. There's a newer model with worse keys (mushier, less springy).

I've been looking for a keyboard like this for years, never heard of this brand. Do you know if they have one without the number pad?

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#172

Post by tarruda » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 8:41 AM UTC

mark4 wrote: post #14

This is how I imagine Bad Place would torture Steve Jobs, with Bad Jony Ive bringing a version of this prototype to every other meeting to get feedback.

Perfect :)

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#173

Post by tarruda » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 8:45 AM UTC

ajarmst wrote: post #134

I'm caught between a couple of possible use cases: * Perhaps this is similar to a potlatch or a peacock's tail: primarily a demonstration of social or genetic superiority. "If I can publicly waste resources on this sort of scale, imagine the sheer amount of pure nerd dominance I can summon!" * A related use: Like clothing with an excessive number of pockets and ordinary household tools inexplicably machined from heav…

He explains the target use cases in another comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25203662

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#174

Post by bserge » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 9:13 AM UTC

alanbernstein wrote: post #171

bserge wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a Rapoo e9060 combo. I bought it in ~2015, it's impressive that it lasted this long. The mouse is average, but I liked the keyboard so much I bought another one (English-only layout, sadly). Everyone's talking about mechanical keyboards, but I like the laptop-like keys and the small footprint. There's a newer model with worse keys (mushier, less springy).

I've been looking for a keyboard like this for years, never heard of this brand. Do you know if they have one without the number pad?

I never heard of it either, I just saw it and thought it looks nice. And it is well built.

The e6080 is newer, with no numpad, but they use different switches, the keys are mushier/softer and have slightly less travel. Plus the spacing between the keys is bigger. Just doesn't feel the same.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#175

Post by HelloNurse » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 9:34 AM UTC

tarruda wrote: post #173

ajarmst wrote: post #134

I'm caught between a couple of possible use cases: * Perhaps this is similar to a potlatch or a peacock's tail: primarily a demonstration of social or genetic superiority. "If I can publicly waste resources on this sort of scale, imagine the sheer amount of pure nerd dominance I can summon!" * A related use: Like clothing with an excessive number of pockets and ordinary household tools inexplicably machined from heav…

He explains the target use cases in another comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25203662

For the use case of setting up shop on a comfortable desk in the morning without moving for a long work day, a laptop form factor is as unnecessary as small size, small weight and long battery life.

A large box with suitcase-like handles, mainboard and batteries at the bottom, a detachable keyboard in frontand foldout screens (larger than 17.3 inches!) on top would be more ergonomic and more difficult to tip over, and it would make using desktop/server parts easier.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#176

Post by Jean-Philipe » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 10:01 AM UTC

bitecode wrote: post #10

> "A laptop with exactly zero compromises" I mean the size, weight, awkwardness and small trackpad all seem like compromises to me. I'd suspect the battery life too. And some of the screens aren't placed in the most practical of locations. That said it's a pretty impressive prototype.

I thought they meant that as a joke?

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#177

Post by widforss » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 11:13 AM UTC

bane wrote: post #50

pmiller2 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seem to remember about 10 years ago or so, when that kind of tiny 7-10" laptop was briefly popular. I don't know exactly how the marketing went, but I imagine it was positioned as "your on the go device for when your phone isn't enough." Or, maybe it was kind of like a "super PDA." Who knows? I hated them. Never bought one.

Probably netbooks. I have a...I think 9.7" netbook from ASUS I bought for grad school that was quite frankly one of the best pieces of personal electronics I've ever purchased and served me for years. It had a (for the time) a large 250GB hard drive, ran Windows 7 and pretty much everything you could think of available for Windows at the time (at least everything needed for a grad program). I ran Cygwin, putty, all o…

I've hoarded those computers and have 4 of them in the barn.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#178

Post by KMnO4 » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 2:22 PM UTC

cs702 wrote: post #151

Weight: "10Kg max." That's 22 lbs. About the same weight as a stack of 20+ thick books! And unless my eyes are fooling me, when folded, the laptop's seven -- seven! --screens are held together with... velcro ? See here: https://expanscape.com/the-aurora-7-prototype/screen-transit... Is this thing for real?

It would be lighter to carry around 7 Macbook Airs.

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#179

Post by aspyct » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 3:49 PM UTC

mark4 wrote: post #14

This is how I imagine Bad Place would torture Steve Jobs, with Bad Jony Ive bringing a version of this prototype to every other meeting to get feedback.

Upvoting because this needs to be higher :D

Re: Aurora 7 Prototype – 7 Screen Laptop

#180

Post by ajarmst » Wed, Nov 25, 2020, 4:26 PM UTC

ajarmst wrote: post #134

I'm caught between a couple of possible use cases: * Perhaps this is similar to a potlatch or a peacock's tail: primarily a demonstration of social or genetic superiority. "If I can publicly waste resources on this sort of scale, imagine the sheer amount of pure nerd dominance I can summon!" * A related use: Like clothing with an excessive number of pockets and ordinary household tools inexplicably machined from heav…

It's unfortunate that this is necessary, but it seems that some are taking the above a bit too seriously (I had thought I offered sufficient signals that this was firmly tongue-in-cheek). So, for the record, I am thoroughly in the target market for this sort of thing, and even I enjoy a little frisson of delight at imagining unpacking this monstrosity in a student lab or at a client site. That said, I do also believe that it has little productive purpose---it is difficult to imagine a technical use case that couldn't be better and more easily served by carrying a largish spare monitor (perhaps in a blatantly ruggedized case replete with DefCon stickers to maintain the tone.)

However, I do not believe it is completely useless. I just think that the uses are primarily in the categories I propose above: conspicuous consumption, in-group signalling, or pure nihilism. And which of us has never made an extravagant purchase in support of those? Certainly not I.