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Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

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Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#221

Post by rooster212 »

hwbehrens wrote: post #211

Are there any devices that fit the bill of an "anti-laptop"? I despise working on tiny ( It seems silly that most of the volume and weight of the device I carry around daily are totally unused, and that most of the tradeoffs it makes are irrelevant to me, but most small desktop machines are either too large or too slow (to meet a price point, presumably?). None that I know of is designed to operate from a single Thun…

I see why this is tricky, because I'd argue a Mac Mini fulfils that requirement - but it doesn't do the power delivery aspect. If you ignore the power requirements it becomes much easier.

It's funny because I searched for it and Intel has a page on this exact thing about their lineup of NUCs - https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000...

It'd be a small market for sure, which is why I don't think you see it. Personally I'd maybe grab a MacBook Air or something as that is likely the best "power to weight" ratio for a laptop.

Your mention of the Framework desktop case seems like it would work no? As it can be powered over USB-C? Or does it not do output over the same port?

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#222

Post by workethics »

hwbehrens wrote: post #211

Are there any devices that fit the bill of an "anti-laptop"? I despise working on tiny ( It seems silly that most of the volume and weight of the device I carry around daily are totally unused, and that most of the tradeoffs it makes are irrelevant to me, but most small desktop machines are either too large or too slow (to meet a price point, presumably?). None that I know of is designed to operate from a single Thun…

This may be a weird recommendation but the steam deck may be something to consider if your docks have a usb c connector.

It's nearly as powerful as my desktop, and I can't find any laptops/portaPCs with similar specs at that pricepoint.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#223

Post by LeifCarrotson »

hwbehrens wrote: post #211

Are there any devices that fit the bill of an "anti-laptop"? I despise working on tiny ( It seems silly that most of the volume and weight of the device I carry around daily are totally unused, and that most of the tradeoffs it makes are irrelevant to me, but most small desktop machines are either too large or too slow (to meet a price point, presumably?). None that I know of is designed to operate from a single Thun…

An NUC or similar SFF desktop PC seem to be pretty close to your requirements. Without an optical drive and without any spinning rust media, they're pretty durable. I use a lot of fanless PCs from OnLogic, Cincoze, and Neousys in industrial control panels...they have 'rugged' models that are designed to mount inside heavy equipment or prototype vehicles that you could probably use as a hammer, but even a consumer NUC will be fine in a backpack.

The form factor is typically more boxy, like 5x5x2" rather than 9x12x1", so they'll fit easily into a backpack but not so well in a briefcase. You can get them with laptop processors and passive cooling or the worst of both worlds - a whiny little centrifugal laptop fan, or you can get a luxuriously quiet 140mm desktop fan, desktop-grade processor and graphics that will blow any ultrabook out of the water.

However, they're not typically oriented for single-cable-connectivity. Why is it such a big deal to plug in one cable for the power supply and either a couple for the mouse, keyboard, and monitor, or one for the Thunderbolt hub?

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#224

Post by nemoniac »

noduerme wrote: post #78
ElCheapo wrote: post #46

Can we stop with this absolute fantasy about PCs that "fit in your pocket"? The medium is the message, the form is the functionality. Smartphones have been "pocketable PCs" for more than a decade already, but are dumbed down because their inputs and outputs are limited. You can't type effectively, your screen is small, your battery is limited. Would you want a command line interface on your Smart TV using only a remo…

Well.. I mean, I've been using $100 PCs-on-a-stick for about a decade now, plugging them into hotel room TVs or my projector at home or wherever I go... just need a cheap wireless keyboard/trackpad. I use that for about half my home entertainment viewing as well. Definitely no need to strap hardware to my head to game/code/surf on a big screen with a tiny device.

Do I understand you correctly that you plug the PC on a stick into the USB port of a TV which it then uses the TV as display and connects to a bluetooth keyboard? Could you give pointers to such devices and perhaos Linux distros that work on them?

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#225

Post by detaro »

nemoniac wrote: post #224
noduerme wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well.. I mean, I've been using $100 PCs-on-a-stick for about a decade now, plugging them into hotel room TVs or my projector at home or wherever I go... just need a cheap wireless keyboard/trackpad. I use that for about half my home entertainment viewing as well. Definitely no need to strap hardware to my head to game/code/surf on a big screen with a tiny device.

Do I understand you correctly that you plug the PC on a stick into the USB port of a TV which it then uses the TV as display and connects to a bluetooth keyboard? Could you give pointers to such devices and perhaos Linux distros that work on them?

this kind of device: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stick+pc

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#226

Post by wvenable »

ElCheapo wrote: post #89
badsectoracula wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can we stop with this absolute fantasy about PCs that "fit in your pocket"? No, because it isn't fantasy and i want those PCs that "fit in my pocket" - after all they do exist, see GPD's pocketable PCs. > Smartphones have been "pocketable PCs" for more than a decade already Smartphones have their on OSes, UX, applications, etc. The point of projects like GPD Win or the one linked above is to run the same programs,…

I think you're being extremely vague about the things you are using your GDP for. Nothing you've written strikes me as something that couldn't be achieved with a proper I/O module attached to a smartphone.

I code on my GPD pocket.

You could, in theory, use a smartphone for this but the software situation is so terrible that you really can't.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#227

Post by wvenable »

danparsonson wrote: post #84
ElCheapo wrote: post #46

Can we stop with this absolute fantasy about PCs that "fit in your pocket"? The medium is the message, the form is the functionality. Smartphones have been "pocketable PCs" for more than a decade already, but are dumbed down because their inputs and outputs are limited. You can't type effectively, your screen is small, your battery is limited. Would you want a command line interface on your Smart TV using only a remo…

>...AR glasses project a full desktop in front of us and let us control it with an imaginary keyboard... That sounds only slightly more dreadful than the touchscreen keyboard experience we have currently; I seem to be in a minority but proper tactile keyboards, even tiny ones, are worlds better IMO. The best phone I ever had for input was a Blackberry Bold 9700, and I miss that keyboard almost literally every single…

You'll be happy to know that the current trend is to combine AR/VR with a physical keyboard. The Quest has an option to bring your physical Bluetooth keyboard into VR -- it only supports a small subset of models right now, though.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#228

Post by RobertRoberts »

hwbehrens wrote: post #211

Are there any devices that fit the bill of an "anti-laptop"? I despise working on tiny ( It seems silly that most of the volume and weight of the device I carry around daily are totally unused, and that most of the tradeoffs it makes are irrelevant to me, but most small desktop machines are either too large or too slow (to meet a price point, presumably?). None that I know of is designed to operate from a single Thun…

Consider the Lenovo Nano: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/c/desktops/thinkcentre/m-nano-s...

I have a couple of the ThinkCentre Nano computers. They are tiny, a fat fit for a pocket, but easily transported if you wanted to. AMD Ryzen processor and plenty of ram with SSD.

Still need power though... and I am not crazy about the power connector though (seems too proprietary) but it seems very sturdy at least.

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#229

Post by teawrecks »

hwbehrens wrote: post #211

Are there any devices that fit the bill of an "anti-laptop"? I despise working on tiny ( It seems silly that most of the volume and weight of the device I carry around daily are totally unused, and that most of the tradeoffs it makes are irrelevant to me, but most small desktop machines are either too large or too slow (to meet a price point, presumably?). None that I know of is designed to operate from a single Thun…

There are docks that let you use your phone as the computing device. Depending on how much power you need, that would probably be good enough for most tasks.

Ex. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1404180696/nudock-a-doc...

Re: Open Source PC That Fits in Your Pocket

#230

Post by w0m »

RobertRoberts wrote: post #228
hwbehrens wrote: post #211

Are there any devices that fit the bill of an "anti-laptop"? I despise working on tiny ( It seems silly that most of the volume and weight of the device I carry around daily are totally unused, and that most of the tradeoffs it makes are irrelevant to me, but most small desktop machines are either too large or too slow (to meet a price point, presumably?). None that I know of is designed to operate from a single Thun…

Consider the Lenovo Nano: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/c/desktops/thinkcentre/m-nano-s... I have a couple of the ThinkCentre Nano computers. They are tiny, a fat fit for a pocket, but easily transported if you wanted to. AMD Ryzen processor and plenty of ram with SSD. Still need power though... and I am not crazy about the power connector though (seems too proprietary) but it seems very sturdy at least.

... i have no use for one; but i want it.
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