Live data from Hacker News

I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

tomsguide.com

101–110 of 233 posts

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#101

How can the xreal one glasses be 3Dof and stay in place while this guy is moving forward and backwards in his chair? https://us.shop.xreal.com/cdn/shop/videos/c/vp/bc70020e90a74... https://us.shop.xreal.com/cdn/shop/videos/c/vp/a2b82ae2ea714... I appreciate its a marketing video, but this is just a lie, no? What is the actual supported input resolution of the display? How do virtual monitors work - are they just a co…

They do have accelerometers as well as gyroscopes, so technically they could integrate acceleration twice to keep track of position...but in practice it's way more reliable to just keep it at a constant distance from the head.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#102

Sounds like sponsored content. Every other review I have read people say they go back to laptop because the text fidelity, eye strain and keyboard on lap is just the best productivity setup

I thought the same. Notice he doesn’t say it’s better than a laptop, only better than he expected. Then he goes on to explain what he doesn’t like about laptops generally, without explaining what he doesn’t like about this set up.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#103
post #5

I thought it would be a mini laptop like these: https://gpdstore.net/product-category/gpd-mini-laptop/ But no, he carries around a little Nuc style machine and a full, separate keyboard and charger. It's cool and all, but there's no way this whole jumble would fit in a pocket or be convenient to use on the go.

I've made myself a split wireless keyboard in part so that it can be more portable than having the style of keyboard in the article in my bag. And that's replacing an Atreus, so already relatively compact.

But then, there are degrees of portability. This sort of thing is fine for a coffee shop. Better, in some ways, than a laptop because it's usable in full sunlight.

It's only the fact that everything's wireless that makes it practical, really. I'd be tempted to print up a chassis for the NUC and the power bank so that they become a single unit, then the only setup is the glasses cable.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#104
I've seen a couple of this kinds of setups online and I'm intrigued, as I'm just done with the laptop form factor, but I don't think this is it.

I see the appeal of the XR glasses for immersion and monitor real state, but if you wanted to be outside and went to a coffee shop... I woudldn't cover my eyes and immerse myself totally on the computer; for starters, I wouldn't feel safe. Also, I don't think anyone would also wear headphones with that in a public place, so I hope you don't get a particularly chatty group on the next table over...

There's many situations where I want to look at a display but I don't want to cover my eyes.

On the other hand, this kind of on-the-go-but-with-a-desktop-pc only works with glasses. Some have tried it with a portable display and it seems like way too much fussiness to set up and carry.

I doubt this guy actually ditched his laptop. He did an experiment for content (nothing wrong with that) and I reckon he'll be back on a laptop sooner rather than later.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#105
post #89

AR glasses brings great accessibility improvements, especially those who are bedridden; I wrote the need-gap for wearable low latency computer displays[1] ~6 years ago when I was in bed recovering from a spinal fusion surgery as the only option available to me were those unwieldy bed mounts for monitors and it requires help from others to adjust the angles. [1] https://needgap.com/problems/16-wearable-low-latency-dis…

Since when is having a laptop on your lap or by your side a problem in bed? That's my default wfh setup. I even have a 2nd monitor on a standard arm mounted to my bedrest for when I need it. I do also use Xreal One but only when I'm trying not to wake my partner.

to use a laptop you need to be sitting up. when you are bedridden many times you can't do that. and even healthy, sitting in bed with my legs stretched out is uncomfortable for longer periods of time. not to mention most people would balk at their partner doing that when they share a bed. consider yourself lucky. but do check that you are giving enough attention to your partner otherwise. i have at least one friend who got divorced specifically because he was more interested in computers than his wife.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#106

I tried this with the Viture Pro XR glasses last year and it sucks. Can't use it with Linux, except in dumb monitor mode. No head tracking unless you're using a supported OS. Android app sucks becaus you can't use it with any old app, eg productivity apps (their app is like a demo of head tracking that only supports stuff like YouTube and local media). Maybe I should have purchased the Xreals?

I'd like to try this kind of setup (coding from a lounge chair with just a keyboard tray & trackball, yay!), "dumb monitor" would be sufficient - but since switching to high-DPI displays in 2016 I really need this to be 4K.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#107

Sounds like sponsored content. Every other review I have read people say they go back to laptop because the text fidelity, eye strain and keyboard on lap is just the best productivity setup

I had trouble believing anything in the article since every sentence or 2 has a link to "the best laptop" or "the best powerbank". Just seems like a hub for a bunch of links to sponsored content.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#108

I tried this with the Viture Pro XR glasses last year and it sucks. Can't use it with Linux, except in dumb monitor mode. No head tracking unless you're using a supported OS. Android app sucks becaus you can't use it with any old app, eg productivity apps (their app is like a demo of head tracking that only supports stuff like YouTube and local media). Maybe I should have purchased the Xreals?

I have xreal air 2 that gets zero use. I dont recommend them that much, working on a laptop is better and since they constantly making newer versions its worth the wait to not buy anything current and wait for the next one which which will be better. I had the buyers regret, wishing I waited longer for the newer version but unless I buy a steam deck to play games Ill probably never use them.

Re: I ditched my laptop for a pocketable mini PC and a pair of AR glasses

#110
I do this occasionally, and have done for years. On earlier or lower resolution headsets with Fresnel lenses, it does force you to look at a screen slightly differently - everything has to be a bit larger, you have to move your head/eyes a bit more to deal with blurry edges.

Pancake lens devices like quest pro is fine though. I tend to favour one large virtual screen in vr though, whereas in real life, I prefer one large and one portrait second monitor. Being able to touchtype is useful.

Haven't tried virtual desktop recently, but immersedvr has always been the best work vr app, unfortunately. I say unfortunately because the company is a bit of a joke. They are a case study in everything wrong with silicon valley tech over the past decade. Name a shitty money making buzzword, and they've pivoted towards it and failed at it.

Post reply on HN