Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#211

Post by billziss » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 8:44 PM UTC

datagram wrote: post #187

billziss wrote: post #183

I would much prefer it if manufacturers created a multi-screen setup with screens next to each other. I can imagine some form of folding or attachment mechanism that converts a single screen laptop to dual or triple screen. Since going "laptop only" many years ago the thing I miss the most is the multi-monitor setup that I used to have and would love it if I was eventually able to recreate this with my laptop. The id…

> I can imagine some form of folding of attachment mechanism that converts a single screen laptop to dual or triple screen. Razer is working on exactly this: https://www.razer.com/project-valerie

Thank you. This looks exactly like what I had in mind.

EDIT: Another alternative would be to be able to slide the main screen halfway to the side thus allowing a second screen next to it for a dual screen setup.

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#212

Post by dmitrygr » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 8:46 PM UTC

mandeepj wrote: post #106

asenna wrote: post #72

For people saying dual screen is a gimmick, have you not wanted to replicate multi-screen setup on your laptop (while traveling or when not on your desktop)? Power users have always wanted more screen real estate! I've been eyeing the Asus Zenbook Pro Duo[1] ever since they've been announced (currently using a Macbook Pro 2015). I usually carry around an Asus portable second screen for my laptop in my backpack and th…

> https://www.asus.com/Laptops/ZenBook-Pro-Duo-UX581GV/ Apple touch bar, done right :-)

that looked great, until i saw the reviews like "2 hours of battery life" and "This laptop cannot be charged via USB-C. It requires the included 230W power adapter."

this is not a laptop. this is a portable desktop

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#213

Post by ProfessorLayton » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 8:53 PM UTC

scarface74 wrote: post #124

kbumsik wrote: post #29

It reminds me how the first Surface Pro looked like. It was incomplete and useless device so it didn't go well. However, Microsoft didn't give up. After three iterations Microsoft finally made Surface Pro 3, which was the first useful Windows tablet with a cleverly designed keyboard and a great 3:2 ratio screen. The surface line finally took off and third-parties began to make "surface-like" products since then. Micr…

Apple doesn’t make perfect products in the beginning either. iPhone - no 3g, no GPS, no third party apps, couldn’t shoot video, and no flash for cameras. My feature phone had all of this at the time. Between 2G and AT&Ts network it was a hard pass for me. Not to mention the 4GB of memory. I did end up getting two iPod Touches before the iPhone 4. iPad - it wasn’t apparent until the next year, but the original iPad wa…

Not sure I agree with the first two, as those products were so revolutionary, it's hard to ding them for some features they missed (Especially since they eventually got many of those features via software updates). Not saying they were perfect by any means, but it was a damn fine first attempt.

First gen Watch was trash and I completely regret that purchase, furthermore, I can't believe Apple even released it in that state. It was literally unusable for me, with some taps taking multiple seconds (!!!) to respond. It was unbearable.

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#214

Post by mandeepj » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 9:03 PM UTC

dmitrygr wrote: post #212

mandeepj wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> https://www.asus.com/Laptops/ZenBook-Pro-Duo-UX581GV/ Apple touch bar, done right :-)

that looked great, until i saw the reviews like "2 hours of battery life" and "This laptop cannot be charged via USB-C. It requires the included 230W power adapter." this is not a laptop. this is a portable desktop

I'm sure that can be improved in future iterations. It's a much-needed innovation in the stagnant laptop market.

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#215

Post by TeMPOraL » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 9:05 PM UTC

pitaj wrote: post #144

augustl wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never been more happy with a desktop environment than when I used i3. The sloppy window management in macOS combined with the scarce selection of laptops (of which none are really good in my opinion) has led me to try win10 as my development environment. i3-like on Windows would have been great!

You may want to check out FancyZones https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/master/src/modul...

Related, bug.n is a DWM clone written in AutoHotkey, of all the things. I used it at work a few years ago, and I was very satisfied.

https://github.com/fuhsjr00/bug.n

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#216

Post by NikolaNovak » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 9:11 PM UTC

asenna wrote: post #72

For people saying dual screen is a gimmick, have you not wanted to replicate multi-screen setup on your laptop (while traveling or when not on your desktop)? Power users have always wanted more screen real estate! I've been eyeing the Asus Zenbook Pro Duo[1] ever since they've been announced (currently using a Macbook Pro 2015). I usually carry around an Asus portable second screen for my laptop in my backpack and th…

- You'll take my dual and triple monitor setup from my home office and work-office over my cold dead body

- But... on the go? Yes, I want the biggest possible screen, but also the best possible keyboard+trackpoint. So the new Surface Neo feels less than ideal.

I am open to possibility that a breakthrough in UI will make this attractive, and/or that brand-new, unimagined-today use-cases will come up; but today, I don't see how / for what I'd use dual screen with soft keyboard:

1. When I'm consuming media, portability is key AND I can only really focus on one screen (book, show) at the time 2. When I'm creating, I need a fast, comfortable, efficient method of inputing data. Today it's keyboard+trackpoint (when on the go), and I cannot imagine a useful way to type on dual screen that doesn't also make one of the screens pointless. So for me, today, transformable tablets (with hardware detachable keyboard, the way Asus Transformer used to be) is the sweet spot.

But I'm eager to be proven wrong over the course of time. I fear this may be a Catch-22 device, if insufficient software/use-cases are available by the time hardware comes out, and it just fizzles out...

Conversely, what Asus is doing where I can have my cake and eat it too (second screen AND hardware keyboard, though it doesn't look great and no trackpoint), feels like the way to go / immediately useful / good transition device.

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#217

Post by fragmede » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 9:15 PM UTC

mav3rick wrote: post #192

dageshi wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many who do serious work on laptops lug around bluetooth keyboards + mice + laptop stands so the ergonomics aren't crippling. Adding external screens (which are generally very light) isn't a big add.

We also don't need phones. Let's carry an LTE dongle with our laptops. I am glad comments sections don't design products.

I am sad that cellular modems in portables isn't a bigger thing. It was a feature before it's time. Now that the world is far more interconnected than before, it would be more useful that it used to be.

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#218

Post by Pxtl » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 9:20 PM UTC

Aardappel wrote: post #149

Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #89

I'm liking the direction laptop makers are taking by differentiating at hardware level especially with displays, Asus has multiple dual display laptops and now Microsoft's surface lineup. With WindowsX partnership, this is going to kick off a slew of multi-display computing devices. But as a non-windows user, I'm wondering what these hardware specific Windows changes are going to do to the Linux ecosystem. I'm sure,…

Want to "innovate" in laptop screens? How about giving us our 4:3 laptop screens back? Or (drool) 5:4 ? Most content (web pages, documents, code) is longer than it is wide, so any more square ratio is going to be an improvement over these silly "movie" ratio 16:9 screens. MS's 3:2 ratio screens are an improvement, but.. we can do more! Hell, I'd LOVE a 1:1 screen on a laptop! Imagine a 15" diagonal 1:1 screen, which…

Dual-screen laptop where the second screen is above the first? Then it would be tall, but you'd have the screen split in the middle. Maybe if Samsung ever gets their foldable screen mayhem hammered out properly that could work.

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#219

Post by berti » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 9:21 PM UTC

deckar01 wrote: post #143

zokier wrote: post #31

Considering that Windows has been supporting multiple displays for what, 20 years now, it feels bit odd to make that the headline feature

Windows multi-display functionality has regressed with packet based display protocols. Turning Display Port monitors off with their power button is a nightmare. All of your windows get squished down to so tiny size and moved over to one monitor. They won't fix it, because they consider it a power user use case that should be solved by leaving everything on or turning the entire computer off. There is an entire after…

And then when you bring a KVM switch into the mix... sometimes it works well, the rest of the time it does what you described, or just gives up and decides there are no monitors until you replug them.

Re: Microsoft introduces Windows 10 X for dual-screen devices

#220

Post by devicetray0 » Wed, Oct 02, 2019, 9:23 PM UTC

NikolaNovak wrote: post #216

asenna wrote: post #72

For people saying dual screen is a gimmick, have you not wanted to replicate multi-screen setup on your laptop (while traveling or when not on your desktop)? Power users have always wanted more screen real estate! I've been eyeing the Asus Zenbook Pro Duo[1] ever since they've been announced (currently using a Macbook Pro 2015). I usually carry around an Asus portable second screen for my laptop in my backpack and th…

- You'll take my dual and triple monitor setup from my home office and work-office over my cold dead body - But... on the go? Yes, I want the biggest possible screen, but also the best possible keyboard+trackpoint. So the new Surface Neo feels less than ideal. I am open to possibility that a breakthrough in UI will make this attractive, and/or that brand-new, unimagined-today use-cases will come up; but today , I don…

I worked in tech consulting, and my colleague actually had a very thin ~23" (IIRC) portable LCD screen he somehow carried with him on planes. It had a foldable kickstand so he could set up a dual-screen on any hotseat desk in seconds. It was brilliant, and I briefly considered the same, but my backpack was already heavy enough. I've heard of folks doing this with the MBP + a iPad Pro, but idk how well that works.