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Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
41–48 of 48 posts
Re: Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
#42The pen-portrait of the nested computers was fine. I looked around a bit for a photo or a movie, but to no avail. I guess that's not the kind of news that the NYT likes to report. But I'm not a paying subscriber, so I guess I can't complain.
Re: Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
#43I just wish all devices were more like PC's. My desktop computer is a glorious, glorious device. I have millions of different bits of software for it, many operating systems, open source, proprietary, etcetera. It's all there. It really feels like my machine. If I don't want Windows, I blow it away and install Linux, BSD, Plan 9, code my own bootloader, whatever. My laptop is a bit less so (can't find the perfect for…
The Jolla smartphone ( https://jolla.com/phone/ ) is a handheld Linux computer - definitely NOT a toaster! (Here's my comment from a few weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11278620 ). Overlook the mediocre hardware, it's the software (OS and apps) that defines this phone; there's nothing else like it, anywhere. (It's made by the same engineers that developed the legendary Nokia N9.) Access via SSH from y…
Except here's the thing. All those devices are about trying to get desktop-like abilities out of something that is inherently not-desktop like.
I don't want a dock, or a touch-screen, I want multiple monitors, setup at the right height.
I don't want a textblade, or a bluetooth keyboard, as cool as they seem conceptually. Because fundamentally, a cool little portable keyboard is still, qualitatively, a shitty keyboard. I want actual full sized mechanical keyboards. Why would I ever use such a thing if i had an option?
I want a comfortable ergonomic chair, and a nice spacious desk. because I don't know about anyone else, but I swear I get headaches and muscle spams after I attempt to read much from my smartphone or laptop.
Don't get me wrong, I have a smartphone, and I have a little dell ultrabook for when I'm travelling. But I can't have my XX-buffers open in emacs on my phone, whether it be linux or not, and I would never try to turn my phone into a desktop computer, or pretend that it is comparable.
I don't have an ipad or tablet, i admit. I can't for the life of me figure out a use for them that doesn't take away features from an ultrabook while adding anything else.
I of course know why they (phones and tablets) selling so well. Because they aren't effectively consumed as computers. They are media consumption, entertainment and communication devices.
But if they ever manage to pry my desktop from my cold, dead hands, I think I might just have to weep and off myself. I don't think that's a world i want to live in. Thankfully, although its not "sexy", i think it'll be around for a while yet.
Although, try working at a corporate and asking for a powerful desktop to, you know, actually do work. This obsession with tablets/mobiles/laptops is already having a very harmful effect on my professional life, because its becoming standard to equip employees with substandard equipment, and the apple hipsters are...quite frankly...fully on board and driving that into professional spheres as well. The consultants turn up with their little mac notebooks, and its just "jesus christ..."...shakes head
/end rant
Re: Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
#44Windows laptop makers should really concentrate on fixing the simple things first, since currently they are actively trying to drive people away from their products. My last HP Spectre x360 with Windows 8.1 (and now Windows 10) was an absolute disappointment:
- it couldn't connect to my Fritzbox WLAN router (very mainstream here in Germany) unless I installed an old Intel driver from 2014, the last time this happened to me was 10 years ago when trying to install Linux on a laptop
- the touchpad is barely usable since it uses some crappy 3rd party driver (Synaptics), sometimes the touchpad simply stops recognizing gestures, and the Synaptics control panel has a "Reset" button which must be pressed in this case
- the keyboard tends to ignore the second keystroke if the same key is pressed quickly in succession
- HighDPI displays on Windows machines are useless since at least half of the tools (even Microsoft's own VC runtime installers) are upscaled and the upscaling quality is really terrible
- plus it had the usual amount of crapware preinstalled (including completely useless custom driver update and customer support tools)
My current Asus Zenbook is slightly better, but still has a crappy 3rd party touchpad driver.
With this situation, it is no wonder that people are moving away from laptops and Windows.
Re: Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Second hand server and workstation equipment is extremely cheap, high quality and powerful. Take a look at z600 and z800 workstations. I'm eyeballing getting a pair of 4.4 ghz dual core CPUs for fast single threaded compile times. They don't require any particular special heatsinks and reach nearly 5ghz with turbo boost. And that's under 600-700 dollars total for those chips. It's a great time for desktop users.
Heh, at least I'd save on my heating bill in winter. Where I live I pay about 30c/kWh. I wrote about that the other day - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11378704 I'm not sure I share your enthusiasm for fast single threaded compile times. Some basic testing on AWS showed benefits jumping from c4.xlarge all the way to 4xlarge (but not 8xlarge) and using appropriate -j parameters. I'm not sure you're IO bound at…
I pay 8! My work that i do is definitely CPU bound but ymmv. These CPUs don't consume any nor energy than is normal for the architecture and die size, which is to say its not the best today's tech has to offer but its no P4.
Re: Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
#46I just wish all devices were more like PC's. My desktop computer is a glorious, glorious device. I have millions of different bits of software for it, many operating systems, open source, proprietary, etcetera. It's all there. It really feels like my machine. If I don't want Windows, I blow it away and install Linux, BSD, Plan 9, code my own bootloader, whatever. My laptop is a bit less so (can't find the perfect for…
The Jolla smartphone ( https://jolla.com/phone/ ) is a handheld Linux computer - definitely NOT a toaster! (Here's my comment from a few weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11278620 ). Overlook the mediocre hardware, it's the software (OS and apps) that defines this phone; there's nothing else like it, anywhere. (It's made by the same engineers that developed the legendary Nokia N9.) Access via SSH from y…
I like the idea but it's still an odd compromise.
The Jorno looks like I'd be better off carrying a full size laptop. It's not about fitting in my pocket, it's about usability on the bus, train, standing up, etc.
The TextBlade is vaguely the same as far as I can tell?
I want something like the Pyra - a Blackberry keyboard - something I can hold and press with my thumbs. For a sit-down experience I have a laptop. The phone gets pulled out in other situations.
I don't want or need a touch screen at all. The BlackBerry was an excellent experience. I'm fully aware that I'm in a niche.
Re: Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Jolla smartphone ( https://jolla.com/phone/ ) is a handheld Linux computer - definitely NOT a toaster! (Here's my comment from a few weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11278620 ). Overlook the mediocre hardware, it's the software (OS and apps) that defines this phone; there's nothing else like it, anywhere. (It's made by the same engineers that developed the legendary Nokia N9.) Access via SSH from y…
I like the idea but it's still an odd compromise. The Jorno looks like I'd be better off carrying a full size laptop. It's not about fitting in my pocket, it's about usability on the bus, train, standing up, etc. The TextBlade is vaguely the same as far as I can tell? I want something like the Pyra - a Blackberry keyboard - something I can hold and press with my thumbs. For a sit-down experience I have a laptop. The…
This is possible with 'The Other Half': https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028347278/tohkbd-the-o...
Sadly, no longer available...
Re: Outshone by Smaller Screens, PCs Aim to Be Seen as Cool Again
#48I just wish all devices were more like PC's. My desktop computer is a glorious, glorious device. I have millions of different bits of software for it, many operating systems, open source, proprietary, etcetera. It's all there. It really feels like my machine. If I don't want Windows, I blow it away and install Linux, BSD, Plan 9, code my own bootloader, whatever. My laptop is a bit less so (can't find the perfect for…
As a long-term OpenPandora user, I have to say that the final release of the Pyra really excites me. Its truly the device that you describe that you want .. built to be open, by open-source enthusiasts, who just want to have a great machine.
It really is the sole point of light in a sea of darkness. Like, we can actually know the people making the hardware: this is something not achieved often in the open-source space.