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Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

pcworld.com

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Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#51

Post by matthewfcarlson »

butz wrote: post #48

I would gladly buy a PC built into decent keyboard. Considering performance of ultra portable laptops and their size, it should be a perfect fit. I would even go for an option without battery, powered by USB-C by connecting this computer to external monitor. Monitor could act as a hub, thus reducing the need for ports, although there should be ample space for all the ports on the back of the keyboard.

I've been thinking about getting a cheap Mac mini and shoving inside a custom mechanical keyboard. Basically acting as a slab top with ridiculously low power draw for the performance.

Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#52

Post by vinceguidry »

dbtc wrote: post #35
mywacaday wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung DEX works reasonably well for light office work and browsing. Haven't tried it on anything heavier.

I just need a good terminal, tmux can do the heavy lifting.

If that's really all you need, Termux on Android has you covered.

Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#53

Post by layer8 »

butz wrote: post #48

I would gladly buy a PC built into decent keyboard. Considering performance of ultra portable laptops and their size, it should be a perfect fit. I would even go for an option without battery, powered by USB-C by connecting this computer to external monitor. Monitor could act as a hub, thus reducing the need for ports, although there should be ample space for all the ports on the back of the keyboard.

I’d go for a NUC (roughly 4.5" x 4.5" x 1.5") or similar plus separate keyboard as the next best and arguably more flexible solution.

Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#54

Post by butz »

layer8 wrote: post #53
butz wrote: post #48

I would gladly buy a PC built into decent keyboard. Considering performance of ultra portable laptops and their size, it should be a perfect fit. I would even go for an option without battery, powered by USB-C by connecting this computer to external monitor. Monitor could act as a hub, thus reducing the need for ports, although there should be ample space for all the ports on the back of the keyboard.

I’d go for a NUC (roughly 4.5" x 4.5" x 1.5") or similar plus separate keyboard as the next best and arguably more flexible solution.

Unfortunately, last time I checked, Intel NUCs does not work from USB-C power and require external power brick.

Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#55

Post by theodric »

I've been doing this since December with a pair of Nreal Air glasses and alternately a MacBook and an SBC. It's okay-ish, but not great. Text rendering is sub-par requiring jacked-up font sizes, the viewport is fairly small, and if you're using the Nreal desktop for simulated multi-monitor configuration, the display jiggles a bit as the accelerometers catch up with your movements. It's sure as hell not worth the $2000 they're looking for. The SoC is old, too. Just get an 11g Framework, strip the LCD, plug a set of Nreals into a USB-C DP port, install Windows, and use the Nreal desktop. Boom: better, faster, newer, cheaper than $2000, and you can get it shipped right away.

Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#57

Post by rbanffy »

soulofmischief wrote: post #39

Fascinating. Hard to know if it's worth it at this stage due to the 1080p per-eye resolution, but the second incarnation of this product ought to be a real game-changer. Also, I noted this passage: even with a very odd prescription (one eye is near-sighted, and one far-sighted) the default corrective lenses Sightful had available worked well. I've never encountered another person with this same eye disorder... It can…

> Hard to know if it's worth it at this stage due to the 1080p per-eye resolution,

I wonder if a normal camera can be used to track head movements with a better AR set.

It'd be fun to add multiple extra screens around the main one on my laptop just by plugging in my glasses into the USB-C port.

> I've never encountered another person with this same eye disorder...

Before both my eyes went shortsighted I had it - it always felt like having one eye optimized for short distances and one for long ones, with the brain making the switch automatically like a smartphone stitches together an image using various lenses of various focal lengths.

Still having different degrees of shortsightedness (a bit on the left and almost none on the right) is mildly annoying.

Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#58

Post by rbanffy »

vinceguidry wrote: post #52
dbtc wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just need a good terminal, tmux can do the heavy lifting.

If that's really all you need, Termux on Android has you covered.

Any 8-bit microcontroller can power a terminal. That's all you need.

Re: Spacetop, a radical laptop with no screen

#59

Post by mhb »

butz wrote: post #48

I would gladly buy a PC built into decent keyboard. Considering performance of ultra portable laptops and their size, it should be a perfect fit. I would even go for an option without battery, powered by USB-C by connecting this computer to external monitor. Monitor could act as a hub, thus reducing the need for ports, although there should be ample space for all the ports on the back of the keyboard.

Thinkpad X220?
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