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Thoughts on Daylight Computer

jon.bo

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Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#81

Post by tiffanyh »

jgrahamc wrote: post #27

I have one of these and I'm just about ready to give it away. The problem is it doesn't fit a use case that I don't have better solutions for. I've found that writing on the screen makes me prefer paper; reading on the screen makes me prefer books. I wanted to like the DC-1 but every time I use it something feels off. Maybe that's partly because I don't enjoy the Android experience.

I've written about this before, but I too gave up on my Daylight - even though I truly love what they are trying to accomplish.

I found it:

- oddly heavy, the Daylight is made of all plastic (body & screen) - yet it’s heavier than an iPad Air made from metal & glass.

- handwriting lag, the input lags when I use the pen is so much that it distracts me while writing a sentence. I have to concentrate to ensure it’s keeping up with each letter I write. No such lag exists with my iPad Air.

- no setup instructions or tutorial on its unique gestures. You boot it up and have to figure out how it works and getting it on WiFi

- display resolution is much worse than I was expecting.

- when using chrome, webpages render incredibly small. I’m having to constantly zoom in. There’s a setting in chrome about “desktop mode” but it made no difference.

And I also wasn’t expecting to have to sign up for a Google account to even get Daylight OS/software updates. (Maybe I don’t but that’s what the Google App Store made it seem like).

Wish I had read this review before I had bought it. https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/20/24201356/daylight-compute...

* Note: I truly love the idea of Daylight, and I hope they succeed. But in my mind, a considerable device improvement needs to be made to realize that vision.

Until then, I’ll revert back to using my iPad Air (and now with nano-texture coming more broadly across Apple lines, Daylight is going to have that much more to overcome - because Apple is also cheaper product).

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#82

Post by bpye »

3r7j6qzi9jvnve wrote: post #12
3r7j6qzi9jvnve wrote: post #2

(not mine) was just checking what became of them and this review hit home I have no use for an android tablet like this, but as soon as they make a PC screen (either laptop or desktop) I'm pretty sure I'd buy one fast! Keep it up folks!

While I was looking up such screens, these also seem to sell "quick refresh" PC screens: https://shop.dasung.com/ Just did a quick search on HN and while it did get posted recent ones didn't get many comments, not many users perhaps? I'd be greedy and wish there was something in the middle (13 is tiny for desktop but there's no battery so it's not really laptop friendly; 25 is a bit too big for my desk), but perhaps.…

I really hope to Modos e-ink display works out - https://www.crowdsupply.com/modos-tech/modos-paper-monitor

They have their own FPGA based controller to enable much higher refresh rates and lower latency.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#83

Post by AlanYx »

zachh wrote: post #80
AlanYx wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I find that there are differences in eye strain between the regular and nanotexture displays, even in a dark room with no reflections. It's worth trying both. One interesting difference between the two that not a lot of people realize is that the light emitted by the regular screen is circularly polarized, while the nanotexture is largely non-polarized.

Can you explain more about what that means / share a link to further reading? Tried searching but couldn't find much online about the light polarization specifically, and am interested in the nanotexture for reducing eye strain.

There's some evidence that CPL emissive screens cause less eyestrain than linearly polarized emissive screens (e.g., https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9010255), although the evidence there is not wildly strong. If you have a pair of RealD 3-D glasses (CPL filters) and look at a nanotexture iPad, you'll see that the nanotex layer decoheres the polarization of the underlying display, which is more like how normal (reflective) paper behaves.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#84

Post by adolph »

tiffanyh wrote: post #81
jgrahamc wrote: post #27

I have one of these and I'm just about ready to give it away. The problem is it doesn't fit a use case that I don't have better solutions for. I've found that writing on the screen makes me prefer paper; reading on the screen makes me prefer books. I wanted to like the DC-1 but every time I use it something feels off. Maybe that's partly because I don't enjoy the Android experience.

I've written about this before, but I too gave up on my Daylight - even though I truly love what they are trying to accomplish. I found it: - oddly heavy, the Daylight is made of all plastic (body & screen) - yet it’s heavier than an iPad Air made from metal & glass. - handwriting lag, the input lags when I use the pen is so much that it distracts me while writing a sentence. I have to concentrate to ensure it’s keep…

From theverge review:

the fact that I can slide my fingernail between the display and the case and literally pry the thing apart

As long as it doesn't RUD, opening with no tools seems like a feature but the review reads like its a bug.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#85

Post by tiffanyh »

adolph wrote: post #84
tiffanyh wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've written about this before, but I too gave up on my Daylight - even though I truly love what they are trying to accomplish. I found it: - oddly heavy, the Daylight is made of all plastic (body & screen) - yet it’s heavier than an iPad Air made from metal & glass. - handwriting lag, the input lags when I use the pen is so much that it distracts me while writing a sentence. I have to concentrate to ensure it’s keep…

From theverge review: the fact that I can slide my fingernail between the display and the case and literally pry the thing apart As long as it doesn't RUD, opening with no tools seems like a feature but the review reads like its a bug.

If the manufacture intends for you to separate the display from case, then it's a feature.

If it's not intended, it's a fit & finish issue.

I imagine it's not intended.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#86

Post by G8RZMPKhX »

I've had a DC-1 for several months now. My biggest fear is that the company won't make a second version. I think I can truthfully say this is the one digital device I've actually been excited to own!

I have two primary usecases - reading on the train and taking notes in meetings. On the first - being a full Android, I can use apps or a web browser, and it's extremely responsive and highly legible. On the notetaking side - hands down, the best experience I've had with a digital product - for comparison, I've got a Remarkable 2 tablet sitting on my desk, and by comparison, remarkable's writing delay is noticeably uncomfortable.

I wish they had an official cover (I've found an acceptable generic on amazon). For the retro-computing feel, there's definitely something surreal in watching a B&W movie on a B&W device.

I honestly don't miss the color spectrum, so unless you're doing some work that actually requires color, I would definitely recommend this device. Somehow, it gets the "less distraction" thing right. And the software support will improve with time.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#87

Post by WillAdams »

layer8 wrote: post #59
3r7j6qzi9jvnve wrote: post #2

(not mine) was just checking what became of them and this review hit home I have no use for an android tablet like this, but as soon as they make a PC screen (either laptop or desktop) I'm pretty sure I'd buy one fast! Keep it up folks!

There is https://eazeye.com/ .

If it were some more reasonable spec than 24" 1920 x 1080 I would be far more interested.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#89

Post by WillAdams »

Certified wrote: post #44

Whatever happened to the transflective lcds that were popular in carputers in the 2000s? They seem to be a perfect fit for a tablet and I have been puzzled that no one has jumped on using them in one. from the transflective wikipedia page [1] "A transflective liquid-crystal display is a liquid-crystal display (LCD) with an optical layer that reflects and transmits light (transflective is a portmanteau of transmissive…

They don't showroom well, so were discontinued outside of nautical usage and special-purpose outdoor devices.

Unfortunate, my Stylistic Fujitsu ST-4110 w/ transflective display was one of my favourite devices ever.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#90

Post by officeplant »

spondyl wrote: post #60

I really enjoy my DC-1 but after a quick skim, I didn't notice any mention of the screen's ability to scratch. I took mine in a backpack up to my parents place and apparently something lightly caused a scratch on the screen so now I just have a permanent little gouge. Thankfully I've learned to ignore it over time but yeah, don't assume it's as indestructible as a lot of screens. The DC-1 does/did ship with a padded…

Vast majority of e-ink devices have little to no scratch resistance and need covers. Are people so used to gorilla glass that they forget other displays exist now?

A rare exception is the BigME E-ink phones but those have glossy glass over the screens and a matte screen protector to combat the gloss.

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