Dual Screen/Display Laptop

DrFishstik writes "A friend of mine sent me a link to his uncle's startup, featuring dual screen laptops. Literally, two LCDs! It is a really interesting design, and in (as far as I know) the late beta stages. Could be a real boon for video developers or web designers on the go down the road..."

Comments

Cool

[Kajakske]

Now they can actually bring out electronic books which you can read in your bed. You even have the same lay-out (2 pages at once) ...

However, you'd have to hold it. For some uses this is better, but for others, the conventional positioning is much easier.

We'll see what it gives, I guess.

Re:Cool

[l33t j03]

Yeah, I'm sure it is an electronic book that you want to read in bed.

On second thought, maybe it isn't. While you are up there in the top bunk, curled up under a Spongebob Squarepants comforter, lying on top of rubberized sheets, just having quaffed down your nightly mug of warm milk, I bet it ain't a book you prefer. I'm thinking more along the lines of a hastily downloaded pirated MPEG'd full length clip of some basement dwelling pre-pubescent Japanese guy's wet dream. That's right: I think you'll be looking at anime porn.

The wank off muse of pretty much the entire geek population. Certainly just the stuff for a guy who would post some "now they can come out with..." crap in response to yet another in a line of a hundred thousand Slashdot vaporware articles. You'll be tucked down under the covers with a dual screen laptop, tatters of Christmas wrap still stuck on the back, furiously massaging your cock while anatomically impossible tightly clothed warrior-whores blit back and forth across your LCD screen in all their sprawling glory.

Go ahead, admit it. Nearly everyone else here will be doing the same thing. And you'll be doing it with Windows.

Re:Cool

[moonbender]

Yes, they have the same layout. And in fact there already is a dedicated eBook reading device (ie. without the general capabilities of a laptop) with the same layout. However, I fail to see how this book-style layout is actually appropriate for reading an ebook - it doesn't seem to give any advantage over a single "page". (This might be different for other purposes, though.)

Re:Cool

[Anonymous Coward]

You also dont need a booklamp to read while your spouse is asleep.

Re:Cool

[ackthpt]

Now they can actually bring out electronic books which you can read in your bed.

I suggest trying to read something on a conventional laptop, in bed, before speculating what a boon this would be. I find laptops to be difficult at best for reading. Try a palm-size computer. Even my ultra-slim Sony VAIO comes in at 2 pounds and generates considerable heat.

I worry about cooking the CPU when resting it on insulative materials, like a comforter. In the summer I occasionally receive a mild burn if I set it on my knees while wearing shorts.

Further, it's unwieldy if you shift position as often as I do, usually I read on my side or back, and a 4 oz. paperback or magazine still works best. Further, it doesn't require batteries. :o)

For dual screens, it's great for development takes place on one and preview uses the other screen. Probably good for demoing where control requires one screen and display on the other.

Re:Cool

[Anonymous Coward]

Instead of the laptop in bed wanking off to anime porn, I'd rather just fuck the hell out of the chick in the pictures on dual screen website.

Re:Cool

[Anonymous Coward]

So thats what you call your "hand". I though it was Rosie.

Re:Cool

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, if you've sprained a knee and need to keep it warm, surfing the web while resting the laptop on the knee cures boredom and doctor's advice..

Slashdotting in progress

[Anonymous Coward]

Posted as AC 'cause I have plenty of karma. Hope someone sees this, useless as it is:

Welcome to Estari's 2-VU(TM) Dual Screen Computer

Estari's new 2-VU(TM) dual-screen mobile computer will revolutionize the computing world. With Estari's 2-VU(TM) - a sophisticated portable computer that bridges the gap between books and today's desktop - professionals in every field can carry all their files and documents plus their entire reference library, all in one hand. The 2-VU(TM) comes fully loaded with Estari's powerful FileScout(TM) document management software tools running crisply and smoothly on Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

"Your device is awesome." --David Zotter, Director of Developing Technologies,
NOP World (a United Business Media company), August 21, 2002

Click Image to Enlarge
Click here for Large TIFF image
Click Image to Enlarge
Click here for Large TIFF image

Click Here to Download the Estari Product Flyer & Spec Sheet (Win-Zipped File of the PDF)

2-VU packs the power of a computer with the simplicity of a book:

Legal Professionals can access resource materials (in any file format) from a device so small it can be tucked under one arm....and get updated information automatically. The attorney who controls the "paperwork" controls the case. Lawyers need intuitive quick access to documents, reference materials, and multimedia files. Estari's 2-VU(TM) provides all this and more.

Students and Academics can search for and use all of their information from one location. Whether they're working with textbooks or formerly "out of print" classics, sound, video or spreadsheets, the 2-VU(TM) can do it all.

Medical/Research Professionals need portability without sacrificing quality. The 2-VU(TM) provides the ability to view images and x-rays on one screen while reading documents or other images on the other. The 2-VU(TM) allows for the direct comparison of documents and images.

Engineers need access to information - both in the office and in the field. The 2-VU(TM) offers the capability to search across multiple file formats - including CAD drawings - and view them in full screen right next to other files without sacrificing readability. The 2-VU(TM) combines the sophistication of an intuitive dual-screen computer with robust information management tools, all developed by Estari.

Estari, Inc. is looking for accredited investors. If you would like more info about Estari's exciting cutting-edge, and high-tech ventures, putting amazing products within reach of the average consumer, then click here.

LATEST ESTARI NEWS RELEASES
updated 7.21.02

November 12, 2002: Estari's 2-VU at COMDEX 2003 in Las Vegas

August 15, 2002: Estari to License Phoenix FirstWare(TM) and FirstBIOS(TM) for Its New 2-VU(TM) Dual-Screen Laptop; Leader in Digital Document Management Software to Rely on Phoenix FirstWare On-Board Recovery for Its Innovative Wireless Device

April 2, 2002: Pennsylvania Firm to Launch Dual-Screen Laptop

LATEST ESTARI REVIEWS...
updated 7.8.02

The New York Times, April 4, 2002

"Unlike most early electronic books, or tablets, the 2-VU allows users to view two full-page documents simultaneously. Users can page through two books at once, or take notes on one screen while paging through a book on the other. A full-scale touch-sensitive keyboard appears on either screen for traditional character entry."

Information Week, May 2, 2002

"Not only are two heads better than one, but Estari hopes two screens are, too. By year's end, the document management software provided will ship a dual-screen notebook call 2-VU. It will have two 15-inch digital screens and run Windows XP and Estari document management apps. Users can now view two full-page documents simultaneously and write on one while reading the other."

IT Toolbox Business Intelligence News, April 3, 2002

"Digital document management solutions provider Estari Inc. has unveiled a new product line. The 2-VU product line will consist of an e-book, handheld, laptop and portable desktop models. The laptop model will feature two 15-inch screens that are intended to allow the user to read or work in the format of a traditional book."

TwoMobile.com, May 6, 2002

Estari Inc., a leader in providing digital document management solution software, will bring to market the patented dual-screen laptop in the fourth quarter of 2002. Estari's 2-VU product line will include an eBook, handheld, laptop and portable desktop model."

Re:Slashdotting in progress

[Anonymous Coward]

Legal Professionals can access resource materials (in any file format) from a device so small it can be tucked under one arm

they also sell potatoe sacks:
Farming Professionals can access resource vegetables from a container so small it can be tucked under one arm.

Re:Slashdotting in progress

[Anonymous Coward]

Seems they could have used a dual ..er .. mirror site. ;-)

Re:Slashdotting in progress

[PyroMosh]

Posted as AC 'cause I have plenty of karma.

Um, that's not what the Karma system is for. It's not for *your* benefit, it's for slashdot's.

When you gain Karma, you get your nifty +1 posting bonus. This is because you have posted what the masses have deemed "good" and they don't mind hearing from you. When you get modded down, the reverse is true.

If you have the karma, use it. That's why it was given to you. Unless you know what you have to say is unimportant, and would be an abuse of the +1, or just not important enough to use it.

KARMA IS NOT FOR YOUR BENEFIT. If you thought this was useful info, then post as non AC, with your +1 bonus. That way more people see it.

The only real reason I can think of off the top of my head to post as AC is if you don't want to be identified, or linked to your post. In other words to protect your anonymity. It also alows casual users who haven't created an account to post in the forum, thereby getting more posts from non-core readers.

This is off topic, so I hope it gets modded as such. I just hope the person who posted it sees it, and anyone else who thinks like him / her.

Remember kids, the mod system is all a basis for the filtering system, which unless you're browsing at -1, you do use. That's why it's here, to bring the gold to the top and to filter out the garbage.

Ouch. That was fast.

[DavittJPotter]

One comment and it's already unavailable... How about "Dual Web Servers for Load Balancing"?

Pointless

[Anonymous Coward]

The whole point of a laptop is protability and a small size. Two screens completely defeats this purpose. Sorry, but your friend's uncle is destined for dot bomb status.

Re:Pointless

[carlos_benj]

I'm not sure what 'protability' is, but this would be just as portable as a laptop because it's basically two laptop sized screens that fold together. Unless your laptop has an inspector gadget keyboard and screen that folds multiple times (with cartoon sound effects?) and slips into your pocket you have not made a valid point.

Re:Pointless

[Anonymous Coward]

No, this product is destined to failure.

Re:Pointless

[carlos_benj]

That may be true, but not for the reasons stated.

Re:Pointless

[OpenSourceRulez]

I have to agree that the size issue is not going to kill this. It may fail, but who is to say they will. Man I hate people who post negatively as ACs, they can't get bad Karma.

Re:Pointless

[Anonymous Coward]

Your user name invalidates any point you may have had. Open source does not, in fact, rule.

smoke and flames

[Alien54]

I bet the kid's uncle is real happy about now, with his web server smoking and getting ready to burst into flames and all.

Slashdot strikes again

Re:smoke and flames

[Daniel Dvorkin]

I bet the kid's uncle is real happy about now, with his web server smoking and getting ready to burst into flames and all.

Yeah, no shit. "Hey, Uncle Joe, I told my friend about your business and he posted it on Slashdot! You should be getting tons of interest now!"

"Um, gee, kid, thanks ... I think ..."

Re:smoke and flames

[HerringFlavoredFowl]

You really think it was the kid and not the uncle that posted? Smells like someone in Estari's marketing department ...

Sweet!

[rczyzewski]

This would be great for business use or educational use when researching. I'm amazed no one came up with this before.

Go-go gadget computer book

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, wait ... that was Penny's computer book. Anyway, it looks very cool.

The blonde in the pictures looks really hot, too. :-)

UGH...

[Anonymous Coward]

I am so not going back to that website after it attempted to install some comet cursor rubbish. Spyware, stay away.

Re:UGH...

[prichardson]

I am so not going back to that website after it attempted to install some comet cursor rubbish. Spyware, stay away.

I know what your problem is, you're using Windoze and Internet Exploder. See, I use a nice *nix based OS running a derivitave of the Mozilla Project. Sometimes it's nice to have the uincommon, you don't see hackers desperately trying to find all those Chimera holes.

Re:UGH...

[Kajakske]

You know, you can just click 'no' when asked to install, even in windows ...

I want one

[fozzy(pro)]

So like this is the best of the previous dual screen latops mentioned here and a tablet. Imagine having a slide of what you are discussing on one side notes on the other...genuine notebook style. Would help me alot in school and work. Also much better nt lugging many notebooks in snow.

Really an improvement?

[thing_from_space]

This doesn't look like that much more of screen space that a true dual screen set-up would provide. I just looks like they're trying to cater to those with desktop dual screen setups without really providing what it's implying.

And why do the images on the front page say "click for larger TIFF images" when they bring up JPGs. Sounds like some dual screen elitist crap.

Re:Really an improvement?

[carlos_benj]

And why do the images on the front page say "click for larger TIFF images" when they bring up JPGs. Sounds like some dual screen elitist crap.

The images (which don't say anything) have a caption that says, 'Click Image to Enlarge'. Clicking the image does indeed give a larger .jpg but clicking on the link below the caption, which says, 'Click here for Large TIFF image' gives a .tif image.

Re:Really an improvement?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe because you're an idiot, and it says click image to enlarge. Under that it says "Click here for Large TIFF image".. where, holy fucking shit, if you click where it says "Click here" you get a TIFF image. Or at least, you should unless it gets slashdotted. .tif extension and all.

Re:Really an improvement?

[Anonymous Coward]

And why do the images on the front page say "click for larger TIFF images" when they bring up JPGs. Sounds like some dual screen elitist crap.

I think they just assumed you'd be able to read to figure out that clicking the TIFF link actually loads a TIFF while the Click to Enlarge link only show a large JPEG. I think it is safe to say that their target sales audience is 100% literate. Perhaps this is elitist by your standards.

Re:Really an improvement?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it is safe to say that their target sales audience is 100% literate. Perhaps this is elitist by your standards.

Not elitist, just assuming too much. But then, maybe the site builder hadn't expected slahdot to drop in.

Dual Head Pron

[Anonymous Coward]

Just what the doctor ordered.

Be the envy of your classmates with twice the pr0n.

Re:Dual Head Pron

[SoupIsGoodFood_42]

Now you'll be shaking two heads...

Google Cache Link

[lucifuge31337]

http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:GmJgBGbHXCsC: dualscreen.com/+Estari%E2%80%99s+2-VU%E2%84%A2+Dua l+Screen+Computer&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Re:Google Cache Link

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank god again for google.

I wonder when the the slashdot readership will become so great that we have to consult the google cache?

Here's one already available

[edgarde]

The Xentex Voyager is already available as far as I know. I covet the Linux version they claim they're developing drivers for. $5000 tho.

Re:Here's one already available

[SirSlud]

Dude, putting that thing away is origami!

There's an important distinction here. This dual LCD puppy (its very cool, maybe somebody else has made one before) is the closest thing, interface wise, to an electronic book as I've seen.

Re:Here's one already available

[alumshubby]

Dual-page display on a laptop with a comfortably-sized keyboard? This thing is a technical writer's wet dream.

Re:Here's one already available

[mcgroarty]

The Xentex Voyager doesn't make all that much sense to me.

It has two 1024x768 displays, rotated sideways in software. Both the rotation and the screen spanning impact speed severely. The result is a1536x1024 display with a fat black bar down the middle. That's a lower effective resolution than the 1600x1200 UXGA models available at less than half its price.

Re:Here's one already available

[LoudMusic]

All they've done there is make a big laptop with a bar down the middle of the screen. What's the good in that!?! Why not just have a single big ass screen? Dell, Apple, Gateway, even AlienWare ... they've all already made such devices, and they're not $5000. I haven't been able to see the laptop featured by this article, but surely it's better than this thing.

Re:Here's one already available

[swillden]

This dual LCD puppy (its very cool, maybe somebody else has made one before) is the closest thing, interface wise, to an electronic book as I've seen.

Yes, there have been others, the only difference is that the others I've seen run a proprietary OS and can only be books. Without a keyboard, it's not clear how much can be done with this device.

However, I see this attitude about bookiness and dual pages all the time, and it bugs me. Why is it that people seem to think that having two pages makes an electronic device more like a book? The fact that you tend to look at two pages at a time with paper books is an artifact of their construction and the fact that it's efficient to print on both sides of each piece of paper, not because there's any inherent advantage to seeing two pages at a time.

In fact, for an e-book used to read novels, two-page displays have a signnificant disadvantage: You need two hands to hold them. A smaller, single-screen device can be held with one hand. Sure, you only have to "turn" the pages half as often with a two-screen device, but with, for example, the Gemstar or Rocket e-books(*), turning the page takes just a twitch of the thumb on the hand holding the book.

With reference materials, I can see an advantage to dual-screen books: the ability to display pages from different parts of a document or even different documents, to correlate their contents. However, being limited to displaying only two such pages is a problem: how many of you have ever sat on the floor surrounded by five opened textbooks, with assorted ad-hoc bookmarks marking several pages within each? Very useful. I suppose the effect could be approximated more compactly by an electronic device with the ability to define a number of tabs or buttons that jump instantly to a particular location in a particular document. If you have that, though, the advantage of dual screens mostly evaporates.

Further, a dual-screen device is going to be heavier, have more moveable (and breakable!) parts, be more awkward in tight spaces and generall more of a pain to work with.

Nope, even though paper books show two pages at a time, electronic books gain nothing and lose much by trying to mimic paper too closely.

(*) I own two Rocket e-Books. The first I got three years ago and have used so heavily that I beat the poor thing nearly to death, so a few weeks ago I acquired another, used, device that is in good condition. The ability to read anytime, anywhere -- in the dark, while exercising, while eating, at the beach, in the shower, etc., -- coupled with the ability to carry a half dozen novels at all times in one compact package is simply fantastic, and far superior to paper in nearly every respect. The only disadvantages I've found are: (1) no reading during takeoff and landing, which is pure silliness, but what can you do? and (2) extended trips to locations without power. The battery will last for several days, but on a week-long backpacking trip, for example, the battery would die. Not that I've taken any such trips; getting babysitters for that long is essentially impossible.

Re:Here's one already available

[dipipanone]

That's a big fat heavy ugly motherfucker. I'd rather have my Tibook anyday. The screen may not be quite so big, but it's big enough and Linux isn't a problem.

Re:Here's one already available

[palmpunk]

" ...in the dark, while exercising, while eating, at the beach, in the shower, etc..."

Wow, I never imagined reading a book in the shower, or even taking my $500 palm in there with me.

This raises the question: Is this dual LCD waterproof?

Re:Here's one already available

[swillden]

Wow, I never imagined reading a book in the shower, or even taking my $500 palm in there with me.

One word: Ziploc

Re:Here's one already available

[SirSlud]

Despite a joystick being repeatedly proven to offer better control to the driver, we still drive cars with steering wheels. Why? Because thats what humans are used to.

Books are indeed subject to the physical and mechanical contraints on their manufacture. But now people are used to books. They like books. They know how they work. They seem familliar.

Thus, any limitations of the physical manifestation of a 'book' are superceded by the familliarity people have with them. Put simply, adoption of technology often heavily depends on how small a learning curve there is to become familiar with said new technology. Its in the ebook industry's interest to get people using ebooks (using a computer similar to a regular book), and then improving on the design over time rather rather than simply trying to develop a technology who places its chances on success soley on progressive engineering rather than familiarity of interface/design.

Why do you think segways get made so much fun of? Why do you think they called it the 'horseless carrige'? New technology needs to harken to the technology its meant to replace or it simply doesn't often succeed.

Re:Here's one already available

[swillden]

So what?

If you're moving from paper to an electronic device, you have to get past the familiarity issue, because no electronic device will be just like paper. Given that you're choosing to learn something new, why saddle yourself with a great deal of annoyance just to retain one small measure of similarity?

In this case, I think it's *not* in the ebook industry's best interest to try to entice people with dual-page books. Why? Becuase they're a pain in the neck! They're better off giving people something that's a little more different but much more usable. Otherwise, they're likely to decide that there just aren't enough benefits to ebooks to outweigh the disadvantages

Re:Here's one already available

[sonamchauhan]

> It has two 1024x768 displays, rotated sideways in software.

Does the site say the display is rotated in software? That's surprising - hardware rotation is available in modern graphics chips.

Using two small screens is cheaper than a single large resolution screen. I think the voyager is grossly overpriced due to its novelty value. Most US$1500 laptops today already can drive a secondary display (thanks to ATI and Nvidia dual-head graphics). If you had access to the LVDS output of the second display (or even just the VGA output), you could tack another LCD screen on for around US$300 + engineering costs.

How much do those-I mean that-cost?

[Anonymous Coward]

How much is it for an advertisement on Slashdot?

redux

[Anonymous Coward]

Main Entry: redux
Pronunciation: (")rE-'d&ks, 'rE-"
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin, returning, from reducere to lead back
Date: 1873
: brought back -- used postpositively

Improvement?

[product byproduct]

Glue 2 laptops together and network them. Not only do you have a dual screen, but you also have a beowulf cluster.

Yeah dual screen, no not laptop

[lucifuge31337]

From the pictures, it sure looks like it has two screen, but I don't see a keyboard. So is looks like an even more niche version of the already too niche market tablet PC.

Finally!

[Bowie J. Poag]

Finally! A laptop with extra GAY!!! :)

Cheers,

dang...

[Shymon]

well i had money i left over for christmas. yet another toy i must somehow justify getting.

how can a free news source indirectly end up taking all my free cash?

Re:dang...

[Shymon]

Bah, so many spelling errors and so little time. :p

My lap top already does dual screen

[Anonymous Coward]

My laptop has a blue port at the back to plug in a second display.

Re:My lap top already does dual screen

[jridley]

I have a Dell 8200 with a GeForce 4 video card; it implements the TV out as dualhead - it's pretty nice, I can play the kids a movie on the TV and continue to work/surf on the main display.

Re:My lap top already does dual screen

[glesga_kiss]

As long as you don't run Win2k, that's fine. For some reason, MS completely broke laptop dual-heading under that OS. Works fine with two discreet graphics cards in a desktop apparently.

Ah well, X2VNC is much better anyway, sure you need two machines, but one can be *nix and you get shared keyboard/mouse between the two displays and even better; cut & paste between them.

And it's free. Highly recommended if you work with several machines and find yourself using the wrong mouse now and again...

compares to "Flip-Pad Voyager: Dual-screen Laptop"

[warnerpr]

Posted Friday Jun 28. Although the new one looks nicer.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/28/1610 24 7&mode=thread&tid=137

hmm.... enimity

[tanveer1979]

I think your friend does not like his uncle very much, a good way to take revenge.. slashdot the startup to the dot com heaven.... my god.. people can be paranoid ;-)

Re:hmm.... enimity

[glesga_kiss]

Personally, if I was running a tech start up, being slashdotted could be the best thing to ever happen. Lot's of free publicity in your target market is a Good Thing (tm). Hell, you can even read the comments for some of the best feedback you will ever get, from people who generally know what they are talking about.

You can't buy a service like this anywhere!

Penny's "computer book"

[Glytch]

Anyone else remember Inspector Gadget? As soon as I saw pictures of this, it's what I immediately thought of. Looks interesting. If someone could write a version of Ghostview that could display a page on each screen, it would be a nice e-book reader.

Re:Penny's "computer book"

[nounderscores]

Warning! Contains metal cutting laser!

Not recommended for child geniuses or talking dogs under 3 years old.

e-book?

[snitty]

This seems fairly reminiscent of the e-book which flopped horribly, and with no keyboard in dual screen mode (unless you cary one around) I don't see how this will be useful for web designers, or for that matter, anyone who types code.

The next step...

[badansible]

...Dual processor, dual screen, with extra mouse and keyboard... and genuinely detachable! Given that the price of a notebook is almost all the price of its LCD screen, I don't see this as very exciting. Why don't you simply buy two small laptops and an ethernet cable? I'll bet it will be cheaper.

someone did (Was: Sweet)

[MURL]

Someone did come up with this before.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/28/1610 24 7&mode=thread&tid=137

Uncle Estari?

[eingram]

An interesting feature would be turn it sideways (so it looks like a traditional laptop) and one screen displays an on-screen keyboard so you could at least type somewhat normal.

You could almost pull it off with Windows 2000/XP on-screen keyboard, but it's too small and doesn't rotate 90 degrees.

Re:Uncle Estari?

[eingram]

Well now that the page kinda loads (at least for me), I can see that it has an on-screen keyboard, but I don't know if it's a custom application or not. So nevermind. ;P

Mobile web developers

[burntoutjoy]

hehe, web developers on the move. Am i the only one who finds that a shade strange? Video producers, yes. Sound engineers, certainly. Web developers? Hmmmm. If you are web developer who works on the move, please reply and prove me wrong!

Re:Mobile web developers

[Kajakske]

It's easy when you have to show a (pre) design to a client. However, normal portables do that too, so no reason to buy this yet.

But ANY portable comes in handy for a webdesigner, believe me. You don't want to show your website developed for 800x600 screens on some clients computer which can only handle 640x480, been there, done that.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't want to show your website developed for 800x600 screens on some clients computer which can only handle 640x480, been there, done that.

If your design was developed with any minimum (or fixed) size in mind, it sucks in the first place. Better leave your laptop at home and prove that it will work on the client's own machine, or else make sure he pays in advance and your phone number is unlisted.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Mignon]

your website developed for 800x600 screens

Granted I don't design web pages (I'm a programmer), but am I the only one here who thinks this is just wrong to design for a particular screen resolution?

Re:Mobile web developers

[Kajakske]

Sure, ... But you have to set a minimum, which in my case is 800x600 (99% of the internet users are either on it or above it :p).
You just can't get any content on 640x480. It still worked on his PC, no doubt, but he saw like only the menu + very little content, for more he had to scroll down enourmously.

But yeah, bigger resulotions will just show more without scrolling, I will never make sites fixed on 800px width (unless the client wants it :p).

Re:Mobile web developers

[Anonymous Coward]

A minimum size is _still_ wrong.

My screen is set to 1600*1024 (23" widescreen monitor), but I never ever have any window maximized, and too many websites misbehave in the size I keep my browser window.

What pisses me off even more than pages developed for any size at all, is those idiot's pages that decide for you that you want to see them full screen, whatever resolution you're using, and then fill two thirds of my display with white or black space.

Re:Mobile web developers

[zbuffered]

What pisses me off even more than pages developed for any size at all, is those idiot's pages that decide for you that you want to see them full screen

That used to piss me off too, but then I fixed it.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Mignon]

99% of the internet users are either on it or above it

I guess it sucks when the client is in that other 1%, eh? My favorite in a related category would have to be the Netscape 4.77 preferences dialog, which was bigger than 640x480, or at least so big that the buttons hung below the visible area, and not resizable.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Anonvmous Coward]

"Granted I don't design web pages (I'm a programmer), but am I the only one here who thinks this is just wrong to design for a particular screen resolution?"

As a programmer, you should understand the value of making sure the user doesn't have to jump through too many hoops. If your user has to scroll around the page to get at the info he/she wants, then you've introduced a UI problem.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Mignon]

If your user has to scroll around the page ... then you've introduced a UI problem

That's exactly what I'm talking about - I can't stand web pages that make assumptions about the browser window width and have a horizontal scroll bar - often at all but very large window sizes (didn't this come up again and again in the discussion of the Top Ten Web-Design Mistakes of 2002 article?)

To me, one of the great things about HTML is that it's a markup language, not a layout language. Hence, browswers will automatically word-wrap basic HTML. However, I appreciate the problem of web designers who are saddled with this legacy when they're trying to implement layout on top of a language that doesn't really support it except through brutish hacks like 1x1 invisible images and fixed-width tables.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Anonvmous Coward]

" I can't stand web pages that make assumptions about the browser window width and have a horizontal scroll bar..."

As a web designer, one of the things I liked about Flash was that it was rescalable. It even did an anti-aliasing pass if your computer was fast enough. I had hopes that people would design their sites with it so that they could choose their formatting, but it'd work in any sized window.

Pity they felt they needed to add intros to their site with it instead.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Anonymous Coward]

So your definition of 'web designer' is: One who must bring their own computer to a client's location in order to demo a website.

Sounds about right.

It is a mistake to assume that a web user has a grapical client of any resolution, or at all.

The web needs content, not developers.

Re:Mobile web developers

[Kajakske]

Hmmm, yeah ... He was ...

And me like: "Hey, why don't you increase that resolution ?"
"Hmm, how do I do that ?"
"Let me do it ..."
*Opens display properties*
*Notices that 640 is the actual maximum*
"Euh, I think you need to upgrade" :-)

Been there, built my own...

[Frogmanalien]

Sorry guys and gals, but I've already been here and do all that. Had two laptops rigged together, with both display inwards, but used a smaller laptop with keyboard as one side of the book (see ASCII style illustration)... Words surprisingly well, but weighs too much. It's not new tech, but if the interface should not be a standard desktop one but a seriously enhanced system to allow better multi-tasking... the hardware's cool, but the software will make/break it. ___ ___ | || | | || | |key|| | |___||___| Conclusion: Niche Only! Most people would like to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch - Robert Orben

Creates a better possibiliy for ...

[Gyan]

a virtual menage-a-trois for the sex-starved geeks.

Re:Creates a better possibiliy for ...

[Anonymous Coward]

For the 1/3rd the price of this dual screen tablet pc, you could fly to las vegas, and have a real threesome.

And its legal!

Slashdot - where ads are free...

[WIAKywbfatw]

A friend of mine sent me a link to his uncle's startup...

Translation: "Go look there and buy those puppies! Buy two! Buy as many as you can! Cos when my friend's uncle sees the amount of sales I've generated for him he's gonna have to give me a couple of these to play with and put me on the payroll too! Sweet!"

(Or, alternatively, he might just get pissed at you for /.ing his server.)

Seriously, I appreciate that this is /., where editors fall for even the most obvious of hoaxes but would it be asking too much if someone was to tone down the number of free ads/informercials we see disguised as genuine news stories? This isn't even a shipping product yet! It's still in development!

OK, it's the holidays and I've had more than I usually would have to drink in the last couple of days but would it really kill the /. editors to edit?

Re:Slashdot - where ads are free...

[Anonymous Coward]

A friend of mine sent me a link to his uncle's startup...

I wonder if this guy is his own mother's brother and considers himself his best friend.
Doesn't that approximately fit most spammers?

Re:Slashdot - where ads are free...

[Anonvmous Coward]

"Seriously, I appreciate that this is /., where editors fall for even the most obvious of hoaxes but would it be asking too much if someone was to tone down the number of free ads/informercials we see disguised as genuine news stories? This isn't even a shipping product yet! It's still in development!"

How can it be a free ad if it's still in development? Wouldn't that be called news at that point? heh

I mean seriously, who cares if it's a free ad? If it's cool and it's interesting, let us worry about whether or not we want to buy one.

Re:Slashdot - where ads are free...

[TheAntiCrust]

Developing technology takes money. In order to make money, you have to sell the technology you develop (at least with Hardware). If someone is going to show you something new in technology, someone is going to be selling it. So ANY story about a technology product would probably include a link to the manufacturer or retailer. Do you not want Slashdot to do any technology/hardware stories? This isnt a commercial... this is a new product. So new that only the developer page probably has anything on it. Think before you go with your knee jerk reaction of "They are trying to sell me things against my will! EVIL EVIL slashdot! They trixt us! Evil! FALSE slashdot!!!"

Keyboards no longer come as standard?

[GC]

It's strange to see that manufacturers now believe that you don't need a keyboard on your notebook PCs.

Does it feature a remote keyboard?
Am I expected to carry around a USB keyboard?
Does this thing have super-standard, alien quality speech recognition?

It's fine to see a blonde sitting at a desk playing with a stylus, but the mojority of work still requires a keyboard these days.

Re:Keyboards no longer come as standard?

[nounderscores]

I guess that if you rotate the device 90 degrees, so one screen is lying flat on the table, you could have the "onscreen" keyboard be where you would expect a normal laptop keyboard to be.

Or if you were an artist, you could have a colour picker where you would expect an oil pallet to be.

Imagine being able to switch from querty to devorak at a software toggle, *and have all the little letters on the keyboard change automatically!* yay

or not. maybe the best use of rotating the thing 90 degrees would be to pop up custom arcade controllers on demand, or startrek style "follow my finger" sliding bar controls.

Re:Keyboards no longer come as standard?

[Urchlay]

Yeah, all that sounds 1337 and all, but have you ever actually tried to use such things to do more than casual websurfing or similar?

Even if you make the bottom screen touch-sensitive so you can `type' on it, it would be a pain in the ass (and the fingers) to type even so much as this short /. post on.

Besides, as other posters point out, what's the point in having dual displays, if one of them is just going to be used to display a fake keyboard or arcade controls or whatever?

(BTW, speaking as one who plays emulated arcade games on a PC, I need buttons I can bang on when playing Galaga or Gyruss, just like in the arcade. What sort of LCD panel could take that abuse?)

This thing looks like a misguided attempt to impose a familiar metaphor (2 pages side-by-side like a regular paper book) on a new medium, where it doesn't fit at all. I can't see any benefit at all in using this even as a book reader that displays 2 pages.

On the other hand, having 2 displays *and* a keyboard can be amazingly useful. I bet if you were willing to learn to use a Twiddler (one-handed chording keyboard) this thing would be usable. Unfortunately, the Twiddler only comes in one size, and some of us have big hands...

Re:Keyboards no longer come as standard?

[Suidae]

I wonder how important tactile feedback is for the user? It seems very important to most of us, but we've been typing that way for years or decades. Would someone who never learned a standard keyboard think that an lcd keyboard with no tactile feedback was as easy to use as a regular keyboard?

Re:Keyboards no longer come as standard?

[Elwood P Dowd]

I've never seen a touchscreen that could detect multiple simultaneous touches in a reconfigurable manner.

So, sure, you could have an onscreen keyboard. But you couldn't hold the shift key while you pressed another key. And you couldn't rest your fingers anywhere on the screen. There are touchscreen keyboards, but they divide up the surface into a million individual touchscreens, and none of those touchscreens can move.

You know the touchscreen scrollwheels on some PC laptops? Those are implemented in hardware. If I understand correctly, there can be no shareware app that does that for a generic touchpad.

So yes, I like your idea. I just don't think this thing could do it.

Re:Keyboards no longer come as standard?

[5KVGhost]

But an onscreen touch keyboard would really suck for real typing. Seems a pity to have a system with this potential saddled with a "keyboard" worse than an old Sinclair ZX-81 or Atari 400.

Why laptop?

[$0.02]

I really think that a TabletPC with a dual screen would be better than a laptop. Also a dual screen PDA would be really cool - you flip the display - it still fits fine in your pocket but you get more screen real estate.

Re:Why laptop?

[Kajakske]

Yeah, but the space you gain (screen twice the size) is kinda lost with the keybourd you loose ... You'd either have to display one on the screen (loosing screen space) or carry an external one around (yeah, well, ... Extra space in the pocket/bag) ...

Video developers?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dual-screen LCD video editing systems have been available for a while--they're more luggable than laptop but a laptop isn't well suited for striped drive sets.

And no, you don't need striped drives for Firewire but Firewire isn't the only format out there.

I don't understand!

[bfree]

I've been looking at thesse comments and the linked article for about 5 minutes now and I still don't see what this has to do with GNU/Free Software?
Do people do things differently around here after Christmas or what?

Re:I don't understand!

[UnixRevolution]

Not everything on slashdot has to do with GNU/Free Software.

although i wouldn't complain if it did :)

Re:I don't understand!

[BeeShoo]

Because eventually, someone's going to make a joke about running a Beo...

Nope.. it's not gonna be me!

Re:I don't understand!

[SN74S181]

I've been looking at your comment for several minutes now, and I still don't see what whining about GNU/Free Software has to do with 'News for Nerds' or 'Stuff That Matters.'

Re:I don't understand!

[Anonymous Coward]

You appear to be confusing /. with :\

Hope this helps.

Nevermind the laptops.... the blond... yazzzzzoow

[Anonymous Coward]

nevermind the laptop, who's the girl? I wanna see more pics of her.

Not cool...

[slashuzer]

I don't think it is wise to buy ANY LCD product right now. The industry is poised for terrific leaps in term of better resolution and lower switch times for LCD displays. The LCD display we'll be getting a year from now will be far superior to anyhing commercially available. I know I am putting of my purchase :).

Secondly, this is ah-ok as far as concept demonstration is concerned...but you don't need dual displa to read in book format. THe most common readers like Adobe Acrobat reader already have options to sort pages as continous-facing. So you can read in book format comfortably on a single display as well. Just one more year....sigh/me can't wait!

Re:Not cool...

[Kajakske]

Hmmm ...

That's a common thought that I belive to be right but irrelevant.
Every computer item you buy now for an insane price will be available and better and cheaper in 1 year's time. But in 1 year, you can say the exact same thing, keeping posponing the purchase infinitly, which isn't any good.

Re:Not cool...

[slashuzer]

Heh, you have a point there. It's just that I am not willing to plonk the cash for the kind of LCD's that are there right now in the market. So wait it is for me. Anycase, I generalised too much.

I am also speculating whether there will be a slowdown in development speed for new hardware (specificall CPU's). Where's the need?! /half-serious

Dual Screen vs. Tablet PC

[The_Mutato]

Now are there any benchmarks for this on the internet? Are the benchmarks slashdotted, too? Someone should compare the speed, battery life, weight, etc. of this thing vs. a tablet PC.

Now everyone say after me, Imagine a Beowulf Cluster out of these things!

Can It Run Linux?

Can It Play Ogg?

Spec sheet

[Alien54]

Estari Inc., 1800 PaxtonStreet, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17104-2826
Phone: 717-233-1518Toll Free: 800-430-1518 Fax: 717-233-2774
www.estari.com - www.dualscreen.com- info@estari.com - Estari, Inc. 10/2002

Specifications subject to change without notice.

Dual Touch-Screenswith On-Screen KeyboardUltra Low Voltage Mobile Intel Pentium III Processor 800 MHz or Higher
Windows XP -Windows 2000
30GB Hard Disk DriveLow Profile
40GB Hard Disk DriveLow Profile
Dual XGA Color TFT Active Matrix Display (1024 x 768) 13.3" or 15" both busines and pro models
Audio ControllerAC 97 SoundBlaster Emulation Supported
Memory 256MB Expandable to 1GB
Estari FileScout Professional Document Management Software
Estari FileScout Publisher Document Management Software
(includes 1000 noroyalty publishes)
Mini PCI Type IIISlot for Wireless, Bluetooth and other uses 1 ea.- 2 ea.Pro models
Smart Card Slot -Pro models
IEEE 1394 Port Pro models
Type I or Type II PCMCIA Slots 1 ea.
USB Ports 3 ea.
Quad Multifunction Programmable Input Control Buttons 2 ea
RJ11/45 Port 1 ea.
Stereo Speakers and Headphone Jack / Line-In / Microphone 1 ea
Light Weight Smart Lithium Polymer Battery 2 ea.
Compact Flash 1 ea
Internal CD/CDRW/DVD(Fits into 2nd battery slot) optional, - included with Pro models
External Battery Charger optional
External CD-ROM Drive optional
External Combination DVD/CD-RW Drive optional
Wireless Keyboard optional
Docking Station/Stand optional
Travel Carrying Case optional

Re:Spec sheet

[L0C0loco]

Well just the thought of two screens drains the battery on my laptop. The power consumption of the displays will make the following options popular:
12 pack of lithium ion batteries
Handy 12 pack leatherette carrying case
Queen size lithium-ion box-spring/battery for reading ebooks in bed.

When ultra low power screen hit the mainstream and battery life is 10+ hours, maybe then dual screen laptops/notebooks will make sense.

Re:Spec sheet

[perlyking]

I think this (at as shown least in form shown on the site) is vapourware. It must have extra batteries, combined with the extra screen the weight of it wouldnt make it very pleasant to hold in a book like manner.
There is no way that woman is holding it up from one corner with one hand. If she is her hand must be hurting by now.
I think, as mentioned in this thread this kind of thing will come into its own with new display technology. Personally I want a Global as featured in the now craptacular Earth Final Conflict.

resolution

[Anonymous Coward]

whats the resolution of that thing?

fyi, dell has 1600 x 1280 laptops.

It runs the "other" Phoenix web browser

[yerricde]

According to this press release, the dual-screen computer uses Phoenix FirstBIOS, which includes a web browser that competes against a web browser based on the Mozilla code.

bah!

[RyLaN]

2 screens means twice as many blue-screens! isnt that cool? now we can crash our *favorite* with the same ie bug twice in one boot up!!
seriously, are they using a special version of windows? none of the joe user releases ive seen have multi-monitor support...

Dual screen? Feh. Let's see dual-proc.

[TellarHK]

That's going to be the next big thing, I'd think. Once we have fuel cell laptops hitting the street, I think we'll be able to see enough juice being pumped into the machines so they'll have enough power to make dual processor laptops a reality.

I'd almost bet that Apple will be the first company to put dual processors in a mainstream laptop like the Powerbook. That would be one way to combat the megahertz myth (and reality) with the kind of flair that only Apple can do.

Re:Dual screen? Feh. Let's see dual-proc.

[gl4ss]

what you benefit from dual cpu's?
it's not that you buy laptops for heavy duty math.

as far as speed goes laptops are quick enough(when compared to desktop). but user interaction is still a pain sometimes(input/output).

Re:Dual screen? Feh. Let's see dual-proc.

[glwtta]

um lets see...

dual cpus in a laptop == somewhat faster in some applications

yeah, they will take the world by storm

Re:Dual screen? Feh. Let's see dual-proc.

[Kunta Kinte]

what you benefit from dual cpu's? it's not that you buy laptops for heavy duty math.

This depends entirely on how one uses their laptop.

My laptop has been by workstation for years now. I just ordered a new 1.3GHz to replace my 333MHz. Use it to surf, compile, read email, etc.

Not because it's a laptop does it mean that you have to take it everywhere. Just means that you can when really necessary.

Having a dual-proc laptop would be nice. Just as having a dual-proc regular workstation would be cool.

That's probably not going to happen though, not unless you can turn one proc on and off on the fly to save battery.

Re:Dual screen? Feh. Let's see dual-proc.

[SN74S181]

Yeah, but you win the dicksize competition at the coffeehouse.

It would have to come with a big noticible 'Dual Processor' sticker on the outside of the case, of course.

Major Problem Already

[Anonymous Coward]

They already have a major strike against them. Their website uses Flash/Shockwave. Usually this means that they are more show then go.

How about *three* screens?

[Anne Onymus]

I wrote an article about a *three* screen PowerBook G4 back in November. It actually ran a real operating system with real apps -- okay, it was completely fictional, but that's beside the point. Anne Onymus, Rumor Monger

DUPE!!!!

[orpheus2000]

For fsck's sake, not again

Sheesh

I just don't ask anymore

[varebel]

A couple of years ago, I would've looked at this and said "WTF does anyone need a dual screen laptop for?".

Anymore, though, nothing surprises me. Seems that the industry does anything and everything they can for about the same reasons that my redneck friend Jerry will do a 10 minute burnout in his driveway, smoking up the whole damn neighborhood; "because they can".

No wonder it /.'d so fast....

[Tmack]

Reading the cache, there are links to .tiff images..... LARGE .tiff images. Compression is your friend.....

TM

How Cool.

[FuzzyDaddy]

Many uses for computers have not had widespread use because of issues of form factors.

I want to do my AutoCAD drawings at a desk, sitting up, with a cup of coffee. I want to read a book on sitting back in a comfortable chair. I want to watch TV sitting WAY back on my couch. When doing designs, I like to have a full screen of the design software, and a pad of paper for notes and hand sketches.

Whether the input device issues (where's the damn keyboard?) are worked out or not on this thing, I can't tell. But to have two independent desktops on one device seems really useful.

Geeks tend to denigrate "form factor" type issues, because there is often no substantial underlying technical difficulty. Giving someone much credit for making a rounded computer case seems silly given the enormous expertise that many other people put into making the guts. But these things can be important, and can affect usability. Because my computer is not butt-ugly (yes, I have a candy-colored iMac), I (and my wife) don't mind putting it in a very public area. This makes it far more convenient to access casually during the day.

Which isn't to say I would get a crappy but attractive computer (no Mac flames please, that's beside the point) - but even seemingly dumb things can have an important effect on the way people use computers.

Re:How Cool.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well said. A dumb thing is in the eye of a dumb beholder.

What's that I smell?

[realmolo]

Is it...bankruptcy?

Stupid idea for a notebook. This thing will NEVER sell.

I like it

[zogger]

--very interesting idea and having it be like a normal dead trees book in "form" is a great use of human ergonomics. Like how many books do we use that fold up besides playboy centerfolds? I know there's some, but basically this "looks good". Remains to be seen if it performs and how it compares price wise. It would also be nice to have an option of a "no loaded OS" version so that people can choose what they want. I Don't understand the detractors on the thread a lot, this is a niche product same as hundreds of other gadgets out there. To me "more choices" is a good thing.

Re:I like it

[UnixRevolution]

unfortunately, they can't offer a no OS option. This story should explain why. Microsoft won't liscense its OS to companies that offer computers for sale with a NO OS option.

this doesn't stop them from using FreeDOS like Dell did, or loading it with RedHat or Mandrake preconfigured..but no "NoOS." Besides, i'm not sure if i'd want to try to configure Linux to run on that thing myself...i'd more than happily pay for the convenience of having a monstrosity like that configured for me. Can we say "Nonstandard hardware?" :)

Essential for tablets?

[BFaucet]

I think a two screened tablet would be much more successful than single paneled tablets. People like to be able to look at two pages at once. When comparing documents, looking at one page and writing on the other, skimming the two pages. Geeks that are used to computer screens may be just fine with single panels, but the general public tends to like things as they are right now. I think this'll actually be an important step in getting the public to accept tablets.

Re:Hmm runs Windows

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft, bad for you
Bad for America!

old news

[Anonymous Coward]

I saw this posted on the web 3 months ago.. Uncle? I am thinking desperate company trolling for sales..! HA!

Spec sheet is missing ...

[HerringFlavoredFowl]

I don't see a price or Windows XP Tablet addition on the spec. sheet. Looks like it's only available with windows XP Pro. I would be interested if it came with tablet edition.

College textbooks

[genkael]

Imagine having one of these for your college textbooks. Download the book from the university, make no trips to the bookstore, and only have to carry 1 thing to class. Heck, you could even network these in class and submit tests electronically. Ah, to go back to college...

...lawyers for Sendo follow lead of MS...

[sharrestom]

...buy out second year's production...

Re:someone did (Was: Sweet)

[rczyzewski]

as I searched and stood corrected. Thanks!

Am i the only one who's in love with the blonde ba

[Anonymous Coward]

Am I the only one who's in love with the blonde babe in the screenshots?

Apple is toast

[leandrod]

Without licensing Mac OS X they always get late or not at all to this kind of nice stuff, be it a breakthrough or just a niche product.

It is so late in the game now, with they holding only 3% of the market, that possibly their only chance now would be to release Mac OS X as free software (all of it, not only Darwin) and charge only for custom development, proprietary licensing and reference system design.

/.'ed - Google to the rescue

[ziegast]

For those who can't get to the site and are too lazy to lookup Google...

Images

Article

-ez

Karma: Whore (mostly through your posting article begging for positive modding)

Google Cache

[LoudMusic]

GOOGLE CACHE!

And as usual, all the internal links target the original sources ... so they'll be slow.

iBook

[SHEENmaster]

my 4.9 lb iBook generates no perceptable heat.

Re:iBook

[Anonymous Coward]

my 4.9 lb iBook generates no perceptable heat.

You must be numb all over. The palm rests on mine heat up quite a bit, and the base somewhat.

Re:iBook

[Anonvmous Coward]

"my 4.9 lb iBook generates no perceptable heat."

Hardly conclusive. Mac users have no sense!

Re:iBook

[dipipanone]

You clearly aren't viewing the right websites. I can forward you a couple of URL's that should get you hotter than a Mississippi whorehouse.

Re:iBook

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes and with that it generates no perceptable performance either...

Re:iBook

[Toraz Chryx]

I've been using an 800Mhz 12.1" iBook a fair bit the last few weeks, and the only thing in the case that generates any appreciable quantity of heat is the harddisk (there is a noticable hotspot above/below it's position inside the case.)

this @#$@#$ing sucks.

[SHEENmaster]

It is a tablet and most certainly not a laptop. "a keyboard appears on either screen for traditional entry" defeats the whole advantage of a laptop; fast data entry on the go. Imagine writing a few hundred thousand lines of code on one of these puppies!

Re:this @#$@#$ing sucks.

[SN74S181]

Imagine writing a few hundred thousand lines of code on one of these puppies!


Don't be redundant. This is Slashdot.

Everyone here is expert at imagining writing code.

Videoconferencing w/ dual-screen small machines

[ScienceMan]

Can anyone say "videoconferencing?" The competition is wide open for any of you dot-com victims with a little moxie left. Case in point: Polycom's competitive offering in this category goes for $11K! How about a Linux laptop, dual-screens with OpenH323 and a whiteboard on the side to take this down to the $1K - $2K range?

Windows!

[Anonymous Coward]

Geez, now you can view two thing next to eachother! Like, as, the Mac did using windows, in 1984!

Nice idea..

[Anonymous CowWord]

But I think its not very practical. The biggest advantage of dual screen is that it provides twice the workspace. I use a dual screen setup at work and it lets me view code in one screen and the running application in another, but in full resolution. With this laptop, it seems that the overall screen size is the same, just that its been seperated in the middle.

That is hardly "Dual Screen". It simply provides two screens, each with half the workspace. I might as well start 2 applications on a normal laptop and resize the windows to use half screens each.

If they can manage atleast 800*600 res. on each screen, that'd be amazing.

ermm

[malakai]

Seriously, I appreciate that this is /., where editors fall for even the most obvious of hoaxes but would it be asking too much if someone was to tone down the number of free ads/informercials we see disguised as genuine news stories? This isn't even a shipping product yet! It's still in development!

The fact it isn't even shipping yet, and is still in development, is what makes this a more intresting than usual Slashdot article.

If it was proven technology and had been shipping for a year, then your comments would be justified.

-malakai

Yawn

[mwdib]

I'm sure he and his uncle are quite excited.

Dual screen tablets, laptops, and even desktops with swiveling lcd dual monitors were all over Comdex this year.

Old news.

Looked at several, including Estari, and was less impressed than I expected to be -- less utility than one would think except for some specialized functions.

"Cool" from the tech standpoint - but how useful?

[King_TJ]

Maybe one of these dual-screen notebooks is "just the thing" for somebody out there -- but it doesn't strike me as very functional at all.

For quite a while now, most decent notebooks allow a dual-display mode where you can use both the LCD display on the notebook, and an external monitor simultaneously. If you need extra screen real-estate for a presentation, it seems like it would usually be given where it's not that tough to set up/plug in a spare monitor.

If I was someone who really needed a large display screen more than the extra portability, but still had to have a notebook - I'd rather have a larger single display screen. For one thing, you'd think this would be more cost-effective than having two seperate backlit panels with all the duplication of electronics. For another, I never cared for trying to view a single image spread across seperate displays. You have to learn to ignore the physical borders splitting it in half - and that sucks, IMHO.

Sure, if you're reading a virtual book with left and right displays simulating "pages", it might be more natural - but I suspect people aren't buying these with that as their primary use. Everyone I know using dual-displays is working with CAD design and wants their diagrams drawn across both displays as though it was a single, large one.

Re:Ouch. That was fast.

[gokubi]

Merry Christmas Uncle Bob, I've slashdotted your startup!

Re:Playing games does not _make_ people smarter

[Surak]

To see a bigger image of this thing, click this here.

Dual out no worky in 2k?

[Glonoinha]

>As long as you don't run Win2k, that's fine. For some reason, MS completely broke laptop dual-heading under that OS.

No shit? Damn, I just ordered a new ?? dunno either Inspiron or Latitude high end with the Radion 9000 video specifically to run two at once (plug an external into the VGA out) but was hoping to run 2000Pro. Am I really going to have to run XP to get this working, or will the drivers support two monitors on 2k?

Re:Dual out no worky in 2k?

[glesga_kiss]

Am I really going to have to run XP to get this working, or will the drivers support two monitors on 2k?

Possibly. I had the problem with an IBM Thinkpad and I looked into it a little. Most of the information I found on the web suggested that it was because of a limitation in 2000 Pro, that only affected laptop style displays, and not just IBM machines. I successfully tried split screen under 98SE and XP on the same system.

You machine may be an exception though. If not, just use XP and revert back to the classic desktop. It's just 2000 Pro with a few extra things in it anyway. ;-)

Use the second screen as the keyboard

[PinheadJ]

I submitted a photoshop mock up to a website once of a similar idea to this, only with the laptop working in it's normal orientation, and making the bottom screen a touch screen that could be configured as a computer keyboard, musical keyboard, complicated game control interface or whatever. The mock-up is still hosted here:

http://www.theapplecollection.com/design/macdesi gn /images/dual_screen_g4big.jpg

this is slashdot

[SHEENmaster]

fine.

Imagine a beowulf cluser of programming puppies.

A zen coan...

[TheConfusedOne]

What is the sound of two LCD's sucking on a single battery?

Seriously, the LCD is the biggest battery hog there is in a laptop. Doubling that guy, backlight and all, will just absolutely blow.

(Look at all the current tablet reviews - interesting device wish the batteries lasted longer...)

this won't be a real good idea

[minti]

first the dual screen will kill the battery life (i guess a "normal" pc based notebook has 3 to 4 hours, so the dual screen might have 2 to 3 hours) and second: no webdesigner on earth would ever use a pc, especially when being on the road.

I bought my mac because of Ellen Feiss

[SHEENmaster]

but I swear that it stays in Linux and only reboots for watching DVDs(would have to reboot unidescsi to watch DVDs on combo drive anyways) and playing games.

Re:I bought my mac because of Ellen Feiss

[Anonvmous Coward]

"but I swear that it stays in Linux and only reboots for watching DVDs(would have to reboot unidescsi to watch DVDs on combo drive anyways) and playing games."

Heh calm down. Actually Apple laptops are quite attractive. I think most PC users would agree that Apple laptops have features they are quite envious of, myself included. Unfortunately, thanks to Apple's 'Switch' campaign, I feel like my purchase of a Mac would make people think I'm too stupid to operate a PC.

Re:I bought my mac because of Ellen Feiss

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, they have features quite attractive... such as a SLOW AS ASS cpu. (thats why it doesnt generate any heat... it doesn't do anything.)

Also, the unit was designed by some fucktard/cuntcasket engineer that thought it was a good idea to leave a 1mm space between the keys and the screen, so that if a mouse farts in proximity to the lid when the screen is closed, it leaves fucking marks on the screen. I see so many mac guys having to leave a cloth on their keyboard just to
keep the screen from getting fucked up.

Also... the keyboard in general, especially the miniaturized inverted T, makes it close to being the worst laptop keyboard ever.

So even if we ignored the shitty cpu, the
ergonomics suck. About the only thing I like
is the fact that the case is seemingly all
metal-like.

Alarmabad.

PAX ROMANA

Shame about the resolution..

[matt-fu]

According to the specs, the screen (I'm assuming each screen) is 1024x768. Side by side that's 1536x1024. So what's the big deal? My Thinkpad will do 1600x1200 on a single LCD and costs less than $1k on ebay right now.

Ah .... flash web pages.. Yuk

[nurb432]

Guess I wont be visiting them again, might have been a cool product I wanted to buy, but they didn't offer a non crap - errr flash - version of the pages.

Great move, alienate potential customers. Time to move on.

Re:Mobile web developers - really

[DrFishstik]

One screen for editing the page, the other for seeing the net result in real time...

Just my idea for why i wrote that

--DrFishstik--

well..

[tewmten]

more screens = more porn for windows geeks..

Sure...

[Anonymous Coward]

"running crisply and smoothly on Windows 2000 or Windows XP."

Are they meaning crisply as in burnt? I guess I could have an extinguisher near by.

Is it better than having a single large screen?

[CoderDevo]

My estimates:
sqrt((7.5 * 7.5) + (11 * 11)) = 13.3 inch screen
sqrt((15 * 15) + (11 * 11)) = 18.6 inch screen

So these 2 LCDs add up to a single 18 inch LCD, except they fold smaller and have a one inch bar down the middle.

Pics

[loconet]

Ok, since these are all we really care about :)

Here and Here

Merry Xmas .

videographer already doing this

[Yonder Way]

I'm an event videographer that has been doing this for most of 2002 now with a bone stock Apple Powerbook 800MHz "Titanium". Not only can I plug right into my 21" SVGA monitor for more real estate, I can also plug right into my TV set with the built in S-Video port so I can see exactly what the finished film will look like on TV.

IMHO, this story is not news (even if the PC world is finally catching on). This is my first Mac but I'm absolutely thrilled with it. I switched from Linux.

Sloppy, ignorant, and noxious

[Anonymous Coward]

What is that about "1000 royalty-free publishes"? What does #1001 cost?

Buttons on the Web site aren't working in Mozilla. If they used Comet, they and their Web site designer deserve to immediate market death.

No hint of price.

Processor speed and memory are inadequate.

Web site's prospective investor query solicits "capitol"[sic].

Verdict: dead within 6 months.

Battery Life?

[Francis Avila]

Fine, so it has two screens. So what? How about battery life?

Three major power draining devices on a laptop are screen, hard-drive, and cpu, I believe in that order. Most laptops have batteries that last about two hours, which is already a very short amount of time. Now, if you have two displays, that's significantly less battery time. Unless there is simply more battery, in which case it's probably heavier. But it's probably heavier anyway, since LCD screens are heavy.

So what advantage do I have? Even with a desktop, two screens are kinda nice, but not absolutely necessary. Why should they be in any way desirable on a laptop, where the priorities are very different?

Most people don't need much power for their laptop, but would sure appreciate having something lighter (fewer batteries) or being untethered by an ac-adapter (which most people still carry around with their laptops, because the batteries only last two damn hours!) Yet they continue to give us high-powered, 8+ pound monsters, or two-hour ultralights. Is Apple the only major company that can make a laptop that doesn't die after two hours? I wonder how a StrongARM based laptop would do, if someone should decide to make one.

Look, if ditching x86 is what I have to do to get decent battery life, I'll do it without any qualms (translation: my next laptop will most certainly be an Apple.) I mean, Linux runs on all sorts of stuff, and there's always NetBSD.

(Although, my Pentium 133 laptop, with 12.1" screen and lithium ion batteries, didn't run much longer than two hours, and it already had more than enough power, once it stopped running Windows. I think what it needed though, even here, was more ram, not more cpu.)

Re:iBook-Same here

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a Sony Picturebook (TM5800 727MHZ) and an iBook 800MHZ 12.1'. They are both cold, in both cases only the hard disk produces heat (I put a 60GB disk in the Picturebook: I intend to install a second 60GB disk in the iBook)

just explain to them

[SHEENmaster]

That you can either have a fat dude in a butterfly suit or Ellen Feiss and a penguin. Then they'll know who's the dumb one.

Mac laptop

[Penguin Follower]

That's why you get an ultra-cool iBook or TiBook with Mac OS X (drool) and a nice cool running G3 or G4 :)

Ok, not everyone can afford a TiBook, but iBook's aren't bad at all. I would kill to have one (OK, not really but you get the point!)

waaaaaay expensive?

[Anonymous Coward]

It was my understanding that the LCD was one of the most expensive components of a laptop. If a normal laptop is $1500, how much would this thing be? $3000?

I don't think there's enough demand of such a unit.

Does the other screen work as a touch-screen keyboard? Turn the laptop, have the keyboard pop-up, and type away?

I think the idea is nice, but it's just a little early for it's time.

Last Post!

[alpg]

I used to live in a house by the freeway. When I went anywhere, I had
to be going 65 MPH by the end of my driveway.

I replaced the headlights in my car with strobe lights. Now it looks
like I'm the only one moving.

I was pulled over for speeding today. The officer said, "Don't you know
the speed limit is 55 miles an hour?" And I said, "Yes, but I wasn't going
to be out that long."

I put a new engine in my car, but didn't take the old one out. Now
my car goes 500 miles an hour.
-- Steven Wright

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