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3D Linux Laptop Available

Anonymous Writer writes "EmperorLinux is distributing the Sharp Actius RD3D autostereo laptop with Linux pre-installed, dubbing it the 'Molecule'. Almost all the hardware features can be utilised under Linux; the autostereo 3D display (most importantly), CD-RW/DVD-RW combo drive, Ethernet port, audio hardware, PC Card slot, 4 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire port, Sony Memory Stick slot, Compact Flash slot, SD slot, and internal floppy dive. The only built-in feature unsupported is the internal 56 Kbps modem, however a supported 56 kbps PC Card modem is available as well as a WiFi PC Card."

21 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Has anyone seen one of these... by BodyCount07 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    3-D displays first hand? Care to give a quick honest review?

    1. Re:Has anyone seen one of these... by Anthracene · · Score: 5, Informative

      I saw a demo of a molecular visualization program running on one of these at the American Chemical Society convention a couple months ago.

      In general, I'd say the quality is quite good. The image I saw had about 6 or 8 inches of apparent "depth" between what appeared to be closest to me and what was furthest away. It was reasonably clear, although not quite as clear as the flat image. You seem to lose some resolution (horizontal resolution, at least) when it goes into 3D mode.

      Of course, one of the big deals about it is that it doesn't require glasses, so nothing to lose, no flickering, etc. This does mean that there is a fairly small "sweet spot" that your head has to be in in order to see the 3D display. If you're positioned outside of this the display looks like a mess. I don't think more than one person can really see the image at a time when it's in 3D mode (there's a big button above the keyboard for switching between 2D/3D).

      I'm not sure what the API is like for getting a program working with the 3D functions. It was being demoed by a software company, and the guy there gave me the impression that some amount of modification to their app had been necessary (ie that most 3D apps wouldn't work correctly without being adapted) but that it hadn't been too difficult. 'Course you've generally got to take tech info from salesfolk with a grain of salt.

    2. Re:Has anyone seen one of these... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      I have seen the auto-stereoscopic displays by sharp on a holography conference in San Jose, CA (2004). Basically: it works.

      These devices use a thin grating over the screen to ensure that each eye sees only the pixels of one view. The viewing angle is constrained, but that is not an issue for laptops (there is probably only one person watching anyways).

      If you have ever seen an IMAX 3D movie, it is a bit like that. There was a video clip where objects seemed to hover in front of the screen, and they had a funky stereoscopic UI (windows in the backgroud would seem to be further away from the viewer).

      Obviously the main problem is resolution: they have to throw away half the pixels to provide two views...

      I expect that many 3D applications would work out of the box. Standard hardware (NVIDIA quadbuffer cards) can already render stereoscopic scenes transparently (this is why you can hook up a pair of good old vr glasses to an NVIDIA card, and run any opengl app in stereo mode).

  2. Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    "The autostereo 3D display (most importantly), CD-RW/DVD-RW combo drive, Ethernet port, audio hardware, PC Card slot, 4 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire port, Sony Memory Stick slot, Compact Flash slot, SD slot, and internal floppy dive"

    Yeah but... does it run Linux? Oh wait...

  3. Porn just got a lot more interesting.. by x.Draino.x · · Score: 5, Funny

    So who's going to be the first to the market with a 3D-Enhanced porn site?

    1. Re:Porn just got a lot more interesting.. by L.+VeGas · · Score: 5, Funny

      They've had triple D's on porn sites for a long time already.

  4. Integrated wifi would be good by FrO · · Score: 4, Informative

    you know, seeing integrated wifi that works with linux would be a real plus on a laptop like this. Especially if it were a non-centrino wifi card built in.

    I have a Gateway 450SX non-centrino, and it runs linux really well. Everything works perfectly (except for the 56K modem, of course), but sadly I don't have internal wireless. My external WaveLAN card works great under any distro though. Rock stable laptop, not terribly expensive and everything runs great under any distro (I've tried Fedora Core 1, Gentoo and Debian).

  5. Blast from the Past by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since $3,000+ is a bit outside my range (my range being closer my $35 PII Linux box), I naturally checked out the Emperor Linux Jobs Page to see if I could suppliment my income. What a blast from the pre-bust past, mixed with a bit of post-bust reality:

    Work at EmperorLinux: the most fun you can have with ...

    EmperorLinux is not actively hiring.

    However, we are always on the lookout for fun and knowledgeable people who like things Linux. If you like to:
    ride your bike to work,
    hike in the mountains,
    recompile your kernel weekly,
    drink Mountain Dew with extra sugar,
    play in the dirt with your hands,
    make fun and informative web pages,
    use the "taste test" when debugging circuits,
    run with scissors barefoot in the rain,
    or anything similarly off-center,

    send us an interesting mail telling us why you think we would like you.


    I've done nearly all of those things, if you can substitute "hand-code Z80 machine code" for "recompile your kernel". But I think I'll stick with my boring but very stable job coding VB in the tax accounting business. I'll have time to lick random circuitry when I retire.

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
    1. Re:Blast from the Past by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Funny

      You code Z80 weekly?

      Yes, very weakly. [rimshot]

      Since the description said "if you like to...", I figured I could include my mid-'80s TRS-80 coding skillz as the old-school equivalent of compiling your Linux kernel.

      BTW, I'm not talking about using EDTASM (editor/assembler)... my first Z80 coding was in binary. You'd have an opcode like 101xxx11, where xxx depends on which register you're referencing, and I'd plug in the bits, convert to decimal, and POKE the routine into memory. Saving before running was essential, but painful -- all I had was cassette tape storage.

      And I walked to school, too! In the snow! Uphill! Both ways!!!

      --
      Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  6. 3D? Great! by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 4, Funny

    My laptop is 2D. I hate the way it's so flat. It's horrible to type on because the keys have no travel. It's easy to bend and tear by accident. Sometimes it's really hard to see because when you look at it edge on it has no thickness. It disappears in piles of paper. A 3D laptop would be much better!

    --
    Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
  7. Re:3D??? by CarrionBird · · Score: 4, Informative
    Uhhh....

    You may want to check the link, the screen allows actual stereo images without glasses.

    Unless you're waiting for that holographic display...
    --
    Free Mac Mini Yeah, it's
  8. Ow my Eye! by TBone · · Score: 4, Funny

    Gives a whole new meaning to "pop-up" doesn't it?

    --

    This space for rent. Call 1-800-STEAK4U

  9. Re:3D??? by nuOpus · · Score: 5, Informative

    It says 3D because it gives the perception of a 3D display. And yes, you can display 3D images on a flat LCD. It works by using "channels" which divert light to the other side at an angle so your eye percieves it as a different image.

    You remember those 3D things you got when you were a kid? where you look at it from one side it has an image ... and if looked at on the other the picture is different yet? Giving you the appearance it was moving if you twitched it? Same concept? Only the light is emitted from the left and hitting the right side. The light emitted from the right is hitting your left side.

    Both of your eyes recieve two different images and they are done in sync giving the impression of 3D so you can see depth.

  10. A bit expensive, but it has potential by InternationalCow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At $3600, it will be something of a luxury laptop and a gizmo, considering the number of Linux users who are in disciplines that deal with 3D imaging. Except, perhaps, game and movie designers I think. Most molecular imaging people that I know use SUN, SGI or HP hardware still. I don't think that stuff like RasMol or Cn3D (for protein structure viewing) currently supports it. Knowing the Linux community, it pobably soon will be. Then, this machine can potentially be a great tool for scientists. You can go and view all of your proteins in 3D which will help immensely with the interpretation of mutations for instance, while avoiding the need for proprietary hardware and OSes. Then we can break free of friggin' MS. You won't believe how many times I cannot fill out a grant application because it's a .exe.. A vital app such as 3d molecular imaging should be a good place to start.

    --
    ----- One learns to itch where one can scratch.
  11. How 3D works (without the Glasses) by startleman · · Score: 5, Informative

    . . . is explained here.

  12. I see it as a step forward for Linux by FerretFrottage · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I too go why 3D for that much money, but then again look at the benefits to the Linux community.

    --Linux has been getting mainstream press thanks to SCO, and all the Window viruses; people have heard of it.

    --Now you're in come public place with your nice ~$4000 laptop and someone sees the cool 3D effect (hopefully non-porn related).

    "Cool, I wish my laptop could do that" (even though the person doesn't know why they wish their lappy could do it) "What version of Windows is that?"

    "It's not Windows, it's Linux"

    It may just be a small attention getter, but a lot of small attention getters can add up to a big boost of Linux awareness among the [general] public.

    --
    "Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
  13. 3D was so yesterday by Psymunn · · Score: 4, Funny

    2D, 3D, man that's so yesterday?
    My laptop (supplemented with my flux capacitor powered N-Vidia card) has 4 dimensions. Thanks to this wonderful feature I can see it Crashing while it's booting up.

    --
    The Neo-Bohemian Techno-Socialist
  14. Re:3D in front of the screen only ? by emorphien · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's called a lenticular image, if I'm understanding you correctly. That grooved piece of plastic on the surface is a lenticle (a type of lens basically) and it allows vertical (or horizontal but in this case vertical) strips to carry different information. You could turn the laptop 90 degrees and just see a mess.

    --


    Presently here, but not there.
  15. Emperor Linux by mcelrath · · Score: 5, Informative

    Keep in mind that Emperor Linux purchases name-brand laptops with windows and removes the windows. You're paying for windows you're not using . For a list of companies that sell linux laptops and do not do this check here. -- Bob

    --
    1^2=1; (-1)^2=1; 1^2=(-1)^2; 1=-1; 1=0.
  16. The only important question has to be.... by tolan-b · · Score: 4, Funny

    what about Quake?

  17. Re:SHARP recommends Microsoft® Windows® by Iconoplast · · Score: 4, Informative

    We don't HAVE to uninstall Windows. Customers who want to dual boot are more than welcome to. Customers who only want Linux can have that, but are advised that they will still have a Windows license. Simply put, at our volumes it is impossible to get machines from a big-name vendor without Windows. Hell, at most people's volumes this is impossible. Microsoft has very strong contracts with laptop suppliers.

    But like I said, customers who want Linux only are advised they will still be paying for Windows because we have to. Almost none of them care, because they understand the situation.