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3D Linux Laptop Available

Posted by Hemos on from the cool-machines dept.

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."

9 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?

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    The Technonaut
    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.

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      Best Windows Freeware
  4. 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.

  5. How 3D works (without the Glasses) by startleman · · Score: 5, Informative

    . . . is explained here.

  6. 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

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    1^2=1; (-1)^2=1; 1^2=(-1)^2; 1=-1; 1=0.