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Twin-Screen Vista Laptops
An anonymous reader writes ""Asus has shown off a prototype of the first
dual-screen laptop, the W5Fe. These laptops, bearing the Intel codename 'Newport' have a standard screen on the inside plus a smaller, additional colour display on the outside of the lid. The second display is capable of showing video, flight departure information, movie show times, alerts, games, movies, images and MP3s, all while the laptop is switched off. According to CNET, the battery requirement for such a screen is minimal — with standard laptop batteries providing hundreds of hours of use."
Unless the author thinks that "closed lid = computer is turned off".
Not using Sony batteries.
Hundreds of hours of smoking hot performance.
liqbase
That should work well for the only time my laptop is closed: when its in my laptop bag....
if they're different
It's not a dual monitor system as so much as they just put an LCD screen on the lid to do PDA stuff. It's a neat idea if you don't want the PDA to lug around with you AND your laptop
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
Great, now when you go to a website, it will infect the laptop so that it shows ads or porn on the screen. :P
I don't reply to Anonymous posts; if you have something to say to me, identify yourself or I won't reply.
And the best part: it can run for "hundreds of hours without draining your notebook battery," according to the PortalPlayer site.
I'd like to see some real world numbers for this. Watching video and using wifi (to access the flight schedule information) would certainly drain the battery a bit faster than "100s of hours" before delving into your notebook battery.
Mmmm, marketingspeak.
Sure, the battery use is minimal to display info to the screen. But how am I going to get my flight departure time, weather, movie times, news, whatever-else-it-wants-to-show-me? Magic? I'd imagine it would need some processing and networking. Probably wireless networking, which likes to eat battery life. Does it need to turn on the processor, too? Does it have a separate processor for computing this information?
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
The second display is capable of showing MP3s? That's handy.
I like watching audio; cuts down on noise pollution.
The Statue of Liberty is America's lawn jockey.
I envisioned dual screens, where both screens are full-sized. This is hardly a new concept, having a smaller screen on the lid. A lot of flip phones sport "dual" screens. The extra screen also seems add a significant amount of thickness to the laptop. It would be nice to have a laptop with two full screens though...
Cool! Someone has come up with a whole new set of potential security holes in the classically unsecure Windows environment. This ought to be interesting...
Is this not the Tech equivalent of having LCD tv screens in the headrests of your back seats? - a la all the celebs you see on Cribs!.. "yeah I had the 10" lcd's put in the headrests so people behind me in traffic know how gangster I am"
I really need a second display to view my MP3's.... of wait... aren't those audio files?
"We can't wait for this to hit the streets (probably some time after Vista's release) -- not necessarily because we want to use any of the functions, we're just complete posers. Imagine the looks you'd get on the train! -RR"
Comments like: "That's the biggest damn PDA I've ever seen." or "Shit, guy, you should buy a video Ipod."
The second, cell-phone-style screen on the outside is cute, but what would be really useful would be one or two additional laptop screens that would swing out like a two fold restaurant menu. While a triptych screen laptop might be a little heavier and need strong hinges, it would be great for video editing and such...
this is just an implementation of the windows sideshow technology shown atleast over a year ago by microsoft. more info here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/features/for everyone/sideshow.mspx
How do you show an MP3 on a display?
Obviously they aren't exactly "off" when the second display is being used - they are in some kind of special lower power mode. However, I think this is a cool idea. I have definiately heard of it before this (possibly it was mentioned at WinHec?), although I haven't seen one before.
Too bad I can't get an OS X laptop with this feature.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
Yo dog, we took your boring laptop and added a 7" monitor!
"That naive cube! How long must I suffer this!" --Sheldon J. Plankton
I glued my GBA SP to the back of my Dell Dimension 1300. With the Supercard I can play movies and music, and if I buy that Pokemon game I'll have wireless. Vista my arse.
When I talk about dual-screens, I typically refer to the ability to utilize two screens at the same time to accomplish tasks. Having a screen on top of my laptop would just one more thing to replace when someone slams their overpacked suitcase up against my laptop case in the overhead.
Now show me a laptop that folds open to have two 19" screens side-by-side and you have yourself a deal.
I wouldn't mind having a decent interface to my mp3player that's easy to use while the laptop is closed.
Also being able to scan for wifi coverage without walking around with the laptop open like an idiot would be a nice change.
Overall, seems like a good idea.
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
Now my boss will expect twice the amount of work from me.
Try reading the fine manual on Sideshow.
Anyway, yes, the laptop is off when this thing is running (at least in the most classic implementation). They have their own ARM9 processor and memory. They work a bit like a PDA stuck to your laptop that syncs with the laptop when it's on and then can show information when it's off.
What sick engineer came with this idea ? One with shares in screen-making company ?
Because I'm not sure the screens will last long. Because, y'know, usually they put the screen on the *inside* part of the laptop to actually *protect* it.
Plus they make the laptop thicker.
Plus it is *still* on and sucking batteries.
Plus it requires additional external controls to be of any use
Should I continnue ?
Wouldn't a tablet be doing it now?
If I was in a place that I would even feel safe taking out my laptop to look at that second screen, I would feel safe enough to just turn on the laptop. Might as well. The great part about say, a phone's second screen, is you could pull it out very quickly, take a look, and slip it back into your pocket. I don't see that being possible with a laptop, unless it's one of those tiny ones. Hey, if you could afford this, why not just get a palm?
Imagine the calls tech support will get.
"I launched Word, but it's not here!"
"Have you tried looking on the back of your computer, sir?"
"Oh! There it is. *moves it back* Thanks."
I feel sorry for whatever Linux/Unix dev that has to write modules for that piece of hardware. LOL.. I can't even imagine. We have a hard enough time getting suspend to disk working.
Rather than developing this, they should develop laptops that say, don't burst into flames randomly. I'm sure this feature is nice, but a non-melting power cord would be far more useful in my day to day activities.
http://www.CelloFourteGroupie.net
That laptop was designed by Professor-X for those of us X-Men who can see sound.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
This is not a "twin screen" laptop your title-inventing fact-bending fact-manglers!
This is an "aux" display which is part of the native Vista featureset, and FAR from being the first laptop manifactures with this facility.
There you go
And those that said it can't work with your laptop off: that's the whole point. Or you think I'm gonna spin my laptop all the time to see both displays?
Yes, the aux display has standalone electronics, it wastes very little power, and it can sync with Vista and work with the laptop off. Only when you need to access the HDD (like, listen to mp3-s) the laptop powers up when you use the aux display.
What kinda geeks are you, waiting for my sorry ass to explain all of this to you!
..I thought it was some dual same size screen that cleverly folded out of the case. Now that would be spiffy!
Lamest idea ever. I like tech things, I don't mind MS, but this is the lamest idea ever. Anything you want on that screen could be written on a little piece of paper. Plus who carries their laptop around out of a case, uncovered. If you cover the laptop you can't see the screen anyway, and the times when this would be covered are probably the exact times that you would potentially use this thing.
Lame
According to the "PortalPlayer" site, this is, in effect, a PDA built into the lid of a laptop.
- It is a seperate QVGA display, but relies on a system-on-a-chip and custom board to drive it. It derives power presumably from the laptop battery, but more than likely at lower draw.
- It is updated with new information when the laptop's main OS is on (ActiveSync, anyone?).
- It runs XML-based "gadgets" -- my guess is something like Confabulator widgets -- that perform certain functions.
My question is, why on earth would you want this? I mean, one of the big benefits of a PDA is that it ISN'T attached to the laptop all the time. My laptop, while I'm traveling, usually stays safely inside my laptop bag -- I don't normally freehand my laptop from place to place (I paid too much for it to trust my own hand/eye reflexes). If its only function is to provide some insight into the information stored on the laptop while it is off, the PDA does a brilliant job of that today without me having to lug 5 pounds of lithium, electrolyte, plastic, and heavy metals around with me.
a bit of JFGI and I found it:
makezine article
From TFA:
why not just open the lid?
Because that kind of suspend and resume isn't reliable (or otherwise sucks) with Windows?
(Full Disclosure: this message was typed on a MacBook Pro 17")
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
"Listen! ....You smell something?"
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
From around 1983:
c =499
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?
(small 2nd screen above the keyboard, in case it isn't obvious)
I always thought that it was a daft idea then...
"and known officially as Windows Slideshow -- a Vista-only technology"
Bummer, can't run my non-WinBloz OS
--
Don't need it, don't want it, don't care
-- I am the NRA, enough said...
When I first saw the photo I thought they had a PDA sitting on top of the computer. Which made me think, why not have a PDA that can be "docked" into the top of the laptop in the same way this display and controls are? It cant take up too much more space then this current design. The device would allow people much more freedom (remove it from the laptop, conntect to your desktop) and always have the files,contacts/information updated to the PDA. Also many people who I think would use a feature like this all ready have a PDA/smart phone it would make it so the person is carrying one less item.
TruePunk | Games
This is along the lines of those calculator mousepads. Utterly useless, but someone thinks people want to pay extra for it.
So... you can get an iPod for $200 - $250 or you can buy a whole new laptop with this Thingy on it... I'd rather not drag my laptop out to do what I can do with an iPod + looking at the plane schedule on the wall.
Make America grate again!
Honestly. Why not have the keyboard be it's own full resolution touch screen. That'd be hot beans. Have it display a digital keyboard... with neat GUI overlays. It' be like the Matrix! :)
"--wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy." --Benjamin Franklin
so you are saying a PDA cannot address external hardware? heard of bluetooth or USB? Even if they wanted to tie it directly to the PCI bus, it would be a trivial mod.
I know it's not actually a PDA, but the technology is so closely related I would of thought anyone would be able to read between the lines and see it for what it is.
Signature v3.0, now with 42% less memory usage.
Wasn't there an article a while back about the programs running 'better' in quantum computers that were turned off? /this is dumb tech
Um, don't laptops have a lid for reason? Is this screen unbreakable?
a vel_and_Transportation/Flight_Information/Airlines
I would rather have a way for my Windows Mobile device to wirelessly access the same information through Bluetooth. Why would I pull my laptop out to get flight information when I already have a mobile device to do the same? I personnaly do not see this taking off.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/resource_center/wapdir/Tr
When I buy this laptop, I'll probibly just use this feature to display a .png of TUX.
"Seven years of college down the drain. Might as well join the f-ing Peace Corps." - John 'Bluto' Blutarsky
So we are going to rely on fly times and e-mails displayed while WiFi is off? A cellphone this day is not more difficult to use than that second screen and it can get up-to-date information through GPRS. In any case, if that second screen is that useful, why not make it detachable from the laptop's cover so that we can show friends our photos without lagging around the powered off laptop? If it replaces the dell's round badge, even I will see the utility.
But if it did use Sony batteries, it would make the moniker Newport a bit more appropos, don't you think?
What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
Anyone who lugs a laptop around to different meetings all day will love this feature. Your lack of perspective does not make it a useless feature.
So now I can have a PDA that weighs the same as a laptop? If I'm not going to use the laptop, I'd prefer to stash it somewhere rather than lug it around.
And if I've got the whole laptop with me anyway, why mess around with a tiny screen and no decent input method if I can have a 14" monitor and a full keyboard, just by opening the damn device ?
Also, the damn laptop now has an unsightly bulge, making it twice as thick so it won't fit in my laptop bag. Keep the mongrel, I'll use my current laptop plus a separate PDA instead.
Even the real-time clock? Do you want your laptop to lose the time of day every time you shut it down? What about the circuitry that recognizes when the user has pressed the switch to turn the power on? Fact is, "on" vs. "off" in personal computers since the 1990s is not so black and white.
Yes, the description is silly: I wouldn't call a laptop with an operating display "off." But c'mon, benefit of the doubt is called for sometimes, or can at least be justified. As in "even while the computer isn't fully active," say.
:)
BUT: if only I could have this feature (small, low-powered auxilliary display) and one more thing -- a an active keyboard input, so I could take notes with it. I'd really like hundreds of hours (instead of just-barely-2-or-so) out of my ThinkPad.
Oh, and have this system operate under some free operating system
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
Here's how I'd guess the PDA in the lid works: You put the URLs of RSS feeds on the PDA, and every 30 minutes or so, the PDA connects to the Wi-Fi chip, associates to the network, grabs the RSS feeds, and turns off Wi-Fi.
Not if it's on for 2 percent of the time.
The PDA in the lid wouldn't need anything more powerful than the CPU in, say, the Nintendo DS. The quoted battery life of hundreds of hours takes into account that a battery designed for powering a full-size laptop and its full-size screen is way overprovisioned to power a PDA.
Can't wait to see the next Mac expo where SteveJ walks on the stage and tries to pass this off as another Apple "innovation"
Diiiiiii-esssssss, DS, DS irae!
Am I the only person that hates the little screens put on the outside of the shells of flip cell phones?
The reason I buy a flip phone is because I want to protect the screen when it is in my pocket. Now, insted of a nice protective plastic cover, I have another LCD screen which can get broken. Now they want to do this to my laptop? No! The last thing my laptop needs is a screen that will get destroyed the firt time I accidentally hit a table with my laptop bag.
The clamshell top has a purpose, to protect the screen, it is not just wasted space which could use another fragile part.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Laziness is the father.
The title gave me the impression that the laptop's screen would work as the main screen and the VGA port that all laptops have would feed video to the second monitor for an easy instant dual screen desktop with XGL!
That tini whinnie little screen makes a lame excuse for an overpriced ipod, but I don't plan on jogging with my heavy laptop anytime soon lol.
You've produced the world's largest iPod.
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
you're still gonna have your laptop open like an idiot...
Didn't some laptop company make some beheamoth of a laptop a few years ago that actually had two 14-inch screens, right next to each other, that could be rotated and stuff?
Oh, and I know this is a cliche, but will it run Linux? Or is the external LCD dependant on Windows?