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Do Two-Screen Laptops Make Sense?
An anonymous reader writes "With two 17" HD LED displays, the SpaceBook goes against every trend in laptop design I can think of (well, apart from the Core i7 and Core i5 processors). It's more than 1.7" thick, weighs more than 4.5 kilograms, and apparently has the world's largest laptop screen space. As odd as lugging a 4.5kg laptop around sounds, it can actually make sense in some situations. Sure, there are now plenty of powerful laptops that can replace a desktop PC. But for some of us, it's never the same as sitting in front of a desktop. Especially if you're used to having two screens. Someone must think there's a market for the twin-screen laptop — this isn't the first. Lenovo brought one out a couple of years ago. Given the number of people who prefer a multi-monitor setup, surely someone can come up with a lighter, less cumbersome, and cheaper design?"
The Thinkpad W700ds had two displays, and that ugly behemoth is no longer sold. The market for two monitors on a laptop can't be that large. I mean, given the proliferation of shitty laptop displays (16:9, glossy screens, etc), it seems that not many people care about their displays in the first place. Just get an external LCD monitor and run dual displays with your laptop being one screen.
The World is Yours.
But I will buy a 21" laptop in a heartbeat. I already have a 18.5 inch and would like bigger. In fact if they made a 21" macbook pro artists and video editing people would be all over it.
I do embedded programming and EE cad design in the field... (think on the floor in an electrical closet while I program a buildings processors) and having that kind of screen real-estate with a higher than 1080p resolution would be a instant purchase from me.
None of this crap of Low res huge pixel screens they have been pulling. if the screen is larger than 15" and not 1080p then it's crap.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
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This looks like something some stereotypical nerd in a movie would use, just so the writers could make fun of nerds. It's extremely tacky. Would anyone actually buy this?? I've a 17" laptop and it's already pretty unwieldy at times. I just plug it into my monitor with an HDMI cable at home when I want more space...
<sig> </sig>
The whole hype that laptops must weigh next to nothing is silly. If the laptop is your mobile office, and if it is important for work, then 4.5 kg is a tiny amount.
Anyway, if the 4.5 kg laptop means you don't carry 3.5 kg of paper with you anymore (which many business travelers - especially scientists - actually do!), then it makes perfect sense.
For me personally, the laptop screen is always too close and too small. I don't see how this contraption improves that. I guess I will wait until they build a laptop with a rolled up screen that can become two 24'' screens if rolled out. :-)
This spacebook is also a definite nono on an airplane!
I've found two screens invaluable at work -- try opening an IDE, browser(s), database, code repository, etc. on one screen... no. If you're willing to lug the weight, it sounds great. I wouldn't want to travel with it (and my wife REALLY wouldn't want to travel with it), but I would consider it for "limited mobility" use. With that many cores, it sounds powerful enough to usefully run a database & web server; and connectivity these days is such that you could well have those available on your wireless network anyway.
Still a lot lighter than the first portable I used: the Compaq "luggable" weighed in at 28 pounds (12kg). But I'll wager this one doesn't have dual floppies!
The main problem I have with my work laptop is actually that it's hard to place on a desk due to the monitor, I'd rather have two VGA/DVI/DP ports than a monitor and one port for an external display. And yeah, the keyboard really wouldn't be needed either, I just want it to be portable in the sense that I can move it between the office and my home office...
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*Due to the weight of this laptop it is recommended to be operated in space where the weight will not be a hindrance to the operator, or buck up and be a man about it.
It's not that much. My current "Desktop Replacement" laptop is a 10lbs, 18.4" beasty. It can be a pain to lug around, but the screen real estate is worth it. If I could have double the useable screen space for about the same weight/form factor, I would definitely go for it.
I agree the two monitors is nice, but it's a laptop. TFA points out that carrying a docking station (along with extra monitor) with you is not practical, but neither is carrying a giant 4.5kg brick, plus think of the real estate you will need in a conference room. As far as plugging in at the hotel, I find most hotels I stay at have modern TV's that have VGA/HDMI inputs and I just plug in to the TV for my second monitor, and voila, a dual monitor setup.
I have a laptop. I have a monitor at my home desk that becomes my second monitor. When I am on the road I live with just having the one monitor. Typically on a plane, I wouldn't have space for two monitors anyway.
If I am in a satellite office, I can typically find a second monitor if I want it.
There is likely a market for this laptop, but I don't really see it being large. Most folks who need to travel want to travel light.
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I cannot do my work without the two monitor kind of setup where you can easily split your workspace into an actual work area and a documentation area, terminal area, etc. However, this is really about having enough pixels and good shortcuts for positioning windows. I have a 1080p monitor on my 15.6" monitor laptop and using the default window positioning shortcuts in Ubuntu I get my dual monitor feeling without actually having two monitors. Two 17" monitors on a laptop is an overkill for most types of work.
Of course it makes sense... ...if you need a fast computer with lots of screen space in a portable package.
It's a niche, just like ruggedised laptops are a niche. Would you buy one if you didn't need the features? No. You'd be nuts. Would you buy one if you did need those feature? Of course since no other laptop would do the job well.
I personally don't need either at the moment, though I have bought in to both niches in the past.
Oh, just IMHO, but the trend towards thinness is really overrated. I like my eee, but it's not especially thin.
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A NASA commentator recently described the ISS as a "million pound space station". As a British listener, I thought this was an absolute bargain.
No, they don't make sense, because you can buy a 20" screen for $100.
The market for a dual-screen laptop is basically the intersection of these groups:
1. Those who absolutely need two monitors when travelling,
2. Those who aren't willing to pack a second monitor with them but are will to pack a 4.5kg laptop, and
3. Those who are moving around too much to justify buying a second monitor at their destination.
I think that's a pretty small market for an expensive device.
The article says the designer came up with the idea "when he needed a video editing workstation on a 6 month working holiday in Hawaii."
He then says, "I realized one morning that I did not want to haul my desktop and extra monitors around to every hotel for editing with the Adobe suite."
Well, fair enough, so this laptop would be great for him and anyone else on a 6-month video-editing holiday moving from hotel to hotel. But most people tend to stay in one place when working for 6 months, or if they're moving from hotel to hotel, they probably don't need 2 monitors.
If he finds a market for this laptop design, good on him, but to answer the headline's question: no, it doesn't make sense for the rest of us.
"A week in the lab saves an hour in the library"
How about tile vertically/horizontally? Try it. I think there's absolutely no reason to dual screen a laptop. I'd rather have one big screen.
Don't kid yourself. It's the size of the regexp AND how you use it that counts.
I have a laptop with a 15.6 display and a cheap 15.6 monitor. If I have to work on my laptop I want 2 monitors but if I am just taking it with me to answer emails and surf a little I only want one.
Best of both worlds and way cheaper.
AdFuel
Having two screens in a laptop won't solve the problem that a laptop inherently has poor ergonomics. Sure, there's lots of screen real estate, but it's not ideally positioned. That, or the keyboard won't be ideally positioned. To me, this setup seems even worse, with no main screen right in front. Though if you insist on that much screen space in a portable package (4.5 kg isn't so bad compared to laptops from a decade ago), I guess this works.
If they had kept making 4:3 screens then with today's display technology, there's no reason you couldn't have a 2048x1536 laptop. Not quite 2x1080p, but it'd at least have a hope of being standard, and it'd be a hell of a lot better than the single 1080p displays laptops come with these days.
I would rather see a serial port than an extra screen...
At what point do we stop calling these huge things "laptop" and start calling them "luggable"?
The point of a laptop is that it can sit on top of your lap. Machines like this really aren't made for that purpose; they're basically desktop machines that are easy to carry around.
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You guys do know what Alt-Tab does in Windows, right? right?
For some people it might make sense... but for a lot of people wouldn't it be better to carry a single screen laptop and carry an extra monitor for the times you actually need it?
You can currently hook up a tablet to your laptop as a second monitor. My understanding is that depending on the software your using though, it can be a bit laggy. It would be nice if someone decided to design a tablet specifically for use in conjunction with a laptop.
Does anyone know what the best laptop/tablet solution is?
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or even my phone.
I'm not using them when I'm on my PC... They might as well do something useful !
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
That is by far the most hideous laptop I've ever laid eyes on. Even my old one with it's cracked and busted screen would be preferred over that.
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
That's not a laptop anymore, when it's that big and heavy.
But I am scared that at some point my SyncMaster 2493HM may go out, because where the hell can one get a good screen on this planet again with 1920x1200 resolution, good contrast, tiny pitch, every port one ever thought of for a screen?
You can't handle the truth.
In the case of creating GUI applications, sometimes it is nice to not have to scroll around to place components. Also, dual-screen is excellent for keeping documentation in one place and development in another. If there was a single screen with a logical split in the middle, but a much higher pixel count, that would make dual-screen support a moot point.
What about the 3-screen macbook concept? If they ditched the ultra-wide pad, it might sell.
But you have to remember, the ISS is in LEO so weighs practically nothing. Your million pound bargain is now worth close to zero. Talk about depreciation!
This is the type of thing that's going to end up on one of those "10 stupidest gadgets that never caught on" lists in 10 years. Everyone will look at that demo picture and wonder "What's a Bing?"
An overkill is still a kill
Having 1 monitor for a laptop is good, and allowing for external monitors to be hooked up is ideal. If you are at your desk and ready to get real work done you hook up your external displays, and you good. Otherwise you are either on the move or in some location where you probably just need to do some quick tasks where one display is sufficient.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
...who, like the inventor, regularly has to do screen real-estate-intensive work "on the road" ...for example, on-location video editing, where two screens are particularly useful. If there are enough people in that category, good luck to the product.
However, for anybody who spends more time working at their desk than on the road, 2 x 17" is a bit small (...and they look like 1080p monitors to me) - I'd fancy something rather bigger for my main screen, and for the price premium of a dual screen laptop you could probably equip both home and office with a 26" display. I quite like the combination of a 13" laptop (for true portability) and a 28" display.
What's particularly annoying, though, is the MS Office "ribbon" concept infecting new software - particularly c.f. the previous version of Mac Office which used a floating palette. Pin a load of clutter to the top of the window just when everybody is being pushed to 16:9 displays? Brilliant.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
He wanted this because he was going to Hawaii for six months and didn't want to carry a second monitor.
Does that make sense to anybody? This has to be the most complicated/expensive solution possible to the problem.
How about:
a) Fly to Hawaii
b) Buy a second monitor when you arrive there.
No sig today...
Give me a screen that can be mounted, placed, or moved up high so I don't have to bend my neck looking downwards at the screen.
Oh, and the keyboard should be detachable, so it can be placed at the proper height for a keyboard (a few inches below normal desk height).
And a real mouse, also at keyboard level, not desk level.
And the screen should either be portrait, or it should be huge.
I think after I'm done, I'd end up with a desktop.
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
I use VirtuaWin on WinXp for virtual desktops, and works pretty well for me.
you still have weight in orbit... gravity is the reason you can park in orbit
I use my iPad as a secondary display for my macbook. Works well over wifi and is snappy for non-video/game requirements.
Screw cheaper and lighter. I want a real, honest to god Model M-type buckling spring keyboard. Another pound and half-inch is a small price to pay for 30-50wpm of improved typing speed :-)
If you use a laptop just like a desktop replacement, then it'd make some sense. ... ehm ... portable computer sitting atop your laps, then it doesn't.
But if you use a laptop as a
Two screens means twice screen consumption, heavier laptop etc.etc.
Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
Now all they need to do is have a fold out keyboard and laptops don't have to be so annoying.
I think this is the technology of the future, that way laptops can continue to get smaller but have the same or bigger screen size.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units
Maybe Apple will make one, claim they are innovators, patent it and sue everyone using more than 1 screen. :P
Seriously, though. I don't see this going anywhere if it isn't as portable as regular laptops can be now. But the first ones were not that portable, either and things seem to go way faster, so if there really is a market for it, who knows.
Here's the secret to immortality:
Mass. You still have mass. Not weight. The weight is gone, the mass remains.
It's like a washer-tumble-dryer. Twice as much to break, twice the cost when it does, little advantage (except space) over having two the separate things.
Laptops have a high screen-damage rate - about 50% of the ones that I see die do so because of:
- Broken plastics on the screen corners making it vulnerable
- Broken hinges
- Broken screens
- Broken backlights.
They've managed to take the most vulnerable, power-hungry and costly part of the laptop and double its vulnerability, power needs and cost so that people can save themselves a window resize or an Alt-Tab.
And they are laptops - if you're using one, it's because you need to move it a lot, use it away from power sources and desks and spaces you can unfold stuff in, or a pretentious ponce who thinks they look better on your desk than the one-quarter-of-the-price desktop that out-specs it.
Now, if you'd have said two hard drives, there would be people tearing your arms off to get it. Two displays? Hell, I don't even use dual displays at home or in the office, why would I bother on a laptop where it's the most expensive and ridiculously dangerous device on which to try to juggle two screens?
There's a product called MaxiVista that will do this for you. Haven't tried it myself, but it seems cool.
You can plug in a fucking monitor any time.
1. isn't the laptop now more "luggagable", rather being "portable?
2. if the CPU and RAM specs are bad, then having extra screen is not productive at all!
Am I the only one who found it odd that the laptop is described as 1.7 inches thick and 4.5 kilograms? I'm cool with either system, just pick one!
Can I get a lappy that folds out one landscape and one portrait monitor, like I have furnished all my workplaces with since many years?
Preferrably 16:10 or 4:3, if I may. The vertical needs at least 1600x1200 to show an A4 paper 100%.
Pretty please, with sugar and cream?
You have both. Weight is the acceleration due to gravity times mass. The fact that the station is orbiting the Earth instead of flying off means that is under the effect of Earth's gravity and therefor has weight. The acceleration due to gravity is roughly 8.8 to 8.9 m/(s) at the altitude the station orbits at. The difference is that the station is moving fast enough to fall to the ground, but miss.
This message brought to you by someone who tutors college physics.
You still have weight. That's why that damn station keeps falling towards earth constantly! The fact that it doesn't hit the ground is another matter.
Wacom makes those and they cost about $1,000.
Well, with the way the US dollar is going, you probably could get it for a million pounds.
An important change for education.
1. Allow the auxiliary display output to be driven as a second screen, with its own graphics h/w, memory, etc.
2. Build a battery powered LCD/LED display that I can slip into my laptop case and whip out when I need. Or use the second display output to drive a big desktop display. Or projector.
Have gnu, will travel.
http://www.amazon.com/UM-710S-Powered-Swivel-Screen-Display/dp/B002RMPASG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311172395&sr=8-1
Not quite what I would want but its a start in the right direction, give me a 17 inch capacitive touchscreen that can be plugged into a USB port. What IPad? (yes I know the IPad would be smaller than a laptop plus that display but its the functionality of the touchscreen I want, not the small package of an IPad).
Or GUIs that shouldn't grow in size just to be "touch compatible". See Windows 7 vs. XP, I can't stand the excessive spacing between menus lines in 7 when I will use it as a mouse-only OS for the foreseeable future...
Two screen slashvertisements on the go!
What's wrong with having the desktop computer at home with the dual or triple 24" monitors and the netbook for travel? How many people really need that kind of screen real estate when they're traveling? Sure, it would be nice, but not worth the hassle, at least in my opinion.
To each their own, of course. I doubt you'll see many of these sold, so hopefully the few that buy them don't get screwed because the manufacturer drops product support.
This is a ridiculous solution. What they need to develop is a LCD screen which draws its power from the laptop's IEEE 1394 port (IEEE 1394's 45W is fine for an efficient 17" LED monitor).
Customer:
* Take or leave the second monitor on a per-job basis
* Can upgrade at any time
* >2 panels possible
* Can combine with other specialist requirements, (i.e. a Mac or a ToughBook etc.)
* All your eggs aren't in one basket when something breaks.
Manufacturer
* The high R&D can pay back over a much longer product cycle (A decent 1080p LED monitor should be viable in a decade, any extreme-high-end laptop is obsolete in months).
I couldn't decide to mod informative or funny, so I'm posting instead. Excellent practical use of a Hitchhiker's reference! :)
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Maybe a silly question, but are there any monitors around similar in size to a (17"+) laptop monitor, that could be lugged around and used as a 2nd monitor ? I imagine most people who want 2 monitors on a laptop are happy to settle for 'reasonably portable'.
I always have a look at the dual screen laptops that come up, but I'd be just as happy to plug in an extra screen if it solved the same problem.
Makes sense if you need to actually do work on your laptop and need enhanced visuals. Sure, it's heavy but weight isn't a concern for everyone and every situation. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Mac Book Air which weighs nothing but has lower computing power at a premium price.
But if you are traveling to nice hotels, why not just plug into the Plasma/LCD in the room for a second display?
is so spineless that he would flop over his teleprompter but for the starch in his shirt make sense?
The meme says "The Goggles, they do nothing!", but there are goggles out there that do something. They're mainly for gamers and for watching TV, and don't have enough resolution for coding (typically TV resolution or 2xTV for 3D.)
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
While it's certainly not universal yet, more and more hotel rooms have flat-screen digital TVs in them. Get a laptop that can talk to HDMI and VGA, and you should be able to hijack the TV as a second monitor.
Meanwhile, if he's there for six months, yeah, get a second monitor when you arrive. They're down to $100 or so these days - get one for the hotel and one for work.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
That Should be 8.8 to 8.9 m/(s^2). Slashdot doesn't like my use of the squared character.
Personally i don't really like having 2 screens, i would rather have a single screen of the highest possible resolution. Although i absolutely cannot live without virtual desktops, i find it easier to make a quick keypress to flip between a large number of desktops than to keep moving my head sideways to look at additional screens.
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A Japanese company already made a similar laptop that was cheaper and lighter last year. Don't really understand the fuzz about this.
I have a 15.6" and would actually go smaller if I could afford it. For something I have to carry around with me, a 13.3" or 14" would be perfect. I have to admit tough, it does look cool with two monitors.
If the screen is the same physical width, I would take 4:3 over wide any day.
I disagree. A screen that's not as tall generally means a smaller chassis, meaning less weight. And a 1080p screen has room for two side-by-side 960x1024 pixel windows.
Multiple monitors is for spreading out and seeing multiple materials while doing one task.
How many monitors can your eyes focus on at once? If you have a dedicated key for switching between two workspaces, and the switching is instant and not laggy, that's almost as good as two monitors.
And 17in = 43.2cm.
Mh... if they manage to make the screens thinner, they could go even further and fold up four of them. Of course, at that point it probably needs a lead plate in the base to stop it from tipping over. So this is probably the most screen space you can get out of a notebook until they build holographic displays.
Just put it into a decaying orbit, and it will suddenly be worth millions. For a little while.
"Given the number of people who prefer a multi-monitor setup, surely someone can come up with a lighter, less cumbersome, and cheaper design?"
We solved this problem in the 90's -- It's called: VR.
The display res has shot up, and the weight is very low now... When I turn my head I have a whole world of screen-space. When people see me developing a 3D terminal emulator / IDE for my cross-platform game-engine, they always say: "WTF? Multiple terminal regions navigable in 3D? Why? That's a waste!
It's because it will soon be my 3D OS of choice. Go put your polarized or shutter glasses back on, or have your display dictate your head placement. I'll just wear the displays and have a full 360 degree "surface" for cheaper than your ridiculously priced wall of "HD" screens.
Too bad it wasn't as "hip" to be a geek in the 90s as it is today, otherwise more of us would have better/cheaper VR; Instead of me having to use clunky old low-res helmets or build my own light-weight VR units by mounting used Android phone parts to my comfy gaming headset (protip, accelerometers = cheap head tracking).
Hell, if the phones keep getting lighter and thinner: I'll just make a generic helm and slot 2 phones into place -- My OS can then be side-loaded as an app or installed as a custom firmware and I won't have to have a "utility-belt" full of mobile phone guts (it'll be much easier to upgrade), displays can sync wirelessly. Voice recognition is decent, but I still need my portable keyboard... I can't wait till that brainwave sensing tech can let me type.
Someday I may replace an eye with an ocular implant to take full advantage of altered-reality tech -- Leave the other one normal for now, can't risk having my senses hacked just yet. I bet by then the nay-sayers will still be paying too much for non-portable Super Duper HD Gigantron Screens...
--
Once a cyborg, always a cyborg; Still sad about the stem-cell organ ban.
Doesn't anyone recall the Thinkpad(?) model that had the pull-out secondary LCD display? It wasn't full size, but still useful. I think there was one other mfr. that tried to copy the idea as well.
Backgammon
I'm talking about the dozens of options using displaylink. (No I am not a displaylink shill.)
www.displaylink.com provides a number of options that provide a comfortable second screen for the somewhat mobile. I work at an accounting firm and these accountants are very fastidious (picky as hell) about their multiple monitor needs.
We found a really really durable 15" clamshell display that folds up like a laptop, weighs less, runs right off USB for display and bus power.
The idea TFA espouses is impractical in every way. It's too expensive to be your second computer in most cases, which means you need to put up with that ugly monstrosity even on your desk where you could otherwise have 4 monitors tiled if you wanted. As others have noted its too huge for almost every setting in which a laptop makes sense (airplanes, conferences, classrooms, etc.)
I would much rather have an mobile monitor like this. http://us.toshiba.com/computers/accessories/mobile-monitor/ I could put it in my laptop bag along with a laptop.
If I was doing something like surfing the web, I would leave it in the bag. If I was writing software, I'd pull it out and plug it up.
The thing is: Where can I find 2 applications that runs fine in 980 width?
Under Windows XP, click one window's button in the taskbar, Ctrl+right click another, and choose Tile Vertically. Under Windows 7, use "snap": drag one window's title bar to the left side of the screen and drag the other to the right. Under your favorite operating system, read the manual for how to accomplish the same task.
Perfect for people who have two laps.
It's left as an exercise for the reader to invent their own snide comment about Americans.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
The key thing about laptops, methinks, is being portable and still having enough oomph to do your work when out in the field.
I've done thousands of miles with my work during the last 5 years and my 15 inch 2.5kg vaio feels like a stone already. Wherever I may go, there's always a monitor one can spare for a couple of hours, if the necessity arises (and most tv sets have a VGA-in anyway).
For me the perfect balance is to be found in the Macbook Air (or equivalents). Especially after today's update to i5/i7 processors. And a 1440x900 resolution is quite enough, especially given that the whole damn thing is 1.35kg. (stick the new 27" TB display alongside and we're talking! )
I'm no longer fed up with MS Windows: I go rid of them
=2395USD, for British readers ;-)
Ubuntu's desktop recently got reorganized (called Unity) and now it's effortless to have a 4-6 apps on the screen at once depending on what you're doing. For those considering this, perhaps getting a better OS, learning windowing, or considering the low quality of the apps you use would help?
Science & open-source build trust from peer review. Learn systems you can trust.
Since I have to do frickin everything:
In related news, MINI today announced the Mini HiLuxDelux, with a fullsize pickup bed and built in water closet. For the multitudes of people that want a small, nimble car to carry sheets of plywood home from Home Depot without having to stop to use the restroom.
OK, if you can do better, have at it.
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
it's a space station!
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
that in a an 11" MacBook Air type chassis :) The screens almost seamless :)) Two Retina type displays providing 1080p together :))) A virtual, semi-transpearant auto-rotating keyboard that could be dragged anywhere onscreen and stretched/shrunk to any size or ratio :)))) I've been waiting about 4 years since I imagined it :/
Because lighter carry weight often makes up for almost as good.
The article says:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/27/kohjinshas-dual-sceen-dz-series-laptop-now-for-sale/
geekstuff4u.com had it available for sale at one time, but it's currently listed as out of stock. That model is almost 2 years old now, and I don't see any indication that they plan to update it.
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Using DisplayLink to add extra monitors sounds useful for my needs.
Obviously, if you want less screen real-estate you're going to have less weight.
True, but at this point I think I'd prefer 1920x1080 over 1600x1200 because 1920px width lets me use snap with full-size web pages.
After all, I'm fairly sure that the transition from 4:3 screens to 16:9 screens wasn't driven by concerns that laptops were too heavy.
Might it have had something to do with the fact that 16:9 screens allow a bigger keyboard area for the same screen real estate? For example, a switch from 1152x864 to 1280x720 keeps roughly the same pixel count but allows 11% more keyboard room.
there are apps like this; air display for ipad/iphone; i imagine there are alternatives for android as well; only downside to air display is it only supports mac/windows; i do actively use Linux and wish it had support...