Slashdot Mirror
First Laptop With Full-Sized Solar Panels Will Run On Ubuntu
iwritethings writes "The Sol, a rugged-looking laptop with built-in foldable solar panels is designed for use in the military, education and developing countries where electricity is scarce. The Canada-based makers behind the Sol claim that the device can run directly off solar energy or can harness the sun's rays to charge the laptop's battery in under two hours. Once fully charged, the battery is expected to last between eight and 10 hours. While the concept of solar charging gadgets isn't new, this type of battery life is unprecedented. There's no word on when Sol will launch, but its headed to Ghana first, and it will run Ubuntu Linux."
Hope it comes with a matte screen. A glossy screen would be unusable out in the sun.
A separate set of solar panels could be used to power / charge things other than a laptop, and a set of solar panels connected by a cable would let you sit in the cool shade while using the laptop during the day, rather than having to sit out in the sun (where it's hot and you can't see the screen).
Assuming it's real, which I have some doubts about - a couple of square feet of solar panels provides enough power to drive four or five laptops?
For just $350, you can buy a laptop with implausible capabilities at an improbable price point! But does it clean with the power of lemon?
Yes. Yes it does.
I want you to have one. You obviously need a new caps lock key.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Leave it to an African company to understand, and try to get it as right as they can.
Living off the grid is not easy.
In the tropics the sun shines hard. Solar charging is a no brainer.
Fortunately I only live off the grid for a week or 3 when I'm doing interesting travel.
I don't like their website design, I find it annoying to navigate. :P
http://solaptop.com/en/products/laptops/
System
CPU: Intel Atom D2500 1.86 GHz Duo Core, Intel 945GSE + ICH7M
HDD: Seagate 2.5” SATA HDD 320GB
RAM: Kingston 2-4GB DDRIII SDRAM (Options Available)
Graphics: 1080p HD Vide, Built-In Intel GMA3600 Graphics
Battery Operating Time: 8 - 10 hours
I/O
Display: 13.3" LCD, WXGA, 1366 x 768
Camera: 3MP
Audio: Realtek ALC661 HD Audio, Built-in 2 Speakers | Internal mic + 1/8” input
3 USB2.0, Headphone jack, HDMI, LAN(10/100), Card reader (SD/MS/MMC)
Wireless
Modem: 3G/4G World/multimode LTE
GPS: gpsOne Gen8A
WiFi: MIMO 802.11b/gn (2.4/5GHz)
Bluetooth: Integrated Digital Core BT4.0
Every time a cloud goes over you're going to loose your work, or is your work in the cloud?
All the images looked CGI to me. I could not see an actual product image there. I infer that the product is still vaporware.
Anyone actually have a link to a real world image?
Last time I checked, software (i.e. the OS) ran on the hardware, not the other way around.
And if this thing is just a solar charger - admittedly a pretty cool one - where's the linux tie-in? My USB charger works with my phone (that runs on Android*, incidentally). Does that make it big Android news?
* yes, I see what I did. wonder why...
Pretty sure that Ubuntu will run on the laptop. The laptop will run on the Sun.
Samsung NC215s is the world's first solar laptop way back in 2011.
It's on Amazon with real reviews and here's a customer unboxing video
Article mentions the NC215s but claims it didn't have a 10 hour battery life while this review says the NC215s did have a 10 hour battery life... not that it really matters if the laptop can run on sunlight.... unless you're visiting the Arctic I suppose
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Apple's PowerBook 1400 had a removable book cover style lid so you could put in pretty pictures etc. A company called Keep It Simple Systems made a solar panel that slipped right in. (TidBITS article here). Here's a quote from MacFormat magazine describing it (source):
The PowerCover is especially neat because it fits into the BookCover slot on PowerBook 1400s, so you can leave it on more or less permanently. This will extend the battery life by around 35% (the PowerCover is, after all, a bit smaller than the Mercury II). KISS claims you can expect its products to give you up to 20 years of free energy. An extreme example of these devices’ usefulness is that of Ralph Harvey, a research scientist who uses a solar charger on his PowerBook in the Antarctic where power’s clearly at a premium. [...]
When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
'scuse me for asking: why would you need a laptop in a post-apocalyptic world?
Knowledge will be the most valuable asset after the collapse of the civilization. Do you know off the top of your head how to make powder? No, not the smokeless propellant - just the good old black powder? It's not entirely trivial; many a powder plant blew up before scientists and engineers figured out how to work with it in relative safety. Or take the initiating explosives, such as primers. There are about twenty formulations known to man today; some are obsolete, some are OK, some are top notch. Do you know how to make one? Without a primer you will be relegated to flint locks, if not to muskets with ignition from a cord.
There will be a lot of technology left over after the collapse. Most of it will need repair. Who would readily remember how to disassemble, repair and put back together a certain pump? If you have a manual, you are golden. But the most valuable repair manual is the manual on repair of humans. Do you have medical ebooks in your collection? It just happens that I have a few broad references; not enough for brain surgery, but enough to deal with everyday injuries and diseases.
But where would you store all those Libraries of Congress with all that valuable data, in such a way that you can carry it, and in such a way that you can access it easily? A laptop with a terabyte drive would do it nicely. A bicycle, outside of a direct survival situation, does not even compare. But in a survival situation nothing matters except what helps you to survive. It doesn't mean that canned food is useless if you are, at this very moment, shooting at your pursuers.
You're focusing on individual survival. No one individual has everything it'll take on their own. You're going to have to cooperate with other survivors. That means something of value to trade, an skills are of value.
The life of a post-apoc engineer may consist of 'Give me a place to sleep and food for a few days, and I'll get that old well-pump working again' or 'Can I join your little community? I'm no good at farming, but I can loot a load of old solar panels and car batteries and get you electric light and piped clean water.' You offer your skills to maintain technology that makes life easier, in return for protection from wandering bandits, food and residence.
With the collapse of technology, even improvised equipment is going to be valuable. Can you rip radiators from a building, paint them black, put them under glass and get the temperature up to near-boiling? You just gave a community back sterile, disease-free water. They will be grateful.