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Engineer Combines Xbox One, PS4 Into Epic 'PlayBox' Laptop
MojoKid writes We can finally stop arguing over which is the superior game console, the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Quite frankly, it's a pointless debate, and it took a self-taught engineer to put the argument to rest, which he did by combining both game systems into a 22-inch laptop. Meet the "PlayBox," a gaming laptop that's equal parts Xbox One and PS4 rolled into one. The PlayBox wins the argument because it allows you to play games on either system, and when it comes down to it, the ability to play games is all that matters. Built for a "specific customer," the owner of this prototype system needn't worry about exclusives since he now has a system that can play them all, and do it while taking up no more space than a single console.
I don't know why this story is making the rounds. Christ, someone give this guy a cookie for jamming two consoles in one box and send him on his way.
All he did is basically put the guts of both consoles into one box.
I'd be more impressed if it was actual custom hardware that could run both system.
An actual engineer would have at least figured out a way to make 1 optical drive read discs from both systems. At least use the electronics from each optical drive with the lasers mounted on opposite sides, so they don't bump into each other. Wait, I don't get paid enough for this sort of thing.
I suppose the "laptop" is usable only with high end noise canceling headphones? And if someone else is in the same building with you, they'll come and smash it with a hammer to get rid of the whirrrrr.
I apologize for the lack of a signature.
PC is not the "master race" because it is not a single race, but a variety of different kinds of machines with different kinds of purposes.
If you want a PC that can outlast a 3DS or PSVita by a factor of 3 in battery time you can.
If you want a really powerful PC that runs all games in 4k, you can.
If you want the cheapest box on the block that can run older (and arguably better) games, you can.
If you want a serious machine for actually doing serious work, PC is there for that too.
And you can run any software you want for it, can write new software for it, can actually write software for several consoles with it..
Its about freedom, not power.
There are several mods and romhacks that allow you to play as a powerful girl on the PC.
Is this engineer Ben Heckendorn? This certainly sounds like something he would do.
So a tinkerer is now an engineer. How sad. Maybe someone who learns how to treat the common cold with chicken soup is also a doctor.
What's that? It doesn't have a battery? Then it's not a laptop.
Sorry, but this dude looks like he works out 2 hours a day, and I think I heard him grunt when he picked it up. If the 5" thick body didn't already discredit that term (note: the original IBM Portable was NOT A LAPTOP).
You'd probably get bruises on your thighs if you put this on your lap, if you didn't get 2nd degree burns before that...
This is dumb engineering.
ok so the feat is impressive
how does it preform over time, thats one thing no one ever considers
how many GD pcb's can you glue in here
why does every "laptop" design end up looking like the last 20 laptop designs downloaded for sketchup, you got with a company with a fucking CNC LASER do something more creative than a cigar box
-professional engineer that makes millions of units a year with no news story, not a me too hot glue hack that gets 15 min on slashdot
* Self-taught engineer hires self-taught camera man *
- Project ends with ridicule over crap footage.
It's PlayBoxTop: Half Playstation, half Xbox and half laptop.
The PlayBox wins the argument because it allows you to play games on either system, and when it comes down to it, the ability to play games is all that matters.
No. Not being able to play games because they haven't been blessed is a great reason not to give your money to the dicks who made the hardware used inside this box. There are things more important in this world than the ability to play a few manufacturer-approved games right now, you selfish ass.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Its about freedom, not power.
All of those examples are about power.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
With AMD APUs in both the systems, looks like he could have had a single unit based on an AMD APU and had it running
Thank you, RMS
Now all he needs his worthwhile games that aren't available on PC to justify not having bought a gaming laptop instead. A few games isn't sufficient.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
a VM style solution that would allow you to run both OS's not a "take the guts out of a Xbox and a PS4 and shoehorn them into a single metal box". For the size of the box, he may as well have added the Wii as well. When it comes down to it, this isn't much different than my setup which involves an external HDMI switch from each of my gaming consoles going to my AMP.
I get that this was a bit of a hardware packing problem challenge, something that hardware device engineers have to deal with. But, challenges such as cooling when both systems are on, combining components, etc. were never tackled/solved. As such, it's somewhat interesting but doesn't really belong on Slashdot....
If you want a serious machine for actually doing serious work, PC is there for that too.
And you can run any software you want for it, can write new software for it, can actually write software for several consoles with it..
Its about freedom, not power.
All of those examples are about power.
We've seen what sort of "serious work" consoles can do if they're not locked down, back when PS3 used to have Other OS. So either it is about freedom, or you're using a definition of "power" with which I'm not familiar. If the latter, could you explain further?
Half of it is akin to the difference between CD-ROM Mode 1 and Mode 2 Form 1. They hold the same amount of data but have slightly different physical sector layouts, with certain fields moved before or after the data.
In addition, data on a DVD is XOR'd with a linear feedback shift register whose seed changes every sector. This isn't encryption but instead a way to "whiten" the spectrum. That's where the Burst Cutting Area (the "barcode") on a GameCube disc comes in. It encodes not only constants used to compute the LFSR seed but also the logical position of six more holes in the lead-in.
Wii discs are exactly the same, except the entire disc content is encrypted, hashed, and combined with hashes of nearby sectors, and then the hash at the top of the tree is digitally signed with RSA.
Sources: GameCube, Wii
Congratulations, you left out all the examples. That was a d-bag move, so I'm not going to give you a meaningful reply. You could try again, though.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I heard they might open up the PS4 again so people can start doing some crunching that way as well.
Congratulations, you left out all the examples.
I left out four and included two. I don't see how that amounts to having "left out all the examples". The assertion was that all of the six examples were about power. Even if the four that I left out are about power, the two I included are about freedom for the reasons I mentioned.
A laptop plays PC games. It doesn't play PlayStation 4 exclusives, Xbox One exclusives, or games released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One but not for the PC.
he isn't, because he's probably aware that "X-Box" and "Playstation" are trademarks. "Playbox" probably isn't. In fact, it'd be laughed out of court if either Microsoft or Sony claimed "Playbox" infringed on either trademark.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
2 consoles in one box, but still not as powerful or versatile as the PC it emulates poorly.