Linux Format forums

Re: Surface form factor

nelz — Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:35 pm

Author: nelz

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:35 pm

AndyBaxman wrote:

nelz wrote:

A "docked laptop with full sized keyboards, mice and external monitors" IS a desktop machine.

Except you can't undock a full sized machine and take it on the road.

But then it's no longer a docked laptop, and has lost some of its usefulness for "office tasks" - although it has gained other usefulness in being converted from a desktop to a laptop.

Surface form factor

DavidMcCrossan — Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:31 pm

Author: DavidMcCrossan

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:31 pm

Further to Nelz
�the definition of portable..� from my RAF days that used to mean �can be loaded onto an aircraft carrier�.
Those were indeed the days!

Best

David

Re: Surface form factor

AndyBaxman — Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:33 pm

Author: AndyBaxman

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:33 pm

nelz wrote:

A "docked laptop with full sized keyboards, mice and external monitors" IS a desktop machine.

Except you can't undock a full sized machine and take it on the road.

Re: Surface form factor

Ram — Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:04 pm

Author: Ram

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:04 pm

nelz wrote:

A "docked laptop with full sized keyboards, mice and external monitors" IS a desktop machine.

Urm.. I have one of those and one not docked but sharing full keyboard , a mouse and external monitor via a switch with the docked one.

Re: Surface form factor

nelz — Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:12 am

Author: nelz

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:12 am

A "docked laptop with full sized keyboards, mice and external monitors" IS a desktop machine.

Re: Surface form factor

AndyBaxman — Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:04 am

Author: AndyBaxman

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:04 am

nelz wrote:

Surely the definition of a portable device is that it is used out of the office. You still can't beat a desktop PC with plenty of screen and input space for real office work.

Actually, you can.

We use docked laptops with full sized keyboards, mice and external monitors. Gives me two screens in the office, but the portability to go onsite (with the "office" via VPN).

Re: Surface form factor

nelz — Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:38 am

Author: nelz

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:38 am

Surely the definition of a portable device is that it is used out of the office. You still can't beat a desktop PC with plenty of screen and input space for real office work.

Re: Surface form factor

wyliecoyoteuk — Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:25 am

Author: wyliecoyoteuk

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:25 am

I actually got to use one of the original tablet pcs.
It was dreadfully slow, even running win98.
The battery life was pretty short, and you had to use a heavy metal caused pen thing.
It was a compaq . It also came with a rather rubbish detachable keyboard.
And if you think a transformer is heavy, that was about 3 times the weight.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Compaq_TC1100

Re: Surface form factor

Rhakios — Thu Jun 28, 2012 6:46 am

Author: Rhakios

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 6:46 am

guy wrote:

Hey, what's the opposite of a troll? Something that beguiles the reader into wistful burbling. A fairy queen maybe?

Hmm, don't know how many people would want to be publicly branded a fairy queen.

Re: Surface form factor

guy — Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:58 pm

Author: guy

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:58 pm

nelz wrote:

Good point, although I think our expectations were lower back then

Rather the opposite - the wafer-thin flat-topped cack that passes for cool functionality today was cold-shouldered back then as next to unusable for serious office work. I rather suspect that people today just love any opportunity to quit typing while on the move.

Quote:

Hmm, something the size of a Series 5 running Android would be rather nice.

Don't get me started.
Hey, what's the opposite of a troll? Something that beguiles the reader into wistful burbling. A fairy queen maybe?

Re: Surface form factor

wyliecoyoteuk — Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:59 am

Author: wyliecoyoteuk

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:59 am

Just ordered a galaxy tab 2
This post seems to say that nobody will care about this MS tablet PC eitherhttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/26/brics_love_android/

Re: Surface form factor

roseway — Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:54 am

Author: roseway

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:54 am

My Kindle has got a keyboard of sorts, and it's quite usable, albeit only with one finger.

Re: Surface form factor

nelz — Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:47 pm

Author: nelz

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:47 pm

Good point, although I think our expectations were lower back then - and the ability to carry it in a jacket pocket made up for the somewhat fiddly typing. I had one of the old 9" Eee PCs and the keyboard on that wasn't brilliant if you have large hands, whereas the Transformer keyboard is near enough full size.

Hmm, something the size of a Series 5 running Android would be rather nice.

Re: Surface form factor

guy — Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:11 pm

Author: guy

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:11 pm

nelz wrote:

How can you have a usable keyboard with a 7" version?

Ask Psion if they can still remember how they did it. The keyboard on my old Series 5 is smaller than that on my modern 7" tablet, and famously usable.

Re: Surface form factor

Rhakios — Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:12 pm

Author: Rhakios

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:12 pm

For some reason, I suddenly envisioned nelz as the personification of Hedonismbot from Futurama, bunch of grapes in one hand, iPad in the other, complaining that the Transformer was just too heavy to be worth lifting.