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fatcrab
January 8th, 2010, 07:54 AM
I don't see the point in this but I want one.:D
http://www.mixx.com/videos/8459625/the_roll_top_computer_a_concept_for_the_near_futur e

Khakilang
January 8th, 2010, 08:38 AM
It does look cool and handy. But what the point if you can carry a netbook just as easy and of course the price.

schauerlich
January 8th, 2010, 08:45 AM
While it does look cool, I think there are still major issues.
Shoulder strap? lolwut?
You have this big cylinder that you have to carry around no matter what. Sure, the speaker and power cable are nice to have, but, sometimes you just don't want to have that big thing to lug around. I don't see a way around it.
Keyboard with no tactile feedback
Potential for creasing in the screen after repeated use
Potential for scratching the screen when rolling it up, especially after repeated use. OLED screen would have to be fairly exposed for the computer to remain flexible. Glass would lead to the aforementioned creasing.
How do you fit a computer into a bunch of narrow horizontal slats? True, this may be a moot point as by the time this sort of design is implemented, sufficient computing power would fit in those dimensions - but for now it's a major concern.

And that's just off the top of my head.

fatcrab
January 8th, 2010, 06:51 PM
All good points but some people will buy it just because it looks cool and show it off to all there nerdy buddys.

ve4cib
January 8th, 2010, 07:01 PM
The shoulder strap isn't really much different than a typical laptop bag or a backpack. And I would imagine that the final product would have a removable strap so you could just chuck the cylinder into a bag if you wanted to. Rarely do people just carry a computer around in their hands; they put them into something with a shoulder strap or two. This just attaches the strap to the computer.

Waterproofing concerns me slightly though. Carrying it around on your shoulder to work, it starts raining and...? How water-resistant is the device?

As for the keyboard, there are ways of producing tactile feedback on a touchscreen surface. I would imagine that this would implement some version of that technology. Or you could carry around one of those roll-up full-sized keyboards and plug it into a USB port.

I do agree with the concerns about durability and possible screen-creasing. And the way the "monitor" is curved at the bottom when it's in laptop mode looks like it would be annoying to look at.

Overall though I like the concept. It's a neat idea, and I'd be interested in seeing if/how/when it will be made available. I doubt I'd buy one, but the technology is cool.

Psumi
January 8th, 2010, 07:49 PM
The rolltop also is utilizing magnets according to the video shown. Computers are not designed to handle magnetism, so this is never going towork until that's not an issue.

ve4cib
January 8th, 2010, 08:08 PM
SSDs don't care about magnets. Neither do any other kinds of flash memory (USB sticks, SD cards, etc...). LCDs are magnet-proof too.

Many laptops use magnets for holding the lids closed. Macs use a magnet for holding the power cord in. Heck, I've got a netbook at home that comes with magnets for sticking it to your fridge. We've already gotten to the point where a computer can be build to incorporate magnets, and have been there for several years.

Psumi
January 9th, 2010, 01:03 AM
SSDs don't care about magnets. Neither do any other kinds of flash memory (USB sticks, SD cards, etc...). LCDs are magnet-proof too.

Many laptops use magnets for holding the lids closed. Macs use a magnet for holding the power cord in. Heck, I've got a netbook at home that comes with magnets for sticking it to your fridge. We've already gotten to the point where a computer can be build to incorporate magnets, and have been there for several years.

That's a problem with monitors though, monitors aren't built to withstand magnets.

blur xc
January 9th, 2010, 01:12 AM
That's a problem with monitors though, monitors aren't built to withstand magnets.

What? CRT's?

BM

FuturePilot
January 9th, 2010, 01:26 AM
But will it run Linux? :D

dragos240
January 9th, 2010, 01:39 AM
But will it run Linux? :D

Yes. And if it doesn't by default. We can MAKE it run linux.

ve4cib
January 10th, 2010, 06:25 PM
That's a problem with monitors though, monitors aren't built to withstand magnets.

CRTs don't like magnets, but LCDs don't seem to be affected by them. And I don't imagine that OLED monitors will be affected by them either.

jwbrase
January 10th, 2010, 07:28 PM
Well, what I'd do is take a sheet of e-paper for a display, some form of really light weight keyboard (also based on e-paper if possible), one or more PDA/smartphone (or even normal cell phone) sized computing units (containing processors, memory, a bit of internal long-term storage etc), and a couple USB sticks for expanded storage.

Basically, the idea is to give a pocket sized (or thereabouts) computer an I/O suite that's a bit more reasonably sized without being too bulky.

In the end you have something that looks and weighs about the same as a souped-up manilla folder and a smartphone or two.