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Whiteboard sticker for your laptop
- bostand 10y agoOr you can use a laptop with touch screen and/or a digital pen... And Google and microsoft have note taking apps that makes your hand writing searchable. Edit: wow, some people on HN really dislike touchscreens...
- codeinterview 10y agoI have those as well but they're used for different purposes.
- bostand 10y agoBut from my experience this is exactly how people are using touchscreen laptops in meetings. I don't see the point of adding a sticker to your laptop when it already can be used as a whiteboard with the added benefits of digitalisation (backup, share, undo, search...)
- vvanders 10y agoYeah was just going to say, this is what the Surface Book was built for.
- bostand 10y agoMicrosoft has also a digital whiteboard product line that looks like oversized surface tablets. Very expensive and very popular I've been told.
- vvanders 10y agoAt least in the case of the Surface Book they're pretty in line with MBP prices.
- mcintyre1994 10y agoThey're talking about the Surface Hub which comes in 55" and 84" sizes and is priced to match.
- I_am_tiberius 10y agoMy fear would be that my notes are being erased when putting the notebook into my backpack.
- codeinterview 10y agoA lot of people actually share this concern and you are right if you're planning on keeping what's written. I personally use it for practicing coding interview questions and brainstorming.
- I_am_tiberius 10y agoI bought a whiteboard 2 weeks ago for my home "office". Thinking about it, it would have made sense to buy a big sticker instead which I can stick on one of my windows. For sure that would have been much cheaper. Plus, I would not have needed to drill holes in the wall.
- slantyyz 10y agoThose stickers will work on your wall too.. not just your windows.
- lllllll 10y agoI myself right directly _on_ the windows' surface. Works great! Though you need white color marker to do it at night. :)
- cr0sh 10y agoI hope by "whiteboard" you meant a 4x8 sheet of melamine bathroom/kitchen tile underlay sheet - and not one of the more expensive kind with the fancy aluminum borders (which, if you wanted to replicate those, you could find the parts in the hardware aisle of the home improvement store)...?
- I_am_tiberius 10y agoNo unfortunately I bought one of those expensive ones.
- snarf21 10y agoI think this is pretty neat and love all things whiteboard but the one annoyance is that I now need to carry around a whiteboard marker and eraser (if you don't want crap all over your fingers from erasing). Note: I don't think you can solve that problem. And now I probably am carrying a backpack which makes paper + pen better. I think the #1 benefit of a whiteboard is the size. I can draw huge diagrams and everyone in the room can see and not have to huddle around a piece of paper. I still think it is interesting....
- incongruity 10y agoMarker? No, you need that. Eraser? Kleenex is a good add to any bag – but you could also figure out some way of having a removable plastic overlay to preserve the diagram... But, ultimately, your point about pen & paper was my thought too... And then I decided that ~$16 after shipping was cheap enough to try, even if I later decided paper was indeed better – so I ordered it.
- iak8god 10y ago> I think this is pretty neat and love all things whiteboard but the one annoyance is that I now need to carry around a whiteboard marker and eraser (if you don't want crap all over your fingers from erasing). Note: I don't think you can solve that problem. I wish laptops had laptop-sized e-ink displays on the back of their normal displays. I mostly want that for reading, but since I'm wishing for things, I'll also now wish that these hypothetical displays are pressure sensitive, for writin' on.
- cnojima 10y agoHasn't this been created already? http://gizmodo.com/the-best-laptop-sticker-turns-your-computer-into-a-whit-1685194189 http://gizmodo.com/the-best-laptop-sticker-turns-your-comput...
- JoBrad 10y agoLooks like they owe you some commission: every size of both models is sold out! ;)
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- glibgil 10y agoThe smallest whiteboard combined with the dirtiest laptop? No thanks!
- sixdimensional 10y agoActually, this just gave me a crazy idea... what if laptop manufacturers included something low powered like a boogie board device on the outside of the screen, which could write / save directly to some small internal storage of the laptop, and then the resulting notes could be accessible via the laptop when turned on? Kind of like.. a poor man's tablet on the outside of a laptop? I wonder the cost of that vs. touch screens / digital pens.
- SteveNuts 10y agoAnd to erase it you could... shake your laptop?
- nickff 10y agoThe Boogie Board is erased by pressing a button.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ChristianGeek 10y agoAnd have a mode that lets you tilt the laptop to draw!
- ReverseCold 10y agoI don't really see a problem with that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only moving parts in higher end laptops are fans. Nothing will break, so why not? I mean, it's annoying to do I guess, and requires hardware to detect shaking, but it's not terrible.
- JoshTriplett 10y agoI've seen some prototype laptops with a bistable e-ink touchscreen on the back, that could retain its image with the laptop turned off. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2604775/intel-pastes-second-screen-on-prototype-laptop.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2604775/intel-pastes-se...
- RUG3Y 10y agoI think it's a neat idea but personally, I'll stick to a legal pad. I use them quite a bit, but not enough to justify switching to something like this and then taking photos of my work.
- chris_7 10y agoStickers on laptops usually make Jony Ive sad, and he's sad enough already being locked in that white room with one set of clothes. But this one is much better, because it occupies the entire laptop!
- H4CK3RM4N 10y agoBut poor Jonny might like this because he could draw pictures of aluminum rectangles on the sticker.
- donarb 10y agoStickers on laptops make ME sad. Like Run-DMC sang "Calvin Klein's no friend of mine, don't want nobody's name on my be-hind!"
- Neliquat 10y agoAnd then followed it up with "My Adidas". But I agree in spirit.
- hota_mazi 10y agoAnd yet, the newer laptops require a USB hub to be functional, which means you have this thing dangling from your laptop like a condom that was freshly used.
- Uptrenda 10y agoIve been using my laptop like this for years. I just bought some white plastic film you use to protect text books with and stuck it to the back of my Thinkpad. Works great for todo lists. I also agree that they should build a laptop like this where every free surface can be written on as a white board. It is surprising just how much I use this.
- Cshelton 10y agoThis has been around for awhile now and you can actually order them today: http://www.drawattention.co/ http://www.drawattention.co/ (aside from them being sold out...)
- ChristianGeek 10y agoThose have a logo on them though (although the blackboard one is cool too). Fun sales copy!
- stablemap 10y agoIt seems to me that the logo is a second sticker.
- knieveltech 10y agoGoogle reports a 75% increase in searches on the terms "how to get dry erase marker out of clothing"
- DonHopkins 10y agoYou can get a quart of chalkboard paint for $15. You can even recycle broken laptops by painting the screen! http://www.target.com/p/devine-color-by-valspar-1-quart-chalkboard-paint-coal/-/A-16654685 http://www.target.com/p/devine-color-by-valspar-1-quart-chal...
- riebschlager 10y agoHa! Kinda related, I made my niece and nephew wooden MacBooks based on that same idea. http://the816.com/wooden-macbooks/ http://the816.com/wooden-macbooks/
- solipsism 10y ago"oh... Thanks uncle riebschlager... a wooden MacBook..."
- riebschlager 10y agoYeah. That's pretty much how it went down.
- mcescalante 10y agoI think this is a really good idea, but if you look on eBay you can buy a 200cm by 45cm (~ 78.7 in by 17.7in) vinyl whiteboard sticker for $5. You could buy this, trim it down and use it on a handful of laptops at a significantly cheaper cost. There are lots of other listings for "whiteboard vinyl sticker" but here is the $5 one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Vinyl-Wall-Sticker-Removable-Whiteboard-Decals-200X45CM-/361620804352 http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Vinyl-Wall-Sticker-Removable-Whi... Also, I wonder if a "whiteboard magnet" would stick well to a mabook or aluminum bodied portable - wouldn't leave any residue: http://www.ebay.com/itm/17-x-11-Dry-Erase-Magnetic-Refrigerator-Flexible-White-Board-Planner-Message-/222314810254?hash=item33c2fecb8e:g:Dk8AAOSw4GVYKfWR http://www.ebay.com/itm/17-x-11-Dry-Erase-Magnetic-Refrigera...
- jacek 10y agoLooks like a solution to a non-existing problem.
- stephengillie 10y agoLooks like this submarine advertisement has surfaced.
- gthtjtkt 10y agoYou can get a giant roll of this stuff on Amazon for $6 less than your shipped price. And they even include a marker...
- jasonwilk 10y agoInstead of waiting, you can just order a small Writeyboard now which is exactly the same thing. http://www.Writeyboards.com http://www.Writeyboards.com
- groby_b 10y agoJust what I want to do - draw private info on the back of my laptop and lug it around. Anybody got a way to print CC numbers onto my shoes? (IOW: I think it's a cool hack that fails to consider actual implications outside of the immediate problem solved.)
- nirav72 10y agoSo basically I have to either flip it down to see what someone drew on the whiteboard or turn it around. Pen and paper work just as well.
- codeinterview 10y agoWoah! https://www.producthunt.com/posts/sketchcase https://www.producthunt.com/posts/sketchcase
- asteli 10y agoWhen I had a non-unibody Macbook Pro, I would actually doodle with a dry-erase marker directly onto my (glass) screen. This was handy for making small annotations as I was pondering designs, PCB layouts, etc. Unfortunately for my screen-doodling habit, new MacBooks have some kind of coating (AR? Oleophobic?) that causes the marker's fluid to bead up, ruining the effect.
- abecedarius 10y agoCliff Stoll (the Cuckoo's Egg / Klein bottle guy) used to write on his CRT screen too -- obviously a long time ago when I saw it.
- component 10y ago> Unfortunately for my screen-doodling habit, new MacBooks have some kind of coating (AR? Oleophobic?) that causes the marker's fluid to bead up, ruining the effect. I can confirm, my mid 2014 MBP screen is _ruined_. Tried alcohol, screen wipers (which actually made it worse) I am this close to using a detergent (I know I shouldn't). Any suggestions?
- achow 10y ago'Staingate' Apple is replacing the affected screens for free, I had mine replaced few months back (late 2013, 13" Retnina Macbook Pro). https://9to5mac.com/2015/10/19/staingate-retina-macbook-screen-repairs/ https://9to5mac.com/2015/10/19/staingate-retina-macbook-scre...
- dhimes 10y agoWhy is this being downvoted? Is it incorrect? If not it seems useful.
- felipebueno 10y agoStaingate is a real thing and @achow's comment is correct and is very useful and that's probably what is happening with @component's mbp.
- fluxem 10y agoI think it's a terrible idea. First, marker ink would be smudge all over backpack. Second, it's on the other side of the laptop! You wrote an algorithm on sketchcase and want to implement it. Well, now you have turn your laptop around every time too see it.
- mtdewcmu 10y agoIt seems like you'd have to pick up your laptop gingerly, no?
- anotheryou 10y agoexactly, why not just a sheet of plastic the same size to throw in to the laptop sleeve with the machine
- kevinliang 10y agoCool idea, but doesn't seem very practical. I also don't think people carry dry-erase markers with them
- rickycook 10y agoi think people who bought this would start to carry dry erase markers. companies also didn't buy dry erase markers before they had whiteboards
- brndn 10y ago"Terrible" is pretty harsh and there are wet-erase markers that don't smudge. You can come up with holes for any product. I think this is pretty clever and I bet people will buy it.
- icpmacdo 10y agoCalling this a terrible idea is such a typical garbage HN response. Its a cheap creative idea that someone put up for sale. Don't like it don't use it but I am sure it will sell to a bunch of customers that like it a lot.
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- wattt 10y agoJust get a touchscreen already. Then you can draw like on every other device you currently own.
- cconcepts 10y agoI dont get the indicators that its a new product. These guys look like they have been doing this since 2014: http://www.drawattention.co http://www.drawattention.co
- Null-Set 10y agoNow you can tell applicants that yes they will be coding on a laptop during the interview.
- devoply 10y agoYes and that's when I walk out of your interview. Some time ago I did an interview with elementary coding questions, like 2nd year of university stuff. Was a developer with 15 years of experience. Rage quit. They're like oh, you got 100% percent on the stuff you attempted, here is a new link to finish it. And I am like no thanks, have contract work, please send it my way. Not interested at a job at a place that interviews like this.
- UnoriginalGuy 10y agoWhile I dislike most programmer interviews for asking obscure or trick questions, what's wrong with them having a baseline set of coding questions? You might have 15 years of programming experience, but people lie on their resume all the time, and a lot of management positions in this space are hands off (and the manager's skills degrade/are for the wrong tech'). I certainly have a few managers with 20+ years of experience who cannot code a Hello World site in our primary technology. Their resume will still list them as "Senior Development Manager." PS - My managers are actually very good at their respective jobs, they just aren't hands on anymore. I am just saying that if they moved jobs their resume would be "misleading."
- ensiferum 10y agoA manager doesn't need to know how to write a Hello World. It can be useful for a manager to have technical knowledge but purely for managing wetware (i.e. humans/programmers) it isn't required.
- nakovet 10y agoI've met several 10+ years developers that couldn't code basic stuff, why instead of rage quitting you did not say "I don't want sound cocky but this stuff is really easy for me, do you have anything else?" by rage quitting I wouldn't trust you contract work, what would prevent you from rage quitting in a different scenario!?
- socialentp 10y agoCool idea, but you might want to revise your messaging: "I could make one for them but making them by hand is REALLY time consuming." "Handcrafted by Charles Han"
- mrmondo 10y agoI used to have a similar whiteboard stick on my old MacBook back in 2011 - it was really useful as long as I remembered to bring a whiteboard marker with me to meetings. It'd be nice to have an eink boogieboad like wrap instead but the problem with those it's it's erase all or nothing so, I'm sticking with ordering a new whiteboard wrap from here as they're so cheap.
- amingilani 10y agoI'm so excited. Ordered this, exactly what I needed!
- rubyfan 10y agoThis is a fantastic idea.
- SiVal 10y agoI'm not being glib here, but after experimenting with many such solutions over the years, I've found that the best solution for me is to always carry a cheap, paper notebook--like one of those black/white-spotted composition notebooks with cardboard covers and unlined paper--that is about the size of my laptop lid. I just slide the laptop and notebook together into whatever backpack or bag I'm using for the laptop. I always have a variety of pens and pencils with me, and writing/drawing with high-quality pens & pencils on real paper is better and more convenient in every way than writing on an equivalent-sized whiteboard surface. I then have 100 pages I can keep or give away instead of one that I have to delete and reuse, and without all the mess. Plus, I always have a couple of pens in my pocket, even when I don't have my laptop, so I never end up with a whiteboard but no markers. The only time I've found whiteboards more useful than paper are when I needed a very large surface. If a small surface is good enough, paper works better for me.
- endisukaj 10y agoTotally agree. Norhing beats good old pen and paper for notes or sketches. I'm also a fountain pen nut so I get to use my fountain pens while taking notes so it's a win-win for me.
- welpwelp 10y agoI agreed but these are different mediums. With paper you can't erase obviously, so you use significantly more space when free scratching. Hence the usefulness of the whiteboard. On a different note, notebooks are great. I converted my wallet into thin Moleskine notebooks that fit in my pocket super easily. I put my cards and bills in it. And I always have a pen in me. Archival pens are great. It's good for doodling too :>
- mickronome 10y agoDecent quality paper and an assortment of Pilot Frixion Clicker (erasable) ball point pens in different colors are what I use for hashing stuff out, but even then a whiteboard is better for some tasks simply because of it's ephemeral nature.
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- mansilladev 10y agoComes with free erasers: your shirt, arms and backpack.
- chewxy 10y agoFascinating. Other people has come to the same conclusion I see. Here's mine posted on reddit a few days ago : https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5q8evm/comment/dcxeuf3 https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5q8evm/comment/d...
- apapli 10y agoCute. But impractical, not to mention messy. They should allow you to put your company's logo on it, as it would be a cool alternative to branded coffee cups, pens and mouse pads.
- choult 10y agoFor the past five years I've been working at white-veneered desks - and for the vast majority of that time I've actually been using my desk as a dry-wipe board. It doesn't make too much of a mess when it rubs off on my hands, and it's a fantastic way to quickly sketch out a to-do list or draw a diagram for a colleague.
- vans 10y agoI love having pen marks on my shirt when i'm carrying my laptop
- keithpeter 10y agoI liked the roadmap on the OA's page. Others have mentioned the stick-on dry wipe vinyl whiteboards that are available. For walls there is also 'magic whiteboard' - a roll of plastic material that sticks to the wall using static electricity. I'd mention the 'mini-whiteboards' sold for use in classrooms - usually A4/Letter size. These are about 2mm thick and can be used as clipboards as well with a suitable bulldog clip. My final idea would be to get a map case like the one that hikers use to keep their maps dry and put completed whiteboards in that for reference. Personally, I prefer paper/pen &c
- chiefalchemist 10y agoWhat I'd like to see is a stealthy monitor with case (or just a universal case for monitor or laptop). The case, fully open, could latch open and the back flat side would be a whiteboard or even clalk board. Kinda like an artist's portfolio case, but for devs. In addition the case, if laptop size, would be semi drop proof. The point being, I'd travel more by bike if I didn't hear a fall would total my hardware. Finally, big ask here, make it insulated. Leaving my machine in a cold car while snowboarding means I generally like to wait a bit til the machine comes back to room temp. Yes. I've seen hardened cases (a la for DJs & musicians) but they're often overkill, AND I want the outside to serve a purpose (I.e., whiteboard). Keep it in the $100 range and you have a winner.
- blauditore 10y agoIdeally, this could be done on the screen itself. Using a 2-in-1-laptop like Lenovo Yogas you can position the screen directly in front of you, and it has a touchscreen (obviously). I guess the problem is that even with digital pens, haptic feedback and maybe precision are not up to par with the real thing. But those things might improve a lot in the next 10-20 years, there seems to be a decent amount of research going on for the former.
- jgord 10y agoI wonder about the low-tech use case of : writing on this wb surface on laptop, then re-covering with clear plastic to make it semi-permanent [ preventing wipe off with handling / slipcase / backpack ] Does the original peel-off wb material cover would re-adhere ? .. if so, handy.
- 5706906c06c 10y agoI use a pencil on my MacBook, and then erase it.
- King-Aaron 10y agoWe used to make whiteboards at a printing company I worked for. It was mainly just white SAV (self adhesive vinyl) with a laminate over the top. Ten dollars is an awful lot to pay for that, when you're talking about just a laptop size. You'd be looking at much less than a dollar in materials. Edit: Though the fella obviously recognises this, and has a DIY on the page... And I can see people buying them for the convenience element. Still though...