3 ms·

I love the idea of the "pocket workstation," and I've never been as happy with a mobile device as I was with my n810, which was sort of the missing link between

I love the idea of the "pocket workstation," and I've never been as happy with a mobile device as I was with my n810, which was sort of the missing link between the UMPC and Smartphone (ran Linux with some mobile affordances, slider keyboard that was comfortable for thumb typing), and I want to have that again... but every time I look I don't think these mini laptops quite make it in to the niche. I have my little 12" carryin' around laptop that has a decent keyboard for touch-typing and an OS that does what I ask of it, but I need to have a bag to carry and a surface or seat to use, and my smartphone that fits in a pocket and I can use on the go, but whose human I/O and coercive environment make me rage most of the time I try to do anything nontrivial on it. These mini-laptops are a little too big to pocket comfortably, and a little too small to operate comfortably. ... The Gibsonian cyberdeck of the Sprawl books had HMDs and gloves or straight up neural interfaces because it was obvious by the mid 90s that the problem was the human interface. I want to see some innovation on that front. HMDs (both immersive and non-intrusive) that are comfortable for text. Software that works with e-ink displays (or even just wide-spread support for pgup/pgdn events to paginate and scroll without a bunch of unnecessary refreshes - lookin' at you Android). Key-gloves or Chorders you can use clipped to a pants pocket or wrapped around the back/edges of a handheld device. Hell, just going back to decent thumb-able keyboards integrated so you can hold and use them. These aren't new ideas, just once that need to be refined into something serviceable. Get away from the fondleslab appliance that uses half of its expensive, power-hungry touchscreen to present an awkward gimped keyboard that only works as well as its prediction estimates and re-flows your content as it pops in and out paradigm, and improve on the "srs bsns computer" for the era of miniaturization.

IggleSniggle 6y ago
So...I bought the original Galaxy Note with the idea of using it as a pocket workstation. I had a bluetooth keyboard and mouse that easily connected and had a spot to clip the phone to, and when a larger screen was available, it could be connected via the USB port. I thought it was something that I wanted, but I didn't. Now the thing that I think I want is a mobile VR headset with chording keyboard. Ironically, the Galaxy Note can sorta fulfill that role, too. But not well. And I haven't yet discovered a chording keyboard that I like. I want a VR-headset with chording keyboard workstation setup, then finally, I will be able to live my best dystopian-future life.
- PAPPPmAc 6y ago
  Similar thoughts. I've built myself a couple chorders, mostly using the same 7-key arrangement as the Infogrip BAT and Spiffchorder default. I'm deeply qwerty habituated and finding low enough actuation force switches to be comfortable depressing several has been a challenge^, so I struggle with them a bit, but they're _enticing_. I've been trying to come up with a good way to build one that I can reasonably comfortably and intrusively use against my leg (fabric with capacitve pads?) or as a keyglove or something - I like to pace around while I compose text or work out code, and want to try entry while I pace. I'd look like a madman, but that's acceptable. I'm yet to see an HMD that I'd be willing to do extended text manipulation on. I occasionally consider the Microwriter model where you only have a line or so of display on your chorder, but I'm not sold enough on it to go through the hassle of building one of those little mini-OLED driven monocles. ^ BATs used Cherry MX Blacks with unobtainable custom springs. Sub-miniature microswitches throw click is super obnoxious. Etc.

IggleSniggle 6y ago

So...I bought the original Galaxy Note with the idea of using it as a pocket workstation. I had a bluetooth keyboard and mouse that easily connected and had a spot to clip the phone to, and when a larger screen was available, it could be connected via the USB port. I thought it was something that I wanted, but I didn't. Now the thing that I think I want is a mobile VR headset with chording keyboard. Ironically, the Galaxy Note can sorta fulfill that role, too. But not well. And I haven't yet discovered a chording keyboard that I like. I want a VR-headset with chording keyboard workstation setup, then finally, I will be able to live my best dystopian-future life.

PAPPPmAc 6y ago
Similar thoughts. I've built myself a couple chorders, mostly using the same 7-key arrangement as the Infogrip BAT and Spiffchorder default. I'm deeply qwerty habituated and finding low enough actuation force switches to be comfortable depressing several has been a challenge^, so I struggle with them a bit, but they're _enticing_. I've been trying to come up with a good way to build one that I can reasonably comfortably and intrusively use against my leg (fabric with capacitve pads?) or as a keyglove or something - I like to pace around while I compose text or work out code, and want to try entry while I pace. I'd look like a madman, but that's acceptable. I'm yet to see an HMD that I'd be willing to do extended text manipulation on. I occasionally consider the Microwriter model where you only have a line or so of display on your chorder, but I'm not sold enough on it to go through the hassle of building one of those little mini-OLED driven monocles. ^ BATs used Cherry MX Blacks with unobtainable custom springs. Sub-miniature microswitches throw click is super obnoxious. Etc.