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I still use a desktop for most things What I have wanted for years was a small little portable desktop (sort of like those intel NUC's but larger and more powe
by Melatonic 5y ago
I still use a desktop for most things
What I have wanted for years was a small little portable desktop (sort of like those intel NUC's but larger and more powerful) that was basically using laptop like internals but designed more for speed, power, and efficient cooling. You could then pair that with a decent sized external monitor (like some kind of portable 21 or 24" 16:10 widescreen - maybe even one that folds) and a small, folding mechanical keyboard (I have preferred the 87 key layout for almost a decade now for everything). On that keyboard would be a mouse knub (like Thinkpads and many business laptops) and below the spacebar would be two mouse buttons (also like a Thinkpad) so that you can click with your thumbs.
This setup would be super efficient for real mobile workstation use. I have yet to find a system more efficient than the "eraser" mouse knub - you can type and use the mouth without ever moving your hands off the keyboard or the proper row AND you can easily click the mouse with your thumbs which makes for extremely fast transitioning between typing and mouse use. Once you get used to the knub it is actually very accurate (some laptops have much better implementations of this than others) - I would say up there with the best trackpads.
You could also take advantage of any and all screens you might come across while travelling - go to a friends house and they have a nice, larger TV? That becomes your second monitor. Etc etc. And with this keyboard setup you can also even sit on a touch and not have to deal with an awkward trackpad or mouse setup.
You could accomplish the same thing with a decent laptop but you would have a lot of extra space taken up by a keyboard you may not use often and a small screen you might use but not really want to use.
Alternatively I suppose a thicker laptop could be made with this type of keyboard integrated and it could also have some type of fancy fold out screen (similar to those new Samsung phones). I don't personally care how thick my laptop is or what the obsession is with thinness - storing and transporting a laptop (for myself at least) is always limited by the other physical dimensions. I do not also really care all that much about weight - most situations in which I would be carrying one I am not going to notice a huge difference between 5 pounds and 15. Although for backpacking of course (which is pretty niche) a light laptop would be nice.
- mhitza 5y agoThat's one other reason why the steam deck is appealing to me. Small size, close to average desktop level performance (ballparking it on the fact that it runs AAA games well). During travel I could bring it along in my carry bag, and an external monitor in a backpack. I've also seen some nice portable&foldable bluetooth keyboards that have a trackpad on the side. Not a fan of the nubs.
- rascul 5y ago> Not a fan of the nubs. I thought I was the only one. Now I know there's at least two of us!
- Melatonic 5y agoActually a very interesting idea - I wonder if there will be third party cooling plates like we see for laptops that can be used with the steam deck. Would be nice to have a nice secondary little passive/active thing you could place below it to make sure it stayed nice and cool for desktop use.
- pph 5y agoI used a HP ProDresk (USFF) for that. Quite small, reasonably powerful, supports 3 monitors and linux-friendly (at least the i5-9500T Version I have). Drawback is that it doesn't really take up much less space / weight than a small laptop and you always need external monitor + keyboard, which makes it much less portable.
- sleepybrett 5y agoI knew a guy that used to use a NUC as his primary work computer. He'd toss it in his bag if he decided he was going to work from home the next day or if he wanted to get some extra work done in the evening. They have plenty of power for anyone doing general webservice software engineering and they are more portable than a laptop.