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He does address this exact concern in the video. He explains that laptops make ergonomic trade offs he isn’t amenable to it, so the whole point was to build a N

He does address this exact concern in the video. He explains that laptops make ergonomic trade offs he isn’t amenable to it, so the whole point was to build a NON laptop.

unwind 4y ago
Well. sure, but obviously still keeping the name "laptop" in the video title is, as always on the good old 'Tube, clickbait. It's not, uh, intellectually honest to say "here's how to build a triple-screen laptop!" and then follow that up with "oh, btw, don't use laptops, desktop computers are better for you, see?". All that said, I did enjoy the build and it's really cool to see both Framework parts being used as well as of course 3d printing. Nice.
- whazor 4y ago
  The current YT title “Triple-Screen Laptop DONE RIGHT” is still defendable, as it means doing the whole concept of 'Triple-Screen Laptop' in a way it is useful. I think the biggest issue is the current title on Hacker News: “DIY triple-screen laptop based on the framework”, as it is clearly not a laptop.
  - SiempreViernes 4y ago
    Well, even then I think the title is stretching it: to me the more sensible way to make a triple-screen-laptop-sitting-on-a-desktop is to just connect a normal triple screen setup via a docking station.
- jasonlotito 4y ago
  I would argue that the name laptop is the idea of a portable computer setup. If the suggestion is that a laptop is something that is designed to work in your lap, I would argue that laptops aren't designed to work in your lap. If the argument is the form factor (folding, keyboard, screen, mouse), then sure, fine. You can call iPads laptops.
  - SiempreViernes 4y ago
    Whether or not they are intentionally designed to be used in a lap, it is a fact a laptop from toshiba will be usable when put onto your lap. You could argue that something "truly" designed for lapwork would better deserve the name laptop, but it's just weird to say that something completely unusable in your lap should be called a laptop.
- graphe 4y ago
  Do you remember what laptops were like? The title of "laptop" itself was a lie. You could not put a burning hot 12lb electronic on your lap and it was proven to lower fertility in men. Only recently has this changed.
  - newaccount74 4y ago
    I kinda miss the hot Macbook on my lap, was very cozy on the couch on cold winter days. The new Macbooks feel dead cold.
hellotomyrars 4y ago
Obviously he can build want he wants to the specifications he wants and even call it what he wants but if the purpose was to not build a laptop because he doesn’t like the form factor of a laptop why call it a laptop? It just doesn’t make sense.
- yccs27 4y ago
  I can understand it insofar that my first association with the word "laptop" is the portable computer with integrated keyboard that mostly sits on my desk. This build isn't too far from that.
  - hellotomyrars 4y ago
    I suppose I can understand it from the perspective, and that is probably the majority of the time a laptop is in use, but I also associate a laptop with a self contained unit that has all the required input devices and requires no additional setup to be usable. Flip it open on a bed, anywhere, in a second, including your lap. I have a ton of general purpose computers that can be set up on a desk but are otherwise wildly impractical some place like an airplane, or in any kind of moving vehicle. It is kind of why I still am married to having a traditional laptop instead of just using my iPad with a keyboard case for example. It just gets more fiddly. I’d take my steam deck with me to somewhere I’d be able to set up with for non-gaming use but I’d never try to use it as a regular computer on a plane or even in a coffee shop killing time between appointments or whatever. We don’t do portables/luggable as terminology anymore but that is where it breaks for me. I appreciate you offering that perspective though.
    - SiempreViernes 4y ago
      Yeah, I find it odd how many people think "usable while travelling" is not an important feature of a laptop.
mbreese 4y ago
I thought it wasn't an effort to make a NON laptop, but rather to try to redefine what a laptop should be. Instead of having small computers that we can use while it is sitting on our laps, we should have a portable computer that is more comfortable to use. Take the part of the laptop that's good (the portability) and adapt it to be something that is even better. We can quibble with if this is a "true" laptop later...
- SiempreViernes 4y ago
  > Instead of having small computers that we can use while it is sitting on our laps, we should have a portable computer that is more comfortable to use. Yes, but the laptop form factor is the only thing that has any hope of working in the space granted to someone sitting on a train. And "use it while travelling" feels like a fairly important use case for the "mobile computer" niche.

He does address this exact concern in the video. He explains that laptops make ergonomic trade offs he isn’t amenable to it, so the whole point was to build a NON laptop.

unwind 4y ago

Well. sure, but obviously still keeping the name "laptop" in the video title is, as always on the good old 'Tube, clickbait. It's not, uh, intellectually honest to say "here's how to build a triple-screen laptop!" and then follow that up with "oh, btw, don't use laptops, desktop computers are better for you, see?". All that said, I did enjoy the build and it's really cool to see both Framework parts being used as well as of course 3d printing. Nice.

whazor 4y ago
The current YT title “Triple-Screen Laptop DONE RIGHT” is still defendable, as it means doing the whole concept of 'Triple-Screen Laptop' in a way it is useful. I think the biggest issue is the current title on Hacker News: “DIY triple-screen laptop based on the framework”, as it is clearly not a laptop.
- SiempreViernes 4y ago
  Well, even then I think the title is stretching it: to me the more sensible way to make a triple-screen-laptop-sitting-on-a-desktop is to just connect a normal triple screen setup via a docking station.
jasonlotito 4y ago
I would argue that the name laptop is the idea of a portable computer setup. If the suggestion is that a laptop is something that is designed to work in your lap, I would argue that laptops aren't designed to work in your lap. If the argument is the form factor (folding, keyboard, screen, mouse), then sure, fine. You can call iPads laptops.
- SiempreViernes 4y ago
  Whether or not they are intentionally designed to be used in a lap, it is a fact a laptop from toshiba will be usable when put onto your lap. You could argue that something "truly" designed for lapwork would better deserve the name laptop, but it's just weird to say that something completely unusable in your lap should be called a laptop.
graphe 4y ago
Do you remember what laptops were like? The title of "laptop" itself was a lie. You could not put a burning hot 12lb electronic on your lap and it was proven to lower fertility in men. Only recently has this changed.
- newaccount74 4y ago
  I kinda miss the hot Macbook on my lap, was very cozy on the couch on cold winter days. The new Macbooks feel dead cold.

hellotomyrars 4y ago

Obviously he can build want he wants to the specifications he wants and even call it what he wants but if the purpose was to not build a laptop because he doesn’t like the form factor of a laptop why call it a laptop? It just doesn’t make sense.

yccs27 4y ago
I can understand it insofar that my first association with the word "laptop" is the portable computer with integrated keyboard that mostly sits on my desk. This build isn't too far from that.
- hellotomyrars 4y ago
  I suppose I can understand it from the perspective, and that is probably the majority of the time a laptop is in use, but I also associate a laptop with a self contained unit that has all the required input devices and requires no additional setup to be usable. Flip it open on a bed, anywhere, in a second, including your lap. I have a ton of general purpose computers that can be set up on a desk but are otherwise wildly impractical some place like an airplane, or in any kind of moving vehicle. It is kind of why I still am married to having a traditional laptop instead of just using my iPad with a keyboard case for example. It just gets more fiddly. I’d take my steam deck with me to somewhere I’d be able to set up with for non-gaming use but I’d never try to use it as a regular computer on a plane or even in a coffee shop killing time between appointments or whatever. We don’t do portables/luggable as terminology anymore but that is where it breaks for me. I appreciate you offering that perspective though.
  - SiempreViernes 4y ago
    Yeah, I find it odd how many people think "usable while travelling" is not an important feature of a laptop.

mbreese 4y ago

I thought it wasn't an effort to make a NON laptop, but rather to try to redefine what a laptop should be. Instead of having small computers that we can use while it is sitting on our laps, we should have a portable computer that is more comfortable to use. Take the part of the laptop that's good (the portability) and adapt it to be something that is even better. We can quibble with if this is a "true" laptop later...

SiempreViernes 4y ago
> Instead of having small computers that we can use while it is sitting on our laps, we should have a portable computer that is more comfortable to use. Yes, but the laptop form factor is the only thing that has any hope of working in the space granted to someone sitting on a train. And "use it while travelling" feels like a fairly important use case for the "mobile computer" niche.