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Coding without a laptop: Two weeks with AR glasses and Linux on Android
- teruakohatu 1y agoIt is disappointing that this requires rooting. Essentially this requires deciding if you want a dev environment or banking apps/nfc wallet or be willing to play an endless game of cat and mouse.
- az09mugen 1y agoNice to read I'm not alone thinking of this nomadic kind of setup. And also I got the feedback I hoped on the Xreal Air 2 glasses : https://eu.shop.xreal.com/fr/products/xreal-air-2 https://eu.shop.xreal.com/fr/products/xreal-air-2
- mikenew 1y agoHey thanks (I'm the author)! BTW the "Pro" version has the electrochromic dimming, so I recommend paying a little extra for that unless you're really sure you're not going to need it. EDIT: To clarify, I meant the "Xreal Air 2 Pro", not the "Xreal One Pro". The latter are much more expensive.
- Blankono 1y agoYour price point for the used glasses is quite lucky to just play around with it or using it sometimes. They cost 800 new :| 1080p is that really okay?
- worldsayshi 1y agoI've been thinking about using xreal glasses for coding but all the reviews I've seen seems to think that the fidelity isn't good enough for reading text for lengthy stretches of time. This article is the first counter argument here.
- rramon 1y agoMight even use the phone as a trackpad/mouse for other non cli tasks.
- theflyestpilot 1y agothis is rad
- gejose 1y agoWhat a shame that you really can't do this using an iPhone. Unless things have changed recently the closest you can come to this is using iSH to run some linux binaries (x86_32), but it's quite limited last I checked.
- theturtletalks 1y agoUTM runs virtual machines on iOS and has been around a while: https://getutm.app https://getutm.app Issue is that Apple doesn’t allow apps to run JIT so if you want the JIT version of UTM, you need to sideload or Jailbreak. The non-JIT version is on the App Store.
- ukuina 1y agoAre there any OSes that have usable performance (<1min to boot) on iOS without JIT? I tried a few and they were impractically slow.
- josephg 1y agoWhat’s the performance penalty for the non JIT version?
- theturtletalks 1y agoReviews on the App Store say very slow and you can’t move windows without waiting minutes. A Linux distro that’s CLI only seems to work.
- gejose 1y agoI've tried the non JIT version, and while it's cool that something like this even works, it's not actually usable. It's very, very slow for anything graphical. You might be able to get away with just running a terminal.
- rasengan 1y agoNow that Google is rolling out native Debian with Android, this will only get better - in addition to Google's native DeX. I'm sooo ready for the one device life! :D
- VTimofeenko 1y agoAVF feels a bit janky with its constant crashing on startup. 16GB space is a bit restrictive, though I doubt it won't be raised at some point.
- rahen 1y agoYou can mount a data partition inside, so the 16GB limit is really just for the system.
- ireadmevs 1y agoAwesome! Regarding the keyboard I would recommend going towards the mechanical path. Browse https://kbd.news/ https://kbd.news/ for some inspiration. I built a 36 keys for myself that is portable and very capable. You can even map keys to control the mouse and much more. Definitely going to keep an eye on the advancements of AR glasses from now on.
- mikenew 1y agoWow, there's some very nice builds there. I so far I hadn't seen anything that seemed genuinely pocket-able but there are a few there that look like they might work. I'd still really love something that can lock flat and be used on a lap, but that feels doable.
- evanjrowley 1y agoI love kbd.news and was recently struck by the novelty of the Tackle keyboard[0]. Seems rather extreme but my first thought was it could be a great complement to AR glasses. The design could be improved with improved with some tenting, because those keys at the edges will be easy to accidentally trigger when reaching for other keys towards the center. [0] https://kbd.news/Tackle-keyboard-2549.html https://kbd.news/Tackle-keyboard-2549.html
- Xss3 1y agoI could make people SO uncomfortable if I worked as a receptionist with this strapped on and threw in some very subtle signs of enjoying it. Reminds me of the south park nipple twisting guy. Very cool keyboard for VR and AR though. Can't really think of anything better if you wanted to type something quick in the middle of a physical VR game.
- alchemist1e9 1y agoAnyone - I need this! or something similar as a wearable keyboard. Please help me. I rigged together a torso/chest mounted keyboard system using rugged keyboard and laptop chest harness modified. It actually kinda works but this Tackle keyboard would work really well for my use case, which overlaps significantly with this post. I use Viture XR glasses, similar to the Xreals in the post. And I have a rugged laptop in a backpack with LTE modem and external antenna. Then what I do is go hiking in woods and periodically stop and open a Ta-Da chair, which I use as a walking stick or carry on my back, then put on the XR glasses which connected to laptop just using the Viture HDMI adapter, open the keyboard harness, and start working, all terminal based work. The worst worst part of this crazy setup is the keyboard system. It’s awkward and kinda scares other people as it looks like maybe I have a tactical military vest on. opening it up and getting oriented is like 90% of the hassle. Please someone help me get this Tackle keyboard. I don’t have the physical engineering skills needed, I’m a software guy. DM me on reddit with same username as HN. I will PAY decent money to anyone who can deliver me a working version of this Tackle keyboard. I also own and tried tap strap and it’s not viable. Keys needed. LLMs combined with Voice to Text is promising and something on software side I’m looking into actively, but I don’t think no keyboard is a productivity retaining option anytime soon. I do at least 10K steps daily when I have this system working and my goal is to get to 15K steps and drop weight. My preferred environment is outdoors away from desks and tables and civilization.
- montebicyclelo 1y ago> I really didn't want to root the phone, but nothing else did what I needed Shame that rooting is such a pain, and risks bricking the device. (Apparently Google's introduction of an anti-rollback bootloader this month has caused a few people's devices to get bricked when they tried to root.)
- hparadiz 1y agoSeriously. Why is using your own pocket computer so hostile to user intent these days?
- surajrmal 1y agoBecause the world is full of malicious entities who want to exploit people and most people do not need root.
- ycuser2 1y agoThat's right, but why make rooting almost Impossible? Why they are fighting rooting at all? They could make rooting easier, for example in the hidden developer menu.
- me-vs-cat 1y agoBy malicious entities, do you mean the phone manufacturers, third-parties, or both?
- jwrallie 1y agoProbably malware makers? Some phone manufacturers use that argument to explain why they prevent users from becoming root. I still read it as phone manufacturers on my first pass!
- goodpoint 1y agoThe hardware is owned by the user but the OS is essentially owned by Google or Apple. The user is a tenant or a cow to be milked. The main goals is preventing a spread of "google play" alternatives with paid apps.
- hawk_ 1y ago> The biggest downside of the glasses is that the FOV is actually too big. Seeing the top and bottom edges of the screen means moving your eyeballs to angles that are just a little uncomfortable, Is there a window manager and/or eyeball tracking trick that could be added to this setup to bring content into the center?
- k__ 1y agoThat's not a FOV issue, that's a DOF issue. You can't comfortably use any XR system for more than videos, if you can't use your neck to look around.
- two_handfuls 1y agoOh that's a cool coincidence, I was just watching a video of someone coding a game without a laptop. In their case it's a VR game on a VR headset (based on Android), using Godot. It's not really related I know but it's neat how all those not-strictly-computers are getting more useful! Edit: forgot the video link! It's https://youtu.be/4ZAzi-4Ko3g?feature=shared https://youtu.be/4ZAzi-4Ko3g?feature=shared
- conradev 1y agoThis is my favorite portable keyboard: https://www.logitech.com/en-us/shop/p/keys-to-go2-universal.920-012867 https://www.logitech.com/en-us/shop/p/keys-to-go2-universal.... Unless they have a way to lock open, foldable keyboards will always subtly bend which is annoying enough for me to ditch the folding part entirely.
- whatever1 1y agoI wish they also included the trackpad beneath it. I basically want a laptop base without the screen.
- opan 1y agoI wonder if the keyboard covers for the Microsoft Surface tablets could somehow be repurposed.
- conradev 1y agoThat’s a great place to look because they sell this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-pro-flex-keyboard/91xw9xj8bm7l https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-pro-flex-keyboard/... Tempting!
- 8note 1y agothey arent that nice, compared to what im currently using (epo64: https://a.co/d/gRQnvjE https://a.co/d/gRQnvjE apparently on sale atm) that said, my surface pro 3's keyboard is quite old now, so maybe the new ones are nicer
- Philpax 1y agoThey more-or-less improved the keyboard immediately after the SP3. The SP4 is a night-and-day difference to the SP3 (to the point where I was considering getting a SP4 keyboard for my SP3 when I still had it), and they've gotten better since.
- seltzered_ 1y ago
- titzer 1y agoI have these same AR glasses and I really like them. The one downside is that they don't seem to handle heat too well--they'll crash if I run them in full sunlight for more than a few minutes. Also, they are not really AR--they are just a floating screen, and supposedly there is motion-tracking hardware, but no software. That's OK; a big floating screen that is fixed to my head is actually good. In full sunlight I think this requires opacity. I lost the plastic cover for the lenses and I hacked up some cardboard thing. These glasses have a really cool 3D side-by-side mode. The button activation is awkward, but it effectively turns this into a 3840x1280 screen. I couldn't really find much desktop support for this, but there are a few YouTube videos that are 16x9 SBS and they look really really cool. Unfortunately in this mode the desktop is then super-wide and spread across two eyes, so it's almost impossible to use a regular laptop with them. A 3D OS desktop would be killer on these! I didn't try to go full mobile with a phone. The cord is somewhat annoying, but I think I prefer it over a big stupid battery and some wireless protocol. One wrinkle is that the interface is USB-C. The glasses need power, and though you can/could power them over HDMI, they don't support that. You need the device to support HDMI over USB-C and recognize the glasses as a display. The manufacturer offers a completely hilarious battery-powered HDMI-to-USB-C adapter. I have no idea why there is no powered solution; maybe there is.
- lagniappe 1y agoYou got them post-rebrand. If you shop by the old name "nReal" then you can find the non powered HDMI adapter. Also, the app is called nebula, but the motion control is just annoying and not worth it. I like mine, they work great, but the FOV is tiny, and all of the chirping about AR from influencers/media just doesn't help how underwhelming they are if you go in with those expectations rather than just a HMD. https://www.amazon.com/Formerly-Connects-Lightning-Compatible-Nintendo-Playstation/dp/B0BF53342D https://www.amazon.com/Formerly-Connects-Lightning-Compatibl...
- flutas 1y ago> I have these same AR glasses and I really like them. The one downside is that they don't seem to handle heat too well--they'll crash if I run them in full sunlight for more than a few minutes. Yup, I found laying my head on the left side where the cord comes it also causes them to overheat quick. My solution is to always lay on the right hand side of them and I actually put some stick on heatsinks on the left "leg" body that also really helps keep them more comfortably cool. Also weird quirk with them and USB-C I've found. If you plug them in to a macbook it's 50/50 if they work or just turn on the tint. If that happens, rotating the USB-C plug causes them to work.
- asveikau 1y ago> I unfortunately had to upgrade my phone, because to drive the glasses you need to have DisplayPort Alt mode. My very cheap, very crappy old phone did not. I also run a low spec android phone, and I tried the same brand of glasses with it. My workaround was a screencast to HDMI adapter, paired with an HDMI to to DP over USB-C. Both are cheap. Occasionally the screencast flakes out. But when the network is working well it's pretty good.
- 999900000999 1y agoTechnically wouldn't it be much easier to just do the actual programming in a GitHub code space ? I guess you'd need a stable connection though. I might try this as soon as Android actually impliments desktop mode correctly. Surprised OP didn't use Samsung Dex.
- Mortiffer 1y agoThinking the same. Also considering the amount of speed up you get from the copilot .
- Jarwain 1y agoIve been thinking the same thing! Except with Code-server or some other way to get vscode's remote over ssh
- stevage 1y agoOP wanted to work on a plane though.
- OsrsNeedsf2P 1y agoDoes GitHub code spaces allow you to compile stuff and get artifacts? I've never used it so I'm not sure what the limitations are compared to the Linux desktop (which is about as powerful as you can get)
- throwthro0954 1y agoI'm quite far sighted, is it possible to use AR glasses for farsighted people?
- mikenew 1y agoThe focal plane of the glasses is around 10 feet, so I think you should be able to see it just as well as anything else at that distance.
- bernardom 1y agoHow do glasses like this work for someone who wears eyeglasses for myopia and astigmatism, and doesn't like contacts?
- seanthemon 1y agoThere are perscription lenses, but not sure how well they work https://lensology.co.uk/xreal-air-2-ultra-lenses/ https://lensology.co.uk/xreal-air-2-ultra-lenses/
- owl_vision 1y agothey don't work for me having astigmatism with or without prescription glasses.
- mingus88 1y agoWhen I did a Vision Pro demo they had lenses on hand to accommodate my astigmatism. It was pretty nice…and about 10x the cost of this
- bernardom 1y agoOh, that's really cool though that they can handle it! It's funny that 3500 seems sooo much to spend for hardware now... over the last 25 years, it's gotten so much cheaper between lower price macbooks and not needing to upgrade phones and laptops nearly so often.
- alt227 1y agoIts not so much to spend for a full powerful computing device which you can do anything you need to on for work or play (like a powerful laptop or desktop), but it is a lot for a purely media consumption device like a headset (which is essentially a fancy TV).
- cuvinny 1y agoAs long as your prescription isn't to extreme the VITURE Pro XR exists and is similar. I tried it and it worked surprisingly well but returned it because the headtracking didn't work on Linux and I didn't like the static view.
- halyconWays 1y agoAir 2 Pros!? I have those and can't stand using them for work. I was hoping the One Pros would be a big enough step up that I could use AR glasses for daily productivity.
- zmmmmm 1y agoCan you elaborate what the main issue is for you?
- halyconWays 1y agoMainly lack of text clarity, resolution, jitter when trying to keep the image still with the xreal beam, and low FOV
- zmmmmm 1y agothat's really good to know When you look at reviews they all exclaim how clear and crisp it is, but they are virtually never looking at text, which is approximately the only thing I want to look at.
- halyconWays 1y agoI compare it to VR headsets, and I've used most of them. I currently use a Quest Pro and consider that clearer and easier to read than the Air 2 Pros
- zmmmmm 1y agoThat's really good to know as I have both a Quest 3 and a Quest Pro myself. What I'd say is that Quest 3 is about the minimum I can work with. I did work with Quest Pro for a while and it was just usable but only as an exception. If the current display glasses are worse than Quest Pro then for sure I'm not going to be happy.
- sneak 1y ago> I wrote most of this blog post sitting at a picnic table in a park. Screen glare and brightness is not an issue. I can fit into tight spaces. This setup was infinitely more comfortable than a laptop when on a plane. Some coffee shops also have narrow bars that are too small for a laptop, but not for this. The phone has a cellular connection, so I'm not tied to wifi. In other words, there's a sense of freedom that you do not get with a laptop. And I can be outdoors. One of the things I've grown tired of as software dev is feeling like I'm stuck inside all the time in front of a screen. With this I can walk to a coffee shop and work for an hour or two, then get up and walk to a park for another hour of work. Am I the only one who wishes they could be inside in a windowless room 24/7/365? There’s climate control, HEPA filtration, good chairs, peace and quiet, precisely the light level and color and direction I like, etc, at all times. Every time I go outside, the environment is worse than being at home indoors. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one on the planet who doesn’t enjoy being outdoors at all.
- scotty79 1y agoNah, there are at least few of us. I still go out though to walk and cycle, sometimes eat, but anything else is more comfortable at home.
- Jtsummers 1y ago> Am I the only one who wishes they could be inside in a windowless room 24/7/365? I spent a decade in a building like that for my 9-5 job. It gets old, unless you really hate sunlight and fresh air.
- 8note 1y agoi wish i could have those bright window spots everyone hates. the glare doesnt bother me. i do just go outside on the building deck instead
- sneak 1y agoIt being an office building, you likely did not have nearly the level of environmental control I describe. I do really hate sunlight, but fresh air is essential. If you don’t have fresh air indoors, your HVAC design is bad. Air is one of the easiest things to move around.
- gitroom 1y agoThis is nuts in the best way - love seeing someone out here just making things work for real stuff.
- cycomanic 1y agoI've been wanting a simulavr since I saw the first videos. A proper Linux dev environment in a pair of VR classes (and I really wouldnt want to hack around Linux on android). Too bad that they still far away from being real.
- asdev 1y agoApple is releasing Vision OS 2 which lets you do an ultrawide display on the Vision Pro. It looks phenomenal and has no lag
- aaronscott 1y agoThey have an ultrawide mode available now. Personally I find it very uncomfortable. You have to move your whole head to see the sides, and the vision pro is heavy. Looking off to the side for a length of time is uncomfortable.
- asdev 1y agoyou would have to do the same thing with an ultrawide monitor, minus the weight of the AVP
- hiatus 1y agoNot if it's curved.
- Philpax 1y agoTo add to this: I have a Vision Pro and a 34" curved ultrawide. The latter is much more usable in this regard, because the effective resolution per degree is higher, which means you can keep your head static and use your eyes to look around. By contrast, you have to use a giant screen on the Vision Pro to get equivalent resolution, which means you have to move your head. It still has its advantages (you can take it wherever you go, and the resolution of the virtual screen can be higher), but it's not yet comparable to a physical monitor, to my chagrin.
- conradev 1y agoThe foveated rendering didn’t look phenomenal for me the last time I tried. It gives the perception of a wide FOV but your peripheral vision is still blurry.
- 1y ago
- tippytippytango 1y agoI hope they can figure out why these give some people headaches and eye strain (like myself) I really want to use this, but can't stand the pain for more than a few minutes.
- layer8 1y agoOne reason is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergence-accommodation_conflict https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergence-accommodation_conflic.... Very difficult to solve.
- xnzakg 1y agoFor normal VR/AR, definitely, since you want to have objects moving in the Z direction. For this usecase it should be enough to show the "flat" virtual screen at the focal distance.
- mrbluecoat 1y ago> ultimately, the aarch64 glibc rootfs tarball of Void Linux fit the bill, and it's been running beautifully. Void FTW!
- tbrownaw 1y ago> 1080p So good enough for gargoyling or other situations where even a laptop form factor is a pain, but not a proper replacement yet.
- hansmayer 1y agoVery cool experiment and the piece is written really well, manages to communicate a ton of relevant information without being overly verbose. One side note though - whats the deal with working in the park/on the bench etc, is the author really able to be productive in an outside environment? I dont think I could ever work like that, either with or without the AR glasses.
- johnyzee 1y agoFirst thing I thought. If I go to a coffee shop or the park, it's because I want to enjoy that place, not do the same work I could do (better) at my desk. That's an aside, though, the OP's setup is really cool and intriguing.
- presentation 1y agoOn the flip side I find it extremely easy to get bored and lazy at home but when I work at a coffee shop the bustle makes me feel more energetic and focused. I work on picnic tables in the park when the weather permits.
- fzzzy 1y agoCan you explain why you don't think you would be productive outside?
- hansmayer 1y agoWell I guess for a lot of people it would be self-explanatory, but if I go outside to a park, or to a coffee-shop, or whatever - I go there to enjoy myself, not work. Apart from that, I would not really have the ergonomic benefits of my controlled working environment, not to mention bugs, people walking by, random noise or whatever it is.
- sweetjuly 1y agoI suspect that's a personal bias. If you go to most any cafe (at least in the US) there will be a half dozen people there typing away at their laptops. This is even more common with the rise of remote work where people will (for better or worse) commandeer cafes as their personal office.
- k__ 1y agoWith the new 6DoF glasses it could be a viable alternative to a laptop, yes.
- gs17 1y ago6DoF feels like overkill to me if you're only trying to replace a laptop. I'd agree that it's really a lot better with at least 3 though.
- Stratoscope 1y agoI don't use AR glasses, and I don't code on my phone, but I do like to use it for writing without having to carry a backpack. The keyboard I use and really like is the iClever BK05: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018K5EJCQ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018K5EJCQ It is backlit and has a standard full size PC layout, including function keys and an "inverted T" cursor key section. The key feel is nearly as good as my ThinkPad. And it comes with a nice little stand to support your phone at a typical laptop screen angle. It comes with a soft pouch that holds the keyboard, the phone stand, and the manual. Folded up, it fits easily in the cargo pocket of my pants. Like the keyboard described in the article, it is not suitable for use on your lap because it doesn't lock open. That doesn't matter for me, because I need a place to put my phone anyway. If you read the reviews, note that the "top rated critical review" has a glaring mistake: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1RVWODQ8SCS2X?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B018K5EJCQ#R1RVWODQ8SCS2X https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1RVWODQ8SCS2X?ie... The reviewer says that the keyboard has no support at the left and right edges, so those outer sections don't lay flat and tap against the table as you type. Wrong! This reviewer didn't notice the two little black tabs that you need to flip out so the keyboard lays flat and well supported. This is also described in the short manual.
- staindk 1y agoI bought this keyboard years ago and enjoyed using it for about a week. Then 3-5 keys stopped working entirely and nothing I did would fix them. Recall having a tough time getting a refund on Amazon. Guess it's good to hear I must have had a dud.
- MarcelOlsz 1y agoI remember more than a decade ago I used this [0] keyboard on my HP Jornada Palm Pilot. Surprised to see it's still being sold. Folds up into a nice case. [0] https://eshop-cy.com/en/product/targus-pa820u-stowaway-portable-keyboard-for-hp-jornada/ https://eshop-cy.com/en/product/targus-pa820u-stowaway-porta...
- ianburrell 1y agoI couldn’t find anywhere selling Stowaway keyboard. It was discontinued for a long time. I have one of the Bluetooth models that got for Palm which still works.
- flyinglizard 1y agoI can’t grasp tech professionals who nickel and dime over their setup. Like buying used, not using late gen hardware etc. You’re spending half your awake hours in front of the thing, just buy the latest and greatest.
- 8note 1y agoim debating rhe upgrade to the surface studio thing now that its eol. the best and greatest is that pen+touch experience, and its gonna be gone maybe forever
- luqtas 1y agoonce i asked mom to buy me the most expensive knife and fork of the store, she looked at me and said: you are so silly and dumb! later that year she gave me a golden spork. since then all my meals are much better
- Philpax 1y agoThe latest and greatest is often not a significant enough improvement over used hardware to merit the price delta. Just because we can throw money away doesn't mean we necessarily should. (Also, not everyone can throw money away! The US tech market is an aberration compared to the rest of the world.)
- alt227 1y agoI cant grasp tech professionals who always need the latest and greatest, its like they need to show off to someone instead of just getting on and doing their job. When I am hiring engineers, I nearly always hire the ones who built their own setups out of crappy old hardware, just to learn how it works and build something cool. Those guys are in it for the love and will work all hours to get something working. The ones who wont work on anything but the latest apple hardware are invariably the awkward ones in the team who demand to be treated in a certain way, and are disliked by everybody else for being picky and looking down their nose at everybody. Not saying this is a hard and fast stereotype which fits all, but my experience of hiring IT engineers in the UK has shown me this is often the case, and my teams are more productive and happier after weeding those guys out.
- eeasss 1y agoWhy
- Philpax 1y agoThere's a whole blog post explaining that. Try clicking through!
- npilk 1y agoThe Xreal glasses are going to be the near-term winner for AR/VR form factor. A “personal screen” you can carry around with you and use to look at whatever is on your phone in a much larger, private format. This just adds more value more simply than the new ecosystems most AR/VR glasses are trying to establish.
- transpute 1y agoVendor wins by unbundling display from custom OS/hardware/ecosystem, allowing customers to choose.
- mangomountain 1y ago[dead]
- nbadg 1y agoAs far as I'm aware, the proposed mechanisms for this have to do with the distance to the focus point -- in other words, the fact that the display is close, not that it's a display. The virtual distance to the display, and hence your eyes' focal distance, is definitely something you can change in VR, and presumably also AR, so I think this would actually presumably be better, wouldn't it?
- mangomountain 1y agoActually not sure if the focal length prevents this, if so very exciting
- boomskats 1y agoMy AR glasses (viture xr pro) have a focus distance of ~3m. I actually find them more relaxing to look at than my monitors or epaper displays, and that focus distance is what I attribute it to.
- FrojoS 1y ago> https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39982728/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39982728/ Did you paste the wrong link? This meta-study does not seem to say anything about "up close". From the abstract: > Study selection: Primary research articles investigating the association of exposure to digital screen devices (ie, smartphones, tablets, game consoles, computers, or television) with myopia-related outcomes
- mmastrac 1y agoAs someone developing hyperopia, I wonder if this would help...
- mncharity 1y ago> FOV is actually too big [...] Seeing the top and bottom edges of the screen means moving your eyeballs Or head tracking.[1] Aphysical rotation exaggeration avoids trading eye for neck stress. > I do feel a little weird wearing these in public, but not that weird. Non-weird can be an expensive constraint, fruitful to relax if going beyond a minimalism setup. A baseball hat can barnacle quite a bit before people find it remarkable... at least around Boston. For instance, for head tracking, an Intel RealSense, or a hat fisheye camera and tennis ball on the table, or an optical marker on a hat chopstick, can be simpler, easier, lower power, and less expensive, than invoking "and it has to look non-weird". With current tech, that's almost as challenging as "and it has to be a product". > as these AR glasses continue to improve and Linux continues to be flexible and awesome. I suggest Nreal (now Xreal) made a bad call here. They developed internally on Ubuntu, but chose to shut out linux. (Caveat: I've not followed in a few years, maybe that's changed.) Unicorn dreams and race to mass market - maybe the right call if everyone started watching media on phones with glasses. But it could have been an inexpensive risk mitigation, and a worthwhile investment once market fit was clearly a long haul. Is there some doc which lays out alternatives for a company who thinks they have a crown-jewel binary blob, to allow the community to wrap it for linux consumption, with minimal "we just throw a blob over the wall - we don't support linuxes" cost? It's been a lot of years that something like TFA has been possible, during which a lot of developers could have been exploring for viable market niches. Instead of... not. [1] https://x.com/mncharity/status/1225091755667853318#m https://x.com/mncharity/status/1225091755667853318#m
- 8note 1y agowith the gen ai cli tools, i think if i go all in, i could skip lugging my laptop around. theres some UX warts to phones where i think i need a keyboard for tab, ctrl+c, ctrl+v, ctrl+d, delete, and so on, that arent in gboard, but i think it could be a fun side project to design and build a tiny mechanical keyboard that only had those buttons i need im running the newer pixel fold, so ive already got a ton of screen real estate. ive made a couple code changes phone-only now, using the amazon internal browser that has ssh access to my dev desktop. im missing the ability to get cloudwatch logs and the like, but when i get a good mcp, i think i can leave my laptop at home my previous workflow was mostly on pen/paper though, only touching the keys when i know what code im going to write, or when i need to lookup something specific, so i think im in a better spot for phone dev than somebody with ten monitors each showing some chunk of code
- twism 1y agoI forked Hacker's Keyboard so it would work on newer versions of Android and some other customization for GNU Screen shortcuts. That with another personally forked ConnectBot (SSH client) and I do 95% of my hobby clojure (tersness helps) programming on my pixel.
- hiatus 1y agoWould you be willing to share your fork?
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- tomaskafka 1y agoWow, I had little idea the readily available tech is this far > Termux, which is an Android app that provides a mix of terminal emulator, lightweight Linux userland, and set of packages that are able to run in that environment. Tim Cook, I know what you know (and fear losing Mac sales to iPad and iPad sales to iPhone, so you want them nerfed), but this would make me upgrade my 2018 iPad Pro. I’d love to be able to leave my expensive macbook home for the vacation, and still be able to do some emergency hotfix on a tablet with keyboard (ideally connected to eg. hotel TV).
- maleldil 1y agoAren't there SSH clients for iOS? That should work for an emergency hotfix.
- doublepg23 1y agoiSH sort of works as well as BlinkSSH for remote clients.
- rcarmo 1y agoI use Blink extensively, as well as RDP connections to Linux hosts (which can support hardware acceleration and low-bandwidth links very well)
- edude03 1y agoI know this isn't what you're asking for - I wasn't either - but I found a used surface pro (arm or x86) is better for this use case than I imagined. They're so cheap used on eBay or FB marketplace that I think it's worth trying if you're already willing to buy a new iPad anyway. I have two now - the SPX - they're ~$200 used, with LTE and 16GB of ram, and a SP8 - i5/16gb of ram ~$350 used from FB marketplace. The SP8 runs Fedora 40 and it's light enough that I just keep it in my backpack whether I'll need it that day or not.
- flutas 1y ago> Tim Cook, I know what you know (and fear losing Mac sales to iPad and iPad sales to iPhone, so you want them nerfed), but this would make me upgrade my 2018 iPad Pro. Can check out side-loading UTM using AltStore or a local dev account. https://docs.getutm.app/installation/ios/ https://docs.getutm.app/installation/ios/ You do lose JIT support in newer iOS though.
- anonzzzies 1y agoI have the same setup, it works well, been doing this for years now. I like to be outside as much as I can and for that reason I like having 20 hour battery life (good phone with an external battery). My setup fits in my pants pocket and usbc chargers are everywhere (bars, restaurants, hotel lobbies, everyone has then at home) if you don't need to charge a laptop with them. Where I live is a lot of sun and seeing your laptop screen even in the shade is hard; no problem with this. The issue with the top and bottom edges and the too low res are the only downsides; both will be fixed as time passes and the inconvenience beats lugging a laptop and charger around and finding outlets instead of literally never needing any except while sleeping.
- Scipio_Afri 1y agoWhat about using this to replace a multi screen setup at home?
- johnh-hn 1y agoDoes anyone know if these glasses, or any other glasses, can be tried in-person and used on desktop? I'm legally blind, but have just enough vision to use a screen without a screen reader. The problem is I have to be about 6 inches from a 27 inch screen. I'm tall, and I'm almost bent in half to do it. It's been hell on my back and neck. I've only really made it work because I've modified so many things to get around it (i.e. customising Windows, Firefox, and so on). The part that makes it so tough is monitor arms come in standard sizes and are nowhere near long enough or extend far enough for me to sit comfortably. My dad modified my desk for me years ago to mount a monitor arm on wooden blocks, but it means I can't move the monitor much. Being able to wear glasses and ditch the monitor entirely would be a game changer for me. I know next to nothing about AR though, being as I assumed, perhaps wrongly, it isn't something that would work for me. Edit: Thank you for the replies. It means a lot. I've got some options to explore here now thanks to you.
- conroydave 1y agoif you are based in the USA, most stores have 30 day return policies. perhaps order them, try at home, and return if you they arent a fit for your situation
- johnh-hn 1y agoI'm in the UK, but the same idea applies, you're right. I'm just hoping there is a way to do it in-person as I might need to try quite a few types to get something that works.
- wafflemaker 1y agoMy wife uses Klarna to order multiple items, pay with Klarna (delayed payment) and then only pay for what is not sent back. Usually you have few weeks? to try the items, even though it's usually clothes stores that allow Klarna payment. Since you're in Europe, Klarna might work there.
- colingauvin 1y agoYou can use them just as a monitor/without AR - some require a special USB-C to DP cable if you don't have native USB-C video out (or Thunderbolt), but they are a bit blurry compared to normal screens for me. I'm not sure how well they'd work for you. The other problem is they aren't quite up against your eyes the way VR headsets are. They project a screen that appears to be quite far away. I imagine you could lower the resolution though, and it might look closer.
- aucisson_masque 1y agoI think the next version of Android is supposed to include a terminal that can run Linux. I don't know the specifics but it would be better than having to root the phone and use chroot. It's sad that a phone running java on top of Linux isn't able to run Linux app without big downside like termux and proot. Hopefully it changes.
- ErrorNoBrain 1y agoAndroid has a terminal in the newer beta versions, indeed - a proper one it was sorta possible before too, but now, it can start up programs with a window etc (and of course someone ran doom on it)
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- kllrnohj 1y ago> It's sad that a phone running java on top of Linux isn't able to run Linux app It can. It just can't run something expecting glibc, X11, Wayland, or any of the other large number of userspace libraries that Android doesn't have. But a pure Linux app works no problem. Just shell in and run it, easy.
- dzikimarian 1y agoI have Android 15 (regular release) and it's there. Feels snappy I didn't use it to run desktop environment though.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- astrodude 1y agoreally useful when you are travelling without laptop and you need to quickly fix a thing
- amelius 1y agoDo they have a USB-C cable running from the phone to the glasses?
- inatreecrown2 1y agoWhat I always wonder about with these Headsets is how can this not damage your eyes, focusing them at such short distance for prolonged periods. Anybody with experience in using such a device would like to comment on this?
- Waterluvian 1y agoSo this is probably a silly question but… can’t you fool your eyes into focusing at any distance you want if you’ve got a stereo screen at a fixed distance (ie a headset)? Isn’t this just a function of the parallax when rendering both screens?
- dTal 1y agoFocus is distinct from convergence - convergence is how much you have to cross your eyes to look at something, but focus is where muscles squish and stretch your eyeballs to change the distance of your retinas from your pupils. Just like a camera, if your eye is not focused at the real distance to subject, it will look blurry because your pupil is not a perfect pinhole, but has area (so a single eye is already seeing the same object from slightly different angles, on either side of the pupil). Usually your brain learns a strong correspondence between focus and convergence, but this can be unlearned quite easily, and indeed must be in order to view e.g. VR, 3D films, Magic Eye pictures, etc... - all of which encode 3D information through convergence, while requiring your eyes to focus on a fixed plane.
- brigade 1y agoNo, and VR’s inability to match focal distance with parallax causes the vergence-accommodation conflict.
- Philpax 1y agoThis is a real problem, but it's fine for most VR use cases as you're usually looking at content that's rendered at a distance greater than the focal plane. The problems start to occur when you look at nearby content - that is, content less than 2m away - as it ends up being extremely uncomfortable for your eyes. There are solutions being developed for this, but they have not been successfully miniaturised and/or cost-reduced for productisation. It's unclear how far away it is at this time, but Reality Labs has several generations of solutions that physically change the distance between the lenses and the displays, and alternate solutions like lightfields capable of simultaneously displaying content at different focal planes are being investigated.
- tripdout 1y agoHow do ARM64 binaries like window managers, Firefox, etc run and with graphical acceleration on Android? I guess as a start the chroot provides glibc and all the other libraries that run natively, but how does any of this interact with hardware?
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- RestartKernel 1y agoGood read, this is one of those things I've considered doing myself, but never committed to. Having someone describe the experience in such detail is very much appreciated. > RAM usage often gets close to that 12GB ceiling. Unused memory is wasted memory. Just because you're almost maxing out those 12 gigabytes doesn't mean you'd be in trouble with less.
- djrj477dhsnv 1y agoI had tried a similar setup over a year ago. The blurry edges of the screen and weight of the glasses were an annoyance, but the main reason I didn't continue using it was because I'm moderately near-sighted and often switch from contacts, to glasses, to no corrective lenses, which wouldn't work with fixed focus VR glasses.
- seltzered_ 1y ago> Can someone please make a good folding keyboard? This little $18 piece of plastic is decent for what it is, but this was the weakest part of the whole setup, and it feels like it should be the easiest. You may want to consider the Protoarc xk03 https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMobileComputers/comments/1akevda/microreview_protoarc_xk03/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMobileComputers/comments/1akevd... or adding a Bluetooth mod to the old palm folding keyboard: https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMobileComputers/comments/sqvrsg/20yo_palm_portable_keyboard_revived_with_bluetooth/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMobileComputers/comments/sqvrsg...
- MarcelOlsz 1y agoAmazing, I just linked the targus one somewhere below but it's for an HP Jornada Palm Pilot, awesome that its been revived for bluetooth!
- TuringNYC 1y agoOn a somewhat related note, I feel any specialized device development should come hand-in-hand with a great developer experience with a well-designed simulator experience. I was an original Google Glass developer (2013) and not allowing development via a simulator was one of their biggest mistakes ever. You had to continuously test squinting into the actual hardware. After about 25min it would overheat and you were forced into a cooldown period of about 30min. You couldnt easily put together tests or parallelize testing mundane parts of the app off-device. I ended up with the worst headaches after three months and we pivoted our business to something else soon after.
- throwaway314155 1y agoI mean if you couldn't stand using the device long enough to test it (not that you should have to - i agree on that), maybe the problem was that the device simply wasn't in anyone kind of ready state to be shipped as a revolutionary new way of interfacing with computers. Like christ, it would overheat after 25 minutes?
- linkregister 1y agoBeing one of the 3rd party developers to create apps for a nascent platform is a great position for your business to be in. It just so happened that Google Glass didn't work out. But imagine being an early developer for Android or iOS.
- TuringNYC 1y ago>> I mean if you couldn't stand using the device long enough to test it (not that you should have to - i agree on that), maybe the problem was that the device simply wasn't in anyone kind of ready state to be shipped as a revolutionary new way of interfacing with computers. Like christ, it would overheat after 25 minutes? Well the usage for these types of devices (e.g., Apple Watch, Google Glass) is meant to be notifications driven and event driven. So the unit was sufficient for regular Production usage (though not great for all-day use.) However, development is basically a constant stream of tests, etc -- so the development experience is continuous and thus much more taxing than the Production user experience.
- gcanyon 1y agoThe Xreal Air 2 Pro costs $299 new; why would you buy it used for $260?
- bilsbie 1y agoIs the screen fixed in space like vr? Ie it’s a virtual screen. Or does it move when you move your head?
- hentrep 1y agoI've long wondered whether working within AR glasses improves one's ability to focus. My hypothesis is that I have fewer shiny objects in my periphery to create distractions. Can anyone who has experience with AR glasses comment?
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- fouc 1y agois a Pixel phone the best way to go for this setup or can a Samsung phone work too?
- resonious 1y agoMan, I tried this too but eventually went back to a laptop. Though maybe that wouldn't have been the case if I was able to use chroot. Still, for me, a laptop is quite nice for being able to just whip it out and start doing stuff immediately. With phone + glasses + external keyboard, I have to pull out several things and plug in the glasses. But proot being slightly too slow is a real bummer. I was able to get a lot of stuff working natively on Termux, but every once in awhile you hit a wall and it's sad.
- mikenew 1y agoproot is just good enough to make you want to try it, but not good enough to keep using it. chroot was far better and if that's what was holding you back I'd recommending trying chroot. I can relate to the clunk of having 3 different pieces to the setup, but I found myself using just the phone + keyboard pretty often for quick things. And since the desktop environment seems to sit in the background just fine, it wasn't much more than just turning on the phone and opening the keyboard. So in that sense it wasn't much different than a laptop.
- resonious 1y agoI see - actually in my case I'm on Samsung, and Dex takes several seconds to boot. I like the desktop but It sounds like chroot + Termux:X11 would be way faster in every way.. I just really wish there was a Termux:Wayland - my favorite desktop doesn't seem to have an equivalent in X11 (niri, though maybe I need to look harder)
- cuvinny 1y agoI tried this with the VITURE Pro XR (has adjustable lens so if you are nearsighted and wear glasses they work) but with a linux laptop. I couldn't stand the static image (focusing on the top and bottom of the screen was painful) and wanted headtracking which only worked on Windows or the phone. There was a project I found of someone adding support for it but it was pretty jank at the time. Anyways, ended up returning it but kind of wish I thought of just using the phone. Might finally get me to learn NeoVIM
- jacooper 1y agoGoogle is now shipping a full Debian Linux VM on pixels, apparently this is a part of the plan to introduce a desktop computing mode on Android. https://www.androidauthority.com/android-desktop-mode-leak-3550321/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-desktop-mode-leak-3... https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/13/android_15_linux_debian_terminal/ https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/13/android_15_linux_debi...
- zmmmmm 1y agoI have been eyeing off this setup for ages but I'm stopped by the fact that the glasses only project 1080p displays. They seem to have been stuck at that resolution for years and I'm not sure if it's a technical limitation or something else. I just know I wouldn't use a 1080p screen in real life except in an emergency so I'm super sceptical that I'd be happy with the glasses. Very curious why these have stalled out at 1080p. They don't have to go much higher, give me 2560x1600 and I will be very happy.
- wolfv 1y agoThe phone market is stuck at 1080p bc the screens are small. When the wearable market is large enough, someone will develop glasses with higher resolution.
- dontTREATonme 1y agoThis confuses me, many phones have 4k screens, the Apple Watch has a 330ppi which is much higher than the 5k 27” display Mac display. So basically you can almost certainly source a high enough pixel density to support 2k on AR lenses.
- luyu_wu 1y agoThese displays in the glasses are significantly smaller than even your Apple Watch though (0.58" or so I believe). Essentially the displays they're using are the same ones found in DSLR viewfinders. There should be higher resolution options, but I suspect the resolution limiter is the optics not the pixel size (just a suspicion).
- __rito__ 1y agoCan I now completely get rid of the physical keyboard? I will go full in on AR(/VR) when I can comfortably type into thin air, lying down, kinda like this: https://ibb.co/nv8Qj72 https://ibb.co/nv8Qj72
- ycui1986 1y agoone of the problem that I have using AR glasses for work is that I have to refocus my eyes every time I try to type anything, which is an annoyance. The eyes focus to the infinity on the AR glasses, but near sight when typing. This is on top of the fact that keyboard is much dimmer to look at when wearing the AR glasses.
- oliver-leung 1y agoLearning to touch-type would be helpful in this case
- dankebitte 1y ago> On average I'd drain about 15% battery per hour. So 4 to 5 hours before you need to be thinking about charging, but I'm not sure you'd want to have the glasses on longer than that anyway. I know there are splitters break a USB-C port out into a USB-PD port and a data transfer port, but can those (or a different accessory) also be used to provide PD to the phone for prolonged usage? eta: Never mind, just saw that the XREAL Hub addresses this. I still wonder if there's a cheaper option, but most seem to be designed for PD out, not in.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- throwaway290 1y agoThere is a review of Xreal glasses in russian internet, auto-translate is interested. Guy started losing vision pretty quick after using them as monitor replacement. Take care https://www.iphones.ru/iNotes/otkazalsya-ot-ochkov-rasshirennoy-realnosti-xreal-air-2-pro-spustya-mesyac-posle-pokupki-potomu-chto-zrenie-dorozhe https://www.iphones.ru/iNotes/otkazalsya-ot-ochkov-rasshiren...
- notpushkin 1y agoThis is neat. I’ve been thinking about doing something like this on my Quest 3, but it’s a fair bit bulkier than this setup. One upside is, you already get an Android and can setup pretty much anything you might want! (I’ve sideloaded F-Droid on mine, going to see if Termux works.) Re: Bluetooth keyboard – you can get a Thinkpad keyboard as a Bluetooth one. It’s slimmer that the usual bottom half, so it’s much more portable. But it’s not folding, of course.
- transpute 1y agoThere's roughly 4 different approaches to Linux on Android: • virtual machine emulating x86_64 • Termux • arm64 binaries running in chroot • proot.. Same idea as chroot, but doesn't use forbidden system calls Fifth option: arm64 pKVM VM from Android 15 on Pixel 7+ phone/tablet hardware using nested h/w virtualization. Shipped in 2025 under the uninformative name of "Linux Terminal" via Development options, Android now has full Debian Linux with VM root, no emulation, compatible with USB-c desktop display. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43973395 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43973395 & https://www.androidauthority.com/android-linux-terminal-purpose-3535765/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-linux-terminal-purp... > The main purpose of this Linux terminal feature is to bring more apps (Linux apps/tools/games) into Android, but NOT to bring yet another desktop environment.. Ideally, when in the desktop window mode, Linux apps shall be rendered on windows just like with other native Android apps.. GPU acceleration is something we are preparing for the next release. Hopefully Android 2025 Linux VMs will lead to iOS 19 VMs at WWDC, since Apple wants to sell smart glasses to compete with Meta glasses.
- anonzzzies 1y agoI use NOMone; works really well. Runs everything I need including vscode/cursor, node and anything else I need without any fiddling, it just all works. Obviously the new linux vm is likely nicer, but this works really well so far. 0] https://desktop.nomone.com/ https://desktop.nomone.com/
- transpute 1y agoThanks for the pointer, seems to be using VNC, https://www.reddit.com/r/androiddev/comments/18psg3p/linux_on_android_introducing_nomone_desktop_linux/ https://www.reddit.com/r/androiddev/comments/18psg3p/linux_o...
- cma 1y agoIt says it doesn't use VNC while others do: While current solutions depend on VNC to display the Linux interface, we got rid of VNC altogether along with the problems it causes.
- garylkz 1y agoI remember back then my laptop broke during the beginning of COVID, and I was left with a smartphone that is incapable of doing Termux stuff. To cope with that I have ended up making some toys like Discord bot that evaluates code, requested access from Insomnia 24/7 to SSH into Linux environment for programming purposes. It was fun experience and I've ended up learning a lot of programming stuff before I've even started my study in university for computer science.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- benkaiser 1y agoI actually tried doing web dev on a Meta Quest 3 recently, but found the biggest limitation to actually be the lack of devtools in Android. Here is the blog I did discussing the limitations: https://benkaiser.dev/web-development-in-vr/ https://benkaiser.dev/web-development-in-vr/ I wonder if something like this running on the quest could technically work, but I suspect it would be too heavy running Linux chrome in a chroot. You also lose the cool "place and resize your windows anywhere" if it's all stuck inside one window for a desktop.
- eecc 1y agoPoster laments the lack of a quality folding keyboard. Well, though not in production any more, there is one that is absolutely perfect: Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard. You can still find it on eBay, and it’s unfathomable — though perfectly in-character — for Microsoft to have terminated it.
- alchemist1e9 1y agoThanks for sharing that. I found one “new” on ebay as you suggested. Will give it a try.
- js8 1y agoWhat about a wearable split 34-key keyboard? That could work, for outdoor coding. Or voice interface, there was a video of a guy coding in Emacs using that.
- ivanb 1y agoThis is the future. Foldable, headless computer-in-keyboard and some glasses. In a sense we are doing a full circle to Commodore 64 form factor. One overlooked aspect is ergonomics. Laptops are terrible for posture, unlike the poster's HMD setup.
- byb 1y agoI'm hoping more people will author articles about using these types of displays full time. There was an article posted a month ago about someone using XREAL ONEs with an x86 PC and a portable power bank. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43668192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43668192 I've done some cursory research on the XREAL Air 2 Pros because they are currently discounted at 299 USD. I'm interested in retiring a 4K 43" monitor which has been slightly too large. My question to anyone who has tried XREAL's products is whether the more expensive XREAL ONE model provides a much better productivity experience for 499 USD? So far, I'm not convinced the Air 2s provide a 'stable' enough image for productivity tasks as this article states. I found a Youtube reviewer who created a rendition of what it is like to use them for video editing - and they weren't enthusiastic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZhD8Dt6akY&t=316s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZhD8Dt6akY&t=316s Linus Sebastian from LTT did go on Jimmy Fallon a few months ago and show off the XREAL ONEs https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vybLi25Q8Fw https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vybLi25Q8Fw For me, I'm not interested in XREAL's Android offerings; I'm more interested in Graphine or e/OS, but would need to purchase a new tablet and a new phone with USB-C display output. I did pick up a Chuwi Hi10 X1 Intel n100 tablet a few months ago for about 200 USD, so that solves the battery problem for me. https://store.chuwi.com/products/hi10-x1-n150 https://store.chuwi.com/products/hi10-x1-n150 If I didn't have that, and wanted to go the powerbank with X86 route, the company MeLE does have some very, very small mini pcs. https://store.mele.cn/products/mele-quieter-4c-n100-3-4ghz-fanless-mini-computer-lpddr4x-win11-hdmi-4k-wi-fi-5-bt-5-1-usb-3-2-2-usb-2-0-1-type-c-1?srsltid=AfmBOoqY8Gyl9K2z310zk7wNgC_c4h5DgzLXEE2uRwWXSMPbTG8DyJie https://store.mele.cn/products/mele-quieter-4c-n100-3-4ghz-f... To many people asking about keyboards, I'd recommend simply getting a 60% with bluetooth, or an adapter which converts a regular USB keyboard into a bluetooth adapter. I'm also a trackball user, and the Japanese company DEFT makes some decent ones.
- kungfooman 1y ago[dead]
- dwedge 1y agoI can only see out of one eye at a time, is binocular vision needed for these glasses to work?
- nis251413 1y agoYeah I also have amblyopia and am curious about this. How does it work with the two lenses/screens? I assume if eg one with normal binocular eyesight closes one eye, they are able to see the screen on the open eye side normally? In some sense I would imagine it should be just minus one problem to solve this way (the vergence accommodation) if one does not care about stereoscopy. I tried once the apple vision pro and it seemed fine, amblyopia-wise at least. It was too briefly though to know for sure how it would be like using it for longer.
- henrik_ 1y agoIt would be cool to be able to use the screen in the glasses as a monitor. So when you look down at your laptop screen, the screen in the glasses would dissapear or something.
- Korova 1y agoIt might be a bit bigger than you'd prefer, but this Royal Kludge folding keyboard is apparently great https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y941mt8mtmk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y941mt8mtmk
- crvdgc 1y agoWhat about Cardboard VR like headset + a keyboard? Has anyone tried this setup?
- WorldPeas 1y agoI tried this with trinus back in the day, even with the good PPI on my phone then the optics weren't made for the screen and it was hot and heavy. This was with Samsung's gentrified effort at "cardboard"
- ffaser5gxlsll 1y agoUsing VR glasses instead of screens is a wet dream of mine, but VR tech has been one of the worst vendor-locked tech I have ever seen. I haven't keep up lately, but as a linux-only dev, is there any hw combo which would give me full native hardware support and the ability to develop for the platform? (I don't count linux-on-[android|win] as a solution)
- KeplerBoy 1y agoThe xreal glasses mentioned in the article are just displays (or at least they can operate in that way). Their website claim it works with basically anything that outputs HD video (game consoles, PCs and whatnot).
- imhoguy 1y agoI think the keyboard in such setup needs a disruption, because it is the last piece which keeps us in the old world of typing machine on a table. I am thinking about some kind of wearable keyboard, either attached to trousers on laps, or kind of gloves. But gloves usually have no tactile response.
- magicalhippo 1y agoWhy so physical? Researchers ate already able to translate thoughts into text[1][2] by wearing a special cap with a fair amount of accuracy. [1]: https://www.extremetech.com/science/new-cap-uses-ai-to-read-minds-and-convert-thoughts-to-text https://www.extremetech.com/science/new-cap-uses-ai-to-read-... [2]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.14030 https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.14030
- imhoguy 1y agoThat's promising. But hardly working now with noisy environment like park or a car, and AR screen adds its mental noise too.
- inciampati 1y agoThe setup in the post plus a speech to text system and aidertmux and aider would be sufficient for a very wide range of tasks. Or a multi screen setup with the phone as a multimodal input system and the AR as the screen.
- alchemist1e9 1y agoI agree and have experimented with related ideas. In a sibling comment thread. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43985513#44016985 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43985513#44016985 https://kbd.news/Tackle-keyboard-2549.html https://kbd.news/Tackle-keyboard-2549.html I want to try some version of this next. I’ve tried tap strap (overlaps with glove idea) and I currently use a retractable lap approach, where the keyboard folds out from chest to be used, it’s still too much friction and too awkward. This Tackle keyboard approach is a bit obvious once you see it if one can be fully touch type without crossing middle then a split keyboard mounted on torso could work… perhaps … these things require actually trying I’ve found.
- ednite 1y agoThanks for sharing. It's a really clear write-up. I’ve been planning something similar and might just follow your setup.
- trizuz 1y ago[dead]
- codingbot3000 1y agoMaybe stupid question: What does it mean to add a bluetooth mouse to this setup?
- SomeUserName432 1y agoIt means you can no longer sit on a park bench. I cannot imagine working without a mouse.
- bilsbie 1y agoWow I’ve been wanting this for years. My adhd makes it hard to sit at a desk for long periods of time. I think moving locations frequently would be great.
- mensetmanusman 1y ago/a moment of silence for the textblade/
- maradyura 1y agodev setup from the future :)
- hardwaresofton 1y agoHas anyone tried the Viture Pro? There are myopia adjusters built in.
- lvturner 1y agoI've tried this with a folding phone, it's... Ok On keyboards I found a Royal Kludge mechanical keyboard, feels great but unfortunately one of the keys switches is cracked, I'm sure I could glue it down but haven't yead had time to dismantle it. In terms of lilputian mice, the "CapacMouse" is.. far far better than it should be.
- fennecbutt 1y agoI can't wait for high fov variable dof across the image. Google lens was shot down by a society of thoughtless individuals but we'll see ar happen in a couple decades, I'm sure. Will be great to life through phones being replaced by glasses and then eventually contact lenses.
- rusk 1y agoGoogle abandoned it the same way they abandoned everything. They could have worked out the details to make these devices less hostile to bystanders but they didn’t because it was all just a marketing gimmick with no solid business underpinnings.
- backendEngineer 1y agooh boy
- d_burfoot 1y agoI feel like we are due for a revolution in computer interface design that will free us from our desks. I want to be able to do work while walking on the bike trail or sitting in a lounge chair by the pool. All the core concepts of GUI design - "mouse", "window", "file", "folder", "desktop" - were developed in a previous era with far tighter constraints on what could be done. Now we have voice understanding, wearable computers, AR / VR, LLMs, cellular internet, etc. Even though the tech has advanced by leaps and bounds, the underlying UI concepts haven't changed much.
- transpute 1y agoThe division of "operating system" labor across devices and network is an open technical, business and political challenge. Many would-be gatekeepers competing for control, even as prior gatekeepers are being slowly regulated out of their monopoly roles.
- orbital-decay 1y agoDesks were invented hundreds of years ago (at least) and are ergonomically ideal for doing prolonged work. It's not related to computing in any way. I don't see them going away any time soon.
- 4gotunameagain 1y agoThey are not ideal, they cause all sorts of lower back/neck & circulation issues, even with a tuned ergonomic setup. But it's true that it is the best we got, sort of the cringy but effective treadmill desk.
- AstroBen 1y agoDoes spending 8-10 hours on your feet every day fare better? I think the solution there is mixing it up
- rs186 1y agoYour back/neck/circulation issues have more to do with ergonomics of your chair and prolonged sitting, not about the concept of a desk. If you take a break after 2 hours when it starts to feel really uncomfortable instead of 30 minutes, whichever future posture you take is not going to give you fewer problems. Well, maybe fewer neck problems, but you'll have hand/foot problems instead.
- harrison_clarke 1y agoi've been doing some hobby programming on a steam deck for the last ~week. (since i got the steam deck). it's got a variant of arch linux pre-installed and it's x86_64, so a lot of those steps are covered might have to try it with AR glasses. but, the screen is bright enough that it's usable outdoors anyway i've been using copilot with voice input, with a bit of on-screen keyboard usage when it's not cooperating. i'm mostly giving it fairly simple edit instructions ("write a for loop at line 50"), rather than full on vibe coding, and it's working much better than i expected i'm not using emacs/vim, because the steam keyboard doesn't have a ctrl key, and i have to use a less ergonomic kde on-screen keyboard to push it (and i'm a heathen that prefers vscode anyway)
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 1y agoStuff like this is a glimpse into the future that we were robbed of by the current big tech status quo. They're running a 3rd party OS on their phone using a 3rd party external keyboard and 3rd party display. Interoperability! Imagine that! Running whatever software you want with whatever accessories you want on hardware that you own! Tech should have made it easier to accomplish this!
- kylecazar 1y agoThere's a 5th option for Linux on Android now (currently Pixel users only, presumably rolling out to everyone eventually). You can get a fully virtualized Debian (AVF) environment by enabling a switch in settings.
- hoppp 1y agoIve been thinking about this too. Got the glasses and was thinking about small wireless split keyboards like the corne-ish zen My issue is the phone. I will need at least 24Gb of ram for my work.
- ctenb 1y agoPerhaps it's an option to use an SSH session into your workstation or some other remote client technology?
- WorldPeas 1y agoI don't wish to shill, but I've been looking into this same setup, it appears redmagic could dole this out with a snapdragon elite processor to boot but I have not verified how well it actually works: https://na.redmagic.gg/pages/redmagic-10-pro https://na.redmagic.gg/pages/redmagic-10-pro
- sampo 1y ago> 4. The phone has a cellular connection, so I'm not tied to wifi. Do American phone companies block sharing wifi from your phone, or why would someone with a phone feel they are tied to a wifi when needing to use a laptop?
- blackhaj7 1y agoI would love an article on how to setup the phone @mikenew I am a complete novice with this but very interested in replicating the setup as I feel the urge to be freer while coding
- eptcyka 1y ago…when compared to something like the Apple Vision Pro. Which, funnily enough, can't do any of what I ended up caring about. It can't fit in your pockets, and it's no more capable of "real" computing than an iPhone. I hope some exec from Apple reads this and thinks about it.
- jnaina 1y agoThe AVP connected to my MacBook Pro in Ultra Wide mode is fantastic for coding—though not exactly portable. Still, working from the garden and enjoying the fresh air beats being stuck in front of multiple monitors in the home office, any day. Look forward to when Apple releases AVP Air.
- eptcyka 1y agoYeah, but that is a used cars worth of apple equipment to do what one could do with a cheaper headset and an iPhone if not for software limitations.