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It would be amazing if Novena or other projects like it evolved into something resembling Google's Project Ara, but for laptops instead of phones. Laptops have

by rl3 12y ago

It would be amazing if Novena or other projects like it evolved into something resembling Google's Project Ara, but for laptops instead of phones. Laptops have unfortunately never really achieved the modularity and ease of modification that PCs have. They are seemingly perpetual slaves to cost, form factor and all the concerns that follow.

walterbell 12y ago
Panasonic rugged devices are modular, so it's technically feasible, even if the economics are not there yet. ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/panasonic/business/toughpad/downloads/Panasonic-Toughpad-FZ-M1-Configurations.pdf
TD-Linux 12y ago
The Novena is pretty good in that its schematics are entirely open source. It also has plenty of expansion headers, a FPGA, removable RAM and wifi cards. However, I don't think modularity is as important, because it's hard to make something modular, performant, AND low cost. If you have the sources, you can always make a customized version to suit your exact needs yourself, without the need for it to be modular. (typing this from my Novena)
- XorNot 12y ago
  Project Ara seems like it might solve that problem itself. A laptop chassis which was just a GIANT Ara frame maybe?
  - franciscop 12y ago
    Project Ara is going to be bigger than a regular mobile. It just has to have all those connecting hardware pieces.
    - rl3 12y ago
      Hopefully that turns out to be the case. I have a feeling that modularizing (at least in Ara fashion) cutting-edge GPUs and x86 processors is no small feat. Never say never, but it seems unlikely that form factor could be maintained, let alone heat and interconnect requirements dealt with, when simply boxing up existing laptop or PC hardware. It's likely that a lot of custom engineering and partnerships would be required beyond simply containerizing existing hardware. On the other hand, the trend toward things like on-die GPUs (and more) is promising, but at present you can't achieve truly top-end performance via this route. The ideal then, I suppose, would be able to just easily snap together the equivalent of a few GTX 980Ms, sprinkle in a few i7s for good measure, and simply have it all work. Going on a trip and feel like packing light? Just take one of each, casually snap off the rest with little hassle. Of course, if internet connectivity keeps improving at its current pace, application streaming may obviate the need for all of this, but who knows.
pingswept 12y ago
I would prefer to see Project Ara evolve into Novena. Google can keep their "NOT FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE" developer's agreement.

by rl3 12y ago

walterbell 12y ago

Panasonic rugged devices are modular, so it's technically feasible, even if the economics are not there yet. ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/panasonic/business/toughpad/downloads/Panasonic-Toughpad-FZ-M1-Configurations.pdf

TD-Linux 12y ago

The Novena is pretty good in that its schematics are entirely open source. It also has plenty of expansion headers, a FPGA, removable RAM and wifi cards. However, I don't think modularity is as important, because it's hard to make something modular, performant, AND low cost. If you have the sources, you can always make a customized version to suit your exact needs yourself, without the need for it to be modular. (typing this from my Novena)

XorNot 12y ago
Project Ara seems like it might solve that problem itself. A laptop chassis which was just a GIANT Ara frame maybe?
- franciscop 12y ago
  Project Ara is going to be bigger than a regular mobile. It just has to have all those connecting hardware pieces.
  - rl3 12y ago
    Hopefully that turns out to be the case. I have a feeling that modularizing (at least in Ara fashion) cutting-edge GPUs and x86 processors is no small feat. Never say never, but it seems unlikely that form factor could be maintained, let alone heat and interconnect requirements dealt with, when simply boxing up existing laptop or PC hardware. It's likely that a lot of custom engineering and partnerships would be required beyond simply containerizing existing hardware. On the other hand, the trend toward things like on-die GPUs (and more) is promising, but at present you can't achieve truly top-end performance via this route. The ideal then, I suppose, would be able to just easily snap together the equivalent of a few GTX 980Ms, sprinkle in a few i7s for good measure, and simply have it all work. Going on a trip and feel like packing light? Just take one of each, casually snap off the rest with little hassle. Of course, if internet connectivity keeps improving at its current pace, application streaming may obviate the need for all of this, but who knows.

pingswept 12y ago

I would prefer to see Project Ara evolve into Novena. Google can keep their "NOT FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE" developer's agreement.