Let’s redesign the laptop for a work-from-home era(wsj.com)
wsj.com
Let’s redesign the laptop for a work-from-home era
https://www.wsj.com/articles/lets-redesign-the-laptop-for-a-work-from-home-era-11615318285
193 comments
These items are so trivial and so obviously cause consumers angst by being missing that I can only presume the near universal lack of them is an intentional ploy to train people to be used to being on camera so that various additional invasive techno-gadgets can be introduced over time. A "market" would have produced "choice" but we have to stick with tape.
It was extremely obvious what they were doing when Google Glass was released without even a glowing video indicator.
It was extremely obvious what they were doing when Google Glass was released without even a glowing video indicator.
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A band aid makes a better cover as it doesn't leave gluey residue on what's already a crummy camera.
similarly, the gentlest grade of painter’s masking tape avoids sticky residue too. electrician’s tape isn’t bad either (the black tape is also less conspicuous).
Over the long term, masking tape hardens and cements to the surface. Very nasty to try to remove. It is not for long-term use.
i believe all tape does some version of this eventually. i wasn't thinking it would be left on permanently, but possibly on the order of months before being replaced. in any case, something like scotch delicate surface tape[0] was what i had in mind when posting my prior comment.
[0]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BWIR8G
[0]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BWIR8G
Heres a crazy idea.
Use a web based video conferencing solution. Close the browser and close everything.
Use a web based video conferencing solution. Close the browser and close everything.
In addition to a kill switch, it would be great to have a switch that affects 1) the physical device 2) the OS switch and 3) the Teams/Zoom/Webex switch.
Regularly we have people in meetings forgetting one of those switches (the physical switch being on the headphones) and trying to talk without being heard.
Regularly we have people in meetings forgetting one of those switches (the physical switch being on the headphones) and trying to talk without being heard.
OS just needs to know about that switch state and report it to apps if necessary.
This is great -- most people skip over the last use case. But it seems like very useful to have.
It seems that option #1 is mainly used because it is easy, and we might not fully trust #2 and #3? (Not because of evil doing, but because of bugs, and unlikely case of hacks).
It seems that option #1 is mainly used because it is easy, and we might not fully trust #2 and #3? (Not because of evil doing, but because of bugs, and unlikely case of hacks).
>> or at least a physical cover.
I want a mechanical microphone switch too. Being seen can be embarrassing but being caught saying something can end your career instantly. See that school board that all had to resign after they were caught badmouthing parents.
I want a mechanical microphone switch too. Being seen can be embarrassing but being caught saying something can end your career instantly. See that school board that all had to resign after they were caught badmouthing parents.
Of course, let's not forget that the core problem here is the "end your career instantly" part, not the design of the microphone.
Just because something will end your career if overheard doesn't mean that it was something bad. Think of a lawyer on a long zoom call. What if they answer a client call and that conversation is pickup up by the zoom computer? Or what if someone in my office asks for login/account info and that conversation gets pickup by zoom? Or a system administrator sitting through a long zoom meeting about pension plans who accidentally has a side conversation about security issues on the production server. These are everyday acceptable office conversations that, if broadcast to zoom accidentally, can end a career far faster than looking unkempt on a webcam.
Sending a video feed that you don't want to send is not okay, even if it doesn't put you out of a job. The excessive severity is just exacerbating something that would be a problem anyway.
By which I assume you mean that the core problem is that they were casually denigrating the parents rather than trying to work with them?
Sometimes people vent. While I am not aware of that particular situation, bitching to your friends about some situation is different than live broadcast
I don't know how a mechanical microphone switch would have helped in that case.
That seemed to be a UX issue. The board was on a call with other members, and didn't realize that there was another participant. Some news stories just called it a "hot mic" issue because it is easy to glance and get an idea of what the story is about, but that's not exactly what happened.
That seemed to be a UX issue. The board was on a call with other members, and didn't realize that there was another participant. Some news stories just called it a "hot mic" issue because it is easy to glance and get an idea of what the story is about, but that's not exactly what happened.
An external microphone with a physical push to talk button would be a pretty perfect UX if that is your worry.
And trusting that the internal mic is actually off.
Good point, my work-from-home "laptop" is a desktop I built so I guess I'm pretty sure there is no internal mic .
Although this might not be simple enough for typical users a (On)-Off-On toggle switch (momentary in one direction, latching in the other) would be perfect for this.
Not sure what incident you're referring to, but school board is an elected position. Politicians, of all people, should not expect job security and need to be transparent and accountable to the voting public. They don't deserve privacy at all, at least not in their professional capacity. I like privacy, sure, but I achieve that by not running for public office.
If you’re saying things that can end your career instantly, be more careful about what you say?
So you don't share confidences with a trusted friend? I'm sad for you.
I'm not going to lie, the assumption that everybody necessarily has career-ending confidences to share with their friends is very strange to me.
How people bond with their friends is by sharing confidences which builds trust between them.
They are not confidences if saying them publicly won't come back and bite you.
> everybody
I didn't say everybody, you don't need to turn it into an absolute to make your point.
I heard about an entertainer for kids who had a radio show back in the day. At the end of one session, he thought the mike had been turned off. But it was still hot, and he groused to the studio "That ought to hold the little bastards for a while."
Career ending.
They are not confidences if saying them publicly won't come back and bite you.
> everybody
I didn't say everybody, you don't need to turn it into an absolute to make your point.
I heard about an entertainer for kids who had a radio show back in the day. At the end of one session, he thought the mike had been turned off. But it was still hot, and he groused to the studio "That ought to hold the little bastards for a while."
Career ending.
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What the heck are you people saying that could end your career?
I say things that would get me fired but not things that would prevent me from ever getting hired again.
I say things that would get me fired but not things that would prevent me from ever getting hired again.
The goalposts of what is considered career ending is always moving. Something you say today could not be career ending, but it could be career ending when somebody digs up dirt on you in 10 years.
Just look at the whole wokeness movement which has taken root in the last few years and compare what was acceptable to say in 2010 vs what is acceptable to say in 2020.
Just look at the whole wokeness movement which has taken root in the last few years and compare what was acceptable to say in 2010 vs what is acceptable to say in 2020.
Lots of companies distribute their employees laptops with a little plastic slider to shutter the camera, so it's further than not-just-nerds - corporate IT decisionmakers are recognizing the need too.
Trouble is, lots of laptops are subtly (or not so subtly) damaged over time by extra stuff being closed in the lid. Apple laptops, notably, but plenty of others too. It'd be much better for it to be built-in. Covers also ruin the (absolutely wonderful and hard to do without, once you're used to it) True Tone feature on Apple laptops, so they'd need some kind of secondary ultra-low-res never-exposed-as-a-real-camera color-temp sensor to properly support either built-in or add-on camera covers or kill-switches while still letting that work.
(I'm basically agreeing and elaborating, not correcting you, since your point isn't that that's a great solution, but that it's more proof that more than just security geeks and computer nerds consider this a problem)
(I'm basically agreeing and elaborating, not correcting you, since your point isn't that that's a great solution, but that it's more proof that more than just security geeks and computer nerds consider this a problem)
In fact last year when it was okay to meet your benefits providers in person, one of them handed out plastic stick on webcam covers you could slide back and forth with their logo on it.
I'm disappointed that Apple hasn't seen fit to put a physical camera cover on their webcams like recent Thinkpads.
If you're on MacOS, open 'Audio MIDI Setup' and look at 'Built-in Microphone'. You can tick the 'Mute' box next to 'Master' and your microphone is now muted independently of Teams, WebEx, or whatever.
It's not a physical switch, but it's a good second safeguard. Teams is even polite enough to tell remind you that you're muted because it can detect this.
A slightly folded post-it note also works well as a camera cover that's easy to remove and easy to replace if you lose it. I also find that when I'm about to join a call and my video's dark pink (rather than black), it's a good reminder I have my 'shutter' in place and haven't noticed, despite it being physically in front of my face.
It's not a physical switch, but it's a good second safeguard. Teams is even polite enough to tell remind you that you're muted because it can detect this.
A slightly folded post-it note also works well as a camera cover that's easy to remove and easy to replace if you lose it. I also find that when I'm about to join a call and my video's dark pink (rather than black), it's a good reminder I have my 'shutter' in place and haven't noticed, despite it being physically in front of my face.
Software switches are always hackable. Never ever rely on one.
Half of hacking exploits would go away if there was a physical write enable switch on device ROMs.
Half of hacking exploits would go away if there was a physical write enable switch on device ROMs.
People's threat model isn't always some malicious hacker with access to their machines. The vast majority of the time people simply want to be sure that the video conferencing software they deliberately installed on their non-compromised machine isn't accidentally transmitting the sound of them eating lunch to the call they deliberately joined. I'm not sure pushing back on tips about how they can reasonably accomplish that because "software solutions can be hacked!" is particularly helpful.
Because it seems every day I read about some software hack draining away all the information on a "secure" computer. "Secure" software is a fantasy. Hardware switches are secure.
As much as I'd still like a physical mic kill-switch on MacBooks (if any company has its interests aligned with privacy-signaling, it's Apple), this is a very useful tip, thanks for sharing!
One issue is that laymen know enough to not trust that switches are true kill switches, but don't generally have the skill set necessary to verify for themselves what their hardware has in that regard.
A piece of tape is a very low technical skill system that you know will cut off a video feed.
A piece of tape is a very low technical skill system that you know will cut off a video feed.
Transparent casing with the wires running to a slightly to large mechanical toggle switch that switches all wires. Then it looks like someone went out of his way getting it right.
I would like to see prisoners provided with in transparent laptops. Take away the lithium battery if worried.
Does not necessarily work on the microphone though.
My work Laptop is an older ThinkPad and it has a physical sliding camera cover as well as the F4 key which functions as an all purpose mute button for the microphone. The F4 key even lights up when enabled. So these options definitely exist, to some degree.
my new Lenovo X1 Extreme has both of those things. I actually didn't notice the F4 microphone toggle before, thanks for the tip!
Isn’t it funny people use and hand out camera covers but a mic that can hear the sounds of an entire apartment is forgotten about? :)
Not just non-techies. I use a band-aid (doesn't leave adhesive on the lens) because toggling the video settings on Win10 is a pain in the ass.
The HP Spectre x360 line has had a physical kill switch for the camera for the last 3 generations. It's a slider on the right side of the laptop. The new gen ones also come with a system wide mute button although I believe that is software only.
There exists a good solution. It is called a desktop.
I turned my company provided laptop into an almost full desktop with external monitor, keyboard and mouse, speakers, a USB microphone, USB camera. At this point I am wondering why do I even have a wimpy ULV processor to write code 8 hrs a day. The sheer amount of time I could save by switching to even a basic 4 core 45-65w Desktop class CPU.
Saving pennies on the dollar.
I turned my company provided laptop into an almost full desktop with external monitor, keyboard and mouse, speakers, a USB microphone, USB camera. At this point I am wondering why do I even have a wimpy ULV processor to write code 8 hrs a day. The sheer amount of time I could save by switching to even a basic 4 core 45-65w Desktop class CPU.
Saving pennies on the dollar.
There are NO laptops that are OSHA approved.
The ergonomics of a laptop will hurt you little by little.
The screen is low, so you look down, meaning your back and shoulder muscles are used to hold your head in position instead of balancing it on your neck
Generally, a laptop keyboard is positioned at the wrong height. It usually on a table (maybe for eating) which is higher so your arms do not hang down with your elbows at a right angle. You are probably holding your arms in position with muscles.
The keyboard generally has a hard plastic or metal wrist rest which is low and probably cold. It would be much better to have your hands supported by something soft and warm and which puts your wrists and hands in the right relationship with the keys.
Now this all changes (not necessarily for the better) if you say sit on the couch or in bed. I will not cover other rooms in the house. On the other hand, you can take your laptop outside and get some vitamin D.
So yeah, desktop.
The ergonomics of a laptop will hurt you little by little.
The screen is low, so you look down, meaning your back and shoulder muscles are used to hold your head in position instead of balancing it on your neck
Generally, a laptop keyboard is positioned at the wrong height. It usually on a table (maybe for eating) which is higher so your arms do not hang down with your elbows at a right angle. You are probably holding your arms in position with muscles.
The keyboard generally has a hard plastic or metal wrist rest which is low and probably cold. It would be much better to have your hands supported by something soft and warm and which puts your wrists and hands in the right relationship with the keys.
Now this all changes (not necessarily for the better) if you say sit on the couch or in bed. I will not cover other rooms in the house. On the other hand, you can take your laptop outside and get some vitamin D.
So yeah, desktop.
PRoblem: My desktop is for my own work, nights and weekends, contributing to open-source. I'd need a second desktop for company work, and some kind of KVM switch to go between them.
But yeah, when I was working in an office, I would specifically request a desktop PC from IT for at-my-desk work. Laptop was just for taking notes in meetings.
But yeah, when I was working in an office, I would specifically request a desktop PC from IT for at-my-desk work. Laptop was just for taking notes in meetings.
Yes, in theory. But I end up not liking having to sit at the desk for "everything computer". Sometimes I just want to work while sitting comfortably on the couch.
> Sometimes I just want to work while sitting comfortably on the couch.
Grab some paper and a pencil and use it as non-screen time. Else you can find yourself spending too long on a poor posture on furniture that's designed for lean-back, not lean-in.
Grab some paper and a pencil and use it as non-screen time. Else you can find yourself spending too long on a poor posture on furniture that's designed for lean-back, not lean-in.
I have a minor issue with my lower spine, not crazy but actually sit at desk 0% of the time as a result.
Laptops on the couch are quite cozy and sustainable.
Laptops on the couch are quite cozy and sustainable.
I never get work done at the couch. Youtube, surfing, browsing, yes. Work ? No.
I like a work desk. Keeps work and other stuff separate. Got a height adjustable desk. keeps my back from going bad before I hit 40.
I like a work desk. Keeps work and other stuff separate. Got a height adjustable desk. keeps my back from going bad before I hit 40.
I think there's a benefit in having physical separation between work and non-work areas of the home. Certainly this is going to be of different value to everybody.
You could get a wireless keyboard/trackpad combo and use a TV/projector as a display.
That doesn't really work for me with my fading vision in my senescence. My monitor that I work on is a super-wide screen monitor about 2 feet away. The optimum TV-watching distance is much further for me.
Get something ultra portable and RDP over LAN
When I'm working, most of the time I'm on my desktop, with a ~5 year old web cam attached to a monitor. For a while, I wondered if software was just making "me" look good (quality, not my face, ha!) but I had someone do a screen shot. And my $50 web cam is 5x better than basically every Macbook web cam for video chat. And my desktop is a ~2 year old 8-core, 32GB machine. Not a monster but excellent power plus 27" and 32" monitors, and an ergonomic chair, keyboard and mouse. The webcam mic works well, too, even in conjunction with my external speakers.
I can game on a laptop (with a decent laptop stand and flat surface for a mouse) but I certainly wouldn't want to do 8 hours of work on it. (Or a laptop on a table/desk, which isn't the right height or a good keyboard setup either...)
Long-winded way of saying I agree with you. But I did buy all of my desktop gear - nothing was work supplied.
I can game on a laptop (with a decent laptop stand and flat surface for a mouse) but I certainly wouldn't want to do 8 hours of work on it. (Or a laptop on a table/desk, which isn't the right height or a good keyboard setup either...)
Long-winded way of saying I agree with you. But I did buy all of my desktop gear - nothing was work supplied.
I have a 13 year old Thinkpad with a webcam and an M1 Macbook Air. I have been meaning to compare the recording from their webcams, but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't that big of a difference.
I also have a nice external USB webcam that I normally use, but when you run that through Zoom or Google Meet the quality is degraded tremendously, to the point where I don't think it make sense to upgrade your camera, until you are able to use better video software.
As for audio, I tested both the microphone in my external webcam today and a Rode Lavier, and the webcam had a distinct room sound to it, that the Lavier didn't.
I also have a nice external USB webcam that I normally use, but when you run that through Zoom or Google Meet the quality is degraded tremendously, to the point where I don't think it make sense to upgrade your camera, until you are able to use better video software.
As for audio, I tested both the microphone in my external webcam today and a Rode Lavier, and the webcam had a distinct room sound to it, that the Lavier didn't.
32" monitor? You know you can get a 43" 4k TV that is half-decent for a monitor for 200-300$?
And 8ks are coming... 2000$ for a 65" 8k, but of course the HDMI port support is glacial and grossly overpriced. But a curved 8k 65" for high-dpi will be my next big desktop build.
And 8ks are coming... 2000$ for a 65" 8k, but of course the HDMI port support is glacial and grossly overpriced. But a curved 8k 65" for high-dpi will be my next big desktop build.
At the time it was a $400+ monitor refurbished for $170, quite a few years ago. It's only 75hz and after a concussion I'm migrating to all high refresh. So those TVs may not work depending on refresh rate. I find 27" QHD on my desk to be a great size. My eyesight doesn't really benefit significantly from higher resolutions.
I thought using a 43" 4k TV as a monitor was a good idea until I actually tried it with the TCL S525. It looked really bad at close range, like this: https://i.rtings.com/assets/pages/li6TPHJm/user-1-large.jpg
So if you haven't tried it, beware. If you HAVE tried it, what model is working well for you?
So if you haven't tried it, beware. If you HAVE tried it, what model is working well for you?
I have three. I used one of the original Seikis that came out ($500), then I got a samsung (don't remember the model) and that is probably my favorite, and the same TCL you have. I think the TCL is my least favorite.
Rtings does highlight how much difference there is, but even the TVS that are a couple steps up from the TCL are only a couple hundred more, so the cost per unit of screen real estate is still pretty good.
I think the 8ks will have such significantly better pixel density (because it's not like I'm going to use an 86" monitor for 8k, rather a 60" and have about 50% more pixel density). Maybe even a 50-55".
Rtings does highlight how much difference there is, but even the TVS that are a couple steps up from the TCL are only a couple hundred more, so the cost per unit of screen real estate is still pretty good.
I think the 8ks will have such significantly better pixel density (because it's not like I'm going to use an 86" monitor for 8k, rather a 60" and have about 50% more pixel density). Maybe even a 50-55".
bought mine as well from my pocket. except laptop , nothing was supplied by work. Have to apply for a tax break for all the stuff I bought this year.
> At this point I am wondering why do I even have a wimpy ULV processor to write code 8 hrs a day. The sheer amount of time I could save by switching to even a basic 4 core 45-65w Desktop class CPU.
Sounds like someone who hasn't heard of the M1 Macs. They smoke all but the beefiest of desktops.
Sounds like someone who hasn't heard of the M1 Macs. They smoke all but the beefiest of desktops.
Work doesn't offer a M1 Mac.
Not everyone can afford to by an M1 mac.
I already invested some money in a laptop last year. not gonna write off a big chunk of that and spend MORE on top of that.
Most of my work is on Linux based OSes. Theoretically I can use a Mac, but I hate Macs. I hate Apple's approach to software (all locked down, but beautiful).
Really like hacking stuff with my OS and I want to be able to replace, atleast basic parts of my computer.
With my current work and personal laptops, I can open the back, replace the RAM, SSDs and even the keyboards (at a stretch).
I already invested some money in a laptop last year. not gonna write off a big chunk of that and spend MORE on top of that.
Most of my work is on Linux based OSes. Theoretically I can use a Mac, but I hate Macs. I hate Apple's approach to software (all locked down, but beautiful).
Really like hacking stuff with my OS and I want to be able to replace, atleast basic parts of my computer.
With my current work and personal laptops, I can open the back, replace the RAM, SSDs and even the keyboards (at a stretch).
I’ve got an M1 Mac mini. That it does. But it still doesn’t run a bunch of software I need so I’m sitting here thinking about replacing it with a mid range windows box.
I’m with you on this.
I’ve been working remotely for many years now and I started using laptops initially (thinkpad T series ) so my house didn’t get cluttered with work things mostly and I could waltz into the office. Roll on time and I discovered that laptops are a complete nightmare and I am never using one again.
They are expensive, hot, slow, noisy, fragile, have poor connectivity options, needy, unreliable and terrible for your health.
Also there is no office now thanks to covid so I now work from one location always.
The expensive XPS I’ve just been shipped by my company is another one which persists these problems further. It will never be used as a laptop but as a desktop and a wart I can’t get rid of.
I would be happier with a recycled corp i5 desktop with 32gb of ram and 500gb SSD.
Edit to add that my personal computer is a M1 Mac mini. I include MacBooks in my list of criticism, including the M1 units. I have had numerous really bad experiences with Apple laptops.
I’ve been working remotely for many years now and I started using laptops initially (thinkpad T series ) so my house didn’t get cluttered with work things mostly and I could waltz into the office. Roll on time and I discovered that laptops are a complete nightmare and I am never using one again.
They are expensive, hot, slow, noisy, fragile, have poor connectivity options, needy, unreliable and terrible for your health.
Also there is no office now thanks to covid so I now work from one location always.
The expensive XPS I’ve just been shipped by my company is another one which persists these problems further. It will never be used as a laptop but as a desktop and a wart I can’t get rid of.
I would be happier with a recycled corp i5 desktop with 32gb of ram and 500gb SSD.
Edit to add that my personal computer is a M1 Mac mini. I include MacBooks in my list of criticism, including the M1 units. I have had numerous really bad experiences with Apple laptops.
For me, the desktop is primary and the laptop is a peripheral.
1. big monitor, even multiple monitors
2. full size keyboard
3. no trackpad always being accidentally touched
4. terabytes of disk space
5. wired connection for privacy, reliability, and speed
6. separate mike that costs more than 5 cents. Unplug it when not in use
7. ditto for camera
8. pipe the sound through your real stereo
9. lots and lots of memory
10. high performance, don't worry about heat cooking your junk
11. not likely to get stolen
12. no worries about dropping it
1. big monitor, even multiple monitors
2. full size keyboard
3. no trackpad always being accidentally touched
4. terabytes of disk space
5. wired connection for privacy, reliability, and speed
6. separate mike that costs more than 5 cents. Unplug it when not in use
7. ditto for camera
8. pipe the sound through your real stereo
9. lots and lots of memory
10. high performance, don't worry about heat cooking your junk
11. not likely to get stolen
12. no worries about dropping it
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 12 are also solved by plugging your laptop into all of these external devices. ;) And many monitors now have a USB C dock built in to make charging and peripherals much easier.
IMO, the allure of the desktop is mostly its power (4 and 10). Laptops can be used with all the same peripherals, including the large, high-res monitors, and can be portable when you want.
IMO, the allure of the desktop is mostly its power (4 and 10). Laptops can be used with all the same peripherals, including the large, high-res monitors, and can be portable when you want.
Besides power, the arguments for the desktops are also price, simple(r) upgrades and repairs.
It also seems that once you festoon the laptop with replacements for its components - monitor, keyboard, mouse, disk drives, camera, mike, etc., what have you got? An expensive desktop that performs poorly.
> repairs
I've replaced a couple screens on laptops. It's a fair amount of work, and in the meantime your laptop is dead while you await the arrival of the new screen. I keep a spare monitor around, and when a monitor dies, I just switch to the spare, and order a new spare. The same for many components, like keyboards, etc. I can't afford my machine to be out of action for days.
When I buy a new desktop, I really just buy a new mobo, CPU, and graphics card. The rest I re-use from the old desktop. It makes such upgrades pretty cheap.
> repairs
I've replaced a couple screens on laptops. It's a fair amount of work, and in the meantime your laptop is dead while you await the arrival of the new screen. I keep a spare monitor around, and when a monitor dies, I just switch to the spare, and order a new spare. The same for many components, like keyboards, etc. I can't afford my machine to be out of action for days.
When I buy a new desktop, I really just buy a new mobo, CPU, and graphics card. The rest I re-use from the old desktop. It makes such upgrades pretty cheap.
> I really just buy a new mobo, CPU, and graphics card
I think that would be CPU, motherboard and RAM. Graphics cards can be upgraded independently thanks to PCIe, which I often choose to do as they are in a price league of their own.
I'm sad CPU sockets change that often, I would like to stretch expenses a bit more, like using DDR3 for a little while before switching to DDR4. Unfortunately, when upgrading to the next generation, you pretty much have to upgrade those three at once. And Intel is way, way worse with that.
I hear that motherboard manufacturers lobby for new sockets...
I think that would be CPU, motherboard and RAM. Graphics cards can be upgraded independently thanks to PCIe, which I often choose to do as they are in a price league of their own.
I'm sad CPU sockets change that often, I would like to stretch expenses a bit more, like using DDR3 for a little while before switching to DDR4. Unfortunately, when upgrading to the next generation, you pretty much have to upgrade those three at once. And Intel is way, way worse with that.
I hear that motherboard manufacturers lobby for new sockets...
It's all a matter of use cases, sounds like you need a desktop. As for me, I have a ninth GEN Intel laptop that weighs less than 6 pounds connected to a docking station that easily let me use my audio interface, all my peripherals, external hard drive's and dual monitor set up.
I often have to take the laptop with me to do work in other locations which completely rules out how cumbersome it would be to do this with a desktop. It takes me less than five minutes to pop it off the dock and throw it in my backpack.
Not to mention how much of a pain in the ass it would be if I had both a desktop and a laptop, constantly having to synchronize the data between the two, and having to have multiple installations of the same software which may be difficult depending on EULA/licensing.
Performance is in the eye of the beholder. The system I have performs more than adequately for all the tasks that I require, I rarely have to wait on compiles for any significant amount of time, video renderings can take a while but that just gives me an opportunity to stretch my legs and take a break from the computer.
I often have to take the laptop with me to do work in other locations which completely rules out how cumbersome it would be to do this with a desktop. It takes me less than five minutes to pop it off the dock and throw it in my backpack.
Not to mention how much of a pain in the ass it would be if I had both a desktop and a laptop, constantly having to synchronize the data between the two, and having to have multiple installations of the same software which may be difficult depending on EULA/licensing.
Performance is in the eye of the beholder. The system I have performs more than adequately for all the tasks that I require, I rarely have to wait on compiles for any significant amount of time, video renderings can take a while but that just gives me an opportunity to stretch my legs and take a break from the computer.
The only thing you really need to move between laptop and desktop is an external USB disk drive. You can use it directly, or sync the files. I wrote a program a long time ago to sync file systems.
Commuting to work with just a disk drive worked fine for me when I worked in an office.
I'm just not attracted to the idea of having everything on my laptop, because of the significant risk of having it lost or stolen. When I use a laptop, I just put on it what I'll need, never any personal things.
Commuting to work with just a disk drive worked fine for me when I worked in an office.
I'm just not attracted to the idea of having everything on my laptop, because of the significant risk of having it lost or stolen. When I use a laptop, I just put on it what I'll need, never any personal things.
I'm intimately familiar with syncing, but many of the programs I use have more than just the external assets, they also have internal cache files that represent the states of various projects at any given time. It would be very difficult for me to synchronize these in a safe way especially considering that they're scattered across various hardcoded relative folder structures. And honestly it'll be more of a pain to have to worry about.
I've never felt like my laptop was under significant risk of being stolen, even when I'm traveling overseas. But I'm very careful with it and I keep track of it at all times - putting all of your personal data on a single external hard drive just means that that's the thing that is at risk of being stolen instead.
I also use a combination of automated encrypted back ups via crash plan and bit locker on my laptop. Even in the extremely unlikely event that my laptop was stolen, it's highly unlikely they be able to get access to my actual data.
Having a single laptop lends itself well toward my nomadic lifestyle. It's easily powerful enough even with a mobile CPU and of course there is less heat and power usage associated as well. And I'm pretty sure that I am immeasurably more of a power user than 99% of the general populace (virtual machines, 3D modeling, music recording, video rendering, backend dev work, VR, hell even the occasional triple A game). So if the processor/gpu meet my needs I'm pretty sure that everyone else will be fine too.
It just seems like in this instance our use cases are very different, which is fine.
I don't really understand the point of this article as "redesigning the laptop." Nearly all of the things they mention is either software (e.g. better processing of mic input) or called a desktop (screens, noise, etc.). If people are working from home that negates a big reason for the laptop: portability. Sure it is nice to move to the couch or kitchen or whatever, but maybe that could be having a keyboard and using a tablet. Or if you are working from home nearly all the time, a desktop will be a better and more economical choice.
You don't need a desktop - you just need a monitor arm, two monitors, and a good keyboard and mouse.
yea that's a good option, that way you won't damage your body and for short amount of time you can still use your laptop but you should limit it.
> Or if you are working from home nearly all the time, a desktop will be a better and more economical choice.
If I'm not doing something that requires huge wattage, the only thing a desktop computer does is to force me to sit at a desk 100% of the time I'm using it. Hard pass. Tablets are nearly all toys, and the ones that aren't weigh more and cost more than a good laptop (but with a cumbersome UI). If you want to sit at a desk to work, a laptop still has you covered.
Desktops are a very impractical, niche product these days, they're a Ford F-350 when most people just want a decent hatchback.
If I'm not doing something that requires huge wattage, the only thing a desktop computer does is to force me to sit at a desk 100% of the time I'm using it. Hard pass. Tablets are nearly all toys, and the ones that aren't weigh more and cost more than a good laptop (but with a cumbersome UI). If you want to sit at a desk to work, a laptop still has you covered.
Desktops are a very impractical, niche product these days, they're a Ford F-350 when most people just want a decent hatchback.
"desktop computer does is to force me to sit at a desk 100% of the time I'm using it" you act like that's a bad thing... when its really the best way to use a computer for large amount of time. Laptops should never be used for long periods unless you want to damage your back and neck.
That's a valid point, and fortunately you can use a laptop at a desk, too. However, the laptop can also be picked up and taken with you if that's what you need to do, while the desktop is stuck at that desk forever.
As for the desktop point: my work issues us our computers. They want at least one of the machines they issue us to be a laptop, so we can travel with it, and they're not going to issue more than one machine per person, so laptop it is.
My setup is pretty good, with an external monitor, webcam, keyboard and mouse. The only thing crappy is the processor and thermal performance. Not much I can do about that.
My setup is pretty good, with an external monitor, webcam, keyboard and mouse. The only thing crappy is the processor and thermal performance. Not much I can do about that.
a work desktop at home requires that i have a lockable office, so i can protect the desktop from small kids. a laptop i can close and put away in a safe place when i am not using it.
sometimes i need to work in another room so i can watch the kids. sometimes i need to go to the office too.
for all these a portable device is needed. i still can use a laptop with an external monitor and keyboard. but i can't carry a desktop around.
sometimes i need to work in another room so i can watch the kids. sometimes i need to go to the office too.
for all these a portable device is needed. i still can use a laptop with an external monitor and keyboard. but i can't carry a desktop around.
You beat me to it. I came here to say… this is a solved problem. It's called a "desktop machine". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Does that work for everyone?
I have a desktop, but I often need to use my laptop in different rooms throughout the day.
Just thinking about my parents as well, it doesn't work for their use cases. So, I urge you to think beyond just a handful of cases.
I have a desktop, but I often need to use my laptop in different rooms throughout the day.
Just thinking about my parents as well, it doesn't work for their use cases. So, I urge you to think beyond just a handful of cases.
What if, and hear me out on this, the person needs to take their workstation with them to multiple locations? Or, as can be the case with smaller quarters, simply wants to?
Yes, desktops have this featureset. Why don't laptops, is the point of the article. (Answer: either laziness, arrogant design aesthetic, or NSA conspiracy)
Yes, desktops have this featureset. Why don't laptops, is the point of the article. (Answer: either laziness, arrogant design aesthetic, or NSA conspiracy)
Laptops, by necessity, have smaller fans, since they're smaller. Same amount of cooling with a smaller fan means the fans spin faster, and faster fans are louder. Laptops simply can't have acceptable performance with adequate cooling unless you're willing to compromise on either noise, or running x86.
My macbook does just fine as a zoom terminal, VSCode runner and web browser. Battery can go almost the entire day if I'm not on calls. All code is developed locally and run through pipelines in the cloud.
Many people don't need a workhorse machine, simply a portal for communication and reading.
Many people don't need a workhorse machine, simply a portal for communication and reading.
If you stuck the processor behind the screen, you could get a lot more airflow.
Let the bottom be essentially be a battery, keyboard, mouse, and a docking station. And the lid be processor, memory, a m.2 for storage and an m.2 for wireless. Put a big, but thin fan on top of the processor and lots of venting on the side. Probably won't be very thin though.
Let the bottom be essentially be a battery, keyboard, mouse, and a docking station. And the lid be processor, memory, a m.2 for storage and an m.2 for wireless. Put a big, but thin fan on top of the processor and lots of venting on the side. Probably won't be very thin though.
Liquid crystals are, well, liquid. They typically list [ 0°C .. +50°C ] interval.
Even laptop CPUs are generally warmer than +50°C when loaded, the limit for various CPUs is often about +85°C .. +105°C. When you place CPU right behind LCD, it’s hard to do good thermal insulation. This means the display gonna fail soon, unless the manufacturer does aggressive thermal throttling of the CPU, like it happens in tablets.
Even laptop CPUs are generally warmer than +50°C when loaded, the limit for various CPUs is often about +85°C .. +105°C. When you place CPU right behind LCD, it’s hard to do good thermal insulation. This means the display gonna fail soon, unless the manufacturer does aggressive thermal throttling of the CPU, like it happens in tablets.
This is how the surfacebook has been built. It's a problem because (1) you don't actually have more room on the top than the bottom, since these are the same size (2) the side vents are actually less surface area than simply having the bottom be fans. It doesn't work out well, there's just no way to have the airflow.
What matter is cubic metres of air per minute, everything else mattering very little.
Actual fan inside surfacebook is very tiny. Last surfacebook brings a second fan, but it still throttles.
You still can put more, and bigger fans in the lid to solve the issue at 45-55W TDP levels. I actually did some thermal simulations.
Actual fan inside surfacebook is very tiny. Last surfacebook brings a second fan, but it still throttles.
You still can put more, and bigger fans in the lid to solve the issue at 45-55W TDP levels. I actually did some thermal simulations.
> If you stuck the processor behind the screen, you could get a lot more airflow.
This is essentially was the trick I thought of for my project of "genuinely mobile desktop replacement." Ironically, it was COVID which put a pause on it, and prior to it frequent foreign assignments.
Were I to proceed with it before COVID, I might have hit the jackpot by now.
This is essentially was the trick I thought of for my project of "genuinely mobile desktop replacement." Ironically, it was COVID which put a pause on it, and prior to it frequent foreign assignments.
Were I to proceed with it before COVID, I might have hit the jackpot by now.
In addition to freeone3000's problems, having the CPU in the screen also means you need a sturdier way to keep it vertical, instead of using the tiny hinges that normal "bottom heavy" laptops use.
Yes, at home I have choice of computers and usually I take a desktop.
Just add a good webcam and headset (or microphone) and it's the perfect work-from-home system. Much faster than any laptop, better ergonomics and cheaper too. And you can even disconnect mic and webcam physically (a.k.a. unplug from USB) as a security feature!
I am going with, I use mine in a docking station at home or at work and honestly all it is to me a small little tablet that I never use the built in screen or keyboard.
Considering that use case I would love a system no larger than my phone with some apps to give me use of mail and such while not docked. Then while docked it is my Windows/OS X desktop
Considering that use case I would love a system no larger than my phone with some apps to give me use of mail and such while not docked. Then while docked it is my Windows/OS X desktop
For me, the macbook's keyboard & trackpad combo is the sweet spot. I also have magic mouse, for the occasional direct manipulation stuff (eg drag & drop).
Ages ago, with Teleport, I used by MBP to drive my iMac. If Apple sold just the lower half of a macbook, bring your own monitor, I'd be in heaven.
Just the keys and trackpad would be great too. I've held onto my dead 2015 MBP, with hopes of salvaging just the input devices.
Aha! Teleport has been resurrected, now works with Big Sur. https://github.com/johndbritton/teleport
Ages ago, with Teleport, I used by MBP to drive my iMac. If Apple sold just the lower half of a macbook, bring your own monitor, I'd be in heaven.
Just the keys and trackpad would be great too. I've held onto my dead 2015 MBP, with hopes of salvaging just the input devices.
Aha! Teleport has been resurrected, now works with Big Sur. https://github.com/johndbritton/teleport
I have the bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth touchpad. Not quite the same ergonomics as the one in the laptop, but I still prefer it (bluetooth touchpad) to the magic mouse.
The apple keyboard I have is very close to the scissor switches that preexisted the much maligned butteryfly switches. Not sure the current bluetooth keyboards use the same switches or the newer version of the scissor switches,.
The apple keyboard I have is very close to the scissor switches that preexisted the much maligned butteryfly switches. Not sure the current bluetooth keyboards use the same switches or the newer version of the scissor switches,.
I’d be surprised if even most people agree with you that the best computer is a static one tethered to a desk, even if they never leave their home. Gamers aside.
I built a desktop computer and never use it. Having to sit in the same desk just to use it is a nearly insurmountable drawback. It’s more of a niche appliance than we admit.
I’d suspect most people with the option would need more than a better deal on components to make it worthwhile to be stuck in the same chair in the same room in the same position every day. I just look around at everyone I know and everyone prefers a laptop, even the homebodies.
I built a desktop computer and never use it. Having to sit in the same desk just to use it is a nearly insurmountable drawback. It’s more of a niche appliance than we admit.
I’d suspect most people with the option would need more than a better deal on components to make it worthwhile to be stuck in the same chair in the same room in the same position every day. I just look around at everyone I know and everyone prefers a laptop, even the homebodies.
The ergonomics of using a laptop 8 hours a day are pretty horrendous. It may be hard to notice in your 20s but it will wreck your body. Using a proper desk and desk chair, or sit/stand desk, will save a lot of wear and tear.
yes, i don't understand how people don't notice this... forcing a keyboard to be right up against a screen is not a good idea. Most people don't even need a laptop or use it on a desk mostly anyways, at that point just get a monitor and keyboard/mouse and use it as a desktop and then when you really need to do some remote work you still can.
there is going to be a lot of people with back and neck problems. "niche appliance" ?? to me i can't stand the keyboard being right up against a screen what do we do? bend our head down? or lift our arms high? that's going to be very very bad to our bodies. Laptops should only be used in moderation and when they are the only option, but to use it daily that's very bad. Sounds like you work with hipsters who care about superficial stuff more then their health.
> if you are working from home nearly all the time
No doubt the pandemic has had a permanent effect on how people work. But how big of an effect? When the pandemic no longer forces 100% WFH, will people still do 100%, or will they do (say) 90%?
If you go in to an office for an occasional day or half day, you'll want your computer while you're there. Though I guess this could also be solved by borrowing a loaner laptop at the office to use to remote desktop into your main computer at home. (Maybe we can call this reverse telecommuting?)
No doubt the pandemic has had a permanent effect on how people work. But how big of an effect? When the pandemic no longer forces 100% WFH, will people still do 100%, or will they do (say) 90%?
If you go in to an office for an occasional day or half day, you'll want your computer while you're there. Though I guess this could also be solved by borrowing a loaner laptop at the office to use to remote desktop into your main computer at home. (Maybe we can call this reverse telecommuting?)
I expected this to be about ergonomics, which laptops are anything but.
I have seen too many people working on laptops ans getting hurt (hands, back, shoulders, etc). I'd start with a foldable keyboard which expands into something big and comfortable (I have RSI!), and a detachable screen which can be set higher on the desk.
I have seen too many people working on laptops ans getting hurt (hands, back, shoulders, etc). I'd start with a foldable keyboard which expands into something big and comfortable (I have RSI!), and a detachable screen which can be set higher on the desk.
My ideas exactly! I was just sitting in the bed today with a laptop (normally using a desktop) and thinking how nothing in this device really makes any sense wrt ergonomics, it's not really possible to use it for more like an hour or two without getting really uncomfortable.
I've accidentally bumped into r/cyberdeck today (not ergonomic at all but provided some inspiration), and now this thread.
How would you go about designing a portable computer that's also more ergonomic to use? How would you raise the screen? How would you split/tent the keyboard? What steps would you take to reduce wear / risk of damage on moving parts?
I've accidentally bumped into r/cyberdeck today (not ergonomic at all but provided some inspiration), and now this thread.
How would you go about designing a portable computer that's also more ergonomic to use? How would you raise the screen? How would you split/tent the keyboard? What steps would you take to reduce wear / risk of damage on moving parts?
Its official! Ergonomics are not considered because the most basic demands (keyboard an monitor position) are nowhere near where they should be. Whatever one tries to design besides those is nonsense. The article is nonsense.
If we are to redesign the laptop why can't we admit that it's current design and use cases are at odds? People are running zoom and docker and slack and a dozen other things at once. We waste more resources than ever doing the same chat/etc. stuff we've been doing for 25 years. Things aren't moving faster, fans are going full tilt and CPUs throttle down.
What the people need more than anything is for manufacturers to take a step away from making a 2.5lb aluminum blade and instead offer a sufficient cooling solution.
What the people need more than anything is for manufacturers to take a step away from making a 2.5lb aluminum blade and instead offer a sufficient cooling solution.
It's the same craze affecting smartphones. We get rid of useful features like headphone jacks just to save 0.25mm of thickness. Thickness that nobody would ever notice in a practical use case. We buy thin, fragile phones and then put them in big thick cases.
Tell Apple how they can sell $200 accessories by adding jacks and they will happily do it. iPhones have been getting thicker and heavier since the iPhone 6s and we've lost the jack.
I loved my old Thinkpad. Thick, but it could run at full load without throttling for as long as I needed it to. But nowadays, even their T series keeps getting thinner and they've been soldering the RAM.
Just move the company to an IRC. Done, why need anything else?
Having a built-in "ring"-light would be nice. Perhaps in the bezels? Or perhaps even done via detailed software-based control of the screen backlight via zones?
Audio is already pretty great with a modern laptop, but it's tricky to arrange proper lighting for video conferencing.
Audio is already pretty great with a modern laptop, but it's tricky to arrange proper lighting for video conferencing.
I bought a USB-C rechargeable light bar, works like a charm.
Not necessarily good for people wearing glasses!
I bought one and it glares off of mine a lot so I stopped using it. Other angles where the glare stops makes me look like a sociopath.
I bought one and it glares off of mine a lot so I stopped using it. Other angles where the glare stops makes me look like a sociopath.
Embrace the look.
Glasses + glare makes you look like a super hacker.
Glasses + glare makes you look like a super hacker.
I imagine the flayed human corpses in the background don't help with the sociopath thing.
(Edited.)
Perhaps mounting a polarizing filter in front of the laptop camera to kill most of the glare would make it work with glasses.
Otherwise: For those who can make it work, contact lenses and lasik are nice options. Increased FOV.
Perhaps mounting a polarizing filter in front of the laptop camera to kill most of the glare would make it work with glasses.
Otherwise: For those who can make it work, contact lenses and lasik are nice options. Increased FOV.
Not everyone who wears glasses qualifies for lasik or can wear contact lenses. I’m lucky that I can wear contact lenses and get pretty good correction, but LASIK and PRK are off the table for me (I’d still need glasses all the time).
I wear contacts and still at least like to use readers for reading (even with multifocals). For day to day stuff I just let people deal with it. I have a key light which is elevated so the glare isn't too bad.
If I'm recording video or something like that I just make sure any notes on my screen are in a big enough font that I can read them.
If I'm recording video or something like that I just make sure any notes on my screen are in a big enough font that I can read them.
> I’d still need glasses all the time
So trying out a polarizing filter is perhaps worth looking into? I'm curious to how well it would work.
So trying out a polarizing filter is perhaps worth looking into? I'm curious to how well it would work.
Not everyone who wears glasses wants to stop wearing them.
Though admittedly wearing a mask during the winter time has made me consider it much more than usual this year.
An unexpected bonus with lenses: Superhuman tolerance against eyes getting irritated when chopping onions.
Products to help the macbook out with work from home variation
- a lapdesk, to rest the laptop directly or an external keyboard for stability
- https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ2R2LL/A/magic-trackpad-..., best when paired with an external keyboard to gain distance to the macbook.
- https://www.raindesigninc.com/mstand.html, to elevate the laptop for more comfortable viewing
- https://www.goalzero.com/shop/portable-power/goal-zero-yeti-..., to work on the road anywhere, 60W USB-C -> C cable can run a macbook all day and some.
- https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/viewsonic-vg1655, get that portable second monitor experience.
- a lapdesk, to rest the laptop directly or an external keyboard for stability
- https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ2R2LL/A/magic-trackpad-..., best when paired with an external keyboard to gain distance to the macbook.
- https://www.raindesigninc.com/mstand.html, to elevate the laptop for more comfortable viewing
- https://www.goalzero.com/shop/portable-power/goal-zero-yeti-..., to work on the road anywhere, 60W USB-C -> C cable can run a macbook all day and some.
- https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/viewsonic-vg1655, get that portable second monitor experience.
I agree with most of these, but the Rain Design laptop stand sucks. Why is it static when it can easily adjust based on various people's heights and use cases. This was a much better buy (I compared it to the Rain Design one side by side): https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-EPN-Heat-Vent-Aluminum-Com...
As far as a second monitor is concerned, in the Apple universe you're better off buying an iPad and using that as a second monitor.
As far as a second monitor is concerned, in the Apple universe you're better off buying an iPad and using that as a second monitor.
The mStand is definitely not adjustable, but it's also very robust/firm/rigid/solid. There's no question it will go the distance from a quality perspective, should last a lifetime. The rubber pads also seem like they'll go the distance too. I trust Rain Design because they don't skimp on the heft of the aluminum they use or the means they mount the rubber pads. I've bought some cheap competitor ones in the past, their lightweight bodies tend to tip over easily and their adhesive fails over time. Rain Design is what we used at Apple, and I use it at my current job too.
It appears they do offer a more adjustable model too. https://www.raindesigninc.com/ilevel.html
That iPad tip is a great one, never knew about Sidecar before today https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210380. Excellent advise.
It appears they do offer a more adjustable model too. https://www.raindesigninc.com/ilevel.html
That iPad tip is a great one, never knew about Sidecar before today https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210380. Excellent advise.
Most of the suggestions are taylored to video conferencing, such as a better camera and microphone. I have gotten around this personally by purchasing a separate external microphone and camera for a huge improvement.
My main issue with my (intel 2019) MacBook Pro is the noise! Whenever I do heavy work it gets very hot and loud, and uses more power than my desktop PC. Driving a 4k monitor also contributes to the heat. It would be great to have a better cooling computer, but maybe that would just be a mac mini!
My main issue with my (intel 2019) MacBook Pro is the noise! Whenever I do heavy work it gets very hot and loud, and uses more power than my desktop PC. Driving a 4k monitor also contributes to the heat. It would be great to have a better cooling computer, but maybe that would just be a mac mini!
Noise is solved by the M1s. I have a new 13" M1 MBP and I've never heard the fans turn on in spite of pretty heavy dev use
The new M1 Macs are so much quieter than the Intel ones, you really have to ask “what is going on in there” to cause all that fan noise.
That’s so bad, I just ordered an M1 MacBook Pro because in the reviews they said that it’s not noisy even with extreme use. I hope you are talking about an Intel based one.
You might be interested in controlling Turbo Boost directly (e.g. google find this: http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com/)
Your computer will be slower. Depending on the task that may or may not be welcome. Some video conferencing can eat all available CPU/GPU cycles and generate fan noise; this is probably a good time to manually disable Turbo Boost. Unless you want more sword fighting time, disabling during compilation tasks is probably not a great time.
Better battery life and less fan noise are benefits, though!
Your computer will be slower. Depending on the task that may or may not be welcome. Some video conferencing can eat all available CPU/GPU cycles and generate fan noise; this is probably a good time to manually disable Turbo Boost. Unless you want more sword fighting time, disabling during compilation tasks is probably not a great time.
Better battery life and less fan noise are benefits, though!
It's also easier to get a good mic and webcam if you're not constrained by the thickness of a laptop screen. A lot of people would benefit from better lighting as well although some of that can be a function of their physical environment which can be hard to do something about.
Yes I should have added I bought a desk light which also helps the poor quality camera significantly!
I think a lot of what you see, given modern laptops, isn't so much low-quality webcam issues as it is poor lighting issues, whether because of low light levels, backlighting, or a combination of the two.
It's a little of both. A larger lens gathers more light from a given scene and thus doesn't need to crank the sensor gain as high (which adds both luminance and color noise) for a given exposure value. Even a fairly basic webcam will have a larger lens than the camera built into a laptop's lid.
So, while my laptop from 2016 almost certainly has a better sensor than my webcam that hit the market in 2013, the 2013 webcam still looks better, because it can do more with the same amount of light - for example, I'm facing three windows in full sun right now, and the laptop video still manages to be washed out and grainy while the webcam looks just fine.
So, while my laptop from 2016 almost certainly has a better sensor than my webcam that hit the market in 2013, the 2013 webcam still looks better, because it can do more with the same amount of light - for example, I'm facing three windows in full sun right now, and the laptop video still manages to be washed out and grainy while the webcam looks just fine.
I got an external cooling pad for my MacBook Pro and that helped a lot. I actually got the overpowered "gaming" cooler since I don't plan on taking it anywhere with me. It just sits on my desk.
One other tip for the MacBook Pro: If you haven't opened the case and blown out the dust elephants in the last year, you might want to do that. The fans and fins tend to get really crusted up and it makes a big difference.
This is the one I got: https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rwnb17b-laptop-cooler/p/N82E...
One other tip for the MacBook Pro: If you haven't opened the case and blown out the dust elephants in the last year, you might want to do that. The fans and fins tend to get really crusted up and it makes a big difference.
This is the one I got: https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rwnb17b-laptop-cooler/p/N82E...
I got an external cooler an it reduced Mac's temperature by a whopping 1 degree...
The damn thing has no intake on the bottom, coolers don't do jack.
The damn thing has no intake on the bottom, coolers don't do jack.
Some things I could think of, regarding the general form factor and basic ergonomics:
* detachable keyboard (the Olivetti M15 managed this quite well in 1987, compare [1], [2] -- also mind the full-travel keys)
* height adjustable screen (e.g., using an arresting sliding mechanism)
With powerful while minimalistic hardware around, like the M1 chip, we may start to think about the convertible laptop the other way round again. (I.e. the folding workstation as opposed to tablet-like dual use. As the hardware becomes minimalistic, this also provides space for any mechanisms that may provide for basic ergonomic requirements.) Why are we still accepting cowering like this in front of what has become the dominant form factor for a computer as the general posture of work?
[1] https://www.homecomputermuseum.de/sammlung/detailansicht/com...
[2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/simo_81/8151480380
PS: Adjusting the viewing angle would also solve any webcam issues quite naturally.
* detachable keyboard (the Olivetti M15 managed this quite well in 1987, compare [1], [2] -- also mind the full-travel keys)
* height adjustable screen (e.g., using an arresting sliding mechanism)
With powerful while minimalistic hardware around, like the M1 chip, we may start to think about the convertible laptop the other way round again. (I.e. the folding workstation as opposed to tablet-like dual use. As the hardware becomes minimalistic, this also provides space for any mechanisms that may provide for basic ergonomic requirements.) Why are we still accepting cowering like this in front of what has become the dominant form factor for a computer as the general posture of work?
[1] https://www.homecomputermuseum.de/sammlung/detailansicht/com...
[2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/simo_81/8151480380
PS: Adjusting the viewing angle would also solve any webcam issues quite naturally.
> Let’s Redesign the Laptop for a Work-from-Home Era
Isn't that just called a desktop? ;)
Isn't that just called a desktop? ;)
No, because your home is your home, and your desktop might be located somewhere where other people are around, e.g. spouse, roommates, parents or children. That's not really workable for video calls.
I think there's an argument to be made for bulkier laptops now.
The trend of the last two decades has been smaller form factors, which puts a hard limit on the battery, the hard drive, the number of ports you can support, and even how much thermal energy you can radiate.
That was important largely because you were going to be lugging the thing around everywhere, and a pound or two could make a real difference.
Now that I travel with my laptop once a month, not once a day, I think that equation changes. I still want portability - I still need portability - but using the machine on my desk is the more common, more important scenario.
The trend of the last two decades has been smaller form factors, which puts a hard limit on the battery, the hard drive, the number of ports you can support, and even how much thermal energy you can radiate.
That was important largely because you were going to be lugging the thing around everywhere, and a pound or two could make a real difference.
Now that I travel with my laptop once a month, not once a day, I think that equation changes. I still want portability - I still need portability - but using the machine on my desk is the more common, more important scenario.
These are known as mobile workstations. They can get quite bulky, quite heavy, and quite powerful.
I worked for a while at ISI. They let people choose their hardware for a desktop and laptop with a generous budget. One of the guys on the team had some monster gaming laptop as his laptop—I think it was a 20" screen or something on that beast.
It's going to be tough to claw back to a decent thickness. Imagine the cooling you could run and the performance you could have today if laptops were still an inch thick in the market.
Make usb-c docking work...
I got an older dell xps that get's heart trouble on 3rd party usb-c chargers (short freezes under moderate load) and is throttled even through the expensive dell dock.
I got a lenovo with linux (maybe linux is at fault) where hdmi through usb-c causes all sorts of issues.
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allow to limit charging to 80% (dell can do it, should double battery life. Too bad my xps batteries die a bloaty death every 2 years anyways... :)
I got an older dell xps that get's heart trouble on 3rd party usb-c chargers (short freezes under moderate load) and is throttled even through the expensive dell dock.
I got a lenovo with linux (maybe linux is at fault) where hdmi through usb-c causes all sorts of issues.
---
allow to limit charging to 80% (dell can do it, should double battery life. Too bad my xps batteries die a bloaty death every 2 years anyways... :)
>I got a lenovo with linux (maybe linux is at fault) where hdmi through usb-c causes all sorts of issues.
What issues? I'm literally writing this answer on LG CX connected through USB-C -> HDMI on TV.
What issues? I'm literally writing this answer on LG CX connected through USB-C -> HDMI on TV.
-> % swaymsg -t get_outputs
Output DP-1 'Goldstar Company Ltd LG TV SSCR 0x00000101' (focused)
Current mode: 3840x2160 @ 60.000000 HzI forgot the details. One of the issues was some audio via hdmi that went to sleep and caused a system crash. I think I even fixed that but still had the monitor go black sometimes and lost the will to try to fix it.
I use the HP Z27 monitor with a single usb-c cable to my laptop and then hang all accessories off it. (Mouse, mic, speakers, keyboard, trackpad) works great. At the end of the day I can switch the work laptop for the home laptop by unplugging and plugging one cable.
It's a dream when it works :)
I think it's time to bring back the lunchbox PC form factor. A lot of people need the ability to work from various places, but they're not constantly mobile. They don't need something they can pick up and toss in a briefcase on a moment's notice, they need something just portable enough that they can use it at the kitchen table and then pack it up for dinnertime, or take to a café and work for a few hours at a table. And most of the time, they're working from home at a desk, and then the compromises we make to create a mobile-form-factor laptop aren't buying them anything.
Instead, let's bring back the lunchbox form factor. A mini motherboard with a real desktop processor, a little bit of expansion for a larger graphics card or extra storage, and a full-size keyboard. Since we don't need the front-facing floppy disk slots of the past, we can make the monitor the full width of the front, but have it backing on a more sizable chassis that contains most of the processing power. A really nice webcam, even room for a good condenser mic and better speakers, plus plenty of expansion ports instead of the typical "whatever fits on the knife edge of the razor profile" selection.
Think iMac, but smaller and with a keyboard that just snaps or folds into the monitor like a laptop, and with a solid battery so you don't have to plug it in if you don't want to.
Instead, let's bring back the lunchbox form factor. A mini motherboard with a real desktop processor, a little bit of expansion for a larger graphics card or extra storage, and a full-size keyboard. Since we don't need the front-facing floppy disk slots of the past, we can make the monitor the full width of the front, but have it backing on a more sizable chassis that contains most of the processing power. A really nice webcam, even room for a good condenser mic and better speakers, plus plenty of expansion ports instead of the typical "whatever fits on the knife edge of the razor profile" selection.
Think iMac, but smaller and with a keyboard that just snaps or folds into the monitor like a laptop, and with a solid battery so you don't have to plug it in if you don't want to.
Desktop. Laptop for working-from-home is called a DESKTOP.
Now convince management that they should purchase a desktop for you. Probably not gonna happen I've tried for years to get a desktop.
This article is hilarious because it shows how poorly the average tech consumer understands pricing and hardware.
You want a better camera and a better mic? Buy them. They're not cheap. You can easily spend $3-400 on a teleconferencing setup (as I have for my desktop), and it pays off. But if you think my Blue Snowball mic and Logitech webcam will fit into your Macbook Air...
On that note, all of these concerns could be solved by upgrading to a desktop. More and better screens? Let's ignore the fact that 4k laptop displays are fairly common these days, but please explain to me how you can fit 2+ displays on a laptop.
Honestly, I'm not sure why this article is even on HN. It's complete drivel that adds nothing useful to any conversation at all. It's blogspam through and through. But who am I kidding really, HN is just Reddit with fancy words.
You want a better camera and a better mic? Buy them. They're not cheap. You can easily spend $3-400 on a teleconferencing setup (as I have for my desktop), and it pays off. But if you think my Blue Snowball mic and Logitech webcam will fit into your Macbook Air...
On that note, all of these concerns could be solved by upgrading to a desktop. More and better screens? Let's ignore the fact that 4k laptop displays are fairly common these days, but please explain to me how you can fit 2+ displays on a laptop.
Honestly, I'm not sure why this article is even on HN. It's complete drivel that adds nothing useful to any conversation at all. It's blogspam through and through. But who am I kidding really, HN is just Reddit with fancy words.
You are completely missing the point (it feels like I am now posting this everyday on HN).
No one is asking for a Blue Snowball mic and Logitech webcam in their laptop. People are rightfully wondering why in world a ubiquous small competent cameras (see every iPhone from the past decades) and mic, the ones laptops are using are so poor. The answer is most likely because no one cared so I fully expect that to change but it makes sense to list as a complain with laptops.
Talking about desktops is also entirely missing the point. People are issued work laptops. They don't choose their computers and most of them do want the portability anyway. It's extremely useful when you are doing a presentation of visiting customers.
No one is asking for a Blue Snowball mic and Logitech webcam in their laptop. People are rightfully wondering why in world a ubiquous small competent cameras (see every iPhone from the past decades) and mic, the ones laptops are using are so poor. The answer is most likely because no one cared so I fully expect that to change but it makes sense to list as a complain with laptops.
Talking about desktops is also entirely missing the point. People are issued work laptops. They don't choose their computers and most of them do want the portability anyway. It's extremely useful when you are doing a presentation of visiting customers.
The answer is very simple: the display of your laptop is much thinner than your phone.
So if you want something better, you will need to use an external camera.
So if you want something better, you will need to use an external camera.
This is entirely correct. Even phones are these days too thin to fit good cameras, thus the bump.
I'm willing to bet that adding a bump to a laptop would be viewed as acceptable by the market if it means we get good cameras.
Heck, if Apple's the first to do it, it'll be seen as a feature.
Heck, if Apple's the first to do it, it'll be seen as a feature.
Or we need the thing designed by people who don't have their head up their rear. Have you seen the dell XPS with a nosecam? When I got my computer and realised what they've done, i thought the management must have been on crack!
The article should have been "Let's teach employers ergonomics and stop the 8 hour laptop insanity", something like: It's 2021, the first question in an interview should be: Can I work form home? The second should be: You don't expect me to work 8+ hours per day on a laptop - or do you?
Thank you.
Can't wait until paywalling what amounts to less than an A4 page of content finally dies.
Can't wait until paywalling what amounts to less than an A4 page of content finally dies.
Once you go to an actual desktop, you can't ever go back to working on a laptop.
Funny, I work from home and I'm on my laptop 99% of the time instead of my more powerful desktop. The flexibility of being able to choose where at home I can work is unbeatable and has made the pandemic slightly more bearable.
Let's not. Laptops are an ergonomic and productivity nightmare.
Here are things that are not good with the standard laptop form. They may seem minor, but I believe these little physical discomforts manifest themselves in a reluctance to use the device.
1. It's oblong with few safe surfaces to touch. To carry it with one hand forces you to hold it from one edge at least for awhile each time you pick it up and put it down. That feels heavy because of the leverage it pulls against that little edge you get to hold.
2. By opening frontwards/away from you, opening feels bad. Compare with opening a tablet that folds horizontally like a book.
3. It's often hard to find a clear spot to fit your laptop footprint at home. Corollary: when most people are not using it, it takes up a lot of desk or counter space. Very few people store it vertically. I store mine vertically under my desk and it gets kicked a lot.
4. It's really hard to just keep it closed and use it as a desktop replacement. Most have power buttons on the inside only, so when you have to wake it up or reboot, you've got to open it a crack and wedge your finger in there.
5. You can't tell how much battery is left, or what time it is, or when your next appointment is, without opening up the lid. Often you have to do one of those things while walking. Opening the lid and checking something on the inside while walking feels terrible.
1. It's oblong with few safe surfaces to touch. To carry it with one hand forces you to hold it from one edge at least for awhile each time you pick it up and put it down. That feels heavy because of the leverage it pulls against that little edge you get to hold.
2. By opening frontwards/away from you, opening feels bad. Compare with opening a tablet that folds horizontally like a book.
3. It's often hard to find a clear spot to fit your laptop footprint at home. Corollary: when most people are not using it, it takes up a lot of desk or counter space. Very few people store it vertically. I store mine vertically under my desk and it gets kicked a lot.
4. It's really hard to just keep it closed and use it as a desktop replacement. Most have power buttons on the inside only, so when you have to wake it up or reboot, you've got to open it a crack and wedge your finger in there.
5. You can't tell how much battery is left, or what time it is, or when your next appointment is, without opening up the lid. Often you have to do one of those things while walking. Opening the lid and checking something on the inside while walking feels terrible.
> You can't tell how much battery is left.
One of the most delightful things on my old 2009 MBP is a little button you can press that will show the current battery levels by illuminating up to five otherwise invisible LEDs. These days laptops can hold ages on a battery charge, but back then it was awesome. I’d like them to bring this back.
One of the most delightful things on my old 2009 MBP is a little button you can press that will show the current battery levels by illuminating up to five otherwise invisible LEDs. These days laptops can hold ages on a battery charge, but back then it was awesome. I’d like them to bring this back.
> In addition, research shows that the audio quality is just as important as video quality when judging the overall “quality” and “presence” of the conference experience
Audio transmits 80% of the intellectual content. That's why when your TV news crosses to an outside broadcast unit, and there's no sound but the vision is perfect, they give up and go back to the studio until they get audio.
Audio transmits 80% of the intellectual content. That's why when your TV news crosses to an outside broadcast unit, and there's no sound but the vision is perfect, they give up and go back to the studio until they get audio.
What else would they do? Sign? I think it’s because news requires voice to convey info. They also give up when the video is off.
Forget laptops. Bring back the portable computer.
My first computer was a lunchbox portable. It had a monochrome plasma display and one or two open ISA slots inside (I remember I added a SCSI controller to it to drive an external CD-ROM drive). No battery power, but back in the 90s it wasn't that big of a deal to only use your computer somewhere you could plug it in.
I stare at my Echo Show (1st Gen) and it reminds me of my very first Mac Classic. Why can't Apple bring back that small computer form factor?
Smartphones come with many physical sensors. Laptops are bigger and have more power, so they should have just as many.
- Very good quality cameras front and back, including IR, dot projector and flash
- Analog audio I/O
- GPS receiver
- 3D accelerometer and gyroscope
- Magnetometer
- Ambient light level and color temperature
- Ambient temperature, air pressure, hygrometer
- Radiation detector
- Wasn't there some research into a user-facing radar that could detect gestures?
- GPIO and SDR
- Very good quality cameras front and back, including IR, dot projector and flash
- Analog audio I/O
- GPS receiver
- 3D accelerometer and gyroscope
- Magnetometer
- Ambient light level and color temperature
- Ambient temperature, air pressure, hygrometer
- Radiation detector
- Wasn't there some research into a user-facing radar that could detect gestures?
- GPIO and SDR
How do any of these, beyond the cameras, improve the work-from-home experience?
I am looking forward to that radiation detector, better watch out for gamma rays!
Why work on a laptop when you re at home?
2) physical kill switch for the microphone
These are very much not "nerd" concerns, either. I see a lot of non-techies with stickers over their laptop cameras.
[EDIT] teachers in particular spread the "put a sticker over the camera" practice, in my experience, both before and during the pandemic. The last thing they need is to be responding to some student message late at night and accidentally snap a picture or start a video chat. That could easily be career-ending, and they wisely don't trust software safeguards to prevent that. Yet they do want the camera, sometimes. Not having a kill-switch or cover built in sucks.