On 2009-01-17 11:47 +0100, Sylvain Abélard wrote: > > > (The Modern Web counts as sheer lunacy. In > > a few years, given the trend, it will require triple-widescreen > > configurations for all the advertisements and other crap, yet still > > have a single 5cm text column in the middle.) > > The Web will not require a triple-wide screen since the trend seems > precisely to get the content on a third of the width, two thirds being > empty white (or styled) borders.
The two thirds are mega-wide and force the text out of view in narrow browsers for sane content (such as my slightly smaller than portrait A4 or "letter" window on a 17" 4:3 display) and viewing other stuff on the side. You need the tripe-wide screen configuration to not have to scroll horizontally to get to the text. > > In fact, an approx A4 sized screen [...] could be quite nice on a laptop. > > That would be great, readable, and not to mention easier to fit in normal > bags. Of course, it would also be great if you could use it as a tablet in portrait mode... with an e-paper display mode. The current "tablet PCs" seem horribly kludgy, though, and, in fact, it might be better for the tablet mode to be the default, with the computer behind the screen and no keyboard except on a docking station that perhaps can be attached to the computer nicely for transportation. At least I don't think I'd miss the keyboard much when travelling lightly. The keyboard does work as a screen cover, though, and there needs to be something to replace that function. Surely it can be made lighter and less fragile than esp. tablet hinges. Or maybe the docking station can be made to fill this function, essentially making the computer of two detachable parts, so the tablet can be made less clunky. In fact, maybe you could also split the eletronics and battery between the two components, further reducing the tablet weight. E.g., a primary storage HD (or SSD) could go in the KB part, as well as any optical drives -- actually, it sucks that you have to again pay extra for a laptop that doesn't waste space for one; this is again something that belongs in a docking station or otherwise external device -- with a smaller SSD on the tablet part for the OS and some documents etc. The mechanical coupling between the parts of course has to be made reliable. -- Tuomo
