"Asus has produced the first laptop in the world that makes use of Windows Vista SideShow to support a secondary screen in the lid. This is a 2.8in screen with a QVGA resolution of 320x240, just like any number of mobile phones that are on the market. The lid of the Asus also holds 1GB of flash memory which stores a cut-down Operating System that powers SideShow and which also links to the main Vista Operating System."
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Member since:
2007-02-22
Member since:
2006-10-31
I guess when you have enough money you can just try ideas after ideas until one becomes a hit and makes you even richer...
Let's see what comes to my mind:
- tablet pc: flop
- xbox 360: success
- origami: flop
- zune: flop
- wart on your laptop lid to play solitaire: future flop...
At least they're trying!
Member since:2005-07-08
Member since:2007-02-22
You can say that again.
I once had the chance to fool around with Photoshop on a Tablet PC. Between system, software, and hardware, it was the most natural, intuitive computing experience I've ever had.
And then he told me how much it cost and I gingerly handed it back to him.
Member since:2006-07-26
Member since:
2006-01-02
SideShow operates when Vista is shut down to save battery life, but it will wake Vista every so often to synchronise data and to keep the music flowing.
Seriously who employs these people?. The way I see it Sideshow is either;
1) A standalone OS that can do useful things while Vista is asleep
2) A waay overhyped LCD screen
When I hear that Sideshow wakes vista up to actually do anything useful then I tend to think it must be 2. I presume that when sideshow plays music vista pushes data into the 1gig of flash and then sideshow plays it till the buffer runs out. Rinse and repeat.
But then I realise most people have mp3 players.
So what we have is a system that fills a need that is already covered by mp3 players, and for most other cases there is dollars worth of wasted hardware in the lid of a laptop.
Yes it is some cool tech but trust microsoft to come up with the lamest uses for it. What problem does sideshow solve in mode 2?
Edited 2007-02-27 00:14
Member since:2007-02-27
Member since:2007-02-22
I have to admit, when I first saw the first picture, I thought the secondary display was a Zune in some kind of built-in docking station.
On another note, it seems that Asus put zero effort into the aesthetics of this laptop. Lame thing to rant about, I know, but the thing looks uglier than the wannabe-MacBook that was the subject of a review posted here earlier.
Edited 2007-02-27 00:58
Member since:
2005-07-06
Member since:2006-08-18
Member since:2006-02-06
Member since:
2006-01-10
Call me crazy, but wouldn't that basically up the cost of the LCD replacement for the laptop, if something broke? Not to mention if you dropped that in the slightest, the pressure from the outside LCD part would crack the main LCD then you'd have to replace the entire thing.
Probably for the extra cost, you could just buy a PDA or smart phone along with a different model laptop. Not to mention for a lot of people having Vista on it would be a bad thing 
Let's not forget to mention that the thing looks bulky and uncomfortable as hell to carry around. Plus, wouldn't it be a better design to just have a external device to go through the USB? Perhaps the problem with that is no way to control the power through a USB port, either way, I don't think this will exactly catch on with so many MP3 and PDA devices already out there.
Edited 2007-02-27 02:01
Member since:
2006-10-06
But this thing is dead in the water.
I mean.. that laptop lid looks like it grew a hump. And the Sideshow idea seems kind of cool, but it's limited and impractical. If you have your laptop with you on a train/plane/car, are you going to close the lid and try to type notes, ideas, whatever on a tiny little PDA screen.... or are you just gonna open the laptop and get a lot done quicker?
It's a quirky idea, maybe worth a few test units to see how it shakes out in practical use... but I agree with other commenters - what need does this fill?
Member since:2005-07-06
You wouldn't use the Sideshow device to type notes. It's for quick access to data already stored on the PC.
The integrated lid design will vary with the ODM, and is only one of the forms Sideshow devices will have. LG's is better integrated than Asus'.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/lge-z1-laptop-packs-sideshow-too...
Both ODMs use NVIDIA's device platform.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_38775.html
They can also be wireless devices that are either detatchable from the laptop's lid, or that are sold as standalone devices that only provide Sideshow functionality, or they can be integrated into any number of common items like alarm clocks, phones, digital picture frames, travel bags, or remote controls to provide readily available remote data access, and control for mobile, desktop, or entertainment PCs -- anywhere a secondary display can provide information or control without having to be sitting in front of the computer, or even compliment what's on the computer's monitor.
http://www.sideshowdevices.com/ricavisions-vista-sideshow-remote-co...
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/dells-sideshow-enabled-bluetooth...
The Reg article is incorrect about Sideshow gadgets being the same as Sidebar gadgets. Sideshow gadgets are built specifically for that platform, and have their own control panel in Vista. The gadgets that appear on the Sideshow device are customizable via that control panel, and there's an SDK for creating custom gadgets.
Edited 2007-02-27 07:01
Member since:
2006-01-08
Yeah, it will be fun for a few days but after that it's probably going to get annoying having to take that huge laptop out of the bag/backpack just to view your mail on a small screen.
You'll realize what you REALLY need is a PDA if you absolutely have to check your mail, view notes every 5 minutes everywhere you are.
And it makes the laptop ugly not to mention it's likely to get damaged in transport.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Member since:
2005-08-09