Posts by Dave 126

Re: Optional... apparently

>I currently run a Dell mobile precision 5510 lappy connected to their WD15 dock. it uses USB3 protocol on a USB-C physical hole, so only able to drive 1x 30" at 2560x1600 off the DP port,

I seem to recall that to drive a 5K monitor over USB-C, Apple had to go with AMD mobile GPUs. https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/16/macbook-pro-why-amd-gpu/

Something to do with number of video streams and DP 1.2 vs 1.3 or somesuch.

Re: Optional... apparently

>Can USB-C power a Laptop as well as provide connections for 2 screens, and other USB based devices... cos I can stand to plug in one cable at my desk.

Yes*

* USB-C only describes the physical connector and a way of it describing what else it can do. Not all USB-C ports carry Thunderbolt. Not all Thunderbolt is created equal. Be careful about which cables you use. Do not dispose of in fire. Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments.

Example: The LG 5K monitor (5120 x 2880 resolution) connects to a Macbook Pro with only one USB-C cable, and it provides 85W to the laptop, whilst providing 3 USB-C ports at 5Gb/s. Power, video, storage, peripherals in just one cable.

Similarly. But hey, when this old computer of mine does eventually keel over, the kinks will have been ironed out of many of the emergent standards and features outlined in the article.

It's been years since Sony first released a VAIO laptop with an external Thunderbolt GPU - it is only now that this looks to be on the edge of becoming mainstream. Such a set up would suit me very nicely, but I'm in no hurry. Every year I hold off, the more mature stuff becomes.

Re: Shamefaced admission

> (and I expect quite a lot of others will).

And those who don't (either invested in existing motherboards, or have workloads not best suited to the first crop of Ryzen) can look forward to cheaper Intel chips, now that AMD is a credible competitor again.

Re: Now that is a useful IoT application

With a couple of exceptions (Nest, Alexi), IoT hasn't been marketed that hard by established companies (ones with a reputation to lose). I'm hardly swamped by advertisements for IoT gizmos (but maybe Google will only display adverts for security cameras and baby monitors if I search for 'nappies' and 'teething', which I don't). A lot of the really dodgy security is in the no-name cheap landfill kit - not sure how much is being sold; I don't see much of it about in the wild.

In time, genuinely useful items will be bought by more people, thus coming under greater scrutiny. Lessons learnt in industrial control will filter down to consumer kit. Health services, in an effort to make economies in caring for an ageing population, will look towards remote monitoring of vulnerable people's health to save on the time a community nurse spends travelling between homes.

Home automation has been around for years, but traditionally has been hard-wired into the house (drastically reducing attack surfaces) and expensive. It is the prevalence of now cheap wireless networking that means there are cheap wireless gizmos on the market that aren't as secure as they should be.

EDIT:

>They look like ones originally sold for early gen iPhones (because 3.5mm with wider barrels above the rings physically would NOT fit into the IPhone's recessed port).

Clearly you lot knew what I meant! :)

Alternatively, a short 3.5mm male to 3.5mm female extension lead (about 2" long) will take the strain off your headphones' cable. The ones below are 99p for a two-pack. They look like ones originally sold for early gen iPhones (because 3.5mm with wider barrels above the rings physically would fit into the IPhone's recessed port).

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=3.5+male+to+3.5+female&noj=1&tbs=vw:l,ss:44&tbm=shop&srpd=8159865142164802484&prds=num:1,of:1,epd:8159865142164802484&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIydCPp7rSAhWmIcAKHWguD4MQgjYIngU

Re: A man after my own heart

Neutrik - they're the boyos! A stage lighting company I worked for would only use Neutrik DMX plugs when making up cables.

For my use though, I fancy something lower profile. I guess the downside of the 90° is that whilst they protect the socket against knocks to the plug, they relay more stress if the cable is yanked.

Re: I've nothing of value to contribute

For noisy environments, I like using earplugs in conjunction with some good value over-ear Sennheisers. Cheap but effective, and whilst the ear plugs are biased against high frequencies this is only conducive to snoozing.

Re: A man after my own heart

Hmm, it's just struck me that the part of the headphones that disagrees with my hat is the headband, yet this component is redundant since the hat itself could be a stable platform for supporting the cans. Okay, not cans because there would be no force pushing them against my ears, but the battery and receiver for some earbuds could be stowed in the crown of the hat, as could the buds themselves when not in use. With magnets. Hmm...

Bugger fixing something, I'm going to cannibalise and improve!

Re: A man after my own heart

I can see the the soldering iron now as I type. The issue is that my small stash of leaded solder, no doubt hidden under piles of broken or redundant gadgets, is harder to find! Oh, and if I'm to fix em, I'll want to fit my choice of 3.5mm jack to them (the low profile 90° type) which I'll need to order. :)

Re: IOT Bog Roll holder?

NB. My idea is both useful AND secure!

The alternative is to have a printer mounted above the bogroll holder, so that you can read War and Peace directly from your two-ply as you use it, one sentence at a time.

Hmmm... Choice of ink would be crucial.

Re: IOT Bog Roll holder?

Genius! Take apart an old mechanical mouse, connect one encoder wheel to the big roll axle. Interface the mouse's USB to a tablet...

Result: As you use the bog roll, you scroll through the eBook you are reading automatically!

Re: Stopped using

> How much lower will Windows nose dive over the next few years?

Walt Mossberg has written this week that he believes personal computers to change to ARM soon, citing Chromebooks, Windows Universal Apps and Apple. Being Mossberg, he thinks Apple is best placed, given their ARM expertise and range of existing iOS tablet apps.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/1/14771328/walt-mossberg-pc-definition-smartphone-tablet-desktop-computers

Re: reduced the wattage or the current

The UK charger that comes with the Galaxy S7 does 9v (IIRC) in addition to 5v, over microUSB. Presumably it only supplies 9v if it detects that it is connected to a compatible phone. It may that Huewai are adjusting the voltage too.

Re: What car?

There tend to be fewer bumper stickers than there are cars, thus fewer data points. Ditto Truck Nuts.

Re: Didn't you guys..

They assessed the 1st generation of modules, and assessed them to be useful (the battery), humdrum (the speaker... handy for podcasts), largely redundant (the camera, one probably has a better compact zoom camera already), and not great (the projector). This article is about new modules.

These existing modules neither prove nor disprove the utility of Moto's connector. What will decide its fate is market faith in Moto's continuing support on future models.

A great shame this connector is proprietary- wider adoption by Androud would be a great differentiator from Apple. Imagine Psion-style keyboards, game pads, specialist sensors (3D scanning, IR imaging)... Heck, the one issue with Sony's QX 10 screenless camera for Android (same lens and sensor as the widely lauded RX 100 compact camera) was that its wireless connection to the host phone was flaky.

Re: "Ships November 2017"

It would be nice if the Reg commissioned a guest article about Product Design and hardware development. Firstly, it would be an interesting diversion, and secondly it would dispel a few oft-repeated myths.

If the keyboard was developed as a Moto Mod, Motrola would contribute to the development costs. (See Moto article on Reg today).

Re: Problem with screen unprotected and facing out

I guess a common scenario will be the user wanting to take/make voice calls whilst the Gemini is in its 'open laptop's position, so that the user can take notes or refer to information during the call. If so, then a wired or Bluetooth headset will be a given anyways.

Such a Bluetooth earpiece could be designed to 'dock' with the Gemini using its USB-C port, sitting flush when not in use.

Re: IndieNoGo

> I've had less bad experiences with Kickstarter. Is that just luck?

I can't speak about you specifically, but there has been research that indicates some individuals will consistently buy products or systems that fail in the market (thus never pick up 3rd party developer support, and lose vendor support), even if they are technically superior.

> they have to crowdfund rather than seek investors - because NOBODY else but fanatics under the illusion of hype will touch them.

Investors will want to make lots of money on a successful product, in part to cover the losses they make backing unsuccessful products.

You're correct in that vocal enthusiasm doesn't necessarily translate into high sales. In fact I commented here a couple of weeks back (before any Gemini announcements) about the idea of crowdfunding the Psion-style keyboard "that many Reg readers keep telling us they want". [I wrote it in the context of an industry wide modular system akin to Moto Mods. Moto Mods are a proprietary magnetic physical connector built atop the open Greybus electronic standard. It seemed to me that it would be cheaper to crowdfund a snap-on keyboard than it would an entire pocket computer]

> So why should it be a problem to get [this new keyboard] right?

It's not a total replica of the old keyboard - it uses a magnetically sprung mechanism, just for one example of a difference. Then there is the process of refining the manufacturing once the design is nearly finalised.

Good hardware can be a time consuming process to get to market, and there is nothing to be gained from assuming otherwise.

Re: 18:9?

In the words of Bender Rodriguez:

"Popular? I'm pure lowest common denominator, baby!"

Using the LCD to describe LCDs is useful... It's clear how much taller a 16:12 (4:3) screen is than a 16:9

Re: Entertaining

If it runs Android, why would Google care if you bought it in place of a Chromebook?

And for that matter, would ChromeOS work on this Gemini hardware for the educational market?

(A slightly larger device, effectively a clamshell Newton with keyboard, was made by Apple but only sold to schools. Name escapes me ATM)

The Reg has featured this device because their readers have been expressing a desire in such a device for years.

The hinge was a crucial part of the original Psion device - the Reg readers who used it know why - and not just a small detail.

This Gemini is still being crowdfunded, so I'm not surprised they haven't finalised the keyboard, which will be the hardest part to get right. Prototype, test, repeat. They will, but hardware development takes time when you're doing more than just assembling off the shelf parts from ODMs. There is no point in them showing off a V.0.6 keyboard.

Speaking of which, most other phones at MWC are boring oblongs, much like the one you probably own. The Gemini is interesting.

That's a valid point - even a small monochrome display on the outside would allow the user to see the number of an incoming call before answering.

One solution would be to use this Gemini with that Sony device that clips to a shirt pocket. It's a small Bluetooth device with small display, and is held to the ear like a mobile phone - but it also has a 3.5mm jack for a normal wired headset. It is also a standalone MP3 player and FM radio.

Re: Interesting

What exactly is the attack surface offered by a USB socket with no data pins?

Remember that wireless charging isn't as quick as wired charging.

Re: Regulations

All phones allow you to make emergency calls before they are unlocked, even the iPhone which had the FBI making lots of noise... No reason that couldn't be the case here.

This phone claims that the NAND-cloning technique assumed to have been used by the FBI won't work.

Re: Trains

Wrong type of blood on the track.

Re: Instead of delivery, build on-site

>There will be racing tension between those who build on-site and those who ship finished goods.

You will still need to get the material feedstock, metals, plastics etc, to the 3D fabricator. It only changes factors like bulk - i.e a washing machine or fridge is bulkier than the materials used to make it.

EDIT: Charles and Steve beat me to it!