I am one of those people who is cursed with a steady stream of million pound (or euro, dollar, whatever) ideas but no know-how/ time/resources/ambition to actually patent them, develop them, fund them and gebnerally make them happen.
Therefore I have decided to give them away for free, in the hope that *someone* will make it happen, and I can at least get to see it built, even if someone else profits. So here's my current favourite. It's a desktop/laptop hybrid.
Here's the pitch:
In this age of wireless internet, laptops are great, even if you never leave your house: You can surf on the sofa, browse in the bath... you get the idea. However laptops have their downsides:
- You can't pull out a graphics card or processor and slot in a new one as easily as you can with a desktop, so they quickly go out of date.
- They are bloody expensive to boot.
- Battery life limits just how "wireless" these machines can be.
How to get around these problems? Build a hybrid!
You'd have two parts: Part one is the base-station. It has a traditional PC case with standard PSU, UPS, motherboard, wired lan, graphics card, sound card, storage, DVD-ROM, expansion ports and, crucially, a wireless network access point. No screen as standard (although you can plug one in if you want), ditto keyboard and mouse. You can hide this in a cupboard or up in the loft, because you won't need to see it very often. This also means it doesn't have to compromise on performance by being particularly pretty or quiet, unlike some new desktop systems coming out now.
Part two is a large, lightweight laptop screen, connected to a wireless card that talks to the base station. It also has keyboard and mouse (or other input options- tablet for instance), speakers (optional - A better option would be a widget to stream sound output straight to your stereo), a few USB ports, a battery, and just enough logic to work it all. No hard drive. No super-hot-processor. Not even a graphics card! All it does is (via lots of clever custom hardware and software) wirelessly transmit any input straight back to the basestation, and then stream the basestation's graphics/sound output across the network and onto the screen. It's one PC broken into two pieces, but held together by wireless glue. I think current Wlan technology ought to be quick enough for this. As little work as possible is done at the screen/keyboard end, thus reducing power overheads and extending battery life. You also get the benefit of being able to cheaply and easily upgrade the base station's hardware and see the results on your portable screen. Different sized screens from handlheld to tabletop would be available for different tastes and budgets, and all would of course be designed to be as ergonomic and comfortable as possible, so you can have it on your lap or hanging on a wall or stood up on a desk or whatever. If you wanted to go further you could break the mouse/ keyboard off as well and have them wireless components, but I think then you are in danger of loses bits and pieces down the back of the sofa.
Of course the downside is that if you take your screen out of range of your wireless network, your toy becomes useless. Well, for people who are bothered by this, there is a solution: Part three, an optional portable base station! Something more like traditional laptop technology with processor, harddrive etc that clips on to the screen part when you need to go roaming, converting it into something very much like a proper laptop.
The advantage of this two-part option over a traditional laptop (apart from the advantages when using it at home) is that when you want to upgrade the "roaming" portion of your system, you don't need to shell out for a new battery and screen (two of the more expensive components in laptop design). You could also save money by having a basic, low-cost, low-spec system for roaming and saving all the high-spec toys at home.
So there you go. I know we have lots of geeky people here, and even some people in the industry, so go make it! I'm not claiming copyright or patents or anything at all- if you've read this post the idea is now all yours. However, if you do build this thing and make some money from it, it would be nice if you'd remember little me and send me one of the first ones off the production line! I'll have the high-spec one with the 19" screen, please
