[Arm-netbook] so where does ULP-COM fit into our thinking?

[Gordan Bobic]

On 10/10/2012 03:05 PM, green wrote:
> Simon Kenyon wrote at 2012-10-10 02:43 -0500:
>> do we really, really think that people will be swapping cards between
>> enclosures on an hourly basis? i think it is worth looking at the relative
>> costs of the card and the devices. it would seem likely that people would
>> have one card per device and only change the card when there was a major
>> upgrade in the card capabilities.
>
> My personal usage would include somehow switching from pocket-size tablet to
> laptop multiple times per day, whether by moving a EOMA68 card or by simply
> connecting the display and keyboard by cable.  The advantages as I see it are
> only a single operating system to maintain and a practically identical
> software experience regardless of chassis style.  Synchronization across many
> devices, architectures, and operating systems suddenly becomes a non-issue.

I can see this type of usage leading to a really poor experience as the 
screen resolution changes. All the desktop icons would get re-arranged, 
and different device formats require a fundamentally different user 
interface. Toshiba AC100 was a massive commercial failure purely because 
it is an Android device without a touchscreen, which is pretty much 
unusuable. Put normal Linux on it and use it as a laptop, and it's a 
fantastic machine.

The point being that for a small touchscreen device like a phone or a 
slate you really want a user interface optimized for that experience, 
e.g. Android. For laptop/desktop usage with a keyboard, you want a more 
traditional user interface.

While switching between the two is a nice feature to have for the 
future, at the moment, the OS' user experience provisions simply don't 
exist to make this use-case workable.

Plus, the chances are that a chassis containing a touchscreen, a 
battery, and possibly a keyboard if it's a laptop, is likely to cost 
more than an EOMA module at mass-production prices, so the monetary 
saving on the hot-swapping isn't that great - it needs to be a usability 
and convenience driven advantage, rather than a cost drive one.

Gordan