Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Project Novena

[Leslie I'Anson]

On 4 April 2014 10:37, Bob Ham <address@hidden> wrote:

> Seen it.  Bitterly disappointed.  It isn't a laptop, it's some crazy box
> with the screen round the wrong way.  Despite the fact that the prototypes
> were laptops, that it's been described as a laptop in every blog post, and
> that it's *currently* described as a laptop on the crowd-funding page.  The
> fact that they're describing the crazy box as a laptop is actually quite
> worrying; it shows a real kind of mental disconnection.
>
> I am totally dumbfounded by what they've done.  We could have had a free
> hardware laptop.  Alas.

I understand your concerns Bob however, I fear that if the Novena were
not referred to as a "laptop" it may not have received the same amount
of publicity/interest.  How would you describe it?

> some crazy box with the screen round the wrong way.

Yeah.  Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means defending it; merely just
pointing something out.  Also;

"...Huang says this is actually what most users he's talked to prefer."

I wonder who these users are...?  Who knows, maybe they're lapless?

Anyway, to my mind, the project should not be discredited on account
of bad wording.  The fact is, it is open source hardware so if you
don't like it you are free to change and improve it!  As the article
states;

"You can also buy just the motherboard for $500 and use it with your own case."

You could always start your own Crowd Supply project for a laptop
chassis which includes an integrated keyboard and right-way-up
screen...

Personally, I can appreciate the design decisions given that the
machine is clearly aimed at hobbyists, whom will seldom keep it stock.
 Not to mention the extra geek kudos points.

But that's just me.

L.