
Ask HN: A Laptop that outsources processing to a Desktop? - imakesnowflakes
Why does not this exist? A laptop that just contains a display, a keyboard and a mouse&#x2F;trackpad, that just take input and send them to desktop and just display what the desktop broadcasts? I have a powerful desktop at home, but I don&#x27;t want to spend all day sitting in front of it. If I have such a device, I can work from anywhere in my home. And it would not fry my lap like a cheap laptop do...<p>The way I see it, if you are living in a hot country, the actual machine does not even need to be inside your home, heating your rooms...<p>Why does not this exist?
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vytautask
Just buy an ultrabook/some laptop with good screen, good network card and
long-lasting battery. If heat is the problem for you, I would suggest some
aluminum-encased laptop that would disperse heat more easily. IMHO, probably
Google chromebook
([https://www.google.com/chromebook/](https://www.google.com/chromebook/)) is
the kind of device you are looking for...

Also what you need is a remote desktop app. There are quite a few nowadays
(from "Remote Desktop" in Windows, to TeamViewer, VNC or etc.). A quite good
list is in wikipedia:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_remote_desktop_s...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_remote_desktop_software)
.

~~~
imakesnowflakes
Yes. I know about those. I am a software developer.

Buying an ultrabook/laptop just for continence seem a bit overkill to me.
Those are not exactly cheap. But that is not the point. The point is how much
untapped potential is there in existing systems. I think we should be trying
to extract as much value from the existing set up, before buying more
redundant stuff. We already have wireless keyboards and mouse. We just need an
Lcd with bundled transmitter/reciever with enough bandwidth. Making It is
quite trivial compared to the convenience it will provide. It might even be
able to support multiple users. Put one desktop in your basement, and the
whole family can use these dumb wireless terminals.

~~~
vytautask
"Bundled with transmitter/receiver" is the tricky part. How would you
configure such device? How it would know where and how to convert/send/receive
signal? To solve those basic problems you'll need some computational power.
There we arrive at thin clients (for example like those:
[http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/cloud-client-
computing?stp...](http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/cloud-client-
computing?stp_redir=false&~ck=mn)). Some of them do have wireless
connectivity...

~~~
imakesnowflakes
In the same way wireless keyboards and mouses work. You use a
receiver/transmitter pair. It does not require any computational power. A
receiver can be tuned to a particular transmitter. We might have to encrypt
the display transmission. But it am sure it can be done using dedicated
hardware.

~~~
joefarish
Sounds like you just want a wireless display adapter:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiDi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiDi)

~~~
imakesnowflakes
Yes. That is what I am talking about. It seems like there are already cheap
devices that can do wireless HDMI streaming [1].

[1] [http://www.amazon.in/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Daps...](http://www.amazon.in/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wireless+display+adapter)

~~~
rahimnathwani
You're not going to like the latency of using Airplay or similar over wifi,
unless you're doing something non-interactive (like watching a movie).

~~~
imakesnowflakes
Is that so? I am not sure why there would be a noticeable latency. Wireless
keyboards and mouse works fine from a distance. Besides, I am not suggesting
using wifi for this, but a direct radio link.

~~~
rahimnathwani
"Is that so?"

Yes.

"I am not sure why there would be a noticeable latency."

Even if you don't understand it, the latency will still affect you.

"Wireless keyboards and mouse works fine from a distance."

Yes, they do. That's irrelevant. They don't use wi-fi, and they transmit
significantly less data than used in a video signal.

"Besides, I am not suggesting using wifi for this, but a direct radio link."

You _are_ suggesting using wifi. Your comment, to which I responded, included
a link to an HDMI stick which streams video over wifi.

I'm suggesting that the device you linked (along with every other HDMI/wi-fi
stick) will not serve your purpose, due to latency.

Feel free to buy it and report back your results if they differ :)

~~~
imakesnowflakes
>I'm suggesting that the device you linked (along with every other HDMI/wi-fi
stick) will not serve your purpose..

Cool. Was not suggesting to use WiFi, Sorry for the misunderstanding. Also, I
think you might be confusing latency with throughput.

~~~
rahimnathwani
"I think you might be confusing latency with throughput"

No, I'm not.

The problem with streaming video over wifi (e.g. Airplay) is latency, not
throughput. That's why watching videos is fine (you don't care if there's a
lag, as long as audio is travelling along the same path), but interactive
stuff (like normal work) feels off.

~~~
imakesnowflakes
Ok. I thought so because you mentioned wireless keyboards transmit less data
than a video signal..

------
veddox
Wouldn't that be terribly inefficient? I'm hazarding a guess here, but I think
that no matter what kind of networking technology you use, it's going to be
dreadfully slow as compared to doing it locally.

Plus, the laptop would lose 90% of its mobility advantage, as it would always
have to be in the (network-) vicinity of a desktop.

~~~
imakesnowflakes
> it's going to be dreadfully slow as compared to doing it locally.

We don't use networking. We use direct RF link.

>Plus, the laptop would lose 90% of its mobility advantage, as it would always
have to be in the (network-) vicinity of a desktop.

This is not a replacement for laptop. But an extension of a desktop. Instead
of having to sit directly infront of it, you can work from anywhere in the
same building.

~~~
ProblemFactory
So you are looking for a device that contains a laptop body, screen, keyboard,
touchpad, speakers, battery, battery charger, RF antennas, and enough
processing power to decode and display the video stream arriving over radio?

My guess is that this would cost at least 80% of a similar quality laptop that
also includes "computer parts" and works as an actual computer. Hell, the
current HDMI video streaming dongles like Chromecast have more processing
power built in than my first actual laptop.

~~~
imakesnowflakes
>My guess is that this would cost at least 80% of a similar quality laptop
that also includes "computer parts" and works as an actual computer.

80%? Without cpu, harddisk, memory, motherboard and without having to cramming
all of this into a small space, without heat and power management circulatory
to provide and manage power for all of these things? So in a laptop, you think
these amount to only 20% of the cost?

> enough processing power to decode and display the video stream arriving over
> radio

How much processing power did your 20 year old television set have?

~~~
polar8
Your 20 year old television's resolution is a bit lower than 2560x1440 :)

~~~
imakesnowflakes
You see, this already exists [1]. It costs around 2000 Rs, that is like $30, A
wireless mouse and keyboard will cost around the same. So for $60 you will
have all the component to make this work.

Let me say this again. For 60$ worth of components you can have a remote
control that will let you work on your desktop from anywhere in your home.

Will you be interested?

[1] [http://www.amazon.in/eShop24x7-Wireless-Display-Miracast-
Air...](http://www.amazon.in/eShop24x7-Wireless-Display-Miracast-
Airplay/dp/B014R1RQAY?tag=googinhydr18418-21&tag=googinkenshoo-21&ascsubtag=7170ce92-ce65-4df1-b162-d776178e35a8)

------
ripken
Amazon workspaces + what's called a zero client

[https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/workspaces-zero-
client/](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/workspaces-zero-client/)

------
DrScump
You mean, like an X terminal?

Actually, a Chromebook is kind of like that - a browser only.

------
bigiain
I know people who do this with EC2 instances. You don't even need to own a
powerful desktop to make this work.

(thin client, fat client, thin client - the more things change the more they
stay the same...)

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vansteen
I never heard about such a device but I have a Motorola LAPDOCK to control my
raspberry. I guess the raspberry could be adapted to control a distant desktop
(adding a wifi or bluetooth card, a battery of some sort and a VNC-like
software)

Or even using a Motorola LAPDOCK + Smartphone with remote-control app

See Motorola Lapdock:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004M17D62/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004M17D62/)

------
j2bax
Are you thinking of something similar to the Wii U controller which can play
games wirelessly from the Wii U via a direct link?

Edit: more info on the Wii U game pad link.
[http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/16/3653294/wii-u-range-
test-g...](http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/16/3653294/wii-u-range-test-gamepad)

------
CyberFonic
Have you looked at VNC? It does exactly what you are describing. See:
[http://www.tightvnc.com/](http://www.tightvnc.com/)

~~~
imakesnowflakes
Not sure. VNC is a program that runs on a computer. But we don't need a
computer to simply relay input/output to a desktop. What I am suggesting is
such a setup. We already have cheap wireless keyboards and mouse. We just need
a lcd with a reciever/transmitter with sufficient bandwidth and bundle them
together in a compact package, that act as a dumb terminal of sorts.

------
LarryMade2
Sounds a lot like the Linux Terminal Server Project

[http://www.ltsp.org/](http://www.ltsp.org/)

------
michaelbuddy
it's kind of what a steam machine link device and the new xbox one streaming
are. You are able to run games on a less powerful system as long as the wifi
or hard wired network are pretty robust.

