KS Phabtop Computer
 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/k...ile-computer#/
Another UMPC type device, this one is morr interesting and ARM powered. It can run Windows 10 or Android N on a Snapdragon 835.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

Windows 10 on ARM?
I'll pass...

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

That's the worse of both worlds imo :D

With 24.6 x 15 cm this is too big for me, has an usb 3.0 port though.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

24.6 x 15 cm is indeed on a biggish side. AND is has a USB 3 port, another minus ;)

I might still consider it if I see it in the shop and have a chance to play with it and see if I like ir. Buying a cat in a bag, no thanks.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

Also no word about the startup before their campaign,
no prototype, only a single rendering video,
no concrete timeline.

All red flags there are for a crowdfunding campaign.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

Genuinely curious... how is USB-C a negative?

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

C is a negative across the board: http://blog.fosketts.net/2016/10/29/...thunderbolt-3/

However, I don't see the problem with 3, it's just a backwards compatible, faster version of the previous USBs.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

Thanks for the correction, I obviously meant C, not 3. Silly typo.

However this device promises USB 3, not C. That is of course a positive. I got totally muddled up, sorry folks.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

Look at the picture of the ports and the specs both say USB Type C type connector (see attached)

The description of problems by nthn though; I was fully unaware.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

There is a USB 3.0 on the right. I don't mind USB C as long as it is not the only port available.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

I don't see this as a problem. We have one port with many protocols. Not the first one. Even the SCART cables were not all the same nor all the connectors were made with all options. The downside is that not all of them can be used at once so obviously we still need more than one port on more versatile devices. But blaming port because it provides different protocols that will confuse Average Joe is just lame. If our Joe is interested at all he can alway read the manual and not expect that something should worrk just because the plug fits. Not all BT devices supports all the profiles and world didn't end because of that. Cabels fror USB-C to "something" shouldn't be the problem because they are/will be designed for that (crappy cables exist in non C world also). And USB-C to USB-C just have to be a good quality cabel with all the wires and all supported protocols will work (again, crappy ones exist). The fact that some OEM decided to use USB-C port for USB 2.0 protocol (which is supported under specs) is hardly a USB-C port fault.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

Can you take it on a plane, or does it have to go in the hold?

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

I'd say being able to destroy your electronics by using the wrong cable which looks exactly the same is a big problem. I think it's pretty ridiculous I should have to read a manual for a cable of all things, just so I don't wreck hundreds of euros worth of tech gadgets. I have a hard enough time explaining my parents that the close button on a tab is not the same as the close button of the whole browser, I really don't look forward to receiving their calls about how their USB-C gadget doesn't turn anymore because they "just put in the cable and it stopped working".

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

but that's because of the shitty cables. It has nothing to do with port and protocols. The only way to avoid that is to completely remove power from specs. And nobody wants that.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

@kinggo, you are right, multiple protocols over the same physical interface are a problem but not the problem. My main objection to USB-C is the lack of compatibility. I have absolutely zero USB-C devices so obviously the first one with a USB-C only connection would be a major compatibility problem, forcing me to spend more money. And to what end? It does not give me any advantage that I can think of. No functionality I was desperately waiting for and could hardly live without. For all intents and purposes, it is "progress" for its own sake.

USB-C may be the future but t is not the present just yet. Once USB-C becomes the mainstream and there is no way to obtain "old" USB devices, then I will succumb too.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

If you avert your eyes to the left, that was what I was referring to - the X2 (two times) USB C-type connectors on that side of the device. But it's not the only port on this device - a good thing. Still leagues better than the faulty USB port on some devices that have been released.

Regardless, I do not see this one being funded or delivered in this state quite yet. Too many detractors by people that truly just want something else it seems.

But I hope I'm wrong.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

@ pichlo How many micro B USB devices you had at some point in time? Or HDMI? Or USB A type?
We all started with 0 of something. And compatibility is there in specs and the rest can be solved with C-to something cable (the working one) untill everything will have just C. Which does bring usefull things. I see a lot of potential in USB C docks.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

A very good question. Let's see, chronologically.

• Standard USB: My first USB device was a tablet (of the graphics type, the thing enabling you to use a pen with your PC). That was in 2000, at the time when everyone around me was using USB mice and keyboards. It took me another 10 years to plug my keyboard to a USB port, and even that was with an adapter, so I could use my still perfectly working PS/2 keyobard and mouse ;)
  I have never owned a USB printer or scanner. My parallel port printer-scanner combo was still working fine when I replaced it with a network colour laser.
• Micro USB: First used probably around 2011, when I acquired my first "smartphone". I used a Palm with a proprietary connector for the 9 years prior to that. The transition was painless, since the phone came with a USB to micro USB cable.
• HDMI: I do not own a single HDMI device. In fact I went out of my way to search high and low when I was forced to buy a new TV to find one with two SCART connectors - one for the VCR and one for the DVD player. The TV also has four HDMI ports. A waste of space as far as I am concerned, but at least they are not in the way.

Does that answer your question? ;)

There was a point in embracing USB. The move from no external hard drive to a USB external hard drive is a qualitative change. On the other hand, the move from a parallel printer to a USB printer is merely quantitative, with a questionable justification. In fact I lose more than I gain, since I could use any of my two parallel printers with any of my two computers through a cross-over switch box, something more difficult to do with USB.

The transition to USB-C is even more questionable. The number of times I thought to myself in my whole, nearly half a century long life, "How I wish I could pull this plug out and stick it back in upside down and it would still work," is exactly zero.

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

Gotta ask Pichlo, do you think that you represent the norm?

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

I'll buy one if they shoehorn a scart socket in there.... :D

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

No. Did I ever claim that?

Re: KS Phabtop Computer
 

If you had, I would not see the need to ask. I asked because I was genuinely curious.