We
always thought that when it came to designing new computers, Asus believed that
slapping a Lamborghini
logo on a laptop was about as cutting edge as it got. But it turns out that the company is full of surprises, since
Asus has unveiled a concept PC that looks nothing like anything currently on the market (though it does look a bit like
the bookshelf PC from the
Microsoft/ISDA design
contest). Instead of a beige box, the PC is an open shelf; its innards consist of a series of modules that can be
connected to the PC simply by being stacked on the shelf, where they get their power via induction and communicate with
other modules wirelessly. Want to upgrade your processor? Swap modules. Need a new hard drive or graphics engine? Same
thing. Right now, this is strictly on the drawing board, but props to Asus for showing us that there's more to the
company than racecar-inspired notebooks.
posted Feb 23rd 2006 3:35PM
What if I want to stack a couple of computers on top of each other? Funny how all the components inside the computer stack, but the computers themselves don't.
And where do the tigtening screws go? And why aren't all components the same size? Are the components going to fly out when I trip over the CAT-5 cables? How is everything cooled? Where's the 350W power supply? Where do you plug the monitor in? Damn!
1st
An interesting idea all around, but using wireless for transferring data, especially from CPU to RAM or GPU is an absolutely terrible idea. Nothing but copper or fiber can handle that speed as of yet.
Been there, done that. 20 years ago.
Convergent Technologies pioneered that concept in the middle 1980s with our? NGEN line of machines. CPU unit, one or more Hard Drive units, Phone line units, graphics cards, etc. all connected side to side, and snapped together in whatever config you wanted (provided it was less than 36" wide).
How To Be Poor -
Look at the far left of the picture. That block is outside of the "shelf". My guess is that's the power supply. As for the moniter, either it plugs in there or in to the back of one of the modules as it says you can swap out the graphics. Cooling I would guess is handeled by the "open air" aspect of the modules.
This is an old idea. Burroughs technology/Convergent technology/Unisys did this back in the late 1980s. It was called the B25/26 or NGEN. I actually saw one on Murrphy Brown's desk back when the show was still on the air.
yeah, and where does the horse attach to....this is never going to catch on...
Can't faster wireless speeds be achieved using tech that requires line-of-sight?
Ah, anyways, "as of yet" is telling, as this thing isn't being released any time soon (if ever).
Yes, you can, but there isn't actually a line of sight connection unless each piece acts as a conduit for data for the components surrounding it, and that would cause a great deal of latency. I still don't think line of sight bandwidth is anywhere close, though, since bus speeds now top out in the 14 GB/s range.
Hey Asus makes nice motherboards too!
Yo guys, just to let y'all know, the Ferrari notebooks are made by ACER, not ASUS...
"This is an old idea. Burroughs technology/Convergent technology/Unisys did this back in the late 1980s. It was called the B25/26 or NGEN. I actually saw one on Murrphy Brown's desk back when the show was still on the air."
Agreed. First thing I thought of when I saw this was of a GE Fanuc PLC with it's racks for expansion.
@ fhornmikey:
true, but they said the lamborghini laptop, not the ferrari...
I could see this working with a fiber bus, but I don't see wireless being about to hack CPU bus speeds any time in the near future.
fhornmikey: That's why they said Lamborghini
and not Ferrari.
By the way everyone that's dissing this has absolutely no right to do so, especialy since this product, if it even becomes a product, will feature a "bit" different technology than what we use today.
Screw induction, just make standardized slots that the modules can be clicked into and locked. That way no one would walk off with your new cutting edge $500 GPU module.
Hmmm, I am going to start filling patents on designer "book ends" that will keep the modules from tipping over. :)
#1 How to be poor. It appears that the fixed box to the left of the unit is the power supply.
oh snap... who needs new glasses... me!
Looks a lot like a modern version of the daughter board I had sticking out of my Vic-20 about a thousand years ago.
A better way to do something like this would be to get computer companies to agree to standard sizes and connections for different parts so that you could use a normal case and swap out parts. If only that would work...
The article it links to mentions that a hard drive could be used for an mp3 player also. How awesome would it be to have two drives one for the OS and one for music/videos then you could just grab it and go, sync'd and charged, it would need a screen but think about it...
There are wireless chips that can push 630Mbps. Just look at the engadget article below.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/06/ibm-announces-630-mbit-second-millimeter-wave-chipset/
I'm sure it could work.
I've been a designer in the compooter industry for the last 10 years and this modular idea is nothing new... believe me. I guess pooter industry needs stuff that will never see the light of day, just like the auto industry.
To add to the above post -
Apple came up with the concept in November 1984 with their Jonathan Computer Concept. It was scrapped by June 1985 - only 7 months later. This won't see the light of day.
I don't see this as quite as modular (sub PC component, and therefore hobbled by wireless bandwidth), as some of the other readers. Where I do suspect this will most likely turn up as actual product, is for smarter office and retail inventory local area networks and charging of portable devices, in any place where the workers spend most of their day scanning in data or filling in forms; a shift from ray gun type scanners to tablet PC devices.
skid: for some reason, I read that as "cooter industry" and immediately imagined modularized vaginas.
damn you.
Hmm.... I saw this, and even a better idea, for a bus standard called "mote" about 4 years ago. Searching the web I can't find it, though. Methinks I need to give someone a call....
I think this is a neat concept, a little to big in size for home use though. Kinda reminds me a little of HAL 9000 and how he was put together (or taken offline).
haha here's an easy way to crash the system if this thing ever comes to be, just push over the last block and like dominos they'll all fall over each other and disconnect from their power lol
Can i Play DOOM on it?
Poster Number 1
The design is wireless, that means no CAT5e. The monitor does not need a cable; it will revieve it's signal wirelessly from the PC similarly to the way a TV gets it's picture from the air. There is no PSU because it revieves it's power through induction.
Should you some how need to bridge an old cat5 infrastructure then a little wireless reciever will pick up and transmit to and from the pc with no need for wires attached. Think of a Cordless phone attached to the 100 year old telephone networks that are still around today.
Googer
Forums.anantech.com
Interesting concept.
Make the shelf smaller/shorter then maybe this can take off.
You could probably heat your coffee or ramen soup by placing the cup or bowl between the modules for a few minutes.
We need to have computers that work this way. Soon!
If computers were like this, non-tech people could upgrade their computers easily, hardware would sell more, and go down in price, we wouldn't be paying $600 for JUST a video card to compete with a $600 console.
It would go on from there, I see it as an avalanche, accumulative. At any rate, it would be a good thing I think. Would be nice if it actually ever happened.
An especially neat idea if they are easily swappable; with enough racks you could (in theory) divide a multiprocessor machine up into multiple machines.
It does make me wonder what the software side of things will be like now that we'd have to worry about the hard drive's wireless signal.
Just think of all the dust it would collect... I would go more for a HAL 9000 core design (like it was mentioned on a previous comment), where standardized modules slide into an encasing that would provide the power, the connection bus, and cooling. If the power supply could also be made modular, you could have more than one connected at the time and make everything (except the chassis) hot-swappable.
erik said:
"The article it links to mentions that a hard drive could be used for an mp3 player also. How awesome would it be to have two drives one for the OS and one for music/videos then you could just grab it and go, sync'd and charged, it would need a screen but think about it..."
Errr... that's called "iPod". It even has a screen ;)
To the person commenting on how cool it would be to have a hard drive you can use as a mp3 player. You can do that already, just get one that shows up as a USB mass storage device and doesn't need special software to make it work.
remember that this is just part of a blue sky ideas competition which was all about *visual design* and experience before you start complaining about wireless transfer rates and current practicalities or current markets :)
the concept of the competition was to rethink the computer experience.
it's all about crazy getting ideas out to help keep things fresh and forward looking - much like they do with car prototypes you see at shows
and it really doesn't matter if someone's had the idea before, some of the best ideas have been reused ones
I remember looking at something like that when I was working for a moving company and we had to move some office equipment for the Coast Guard. Almost all of their PC look almost EXACTLY like that except they were a bit thicker, and I think they were all 386's so... it's really not even a concept, Just simply not available to the public!
I tried to get this idea out there about ten years ago, and when I did, Hitachi had already done it and made the parts look like parts of a modern art flower arragnement to boot. Nothing new here, it's a VERY old idea in computer design. Fortunately, I have other designs no one has even come close to thinking up. Getting them patented and produced seems to be the hard part.
I had an idea from a moduler PC back in 2001-2002. I was in Design school when I drew it up for a class project. THe only difference was I designed it for Apple. Check it out on in my gallery http://frankitodesign.com/portfolio.htm it's on screen 3.
Read Rick Kunkel's excellent book on Apple Design. This modular approach was proposed by frog back in the day, part of the original Snow White design language. Funny how the old skool designs are coming back. I love em!
Just think of all the dust it would collect... I would go more for a HAL 9000 core design (like it was mentioned on a previous comment), where standardized modules slide into an encasing that would provide the power, the connection bus, and cooling. If the power supply could also be made modular.