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-100

A translucent notebook

-100 points posted to Laptops by anordal Jan 9

Edited: This idea was known as "A transparent notebook", although it was translucent I meant.

Why not make the plastic case translucent? I have seen a translucent calculator and partly translucent computer mice made of plastic that makes the inside look blurred. It gives a sense of quality. Used extensively, the translucent plastic makes a simplistic, clean look.

I have seen XPS notebooks with builtin lights shining colorful out from the fan exhaust. The suggestion for backlit keyboards is well promoted on this forum. I suggest having a translucent keyboard with dark bold letters and *soft* lighting underneath that also makes the chassis shine vaguely.

As I imagine it:
A simplistic, yet quality oriented notebook. More of a workstation than a gaming machine. Off-the-shelf hardware without extra fuss, an absolute minimum of drivers required. An exceptionally good 1680x1050 15.4" anti-reflective screen (anti-reflective, since the type of plastic I am thinking about has a more or less rough surface, definately not iPod-shiny). The light switch should be purely mechanical. By the way, who wouldn't appreciate more than one headphone jack?

Since this obviously is a geeky machine, it would be appreciated to have it available with Linux installed and with a Tux-key instead of Windows-key (Tux, since not only ubuntu people would buy it). To me, it sounds logical to run open source software inside a computer that shows what it is made of.

pennir02
Jan 9		 As soon as the dust starts to show fron the cooling fans air flow it probably wouldn't look so good any more.
matthewmonkan
Jan 10		 It's a fresh idea for notebooks. If there are any parts that wouldn't look good transparent, obviously Dell would get rid of transparency in those areas.
anordal
Jan 10		 Sorry, transparent was not the right word. Translucent is what I mean. The mistake was due to my limited english vocabulary. The details on the inside would be more or less blurred and diffuse, dependig on what you and Dell thinks.

The problem of ugly dust buildups can be avoided; in my notebook, the cooler is a metal case. In my opinion, all technology looks good, so let's hope Dell agrees. The naked truth is usually the most beautyful.
tekhawk
Jan 11		 Quote "It gives a sense of quality." till it gets scratches and stuff black hides the marks the clear products i have look really abused from small scuffing because of stuff like that
matthewmonkan
Jan 11		 (on scuffing)
Dell could simply use a material that doesn't blemish. But seriously, there are plenty of high-quality products with translucence that are durable and look fantastic.

During testing, Dell would most likely consider the effects of wear and tear and design something that wouldn't look ugly. This idea by anordal is simply focused on the aesthetics of a translucent laptop - we should be focusing in on that and demoting it only if we think it would be ugly. If Dell, however, did come out with a translucent notebook, but with a poor material or design, then make a new idea saying "Dell, make your translucent notebooks smudge-resistant" or so forth.

I completely agree with all the posts that mention the hazard of debris, scuffs, etc...that would look horrible on a translucent notebook. However, I promoted this because the only variable of this idea was the translucence, not the durability, and I think it could be implemented beautifully and be a first for laptops (to my knowledge).
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