This Is Not A Laptop, It’s A KVM Combo
This Is Not A Laptop, It’s A KVM Combo
A spare monitor and keyboard are handy things to have around, but they’re a bit of a hassle. They are useful for hardware development, plugging in to headless servers, or firing up a Raspberr…
It really looks like a laptop, but it’s actually a 14″ 1920 x 1280 monitor and USB keyboard in a laptop form factor.
There is also an integrated trackpad, speakers and mic, and a rechargeable battery. That makes it capable of providing its own power, and it can even function as a power bank in a pinch. There’s an HDMI input on one side, and on the other is a full-featured USB-C port that accepts video input via the DisplayPort altmode.
I wanted something like this 15 years ago. I'm sad that I didn't get one while I was still spending time in data centers instead of working with VPSes.
Yeah, same.
We still have an IPKVM at work, but it hardly gets used these days since all of our servers now have iLO or iDRAC with remote console.
What is the difference between this and the NexDock (https://nexdock.com/) I can use it with an SBC or my Pixel 8 as external display
Honestly, no idea (except I hadn't heard of Nexdock until now lol). Looks like they do the exact same things, but the Nexdock seems to have a slightly bigger internal battery. The only difference I can see is that this appears to be a little less expensive. Not sure what it'll actually sell for, but the "early bird" Kickstarter prices are between $119 and $139 while the Nexdock retails for $299. Beyond that, they seem to have the same features.
You'd think they'd do something differently or make some notable improvements since the product they're kickstarting already exists. My comment has some suggestions, lol. Maybe also including a serial terminal would be nice.
I like the idea of this, but I don't think it's something that'll end up on my workbench.
I often need VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, and/or HDMI depending on what I'm working with. Granted, there are passive DVI -> DisplayPort -> HDMI adapters that should work with this, but as a dedicated KVM device, you'd think it'd have options for them. VGA would require an active adapter, so I can overlook that as an integrated option, but it would be nice and not too much hassle to include since, again, it's a single-purpose device.
Plus, my workbench is already crowded, lol. Would also be nice if it had an internal SBC or Framework-style motherboard that could be selected as an input device.
Would also be nice if it had an internal SBC or Framework-style motherboard that could be selected as an input device.
So, a laptop? 😆
Well, a laptop with a bunch of connectivity.
Lol, basically. Though I don't know if off the shelf laptop boards would easily support passing the LCD/KB/touchpad and USB hub to an external host. I'm sure it could be done, but not without some careful design considerations.
I just figured it would be easier, design-wise, to take what they already have and attach a Framework motherboard to an internal USB-C port and leaving the external C ports open.