Dilwyn Jones wrote:
As the proud owner of an Aurora/Super Gold Card version of the
original Minis-QL, I can vouch for the appeal of such a tiny and
portable version of a QL. My Minis-QL is a fantastic machine, so
adding the sheer power of a Q60 in such a tiny system (and the
pictures alone are impressive, Peter) is surely a system we would all
be jealous of.
Unfortunately a lot of tinkering is involved with this case. If there was
full freedom for a customized case for small Q40/Q60 computers, it would
look different. For example it would already have holes for all the
connectors and use the space more efficiently.
It also gives an idea of how flexible the design of the
Q60 is, that it can be put into anything from a big conventional
computer case to such an aesthetic little case design.
It could be even more flexible, of course. Nevertheless this MiniQ60 was to
show what we can do with what we have *now*.
As you can see on a Q40/Q60 mainboard picture, there is some space between
the components which is only used for wiring. So the Q40/Q60 could
obviously be smaller if a (more expensive) printed circuit with 6 or 8
layers was used. PCMCIA instead of ISA and higher logic integration could
lead to a Q40/Q60 board with little more than the size of a harddisk.
Currently there is not enough demand to justify the costs and time of such
a hardware design and the following OS development.
I think if the Q60 were ever available with a built in flat screen, or
at the very least a flat screen LCD add-on screen, I'd be saving every
penny I had just to get my hands on one.
What you could probably have, is a system containing a tinkered small Q60,
an external 15 TFT monitor with analogue input, and an external small
keyboard.
For a real Q60 notebook, we would need an (older) empty notebook case
without mainboard and see if a (modified) Q60 fits. And a converter for the
display. Could be some nice tinkering... I sometimes think about it, but
(as always) time is too short :-(
Peter
