RE: Viewsonic smart displays

["Nikola Kasic" <nikola@xxxxxxx>]

Hi,
I have my node 0 in a cupboard in a mini cabinet. There's no space for
monitor there, so my server (soon to be two) runs PC anywhere, and I
administer it from my workstation PC. However, if I need to access BIOS or
I
run into problems and Windows cannot start, I have no option, but to
pull
the server out of cabinet and attach monitor, which is a pain.
Buying one of TFT displays for those servers seems too expensive, if I
need
to use it only once a month and still takes a precious space in a
cupboard
(and needs separate keyboard and mouse)
Now, I would really like to have one slim display (shape like these),
which
I can take out of cupboard and use as a display/keyboard/mouse for the
servers, and also as a control panel for devices (e.g. running Home
Automator) and even displaying photos as a screen saver.
Now, the questions that rise are:
Can such displays work with any PC, with any OS?
How do I switch display between servers? KVM switches usually have some
key
combinations, like pressing Ctrl twice or pressing PrintScreen. There's
no
keyboard on these...
How do I enter BIOS settings? Again, there's no keyboard, OS and drivers
are
not started yet...
Does anyone know if there is something like what I need available on
the
market or not?
Cheers,
Nik
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Steve Morgan [mailto:wormpurple@xxxxxxx]
  Sent: 30 December 2002 10:05
  To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
  Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Viewsonic smart displays


  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: Paul Gordon [mailto:paul_gordon@xxxxxxx]
  <snip>
  >
  > Personally, I wouldn't recommend the "Tablet PC" for
HA use,
  > as they have an
  > active digitiser, which basically means thay *have* to be
  > used with the
  > special pen that is provided. The touchscreen absolutely
  > cannot and will not
  > work with a finger or any other object used as a
pointer....

  Indeed. TabletPC is itself an interesting technology, but the
active
  digitiser really means it's not suitable as a HA 'remote
control'.
  Digital Ink is going to be useful for certain business applications,
but
  it's domestic applicability looks limited to me. I've been looking
at
  one to replace my laptop but current models have limited appeal -
most
  machines have a 10.4" display which is a little small for a
decent
  laptop, but the Tosh with it's 12.?" display is a little big
for a
  tablet. Most of the TabletPCs are a little underpowered, too, with
most
  running at 800MHz.

  Smart Display is basically ePods on steroids. It's a Windows CE
based
  device running Terminal Services client and acts as a remote desktop
for
  an XP machine. Having a passive touch screen, it's great for
'remote
  control' type HA applications but it's handwriting recognition is
far
  less effective than Digital Ink on the TabletPC so it's not so good
for
  text input. Where it scores over a general purpose Windows CE
device
  like ePods is that it's set up to act as a remote display, so you
just
  turn it on and connect. One thing these machines don't do well
is
  display live video - there just isn't the bandwidth.

  I'd consider waiting a little while. The Viewsonic is the first
Smart
  Display on the market and it's not shipping yet. I'm sure
something
  better wil be along shortly.

  Anyway, I'd recommend Smart Display for HA use. Use TabletPC if
you're
  an insurance salesman.

  > What do you want to bet that you only get 1 active pointer
  > supplied with the
  > unit, and replacements are ***ing expensive?!?!

  Wacom supply the pointers and you can buy alternative ones directly
from
  them (so, for instance, you can change a standard single-ended one
for
  one with an eraser). No idea how much they cost, though.

  Steve


  http://www.automatedhome.co.uk
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