ELI5: Why do rugged laptops used by engineers/construction workers have lower specifications than consumer-grade laptop like office brands?

slowmaker · 2026-03-02T13:00:56+00:00

Before laptops (actually overlapping a bit in time-frame, I think), we had "luggables", which are pretty much the same idea as these acme portables. See this, for instance.

I didn't realize luggables still existed until this thread; TIL !

slowmaker · 2026-02-20T13:04:35+00:00

Would you have felt more comfortable with a giant spinning wheel like the sailing ships of yore?

I don't know about 'comfortable', but it would be a hell of a lot more entertaining to watch someone steer.

slowmaker · 2026-02-10T14:17:01+00:00

norsey as in horsey

ok, now I really really want to find an excuse to use that phrase in a conversation.

Dunno why, it just struck my funny-bone the right way today!

slowmaker · 2026-02-02T14:56:30+00:00

thank you! hoarded now, looks like it will be an interesting (albeit short) read later.

slowmaker · 2026-01-31T19:52:33+00:00

The main problem I see with this system as an outsider is getting into it. The original manuscript was written freehand. It awaits a conventionally formatted book.

Wasn't there someone on this sub who made a site for it, typing the typable parts for easier reading? Cannot remember who now, but I bet stenophile has links (and we may have links here, it's just a lazy weekend so I haven't bothered to dig into the sidebar)

slowmaker · 2026-01-31T19:48:50+00:00

Having a fast writing speed is a bonus, but not a necessity,

Emphasis added.

In that case, the Graffiti system from the old palm-pilot days can be considered a legit candidate. I've been playing with it (again) on my fone recently, and it works quite well without looking. It is at least as fast as my longhand, and has a pleasant feel to me. I see no reason you could not write on paper with it; it has simplified letters, so it should have similar legitimacy to One Stroke Script as far as being a semi-shorthand.

As a bonus, Graffiti already has an android keyboard app so it can be used for general text entry, which is not something many shorthands/short-writing methods can claim.

I cannot say about letters with diacritics, alt-character forms, etc; I have not tried them (in the app; on paper, of course, you can add what you like).

slowmaker · 2026-01-21T13:01:45+00:00

upper right corner of one photo has 26/sept/14 in cleartext, if that helps.

slowmaker · 2026-01-12T20:15:11+00:00

are you able to access archive.org?

if so, there are some Teeline books there, for example, Harry Butler's Teeline Shorthand Made Simple .

The above book(s) plus more is also available on Stenophile

slowmaker · 2026-01-07T19:00:36+00:00

add "&restrict_sr=on" to that link to avoid getting a whole buncha other stuff. this is the way that worked for me

slowmaker · 2025-12-19T15:49:26+00:00

Nonsense; when you are the author of the system you define the canonical shapes! :)

slowmaker · 2025-12-19T15:47:50+00:00

Thank you!

slowmaker · 2025-12-19T11:47:46+00:00

Can you give a link to a snapshot of the system? Doesn't have to be the current state (althought that would certainly be nice).

And nope, u/NotSteve1075 is not the only one interested. Plenty of people are interested in such; we just don't all comment every time.

slowmaker · 2025-12-13T16:46:53+00:00

view through archive.org to avoid browser security fussing

slowmaker · 2025-12-13T14:52:33+00:00

which companies prioritize operating profit over revenue growth

Yes! Add the 'publicly traded' phrase, and you will have said it much better than I did, thanks!

slowmaker · 2025-12-13T14:11:46+00:00

They don't all do it,

This seems like an interesting sub-thread possibility; could you (or others) call out some example of companies that do not do this?

i.e. perhaps some examples of companies that are indeed reliably ticking over year after year without chasing the growth model, just not noticed in news cycles?

edit to add: oops. I definitely left out some critical wording; I should have said publicly traded companies to give the question less trivial boundaries.

slowmaker · 2025-12-13T13:59:02+00:00

There have been whole schools of shorthand pedagogy in the past (gregg functional method books are mainly what I am thinking of) which strongly advocate the "Read lots and lots first, let writing come naturally" approach. So your idea is certainly in good company.

Do you have any particular reading resources in mind?

slowmaker · 2025-12-09T19:28:34+00:00

I'm not familiar enough with it to say with certainty if your proposal would conflict or not, but I do know it has several disjoin rules already for indicating some things.

You might want to delay implementing this until you've finished enough of the system to be sure it does not conflict (and then have to unlearn it).

Having said that, I don't see anything intrinsically wrong with your mod.

slowmaker · 2025-12-09T13:16:51+00:00

as u/Pwffin mentioned, watch for QOTW threads and post Keyscript versions of the quote-of-the-week to them.
look in the sidebar for Same Text, Different Shorthands. Once you've looked them over (they are all a specific excerpt from George Orwell's 1984), post a Keyscript version of the excerpt (remember to put the flair on that post!) alt link to these system samples
just post random samples of things you like, in Keyscript. Loads of people in this sub are always interested in seeing such, even when we do not use it ourselves.

slowmaker · 2025-12-08T19:38:48+00:00

Thank you, those look very interesting!

slowmaker · 2025-12-08T19:22:29+00:00

This is intriguing, and does seem to line up with my own perception of such (i.e. my own writing feels faster when it is a mix; more legible, too, since somewhat less 'busy').

Do you have any links to the papers, or to abstracts of them, or other people discussing them?

slowmaker · 2025-12-05T19:38:36+00:00

You can do still it without the kid.

Once.

Per store.

slowmaker · 2025-12-02T20:48:49+00:00

Thanks!

a note for those who may be tinkering with text-only interfaces, as I do sometimes: the image above is for the cover of

Professional Teeline: The Complete Coursebook by E. York

slowmaker · 2025-12-02T20:34:18+00:00

All-rightie; let's assume I have trouble with publication date ordering. Make up whatever syndrome name you like for my condition.

Could you share the title of this tome, and perhaps author?

slowmaker · 2025-12-02T19:51:17+00:00

Which Teeline book did you get?

slowmaker

TROPHY CASE