NewtonTalk.net January 2008 archive: Re: [NTLK] No New Newt

From: Ed Kummel <tech_ed_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Wed Jan 16 2008 - 15:50:07 EST

I dunno...Dell has their 13.3" widescreen ultra portable at 3.9 pounds...sure it's heavier, but you get a faster CPU, double the size HD, CD/DVDRW, and all the IO ports you could need..And honestly, it doesn't look as delicate as the Air MacBook.
  And heck...JVC has had a lightweight notebook since 2003! Just UNDER 2 pounds!
  And don't forget the Panasonic Toughbook W4...rugged and under 3 pounds (2.8 pounds) and it Sure doesn't skimp! and oh-yeah...this came out in 2005!
  There are several dozen others out there that are under 4 pounds and fully capable and yet to not skimp on anything...like the Air does.
  Honestly, a slow drive, a slow CPU, no connectivity, and the DVI port (I don't konw about you, but I don't have one of those cables lying around anywhere) I'll definatly pass on this all show, no go laptop.
  Sure, I can see if you have to support a massive ego or compensate for inadequete self esteem, then yeah, this computer may allow you to carry on that facade a little longer...And of course, it will look good sitting in the passenger seat of your new Massaratti as you drive up to your weekend house in the Hamptons...
  Ed
  web/gad.get guru
  http://newton.tek-ed.com (download Newton packages)
Steven Scotten <splicer@paroxysm.com> wrote:
  And I for one am impressed. Is it revolutionary? No. But maybe it
pushes the industry in the right direction. When was the last time
anyone other than Sony put out a laptop that was under six pounds?
It's just one of my pet peeves, because "subnotebooks" were all the
rage in the 90s. Every manufacturer had a superslim sub-3lb notebook
computer stripped down with no CD or floppy. Since then? Once in a
blue moon you might see something small and light.

I'm sick and f-ing tired of the computer industry calling 8 lbs
"lightweight." Give me a break.

WHY? Because laptop computers are SUPPOSED to be lightweight. Sure, I
can look at the feature list of the Air and tell you the things I wish
it had that it didn't, but it's damn tempting to finally have a laptop
that doesn't turn my backpack into a bag of bricks.

So I applaud the Air. Standing ovation. OK, not revolutionary, but I'm
glad someone did it and since I use Macs I'm glad it was Apple so I
have the option of reaping the benefit.

Also, I'm just guessing, but that solid state drive has got to make
the Air outperform every other machine on the planet even with that
underpowered processor. Boot time and application load time is gonna
drop by what? A factor of twenty? Good riddance to spinning disks.
They've been computing's biggest bottleneck for at least two decades.

It's not enough to stop me from saving for the ModBook I would have
bought by now if I hadn't been hit by a car (funny how a couple months
without working cuts into the budget), but Air does present a welcome
and rare moment of sanity for the computer industry.

Hey, I never said I wasn't opinionated. =^)

Steve

On Jan 16, 2008, at 3:11 AM, Laurent Daudelin wrote:

> Ahem...
>
> I'm not that impressed either but the standard hard drive is 80GB.
> The Solid State Drive is 64GB.
>
> -Laurent.
> --
> Laurent Daudelin
> AIM/iChat/Skype:LaurentDaudelin http://nemesys.dyndns.org
> Logiciels Nemesys Software
> laurent.daudelin@gmail.com
>
> On Jan 16, 2008, at 10:01, dotline7 wrote:
>
>> I think this laptop is for Ladies. I think it is a DUO. Nice
>> design, No
>> ethernet, No FW, No internal "floppy", little screen, HDD is a joke
>> 40G+4200RPM. Why he decided to have a broad margin round LCD? Like
>> DUO's. He
>> could get 15 inch out of this frame? And a baterry? WHY, tell my
>> why? No
>> second hand AIR?
>>
>> Ipod was revolutionary.
>> Iphone was less revolutionary.
>> Air is not revolutionary.
>>
>> I live too long.
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>> On 1/16/08 10:56 AM, "matthiasm" wrote:
>>
>>> iPod Touch SDK
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>
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