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NETBOOK PC PC : DISCUSSION

The false economy of thinness
Posted in Netbook PC | June 22, 2009 10pm

Ask any schmo on the street and they’ll tell you the best netbooks are thin, but they couldn’t be more wrong if they’d attended Incorrect University and left with a degree in Advanced Falsehoods.
Think about it: netbooks are all about being portable - not fitting inside anything. When was the last time you carried a bag too thin to fit a netbook inside? The last time you strained your back carrying a netbook? The last time your netbook wouldn’t fit under something?
Unless you’re weaker than a parliamentary put-down, inserting that laptop where it has no business being, or hiding your wares somewhere inherently suspicious, it’s incredibly unlikely.
So while some manufacturers proclaim their genius at producing the world’s thinnest laptops, complete with more rounded edges than a bevel factory, what customers should really be looking for is a light laptop that packs in the power and features.
It’s amazing really. Once you stop worrying about the thickness of a netbook, plenty more models become appealing.
The Asus Eee PC 1000HE is a particular favourite. OK, it’s not super-skinny, but it does have a whopping great battery (lasting 9.5 hours) and tons of hard drive space.
Then there’s the Eee 1004DN: again, hardly supermodel-slim, but with something very few netbooks can boast: a DVD drive.
I’d take massive battery life or a DVD player over a slim shell any day. And if you think otherwise? Well, perhaps you should go back to Incorrect University.

NETBOOK PC PC : DISCUSSION

When is a netbook not a netbook?
Posted in Netbook PC | June 16, 2009 11pm

Say the word netbook to any geek and the words “small laptop,” “not many features” and “cheap” will flash across their mind.
But increasingly, netbook doesn’t mean that at all. Manufacturers are busily packing in bigger screens(much needed), more ports than Calais and even DVD drives. If there’s the slimmest chance it’ll increase the appeal of their lap-dweller, it’s going in.
Of course, I’m not against all that in principle, but what happens when adding extra features chips away at the remaining essence of a netbook? Namely, its small size and low price? Disaster, that’s what.
There’s an argument to be made that nobody really makes netbooks any more. The cheapest models still hover around the price the original Eee PC entered the market at all those years ago. Only a couple plunge below the £200 mark, when it should be the goal of all netbook makers to slash costs and get their wares into the hands of web-addicts without much cash to splash.
Instead? We’re bombarded with “netbooks” costing upwards of £500, and with some approaching the £1,000 mark it’s a ridiculous situation. A netbook that costs the same as a full-size laptop, but with half the power inside a pretty case? No thanks.
In an ideal world, netbook manufacturers will go back to what they do best: tiny computers that shoehorn in a decent slug of power, but don’t cost the earth. Fulfill the features in this post “My Dream Efficiency Laptop” and make more use of “Life in the Cloud” I and everyone I know will be happy. Forget the extras and cut back the cost, I beg you.

NETBOOK PC PC : DISCUSSION

Wireless wonders of a netbook future
Posted in Netbook PC | May 13, 2009 5pm

Wi-Fi? Bluetooth? All old hat in the wonderful world of wireless. The next-generation netbooks will fling data through thin air in ways current ultra-portables can only dream of, and it’ll change the way we live. 
Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology is finally hitting the mainstream, and netbooks are primed to make the most of its awesome new skills. 
Like what, you ask? Ultra-quick data transfer, for a start. UWB can shift 10MB every second. That’s four times faster than Wi-Fi and 100 times quicker than Bluetooth. The technology also has the ability to sense proximity, automatically hooking up with gadgets it’s placed next to. 
Sony has a version it’s dubbing TransferJet, which promises to offload data from digital cameras as soon as they’re plonked next to a PC. Printers too can use UWB tech to receive high-resolution printouts without a tangle of cable or awkward Wi-Fi set-up. 
So where’s the advantage for netbooks? In size and convenience of course. The more connections are handled wirelessly, the less sockets are needed on the netbook itself. That means designers have less constraints on what goes where inside, and are free to create even slimmer and lighter laptops. 
And then there’s the outright handiness of UWB. Imagine blogging from a coffee shop without unravelling cables to grab pictures from a digital camera, or swapping files between your netbook and a mate’s without finding an internet connection or hunting for a USB stick. 
UWB will also unleash a wave of new peripherals. Wireless webcams and monitors spring to mind. It’s a brave new world. Are you ready for it? Your next netbook will be.

NOTEBOOK PC PC : DISCUSSION

Give me an ultra-usable, not an ultra-portable
Posted in Notebook PC | April 23, 2009 7pm

I’m a freak. A huge-shouldered weirdo with a lopsided stance and an off-balance walk, and it’s all because of my laptop.  
It’s a beast, weighing me down with every step, and drawing gasps from netbook-toting bloggers wherever it’s whipped out in public.  
But I soldier on. And why? Because it’s powerful.  
Packed with silicon grunt and enough memory to outdo an elephant, I need a laptop capable of chomping through Photoshop and splicing together video, as well as tapping out the odd e-mail and Twitter post like the rest of the blognoscenti. But surely, there’s a better way than breaking my back every time I leave the house?  
Let me loose in a laptop design lab and I’d cook you up something special. Half netbook, half laptop. Not only would it be super-skinny, but it’d have enough horsepower to get work done on the move.  
You can keep your tacky webcams, endless expansion ports and pointless peripherals. I want a laptop with just two connectors: power, and a single USB socket. I can honestly live without the rest, as long as what’s inside is pulling its weight.  
I’d like 3G networking and Wi-Fi built in of course, a battery that’ll keep kicking for ten hours straight, a keyboard that fits proper, manly fingers and a screen that won’t leave me myopic after a hard day’s use.  
Trim even more space by cutting out needless headphone connectors, I’d rather use wireless Bluetooth cans. Chuck out the optical drive, this is a workhorse, not a movie theatre. But in their place, give me power.  
Am I having my cake and scoffing the lot? You betcha. But I’m also making some sacrifices. Laptops are meant to be portable, so I’m willing to brush off external monitor hook-ups, ethernet ports and myriad sockets for the USB entourage. Just give me a single slot for a memory stick and I’ll be happy.  
Don’t be mistaken though, I’m not asking for an ultra-portable. This wouldn’t be a puny PC for tapping out blog posts on the bus. It’d pack a proper desktop OS, and simply breeze through apps, but still be more luggable than my standard lappy.  
Call it an ultra-useable if anything: a laptop that’s truly lean, mean and up to any task. No frills, no fancy features, just enough grunt to outwit all comers, without straining my spine in the process.
 
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