It's a Laptop - It's a Desktop 236
pcman cuts and pastes: "Amidst the hollowed halls and exhibition floor of the Jacob Javits Center here, one beacon of innovation shone brightly at the TechXNY trade show. At a time when even the show's keynote speakers failed to generate headlines, IBM showed off the might of its design savoir-faire akin to the European assault on the Big Three automakers by German designers and engineer."
This looks cool, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:So it's a laptop (Score:3, Insightful)
What's the point? (Score:4, Insightful)
Innovation? (Score:4, Insightful)
For example, the Atari laptop which looked in the same form factor as current ones. IBM Stole that design and produced its first thinkpad. Soon after, Apple stole the design again and produced the first Powerbook
Odd who gets the credit isn't it? It's Apple.
i'll stick to a powerbook (Score:3, Insightful)
It's still as annoying as a laptop. (Score:4, Insightful)
Fewer desktops, more laptops (Score:5, Insightful)
IBM et al are just taking the laptop to the next level by allowing it to (somewhat, at least) "transform" into a desktop system. I think it makes a lot of sense...
Re:Am I the only one that... (Score:5, Insightful)
of course, the advantage over just having a laptop that you attach to a normal screen(and plug stuff into) isn't much. i guess in a case where a worker has to work one month at place a and then another month at place b and then returning to a for a month.. it could be useful/handy/comfortable to no t have the need for seperate screens and keyboards at both a and b to achive the non laptop feeling.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Am I the only one that... (Score:5, Insightful)
A non-techie usually isn't willing to accept the limitations of a laptop - witness the amount of docking stations and extra perepherals bought by people who want a full size keyboard and an adjustable screen. I have seen very, very few docking stations that were reliable and inexpensive. Nothing like adding cost and complexity in the name of convenience, eh?
This is an elegant way of simplifying the design for those who don't want to be limited by current laptop design. IMHO, simpler == better. I like what they've done - add a proper tilt to the keyboard, a USB keypad and there's really nothing else you need to have your PC and take it with you, too. Note that USB devices are intended to be hot-plugged - Linux and Windows (most flavours of it anyway) handle USB changes with elan.
Now, I just need the $BLING$ to acquire one...
Soko
If they had any confidence... (Score:3, Insightful)
Thank God it's not the PC Convertable! (Score:3, Insightful)
Thank goodness it's actually a great idea - a computer that I can take on the road and actually enjoy using. looks a little larger than a traditional notebook, though.
Compare it to your stereo (Score:4, Insightful)
During years a stereo was a big piece of electronics stacked up in a rack with each device in a separate enclosure. The entire thing was big and expensive, but powerful and upgradeable. The same thing smaller was available too, but more expensive and difficult to upgrade due to the non-standard form factor.
Today most of the stereos are the compact, all-in-one variety. If you want something else you'll have to go to a high-end shop, the average discount store doesn't carry the expensive stuff anymore.
The same thing happens now to PC's too. I'll bet that in ten years 90% of the PC's sold are compact all-in-ones. Maybe you can detach the keyboard or the screen (like you can detach the speakers on some compact stereos) but it will be similar to todays laptops. If you need a bigger [CPU|memory|disk] you'll buy a new one and pass the old one to your [mother|son|buddy].
I like the second model shown, the detachable keyboard is nice and the base is short enough that you can place it in front (not on top).
Markus
It's Black, It's Boxy (Score:3, Insightful)
OK the screen pops up a bit and it has a detachable keybard, but it's hardly a radical new departure.
What is it about computer an car designers which makes them so conservative? Even apple, who have a reputation as being inovative, really just produce things to the same tired designs, they just round off the corners and make them out of coloured plastic.
Re:Am I the only one that... (Score:5, Insightful)
Almost nobody here has a laptop w/o a docking station/port replicator. the idea that it could be set up anywhere makes the office truly mobile.
PS IBM makes a GREAT laptop. Their X series, including the X31, are incredible.
Re:This looks cool, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Am I the only one that... (Score:5, Insightful)
Or how about a business or technology consultant. Many times I'll be at a client site, doing real work on site, for weeks at a time, on my laptop. Anything to make this situation a little more comfortable for me, I'm for it...
Re:Am I the only one that... (Score:3, Insightful)
Plugging every thing every morning at work, unplugging it all at 5 and plugging it back in at home at 5:30, rinse and repeat five days a week is a pain in the butt, and buying two docking stations is an expensive solution.
Additionally, that laptop has to sit somewhere on your desk while you've got all that stuff plugged into it. Put it under a stand, and you limit access to the CD-ROM. Set it off to the side, and you're using up valuable desk space.
This design will be a big seller for companies that issue laptops to their employees. The slight additional cost of the laptop will be more than offset by not having to buy an external monitor for the employee to use when at work.
Re:Compare it to your stereo (Score:2, Insightful)
When I used to be Hi-Fi technician in the late seventies, most of the stereos we sold were the racked variety. There were some compacts too, but most were cumbesome. (Bang and Olufsen had nice compacts, but at a price).
One mayor difference is that some of the basic building blocks for PC 'compacts' are more expensive (LCD vs CRT, mobile vs desktop CPU, etc). This was/is not the same with stereos.
Markus
Re:It's still as annoying as a laptop. (Score:3, Insightful)
This is the real problem that the industry has run into; 1GHz is fast enough for most users. Even XP hasn't dulled it's edge too much. Hell, where I'm at, we're planning on replacing all computers 300Mhz and lower. That's about 3/4's of the machines we cover. Why are we using such slow machines? Win/Office 98 does everything the users need. It's real hard to justify to management the upgrading of every computer every 2-3 years. Our 5 year cycle seems to work out for us. Now, if you need workstation power (scientific/engineering modeling, graphic/video production, programming/compiling, etc.) you are on a 2 year cycle.
Most hallways are hollowed... (Score:1, Insightful)
People dont buy just on tech specs (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not really a big fan of Apple stuff but it was the same with the iMac.. "oh, so what it's just a monitor and PC in one, been done before, etc etc" but it sold really well because like it or not the majority of people who use computers are not techies.
I like this idea too, because I've had to use a laptop for long periods and I can see how an arangement like this would be much more comfortable. It would also be useful when doing presentations, it looks like the viewing angle would be better.
Not a docking staion it is a USB hub (Score:5, Insightful)
In the past I would have agreed with you. Today USB (high speed) is fast enough and universial enough that you can buy a keyboard, mouse, and USB hub for both work and home, and all you plug in is the hub. Want to expand? USB has you covered, and suddenly you plug in the hub at work and also have your scanner, network (wireless would be better, but perhaps not secure enough) and cd burner. At home you plug in and also get your printer and two gamepads. Or whatever combonations you can come up with.
You still have to plug it into mains power of course, but that is a lot less connections, and a lot more versitile. I'd recomend a seperate monitor if you work in one spot often, but that may or may not be best for you. At most you have 3 connections, and the duplicated equpiment is cheap.
Re:Am I the only one that... (Score:4, Insightful)
That's what a docking station is for, isn't it?
No, it's STILL a laptop (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Am I the only one that... (Score:2, Insightful)
I used my thinkpad at work, home, travel, etc, and it would be neat to be able to put it on a desk when I'm at work (to get the typing angle comfortable, I usually have it on my lap when I am working with it). I'd buy one of these in a heartbeat.