Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The return of the laptop


HP had my laptop for about a month and a half before returning it. I got it back a week ago and already the screen is having streaking issues. But the rest seems to be functioning, so I'll try to get another few posts in before I see how long it would take them to fix the screen.

Worst/Best case scenario toward the end of the year I'll be able to afford a new computer. Apple has just updated their Macbooks with the aluminum enclosure and while they're very slick, and while the construction, LED LCD, and better integrated graphics care are nice, you're paying the usual Apple premium for style. For less you can get a more RAM, a larger and faster HDD, and . There are some rumors that Apple may come out with an entry into the netbook market, though that may take away from the market share of ipod touch, which is also a mobile e-mail device.

The picture is from Engadget and shows the Adamo, Dell's mysterious, heavily hyped, ultra-lightweight. While many were predicting that it would be thinner than the Macbook Air, from this image it appears a little less knife like, though pictures posted on Engadget today show that it's pretty darn thin, just not tapered at the edges. No word on specs, except that it has a 13.3 inch screen, but Gizmodo and other tech guides are predicting that it will it least have the option of a blu-ray drive. Any optical drive would be more than the Macbook Air has, and it would also account for the extra thickness. What I really wonder is if they'll be able to further one-up Apple by including a dedicated graphics card. At a cheaper price point it would be a real Macbook Air killer, not that the Macbook Air has really taken off. It seemed more like an experimental lifestyle laptop, and while it was updated recently, it wasn't much of a revamp.

Regardless, I'll probably be on the market for something considerably cheaper, or if I'm lucky HP will just replace my lemon of a laptop...

Stay tuned for the next post, where I'll sing praises for three-ply toilet paper!

1 comment:

Will Roseliep said...

I heartily endorse ASUS Eee PCs. For my money ($460 incl. shipping) it's been the best buy: light (3lb.), 40gb solid-state drive, 20-second startup, and 802.11(n) wireless sniffing. Not too shabby.