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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:30
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Screw Apple's rehashed G4 15", that thing ain't innovative, nor impressive. 
Check out these prototypes IBM has been displaying, all based off of the IBM ThinkPad T40 (what I've got).
IBM continues to innovate while Apple will probably end up copying the functionality with a buzzword and claiming it their own sometime in the future. 
 
The article: http://news.com.com/2100-1005_3-5076831.html
quote:
IBM shows off ThinkPad prototypes
Last modified: September 15, 2003, 9:00 PM PDT
By John G. Spooner
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
IBM on Tuesday will unveil two prototype ThinkPad notebook PCs, designed to illustrate how laptops could be more comfortable for everyday use.
IBM designers, envisioning the next generation of the 10-year-old notebook ThinkPad line, have been studying how to make ThinkPads easier to use, without sacrificing important characteristics such as their performance, light weight and battery life.
"What we sought to do was to study the area of ergonomics and ease of use associated with notebook computers," said David Hill, director of PC design for IBM's personal systems group.
"Today, many people have (notebooks) as their only computer. That means that you use them in a number of different ways. So we sought to do a couple different things. Could we take the single box of a ThinkPad and fold it or unfold it in a different way?"
Notebooks are gaining in popularity with consumers and businesses, and more people use them as their primary computer. But the characteristics that draw people to notebooks, such as their small size, result in undesirable features such as fixed keyboard and screen positions, which aren't always as comfortable to use for hours on end.
IBM's ThinkPad G-series offers many characteristics similar to a desktop PC and features an angled keyboard that Big Blue said is easier to use. But the company's two prototypes take those efforts a step further.
One ThinkPad design almost metamorphoses into a mini-desktop. It opens like a clamshell, but once open, its keyboard can be detached and the height of its screen increased to a more comfortable level with a special hinge. The machine allows more options as to where to place the screen and where to locate the keyboard relative to it, IBM said.
"It enables different ergonomics for using the machine and also allows me to do something different with it," Hill said.
The second ThinkPad prototype has a special double hinge that allows the keyboard to tilt upward and slide forward for more comfortable typing. The height of the display simultaneously rises by about 3 inches. The keyboard does not detach, however.
"It can be used like a traditional ThinkPad," Hill said. "What's different, though, is it gives a choice of using it like a notebook or more like a desktop by pulling the display upward."
Manufacturers show off prototype notebooks from time to time. Intel, for instance, often touts notebook designs such as its multiple-hinged Florence tablet PC prototype. However, while new designs generate a lot of interest, new machines don't catch always catch on quickly.
IBM discontinued its ThinkPad TransNote, a product that combined an ultralight ThinkPad with a legal pad, after about a year on the market. Even the newest notebook category, the convertible tablet PC, has caught on slowly. The tablet PC, which is based on Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition software, allows a person to open its screen, rotate it 180 degrees, and fold it back down to create a writing tablet.
To date, the worldwide market for all tablet PCs, including the convertibles, totals a few hundred thousand unit shipments per year, a tiny number compared with about 140 million units in the worldwide PC market each year, according to research firm IDC.
Still, IBM plans to show off the prototypes to customers in private meetings at this week's TechXNY, a technology trade show and conference taking place in Manhattan.
While the prototypes are not working computers, IBM could manufacture one or both of the machines if there is enough positive feedback from customers, Hill said.
The prototypes were built out of IBM's current ThinkPad T40, an Intel Pentium M-based notebook that comes with a 14.1-inch screen, a move that could simplify production of the machines in the future. |
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Zopperoni
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Reading the article is difficult when the link doesn't work.
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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:30
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quote:
Originally posted by laurentius
1)Asher it does reduce the heat of the computer itself. http://www.systemcooling.com/module...rticle&sid=1072
Heat is a problem with cheap notebooks?  You are really funny man. It's more like the CPU and the GPU that are the problem, not the price. |
You don't seem to understand this very well:
It does not reduce the heat of the computer. It acts as a piece of insulation, which could reduce the apparent heat for the table or lap that it's sitting on -- but it certainly doesn't reduce the amount of heat generated.
And heat is a problem with all notebooks. The problem is, cheap notebooks and notebooks that are poorly design dissipate quite a lot of heat on the bottom (and top) of laptops. This is not an issue with T40s (what the prototypes are based on) whatsoever, all heat is properly expelled only through the vent on the left hand side.
The reason the T40's works better is a combination of high-grade heatpipes and insulation, as well as using more expensive materials.
quote:
2) Not all people have optical mouses. They who have(such as myself)still like to be able to use the mouse accurately meaning not against your thigh. Not help from conventional mousepad in trains, aeroplanes, cars eg |
If you're buying a new laptop...why can't you afford a $20 optical mouse?
Still, space available is an issue on airplanes, trains, cars, etc. And what's wrong with tray tables on airplanes & trains?
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Zopperoni
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You work with a notebook on your lap?
And the link works fine now, thanks. I wouldn't buy it though, since I have a pretty good two-year-old notebook with not-so-high temperatures.
At home, I also have an external keyboard plugged into it, and a mousepad with wrist rest.
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laurentius
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Helsinki, Finland
Jun 2001
time: 07:30
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Macs? Well they certainly are more slim, beautiful and cooler looking. Probably more stable and standardised than PCs too.
On the other hand PC notebooks vary much more. Theres something for everyone. Theres notebooks with eXtremely High Definition TFT screens such as Dells I8500 with 1920*1200 resolution. Then theres notebooks with eXtremely long life batteries such as IBMs T40. Theres notebooks for gamers, industrial use, military(toughbooks, milbooks etc) that can survive direct nuke, well not quite 
Anyway you just got to choose your priorities. Do you want a mobile powerhouse? Ultraportable? Low end? How much does the price matter? Care about the looks? Weight problems? Wireless connectivity?
I wanted mobile powerhouse, price didnt matter so much. No weight problems (2.7 kg), Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. I chose Dell Inspiron 8500 with 2.6 Ghz P4-M, 512 DDR, Geforce 4200 Go, 80 Gb, 15'4 1920*1200 TFT, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DVD+R, Extra battery
Asher apparently had a little different priorities and bought IBM T40.
Hope this helps
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18-09-2003 10:49
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