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The Last PC Laptop

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Re: The Last PC Laptop

#141

Post by techtalsky »

buro9 wrote: post #35
Zak wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Train rides are kind of boring. Why wouldn't I get out my laptop on a train? I did, recently, to add depth-of-field compensation to a blurry image detector I'm writing for my own amusement. I don't think that would be nearly as fun on a stupidly-big phone.

> Train rides are kind of boring. Why wouldn't I get out my laptop on a train? To allow yourself a momentary disconnect. To watch the world out of the window, or the people around you. To take an interest in the weather and season. To give your mind a chance to digest what you mean to do or what you have done. I cherish my time travelling from one place to another, even if that is just a walk to the shops, a trip on…

I'd love to look at people on the train but there's a pretty serious ethic against staring at other people on New York City subways. There's also no bandwidth at all. It's a rough and loud ride. Podcasts, music, and casual games help the time pass. YOU try meditating on the 5:45 C train some time.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#142

Post by ossij »

graue wrote: post #132
ossij wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I reviewed Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Samsung Series 9 and both Zenbooks recently (tech journo here) at our test lab. Samsung has the best battery-per-weight ratio, but it has the worst screen out of the three. Still better than average, except its gamut which is typical = bad. The screen is the brightest out of three and 2nd best in contrast after Zenbook. The mouse has some problems, it likes to think you meant to select/…

I considered all the laptops you mention and settled on the 13" Air. What's wrong with its display? I think it looks great, and seems to have a very wide viewing angle.

Compared to the others: bad gamut (color reproduction/range). Also, even if it's better than the typical low-resolution 1366x768, it still isn't 1600x1900 or full HD. Brightness- and contrast-wise it's great. But still, there's better displays in the cheaper price range already, like on Zenbook. Or if you want to compare against much cheaper iPad, iPad also has far greater resolution, much better (almost perfect sRGB) gamut, better contrast, and so on. MBAir's display is better than average though, so it's not bad. It's just there's better options available.

Of course, if you're not interested about the color reproduction, this might not affect to you. But if you want to edit photos or see movies like they're supposed to be, then it matters.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#144

Post by onosendai »

keeperofdakeys wrote: post #67
onosendai wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been considering both the 900X3C and 900X4C myself, but Linux support isn't quite there yet. The most annoying outstanding issue (maybe the only one when Ubuntu 12.10 hits) is a nasty ACPI bug that causes Linux to fail to recognize when certain events take place, like lid close/open and battery charge/discharge, both pretty much show stoppers for a laptop IMHO. It seems to affect lots of Samsung laptops, not jus…

I have the original series 9 (900x3a), and I don't have all those problems (although I did have to do some manual fixes, which all should now be included in the latest kernel and udev). I admit I've never tried to upgrade the BIOS, probably been quite a while since I've checked for an update. Not having windows, it might be an issue if I needed to update, but it works fine as it is. The other advantage of the 900X3A…

Interesting, I had no idea the original 13'' series 9 had upgradeable RAM.

I also almost never upgrade the BIOS unless I run into problems which are fixed in a more recent revision, and most manufacturers don't even provide updates past the first year or so anyway, it's just the general attitude of having to have an OS installed as a requirement to update something as low-level as the BIOS that rubs me the wrong way.

Lots of other manufacturers get it right. Live CDs (Lenovo) or in-BIOS upgrades (Intel and possibly ASUS if I remember correctly) are a much cleaner way of handling these upgrades.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#145

Post by kabdib »

Splines wrote: post #127
kabdib wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a Microsoft store three storefronts down from an Apple store in our local mall (Bellevue Square, near Seattle). I looked at the Asus UX31, wrote down its specs and went to the the Apple store. Nearly exactly the same specs for an Air, but the UX31 was about $400 cheaper. (The UX31 didn't come with any crapware, either). I'm somewhat disappointed with the keyboard, but other than that it's a great little machi…

That store moved a little while ago, it's on the top floor now. I find it a little amusing since it appears that the decision to move was prompted by the near proximity of the much-larger Microsoft store. (I have no idea if it actually was , but on the face of things that's how it looks). The new Apple location is about the same size as the existing Microsoft store.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten the Apple store had moved. It certainly felt cramped compared to the MS store.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#146

Post by madprops »

antihero wrote: post #5
madprops wrote: post #2

Being and UX31A user myself I share your joy. I ditched windows and installed archlinux and tailored it to my liking. This is indeed one fine laptop. I think that until we get something that makes keyboards and screens obsolete there will be room for a laptop.

Is the UX32A any good?

from what i read the difference is that the UX32A has hybrid storage against the SSD only UX31A so it should be alright.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#147

Post by bjustin »

Roritharr wrote: post #22
Derbasti wrote: post #14

This very much reminds me of the Steve Jobs quote that in the future, laptops and desktops will be like trucks. They will always be around for those who need them, but most people don't need trucks. Personally, I don't quite see that yet with today's hardware and paradigms. The processing power is certainly getting there. My tablet today is significantly more powerful than my laptop in 2006 but still not quite fast e…

> My tablet today is significantly more powerful than my laptop in 2006 but still not quite fast enough for compiling stuff etc. What kind of laptop did you own? If you've got an iPad 3, any Tegra 3 or Exynos 4412 powered Android Tablet known to my knowledge you have in no way the processing power of a 2006 Laptop. To remind you, a reasonable Laptop in 2006 had a Core (2) Duo CPU, discreet graphics aside. I've used s…

As far as performance goes, the iPhone 5's A6 is only 10% slower than the June 2004-released [1] Pentium 4 540! High end ARM processors (high end for phones at least) should be more powerful than midrange desktop processors from 2003, or 9 years ago. Unless Geekbench changed since then, which I didn't check for. Laptops with Core Duo processors (circa 2006) were indeed faster than the A6 though.

Geekbench numbers for each:

Pentium 4 540 (eyeballed average from [2]: 1800 iPhone 5's A6 [3]: 1623

[1] http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/quickrefyr.htm#2004

[2] http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/search?q=pentium+4...

[3] http://www.macworld.com/article/2010360/lab-tests-iphone-5-l...

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#148

Post by snogglethorpe »

Derbasti wrote: post #93
Kudos wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trains are my favourite place to get work done. I'm not sure what exactly it is about it but I can get 3 solid hours of focused work done, usually the work I've been avoiding for the previous fortnight.

I knew a guy who bought a flat-rate take-every-train-for-free ticket (ca 4000$ in Germany) instead of renting an office. Not my idea of the perfect working place, but it worked for him.

So .... where does he go?

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#149

Post by snogglethorpe »

SilasX wrote: post #135
calinet6 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watch your back. I know two people who have been mugged after using a laptop on a train or subway.

Related: I took a late (~11 pm) transbay bus home a few nights ago (San Francisco to Berkeley), and in between some stops, the bus driver started scream, "Put y' phones up! Put y' phones away! Turn 'em off and put 'em away!" and then repeated that several times. The passengers and I looked at each other like "WTF?" (Is this a plane now?) but since she seemed rather adamant, and wasn't going to go on to the next stop…

I've been reading that there's recently been a huge increase in phone-snatching on the NYC subway, much of it quite brazen (grab phone while person is using it, jump out door, run).

Maybe your driver was just paranoid, but on the other hand, maybe she's seen the stats...

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#150

Post by dredmorbius »

keithpeter wrote: post #128
lttlrck wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. People talk to each on the T? Never seen it.

UK: random conversation breaks out when there is an unusual delay or we get stuck at a signal set to danger. After an initial silence, someone will make a joke, and then it breaks out. Those are good delays.

That's a global trend, not a local one.
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