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Incredible Shrinking PC

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the things-to-lust-after dept.

Lawrence_Bird writes "Reuters is reporting that IBM is set to announce next week a prototype PC called a 'metapad' 5"x3"x0.75". 128Mb Ram, 10GB, and an 800 Mhz cpu. Understand this is a module that can be plugged into other devices, such as a LCD screen or docking station. "

6 of 228 comments (clear)

  1. Re:MetaPad?? by screwballicus · · Score: 5, Informative

    From www.m-w.com:

    Main Entry: meta-
    Variant(s): or met-
    Function: prefix
    Etymology: New Latin & Medieval Latin, from Latin or Greek; Latin, from Greek, among, with, after, from meta among, with, after; akin to Old English mid, mith with, Old High German mit
    1 a : occurring later than or in succession to : after b : situated behind or beyond c : later or more highly organized or specialized form of
    2 : change : transformation
    3 [metaphysics] : more comprehensive : transcending -- used with the name of a discipline to designate a new but related discipline designed to deal critically with the original one
    4 a : involving substitution at or characterized by two positions in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom b : derived from by loss of water

    Looks like 'meta', as a prefix, can mean a great deal of abstract things. Presumably, the idea of transcendence is what they're looking for here.

  2. unattributed metanews - grr by mysticbob · · Score: 3, Informative

    so apparently we all read arstechnica too. this was on there long before it showed up on slashdot. i don't blame the /. editors for this, but i'd hope that the people posting news would take a bit more ethical responsibility and report the source. see the original arstechnica article for more details.

  3. Ergo Brick by wcspxyx · · Score: 2, Informative

    Isn't this just a re-hashing of the Ergo Brick? It was a 486/Pentium that was just a brick with ports. Sold with the idea that you could afford a second monitor, kbd and mouse at home, and you would just lug this thing back and forth. Was used in some secure environments because you could pop the whole machine in a safe at the end of the day.

    Point is, this really isn't a new idea. Not that it's a bad one, but it's definately not original.

    --
    Sig? What sig? Do I have to have a sig!?!?
  4. Another article, with less cheese by Xemu22 · · Score: 2, Informative

    This article on CNN has the same basic content, a few more details, but infinitely less painful to read than the cornball "humor" in the Yahoo article.

    --
    -- Rob "Xemu" Fermier
  5. Picture of it at CNET News.com by panopticon · · Score: 3, Informative

    picture: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ne/en/2002/02/0205met apad.jpg

    article: http://news.com.com/2100-1001-830173.html

  6. Re:Metapad Name Already Taken (so?) by teridon · · Score: 2, Informative

    Trademark does not apply -- the link you point to is for software, while IBM's handy-dandy miracle machine is hardware.

    --
    I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing. -- Thomas Jefferson