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Incredible Shrinking PC
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. "
The article actually claims that the unit has a 10-gigaBIT hard drive. I wonder if that was a mistake, or an intentional marketing ploy to make it sound more impressive than it actually is.
In other words this is a laptop without a screen?
...In other words, no keyboard, no mouse, no screen, no input or output of any kind. It's a PC you're meant to take home and plug into a docking station which has all your input and output devices ready for you.
Why this is any better than an ultraslim laptop, which has pretty much all the same features plus the ability to use it without a docking station when needed, is not immediately clear to me.
This sounds like something that would be a great application for a Transmeta CPU. These will definitely need low power and cool-running chips. It's too bad the article didn't have many details.
~.Evanrude
Add a battery, DVD drive, keyboard. Is it still a lot smaller than a notebook? It seems to me like someone just took an old notebook apart... Not all that revolutionary when you look at it form this perspective, is it?
This thing sure has the potential to be an iPod killer. Not only do you get to have all your music, you get to have all your workspace and all your files with you, wherever you go. I just plug it into another computer and that computer instantly acts as a dumb terminal into my own computer. That sounds like a really great idea!
What does this do, you may ask, other than act as a penis-size indicator without a screen? Well, if I want, I can run it as a personal server that's small. If I want the portability of a laptop without the size, I can have one docking station for it at home and one at the office, and play mp3's on it in the car during my drive between. (If it's a pc, then somebody can make a panel you put on it that will give you an lcd to select files and an audio output). If it's reasonbly priced if/when it comes out, I'll definitely get one if only for the fun use factor!
is this a Good Thing(tm)?
I realize this was for Yahoo Finance, and not exactly aimed at the SlashDot crowd, but seriously:
Sheeesh. Like explaining that 800 megahertz is 800 million cycles per second is going to clue folks in with such valuable information. "Gawrsh, that's a lot of cycles per second."
And IBM's statements seem weird:Ready for the market in a few years??? In a few years, this thing should be *way* obsolete, with tiny pocket computers more powerful than our desktops of today. This thing would be useful and interesting today, not a year from now.I thought IBM had top notch people in usability, market research, laptop design, and so on. It seems strange to hear them say "we have this cool technology, but we're not sure how people would use it." I can think of a dozen ways it could be turned into a useful product. I guess it's good that they're asking the industry, but it sounds like these guys are a bit directionless, and will end up deliverying too little, way too late.
Too bad, I'd likely buy one of these if it were available today.
-me
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
At this time, the parent post is modded as "funny".
I really don't think this is funny at all. Some of us *ARE* way too plugged in all the time. It is unhealthy, imo. I remember somewhere, don't have time to find the link, as I would have to dig for a long time...saying that the more we advance, the less time we will have for ourselves. I don't like the sound of that. I want my children to have me there for them, as well as a little time to myself where I can disconnect from the daily grind and do what ever. If I was given one of these, it would NOT leave the office.
ok, just a little insight on this rainy, ugly day.
Sent from your iPad.
Bah, that's a load of BS. Where are your priorties? If you want to spend more time with your kids, then do so, don't sit there and complain about being too busy.
I get paid way less than I should because I turn my pager off on weekends. I don't put in any overtime unless it's critical. Yeah, I'm not living the high life, and not going to have much when it comes to retirement funds, but the important thing to me is that I enjoy my time with my son, NOW. Once he's grown, I'll probably have to work much harder and longer to make up for lost time, but that's just money. You can't make up lost time with your kids.
I don't have a GHz computer at home, I don't drive a Benz, I don't own a big house, I can't buy the latest gadets. But I do take my son out hiking and camping on weekends. That's where my priorites are. Think about yours...
-- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.