New Sony VAIO Laptop w/ 16.1" Screen

calc writes "Sony Japan has announced a new VAIO laptop that comes with a DVD-R/RW CD-R/RW drive along with a Radeon 7500 Mobility and 16.1" UXGA LCD." The spacebar on my thinkpad has been dying... maybe its time for a change. Sony? You listening? *grin*

Comments

FP

[Anonymous Coward]

!!yahoo!!

Re:FP

[Sexual Asspussy]

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

claiming FPs is honorless and gay. i instead would like to use this space for a crapflood.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

``The idea behind this bill is simple: we can't make our buildings safer unless we know what goes wrong when they fail,'' said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.

CLAIMED

[blackula]

Not for CLIT, oh no. Claimed for me.

I don't think so, AC bitch

[govtcheez]

0wN3D by the CLiT!

lol u r teh suX0rZ!

Amazingly

[Anonymous Coward]

The new VAIO is about equal in size to most desktop computers.

Re:Amazingly

[Anonymous Coward]

I've had a GRX-570 for about 3 months now. Unfortunately I cannot use the XP drivers trick to install Win2k. So I had to suck for an XP Pro upgrade to get this pig to join domains. "--ck" you very much Sony.

Good news is I got Mandrake 8.1 and now 8.2 download running on it without too much heartburn. Too bad www.linux-laptop.org seems to be glacial posting my notes ;-)

That 16" display just barely fits in my old Tumi bag. It defeated the whole purpose of the "patented" folding flap that allows the laptop to withstand shocks from the bag bouncing.

DVD-RW?

[Prizm]

I wonder who they're targetting with the inclusion of a DVD-RW. Perhaps they're working toward the blurring of the lines between desktop and laptop. A 16.1 inch screen and a DVD-R/W is certainly a good start in doing so.

Re:DVD-RW?

[DeltaSigma]

But when thinking about the Radeon 7500 included (yeah sure, mobile version means quake3 at 40 FPS, but hey, it's still quake), I'm lent to believe that they're merely continuing their push to make laptops entertainment centers. To do this they must, of course, blur the line between laptop and desktop but let us remember that it's entertainment, not power, which the Vaio laptop series professes is their strong point. I can't be the only one that remembers the man going to the airport and dropping his television, stereo, etc onto the x-ray conveyor belt and picking up a Vaio on the other side. Of course, these days we wouldn't have any of that. The man would be detained and held for questioning until the point at which the FBI arrived to verify that the electronic devices weren't full of C-4, or perhaps a butter-knives.

Re:DVD-RW?

[MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM]

The fact that you like to sit on your uncle`s lap isn`t blurry at all.

Re:DVD-RW?

[copec]

My dell with a 1ghz tualatin and radeon 7500 64meg DDR does ~130fps in 1024x768 normal mode. the 1.2ghz tualatin is even slighty faster, and these arn't even the newest cpus. XIG's benmarks

Re:DVD-RW?

[NanoGator]

Us 3D Users (Lightwave, 3DSMax, Maya, etc...) have high hopes that one day we'll be able to do our work on laptops. Up until about a year or two ago, it was a high cost/low benefit tradeoff. You had to spend roughly $3,000 to get a $1,500 machine, and you had limitations that were pretty sucky. (I.e. lack of CDR, low RAM, small/slow hard drive, no 3D acelleration to speak of...)

That has changed recently. Now they come with pretty decent 3D Accelleration, CD/DVD writables, respectable amounts of RAM, hard drives are big but still slow, and you can run at really high resolutions like 1600 by 1200. All this for round about $2,500. It's still a little high, but I'm due for an upgrade soon.

There's still life to my current machine, but I am going to get a new laptop to replace my desktop in the next year or so. Until this year, I felt like that was a pipe dream. I'm very excited about what's coming down the road. The nice thing is, I'm not going to need to go shopping for an LCD Screen!

Re:DVD-RW?

[LexiAnnMcL]

They are probably targeting all the new college students. All the parents want to get their kids something portable, so they "use" it more, thinking they will take it to class. The kids won't use it unless its got the latest goodies. So you might want to put them in, since a lot of people are buying computers for their kids to go to school now.

I worked at a college hooking kids up to the LAN, and there was at least a 75% increase of freshman having laptops from 2000 to 2001 where I was.

Re:DVD-RW?

[Anonymous Coward]

Too bad Dell doesn't offer ATI chipsets with their laptops, troll.

Re:DVD-RW?

[Anonymous Coward]

uhhh, but they do (or have)- my buddy has a dell w/ mobile radeon 7500...

Whoa.

[crashnbur]

Compared to my AMS Tech (gone under) laptop with a K62 300 MHz processor, a 3 GB hard drive, a dead 12x CD-ROM, and 32 MB of ram on a 12.1" LCD... Yeah, that's a nice machine. I want.

Re:Whoa.

[Little Brother]

I'll trade you, I've got a Hitachi notebook, with a Pentium 120Mhz processor, 16MB ram, 1MBVRAM, and a display adapter with a max res of 800X600 at 8bpp. It has a 1GB HDD but it's CD-ROM works fine!

Re:Whoa.

[Your_Mom]

since we are in a pissing contest... ;-)
TI Laptop, 8MB RAM, 84MB HDD, B&W VGA display. Slackware 7.1 Linux 2.2.18. PLIP + fetchmail + homebrew script = Being able to read/answer my mail on the bus into work every morning. I think of it as an Palm-on-steroids.

Re:Whoa.

[MORTAR_COMBAT!]

amateurs.

gateway handbook 486. 20 mb of RAM (upgraded from original 8). came with windows 95. now it's running FreeBSD, my domain's DNS, my email, my SSH into my home LAN...

Re:Whoa.

[baldass_newbie]

*bows*

Re:Whoa.

[dadragon]

1) Nice Warcraft III reference. The mortar team is one of my favourite Human units.

2) MMM.. I remember wanting one of those machines back in the day. Indeed, it'd still prove useful if I could find programs with less bloat. DOS 6.22 + Word Perfect + some other stuff would be great on one of those.

Re:Whoa.

[Jacer]

i beat that sager 386, 48 megs of ram RH 5.2, yellow pages, email, ssh, ipmasq, and dhcp,

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, i have a Powerbook 150 with a busted up floppy drive. It 0WNZ0RZ J00

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

#2 Pencil and 20 weight paper! Beat that, techno boy!

Re:Whoa.

[Troller Durden]

Gateway Nomad 386. 4 MB RAM. 40 MB HD. Was DOS 5.1. Now NewBSD firewall / NAT machine.

Re:Whoa.

[Skater]

Pentium-133, 48 meg of RAM (upgraded from 16), 6 gigs hard disc (upgraded from 1 gig) came with Win95, now runs Mandrake 8.2 and Win98.

However...this is actually my laptop that I use on trips. It doesn't sit at home and perform light duty; I run KDE 2.2.whatever on it!

--RJ

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh yeah, I've got an Acom 486DX-33, 12MB RAM, 300MB HDD, 1.44MB floppy, paperwhite VGA display with a max res of 800x600 running DOS 6.22.

I tried installing Windows 95 on it, the whole installation process proceeded through (which took hours on this machine) only for Windows to tell me at the very end that the BIOS is "incompatible" and aborted the installation. You'd figure they would check for something like that *before* it went through the install process, but hey it is a Microsoft product after all.

Re:Whoa.

[Gehenna_Gehenna]

I have a

Cold rock
Runs at 000mgz
No RAM,
No HD
Cannot run anything
IT does, however, fly through the air (when thrown) and crack open skulls

I'd like to seee you try THAT with a Sony laptop...

Re:Whoa.

[Zeinfeld]

I use a 1930s hollerith punch card tabulator running red hat Linux 5.4. Not only do I use it for all y computing needs, it also doubles as a workout center. Being hand cranked it not only needs no electricity, but once you get through the boot sequence you can save the state of the machine by simply running the deck through a punch card duplicator. I'm having a few difficulties getting the TCP/IP stack to work, I keep hitting timeouts and dropping connections. So not only do I win the 'my computer hardware is more primitive than yours pissing contenst' I hereby demand that under rule 43 the other contestants prostrate themselves before me.

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

I use a 1930s hollerith punch card tabulator running red hat Linux 5.4.

aye, and you tell the kids today that and they don't believe you.

Re:Whoa.

[Little Brother]

Well I don't use it much anymore, but I've got a Zenith Datasystems Portable system, with an 8086 processor, 512k RAM two 5.25 drives, (not hi density) oh it did have an internal modem, a full 300 baud... Did I mention it was a monochrome display with pseudo EGA graphics...

Re:Whoa.

[rikkards]

Still amateur
486DX 8M Ram still running windows 95. The catch? It isn't mine, it is my father in laws. I keep trying to convince him to upgrade but he would rather put money in his practice.

Re:Whoa.

[rikkards]

Why do you want my prostate for? Doesn't yours work?

Ohhh prostrate :)

Re:Whoa.

[MADCOWbeserk]

Tell you figured out a way for it to play DivX and I will be really impressed.

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

> I use a 1930s hollerith punch card tabulator running red hat
> Linux 5.4

Wow, I wish I had an advanced system like that. My primary
workstation is a system wherein I write the contents of the
registers and memory location in little rectangles on a piece
of paper. I wear out an eraser every few dozen operations,
and have problems with the paper wearing out too.

Floating point operations have to be worked out on a separate
sheet of scratch paper, and take many clock cycles each. Even
regular operations can take 4-8 seconds per operation. Still,
by using a book of 200 pages of graph paper to simulate RAM,
at 8.5"x11", 5 squares/inch, that's about 467500 bits of memory
(though a little of that is unusable due to the three notebook
ringbinder holes), which goes further than you might think...
but memory lookups can take a while, because of a design flaw
wherein the pages of memory aren't numbered and have to be
counted from the beginning for each lookup. If I had to do
over again, I'd spend the two bytes per memory page for a hex
number indicating which page it is. Also, the processing
speed is pretty lousy. You wouldn't believe how long it takes
me to raytrace the povray benchmark this way. Err, how long
it _will_ take, I should say... I started this project when
I was in elementary school...

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

mine's even more primative.it's all done in my head.

Re:Whoa.

[Library Spoff]

You have a head ? we used to DREAm of having a head... (*now stop this* Monty Python Ed.)

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

You can DREAM???

Re:Whoa.

[Anonymous Coward]

Tell you figured out a way for it to play DivX and I will be really impressed.

Just flip the cards really fast.

And the news is?

[nigelo]

Reduced to posting advertisements now?

Re:And the news is?

[Anonymous Coward]

rather, begging for free stuff for shameless plugs. I wouldnt even call that an ad :P

Re:And the news is?

[Henry V .009]

I wonder how much they get paid for them?

Most news sources have enough integrity to clearly separate the ads from the articles.

Re:And the news is?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's right! *grin*

Is there a point to this?

[Your_Mom]

16.1"? Why? Whats the point? Aren't laptops supposed to be /portable/? The last thing I want is to carry around a 16.1" diagonal behemoth, I'd much rather keep my 12.1" P2 300, which I can easily fit in my backpack.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[ryman]

That's what I was thinking too. My Dell Inspiron has a 15" screen. Don't get me wrong, it's great, but the weight/size make it more of an all-in-one computer (think imac) than a laptop/portable.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[tetro]

This kind of product might appeal to college campus dwellers who can use the notebook to move from apartment to apartment (most places have limited leases). If the notebook is a person's main computer, then they'd want to have everything in it that would satisfy their wants and needs.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[rhadamanthus]

Like the first person who replied to this, I too think this is silly. Portability is the only reason to get a laptop. I just recently also got a dell inspiron with the 15 inch screen (it was on a deal!) but now I regret the increased weight (but the screen is pretty!). My girlfriend now wants a laptop and i am recommending the small-screen ibook. I mean, a laptop should be light enough to sit in your lap without losing blood flow to your feet! 16 inch LCDs on laptops kind of strikes me a counterintuitive...

----rhad

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Your_Mom]

Eh... I just don't see it.
I've been a college nomad for almost 5 years now (and graduating soon thankfully) and have lived at no less then 6 seperate dorms (don't ask, funky scheduling). I would much rather have a desktop as no one can fit a desktop under their shirt and stoll out of the building with it.

Although come to think of it, the laptop may be so big that doing that could be impossible, hence bridging the gap... ;-)

Re:Is there a point to this?

[drudd]

I have a new Inspiron with the 15" screen too, and it is heavier than I'd like.

But I was on a budget, and my money could buy more computer if I let it be heavy... besides, I needed something with quite a bit of power, I'll be using it to prototype simulations and to do analysis of data.

Doug

Re:Is there a point to this?

[calc]

I don't know about iBooks but x86 laptops get too hot to reasonably use in your lap, so the extra weight is not that big of a deal.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[dev_sda]

In japan space is key and a laptop means A LOT of saved space. It tends to be THE computer, not an extra, tote-able edition. 16.1" display? yeah, that machine would rock.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[bcarlson]

You must be freaking kidding. A 12.1" screen at 300MHz??!!? Why would you ever give that up!!? You wouldn't want to be able to actually see what you are doing... oh wait, you can't really do anything since you only have a screaming 300Mhz. Jeez... think about it buddy.

I like to see what I'm doing and have

<exaggeration>300</exaggeration>

apps open at a time. I guess whatever works for you, but just because it's a huge screen doesn't mean it's not portable. It'll still fit in my backpack. :)

Re:Is there a point to this?

[shadow303]

A larger screen may make a laptop a bit more cumbersome, but it is still much more portable than a desktop machine. If you don't like a machine because it is bigger, don't buy it, but there isn't any sense in calling a bigger laptop pointless.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[furiousgeorge]

If you don't like it, then quit yer bitching and move on.

I guess I'm one of the morons who would consider buying this. Why? Because I want a small, simple computer that I can move around easily if I need to.

Right now i have a 14" Dell notebook. LOVE IT. Use it on the kitchen table, use it on the coffee table, put it on my lap when i'm in bed, etc etc. One self contained little unit that folds in half to close and to move it all i need to do is plug it in. What do you do with your desktop? You go to where the computer is. What do i do? I just put the computer where I want it and use it. Wireless networking. Life is sweet :)

Now lets look at the desktop example. Monitor. Mouse. Keyboard. Speakers. Computer Box (which are ALL wayyyyy too big. I don't need expandability - I don't need 5 PCI cards. I need the ability to add memory - period. When the graphics are out of date I'll replace the whole thing. With hard drives already topping 160GB, the last thing i need is 4 drive bays.). Plus millions and millions of cables.

The modern PC is really a silly, badly designed, convoluted tech nightmare.

This is the first laptop i've ever owned, and I don't see myself buying a real desktop system ever again. This is way too convenient.

If i was looking for something VERY portable - then yeah 16" is a bit of overkill... but there are lots of options out there. What I want is something simple, convenient that CAN be portable if I need it to be. This fits the bill perfectly.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Stoutlimb]

For me, it would be perfect. I'm an AutoCAD designer, and I have to take my laptop with me to many clients, and use it as a presentation device. In the design field, any upgrade in size and resolution, that will still fit in a briefcase or laptop sack and not break my shoulder when I carry it is good enough for me. I generally take my laptop with me to wherever I'm working, set it up for the day, work, then take it home with me. This laptop is perfection!

Re:Is there a point to this?

[bwulf]

12.1"? Pfft, weenies. My 7.1" Libretto gets me my work done, running Win2K and FreeBSD.

Fits in the pocket of my coat, is loaded with 20GB of Futurama MPEGs, music etc., GSM/GPRS connectivity for VPN/SSH etc..

It's sweet.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll see your Libretto and raise you the Mac Color Classic I have in my basement. Er... Maybe not, I just measured it and found that its viewable screen area is 8.5 inches.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[dadragon]

My iBook (600/Combo/30gb) works quite nicely on my lap. It only gets hot playing Warcraft III. It's a nearly perfect computer, it even boots Linux off my firewire hard drive.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[dadragon]

Okay, I have to ask: What do you use for a pointer on that thing? And will you upload your Futureama mpgs to my private FTP Server that I'll put up tonight, just for you?

I still think I prefer my iBook. What's the speed on that thing?

Re:Is there a point to this?

[uradu]

The convenience of mobility is great. My wife has an Inspiron 8000 with a huge display, and in most respects it's a complete desktop replacement--except for the keyboard. I have yet to see a laptop keyboard that's any good for coding for extended periods. The cursor and Home/End/Insert/Delete keys are always compromised in size and especially position and arrangement. The Dells for example place the Ins/Del cluster at the top right, well out of easy reach, and they're also half size, seriously increasing the probability of hitting the wrong key. I love using my wife's Dell for most things, but when it comes to editing text, I pass.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Use it on the kitchen table, use it on the coffee table, put it on my lap when i'm in bed, etc etc. One self contained little unit that folds in half to close and to move it all i need to do is plug it in.

Taken out of context, that quotation sounds almost pornographic.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Mark Pitman]

I have a Sony VAIO PCG-GR370 for work. The only reason it is a laptop and not a desktop is so that I can take it home when I get tired of working at the office and do more work at home later. I don't carry it with me everywhere I go, just from home to work and back. In this scenario, the bigger the screen the better and the size of the laptop won't really affect me too much. I know, "Why don't you just hook up an external monitor?" Well, I do, but I use the LCD panel at the same time so I have a dual head system. My point is, not everyone needs the smallest possible laptop available. Some of us laptop users are not "road warriors".

Re:Is there a point to this?

[bwulf]

See the little round pad on the right side of the screen? Works more or less like the mouse on a Thinkpad.

Left/right mousebuttons are on the flip side of the screen (think 'thumb on the pad, index finger on the buttons')

With regard to speed, it's a 166 MHz Pentium. It runs Windows 2000 just fine (with 64 MB RAM), as long as you don't need to run a SETI or RC5 client (who'd do that on a laptop, anyway?).

The full specs are here.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[jarnot]

I think laptops have branched into two different types:

• truly portable versions that are lightweight, with few features, smaller screens, etc. These are meant more for "road warrior" types that are constantly on the road and don't want to lug around a 10 lb piece of plastic and metal.
• portable desktops that have large screens, and features like CD-RW, DVD-RW, Zip drives, etc.

  I prefer this type (I have a loaded Dell Inspiron 8200) as I rarely travel, but want the luxury of being able to take my desktop home, to meetings, etc.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[scenic]

I would definitely recommend the 12.1" iBook. I have the 14.1 and I regret the extra weight (I had stupidly assumed the screen would actually have a higher physical rez at that size, and didn't think to check it). I have the higher battery life, though, so I'm happy enough.

I also had a Sony N505VX for a long while (it was stolen recently). And, while it was so small (10", maybe?) it had a kick ass screen . Physical 1024x768 and sharp as nails. Everything looked so much better on that screen than on my 19" monitor or my new iBook (or any other LCD i've seen except for IBM research prototypes for that matter).

Sujal

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Keith Russell]

16.1"? Why? Whats the point? Aren't laptops supposed to be /portable/?

Depends on your definition of portable. If your definition is "desktop in a briefcase", then the GRX line is for you. This GRX91G/P will do quite nicely as a Powerbook Ti crusher. If your definition is "as small as practical", try the SR, R505, or C1. In Japan, Sony has even smaller models, like the GT (think C1 with a much larger camera attachment) and the U (recently nicknamed "My First Sony" by the /. crowd). Of course, this is all based on Sony's Japanese and American lineups. Toshiba, Dell, IBM, Apple, HPQ... quite a diverse marketplace.

As for the GRX91G/P itself, it looks like the only major differences from the US-spec GRX500 are the DVD burner, the remote control, and the software bundle. Otherwise, it's the GRX500 with the core specs (CPU speed, memory, storage) turned up one notch.

I wonder if they are going to sell that USB remote in the States? I could use something like that.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[gbooker]

The last thing I want is to carry around a 16.1" diagonal behemoth

Good point. I have a Titanium which has a 15.2 inch screen. It is a wider screen than most laptops so that would make it narrower than other 15" screens. Whenever I want to take my computer to campus (to use their bandwidth), I do noticed that the computer barely fits in the backpack which has one of those compartments for laptops. The velcro flap cannot fully close because the computer is too long. Get much bigger than this, and it will not fit in the backpack at all.

I also have an older laptop which is not quite as big but weighs >9 pounds. It is easier to carry around in the backpack because it fit in the compartment completely.

I would say that 15" is big enough for a portable computer until they figure out how to make rollup screens (like the globals on EFC). It is nice having a large screen on a laptop, but I prefer the portability. If I wanted a larger screen, I would buy one for home to connect to the computer and leave it there.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[RainbowSix]

Not in the US. A good number of people commute from home to work and need a computer that is portable enough to move, but not necessarily to use in a mobile environment. Assuming that you're a student based on your backback comment, then yes, this is not targetted at you, nor are those huge 3" thick Dells I see here at work. However if you need power and stare at the screen all day, yet need to take your work with you to a hotel/home/alternate place of work that has a desk, then this laptop would be easier to use than one with a 12" screen

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you truly want portability, you'd have gotten a Palm or PocketPC now wouldn't you?

Re:Is there a point to this?

[damiam]

I know several people who routinely fit a 15" tiBook into their backpacks. This thing might be a little too big though...

Re:Is there a point to this?

[gotih]

i never liked those backpacks with the builtin laptop thing. i got a case from tom bihn to hold my inspiron 5000 with a 15 inch display. it's a big laptop and i already have a large backpack that holds it fine but the laptop needed some extra protection. this worked great for me and i didn't have to carry a backpack that obviously has a laptop in it (so it's less likely to be stolen).

Re:Is there a point to this?

[tiedyejeremy]

I lug my vaio (15") everywhere - It may not fit in all back packs, but it fit very easily in all that I tried. My vaio serves many purposes, perhaps most often as a portable dvd player for either the kids in van or my fellow paleontologists out in the desert after a hard days work. I also program and do video editing on it, so the 16+ inches would be quite nice! Don't get me wrong, when it comes to power computing I have my fast computer at home with the 20" behemoth moniter and a smaller laptop for light use like email in the kitchen - I mean geez, can't a guy have everything he wants? 1 extra inch diagonally is very little - unless you're trying to have 3 or 4 windows open at once... then it's quite a bit.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[donnacha]

What I want is something simple, convenient that CAN be portable if I need it to be.

Amen.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[bulfinch]

I just got a Sony Vaio r505, the kind with the docking station (media drives and half the hard drive). So with a small 14.1 screen and sans docking station its incredibly small and light. Great for tossing in the backpack and taking to class. But I wouldn't concentrate gaming or movie watching on it, that's what the PS2 is for!

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Mr.Sharpy]

The point is that laptops are beginning to move from bare essentials for work on the road to real desktop replacement. The buyer of this laptop will buy it replace his desktop computer, so it will more often than not be stationary on some desk. Portability is just a feature. The point is that laptops are finally offering everything desktops can, large displays, hot performance, PLUS portability when you need it. This is why the days of the desktop as we know it are numbered.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[gbooker]

i didn't have to carry a backpack that obviously has a laptop in it (so it's less likely to be stolen).

Excelent point. That is why I got one that is made by Jansport and looks identical to my other Jansport backback that doesn't hold a laptop. Upon first seeing it, my friends all thought that I just shoved my computer into the backpack until they saw the extra little padded compartment inside.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[saider]

Most of these computers are marketed as "Desktop Replacements". I have one so that I can do some programming anywhere I happen to be and not have to squint at the screen. This also makes LAN parties and going to see customers much nicer. I do not mind the weight because it is a hell of a lot lighter than toting my desktop around. Besides it all fits into my briefcase (which is my only size requirement).

These larger machines also come with more built in interfaces so you get a more complete notebook. Mine has firewire, USB, ehternet, and a modem in addtition to the standard equipment. If I had an ultraportable I would likely have to buy additional cards for the above interfaces.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[mcg1969]

I have a Thinkpad A31p with a 15.1" screen. It's a hefty beast but it's worth it---it completely replaces my desktop, including the monitor.

I don't mind the weight.

One man's brick is another man's feather I guess.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[eoeoe]

Exactly. If you want, as some repliers have mentioned, a computer that can be portable if you want it to be, by a slim notebook, and buy a nice monitor to plug into it, unless you want to take it on the road. There's a monitor port for a reason.

- Justin

Re:Is there a point to this?

[evocate]

640K, er I mean, 12" should be enough for anyone.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually no, the days of the desktop boxes as we know them are not numbered (except as everything the days of everything is numbered). It is pretty silly to say that when a fast, albeit boring, box can be had so cheaply, and it takes all those nice cards that people want to be able to add (whether they do so or not).

Not to mention all the people that like to build their own computers.

And laptops as we now know them cost more than an equivilent desktop, are less rugged when used as designed, and, well, it is so obvious I'm surprised you don't realize it. Are you a troll, perhaps?

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Now lets look at the desktop example. Monitor. Mouse. Keyboard. Speakers. Computer Box (which are ALL wayyyyy too big. I don't need expandability - I don't need 5 PCI cards. I need the ability to add memory - period. When the graphics are out of date I'll replace the whole thing. With hard drives already topping 160GB, the last thing i need is 4 drive bays.). Plus millions and millions of cables.

The modern PC is really a silly, badly designed, convoluted tech nightmare.

Sounds like you need an iMac...

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're obviously not a gamer. And if you are, I feel for you.

My spare computer, which is a puny P3 500 Desktop with some old 6GB hard-drive, out performs my Sony Vaio 1.something GHz laptop 10 fold.

Wake me up when Laptops get to be 5GHz or 10GHz... maybe by then they'll be able to keep up with my current main Desktop.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Lord Ender]

Actually, your little keyboard is better for coding if you are a man and use vi. It is really easy to hit the escape key on a laptop, and you don't need those other sitty keys :)

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Mudcathi]

Now lets look at the desktop example. Monitor. Mouse. Keyboard. Speakers. Computer Box (which are ALL wayyyyy too big

Please don't be offended, but you sound like a midget.

On second thought, if you are offended, then I'm truly sorry that you're a midget.

Seriously, laptops don't work for many of us. Too many kids, dogs, cats, etc., at home. An easily transportable laptop would be left out, then damaged. A "big" pc doesn't move, & thus easier to geographically protect (ie, "don't go near that, junior/sparky/whatever!"). My kids would certainly take offense if I sat down with the laptop on my lap's top, instead of one of them! And if it was after the kids' bedtime, my cats would be offended... mustn't offended the kitties, else they'll leave nasty little presents hither & thither, usually thither being right outside the bedroom door.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[furiousgeorge]

>>Sounds like you need an iMac...

Really? An imac is easly to move around without all that other crap? Last time i checked it was just a regular PC but had the monitor stuck onto the case.

Don't get me wrong, i think the iMac is a sweet piece of engineering and a nice computer, but it doesn't fit the need that I have. Moving it around would still be a PITA. How would i use an iMac in bed?? I think that round base would keep tipping over and bonking me on the head with the screen

Now if you had said TiBook maybe i would have agreed with you Now if apple would only put more than one damn mouse button i may take it seriously.....

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Your Pal Dave]

Seriously, laptops don't work for many of us. Too many kids, dogs, cats, etc., at home. An easily transportable laptop would be left out, then damaged. A "big" pc doesn't move, & thus easier to geographically protect (ie, "don't go near that, junior/sparky/whatever!"). My kids would certainly take offense if I sat down with the laptop on my lap's top, instead of one of them! And if it was after the kids' bedtime, my cats would be offended...

As I read this I am sitting in the living room halfway watching TV with my kid instead of disappearing into the basement to use the desktop... I do miss having a proper mouse, though.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[blisspix]

losing the ability to use normal size bags is a downer.

i love my ibook because it's almost exactly the same size as an a4 piece of paper. that thing can go anywhere.

that is, if i actually bothered to get it insured so i could take it out of the house...

Re:Is there a point to this?

[jonadab]

> 16.1"? Why? Whats the point?
Maybe so that you can _use_ it. Without going crosseyed.

> Aren't laptops supposed to be /portable/?
That's the traditional line, but frankly, any system with less
than 16" viewable display is not usable for regular work. You
could get by with it for a few minutes in a serious pinch, but
doing day-to-day work with it would be *painful*.

Okay, so you buy this thing to use for a small handful of
minutes at a time, but to actually sit down and do anything
you've got to get back to your desktop system. Granted, with
ethernet being cheap as it is now you can mount the laptop's
filesystem easily enough, but now you have to maintain two
systems. Every software you use, you install twice, unless
you just can't use it on the laptop. (Gimp, for example,
would be utterly worthless on a system with less than 16" of
display.) Everything you upgrade or configure, you upgrade
or configure twice. Ick.

The other thing is, a large-side-of-typical 15" diagonal
laptop measures perhaps about 9"x12" or thereabouts. 12" is
really too small to prop on my lap -- the back end would keep
falling between my knees. So you need a table to use it.
IMO that rather defeats the purpose of portable. And it
certainly takes backseat, in terms of portability, to handheld
units, but is barely more useful -- the keyboards on those
things are too small for touch-typing, and the screens are too
small for running most applications. This is why up until now
I haven't spent any money on a laptop. A desktop my not be
portable, but at least it's useable.
Give me something I can carry around -- all one piece, folds up
nice and neat like a (large) book, et cetera, but give me
something I can *use*, so I can use it as my regular system.
12"x16" seems quite reasonable to me, and would allow well
over 19" of display -- a quite reasonable size even for a
desktop, currently -- as well as a normal sized and so fully
usable keyboard plus trackball. Then I can take my desktop
system and turn it into some kind of networking appliance for
my home LAN and use the laptop as my regular workstation, and
still be able to take it with me when I travel.

Build it "one inch thin" when closed, make it out of whatever
alloy sounds impressive to the marketroids, and call it "the
desktop you can carry onto the plane", or "the laptop you can
comfortably use at your desk", or both.

Now, PDAs that can be held in one hand make sense, maybe. But
nobody will mistake those as a substitute for a computer; they
are a supplement, more of a peripheral almost, and no workstation
in any case. Laptops up to this point have been largely a horrid
compromise between portability and usefulness. It doesn't have
to be that way.

> The last thing I want is to carry around a 16.1" diagonal behemoth

Oh, come on. They're making them thin and light these days,
if you haven't noticed. A 17" diag laptop today probably
weighs less than a 13.5" viewable screen laptop from the mid
nineties. But the portability comes mostly from its being all
one piece, and also from the thinness and lack of weight and
battery power. A large textbook can be half again as heavy as
the heaviest modern laptop, and students routinely carry 2-3 of
them under one arm while dashing from class to class.

A laptop that I can't use is of no use to me at all. If I buy
a laptop, I'm going for the largest screen size I can reasonably
afford (within reason -- over 20" would be overkill, I suppose),
provided the other hardware is acceptable. 16" viewable is the
absolute minimum I would consider; I would prefer a couple more
inches than that, if the price increase weren't too horrific.
Of course, 3D goggles with good resolution have the potential
to make this a moot point... but they're just not _ready_ for
mainstream adoption yet, it seems. Especially for a portable
system, where they'd need to support translucency (i.e., let
the real world show through, and let the user configure how
_well_ the real world shows through; on a bus you'd turn
the translucency down and do work; walking, you'd turn the
translucency up over 50%, but you could still read /.). But
now I'm dreaming.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Which model backpack was it?

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Betcour]

Simple example why : I've actually a Inspiron 8000. I only took a laptop because I need to be able to cary my PC from work to home and back. When I get to my work or home, I have a keyboard and mouse that I plug. I don't use it in the plane or train, and like the majority of laptop users, it is almost always plugged in the electric outlet.

So I need something as powerful as possible, with the largest screen as possible, yet that I can carry from home to work easely. That Sony looks mighty good to me :) I don't care if it's a bit heavier than your normal laptop, since I don't need to move it much anyway. If there was a 17" screen laptop, I'd go for it as well :)

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

I just happened to be at Sony's Metreon tonight and saw this baby. It is very nice, the screen is excellent, overall design is not bad - not bulky as you might expect, it did not feel heavy but then I suspect that the battery was not included. The issue I wonder about is battery life. When my consulting practice builds up and I am on the road most of the time, I will consider getting one of these.

>16.1"? Why?

Cause screen does matter whey you are tring to code and design.

Re:Is there a point to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not ALL Sony-laptops are designed fir portability! Especially the GR-series is meant to be used as a desktop-replacement. You know, keep the desk clutter-free. And compared to a regular PC, this "laptop" is tiny!

Re:Is there a point to this?

[gessel]

I use pro/e all the time on a dell inspiron 7500 with the UXGA+ screen; it was the ne plus ultra of it's day. It's still very nice, but the graphics card is starting to be a bit dated.

I don't really chafe at the 700mhz processor, plenty quick for almost everything, and 512MB is enough for most regular web surfing, and it'll always take overnight to run a FEA optimization.

But with FEA, 512MB isn't enough. 1 gig is a lot better for the models I use - which are always simplified. And as one can never be too rich or to thin, one can never have too many pixels (or too fast a graphics card). I dream of the day when multi terabyte main memories and terahertz processors make intractive FEA a reality...

Until then, my next laptop is likely to be the current ne plus ultra of the laptop world, and it isn't the sony in this article, but the Fujitsu Siemens Mobile H. Check it out: 1 Gig main memory, 64MB Quadro4 to go, encrypted HD and boot!, bluetooth detachable keyboard (!), 1.9Ghz P4, 1600x1200 pixel display (!!) (+ dual head a 2nd UXGA display), S/PDIF out (!!!!) AND certified for Linux!!!!!

Topic missed the point...

[calc]

Sony already has laptops with 16.1" screens the point of the post was the new DVD-R/RW drive included. I am not sure why cmdrtaco changed the title to miss the point. ;)

too damn big!

[krog]

16"? jeez, people can hardly fit a TiBook into their bags with their large screens.

just because laptop screens *can* get bigger, doesn't mean they should. work on better resolution instead.

Re:too damn big!

[Bytenik]

My brother's Dell has 1400x1050 resolution on a 14.1" screen! Now they're selling 1600x1200 on a 15" screen!

How much better resolution do you want? :-)

Re:too damn big!

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh yeah, I wanna run 1600x1200 on my 14' LCD.....
Let me just bust out my telescope so I read slashdot....

Re:too damn big!

[Mark Pitman]

Oh yeah, I wanna run 1600x1200 on my 14' LCD.....

You must be blind if you cant see 1600x1200 on a 14 foot screen!

Re:too damn big!

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, you can increase the size of your fonts. It's fairly easy in Windows (Open the Display control panel, Settings tab, click Advanced..., General options), I'm not sure how to do it in linux though. I have my PC set to 120dpi fonts right now and it looks fine (except for those damn websites that like hard-coding microscopic font sizes).

Re:too damn big!

[Anonymous Coward]

I've got a dell with a 15.1 1600x1200 display.. higher resolution means fonts so small I can barely read them. WITH my glasses! :-)

That said, the Sony does sound worthy of my geek lust.

Re:too damn big!

[Anonymous Coward]

I want 300 DPI.

I want the screen to be as readable as paper.

Re:too damn big!

[Bytenik]

Actually, since LCDs use three "sub-pixels" placed horizontally next to each other for each pixel, a 15" LCD with 1600x1200 resolution actually has much better than 300 "dots" per inch horizontally.

Sub-pixel font rendering technologies such as ClearType make use of this unique property of LCDs to generate amazingly crisp text. See this page for more details.

The actual width of a 15" LCD is about 12", so (1600x3)/12 = 400 "dots" per inch!

Of course, the vertical direction is limited to about 1200/9 = 133 "dots" per inch, but for reading text we need the extra resolution in the horizontal direction much more, so text still looks damn good.

Unfortunately, full-color graphics don't benefit from this "extra resolution", so we still have a ways to go there.

Oooh

[billatq]

I could sure use a new thinkpad. CdrTaco? Are you listening ;)?

Re:Oooh

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey verizon, I could use a new phone, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Good.

Re:Oooh

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone know how to get replacement keys for a Thinkpad? I have an a20m, and the letters are starting smudge right off them.

Looked everywhere, of course I tried e-mailing IBM and asking them... That was sorta useless.

The thinkpad keys pop right off, all i want is some replacements... help!

Re:Oooh

[Anonymous Coward]

CdrTaco

Hmm, must be a lisp thing...

Watch MacWorld

[javester]

and try out the TiBook or the iBook! OS X is based on Darwin/BSD. And if you like Linux, you can always use YellowDog.
And you can always use Fink too!
And the best part is, MS Office of OS X is the best Office suite IMHO, bar none.

Re:Watch MacWorld

[Anonymous Coward]

And what does this have to do with the VAIO, and where was Linux mentioned, and where did you learn English, and what the hell is Fink, and who cares what you think anyway?

Re:Watch MacWorld

[Anonymous Coward]

as long as i can turn off that aqua garbage in OS X. its just ugly by trying to be too friendly and cute

Re:Watch MacWorld

[javester]

Sorry Anonymous Coward,

But Slashdot is targeted at the digiterati, and if you don't know what I just posted, then you're just another "user who just knows enough to be dangerous".

Just the same, here's why I posted:

• the TiBook aka Powerbook has a 15.2 inch mega-wide display that was introduced last year!
• VAIO and the Powerbook are in the same market segment, i.e. high-end consumer laptops
• with Macworld around the corner, a new round of hardware announcements is widely anticipated from Apple, including rumors of bigger screens on both the Apple laptops and the iMac
• CmrTaco is a Linux user and you can be sure he'll be loading up Linux on that VAIO (right Cmr?)
• Fink is a project to port Unix tools to Mac OS X.
• OS X is a *Nix (for your benefit, that's shorthand for a Unix-like system like Linux, Solaris and the ilk)
• and lastly, Slashdot is a FORUM so everybody (including you, sad to say), can post what they think

I suggest you expand your library to include "Mac OS X for Dummies", you'll find it most illuminating.

And BTW, I was the editor of our paper, and have been feted with numerous literary awards.

Its just that when you're talking amongst peers, you tend to conduct the conversation in shorthand.

See you around, anonymous coward.

Re:Watch MacWorld

[Anonymous Coward]

log in with username as >console and you can be rid of all that Aqua goodness for as long as you can bear it. Log back into the GUI and use a terminal. You might be surprised at how much more interesting and useful it is...

Re:Watch MacWorld

[poemtree]

If Sony can get a new DVD-R squashed into this thing, maybe Apple can too. 1 GHz TiBook with SuperDrive at Macworld? Hmmm....

Translation

[prof187]

Babelfish translation of the second link here

there's another laptop on the market

[YourMissionForToday]

And somewhere, an Indian is crying...

Re:there's another laptop on the market

[MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM]

I am crying. But I`m not Indian. I am just crying because I wet my pants, and coworkers are laughing at me.

It looks pretty..

[txdadu]

but I can't read japanese, what are its vital stats?

Re:It looks pretty..

[Anonymous Coward]

Str: 15
Dex: 12
Int: 16
Vit: 18
Wis: 11

Re:It looks pretty..

[Anonymous Coward]

Sony Japan??? How about Circuit City USA! Take a trip to Circuit City. I just looked at one and everything is in English. Yeap! 16.1" screen, cool!

get it here

[Anonymous Coward]

http://forum.questinq.com/ yeah im drunk. *hick*

One problem

[phoxix]

The bigger the screen gets, the bigger the laptop.

Being that laptops are supposed to be portable, the screen size will forever have a finite size limitation. They could get around this by having an extra screen pop-out or something. But then that would cost major $$ and just very well may not be worth it. It may very well be laptops that drive the development of head sets.

Sunny Dubey

Re:One problem

[HowlinMad]

That is true....kinda.

Take a look at older laptops. The area from the edge of the screen to the actual of edge of the notebook was huge, sometime like 1.5". Now it is right next to the edge about 1 cm (or less) away. They made up some space there, but all in all, to get a screen that big, they did have to make it a bit bigger. Also remember that this is a diagonal measurement, so it does not take as much in length and width to make the diagonal bigger.

Re:One problem

[Anonymous Coward]

"The bigger the screen gets, the bigger the laptop."

For a second there, I thought you were ObviousGuy

Re:One problem

[Anonymous Coward]

But you have to increase both height and width. A 1 in. increase in the diagonal requires a 3/5 in. increase in height and a 4/5 in. increase in width. And the increase in overall area is 14 sq. in. to go from a diagonal of 15 to 16.

they've been selling these for months

[Anonymous Coward]

um. this is old. they've been selling them in the US and Europe for months now.

not real new.

[BenTheDewpendent]

its been out for like a month now.
i have a 14.1 inch screen and dvd/cd-rw and love it. but the sound on the sonys just sucks. my hp had better sound...

but sonys are great laptops. built soild.

Re:not real new.

[Anonymous Coward]

but the sound on the sonys just sucks. my hp had better sound...

Really? Sony's sound must really suck then, because I'm sitting here typing this into an HP laptop right now, and the sound on it makes the "2 cans and string" sound system look good.

Re:not real new.

[Anonymous Coward]

not that solid . I have to support a fleet of 150 vaios . The failure rate is rather large across many components , and it takes six weeks just to get a keyboard repaired . We just switched to IBM , and canibalize the broken machines. If they allowed decent support I could forgive alot , but they really dont stand behind any of their products.

I guess a suitcase

[Anonymous Coward]

could fit on one's lap if they sat in some funky position. Don't get me wrong, but a 16" screen? That makes for one big ass laptop. Oh, I can't wait till they come out with the 20" screen. Sometimes there's a concept of a screeen that's too big (16" isn't too bad tho) :)..

Well what next Sony? A TurntableMan to play your LPs on the go...

Did they actually increase the res though?

[ostiguy]

Its probably just 1600x1200, just like the 15 inchers. Some people are hawking 14 and 15 inchers that only do 1024x768. ugh!

i am not a fan of sony pcs anyhow though - 90 warranty unless you register, and we have had bad luck with em

ostiguy

Re:Did they actually increase the res though?

[ocbwilg]

Its probably just 1600x1200, just like the 15 inchers. Some people are hawking 14 and 15 inchers that only do 1024x768. ugh!

What' the point of 1600x1200 on a 15 inch screen? I have a 19 inch monitor at home and I never push it farther than 1280x960 because 1600x1200 is still too small for it to be readble. Especially if you spend any amount of time working with it on the road at all.

Re:Did they actually increase the res though?

[calc]

Well the dot pitch of most/(all?) 19" CRTs isn't even sufficient to draw 1600x1200 properly so that is a major factor in it being unreadable. However, 1600x1200 on a 16.1" LCD is still small but it should be readable since there are really 1600x1200 physical pixels on the screen.

Re:Did they actually increase the res though?

[sdb6247]

The 15" screens are NOT 1600x1200... they are 1400x1050. So yeah, the 16" screen DOES increase the resolution, because NOW it is 1600x1200.

Re:Did they actually increase the res though?

[SoupIsGoodFood_42]

I own a 12" iBook, it runs at 1024x768. I could never bare to go with a lower resolution (relative/DPI) than that.

Of course, there are the rumors that the new iMac will have a 17" LCD, but it will probably only be bummped up to 1290x864.

There seems to be more of a demand of larger LCDs, and not much demand for increased resolution (relative/DPI). Which is a bit of a bummer.

Re:Did they actually increase the res though?

[ostiguy]

Dell for one has 14 and 15s that do 1600x1200. They also have 14s and 15s that do 1400x1050.

A linux user goes back by poopbot

[Anonymous Coward]

A Linux user goes back.
By Tony âoekNIGitsâ Collins.

Introduction...
In much of today's online news, we hear of how many people are migrating to GNU/Linux. What we don't seem to hear much of, is users going back to their old operating systems. The reason for this article is to say that I've done just that.

Yes, I've gone back. After three and a half years of trying to make GNU/Linux work on the desktop, I've decided that it's simply too hard for the average home user. Before I go into my reasons for going back, let me outline what I believe an 'average' home user is. Mr Joe Average is someone who wants to install their OS, boot it up, and it works. He wants to be able to upgrade his PC , and have the hardware work in a few short minutes. He wants to read email, browse the web, talk to his mates online, and play some games. Feel free to disagree with me, this is merely how I see myself. Note: I'm not referring to Grandma using Linux, or even my mum using it. I'm referring to average users who know a little about their computer.

Three and a half years; that's how long I've been trying to make Linux work on my desktop computer. Right about now, I'm sure that you are now screaming that I didn't try hard enough, or that I'm just plain stupid. Let me assure you that this is not the case. Stupid users don't doggedly stick at something for three and a half years, trying distribution after distribution in the hope of finding the holy grail of Linux desktops. They give up in less than a few hours of trying to (unsuccessfully) install RedHat Linux. Hear now my sad tale of why Linux isn't suitable for my desktop.

Some background...
The year is 1998. I've had my Windows '95 computer for around six months. Frustrated with the constant crashes, I desperately asked an online mate for help. Even though he was a windows user, he calmly suggested that I try something I'd never come across before...

âoeLinux, eh? Never heard of it.â

âoeOh, it's a free OS that you can download. Apparently it doesn't crash much. Just do an online search for it.â

Armed with this meagre knowledge, I set out on my quest for the ultimate stable operating system. I searched online, and found places where you could even buy copies of Linux! So, I left the comfort of my warm study, and returned forty minutes later with my first Linux boxed set â" RedHat Linux 5.2. After initially balking at the very basic installer (and few false starts), I had it up and running on my lovely AMD K6-233. I even got X working in no time at all. Then the system booted up for the first time.... and it was dead ugly. I had a very stable new OS, but I didn't even want to look at it. I was happy that I had several installed interfaces to choose from, but none of them appealed to me whatsoever. Wanting to download a nicer interface led me to my next problem.

I had absolutely no idea how to even get this nice, stable OS onto the internet! After reinstalling windows and RedHat in a dual-boot configuration, I got the help I needed by using Windows and USENET. Strangely enough, I can still remember the name of the long-suffering person who helped me get RedHat online, but that's another story. After looking around online, I discovered KDE. Only up to version one, it was the closest thing I had to a completely useable Linux system. I downloaded all the KDE packages for RedHat 5.2, only to discover another distro called Mandrake, that came with KDE preinstalled and configured. Back to my local distributor, and I was set.

Mandrake with KDE was exactly what I needed at that stage in my Linux using life, and I stuck with it for over a year and a half. Always seeking the 'perfect' desktop OS, I followed releases from version 5.3 all the way through to 7.0. Eventually I became dissatisfied with Mandrake, and briefly tried a number of other distros until I finally settled on Debian. I was impressed by the simple power, configurability, and the ease of upgrade that is apt-get. I felt good about being among the uber-elite Debian user community. Needless to say, I learned a lot about how to configure hardware under Linux during my time with Debian. I learned to sift through the old HOWTOs on Linux Doc until I found something suitable and accurate, I learned to utilize the power of USENET and IRC. Life was good.

Right now you must be wondering; âoeWhere is this leading? This guy seemed quite happy with Linux!â. True, I was. After a while, I decided I didn't want to have fine-grained control. I wanted something simple. I was getting tired of the 'stable' Debian release being so out of date, and the 'unstable' distribution being so... well... unstable. I got tired of having to recompile my kernel every time I got new hardware. I got tired of using command line to talk to my PC. It was time for a change. I had good experiences years ago with Mandrake, so I figured I'd try it again. As good as Mandrake 8.1 was, it wasn't what I was after. SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional (boxed set) was installed onto my PC instead.

I have to stop at this point, and say that SuSE Linux 8.0 (Pro) is the best Linux distribution that I've ever used. It has an easy installer, reasonable hardware support, and comes with the very good KDE 3.0. The box contains seven CDROMS, one DVD and three decent books that would help even the most inexperienced user get up and going. YaST2 is a decent graphical system configuration tool. When (not if) I go back to Linux, I'll definitely try SuSE again. However, there are quite a number of things that have improve (or change completely) before I'll consider going back. Read on for my brief list of things that must must get better before I'll switch back from the Microsoft camp.

Where GNU/Linux needs to improve...
X11

The X Window System is an awesomely powerful, network transparent graphical subsystem. It's perfectly suited to running applications from remote servers. However, this is NOT what a home user needs. My experience with X is that it's too big, bloated, slow and unstable to be any good to the home user. Most crashes that I ever experienced with Linux have been X's fault. My servers don't run X, and they never crash.

What home users need is something small and fast, so they can run local applications efficiently. I would like to see the X Window System dumped in favour of a hardware accelerated framebuffer, running something like directFB or Qtopia. Home users need a small, fast graphical subsystem, with built in 3d support. BeOS seemed to be on the right track before they went under.

Fonts are truly awful under X. Most distributions ship with appalling fonts, and there is no standard way to add additional (nicer) fonts to the system. Even after extra fonts have eventually been added, many applications (eg Abiword, Staroffice) refuse to use the new fonts anyway. Perhaps the framebuffer-based graphical subsystem I suggested could incorporate decent font support, and use a readable naming scheme as well.

Drivers

While having access to the latest version of the kernel is a good thing for developers, for home users it can be a nightmare. Got RedHat Linux 7.3? Perhaps you run SuSE 7.3 or Debian 2.2. You'll have to download a binary package specific to your distro. (I'm assuming that home users won't change their default kernel, but if they did, that binary package wouldn't even work!) Hardware manufacturers should be able to provide one single driver that works on all minor versions of a major kernel release. This way it would work will all current distros, instead of having to provide multiple binaries or source code. Hardware manufacturers don't want to give out the source, as this often gives away trade secrets about how their hardware is designed.

The solution seems to be to make binary drivers work on a variety of kernel versions. I'm not sure if this is even possible with the way the kernel is designed (I'm no kernel hacker), but it would go a long way toward making Linux more accessible to the home user. Even if the kernel needs to be redesigned to support this, then in my opinion, it should be done. Linux users are always clamouring for drivers... perhaps if the kernel had something like this, it might one day become a reality.

Hardware setup

While SuSE Linux 8.0 gave me some good experiences with hardware detection (such as automatic download of NVIDIA drivers), it also let me down as in this area.

The good: I recently borrowed a digital camera from a mate at work, to take photos of my case mod. Imagine how happy I was when I plugged it into my nearest USB port, and it was automatically configured (as a SCSI device) and mounted! SuSE even added it to my /etc/fstab file so that it always automounted when plugged in. I was very impressed.

The bad: Along came my new IDE CDRW drive. At AU$99, I couldn't pass up the purchase. Plugging it in gave me no joy. I was very disappointed that a device so common couldn't be detected and automatically configured under a modern operating system. The instructions on the SuSE support site said to add lines to lilo.conf and reboot. While this is a perfectly acceptable way to get hardware working for a geek familiar with *NIX, I believe that a home user shouldn't have to do more than plug it in. It's an IDE device, it's not that complicated!

The ugly: Once the hardware was finally working (as a pseudo-scsi drive), the next hurdle was to find decent graphical tools to burn and copy CDs. I finally settled on CDBakeOven, an above average KDE application. It burned CDs from data on the hard drive, but for some reason cdrecord (the command line backend) refused to allow me to copy a cd directly. Yes, it was installed SUID root. CD copying is such a basic function nowadays, why is it so hard to do under GNU/Linux?

Software distribution

I'll put this simply. I'm a home user, not a programmer. Why on earth should I have to compile the software I want to use? I know that having the source available is a good thing, but I'll say it again: I'm no programmer. I just want to install software and run it.

This leads to another point. Although having package databases (such as the rpm and deb systems use) is great, there should definitely be seperation between system packages and additionally installed software. There needs to be a standard installer and database for user-installed applications such as word processors, email clients and games, and it should be seperate from the rpm or deb databases used for system software such as lilo, init and cron. This will make it much easier for home users to know what applications they have installed on their PC, and to easily uninstall them if necessary, without knowing some arcane commands and weird package names.

Support

There is a huge wealth of knowledge among the thousands (millions?) of people that run GNU/Linux around the world. If you have a problem, odds are that someone out there can help you, often for free. This is one of the linux platform's greatest strengths. However, Linux users are also its greatest weakness. This may not apply to most of the community, but there is a very vocal minority that gives Linux a bad name. To every Linux user that has ever helped a newbie, I thank you. I have been helped by many a guru, often when I've been asking the simplest of questions. It's the remainder that are a problem.

I once heard a song by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie called Every OS Sucks, where Linux users were described as 'elitist nerdy shmucks'. Sadly this is true for much of the 'community'. Too many consider themselves better than the rest of the world because they run Linux. Can you believe that? It's just a computer operating system, but somehow they think that it makes them better than those people who run systems such as Microsoft Windows! Elitism drives people away, as does saying âoeRTFMâ or belittling people who choose a different distro from yourself.

'Nuff said about that.

So what now?
Well, I decided to go back to a Microsoft platform. Initially being paranoid after reading things about DRM and spyware, I bit the bullet and installed Microsoft Windows XP. Like every OS, it has good and bad points; most of which you can learn about from online reviewers. I'll just point out several things that make me want to keep using it instead of GNU/Linux.

Fast graphical subsystem: Windows has lighting quick graphics, both 2d and 3d. There's no denying it. When I move a window, it refreshes so fast that I don't miss X11 at all. While not quite as nice as some other operating systems, font support is outstanding compared to XFree86.

Drivers: Point and click to install (as a superuser, of course). Windows warns you if the driver isn't likely to work properly, and can roll back to working drivers if you deliberately choose to install one that hoses your system.

Hardware setup: My CDRW worked right away, without a hitch. I am able to drag and drop files from the Explorer file manager to the CDRW icon and they get added to the list of things to burn. A quick install of Nero Burning Rom, and I was able to make a backup copy of my game CDs. (I don't like taking originals to LANs where they can get destroyed or stolen).

Software distribution: All windows software comes in binaries, either with an installer or in a zip file. I hope to never compile an application ever again. Software designed for a different version of windows is 99% guaranteed to run, but if not, there is always 'compatibility mode'. One thing to note, however: Applications designed for single user versions of windows usually only run properly as a superuser, and this includes 3d games. I expect this to be rectified as the rest of the Windows world catches up to a multi-user environment.

I can't comment on the Windows using community yet. I've not yet had a problem that a simple point and click couldn't fix. However, I will say that my original concern with Windows '95 has been addressed in Windows XP. The stability is finally there.

Final Notes
In conclusion, I'd just like to make it known that I haven't completely abandoned the Linux community. My home server still runs Mandrake, and IPCop on my gateway/firewall. There is no way I'd ever put any form of Windows on my server, nor would I ever connect a Windows PC directly to the internet without a *NIX gateway in between. Microsoft has a history of poor security, so I protect myself the only way I know how; using Linux. I will continue to advocate the use of GNU/Linux in the server arena. This is where its strength lies at the moment.

Because of their history of spreading virii, I don't use the applications that Microsoft has provided with Windows XP. My wife and I use Mozilla for web browsing and email, OpenOffice.org for word processing, and Psi (Jabber client) for instant messaging. All of these are true multi-user win32 programs, and are perfectly interoperable with their Linux counterparts.

I expect that the Linux community will have something to say about this article; I welcome comments and constructive criticism. Flames will be automatically sent to the Windows equivalent of /dev/null, once I find where that actually is.

By Tony âoekNIGitsâ Collins

- poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

droool....

[MarvinMouse]

Ahh...

Man, I am so a IBM Thinkpad man, but this machine just makes me drool. If there is one thing Sony has got over everyone else, it's really, really nice designers.

Does anyone know if this is available in Canada yet? I know what my next laptop will be.

(R U Listening IBM?) ;-)

Got one of these last month

[AirLace]

The screen is beatiful. But the keyboard is a nightmare, just for that reason I though of giving it back. Also, the BIOS doesn't support APM properly so you have to use the ACPI stuff if you need power management, and swsusp to suspend to RAM as it's no longer built in to the BIOS. It's also a nightmare to carry around, like the lunchbox computers of yesteryear -- this is kind of my first VAIO I've been disappointed in.

Re:Got one of these last month

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, the BIOS doesn't support APM properly so you have to use the ACPI stuff if you need power management

Last time I checked, ACPI was superior to APM...

Re:Got one of these last month

[Skevin]

> Also, the BIOS doesn't support APM properly...

LMAO, the Radeon Mobility 7500 is not exactly famous for its power-saving ability, even when it's sitting around in 2D mode. Combine that with the backlight for the extra-large surface area (as well as potentially bigger speakers), is it reasonable to think anyone is going attempt to take advantage of "Advanced Power Management"?

Sure, such a gamer^H^H^H^H^H user might have his quiet moments where he just wants to compose poetry or manage his shopping list in a coffeehouse somewhere, but IMHO, a "laptop" with a 16" screen is going to a little big to live up to its namesake.

I can see only one primary purpose for this machine: LAN Party.
(...Oh yeah, and getting work done onsite, when your clients try to set you up with a "Development Station" that's too damn slow to mirror their live database backend.)

Solomon

Re:Got one of these last month

[Anonymous Coward]

But Linux ACPI support is inferior.

Re:Got one of these last month

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep, LYAO like a cretin. Sometimes you want to burn up all the battery playing a 3D game. Sometimes you want the battery to to last the whole flight while you're writing something. Don't you realize that a 3D chipset uses less power when not using 3d features? I guess not. And the backlight is one of the things APM would manage. That's why they call it "power management".

16" too big? It depends...

[GJSchaller]

I have a GRX-500 with the 16" screen. I'm happy with it.

I don't want a lightweight laptop - I got this as a Desktop Replacement. When I take it on the road, I don't plan on using it on the train, or on the bus - I plan on sitting it down on a desk or table, and using it there.

I can see why people would want a smaller laptop. But there are people who want a portable desktop, for use at shows, offsite, etc. where it won't be moved much once it's deployed.

IMO, if I want a very portable PC, I'll use a PDA. ;)

Is that two fans I see?

[LenE]

In the semi-transparent view on the upper right of the page? It looks like it.

Two fans, 16.1" screen, a Pent 4 and a DVD-RW drive. This seems like a power-hungry desktop, rather than a laptop. Anyone venture to guess on the lap temperature? How about deci-Bell levels?

-- Len

Re:Is that two fans I see?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think those are the drives, pictured above the image you speak of.

sh

Re:Is that two fans I see?

[LenE]

I thought that at first, but it seems likely that the larger one in the center is a fan. I can't read Japanese, so I was just speculating on the tiny picture.

-- Len

Re:Is that two fans I see?

[devnull17]

It wouldn't be terribly shocking; the Dell Inspiron 8xxx models have had dual fans in the back for years.

Re:Is that two fans I see?

[Anonymous Coward]

it is suprisingly quiet even with the two fans. It does get warm, just not hot on the bottomside. Good unit all around, the GRX500s are. Yes. Shaft

Battery Life

[robertchin]

If you're planning on mastering a DVD video, wouldn't your battery die before the process is complete (encoding + burning)? If so, then what's the point? How long does it take to burn a DVD anyway?

Re:Battery Life

[govtcheez]

That's why you plug it into the fucking wall, douche.

Re:Battery Life

[Anonymous Coward]

It turns out you can run laptops off of an adapter hooked to the wall! You don't have to use batteries all the time.

That way, you can get a computer that gives you portability sometimes, and DVD mastering at other times! Wow, what a concept!

--sarcastic slashdotter

Re:Battery Life

[damiam]

I've toyed with the Superdrive on a PowerMac G4, and it seemed to burn (not including compression) at about 1x (in other words, 30 min of video take about 30 min. to burn). This is with the default compression settings - obviously, it's quicker to burn if you compress more. DV video seemed to compress at about 0.5x (on a 733Mhz G4 w/ AltiVec).

However, if I were burning a DVD, I'd probably plug in my computer, not run it off batteries.

Re:Battery Life

[Anonymous Coward]

mods, he's got a point ya know. so what if he's insulting, giving him a -1 is undeserving. Maybe the parent poster doesn't know laptops come with AC power these days?

Re:Battery Life

[m3000]

I think anyone burning DVD's would probably be at home next to an outlet. I can't think of any reason that a DVD would have to be burned on a whim sitting in an airplane or something.

Re:Battery Life

[laymil]

according to a japanese friend, the laptop must be plugged in when the dvd burner is in use. this is mentioned on the website! :)

DVD-R ???

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there a DVD-R or a DVD+R(W) built in ???

As a member of the DVD+RW alliance Sony should use a DVD+R drive.. (altough Ricoh builds them)...

But if they're really using a DVD-R drive this would be good news to the -R community...

Re:DVD-R ???

[Anonymous Coward]

They are using DVD-R, just like in their VAIO line of desktop computers. Pretty fucked up since they are in the DVD+RW alliance.

Celebrate One Term Cheney-Rumsfeld Administration

[Anonymous Coward]

By burning one: 420 Lewis !!!!

Be Patriotic, Smoke Amerikan grown marijuana, not treasonous imports !!!!

Courtesy of About 420

Connotative Use/Meaning

420 is a phreak s (and not just a hippie s) favorite number for a
variety of reasons, or maybe for no reason at all, but colloquially
the number says pot -- let s smoke pot, or someone s smoking
pot, or gee, i really like pot, or time to smoke pot, either by
time (4:20 a.m. or p.m.), date (April 20th), or otherwise (e.g. State
Route 420). April 20th at 4:20 is marked by annual events in
Mount Tamalpais, CA (an informal gathering); Marin Conty, CA
(the 420 Hemp Fest); Ann Arbor, MI (the Hash Bash); and
Washington, D.C. (buildup towards the July 4th Smoke-In).

Original Source(s)

Conventional wisdom: The most common tale is that 420 is the
police radio code or criminal code (and therefore the police call)
in certain part(s) of California (e.g. in Los Angeles or San
Francisco) for having spotted someone consuming cannabis
publicly, i.e. pot smoking in progress; that local cannabis users
picked up on the code and began celebrating the number temporally
(esp. 4:20 a.m., 4:20 p.m., and April 20); that the number became
nationally popularized in the late 1980s and, more ferverently, in
the early- to mid-1990s; and is colloquially applied to a variety of
relaxed and/or inspired contexts, including not only pot
consumption but also a good time more generally (in contrast to
the drug war surrounding).

Conventions are legends: 420 is not police radio code for
anything, anywhere. Checks of criminal codes (including those of
the City of San Francisco, the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles
County, the State of California, and the federal penal code) suggest
that the origin is neither Californian nor federal (the two best
guesses). For instance, California Penal Code 420 defines as a
misdemeanor the hindrance of use (obstructing entry) of public
lands, and California Family Code 420 defines what constitutes a
wedding ceremony (Marco). One state does come close: The
Illinois Department of Revenue classifies the Alcoholic Liquor Act
under Part 420, and the Cannabis and Controlled Substances Tax
Act are next, under Part 428. (RB 5/19/99)

True story?: According to Steven Hager, editor of High Times,
the term 420 originated at San Rafael High School, in 1971,
among a group of about a dozen pot-smoking wiseacres who
called themselves the Waldos. The term 420 was shorthand for the
time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis
Pasteur, to smoke pot. ``Waldo Steve, a member of the group who
now owns a business in San Francisco, says the Waldos would
salute each other in the school hallway and say ``420 Louis! The
term was one of many invented by the group, but it was the one
that caught on. ``It was just a joke, but it came to mean all kinds of
things, like `Do you have any? or `Do I look stoned? he said.
``Parents and teachers wouldn t know what we were talking about.
The term took root, and flourished, and spread beyond San Rafael
with the assistance of the Grateful Dead and their dedicated cohort
of pot-smoking fans. The Waldos decided to assert their claim to
the history of the term after decades of watching it spread, mutate
and be appropriated by commercial interests. The Waldos contacted
Hager, and presented him with evidence of 420 s history, primarily
a collection of postmarked letters from the early 70s with lots of
mention of 420. They also started a Web site, waldo420.com. ``We
have proof, we were the first, Waldo Steve said. ``I mean, it s not
like we wrote a book or invented anything. We just came up with a
phrase. But it s kind of an honor that this emanated from San
Rafael. Maria Alicia Gaura for the San Francisco Chronicle,
4/20/00 p. A19; and thanks to Noah Cole for the submission

Alternate explanations

There are a variety of other explanations, all much more interesting
than police code, and many plausible. Some are more likely uses
of the 420/hemp connection rather than sources of it, such as the
score for the football game in Fast Times at Ridgement High,
42-0.

Known Myths: It isn t police code (see above). There are 315
chemicals in marijuana, not 420. And although tea time in
Amsterdam is rumored to be 4:20, it is actually 5:30 (Gerhard
den Hollander).
Sixties Songs: For instance, Bob Dylan s famous Rainy Day
Women #12 and 35 is a possible reference, or source --
12x35=420. And Stephen Stills wrote (and Crosby Stills Nash
& Young performed) a song 4+20 (first recorded 7/16/69,
released on Deja Vu 3/11/70) about an 84-year-old
poverty-stricken man who started and finished with nothing.
(Thanks to Sherry Keel 12/6/98.) Dylan aslo mentions 4 and
20 windows in The Balland of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
(on John Wesley Harding).
Older Verse: But 420 in poetry is older than that - Greg
Keller notes the old nursery rhyme line, four and twenty
black birds baked in a pie. Revelation 5:14 (in the King
James Version of the Christian Bible) reads, And the four
beasts said A-Men. And the four and twenty elders fell down
and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Travis
Spurley 2/15/99) And in Midnight s_Children, Salman
Rushdie wrote, Inevitably, a number of these children failed
to survive. Malnutrition, disease and the misfortunes of
everyday life had accounted for no less than four hundred and
twenty of them by the time I became conscious of their
existence; although it is possible to hypothesize that these
deaths, too, had their purpose, since 420 has been, since time
immemorial, the number associated with fraud, deception and
trickery. (Comet 2/14/98) Comet s best guess is that this
refers to something in Indian mythology or numerology, since
the book is set in India and frequently involves Indian history,
culture, and religion. Given the high interest in Eastern
religion among the phish/dead community, this seems a likely
origin of 420 s current significance.
Temporal Significance: Hands on analog clock at 4:20 look
like position of doobie dangling from mouth Larry in
Tuscan and Alex Mack 5/19/99). Disruptive students are out
of detention and safetly away from school by 4:20, also
rumored to be the time that you should dose to be peaking
when the Dead went on stage Hart. The Waldos were a
group of teens back in the 70 s that lived in San Rafael, CA.
420 was the way they talked about pot in front of teachers,
non-smoking family members etc. Also it was the time of day
they could just go relax, and get baked. (PhunkCellar)
Jamaicans purportedly worked till 4 then walked home then
lit up. They would talk 420 like our parents talked about after
5. That s when partying began Larry in Tuscan). Albert (not
Abbie) Hofmann supposedly first encountered LSD at 4:20
p.m. on 4/19/1943 (Bart Coleman citing Storming Heaven by
Jay Stevens, recommended by Mickey Hart in Planet Drum).
Surrealist painter Miro was born April 20, 1893. And
www.filmspeed.com says the propoganda film Reefer
Madness has a copyright date of April 20, 1936 (i.e. 4/20).
(Patrick Woolford)
Misc: Could be that it comes from hydroponics, the practice
of cultivating plants in water often used by indoor marijuana
cultivators, since 4 is used for H on a calculator (420/H20).
(Nick Lowe 3/30/00) The number 80 (eight) is quatre vingt
(pronounced cah-truh vahn), meaning four (times} twenty.
Dan Nijjar 1/27/00 (No connection yet between the number
80 and pot. A quarter pound is roughly 120 grams, rounding
quarter-ounces to 7.5.) The titanic was supposed to arrive
4/20/1912. (Thanks to RB.) Perhaps the heavy use of vt420
terminals in the Berkeley area is to blame? (BTW, 420 in
binary code is 110100100.)

Ubiquitous?

Now there s a 420 Pale Ale. One of the late-97/early-98 Got
Milk ads featured a character eating cookies without milk and
then passing a sign that reads Next Rest Area 420 miles (as Ross
Bruning). Reportedly, all of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction
are stuck on 4:20. Shirts with the number 420 on the red-and-blue
interstate highway shield (Interstate 420?) have show up on the
sitcom Will and Grace (Paul Risenhoover 5/14/99) and in several
videos. UPS labelling software has a 420 postal code legend for
next-day/2-day deliveries (which is how Phish tickets are sent).
(Jack Lebowitz 10/3/98) MTV s 1997 Viewer s Choice Award (for
the MTV Video Awards) was decided by calls to
1-800-420-4MTV. And by May of 1998, the number was
appearing in so many ads (eg Copenhagen 5/14/98 Rolling Stone
p54, Corvette p55 5/98 Car & Driver) that its presence is
presumed to be intentional. Many songs are around 4 minutes 20
seconds long (since many songs fall between 2:30 and 5:30),
including for example Pink Floyd s A Great Day for Freedom (on
The Division Bell, 1994), the Foo Fighters My Hero, and
Smokin from Boston s first album. There have also been some
420 references on The Simpsons. In the re-run episode aired on
April 20th, 1999 at a special time (probably in honor of those
college students staying in the holiday spirit ;-), Homer mentions to
Flanders that Barney s birthday is April 20th. Also, the jackpot sign
in one part of the casino says $420,000. There are a couple less
concrete ones, but these two have to be legit, especially since they
decided to air THAT particular episode on 4/20/99. (Submitted by
Matt Meehan 4/21/99) And (as of Fall 99) the 60 free minutes that
Working Assets Long Distance offers, at the 7 cents per minute
rate, is $4.20 free. There s even a band named 420, and another
names . In the first fifteen pages of Karel Capek s novel War with
the Newts, a man diving under wonder stayed down for four
minutes and twenty seconds. Grant Garstka 1/6/00 At the
suggested retail price ($3.96) and Michigan (6%) sales tax, a deck
of Uno cards costs $4.20. Nic Boris 4:20 marks the first downbeat
of the drums in Led Zeppelin s epic Stairway to Heaven. (Dan
Harris) The bill authorizing force after the World Trade Center
attacks of 9/11/01 passed 420 to 1, and news reports in following
months noted many times that there are (or were then, anyway) 420
airports in the U.S. Allan Morris And don t forget that Adolf Hitler
was born on April 20, macabely celebrated (or at least
referenced) via the Columbine High School shootings.

Phish-related Occurances

Whatever the origin, the number appears frequently... For the
summer 1997 tour, TicketMaster service charges were $4.20. In
the Fall 1997 Doniac Schvice Dry Goods section, a limited edition
Pollack poster printed on 100% hemp is order number 420P. The
Great Went was 420 miles from Boston (former home of Phish).
The official logo includes 4 gills and 20 bubbles (Gringo
11/12/98). As of 6/15/97, including covers and originals, Phish
had performed a total of 420 songs (thought its 486 by 4/24/98).
(David Steinberg). Lawnboy is 420megs of memory. Patrick
Walker Phish s The Vibration of Life underlies a whirling loop
with Seven Beats per second (which makes 420 beats per minute.)
Trey has used the altered line woke up at 4:20 in Makisupa
Policeman, which also often indirectly celebrates 420ing, e.g. by
mention of goo balls. One of the funniest shirts around takes light
jabs at both the 4:20 phenomenon and the rumored evolution
(collapse?) of the Phish.Net (especially rec.music.phish) from
being Gamehendge to Flamehendge, and beyond. The first day of
the Great Went started at 4:20 (with Makisupa Policeman. (The
second day started late, at 4:37.) Noah Cole The first single from
Slip Stitch and Pass was played on WBCN 10/14/97 at 4:20 pm.
An uproar at 12/31/96 can be heard on tape during the 2001, in
response to an enormous digital clock (which was counting down
to midnight) reaching 11:55:40 and reading -4:20. (Yoda)
During the 9-12-00 2001, Trey hits the first riff right at 4:20 into
the intro jam. (Cal 2/25/01) Some mail order tickets for the 1997
New Year s run were in section 420. The first Mass Pike toll
leaving Oswego was $4.20. (Camille Heath ) And the standard
shipping for The Phish Companion through Amazon was
originally $4.20.

420 Shows: Phish performed on April 20 in 1989, 1990, 1991,
1993, and 1994. The first day of the Great Went started at 4:20,
although that was called a soundcheck by Trey after three songs.
The Jazzfest Harry Hood 4-26-96 started at about 4:20 reported by
Trevor. At Big Cypress, David Bowie was playing at 4:20 a.m.
And the one event during the hiatus (10/8/00 - ?) featuring all
four members - for Jason Colton s wedding - was 12/1/01, 420
from: http://www.phish.net/faq/n420.html:

+1 Funny

[ergo98]

Very nicely done. Of course you have that bastardized "Vitality" instead of Constitution, and where's your Charisma?

Re:+1 Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

It's cheater anyway since there's no way you could get those scores in NWN's system in the first place. 18 of ANYTHING right off the bat is very hard to achieve.

Re:Translation (Smart Filter thinks babelfish is p

[yelligsc]

Check out the error when I try to hit babelfish at work! The interesting part is under Problem Cause.

Problem Report
Access denied to the system by SmartFilter, while attempting to retrieve the URL.

Message ID
SMARTFILTER_DENIED Secure Computing

Problem Description
Your system was configured to deny access to this URL.

Problem Cause
The request was denied, as specified in the SmartFilter Content Filter configuration. The content category reported is sex.

Possible Solution
Traffic to and from the internet is being filtered and logged.Access to this site has been blocked according to UTC Policy.If there is a compelling business justification for access to this site to be permitted, please present your request to the I T management at your business unit for consideration.

Wierd viewable angles...

[Anonymous Coward]

The screen is has 160 degree visibility horizontally, 50 degrees up and 60 down. 60 down???? I don't spend much time with my chin on my keyboard and the laptop fully extended... why would anybody want that over being able to look at the laptop from above?

Yet again another "Sony is godhead" story

[MsGeek]

Wow.

You'd think /. would know better by now. Sony is NOT your friend. Sony is a member of both the RIAA and the MPAA and would like nothing better than to control everything you put into your machine.

There are so many other companies that make laptops. Vaios are cute and kawaii but then again so is the Fujitsu Lifebook. And Fujitsu belongs to neither the RIAA or MPAA. Plus you can get a spiffomundo Crusoe chip in the thing, so you can say that you've got Linus Inside! How cool is that?

"The RIAA and the MPAA are a bad, evil corporate conspiracy...OOOH! Shiny objects! I want!!!"

Re:Yet again another "Sony is godhead" story

[Anonymous Coward]

Plus you can get a spiffomundo Crusoe chip in the thing, so you can say that you've got Linus Inside! How cool is that?

Very. Unless you try to do anything more sophisticated than word processing on your machine.

Re:Yet again another "Sony is godhead" story

[Anonymous Coward]

You'd think /. would know better by now. I might think that, if I believed that /. were a single entity. This may come as a bit of a shock, but there are actually several different people here, and we don't always agree on everything. You do know that the "Borg Gates" picture is not a compliment, right?

Re:Yet again another "Sony is godhead" story

[Anonymous Coward]

agreed, slashdot = hypocrites, and obviously in bed with the riaa if since they didn't post the gnutella developer 'suicide' story.

Slashdot is a piece of shit and nobody should waste their time here anymore.

Re:Yet again another "Sony is godhead" story

[Anonymous Coward]

That reminds me. Why the hell is Sony putting DVD-RW drives in their machines? Don't they know what these people use them for?

Re:Yet again another "Sony is godhead" story

[Anonymous Coward]

Good reminder

Re:Yet again another "Sony is godhead" story

[longbottle]

Speaking as someone who just purchsed a similar model (sans the DVD-R/W drive) I'd just like to point out that my main reasons for buying this model were *not* "Ooh, shiny! Me Want!" It was a combonation of the huge screen, acceptable price (compared to the $4,000 a comperable G4 Powerbook cost.... ouch) And the fact that I've always had good luck with sony products. I know full well that Sony is a member of "the evil **AA's", but you know what I do because of that? I don't buy/go to/listen to music or movies that are on the Sony labels. Very simple. I like Sony's hardware (they invented the freakin' VCR, for crying out loud!)but am not a fan the RIAA or MPAA... why try to bankrupt Sony's hardware devision? They make _killer_ toys.

oh well, just my two cents.

bad news for Linux?

[tps12]

Wow, I'm continually amazed by the high-quality products pumped out by Sony, specifically as part of their VAIO line. This little beast looks to be no exception (16.1"? Hot damn that's a lot of xterms!).

However, I am afraid of the impact this laptop might have on the Linux market. Linux has had most of its growth running on older computers that have been replaced with fast, new ones by people who want to watch DVD's, surf the web, and play the latest games. One of the beauties of Linux has always been that you could grab that old Pentium one that was headed for the trash heap, slap Debian on there, and have a damn fine firewall. Even Joe Average PC Owner can figure Mandrake or Red Hat out enough to get Linux running on an obsolete box.

Sadly, this is not the case with new PCs. Higher-end systems tend to come with the latest Windows (that most people will keep just for the "gee whiz" factor) pre-installed. Furthermore, they may come with the latest cutting-edge peripherals (such as video cards, DVD players, and printers) that aren't yet supported under Linux. For whatever the reason, people who don't mind using Linux to "rescue" a dump-bound 486 will frequently have qualms about wiping Windows from their shiny new Dells.

Unfortunately, Sony has a history of making this effect even more pronounced with it's VAIO laptops. They frequently use proprietary chipsets and hardware that isn't fully supported under Linux. Reports about of incompatiblities with filesystems, X configuration, and modem support.

What this boils down to is that this product, sweet as though it may be, is bound to have a detrimental effect on Linux sales. I think I'll pass on this one. Hopefully, if enough people (I'm looking at you, CmdrTaco) follow suit, we'll send Sony a message, demonstrate that Linux does belong on new PCs, and the world will thank us.

Re:bad news for Linux?

[Anonymous Coward]

You said: "...is bound to have a detrimental effect on Linux sales."

Linux is FREE, fucktard. You don't sell free things. Grow a clue.

Re:bad news for Linux?

[1lus10n]

dude what video card and dvd player do you think ISNT supported under linux ? (XINE is your friend) not only that but the majority of people who buy "shiny" laptops are the nimwads you dont want running linux for the simple reason they will start to bash it because they cant "drag and drop" or "point and click" everything

Re:bad news for Linux?

[zCyl]

For whatever the reason, people who don't mind using Linux to "rescue" a dump-bound 486 will frequently have qualms about wiping Windows from their shiny new Dells.

I use Linux (debian, to be precise) on my shiny new Dell laptop, and have absolutely no problems with it. You'll find that the hardware argument between Linux and Windows is different than it was 2 years ago. Linux development has progressed to the point where one seems to be more likely to find solid Linux support for a piece of hardware than to find support for your particular version of Windows.

For hardware support, Windows is fragmented in a negative way. There are several versions of Windows in active use now, ME, 2k, XP, and even win98 boxes out there yet. Drivers are frequently not interchangeable between these, and often there are platforms left out to dry.

Linux, however, despite its various distribution choices, has one central kernel tree developing hardware support. Because of this you can guarantee that you can always plug the latest bug-fixed driver into any Linux distribution without disturbing the rest of the machine.

DVD-RW vs DVD+RW: Sony Doesn't Get It

[BRock97]

I am not quite sure I understand where Sony is coming from including a DVD-RW drive. From what I have read, they are completely DVD+RW driven, to the point of being a member of the alliance. The thing that irks me here is that this does not help the already splintered standard battle going on out there. On one hand you have Phillips, HP, Yamaha and Sony supporting DVD+RW, and on the other, you have Pioneer, Apple, and ..... Sony supporting DVD-RW. How can this be good for the end user?!

Power Managment

[Guns n' Roses Troll]

It has been my experience that Power Managment on PC laptops has always sucked and always will suck. Incompatable methods, devices not cooperating, shit just not working.

The only systems with working PM is Apple. Closing the lid on my PBG4-667 puts it in sleep mode. Opening the lid wakes it up. It takes 3 seconds to sleep or wakeup. PC laptops just can't do it as well because of the lack of software and hardware integration.

Re:Power Managment

[Anonymous Coward]

and what can you actually do with that apple laptop.... not much.

Ummm...AC Adapter...

[ryman]

My Dell has a CDRW drive, but I don't really see myself ever using it on battery. Not to mention your point of time consideration, battery usage is also a factor.

Taco just wants an eval unit

[colostomy_net]

to impress his new woman.

Current version with 15.7" screen

[JoshMKiV]

I've used the current version that has a 15.7" screen. I was surprised by the weight, it was not bad at all. My ThinkPad A21 with a 15.1" is worse.

The Sony was rather thin, had a great keyboard, and I was surprised at the usefulness of the jog dial control. Even at Circuit City or Best Buy, the Sony is priced attractively. I would seriously consider the Sony if work did not provide the ThinkPad.

DONT BY SONY LAPTOPS

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah!

If you want to use alternatives Operating Systems (*BSD, linux, et al) do not buy one of Sony machines because the BIOS contains propietary ACPI code, and suspend, power-off, and other basic functionality won't work!!!!!

Tell me and hundred of fustrated Sony customers!

Hey Sony! Are you listening?

Maybe this 16 inches screen will have a open implementation!

Sony users wants BIOS UPGRADES to be compatible NOW!

Thanks,

Am I mad? Am I scared?

Well, I must say that the design are really cool.

When are we going to see laptops with interchangeable screens? Why the screen is part of the laptop?

Are there any small bags to carry only the laptop + AC/DC adaptop in the chest?

Why my hands are so hot when I am typing in the Vaio? Maybe because the CPU is just below your hand! you moron! Oh yeah that is design!

TRL

Maybe so...

[Wrexs0ul]

Maybe so, but the chances of an airplane letting me hookup the desktop PC for some Warcraft 3 is very slim!

Actually I don't mind a laptop with slightly larger dimensions. For my purposes as a desktop-to-go or monitoring servers I really don't need an ultra-portable thinkpad like those midget-sized machines IBM came out with a few years back.

That and onboard ATI makes for great presentations (not to mention fragging!)

---

Got Web Hosting? RackNine

Re:Maybe so...

[Anonymous Coward]

Not very portable but a great desktop replacement. If you are like me, who simply brings his notebook at home and work than the tradeoff between features and size is acceptable.

This is the GRX500 series

[very]

Well, the 16.1 Inch UXGA screen has been available for months from Sony.
As a matter of fact, I own a GRX500 series.

The only new thing is the DVD-R/RW CD-R/RW

Damn, I gotta buy the DVD-R/RW CD-R/RW module!!!!

Go here!
http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?hier c=9683x 7018x9592&catid=9592&itemid=31618

Wait..

[iONiUM]

Radeon 7500 Mobility
Why use this card when I can instead somehow hack a dual GPU card into it?

Re:Wait..

[Anonymous Coward]

uhhhh, because its the best mobile card there is...

Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[the eric conspiracy]

I recently went shopping for a laptop, and seriously considered a Sony 16.1" screen model. I decided against purchasing a Sony product because
Sony has an extremely bad policy in regard to OS support.

Sony encodes the BIOS with a designation describing the OS that it was sold with. This designation is checked by the drivers supplied by Sony. If the driver OS doesn't match the BIOS designation, the drivers do not load. This is to prevent buyers from installing an OS that the laptop was not sold with. Sony also does not make driver packages available for download online.

The end result is that you will be stuck with whatever OS the machine was sold with. Want to run Win2K Server on a machine sold with Win XP? Too Bad.

Want to dual boot Win2K and XP. Nah. Want to upgrade when the next Windows comes out? Nope.

The only exception to this is that it is possible with some fiddling to install Win XP Pro on a machine that came with XP Home. But don't count on Sony to tell you how! They won't.

In my opinion the result is that Sony laptops are completely unsuitable for technically inclined users.

BTW, my search ended up with a Compaq 2800T with WinXP and the same Radeon card as the Sony. It's got a 15.1" screen, USB 2.0 and is FAR more portable. It also runs RedHat 7.3 and Windows 2000 just fine.It's also expandable to 1gig of RAM and has USB 2.0. The configurability from the Compaq store is also far better than with the Sony.

Sony? Not until they adopt a less hostile OS policy.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[user32.ExitWindowsEx]

What about the DVD-R/RW? Where else can I get that in a laptop?

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[reverius]

As many others here have said, why would you want that in a laptop? Just curious... apparently you're the only one commenting here who's a potential purchaser of said Sony Vaio.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[CondeZer0]

You can always run linux on it:
http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/sony.html

But wish I could buy it with linux preinstalled...
I hate to pay for what I don't use(eg, a Windows license :))

\\Uriel

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[The Bungi]

I don't work for Sony, particularly like them or otherwise give a shit, though I think they make good consumer electronics. But this is nothing but FUD.

I have a Vaio PCG-F430 (older model) here that shipped with Win98. It's running Windows 200 Pro right now, and at one point it was also running Win2K Advanced server. I got it through a company-sponsored purchase program. I figured Vaio was better than no laptop, although I probably wouldn't have bought one if I was spending my own money. Still, I've had absolutely no problems other than an intermittent green ghost stripe in the LCD that appears when the thing is left in the car in 110F heat for too long. It disappears after the screen has cooled.

About four months ago I replaced the 2.5 inch hard drive. Not a single problem. I also upgraded the memory to 256MB. Not a problem.

Sony makes drivers and utilities (such as those that control the touch pad and so on) available from their web site, on a per model basis. That means that you can find your model and download replacements for every single piece of software that shipped with the laptop originally, from the sound card to the video card. If you haven't already, I'd recommend you visit Sony's web site. Bring some crow for muching.

Now, when I installed W2KAS I didn't even bother installing the utilities. Everything worked perfectly fine. And then with W2kPRO, I installed all of them. Guess what? Everything works fine.

I can say the same thing for late model Vaios since I helped a friend get rid of WinME and install W2K Pro on his. He didn't even bother installing the updated drivers, because everything was working fine, with the exception of the SD thing, which he wasn't using anyway. USB, FireWire, video, sound, NIC, PCMCIA, etc. Everything worked flawlessly the first time W2K booted up.

Perhaps you want to provide a link or two backing up your claims?

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

I hardly think you are one to dismiss what he said as FUD since you apparently have zero experience with the newest Vaios. Helped a friend get rid of WinMe? What year was that? 2000? Yep, it is impossible that they have changed their policies in the last two years.

As for the issue with drivers, however, I just checked and you can download XP drivers. But that's all.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

It's got a 15.1" screen, USB 2.0 and is FAR more portable. It also runs RedHat 7.3 and Windows 2000 just fine.It's also expandable to 1gig of RAM and has USB 2.0.

Yeah, but does it include USB 2.0?

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[kcwhitta]

This is simply untrue. I have owned a Sony Vaio FX120K for over a year which came installed with Win2K on it. Soon after Windows XP was released, Sony supplied all the required drivers and patches for download on their website making for a totally painless upgrade.

Keenan

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[user32.ExitWindowsEx]

Well, actually, if I had a DVD-R drive in a laptop, I could use it to perform on-site backups of key data from bum machines when I repair them. Then I could leave the backup disk with the client so they would always have it in event of a system failure.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[micahjd]

Well, if you buy an Apple laptop you don't pay for a windows license :)

I've had the 500mHz iBook2 for over a year now, and it's been a great machine. OS X isn't quite my cup o' tea (too slow) and I don't find OS 9 useful for anything, but it runs Linux great. Not as much expansion as most laptops due to the lack of PCMCIA, but the hardware is built solid and IMHO the great battery life makes up for lack of expansion.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[the eric conspiracy]

This is simply untrue.

No, it certainly is true of the 16.1" (GRX) series models I was writing about.You have a different, earlier model that was sold before this policy went into effect.

Not only that, it is impossible to get upgrades to the bundled software should you want such.

Here are some links from Google groups that describe user experiences with Sony's policies in this area.

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=sony+laptop+OS +p olicy&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=be7373cf.01 07141003.3de6883b%40posting.google.com&rnum=8

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=GRX-500&hl=en& lr =&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=bD5F8.23247%24gD6.36827%4 0sccrnsc01&rnum=3

The fact is I would not touch one of these machines with a ten foot pole because of this policy.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[SubReale]

I am an owner of a Sony Vaio GRX570. What he said about them encoding the BIOS is correct, they do encode it, with what info I don't know. But as to what he said about installing other operating systems is wrong. I successfully installed WinXP Pro then a dual boot of Win2K, and Slackware 8.1. I was able to get the drivers for the 2K install from their website . The drivers I got from there were made for the GRX5xxK models. It seems to be the same model as the GRX5xx and GRX5xxP, but with a different BIOS chip.

Also on their support site, particularly the XP version of the GRX they give another place to get additional information on 2K drivers and how to do a clean install of 2K. How is that for OS support?

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[Fofer]

A CD-R would do just as well. Or 2. Or 3.

Okay, if it's more than 700 MB of data, then a DVD-R would certainly be handy, but how long would it take to transfer all of that data to the laptop in the first place? Over Ethernet? Not to mention that DVD-R burning is decidedly slow these days, compared to 48x burning of CD-R's.

Yeah, it's a nice add-on for a laptop, but certainly not worth a premium price tag if you're looking for a way to back up a SEPERATE machine. You'd do it once and never want to waste all that time again.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[Jonny 290]

Unless you're putting gigabit ethernet cards onto it (whose price is not justified by their performance), the best you're going to get is 10 megabytes a second. The ABSOLUTE BEST. A 32x burner hooked up via USB 2.0 is more reliable and usable than a DVD burner.

It's rather obvious that Sony's in competition with only one company - Apple. And i'm not going to comment on who's winning, because I like aspects of both companies and machines.

Re:Sony Has Sold Out To Microsoft

[velouria]

Funny this should come up!

I just had to upgrade a whole bunch of different Vaios (several each of Z600NE, Z600HEK, QR10 and SR21) to Win2k and WinXP from Win98 and WinME.

My last experience was nearly a year ago, at which time there were no drivers of any kind available online for my Z600HEK.

This time round every model of laptop had drivers for everything from Win98 -> WinXP online... You just type in the model and serial off the bottom of the laptop and hey presto - downloads itemised by OS shows nearly every OS Microsoft ever released. It even included things like Norton Antivirus.

It's a major step up, as easy to find drivers and apps as Compaq or Dell.

--- CHECK THIS OUT ---

[Goatse Pez Dispenser]

Hey, check THIS OUT!!!

Karma: Whore

[handybundler]

CmdrTaco looking for new Sony laptop.

Linux-Loaded?

[Ted V]

Sorry to sound like a typical slashdot troll, but does this come with Linux preloaded? I'm shopping for a laptop, and I *really* don't want to pay the Microsoft Operating System Tax(tm) for an OS I'm not going to use. Any recommendations on laptops with preloaded linux and places to buy them that *WON'T* charge me for Windows?

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[CondeZer0]

Please mod parent up, I'm in exactly the same situation!

I'm still dreaming of the day I can buy a Vaio PictureBook
preloaded with linux... *sight*

I wish that at least IBM started offering Linux as an option
for *ALL* their thinkpads.

\\Uriel

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[still_nfi]

Check out Tuxtops.com

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[sk8tr]

Since motherboards are getting more and more standard with built in video/sound/lan/usb/etc etc
With some MBs you don't even need to put ANY additional components.
Why doesn't some chinese manufacturer make some standard MB/chassis/battery/ flat panel connector/video controller
and sell them to the enthusiast market.
There are laptop manufacturers that are using standard desktop components in laptops just for the desktop replacement market and I don't understand why some company hasn't seen the potential in this market.
Standardization built the PC market. Whoever standardizes the laptop market could make a killing.
This would help linux out a lot because laptops would be available from the same mom and pop computer shops that provide a lot of the linux market with converts. No more M$ tax! plus make yourself a cool laptop.
Of course the chassis would have to fit the screen size and build quality would be iffy but the possibilities are endless just like on a desktop PC.

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[elflord]

Sorry to sound like a typical slashdot troll, but does this come with Linux preloaded? I'm shopping for a laptop, and I *really* don't want to pay the Microsoft Operating System Tax(tm) for an OS I'm not going to use. Any recommendations on laptops with preloaded linux and places to buy them that *WON'T* charge me for Windows?

I get my computers from ASL, and so do my employers, so I've dealt with a number of their machines. They do Linux laptops, and will not charge you for Windows on a Linux-only system.

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[nomso]

Any recommendations on laptops with preloaded linux and places to buy them that *WON'T* charge me for Windows?

Yes, here.

No prob. (disclaimer: actually UNIX loaded)

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[ShavenYak]

The website now points to Everguard Patch Management System.

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[metatruk]

From the MS Windows XP Home version EULA:

You agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA by installing, copying, or otherwise using the product. If you do not agree, do not install or use this product; you may return it to your place of purchase for a full refund.

It looks like you have the right to return your windows license for a full refund. I don't know of anyone who has tried this, though.

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[suwain_2]

I've seen some really good deals at Xtremenotebooks.com. I've never bought from them, nor do I even know anyone who has, so I can't vouch for them, but they have powerful machines at pretty good prices.

(Can anyone comment on the quality?)

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[Rude Turnip]

You could always go to www.powernotebooks.com. They sell Sager and PowerPro (ASUS) laptops. They don't put Linux on them...but you can get them w/o any OS installed. They have the highest rating on www.resellerratings.com. RobLimo bought a Sager from them, IIRC, and was happy with it. Keep in mind you can choose from models with mobile or desktop processors.

Re:Linux-Loaded?

[1lus10n]

well as far as the whole no MS tax thing goes APPLE wont charge you for microsuck software ..... and yeah i know apple has proprietary hardware but you know what ? its a friggin laptop most people dont mess with laptops has far has hardware goes. not to mention it runs openBSD great and i have read that it runs linux good has well and the g4ti has gigabit ethernet , 1mb of ddr cache , and a burner/dvd drive with a 15' screen in a 5lb model ..... not bad hell if you ask me its the best ALL-AROUND laptop on the market.

This is news?

[penguinboy]

I saw a laptop with a 16" screen in Best Buy about two months ago..

Re:This is news?

[Frank of Earth]

Yeah, but Tacohead didn't need a new laptop a few months ago.

I wonder if he'll actually get any freebies. Sony should send him a one month subscription to Evercrack.

my laptop idea

[Nate Fox]

My idea for a laptop: drop all the old crap and make it light. My wish list includes:

• a bunch of USB ports (4 or 6 of em..and spread them out around the sides/back)
• Firewire
• Built in 802.11b
• Integrated 10/100 + 56K
• Slot load DVD/CDRW

Honestly, drop the paralell/serial/ps2 ports. Almost everything nowadays is USB (desk printers, kybd/mouse, dig cameras, scanners). Now make a 15" (ok..maybe even 16") screen, but thin it up. If that means you have to drop the speed on the cpu, fine. Cant put a 40G drive in and keep it thin? Put in a 20G - should be plenty (for now). So basically, I want an x86 Itanium - big screen, slim, light (relatively), all new technology, and plenty fast.

And if anybody knows of a laptop that has all of that, please tell me :) I dont even mind if its expensive (~2500 is around top of the line nowadays).

Re:my laptop idea

[Anonymous Coward]

...I want an x86 Itanium...
I dont even mind if its expensive (~2500 is around top of the line nowadays).

Good luck - an Itanium CPU alone could cost up to (or over) $2500...

Re:my laptop idea

[fgb]

my toshiba satelltie has almost all that. 3 usb ports, firewire, bluetooth (I use a pc card for 802.11b) 10/100 + 56K DVD/CDRW, 1.1Ghz Pentium III, 15" screen, gforce4go, 40G drive, 512M RAM. It also has a SD drive, but I have no use for it. Total cost: (including pc card) $2100.

Re:my laptop idea

[ALecs]

My idea for a laptop is one that has a standard DB9 serial port so I can actually USE it for something. About 80% of why I need a laptop is a portable serial terminal for supporting servers/network switches in the field that have console on serial port. It's still the best way to administer a server. 9600-8-N-1 is the least common denominator: it always works. :)

Re:my laptop idea

[Troller Durden]

Actually $4000 is about top of the line for a real desktop-replacement laptop.

Re:my laptop idea

[Sniffer]

I'm pretty sure that what he really wants is x86 Titanium, as in PowerBook G4 Titanium. Except for the x86 and 4-6 USB ports, it has everything he wanted.

15.2" screen (wide and beautiful for DVD playback)
1" thick
upto 60GB drive
Slot load DVD/CDRW
Integrated 10/100/1000 (why?!?) & 56k
Firewire
802.11b
DVI port
light - 5.4 lbs...

Things missing for this guy:
USB ports (why do you need that many? Honest question, not just flame bait..)
x86 (can't really say anything here...)

Re:my laptop idea

[The Fred]

Got one for you. Check out the Fujitsu P-series laptops. The higher end P-2000 has all that you desire, crusoe chip for long battery life, cd-rw, wireless, modem, ethernet, small but high-res screen + the thing is light and tiny.

Enjoy

Re:my laptop idea

[Mister Black]

Have you considered an Apple Powerbook?

*a bunch of USB ports (4 or 6 of em..and spread them out around the sides/back) has 2
* Firewire yes
* Built in 802.11b yes
* Integrated 10/100 + 56K yes - gigabit even
* Slot load DVD/CDRW yes

Itanium? Try Titanium

Re:my laptop idea

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/

Re:my laptop idea

[Anonymous Coward]

You sir are looking for a Fujitsu P Series.
Nice and light, small with a DVD/CDRW!

http://webshop.fujitsupc.com/fpc/Ecommerce/build se riesbean.do?series=P2

Re:my laptop idea

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm writing this on my tibook in Yellow Dog Linux. My USB keyboard Has Two USB ports on it ( i like a full sized keyboard with the numbers on the side ) which brings the ports up to 4, which is the most i've ever used at once. I've got two joysticks, a Wireless mouse and the aformentioned keyboard. Of course, they're just plugged in all at once, not used all at the same time. USB is hot pluggable, so any more the two ports included seems like overkill to me.

As for X86, i'm told the latest Edition of VirtualPC will run just about anything you throw at it ( i've got a copy here on a G4 tower that seems to go over well, but damned if i can get the old copy i've got here to work on this tibook )

Of course, you probably want X86 support for linux. PPC linux is kinda rough around the edges - the combination of the relativly new video card and this cray-zeee wide screen resolution makes getting video modes working a little bit of a giant pain in the ass - half the time on boot i get a blank screen halway through, and closing the laptop puts it to sleep for good - the pretty widescreen just melts into what looks like a forest of purple trees. Of course, i've had YDL running on this thing for less than a week, so maybe i'll get the bugs worked out yet. Unless you're nutty like me though, you may wanna stick to OSX, which really does kick ass anyway.

In all, if you want a bitchin laptop to run OSX, watch movies, burn CDs, use firewire cameras, and can stand having just two USB ports, for gods sake, get a tibook, they kick ass.

If you want to program in assembler, run X86 linux, or run all your fancy windows games, you'll need to look elsewhere. Wine doesn't run on PPC linux, and I can't garuntee that Virtual PC will run on these things, and if i remember it costs $150 american to find out, since they haven't yet heard of a demo version.

Re:my laptop idea

[Nate Fox]

Oops..my bad. Thats what I meant - the apple Titaniums rock - but I want x86 :)

Re:my laptop idea

[Anonymous Coward]

duh.
My HP is a 2gig hz. (Max you get on powerbook is 800mhz? duh!!)

2 Firewire portS d0h.

USB 2 d0h (care to see that on your powerbook?)

Built in 10/100/1000/802.11b/bluetooth/analog thingy

DVD-RW - YES (also does cdrw, play dvd and cd etc)

Nivida Gforce4go

3 USB ports. btw. 1 of them dedicated USB2.

Hardware encyption module built in (biz machine. uses AES by default or blowfish.. etc modules updatabale).

Re:my laptop idea

[LenE]

duh.
My HP is a 2gig hz. (Max you get on powerbook is 800mhz? duh!!)

Do your lips move when you read? I'm just wondering because you seem to type your thoughs out, even while your brain farts.

If you've ever used a G4 TiBook, you would understand how stupid your lame attempt at belittling it's speed was. The 2 GHz. mobile P4 in your HP is detuned so as not to melt through your lap. It doesn't come close to the desktop version's speed. The G4 runs cool enough to be run at full bore, which is much faster clock-per-clock than the P3 or P4, especially the mobile ones.

2 Firewire portS d0h.
USB 2 d0h (care to see that on your powerbook?)

I have no clue if your machine has firewire or not as your brainfart seemed to become corrupted, but at least Firewire and USB work perfectly on the Mac. Where is USB 2 support from MS?

No, the PB doesn't have USB 2, it doesn't need it. I have yet to see a device where USB 2 really makes sense. Firewire is a much more elegant solution with none of the drawbacks since it is peerable and supports asynchronus and isochronus tansfers.

--Len

Re:my laptop idea

[King Babar]

No, the PB doesn't have USB 2, it doesn't need it. I have yet to see a device where USB 2 really makes sense. Firewire is a much more elegant solution with none of the drawbacks since it is peerable and supports asynchronus and isochronus tansfers.

There is one advantage that USB2 has over 1394, though: price of the peripherals that use it. Seriously, I was recently shopping for a Firewire hard disk and a CD-RW and such, and the USB2 prices were consistently much lower for comparable hardware. Very annoying. I ended up getting a Pyro 1394 enclosure and a naked drive of my choice.

They might not really need it, but I wouldn't be totally surprised if upcoming Apple hardware started to come with USB2 ports. Guess we'll see next Wednesday. :-)

Re:my laptop idea

[Anonymous Coward]

I think he wants to get actual work done on his laptop, not play with a pretty desktop all day.

Re:my laptop idea

[SlipperyGoo]

Other than the 4-6 USB Ports and the (~2500 is around top of the line nowadays) You just desribed the TiBook! Now go buy one...In a country full of Apples no one needs to go hungry.

Still looking for..........

[batboy78]

I wonder where I can purchase the "the port Lee pre- k tar.". Gotta love the fish.

Umm....

[Anonymous Coward]

"DVD-R/RWÌ'zÝÉ'ÎzACD-R/RWÌ'zÝà "\ÈDVD-RWfhffCfuðPCG-GRX91G/PÉfofCfIfm[fgÆ ÄßÄ"ÚB4.7GBÌ'å--e--ÊðOEÖ"

Duuuude!!! That's friggin awesome!

Re:Umm....

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha Ha! I needed that.

Re:Translation (Smart Filter thinks babelfish is p

[GigsVT]

BABE-lfish.

Like hotbabeswithpigs.com hotbabeswithfish.com, etc.

Likely they just block everything with "babe" in its domain name.

Buy a VAIO!

[acceleriter]

Help fund the war on freedom!

they are blurred now...

[simpl3x]

i looked at this machine a couple of months ago, and it is large. nice screen, but the japanese like mobile computers, not necessarily portable (in this case). being able to move a desktop is a requirement given the sizes of the apartments in japan. several other japanese electronic companies produce similar profiles for the home market. here's another sony that's cool: http://www.dynamism.com/qr/index.shtml

Bah, what you really want is ...

[Greedo]

... one of these or even one of these. Little is where it's at, man!

Re:Bah, what you really want is ...

[Your_Mom]

I could see myself using the iBook. I've been seriosuly considering purchasing a used iMac to fiddle with OS X.
The Fujitsu model... Well... there is such a thing as too small, you know? :)

Re:Bah, what you really want is ...

[Anonymous Coward]

that nutty little oqo device. too bad it's not on the market yet.

Re:Bah, what you really want is ...

[Anonymous Coward]

A PowerBook G4 I got a brand new 800 DVI Model a few weeks ago. Its great Its got everything you need, but not more like this crazy 16" stuff. Anyway my screen is wider than that on the PowerBook so i can fit two documents side by side, or evean two web pages! This 16" stuff is just extra stuff you dont really need.

check the battery type before you buy

[0WaitState]

On some of their Vaio's, Sony's been selling them with a cheap-ass 45 minute battery (which of course rounds up to 1-2 hours in the sales literature). This lets them shave $200 off the list price, until you get it home and discover that your laptop is only portable for 45 minutes (less if you actually use the hd or cd/dvd). A decent Sony battery (2700 maH) is a BP71A, listing at about $240. The crappy one is the BP-1A, though part numbers will change.

So, before you buy, look at the maH rating of the battery. Or have fun getting Sony to upgrade your laptop with a battery that at least meets the low end of their claimed life.

ATTENTION!

[j0nkatz]

I know this is offtopic...

But I do hereby retire from trolling. HAND!

Re:ATTENTION!

[acceleriter]

There is no retirement from trolling. "Every time I think I'm out, they pull me right back in!"

Re:ATTENTION!

[j0nkatz]

I do hereby recend the above statement.

Saw this at Metreon, in San Francisco

[laxian]

I'm pretty sure I saw this at the Sony store in the Metreon in San Francisco last week. This thing is giant ... thin ... but giant.

I folded it up and I imagined that carrying it would be like hauling around an artist's portfolio. I didn't expect it to be so huge.

Hmmm ... maybe this is a little better?

This is the same Sony that...

[Anonymous Coward]

• is a member of the MPAA
• is a member of the RIAA
• Blocked people from writing Open Source projects for their AIBO's
• Blocked people from developing with Linux on the PS2
• Sued people for writing emulators for their old discontinued games
• Developed the proprietary memory stick, and are a proponent of the DMCA

maybe its time for a change. Slashdot? You listening? *grin*

Re:This is the same Sony that...

[acceleriter]

took GPL'd code for POSE, modified it for the CLIE, and distributed binaries without making source available.

Re:This is the same Sony that...

[Anonymous Coward]

They also distributed a modified version of the GPLed POSE Palm emulator with their Clie development kits, sans source. When asked to make the source available, they told the author to go fuck himself.

Also, their CD players last about a year, in my experience. Shoddy and shady, I hope CmdrTaco is the only person to buy this laptop.

Re:This is the same Sony that...

[Anonymous Coward]

took GPL'd code for POSE, modified it for the CLIE, and distributed binaries without making source available.

Do you have more info about this?

What was the resolution? Are they still current violating the GPL?

Re:This is the same Sony that...

[Anonymous Coward]

they're also putting serious pressure on the univeristy I work for to block IPs for sharing movies and music on the Uni network. they're bastards and should go fuck themselves. if they really wanted to stop piracy they should stop making CDRs and CD-RW drives.

Re:This is the same Sony that...

[acceleriter]

Haven't seen follow-up, but no reason to believe they've done the right thing. Original author's site not available from here; here's the Google cache.

wrong!

[simpl3x]

my tibook fits great in my brief case, and it's light. i thought i was going to die lugging around an 8lb dell 7500, though it had a great screen. i can't wait until the tibook has a 16" lcd with real resolution.

Japanese homes

[Anonymous Coward]

You have to take into consideration that most homes in big japanese cities are really small and space is an issue. A laptop like this could be an excellent desktop.

desktop replacement

[i_am_bill_gates]

at least they arent hawking crap like this , which claims that having no internal battery is a feature.

Too bad it has ATI in it

[GoSpeedRacerGo]

Sounds cool. I think I have seen it at BestBuy and the screen is freakin' hudge. Too bad it doesn't have decent, stable, and better supported graphics in it.

OT: anyone knows

[2Bits]

any japanese laptop shops that are willing to ship to US? Man, I'm drooling over these japanese ultra-light laptops (e.g. Libretto L5, ...) which are not available in the US.

Sure, you can buy from dynamism.com or conics.net, but they are way expensive. conics.net charges a lot of fee for credit card.

And Toshiba, are you listening? There are people in the US and other places that like small and light laptops too, not just those "mastodontes". There IS a market out here.

Re:OT: anyone knows

[bazzaga]

www.pricejapan.com ships all kinds of stuff from Japan to the rest of the world.

Wow, about time!

[genkael]

I was really getting tired of lugging around this 17" CRT with me everywhere I went.

VAIOs aren't good for business use

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought a Sony for work and although it's a nice machine (when it's working properly), Sony's tech support is intollerable. I have a combo DVD/CDRW on it and it stopped recording about a month after purchase. I called Sony tech support and the first thing they wanted me to do was use the recovery CD to wipe everything out and start with a factory install of software, even though I was getting hardware errors. They would not attempt to troubleshoot it until I did this. It being the only machine at my disposal, I didn't have time for this so I figured I'd live with no CDRW. About 5 months later, I was on the other side of the country at a conference when the CD drive stopped working completely. It wouldn't even boot to the CD so it was obviously not a driver problem. Even though they agreed that they would have to replace the DVD/CDRW drive they said they would still put a factory install of software on the hard drive because it was their standard procedure (no exceptions). On top of all this, the turn-around time was 14 business days.

Sony obviously does not cater to the business user.

Re:VAIOs aren't good for business use

[Anonymous Coward]

I own the GRX570 --essentially this same laptop minus the dvdr. Motherboard went bad and they wanted to pull the full install crap on me. I mailed my machine back, waited two weeks, got it back and whamo, still broken. They replaced the ram on the bad board. Sent the machine back, waited two weeks, and finally got it back. So essentially it took them one month for repairs, which is an unacceptable amount of time. Sony has terrible customer service and even worse repair staff. Get a Dell dude, if the shit breaks they fix it the next day!

Sony: Nice products, sucky support

[barc0001]

Pray to whatever deity/force of nature you subscribe to that it doesn't break. A client of mine purchased a Vaio in the winter, and it hasn't worked since day one. Machine starts up and then locks up intermittently. We've been running around in circles with Vaio support to the point my client had to call Sony of Canada's president to get any action on it at all. It's been 5 months. She runs a two person business. At one point, she was on the phone to the repair supervisor at the Coquitlam facility, and when she told him that the laptop had essentially been out of commission for the last 5 months with all this screwing around, and how was someone supposed to get along without a laptop for that long, the asshat actually asked her why she didn't have a spare for situations like this!? Hmm.. Let's see why she didn't have a spare.. Because she spent 75% of her small business's IT budget on a new Sony laptop that DOESN'T WORK?

Re:DVD-RW vs DVD+RW: Sony Doesn't Get It

[Anonymous Coward]

>On one hand you have Phillips, HP, Yamaha and Sony supporting DVD+RW, and on the other, you have Pioneer, Apple, and ..... Sony supporting DVD-RW. How can this be good for the end user?!

"Good for the end user" has never had much to do with it. It's about getting market share, and getting money.

Replacement parts expensive!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi folks, Vaio's are nice, but watch out for replacement parts. If you look on the newsgroups, it might be difficult to find a replacement harddrive that fits physically inside. To replace a keyboard, pay $80.

gotcha

[jck9626]

286 laptop running DOS

I guess size isn't important for everyone

[Bluetick]

But jeez, 16.1 inches, that's insane. Though it doesn't surprise me I guess, Sony's computers have always been aimed at impressionable consumers looking for powertoys.

Anyone ever seen the episode of the Powerpuff Girls where the girls try to create a fourth sister? They don't quite get it right, and create a bucktoothed, ugly as sin, monster with the intelligence of slime mold. Design wise, Vaios have always struck me as being the mongoloid sister of Macs.

Re:DVD-RW vs DVD+RW: Sony Doesn't Get It

[n6mod]

Sony *does* get it. DVD+R/+RW are Beta all over again.

+R is more compatible than -R with settop DVD players and older DVD-ROM drives. +R/+RW drives write faster than their -R/-RW counterparts. It's arguably the "better" format.

But...
HP et al. screwed the early adopters with +RW drives that won't write +R. +R/+RW media is more expensive, and while + has the edge for the write-once discs, -RW has better compatibility with settop players.

Sony is big enough that they can just bet on both horses, and no matter who wins, they're OK. In fact, Sony is rumored (or maybe it's official now) to be building a drive that does all four (+R/+RW/-R/-RW)

compaq!

[Anonymous Coward]

i bought a presario 2815 last week: mobile p4 1500 mhz, 512 ram, usb 2.0, dvd/cdrw, 15" display (1400*1050), ati radeon 7500...

i love it!

i never really considered the sony stuff, they are so expensive. and they are selling copy protected cds and region protected dvd-players *ugh*

besides, i wouldn't really want a dvd-writer right now. not until there finally is a standard...

Re:compaq!

[Anonymous Coward]

What price ? fom their website ?
Did u configure or a preconfigured system

Re:compaq!

[Anonymous Coward]

2800 . windows xp home was preinstalled but i erased it and installed windows xp pro and redhat 7.3. works like a charm.

We're moving backwards

[Infamous Tim]

It appears that we're moving back to the days of yore, with luggables. Remeber the fledgling beginnings of the portable computer? Ratio of screen to device was like 1 to 4 ...
Well, perhaps it's not THAT bad these days, considering that the most ponderous device on laptops is the screen. But they're still heavy. Personally, a lap top should have the ability to do things, but conserve battery power above all. These mobile PIII and Athlon chips blow me away, I'm gonna go for a Transmeta when I go up for a lap top soon.

Re:We're moving backwards

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you considered an Apple iBook? They are very cool-running, energy-efficient.

I've got the 15" variety

[Like2Byte]

I bought one of the 15" varieties @1.6GHz in April - a PCG-GRX550. If I could have afforded the $2200 price tag, I would have bought the 16.1" screen from Best Buy.

I didn't know it at the time but mine came with Win XP Home and not Professional. (I lost myself gazing into such a large screen and had to buy it - no matter what, dammit!) Models with a 'P' tacked onto the end of the model have Win XP Pro installed (IE: PCG-GRX550P.)

The one thing I'm not too keen on is some of the software that came bundled on mine. There's one program that is supposed to be some sort of graphical browser for viewing pictures with all the other pictures 'floating' behind the currently viewed picture. It was very straining to look at and very odd to use. I removed it quickly.

One of the good things about this unit is that it comes with a Sony MemoryStick port - making it very useful for people who have Sony digital cameras or a Sony Clie. Just pop in a cartridge and it can immediately access the card making sharing pictures between LT & Camera/Clie a snap.

The screen on the 15" model is very crisp but the 16.1" display is orgasmic! On a 15" model you can adjust the Radeon to 1600x1200 but it is 'windowed' and unweildy so I stay in 1024x768.

Re:I've got the 15" variety

[baxshep]

My wife has the exact same model. I'm guessing you can't get the display set up for 1600x1200 properly either. Too bad. I almost bought a Sony but when Dell was phasing out the P3s in favor of the P4, there was some deals to be had. Dual batteries for almost 6 hours of battery time, 15" UXGA display at 1600x1200, 40 gig hard drive, and my beloved Raeon 7500 64MB DDR videocard for $1538. Let me know if you ever get that display fixed

Yes But...

[Anonymous Coward]

Will it play Copy Protected CD's by Sony Music?

Fujitsu P series

[Anonymous Coward]

http://webshop.fujitsupc.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildse riesbean.do?series=P2

30GB, Wireless, XP Pro
867MHz Crusoe(TM) TM5800 processor with LongRun(TM) Power Management
10.6" wide-format SXGA TFT
256MB memory
30GB hard drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo drive
External USB 3.5" floppy drive
Built-in multinational 56K4 V.90 modem
Built-in 10/100 Ethernet
Built-in Wireless LAN (802.11b)
Quickpoint pointing device with scroll button
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Model P2110, FPCM20092

$1,699

amcdiarm

No problems here

[Skevin]

I bought my sister an FXA47 for her birthday, with WinXP pre-installed. WinXP on a Vaio doesn't seem to like DirectX 8.1, so I reimaged it with Win2K. The only things it didn't recognize immediately were the sound card and the modem (which was a WinModem anyway). I used the XP drivers that came with the machine, even though it warned me that the drivers were not signed/trusted; I got both working just fine.

The only problem was getting the original applications back onto the machine, complete with registry settings. The Application Restoration Disk keeps telling me that the installer can only run on Sony Vaios... Hah! (Along these lines, I'm trying to actually write a program/script to analyze a Registry Image for such settings... a Key Copier, if you will).

Anyway, I just want you all to know that OpenGL and Direct3D run *much* faster under Win2k than the default OS crap called XP that came installed on the system.

Solomon

Still looking for my ideal laptop...

[Coppit]

Here's what I want:

- > 1.5GHz
- > 4 hours battery life
- Built-in wireless
- Expandable to 1GB
- > 30 GB
- 1" thick
- 6lbs
- 15" screen
- Keyboard with a decent layout
- Decent docking station

I bought a Gateway 450X, but was sorely disappointed in the keyboard. (Is this a good enough reason to return it?) I wish Dell would update their Inspiron line, which still has a small screen and is more than 1" thick...

Sigh...

Re:DVD-RW vs DVD+RW: Sony Doesn't Get It

[calc]

Sony has optical pickups that do both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW as mentioned on this site it is in japanese also but you can use babelfish or just look at the pictures.

Sony Notebooks in general

[ErikTheRed]

1) I've always found them to be extremely fragile. The number of people I know with Sony notebooks that haven't (badly) cracked or broken the cheap plastic case within one year is still zero.

2) As has been mentioned, their driver policy sucks ass.

3) No DVD-RW drive for it yet, but my 1-Year Old IBM Thinkpad T22 has a 15" screen (1400x1050x32), weighs less than 5 lbs, fits in any standard-size notebook carrying case, has the traditionally awesome IBM notebook keyboard (and personally I prefer the Trackpoint to the various touchpads), runs any version of Windows that I want, and is fully Linux compatible (Red Hat 7.3 installs perfectly). Oh, and since IBM's notebooks use the "UltraBay" spec, I know that when they do come out with a DVD-RW drive, it will work with my machine...

'nough said.

Re:Sony Notebooks in general

[glitch23]

1) I've always found them to be extremely fragile. The number of people I know with Sony notebooks that haven't (badly) cracked or broken the cheap plastic case within one year is still zero.

Too bad you don't know me or that number would be at least a 1. I've had my Vaio Z505HS for over 2 years now and I don't have a crack in the case. Maybe your friends just don't know how to treat a $2000 laptop? I actually paid more than that for mine but you get the point.

As for someone else mentioning that no OS works on them except the one that is shipped on the system already I can only say that "policy" must be a new one since I got my laptop 2 years ago because I put Linux on it within weeks of having it and it's worked fine since. The modem is a winmodem so of course I can't use that but the jogdial is even supported now, the port replicator of course works fine, and the floppy drive works with the usb mass storage driver. I just wish the damn batteries lasted more than a year or so. I get a whole 5 min of usage on battery power right now and a new battery last time I checked cost $200+ and it still only lasts 70 min approx.

No problems changing OS's

[The_Rippa]

I have a VAIO that came with Windows ME...I had to problem switching OS's to Windows 2k...all the necessary drivers ARE available on Sony's support site and I encountered no problems setting it up. As for the Sony apps that shipped, they loaded right off my Application Recovery CD. The only gripe is that one of the apps (I believe Adobe Premiere) required a serial number that I could not locate (maybe it was with the books, I never checked). My only other problem with VAIO's is the amount of heat they generate. I actually took mine apart to verify the fan on the heatsink was working.

Yes with XP-W2k, no with XP - Mandrake

[Brijam]

Bought two Sony FXA-32s and was able to dump XP for W2k-- albeit with pain.

But the FXA32 wouldn't run Mandrake, so I returned one and got a Compaq 2710 which kicks ass in Mandrake. 15" screen with DVD and CDRW. =)

-B

Weight anyone?

[TibbonZero]

Am I the only one who could care less about how big it is dimension wise as long as it's light? I like thin laptops like the tiBook, as well as light ones. Carrying a 10 LB laptop all the way across Boston just doesn't sound fun.

If it was 2-3 lbs, that would rock however, and the 16 inch screen would just be an advantage.

so fucking what!

[BenLutgens]

It'll still be a sony, it'll still be "Designed for Windows" and it'll still SUCK SHIT with anything else.

Fuck sony, fuck them in thier dirty asses.

Four words...

[Anonymous Coward]

Really big portable porn!

Smaller Screens are NEVER a Saving

[donnacha]

16.1"? Why? Whats the point? Aren't laptops supposed to be /portable/? The last thing I want is to carry around a 16.1" diagonal behemoth, I'd much rather keep my 12.1" P2 300, which I can easily fit in my backpack.

Given the incredible convenience those extra inches give while you're actually working, I'd gladly put up with a little extra weight. I'd like to abandon the desktop but I don't want to have to waste time constantly scrolling.

In any case, how much can a few inches of screen add? Sure, the bottom section of the laptop has to be wider too, but they can mostly do that by redistributing the existing weight.

If somebody brings out a laptop with a 17" screen, I'll buy one.

Re:Smaller Screens are NEVER a Saving

[Babbster]

Actually, a 16" LCD would be equivalent in terms of viewing space to a 17" CRT monitor as the biggest viewable space I've seen on a 17" CRT is 16.1"...Of course, this is mainly true in America where there are laws (FTC regulations/policies might be more accurate) regarding the advertised measurement of picture tubes. For example, in Japan a widescreen HDTV might be advertised as 36" because that is the size of the tube, while here in the US the exact same TV will be advertised as 34" which is the actual viewable diagonal measurement. It's amusing when people start complaining that Sony/Toshiba/etc. are selling 36" widescreens in the Far East while we only get 34"! It must be a conspiracy! :)

USB Remote

[PCM2]

Admittedly it's not as nice as that Sony product you linked to, but Keyspan does make this...

Re:USB Remote

[Prop]

Try this one for $9.

It's serial (not USB) so that might be a downside, but it has linux support too !

I've been using one on my mp3 player box, and it's great!

Re:USB Remote

[Keith Russell]

Thanks for the tip. But I think I found something better. ATI is now selling the remote from their All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500 as a separate product, imaginatively dubbed the Remote Wonder. So far, it's only for Windows (not a big deal for me, at least), and I think I'll have to tinker to get some of the ATI-specific keys to respond in other apps, based on a hasty search of the browsable tech specs. But RF, more keys, and two-button mouse capability for the same price as the Keyspan seals the deal. I think I have a critical part of my Living Room PC project solved. Now I just need all the other parts. :-)

I think I'm learning Japanese,

[Anonymous Coward]

I think I'm learning Japanese,
I really think so!

Mod this up !

[cmkrnl]

You hit it right on the head, the novelty carrying a monster like that round will get old real quick.

Something like an ACER 361 is about the limit of what I would term *portable*

http://global.acer.com/products/notebook/tm360.h tm

Putting a any P4 clocked at less than 1.8 GHZ is an act of pure hubris on the part of intel. The P3M is more than adequate for the job in hand on both a power and performance level.

Curmudgeon.

Good 'Ol Bablefish

[Like2Byte]

I translated the link in Babelfish and came up with this interesting translation:

"The DVD+RW alliance which consists of the enterprise which promotes DVD+RW standard on the 10th, held " 3rd DVD+RW Asian Pacific seminar " inside capital. The among those, the reporting authorized personnel was dealt with, press seminar was executed. "

Needless to say there are many openings in Japan for reporters but few takers.

Thinkpad ROCKS compared to Vaio GR

[Jack Greenbaum]

Keep the Thinkpad, 'Taco, or better yet get a new T series. I've had both a new GR Vaio and IBM T series this spring. Unless you are content being plugged into the wall and not moving, the Vaios suck.

The GR series Vaios are heavy, battery life sucks, disk is slow, and the keyboard layout is very emacs-antagonistic. Contrast this to the Thinkpad T series, of which I've had two now. Sub five pounds, better peformance, massively better battery life, better keyboard layout for those of us who actually use our ALT keys. The only benefit to the Sony is a bigger screen. But who cares about a bigger screen when your legs are going numb from the weight and the fact that you can't move around because you are plugged in recharging the batter?

Lastly I never got sleep mode to work with XP Home on the Vaio even after spending time on the phone with Sony. The T30 has worked solid from the moment I got it. I had a small bit of trouble with W2k on my last T series, but IBM's support folk were very competant and solved the issues quickly.

News for Nerds (you)

[ShoeHead]

You *are* a typical slashdot troll.

ATI 7500

[kwj8fty1]

I have a 64meg ATI radeon 7500 in my new dell 8100.

It was a REAL pain to make it work under X. You'll need XFree86 4.2.0, and if you want ANY suspend to ram/disk to work, you'll need to disable AGPMODE in the XF86config-4 file.

That means, if you want to have DRI/GLX support, you can't have APM.

It really sucks. I hope that the drivers improve for this device. I would hold off on purchasing a notebook if you are expecting to run linux on it.

Re:ATI 7500

[baxshep]

I have the same model and I love it! What distro are you running? Redhat 7.3 SEEMS to run fine but I'm a newbie still

Re:ATI 7500

[voidref]

-And- the video drivers suck under windows. There are serious problems with NWN, and I had to manually install them instead of using the installer because there was a 'fatal error' (fucking lazy programmers won't even tell me what so I can fix the problem)

Blea, I'm never buying any ATI stuff again.

sounds like you want an iBook

[JoshWurzel]

The new iBooks have a 14.1" screen (1024x768), DVD/CD-RW drive, firewire, 2 USB ports, a slot for airport (the card is an extra $80-$100), and your choice of drives from 20 gigs up 40. Its about 1.3 inches thick and nice and cool. 700 MHz G3, ram up to 640 MB.

www.apple.com/ibook

Why is it...

[Anonymous Coward]

someone is always willing to share his dick size with the world?

Re:Why is it...

[GutBomb]

dick size? it doesn't even matter that it was HIS laptop. he just said that the card in question performs better than the guy above him expected. chill the fuck out

It's back to the eighties

[Albanach]

Remember when they used to stick a handle on the back of a 14" TV and call it a portable?

How big can you make a laptop and still call it a laptop - surely anything with a 16.1" screen is going to be a pain to lug around?

Me? I'm quite happy with my tiny picturebook, and a clie for when even that's too big. If I want a big screen I'll sit at my desk, or my bedroom, or in my living room and use a proper computer - one that can also be upgraded on a whim and at a reasonable cost, rather than a huge brick that in 24 months time will be a huge slow brick with no upgrade options.

Apple Titanium

[JoshWurzel]

www.apple.com/powerbook

800 MHz G4
up 1GB RAM
airport slot
4-5 hours of battery life
up to 60 GB HD
5.4 lbs
15.2" screen (1280x852 or something like that)
full size keyboard
docking stations available seperately, but fully functional.

Re:Apple Titanium

[1lus10n]

it may not be 1.5 ghz but the g4 ti has 1mb of cache and compared to most notebooks 256k that more than makes up for the speed difference in the procc.

best of all openBSD works great on apple

Standardized laptops

[aridg]

The reason that standardizing PC's works is that you can put standard cards on a standard bus, and slap in any old power supply and case. The physical design of the desktop system just isn't all that important...

With laptops, it's a whole different story: every manufacturer is trying to squeeze as much functionality and as large a screen into the thinnest, lightest case they can. The physical design of the system is *everything*.

(Of course, if you like 9 lb, 2.5" thick laptops, ignore what I just said... But I'm not going to buy one.)

Here's what I'd like to get ...

[Sara Chan]

I prefer small ultra-portable laptops (for travelling). But, I also like big 1600x1200 screens. And I only want a single computer.

So what I'd like to do is buy an ultra-portable laptop and a separate big screen. Most of the time, the screen will be plugged into the laptop. When I'm travelling, though, I'll not take the big screen with me; instead, I'll make do with the screen that comes with the laptop.

Does anyone have suggestions on which ultra-portables this could be done with, and also on what potential problems might arise?

Kind thanks, Sara

Re:Here's what I'd like to get ...

[1lus10n]

well it has been my experience that most of the time laptops have 'monitor out' hookups so no problem there but i think you may run into one un-comfortable situation and that is typing onto the laptop kepboard while trying to use another screen. just an assumption though ... it kinda depends on your comfort level with new things and how flexible you are

Sony? You listening? *grin*

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks Taco. We wouldn't have known that was a joke if you hadn't include the '*grin*'.

16"? Cripes! This is getting out of hand!

[phillymjs]

These things are starting to stretch the definition of "laptop."

In another year or so we'll probably see models with four fold-down legs like a card table, because they'll be so big and heavy people will injure themselves if they try to just perch one on their lap.

Here's a sneak peak at the 2003 VAIO "portable" line: Item 1, Item 2

~Philly

Re:16"? Cripes! This is getting out of hand!

[SoupIsGoodFood_42]

You forgot one of these!

good Linux ACPI implementation is needed...

[Anonymous Coward]

... more and more, as laptops evolve nicely.

As long as we're comparing tech-133tne55

[naasking]

Specs:

• Pentium 90
• 98 MB of RAM
• Adaptec SCSI card
• 8 GB Quantum Fireball IDE
• 2 GB SCSI
• 1 GB Quantum IDE drive
• Two Macronix Ethernet NICs
• Debian GNU/Linux 2.2r3 + security updates

On home LAN running:

• Apache (http)
• Netatalk/Appletalk
• pop3
• imap
• imaps (imap tunneling over ssl)
• smtp
• smtps (smtp tunneling over ssl)
• Apache SSL (https)
• Webmail over https via horde+imp (php3)
• nfs
• ftp
• ntp time server
• postgreSQL database
• php+SQL based discussion forums (W-agora)
• ssh
• anonymous ftp
• rsync server
• IP Masquerading
• firewall

Not bad for a dinky little P90. hm? :-)

Re:As long as we're comparing tech-133tne55

[Anonymous Coward]

Better hope that apache server doesn't get slashdotted ;)

[fanless is greatness] Re:Is that two fans I see?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is why I appreciating using OS X on a good old tangerine iBook. It is fan-free. Someday there will hopefully be more fanless models of laptop computers (and even desktop computers like the SunRay systems I use in the math department).

This is news? Mines 2 months old and kicking ass!

[Jason Straight]

My grx-570 is 2 months old. I canned my 2 shitty dells and got this beast and loving every minute of it.

The display is unbelievable; crisp as all hell.

Oh - and it's all working with linux. Modem, eth, pcmcia, radeon ati, sound, etc...

What are the screen specs?

[Anonymous Coward]

It'd be silly to have all that real estate at 1024x768...how 'bout 1280x1024? or 1600x1200?

Most new laptops use ACPI only

[Chris Pimlott]

It's quite common nowadays; which is rather unfortunate, given the poor state of Linux APCI support.

And regarding ACPI superiority - APCI is more powerful, but it's also more complicated. It's not just for power management but for general device configuration and initilization as well. Additionally, it includes its own interpreted language, AML, which lets companies write their own custom routines. As you can imagine, having to implement the AML interpreter is a somewhat large task and may be a potential secure risk. There's an overview about this at Kernel Traffic from awhile ago

APM is about standard power-saving commands, whereas ACPI lets the manufacture program

Japanese laptops....

[Cryptnotic]

The spacebar on my thinkpad has been dying...

Taco, the spacebars on Japanese laptops are tiny. They're smaller than the shift keys.

Toshiba has one too

[Brian Stretch]

Toshiba's Satellite 1955-S801 has a 16" 1280x1024 display too, GeForce4 440 Go (32meg), etc. Unfortunately, like the Sony it uses an Intel P4 CPU. I gave up waiting for someone to make a decent Athlon laptop, gave my old Toshiba K62-333 laptop to my parents, and switched back to a custom-built desktop. Compaq's upcoming Presario 900 looks like the best bet, 15" screen, ATI Radeon graphics.

*Grin*

[daveman_1]

Anyone here able to read those symbols?

Seriously, why the hell would you link to that page?

In other news...

[jrwillis]

Sony also reported that the new Vaio will have a revolutionary battery system which, instead of typical laptop batteries, the laptop will run off of any car battery for up to 1 hour without a charge!*

*Battery life may be lower if laptop is actually used.

Screw a VAIO

[Anonymous Coward]

'The spacebar on my thinkpad has been dying... maybe its time for a change. Sony? You listening? *grin* '

Then buy a PowerBook G4 nimwits!! Get with the 21st century@!!

They could change the geometry of the screen

[Anonymous Coward]

The screen does not have to have a 3:4:5 geometry factor (look at the Ti powerbook)

so they put a microprocessor in a box

[Anonymous Coward]

as bill gates was quoted as saying of the NeXT machine "so they put a microprocessor in a box."

what's the big deal?

I want it.

[jiminy]

I want it to have my children, man.... :-P

it had to be done...

Re:16" too big? It depends...

[Anonymous Coward]

I like mine as well, i boughta grx-590 it mainly because of the screen size and because it come precofigured for dual monitors. I'm happy with it, I bought a cig-lighter/ airline seat power adaptor but I mainly use it in my office with an external monitor.
The only drawbacks are the obvious which really just require a little pre-emptive adjustment
XP Home - need I say more?
Short battery life (= or 2 hour )can be adjusted for
Noisy 40 GB HD
hard to find a bag that fits
no serial port ( bummer for my palm V but I can use my palm USB as a serial port to access RS232 stuff
no PS2 ports - who really cares any way
No floppy - same, a bit off a hassle but I havent used floppys in years

Is the 16.1" still grainy/pixelated like my 15"?

[zardie]

I've got a Dell Inspiron 8200. I bought this thing a week ago. Nice machine, feels like a desktop PC in almost every way. I've got the 2GHz processor, the 1600x1200 "UltraSharp" display (with faster response times and a greater contrast/viewable angle), 24x CDRW/DVD combo drive, 60GB drive and the GeForce4 Go 440 (I'm a gamer and run large LANs so it's important to get a good gaming card vs. the Radeon).

Now it's a great machine, but the screen is VERY off-putting. The size is fine, the resolution is fine (for those who think 1600 gets a bit small, use it for five minutes and you'll change your mind) but the screen is pixelated. On the whiter areas, it's obvious - it's like a fine grane on the screen. Apparently this is the norm for such high-res screens but it really makes a difference to the usability of the machine. My 17" diamondtron NF based display looks nicer in comparison, and I remember preferring my 12.1" 800x600 LCD on my old Toshiba in preference.

Perhaps I should give Dell a call and see if they have any plans to offer a larger screen on their 8200s.

16" is *too* big

[jhiv]

-ahem-

Well, actually in a laptop -uh- computer it is.
I have a 15" -ahem- vaio and I find it rather difficult to use in the cramped seats of airplanes. Well, at least in caoch. It performs well in first class and on my desktop.

Seriously, your -cough- laptop can be too big.

I've advised my friends to get 14" versions.
(That way, I still have the largest)

quit your whining

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok folks, you complain about sony not working with linux?
What ever happended to getting one and making it work. I remember the first laptop that I ran linux on over 5 years ago. Half the stuff didn't work. You had to help develop drivers or at least help test them?

Is this not what a linux community is about.

Windows Xp home stayed on my GRX 570 for about 2 hours. Then it has been running linux ever since.

I have a web page up describing my experiences and over all most things are working on it. So you don't have support for any other OS except the one that came installed with the box?

What do you call the linux community?

See http://ted.serreyn.com/vaiogrx570.htm

Folks you can get linux running (quite well) on most of the laptops out there.

Yes this is a little large and heavy, but I'll play my DVDs, compile kernel, download, and play sound on my laptop while you are still logging in on your small P300. Sometimes size DOES matter.

(I just couldn't resist).

Ask SONY about installation/backup CDs!

[Anonymous Coward]

I did and didn't get any reasonable reply. I simply wanted to know whether any CDs were provided with the laptop that would allow me to reinstall the shipped software. They wouldn't tell me if any CDs were included or whether a backup partition scheme was used.

They suggested that I might go buy a (license another!) copy of Windows XP if I had a need to reinstall the operating system.

The Sony laptops look like really nice machines but I decided against buying one since they didn't care to answer my question.

They've been out

[picoears]

Didn't read the article and I didn't read any posts. I've had one of these since about the first week of June, and they'd been out before then. They're very cool if a bit bulky (I like bulky it means I'm less likely to forget the laptop somewhere.) I got it because I had wanted a desktop but decided I'd get a desktop halfway through college and didn't want to have it just replaced. Plus I never seemed to have enough room on my old computer (233mhz 15" screen 13.something" visable.) The screen is awsome.

forgot something

[picoears]

Oops forgot something, most laptop bags won't fit it, so you have to get the overpriced Sony one. Its a nice bag and all, but it was expensive

Sony horrid build quality

[Lawrence_Bird]

and even worse customer service. My VAIO laptop experience was so bad I will not buy anything made by sony again. Think long and hard before putting your hard earned $ on a vaio

Sony has a bad reputation

[pinkpineapple]

...not only in the posts I read here, but also in Japan where last time I went there, I was surprised when someone told his friend who was contemplating buying a VAIO: "Sony wa hidoi!" which translates roughly by "Sony, what a piece of crap!"

I used to own a VAIO Z505 and loved it, then I got a VAIO R505 and couldn't figure out why Sony had made the fan constantly working WITH a variable speed. Had it been rotating at a constant speed, it would have been ok, but the change in speed got on my nerves. The keyboard was soso and the finish kinda cheap (wasup with all the plastic crap around), I returned the unit (and shelved a 10% restocking fee, bastards!)
I also wasn't very pleased when I got a picturebook with WindowsMe to find out that there web site didn't have the drivers if I wanted to update to Windows2K. This one was also returned before the end of month.
With Thinkpads and Dells, I never was disappointed, but Sony, I am afraid that something wrong will happen again. Beside, Sony are not doing the right thing for people to like them (DMCA, MPAA, RIAA, etc...) so Star Wars Galaxy, I won't buy, Everquest: I stopped playing since they got bought. I don't even watch their movies and dvds, and boycotted buying their CDs. Why is /. advertising their crap is beyond me.

PPA, the girl next door

Wow.....

[Ab0rtRetryFail]

16.1 inches is probably about the same size as my desktop monitor (17 inches usually means 16 inches viewable on the olde CRTs).

Good idea, but for a couple of caveats:

Battery life? A Desktop-size monitor is nice, but not if it only lasts an hour and a half before needing a charge.

Size? How big IS this thing?

Oh boy...

[Anonymous Coward]

Gee shouldn't you mods by now have figured out this guy is a bsing troll, he is the one who keeps posting bs good/bad news for linux in just about every article. I hardly use linux and can tell a lot of his talk is bs and errors that the so called linux experts fell for.

Don't believe me? Then read his history here, and especially his journal here. Fuck it, I should start up this game as well, since none of you can figure anything out. Screw being honest and not lying, BSing is the way to go!

Re: Ventex Voyager

[Anonymous Coward]

> Hmmm ... maybe this [xentex.com] is a little better?

Talk about major cool factor. The only missing feature is a decent video capture facility.

New toy makes one forgetfull

[thunderbee]

We're not bycotting the _evil_ sony anymore? Ha.

Sony Support SUX

[N8F8]

I've had a VAIO for awhile and I can tell you firsthand that the support sux. Before you buy, bop around the support site. Don't worry, it wont take long (not much there). Dell OTOH has been wonderfull.

If it is anything like their current 16" GRX570..

[SmegTheLight]

Then I wouldn't recommend it.

I saw this unit at the store, and fell it love with it. A month later I was in a position to buy a laptop for myself for work, so I of course marched to the store and bought it.

After using it for a day, an evening, and a day - I returned it.

1) The Screen - I loved it - Nice and Big...
Very Big.. Very Very Big... Too big.. The footprint of this unit is just HUGE.. It isn't a laptop, it's a platter, and it feels like it.

2) Cut Corners - Everwhere.. Flimsy plastic shell. Little plastic port covers that would be broken in a matter of weeks. A battery cover that rattled. Case feet that were just bumps in the unit plastic instead of real rubber feet (ie.. No Grip, so the platter slides around the desk). The unit rattled.

3) Missing IO.. Other people seem to be able to include SERIAL & IrDA ports as well as the other goodies on this unit (Firewire, etc.). The only thing this unit has the others don't is an extra USB

4) Missing Floppy.. As with point 3, since this is such a large laptop, one would think they could have found space.


Those are the main reasons, and the main things you should consider when looking at this baby.

ps.. Bought an Asus L3C - Love it, nice solid unit with everything on it, and about $1000 cheeper (and .1 GHz Faster)

What spacebar?

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems the spacebar is crowded out of this new laptop. You might need a banjo thumbpick to use it.

Are you kidding?

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone who has ever owned a Sony product with a jog dial knows that they are totally useless.