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Enderle's Ferrari Laptop
deminisma writes "Hilarity abounds as 'analyst' Rob Enderle gushes over his new Ferrari/Acer laptop. The laptop apparently even plays the sound of a car revving up while booting, which Enderle seems to think is all the rage at meetings."
Add a F.A. Porsche design Lacie drive [http://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10032] and a pine tree air freshener and one would be set no?
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. -Martin Luther
Well at least the CEO of Nissan can't drive this into anyone. :-)
This laptop doesn't seem like it is that good aside from the paint job. IMHO, the Ferrari products that carried the Ferrari name, but were manufactured by someone else just seem tacky and sucky. This joins the Ferrari mountain bike in my mind as a sucky marketing ploy. Fortunately, the Article mentions how this is mainly designed to appeal to PHB's who think that because a company is good (or arguably the best) at making cars, the laptop bearing their name is good, or arguably the best.
Way to go.
GTRacer
- Still, the paint's nice
Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
The obvious downsides to haveing a Ferrari computer:
Authorized customer support means having your own personal tech, at the same rate as a car mechanic.
Tech charges same as the Ferrari auto mechanics, speaks only italian and probably dresses sharper than you.
It needs a tune up every other week to keep in top performance condition.
When it's old, it's no classic, it's slow and out of date and looks lame compared to some cheap POS.
In exchange for its eye catching appeal, you have to live in denial of its shortcomings.
One scratch and it's just another laptop.
When it craps out, it's just another piece of dead weight, just like all other laptops.
It looks cool until your boss has one, too.
People accustomed to getting the best bang for the buck have no idea who 'Ferrari' is.
It probably looks really bad when you try to declare this as a business expense on your tax return.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
why the hell are you booting in a meeting? it should already be up and ready to go.
GET YOUR WEAPONS READY! --DR.LIGHT
Hate to break it to you, they're not 'joining the admirers', they're laughing their socks off at your gullibility.
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
sigh Maybe I'm wrong...
------------
I hope this isn't a new trend where automakers start designing laptops. Imagine a computer designed after something like.. oh... the Gremlin!
Sweet.
Der Tod ist der einzige Weg hier raus!
Am I the only one to ask "What's the point?"? It's very pretty 'n' all, but why bother when you can put your money towards the laptop itself rather than an industrial strength coat of paint. Not to mention the fact that you're paying for the brand too. Maybe it's nice to have it as a status symbol, but that's all it is. And yes, I did RTFA.
Just like John Katz or Al Gore, this Bob Enderle dude seems to erupt with totally unresearched, poorly reported and over-exaggerated stuff that seems todraw everyone's attention.
How does he get to be on eWeek and Slashdot and what not with below average write-ups suitable for personal blog? Is the legend about gay mafia true?
This is the coming of consumer products that have less to do with the tech and more to do with the marketing. Does this mean that laptops are now becoming fashion accesories more than tools? I also wonder if this is a bad thing or a good thing?
Stay tuned for new sig...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Look who wrote the article. The guy works for a company who sells as its major product: " Provides consulting services during the review process of a poorly founded negative piece on a vendor or its products and, should it be needed, showcases the research errors, statistical mistakes, and unfounded conclusions that often define such a piece.". May be Acer got some bad press recently and this is how this guy is spinning it? I smell a rat
there's no place like ~
The great features on this wonder laptop? A pretty red finish that he apparently spends time worrying about damage to. It plays a revving up sound when it boots (as far as I can tell, this is just the Windows Log In sound), and Ferrari themed background image. This man is a giant dork. Yes, I appreciate good looking hardware and even a nice desktop graphic. But to suggest that those are key purchasing decisions, let alone something to base an article on, is inane.
Search 2010 Gen Con events
"One impressive piece of execution is that when you fire the machine up it plays a WAV file of a Ferrari race car revving its engine. That alone is worth the relatively low $1,899 price of admission."
Hrm...I might have to track this guy down and sell him my outdated Dell laptop. I guess all I have to do is put a race car startup sound and he'll pay anything!
Just wonderful, next thing you know you'll have an "Acer rawkin Neon RT" laptop, or worse yet, some 16 year old goof in history class with his "Acer 2Fast Civic", complete with annoying useless NOZ stickers and an oversized processor fan.
Slashdot sucks
I admit, I stopped reading the article when I hit this paragraph: "One impressive piece of execution is that when you fire the machine up it plays a WAV file of a Ferrari race car revving its engine. That alone is worth the relatively low $1,899 price of admission. (I found it priced as low as $1,725 at PCVideoOnline.) Even when I'm in a meeting, I don't turn the sound off because of the unbridled envy that seems to show up in the eyes of my, granted mostly male, co-attendees. So far no one has complained." Now I feel dirty for having read as much as I did. -Sinter
From Wherever to Whenever.
So I can use this while driving, correct? You know, in addition to talking on my cell phone, shaving, making notes on my PDA, translating various languages for the benefit of my passengers, beating Kasparov at chess over the Internet, and giving advice to NASA and the ESA about how to avoid retaliation on their probes from the native Martian factions.
True story.
This CEO of Nissan. :-)
Based on his columns and viewpoints, I've always thought of Enderle as a poser, at best. This just cements that impression.
--rc
A loptop that says I have a really small penis
This notebook is just a POS Acer with Ferrari's name stamped on it. He goes on about it's poor battery life but how you have to comprimise for a high proformance machine. This is nothing spectacluar, this is AMD's mobile chip, which I've heard runs pretty hot and sucks the juice down. This machine looks very thick, and is 7lbs, not very light.
Just because this thing has a car companies logo on it and is painted steal me red, doesn't mean it's a good machine.
-Aaron Mitti
Every manager's worst nightmare: stupid employees wasting time by turning their laptops on and off so that they can hear the startup sound.
So basically, because it's red and shiny, it's great? It's heavy, it gets bad battery life, and man, it really actually looks ugly when it's open. Sorry. But hey, the guy also owns a Ferrari watch... there's nothing classier than that.
Lets see...
Acer(Shiny Shiny Red ^ Ferarri logo)/CSt
where CSt == Consumer Stupidity
Yeap... the Acer marketing dept was right on the money this time. I read the story last week and I thought it was hilarious that a "tech-savvy" adult would get such a kick out of the PC equivelant of a Dukes of Hazard lunchbox.
Goes to show it's not all about Mhz/RAM/HD... nope not at all. Give anything a paint job, slap on a snazzy logo and damn... if someone wont think it's just the bestest thingy since slicest breaded.
It may be a Ferrari, but it runs like a Pinto when it gets Slashdotted :)
Segfault
Too bad they took the Ferrari thing to such a shallow level. Would would have been REALLY cool would be
- case made of carbon fibre
- billet aluminum trackpoint knob
- "paddle" mouse buttons
- see through area of case above the cpu
- red EVERYWHERE, expect where the black/grey of the cf showed through
- Italian voice sounds by default
- "track" day where all the notebook owners can get together and learn how to properly use their new toys
"I drive a Ferrari" == "I have a small penis"
"I have a Ferrari laptop" == "I have a small penis, and a small wallet"
This thing looks like a gussied up Fiero to me..
A real Ferrari Laptop would have Carbon fiber pannels, a true performance CPU (battery life is for pussies!) a 19" display and a connely leather keyboard. Nobody would care that it cost $30,00 and has a 30 minute battery life..
If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. --Red Adair
If I wanted more than a great paint job, I'd go for a Hypersonic laptop... same great red color (among other colors) and I'd get great performance, too.
On the other hand, if I were silly enough to consider a sound effect during startup like the one described "cool", I'd never go for performance if I could get the brand name... Silly.
Handlebar mustache and a Ferrari laptop... This guy is obviously rolling in chicks!
That, sir, is not a handlebar moustache, these are handlebar moustaches. Look on these work, ye mighty, and despair.
Mind you, I agree that Rob must be absolutely up to his eyebrow in chicks.
Sailing over the event horizon
Zero to Blue Screen of Death in 3.8 seconds!
"custom AMD processor"
.... the same one you can get in a HP ze4000 laptop?
The Athlon(TM) XP-M 2500+
Yes, the Ferrari name has cachet, but if given the choice, I'll take a quality product from a company that focuses on the market and the users. It doesn't mean cross-branding can't work, but this seems like an odd pairing.
CC
They had a custom AMD processor made and all that stuff
I don't think so. Do you have ANY idea how much it costs to bring a new CPU to market? WAY more than Acer could afford, even with Ferrari as a backer. It's a standard AMD mobile chip (not even 64 bit). Don't get me wrong, it's pretty, but not much else.
Where's my lobbyist? Right here.
I'm not sure how "new" your talking about, but Apple stoped using titanium for their powerbooks because of poor wireless reception issues.
I've never keyed a laptop before, but I guess I might be forced to start. Oh well.
Paul Lenhart writes words!
He probably doesn't care. This is the kind of guy that makes VROOM noises when he's feeding himself.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
Maybe it has a Ferrari decal. Or Ferrari brand thermal paste.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
A valid point, more so, a point of embarrassment if your Ferrari laptop has to be rebooted frequently during meetings.
"Enderle, what the hell is wrong with your laptop?"
"It's italian, sir."
"Well get a japanese one that works and doesn't make all the racket!"
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
And it shows just how ignorant some people are to think that Ferrari builds the best cars. They don't, in part because there is no such thing as "the best car". It doesn't help that they're unreliable, grossly under-equipped with features, often handle like a bar of soap, have atrocious build quality, impossible to service(much less find someone TO service them), and grossly, grossly overpriced. Witness the rebirth of supercar/sports car companies in the last 10 years.
Fastest? No. McLaren has had that for quite some time. Best techno-gee-gaws? Nissan Skyline, hands down. Best autobahn machine, aka, groundcoverer? Take your pick between the Audi RS6(450hp) or the BMW M5('only' 400hp), or the Merc S600(then there's also the Bentley Arnage Turbo). Best daily sports car? Porsche 911 twin turbo(AWD, extensive dealership network, loads of creature comforts). Best go-cart type? My personal favorite is the Caterham Super 7, but there's the Lotus Elise and the Noble(which is probably the fastest closed-wheel car around a track you can find). Best "gotta move a bunch of stuff" vehicle? Ask anyone in the UK, it's the Ford Transit(the funny super-tall van that's started to pop up here in the US). So on etc.
Further, all it takes is determination to beat Ferrari; there's absolutely nothing about being Italian that makes you build a better car. Ask Henry Ford- when Ferrari refused to sell out to him no matter what the price, he told his staff "beat Ferrari", and the Ford GT40 was born. It slaughtered Ferrari, and everything else. And just think...it's baaaack!(and you can even buy one yourself now, and they're downright gorgeous. I saw it at the NY auto show a year or two back, and there was a -huge- crowd of people just staring, and staring, and staring...)
Even other Italian companies did Ferrari in handily- the Detomaso is a perfect example. Near identical construction, nice Italian design...but a huge 5.7l big-block chevy V8 in back. So, you could pretty much find anyone to work on it, and there's enough room around the engine that you could practically climb in with it. No "drop the engine to remove the sparkplug" nonsense here.
Whenever I see a newish Ferrari on the road, I yawn. When I see an older one with racing history, that's slightly more interesting, but still somewhat yawn-inspiring.
Please help metamoderate.
From the current list of comments, every one here is, umm, bench racing. No one seems to have actually seen one, much less spent any quality time with one of these things. That said, most of your comments are way off.
0
I have seen and played with them on 2 occasions, and they are rather nice. I was skeptical when I first heard about them, then I saw one at Comdex:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=1278
I saw one again at CES, and talked to the Acer guys. They take this very seriously as do the Ferarri people.
There is a lof of thought that went into this box, and it shows. It really has to be seen to be understood. The paint looks insanely good, I have never seen a laptop that looks this nice.
The laptop itself is pretty nondescript, I think Enderle must be on crack to give up his T40, the nicest laptop I have ever reviewed for it.
Overall, give this thing a chance, it is a really unique laptop that looks damn good. Hunt one down in a store, you will be impressed.
-Charlie
Not that I would expect anything better from Acer (ugh) but come on, do a little design work.
The thing is red on top with a red stripe on the side and a cheap looking silver everywhere else (I don't know about the back). It looks nasty. They could've integrated the red so much better (think Alienware in Ferrari red).
And the case is a regular old Acer case. It would've been so cool if them Italian engineers could've added a little flare or something, sheesh.
Right now it's just a dorky laptop that looks like it was made with some duct tape and a spray can.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
I hate to offer the point, but it's true. The boot sound is the feature that I like best about Macs. I wish that x86 makers would allow you to embed a short sound file into the BIOS image and flash it with a preferred sound.
I had a laptop that had a close startup sound (DFI Mediabook, I believe a Kapok 9200 rebadge), but in these days of decent integrated audio, it should be on every mobo.
It's just like a fascist dictatorship, without the punctual rail service!
Exactly. It's not about whether or not Ferrari can build a better lap-top than ACER or Dell or Apple or whoever, but rather cross branding, and individualization. The linux community is a great environment for individualization of technology, so the extension of this concept into hardware seems like an appropriate /. story to me!
I'd love to see one of those Toughbooks with a "Jeep" brand on it. I'd think 2ce about getting one because I drive a jeep.
If it's just about function, then why would people ever buy cheques that have a sailboat on them, or different kind of anything? The choice of having a Ferrari laptop will hopefully only be the beginning. Notice things like mini-iPods being offered in several colours, cell phone covers etc, design is important, and people are buying.
Afterwards, the other guy messed about trying to get Windows to recognise the projector, and fired up powerpoint. After every slide, he had to walk to the laptop and press the mouse button to advance it.
Which person do you think made the better impression?
Having a laptop that makes a whoosh sound when you boot does not make a good impression. If the people in the meeting are focusing on the technology you are using then they are not focusing on you.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
So is it such a slow news day that there's literally nothing to post but personal insults? I mean really, that's what this is. There's no "news for nerds" here, no "stuff that matters". Just a story about a guy who's clueless about his personal laptop. Big deal. "Ha ha! Look at this dork with his goofy thing that he has!" Sheesh. Different people like different things, not everybody is an Apple lover, and not everybody has good taste; get over it. This is certainly not front page news.
The laptop (as silly as it is) is not about the cars that Ferrari sells to the public, it is about their race cars! (And their Formula One cars are arguably the best out there) Most slashdotters being American proabbly don't realise that Ferrari is one of the biggest sports franchises on the planet. Manchester United is likely the only bigger name in worldwide sports than Ferrari.
F1 is second only to the World Cup and the Olympics in global TV audience. So the tie in is not snob appeal for the expensive road cars (BTW Ferrari only started making and selling cars to the general public to pay for their racing) This is more like having a New York Yankees or Chicago Bulls branded lap top than having a Nissan branded laptop.
Still a silly idea IMO, but its a different silly idea than the one everyone is poking fun at!
The lid, bottom panel and top area around the keyboard and palmrests are all pure titanium. The frame is carbon fiber. The TiBook has poor wireless range because the signal is shielded by the titanium. The antenna is not "next to the airport card," it runs all the way through the case to the two windows on opposite sides of the machine. Thank you for making a series of blind guesses and passing them off as fact though.
I think if there's any way the Ferrari startup sound can be modified, people in Enderle's office will change it to:
1) "Welcome to my midlife crisis!"
2) "Step away from the vehicle! STEP AWAY!"
3) "Varoom! VaROOM! Va... oh, screw it."
4) "Tutto fumo e niente arrosto, baby!" (All smoke and no fire).