Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Intel Sonoma UK Launch Party

Posted by samzenpus on from the check-them-out dept.

Benny writes "Intel held it's UK Sonoma lauch party last night and TrustedReviews have some pictures up of the machines on display including new models from HP, Dell, Samsung, Sony and Asus to mention a few."

16 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. That's Great But... by X43B · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does it run Linux?

    This time it is actually appropriate. :)

    1. Re:That's Great But... by Tough+Love · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I want to know if instead of laptops these might bring about more small form factor computers. I want something the size of a mac mini, but I won't pay for a Mac, I like my operating systems Free and Light

      Makes run Linux. That said, I too would like to see both Intel and AMD get their heads out of their butts and start delivering these laptop chipsets for desktop and media machines. I've totally had it with the desktop chernobyl syndrome and will not buy another x86 until they do something about it.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  2. Re:I love this quote.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You obviously know nothing about the laptop market. There's many different kinds of laptop categories, ranging from ultraportables to desktop replacements. There is no "standard" size as laptops are concerned. It all depends on your needs.

  3. Great, but what is it? by edisk1353 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is all well and good, but fundamentally, what is the difference between Sonoma and older versions of the Centrino chipset? It seems to me that Sonoma hasn't had much of a buzz up to now, and all this article says about it is that it's a"new Centrino platform". If this is just more of the same, I'm not interested . . . but if there's a real difference, could someone point to what that might be?

    1. Re:Great, but what is it? by cheezedawg · · Score: 5, Informative

      Sonoma is based on the 915 chipset (Alviso/ICH6). The biggest difference is, of course, PCI Express. There is support for a x16 PCI Express graphics on Alviso, and support for a couple of x1 PCI Express devices on the ICH. This is a major architectural overhaul that more than doubles the bandwidth between the MCH and the ICH. New to Sonoma, the chipset also includes support for:
      - 533MHz FSB
      - SATA
      - DDR2 memory
      - Next generation integrated graphics that doesn't suck
      - Hi-def audio (Azalia)
      - New power management features

      --
      "The defense of freedom requires the advance of freedom" - George W Bush
  4. Re:Straight outta the 90's by daft_one · · Score: 3, Funny

    And when our computers do look like 7 of 9... Many of us will likely be electrocuted.

  5. Sonoma = California Wine Country by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sonoma = California Wine Country

    I guess it's a step up from the "Mad Dog" release of 2002. (Or the "Weasel Dust" release of 1999.)

  6. How PC mfgrs design equipment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. take the basic case form from 1993, be it laptop or desktop
    2. add many small pieces of another shade of grey plastic
    3. add many buttons and ports in places that scream "well, the motherboard guys told us that it was *impossible* to put them anywhere else!"
    4. complicate simple design features with additional plastic bezels and bezel-bezels.
    5. Add LEDs to describe various pieces of information that are either unnecessary or made redundant by the OS.
    6. add obligatory windows, intel and graphics card stickers in a conspicous place
    7. poke speaker and vent holes everywhere, and call it a day.

  7. New Tagline... by Viceice · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sonoma, soon to cause insomnia.

    --
    Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
  8. Ugly, ugly, ugly by Eminence · · Score: 5, Insightful
    How is it so that manufacturers of Intel based notebooks can't come up with a design that would be beautiful? Why can't they produce something that would be not only useful but also nice to look at and touch? I read the article (RTFA) and it is full of pictures of ugly designs. They all look either dumb and boring, yet another set of black-greyish boxen or there is some effort to make them look "cool" but in the style of cheap boomboxes for 15 year olds. By my tastes only the new Samsungs X50 & X25 show at least some genuine effort towards design, though I won't call them beautiful.

    This is amazing. All these are products of different companies, bigger and smaller, from different countries and yet none of them really stands out from the crowd. Doesn't HP or Acer or anything have a design department? Or maybe it's a mindset of these companies that doesn't value the aesthetic perception?

    1. Re:Ugly, ugly, ugly by Monkelectric · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Pack mentality. Seriously. American corporations are afraid to deviate from what they think will be accepted by even a little. If you dont believe me, think about the bland *horrible* shit for fast food we cram in our faces every day.

      Burger King, Mc Donalds, Carls, Wendys, and 1000 other chains find some slightly different configuration of the SAME food elements, over and over, and over. Meat, bun, lettuce, fries, coke. These guys must come into work every morning and say "jesus h christ how are we gonna get people to buy the same old shit and get excited about it?"

      And the answer is their job is easy -- because we as consumers don't demand any creativity. We sit through the same tired special effects extravaganzas at the movies and we are convinced we enjoy it. Disney and Pixar make the same buddy movies over and over and over, and we applaud! Taco Bell crams rice beans and hot sauce into a different sized tortilla and we "run for the border."

      So theres your answer my friend, why make something outstanding when good enough is above average? Sony has this HORRIBLE cream and flourescent orange colored electronics line that looks like its right out of The 5th Elements, its god damned ugly but at least they're trying.

      --

      Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

  9. Lack of scroll wheels? by jettoblack · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Anyone else notice that NONE of these laptops had visible scroll wheels or 3rd mouse buttons? I consider those to be absolutely essential, and it boggles my mind that so few laptops include them, even when you pretty much can't buy a new mouse without one.

    1. Re:Lack of scroll wheels? by Meetch · · Score: 3, Interesting
      "My" thinkpad uses the touchpad as the "mouse wheel" ... vertical AND horizontal. Lotsa fun! I rarely use the middle button that's provided. Not sure about with Linux, but (Windoze)...

      Just drag your finger along the right hand side for scroll up/down or along the bottom for left/right. Speed of drag affects speed of scroll, and if you lose contact while you're moving your finger, it stays scrolling at that speed.

      If you're in a touchpad only situation, no problem. If not, it can cause confusion - say you used it to set a scroll speed, and it finally scrolled all the way down to the bottom of a document and then you used a mouse to scroll back up to the top - the touchpad scroll pushes it back down again at the original speed. In any window that may happen to get focus. Potentially confusing 'til the penny drops. Fun for all the family!

  10. The spelling! It hurts! by oberondarksoul · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Intel held it's UK..."

    How many times? It's means it is, its is possessive. Unless you meant "Intel held it is UK...", you've used the wrong one.

    --
    And tomorrow the stock exchange will be the human race
  11. New models? by caluml · · Score: 4, Funny
    new models

    Not the kind of models I was hoping to see... Just some boring laptops....

    --
    Get your own free personal location tracker
  12. Intel needs to learn from GMC by RubberDogBone · · Score: 3, Funny

    Don't name your chipsets after a lousy light pickup truck, i.e. the GMC Sonoma. Same as the Chevy S-10 basically.

    GMC recently replaced the Sonoma with the much better "Canyon" truck. It even sounds better.

    Sonoma = rolling rust heaps.

    --
    Sig for hire.