No, the development of new low cost hard-coating technologies has made the cartridge obsolete. Blu-ray will instead rely on hard-coating for protection, which when applied will make the discs even more resistant to scratches and fingerprints than todays DVDs, while still preserving the same look and feel. The adoption of hard-coating will also allow manufacturers to downsize players/drives and lower their overall media production costs."
"requirements seem pretty hefty (a very decent nVidia graphics card and the latest nVidia drivers)."
But in the first graph, it clearly shows the less expensive ATI card beating nVidia. I also don't understand why the latest nVidia drivers are a hefty requirement.
1) Laptops are only adequate for games. Their CPUs tend to be slower, and the embedded graphics cards are often only half as fast as a good removable AGP card. 2) Expandability is limited. What if you wanted to get into making your own music? Have you priced PCMCIA breakout box soundcard solutions? 3) Drive space is limited compared to standard PCs. 4) Fall once on your bike on the way to class and watch a semesters worth of notes disappear if your HD crashes (I'm sure you backed everything up religiously to CD though..)
I have a BS/CS from a well known school. At no time did I need a laptop. The only gadget I might have considered was a digital voice recorder. I could record the lecture during class, then archive it on to my home PC. A laptop with a good microphone would make this task easier.
Either way, you look like a tool tapping away in a small classroom during a lecture. Plus, it annoys your fellow students.
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From the Blu-ray FAQ:
http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#1.10
"1.10 Will Blu-ray discs require a cartridge?
No, the development of new low cost hard-coating technologies has made the cartridge obsolete. Blu-ray will instead rely on hard-coating for protection, which when applied will make the discs even more resistant to scratches and fingerprints than todays DVDs, while still preserving the same look and feel. The adoption of hard-coating will also allow manufacturers to downsize players/drives and lower their overall media production costs."
"requirements seem pretty hefty (a very decent nVidia graphics card and the latest nVidia drivers)."
But in the first graph, it clearly shows the less expensive ATI card beating nVidia. I also don't understand why the latest nVidia drivers are a hefty requirement.
Same professionalism that brought us MS Windows and crushed SGI and Sun no doubt.
1) Laptops are only adequate for games. Their CPUs tend to be slower, and the embedded graphics cards are often only half as fast as a good removable AGP card.
2) Expandability is limited. What if you wanted to get into making your own music? Have you priced PCMCIA breakout box soundcard solutions?
3) Drive space is limited compared to standard PCs.
4) Fall once on your bike on the way to class and watch a semesters worth of notes disappear if your HD crashes (I'm sure you backed everything up religiously to CD though..)
I have a BS/CS from a well known school. At no time did I need a laptop. The only gadget I might have considered was a digital voice recorder. I could record the lecture during class, then archive it on to my home PC. A laptop with a good microphone would make this task easier.
Either way, you look like a tool tapping away in a small classroom during a lecture. Plus, it annoys your fellow students.