[Anonymous]

[VintageKrug]

A good review of the new 11″ MacBook Air, which finally resolves the problem of being able to type for those unfortunates tasked with long haul business trips in the boot of the plane:

http://www.howtospendit.com/#/articles/3012-technopolis-tv-macbook-air

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

‘Finally resolves?’

Netbooks have been out for a few years, you know 😉

And for people keen to economise, this one is about 1/4 of the price of Apple’s new toy

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5083170/Trail/searchtext%3ENETBOOK.htm

[VintageKrug]

I had an early netbook.

The screen was shocking, the keboard tiny, and the battery life non-existent.

With six hours of battery life, and truly lightweight, this new MacBook Air is just the ticket!

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

I had an early portable PC, it had no hard drive, a 6″ CGA mono LCD screen and an 8086 family processor.

Things do change quickly in this field 😉

And I were lucky, mi mates had to mek do wi’t slate and chalk.

My choice, as a ‘road warrior’ is a lenovo X200s, which I have modified a little and which itself is only 12″ screen and 900gms weight with the standard battery – very nearly a netbook and will wipe a Mac air all over the floor for performance, connectivity and robustness (not a criticism of the Mac build quality, which is high) – it is built like a brick outbuilding (and also looks like one, so not for those who prefer form over function.) In terms of battery life, I can get up to 8 hours (real world, 9.8 claimed by manufacturer) with the extended battery, although I usually take the standard, as I’m not away from AC for that long.

The tweaks to my lenovo include a 500GB Seagate Momentus hybrid drive (HDD, with a 4GB SS buffer) – for anyone out there who would like more performance from a laptop, these are very much worth looking at.

Whilst not as fast as SSD, they do deliver a noticeable improvement, particulary in repetitive tasks and are a lot less expensive.

[SimonRowberry]

Chalk and slate, Disgusted? We used to dream of chalk and slate!

I had a Casio thingmebob for years which was totally bl**dy useless.

Aye, things move on apace. But if you told youngsters today, they’d never believe you…..

VK – it sounds as if (at last) Apple’s battery technology is catching up with the rest of its product elements. About time (speaking as the owner of two MacBook Pros, an iPhone 3GS and an iPod Classic – plus the Pro and iMac desktops).

What’s the battery life like on the iPad (3G models)? I’m debating whether to buy one now or wait until the new line comes out in (allegedly) February.

Thanks, Simon

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

“We used to dream of chalk and slate!”

Aye, that were because you lived in’t lake.

[Deleted User]

Try the new Samsung Galaxy slate. I use both iPAD and Samsung slates, both have good positive things about them which make me choose these 2 items over a lap top (when on the go).

A lot has been spoken about the iPAD and I am still a big fan, esepcially for presentation purposes. Where the Galaxy slate excels is the ease in which off line data transfer can take place from memory cards and chips. It integrates well if you use microsoft (although there is still a diary synch problem with outlook).

With the attachable keyboard, it makes report writing on the move far more comfortable with out the need of carrying a laptop.

It wont satisfy everyone, but tablets seem to be taking over more and more. Its also noticable that back at base, lap tops are replacing the PC’s. Nearing the top end of 40, I see how the youngsters use the technology, its not the best way to learn, its the only way to learn!

“chalk and slate” – very appropriate!

[Bunnahabhain]

Can’t speak for the 3G iPad Simon but the battery on the wi-fi version is good for a day’s work, I’ve seen 10 hours claimed which may well be true. Certainly 3G on the iPhone 3GS eats up the battery v where there isn’t a 3G signal or wi-fi.

The 6 feet (1.8m for those over 40) power cable available for the iPad is useful if the battery life isn’t enough, often at meetings there is power in the room but just too far away. And unlike laptop / netbook power supplies it doesn’t have a dirty big transformer half way. It also lets you use the power socket on East Coast 1st class if you have an aisle seat at a table and the person at the window seat isn’t using it, without intruding quite so much on personal space!

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