I was just curious.
I'll be taking an old DELL laptop (2004) and an iPad2 on the plane with me to Taiwan. (using the two for 3-4 months until our desktops get setup)
I was thinking about replacing the laptop with an ultrabook before leaving. But I don't think the timing would work out and I don't think I will have the time needed to mess with it; setting it up. (We need a Windows platform. So, we'll take the dinosaur laptop for one final use cycle.)
Although the DELL XPS13 has gotten rave reviews. I wouldn't want to buy an ultrabook without Ivy Bridge. The new chipset is supposed to be the first integrated graphics on the mobo with good performance comparable with general purpose consumer desktops. (That would make a very attractive and very light gaming platform with great battery life.)
And of course, by the holidays, there will plenty of Win8 tablets to choose from. So, I think I'll just wait. However, I was curious if anyone is buying an ultrabook or Win 8 tablet this Summer?
Thanks.
.
Yes, I am running XP on all systems. There is still plenty of time until MSFT's drop dead date of 04/14.
I'll get a new gaming desktop in late 2013 with Win7. Win7 sounds like the better gaming platform if you don't want to run on a tablet. Win7 may well turn out to be the next XP. (meaning that it will have legs beyond what anyone could have guessed)
Well, if anyone steals my 2004 DELL Inspiron 5150, they are clearly an idiot. For me, it still gets the job done ... Web surfing, financial management, play videos, ... Game wise I have two chess programs, RT2, and Tropico 1 ... they all play acceptable. Except for the flight, I don't plan to carry it around with me. (just leave it setup in the hotel; I have 2 month reservation while I take care of documents and go apartment hunting) If I carry anything, it will be the iPad2. Between it and my iPad2, I'll be okay without my aging desktop for 4 months or so.
But it is sinfully fun to start thinking of the new titles I will get later in 2013. :)
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I wondering when I buy if I should get an ATI card this time around? It still want to be able to play CMBB/CMAK. I heard that ATI cards don't need any hacks. Also, I would like to play some MTW1 which again seems to have problems with all NVidia cards after the 4600 series.
Re: CMAK-
Mark, I've had no trouble running the game on my Win7 box with an Nvidia GeForce GT430, and that is without the paid BF 'patch'. I suspect it is only certain Nvidia models that have compatibility issues so if you have a certain card in mind I'd try asking around if others with that card have any issues. I can't comment on MTW1 since I don't have it installed ATM and I'm not sure where my disks are.
Mark you and I will be researching new desktops for purchase around the same time I think next year. We need to start up a thread over in the tech forum to geek out on tech research discussion.
I think there is a very high likelihood I'll upgrade to a win8/metro tablet in q4. I am impressed by what I've seen in terms of the new ARM based tablets and metro could be a game changer.
I am concerned about metro apps being available, so I'll also be interested in seeing what android tablets do in response. I doubt I will wait until 2013 for new android tablets tho.
Some early Ivy Bridge entrants:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/256725/acer_shows_off_windows_8_tablets_at_computex.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/256723/lenovo_cracks_800_price_barrier_with_new_ideapad_ultrabooks.html
I wonder about game support for the new chipsets.
Well, Ivy Bridge is supposed to be the first integrate video on the mobo which offers performance comparable to consumer PCs (not gaming PCs).
COMPUTEX in Taipie is about to kick off. There will be a lot of new models on display.
I think we'll ultimately get something. I predict that it will probably be an ultrabook. First, it is hard to do serious work without a real keyboard. Second, with an HDMI port it can be hooked up to a desktop display when not in travel mode.
It will be interesting to see how these units run games and what that does to the 8-10 hours of battery life. (like play an FPS and you drop down to 2 hours with a unit too hot to pickup from underneath)
You're getting a computer to do real work on!?!?!
I think the battery life projections are always suspect. Generally they are based on turning it on and doing nothing more serious than looking at the desktop. I have a Macbook Air, which has a really good battery life if you are browsing the web. Now do something like watch a movie and you go from 8 hours or so to about 2 and some change.
But with an iPad2 you can get 5-6 hours of video or gaming out of it.
Did that Macbook Air replace the Asus laptop that you were having problems with?
Quote from: MarkShot on June 04, 2012, 03:00:19 PM
Did that Macbook Air replace the Asus laptop that you were having problems with?
It did for awhile, but I never put a bootcamp partition on it so I only had a few lite gaming apps. I use it mostly for net browsing and movies for those times when my larger laptop is too much to carry or pack. It's also used for the photo program.
My interest in a slate/tablet is not for gaming. (I'm upgrading sooner than win 8 for that!)
The primary needs I have for a mobile computing device is handwriting capture, keyboard, and MSOffice. Android doesn't do the first well as best I can tell, otherwise I might be in an ASUS transformer right now.
I'm looking at an ivybridge i5 for the alluded-to new gaming rig, but that's going to be a desktop. They seem to be at a better price point than sandy, at least at the moment, and apparently draw less juice.
Unless you are doctor or something similar, I wouldn't bother with tablets and handwriting capture.
I purchased WritePad which was one of the top rated handwriting Apps for the iPad:
(1) Although a finger will work, a stylus is better.
(2) It takes a real lot of practice to be able to write clearly and quickly ... a real lot. Even though the program has a ton of great features ... very well designed.
(3) Even though typing on a glass keyboard leaves a lot to be desired (like you cannot rest your fingers on the keyboard), my WPM is much higher than handwriting.
(4) There are so many highly portable blue tooth keyboard options these days. In fact, I thought Logitech just came out with one that doubles as an iPad smart cover, but also is very thin keyboard.
(5) You can get Dragon Dictation for free. It has tremendous reviews and professional reviewers say that you can easily hit 99+% accuracy.
So, at first, I really thought when traveling and doing anything but short emails, I would use my stylus and WritePad, but the learning curve was just too much. I would have to be a student and using it to take notes all the time to have it make sense. (But I did find the stylus much better than my finder for marking up ebook and PDFs.)
See:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/writepad/id293033512?mt=8
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8
^I've been pleasantly surprised by win7's handwriting capture and training software. My handwriting is really bad; capture easily gets 95% now. I've used a lenovo thinkpad x61 tablet for about two years now for daily handwritten notes. And I loooooove MS OneNote.
I've tried handwriting capture on my friend's ipad, and had similar experiences to yours, markshot.
What I don't know is if it's software and/or processing power that delivers what I'm getting from the X61. I think the DRM processors may provide the weight/capability intersection I'm looking for.
He he he ... after almost 50 years, I found out that my penmanship is poor and problem.
I kept saying, "What is wrong the fre*king thing! Why can't it recognize 'd's!". I looked up 'd' on the Internet and realized that I was writing it wrong. It doesn't simply do OCR, but it actually matches strokes. So, if you don't write your letters correctly than you are scr*w*d. :)
I read an interesting technical paper from Apple yesterday on iOS written for IT Security Administrators. One of the amusing things I found out is that what I consider to be some iOS' greatest weaknesses are actually intentional design elements of the security model. :) {They are not head bashing frustrations. They are features!}
"35 New Ivy Bridge-powered Ultrabooks Coming Over Next 30 Days"
http://www.pcworld.com/article/256854/35_new_ivy_bridgepowered_ultrabooks_coming_over_next_30_days.html
I am keeping an eye out for some reviews of the Asus UX32d model that has an integrated Nvidia graphics card.
Looking for a PC that can play games (I would like it to be able to play CMBN with the options turned down). I need something since the work laptop is now verboten for any non work applications (ie gmail youtube etc).
Con
That s*cks!
So, they make you carry the laptop home with you and provide off hours support, but restrict what you can do with it? (meaning they invade your home life, but it would be a misuse of company property to put a game on it)
Do you work for one of those companies that require you to turn over you Facebook password? I don't have a Facebook account, but I think that kind of thing is outrageous.
Man ... I used to love outwitting corporate IT. They started scanning user PCs for software on logon to the network. I simply installed my unsanctioned programs to a separate partition. Once the server logon script ran, it would launch my personal one and mount the partition with my stuff on it. :)
One day this guy Dan (our newly appointed Security Administrator) came over to tell me that he had tightened up security. For example, after three failed logon attempts you would be locked out of your logon account. He was so proud of himself. So, during lunch, I sat down at his terminal and using his ID intentionally failed three attempts to logon. Sure enough, when he came back from lunch, just as he had said, he was totally locked out of the system. He was p*ss*d, but it was really funny.
I love administrators ...
^That is a hilarious story Mark.
Most people think I am a very serious guy, but I am bit of a clown.
Back in the 90's, I was a VP in charge of Data Warehousing (Commercial Bank) for one of the USA's largest banks. (still in business)
During my tenure, I built a new system. Now, it was supposed to be a serious corporate decision support system supplying the bank executives and board with multi-dimensional access to data from many lines of business. However besides getting fed by a lot of transactional systems, there were also many spreadsheets that needed to be collected. I really hated having to process comptroller and accountant XLS. So, I named the new system SUCS (Spreadsheet Upload Collection System). Well, the executives didn't appreciate the name and called it Delphi (as in the Greek usage). People get very stiff when they wear a suit.
---
I left the bank to become CTO of an 80 person startup that served up banner ads to the very new Internet. At one time, we served up ads to 13% of the Net. (BTW, I hate advertising and always block it.) We paid royalties to those who displayed our ads. I had a two hour meeting with the owner, Mike, telling me about the many thousands paid out each month ... the vast sums. Finally, I couldn't take it any more. I said, "Mike, it is only fair to tell your that the monthly rounding errors for XYZ's Data Warehouse far exceeded the total capitalization of your business here."
---
So, I am not so serious. I just seem to be when it comes to the written word. :)
Great stories, Mark.
Alright since this my thread, I guess I can detour a little bit. The working World was full of laughs long before I got to corporate America.
I quit college after two years ... just didn't know what I wanted to do or study.
So, here I am interviewing at McD's (one of the largest in Brooklyn, NYC). Charlie, the GM, knew how to really ask tough questions. "Like here is an order 'blah blah blah'. Now, repeat that back to me." Lastly, he asks me one of those very introspective questions that I would later find is so popular with corporate HR types. "Mark, what do you think qualifies you for this job?". After some careful thought I blurted out the naked truth, "I am unemployed.". And yes, I did get the job.
Funniest moment at McD's was one day in the lobby. Normally, for breakfast I used to work hot cakes or scrambled eggs, and lunch/dinner the quarter grill. But I really liked getting sent out to the lobby. The pace was slower and you could interact with the customers (females). Sometimes, immigrants/tourists would actually leave a tip on the table.
So, I am working the lobby this one afternoon with Eddy, a pretty funny guy. One of the Assistant Managers, Norma, is working the "bin" (boxing the food and watching the registers). Now, as you all know, if any food is returned at McD's, they'll replace it. So from time to time, people send stuff back. (This was in the age of Styrofoam containers.) So, Eddy walks up to the counter and tells Norma that a customer wants to return this quarter pounder. She asks, "What's wrong with it?". Eddy says, "I don't know.". He opens the cover and lifts the bun off the burger. There sitting on the beef patty is half a finger in either some blood or ketchup. Norma nearly had a heart attack. Eddy had stuck his finger up through the bottom of the container and laid it on the patty.
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So, back to ultrabooks ... how long does a new machine need to be out before you can trust the reviews and know that it has been adequately vetted by the consumers? 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months?
And then there are the ultrabook/tablet combos now known as "sliders":
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/MSI-Ultrabook-Windows-8-Touchscreen-Laptops-Convertible-Tablets-Slider-S2,15892.html
Quote from: MarkShot on June 06, 2012, 11:32:07 AM
And then there are the ultrabook/tablet combos now known as "sliders":
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/MSI-Ultrabook-Windows-8-Touchscreen-Laptops-Convertible-Tablets-Slider-S2,15892.html
Well at least now there's an "official" term for what I'm looking for. Thank you Tom's and Markshot!
Quote from: MarkShot on June 05, 2012, 05:14:54 PM
That s*cks!
So, they make you carry the laptop home with you and provide off hours support, but restrict what you can do with it? (meaning they invade your home life, but it would be a misuse of company property to put a game on it)
Do you work for one of those companies that require you to turn over you Facebook password? I don't have a Facebook account, but I think that kind of thing is outrageous.
Man ... I used to love outwitting corporate IT. They started scanning user PCs for software on logon to the network. I simply installed my unsanctioned programs to a separate partition. Once the server logon script ran, it would launch my personal one and mount the partition with my stuff on it. :)
One day this guy Dan (our newly appointed Security Administrator) came over to tell me that he had tightened up security. For example, after three failed logon attempts you would be locked out of your logon account. He was so proud of himself. So, during lunch, I sat down at his terminal and using his ID intentionally failed three attempts to logon. Sure enough, when he came back from lunch, just as he had said, he was totally locked out of the system. He was p*ss*d, but it was really funny.
I love administrators ...
I would fully support a "Corporate Shenanigans" thread, particularly if Markshot and others continued to share gems such as these.
A slider to me is a really, really greasy cheeseburger.
Yep, with bacon, fried onions, and some cheddar cheese! So, greazzee that it runs down your face when you bite into it.
Boy, that sounds good! Oh sh*t what I am talking about? I'm a vegetarian now. -27Lbs in 4 months now. He he he by the time I get to Taiwan, I can talk about those obese Americans like I never was one myself! :)
It seems that "convertible" is another term being applied to these hybrids:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Toshiba-windows-8-ultrabook-tablet-windows-rt,15897.html
Shouldn't this be in Tech Talk?
Not really because the big unknown is are these things going to work better for games than small form factor laptops have in the past?
My wife just told me she wish we would get one before leaving. If we did, I know what she wants installed, but I want games. However, I don't think an Win8 tablets are coming with a built in subwoofer. :(
There goes the ultrabook market:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405546,00.asp
Intresting.
The thing is, at least, for DELL's XPS13 every review compared it to the MacBook. So, one would not have trouble making that argument in front of a jury or mediator.
Also, remember that Apple has a huge amount of cash to plow into p*ss*ng contests.
One recollect the Apple vs Samsung legal wrestling matches.
It seems to be the shape that they patented. So if that is the case, I'd expect more boxy shaped competition.
I can see those selling really well!
Quote from: MarkShot on June 09, 2012, 04:30:41 PM
I can see those selling really well!
Heh. I'm not sure how you patent a shape or copyright a word, but there you have it. Apple owns a tear shape!
Quote from: Bison on June 09, 2012, 04:31:39 PM
Quote from: MarkShot on June 09, 2012, 04:30:41 PM
I can see those selling really well!
Heh. I'm not sure how you patent a shape or copyright a word, but there you have it. Apple owns a tear shape!
Walmart recently tried to copyright the classic smiley face even though it's been around for almost 50 years.
Acer Launches "World's Thinnest" Ultrabook
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ultrabook-Ivy-Bridge-Thunderbolt-Aspire-S5PowerSmart,16016.html
They now all have HDMI ports. So, can go big screen when at home.
MSFT debuts the Surface. Some big news:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/257848/by_the_numbers_microsofts_surface_vs_apples_ipad.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/257852/microsoft_surface_tablet_initial_impressions.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/257841/microsoft_surface_a_look_at_the_first_windows_8_tablet.html
This may the device for ultimate strategy gaming portability. The portability of an iPad, but the OS upon which most of use play games.
Quote from: MarkShot on June 19, 2012, 09:15:17 AM
This may the device for ultimate strategy gaming portability. The portability of an iPad, but the OS upon which most of use play games.
Up to Win 7 that might be true but who knows what will work or be available with Win 8.
There are actually two Surfaces. RT with an ARM style chip, and PRO with Intel/Ivy Bridge. If I was buying with games in mind, I would probably stick with PRO.
Well, MSFT has really done something innovative with the cover keyboard.
Doing serious work on the iPad with the virtual keyboard is a pain. Using your finger as a mouse/cursor is also a pain. It works, but when you are trying to use your iPad as a laptop ... it doesn't measure up.
Additionally, the keyboard cover with touch pad, greatly increases screen real estate with the iPad dedicates to the virtual keypad.
How this all plays out should be very interesting. It should be noted that Logitech recently offered a smart cover replacement for the iPad that also was a blue tooth keyboard.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/18/logitech-ultrathin-keyboard-cover/