View Poll Results: Would you prefer an internal or external optical drive? | |||
Internal | 39 | 38.24% | |
External | 45 | 44.12% | |
Beer | 18 | 17.65% | |
Voters: 102. You may not vote on this poll |
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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"Weight saving device!" That's exactly what the Dell said.
@ Apple & Dell Well, I guess it's a cheap option to add, but I wouldn't go so far as calling a hollow plastic box a "device" |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Fredericton, New Brunswick
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Does anyone remember those odd-ball Apple patents which had the optical drive at the bottom of the computer? Maybe that would be a reasonable compromise.
By not worrying about putting the optical drive in it's usual position, perhaps internal engineering of the rest of the computer might be easier. "The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice." - Mahatma Gandhi |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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Most of those come with optical drives, so they're not really much different than the Sonys: about the same processor speeds, about the same weight, if not a pound or two more on some. I did see one that was swappable with an additional battery, and this might be the best solution. The only one I saw that did not have an optical drive, was a full 1 lb heavier than the Sonys. That's a 33% bump. It was also a tablet, so that may be part of it. What I didn't see, were actual battery life estimates, other than "really long battery life". In my experience, words like that instead of actual numbers=sucky. Of course, I am in a hurry to get out the door, so I may have just missed the numbers. Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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The two configurable models have optical drives, but not the others. Your guess on battery life is as good as mine, and it's hard to compare size and weight because of the differences in specs and because we don't know at which configuration the configurable ones where weighed. One of my class mates had a Pentium M HP w/o optical drive, and what I can say about it was that it was both slim, quiet, cool and light. So I hazard a guess and say that also count's for these newer models.
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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1) Only the tc4400 and 2710p tablets don't have an standard or optional optical drive. 2) The tc4400 is 4.6 pounds, hardly a sub-notebook even though it doesn't have a optical drive. 3) The lightest model is the 2510p, and guess what? It has an optional internal optical drive. So...I maintain that the optical drive is not at all the barrier to entry in the subnotebook market. |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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I you can't take it for anything else, then at least note that a HP has found it worthwhile to offer such machines to their customers. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Unknown
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I'd bet all the money in my wallet that the weights quoted are the lowest possible weight. In fact, I believe they all said 'starting at x.x lbs'. The lower weight it going to be with the optical drive, or with nothing.
That means that Sony still has them beat with their TX and TZ series which are 2.8 and 2.7 lbs complete. I guess for my money, if battery were that important, I'd rather get an extra battery to lug around than to sacrifice on actual features (optical drive). Do you know where children get all of their energy? - They suck it right out of their parents! |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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I dunno, both devices that completely omit the optical drive are tablets. They are niche devices by default. How often do you see tablets out and about. Every time I go out to a trendy area with outdoor seating, I see people using normal laptops instead of subnotes, and definitely not tablets.
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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I dunno.
They might be able to transform into a tablet, but they also seems to look pretty much like note-books to me. Guess that just makes it an extra feature then. How can that be a bad thing? But enough of this coming back at your points. Now it's my serve: How is watching movies, gaming and doing multimedia stuff on a sub-notebook's tiny screen ever going to be it's main selling points? I think you would want at least a MacBook for such purposes. So with those optical drive heavy tasks out of the equation, don't you think you could live with an external drive? As I read your posts, you guys sound suspiciously much like MacBook types. |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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Optical drives aren't all about media rich content.
That's one nice thing about having a DVD or even a HD-DVD/Blu-ray drive, but it's more about having the lowest common denominator for data transfer available to you. Even if you don't have media handy, you can go buy blank discs anywhere. Say you're meeting a half dozen clients for lunch and showing them a slide presentation or some other kind of business proposal. What's the easiest way to dispense this 50 MB project to everyone? Not everyone has brought their computers, and not everyone has USB keychains with them. Even if they did, wouldn't it be a colossal waste of time to have to distributed the file one-by-one via wireless network or USB keychain? Without an optical drive, I'd need to already have the correct # of discs handy. Or the other way around. Some guy wants to show me something of his, and he brings the file on a CD because he thinks that's something everyone has handy. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Melbourne
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On the off-chance that you forgot to do this while you were at your home/office where your desktop computer or external optical drive are, you could just email it or post it on the net somewhere. If you don't happen to have an internet connection there, I'm sure they won't mind waiting an hour till to get back to somewhere that does.
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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It doesn't even matter. As mugge's own links prove, subnotebooks don't really get any smaller when you omit the optical drive. Quote:
Anyway, the weight of a bare slim optical drive is a mere 6 ounces or thereabout: http://www.amazon.com/Optiplex-Sliml.../dp/B000Q7RZ2S |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Melbourne
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If you're travelling, you take your external with you.
I find it very difficult to believe that removing an external drive wouldn't save any space for (a) making it thinner and (slightly) lighter or (b) dramatically increasing battery life. If it hasn't been done yet, no one's trying hard enough. Apple can. |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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Besides, an optical drive might be lighter than a larger battery but they can be made to take up the same space. In this class of computers I don't think weight is as important as the physicla size. It's never going to be too heavy anyway. Unless you make it out of lead. I guess my link is not proving what you want it to, eh? |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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And screw bigger batteries. A battery should have just enough capacity to satisfy me on average, otherwise it's a wasted expense when the first one fizzles out and I have to buy a new one. |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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Read my post above. Also 1.8kg = 3.96 pounds = over a pound heavier than the 2510p. Yay math! 2510p dimensions: 11.11 x 8.38 x 0.97 in (282.30 x 212.80 x 24.70 mm) nc4400 dimensions: 11.22 x 9.25 x 1.19 in (285.0 x 235.0 x 30.2 mm) What are you trying to prove? The 2510p is the smallest and lightest of the bunch. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Melbourne
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What if you use it for 2 minutes longer than your "average"? An ultraportable should be able to be carted around all day and used when needed without worrying about plugging it in. That's why it's an ultraportable. Perhaps you're looking for a Macbook. They have built-in optical drives and everything |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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Ok, I'll be blunt: The 2510p is a sissy computer!
It's a Core Solo/Duo - the nc4400 is a Core (2) Duo It supports up to 2 GB RAM - the nc 4400 supports up to 4 GB Etc. And I'll repeat myself: Weight and dimensions on these two computers might differ, but they are both so small that I personally wouldn't notice. And batteries and heat-sinks does weigh more than optical drives. |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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Nope, the 2510p uses a Core 2 Duo ULV and that further supports my point. You can't build a laptop that small with today's technology without sacrificing on the heat producing components. So given the dimensions dictated by the screen and thermodynamics, there is plenty of room for an optical drive and sufficient battery.
I'm repeating myself now, so whatever. You win. Quote:
Nevermind, you win too. I'm changing my vote. Let's remove the drive...because we can! Last edited by Eugene : 2007-08-05 at 07:45. |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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A bay that would allow the user to change between an optical drive or an extra battery would be a fair compromise satisfying both sides in this debate, but I'm unsure whether it could be done in a note-book much smaller than the current MacBook without sacrificing some design beauty and compactness.
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Sydney, Australia
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You forgetting what Mac is "It just works" not "It just works but please attach the optical drive first"
If you want something smaller than a MacBook maybe you want an iPhone. And I'm sure if Apple can make the MacBook Pro smaller than it is with the same stuff in it they will. Maybe they'll announce a thinner MacBook Pro on Tuesday. iPhone - finger licking good. |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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I don't think anyone is asking for a thinner MacBook Pro. What I think most of us want is a reincarnation of the 12" PowerBook. Which, by the way, was *not* "thin" by most notebook standards.
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Sydney, Australia
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Ah yes the good old 12" PowerBook, I had one of those. Well a MacBook Pro 13" (widescreen) and just a bit thinner and lighter, might be just the ticked, don't you reckon?
iPhone - finger licking good. |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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A sub-notebook out in the wild with no more battery charge is more like: "It just doesn't work at all." The whole idea of a sub-notebook is mobility, and you won't get much of that if you are tied to be within 3 hours of an AC outlet. Battery-life is just more important with sub-notebooks. |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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What weighs more, a pound of 55Wh batteries or a pound of different 55Wh batteries?
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Swansea, Wales
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I was going to vote for an internal drive then I asked myself when was the last time I used the CD drive on my Powerbook. It was an awfully long time ago. I'm pretty sure I could cope without a CD drive at all. These days we have Pen Drives and fast networks which can replace the CD drive.
All my dvd movies get ripped straight to h264 anyway so that isnt an issue. The only thing a cd drive would be useful for is installing Mac OS, but this could be overcome by having a hidden partition with the installation files on. One more thing, USB cd/dvd drives are so cheap these days that Apple could offer them as a BTO option. |
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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Not sayin', just sayin'
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Oh, Christ, I just voted on this, and I'm the one who is running around saying it's irrelevant. Well, i'll shut up then!
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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