Notbook (n.) — An affordable ultraportable laptop, typically with a 11.6-inch or 12-inch display that is not a netbook. It packs more power than a netbook (i.e. can handle 1080p video and Flash at fullscreen) and provides a more comfortable computing experience than the typical, 10-inch underpowered, shrunken Atom-based laptop. Most do not have optical drives, but do last for over five hours on a charge. Unlike pricey ultraportable laptops, notbooks are more affordable and start at around $400. About six months ago, the 11.6-inch Dell Inspiron M101z arrived on my doorstep for review. The AMD Neo-powered system looked like a slightly enlarged netbook , but in a briefing with Dell, the product manager reinforced quite a few times that the system was absolutely “not a netbook.” I can’t remember his exact wording, but he made it crystal clear — the $449 Inspiron M101z was so much more powerful than an Intel Atom netbook that it could be one’s primary machine. Obviously, I started calling these sorts of laptops “notbooks,” and over the next few months, more and more of them started popping up. Some of them paired Atom with an NVIDIA Ion GPU (e.g. Eee PC 1215N ), while others used AMD’s Neo chip and more recently AMD’s new Fusion Zacate APU. (Intel’s Core ULV-powered systems are frankly too expensive to be considered in this category, though some Pentium / Core 2 Duo systems, like like the Acer Timeline X1810T , could qualify.) Uh, so what? There’s a new crop of more powerful, affordable, and highly mobile laptops — what’s the big deal? Well, while many think tablets are what will ultimately cut the netbook market down to size, it’s the notbooks that will also seriously hit the Atom-based lilliputian laptops of today where it really hurts. Don’t get me wrong, ARM-powered tablets like the iPad and Motorola Xoom are going to impact netbook sales in a big way, too (heck, they already have !), but mark my words, notbooks or affordable ultraportables will take a noticeable chunk of both the netbook and the mainstream laptop market. There’s finally a class of laptops that provide a terrific balance between primary and mobile computing without breaking the bank. Think I’m crazy? Hit the break to understand what I’m talking about. Continue reading Editorial: The rise of the notbook, the fall of the netbook Editorial: The rise of the notbook, the fall of the netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …112th Congress: 28 Bills to Repeal Patient Protection Act in 11 Days, But Nothing to Create Jobs
January 31, 2011 No CommentI see our elected representatives are hard at work, representing their constituencies. Not that those constituencies even vaguely represent voters, you understand. No, they would like to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 28 times. In 11 days, no less. What busy little beavers they are! Here’s a list as of today, divided by House and Senate. House H.R. 105 Dan Burton, GOP – Indiana : To repeal the Patient Protection Act & enact in its place incentives for people to buy health insurance. H.R. 118 John Fleming, GOP – Louisiana : To permit a state to elect not to have an American Health Care Exchange. H.R. 119 John Fleming, GOP – Louisiana : To prohibit hiring of irs agent to implement or enforce health insurance reform. H.R. 127 John Graves, GOP – Georgia : To de-authorize funding of Patient Protection Act. H.R. 141 Steve King, GOP – Iowa : To repeal the Patient Protection Act. H.R. 145 Connie Mack, GOP – Florida : To repeal the Patient Protection Act. H.R. 154 Ted Poe, GOP Texas : To prohibit any federal funds to be used to enforce Patient Protection Act. H.R. 171 Cliff Stearns, GOP – Florida : H.R. 2 Eric Cantor, GOP – Virginia : Repeal of Patient Protection Act. H.R. 38 John Fleming, GOP – Louisiana : Rescind funds authorized for Patient Protection Act. H.R. 9 David Drier, GOP – California : Requires Committees to look into Patient Protection Act. H.R. 26 David Drier, GOP – California : Repeal Patient Protection Act. H.R. 215 Don Young, GOP – Alaksa : Repeal Patient Protection Act. H.R. 19 John Carter, GOP – Texas : Disapprove rules on MLR in Patient Protection Act. H.R. 299 John Carter, GOP – Texas : Repeal Patient Protection Act. H.R. 358 Joe Pitts, GOP – Penn : Remove abortion funding from Patient Protection Act (there is none) H.R. 360 Michael Burgess – Texas : Amend Patient Protection Act to include President in Health Care Exchanges. H.R. 364 Tom Latham, GOP – Iowa : To Repeal Patient Protection Act H.R. 371 Marsha Blackburn, GOP – Tennessee : Repeal Title I of Patient Protection Act. H.R. 5 Phil Gingrey, GOP – Georgia : Repeal Patient Protection Act. H.R. 397 Wally Herger, GOP – California :Repeal Patient Protection Act. H.R. 429 Darrell Issa, GOP, California – Repeal Patient Protection Act. H.R. 452 Phil Roe, GOP, Tennessee – A bill to repeal Patient Protection Act. H.R. 450 Dave Reichert, GOP, Washington – A bill to repeal Patient Protection Act. Senate S. 19 Orrin Hatch, GOP – Repeal Health Mandate & therefore repeal patient protections. S. 17 Orrin Hatch, GOP – Repeal Tax on Medical Devices S. 16 David Vitter, GOP – Repeal Patient Protection Act S. 196 Chuck Grassley, GOP, Iowa – A bill to to provide congressional staff gets to participate in Exchange. S. 192 Jim DeMint, GOP, South Carolina – A bill to repeal health care. I thought it might be interesting to see what Democrats did in their first 11 days after assuming control of the House in 2006. Well, lookee there. All sorts of interesting bills in those first days. Everything from gun show loophole closures (David Dreier’s baby) to First Amendment protections, to small business assistance to alternative energy. But for Republicans and their keepers, this Congress is all about sticking it to Obama. Nothing more, nothing less.
Continue reading …At AP, ‘Waivers’ Are For Sports, Not Health Care; NYT Saves Outrage for ‘Something Is Worse Than Nothing’ Plans
January 31, 2011 No Comment
It would appear that if it weren't for the center-right blogosphere, Fox News, a few business dailies, a few conservative pundits, and talk radio, very few people would know about the hundreds of waivers granted by the Obama administration to companies, unions, not-for-profits, states, and other entities wishing to be spared the burdens of complying with Obamacare for at least another year. The latest count as of last Wednesday's Health and Human Services Department press release was 732, including four states: Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, and Tennessee. That the waiver situation is not more widely known is largely due to the fact that the establishment press has shown almost no interest in it. The Associated Press has had five days to cover HHS's latest release. It is news, as HHS's release was, as far as I can tell, the first indication that “Over 500 waivers were granted in December.” Here is the result of a search on ” health waivers ” (not in quotes) at the AP's main web site at about 10:00 this morning: In other words, there's nothing relevant. Related searches on ” exemptions ,” ” waiver ,” and ” waivers ” return nothing relevant to HHS's release. At the New York Times, a search on ” health care waivers ”
Continue reading …A whopping seven out of 10 Americans think it’s important that Republicans “consider Tea Party movement ideas” as they craft their policies, according to a new Gallup poll , and that includes plenty of Democrats who don’t even like the movement. While only 6% of Democrats are Tea Party supporters, and…
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Al Jazeera web producer reports that the army presence has decreased since Sunday. Thousands of protesters continue to demand the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, after 30 years of ruling the country.
Continue reading …Sarah Shourd, the American hiker freed from Iranian prison in September, has been called to return to the country and stand trial on Feb. 6, Reuters reports. Should Shourd decide not to show up, the trial of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who have been jailed since being detained on…
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Anthony Hopkins horror film ‘The Rite’ takes the top spot at the weekend box office. (Jan. 31)
Continue reading …9 People Who Have Lived with Animals, Changing Our View Forever (Slideshow)
January 31, 2011 No Comment
Photo: Afrika Expeditionary Force / Creative Commons Dreams about living with animals for many children, especially after reading The Jungle Book , are common. But for these nine people — it was no fiction. From John Ssabunnya, the feral child raised by African green monkeys to Jane Goodall (TreeHugger Person of the Year for 2010 ), … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …The storms keep on coming —and the latest, expected to impact one-third of the US population, is being described as “potentially life-threatening” by the National Weather Service and “potentially historic” by the Weather Channel . It will begin today and last through Wednesday, reaching from the Colorado Rockies to the New…
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Urban Improv of the Day: For its latest mission, Improv Everywhere teamed up with the Ice Theatre of New York to transform a stranded Bryant Park ice skater (veteran figure skater Kenny Moir) from a novice into an expert . [ ie .] Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 31/01/2011 16:11 Number of articles : 4
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