Nearly-perfect laptop
11 Feb 2006I found the perfect laptop for me. It’s cheap ($700, plus whatever it’d cost me to add wireless and 512MB of memory to it — has 256 at the minute), compact (12.1″), and insanely lightweight (3.53 pounds, which Google reliably informs me is 1.6KG).
But it’s an IBM, so it’s not an option. I didn’t realise this until after I’d got all excited over the specs and it was a shattering moment!
IBM have always epitomised appalling laptop design for me, mostly because of their insistance on a joystick as a mouse (what the HELL is with that?!) but also because of the inanity of their decision to arbitrarily change the layout of the keyboard… particularly omitting a Start key. I don’t care if I use Linux… I’ve mapped my start key in Ubuntu so that it works the same way! It’s a brilliant innovation (unless, of course, you’re a gamer with chunky fingers and dislike being dumped out of games… though that ceased to be a problem post-3dfx/dedicated 3D-accelleration-only cards!), and IBM have to go and ruin it for everyone. Angry angry angry.
It was such a nice laptop…