what is the ctrl+enter trick?

In IE if you want to go to http://www.google.com you can just type google and then hit ctrl+enter and it puts http://www. and .com around the word.

I use it all the time

Same in Firefox. Once you start using it, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. In Maxthon, you can also set other combinations to do .net and .org or whatever your country TLD may be.

Having a tablet there is no way I would buy one as a main PC. That being said, I would never buy anything from Gateway…I knew too many people that worked there with too many horror stories.

Erik

[quote author=“Drachen”]I must confess that I just don’t “get” Gates’ (and Scoble’s) obsession with Tablet PCs. With the exception of applications where the user is standing constantly, they’re just not as comfortable or convenient as notebooks. You have to cradle them in one arm unless you put them down on a table and if you’re sitting at the table a notebook has its screen propped up at you. If you’re drinking a coffee at a local coffee house, you will have to put down something, whether it’s the tablet or the pen to take a hit of caffeine, where with a laptop, you only have to move one hand off the keyboard for some trimethylxanthine goodness. Typing is faster than handwriting even if handwriting recognition wasn’t a problem (unless you hunt-and-peck). Writing out a URL is a pain in the ass, especially when you consider that you don’t have the Ctrl+Enter trick.

Don’t get me wrong, the form factor definitely has its uses. It’s great for things like inventory control and table waiting where the user is standing as he’s using the device. Even then, the tablet could be replaced in both applications by things like Telxon devices (many of which have integral barcode scanners and keypads) and PDAs. Either way, tablets are a solution in search of a problem and the market has for the most part moved on.

I’m planning on using one for school where I’m taking a lot of notes. Being able to draw diagrams on my notes will be most hopeful. I definitely wouldn’t use it as a primary system but it should work to work with my current setup.

Personally, I’m more influenced by the usage of Tablet PCs by Jerry Pournelle @ Byte and jkOnTheRun . Also, there’s a lot of interesting uses of it here .

Yes and No…

“Available in more than 50 major metropolitan areas, covering more than 1/3 of Americans. When outside the BroadbandAccess Rate and Coverage Area, enjoy NationalAccess service and coverage in thousands of cities.”

Outside of those areas, I get 115kbps constant stream.

Edge averages 135kbps and maxes out at 200kbps bursts so technically your better off with Verizon because you get nearly Edge-speeds everywhere, and broadband when your in those areas.

Erik

2. AFAIK the 1.8” drives are only 4200 RPM. They’re designed to be low-power not necessarily fast.

3. I seem to remember that the Wi-Fi/BT antenna is in the upper half of the laptop next to the screen.

welcome hylton. 

man, all this edvo and edge n all is making me want to move towards that. 

hotspot or edvo/edge? ehhe… 

the last guy i spoke to said edge was about 70$ a month.  EeEK.

ouch, just did some quick checking on benchmarks…looks like the performance increase between a 4200rpm 1.8” drive and something like the Seagate Momentus 5400.2 is a factor of 2, as in the 5400.2 is nearly twice as fast…that may be my deciding factor…

Do any of the 3 pounders from Sony use a standard 9.5mm drive, or are they all 1.8” ?

I guess that would also cut deep into battey life, what a tough call (at least for me)...

Thanks,
Chris

i believe they’re all 1.8”.  i’ll admit that the hd isn’t really a rabbit, but once things are loaded, i find the computer holds its own quite well

[quote author=“jso902”]welcome hylton. 

man, all this edvo and edge n all is making me want to move towards that. 

hotspot or edvo/edge? ehhe… 

the last guy i spoke to said edge was about 70$ a month.  EeEK.

BTW: There are EDGE Laptop Connect packages as cheap as $19.99 a month for 5 MB.  It would be easy to hit that limit in a few minutes if you do any serious data transfer.  (A 56K modem could transfer 5 MB in under 20 minutes, and EDGE claims to average over 100 Kb/sec.)

This package might be suitable for users who want only occasional email connections, but it’d be a risky proposition.  But it’ll cost you dearly if some cousin emails you a few megabytes of mp3’s!

A quick summary:
5 MB Plan, $19.99, ($0.0080/KB for additional data)
10 MB Plan, $29.99, ($0.0060/KB for additional data)
20 MB Plan, $39.99, ($0.0040/KB for additional data)
50 MB Plan, $49.99, ($0.0020/KB for additional data)
Unlimited special offer, $59.99
Unlimited regular plan, $79.99

I don’t know if there’s a difference between the $59.99 and $79.99 plans.  Maybe the cheaper one is just a limited-time promotion.

On the screen issue, has anybody been able to compare the new LCD backlit screen to the older XBRITE screen…just curious how it stacks up to the existing T series screen…brightness, viewing angle, etc…

Chris

[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]Apart from noticeable stuff like size, weight…

Screen: 11.1” (TX) vs. 10.6” (T)

The nearly half an inch increase makes a difference. I’m sure most people wished it was 12” but this is a major advance in notebooks of this size since everyone else is using a 10.6” LCD. The new LED backlight should increase battery…no word on the quality compared to current X-Brite.

Resolution: 1366x768 (TX) vs. 1280x768 (T)

The new size allows for more pixels and a truer widescreen picture.

Chipset: 915GMS (TX) vs. 855GME (T)

The new chipset brings supposedly lower power requirements (allegedly but not really the case), better memory performance, HD Audio support, etc.

Memory: Officially up to 1.5GB DDR2 (TX) vs. 1GB DDR (T)

We all know these are artificial limitations with both chipsets supporting up to 2GB of memory.

Graphics: GMA 900 (TX) vs. Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (T)

DirectX 9 vs. DirectX 7/8 support. The GMA900 is roughly at least twice as fast as the previous generation as well as supporting up to 128MB of memory vs. 64MB of the older version.

Memory Slots: MS Pro, SD (TX) vs. MS Pro (T)

Sort of a big deal…since this is a first for Sony. Of course, the PCMCIA slot allows for any memory types.

USB Ports: 3 (TX) vs. 2 (T)

More USB ports are always better.

Instant On: Somewhat hardware related since it adds new functionality.

So, to say the the TX does not bring anything new “technically” to the table is incorrect. There are a lot of improvements due to the new platform. Of course, there really isn’t anything the you can do with TX that you can’t with the T.

Don’t forget battery capacity:

Battery capacity 7800/13000 vs 7650 MaH

The TX’s regular battery (VGP-BPS5) offers a little more life than the T, and the TX’s optional large-capacity battery (VGP-BPL5) offers at least two-thirds more battery life for about $250.  There is no large-capacity battery for the T.

The large capacity battery along with the (claimed) power savings of the 915 chipset and LED backlight could give the TX almost twice the battery life.  YMMV of course.

Hmmm…I am considering putting my T250 up for sale already. One quick question. Gaming wise there is something called Direct 3d (I forget the name), but my T250 will not play games with this technology. Wonder if the TX will. Not that I use the T250 just for games, thought I do love playing ONI and Need For Speed-Porche Unleashed; they play very well full screen on the T250.

Well I have a TX sitting in my living room.  I received it yesterday and I got a chance to play with it.  It is a beautiful machine and nicely engineered. With that said my TX is going bye-bye.  In all the wonderful engineering that Sony did to shoehorn everything in they really dropped the ball on the thermal cooling package.  With the machine idle (power saving features activated) it will eventually (10-15 minutes) heat up to 60C.  At that point the fan will turn on and run for 5-10 seconds.  After a lengthy pause of about 1-2 seconds the fan will turn on again.  The fan on the TX is noisier than the one on the T series.  So basically you hear the fan turn on, then off, then on, then off…...  In a quiet room (library or bedroom) be prepared to go crazy.  If you decide to do something on the computer (like use it) the machine will heat up beyond 60C and the fan will NEVER turn off.  The fan and heat sink assembly is tiny and doesn’t dissipate heat very well.  So the poor thing buzzes away trying to cool the CPU.  I actually sat the machine in front of the air conditioner vent in my car and that was not enough to cool the machine down to stop the fan.  Sad thing is that Sony has the knowledge and abilitiy to design a machine without a fan (X505).  My TX is going on sale on ebay shortly.  :(

I’m not sure the battery life is all that great compare to the T.  In my brief interlude with the TX the battery monitor showed about 6 - 5.5 hours of battery life with the screen dimmed.  CHC showed the machine was drawing about 8.5 W - 9.5 W of power with the screen dimmed half way.  The machine was sitting idle.  I have a Dell X1 and with the same test the machine showed 8.5 W of dissipated power while running on battery.  The battery life on the X1 with a smaller battery pack (54 WH vs. 57 WH) was about the same as the TX.  To me that says the LED backlight wasn’t helping much with battery life.  The X1 is a 1.1GHz and the TX is a 1.2GHz but at idle they run the same 600MHz.

The carbon fiber on the lid is a different style than that of the X505.  You can see the grain but it is very faint.  It is a matter finish and gives the impression that it will scratch fairly easily, but it looks very nice.
The screen itself is very beautiful.  Extremely bright and crisp.  I like the new resolution.  The display and cover assembly is extremely thin.  It’s wonderful to feel and admire.  Just don’t let kids, animals, or a clumsy friend get near it.  It feels like the display could be broken if handled the wrong way.  The machine definitely needs its own case.  If the TX is placed into a case with a book or two the screen could be broken.

The entire computer itself is wonderfully light and feels fairly solid.  In the short time I used the TX it developed a couple of squeaks on the palm rest.  Nothing severe but it didn’t give the impression of being solidly built.

If you already have a T then you may want to skip on the TX.  You get a marginally larger screen, smaller package, nicer looking machine (IMHO), and somewhat bettery battery life.  The trade off is that you pay more, the case is not as scratch resistant or solid, and the fan runs all the time.