Most Comdex98 attendees agreed that the three most visible signs of technology at the show were slim laptops, LCD flat panel displays, and DVD movies through software and hardware acceleration.
All three were literally everywhere you looked, you couldn't escape them. Various-sized laptops seemed to be on display at every corner, and each of them was playing a DVD movie of some sort or other.
The smaller laptops models that forego an internal DVD-ROM drive to achieve lighter weight were amazing for their slim thickness (less than 1" think while closed!)
Panasonic was showing a new laptop line called the "Toughbook" series which has 2x the G-shock protection of the rest of their laptop line, along with a highly damage resistant magnesium housing. The Toughbook is light and manageable, and even includes an integrated suitcase handle for easy transport. (It's a small handle that collapses out of sight when not in use.) Supposedly the Toughbook can be dropped onto concrete while in use from a height of 3ft and will sustain no damage. The Mossad dropped Sharky's laptop at Comdex from a height of 4ft in his hotel room while updating the news page and it survived just fine after he reinstalled the separated keyboard, hard drive and modem……
The DVD capable laptops came in three flavors: Those with hardware acceleration built into the unit, those with an optional MPEG-2 decoding card that plugs into one of the laptop's PCMCIA type II slots, and those with no DVD hardware support that rely on full software decoding.
All three options looked phenomenal, particularly in the smaller laptops that include an internal DVD-ROM drive yet still weigh less than 5lbs. Only laptops with high end Pentium2 CPUs could handle DVD software acceleration while displaying true color and 1024x768 resolution without dropping a frame. Think P2-350 or above here when looking at these laptops for DVD purposes next year.
Unfortunately, none of the DVD laptops we saw came with any type of SPDIF or S-Video Out ports for use with a TV and home AC-3 capable system. Maybe we'll have to wait for Comdex99 for that wish to be fulfilled…..
In any case the DVD laptops worked for us on all levels, the only thing left is a 3D accelerator chipset option…In fact here's the Sharky Extreme recipe for extreme entertainment value from a laptop in 99:
- Intel Dixon Mobile CPU 400MHz
- Savage3D or ATi Rage 128GL based 2D/3D accelerator (these are the only two announced mobile 3D accelerators right now.)
- Maximum weight of 6lbs. (w/battery)
- Maximum of 1.5" thick (closed)
- 17mm keys with true cursor key placement (realistic up/down, left/right.)
- Magnesium Alloy Case
- DVD-ROM drive with included MPEG-2 decoder
- Dual speakers w/SB Pro or better audio support
- USB Port for Gravis "Stinger" Laptop gaming pad and other peripherals
- 13.3" Active Matrix screen (Any bigger and airline coach seat food trays ain't big enough)
- Microphone port for earphones, as most laptop speakers can't be heard over jet engine droning.
- 4.0GB or more HD
- $3,000 max MSRP
Unfortunately, we weren't able to find a laptop that fills out that entire spec. Some come close, one of the closest was a "super secret" magnesium cased Dixon CPU equipped model from ASUS intended for a mid 99 introduction, but it was so early in its development that they hadn't even chosen a video chip for it yet.
Overall we were pleased that laptops have become much more of a travelling entertainment companion rather than a travelling office minion as they largely have been to date. (Solitaire doesn't count as real entertainment folks).
