Pedro

Totally agreed: Dilution is killing them. I was so ready to pull trigger on an eee PC... but then there were all these different ones popping up and tons of buzz on "soon-to-be-released" models, that I've totally cooled down and am not buying one now. Not to troll (I promise!) but I think that Apple has the right idea with a very tight, simplified line. For folks who want more options, it would be nice to at least have 2-4 base models and then be able to play with the options on those (i.e., the processor could be an optional upgrade, the OS, etc.).

Please Asus--hear my plea! KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)!

I could not agree more. I admit watching DVDs in flight is nice but I've always used Mac which = 1 movie tops and then battery goes kaput... other than that, I cannot remember the last time I used my optical drive on my iMac... it is dusty! Wait, a few months ago I did rip a CD, but that's it! Almost all content is downloadable now so one really doesn't need to carry the drive at all times. You could have a slim USB one at home, load the movies you want to watch and travel super light and with (hopefully) a loooooooong battery life.

It reminds me of what folks were saying when the first iMac had no floppy drive. Everyone was going nuts. "What will we do?!" And yet it was fine, just fine. Jobs is pretty good at predicting the curve. I think it is spot on.

I totally agree. I've had mine for a few days and it is a delight.
It's smaller, lighter, and MUCH faster/more responsive than my Treo 700p, but retains all the key things that make the Treo great.

I too am an Engadget junkie/gadget whore and I agree that the OS needs an enema... but, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is true wisdom and this thing does what I need all day long. The iPhone, though gorgeous, innovative, sexy and desirable, simply does NOT do what I need (e.g., copy and paste, easily store/manage notes, have third party programs, etc.), at *this point* at least, was simply not an option (sadly, b/c I want one terribly!).

Finally, I have medium-to-big hands and I think the keyboard is actually BETTER than that of the Treo 700p--the feel is actually nicer and am I just as fast!

@appleman

Bravo! I agree. I love the iPhone and do want one but I can't use it until we have better notepad/memo integration with searching, copy and pasting, etc. I also need to install a few programs before I can use it; namely Epocrates (a medical program). Finally, I really like a tactile keyboard (though the virtual is not a deal-breaker by any means). Times like these I wish they'd just work TOGETHER to make things better!

Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Brilliant guys. And spot on!

xoxo

Peter, my condolences to you and your family. I have been reading since you were at the helm of Gizmodo and appreciate what you do. You have honored your father well in this piece. Thank you.

All the best.

I liked it a lot! What was that game "Sky Blue"? I haven't heard of that. It was in the "relaxation" part and it looked like a little puff of smoke flying... Agreed, it was kind of boring, but this is much more along the lines of an actual ad! Also agreed: it is kind of sad that so many of the games looked like "retro" hits (all those 2D shooters and stuff)... so much for High-Def Next Gen... well, at least for now. I want PS3 to get its act together and start to really wow us.

@ Bangbang

Brilliant! Your comment pretty much sums up 'Merica's stance on such issues, for better or for worse... okay, for worse...

Now *that* is a cool idea! Get rid of the CD-ROM and the harddrive! Holy cow. It could be done... but it would be pricey, eh?

Yes, I agree it certainly seems that we need optical drives all the time... but then I realized that I haven't used mine on my desktop for many months! Pretty much the only thing I use it for is to download new CDs to rip the music. 99% of what I'm doing is using the web. If my laptop (a secondary computer) didn't have this, I don't think I would miss it at all. Yes, gaming could be affected but now hard drives are so big you can download the entire game to the drive and play from there.

This is very similar to when Apple got rid of floppy drives. At first it was anathema, but then it became reasonable, and finally it was obvious. The web continues to mature and continues to be our main portal to the world and new content. Soon floppies will not be necessary for most folks.