Intel stalls intro of Wi-Fi chip

While working outside on the deck with the laptop and a cold beer does
sound pretty decent to me, I'd be a bit worried about the screen.
Most LCD displays I've seen didn't work all that well outdoors in the
sun. Maybe newer screens are better?


That is a bit of an issue but with the table umbrella and being up
in the corner of the deck shaded by a corkbark tree it is highly
liveable. What isn't is when the temps go above say 88-90 then it is
just not worth it. 75- 85 is quite nice...

In article ,
lid says...
On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 09:50:07 GMT, Tony Hill
wrote:

Read the reports again, PIII-M vs. Centrino makes absolutely zero
difference, it's only when they compare Centrino laptops vs. P4-M
laptops that the former looks good.

I'm glad that the P3 design was kept, updated, and optimized for
mobile. The P4 is a horrible mobile chip.

Well, I've thought the P4 was a dumb idea for a long time. I do
like the idea of the PIII-M. It's a good processor at a
seemingly good price. The P4 is due for some upgrades to its
*horrible* implementation (chip so big critical function had to
be ejected). Perhaps they'll get it right next time. I'm not
convinced they want to compete with Itanic nor Xeons though.

--
Keith

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 20:28:36 GMT, "Yousuf Khan"
wrote:

"jack" wrote in message
...
snipped
Oh great. Taking a dump and posting to Usenet at the same time....LOL!

Well, actually don't they just go perfectly together? :-)

I supposed this is where you guys get the *plonk* sound from, eh?
:PppPp

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If you need basic to med complexity webpages at affordable rates, email me
Standard HTML, SHTML, MySQL + PHP or ASP, Javascript.
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In article gers.com,
Yousuf Khan wrote:

| The WiFi around the apartment allows me to use my laptop from my living
| room, my bedroom, my kitchen, dining room, or wherever. I'm using it right
| now, from the bathroom. :-)

Behind the decorative panel in my bath lies a BNC connector, located
near both the tub and the throne. WiFi wasn't around 14 years ago ;-)

--
Bill Davidsen CTO, TMR Associates
As we enjoy great advantages from inventions of others, we should be
glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and
this we should do freely and generously.
-Benjamin Franklin (who would have liked open source)

In article ,
Tony Hill wrote:

| I think you've clearly being brainwashed by the marketing department
| so much that you haven't bothered to see what the technology actually
| MEANS.

Actually I started by reading some magazine articles on laptops, not
exposed to any marketing. I see in a Dell catalogue last night that I
could get a laptop with Centrino for $699+s/t. I can get a nice IBM for
about 3x that with Pentium-M. Both seem to get similar battery life, so
I don't seem to be paying a premium for marketing, or getting less
performance in some way. Sounds like fact based evaluation, every chip
name is a combination of identification and marketing, I don't notice a
wave of people commenting on the fact that most Opterons are bought by
people who would be as happy with a Celeron.

Yes, the Dell has smaller disk and screen, these help battery life,
that's a tradeoff. They also help price ;-)

Having watched an 802.11b setup work with an 802.11g base, I don't see a
problem there if g becomes so standard that all others vanish. However,
I have zero use for WiFi, so that's just a data point that dropped into
my lap (literally) during the meeting.

--
Bill Davidsen CTO, TMR Associates
As we enjoy great advantages from inventions of others, we should be
glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and
this we should do freely and generously.
-Benjamin Franklin (who would have liked open source)

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 13:26:57 +0000 (UTC), (bill davidsen)
wrote:

In article ,
George Macdonald wrote:
| On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 00:02:47 GMT, (bill davidsen) wrote:

| I don't think that reduce cost and reduce price are related... But to
| the point, the real reason I want Centrino (as soon as I can find one
| which runs the new Linux kernel) is battery life. From what I see the
| Centrino systems seem to beat the plain Pentium-M by up to an hour.
|
| Huh? Centrino is a Pentium-M with the Wi-Fi chip added in. How can that
| improve battery life? I think the difference in battery life you're seeing
| is more likely due to better battery management... by the more expensive
| systems.

I postulate that the Centrino (three chips, not two) set uses a
different bridge chip, and that in some way assists in power management.

No need to postulate - all the current Pentium-Ms have the CPU *and* the
Intel chipset. If you buy, e.g. an IBM Thinkpad without Wi-Fi, you'll get
about the best battery life around... except maybe the Tecras with their
bollixed dim screen mode. You can, at a later time, add the Intel Wi-Fi
Mini-PCI Adapter, the Cisco Mini-PCI adapter or the IBM one. There *may*
be some differences in the power management capabilities of those adapters
but they will *all* reduce battery life some if they are powered.

| Five
| hours means I don't carry a spare battery or look for a charge in some
| cases. The WiFi is a non-issue with me, if I have a demand I can add a
| card and get what I need, if the built-in doesn't suit.
|
| How do the PCCards do the antenna?... dangle it out the side? If you think
| you might need wireless, I'd think it better to at least get a system which
| is Wi-Fi ready so the antenna is built into the case or lid.

The next time I look in one of the catalogues which show WiFi CPMCIA
cards I'll try to determine that, because I certainly don't have an
answer. The heart of my posts is that machines identified as Centrino
seem to have better battery life than those just called Pentium-M. May
be other factors, but if I'm buying a laptop with my own money (as I
will be this quarter) battery life is a top requirement, WiFi isn't on
the list. If I get it I can use it at a few sites I visit, but I
certainly won't miss it.

Nope - you're wrong. You think IBM is making systems with a different
bridge chip for the ones which are *not* sold as Centrino?... whether it be
with one of the two other Wi-Fi cards or none at all?

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??