Spurting meconium, its severed umbilical cord wildly lashing around like an out of control fire hose, the Asus Eee was born: a tiny, albino, physically undeveloped premie, barely capable of processing its own operating system, unable to go without life support for more than one and a half hours. A sad, sorry, adorable thing, but none the less, consumers lustfully dogpiled on top of it.
It was only natural that would get the attention of the other laptop manufacturers… Spartan companies that had gotten used to picking up the runts and weaklings of their development line-up and tossing them in a spike-filled pit. Accounting, of course, for the sudden sure of affordable sub-notebooks.
But at this point, another Eee-style sub-notebook is announced every other day. With few exceptions, they are all roughly interchangeable feature wise. How to drill down to the genetic differences between models? Over at the wonderfully named Liliputing site, they have put together a semi-complete breakdown of all of the recent subnotebooks, including technical specs, prices and release dates.
Bizarrely, the HP MiniNote isn’t on their list, which is strange, because my impression skimming through the site was that it was probably the best of the bunch, as far as what has been released and what’s visibly in the pipeline. A lot of these so-called Asus killers are pretty crappy.
Comprehensive list of low-cost ultraportables [Liliputing]
@ Tastewar — Most writers accept criticism, particularly if they can actually write. Brownlee’s attempted metaphor was poorly thought-out, and not “literary” in the slightest (Sorry, Rob), and you had the audacity to point that out. How dare you!
John Brownlee, if you are going to put your writing out where the world can see it, at least have the good grace to accept a little bit of gentle criticism when you do a half-assed job.
Oh god, shut up, all of you.
Dude- I know that creating an interesting narrative is fun and profitable, but let’s get some of the basic facts straight. Meconium would *not* come out of an umbilical cord, nor would it “spurt.”
That really wasn’t what I was getting at.
Clearly. And yet, you did choose to write it.
Astute observation. Yet I’d rather be the writer who accidentally muffed a single definite article, then corrected it, then the sort of guy for whom the question of whether or not meconium “spurts” can only be responded to with a bladder-evacuating temper tantrum. But keep raging against the machine, champ.
The meconium is clearly spewing from the Eee’s ass, not its umbilical cord.
Corrections are always appreciated. But deliberated misinterpretation simply as an excuse to complain — who does it help?
John, perhaps he’s one of those people that wants you to just list the specifications, and not be “over-literary.”
HEY you kids! Get off my lawn!!
whoa — are you sure my comments qualify as a “bladder-evacuating temper tantrum” and “raging?” Point is, if you want to write a colorful backstory, stick to what you know. I’m confident there are many things you know a lot about and could write knowledgeably about. It’s OK if babies aren’t among them.
I can’t help but get the feeling that you’re just arguing this to be a dick. You totally know you’re wrong.
Fine enough, but in post #4, the author uses “then” correctly as an adverb, then immediately uses it incorrectly as a preposition of comparison. Is the difference between “then” and “than” beneath the gaze of a professional scribe?
The author’s response shares more than a bit of the “tantrum” quality he claims for the OP…
The HP MiniNote 2133 is on the list. It’s the fourth one.
“In April, HP launched its Eee PC competitor, the HP 2133 Mini-Note. The computer has a sleeker, more professional look than the Eee PC or Cloudbook, but it also weighs close to three pounds, while the competition weighs just 2. The Mini-Note is also more expensive than the competition, but you get a larger screen and more storage for your money.”
I predict invocation of Godwin’s before too long
spurting indeed…
I’m confused. When I look at the page, I see the MiniNote on there.
@FNARF — I was just going to post that. Did the page change?
“Most writers accept criticism, particularly if they can actually write. Brownlee’s attempted metaphor was poorly thought-out, and not “literary” in the slightest (Sorry, Rob), and you had the audacity to point that out.”
Tastewar’s complaint was based on a trivial misunderstanding of the sentence. He or she simply misread it. You might not like the metaphor, but please have the basic decency to read what you’re complaining about–or, indeed, what you think you’re agreeing with.
I don’t know jack about babies, but I know what an umbilical cord is, I know what meconium is, and I thought the metaphor was funny. And apt. And added flavor — if not necessarily taste.
[*]
@FNARF I noticed that as well. Mr. Brownlee, the HP Mini-thingie is on the Lilliputing site. Update, por favor.
@TASTEWAR & JIM BROWNLEE… clearly neither of you read the post carefully.. Mr. B, you wrote, “Spurting meconium, its severed umbilical cord wildly lashing around like an out of control fire hose…” That’s “spurting meconium COMMA it’s severde umbilical cord..” indicating that the meconium is not coming out of said cord. So, Jim B., your facts are correct. Be at peace. TASTEWAR, get glasses.
Why you Nazi, why don’t you go talk to Hitler.
Ooops, sorry.
I guess it’s over.
Oh, it added taste all right. I’m still in convulsions.
Nice metaphor, Mister Brownlee.
Good link, I’m in the market for a teeny notebook that’s not too expensive.