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At 03:35 AM 4/5/98 , David Ross wrote: >> The 560's & etc. (perhaps the 600, the Sony, the Versa 5000 series, >>Digital's Hi-Note Ultra...) are in a class they're calling "Thin and >>Light". > >Somehow I don't think that "thin and light" is a category name that will >last, and I certainly think the 560 is more akin to traditional subnotes like >the 701 and the HP800 than it is to "sorta thin and sorta lights" like the >600, the Sony, and the NEC (I believe the DEC is more comparable to the 560). Well, I agree with you that the ThinkPad 600 (and frankly, the Versa 5000 series) really doesn't quite fit in with the "thin and light" thing--particularly if the 600 is as heavy as it seems to be. These machines really straddle the difference between the "thin and light" category and the "full featured" category, offered the modular ability to insert other devices like a CD-ROM or extra battery, but still remaining pretty small (within limits) in terms of thickness & weight. You know, the full-featured devices like the 770's and other hi-end notebooks are inching their way back up to the bad old days' of luggables and suitcases--their over 9 pounds! The thought of carrying *those* things makes me shudder... But your comment about the 560 being in the category of traditional subnotes just isn't something I agree with. My view of the subnotes means smaller dimensions--smaller screens, smaller keyboards (excepting the unique 701), and limited ports. The 560 does not compromise on *any* of those dimensions. It therefore, IMO, doesn't qualify as a subnotebook--which is why the "thin and light" modicum seems to me to be the appropriate term. In the other dimensions (aside from thickness and weight), the 560 is "normal" size. Ever seen the Toshiba CT series? *Those* are subnotebooks! There are people sweaing by those as PDA-type devices and recommending the use of them over palmtops, Pilots, and CE machines. The HP 620LX is the first color Win CE machine, and its size, weight, and cost put it within striking distance of a Toshiba CT machine. Many in the PDA-using community recommend just spending a couple hundred more dollars and getting a relatively full-featured Toshiba CT over the relatively impotent Win CE system. ------- Randal J. Whittle whittle@usc.edu (213) 740-7775 Director, Electronic Commerce Program Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California