At the moment I have an older very similarly spec'd Toshiba laptop with what looks like the same chassis (albeit mine has a smaller screen) sitting on my desk at home running Windows 7 very neatly.

If it is the same chassis, it's a durable, decent unit, and the specs should fulfill all the basic computing needs. High end games, no; specialized high end software, no. MS Office, Photoshop, internet browsing and media playing? Absolutely.

Right now it's sounding like a MID, not a full tablet computer. I was hoping to see a full featured tablet computer from Apple, but it looks like it's not going to happen. For an OSX tablet form notebook, even if it were underpowered, $700 sounds like a nice sweet price.

But if it's a glorified media player, the market is already littered with poorly selling MIDs in that price range. Many of them very nice devices, but at their price point they are niche products and unlikely to become anything else.

I'm sure Apple could move a decent number just among the fanbase even if it doesn't spread to new users, but I just don't see it as a major product. Not this year, anyway.

The stylus will be a $79.99 accessory.

Dear Santa...

No, it is not, unless the book is in the public domain. Copying a whole book is unauthorized duplication, and most copy places won't touch a project like that.

"Fair use" in the US permits copying small selections for non-commercial use, for example as a handout in a classroom, making a copy of a recipe from a library book for use at home, etc.

Because you need access to power. Wind farms get put where the wind blows all the time and solar farms get put where the sun shines all the time. Coal plants get put near the coal... and so forth.

You can dramatically decrease power needs for heating/cooling by building underground and using geothermal pumps. Geothermal works the same and just as well in a hot climate as a cold one.

I spent a hefty chunk of change on my mountain bike but nowhere near $6600, and it isn't anywhere near that hefty 43 pounds either.

Unless you've got a solid bike locker at work I can't imagine riding around town and locking up such a pricey bike to the cheap aluminum bike rack out front. The best motorcycle chain & lock you can buy is still 15 minutes from stolen for a thief with the right tools, and you don't want to be lugging it around wrapped to your seatpost. You park it in the same place all the time and there's gonna be a bike thief who see it and brings the right tool one day.

They probably used a frying pan because the only experience the typical layperson might have with induction is from an induction cooktop, and those are not very popular yet outside of pro kitchens.

That and the fact frying pans have handles...

I think if anyone can pull off transitioning tablets to the masses it would be Apple. They have a strong educational presence where much of the actual tablet need resides. You can boot to Windows so you can run the fabulous OneNote software.

And then there's Apple's panache for marketing old ideas as shiny brand new inventions. Heck, I might even buy such a device and I tend to intensely dislike everything that comes out of Cupertino.

My only concern would be that Apple would decide that you don't need a keyboard at all in their typical but-we-made-it-perfect fashion. And I think that would kill it. Not many students can afford multiple computers to do homework on, especially when chances are they need a beefy machine to run specialized software. (And video games.)

"But I must agree w/ the Times of London quote of most women just want a taste. "

I'd say no. What women want it is highly functional items so they can get on with their lives. More men have a higher tolerance for "wasting time" tinkering with why something doesn't work or how to get it to work, because these men find the tinkering entertaining. (So do I, along with probably 100% of Engadget readers.)

Frankly, a lot of men also want good and intuitive design, so it's a win for the manufacturer all around.

What is female-specific design? Gadgets not designed specifically to fit in a man-sized pocket or get clipped to a belt. Gadgets that can fit in a tiny clutch that goes with that cocktail dress. Interfaces that are easier to navigate when you have longer nails. Gadgets that stand up to the abuse that happens when a toddler grabs it out of a purse. Gadgets that are ergonomic with smaller hands and proportionally longer fingers. Et cetera, et cetera.

Pink? Meh.