@(Unverified)

Do refurbs qualify for the free iPod or no?

@(Unverified)

More people don't need it than need it these days. I'd rather have a larger battery or a second hard drive than an optical drive. These days when media is digital and optical drives can be external for $99 if you really need one, I don't see the point any more.

It started with the MacBook Air, but I don't think optical drives in laptops aren't going to be around much longer. If you want to watch a DVD/Blu-ray on a plane, an extra optical drive isn't that bad of an inconvenience (and when you consider Blu-ray Managed Copy is coming soon, there won't be a need to use an external drive to actually watch the movie, just copy it over to a hard drive!)

I'd say a 13" refurb MacBook Pro is the best value for the money, hands down. At $999, I ask you to find something better, lasts longer, and built tougher.

PS3 controller would have been better. More buttons, and an actual analog stick!

Meee

@NeoJew
Considering that members of the committee rotate every now and then, I don't understand how you can hate "an organization" when it's really just a few people calling the shots (people who get replaced, mind you).

@Flurby

Unless they increase the space which the camera takes up, 720p will look like total shit. You are never going to get the same quality from a camera phone as a dedicated device. Just go look at the 5MP shots from the Motorola Droid and the 3MP shots from the iPhone 3GS. It's not the number of pixels that matter. It's the amount of light that each pixel gets!

That video gave me nausea from all the shaking,

I'm still holding out for CULV + Ion in an 11" 1366x768 package.

@Ducman69

Windows 7 requires an x86 CPU and 1-2GB to be comfortable. The only CPU a hardware maker can really consider without running Windows 7 into the ground is an Intel Atom, and those use up WAY too much power compared to any ARM chip. Plus, when you consider the fact that the Windows interface is still designed primarily for keyboard and mouse with some touch integration, it's just not the best.

On the other hand, Android was designed for touch from the beginning and has MUCH lower requirements on hardware. If ASUS isn't rolling it's own OS, it'll probably use Android.