Laptop Specs

We keep track of laptops that we like for everyday / business use. Some people may like the most powerful laptops -- or more stylish looks -- but these represent the "sweetspot" in terms of performance, price, and value. Here's a record of what you can get for the given price point over recent years.

It's exciting to have the new Intel "breakthrough" Core i3/i5/i7 series of chips in this price category.

Date	Processor Speed	Memory	Harddrive	Battery	Price
Nov 10	2.4 Ghz (i3) Win 7	4 GB (exp to 8)	320 GB	4 hrs	$500
Dec 09	2.2 Ghz (x2) Win 7	4 GB	300 GB	4 hrs	$550
Aug 09	2.1 Ghz (x2) Vista	3 GB	320 GB	3 hrs	$500
Dec 08	2.0 Ghz (x2) Vista	3 GB	300 GB	2.5 hrs	$550
Aug 08	1.9 Ghz (x2) Vista	3 GB	250 GB	2 hrs	$550
Dec 07	1.6 Ghz (x2) Vista	1.5 GB	120 GB	1.5 hrs	$550

NYT: NASA's Quest to send Robot to Moon

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/science/space/02robot.html

For $150 billion, the National Aeronautics and Space Administrationcould have sent astronauts back to the Moon. The Obama administration judged that too expensive, and in September, Congress agreed to cancel the program.

For a fraction of that — less than $200 million, along with about $250 million for a rocket — NASA engineers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston say they can safely send a humanoid robot to the Moon. And they say they could accomplish that in a thousand days.