As many others have pointed out, wireless Net access is pretty damn addictive; one of the reasons is fewer dangling, tangling, trailing wires. So if this laptop came with two batteries, and an external battery charger that charged faster than the computer ran the batteries down, I could routinely work without having anything plugged in. Also, the laptop wouldn't have to include the battery-charge circuit, which might allow it to be simpler and lighter.
Anybody who has a small laptop is already carrying around one extra box, namely the power supply adapter, and most of us also carry around an extra battery. Why not make the two of these into a single extra box?
Although our house is well-supplied with Cat5 drops end-to-end, I'm seriously thinking about putting in wireless, for two reasons:
- The wire running from the computer to the wall is awkward, keeps you from moving around, and acts as a tripwire for errant toddlers and pets.
- It's hard to integrate cat5 cable and Ethernet hubs with traditional Arts & Crafts decor.
Ever since WiFi started busting out all over, there's been a wisecrack going around about "what we need now is wireless power." Well, d'oh.
Are there any Electrical Engineers out there with an educated opinion as to whether losing the charging circuit would make the laptop noticeably smaller and lighter?
