Shawnzyoo noted that Sony has released their new series of VAIO TX laptops. In order to make them stronger/lighter/thinner, they are nowmade of carbon fiber. No plans to release it in the US yet, so start learning Korean if you want this one.Ads_xl=0;Ads_yl=0;Ads_xp='';Ads_yp='';Ads_xp1='';Ads_yp1='';Ads_par='';Ads_cnturl='';Ads_prf='page=article';Ads_channels='RON_P6_IMU';Ads_wrd='portables,sony';Ads_kid=0;Ads_bid=0;Ads_sec=0; New VAIOs Made of Carbon Fiber Log in/Create an Account | Top | 213 comments | Search Discussion Display Options Threshold: -1: 213 comments 0: 207 comments 1: 148 comments 2: 86 comments 3: 26 comments 4: 16 comments 5: 10 comments Flat Nested No Comments Threaded Oldest First Newest First Highest Scores First Oldest First (Ignore Threads) Newest First (Ignore Threads) The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. Learn Korean? (Score:1, Interesting) by Nuclear Elephant (700938) on Wednesday October 19, @10:02AM (#13826149) (http://www.nuclearelephant.com/) No plans to release it in the US yet, so start learning Korean if you want this one. Are there people really walking around with the Korean version of Windows running on their laptops simply because they bought it in Korea? What's the Korean word for fdisk? [ Reply to ThisRe:Learn Korean? by darkitecture (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:13AMRe:Learn Korean? by Nuclear Elephant (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:15AM Re:Learn Korean? (Score:4, Funny) by darkitecture (627408) on Wednesday October 19, @10:22AM (#13826312) Isn't that what Babelfish is for? If you want to order a laptop and end up with six low-grade pairs of headphones and a guide to haircare written by Kim Jong-il, sure! [ Reply to This | Parent Re:Learn Korean? (Score:5, Interesting) by kromozone (817261) on Wednesday October 19, @10:22AM (#13826315) Most Koreans can't understand anything babelfish says. It's complete unintelligible gibberish to them. Korean->English can be equally nightmarish. Most Koreans don't follow traditional rules for word separation, so the system can't figure out where the words end. In addition, hangul uses a very limited range of pronunciation whereas as its parent language, Chinese, has a variety of different inflections. As such, each Korean character has up to 50 or 60 different meanings. I can get by with most stuff, even technical documents, but talking to a University age student on the Internet is excruciatingly painful. It's like they all use some hyper-evolved form of leet-speak where you can't use spaces. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Learn Korean? by Nuclear Elephant (Score:3) Wednesday October 19, @10:52AMRe:Learn Korean? by koweja (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:45AMRe:Learn Korean? by highwind81 (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:58AMRe:Learn Korean? by kromozone (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:10AMRe:Learn Korean? by /dev/trash (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @08:56PMRe:Learn Korean? by derfel (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:12AMRe:Learn Korean? by kromozone (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:35AMRe:Learn Korean? by derfel (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @12:15PM2 replies beneath your current threshold. Re:Learn Korean? (Score:5, Funny) by Nuclear Elephant (700938) on Wednesday October 19, @10:17AM (#13826286) (http://www.nuclearelephant.com/) The two biggest mysteries of the world: How morons get modpoints, and how a first post can get marked as redundant. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Learn Korean? by saigon_from_europe (Score:3) Wednesday October 19, @10:30AM Re:Learn Korean? (Score:5, Insightful) by MaestroSartori (146297) on Wednesday October 19, @10:46AM (#13826556) (http://www.cubo.co.uk/) Now straying dangerously offtopic, but if the first post just regurgitates a bit of the summary (or article) then surely it could be redundant? :) [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Learn Korean? by Surt (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:21AM2 replies beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold. Re:Learn Korean? (Score:5, Informative) by ducleotide (656390) on Wednesday October 19, @10:20AM (#13826299) the sony website [sonystyle.com] is taking pre orders, i'm guessing it'll be released in the US soon. [ Reply to This | ParentI already have one. Here's what I think. by Scoria (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @02:03PMRe:I already have one. Here's what I think. by Scoria (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @02:20PMRe:Learn Korean? by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:52AM1 reply beneath your current threshold.2 replies beneath your current threshold. Why not japanese? (Score:2) by 3.5 stripes (578410) on Wednesday October 19, @10:02AM (#13826151) Is korean easier to learn or something? [ Reply to ThisArgh! by bensyverson (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:04AMRe:Why not japanese? by middlemen (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:07AMRe:Why not japanese? by karvind (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:12AMRe:Why not japanese? by Kobun (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:36AMRe:Why not japanese? by zephc (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:15AMRe:Why not japanese? by Bobartig (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @02:25PMRe:Why not japanese? by 3.5 stripes (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:37AMActually... by BJH (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:37AM4 replies beneath your current threshold. Who cares about NA, is it available in Japan ??? (Score:2, Redundant) by gorim (700913) on Wednesday October 19, @10:04AM (#13826171) I am quite surprised the article didn't even touch on this, since Sony is a Japanese company. Would this really be released in S.Korea first ? [ Reply to ThisRe:Who cares about NA, is it available in Japan ?? by siufish (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:10AMMaybe the article says that... by BJH (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:47AM One word... (Score:1) by oringo (848629) on Wednesday October 19, @10:04AM (#13826177) Drooling... I like the AV feature, which makes those laptops true replacement for portable DVD/CD players. [ Reply to ThisRe:One word... by LikwidFlux (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:34AMRe:One word... by PalmKiller (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:37AMRe:One word... by wpiman (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:38AMRe:One word... by oringo (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:46AMhow about linux? by Brandon Dowell (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @02:01PM safe? (Score:1, Interesting) by donour (445617) <donour&uchicago,edu> on Wednesday October 19, @10:05AM (#13826189) (http://www.donour.com) Isn't carbon fibre both flammable as well as electrically conductive? [ Reply to ThisRe:safe? by Nuclear Elephant (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:09AM Re:safe? (Score:5, Insightful) by CausticPuppy (82139) on Wednesday October 19, @10:32AM (#13826395) (http://j.bruce.home.mindspring.com) Isn't carbon fibre both flammable as well as electrically conductive?If it was flammable, it would certainly be a very poor choice for constructing race cars.As for electrical conductivity, it wouldn't be any more of an issue than metal notebook casings which are already widely used. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:safe? by donour (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:38AMRe:safe? by terrabit (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:03AMRe:safe? by geminidomino (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @04:26PMRe:safe? by Sketch (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:07AM Re:safe? (Score:4, Informative) by CausticPuppy (82139) on Wednesday October 19, @11:49AM (#13827087) (http://j.bruce.home.mindspring.com) Actually I believe it _is_ flammable and _I_ build race cars out of it. (http://me.unm.edu/~fsae/teams/2005/ [unm.edu]). However, my mind blanked and I forgot how high the temperature has to be before it will oxidize.It'll oxidize at a very high temperature, but I think the oxidation stops as soon as the heat source is removed so you won't get a sustainable burn (but I Am Not a Materials Scientist). This may be another reason why it's useful in race cars along with strength and weight. Carbon brake pads don't readily ignite either, right?At any rate, if anything in a laptop shell gets hot enough to oxidize carbon fiber, you probably have other things to worry about!Nice cars by the way, those things must have a scary power to weight ratio. And I'm drooling over that Ford GT. [ Reply to This | Parent1 reply beneath your current threshold.3 replies beneath your current threshold.Re:safe? by hcob$ (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:33AMRe:safe? by JesseL (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:11AMRe:safe? by SunPin (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:52AM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Carbon Fiber? (Score:1, Troll) by jamesgamble (917138) on Wednesday October 19, @10:07AM (#13826200) It may make them lighter and stronger, but does it make them cooler and cheaper? [ Reply to This Re:Carbon Fiber? (Score:5, Funny) by hsmith (818216) on Wednesday October 19, @10:13AM (#13826251) it makes it faster by 1ghz, just from the carbon fiber alone [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Carbon Fiber? by F_Scentura (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:24AM Re:Carbon Fiber? (Score:4, Funny) by AndersOSU (873247) on Wednesday October 19, @11:46AM (#13827070) No, the carbon fiber only adds 500Mhz, you need the aftermarket wing crudely bolted through the LCD to get the 1GHz boost. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Carbon Fiber? by Pope (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @12:36PMRe:Carbon Fiber? by mranchovy (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @07:10PM Re:Carbon Fiber? (Score:4, Funny) by MADCOWbeserk (515545) on Wednesday October 19, @12:38PM (#13827629) I'm ordering mine with a wing and a Type-R sicker. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Carbon Fiber? by Luuvitonen (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @12:50PMRe:Carbon Fiber? by PhraudulentOne (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @02:22PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Carbon Fiber? by orasio (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:41AMRe:Carbon Fiber? by Blakey Rat (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @02:28PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. I'll Let Them Try It First (Score:5, Interesting) by Comatose51 (687974) on Wednesday October 19, @10:08AM (#13826205) Carbon fiber is used fairly extensively in cycling and we've learned a few things about it. They have lower heat tolerance and abrasion resistance than metal. I'm not sure if those are qualities you want in a laptop which tend to get hot and rub against the table. [ Reply to ThisRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by Anonymous Coward (Score:3) Wednesday October 19, @10:15AM Re:I'll Let Them Try It First (Score:5, Funny) by blair1q (305137) on Wednesday October 19, @10:28AM (#13826363) (Last Journal: Thursday October 17, @11:28AM) All my PCs are coated in plastic.I for one welcome our carbon-fiber overshells. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by jgc7 (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:05AMRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by Sketch (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:14AMRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by AndersOSU (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:51AMRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by khallow (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @01:05PMRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by F_Scentura (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @02:23PMRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by khallow (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @05:59PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:I'll Let Them Try It First by ifwm (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:39AMRe:I'll Let Them Try It First by eepok (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @12:37PM How is this different than the CF TX for NA? (Score:5, Informative) by cullman (29958) on Wednesday October 19, @10:08AM (#13826210) http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity /eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start;sid=uat PyV9-gjlPUxwo6HVFwhBwahpn-XnwTyA=?CategoryName=cpu _VAIONotebookComputers_TXSeries&Dept=computers [sonystyle.com]Carbon Fiber, same specs, goes on sale here next week - no Korean required. [ Reply to ThisRe:How is this different than the CF TX for NA? by MaceyHW (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:39AMRe:How is this different than the CF TX for NA? by CommanderData (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:44AM Written by a monkey? (Score:2) by dj245 (732906) on Wednesday October 19, @10:09AM (#13826216) (http://www.rogertheshrubber.net/) Was it written by a monkey? Comparing with other existing T series notebooks, these VAIOs become twice as strong in endurance and the weight, only in 1.24-1.26kg, 30%lighter than before. The display panel thickness is only 4.5mm. Their design and color is are also very special And that is half the article... [ Reply to ThisRe:Written by a monkey? by Anonymous Coward (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:30AM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Keyboard is Korean (Score:2, Informative) by Dj-Zer0 (576280) on Wednesday October 19, @10:09AM (#13826220) GuysMaybe you need to fdisk and replace the keyboard.. or stick some stickers along to make the keys english. Not that you need to but makes it easier at times [ Reply to ThisRe:Keyboard is Korean by Barnoid (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:17AMRe:Keyboard is Korean by Anarkhia (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @11:38AMRe:Keyboard is Korean by Bellum Aeternus (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @01:21PM "AV mode"? (Score:2) by hotspotbloc (767418) on Wednesday October 19, @10:11AM (#13826228) (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html | Last Journal: Wednesday September 14, @07:29PM) Besides the very cool carbon fiber case the TX also has an "AV mode" that allows users to play music without booting to MS Windows. Does anyone know what OS they're using for the AV mode and could it be replaced with a really thin version of GNU/Linux?It seems that other than Apple and IBM, Sony is one of the few companies that turn out real innovations in their laptops while others are happy with "paint on performance". [ Reply to ThisRe:"AV mode"? by jandrese (Score:3) Wednesday October 19, @10:24AMRe:"AV mode"? by Shanep (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:31AMAgreed but by hotspotbloc (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @12:25PM2 replies beneath your current threshold. Electrical properties (Score:4, Interesting) by asadodetira (664509) on Wednesday October 19, @10:11AM (#13826234) (http://ingqca.blogspot.com/) I'd like to point out that using carbon fibers or nanotubes in consumer electronics has electrical advantages. Using a conductive filler you can achieve electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection or electrostatic dissipation (ESD). Other conductive fillers such as carbon black or metallic powders would work but due to the small aspect ratio of the particles they require large amounts, and this degrades the mechanical properties of the polymer. Some more infomration here http://www.patagon.8m.com/equations/cnt.html [8m.com] [ Reply to ThisRe:Electrical properties by ficken (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:29AMRe:Electrical properties by asadodetira (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:49AMRe:Electrical properties by PhotoBoy (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:50AMRe:Electrical properties by Moofie (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @12:20PMRe:Electrical properties by khallow (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @12:59PMRe:Electrical properties by dj245 (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @12:08PM Oh man... (Score:3, Interesting) by Shanep (68243) on Wednesday October 19, @10:11AM (#13826235) (http://slashdot.org/) I just dropped $5k AU on a VAIO VGN-A49GP about 2 months ago. I bought it for the spectacular display (17" 1920x1200), but I am a little disappointed with it feeling a little flimsy after not much use. Even the silver paint on the palm rests is already wearing off and showing the black plastic underneath.Metal or carbon fiber would have been nice, especially at this price point and size. [ Reply to ThisRe:Oh man... by frank378 (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @10:40AMRe:Oh man... by thrillseeker (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:06AMRe:Oh man... by Shanep (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:37AMRe:Oh man... by Surt (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:18AMRe:Oh man... by Shanep (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:44AMRe:Oh man... by Surt (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @11:48AMRe:Oh man... by Shanep (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @01:19PM2 replies beneath your current threshold. This is old news.. (Score:1) by Simon80 (874052) on Wednesday October 19, @10:13AM (#13826246) Who the hell cares about this? This isn't news at all..http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools /item-details.asp?EdpNo=1482276&Sku=A180-1090%20CA [tigerdirect.ca] [ Reply to ThisRe:This is old news.. by zrk (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @04:39PMRe:This is old news.. by Simon80 (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @05:30PMRe:This is old news.. by Simon80 (Score:1) Wednesday October 19, @05:36PM What's made of carbon fiber? (Score:2) by xenotrout (680453) on Wednesday October 19, @10:16AM (#13826272) (http://xenotrout.com/ | Last Journal: Wednesday July 07, @11:28AM) Uh...what part is made of carbon fiber? Obviously the previously plastic shell, obviously not the circuitry. I expect this information hard to come by, but is there any other part made of carbon fiber? Fan blades? Possible, but unlikely. internal structural elements usually made of metal or plastic? Seems like something that might be overlooked (or not make much difference). Interesting that the images in the article don't have that usual carbon fiber look. I thought they would use this as a marketing thing as much as anything else... [ Reply to ThisRe:What's made of carbon fiber? by F_Scentura (Score:2) Wednesday October 19, @10:37AM This is already in Japan - it's the Type T VAIO (Score:2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 19, @10:23AM (#13826319) This was out in Japan first - it's the Type T VAIO.http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/Product/T/inde x.html [sonystyle.com]Depending on how good your Japanese is, they do say it is made of multi-layered carbon fibre. [ Reply to This Yet another reason not to put it on your lap... (Score:1) by lividdr (775594) on Wednesday October 19, @10:24AM (#13826326) Carbon fiber is used a lot in cycling parts exactly because it is very strong and light. However, as soon as the fiber weave is compromised... *SPROING*! I was behind a guy when his fiber seatpost blew. It looked quite painful. [ Reply to This Re:Yet another reason not to put it on your lap... (Score:5, Informative) by CottonEyedJoe (177704) on Wednesday October 19, @10:49AM (#13826582) (Last Journal: Wednesday October 19, @11:05AM)