[edlinfan]

Here's what I got from the article.

- Island style backlit keyboard

- No more physical buttons for the touchpad or pointing stick

- Function keys now default to Media keys

- "Thinner and sleeker" is more important than anything else.

In other words, the machine is getting more and more similar to standard mass-market notebooks. I don't know why they'd ditch exactly what sets them apart from the competition.

[latitude]

> Function keys now default to Media keys

It's been like that for a while now. There's a BIOS setting for that.

[joenathan]

I always tell my customers if they want a laptop that will last to get a Thinkpad T series. As long as they don't compromise the build quality I'll be happy.

[masklinn]

Why not a toughbook? Something like an SX2[0] or a C2[1]

[0] http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/business-rugged-... [1] http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/semi-rugged-C2-c...

[joenathan]

Toughbooks are extremely costly and heavy, I'd recommend them to people doing field work, otherwise they are a bit excessive,

[masklinn]

They are costly indeed, for the same reason "original" thinkpads or MBPs are costly: they're worth it.

As to "heavy", I linked to "business rugged" series of toughbooks. Fully rugged toughbooks (those you see on field work) are built like tanks and heavy as fuck indeed (e.g. Toughbook 19 with 5.1 lbs or Toughbook 31 with 7.9 lbs), these are much sleeker machines: way above an average laptop, but not MIL-STD or IP65 by a long shot.

The SX2 is 3.1 lbs. By comparison, a 2012 MBA is 2.38 (11") to 2.96 lbs (13"). Would you really call 3.1 lbs "heavy"? Let alone "extremely" so? (the C2 is a big bit heaver at 3.6 lbs, as it's a convertible tablet with a bunch more features like hot-swappable batteries)

[joenathan]

Thank you! I'll look more into the business line of the toughbooks.