Web Worker Daily

Almost exactly a year ago, Apple introduced its unibody aluminum MacBooks. “Unibody” means that the case is a single piece, with the battery being sealed inside. My immediate reaction, shared by many road warriors and web workers, was horror: “They can’t do that!” Not only did Apple do it, but soon after, the range was expanded to include the 17” MacBooks as well. As of today, the only MacBook available with a removable battery is the legacy white 13” MacBook, whose days are believed to be numbered by many analysts.

So what happened when legions of Apple fans were faced with being unable to change out the batteries on their beloved notebooks? Did angry mobs descend on Cupertino? Not exactly. After the initial shock wore off, we began to ask ourselves how important removable laptop batteries actually were.

There are good arguments for removable notebook batteries, especially if you compute on the go a lot. Power outlets are frequently unavailable in locations such as conference rooms, convention centers and aircraft. Power access is improving in newer facilities but it is still easy to find yourself without power. Having the security of the second battery in your bag makes the quest for power a little less panicked. Also, replacing a battery that has outlived its hardware life requires no downtime. Read the rest of this entry »

As we noted last month, Dell is starting to target “digital nomads” heavily as a market. Today’s launch of the Inspiron Mini 9 shows a product aimed squarely at that market: an inexpensive, light, slick little machine optimized for on-the-go connectivity rather than heavy work.

The Mini 9 is available for order immediately, at a base price of $349 (though I suspect most interested web workers would go for options that put it in the four to five hundred dollar range). At that price, it’s practically an impulse buy (and I’ll admit to feeling impulsive myself – it might make a good tester for IE8 rendering, if you need an excuse). For that price, you get what appears to be a reasonably capable machine, though there are clearly compromises.

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