funny thing is that most modern x86 cpus are RISC internally but have some kind of tranlator between the software and the core...

I think this question might be more compelling if you extend the scope a tiny bit. I'm interested to see the impact of devices that this article alludes to. The CISC vs. RISC discussion seems to always end with the marketplace. Well, it seems to be getting some new legs.

No way...

Its a small inexpensive laptop, that is a tablet. To me the main selling point of this, and the thing that makes it a tablet, is yes the swivel screen and the fact that it is a touch screen. I wanted to give my daughter the ability to draw pictures on the screen as she is an artist. Battery life is not important to me, the main feature is the touchscreen, and Corel Draw 4, Corel Painter 4 and gimp.

Perhaps you can explain to me, why it is not a tablet? I am unclear why you think Battery life has anything to do with "tablet"? It clearly depends on what you plan to do with your tablet. If you plan on using it instead of paper, you may want a long battery life. But this has nothing to do with whether its a tablet or not.


I did some searching for tablet pc definition. Its clear you seem to be confused about the definition of a tablet??

DEFINITION - 1) In general, a tablet PC is a wireless personal computer (PC) that allows a user to take notes using natural handwriting with a stylus or digital pen on a touch screen. A tablet PC is similar in size and thickness to a yellow paper notepad and is intended to function as the user's primary personal computer as well as a note-taking device. Tablet PCs generally have two formats, a convertible model with an integrated keyboard and display that rotates 180 degrees and can be folded down over the keyboard -- or a slate style, with a removable keyboard. The user's handwritten notes, which can be edited and revised, can also be indexed and searched or shared via e-mail or cell phone.

or

A complete computer contained in a touch screen. Tablet computers can be specialized for only Internet use or be full-blown, general-purpose PCs with all the bells and whistles of a desktop unit. The distinguishing characteristic is the use of the screen as an input device using a stylus or finger. In 2000, Microsoft began to promote a version of Windows XP for tablet computers, branding them "Tablet PCs." See Tablet PC, Ultra-Mobile PC, Webpad and touch screen.

or

(n.) (1) Spelled tablet PC
, a type of notebook computer that has an LCD screen on which the user can write using a special-purpose pen, or stylus. The handwriting is digitized and can be converted to standard text through handwriting recognition, or it can remain as handwritten text. The stylus also can be used to type on a pen-based key layout where the lettered keys are arranged differently than a QWERTY keyboard. Tablet PCs also typically have a keyboard and/or a mouse for input.

The tablet PC relies on digital ink technology, where a digitizer is laid under or over an LCD screen to create an electromagnetic field that can capture the movement of the special-purpose pen and record the movement on the LCD screen. The effect is like writing on paper with liquid ink.

or

Main Entry: tablet PC
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a wireless personal computer in the form of a notebook and that allows a user to hand-write notes with a stylus or digital pen on a touch screen
Example: A tablet PC that includes a keyboard is a convertible or hybrid; one with only a monitor and pen is called a slate.
Etymology: 2002

or

DEFINITION: 1) In general, a tablet PC is a wireless personal computer (PC) that allows a user to take notes using natural handwriting with a stylus or digital pen on a touch screen. A tablet PC is similar in size and thickness to a yellow paper notepad and is intended to function as the user's primary personal computer as well as a note-taking …
.

Hmm, no, proprietary software compiled for Linux/x86 is also a reason why one could prefer x86 architecture. AMD64 provides a [i]fast[/b] compatibility layer for x86-32 which is a major point where Intel Itanium failed miserably.

If you buy a new computer now you buy a computer which can run in its own mode, and x86-32 compatible mode. Both fast, approx equal. So if the user runs a AMD64/x86-64 compatible OS or a x86-32 compatible OS has little to do with performance.

And often, compatiblity is important. Especially on the desktop. A good example of increased compatibility is Apple transition from PPC to Intel.

On the tablet it is less important, and ARM is a big player in the embedded sector.

This is completely hypothetical currently, but under those assumptions, x86 has an edge in some areas:

• better supported upstream (kernel, gcc, valgrind etc)
• ease of development (no faffing about with incomplete emulators and/or compiling for two architectures and such).
• ARM can be not quite as open sometimes.

so yeah, If someone made a reasonably priced, open, linux-based x86 pocketable device that can run for a week on a single charge I'd buy it.

No two CPU models (even of the same architecture and manufacturer) are ever exactly equal in all areas. ARM and x86 do differ widely in many areas (power/heat, code efficiency, floating point performance and memory bandwidth to name a few) but they seem to be converging towards similar power/performance level lately. It's not inconceivable that VIA, Intel and/or AMD will manage to produce chips that eat around a quarter of a Watt peak in the next year or three.

You seem to be confusing two issues: first, even (recent) 32-bit x86 machines are all more RISC than CISC under the hood than, with translation to run the x86 instruction set; the RISClike internals are completely inaccessible, because all instructions are translated. Second, AMD64 (and Intel's clone, EM64T I think) have a 64-bit and 32-bit mode; the 64-bit mode is almost precisely a superset of the 32-bit mode, so there's no separate translation stage (and performance penalty) added for 32-bit mode. (And while the OS has little to do with performance, AFAIK 32-bit OSes can't permit 64-bit userspace code, so you have to run a 64 kernel so you can have 64 code in places where it does count (heavy math libraries). That and memory addressing are the principal reasons for 64-bit OSes, not across-the-board performance gains.)

So, you were looking for a cheap laptop and bought one with the swivel touchscreen for which you have clear set of uses? Well, that makes sense. I am pretty sure though that you are not using it for the same purposes as the NIT.

Well, the original poster clearly meant Nokia Internet Tablets by "tablets". While your laptop has the word "tablet" in its marketing name ("Tablet PC" ©Microsoft), it has nothing to do with NITs. It is way too large and heavy to hold in your hand for long periods of time and runs out of battery after 2 hours of use.

Let me clarify: "Tablet PC" is Microsoft's name for touch screen PCs running specially modified version of Windows. "Nokia Internet Tablet" is Nokia's name for small, mobile internet devices with touch screens, more similar to Microsoft's "Pocket PC" designator. They are not the same thing.

I have yet to see a paper notepad that weights 2+kg. As to the primary personal computer, having a touch screen there may or may not be of help, depending on what you use it for.

I don't think I'd ever buy an X86 portable other than a laptop. Even then I'd rather buy an ARM PC than an X86 one, there just aren't any mainstream ARM boards. Hopefully a new market will open up and the ARM Ubuntu port will mature. Then it won't be much of a choice to me.