Dell Called It 'The Showstopper'

This is genuinely the best laptop I've ever seen.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:30 The Laptop Question
00:03:20 First impressions
00:14:00 Ports, slots, and accessories
00:18:35 Basic user experience
00:23:00 The Premium Remote
00:32:21 Hardware review and teardown
00:39:48 RAID problems and solutions
00:44:06 The godforsaken rubber coating
00:45:41 Hardware summary
00:46:18 Gaming performance
00:51:03 The battery issue
00:54:49 Where did this come from?
00:56:03 Premium remote deep dive
01:00:55 The curse of the concept car
01:03:15 Quick Start: Episode 3: Episode 2
01:05:14 Conclusion
01:06:22 Outro

Regarding CableCard:

This was a *huge* debacle that's still going on, but in short, the FCC mandated in the late 90s that cable TV providers allow subscribers to view TV as a raw MPEG2 stream, on a device of their choosing; Cablecard is the generally known brand name of the thing that was made to enable this. The cable companies absolutely hated it, they fought it tooth and claw to stop it, and while they technically are legally required *to this day* to support these things, they will literally lie and cheat to prevent you from using one. There are thousands of stories, it's a real mess.

I bring it up here because: In 2006, there were still laptops being sold with both Cardbus and ExpressCard slots. With all the media features of this machine, Dell absolutely would have had cablecard on their minds, I'm sure they would have wanted to provide for it, but you can't actually use one on this machine. There was never any Cablecard sold in ExpressCard format, and I have no idea why. PCI-e desktop cards got made, but no EC cards.

Dell wouldn't have known this in 2006 however; EC was still picking up steam, and they were probably certain that any minute Cablecard would be updated. They couldn't have known this would never happen, but if they did, I think they would have put both Cardbus and EC on here. Again, a completely baseless theory, but an interesting thing to think about anyway.

[CathodeRayDude]

🎉 SORRY I SAID DDR3 WHEN I MEANT DDR2 🎉
Update: So it turns out this was not directly my fault! I copied the system specs out of the CNET article early on in writing the script, and as an eagle eyed viewer just pointed out, THEY got the memory type wrong! See, folks, this is why I cite my sources.

[siberx]

This _whole video_ was worth it just for the 5-second gag of you sitting in the Starbucks, fancy coffee in hand and overpriced bagel sandwich at your side, watching TV with your triangle antenna proudly on display.

I mean, the rest of the video is fabulous too, but that really was the highlight.

[BrightSpark]

You know, I have always said that "The term sub-notebook implies the existance of a dom-notebook".
And, lo and behold... there it is!

[FennecTECH]

The battery means you can put it to sleep. Drive 3 hours to work. Put it on your desk and continue where you left off. Or put it to sleep. Carry it to your bed and have the ultimate bed TV experience. I want one

[pdoherty]

The image of Gravis watching broadcast HD on a "laptop" in one of the "fancy" Starbucks in 2024 has really been cracking me up.

This was another great, entertaining and fascinating look back into forgotten or, better, under appreciated computer history.

[dribanlycan]

1 minute in, THIS is what ive always wanted in a laptop, a desktop that i can lug, no heat issues, no small screen and dainty compact keys, just a Setup with features

[seshpenguin]

Finally, a review of this thing that doesn't treat it like some weird exhibit but instead actually explores it in the full context of when and why it existed!

[Tibyon]

DocuSign Impact is apparently the team building summer camp for DocuSign employees. The former owner of that shirt was probably traumatized by it and had to get rid of it

[Kaytichu]

I went through all 5 stages of grief when you so casually told us we were really watching Quick Start this whole time

[drsunshineaod]

I can't believe you've managed to sell me on a media center laptop pc from 2006!! That pitch about the remote alone is just *chef's kiss*

[endymallorn]

I think I’ve figured out what the battery is for. You’re absolutely right that the machine was meant for media viewing. The battery isn’t just for a power outage, which is a big part, but even bigger:

Sleep mode and travel. No joke. XP was the first time that we really used “sleep mode” on a computer. And given what this beast was all about, it’s *perfect* for the jetsetter to take to the airport. Yes, it’s the weight of a carry-on; that’s what it is. But if you have DVDs, or recorded TV, or any video file, you could drop it on this thing, leave everything exactly how you like it, put the machine into Sleep Mode, and then plug in at the airport or on the plane (because of course you fly biz class, where they have 120v plugs).

That’s what the battery is about. Throw all the accessories into a bag, hit the road, and take your media with you, wherever you go. And never, ever, lose your place or video-specific settings through something so gauche as “shutting down”.

[SYXG]

also premium Pre-housing crash electronics, software, anything, is so amazing. its like looking at a lost civilization and technology.

[kowalskidiazdegeras]

I am sorry, but I have to say that in comparison, the LTT video is disgusting. I still can't believe such a big channel published such a hastily made video, completely missing not only the most important peripherals, but even not correcting stupid errors like "the keyboard doesn't work" (they didn't even pair it, ffs), or how much they insisted on the machine case being "aluminium" (yet they could have just... looked for a label on it). This channel is like 2 orders of magnitude smaller, yet it delivers quality content on another level

[hivehum]

the optical drive is the absolute cutest thing...

[HowieDue]

That quickstart element just took you from my 2nd favourite youtube channel/personality to leaps and bounds ahead to #1

I love you man

[BluesMA]

I was absolutely floored at the sight of the disc drive mechanism. You never see anything like this, and it couldn't have been cheap to manufacturer but it makes such a bold statement in its design I can't help but adore it.

[ZenIsFluffy]

So happy to see a look at an old product that is more than just "haha weird! am I right???" this was way more delightful than I ever imagined!

[alexandreabdo]

About Wireless USB: it uses a type of radio called UWB or Ultra Wide Band. At the time UWB was a 1GHz large band around the 2.4GHz range (compare to the 20MHz bands used for WiFi channels). This large band means the possibilty for huge data rates, but also a large band for other Wireless communications to interfere with (like WiFi). Because the power emission of UWB is way lower than other wireless tech, it was always being disrupted by other signals, including other UWB devices, so this solution wasn't really scalable.
While Wireless USB died, UWB is still alive as a kind of radio positionning system and is part of the solution used by Apple's Airtags, and some high end car keys.

[freednighthawk]

I worked for Dell XPS Gold Support in 2007, as these were being phased out. They were always my favorite, and I still want one of my own.

BTW, we were specifically instructed not to call laptops laptops, because Dell didn't wan't you using them on your lap and burning you.

[justanotheryoutubechannel]

The reveal that this thing has a Quick Start OS made me genuinely sit up and shout out “WHAT!?”, that was an incredible moment.