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The Best Windows Ultrabook
After more than 70 hours of research and testing, we found that the Dell XPS 13 (late-2015 model) is the best Windows ultrabook for most people. In addition to a big, beautiful screen, it has the longest battery life of any Windows ultrabook, the best keyboard short of a ThinkPad's, and a solid trackpad, offered in the smallest, lightest, best-designed package of all the ultrabooks we tested.
Our favorite model doesn't have a touchscreen, and its webcam is poorly placed, but if those are dealbreakers for you, worry not—we have great touchscreen, convertible, and budget recommendations, too.
Not sure what type of laptop you need? Check out "What Laptop Should I Buy?"
*At the time of publishing, the price was $1,100.
The XPS 13 we tested (and recommend) has a sixth-generation Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8 GB of RAM, a 256GB solid-state drive, a Thunderbolt 3–over–USB-C port, and a stunning, 13.3-inch 1080p display, all in a laptop that's closer in size and weight to the 11-inch MacBook Air than to Apple's 13-inch model. To fit the display into such a small chassis, Dell shrank the bezel around the screen to a teensy 5.2 millimeters. This design looks amazing, but the tiny bezel shunts the webcam to the left corner beneath the screen, so you should be prepared for some unflattering nostril and chin angles during video calls. That minor flaw aside, the Dell XPS 13's comfortable keyboard, good trackpad, excellent battery life, and reasonable price make it the best ultrabook for getting work done in the office or on the go.
If our main pick is sold out, or if you want a convertible laptop (with a keyboard that can flip back 360 degrees to turn the laptop into a somewhat ungainly tablet) and you're willing to put up with something larger and heavier, you should get the HP Spectre x360. Specifically, we recommend the configuration with a 1080p touchscreen, an Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256GB solid-state drive. It has the same specs as our top pick, typically for about $100 less (at the time of this writing), and you get a webcam in the right place, unlike with the Dell. But we don't like the HP's keyboard, trackpad, or build quality as much as the Dell XPS 13's. The HP also has a slower solid-state drive, lacks a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C port, and suffers from a few other quirks that keep it from being our top pick.
If you need to upgrade to a touchscreen and don't mind paying around $300 extra or sacrificing at least 2½ hours of battery life, we recommend the Touch model of the Dell XPS 13, especially the configuration with the same processor, RAM, and SSD as our top pick. This system has a glossier, 3200×1800-pixel touchscreen; the display looks great but is a huge drain on battery life.
If you're on a budget but still in need of a quality ultrabook, we have great news for you: The Asus ZenBook UX305UA is a fantastic Windows ultrabook for its price. Slim and light, it has great battery life, a good keyboard, and a reliable trackpad. The UX305UA comes with a Skylake Core i5-6200U processor, 8 GB of RAM, a 256GB solid-state drive, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. It lacks a touchscreen and keyboard backlighting, but those are reasonable sacrifices if you just want a cheap, well-made ultrabook. It's the best computer you can get for around $750 right now. (We still like the Asus ZenBook UX305LA, which has a previous-generation Broadwell Core i5-5200U processor, but the newer model is a better buy. However, the UX305LA is still worth choosing if you can find it for less than the UX305UA.)
Table of contents
- Why you should trust us
- Who this is for
- Should you upgrade?
- What makes a good ultrabook
- How we picked and tested
- Our pick
- Flaws but not dealbreakers
- Who else likes our pick?
- Upgrade pick
- Runner-up
- Budget pick
- Care and maintenance
- What to look forward to
- The competition
Why you should trust us
I've tested, lived with, and reviewed hundreds of laptops in my career, and I've spent hands-on time with countless other models while covering the CES trade show, attending events, and visiting stores. I covered Asus's Zenbook announcement back in October 2011, when some of the very first Windows ultrabooks were officially announced, and I've been following the category closely since.
Who this is for
Ultrabooks are best for people who need a super-portable machine with good performance and a long-lasting battery to get work done, and who don't mind paying a premium for it. The ideal ultrabook has enough processing power to plow through work and sufficient battery life to survive a cross-country flight, while still being slim and light enough to take anywhere. But ultrabooks also cost more than your average laptop—expect to pay between $700 and $1,500, with the sweet spot being right around $1,100 or $1,200.
You shouldn't buy an ultrabook like the Dell XPS 13 if you need discrete graphics for gaming or video editing work, if you need a business-class workhorse with lots of ports and a removable battery, or if you're on a tight budget. Check out our recommendations in all of those categories if an ultrabook isn't a good fit for you. (If you prefer OS X, you should get a MacBook Air. If you prefer Windows, you're in the right place.)
Should you upgrade?
A good laptop should last at least two years and ideally more than four. But if your computer is nearing the end of its lifespan—applications load slowly, the computer takes forever to boot, and the battery doesn't last more than a few hours on a full charge—you'll want something new. In some cases you can improve loading and boot times by upgrading from a mechanical hard drive to a solid-state drive, but if that isn't an option, and a fresh install of Windows doesn't help things, it's time for a new laptop.
Intel just released its new Skylake processors—which have faster performance and better battery life than the previous generation, Broadwell—so now is a great time to buy an ultrabook if you're in need. (Buying early in a processor generation means you're getting the most mileage out of your computer, since new generations are generally released once per year at most.) If you bought an ultrabook with a Broadwell processor or if you're happy with your current laptop, you probably don't need to upgrade yet. You may gain a little battery life, but that isn't worth the cost of a brand-new laptop, and you won't see a big increase in performance. If you have an ultrabook from 2012 or earlier, you'll get a bit more processing power, but a bigger SSD and far better battery life might make upgrading worthwhile.
What makes a good ultrabook
A good keyboard and trackpad are crucial. An ultrabook should also have decent speakers and shouldn't get too hot or too loud. You can get a great ultrabook for less than $1,300, and you should never pay more than $1,500 for one. If you're spending $1,500 or more, you're getting into the realm of the MacBook Pro or a gaming laptop.
For late 2015, an Intel Core i5-6200U processor or better should be powerful enough for most work, though it requires a fan and vents to keep the laptop cool. You'll also see some ultrabooks based on Intel's ultra-low-voltage Core M processors. These chips—designed for laptops, tablets, and two-in-one devices—aren't as powerful as Intel's Core i3, i5, and i7 CPUs, but they are fanless and more battery-efficient. Some Core M machines are too slow for us to recommend, but in our testing we found some that are quick enough for routine laptop work, making them good budget options.
An ultrabook needs a 12- to 14-inch screen—large enough for you to do your work, but small enough for the machine to remain ultraportable—with a resolution of at least 1920×1080. Ideally the technology behind that screen should be IPS, not TN, because the former offers better viewing angles and is typically more color-accurate. Higher-resolution screens are now commonplace, but they're not necessarily ideal for ultrabooks. Sure, a higher resolution means a sharper picture, but in an ultraportable that benefit probably isn't worth the trade-off in reduced battery life (a higher-resolution screen requires more graphics processing, which in turn requires more power). And though Windows has improved support for higher display densities over the past year or so, some applications—I'm looking at you, Adobe—still don't scale properly in Windows.
Touchscreens are common on Windows laptops nowadays, but those systems come with trade-offs, namely more glare (because of the smooth touchscreen glass) and reduced battery life. For those reasons, and since Microsoft has rolled back Windows's reliance on touch, we don't think a touchscreen is necessary.
How we picked and tested
Once we determined our hardware criteria, we scoured the websites of major ultrabook manufacturers such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung for any promising new models released since our last update.
Then we put together a list of ultrabooks that fit our requirements and had positive reviews from trusted sources. We read upwards of 50 reviews and learned what makes a great ultrabook from some of the top reviewers, including CNET's Dan Ackerman, Peter Bright of Ars Technica, and Laptop Mag's Michael A. Prospero.
After eliminating the laptops that didn't meet our criteria or that had deal-breaking flaws mentioned in other reviews, we called in the following laptops to test ourselves: the early-2015 Dell XPS 13 (both the QHD touchscreen and the 1080p non-touch models, which have both been replaced by late-2015 models), the Asus ZenBook UX305FA, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the third-generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, the HP Spectre x360, and an updated version of our previous pick, the Acer Aspire S7-393. For the most-recent update, we also tested the the late-2015 Dell XPS 13 non-touch model, the Asus ZenBooks UX305LA and UX305CA, and the Lenovo Yoga 900.
We tested each laptop by using it for at least a day—much longer for each of our picks—of ordinary work, which consisted of having two browsers with at least 20 open tabs at a time and streaming music in the background. This process gave us a feel for the laptop's keyboard, trackpad, screen, speakers, and performance for common work tasks. We then lived with each of the finalists for weeks (sometimes even months) of work, which gave us an intimate understanding of each competitor's strengths, weaknesses, and quirks.
Using a Spyder4Pro colorimeter, we set each laptop's screen to 150 nits (or candelas per square meter, cd/m2) and ran the PCMark Home Conventional Battery test. According to PCMark's description, this test cycles through "web browsing, writing, gaming, photo editing, and video chat" to simulate a moderately taxing workload. Because we set each laptop to the same brightness, the results were directly comparable. We also used each laptop at 150-nits brightness for ordinary work until it died; this is a less scientific test, but it gives a better idea of how long you can expect a laptop to last in real-life use. (This test is also far more demanding than the battery-life tests most other publications perform, because of the higher screen brightness and the PCMark test we used.)
Our pick
*At the time of publishing, the price was $1,100.
The late-2015, non-touchscreen Dell XPS 13 is the best Windows ultrabook for most people. Thinner and lighter than the competition, it has the best battery life of any Windows ultrabook so far, as well as a great screen and a good keyboard and trackpad—it's simply the most machine in the smallest package you can get for your money. It packs a 13.3-inch 1080p screen into a 12-inch chassis, and the ideal configuration has an Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256GB PCIe solid-state drive. This is also one of the first Windows laptops with a Thunderbolt 3–over–USB-C port. Although few people have USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 devices right now, the connection will come in handy over the laptop's lifespan. Our favorite model doesn't have a touchscreen, but you can get a touchscreen model if you don't mind spending more and getting less battery life.
Our pick weighs just 2.7 pounds—less than the 3-pound MacBook Air with the same-size screen, but more than the 11-inch MacBook Air, which weighs 2.4 pounds. The Dell XPS 13 measures 12 inches across and 7.9 inches deep, and ranges from 0.33 to 0.6 inch thick. It's smaller than the 13-inch MacBook Air, yet it doesn't sacrifice valuable screen size.
The 13-inch MacBook Air remains unmatched in battery life, but the Dell XPS 13 (non-touch) has the best battery life you'll find in a Windows ultrabook. In CNET's battery drain test, the early-2015 XPS 13 lasted 12 hours, 6 minutes, versus the 2014 MacBook Air's 16 hours, 26 minutes. In our considerably more demanding test, the early-2015 non-touch Dell XPS 13 lasted 5 hours, 26 minutes. The late-2015 non-touch model lasted 5 hours, 49 minutes thanks to its more efficient Skylake processor. When we first tested the late-2015 model, its battery life was an hour shorter because the new PCIe solid-state drive prevented the processor from entering a lower-power state. We retested the XPS 13 after Dell released a BIOS update, which should be available on Dell's website. The reviewers at Laptop Mag saw a similar difference in their tests.
The Dell has a good keyboard that's responsive and comfortable to type on, thanks in part to the soft-touch plastic covering the computer's palm rest. The keys are a little shallow—Laptop Mag measured 1.2 mm of travel, though Dell claims 1.3 mm—but you can cycle through three levels of backlighting (maximum, dim, and off) using a function key. The top row, which overlays function keys (F1 through F12) and action keys (such as volume, brightness, and backlight level), is configured for action keys by default. This arrangement means you don't have to hold down the Fn key to change volume or screen brightness, but you do need to hold it down to press, say, Alt+F4. (You can toggle back to function keys if you prefer by holding Fn and pressing Esc. That's a nice touch.)
Our pick's trackpad is accurate and responsive most of the time, with precise tap-to-click and a satisfying (but not too loud) physical click. The late-2015 model's updated trackpad is a little better than the one on the early-2015 version—the updated trackpad never dropped strokes in our testing (the early-2015 version sometimes did) but occasionally struggled with three-finger gestures. It still isn't the best I've used, but it's on a par with most good Windows trackpads nowadays. I never caught myself reaching for a mouse out of frustration, and that's about as good as it gets.
The Dell's 13.3-inch IPS screen is brilliant, with great color reproduction and fantastic viewing angles. It has a matte coating that prevents glare without being distracting. The 1080p screen is particularly immersive because of its teeny-tiny 5.2 mm bezel. (Dell calls it an "infinity display.") The screen is great for getting work done and watching movies, but the lack of a wide bezel pushes the webcam to an inconvenient location (more on this below).
No ultrabook has amazing speakers, but the Dell's are as good as you can expect; they sound okay at medium volumes but flat and distorted at higher volumes. As always, you can get around this problem with good headphones.
The Dell XPS 13's aluminum chassis is sleek and sturdy, and the lid has minimal flex. Its palm rest is coated in textured, soft-touch black paint, which makes for a comfortable, non-sweaty surface. The middle of the keyboard flexes a little under heavy pressure, but overall the Dell looks and feels like the premium laptop it is.
Our pick supports dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, and we experienced no problems with either. The late-2015 XPS 13 is one of the first Windows ultrabooks with a Thunderbolt 3–over–USB-C port, which you can use to charge the laptop, transfer data, or connect an external display via DisplayPort or HDMI if you have the proper adapter cable. (Dell says a multiport USB-C adapter that supports VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, and USB-A is coming soon.) Few people have USB-C devices right now, as it's a new standard, but that will change during the course of your laptop's lifespan as more peripherals and devices use USB-C. In addition, our pick has two USB 3.0 ports—one of which provides (an unknown amount of) extra power for charging devices—a headset jack (meaning it supports audio in and out), an SD card reader, and a Noble lock slot (in lieu of a Kensington Security Slot).
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Pre-2015 members of the XPS family had some deal-breaking heat-management problems such as becoming lap-scorchingly hot, throttling performance, or having distractingly loud fans. The late-2015 Dell XPS 13 runs a little warm on the bottom, especially if you block the vents by setting it on a bed or other soft surface; however, it doesn't get hot enough to be uncomfortable or to affect performance, so it's a big improvement over those older models.
The early-2015 XPS 13 ran warm and its fans could get noisy, as we experienced in our own tests and saw in numerous reports from other owners. Dell says it didn't update the cooling system for the late-2015 model, but our unit ran noticeably cooler and quieter. This result may be attributable to the updated Skylake processor, or perhaps we just got lucky with our testing unit. We'll keep an eye out for more user feedback on the late-2015 model's heat management.
As the XPS 13's new Thunderbolt 3–over–USB-C port replaces the previous version's Mini DisplayPort connection, the XPS 13 has no standard video-out ports at all. You'll need to buy an HDMI– or DisplayPort–over–USB-C adapter in order to connect the system to an external monitor, and that'll cost you $35 to $40 right now.
Because of the Dell's tiny screen bezel, the webcam placement is terrible. Rather than sitting above the screen in the center, the webcam resides beneath the screen, near the left edge above the Esc key. With this placement, the camera produces an unflattering view up your left nostril and of the underside of your chin, and when you're videoconferencing, you can't look at the webcam and at your fellow meeting attendees at the same time. It's an inconvenience, especially if you make a lot of video calls, but the camera works adequately, and you can get an external webcam for your home or office if necessary. (We like the Logitech c920.)
In November 2015, a security flaw similar to Lenovo's Superfish called eDellRoot was discovered on the Dell XPS 13 and several other Dell laptops. Shortly after reports of the issue surfaced, Dell released a statement and a downloadable set of instructions (in DOCX format) to permanently remove the certificate. Dell also pushed a software update that checks for the certificate and removes it if found. Dell says that the certificate will not be on new systems, and that the certificate will not reinstall itself once removed. We're impressed by Dell's quick and thorough response, and will not rescind our recommendation of the Dell XPS 13.
The configuration we recommend doesn't have a touchscreen, but we think that's worth the trade-off for a lower price and increased battery life.
A small—and easy to fix—problem is that software Dell adds to Windows automatically "enhances" audio through the XPS 13's speakers and any plugged-in headphones. To me, this audio processing makes the speakers sound harsh and jarring, and it makes headphones sound echoey, as if I had actual tin cans strapped over my ears. To fix this, go to the audio menu and switch off Speaker Enhancement (and Microphone Enhancement, to be safe) so you can listen to music in peace.
The XPS 13 comes with a one-year limited warranty, which covers only mail-in service to fix manufacturer defects. Phone and online support, in-home service for some hardware repairs, and accident coverage cost an extra $90 for one year. Dell also sells extended warranties up to four years if you're prone to spilling things or dropping your laptop.
Who else likes our pick?
The Dell XPS 13 is unanimously well-liked, and most reviewers prefer the 1080p model over the QHD touchscreen configuration.
The Verge's Tom Warren reviewed the late-2015, non-touch model. He writes, "If you just want a really good Windows laptop, then this is simply the best out there right now, thanks to a great combination of display, trackpad, keyboard, and overall build quality. It's small and light enough to slip into a bag, and comfortably sleek enough to make me feel like I am using a unique, premium laptop."
Laptop Mag named the late-2015 version of the XPS the best laptop of 2016. Reviewer Sam Rutherford gave the non-touch model an Editors' Choice award, writing, "If you want the best ultraportable on the market, the XPS 13's combination of sparkling display, looks, performance, comfort and portability can't be beat."
Ars Technica's Peter Bright says: "In all, this is the same XPS 13 but a bit better. It's still the mainstream Ultrabook to get. Other systems may be superior in particular ways—360 degree hinges, slightly better keyboards, TrackPoints, better webcam placement—but the XPS 13 is an extremely well-rounded package that's strong in almost every way."
PCMag's Joel Santo Domingo, in a review of the QHD model (which we'll discuss in a moment), says it "packs a sleek, stylish build, a drool-worthy screen, and performance to match its looks." His conclusion: "The latest Dell XPS 13 Touch delivers the ideal combination of power and prestige, with a sturdy build, a gorgeous QHD+ touch screen, a speedy new processor, and USB-C port with Thunderbolt support."
AnandTech writer Brett Howse, in a review of the early-2015 model, writes, "The Dell XPS 13 ends up being responsive, small, light, and well built. Dell has crafted what I am sure most people were hoping for when the original Ultrabook specification was announced. On top of that, they have designed a laptop with class-leading battery life, and plenty of choice to let people buy as little or as much as they need. Considering the competition, this is clearly the Ultrabook of the Broadwell-U generation to beat." Howse put the late-2015 Dell XPS 13 atop his Q1 2016 laptop rankings.
WIRED's David Pierce compares the early-2015 XPS 13 to a MacBook, writing, "I've been recommending MacBooks for years for the simple reason that they do everything well—they're the rare machines without an infuriating drawback. That's true for the XPS 13, too. It has an unmatched size for its class, a perfectly usable keyboard and trackpad, a ridiculously nice screen, and a stomachable price tag."
Sean Hollister of Gizmodo calls the early-2015 model "the Windows laptop to beat" and writes, "If you want a high-quality ultraportable Windows laptop at an incredible price, this is the one to get. If you want a MacBook Air running Windows, this is the closest we've ever come." Hollister concludes, "There's nothing on the Windows side of the fence that comes close to the new XPS 13 in portability, price, and style."
CNET's Dan Ackerman, who also reviewed the early-2015 version, writes that "this version of the XPS 13 offers great build quality and engineering, plus amazing battery life, for a great price."
As of this writing, the touchscreen Dell XPS 13 is ranked number five on Notebookcheck's Top 10 Ultrabooks chart. (The editors seem not to have reviewed the non-touch model.) Notebookcheck's Steve Schardein writes, "For users in search of their next ultraportable companion, it seems an obvious finalist." He goes on to call it "the most complete ultraportable package we've seen to date."
Upgrade pick
As we mentioned above, we don't think the higher-resolution touchscreen model of the XPS 13 is worthwhile for most people because of the trade-off in battery life. That said, if you need an ultra-high-resolution touchscreen, don't mind the extra cost, and can live with a few hours less battery life, you should get the touchscreen configuration of the Dell XPS 13. For this model we recommend the same specs as in our main pick: an Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. This configuration for the touchscreen system costs about $300 more than the non-touch version at the time of this writing.
Our upgrade pick has a 3200×1800-resolution touchscreen, in contrast to our pick's 1080p non-touch panel. The extra resolution isn't a huge benefit on a 13-inch screen, since you have to scale up the Windows interface anyway to make things large enough to read or click on.
Both models have IPS screens, though the QHD version produces more glare because of the smooth touchscreen glass. Laptop Mag tested both screens in early 2015 and found that while the two have about the same brightness, the 1080p model offered slightly better viewing angles because of its antiglare coating. Those tests also showed that the QHD model provides a little more color accuracy and a wider range of colors, but that the 1080p panel doesn't rank far behind. (Dell confirmed to us that the late-2015 models use the exact same panels as the early-2015 models we reviewed.)
The QHD model, however, has significantly shorter battery life than the non-touch version. In CNET's test of the early-2015 XPS 13, the 1080p config lasted 12 hours, 6 minutes, and the QHD version lasted 7 hours, 2 minutes—that's a five-hour difference. AnandTech also compared the two early-2015 models, and in its light battery test the non-touch version lasted 15 hours, 21 minutes versus the touchscreen's 9 hours, 5 minutes. In AnandTech's heavy battery test, our pick lasted 8 hours, 2 minutes, while our upgrade pick lasted 5 hours, 26 minutes. In short, the higher-resolution touchscreen causes a huge drop in battery life that you will notice. We haven't tested the touchscreen version of the late-2015 version yet, but we expect the battery-life gap to be similar between the 1080p and QHD models.
The QHD model's touchscreen also makes the laptop a little heavier at 2.9 pounds, though the additional 3 ounces over the non-touch model is hardly noticeable.
If our main pick is sold out, or if you're willing to put up with a heavier, larger laptop to get a 360-degree hinge and a webcam in the usual place, you should get the HP Spectre x360. We don't like its keyboard, trackpad, or build quality as much as the Dell XPS 13's, plus it has a slower solid-state drive and no Thunderbolt 3–over–USB-C port. But the HP Spectre x360 is a great Windows ultrabook with a hinge that lets you flip the screen all the way around to use the laptop like an ungainly tablet (or in any intermediate position).
We recommend the configuration with a 1080p touchscreen, an Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256GB solid-state drive. The Spectre x360 typically costs about $200 less than our pick for similar specs, but it includes a touchscreen.
The HP Spectre x360 doesn't match our pick in battery life, but it comes close enough. In our test of the early-2015 models, the Spectre x360 had 4 hours, 30 minutes of battery life, and the non-touch Dell XPS 13 lasted 5 hours, 25 minutes. The gap was wider in Laptop Mag's early-2015 tests, where the Spectre lasted 9 hours, 28 minutes, the non-touch Dell XPS 13 survived for 11 hours, 42 minutes, and the Dell XPS 13 touch ran for 7 hours, 24 minutes. Both the Spectre x360 and the XPS 13 have been refreshed with Intel's new Skylake processors, which should improve battery life—though we doubt by as much as the 2½ hours HP claims.
The Spectre x360 has a 13.3-inch, 1920×1080 IPS display just like our pick, though it has a much larger bezel—an advantage when you're using the machine in tablet mode, since the design gives you a place to grab the tablet that isn't screen—and unlike the 1080p version of our pick, it comes with touchscreen functionality. The HP's screen is also brighter and more accurate, and it shows more of the color spectrum than either version of the Dell XPS 13. Due to the nature of touchscreens, the HP display has more glare than that of our pick (though less glare than the touchscreen version of the Dell), but it's less reflective than most other touchscreens we tested. As a helpful commenter pointed out, the HP Spectre x360 also has an active digitizer and works with active styluses, though it doesn't come with one. Since the HP's touchscreen can flip over into tablet mode and support active styluses, such an accessory is a better option if you want to use the screen to draw or to handwrite notes.
The speakers on the HP are okay but not great. They sound tinny at higher volumes, so we recommend adding headphones or an external speaker. The system also gets warm on the bottom-left side, and its fans become audible during heavy use or if the vents are obstructed by a desk or lap—which is pretty much all the time, as the back of the Spectre x360 sits almost flush with a desk.
Because it's larger than our top pick, the HP Spectre x360 has room for a few more ports. It has three USB 3.0 ports with extra charging power, an HDMI port, a Mini DisplayPort connection, a headphone jack, and an SD card slot. That's one USB 3.0 port and an HDMI port more than the Dell, but the XPS 13 has a Thunderbolt 3–over–USB-C port that can function as a variety of connections, including HDMI, if you have the appropriate adapter cable.
The HP also has a power button, a volume rocker, and, weirdly, a Windows button on the side. These buttons are intended for use in tablet mode, but the power button in particular is inconvenient because you can easily press it by mistake when picking up the laptop. The Spectre x360 supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, and HP offers a one-year limited warranty and 90 days of phone support.
Overall, the HP Spectre x360 is a good ultrabook with solid performance for a great price, but it's larger and heavier than our pick, its keyboard and trackpad have a few irritating quirks, and its hinge is loose and wobbly—and in everyday use, these small annoyances add up.
The Spectre x360 measures 12.8 inches across, 8.6 inches deep, and 0.63 inch thick, and it weighs 3.3 pounds. It's imperceptibly smaller—and about one-third of a pound heavier—than a 13-inch MacBook Air. Compared with the Dell XPS 13, the HP is about an inch wider and deeper, and two-thirds of a pound heavier. That may not sound like much, but I always found myself reaching for the Dell instead of the HP when I needed a laptop to take with me.
The Spectre x360's keyboard has a little more travel than the one on the XPS 13—1.34 mm versus 1.2 mm, according to Laptop Mag's measurements—but it feels mushy. The keys have a plastic coating reminiscent of Skittles or M&Ms, which makes the keyboard feel soft and cheap next to the rest of the machine.
Our other minor complaint is the keyboard backlight. Because the keyboard is silver-colored, the backlight makes the dark lettering more difficult to see during the day by creating a silver-on-silver effect.
The Spectre x360's trackpad works most of the time, only occasionally missing strokes. In our experience, the XPS 13's new trackpad is a bit more reliable. The HP's trackpad is extra wide, another idea that's good in theory, though we had some issues with it in practice. For starters, we didn't need or use the extra space. But worse, when I tried to right-click I tended to press where the bottom-right corner of a normal-size trackpad would be. On the HP's extra-wide trackpad, that spot is still a left click—the right-click zone is even farther right, past the edge of the spacebar. After weeks of using this laptop, I still haven't gotten used to it.
For the most part, the HP Spectre x360 offers a good design, stellar build quality, and the feel of a premium laptop. But it also has sharp edges that dig into the wrists, just like a MacBook Air, and the pointy, heavy machine is uncomfortable to hold in tablet mode. And the feet on the bottom aren't especially tall, so the vents on the underside of the laptop don't have much room to breathe.
As with the Lenovo Yoga series, the Spectre's 360-degree hinge is a bonus for the people who use it occasionally. This hinge, however, feels a little loose and interferes with the HP's primary use as a laptop: The heavy lid droops when you're repositioning the computer and wobbles constantly when you're sharing a table with other typists. We'd have preferred a laptop with a solid, ordinary hinge to a mediocre 360-degree hinge.
Reviewers like the HP Spectre x360. Although the reviews mentioned below refer to the Broadwell-based model released in early 2015, not the Skylake-based version we now recommend, the x360 remains the same aside from the processor.
PCMag gave the Spectre x360 an Editors' Choice Award. Brian Westover writes, "The HP Spectre x360 13t (13-4003) is a superb mix of design, function, and performance, with premium touches, like a versatile convertible design, a unique geared hinge, a spacious touchpad, and enhanced Wi-Fi. The fact that it delivers all of this at a midrange price is just icing on the cake."
Laptop Mag's Michael A. Prospero concludes, "With long battery life, good performance and an attractive design, the HP Spectre x360 is one of the best convertible notebooks you can buy. While not as light, or convenient, in tablet mode as the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the x360 is less expensive, has a more powerful processor and lasts longer on a charge."
CNET's Dan Ackerman praises the Spectre x360's "solid aluminum body, smooth 360-degree hinges, […] excellent display and very long battery life" but dislikes that it's heavier than the MacBook Air.
Peter Bright of Ars Technica also likes the Spectre x360, concluding, "The battery life is excellent, the design is strong, and the trick hinge is genuinely useful. Just like the Dell XPS 13, the Spectre x360 meaningfully advances PC laptops beyond the MacBook Air, just in a different way." But he calls out the "mediocre" keyboard and writes that its "backlight is annoying when off, useless when on."
Computer Shopper also gave this system an Editors' Choice award. Eric Grevstad writes that "[t]he HP could be the best convertible hybrid we've seen yet" and compares it to the MacBook Air: "Though a third of a pound heavier, the Spectre looks as elegant, performs as well, and gives you much more for the money."
Budget pick
If you want a decent ultrabook but don't have $1,000 or more to spend, we recommend the Asus ZenBook UX305UA. It's inexpensive, slim, and light, and it has great battery life, a decent keyboard, and a reliable trackpad. It's the only ultrabook in this price range with 8 GB of RAM, a 256GB solid-state drive, and an Intel Core i5 processor—you'd have to spend $200 to $400 more to get a better one. The downside? The ZenBook UX305UA lacks a couple of amenities such as a touchscreen and a backlit keyboard. But those are worthwhile sacrifices if you need a good, cheap Windows ultrabook.
The UX305UA replaces our previous pick, the UX305LA. As of late 2015, we generally preferred ultrabooks with sixth-generation Skylake processors. Nevertheless, at that point we chose the ZenBook UX305LA as our budget pick, because it was less expensive at the time and its Broadwell processor didn't feel any slower in everyday use. Right now the UX305LA is hard to find, although if you can grab it for significantly less than the UX305UA, it's still worth picking up. Our new budget recommendation, the UX305UA, is the same machine with a Skylake processor; it has the same 13.3-inch 1080p screen, 8 GB of RAM, and 256GB solid-state drive as our previous pick does.
Our budget pick is about the same size as a 13-inch MacBook Air—12.8 inches wide, 8.9 inches deep, and 0.6 inch thick—and it weighs a bit less at 2.9 pounds. It's a little heavier and thicker than the Dell XPS 13, but about half a pound lighter than the HP Spectre x360.
In our battery test of the the Asus ZenBook UX305LA, it lasted 5 hours, 15 minutes, ranking behind only the non-touch Dell XPS 13, which survived for 5 hours, 49 minutes. In our real-world test, we used the UX305LA for a full day of work with the screen set to a brightness of 150 nits, and it lasted a respectable 7 hours, 10 minutes. With a more efficient processor and a battery of the same capacity, we expect the UX305UA to perform just as well, if not better, though we'll have to test it for ourselves to be sure.
The keyboard isn't fancy—the keys feel a bit spongy and have no backlighting—but it is springy and comfortable to type on. Unlike the keyboard on the Dell or the HP, its top row is configured as function keys, so you have to hold down Fn to alter screen brightness or volume. The trackpad is accurate and responsive, and we didn't experience any missed or stuttery gestures. Asus also allows users to customize or disable gestures via bundled software.
The ZenBook's metal chassis feels solid and doesn't flex or creak under pressure. The lid's weight can pull the screen farther open or shut than desired, but it isn't wobbly or problematic most of the time. For the price, the machines in the Asus ZenBook UX305 line are amazingly well-made laptops.
During our use of the UX305LA, it never got too warm, and the fans never became loud or distracting. The laptop has current-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi, three USB 3.0 ports (one of which provides extra juice for charging USB devices), a Micro HDMI port, an audio jack, and an SD card slot. The UX305UA comes with a one-year limited warranty from Asus.
This Asus model has a few flaws, but they're all forgivable in light of its price tag of $750 or so. It offers a 13.3-inch, 1920×1080 IPS display, as the Dell and HP models do, but its display has a nasty yellow-green tint that you can't easily fix without professional calibration tools, and the screen is less color accurate than those of our other picks. It also lacks touchscreen functionality, but the bright, matte display is more usable in sunlight than a glossy touch panel.
The speakers are bad—or, as my testing notes say, "Horrid. Terrible. So bad. So so so so so so so bad." Along with the speakers on the other ZenBook UX305 models, they're some of the worst laptop speakers I've tested this year. They sound tinny, metallic, and shrill, and they will make your music unpleasant at best. Good thing headphones exist.
The UX305UA lacks a backlit keyboard, a feature we expect in an ultrabook nowadays. Still, that feature isn't a necessity—and it's a forgivable omission at around $750. If you require a backlit keyboard, consider our top pick or runner-up instead.
In UltrabookReview.com's review of the UX305UA, Andrei Girbea writes: "At the end of the day, the Zenbook UX305UA is a solid 13-incher with one serious ace down its sleeve: its affordable price. It's also a very nice looking and well built machine, gets an excellent screen, performs just as it's expected from a Skylake-powered device and goes on and on each charge, thanks to its large battery. It's not going to be the ideal pick for everyone though."
Care and maintenance
Basic laptop care and maintenance rules apply to ultrabooks: Wipe down your screen with a soft cloth and just a bit of soapy water, use compressed air to remove particles from your keyboard and vents, and don't spill liquids all over it.
Laptops aren't as upgradable as desktop computers are, but some do allow you to swap out the SSD and RAM. Few ultrabooks allow this, however—what you buy is what you're stuck with—so if you think you may need more storage or more RAM later, you should check the upgradability of the laptop you're interested in before you buy.
As for our picks—the Dell XPS 13, the HP Spectre x360, and the Asus ZenBook UX305UA—none allow you to upgrade the RAM. All of their SSDs are upgradable, but if you have the HP Spectre x360, swapping out the SSD will void your warranty. If you don't have one of our picks, use Crucial's Upgrade Advisor to figure out whether your machine's RAM or SSD is upgradable (and check with your manufacturer to find out if making such a change will void your warranty).
What to look forward to
OLED screens in TVs have better contrast ratios, response times, and viewing angles than IPS screens, and the picture quality is stunning. This year, OLED displays are finally showing up in laptops. HP inserted an OLED screen in the Spectre x360 (our runner-up ultrabook pick), Lenovo installed one in the ThinkPad X1 Yoga ultrabook, and Dell put one in the new Alienware 13 gaming laptop; all three systems use 13.3-inch, 2560×1440 panels, so they're probably all from the same display maker. OLEDs have excellent picture quality and response time, but they could have lifespan issues and problems with burn-in. They also remain more expensive than regular IPS screens, so we probably won't recommend them over current LCD screens for some time.
Lenovo's Ideapad 710S was announced at CES and looks like a promising contender, but it lacks USB-C ports. The 710S starts at just $800, and we liked the keyboard, trackpad, and screen during the limited time we spent with it at CES. We plan to test it once it's available in July.
The Samsung Notebook 9, also announced at CES, looks promising, too. We liked the keyboard, trackpad, and screen when we spent a few minutes with it at the trade show. It costs about $1,000 for our desired specs and comes in a convertible version for $1,300. We're testing both versions now.
HP's new Spectre has a piston hinge that allows it to be about 10.4 millimeters thick—almost 7 mm thinner than the MacBook Air. The only display option is a 1920×1080 non-touch screen, and the laptop will run on an Intel Core i5 (for $1,170) or Core i7 (for $1,250) CPU, along with 8 GB of RAM. We saw a demo recently and liked the laptop's overall build. The new HP Spectre is available now.
The Acer Aspire S 13 is a new notebook that balances price and performance. It features a sixth-generation Intel Core processor, a 13-inch 1080p display, and an aluminum body. We're testing it against our current budget pick, the Asus ZenBook UX305UA, now.
Asus announced its ZenBook 3 at the Computex trade show in late May. The machine will start at $1,000 with 4 GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an Intel Core i5 processor (not a Core M), while the high-end, $2,000 model will have 16 GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an Intel Core i7 processor. Considering those details, we suspect that this laptop will be available in our preferred specs; we're just waiting on pricing for all configurations. Most early looks have mentioned the ZenBook 3's resemblance to the 12-inch MacBook, right down to its single USB-C port. But we're more interested to see how it compares with the Dell XPS 13.
In late May, Asus also put up a listing for the 13.3-inch ZenBook UX306UA on its website. The UX306UA features an Intel Core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and the latest USB Type-C port. It also comes with a backlit keyboard, a feature that our budget pick, the UX305UA, lacks. We're interested in testing the new laptop, which at around $1,100 may be a contender for our top-pick slot.
The competition
The fourth-generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a great keyboard, a solid trackpad, and decent battery life, but it's bulkier, not to mention pricier than our picks by a couple hundred dollars or so. If you dig ThinkPads, it's a great option.
Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Yoga is essentially the X1 Carbon with a 360-degree hinge. It costs about $1,550 for our recommended specs, and Lenovo released an even more expensive model with an OLED screen in April. After testing it, we don't think it's worth $250 over the regular X1 Carbon.
The Acer Aspire S7-392 was our previous pick for the best Windows ultrabook. We tested the Broadwell-updated Aspire S7-393 in 2015, but it comes with a ton of bloatware and has a poor keyboard layout. Acer hasn't updated the S7 with Skylake processors.
The Acer Aspire R13 is a convertible laptop with a screen that rotates inside a frame, rather than with just a 360-degree hinge. This design allows for a couple more modes of use than a 360-degree hinge and protects the keyboard in tablet mode. But the R13's lid is difficult to lift, and the gap between the laptop and the hinge frame collects dirt when you shove the machine into a bag. The extra convertible features are nice, but they come at the cost of the R13's usefulness as a laptop, so we can't recommend it over the HP Spectre x360.
The Samsung ATIV Book 9 costs around $1,100 when built to our recommended specs but has a Core M processor. It's more expensive than our picks that have more-powerful CPUs.
The detachable Acer Aspire Switch 12 S costs more than our picks and has a slower Core M processor.
The Lenovo Yoga 900 is a decent ultrabook with a 360-degree hinge, but we don't recommend it over the HP Spectre x360. We didn't like the Yoga 900's cramped keyboard and tiny trackpad, and Laptop Mag found it to have shorter battery life and a dimmer, less color-accurate screen than the Spectre x360.
We spent a little time with Lenovo's Yoga 900S at the most recent CES trade show, and we didn't like its tacky, shallow keyboard and small trackpad. The model closest to our recommended specs costs around $1,150 and has an Intel Core m7-6Y75 processor that's slower than that of our picks, plus 8 GB of RAM, a 256GB PCIe solid-state drive, and a 12.5-inch 2560×1440-resolution screen. Laptop Mag's review found that the entry model (with a 1080p screen, a Core m5 processor, and 4 GB of RAM) had roughly three hours less battery life than the non-touch Dell XPS 13, and we expect the higher-resolution model to have even shorter battery life.
The Asus ZenBook UX305LA was our previous recommendation for people on a budget, but it's hard to find, and we like the UX305UA's better processor. If you can find it for less than the UX305UA, it's still worth picking up.
Although the Asus ZenBook UX305FA is an older recommendation for people on a budget, we like the UX305UA's more-powerful processor and current-generation Wi-Fi better.
The Asus ZenBook UX305CA is imperceptibly thinner and lighter than the UX305LA, but it uses a weaker Core M processor, and in our tests it had shorter battery life.
Because the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 is larger, heavier, and saddled with all-around worse build quality than the Spectre x360, we don't recommend it.
The LG Gram has poor reviews from numerous publications, and it's unavailable in our ideal configuration. Laptop Mag cites the laptop's "short battery life and hollow keyboard." CNET writes, "Battery life is unimpressive, and the body on our review unit was creaky."
The Asus ZenBook Flip UX360 is available only with Core M processors, but we might revisit this model when it's available to purchase if other reviewers love it. Until then, for the price, you're better off getting our budget pick, the Asus ZenBook UX305UA.
The HP EliteBook Folio has a 180-degree hinge and a Core M Processor. In a review, however, PCMag dings its "[r]elatively short battery life" and "[r]eflective display." PCMag also notes: "Performance of Core M CPU can't match that of standard Intel Core i5 processors."
The HP EliteBook Folio 1040 and 1020 are enterprise-focused machines, and they're too expensive compared with our picks. The 1040 costs more than $1,600 for an Intel Core i5-5300U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. The EliteBook 1020 has a Core M processor but costs more than $1,500 as configured to match our ultrabook requirements.
Vaio has announced two new laptop lines for the US market, the Vaio Z and Vaio S. Right now, Vaio's offerings are too expensive to compete with our picks, but we'll be keeping an eye on its laptops for future updates to this guide.
In previous versions of this guide, we discussed two-in-one devices such as the Microsoft Surface Pro. We now plan to discuss our thoughts on these types of devices in other Wirecutter coverage, not in the ultrabook guide.
(Photos by Kimber Streams unless otherwise noted.)
Dell XPS 13
Best Windows Ultrabook
*At the time of publishing, the price was $1,100
- Dell XPS 13 (2015, Nontouch) Review, Laptop Mag, February 23, 2015 ,
- Best Laptop 2016, Laptop Mag, February 15, 2016 ,
- Review: Dell XPS 13, WIRED, February 23, 2015 ,
- Dell XPS 13 (2015, non-touch) review, CNET, February 24, 2015 ,
- Review: The Dell XPS 13 is the PC laptop to beat, Ars Technica, February 13, 2015 ,
- HP Spectre x360 13t (13-4003), PCMag, March 10, 2015 ,
- Asus ZenBook UX305 Review, Laptop Mag, March 2, 2015 ,
Originally published: April 20, 2016
We actively moderate the comments section to make it relevant and helpful for our readers, and to stay up to date with our latest picks. You can read our moderation policy FAQ here.


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I get the following error:
Fatal error: Call to undefined method Testimonials_Widget_Settings::is_true_int() in /<site-path>/wp-content/plugins/testimonials-widget-premium/testimonials-widget-premium.php on line 731
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WAYNESBORO — During the heat wave earlier this month, Robin Houser began noticing ambulances, paramedics and other medical personnel showing up at the apartment building at the back of Fairfax Hall in Waynesboro with alarming regularity.
The Augusta County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that human remains found over the weekend in the county are those of a missing Mount Solon man.
The Augusta County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that human remains found over the weekend in the county are those of a missing Mount Solon man.
In the time it takes you to read this story, five more people will have committed suicide around the world. In the U.S., someone takes their own life every 15 minutes. In all, about 40,000 Americans kill themselves each year. It's a troubling statistic.
Country singers Chris Lane and William Michael Morgan got the crowd going at the Rockingham County Fair on Thursday night, playing everything from foot-stompin' country to rock 'n roll ballads. Our photographer and reporter Michelle L. Mitchell was there to catch the two stars up close and personal as they sang to the crowd.
FORT DEFIANCE — Trailing 17-14 in the fourth set and on the brink of losing the match, it was like a flick of the switch for Wilson Memorial junior Hannah Johnson.
It's been a long time since the White House travel-office scandal, but gray-hairs will remember the plot: The Clintons fired longtime civil service employees so they could install their buddies — "our people," as Hillary described them. Subsequent investigations cleared Bill Clinton of wrongdoing but found that Hillary had lied.
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Welcome to the St. Andrews Society of Northwest Michigan. Formed in 1997, the Society's purpose is to foster fellowship among people who are interested in Scottish history, customs, music and arts through participation in organized activities.
The Society meets several times a year including a spring potluck, marching in a Cherry Festival Parade, a picnic with Family Highland Games, and St. Andrews Dinner in November. In addition, the Society celebrates Burns Night in January.
Gatherings may include a dinner in a restaurant or pot luck at a community center followed by a short discussion of future activities, Scottish entertainment, and brief talks on Scottish culture, history or apparel.
You will learn about our club and the many ways we celebrate our heritage. We are based in Traverse City, but have members and friends from all over the state.
Burns Night 2012
Thursday, July 21 – Grand Traverse Pipes & Drums concert at the Pavilions w/SASNM promotional booth; 7pm
Sunday, August 28 – Annual Picnic & Family Highland Games, Silver Lake Recreation Area, Garfield Township; 1-4 pm
Sunday, October 9 – Annual Dinner Meeting – site TBD


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text:
- Prodotto:
- 24/7 Diner Chair
- Linea:
- 24/7
- Produttore:
- Design2Chill
- Designer:
- Jan des Bouvrie
- Architonic ID:
- 1140882
- Paese:
- Paesi Bassi
- Anno Produzione:
- 2010
Informazioni Essenziali
In cooperation with one of the best Dutch designers, Jan des Bouvrie, D2C created a total new concept, 24/7. This model is different from all others as you can expand the lounge set with a matching dinner table with dining chairs and a sunlounger for the ultimate sunbathing experience. All frames are available in either stainless steel or a black or white powder coating.


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full metal alchemist
full metal alchemist
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Project Don't Forget
View Member Profile
Aug 31 2011, 12:43 PM
Group: Members
Posts: 251
Joined: 25-November 08
From: Planet Earth. I think.
Member No.: 64,903
Gender: Female
Go to this post to see it!!
UPDATE: As of today - September 30th - submissions are
And I have 40 ENTRIES!!! WOW!!! Thank you everyone! Thank you so much for being a part of this and making this year's FMA Day so special! I've already started putting the final video together, and I think you're going to be blown away when I post it. It's looking so amazing, and it's all thanks to you guys.
Stay tuned for the final epicness on October 3rd!!
Hey you!
Yes, YOU!
ALL of you!
I'm planning something reeeaaaally awesome for October 3rd, and I need YOUR help to do it!
What is
Project Don't Forget
A well-told and well-loved story can be one of the most powerful things in the world, and Fullmetal Alchemist is no exception. This is a chance for you to tell the world YOUR Fullmetal story - why you love FMA, what it means to you and how it's impacted your life. Every fan has a story, and the goal of
Project Don't Forget
is to bring those stories together.
ALSO, there will be a surprise guest star in this project, who just so happens to be one of the
main English VAs from FMA/Brotherhood!!!
So DON'T MISS OUT!!
How can I be a part of it, and how do I enter?
Using the outline I've provided for you below, share what Fullmetal Alchemist means to you and record it on video.
Then post it as a video response to
this announcement video.
Be sure to
post it by the deadline -
September 24th
September 29th.
(If you don't have a webcam or video camera, an audio recording is acceptable.)
If you don't know how to post a "video response" on YouTube...go to
my announcement video
and click on the comment box. Right next to it on the right should appear a link that says "Create a video response". Click on that, select your uploaded entry and submit!
If you don't have a microphone either, or don't want to be in a video at all, you can still be a part of the project by sharing your story on
Our Fullmetal Stories
NOTE: I'm extending the deadline to
September 29th!!
If there's no way you can make it by the 24th, you now have an extra 5 days as wiggle room.
Just keep in mind...the longer you wait to send in your entry, the less likely I'll be able to use it.
I NEED to have the final video ready to post BY October 3rd, so I have to have plenty of time to put everything together. Alright?
***What should I say in the video?***
Right below is the outline I'd like you to follow.
Please say aloud everything that's
, and then use your own words to fill in the rest.
The stuff in
explains what to do and gives examples of what I'm looking for, so read it carefully! I recommend you take some time to look this over and put together your thoughts and what you'd like to say. Feel free to read through and practice a few times, write it down or print it out, if you want. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it's still good to be prepared!
And remember, the most important thing is that it's YOUR story and that it comes from your heart!
Make it your own!
There is no such thing as a perfect story...but Fullmetal Alchemist comes close. Action, adventure, fantasy, philosophy, drama, romance, comedy, tragedy...FMA's got something in it for everyone, and it has a message for every heart. It's not just another anime. It's a journey.
Let me tell you about it:
(in your own words, briefly summarize the basic premise of the story. Make sure to keep it SPOILER FREE! Don't say anything about
parallel worlds
Amestris being a giant soul-sucking transmutation circle, haha.
I found FMA...
(briefly describe when and how you discovered FMA, and how you first reacted to it.)
And I fell in love with it because...
(tell us what things drew you into the story and why, and how it affected you. Feel free to tie in personal experiences and ways you related to FMA, if you feel comfortable doing so.)
Sure, the alchemy and adventure is cool, but what FMA is REALLY about is...
("Sacrifice." "Love." "Brotherhood." "Humanity." "Overcoming pain." Etc. State some of the themes you saw in FMA.
You may use up to five words, whether it's one sentence or lots of separate words.
The point is to keep it short, sweet and to-the-point. And if you want to elaborate a bit after saying them, feel free.)
Fullmetal Alchemist is the kind of story that...
(describe a few ways how you think it impacts the viewers and readers. "Makes you laugh", "makes you cry", "makes you think about life", "touches you", "stays with you", etc.)
FMA taught me...
(state a couple of lessons from FMA that really stuck with you. "You have to give if you want to gain." "Family is precious." "Pain doesn't define you; it's what you do with it that counts." "True love can't be bound by the laws of equivalent exchange." Etc. Doesn't matter how cheesy or stupid it sounds, as long as it's meaningful to you!)
This is what Fullmetal Alchemist means to me. This is how it touched my heart. This is how it touched the hearts of millions of fans, just like me, all across the world.
Fullmetal Alchemist, I will never forget you.
What are the rules?
The deadline is
September 24th
extended to September 29th.
Keep your video/audio
under 10 minutes.
If there are large pauses, edit them out before you post it. And
make sure there is no music or noise in the background.
All I want to hear is your voice.
Your entry MUST be posted as a video response to
my announcement video,
and please put your YouTube username in the video title, so it'll be easier for me to keep track of whose entry is whose. I'd also appreciate it if you post the link to your video on this thread, or message it to me, so I have a "backup" place where I can find it.
You MUST follow the outline I've provided above.
This will help give structure to everyone's videos and make it easier for me to work with them. It will also help the flow and vision I have in mind for the final product.
Keep it spoiler-free. Don't say anything like
THIS IS NOT A SOAPBOX FOR YOU TO RANT ABOUT WHICH ANIME VERSION IS SUPERIOR OR HOW YOUR ONE TRUE PAIRING IS THE "BEST EVAR!!!1" Just. Don't. Go there.** This project is to celebrate EVERYTHING Fullmetal Alchemist related, because that's how awesome it is, and that's what it deserves.
So keep it positive. Or else.
If I see ANY negativity in your entry, about ANY FMA version, I'll DQ it faster than you can say "milk".
Have fun!
THAT'S AN ORDER! If you're not enjoying it, you're missing the whole spirit of the project!
*It's alright to mention how a character death or some other story event affected you; just don't give away who dies or who kills who. Keep it general. The final "Don't Forget" video will be aimed both at fans AND people who haven't seen FMA, so we don't want to ruin anything.
**Likewise, it's fine to mention how the romantic relationships in FMA affected you; but again, keep it general and spoiler-free. I'd also appreciate it if you kept it to official canon couples (or semi-canon, like AlMei, LingFan, etc). I don't have
against yaoi/non-canon couples or the people who ship them, but since we're talking about the real FMA story and not fanfiction, I think it's better if we just stick to the author-approved stuff. No offense meant, I assure you!
Anything else I should know?
- In case it hasn't been made clear yet, I'm going to be downloading all of your videos and using them to create a trailer/documentary-style video. I will post the finished product on FMA Day, October 3rd. Now this project isn't a contest; there is no winning or losing.
But I can't guarantee that I'll be able to use
entry in the final video!
It depends on how many entries I get and how well they'll work with what I have in mind for it. So please don't take it personally if your entry doesn't make it in!
- I will be making a YouTube playlist with every entry I received...including the ones that didn't make it into the final video. And when I unveil the finished product on October 3rd, at the end of the video I will post links to where people can browse through the playlist, look at everyone's entries, and read the other participants' testimonials on the
Fullmetal Stories
So even if I can't fit all your entries into the main video, each and every one I get will still be part of the overall project.
Nobody will be left out there!
Though the final video is the
main event
of the project, the project itself is simply about sharing everything that people love about FMA. The spirit of it is more about the journey than the destination, you might say. That's what it celebrates.
That way, everyone wins!
So please please PLEASE join in! I want to get as many fans on board as possible! Also, just as an incentive...
there will possibly be an extra surprise thrown in for all my fellow fans. A really BIG, really MIND-BLOWING surprise. POSSIBLY.
So don't miss out!! And when in doubt, ask! If you have any questions or comments, or any trouble or technical difficulties, don't hesitate to speak up or message me.
Happy early FMA Day!! Can't wait to see what you guys will give me!
PS: If you'd like a little extra inspiration, here's the song I'll most likely be using for the final "Don't Forget" video. Enjoy!
Dear pain, it's been a long time.
Remember when you were holding me tight?
I would stay awake with you all night...
~ -:- ~
Ed art
NellaTheFairy on deviantART.
EdWin lovers,
click here!
View Member Profile
Sep 3 2011, 03:31 PM
Group: Members
Posts: 251
Joined: 25-November 08
From: Planet Earth. I think.
Member No.: 64,903
Gender: Female
Double-posting, with mod permission, to announce that Project Don't Forget is also accepting fanart!
I'm gonna need material for some montages in the final video - so if you'd like to contribute to that, check out the
Project Don't Forget Fanart Submissions thread
, take a look at the prompts if you need some inspiration, and submit what you've got!
However, just like with the videos, there's no guarantee that I'll use every fanart submission!
It depends on what works best for the final video. So don't take it personally if your fanart doesn't make it in. Just have fun participating and spread the FMA love! That's what the project's all about!
Keep the entries coming! I'm getting really excited about this!!!
Dear pain, it's been a long time.
Remember when you were holding me tight?
I would stay awake with you all night...
~ -:- ~
Ed art
NellaTheFairy on deviantART.
EdWin lovers,
click here!
Posts in this topic
Project Don't Forget
Aug 31 2011, 12:43 PM
Double-posting, with mod permission, to announce t...
Sep 3 2011, 03:31 PM
I'm definitely taking part in this. I'll b...
Sep 4 2011, 01:31 AM
The deadline is just a little over a week away, so...
Sep 16 2011, 08:10 PM
I have mine! it is here I say crap because I...
Sep 20 2011, 03:53 PM
UPDATE: IT'S OFFICIAL! There will be a sur...
Sep 22 2011, 03:57 PM
Yay! I think now I'll be able to make a vi...
Sep 22 2011, 09:23 PM
@ LilianaDC - Ooh, that would be awesome! Than...
Sep 23 2011, 10:37 AM
Dearheart, all of Russian fans that participate in...
Sep 23 2011, 05:58 PM
My video response Hope I won't disappoint you
Sep 25 2011, 07:19 AM
Here's my Fullmetal Story. I know it's lat...
Sep 29 2011, 09:39 PM
LilianaDC and AlkemyFreak - I got your entries...
Sep 30 2011, 10:44 AM
Oct 3 2011, 02:16 PM
The links for CroDerG and Rueme are bad. The one f...
Oct 7 2011, 09:14 PM
Thank you so much, Dearheart for creating this, an...
Oct 3 2011, 03:21 PM
It was very well made! AND I feel so honored t...
Oct 3 2011, 03:40 PM
A little late, but here's a link to my fan art...
Oct 3 2011, 09:44 PM
A Pierrot's Aria
The video was INCREDIBLE!!! I was smil...
Oct 5 2011, 10:07 AM
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text:
this may be of some local interest
- Member for
- 8 years 7 weeks
Recent Comments
|8 years 4 weeks ago
|Probably Not an idiot...
I found this after a friend that was on the football team last year told me Pryor was being paid off. Obviously there is not a lot of proof out there other than this posting, but find me in 5 years.
And Dex, you need to chill bro. Cheeeull...
|8 years 4 weeks ago
|I'm not saying, i'm just saying.
|8 years 7 weeks ago
|For those who want to buy the jersey...
|Click here: http://www.gametimeusa.com/miwome1newho.html Props to Tree Hugger
|8 years 7 weeks ago
|No Block M's
Trust me...you don't want a block M on the home jersey.
Nike did a navy Charles Woodson jersey and it looked terrible. I couldn't find a picture of the navy one online so I posted the white version.
Just imagine the jersey blue, no numbers on the shoulders and the letters yellow. Not a pretty sight: http://cgi.ebay.com/CHARLES-WOODSON-SIGNED-MICHIGAN-JERSEY-PSA-DNA_W0QQi...


text:
JOHANNESBURG — Belinda Seper, the woman behind the Belinda boutique, is the Australian equivalent of Joyce Ma, Ikram Goldman and Joan Burstein.
She does not advertise, yet in the last 15 years, Seper has built a fashion business that trades on the careful selection of merchandise from the hottest labels, the creation of a unique retail environment in a specifically defined location and her instinctive understanding of her market.
Today, Belinda has 10 stores in Australia with sales last year of $10 million and 70 employees. And in May, the Belinda multibrand boutique concept made its debut here, its first foreign outpost.
Like her boutiques in Australia, Belinda in South Africa is housed in a converted home on the main avenue of a leafy suburb, Parkhurst, fast becoming Johannesburg';s answer to Manhattan';s Chelsea. Inside, the 2,000-square-foot space has four separate retail areas: the Corner Shop for jeans and T-shirts by Sass & Bide, Lover and Citizens of Humanity; a shoes and bags boutique; a high-fashion salon featuring labels such as Lanvin and Missoni; and an "international chic" shop that carries Miu Miu, Marni, Stella McCartney, Chloé and Vanessa Bruno.
Seper decided quickly and instinctively that a Belinda boutique in South Africa would work. "I';d been to visit my brother and his partner, who';d been living here for a few years now," she recounted. "This was back in July 2006. I instantly fell in love with the country." The economy was booming and consumer luxury spending was at an all-time high. But it surprised her that some of her favorite labels weren';t available.
Seper investigated Johannesburg and Cape Town. "I felt that the market was ready for it. It was time to go in and do something different."
She returned last September to scout locations for a Johannesburg store; by November, the deal on the Parkhurst house was final. Construction began in earnest in January. Realizing that she was going against conventional wisdom in setting her store in a house, she said, "I know that in Johannesburg, a mall mentality exists. I also know it results from security issues; malls were considered safe places in the context of so much crime. However, my sense is that people here are a lot more relaxed now, and ready for the regeneration of a more independent-minded retail environment."
This story first appeared in the July 3, 2007 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.
Belinda will offer the same standard of service the Australian boutiques are known for. The staff is trained to welcome clients "as they would a guest in their own home." And the idea of "home," for Seper, translates into an experience that engages all the senses. She is meticulous about detail, from the music to the room fragrance to the size of the changing rooms and the plushness of the sofa in the shoe salon.
As owner and buyer for Belinda — she averages at least six international buying trips a year — Seper sees her role as essentially that of a curator. "Fashion to me is nothing more than a range of possibilities," she said. "I';m the one that edits and assembles these possibilities — the international fashion trends and brands — in a unique environment."
In fact, Seper considers this to be her best talent. Her years in the business have served her well. "Most people," she said, "have rear-vision technique. I';m the opposite. I';m forward-looking. I can see the way ahead, and I can judge whether to go with a brand or collection this season and not the next. It might be too early for my market."
It was this foresight that spurred her into starting her business in 1992. Long a champion of Australian designers, she opened her store with brands such as Colette Dinnigan at a time when the words "Australian fashion" didn';t quite exist. Sensing a gap in the market, she sought to bring European labels to Australia. She still seeks out Australian talent; Sass & Bide, Willow and Josh Groot are among the local labels she carries. She also is on the board of Australian Fashion Week. She intends to include Australian designers in her merchandise mix for South Africa.
While excited by this new South African venture, Seper is aware of the challenges she faces in this market. Despite the encouraging comments from friends, she stressed she was "under no illusion that Belinda means anything in this market. I am an unknown quantity here, which can be a positive, in the sense that there won';t be any preconceived pressure. But retail at this level is all about relationships. We have to win that trust from the clients." What she is banking on is the appeal of the brands she is bringing into the market, like Marni, Miu Miu and Chloé. "These are the ones that I know will appeal across the board," she said.
There are a handful of small multibrand boutiques catering to that market in South Africa. A limited selection of labels such as Etro, Bottega Veneta, Issa, Diane von Furstenberg, Dries Van Noten, Dosa and Day Birger & Mikkelsen are available and are often found in exclusive upmarket malls. Gucci and Louis Vuitton also have freestanding boutiques in the massive Sandton City/Nelson Mandela Square shopping complex.
In setting up Belinda in South Africa, Seper was careful not to tread on anyone';s toes and "steal" brands already being carried by other stores. She wondered, initially, why some of her favorite brands were not represented in the country. She asked the suppliers in Europe and the U.S. why.
"They said they would love to, but the high level of crime was a deterrent. And when I asked if they would sell to me for South Africa, they said yes immediately." She added that "as in Australia, we will be stocking current seasons as in Europe and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere."
Price could be an issue, because of the high import duties on clothing in South Africa (40 percent plus 14 percent value-added tax). "We are obliged to work with lower margins," she admitted, although the prices will be pretty much on a par with Australian prices, "only very slightly higher." Import duties in Australia are 22 percent. However, she said that at this level, the clientele is more concerned with quality and value.
And if all goes well in Johannesburg, Belinda will open a Cape Town store in the next 12 months. Already, her decision to set up shop in Parkhurst — known for interior decorating showrooms, antiquaries and quirky home décor — is proving prescient. In October, Paul Smith is opening down the road, and Burberry is reportedly considering a location nearby.


text:
Jaipur, Jan 26: The Jaipur Literature Festival today witnessed fireworks after political critic Ashis Nandy made a controversial comment on corruption and people belonging to OBC, SC and ST communities which drew a strong response from the audience.
At a panel discussion at the Festival, Nandy said, "Most corrupt people come from OBC, SC and ST communities".
Journalist Ashutosh, who was among the panelists, and most members from the audience took strong exception to the statement.
DSC Jaipur Literature Festival is the largest literary festival in Asia-Pacific and the most prestigious celebration of national and international literature to be held in India, says the website of the festival.
It encompasses a range of readings, talks, debates, performances, children's workshops and interactive activities held in the beautiful heritage property, Diggi Palace in the Rajasthani capital of Jaipur. "Entering its sixth year, JLF is now regarded as the Kumbh Mela of Indian and international writing, drawing in writers and readers from across India and the wider world: From America, Europe, Africa and from across the breadth of South Asia, the brightest, most brilliant, funny, moving and remarkable authors come to Jaipur every January," says JLF website.


text:
MC Lyte
~ Person
Legal name: Lana Michele Moorer
MC Lyte (born Lana Michelle Moorer on October 11, 1970) is an American rapper who first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. She has long been considered one of hip-hop's pioneer feminists.
Showing official release groups by this artist. Show all release groups instead, or show various artists release groups.


text:
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The Charleston Inheritance
In the quiet luxury of the historic district, a unique form of house plan—which goes back two hundred years—is a beguiling surprise for a visitor
April 1987 | Volume 38, Issue 3
This house is part of public life but hides from it, with its family "stage" hidden behind a door and behind a locked, lacy iron gate and with its functional parts (the kitchen, the outhouse, the storehouses, and the servants' quarters) compactly concealed in the walled courtyard out back. In one sense it is a democratic house plan because a Single House can be poor or grand, depending on its owner's fortune, and thus it cuts across class lines. In another sense it is incurably elitist, showing as little of itself to the world as possible and sequestering its inmates as though in a harem.
Charleston's distinctive contribution to American architecture is the Single House, but there are other fine houses. Some of the most famous are Double Houses—that is, either nearly square houses, with a room in each corner and a central hall, or side hall or twin-parlor houses with grand staircases visible from the front door. Yet there are features common to almost all the notable Charleston dwellings: they all are city houses, affording quick access to public places—the churches, the wharves, the markets—of the town, and they are marked with all kinds of adaptations to city life. The windowless wall, for example, so typical for one side of the Single House, was probably a safety measure. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Charleston was regularly devastated by fires, and if the house next door happens to be ablaze, a wall with no windows, or in some cases only one small window, is much less likely to catch fire.
Furthermore, in spite of their presentday elegance, many of the houses of Charleston were built not only as homes but also as places of business. The downstairs parlor was as often as not a reception room where the master of the house spent his mornings with other tradesmen or sea captains or commercial acquaintances, planning enterprises or counting up profits and losses.
The crushingly humid subtropical climate of the Carolina low country has influenced taste in other ways as well. For one thing it undoubtedly led to the almost universal acceptance of the piazza by Charleston builders. The word comes not, as one might expect, directly from Italy but, like so much else in Charleston, from England. In 1750 Samuel Johnson defined a piazza as "a walk under a roof supported by pillars." A century earlier the great architect lnigo Jones had built a piazza, or covered walkway, at Covent Garden in London. The word meant "square," but the English applied it to the walkway and gave it their own pronunciation. In Charleston the piazza, whether it had one or two tiers, provided some shade for its side of the house as well as a secluded and no doubt highly entertaining view of Charleston street life. It also—and surely this was part of its appeal—gave the builder a chance to add some columns and capitals and fancy woodwork to the exterior of his house. The piazza, whether on the front or the side of the house, is to most observers an enchanting feature—breezy and romantic, however functional its purpose.
Sitting out of doors was hardly the chief activity of a Charleston family. A house begets work and must have workers to do it. From the days of its founding, Carolina based its economy on the slave trade and its well-being on slave labor. Charlestonians made large fortunes on the transatlantic slave trade and on the domestic trade as well. Slaves worked the plantations, and they serviced the town houses; the slave population of Charleston was always highly visible. For every white man, woman, and child living in the elegant town houses, there might have been several blacks. One authority estimates that a wealthy Carolina family in colonial times might have been outnumbered ten to one by its servants, at least in the country; in town the ratio was probably two to one. Even existing in a condition of servitude, no population this large can be without its influence. A man building a house for his family and a contingent of servants builds a different house from that for his family alone. In addition, servants in bondage had to be contained. They could not be allowed too much freedom; their owners needed to know where they were. This may account in part for the walled gardens of Charleston, the discreetly locked gates.
Not one of Charleston's fine houses was designed by a professional architect, as far as we know.
But surely, too, so large a work force contributed substantially to the wellbeing of the city. The tour guides in the museum houses these days occasionally tell their audience that the woodwork or the plastered ceilings or the handsomely carved banisters or the furnishings were created by slave artisans. "Up to 90 percent of what you see is the creation of black hands," one tour guide recently proclaimed—a theory without any factual basis whatever. Certainly Charleston had its slave carpenters and carvers and smiths, but they occupied the lowest rungs of artisanship. While some slaves became highly skilled as cabinetmakers, most were laborers and apprentices whose employers seldom gave them the chance to design anything. Skilled whites were anxious never to have to compete with skilled slaves. City ordinances, moreover, controlled the number of slave apprentices a craftsman might employ.


text:
Discussing the latest sexting scandal for Anthony Weiner on Tuesday's NBC Today, correspondent Andrea Mitchell commented on top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin separating from the disgraced ex-congressman: "...despite their long-troubled marriage and that friends say that this was coming for a long time....they were trying to continue with this facade of a marriage....it worked for them for now. They were hoping to at least get through the campaign, through the election. But then it became untenable."
The New York Times' chief Hillary-following reporter Amy Chozick delivered some unfiltered Clinton campaign propaganda in Tuesday's "'Conspiracy' Validation Seen by Clinton Camp," vindicating Hillary's notorious late-90s paranoia about a "vast right-wing conspiracy" taking on the innocent, scandal-free First Couple, with Chozick defending the claim as "not entirely baseless."
According to a statement at the city's web site, Fairfax, Virginia Mayor Richard "Scott" Silverthorne's resignation took effect at noon on Thursday. The resignation occurs a week after Silverthorne was arrested "for allegedly trying to exchange methamphetamine to undercover detectives in exchange for sex, city officials said Monday."
The press, as has so often been the case in situations involving Democrats, has been very reluctant to report Silverthorne's party affiliation, either avoiding the tag entirely or delaying it until their stories' very late paragraphs.
MSNBC host, NBC News Clinton campaign correspondent and senior Clinton apologist Andrea Mitchell offered her latest Clinton spin on Tuesday during the Republican National Convention (RNC) by whining that the Clinton scandals ranging from Whitewater to Hillary's e-mail scandal "will never be resolved to the satisfaction of the conspiracy theorists."
For over two weeks now, the press has insisted, based on almost no evidence, that many UK citizens who voted to leave the European Union weren't all that informed, didn't appreciate the implications of their vote, and now regret their decision. Two examples signify the press's desperation to cling to this meme. The first is their contention that post-referendum UK-based Internet search requests for basic information on the EU are coming entirely or mostly from "Leave" voters. There is no good reason to believe that. The second is their treatment of the obviously bogus, heavily-pranked, easily-beaten petition for a second EU referendum as if it's something real, when it obviously is not. These efforts are so over the top that they may strike some readers as psychologically troubled "Remain" supporters having a tough time adjusting to reality. Well, it turns out that this is a far from minor problem among "Remain" supporters.
On Sunday's morning's This Week show on ABC, hos Martha Raddatz asked normally unflappable Hillary Clinton supporter Cokie Roberts about the "deep mistrust" voters have towards presumptive Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton. Concerning her campaign, Roberts responded that "I don't think they have a clue how to fix it." That's understandable. How do you "fix" a media-enabled problem at least two decades in the making?
Raddatz tried to deflect discussion of Mrs. Clinton's serious problem by telling people to go see the play Hamilton. Roberts took the cue, and in a bizarre non sequitur, said that Alexander Hamilton "lied too, to his wife."
Poland's government has firmly established itself as right-wing – for wanting to prosecute child rapist Roman Polanski. The Hollywood Reporter posted an article earlier this week stating that "Poland's new right-wing government" is seeking to overturn a court decision not to extradite the Oscar-winning director. In a normal world, everyone would want to throw Polanski in jail. But apparently, only crazy right-wingers would ever want to do that.
On Tuesday's CNN Tonight, during a discussion of Donald Trump making an issue of Hillary Clinton being an "enabler" of her husband, Bill Clinton, abusing women, host Don Lemon seemed unaware of the kinds of accusations made by women like Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey that Hillary Clinton had taken part in efforts to intimidate them into silence about sexual assaults.
At one point, Lemon cluelessly commented: "This is the first time that I think that I've heard of in any situation ... where the woman who was cheated on is now being accused of doing something wrong. Usually, women stand behind a woman who was cheated on rather than saying, 'Well, she enabled.' If someone cheated on me, I'm not going to say nice things about the person they cheated on with."
New York Times Hillary-beat reporter Amy Chozick matter-of-factly compared Whitewater special prosecutor Ken Starr to Inspector Javert, the fanatical pursuer of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, while blaming him for bringing "a new intensity to partisan warfare" in his prosecution of Bill Clinton, in Wednesday's "Starr, Who Tried to Bury Clinton, Now Praises Him." Chozick even suggested Starr's investigation was responsible for the Clinton administration being distracted from the threat of Osama bin Laden.
CNN's Ashleigh Banfield acted like a hired gun for Hillary Clinton on her Legal View program on Tuesday. Banfield claimed Donald Trump "twisted" Bill Clinton's past sex scandals into an attack on Mrs. Clinton, and played up how he once stated that "Paula Jones is a loser, and people would have been more forgiving if Bill had had affairs with more glamorous women." She confronted Sam Clovis, Trump's national co-chair: "What are you doing in this campaign when it's Donald Trump who attacked the women; and you're going after Hillary's husband, who's not running for president?"
On Tuesday, all three network morning shows denounced Donald Trump's campaign ad going after Bill Clinton's treatment of women as a "another low" in the presidential race and parroted Hillary Clinton's campaign talking points dismissing numerous sex abuse allegations against her husband as "old" and "discredited." On NBC's Today, Matt Lauer warned the campaign was "getting even nastier."
Reacting to NBC's Andrea Mitchell claiming on Thursday that her 1999 rape accusation against Bill Clinton was "discredited," Juanita Broaddrick blasted the reporter: "Andrea is obviously mad at me for exposing her rudeness and bias when she called me this year. I think being a lapdog for Hillary Clinton discredits Andrea Mitchell and NBC as journalists!"


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Fri 25th Jan at 8:30pm (doors 7:30pm)
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99 Club Leicester Square: Hal Cruttenden, Spencer Brown, Nick Doody, Mowten
Comedy night featuring top acts from the national circuit.
Visit www.99clubcomedy.com for further information.
Please note that the artists appearing may be subject to change.
Hal Cruttenden
Host of Live At The Apollo and star of Radio 4, the great Hal is back ranting about the real evils of the modern world - over sharing on social media and the 5:2 diet. The more he complains the funnier he gets.
As seen on The Royal Variety Performance, Would I Lie To You? The Great British Bake Off; An Extra Slice, Live At The Palladium and Have I Got News For You.
'An Absolute joy to watch' (The Scotsman)
'Hugely talented' (The Times).
Hal Cruttenden tour dates
Spencer Brown
Probably the least dysfunctional comedian in the world. He was so naively secure as a child that he turned up to a school disco in a Michael Jackson Moonwalker outfit. Spencer is the product of a happy home. As a comedian, his stunningly inventive and daft wordplay has won him many plaudits. He is a contributor to the TV comedy shows 'Smack the Pony' and 'Comedy Nation'.
Spencer Brown tour dates
Nick Doody
Up and coming comic, who uses his physicality as an extra dimension to his show. A finalist on Channel 4's 'So You Think You're Funny?', topical and not afraid to say what he thinks, Nick Doody's brand of political comedy and satire has won fans all over the country.
'Some of the best political material I have heard in a while... comic genius' (The Scotsman)
'... darkly hilarious...' (The List)
'... sharp, intelligent and satirical' Chortle).
Nick Doody tour dates
'Mowten is a charming and engaging stand-up, funny and interesting, the kind of man who you could spend entire evenings with shooting the breeze in bonhomie.
His life is a fascinating one, from living in a cult to losing a massive inheritance, and he is a skilled storyteller, so go, sit back and enjoy the twists and turns that made Mowten' (The Fix 2007).
'Intelligent and warm and very very funny. Mowten is one of the most honest and fearless comics I have seen' (Shappi Khorsandi)
'Highly original and amusing' (Time Out)
'Mowten's an instantly likeable stand-up with bags of charm and an easy manner' (Chortle)
'A charismatic comedian, with a long future in stand up' (Three Weeks).
Mowten tour dates
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Venue Facts
Venue: Storm Nightclub
Website: stormlondon.co.uk
Enquiries: 020 7839 2633
→ Charing Cross 7 min walk
→ Leicester Square 1 min walk


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