netbook

Spring Cleaning with Ebay

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Yesterday I sold my Nokia E71. I know, I use an iPhone 3G. I also bought a E71 a few months ago to play around with. I was hoping to be able to switch between iPhone and E71. I know, I bought and returned a previous Nokia E71 for that same reason. I wanted to give the Nokia more than a day trial. The verdict was it is a great phone but even with its drawbacks I like the iPhone and even when I did use the E71 I would often switch back to the iPhone. So since I am currently on a sell my extra stuff kick I sold the Nokia on Craigslist.

So far in the past month I have let go of my Macbook, and the Nokia. I loved the Macbook, but the reality was I wasn’t using it so I opted for the much faster iMac desktop. I am even contemplating letting go of my HP netbook since I have my work laptop that is an ultra portable. I am also looking to offload my 160gig iPod. When I got the iPhone I thought I would slowly stop needing an iPod. That is exactly what happened. With my new 16gig USB key and 16gig SD card in my laptop I no longer need the 160gig iPod for any portable file storage. That means it is getting wiped and put up for sale.

I am also in the process of selling my old Airport Extreme base station, but that is only because I upgraded. That sale will recoup half the cost of the new one. Man ebay you are my enabler for buying new stuff!

What I am not selling is my old 23″ cinema display. It found a new home as my second monitor on my iMac. I need to rummage through my storage bins to see if there is anything else I want part with. Don’t you smell spring cleaning in the air.

Windows 7 Release Candidate

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Last night I downloaded the Release Candidate for Windows 7. I had some false starts trying to install it on my Netbook last night. I finally was able to get the install files on a bootable USB flash drive I had. Once that was done it was really easy getting the OS on my Netbook. Since work was hectic today I only just got around finishing most of the install. I have the basic apps on it that I use.

I have to say I am so far impressed with what I see. I don’t know the true benchmarks but Windows 7 seems much faster than Windows XP Home was on the Atom processor. Granted I haven’t really run any apps. I have just been installing them, but the system does seem more responsive than with XP. The graphics on 7 are nice also. I like pretty, yet functional OS’. Right now I have the HP Mini 1000 plugged into a 23″ display and it is working fine. I will continue to play with it over the next few days, but my first impressions are positive. The only main downside I see is that at idle with 1 program running (IM) the system is using around 46% of my 2gigs of RAM. Not as bad as Vista, but not by much.

Netbook Update

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I have had my HP Mini 1000 for about a month and a half now and so far I haven’t had the urge to get rid of it. On the surface that doesn’t sound like a stellar endorsement, but from me it is. The netbook hasn’t changed my life or anything close to it. I am not really even using it for the main reason I got it. I ended up returning the wireless USB card so I don’t lug the netbook around with me everywhere allong with my work computer. What I do use the netbook for is light typing around the house, or when I don’t want or need to carry a regular laptop around I throw it in my bag. It was cheap enough so I don’t regret keeping it and using it like this. It is a nice to have and when I need it I am very grateful I have it.

The screen size prevents me from using it much more than I currently do. That is partly due to the screen being small, and my eyes being not so perfect. The keyboard still kicks ass, and the wifi and bluetooth actually work without any major complications. That is not something I could say for previous bluetooth experiences with Windows XP.

I just recently paired my Jawbone 2 bluetooth headset with the Mini 1000 to use Skype 4.0 on it. I never really used the Jawbone even-though as bluetooth headsets go it was expensive. It is also the best rated bluetooth headset I could find, but I never fit in my ear. I just read a kick ass review by someone at Cnet. The fix was so simple it was almost funny. They suggested putting a Jabra ear gel on the earpiece. I had one from an old Jabra headset and the instructions worked flawlessly. The headset now fits snug on my ear. I will use it with the Mini 1000 for a bit so I can make Skype calls on it. I want to try that out vs my Mac the next time I work from home. I am curious about the call quality differences between the latest Mac version of Skype and the new 4.0 version for Windows.