Archive for the 'technology' Category

Netbook

Published on 24 October 2008 in technology. 8 Comments

Dave Winer’s definition of a netbook:

…what a netbook is…

1. Small size.

2. Low price.

3. Battery life of 4+ hours. Battery can be replaced by user. Atom processor seems to be a requirement, those that aren’t Atom aren’t selling (and are apparently being discontinued).

4. Rugged.

5. Built-in wifi, 3 USB ports, SD card reader. It seems it must have 802.11n to be taken seriously.

6. Runs my software.

7. Runs any software I want (no platform vendor to decide what’s appropriate).

8. Competition (users have choice and can switch vendors at any time).

I’m about to buy another eeePC to replace my first (pictured). I need a computer to go to New Zealand with, and want to have an eeePC to work with around the house (in bed, in the backyard, in M’s study). I can’t decide whether to get the 901 model or the 1000. I love the size of the 901, but am attracted by the slightly bigger keyboard of the 1000. Will have to make up my mind soon.

The eeePC was released around this time last year, wasn’t it? It’s good that it’s been so popular. I do wonder if eeePCs, or any other netbook or other computer for that matter, will ever become as easy to use as a mobile phone.

Techno(t)

Published on 21 February 2008 in meme and technology. 4 Comments

There’s this meme going round that’s about technology blind spots, I suppose you’d call them - on popular technologies you don’t do or skills you don’t have.

I admit to having occasional attacks of techno lust and have succumbed from time to time (PDA, Tablet, iPod, etc), but such attacks seem to be getting fewer and far between.

My blind spots?

Gaming consoles. I am quite partial to certain types of games (MMORPGs, turn-based strategy a la Civ, puzzles) but have never ever really gotten into consoles. This, despite the fact that we have Gameboys, a Gamecube, Playstation 2, a DS, and a Wii in the house. I don’t know why, particularly. I have enjoyed certain games like Galaga and Tetris on the Gameboy, and bowling on the Wii is fun, but that’s about the end of it. Oh, but recently Whack-a-mole on the DS was amusing. Heh.

Macs. I’ve never really used a Mac and I don’t get the Apple cult at all. (We have a Mac laptop in the house but I’m largely indifferent to it, give me my EeePC any day. Or my Tablet.)

Mobile phone. These days I seem to use my phone for text. In fact I text enough that I’m starting to think I should get a plan for cheaper text messages. But I don’t use my phone for much else, apart from sudoku when I’m forced to stand on the train.

Podcasting. Should I be admitting this, given that I have had a lot to do with podcasting at work? Well it’s not that I don’t like it as a medium, it’s just that I am not particularly interested in creating personal ones. I also don’t seem to listen to many.

Programming skills. I have none, beyond Basic which I learned in high school 6 million years ago. I suppose it would be interesting to be able to write little scripts but I don’t have much motivation to learn, especially when I live with someone who can do this with his eyes closed and it’s much easier to just tell him what I want.

I suppose I could call SecondLife a blind spot. I’ve visited there a few times but always get irritated with the clunkiness and the interface. Chat, changing my appearance and being able to ‘fly’ isn’t interesting enough to get me visiting regularly.

Skype. Never used it.

Video. Blogging or vodcasting or YouTube. I used to think this indifference was just due to a lack of a video camera, but I now have a working camera on the EeePC and I still haven’t bothered to investigate.

What else?

Like Laura I am not a cash register fan. I always break a cash register if I have to handle one. This happens so unfailingly that I am no longer intimidated by the things, I am amused by them and always wonder what bizarre problem I am going to cause next…

Like Fiona I am not afraid to tinker with a pc. All I know about computers is self-taught. I’ve also learned a lot from hanging around with real geeks (e.g. M).

Others: Steve, Dorothea, Rochelle, Jenna.

Yours?

New toy for Christmas

Published on 2 January 2008 in toys and technology. 5 Comments

One of my Christmas presents from M was this - the Eee PC from Asus.


Comparisons
Here it is, next to my desktop PC. My 2008 Special Edition Red Moleskine diary is the red book next to it.


Eee PC screen
Despite its small size its screen is easy to read. And it’s the most appliance-like computer I have ever used, in the sense that there was very little set-up needed to get started with it. I basically took it out of its box, stuck its battery in, plugged it into the mains (to charge), and away I went.

I decided on a black one, instead of white, because any white keyboards I use tend to get very grubby. (I like to eat at my keyboard, and inevitably drop crumbs.)


Thickness
What I love most about the Eee PC is its weight - it’s very light, and nice to carry around. Quite unlike any regular laptop I have ever used.


Trade paperback sized
The Eee PC is smaller than some trade paperbacks! I’ve already been using it to check email in bed. It will be very handy to have when I’m in Melbourne for the VALA conference next month and need something to take notes and go online.