Technology Bowl

Netbook advantages

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:10:00 +0000

So there I was, craving a netbook, telling myself that it would make an excellent purchase. And for starters, just look at the prices. Geez. I could get a netbook for less than I bought my last handheld. Mobile phones sell for more than many notebooks. And of course, you get a hugely different computing experience on a netbook compared to a mere handheld or mobile phone. Not that they're direct competitors of course because I understand that they're not. But more and more, even if I'm a handheld lover and devotee, I need to ask myself why I should purchase a better handheld or mobile phone, when I can spend less and have Windows XP and wifi all in a small bag?

And when I consider that I saw a pretty cheap netbook which converts to tablet form and has the touchscreen to go with it, all of a sudden, the chances of my getting another Palm are much lower indeed. Sigh. To have a netbook. I could blog from wherever. The back of a taxi. While waiting for a bus. While waiting for a companion at a coffee shop. And geez, it's so small that I can pop it into my bag, and pretty much forget about it until I need it.

I want a netbook :(

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:04:00 +0000

It's 2009 and I find myself craving a netbook. Not that I don't love my current laptop, because honestly, I do, but it's just so big. Here's the thing. My laptop's great. It's got a nice big screen, and an excellent keyboard. In fact, I find that the whole typing and computing experience on it is even better than when I'm working on full fledged desktops. But again, the thing's just huge and weighs a ton. That's not so bad when the day is early, and I'm full of energy. But at the end of the day, when I find myself walking around somewhere, with a laptop bag slung around my shoulder, whose contents just weight like a ton of bricks, I ask myself, Isn't there a better way than this?

Cue the netbook. Yes, I know their keyboards are small, but hey, I've got small hands. Yes, I know their screens are small as well, but my vision's pretty decent right now, and well, I was planning to get myself some glasses anyway. So I was looking around online, at sites offering reviews on the best netbook out there, and while I may not necessarily be enthralled by the idea of a pink netbook, I'm thinking I'd love to have something that easy to lug around.

The Aeron chair

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:51:00 +0000

So I mentioned the Aeron chair in the previous post but I didn't really talk about it. Now I'm not saying that this is my ultimate ergonomic chair or anything, but right now, it's the one on my mind. It was designed in 1994, and it's received attention for just how comfortable sitting in the darn thing can be. The design's so interesting that it's actually featured in the New York Museum of Modern Art. It's got all sorts of support options such as lumbar support, and sacral support (I have a sac?), as well as armrests which adjust.

The Aeron chair reminds me a bit of seats in cars actually. I was thinking that, of course, car seats need to be as comfortable as possible because you might be stuck in it on a long 8 hour drive on some highway, or maybe 2 hour gridlock in the city. And at the same time, it needs to provide good support for your body, again for long periods of time, and also during turning and other rapid motion. So it would be great to have a computer seat similar to that. Something designed for the long haul, in a way.

An Aeron chair for me

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:45:00 +0000

So I've been thinking about ergonomics quite a bit. Maybe it's the tired shoulders, or the aching forearms, or the wrists all barky and angry at me for what I put them through day after day after day. And I've written already about all sorts of ergonomic stuff. Ergonomic mice. Ergonomic keyboards. And so on and so forth. And today, while sitting in my not at all ergonomic chair, I started thinking about what kind of chair I would love to get if only I could.

The one I'm in right now sucks. It doesn't have any arms. It's a bit too rolly, so I don't quite feel like the seat is planted in place here in front of my workstation. I can't recline without the feeling that I'm going to fall over, landing on my head. Really, it isn't the worst possible chair I could be sitting in, but it's up there unfortunately. Saw a site recently which featured an Aeron chair for sale. Well actually, multiple Aeron chairs for sale. And it just made me think, Geez, after putting in hour after hour after hour in front of this computer, for days, weeks, months, the least I could do is get myself a chair that I can work comfortably out of.

eBay versus traditional stores

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:01:00 +0000

I mentioned previously that I'm currently taking a second look at eBay for electronics purchases. I keep on hearing about it, and about how there're bargains to be had there, but I've mostly been held back by the fact that I'm a little bit paranoid. Okay, maybe not just a bit.

Right now, even the thought of handing over my credit card information anywhere online is still pretty foreign to me. I guess I still don't trust online merchants that much, even if I know that the security is much better now than it was years and years ago. So I'm thinking, try eBay, but maybe use some other means of payment other than a credit card. At least this way, my credit score isn't left to the mercy of a third party in the event of fraud. Also, am thinking I'll buy a relative inexpensive item. That might be a camera, or maybe a phone. Not a laptop yet, that's for sure, even if it is a relatively inexpensive used laptop. Will give the purchase a try and see if the customer experience is a good one. If not, well, it's a learning experience. If it is, then maybe I'll look into getting other larger items in the future.

Digital cameras on eBay

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:54:00 +0000

I used to read about how there're bargains to be had on eBay, including for such big ticket items as consumer electronics and other technology related devices, such as those for the home (well, these're big ticket for me at least). And I could understand that there would be bargains to be had because, well, I was thinking that eBay allows people and small businesses to run their operations with less overhead than traditional brick and mortar companies, since they don't actually have to worry about running a store with a physical location and a set number of employees.

But I've always been put off by the possibility of fraud, or at least of shoddy products or customer service. There's just something nice about being able to visit a physical store, and view the actual product. Then again, a site I came across talks about how it's possible to reduce the risk by taking a look at the reputation of the eBay seller, particularly with regard to the feedback store. So maybe I will do as the site suggests and check eBay for my next purchase of a cheap digital camera. Notice that I said cheap, so at least if the purchase doesn't pan out, then I'm not out a huge amount. Let's see what happens.

Ergonomic optical mouse

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:54:00 +0000

I just did a post about an ergonomic chair for my computing experience, so it made me think of other ergonomic items I'd like to eventually get for myself. I think that at the top of that list, and really not very difficult to get for myself, is an optical mouse. The one I'm using right now really does feel absolutely terrible.

The thing is, it's one of those optical mice that come free with the purchase of a computer or laptop. I rather like the way it looks. It's got a nice color. It has one of those scroll wheels in the middle which light up whenever the mouse is connected to a USB port, and that light effect and color I think looks pretty cool. The mouse itself has a nice matte finish which I think looks great. My problem with it though is the darn thing is too small! I think it's one of those smaller sized optical mice which are supposed to go with laptops because well, laptops are smaller than computers, I guess. But since it's so small, my hand really suffers. The positions of my fingers, wrist and hand just feel so, so wrong. I really need to get myself a much better more ergonomic optical mouse.

An ergonomic chair

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:43:00 +0000

This isn't really quite a computer hardware related subject, of course. We're not talking about something uber high tech, or has technology built into it precisely, or that even has specs of any sort. I mean, it's a chair. The designs change and all that, but it's still a chair. So why am I writing about chairs here?

Well, the chair that I'm using with this particular computer is killing me right now. I don't know what went wrong. I mean, it's a computer chair. That's what it's called. Doesn't that mean that it's supposed to make your computer experience more comfortable or something? But now, I find that it just doesn't feel right. I can adjust the height for this chair, but it never feels right. The backrest doesn't particularly feel good to rest my back against. I don't know. It just feel so un-ergonomic. Maybe even anti-ergonomic. So I've been doing a little digging and I found a related site. It seems to have the information I need, so I do hope it'll help me find the best ergonomic chair for me. We'll see.

Camera Fixation

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:07:00 +0000

Again, I was at this site when I noticed quite an interesting picture. It seems that the writer was heading somewhere, happened to look up at the sky, and saw that the sky had an interesting pink and blue tone. So of course, what did she do? Snap. Photo taken. Uploaded to site. For people like me to see, and to make me wonder why I don't yet have a camera of my own. Man, a few more weeks of this and I'll be quite the bitter fella.

Again, I'm thinking it doesn't have to be an expensive camera. And I've not even gunning for huge megapixels here. I think that a 3 megapixel camera wouldn't quite be enough. But I think 5 will do. Of course, if I could get an 8 or 10 megapixel camera for a decent price, that would be cool too. But again, an inexpensive digital camera would be perfectly fine. What matters to me is that it has a small enough form factor so I can carry it around with me, so that if I happen to look up at the sky, and it looks an interesting shade of something then, snap.

The Avant Browser

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:56:00 +0000

Okay, some software first. Now, I'm currently using the Firefox browser. I like it. I like the fact that it's really customizable, and that there are quite a lot of add ons available online, and many of them are actually pretty useful. So in a way for me, Firefox is the browser that can do quite a lot of things. My problem with it though is the fact that it's gotten somewhat slow. Of course, that probably has something to do with all the add ons I've installed, but hey, sometimes I just want to be able to do something quickly online, without all those frills.

So I gave Google Chrome a try (It's been so long since I last used Internet Explorer. Got turned off by the sense that it wasn't very secure.). Now Chrome's really quick. Feels like a really nimble browser. But I'm not particularly comfortable with it because it doesn't yet feel like a final product to me. So I thought those were my only choices, but then I saw an article with this title, Avant Browser 11.7.19 is out. Hell, I didn't even know there was such a browser. I think I used to use some Avant software, but I think that was antivirus software, if I recall correct.

What struck me though about the Avant Browser is that it allows you to save a profile online. Now for a lot of people that probably isn't that big a deal, but for someone like me who is sometimes forced to use internet cafes, I think it's rather neat. Might go download it later.

Digital camera

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:47:00 +0000

I saw an image on someone's site earlier and when I saw it, it made me realize that I've wanted a digital camera for so long, and yet here I am still without one. I mean, the image was lovely. It featured this guy and a woman dancing. The guy was in a tuxedo, while the woman was in what looked like quite an intricate backless wedding dress. There's a flower in the foreground, and the wall behind them is textured. No idea what they're dancing, but they look quite graceful in the image.

Thing is, I have the feeling that it would be possible to take a picture like that even with an inexpensive digital camera. One of the reasons, I think, the picture looks so good is that when the shot was taken, things and people were moving, so there's a bit of a ghosting effect. It makes for something of an ethereal effect, and I really do feel that even with a pretty inexpensive digital camera, I could capture something like that.

Hopefully someday.

A technology blog

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:41:00 +0000

I like technology, but I don't have all that much of it. I've got a computer. I've got a handheld and mobile phone. And that's about it. And my computer's pretty old actually. But that doesn't stop me from dreaming. So I frequent a lot of technology blogs, the big ones and the small ones. And I check out other blogs which aren't about technology per se, but maybe show off a device or two.

It's all about feeling the greed. Keeping the dream alive. So that someday, when I've got work and a steady paycheck (hopefully), I can finally start to improve on my gadget situation. Not that I'm into gadgets just for vanity's sake or anything, or just to show off. I really do think that they help to make life that much more bearable, and maybe even a little bit fun.

So I'll write about some of the stuff I see here.

Technorati

noreply@blogger.com (Guy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:38:00 +0000

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