debcook

One of the cutest Netbooks that I’ve seen is the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook. Of course I like the high end version with the 1GB memory and the 16GB SSD. The prices are all over the place but I have seen this model for under $500 several times.

I have not had any experience with the Atom processor but from what I read it seems to be the up and coming processor for these tiny laptop – oops – netbooks. I am most interested in the 16GB SSD. I would prefer a larger SSD – say at least 32GB. Hopefully by the time I decide to buy one the 32GB or 64GB version will be available. (I’m not saying I know anything - just saying)

The 8.9” LCD display should be very adequate for most people. Complaints about a small screen and a small keyboard does not make since to me. Either you want a small form factor or not.

I like that the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook comes loaded with Windows XP. I am just not ready for Linux or Abuntu – maybe someday but for now I just want what I am familiar with and know how to operate.

I can see how writers and bloggers could go crazy over this little netbook. Surely I would get more accomplished if I had one. It has so many features that are useful for day to day computing.

• Communicating on the go would be easy with the integrated webcam.
• There are 3 – yes 3 2.0 USB ports
• Wireless Bluetooth and WiFi
• A 3-in-1 Card Reader would be grate for digital photos and expanded data capabilities

I like the fast boot up, the ruggedness of the SSD and the small size. It does not hurt that is so good looking either.

Hooray, today the Dell Tech fixed the computer that has resided on the floor for the past five days. This was only accomplished after several highly intense phone calls but now all is well.

As suspected the problem was with the Nvidia 9800 GeForce GX2 graphics card. It had completely lost its ability to put its best face forward and instead showed strange albeit colorful flashing boxes and lines all over its 22 inch monitor.

This Nvidia graphics card is a monster. It is actually two graphics cards in one so the graphics as well as the speed is extremely good. Graphics will be seen that has seldom been seen before by many Internet gamers. The level of detail is amazing. First hand experience has proved this to be true.

Thank goodness there is an extended warranty on this computer. Even though all of the bickering back and forth was unfortunate the cost of this graphics card alone would have been between $400 and $500. This is not the first time an extended warranty has saved me money instead of costing me money.

I am not trying to sell the idea of extended warranties but if you do not want to afford a repair bill buy one. I buy Dell computers because of the onsite warranties they offer. In the end they have served me well.

Netbooks are catching on. The problem is that there are so many new ones being announced almost hourly that it seems foolish to jump in and buy one.

What is a Netbook? Well, they are basically a small laptop. The screen size is typically 7” to 10”. Several operating systems (OS) are available such as Windows XP, Windows Vista and Linux. Most Netbooks have Solid State Drives (SSD) usually starting at 4GB but 16GB, 32GB and 64GB are beginning to surface.

How could anyone work with 4GB of hard drive space? To be honest – Netbooks are designed to be small, lightweight and super mobile. The name Netbook is precisely what it sounds like. A device to get you connected to the internet. WiFi and Bluetooth are built in so – “have hotspot and Netbook can travel”. Netbooks are great for bloggers and travelers because posting to the internet is the Netbook’s best trick.

I see Netbooks as the “second or third” computer for most people. Many people I know – as well as myself use multiple computers for different purposes. The size, the mobility and the low cost of most Netbooks make them a reasonable addition to any household or mobile office. An average price would probably be somewhere between $400 and $500.

The larger the SSD drives become the more interested I get in the Netbooks. I want the ability to load software such as QuickBooks and Microsoft Office on it so the 32GB or larger is my preference. Data can be saved on a USB flash drive.

There are so many Netbooks that I will not even attempt to name them all. Just enter Netbook into Google and you can take your pick. The first Netbook I remember is the Asus Eee 700 (2GB SSD) and the latest one I’ve seen is the Dell Mini9 (16GB SSD).

Dell is an example of customer support that has gone bad. Customers seem to be caught in the middle – between Dell’s customer service/tech support and their third party tech support providers.

I am not writing this post just to complain about Dell Tech Support. I am writing this post to help anyone that is confronted with this situation.

After talking to Dell tech support for nearly 2 hours last Thursday I was told that my computer would be repaired at my home by the next day (Friday) or possibly the day after that (Saturday). I understood and agreed since they had to ship a graphics card and a hard drive.

My Dell warranty is a Next Business Day On-Site Service Plus Nights and Weekends and XPS First Class Service.

That same day (Thursday) afternoon at approximately 4PM I received a call from Dell confirming that the parts had been shipped. The call from the tech however never came. Friday the same and by Saturday (today) afternoon I called Dell tech support to find out what happened.

I won’t bore you with all of the details but I will tell you that I feel shafted. Today’s time line is below.

• Dell told me to call the dispatch center myself
• The CSR was rather rude
• I called Dell back and ended up asking for a Supervisor
• A conference call was set up between Dell, dispatch and me
• Argued with CSR - asked for Supervisor
• Argued with Dispatch Supervisor and Dell Supervisor

It is unfortunate that I had to wait through all of the “your call is important” messages just to be told that it was no fault of theirs that my warranty was not going to be fulfilled on the terms that I paid for.

Everything boils down to a mismatch of warranty terms. Not with me of course – but between Dell and the third party. The Dell Supervisor did not understand that their contract with the third party tech support says “if the part is not received by 10AM Friday the tech support is shifted to the next Monday. We are not talking about the appointment we are talking about the call to setup an appointment.

If I had understood the situation on Thursday I would have pushed Dell to ship the parts Next Day Priority (by 10AM). Dell did ship next day but it took 24 hours which caused my warranty terms to be discarded by the third party tech support.

The REDFLY Mobile Companion is an interesting little gadget. After just a little research I’m sure that I have a lot more to learn about it. It is so different than other devices out there it will cause you to take a second look too.

The REDFLY is basically a device that tethers to a mobile phone. It is not a laptop – there is no OS (operating system) and no memory (RAM). It is strictly to be used as an extension to your cell phone.

If you are like me there are several features on your cell phone that you seldom use because of the inconvenience of small screens and keyboards. The REDFLY eliminates these issues. That is its purpose – to be an external monitor and keyboard for your cell phone.

This would be a good device for anyone that commutes. If you are stationary for a short period of time – even at lunch – the REDFLY would be handy to work on. Spreadsheets, documents and emails can be worked on (comfortably) without dragging out a full fledged laptop. Shoot, I think that this gadget would be handy anywhere.

The REDFLY is getting attention right now due to a massive price drop. From March 2008 to now the price has been reduced from $499 down to $199. I agree with those that believe that Celio Corp. wants more people to use this device in order to spread the word. If you want one at this price you have until October 31, 2008. If you want one of these for yourself (I want one too) go to www.celiocorp.com.

Today I had to call Dell. The XPS desktop gave up and refused to boot. This is not the first time – the locking up started shortly after it was delivered. Internet forums are filled with users of various Nvidia graphics cards complaining of locking up, blue screens and the error “NV4_DISP”.

The issue is the 9800 series Nvidia graphics card installed in this XPS desktop. After talking to Dell tech support for over 1.5 hours they agree with me. Thankfully this computer came bundled with a fantastic warranty. The warranty is for 4 years, onsite, next business day, nights and weekends.

I was surprised with my experience concerning Dell support. As soon as all of the preliminary information was verified I told her that the graphics card was going out. It was very difficult to describe what the monitor looked like so I was instructed to unplug all peripherals, network cable and power cord from the back. Next I was told that I was going into the case.

Normally this would not cause me trepidation but I have had to break into Dell cases before. All of those hidden latches drive me crazy! This case appears to be easier to open and it is. Just pull the handle on the top and the side panel nearly falls off by its self.

Removing the Nvidia graphics card was not so easy. Two screws, 3 plastic tabs and 3 plugs later I was ready to pull. I did and it did come out. Replacing it was just as fun. After two unsuccessful tries I laid the CPU on its side. I could see things more clearly and on the third try was successful.

This exercise in futility and a quick monitor check confirmed my original thought. Sometime tomorrow some Dell repair person should come to my home with a new Nvidia 9800 series graphics card and a new hard drive in hand. I guess they may be throwing in a hard drive or maybe that is part of the problem – I don’t know for sure and at this point I don’t care. I just do not want to see that error code again.

OMG, now I can bowl on my iPhone. This App is only $4.99 from the App Store. and works on an iPhone or iTouch. I am not even a bowler – but I loved bowling on the Wii so I bet I would love bowling on my iPhone.

Freeverse should be proud of their colorful bowlers, fancy bowling balls and the 3D look of the bowling alley. Amazingly there are several different levels of difficulty and you can compete against yourself or against your iPhone characters. The iPhone characters definitely look better than the Wii characters.

A flick of a finger launches the bowling ball towards the pins. My arm was sore the day after bowling on the Wii – I wonder if I will have a sore finger from Flick Bowling.

I surfed over to iTunes to look for more information about the Freeverse “Flick Bowling” and found that the iPhone 3G update 2.0 is necessary to download it. Boy, Apple is really trying to break me down and get me to update my iPhone 3G. I am probably being paranoid about this update thing but I am not convinced yet that it would be a good thing for anyone not living in a large metro area.

I admit that I really want to enjoy my iPhone 3G capabilities and so updating is in my near future. How about you guys out there – do you live in a sparse area of the country? Have you updated your iPhone 3G? Is it working for you?

Reading books is not my strong suit. However, I love audio books and now a new ebook is tempting me. The iRex offers features that others do not – not even the Amazon Kindle.

There are three versions of the iRex but I am most interested in the 1000SW. The 1000SW has a touch screen so if you have read my blog for any time you know that I lover touch screens. PDF files and Microsoft Office documents are supported which is another huge plus in my books (no pun intended). It even gets better – the PDF and Office files can be edited right on the iRex.

Documents and e-books can be downloaded easily with the addition of 3G and WiFi connectivity. Reading what you download is also easy on the eyes. The e-ink display is 10.2 inches allowing full (letter) size pages to be viewed.

You may be asking “what is e-ink”? Well, not to get too technical, white positively charged particles and black negatively charged particles suspended in a clear fluid switch places forming words. It’s not your normal paper but I guess if you can see images and words on it the name electronic paper makes sense. Through a special process the electronic paper is turned into a film that works as the screens of e-books or e-readers.

Due to e-ink the battery life on an e-book is longer than on devices such as laptops because the need for power is so low.

I can hear my husband saying “just what you need is another electronic gadget”.

Filming video does not need to be complicated. There are many video cameras but there are just a few that are small enough to fit into your pocket.

Flip Video, Creative Labs and RCA have similar models but each one is a bit different.

The Flip video Ultra Series has 2GB internal memory but no SD card slot for expansion. You should get approximately 60 (web quality) minutes of filming. The flip plugs directly into the USB port of a computer (laptop or desktop). Even the software is built in and makes it easy to capture still digital photos as well as video. Both can be emailed to fiends and family or uploaded to video sharing sites such as YouTube and AOL. The color monitor is anti-glare and measures 1.5 inches. The Flip uses 2 AA batteries.

Creative Labs offers the Vado. It is small like the Flip but it has a two hour (web quality) recording capability and can shoot stills. The Vado also has an integrated USB plug and software that allows for image editing and uploading. The color monitor is anti-glare and measures 2 inches. The Vado charges via USB connection with a removable rechargeable battery.

RCA has the Small Wonder. It offers up to 2 hours of (web quality) filming on its internal 1GB. The Small Wonder sets itself apart from the Flip and the Vado with its flip out 1.5 inch monitor. This allows you to film yourself. The Small Wonder also has a MicroSD expansion slot. Video is transferred via USB. The Small Wonder uses 2 AA batteries.

As you can see these three small video cameras are alike in many ways. All three are pocket-size, they all include the built in software that lets you edit, email and upload videos and they all use a USB connection. All three have color monitors although they differ in size and abilities. They all have internal memory although not the same amount but only one has an expandable memory option.

Personally I like the overall features of the Small Wonder the best. I like the flip out monitor (wish it was larger), I like the MicroSD slot and I like the AA batteries.

Electronic gadgets are such a huge part of my life I had not really considered how hard it is for visually impaired people to use many of them. I guess my first experiences with UMPC (ultra portable PCs) made me realize how lucky I am that I can see well.

My mom has vision problems and I see her struggle with some of the simplest daily tasks. Often when I buy her gifts I will choose something that will make her life easier.

Today I found a talking watch. It got my attention because my mother-in-law has a cute little clock that speaks the time every hour on the hour. It can be a bit annoying but it sure keeps you aware of the time.

I researched the talking watches online and the one I like the best is by Avalon. I may be biased – (for a totally non-logical reason) because my car is an Avalon and I really like it and always have since the first time I drove it. The Avalon watch has a lifetime warranty so my hunch may be right.

There are several models of talking watches by Avalon. Some have flex bands and some have leather bands. Some are silver tone and some are gold tone. What they all have in common is a white face with black numbers which make them easier to see by people that are vision impaired.

The Avalon watch speaks the time and date with the push of a single button. Setting the watch is also accompanied by voice instructions. The alarm can be set with the choice of three different tones. I think I’ll continue to search out these types of gadgets. They make great gifts when you really don’t know what to buy for someone.