Have Laptop Will Travel

Laptop envy

Originally posted on October 11, 2007 @ 11:54 pm

I think it is safe to say that laptops are the new must-have, status symbol accessories. Forget about mobile phones, laptops are the new neck-turners. To prove my point, just go to any restaurant, cafe or coffee shop and I’ll bet the moment someone whips out a cool sub-notebook or the newest “IT” item from Apple and you’re bound to look at the person with envy or wonder how the hell he or she could afford such a great gadget.

I admit I’m one of those guys who can’t look at a new Macbook Pro or Fujitsu Lifebook without drooling. The bad thing is that I go all metaphysical because of it. I begin to wonder how THEY can afford it and I can’t. Am I destined to forever be relegated to the group of people who always have to settle for low-end or low-midrange laptops?

In my envy, I also start mocking these people. I look at the websites they surf (Ha! Plain old Yahoo! Entertainment. What a bore!) or even the kind of information that they look for (Beyonce! Josh Groban! What atrocious music tastes!). I know that I’m being unfair and that my desire to have a really cool laptop has made the worst come out of me. But I also know that I am not the only one who feels the same way. I guess the best thing to do about it is just ignore them, be happy with what I do have — and try to “accidentally” spill cafe latte on those damn Macbooks.

Windows Validation error irks PC users

Originally posted on August 28, 2007 @ 7:27 pm

One of my biggest beefs about the last two generations of the Windows operating system is the very annoying Windows Genuine Advantage carousel ride that all users have to go through periodically. It is irritating that a person who has legitimately bought a piece of software will regularly have to be made to feel like a criminal just to assuage the mind of Microsoft that they are not being duped. So much for giving the customer the best experience possible.

Last August 24, the Windows Genuine Advantage gave Microsoft a big headache when an error in processing validations erroneously tagged legitimate Windows owners as using pirated software. Microsoft’s help line were inundated with calls from irate customers and forums were flooded with messages that came short of calling for a lynch mob in front of the Microsoft Campus.

Microsoft claimed that the problem was immediately fixed and that only 12,000 systems were affected by the problem. But whether it is 12,000 or 12,000,000, the fact still remains that Windows Genuine Advantage sucks. Microsoft has to rethink of a better, more customer friendly way of proving the legitimacy of its software — or even scrapping that process altogether. It’s not like Microsoft is going bankrupt, right?

Are whitebox laptops a good buy?

Originally posted on August 16, 2007 @ 10:06 pm

The price of laptops are really dropping. It really is a great time to buy a portable now because of the very competitive prices on units that possess equally impressive features. Gone are the days of getting “affordable” laptops that do little more than word processing because of the crappy specs.

I think one thing that is driving the prices of laptops in the market are the proliferation of so called generic or whitebox units. These are laptops that come from little known computer companies. Actually some of these companies are OEM manufacturers who have contracts to produce laptops for top name brands. They then use the knowledge that they have acquired from manufacturing parts for other companies to produce their own laptop with their brands.

Are whitebox units a good buy? Well, if the price is really attractive and the features are good enough then I say buy one. The most common issues with these types of laptops is the fact that warranty can be a bit spotty because these companies do not have the reach and capabilities to service their units. But in my view, a strong warranty service also drives prices up. If you do not plan on keeping a laptop for more than three years, then a one year warranty is more than enough for you. But if you do find a similarly price branded unit, then go for the one with the brand on it — you know, just for the peace of mind.

Why Linux Won’t Make It : KISS

Originally posted on June 5, 2007 @ 12:56 am

Over the weekend I installed *Nix on the laptop of a friend. He had just bought a new laptop, complete with preinstalled Windows Vista Home Premium and wanted to try out what all the fuzz about was.
He asked me to install any distro for him, because he was scared to mess with his Vista install.

Where personally I’d prefer OpenSuse 10, for his limited usage Ubuntu is more than way too much already.

At first I was worried : another Dell, Wireless and and a series of multimedia buttons on the laptop casing. Hopefully it would all go right and I wouldn’t have to spend hours searching the web and compiling drivers for the Dell specific hardware.
I was impressed: Ubuntu was installed in less than half an hour and except for the wireless chip and graphics driver, every hardware was corrected recognized and had it’s own driver. Wifi worked and the maximum display settings were recognized properly too. Again less than 30 minutes later, all standard packages were updated and the notebook was ready for the road.

Highly impressed I must admit.
My friend, when he came to collect his notebook, a happy camper. A new laptop, dual boot Vista and Ubuntu and most of all, working hardware. He hit the road with the Ubuntu Dell. But not for long.
Within an hour someone called me. On my land line! This had to be serious, no one calls me on my land line.

It was him. He asked me about the wonderful cross-platform Synergy mouse and keyboard sharing software.
I briefly explained him that it was listed under the packages and how to install it. I made myself a Gin&Tonic, to enjoy my Saturday evening. Everything was set for a quiet evening, without any disturbances.

But plans got screwed up. Someone called me. Only 3 minutes after I had made my drink. It was him again.

Where do I find the shortcut to Synergy? How do I open it?

Sigh.
Tuxers, KISS if you’re really going to conquer the world.

Sorry for the anecdotal intermezzo. :)

Do Scrapers Steal Your Content Too?

Originally posted on February 19, 2007 @ 7:45 pm

Editor’s note: Upon requests by MR. Elliott Back and out of a strong sense of propriety, we have edited this post to remove the strong accusations of scraping against Mr. Back. While the automatic RSS-pulling WordPress plugin was a creation of Mr. Back, the scraper sites are, in fact, not his own, but are run by unscrupulous individuals using what is considered an abuse of the aforementioned software. Phrases in brackets are edited.

While checking my moderated comments and Akismet section today, I noticed that [certain scraper sites are] using my content and earning money on [t]his site with Google Ad Sense. I think that’s called theft.

What gets me is on his own site footer in huge letters, it reads “Don’t steal”.

Another funny thing is he’s even copying my legal disclaimer which reads “If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.”

Be sure to check his various blogs as he might be stealing from you too.

This is not the first time [content scrapers have] done this to me… but I am not going to just sit and watch anymore.

If this guy is doing the same to you, I’d like to hear about it. This crap needs to stop.