William Matheson's Journal

04:20 pm - I say libraries...

I'm taking a break from my physics assignment. I'll tell you why in a minute.

I had to pack up all of my things and come downstairs to write this. All the "recent-thefts" warnings discouraged me from leaving my things where they were. It's annoying when you just want to grab a snack or drink or look something up.

I don't own a netbook computer yet, and since laptops are too heavy to carry around every day, I just have my DSi. And it would be perfect for checking e-mail or making quick little factchecks, except for one thing: it lacks WPA2-PEAP support. Basically I can specify a "key," but not a separate username and password. I'm effectively locked out of the SMU wi-fi network until 1) Nintendo releases a system update or 2) I get a netbook computer. I suppose I could also get an iPhone or Blackberry - they'd theoretically be able to connect, but I'd really rather have the netbook. I'm waiting until Dell releases the 2GB version of the Mini 10 or 10v (both later this summer, I'm hearing), and then I'll be all over it. (Neither 2GB unit will have XP - only Vista or Linux. This is because of Microsoft's galling requirement that XP only be sold preinstalled on computers that ship with 1GB of RAM or less.)

Now, one could get the Mini 9 with Linux and 2GB, but its keyboard was just ever-so-slightly too small, and it's a moot point now because it's been discontinued. I could purchase a Mini 10 with Linux now, take apart the system and substitute a 2GB wafer for the existing 1GB, but that requires a deft hand and throwing out a perfectly good 1GB wafer. Since I should be able to buy the system the way I want it, I'm going to wait!

Anyway, I suppose it's a "good thing" I had to come down and use a workstation, because a post like this would be extremely tedious on a DSi. On the other hand, I would have had nothing to complain about, and I'd have cut directly to the joke:

* * *

I met a buddy of mine at Dal today to give him a game I purchased on his behalf:

- I'll be by campus shortly after 12 noon. Thanks again!
- Can i trouble vou to meet me at dal?
- Sure. Time?
- Library 1215?

So I'm standing in front of the library, and I get a phone call! Where am I at? Well, the library of cour-

Ha-ha! Turns out, because he was a law student, his natural inclination was to go to the Law Library, not the more widely known Killam Library. You know, where we lowly undergrads go for our library needs. ;-)

Since I'm reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I've had the actual P&P on the brain, and just now I was thinking about how Mr. Collins would behave if he were a denizen of Saint Mary's:

"Yes, we have a fine Library, though it is nothing to the Libraries at Dalhousie - I say Libraries, for they have several - each fine in its own way, though my favorite is the Sexton Design & Technology Library..."

Current Mood: chipper

04:06 pm - Inspiron Mini 10 specs disappoint

I'd been waiting on tenterhooks for the new Dell Inspiron Mini 10 - the "perfect 10," the netbook that combines small size with a usable keyboard.

But according to the latest, it will lag behind the Mini 9 in several ways:

- RAM is limited to 1GB, and it will be fixed and non-upgradeable (the 9 is available with 2GB)
- 160GB 5400rpm hard drive (there is no word about an SSD option - the 9 offers a range of SSDs)
- Ubuntu 8.04, Bluetooth, mobile broadband not yet available (the 9 can have all three)

I guess what I really want is a 9 with the keyboard of a 10. The 10 has a keyboard that's purportedly 92% of a standard notebook keyboard. Really, that's the reason I was waiting for this machine - look at that generous right shift key!

I guess I'll wait and see if they come out with a 2GB Linux SSD model - if they don't, I'll have to wait longer or look elsewhere. There's no way I'm buying a 1GB machine with XP Home. Fughedaboudit.

Update: It looks like 2GB of RAM (still fixed, but whatever) will be an option later this year. No word about an SSD drive. I suppose the thing to do is wait - maybe they'll release a 9 with a better keyboard. Or maybe I'll get the 9 anyway if the price drops a bit.

The reason for this chicanery is chiefly Microsoft's refusal to licence Windows XP to any systems that are sold with more than 1GB of RAM. Since the demand for Ubuntu is somewhat less than the demand for Windows, they're basically forced to offer a 1GB system initially. If it weren't for Microsoft, they probably wouldn't bother with the 1GB and they'd probably just release the 2GB.

No NumLock? Isn't that kind of puzzling? It'd make this a less capable companion in math class, that's for sure.

Current Mood: disappointed

06:36 am - I... enjoyed... being... battery

My notebook battery has officially given up the ghost after less than two years. I hardly ever used the battery; the heat generated by the rest of my dual-core, 7200RPM-HD notebook did it in. It's not even robust enough to me to quickly unplug it and move it elsewhere - the moment I remove the power cord, the machine stops cold, just like its desktop cousins.

It's a limitation of battery technology and not really anything Dell-specific, though I wish they had included a cosmetic battery-compartment cover so that the unit could not only be operated without its battery, but operated without having a exposed trench in the bottom of it, if you follow me. =) At least that way I could have followed the advice of battery nerds and stored the battery elsewhere when I wasn't using it. This defeats a lot of the convenience built in to having a notebook in taking away its grab-and-go functionality, but at this time it seems like that's the only way to ensure decent service life for one's batteries.

Diversion: I Enjoy Being a Battery (The Onion)

Current Mood: chipper

04:26 am - the new laptop

I got my beautiful Dell today, and I'm posting from it. It's quite good-looking. I'm generally happy with it, but there are a few outstanding issues:

- It took three-and-a-half hours to install all the Windows and Office (Word) updates. (Well, I passed on IE7, because I've heard it can mess things up, and I don't use IE anyway.) Yes, 3:30. Would it have killed Dell and Microsoft to come together and bring things a little more up to date? I mean, I was downloading patches from 2004 here! I don't mind doing lots of things myself, which is why I was comfortable with choosing a PC over a Mac, but this seems silly.

- The Num Lock doesn't work. It's nice that I can theoretically bring it on just by pressing Num Lock (instead of having to use Function key + Scroll Lock like I've seen on some models), but pushing it just lights the Caps Lock light a little brighter. Actually, I wouldn't care about the lamps, but I still get letters when I hit the appropriate keys. Heck, Scroll Lock lights the Caps Lock lamp as well. I hope this is a software issue, but with the wrong light going on, I have my doubts! At least Caps Lock works, but I rarely use it. UPDATE: Okay, it does work, just not the way I expected. If I don't have Num Lock on, holding down Fn and pushing those keys causes the cursor to move; if I have Num Lock on, I can use the Fn key to get numbers out of them. Gee, my old Acer had a better solution than that...

- The FireWire port is a 4-pin. I don't know if that means I just need a dongle, or if that actually limits what I can connect to it. Research to follow. I'm a number of days away from even thinking about editing video, but it'll come.

- A fair amount of unnecessary things start up by default. I've cleared out the worst offenders, but Dell ought to know that when the left edge of the system tray icons starts to creep past the middle of the screen, it's time to chose who goes there a little more carefully. For instance, please spare me that hateful QuickTime Quick Launcher. You would have made me just that little bit happier without these kinds of annoyances.

Things I liked:

+ The initial run of XP prompted me to set a bunch of things up while Enigma or some kind of new-age elevator-relaxo music played over the speakers. It felt and sounded good. The speakers on this rig are NOT your stereotypical tin-bin wonders, and while they're not going to deliver heart-pounding bass, they sound just fine. Also note that I did not need a 17" 10-pound "multimedia" behemoth to get this satisfactory performance.

+ Typing's not too bad on this. I especially like the dedicated cursor control keys, (Home, End, etc..) although it'd be nice if they were a little bit bigger. Of course, this is notwithstanding the major, major keyboard issue noted above.

+ The wireless 0wnz. I'm glad I sprung for the Intel chipset - at least it's not doing any harm. This baby connected to my network faster than I can read this sentence and a heckuva lot faster than I can type it. Throughput is barely distinguishable from a conventional ethernet connection - maybe that's par for the course these days, but I've seen my share of pretty crappy wireless connections and I'm glad I'm not reliant upon one of them. Of course, part of this is because my network is named "default" (ugh) and is totally unsecured. But if you saw where we lived, you'd forgive my laxity.

+ The display is nice and bright while maintaining fine detail. I didn't really have any specific expectations, but I'm pleased nonetheless. The colours come across quite well. I have yet to run any games on it or do any of the zillion things I dreamed I might do tonight (creating a FAT32 partition and installing Ubuntu and FreeDOS, for instance), but I think it'll be fine. I could be the envy of Intro Psych.

I'm trying out LiveJournal.NET for this post. Apparently it can leverage Word for spell-checking. (It does - it's just horribly implemented. After you hit the post button you get the lovely red sqiggly lines but no way to chose a correct spelling. Plus it's checking with American spelling, and I've already set my default language in word to English (Canadian).)

I'd better hurry up and get some sleep - I've got a phone interview with the former video director at Camp Towanda at 11 ET / Noon Atlantic. I don't know how I feel yet about spending more than 8 uninterrupted weeks in a bubble, but I suppose it would be just like Canada World Youth only with more games, fewer CADs, and a wage.

Current Mood: tired

04:32 pm - arrival + injuries + interviews

My laptop just arrived back home; Mom signed for it. Sweet. They said they'd attempted delivery at 8:45 this morning but this was probably bull or the driver didn't feel like going up our driveway (a common occurrence). But it's there now.

It wouldn't have done me any good for it to be any earlier, given that I haven't been home since yesterday morning. Heather's dust-up forced her to return home and I spent last night helping look after her. A certain other fellow was initially very helpful, but later on kind of dropped the ball. It's also a good idea to read the directions on prescription painkillers. Just a memo to any of my friends out there in SMUDS with Slavic last names. <cough>

Heather's mom and grandmother were really nice; they even picked me up and dropped me off at the bus stop. Speaking of which, I had a dream last night that my car had been fixed. I was driving around, rocking out to They Might Be Giants and getting things done. And then I woke up to the alarm on my new phone*. It was the same tune, but it sounded differently.

Things change.

I had an in-person interview with "Z" from Camp Towanda yesterday afternoon. (This was lucky because I brought along causal clothes to change into, which came in handy this morning!) They're looking for a head video guy to coordinate their Friday Night Flix and what-not. I think I could do it; my weaknesses are my dearth of PhotoShop skills (I'm only versed in basic tasks, but I'm a quick study), and also not knowing what's cool - the genre of "camp video" requires a lot of pop-culture music-mix panache that I simply don't possess. Fortunately, I wouldn't be working on my own, and maybe the other members of the media crew could fill in on that end of the creative spectrum. I'm an editing whiz, and I can make things visually interesting, but music makes things come alive.

* - Since people have been asking =) yes, it's the same phone number: (902)-877-WILL (9455). Call away!

06:43 pm - decision... made!

The only way I'm ever going to be able to live with myself is to take the two systems I covet most and go over them blow-by-blow.

Finishing in second place...

MODEL: White MacBook, Apple
BASE PRICE: CDN$1,350.00 with education discount

• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (wow)
• 1GB RAM
• 80GB HD 5400rpm
• 6x Dual Layer DVD Writer
• Wi-fi + Bluetooth (that's very thoughtful)
• Intel GMA 950 64MB (yuck!! However, it is reported to be able to handle Vista's Aero Glass. But getting Windows onto this system is tricky, to be charitable.)
• 13.3" display, 1280x800
• Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger (probably the most compelling reason to buy)

• 1.60GHz Intel Core Duo (this would be a noticeable notch down from the Core 2. However, this move will save me money while retaining most of the real-world performance I need. Who cares if ripping a song takes 1:17 instead of 1:10? Most of the time, I'm too distracted to notice anyway)
• 2GB RAM (by default!)
• 100GB HD 7200rpm (default is 160GB 5400rpm, this change adds $60 to the price - if I miss the extra 40 gigs down the road, I can always archive things like old photos on a FireWire external hard drive, and they're getting cheaper all the time)
• 8x Dual Layer DVD Writer
• Wi-fi a/b/g ($10 more than b/g; I was considering buying draft n at a premium, but now I'll stick with the a/b/g, because I don't even know of any n access points yet, and my house already has g, and I'm not made of money)
• ATi Mobility Radeon x1400 256MB (ATi will get the job done - I like ATi, and their modern chipsets are compatible with almost every 3-D game ever released. Regular 2-D use should be just that little bit zippier as well. This was "free," and a "$100 value." Just a few weeks ago, it wasn't, and it was dragging my price up.)
• 15.4" display (So this definitely isn't an ultraportable, but the starting weight was still a reasonable five pounds. I've probably made it heavier.)
• Windows XP Professional with Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Business (default is Media Centre with upgrade to Home Premium, this change adds $60 to the price but makes networking on college campuses and other secure places a guaranteed slam dunk)
• Also took the 9-cell battery over the 6-cell (this added $40 to the price but will make perhaps an hour's difference in battery life - bonus: unlike many other laptops, this enhanced battery doesn't stick out the back end of the chassis. Also, that 7200rpm drive will be drawing more power.)
• Microsoft Works 8 plus Word (the only Office item I really need; I'll be downloading and installing the free OpenOffice.org, which will handle the rest (Excel files, PowerPoint files, etc..) well enough for my purposes. As a frequent typer, it's worth the extra $30 to me to have the Microsoft Word I'm used to.)

Current Mood: jubilant

01:04 am - meet my new friend Annand

So I called Dell tonight, thinking maybe I could play ball with them. I've found a few coupon codes on various websites (including some that take me straight to a part of the dell.ca website), and I punched them in on my hypothetical system, but to no avail. It doesn't really say why the coupons don't work, except that they don't, and it lists the conditions for the coupon, all of which I seem to meet. It's very ambiguous. Also sketchy.

So I call Dell. I'm eventually speaking with Bombay's finest - one Annand, who basically kept asking, "Where did you get this coupon?" "It says the coupon is invalid, please try again..." or "Did you get this coupon in a flyer?"

The call was a major joke because of many 30-second pauses where Annand would say "Yes" and then leave me at a loss as to what to say next. Umm... shouldn't he be the one taking charge of the call and making me a deal on a laptop? Geez, even $50 would have been appreciated. I didn't have the balls to suggest such a thing myself because of his overall braindead angle.

At one point I asked him "When those new low-voltage Core 2 Duo chips come out, will that change the models and pricing a bit?"

"Um... um... yes. ... ... Well, we- No, we have the latest technology Intel Core 2 Duo on our systems now. There is no waiting. You can have them now."

"Oh, yes, yes, but I mean the new chips of that kind..."

The call went on like that until I feigned fatigue. I did get one useful piece of information out of him when I casually mentioned Windows Vista - he said that Vista pre-installed probably wouldn't be going until April. That makes sense; Dell is going to need time to make sure the final bits work correctly with what they want to put in their systems. But that was a lousy call. If it were me calling me, I would have been like, "Gee, it's too bad that particular code doesn't work - if you don't mind, would you care to hold the line for a moment while I find one for you that does?" When there's $1,500 at stake, this sort of stuff should matter.

Honestly, right now I don't think I'm going to get a laptop at all. That Lenovo still looks OK, but there's no latch on the lid, the display is said to be dim, and you don't get dedicated cursor control keys. Plus it's Core Duo, not Core 2 Duo, plus you get 512MB or maybe 1GB of RAM if you're lucky. And some people say it won't run Windows Vista in Aero Glass. $1,100 could get me an open-box system, but that sketches me out. Plus I'd definitely need to buy the other 512MB RAM wafer, which is a good deal compared to getting one that's just outfitted with a gig, but the memory is hard to find and isn't for sale at a Canadian outlet.

Like OMG really guys, isn't there *anything* out there in my price range without a bunch of gotchas? (The Dell Inspiron 6400 doesn't have these gotchas, but a humane configuration with Core 2 Duo, 120GB HD, 2GB of RAM and XP Pro is $1,500 before tax - the absolute upper limit of what I can spend, and I'd like to spend somewhat less.) Almost every system I've seen so far has either a glaring, glaring flaw - some, like the Acer, which would be like buying a car with windows that didn't roll down - or the system has an astronomical price tag.

But I think even the rich people out there would be interested in this debate. A $1,200 *good* laptop should be of interest to all walks of society. Think of the increased productivity! The standards adherence! The accessibility! Everybody wins.

Or, maybe I could write Dell a letter...

Or maybe I can drop the RAM down to 1GB - that would save $150, and an aftermarket upgrade put off some months might be cheaper - do I really need 2? ... Yes, yes, I do. Especially the way I multitask. Hmm, something to think about anyway. Right now I don't want to reward Dell for their outsourcing. And what if, God forbid, I had a problem? Not everyone in Calcutta can understand a Maritimer!

More immediately, maybe I could drop by Greenlyph in the south end. At least I'd have someone to talk to. I'm armed with more information about laptops and price ranges and components than I ever, ever cared to know, so I'll be able to have an intelligent discussion. And it's within walking distance of Saint Mary's. And they have a laptop I might be able to live with on their front page. Mmm... okay, no, but they might have something else. So, yeah, I'll do that.

And hopefully I'll come to some kind of decision before I start losing LJ friends by the bucketload.

Current Mood: tired

11:44 pm - new laptop Final Four; my phone's journey to the Promised Province

Not that long ago, I can remember looking at laptops with 20-40GB hard drives, 512MB RAM if you were lucky, and compromised processors. A "combo drive" meant that you got a CD-RW. I'm so glad I didn't buy back in those dark ages - I'd be stuck with a piece of junk that would make the Canada World Youth laptops look good.

Now, things are much different, and you can get some really neat dual-core machines for a reasonable price - the only thing that they lack from their desktop counterparts is the bulk.

Well, excepting those lame "multimedia laptops" with 15"-17" screens - one of my groupmates had a HP-Compaq "entertainment" laptop in Ukraine, and it had to be the least practical thing imaginable. It weighed so much that the owner just left it in our office most of the time. The screen looked nice, but we didn't give a s**t about the JBL speakers and the ports and doodads we never used - heck, that thing might have had a parallel port!

Okay, that computer WAS a lifesaver many times, but a lighter model could have done the jobs just as well. Better, because she would have kept it with her that much more often.

There are now four contenders for my new laptop. If anyone's purchased these or any other laptops recently, let me know what you think of them!

4. Black MacBook (Apple)

They're getting relatively affordable, but there are some major things that turn me off. First, I can't get discrete graphics and a 7200RPM drive without moving up to the MacBook Pro. Honestly, if I'm going to get an Apple, I WANT TO EDIT VIDEO. If I'm going to pay a premium for Apple, I'm going big or going home. Well, I have seen people successfully run Final Cut Express (iMovie = yuck!) on Apple notebooks, but my NSCAD professor strongly advised against it, and I'll drop enough frames as it is with dirty DV tape and other mishaps. I always dream of doing video but I might need to put this dream aside for now, as getting a laptop up to the task is going to cost north of $2K when the dust settles.

My second gripe is that the auxiliary video output is "mini-DVI." That means that in order to hook up to a monitor or projector, I need to purchase a dongle. Separately. Give me a break. I know Apple wants to be legacy-free, but a VGA-out is, in my (Mac)book, Standard Equipment. Every presentation I've ever been involved in has been VGA-enabled. I'm not saying it'll stay that way forever, but give me my VGA! (Although you may wish to note that this is coming from someone who went into town one day last year just to buy a floppy drive.)

Also, I've got my misgivings about the keyboard. I don't think it stands up to Lenovos / ThinkPads.

Sorry, Apple. Maybe next time.

3. Latitude 640m (Dell)
2. Latitude 6400 (Dell)

These are almost the same computer, but the 6400 is a bit bigger physically - the tradeoff is that I can get a 7200RPM hard disk and dedicated graphics, giving myself a little screamer of a notebook. But, it's bigger. I hear "big" mentioned too many times in too many reviews. And to get it configured the way I want costs over $1,700. Plus tax. So we're looking at just over $2K, which is more money than I can lay fingers on right now.

The 640m is a candidate, but it's kind of a compromise of the 6400.

I heard that the keyboards are kind of blah, which is again a turn-off.

A nice touch is that you can play many of your movies and albums on this machine without even having to boot up. But, there's another little machine out there that does this...

1. Lenovo 3000 V100 (Lenovo)

This is one sexy little computer. I need to give myself a one-week cooling-off period on it, because it's *really* tempting to just snap one up now and get some work done pronto. It's got the portability (4 pounds with optical drive; 12.5" widescreen display - yes, you can call me "squinty"), the same bootless media playing that Dell offers, plus a ThinkPad-like keyboard (a major consideration for me: if I don't get a laptop that makes me want to type on it, then there's no point). Most reviewers are raving about the keyboard, and the portability for the price - and that price is really OMG hot - the base configuration is lower than any of the other choices at normal, human configurations (don't get me started on what Dell figures we should settle for and what we should throw money away on - HOWEVER, they do have IMO the best website in the industry). The only drawback is the integrated graphics, but it's hard to expect a dedicated card at this size and price point. I think this one might be the winner, though I might need to get an aftermarket RAM upgrade if I intend to run Vista (which I probably won't; an XP / Linux dual-boot would suit me fine).

As you can see, I'm kind of leaning towards the 3000 V100, with at least a 100GB hard drive and as much RAM as I can reasonably get (it tops out at 2GB, but doing the .5 / 1 to 2 GB upgrade on my own might be cheaper, as is sometimes the case.

Wait! All these machines are Intel Core 2 Duo! What about AMD?

Well, AMD right now is kind of stretching the longevity of their mobile platform by lengthening their pipelines. You could buy an AMD-based machine and never make a mistake, but Intel seems to be having a slight edge in the benchmarks now, thanks to their relatively new platform. (Slow-simmering Pentium chips these ain't.) A few years ago (back in those aforementioned dark ages), I would have been AMD all the way, because Pentiums could have been doing double-duty as toaster elements. Things have changed, though. I'm sure AMD will come out with a new edge soon, but right now I think the smart bucks are on Intel.

* * *

Ah, but before I buy a laptop, I should wait and see how much it's going to be to fix / replace my phone. It's gone to Ontario without me. They're going to charge me $25 just to look at it, but I guess I can live with that for curiosity's sake. (Plus it gets deducted from the repair if said repair is undertaken.)

The guys at the "service centre" were kind of a*****es - they weren't happy to see me, and they weren't happy to talk to me, and they weren't happy to send the phone away for me. The "service" consisted of trying my phone without the battery, plugged into a wall outlet. (Gee, thanks, I could do that at home.) At that point, they instantly decreed there was nothing they could try. I noticed they had about a zillion clones of my phone lying in a "parts" bin.

(Oh, and as soon as it was shown that I was 7 months away from the end of my contract (and upgrade ineligibility), the lackluster treatment kicked into high gear.)

As I'm about to leave:

"Okay, we'll call you when we hear back from them..."
"Ha-ha, but you'll call my home number, right?"
"..."
"Do you guys have my home number?"
"Oh, yeah, what's your home phone number?"

... Grrr. Thanks for nothing, Telus. I'm glad these bozos aren't fixing it; obviously the fact that there's no money in my phone for them is a big turn-off. Boo-hoo.

UPDATE: You have to shop around to get a decent deal on the Lenovo - Lenovo's website has the worst prices, but the situation improves elsewhere - like here, for instance. I'm sure I'll find more. Also, I forgot to mention that Apple makes you buy yet another USB dongle if you want to have dial-up capability. Again, the Lenovo has this built-in. You laugh, but that dial-up modem was my cousin Andrew's lifeline on his HP machine when we were down in Sherbrooke!

ARGH the Lenovo has Core Duo, NOT Core 2 Duo. D**n. This might take us back to the drawing board. I see that Nic's just chimed in; he'll have something pretty good to say.

Current Mood: busy