Well, I've had my netbook about 3 weeks now, and I'm completely satisfied with my purchase. Having read all the specs and multiple reviews before purchasing, it completely fulfills my expectations. I have set power settings a little higher toward the power end and less toward battery and while checking email and light web surfing (30 min to 1 hr) via a network cable, playing mp3's, watching videos stored on my hdd, reading ebooks, and doing light word processing I have plenty of power and between 5 - 7 hours battery life. I'm happy.
I only have 2 problems with this netbook, one minor and one semi major.
Minor-the buttons for the touchpad need a small trim piece between their edge and the edge of the wrist rest to keep me from activating them when my belly hits it. I know, I know. Just set it on a table and it won't happen, right? Wrong! This is a form factor called a laptop, capable of being used while sitting down by placing it in your lap.
Semi Major-What the hell took Toshiba so long to bring this thing out? A few years back I had a Toshiba Libretto 100 and it was great, just a little smaller but not near as capable so I know they
know how to build this form factor right, and this time they built it better than the Libretto.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
life update
Well, lots of things, some good and some not so good have happened since my last post.
On the not so good side, I lost the hard drive in my laptop. I scrounged around and found a spare hard drive, installed it, and NADA! Apparently a hard drive controller of some type on the motherboard took a dump, so I've been without a computer for about the last 8 weeks. Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "Pappy, why didn't you just get up off your wallet and go buy another computer?" Well, three reasons come to mind.
1. I try to help out the kids if and when they need it, if I can. Family counts for more than toys.
2. I'm needing to do some work on the JEEP (Just Empty Every Pocket). I needs my transportation.
3. I know, I know. Use the credit cards. BUT I only owe about $600 on the last of them, and then I get to tell the credit card companies where to stick them. I'm looking forward to that. I will then be trying to live on a cash only basis.
On the not so good side, 2 months ago I was on a DSL connection. Last month, our household went cellular only for telephones. Being the brilliant individual I am, I didn't even think about losing my DSL when we cancelled the home phone. Now it costs me an extra $10 per month for a DSL line, which was activated yesterday.
On the not so good side, Rocky the Wonder Dog (picture at the top of the page) the puppy of PappyandPuppy fame is going blind. He hasn't been acting like himself, bumping into stuff, being startled by people reaching out to him, not seeing treats offered to him, trouble finding his ball when it's quit rolling after being thrown for him, ad nauseum. I took him to the vet yesterday and was told he is developing cataracts. It won't be long and he'll be completely blind.
On the good side, I finally scraped up enough to go buy a Toshiba NB205 netbook. 1.66 ghz processor, 800 mhz front side bus, 1 gb DDR2 RAM, 160 gb SATA2 hard drive, 802.11G wifi, bluetooth 2.0, and between 7 and 9 hours battery life all in a 2.6 pound package with a 10.1 inch tft screen wrapped in a royal blue textured case. I also got a HP 550 Lightscribe DVD burner. I sincerely love it.
Yeah, you back in the back with Alienware laptop on the handtruck and the goofy ass smirk on your face? Why did I buy a low end netbook? I'm glad you asked, pimpleface.
To my way of thinking, a laptop or notebook is supposed to be portable. The less it weighs and the longer the battery life, the more portable it is. I don't need a gaming rig or anything like that, just a small portable laptop for emails, web surfing, blogging, downloading pictures to, playng mp3's, and reading ebooks. Stuff like that. I'll have a mid range desktop unit in the near future for anything more than that.
The work that needs to be done on the JEEP? Charging system failure. Grounds need to be cleaned and checked. Replace battery cables. Probably need to replace battery. I just need to get off my butt and do it.
On the good side, Rocky is just going blind, he's not terminally ill. He's a dog. He probably doesn't realize anything is going on as he's going blind gradually and has been for a little while. I'll still be here to care for him and try to provide him with a quality life. He's MY dog. I'll do for him to the best of my ability.
On the good side, on August 27, Mom, Rocky and I loaded up in Mom's Lincoln Town Car, aka the Queen Elizabeth 2, and took a trip to Indy to see my new grandson Bubba (Jonah Hill Bruce) born August 27, 2009 about 1:15 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long. We were lucky enough to be able to spend 5 days with them, playing with the Poot and Bubba, enjoying spending time with all of them , and cooking for them as I enjoy doing.
When we got back on August 4, Mom was on such a high it took 3 or 4 days for her to start winding down, and she still isn't rested up. Being the superior traveller I am, I'm almost rested up enough to do it again.
On the not so good side, I lost the hard drive in my laptop. I scrounged around and found a spare hard drive, installed it, and NADA! Apparently a hard drive controller of some type on the motherboard took a dump, so I've been without a computer for about the last 8 weeks. Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "Pappy, why didn't you just get up off your wallet and go buy another computer?" Well, three reasons come to mind.
1. I try to help out the kids if and when they need it, if I can. Family counts for more than toys.
2. I'm needing to do some work on the JEEP (Just Empty Every Pocket). I needs my transportation.
3. I know, I know. Use the credit cards. BUT I only owe about $600 on the last of them, and then I get to tell the credit card companies where to stick them. I'm looking forward to that. I will then be trying to live on a cash only basis.
On the not so good side, 2 months ago I was on a DSL connection. Last month, our household went cellular only for telephones. Being the brilliant individual I am, I didn't even think about losing my DSL when we cancelled the home phone. Now it costs me an extra $10 per month for a DSL line, which was activated yesterday.
On the not so good side, Rocky the Wonder Dog (picture at the top of the page) the puppy of PappyandPuppy fame is going blind. He hasn't been acting like himself, bumping into stuff, being startled by people reaching out to him, not seeing treats offered to him, trouble finding his ball when it's quit rolling after being thrown for him, ad nauseum. I took him to the vet yesterday and was told he is developing cataracts. It won't be long and he'll be completely blind.
On the good side, I finally scraped up enough to go buy a Toshiba NB205 netbook. 1.66 ghz processor, 800 mhz front side bus, 1 gb DDR2 RAM, 160 gb SATA2 hard drive, 802.11G wifi, bluetooth 2.0, and between 7 and 9 hours battery life all in a 2.6 pound package with a 10.1 inch tft screen wrapped in a royal blue textured case. I also got a HP 550 Lightscribe DVD burner. I sincerely love it.
Yeah, you back in the back with Alienware laptop on the handtruck and the goofy ass smirk on your face? Why did I buy a low end netbook? I'm glad you asked, pimpleface.
To my way of thinking, a laptop or notebook is supposed to be portable. The less it weighs and the longer the battery life, the more portable it is. I don't need a gaming rig or anything like that, just a small portable laptop for emails, web surfing, blogging, downloading pictures to, playng mp3's, and reading ebooks. Stuff like that. I'll have a mid range desktop unit in the near future for anything more than that.
The work that needs to be done on the JEEP? Charging system failure. Grounds need to be cleaned and checked. Replace battery cables. Probably need to replace battery. I just need to get off my butt and do it.
On the good side, Rocky is just going blind, he's not terminally ill. He's a dog. He probably doesn't realize anything is going on as he's going blind gradually and has been for a little while. I'll still be here to care for him and try to provide him with a quality life. He's MY dog. I'll do for him to the best of my ability.
On the good side, on August 27, Mom, Rocky and I loaded up in Mom's Lincoln Town Car, aka the Queen Elizabeth 2, and took a trip to Indy to see my new grandson Bubba (Jonah Hill Bruce) born August 27, 2009 about 1:15 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long. We were lucky enough to be able to spend 5 days with them, playing with the Poot and Bubba, enjoying spending time with all of them , and cooking for them as I enjoy doing.
When we got back on August 4, Mom was on such a high it took 3 or 4 days for her to start winding down, and she still isn't rested up. Being the superior traveller I am, I'm almost rested up enough to do it again.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Palin's Gift
Sarah Palin has given us all a very large gift when she announced her resignation. No, not the possibility that she supposedly killed any possible future political ambitions she might have had, but the very real fact that her announcement took at least half the air time that would have been devoted to that grotesque pedophilic caricature of a man, Michael Jackson.
Second Guessing Palin
It seems every major news outlet is 2nd guessing Sarah Palin's decision to resign as governor of Alaska. They have all decided she did it to facilitate a presidential run in 2012 and that she comitted political suicide by tendering her resignation.
Did Palin say she is running for president in 2012? If so I must have missed it.
If not, you people need to back off. Your job is to report the news, not analyze it. The MSM is completely out of control with their thought that they are the only ones smart enough to know what is going on and that we need everything explained to us with their twist on it.
Did Palin say she is running for president in 2012? If so I must have missed it.
If not, you people need to back off. Your job is to report the news, not analyze it. The MSM is completely out of control with their thought that they are the only ones smart enough to know what is going on and that we need everything explained to us with their twist on it.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Trying something new
I want to try a new OS. My reasoning behind this is that Microsoft products have simply become too intrusive. While the products usually do what I need to do sometimes they won't allow me to do what I want to do without jumping through hoops, somewhat like the government. Couple this with the fact that my favorite Microsoft OS, XP Pro, is going away and I have no interest in trying Vista or Seven. Add in the cost of upgrading a Microsoft OS and you see why I want to try something new and preferably open source.
I'm not saying that I'm not willing to pay for an OS. I am saying I would prefer to try an OS that is less expensive that can be customized to my preferences and needs.
I have three reservations with trying a GNU/Linux derivative although I've been reading up on them and they have piqued my interest. Maybe one of my two readers can answer my thoughts.
1) I will need to aquire another computer to run this OS on, as I'm not going to replace the OS on my main computer nor am I going to try to set it up as a dual boot system. The main computer is a Compaq N410c, and, while it is old by most standards, I've had it quite a while and it does everything I want so therefore it's not obsolete.
I will probably build a medium power desktop computer but how do I know what hardware is supported and what drivers are available? This is probably my number one reservation.
2) Later this year I want to purchase a netbook, preferably with a SSD instead of a traditional HDD, bluetooth and built in 802.11n wifi capability. Whatever OS I decide to use must be compatible with the hardware of this netbook.
3) The OS must have a good GUI to use while I am learning to use the command line again, as I have only used the command line rarely in the last 13 years since I gave up Windows 3.11/DOS 6.1 and went to Windows 95, 98, 2000, and XP Pro.
I also wonder about the fact that various drives (CD/DVD, flash drives, floppy drives and external hard drives) must be "mounted" and "unmounted or dismounted". Is this a major hassle? Can these procedures be automated or at least can you set up a shortcut on the desktop to provide these functions?
Can someone that has a working knowledge of various GNU/Linux distributions help a brotha out? :)
I'm not saying that I'm not willing to pay for an OS. I am saying I would prefer to try an OS that is less expensive that can be customized to my preferences and needs.
I have three reservations with trying a GNU/Linux derivative although I've been reading up on them and they have piqued my interest. Maybe one of my two readers can answer my thoughts.
1) I will need to aquire another computer to run this OS on, as I'm not going to replace the OS on my main computer nor am I going to try to set it up as a dual boot system. The main computer is a Compaq N410c, and, while it is old by most standards, I've had it quite a while and it does everything I want so therefore it's not obsolete.
I will probably build a medium power desktop computer but how do I know what hardware is supported and what drivers are available? This is probably my number one reservation.
2) Later this year I want to purchase a netbook, preferably with a SSD instead of a traditional HDD, bluetooth and built in 802.11n wifi capability. Whatever OS I decide to use must be compatible with the hardware of this netbook.
3) The OS must have a good GUI to use while I am learning to use the command line again, as I have only used the command line rarely in the last 13 years since I gave up Windows 3.11/DOS 6.1 and went to Windows 95, 98, 2000, and XP Pro.
I also wonder about the fact that various drives (CD/DVD, flash drives, floppy drives and external hard drives) must be "mounted" and "unmounted or dismounted". Is this a major hassle? Can these procedures be automated or at least can you set up a shortcut on the desktop to provide these functions?
Can someone that has a working knowledge of various GNU/Linux distributions help a brotha out? :)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Why keep this up?
In this post, I stated this blog wasn't something I really wanted to do. While reading back through my back posts I see a large majority of those posts contain no original content and I have rarely written anything worth reading. From now on, if I post, it will what's on my mind at that time. The post's may contain a link to other info or may even contain a quote from other sources, but from now on this blog might be a little disjointed and scary because it will be a mirror of what I'm thinking. There's a very good chance I will very rarely post but if I do, it will be my thoughts.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Herpes of the eye
I just saw a disturbing ad on tv. They were advertising a solution to treat infections of the eye. They did say however that the solution had not been tested to treat herpes infections of the eye. How does one get a herpes infection of the eye? Looking for love in all the wrong places?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Help!
I need some help. A couple of days ago I was reading a blog, no I don't remember which one, and in the comments someone was talking about a cooling system sealer that his father had recommended. I went to the web page for the product and forgot to bookmark it.
Now, Ravon and JB's car has blown a head gasket and they don't have the money to fix it, and good ole Dad is also tapped out. I need to find out this cooling system sealant to give it a try.
If you read this, please try to remember where and either email me or leave a comment.
Now, Ravon and JB's car has blown a head gasket and they don't have the money to fix it, and good ole Dad is also tapped out. I need to find out this cooling system sealant to give it a try.
If you read this, please try to remember where and either email me or leave a comment.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Sent to me in an email
"This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a
very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:
Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV
set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending
your stimulus check wisely:
If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.
If you spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs.
If you purchase a computer it will go to India.
If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and
Guatemala (unless you buy organic).
If you buy a car it will go to Japan.
If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan.
And none of it will help the American economy.
We need to keep that money here in America. You can keep the money in
America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it
on prostitutes, beer and wine (domestic ONLY), or tattoos, since those are
the only businesses still in the US.
very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:
Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV
set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending
your stimulus check wisely:
If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.
If you spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs.
If you purchase a computer it will go to India.
If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and
Guatemala (unless you buy organic).
If you buy a car it will go to Japan.
If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan.
And none of it will help the American economy.
We need to keep that money here in America. You can keep the money in
America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it
on prostitutes, beer and wine (domestic ONLY), or tattoos, since those are
the only businesses still in the US.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Obama's Inauguration
I didn't write an inauguration post because frankly, I couldn't get the words I wanted to write to congeal on the text editor screen. However, imagine my surprise when I read a post by Farmgirl saying almost exactly what I was trying to say.
Tractor Tracks: What? Where?
However, I do need to add a few words (yeah you knew I couldn't keep my mouth shut).
I don't like Obama. It's not a race thing. It's almost evenly split between a difference in ideology and my thought that he is a "do nothing the polls don't want me to do" type of politician. You know, the type that votes present at Senate votes because he hasn't been told explicitly by his handlers what vote to cast.
So while I don't like him, I hope he is a good enough manager and negotiator to fulfill his presidental oath. You know the one, "to preserve and protect the Constitution". I just hope someone slips him a copy of the Constitution so he can familiarize himself with what he is supposed to preserve and protect.
Tractor Tracks: What? Where?
However, I do need to add a few words (yeah you knew I couldn't keep my mouth shut).
I don't like Obama. It's not a race thing. It's almost evenly split between a difference in ideology and my thought that he is a "do nothing the polls don't want me to do" type of politician. You know, the type that votes present at Senate votes because he hasn't been told explicitly by his handlers what vote to cast.
So while I don't like him, I hope he is a good enough manager and negotiator to fulfill his presidental oath. You know the one, "to preserve and protect the Constitution". I just hope someone slips him a copy of the Constitution so he can familiarize himself with what he is supposed to preserve and protect.
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