David Black: Off Topic

Wow

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:35:28 GMT

Wow. I saw the Microsoft 'Wow' add for Vista. Wow is right, an operating system that took so long to develop, that delivers so little and requires so much (hardware). Wow. I think Microsoft should pay to upgrade my laptop so I can have the "full Aero experience". Seems only fair.

Vista, Grrrr

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 13:43:02 GMT

This is the Vista Premium Ready spec:

1Ghz processor
1Gb memory
128Mb graphics memory
40Gb hard drive
DVD-ROM
Internet access

But, despite trumping this lot by a long way, including having a 256MB graphics card, my laptop won't (according to a Vista readiness scan) run the more advanced features of Aero. Grrr. What were they thinking? How did they even develop these advanced features considering the graphics hardware would not have been generally available prior to six months ago.

What the heck does Aero need?

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:15:28 GMT

My laptop gets top marks in Vista readiness, except for the graphics card which apparently will not support the full Aero experience. Boo-hoo. I have the ATI Mobility Radeon X1400. This is very annoying, I don't even have it a year yet. Hmm, still, by the time I am ready for Vista, it might just be time for the 19 inch quad-core monster.

Old-stylie Intel Core Duo

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:10:23 GMT

Old-stylie Intel Core Duo. We are not alone.

That's one small step for a man

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 13:18:18 GMT

Looks like Neil Armstrong really did say "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.", and did not drop the "a". Now if only NASA could find the original moon landing footage ... if you're a Moon Freak, I'm currently reading Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth by Andrew Smith, it's quite good.

Almost not so happy laptop days

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:54:51 GMT

boolean mightGoOnFire = checkBatteryId(myLaptop, "http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/");
if (mightGoOnFire) {
    orderNewBattery("http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/");
    Thread.sleep(60480000); // expect to wait for a very long time for the replacement! :(
}
else {
    beHappy(); // :-)
}

<out-by-one-digit>
<sigh-of-relief/>
</out-by-one-digit>

Happy laptop days!

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 12:10:52 GMT

For a long time I ve been planning to swap my two desktops (office, home) for a high end laptop I could develop on. I have the same desktop in the two locations: a 3 year old Dell Dimension with a 3.3Ghz P4. It was an ok machine, but never quick enough and I really wanted the flexibility of a laptop.

So I finally decided on the Dell Inspiron 9400. I ve had it a few days now and I am very impressed. I speced it to the max with a 17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife WUXGA wide screen display, 2.16Ghz Core Duo, 2GB RAM, 100GB/7200rpm drive, 802.11g, ATI Radeon 256MB graphics, bluetooth + wireless mouse! The LCD at 1920x1200 with 96dpi is crystal clear. The difference from my 21 inch CRT is incredible.

I am really happy with the performance. It rocks, IO in general, and compilation in particular is 6 or 7 times faster than my desktop. Its just excellent - Eclipse starts in about 5 seconds, compared to 30 seconds on my desktop ... ripper!

I have often heard people say that traditionally Dell don’t have a reputation at the high end, that you buy Dell for middle of the road stuff. That has not really been my experience and the 9400 compares very favorably with equivalent Sony and Toshibas, way better value for money in fact. I guess I will have to see how it wears, lugging it between home and office every day on my back (on my bike), lets see how it holds up over the next 12 months. I will be taking a lot of care with it, its not going to get knocked around, I bought a Targus 17 inch XL Notebook Backpack.

My only concern is whether I will get it into an aircraft cabin. May have to do a Tardus with my Targus :-)

My latest toy, the Canon S2is

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 18:41:34 GMT

I got myself a new toy recently, a Canon PowerShot S2is. It is in the 'super-zoom' or mini-SLR category with a 12x Optical Zoom, 5 megapixel CCD and very good anti-shake technology. Canon have a done a really super job with this, I am most impressed. The zoom is ultra smooth and the picture quality superb. You can shoot movies in 640x480 at 30 fps and you can zoom at the same time! The results are excellent. And you know those black and white shots where just one color remains? Well, you can do that too - you point the camera at the color you want to keep, it remembers that, and then you take your shots. Sweet. Its nearest, and slightly cheaper, competitor is the Panasonic FZ5, but if you can afford the Canon, go for it, its stellar.

Hey, and the ZoomBrowser software it comes with is very good too. I recently had to try to use the software that comes with the Nikons. In a word: confusing.

Some Armadillo protection

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 21:18:00 GMT

I recently put a set of Nimbus Armadillo tires on my Specialized Rockhopper. I've been using it for commuting and won't be getting to the mountains for a while, so I ditched the MTB tires for some extra speed and flat resistence. These things are cranked to 100 psi, though the guy in the shop told me he puts his up to 125! Kabooom!!

I like my Rockhopper - I got one with front and rear discs, but I really want something with rear suspension too. Cycleways in Dublin has the Enduro reduced to about 1800 euros. Drool.