running a linux desktop

Still taking it easy but decided the tab layout of easy mode on the eee was starting to get annoying. There’s a few progs I’m starting to use quite a bit ie the word processor and the PIM (for keeping track of my calendar). In easy mode, you’re jumping from tab to tab, though you can add commonly used apps to the favourites tab. I do however like a proper desktop and the added flexibility. With thanks to download squad, who provided a clear set of instructions, I was able to enable full screen mode as default painlessly.

Additional tip: F11 in firefox enables full screen mode when browsing, which would give you around 20% additional screenspace.

blogroll

Starting to flesh out the blogroll a little, dabbled briefly with dividing it into categories. I quickly returned to a single list upon realising that friends who are librarians would appear twice. The wordpress.com version of wordpress insists on capitalising each word in the blogroll too. I prefer all lowercase myself for headings as do some of the blogs I link to. Probably yet another reason to move over to my own server with my own wordpress install as I’ve noticed a friend has, though she was moving from blogger.

blade runner

Okey doke, it’s out, The DVDs were due for release today and I was able to secure the 5 disc set in JB Hifi on Tuesday. JB had the best prices I’ve come across, factoring in at $80 (RRP $90) for the standard 5 disc set and $120 (RRP $150) for the limited briefcase edition. Given that the latter was $30 cheaper than I’d anticipated, I was rather tempted. I decided to stick with the standard 5 disc version as I reckon the briefcase would have ended up gathering dust. JB were also selling the single disc version which just has “The Final Cut” for $20. This being the version that Ridley Scott ultimately prefers and has worked toward.

another theme change

Decided the old theme made it too hard to tell if there were links within the text. This theme also seems to be sufficiently fluid that I can see the entire page in my reduced browser window. Will give it a few weeks and see how it goes.

yet another ebook reader

There’s been various discussions of late about Amazon’s new ebook reader, the kindle, in the biblioblogosphere. Reactions have been mixed and the most pertinent criticism has been that US$400 price is way over the top. While it’s unlikely that the kindle will be available locally for some time to come, Dymocks, and others, have recently launched the iLiad, and charging folk a shade under $900 for it. Like the kindle, it’s light and looks like it has a good display. At an initial glance, it doesn’t have the same connectivity possibilities as the kindle but is friendlier to various tech including usb sticks. Plus it doubles as a writer, which I don’t think the kindle can do. I’ve not played with either device but am curious to see them in action. However given the prices of each, I’m very unlikely to buy either.

got net

okey dokey, I have net, or more precisely I am connected on my eee to the outside world via a wireless connection to my router. This post is my “hello world” test of the eee. When I visited my mother earlier in the evening, I whipped it out to take notes,  so I wouldn’t forget. Much easier than my poor performance with pen and paper.

more eee

My girlfriend discovered last week that the black Eee PC was due to arrive at Myer this Friday. So I went in last Friday and put my money down Got a call yesterday that it had arrived. Needless to say it is now sitting on my desk charging. It looks cooler than the white one, though will probably run a little hotter, and has a lovely matte finish. I have refrained from posting about it until I actually had it my hands…just in case anyone gazumped me

want want want

I’ve been waiting a while to see the new ASUS Eee PC and whether it matched my desires for a portable machine that’s light and usable. My primary criteria for choosing a laptop is weight. I’ve travelled a fair bit for work, whether it be interstate or international, and both my current laptop (IBM T60 Thinkpad) and my old one (IBM T41 Thinkpad), were a wee bit on the heavy side. Moreso the T60 as it’s nearly half a kilo heavier than the T41. What I want is a small computer with a reasonable screen and a full keyboard. I like to write. Also something that can manage my calendar and such.

After a fruitless hunt yesterday, Myer at Macquarie Centre had them but they were all reserved for customers with none for display, I popped into the city store after work today. They had several and I played…and played. Sizewise about what I expected, the keyboard was small but not too small, and I got the hang of it within a couple of minutes. The screen is a good size with a crisp display. Touchpad worked ok and what initially looked like a single mouse button is actually a bar with left and right touchpads, thus emulating a 2 button mouse. Underneath however it felt really hot, no way is this sitting on my lap. It also felt warm on top to the left of the touchpad. It had been running on mains all day which is probably not how I’d use it.

Most importantly, it’s light, it weighs a mere 900 odd grams, about a third of my T60. It feels light, and it would have been nice to have tried it in my shoulder bag but alas that was not to be. Standing there looking at it, I remembered my last attempt at a portable computer, the lovely Psion 5mx. In 1999, I paid around AU$1000 for the 5mx which weighed about 300g, had 16Mb of memory and I had a compact flash card with another 64Mb, a greyscale screen, small keyboard. The Eee PC costs half that and has a good size keyboard with a respectable amount of memory. It also has a slot for an SD card so I can easily double the storage memory when I like, not to mention plugging in an external hard drive via one of the three USB ports.

I want. I was way tempted to buy one today. Tempted to go back tomorrow. Tom Worthington has done a detailed review. The main things holding me back are the suspicion that the price may drop after christmas and I’d really like a black one. There is a black one coming but I don’t know when. On the way back to the station, I saw a couple of folk in a cafe with one each, typing away. It looked really good with plenty of table space to spare.