Just a brief message, wishing all a Happy New Year. May it good new year for all!
Peace and Happiness to all!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Off My Rambling (again)
So, it's the night before the Night Before Christmas in my neck of the woods. A good time to spend time with family and friends, and all the usual traditions the season brings here. Which is, of course, why I'm playing on my computer.
Not just any computer, though. Oh, I was using that fancy Thinkpad Carbon earlier on this evening. I got pestered from work, apparently another crew hadn't figured out that this is time off, and they shouldn't be pestering, but they did. And I had to put together a quick report to send them. (Pulling files off USB thumb drives, putting them together with a quick write-up.)
After that, I decided to play around with some of the older cyber-critters on the ranch. Most of my older systems have been unplugged and packed away. However, to my surprise, I found that I'd left the little Thinkpad T30 powered up. So, here I am, all booted up into Puppy Slacko, enjoying the evening at a much more relaxed pace. Guess a Pentium 4 will do that for you...
Beyond all computer amusements, this is a time for a little quiet reflection. The year is winding to a close, and I hope it ends on a good note. It hasn't been the best of years, but it most certainly hasn't been the worst. I hope next year brings good things.
I hope it's a peaceful season for all, whomever and wherever. My best wishes and thanks to all who've stopped by. Hopefully you'll stop back again. I'll try to be a bit more reliable in my writing in the coming year. And maybe even a bit more informational as well.
And now, back to an evening with Slacko...
Not just any computer, though. Oh, I was using that fancy Thinkpad Carbon earlier on this evening. I got pestered from work, apparently another crew hadn't figured out that this is time off, and they shouldn't be pestering, but they did. And I had to put together a quick report to send them. (Pulling files off USB thumb drives, putting them together with a quick write-up.)
After that, I decided to play around with some of the older cyber-critters on the ranch. Most of my older systems have been unplugged and packed away. However, to my surprise, I found that I'd left the little Thinkpad T30 powered up. So, here I am, all booted up into Puppy Slacko, enjoying the evening at a much more relaxed pace. Guess a Pentium 4 will do that for you...
Beyond all computer amusements, this is a time for a little quiet reflection. The year is winding to a close, and I hope it ends on a good note. It hasn't been the best of years, but it most certainly hasn't been the worst. I hope next year brings good things.
I hope it's a peaceful season for all, whomever and wherever. My best wishes and thanks to all who've stopped by. Hopefully you'll stop back again. I'll try to be a bit more reliable in my writing in the coming year. And maybe even a bit more informational as well.
And now, back to an evening with Slacko...
Friday, December 20, 2013
Traitorous Leanings
It's been a while since I've posted, and I apologize. Been a busy couple months, and it's not really letting up as we head into the holidays. But, work is work, and I'm glad I have it.
I've made some heavy changes in my computing arsenal. Some have been necessary, some not so much. Some have resulted from tripping over exceptional deals on eBay and elsewhere. Some may eventually send me to the poor house.
I previously mentioned my purchase of a Surface Pro, and how much I actually liked it. Well, due to some of the demands of my current job (RE:, some truly horrific websites that I'm required to access), I found myself somewhat having to use a Win8 system. I wasn't particularly happy about that, but ya does what ya does...
The Surface, while a great little system to tote around and use on the go, is not a system for everyday office work. A 10" screen just doesn't cut it, especially when your eyes are as bad as mine. So, a check of the local Best Buy netted me an el-cheapo Asus computer for just a bit over $200. (It was an open-box/demo/closeout deal.) It had an i3, a decent 15" screen, and a serviceable keyboard. And it worked.
Till today. I started having trouble with the USB 3.0 port. Inserting a thumb drive would crash the computer. (I have my suspicions of what's going on, but I'm not sure.) This didn't make me happy, but luckily, I was testing a new system I just got it, thanks to one of those serendipitous eBay finds: a Thinkpad X1 Carbon.
Yeah, I know. But the price I got this one for was literally too good to pass up. It's a nice system, 1.8 Ghz Core i5, 4 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. Running Windows 8.1 I've loaded Office 2013 onto it, as I wanted OneNote, which I've (re)fallen in love with.
And the whole system is beautifully compact, yet completely usable. I've avoided the "ultrabooks" for a long time, just considering them overly expensive toys. The Carbon changed that opinion. Yeah, it's damned expensive, but it's definitely no toy. I have to put a big check mark into Lenovo's corner on this one. (I'm starting to sound like an advertisment, aren't I?)
Today was the first day i used the Carbon in the office full time, and it was like night and day from the Asus. Yes, the 14" screen is smaller, but the keyboard more than makes up for that. I've heard people gripe about the new "island-style" keyboards. And I have to admit, I love the older style Thinkpad keyboards, but this one holds its own. It's damned good. And it makes typing on this system a pleasure.
So, here I am, becoming a Windows user again...
Well, not really. But that's a story for another entry... ;-)
I've made some heavy changes in my computing arsenal. Some have been necessary, some not so much. Some have resulted from tripping over exceptional deals on eBay and elsewhere. Some may eventually send me to the poor house.
I previously mentioned my purchase of a Surface Pro, and how much I actually liked it. Well, due to some of the demands of my current job (RE:, some truly horrific websites that I'm required to access), I found myself somewhat having to use a Win8 system. I wasn't particularly happy about that, but ya does what ya does...
The Surface, while a great little system to tote around and use on the go, is not a system for everyday office work. A 10" screen just doesn't cut it, especially when your eyes are as bad as mine. So, a check of the local Best Buy netted me an el-cheapo Asus computer for just a bit over $200. (It was an open-box/demo/closeout deal.) It had an i3, a decent 15" screen, and a serviceable keyboard. And it worked.
Till today. I started having trouble with the USB 3.0 port. Inserting a thumb drive would crash the computer. (I have my suspicions of what's going on, but I'm not sure.) This didn't make me happy, but luckily, I was testing a new system I just got it, thanks to one of those serendipitous eBay finds: a Thinkpad X1 Carbon.
Yeah, I know. But the price I got this one for was literally too good to pass up. It's a nice system, 1.8 Ghz Core i5, 4 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. Running Windows 8.1 I've loaded Office 2013 onto it, as I wanted OneNote, which I've (re)fallen in love with.
And the whole system is beautifully compact, yet completely usable. I've avoided the "ultrabooks" for a long time, just considering them overly expensive toys. The Carbon changed that opinion. Yeah, it's damned expensive, but it's definitely no toy. I have to put a big check mark into Lenovo's corner on this one. (I'm starting to sound like an advertisment, aren't I?)
Today was the first day i used the Carbon in the office full time, and it was like night and day from the Asus. Yes, the 14" screen is smaller, but the keyboard more than makes up for that. I've heard people gripe about the new "island-style" keyboards. And I have to admit, I love the older style Thinkpad keyboards, but this one holds its own. It's damned good. And it makes typing on this system a pleasure.
So, here I am, becoming a Windows user again...
Well, not really. But that's a story for another entry... ;-)
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Prepping
Been a little busy this weekend.
Not sure if I mentioned before, but one of the reasons I made my whirlwind trip home was to switch out computers.
Long story short, with no real explanations, I'd settled on using my little white Macbook as my primary work computer, and it was giving yeoman service. OK, explanations: The new business center printer my employer installed…well, there are no good drivers available for Linux. I mean, there are drivers, and I installed them, but they won't work with this particular printer. (I honestly think the damned printer is just a bargain-basement, give-us-the-cheapest-thing-you-got, don't-worry-about-compatibility number…) The Mac sees it fine, so…
However, I have to now make an admission: I'm getting old. That little 13" screen that used to be so clear and crisp… Well, it still is, but it's small. I've been spending my days leaning in on the desk, and my back has decided to tell me about it. Constantly. So…
I have now cleaned up, updated, and software-loaded my 2nd gen Macbook Pro (2.4 Ghz, Core2Duo), which is running Mountain Lion. The gentleman I acquired it from had jacked the memory up to 3 GB, and had stuck in a 1 TB hard drive. (Yes, I will one day get a 2 GB stick and make it 4 GB of RAM. But it's working fine for now.) It, and the Surface Pro, are going to my my only accompaniment on the road.
I joked to a friend of mine that having Mountain Lion and Windows 8 side by side might result in the birth of some sort of terrifying dimensional anomaly. (Cue Twilight Zone theme here.)
Already copied over several hundred megs of files I've generated since I've been onsite. Now, just waiting to be able to sit down with a little screen real estate to work with.
Did have to laugh here, but not for reasons of screen size. I needed some back up storage, so I went digging on my nightstand, and found a couple 16 GB thumb drives. One of them I remember has the perennially failed install of FatDog64. The other some oddball version of Puppy that I can't remember. I just mounted them both on the MBP, and re-partitioned both of them as storage devices.
The reason I laughed about this: It amazes me how cavalier we are today with these things. 32 gigabytes, containing two complete operating systems, yet I just nuke and reformat without giving a single thought.
Times have most definitely changed...
Not sure if I mentioned before, but one of the reasons I made my whirlwind trip home was to switch out computers.
Long story short, with no real explanations, I'd settled on using my little white Macbook as my primary work computer, and it was giving yeoman service. OK, explanations: The new business center printer my employer installed…well, there are no good drivers available for Linux. I mean, there are drivers, and I installed them, but they won't work with this particular printer. (I honestly think the damned printer is just a bargain-basement, give-us-the-cheapest-thing-you-got, don't-worry-about-compatibility number…) The Mac sees it fine, so…
However, I have to now make an admission: I'm getting old. That little 13" screen that used to be so clear and crisp… Well, it still is, but it's small. I've been spending my days leaning in on the desk, and my back has decided to tell me about it. Constantly. So…
I have now cleaned up, updated, and software-loaded my 2nd gen Macbook Pro (2.4 Ghz, Core2Duo), which is running Mountain Lion. The gentleman I acquired it from had jacked the memory up to 3 GB, and had stuck in a 1 TB hard drive. (Yes, I will one day get a 2 GB stick and make it 4 GB of RAM. But it's working fine for now.) It, and the Surface Pro, are going to my my only accompaniment on the road.
I joked to a friend of mine that having Mountain Lion and Windows 8 side by side might result in the birth of some sort of terrifying dimensional anomaly. (Cue Twilight Zone theme here.)
Already copied over several hundred megs of files I've generated since I've been onsite. Now, just waiting to be able to sit down with a little screen real estate to work with.
Did have to laugh here, but not for reasons of screen size. I needed some back up storage, so I went digging on my nightstand, and found a couple 16 GB thumb drives. One of them I remember has the perennially failed install of FatDog64. The other some oddball version of Puppy that I can't remember. I just mounted them both on the MBP, and re-partitioned both of them as storage devices.
The reason I laughed about this: It amazes me how cavalier we are today with these things. 32 gigabytes, containing two complete operating systems, yet I just nuke and reformat without giving a single thought.
Times have most definitely changed...
Friday, November 8, 2013
Yep....... (RE: Of Styli and Men...)
All of you knew this was coming, didn't you?
Less than a week, and I manage to lose the stylus on the Surface Pro.
Hell, I knew it was coming. I told myself over and over again,"You're going to lose it!"
Bu it survived around 5 days of being toted between my hotel room and the office... No problems. I was super careful. I babied it...
Yeah. I lost it.
Somewhere, between my hotel room, carrying stuff to the car, the 6 hours of drive time, and walking through my yard to my house, I lost it.
I'm pissed.
It's the one truly abysmal bit of design on this system. Why, in God's name, did you not put some sort of clip on the damned thing? A not very strong magnet holding this thing that just begs to be snagged and pulled free from the system... Oh, GENIUS!
Anyway, I honestly have no one else but myself to blame. (Believe me, I've tried to find someone else...)
I went on a crazy spree this evening. I've ordered an original replacement, but only after ordering the first straight capacitive stylus I came across. Then, while looking at some other examples on eBay, I got to thinking...Hmmm...
An excavative trip down through the laptop layers, and out comes my old HP TC1100... Pop out the stylus (this is the damned RIGHT way to stow a stylus), and...
It works. Perfectly. And it's actually a sight more comfortable to use than the original Microsoft-supplied model, owing to its larger girth. Alas, I swore in my past OCD-ness, I'd ordered a spare for the HP. But...No... Can't find it. Replacement tips, yes. Spare, no... (A trip back to eBay netted me a couple old clunker TC1100 styli for sale. Not worried about worn tips, as I do have spares for those. Ha ha...)
So, I guess I'll use the TC1100 stylus while I'm home, and then drop by Best Buy back out where I'm working to grab a generic. It's going to be while before I get back home and get the ones I ordered.
I am going to have to stop by the Computer-Shop-Across-the-River to see about the T23 and the XPS M2010 tomorrow. Wonder if they might happen to have an odd capacitive stylus loose about..?
Less than a week, and I manage to lose the stylus on the Surface Pro.
Hell, I knew it was coming. I told myself over and over again,"You're going to lose it!"
Bu it survived around 5 days of being toted between my hotel room and the office... No problems. I was super careful. I babied it...
Yeah. I lost it.
Somewhere, between my hotel room, carrying stuff to the car, the 6 hours of drive time, and walking through my yard to my house, I lost it.
I'm pissed.
It's the one truly abysmal bit of design on this system. Why, in God's name, did you not put some sort of clip on the damned thing? A not very strong magnet holding this thing that just begs to be snagged and pulled free from the system... Oh, GENIUS!
Anyway, I honestly have no one else but myself to blame. (Believe me, I've tried to find someone else...)
I went on a crazy spree this evening. I've ordered an original replacement, but only after ordering the first straight capacitive stylus I came across. Then, while looking at some other examples on eBay, I got to thinking...Hmmm...
An excavative trip down through the laptop layers, and out comes my old HP TC1100... Pop out the stylus (this is the damned RIGHT way to stow a stylus), and...
It works. Perfectly. And it's actually a sight more comfortable to use than the original Microsoft-supplied model, owing to its larger girth. Alas, I swore in my past OCD-ness, I'd ordered a spare for the HP. But...No... Can't find it. Replacement tips, yes. Spare, no... (A trip back to eBay netted me a couple old clunker TC1100 styli for sale. Not worried about worn tips, as I do have spares for those. Ha ha...)
So, I guess I'll use the TC1100 stylus while I'm home, and then drop by Best Buy back out where I'm working to grab a generic. It's going to be while before I get back home and get the ones I ordered.
I am going to have to stop by the Computer-Shop-Across-the-River to see about the T23 and the XPS M2010 tomorrow. Wonder if they might happen to have an odd capacitive stylus loose about..?
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Selling my sell-out
OK, I'm being a little facetious there. My using Windows 8 on a tablet device does seem a little bit...well, you know... Especially after all the snide little asides I've made.
But it works. Granted, there's no way in heaven nor hell that I would want it on a desktop. But here, on the Surface Pro, it's in its native environment. And it does work. After a fashion.
I used the Surface all last night, putting it through its paces. Used via the battery, and got around 4.5 hours out of it, with a LOT of YouTube videos thrown in. I know people have griped about the older generation Surface batteries, but this is fine for me. I used the system both in what I consider its "ultrabook" mode, and as a tablet. (The latter being where I really cranked the videos.) I had nary a problem.
Well, OK, one. The touch cover. It works. It's functional. But... Problems. Including what I discovered was a rather infamous random "muting" bug that hits during video and audio playback. And, no matter how hard I tried, typing was just a chore. It just ran agains the grain of the "muscle memory" old timer typists develop. (Should I admit that I learned to type partially on an old 1940s manual typewriter? Probably not...)
So, this morning, I did go back and trade up to the typing cover. World of difference. Night and day. For me, the touch cover is functional. The type cover is usable. And pure usability is what matters to me.
I note that a lot of people have griped about the size of the type cover, and problems using the keyboard because of that. It doesn't bother me, as I'm a heavy laptop user, and this is is in line with a laptop keyboard. An "island-type" keyboard it ain't. But it works well. I can touch type on it with a good amount of speed and accuracy.
For all my Apple love, I've never really felt it towards the iPad. Never really wanted one. A good friend uses one, even for doing his work, and he loves it. But I just could never come to terms with it. I now hate to admit it, but for what I want to do, Microsoft has trumped Apple. For me (and notice that "for me"), the Surface seems more productivity-oriented. (I just caught that I'm starting to sound like a company shill. I'm most definitely not. See the above comments about Win8 on a desktop to dispel that.)
But, to be honest, I'm not going to be using this thing as a productivity machine on any type of regular basis. I've been griping about the small size of my 13" Macbook screen. And my Macbook dwarfs the Surface. So...
In the end, this is a really expensive toy that I truthfully couldn't afford to buy. But I did buy it, and now I've got it. And I'm going to use it. It's blindingly portable. And it's a tablet that is running a full-tilt OS with real applications. I can use this as a full-tilt computer as needed. (And I've been experimenting with it on my work files. No problem.)
No, I'm not going to try and justify this. I'm an idiot for buying it. But, I like my new toy. I think it'll fit in with my other toys quite well.
I just won't be getting anything for Christmas this year.
Nor Easter. Nor my birthday.........
But it works. Granted, there's no way in heaven nor hell that I would want it on a desktop. But here, on the Surface Pro, it's in its native environment. And it does work. After a fashion.
I used the Surface all last night, putting it through its paces. Used via the battery, and got around 4.5 hours out of it, with a LOT of YouTube videos thrown in. I know people have griped about the older generation Surface batteries, but this is fine for me. I used the system both in what I consider its "ultrabook" mode, and as a tablet. (The latter being where I really cranked the videos.) I had nary a problem.
Well, OK, one. The touch cover. It works. It's functional. But... Problems. Including what I discovered was a rather infamous random "muting" bug that hits during video and audio playback. And, no matter how hard I tried, typing was just a chore. It just ran agains the grain of the "muscle memory" old timer typists develop. (Should I admit that I learned to type partially on an old 1940s manual typewriter? Probably not...)
So, this morning, I did go back and trade up to the typing cover. World of difference. Night and day. For me, the touch cover is functional. The type cover is usable. And pure usability is what matters to me.
I note that a lot of people have griped about the size of the type cover, and problems using the keyboard because of that. It doesn't bother me, as I'm a heavy laptop user, and this is is in line with a laptop keyboard. An "island-type" keyboard it ain't. But it works well. I can touch type on it with a good amount of speed and accuracy.
For all my Apple love, I've never really felt it towards the iPad. Never really wanted one. A good friend uses one, even for doing his work, and he loves it. But I just could never come to terms with it. I now hate to admit it, but for what I want to do, Microsoft has trumped Apple. For me (and notice that "for me"), the Surface seems more productivity-oriented. (I just caught that I'm starting to sound like a company shill. I'm most definitely not. See the above comments about Win8 on a desktop to dispel that.)
But, to be honest, I'm not going to be using this thing as a productivity machine on any type of regular basis. I've been griping about the small size of my 13" Macbook screen. And my Macbook dwarfs the Surface. So...
In the end, this is a really expensive toy that I truthfully couldn't afford to buy. But I did buy it, and now I've got it. And I'm going to use it. It's blindingly portable. And it's a tablet that is running a full-tilt OS with real applications. I can use this as a full-tilt computer as needed. (And I've been experimenting with it on my work files. No problem.)
No, I'm not going to try and justify this. I'm an idiot for buying it. But, I like my new toy. I think it'll fit in with my other toys quite well.
I just won't be getting anything for Christmas this year.
Nor Easter. Nor my birthday.........
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Oddballing it
A quick note from an unusual place.
I'm out on the road right now, working out of a field office. Brought my 13" Macbook with me, along with my T410s. For the longest time I was using the Thinkpad with Manjaro, but ran into problems with the printer setup in the office. (The driver package downloadable from the printer manufacturer isn't quite right...) So, I've been using the Macbook instead.
My problem is, I've gotten addicted to a slightly larger screen. I wouldn't really mind if I could get home, as I'd simply load up my Macbook Pro with Mountain Lion and go to town. Alas, I've got another week before I'm going home. Soooo... My tired eyes are not liking me. (And I'm dreading having to load MS Office for Mac on that system...)
Bigger news, though. Or, maybe sellout news... ;-) For whatever warped reason, I got a truly wild hair, and I bought a new toy. As prices have come down on the older models, I am now the proud owner of a (gasp!) Surface Pro...
Yes, I picked up a Surface Pro. Not a 2, but the original. Managed to grab a 128 GB model, and picked up a 64 GB MicroSD to supplement the storage. My one mistake was being a true cheapskate, and getting the touch cover rather than the "type" model. However, I paid far too much for this damn system, and I'll make do. (It's not terrible, but it sure as hell takes getting used to.)
I have to honestly say, while Windows 8 is a true pain in the ass, I had far less trouble adapting than I thought I would. I have't had it for long, but so far I'm getting along OK. Added Chrome to it for browsing (probably not the best choice, but...), and made sure to get AV software up and running. Used ninite.com for the first time with that, and it worked fine. (Picked that up from the guys over at Tek Syndicate, and was glad for that.)
Anyway, I need to get back to work. The Surface is in the office with me, and I think it will be doing some media streaming for me while I work. We'll see how this goes, and if I really come to regret how much I just shelled out to experiment with Win8... (ie, we'll see how big an idiot I truly turn out to be...)
I really should've gotten the other keyboard............
I'm out on the road right now, working out of a field office. Brought my 13" Macbook with me, along with my T410s. For the longest time I was using the Thinkpad with Manjaro, but ran into problems with the printer setup in the office. (The driver package downloadable from the printer manufacturer isn't quite right...) So, I've been using the Macbook instead.
My problem is, I've gotten addicted to a slightly larger screen. I wouldn't really mind if I could get home, as I'd simply load up my Macbook Pro with Mountain Lion and go to town. Alas, I've got another week before I'm going home. Soooo... My tired eyes are not liking me. (And I'm dreading having to load MS Office for Mac on that system...)
Bigger news, though. Or, maybe sellout news... ;-) For whatever warped reason, I got a truly wild hair, and I bought a new toy. As prices have come down on the older models, I am now the proud owner of a (gasp!) Surface Pro...
Yes, I picked up a Surface Pro. Not a 2, but the original. Managed to grab a 128 GB model, and picked up a 64 GB MicroSD to supplement the storage. My one mistake was being a true cheapskate, and getting the touch cover rather than the "type" model. However, I paid far too much for this damn system, and I'll make do. (It's not terrible, but it sure as hell takes getting used to.)
I have to honestly say, while Windows 8 is a true pain in the ass, I had far less trouble adapting than I thought I would. I have't had it for long, but so far I'm getting along OK. Added Chrome to it for browsing (probably not the best choice, but...), and made sure to get AV software up and running. Used ninite.com for the first time with that, and it worked fine. (Picked that up from the guys over at Tek Syndicate, and was glad for that.)
Anyway, I need to get back to work. The Surface is in the office with me, and I think it will be doing some media streaming for me while I work. We'll see how this goes, and if I really come to regret how much I just shelled out to experiment with Win8... (ie, we'll see how big an idiot I truly turn out to be...)
I really should've gotten the other keyboard............
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)