Blair’s Blog

So now that the dust has fully settled on the new, larger, Kindle DX I wanted to weigh-in. Having just received my Kindle 2 this morning I thought it appropriate to comment on why I elected to stick with the Kindle 2 and not upgrade to the DX.

While the larger DX could prove to be a great format, or even the ebook format, it is untested. The Kindle 2 has been in the market for a few months now and people genuinely enjoy the form factor.  The DX really adds no new functionality. Sure it can rotate and display PDFs, those are really not features I need in an ereader. I bought my Kindle to be compact, easy to use and give me the ability to take a lot of books on the road. For those reasons I am sticking with the Kindle 2 and not forking over the additional $140 dollars for the Kindle DX.

A bigger screen, more features, but at what price? Having just ordered a Kindle 2 on Friday I must say I have mixed emotions about this device. I hope Amazon will work with me if I choose to get the new device.

What will the decision to switch depend on? Price. The Kindle 2 is quite expensive at $360, unless Amazon is prepared to reset the price point on the Kindle I predict the new larger screen version will come in at least $100 more expensive than the Kindle 2. Will the screen be worth the price, whatever it may be? Well we can only hope Amazon has review units out to bloggers so we will all know soon.

Amazon Kindle DX to feature 9.7-inch display? Update: Pictures!: ”

(Via Engadget.)

Scoble has a good post up at Fast Company outlining some netbook buying tips. I liked his three picks for the road warrior, business minded, and the bargain hunter. Hit the read link for the full write-up.

1. Best for road warriors

Samsung NC10 ($469). Solid battery life (about seven hours), a good keyboard, clear and bright screen, great performance, and, yes, it’s available in other colors.

2. Best for business

HP 2140 ($449). Thanks to its integrated graphics chip, the 2140 handles video better than most in its class. If you work for a large enterprise, you may have a support contract with HP, which offers some peace of mind if you have trouble with the machine.

3. Best for deal hunters

Acer Aspire One ($350). Acer continues to redefine what a lower-priced netbook can be. The latest Aspire One, released in February, has a 160-GB hard drive, a fast processor, Windows XP Home (rather than Linux, which can’t run Office), and a 10.1-inch screen.

READ

I needed a slim case that still offered plenty of protection for my HP Mini. Netbooks being what they are, I wanted something that would offer me protection whether I was carrying it as a second computer, in a standard backpack, or just on move without a bigger bag. After a quick Google search and browsing a few images on Flickr it was apparent that WaterField Designs products available at sfbags.com were quality products.

When I received the case I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of materials, specifically the density of the foam used to protect the computer. I am pleased with the product and will certainly be returning to sfbags.com.

photo credit: kpwerker

Interesting development in the transforming world of consumer video. After reading about Cisco’s coffers in Fast Company a few months back I think this makes sense. What better pitch fodder for Cisco than having the ultimate use case in their company portfolio?

READ: Cisco said to be buying Pure Digital for around $500 million

It has been about 48 hours since I installed Windows 7 on my HP Mini 1000 netbook, and I am blown away. Windows 7 is everything an OS should be: stable, snappy, great hardware support, and great accessibility to programs and settings. Needless to say I am loving my netbook with Windows 7 – it is the internet device I was looking for when I purchased the netbook.

Does this mean I couldn’t have done exactly what I am doing on XP? Nope, not at all, in fact I used my new netbook for are few days with a clean install of XP and it was quick loading, quick booting, stable and generally a joy. So what does this mean for Windows 7? Nothing – Windows 7 does what it does while being incredibly composed doing it. Microsoft has finally figured out that aesthetics matter, accessibility matters, the whole package matters. These issues are what pushed me off a PC platform and onto a Mac a few years ago – I do have a lot of great things to say about this release of Windows, but I would not say I am a total convert just yet.

I am the new owner of a HP Mini netbook. After a lot of thought and research I took a few concessions on features in favor of some intangibles the HP Mini had to offer. What it really came down to was how HP presented a composed netbook – one that not only offered features essential to an ultraportable, but did so in a package that made the machine compelling and desirable. The excellent keyboard, light weight, superior build quality, clean and modern LED indicators, and glossy screen pushed me to purchase the HP Mini. I am still finding my way around the netbook platform and largely holding off on much customization and software until tomorrow, when I have a chance to install Windows 7 on the machine. I think Windows 7 UI improvements will really enhance the netbook experience and provide a crisp, clean OS for my Mini.

First Impressions:

See the gallery below for full unboxing pictures. What I can say in summary, HP is doing a hell of a job, having not owned a personal PC for about 4 years now I can say they are really trying to be a leader and in many categories have caught Apple. The Mini’s product packaging was pretty sharp looking, albeit ruined by inventory control stickers and lawyers with warning labels. When booted up my Mini was 100% free from crapware – whomever at HP was responsible for that policy change deserves a raise and some serious perks. Thus far the 1gig of ram the Mini ships with has been sufficient for running XP SP3, I believe it will run Windows 7 just fine, however it is nice to know I have the option to go to 2 gigs if deemed necessary. So where did I compromise on my purchase criteria? VGA port - in the interest of being slim and light weight HP skipped the VGA port and included a proprietary expansion port. Really I cannot fault them, a VGA port would have unnecessarily increased the thickness of the device. Additionally, I did not buy a machine with an ExpressCard slot – no clue what I would have used it for, but I don’t have it. Also, no Bluetooth – again, I probably wouldn’t have used it as I have a travel mouse with an RF dongle. After a few short hours of light browsing I can say I really like the device and I am glad I joined the netbook ranks. Tomorrow I’ll see what Windows 7 brings to the Mini and really get the device customized.

HP Mini 1030NR Specs:

• Intel Atom N270 1.60 GHz
• 16GB SSD
• 1024MB RAM
• XP Home SP3
• 3 cell battery
• 802.11 b/g
• 10.2” LED backlit screen

Unboxing and device images:

Recently I have been focusing on becoming more mobile for a number of reasons, the number one reason being greater productivity on the road. Thanks to a friend I discovered David Allen’s ubiquitous productivity book Getting Things Done. That discovery propelled my productivity when working off a BlackBerry into the stratosphere, but I remain feeling a bit thrown off when on the road because I have to adapt to the working conditions of a hotel or trade show floor. Just last weekend I added a compact travel mouse to my arsenal this one, supplementing the great Monster Outlets To Go product I received at It Won’t Stay in Vegas.

The next item I am looking to add to my computer bag is this promising TRENDNET travel router. Hopefully it makes it out sooner rather than later, the press release is linked because I could not find the device on TRENDnet’s home page. TRENDnet PR - if you are listening, when will this be available, from where, and how much? And how about a review unit?

Update: As commenter Coop astutely points out, this is merely a D-Link DWL-G730AP Wireless Pocket Router repackaged. I will probably pick one of these up before my next trip. Thanks Coop!

The folks over at OTBC have put together a mini job fair. Set for this Saturday in Beaverton, Oregon the event promises to be a great one for job seekers and employers alike. So if you are in need of work, or in the position to hire be sure to head down to the Round on Saturday from 12-3pm. Hit the read link to learn more about the event. READ Upcoming Link

Fresh off the plane from CES it occurs to me that the time has come to finally jump on the netbook bandwagon. If I am going to take my blog more seriously in the New Year I simply need something more portable than my standard issue PC to blog from. I was originally going to make this a $200 netbook challenge but I did put some constraints on the purchase that I think will drive the cost above $200. Below are the requirements, along with a nice to have list to make things interesting. Hit up the comments with recommendations and my oversights and omissions.

Desired features:

• VGA port - This is a must for business.
• 9"+ screen
• SSD - For shock protection, quick boot, and extended battery life
• Webcam - The world is moving to video and I want the ability to create a video blog on the go or chat with the S.O. while on the road
• SD reader - For quick access to images.

Nice to have:

• Intel Atom processor
• Ships with XP -If it doesn’t ship with XP I can always scare up a legitimate copy from somewhere.