Within the next month or two I hope to get a new computer. This one is on it’s last leg. It really has a hard time doing a lot of the basic tasks it used to do quite well. It still only has 512mb or ram when applications are demanding more. Try having an instance of Firefox open with multiple tabs while using Photoshop and IMs. The computer lags hardcore. So, the question is, do I go with a PC or a Mac? I really don’t want to run Windows Vista, and Linux is out of the question for me. Things just don’t seem to work right with me and Linux. I’m a bit hesitant to go the Mac route because they are a lot more expensive, harder to upgrade (and more expensive to) and it’s a completely alien OS. Everyone who has a Mac tend to love it. So, I don’t know. Macs have everything that I use most often, IM clients, IRC, Photoshop, and Firefox. I’ll still have my laptop if I need to do PC things on Windows. I wish I could mess around in OSX before I get a Mac, which is how I know I don’t want to run Linux. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? PC or Mac? Fanboys need not answer :P
So, the cord on my AC adapter to my laptop became stripped and my laptop can’t run on AC power until I get the replacement. Of course, HP didn’t notify FedEx of the shipment in time to ship it out yesterday so it won’t ship until Monday and I won’t receive it until Tuesday. It’s a poorly designed cord if it became stripped this easily. I’ve had my laptop for about a year and a half and am not rough with the cord, so it shouldn’t be worn like it is. Also talking about poor designs, the CD drive is very poorly designed on this laptop (and many laptops I’ve seen). The bottom of the tray is part of the bottom of the laptop causing strain on it that shouldn’t be there when you hold the laptop on the left side. All laptop should have trays enclosed completely and not have part of the tray as part of the computer shell. My sister’s Toshiba and mom’s Gateway have the good kind of drive. Compaqs and HP’s don’t.
Also, my Dell is getting old. It’s about 5 years old now and is needing to be replaced. It has served me well and I’ve never had a problem with it, but with dual core processors and new operating systems using more ram and needing bigger and better video cards, it’s just time to buy a new system and not try to upgrade the existing PC. I’ve also been thinking of making the switch to a Mac. With Vista coming out, now is as good as time as any. Some of Vista’s features (from the little experience I have with it via my sister’s new laptop) are cool, but maybe it’s time to go another way. I won’t go Linux, so Mac is my other option really. Do I really want to pay twice he amount for a computer that has basically the same shelf life as a PC though? That is a decision I will have to make. And the Mac commercial where Mac and PC are talking and the security keeps saying “Cancel or Allow” is so funny because it’s true. Everything I was doing when helping my sister with her laptop was asking me to confirm. I’m sure it’s something you can turn off, I just found it funny.
So, now I wait for my AC adapter. Even with poor design, I love my laptop and hate not being able to use it much (if I hold the cord just right I can get power to it). Being stuck at my desk on the desktop sucks.
Well, CDs are pretty much obsolete now with the success of the MP3 player, but we should do away with them, and DVDs all together. Think about it. These have to be one of the worst media formats ever. I was watching a DVD today, the great indie movie The Salton Sea, and it kept skipping. I’ve only watched the movie 1 other time and I take care of my DVDs. So because of a minute scratch on the DVD it is pretty much useless. What we need is some kind of memory card format for movies. The size it takes for massive amounts of storage space is increasingly smaller and smaller every few months. How awesome would it be to buy a movie on a card, get all the features of a DVD, superb picture and sound, bonus features, and more, and all you do is just slide the card into a reader on the TV. This is what we need. Get rid of discs that are prone to scratches and lenses that are susceptible to dust, fingerprints, misalignment, etc. When will the movie, music, and tech companies finally realize this is the way to go? If not some kind of memory card, surely they can come up with something better than discs.
I came across this video about Google and it’s master plan. When you think about it, Google really does have control of a lot of information. They have my pictures in Picassa, my emails in Gmail and Google Apps for Domains, they have some papers I’ve written in Google Docs and Spreadsheets, they know who visits my websites via Analytics and what sites I visit if other websites use the service. They even know where I am on a given day via Google Calendar and could even track me down to an exact location via Google Earth and/or Google Maps. Recently they can even track my online purchases if I use Google Checkout. They pretty much have my entire life stored somewhere. Do I mind? It depends on what is done with this information. Obviously when I use Google services I know the risks and still continue to put it out there. This video makes you think though. Hat tip Google Inside
I’ve been using Trillian for a while now. It is a great instant messaging program. It combines all the major IM clients in one, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, IRC, Jabber (and Gtalk) and more. The only complaint I’ve ever had with it is that it has been a bit heavy on resource usage. That doesn’t bother me anymore because if I used all the alternatives I’d be using way more resources. I do use AIM, MSN, and Yahoo so that would be three IM clients open and running. My computer couldn’t handle that with all the other things I have going, especially since the new AIM and Windows Live Messenger have become bloated pieces of crap. Yahoo is the least bloated of those but I feel like a 12 year old when I use it because it has all these stupid kid-friendly features and icons.
Anyway, enough with my rant. The real reason I was writing this post is because there will be a new Trillian coming out soon named Trillian Astra. I’ve not used it yet, though I am signed up to be a tester whenever they draw more names and add more testers. This program looks very promising. Astra will have faster loading times, improved memory usage and memory leaks plugged, widgets, a web interface to stay connected when you are away from your computer, and overall interface changes. I can’t wait for this program to come out.