Posted on 9 July 2008 @ 00:29 in Gadgets
My ASUS eeePC 900 making itself at home on the IKEA stool (which I use as a table) in the living room.
It’s the Linux version with 20GB storage. I plan to install Windows XP on it soon.
Keyboard requires serious concentration and so far, I’m getting about 95% accuracy. But the “shift” key keeps tripping me. It’s not where it would be on a regular keyboard. In its place is the up arrow key which I keep hitting and sending the cursor one line above.
Peeking out from beneath the eeePC is the Traveler CoolPad with a higher rear end to lift the machine and allow air to circulate beneath.
I took it to Hoxe’s this evening for a “test drive”. Connected to streamyx hotspot without any problems. I also did some serious work on the eeePC for about 2 hours, which I would hardly do if at home. I need to find an “office” to work in during the day!
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Posted on 27 May 2008 @ 09:53 in Gadgets
So there I was, happily tapping away on my AlphaSmart Neo late last night (or early this morning) when a message appeared on the screen. No, no alien had invaded my Neo. It was just the low battery warning.
Let’s see, I’d installed the batteries on 1 September 2007, in preparation for my trip to China later that same month. So, the batteries have been in use for a total of 269 days. I used it between 2 and 3 hours everyday, leaning more to 3 hours, so I’d put 2/3rds of those days, approximately 180 days, at 3-hour usage, and the remaining 89 days at 2.5-hour usage.
That’s a total of 762.5 hours of battery life on one set of 3 AAs over 269 days.
Pretty impressive. And this is just one reason why I love AlphaSmart products.
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Posted on 15 December 2007 @ 23:39 in Gadgets
Apart from my keys (house and car) - and wallet! - these are the two things I always carry with me:
My PDA (a Palm TX) and handphone (Sony Ericsson K750i, in custom made Vaja case from Argentina).
While the TX is my one-stop entertainment centre (music, games, ebooks), mostly for the latter these days, it’s all I need for things like checklists and also for writing, too.
On the screen is the ebook version of Stephen King’s On Writing. There may be dedicated ebook readers available in the market, but I’m very happy with my TX for my ebook reading needs.
Meanwhile, my “Among Pandas” series on my recent panda-related trip to Wolong, China, will resume soon.
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Posted on 11 August 2007 @ 22:54 in Gadgets
If ever there’s a bumper sticker that says I 
my Dana, I will gladly put it on my car. Of course, for those not in the know, they might think I’m just declaring my love for someone called Dana. Dana Delaney or Dana Carvey? Neither.
Dana is my portable word processor made by the former AlphaSmart company, since sold to Renaissance Learning.
On the Notebookism site is an article about typewriters, and the writer’s observation that “aside from a notebook, I think they’re the next best writerly thing.”
I disagree.
I personally think an AlphaSmart is better than a notebook – because you don’t have to retype any handwritten words – and more writerly than a typewriter – because it’s an improvement over the typewriter, and is in fact the typewriter of the 21st century.
There are actually two AlphaSmart products – the Dana and the Neo – but I prefer the Dana.
Neo lovers will tell you that a Neo is more writerly than a Dana. That’s because the Neo is a bare-bones word processor. Absolute zero distractions. It’s the closest thing to a typewriter, but with memory. The words are auto-saved. You can’t do anything but write with a Neo. Okay, you can add, subtract, multiply and divide on it – there’s a calculator onboard, but it can be disabled.
The Dana, my preferred AlphaSmart, is a little more sophisticated. It’s powered by Palm, so it has PDA functions – a calendar, memopad, to do list and calculator. And because it’s powered by Palm, you can add third party applications to it. On mine, I have BudgetMaster, CheckItLite, DayNotez, eReader, MyBible, etc. The Dana I’m using also has wireless so I can actually log onto the Internet at any wireless enabled public establishment. So it’s not as distraction-free as the Neo. But the wireless function is actually quite primitive, especially since the display is monochrome and the connection is snail slow. But the one wireless thing my Dana is excellent at is IM chatting. I still remember when I had to keep mother company in the hospital after surgery for her fractured wrist, and was saved from possible boredom through IM chat online with friends. Oh wait, that wasn’t via the wireless feature. That was using Bluetooth. Oh yes, the Dana has Bluetooth, too. Or rather, it has 2 expansion card slots that allowed me to plug in my Palm Bluetooth card and connect with my Bluetooth enabled handphone to get online. But I digress …
The features of AlphaSmart products – beginning from the very first AlphaSmart – include a full-sized keyboard, long battery life (up to 25 hours for the Dana and 700 hours for the Neo, both on 3 AA batteries), lightweight (less than 2 pounds), no heat, and a display, too, that allows you to see what you type (not too much, just a few lines, which help to keep the internal editor at bay), plus instant boot-on, with the cursor right where you left it before you switched off the machine after the last writing session.
AlphaSmarts were originally developed for the US education market. While that remains its primary market, there is also a secondary market comprising writers (published and yet-to-be) who have discovered that two particular AlphaSmart features - the lightweight and long battery life - help to unshackle them from their desktops and allow them to write anywhere.
I’ve actually forgotten what a pleasure it is to be able to write anywhere I want. This entry was originally written at my favourite San Francisco Coffee outlet. You won’t really know (and probably don’t care) where it was originally written because you don’t see me typing away, but I do have a picture of my Dana sharing table space with an empty, chocolate smeared plate and fork and ice blended extreme chocolate. What matters is I’m writing, and not at the usual writing spot (read desktop computer).
AlphaSmart products make writing a pleasure. Because you can write anywhere you want (except in water, but some users have already solved that by putting the machine in a ziplock bag) and don’t have to worry about the battery running out at a crucial point in the writing. And you can keep it by your bedside table (in place of a notebook and pen) to jot down those inspired middle-of-the-night moments.
I’ve actually forgotten the pleasure of writing on my Dana until this afternoon. And now I’ve rediscovered it again.
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