RickyCadden.com

Review: ThinkGeek Glowing Keyboard Stickers

// May 11th, 2010 // 5 Comments » // toys

In an attempt to make myself hate my 1000HE less (and make my current toys last longer), I ordered the Glowing Keyboard Stickers from ThinkGeek recently. One of the requirements for my next netbook is that it has a backlit keyboard, so I figured a set of stickers would be the next best thing.

1oooHE Keyboard Before

I ordered the stickers last week and received them today – normal shipping time for me (I always choose the cheapest shipping option). Total cost: $15.48.

For starters, the name is misleading. As pointed out in the first sentence of the second paragraph of the product description, ‘The Glowing Keyboard Stickers do not glow in the dark.’ Rather, they are highly reflective, supposedly easily taking in any amount of ambient light – such as that from your monitor – and reflecting that brightly. Unfortunately, I was really looking for something that glows in the dark – I should have read the description more carefully.

The stickers arrive on a single sheet, laid out similar to how a keyboard is. They have a matte finish, which is nice, and the blue lettering is easily read, even on the tiny labels on buttons such as the ‘Insert’ button. Each is carefully cut, and I was able to use a pair of tweezers to remove them from the backing and apply them to my keys.

On two buttons, I ended up putting the sticker on a bit crooked and was pleased to find that I could easily lift the sticker off with the tweezers without leaving any residue. The sticker was then easily re-applied to the button – great. Because I was using these on a netbook and not a full-size keyboard, I did have to trim several of the stickers. Using a pair of regular craft scissors, this was quite easily done, and kept everything looking nice.

1000HE Keyboard After

Unfortunately, $15.48 and about 2 hours later, I still can’t completely see the keys on my 1000HE while laying in bed in the dark at night. Normally, I literally *lay* in bed, so that my eyes are roughly level with the keyboard. If I sit up a bit (which I should probably be doing anyways) and tilt the screen to more of a 90-degree angle, the keys are, indeed, more easily read.

Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend the ThinkGeek Glowing Keyboard Stickers. They don’t really glow, and they were a pain in the butt to install. If you’re looking to simulate a backlit keyboard on your laptop or netbook, look somewhere else.

That being said, after wasting 2 hours of my Tuesday evening applying these things, I’ll be keeping them for at least a few months. If nothing else, the blue matches my 3ACP skin much better than the original labels did.

Boingo And Asus Hook Up In Netbook Deal

// January 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // cool

This is really a cool thing – two of my favorite companies have hooked up to help netbook users get the most out of their devices. Today, Asus announced that its new EeePC netbooks will soon be preloaded with Boingo‘s software, which makes it simple and easy to connect to WiFi hotspots around the world. I’ve used Boingo on nearly every one of my laptops and love it – especially while traveling.

In addition to having the Boingo software already ready to roll when you open your new Asus EeePC netbook, Asus owners will also receive 50% off the Boingo service, which makes the deal even sweeter. My Asus 1000HE is getting a bit long in the tooth, so I’m really pleased to find out that I won’t have to download and install Boingo myself when I buy a new netbook.

On a related note, there’s a TON of new netbooks hitting the market really soon – most of them with beefed up processors and that sort of thing. If anyone has a link that can help me make sense of it all, I’d be appreciative. What netbook has caught your eye?

Nokia Booklet 3G Review: Things I Hate

// December 18th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // toys

Yesterday I shared some of the things that I absolutely love about the Nokia Booklet 3G, but it’s not entirely a win. Today I’ve compiled a list of things that really suck about this sleek laptop, and I hope Nokia is listening. Some of these can be fixed with software, while others will require a whole new piece of hardware (possibly the Booklet 4G?)

1. Windows 7 Starter Edition – why a $700 laptop is crippled with this dumbed-down version of Microsoft’s best OS is beyond me. The convenient snipping tool is missing, I can’t change the background, there are no Aero functions available, and it’s just plain annoying. This thing should at *least* come with Windows 7 Home Premium. Note, the official Nokia Booklet 3G page shows Windows 7 Home Premium to be an option, but I can’t figure out how to get that out of the box.

2. 1GB of RAM – It’s actually kind of funny, most of Nokia’s flagship phones are crippled with piss-poor amounts of RAM, and it appears as though the phone people had lunch with the Booklet team, because this thing crawls with only 1GB of RAM. Now, I realize that every other netbook on the planet only comes with 1GB of RAM, but Nokia built the Booklet 3G so that users cannot swap it out for a 2GB stick – it’s soldered in. It was insanely easy for me to install 2GB of RAM in my Asus 1000HE, and only cost an extra $25.

3. Glossy Display – I really really really hate glossy displays on computers. Sure, it might look nicer, but it’s annoying as all get-out to actually use, and, well, I hate it, that’s why it’s mentioned here.

4. Speakers – as Dotsisx pointed out recently, it seems like Nokia’s loudspeakers are getting softer, and the Booklet 3G is no exception. The speakers on this mini-laptop are really bad – low volume and empty sound quality mean you’ll be using that 3.5mm headphone port pretty much full-time.

Honestly, that’s all I could come up with, is four things that I hate. The Nokia Booklet 3G is really a pretty easy netbook to love, provided you don’t expect to be able to get alot done on it. The slow processor and RAM work together to absolutely kill any chance of productivity that the Booklet 3G ever had – you’ll spend most of the extra battery life just waiting for the computer to respond.

Exploring Ubuntu Blogging Solutions

// December 17th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // blogging

Since I don’t have a valid Windows 7 license for my Asus 1000HE, I’ve decided to use Ubuntu Netbook Remix on this netbook, and I’m starting to really enjoy it. Of course, there are a few applications that I’m sorely missing, especially Windows Live Writer, but overall it’s been an enjoyable little experiment.

As such, I’m checking out different Ubuntu blogging clients for offline blogging. Of course I could just use my browser, but I find that offline clients are often a much better approach, specifically for a netbook. I previously gave Bilbo a shot, but unfortunately, it doesn’t completely fill the gap. For starters, Bilbo has formatting issues that cause lists and other special spacing to get all messed up when you transfer from it to WordPress, and that’s not going to work for me.

Today I’m trying out a new one – Lekhonee for Gnome. Thus far, it seems decent, though I have already noticed that I can only be logged into a single blog at a time. I normally manage 3 different WordPress blogs, so that will take a bit of getting-used-to. Aside from that, this seems to be a nice client, with category and tag support, as well as images and other niceties.

What other blogging clients do you recommend for Ubuntu systems?

The post is brought to you by lekhonee v0.7

Nokia Booklet 3G Review: Things I Love

// December 17th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // toys

Now that I’ve spent some real time with the Nokia Booklet 3G, I wanted to put together a list of things that I really love about this little productivity tool. This list is in no way meant to be comprehensive, but it does stem from my experiences with the Booklet 3G versus the Fujitsu P1610, Dell Mini 9, and Asus 1000HE, the latter of which I still have and love.

1. Single 3.5mm Audio Port – the Booklet 3G reflects Nokia’s experience with phones, as the single 3.5mm audio port handles both microphone and speaker functions. This is simply awesome, as I can use the same headsets that come with my cell phones for VOIP calls, such as Skype. Contrasted to every other laptop I’ve ever used, where I would need separate earphones and microphone, and I’m sold 100%. It’s just plain convenient, and something I’d like to see in every laptop going forward.

2. Keyboard – the keyboard on a netbook is possibly the most important aspect, and one that few people pay attention to until after they’ve bought the thing. My Fujitsu P1610 had a small keyboard, though I was completely able to touch-type on it. The Dell Mini 9 suffered with a teensy keyboard, specifically the ‘extra’ keys flanking the letters, which is a major reason that I got rid of it. My Asus 1000HE has a fantastic keyboard, which I’m completely able to touch-type on for extended periods of time, an important factor for a blogger. The Nokia Booklet 3G has a similar chiclet-style keyboard, and it’s definitely comfortable enough to touch type for extended periods of time. Most of the ‘extra’ keys, such as ctrl, fn, and others are correctly sized and positioned, as well, which makes it even better. Anyone who complains about the keyboard on the Booklet 3G hasn’t used a netbook before.

3. Casing – the casing on the Booklet 3G is simply phenomenal. The whole computer measures 264mm x 185mm x 19.9mm (10.3in x 7.3in x .8in), which is just insanely awesome for portability. There is a rubber gasket around the display, too, which prevents the keys from touching the display while the computer is closed, a nice touch, indeed.

4. Connectivity – this review unit came with an AT&T SIM card already installed, so I’m fully able to use the Booklet 3G’s sleek connectivity options. The computer automatically switches between 3G and WiFi, which is handy, and alerts you when you’re using the 3G, so as to help you control usage (since all 4 major carriers in the U.S. have a 5GB limit on their laptop connection plans). AT&T’s Connection Manager utility is pre-installed and launches on boot, and I usually had a 3G signal in less than 30 seconds, which is more than acceptable to me.

5. Battery Life – Nokia advertises 12 hours of battery life for the Booklet, and honestly, I haven’t gotten there. With full brightness and Bluetooth/Wifi/3G running, I’ve been getting closer to 8-9 hours of real usage. This is a similar experience to my Asus 1000HE, which promised 9.5 hours, while I get closer to 5-6 hours in real use. That might seem lame, but it still makes the Booklet 3G an all-day computing device, and of course turning the brightness down and managing my connectivity more stringently would likely net that 12 hour battery life, if really necessary. I can turn the brightness down as low as it goes and still read the screen, too, so that’s a possibility.

These are just a few of the things that I really like about the Nokia Booklet 3G, but unfortunately, it’s not all peachy-keen. Tomorrow I’ll list out things that I really hate about this thing, and you probably won’t be surprised, either.