Something about the general press and public is people who like to see a successful person or company fail.
I've been a Dell user for years, and have had great experience with their products. I've had Dell notebooks forever, from the 7500 (Pentium II), 8200 (Pentium 4) and now 9300 (Pentium M).
I've also had a Dell DJ, but switched to the iPod recently. Not because it's better, but to get features like photo and video.
Dell always has great prices for their products. Their specials are drool-worthy. But you have to know how to work their site because similar models are available in the Home, Small Business, etc. sections and you may be able to get more memory or a free monitor with a PC in one area for the same PC being sold for full price in another. Then there's the Dell Outlet where you can get refurbished models at even bigger discounts. I've purchased my notebooks this way, and also got PCs for my parents at great prices.
I've also had great experience with their customer service. In one case I ordered a docking station that came with the wrong power supply for my model and they shipped me a new one for free. I was also able to order an upgrade graphics card for my 8200, something you can't normally do for a notebook.
I know there are people who have Dell horror stories, but every company has problems. I'm sure you'll find equal numbers of both horror and happy stories for HP, Sony, Apple, etc. I've been lucky so far, but I don't expect to not have any problems. It just depends on whether you get a defective model, or who answers your call.
Ironically people are saying that Dell's "failure" with the battery recall is making way for competitors like HP to succeed. It wasn't too long ago that everyone was shining the spotlight on HP for their "failed" HP-Compaq merger, saying they wouldn't last long.
People like to watch successes turn to failures. It's a sort of morbid curiosity similar to slowing down to watch a car accident, or following celebrities who make public blunders. I try to stay focused on good news, myself.
August 19, 2006
August 13, 2006
Loving Life with Beyond TV
After almost six months, I'm still loving Beyond TV. Who needs Tivo if you have a PC with big hard drive and a TV Tuner card?
I record all my favorite shows automatically. Some shows I record every episode that airs on any channel, some only new episodes. Or I'll spot a movie I want and record that- if it's already started, Beyond TV can find it airing again in the next 30 days.
Just like people I know who have Tivos, I no longer just channel surf. I now run Beyond TV and watch any one of my favorite shows, each of which has several episodes recorded. It's kinda like podcasts. You can watch the latest episode of TWiT, or re-watch the "What is a Podcast" episode of Ask A Ninja.
Even with a reasonably big HD, space can run low. At the compression level I've chosen, an hour show takes 2 gigabytes. Like Tivo and other PVRs, Beyond TV has auto-delete rules like "delete when I'm runing out of space" and "manually delete only."
I've also discovered some other features I'm just tapping into. It has an option to auto-convert recorded shows to a more compressed format like WMV or DivX so you can take them with you on a notebook or watch over your WiFi network.
I've also noticed that Beyond TV has a built-in web server that lets you browse and watch recorded shows from another PC. The other alternatives would be to just share the folder that contains your recorded shows, or buy an additional Beyond TV client app designed to work over a network. I may do that anyway- the interface is really nice and easy to read from a distance.
Great app. I hope they keep it around and don't get sued like some of the PVR companies have recently.
I record all my favorite shows automatically. Some shows I record every episode that airs on any channel, some only new episodes. Or I'll spot a movie I want and record that- if it's already started, Beyond TV can find it airing again in the next 30 days.
Just like people I know who have Tivos, I no longer just channel surf. I now run Beyond TV and watch any one of my favorite shows, each of which has several episodes recorded. It's kinda like podcasts. You can watch the latest episode of TWiT, or re-watch the "What is a Podcast" episode of Ask A Ninja.
Even with a reasonably big HD, space can run low. At the compression level I've chosen, an hour show takes 2 gigabytes. Like Tivo and other PVRs, Beyond TV has auto-delete rules like "delete when I'm runing out of space" and "manually delete only."
I've also discovered some other features I'm just tapping into. It has an option to auto-convert recorded shows to a more compressed format like WMV or DivX so you can take them with you on a notebook or watch over your WiFi network.
I've also noticed that Beyond TV has a built-in web server that lets you browse and watch recorded shows from another PC. The other alternatives would be to just share the folder that contains your recorded shows, or buy an additional Beyond TV client app designed to work over a network. I may do that anyway- the interface is really nice and easy to read from a distance.
Great app. I hope they keep it around and don't get sued like some of the PVR companies have recently.
Garmin Nuvi 350
The past few months I've been GPS hunting.
The big names in the biz are Garmin, Magellan & TomTom. Other big name electronics firms like Philips and Sony have entered the market, but I wanted to go with a company that had more experience with the application. I've had a Garmin eTrex Legend for a few years, so I had my eye on a Garmen model like the Streepilot. TomTom also looked pretty cool.
There was a sale at the local Fry's Electronics a few weeks ago- a really good deal too. $599 for the Garmin Nuvi 350 which normally goes for $700-900. Five other people were already lined up behind the sales guy opening the cabinet to see if there were any units left.
I purchased the additional warranty by Fry's, by the way. I usually don't go for that kind of stuff. Usually by the time something breaks, it's time to get something completely different. But for a portable device like a GPS, the odds were higher that it could get dropped or damaged in shorter time.
It has really good maps preinstalled, and has a search by name/type that so far has found just about everything I've tried. Restaraunts, stores, etc. And it gives great directions, viewable from a 3D perspective or straight down.
A voice gives turn-by-turn narration, and it calculates re-routes if you miss a turn. The speech is recognizable, and warns first when a turn is coming up, then again when it's time.
You can choose language and accent like English, American, Australian, etc. There's even a language translator (But how good can it be? I'll have to try it some time).
Reviews say it syncs quickly with satellites. It does. You can set a "home" preset location, that you can choose to navigate to/from. Plus there are favorites & recent searches that are stored.
The Nuvi has a bunch of extra features like MP3 & audiobook playback and a picture viewer (via SD card slot). Nice, but they're not why i bought the device and I don't know how much I'll use them. It does have a handy converter tool though.
The next model up, the 360, has Bluetooth for syncing data with a PC and acting as a wireless speakerphone for your mobile phone. Yet another feature what would be nice, but not worth the extra cost.
So far I haven't had a chance to really try it it out in a place where I needed it. I used it to find a nearby Starbucks while driving around Las Vegas (worked like a charm) and also found a Geocache while hiking. I'm sure I get a chance to find a place or get un-lost eventually.
The big names in the biz are Garmin, Magellan & TomTom. Other big name electronics firms like Philips and Sony have entered the market, but I wanted to go with a company that had more experience with the application. I've had a Garmin eTrex Legend for a few years, so I had my eye on a Garmen model like the Streepilot. TomTom also looked pretty cool.
There was a sale at the local Fry's Electronics a few weeks ago- a really good deal too. $599 for the Garmin Nuvi 350 which normally goes for $700-900. Five other people were already lined up behind the sales guy opening the cabinet to see if there were any units left.
I purchased the additional warranty by Fry's, by the way. I usually don't go for that kind of stuff. Usually by the time something breaks, it's time to get something completely different. But for a portable device like a GPS, the odds were higher that it could get dropped or damaged in shorter time.
It has really good maps preinstalled, and has a search by name/type that so far has found just about everything I've tried. Restaraunts, stores, etc. And it gives great directions, viewable from a 3D perspective or straight down.
A voice gives turn-by-turn narration, and it calculates re-routes if you miss a turn. The speech is recognizable, and warns first when a turn is coming up, then again when it's time.
You can choose language and accent like English, American, Australian, etc. There's even a language translator (But how good can it be? I'll have to try it some time).
Reviews say it syncs quickly with satellites. It does. You can set a "home" preset location, that you can choose to navigate to/from. Plus there are favorites & recent searches that are stored.
The Nuvi has a bunch of extra features like MP3 & audiobook playback and a picture viewer (via SD card slot). Nice, but they're not why i bought the device and I don't know how much I'll use them. It does have a handy converter tool though.
The next model up, the 360, has Bluetooth for syncing data with a PC and acting as a wireless speakerphone for your mobile phone. Yet another feature what would be nice, but not worth the extra cost.
So far I haven't had a chance to really try it it out in a place where I needed it. I used it to find a nearby Starbucks while driving around Las Vegas (worked like a charm) and also found a Geocache while hiking. I'm sure I get a chance to find a place or get un-lost eventually.
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