Airport Express

The AirPort Express. This is one funky device. It has an ethernet port, USB and an audio out. And it's wireless (WiFi).

What is it? For Mac users mostly, it's a wireless router. Just without the line of blinking lights. Only one status light. Green is good. Red is bad.

But for Mac and PC, it can also act as remote speakers via WiFi/LAN.

Huh?

Yeah, you plug it into your home stereo, set up networking and run iTunes. iTunes sees it and lets you route audio via your network to the Airport.

Why would you use this instead of just plugging your iPod into the stereo? Well, it lets you use iTunes to pick music, which is easier to use than the iPod (more geared to mobile use). And if you happen to have a huge music library that's bigger than your iPod hard drive, you don't have to choose which songs to use from the whole collection. Just play it all. And it's cheaper than a new iPod.

Since it's networked, you can start something playing at your computer, then "move" the music to another room, or play it both locally and remotely. Pretty cool.

Setup was a little tricky. The first time around the device just went dead. I thought I had killed it. But I found the reset button and tried again and it's been working ever since.

Dell Inspiron 9400: Bye bye desktop

I've been a Dell Inspiron owner for quite a few years now. 7500, 8200, 9300 and now the 9400.

But like most notebook owners, I had to keep a desktop PC around for heavy duty stuff like 3d animation rendering, editing video and playing games. But with the 9400, the notebook has just about caught up with the desktop. The latest Intel Core 2 Duo processor and NVidia bring the notebook really close to the realm of desktop performance. I still have a mini-tower, but use it alot less now.

My Inspiron Specs:

• Core 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB/2.00GHz/667MHz)
• 17 inch Wide Screen XGA+ Display
• 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS
  
• 100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive (fast drive plus fast bus speed)
  
• Windows XP Professional
• Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
  
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless (B & G)
  
• 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (upgraded from standard battery)
  
• Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (for wireless mouse and cellphone-as-modem)

The screen is the same as the 9300 I had last year. Like then, I went for the lower res option of 1440x900 (vs 1920x1200). I struggled over the decision to go with a smaller screen this time. The 17" wide model is huge compared to other notebooks, and it's hard to find a case or backpack that fits it (even some that are advertised for 17" screens didn't fit-- I recommend brining your notebook to the store when shopping for a case). But as a desktop replacement, the big screen is the right choice.

At the time the graphics selection was between a lower end ATI chipset and a high end NVidia. Naturally I went with high end, but would have done so anyway regardless of which chip it was.

The 100GB drive was a good balance of cost/storage/speed. I'd rather have a smaller faster drive than a slow big one. You can always add external drives anyway.

The keyboard feels really good. I prefer it to a regular keyboard actually.

Connectors:

• 6 USB (more than enough- 4 here 2 on the side)
• Both RGB & DVI (nice!)
• 1 S-Video

I've hooked it up to our new plasma screen with a DVI to HDMI cable. It looked excellent. You can find DVI to HDMI cables for around $30-40 at most computer stores.

• Two more USBs
• CD/DVD R/W
  

• 1 Firewire (mini connector)
• SD-Card (useful w/digital cameras)
• Mini audio in/out (standard)

Ordering from Dell.com is fun, since you get to customize the features. While building your Dell it always gives a super conservative delivery time. Only after you make the purchase does it give an accurate date which is always sooner than the estimated one.

Palm's new strategy

Well I have all but given up on my Zire 72. I allowed the battery to run out again (before trying the backup software) and it got completely reset. Since I've stopped using it, I haven't really missed it. Especially all the time it took to keep it running and in sync.

My wife Fran has the Treo 650. It has several improvements over the Zire like a QWERTY keyboard, more memory and wireless HotSync. But it crashes alot and she sounds like she's calling from Sealab 2021 most of the time.

I've been a long time fan of PalmOS, and I hate to abandon it. There aren't any good alternatives either. Windows Mobile is okay, but people say it's lowsy for the phone part of the smart-phone. Nokia now has the E62, which is a decent contender with the Symbian OS.

I just read this article on TreoCentral about Palm's upcoming Treo 680. It's not a more advanced model, but a more stylish and user-friendly one. The article's author believes that Palm is not just trying to get a bigger slice of the smartphone pie, it's trying to make a bigger pie by attracting new users. I hope he's right.

In the meantime, I'll hold on to my Nokia 6820.