Dustin Hess

The 1201 HAB is a Best Buy exclusive retailing for $329, as far as I can tell, it's the same as the old 1201 HA, just at a lower price.

It has a 12.1" LED backlit screen, a 1.33 Ghz Z520 Atom processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a 160 GB HDD. It's six cell battery will give you anywhere from 5 hours to upwards of 8 hours with wifi on, depending of course what you are doing.

I am not normally a guy that goes for low end or single purpose devices. However, that's exactly what this is. It allows you to read books, and that's it. It doesn't have built in 3G to buy said books, it doesn't have an MP3 player, and it most definitely doesn't have a color screen. That being said, I love it.

*Free antivirus programs are no good

Some of the best anti-virus programs that you can get either are, or started off entirely free. Every geek has their own favorite, and if you want to be really bored, ask them for the reasons why. Mine is AVG Free.

*Norton is a good product

No. Never install that on your computer, you won't be able to get it off without formatting your computer.

*Windows is inherently unsafe

I am a strange person. In one sense, I am a extremely modern and I follow most of the new trends. On the other hand I am also very attatched to stuff that most people my age would consider either weird or old fashioned.

I always carry a kit in my pocket that Mcgeyver would be proud of. Included in that kit is a flash drive which isn't that uncommon for people my age, however, I also can't remember a day that I left the house without my pocket knife or my carmex..

When I go to work I wear a nice traditional button up shirt... with my hippie shoes made from hemp.

First part of a continuing series.

* If your computer shows full signal, your wireless should be very fast
* If your computer shows low singal, the wireless will be slow

Who else can't wait for FIOS to be available to them?

http://www22.verizon.com/Residential/FiOSInternet/Plans/Plans.htm

The $119 bundle would be amazing, 50+ HD channels 25 mbps down 15 mbps upload...Verizon, get to Charleston/Matoon IL ASAP!

http://www.brite-view.com/cinematube.php
$105 w/shipping

Good:
Had played any video that I have thrown at it, well, and with zero stutter
Is tiny and silent
Can access media via usb, UpNP media servers, or Windows shares (samba for those of us on linux)
Cheap, reliable replacement for a HTPC at a much lower cost

Bad:
Menu is very basic
Remote feels generic

Future Testing:
Bittorrent client functionality (I already have a seedbox so this will probably never get tested)
FLAC audio

Verdict:

This may sound strange coming from somebody that has used ubuntu since 6.06

I had a major whoops. I am not a guy who normally does the whole "upgrade" path. I prefer a clean install, and today just affirmed that. I took about 3 hours to do a upgrade to my existing installation, only to be greeted with a computer that wouldn't boot up. I had to go download the ISO on another computer, come back and just do a clean install like I should have in the first place.

So Far:

Like
1. More fit and finish
2. Audio control panel is better
3. Network control panel is much more refined
4. Boots and shutdowns faster
5. Installer has a nice slideshow

#rant#