MT Minds

There are some days that an article from The Onion is JUST the thing:

Enjoy,

RossB

Check out this animation of an actual 1910 chess game.

One of the most elegant claymations I have seen.

Elegant Claymation

Use Firefox instead of Internet Exploder Explorer, and you’ll get less viruses, no popup windows and it’s a lot faster.

Enjoy,
RossB

Frequently Asked Questions

A question I get asked a LOT is:

What computer/laptop do you recommend?

My immediate answer is always:

What do you want to do with it?

If they fall into the category of someone who needs a laptop, then my next question is:

Are you looking to replace your desktop, or just need a computer to check email etc?

If they are primarily looking for a small and light laptop to do some email and casual surfing on, then they should get an Ultra-Portable, or as I call them “Tinybook”.

What are the Choices or “He Chose…. Poorly”

First off, I usually recommend that someone who is looking for a good laptop for any use, that’s small but has a stunningly good screen, should consider an Apple MacBook.  Apple has recently dropped the MacBook price to under a Grand, but anyone who has a kid in college or is friendly with a college student can get a good discount on them through the campus store.  Buying a MacBook has the added benefit of keeping the person safe from viruses, spyware and all the general creeping crud that WIndows Laptops are victim to, no one has yet seen a single Mac virus or spyware piece of code, none.  Price: $999.00

What’s the difference between Windows and Linux on Laptops?

Second out of the gate is to make a choice between Windows Laptops and Linux Laptops.  The vast majority of laptops out there come pre-installed with MIcrosoft Windows Vista Something, you can’t even get Windows XP anymore, except on the Acer reviewed below.  Since Windows is the majority of the Desktop market, with only a few alternatives, people either suck it up and buy a Windows machine, or experiment a bit with switching to a Mac or try out a Linux machine.

WIndows has the most driver support, and it’s easier to fix in most cases, mostly because a lot of people have gained a great deal of experience fixing Wndows over the years, you might say that doing computer repair for Windows machines is a target-rich environment.

However, since Windows VIsta costs at least $50 per unit, you see that vendors can’t reduce the price of most laptops to less than around $400 if they load Windows on it, and thats where LInux really shines.

Linux is free, no cost, and anyone can load it on any machine whatsoever, and lately there has cropped up a large market of small, light, feature-packed laptops that have a custom or semi-customized version of Linux on them, often costing less than $400 and even down to under $250 with the odd rebate.

What’s the catch with a Linux Laptop?

If you require any commercial applications, such as games, Microsoft Office or Quicken you should avoid a Linux Laptop, but if you almost exclusively use email, a browser, manage a few pictures and sometimes want to talk via chat or by video on Skype, then a Linux Laptop is truly a cost-effective way to go for you.

Note:  Look at the specifications closely on the TInybook category of machines, you should insist on a supported Webcam and compatibility with or included Skype.  All of the Linux versions on these machines come with a similar set of applications, and if you just know you run a word processor or if you refer to your browser as “The Internet”, you’ll be fine with what’s included.

The Linux Tinybook Players

Asus EEE PC 900 - This little beauty is a real nice piece of equipment.  It has a 8.9″ screen, Intel Mobile Processor, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB Solid State Drive, runs Linux, has a long-lasting 4 Cell Battery and weighs 2.2 LB’s.  Price: $415.00 on Amazon, but they offer a $ 65 rebate reducing the price even further.

HP 2133-KR922UT - There are several 2133 models that run Linux, and others that run Windows, included below, this is an extremely nice laptop, I am typing this on mine, it has a 8.9-Inch gorgeous screen with built-in speakers on each side, a 1.0 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Flash Drive, comes with SUSE Linux and weighs 2.3 LBs.  Price: $299.00 from Amazon only.

Tinybooks for Windows Users

MSI Wind - Slightly larger in the screen at 10″, it features a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 3 Cell Battery and weighs 2.2 LBs.  Price: $499.00

HP 2133-KX868AT - Running Windows Vista Home, this little beauty has a 8.9-inch screen, C7-M 1.2 GHz Processor, 1024 MB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive and weighs 2.3 LBs.  Also, you can bundle it with a DVD/CD drive to make loading and reloading easier, cause let’s face it, if it runs Windows, you’ll be reloading it sometime in the future…  Price: $ 404.00

Acer Aspire One - I don’t normally recommend Acer machines to anyone, their monitors, that’s fine, but having been around the computer industry for many years, there are brands I will do without rather than buy, but lately Acer has been earning respect and trust, so here goes.  The Aspire One has a 8.9-inch screen, a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, has XP Home and features a longer-lasting 6 Cell Battery.  Price: $ 429.00

What’s Missing?

You’ll probably notice that I didn’t include the first generation of EEE PC’s from Asus, they were just too small for most people, they have a very very small 7″ screen and positively Lilliputian keys on their chiclet-sized keyboards, making it literally a 2 finger machine for anyone with hands close to the size of grown man.

Hope this is helpful stuff, look back for any updates and other FAQ posts, as there are many to write!

RossB

From the article:

At Aloha Summit Peter Shankman was adamant that LinkedIn was a waste of time –- he really didn’t see the value in it as a social network. Others claimed LinkedIn was a valuable site that allowed you to connect to your business network–as opposed to simply throwing sheep at someone.

Read More.

From the article:

If you take a look around the blogosphere or even the business world you will realize that you are most likely not alone in your particular area.  For example, there are tons of social media and online marketing blogs out there (but you read this one and that means you kick ass!), there are also plenty of real estate and technology blogs out there as well.  So in a world where you are not alone what can you do to differentiate yourself?  What can you do to be memorable?  What can you do to attract visitors?

One word, personality.

Read More.

Simple, we’re living in Paradise Valley, we’re technical, we love to help others with technology and rather than limit our help to one-on-one discussions, we’re being efficient about it!

There’s 4 of us so far, our areas of expertise are:

• programming/development
• graphics design/websites
• infrastructure/networking
• social media/blogging

Some of us do client work, others don’t so If you think of a question, leave a comment and we’ll try to answer it, otherwise sit back and enjoy the show!

RossB

Our meeting tonight led us to creating MT Minds; a place for brain dumps, learning and fun. More to come later. I’ve got get this all setup!

Yay!