Laptop news..
I wiped Vista with a fresh copy of Fedora 8. I'm normally a Debian & Ubuntu person, but I decided to give Fedora a go for a change. It installed without any major problems. It would've been nice if it had started NetworkManager for me, so I could easily configure my wireless network.
Yesterday I decided to install a copy of Windows XP, which I had lying around. Once again, I'm not a Windows person and booted into Windows maybe twice a year on my old laptop, but since I have a license, I may as well put it on. There were issues with the boot CD and it not going any further. Recommended BIOS tweaks for the HDD to be detected did nothing either. So I am now trying an alternative method. I installed Windows XP under VMWare, installed all the drivers for the laptop that I could, and will try to copy the vmware image to the real partition, resize using ntfsresize, modify the boot sector and the boot.ini, and then see what happens. I will of course document my steps if I'm successful. Sounds neat, no? :-)
— by RobertThomson, created 26th Nov, 2007, last modified 26th Nov, 2007 | Tags: Tech
Laptop Arrived..
It arrived.. I'm generally happy... but I've had some issues with Vista (never played with it before, and decided to download a Linux ISO using it).
I normally like to leave the pre-installed Windows partition in-case I ever need to do Windowsy things.. but I'm seriously considering wiping it. Who would have thought that Microsoft could get such basic things wrong?
- I didn't have a choice of language or OS when ordering, so I just went with the Dutch version of Vista, figuring the language could be changed later. Not so! You need Vista Ultimate to change the language. Dutch isn't Greek, so I get by.. but wtf?
- It has severe hardcoded TCP/IP connection limits, which breaks applications such as Torrent downloaders (and other TCP/IP apps when it's running) .. I spent ages trying to torrent a Linux ISO using uTorrent without success... was pulling out my hair.
The first isn't an issue for most people, because most people never buy computers outside their home country. The second is an issue to a significant number of people. There are various attempts to fix it out there, most involving replacing tcpip.sys ... I tried that one, and discovered the system restore feature of Vista very quickly.
— by RobertThomson, created 22nd Nov, 2007, last modified 22nd Nov, 2007
I've found a place to stay!
It's reasonably priced, in a good location, sharing with nice people. I have my own kitchen and bathroom. It's 3 rooms on the first floor of a two story townhouse. We share the same entrance and stairwell, but that's about it. There's a fourth room which is currently being used for storage, but will become a kind of working room for the girl above. The other tenants are a young couple, and presumably her father owns the building (he lives next door, which is actually downstairs).
The room is 30m², currently unfurnished, but they're going to furnish most of the room, I'll buy a few things, and I already have a few things here. First priorities are a bed and a fridge. Everything else can come later. They have a spare couch that can go in there. I'll just need a bed, working desk, chair, a coffee table, and perhaps a small dining table. I'll probably visit the nearby Kringloop and see what they have. It's a bit like the Aussie garage sale by the look of it. :-)
— by RobertThomson, created 16th Nov, 2007, last modified 16th Nov, 2007 | Tags: Private
Ordered a Dell Inspiron 1520
I just ordered myself a new toy - a Dell Inspiron 1520. The specs are:
- 15" LCD (1440x900)
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor (2.2Ghz, 4MB L2-cache)
- 2GB RAM (667Mhz)
- nVidia 8600M GT with 256MB
- 250GB hdd
- Intel 3945 802.11a/b/g card
- 9 cell battery (adds a little bulk but I'll appreciate it when traveling)
- Black matte finish with integrated webcam
- And best of all¹: Windows Vista!!!
My current laptop (Compal PowerNote CL50) has served me well for 4 years now, and I hope that this new laptop will serve me just as well. Choosing a new laptop is a tough decision and unfortunately having to make compromises is par for the course. I think I've made a good choice... not too small, not too big, and powerful enough to last me for a few years. It's hard to find similarly spec'd laptops here with the same resolution.
For a case I ordered the Kensington Contour Cargo Notebook Messenger
For your information, the other main contender was: the Acer Aspire 5920G (mixed review - a few differences in the EU market though)
So.. I bet you're all wondering what I plan to do with a spankin' new laptop, and what I couldn't do on my current beloved laptop. Here's what:
- Virtualisation - My current laptop's not up to the task, and being an IT guy, having suitable hardware to play with in my free time is vital to keeping my skills up.
- Similarly, having a second laptop means that I can experiment with one while still maintaining my primary working system. It can also serve as a nice quiet server.
- Games - I hardly play them, but every couple of months I get the urge and it would be nice to have a laptop capable of playing most modern games.
¹ That's a joke, folks. I'll be installing Linux ASAP. :-)
Update - 9 Nov 2007
Still in preproduction. :-( Why, oh why, must I wait so long? Newsflash Dell - it's not Just In Time if you have to wait days or weeks for parts. I'm a child of the Internet age - I want instant satisfaction. Hop Hop.