Computer Overhauls

gOS: A Little Linux for Everyone? NSFMF.

Linux is big business these days, and gOS has the ear of trendsetting PC maker Everex and also a spot on Walmart's shelves running Everex's $199 desktop.  The units quickly sold out among limited supply.

So here I am, caught in the hype and blogging from one of our D600's running gOS.  (At least until I couldn't add a picture to my post without Firefox crashing.  Now I'm back on my trusty IBM Thinkpad T23)

I'll say one thing: gOS is damn pretty.   Our mostly novice clientale agreed: I setup a Dell D600 running gOS on our 32" LCD in the showroom and encouraged customers to play around with it and give me feedback -- overwhelmingly people said this was a good looking OS.

Pretty right?

Anyone familiar with Macs will appreciate the graphical icons for launching programs.  gOS has made launching Firefox, Gmail, YouTube and a plethora of Google powered tools easy enough.

But it's whats under the hood that matters most:  Until gOS makes computers more user friendly then the alternatives from Microsoft and Apple it has little practical utility for the average user. 

Happy Holidays

1st Person to comment on this blog (make sure to register your email) will receive a FREE WEBCAM with any laptop purchase good through Christmas Eve at 7pm.

If we really like your comment maybe you'll get something even better.  But at least a free camera.  Thanks for reading, seriously.

Ready set go!

What $199 Laptops Can and Can't Do

We've been selling $199 laptops for over a year now.  We get a lot of calls from people that assume it's a scam, it must be a joke, "why so cheap", etc.  Novice computer users are usually the most skeptical.  The Used Laptop Blog, like ourselves, focuses on laptops for $199 and up -- and they have some sage advice for laptop buyers:

Many people think they need a brand new laptop and want to purchase the latest and greatest. In most cases a refurbished laptop is more than adequate, unless your are a gamer or power user. Your connection speed matters more than the CPU or the amount of RAM.

Microsoft Office Alternatives

Let's make one thing clear: this is not an "anti-Microsoft" post, but rather a "pro open source" post.  Microsoft makes some fine products, but consumers should have choices and open source projects like Open Office support consumer choice.  Ultimately, competition will help consumers by improving products and driving down prices.

With that in mind, Open Office has come into its own as a viable MS Office alternative that will work for  the vast majority of home and business based users. 

HD-DVD & Blu-ray Alternatives: Apple TV

When the Apple TV launched last spring it quickly sold over 100,000 units before demand trickled down and Steven Jobs declared it "a hobby", less important in Apple's digital utopia than such core elements as their computers, phones and MP3 players.

And to an extend that's true.  The Apple TV is clearly a transition product -- it's not a full blown DVD player replacement, but starting at $299 the Apple TV is meant to do one thing and do it well: allow viewing of your iTunes library and YouTube on your big-screen HDTV.  But with extremely limited actual HDTV content, no DVR support (for recording) and a price tag as much as the XBOX 360 (with its rubust HDTV content lineup) it's hard to see what niche HDTV owners would like the Apple TV to slide into.  With only support for up to 720p resolution, the Apple TV is missing out on worlds of 1080i and 1080p content. 

But most of us still have plenty of non HDTV videos laying around on our hard drives.  With the 40GB HD and Wireless-N capabilities, transferring data to the Apple TV is a breeze. 

Once downloaded, viewing downloaded SDTV media is very easy on your HDTV with Apple's always easy and intuitive design, but at $299 ($399 for 160GB) there are other devices that appeal more to HDTV owners. 

RECOMMENDATION:

The Apple TV is a good idea, but until Apple (or a 3rd party) adds DVR capabilities and/or more HDTV content it will remain a niche device without a niche. 

Chinese MP3 Player > Nano? Perhaps.

Meizu MiniPlayer 2.4" 4GB Media Player $99.99

If you want something a little exotic this holiday season try this Nano comparing Chinese made player.  Resolution (how clear the picture is) is worse than the new Nano, but it's $50 less.

iPod Alternatives

The iPod isn't the only game in town anymore, and great deals can be found on a wide array of digital media devices.  I'll run down a few of my favorites.

Cowon D2 4GB Portable Media Player

Going for less than half  ($140 as of 12/14) of what an iTouch will set you back, the D2 from Cowon is a player for those in the know.  The small Korean company keeps cranking out great gadgets,  but with a limited marketing effort in the US this player has remained largely under the radar.  Well reviewed by experts and novices alike, the D2 plays almost every media format you can throw at it, has an unbelievable 50 hour battery life and a touchscreen almost as intuitive and helpful as the iTouch.  The D2 makes an excellent  choice for those looking for a vibrant touchscreen media player but lacks the wi-fi and internet capabilities of the iTouch.  Serious audiophiles will appreciate the D2's no-frills playback, but novice users might be a bit overwhelmed.  This isn't a player for everyone, but more tech-savvy users will appreciate its features and value.

Sandisk Sansa c250 2GB Player

This is the $30 iPod shuffle killer.  With an actual screen (making navigation a breeze), FM and microphone recording, 32 hour battery life, and 2GB storage, the C250 easily outpaces the iPod shuffle and comes in at half the price as well.  These players are great for athletes, especially runners who will appreciate its nimble design.  Remember when portable CD players crossed over from $80 to $30 and only suckers still bought the expensive Sony ones?  Well, only suckers are still by the iPod shuffle.  Apple  has many great and value packed products, but the shuffle is not one of them.  For $30 this would make a great socking stuffer for every family member.

The Stone Plus

The Stone Plus is a great little player with a useful screen, solid battery life, and 2GB of memory.  I have owned this device since its release in July and its held up well to being treated like garbage.  I've fell asleep and rolled over it many times, have dropped it running, drenched it in sweat, etc -- it keeps on ticking.  The Zen weighs .74oz, the equivalent of holding 3 quarters in your hand.  It's about the size of a large pebble.  Song navigation is underpowered and so is the battery life (only about 15 hours), but for around $70 this is a ultra-portable memory based player worth taking a look at.

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Fight it Out (We lose)

So you've got that shiny new HDTV that's capable of displaying the sharpest pictures around, including the HDTV standards 1080i and 720p (don't worry about the differences between the two for now, its practical difference is often hard to spot), unfortunately older DVD player can only play discs that are too small to be encoded in the highest quality format for your TV -- old DVDs simply can't hold enough information to encode in 720p or 1080i formats, and instead are forced to display in the fuzzier 480p format.  I'm sure you've heard of "progressive scan" DVD players, and a few years ago this was a major step forward, as "progressive scan" allows the TV to display much more detailed images -- but now we have 720p and 1080i formats, which are even clearer and sharper.  Accordingly, there is a need for bigger capacity discs. 

Welcome to the world of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, two competing formats to get the same result. 

So You Want to Buy an HDTV: Here's How

It's time to buy an HDTV.  Prices have never been lower, programming options are extensive, and great sets can be had for as little as $400.  Once you go to HDTV you'll never want to watch SDTV (standard definition) again -- it's that good of a technology.

So here is how to get your priorities right when buying an HDTV.