Wow, HP Doesn't Suck (at least not that bad... for a little while)

I love technology, although for as much as I'm interested in it, I'm really out of the loop on a lot of things and have no idea what to expect (or want, or be told I will want in the future).  Tablet computers are one of these areas that confuse me.  When Apple first announced the iPad, I felt like many others that it was just an oversized iPod touch (which I still think it is).  I couldn't have imagined the popularity of such a device.  I actually held off a year (which is tough being an Apple fan boy) to purchase one, which I finally did once the iPad 2 was announced.

I purchased my iPad used off of Craigslist.  The announcement of the iPad 2 had driven the used tablet prices down enough that I could now justify purchasing one;  although for what really I didn't know.  The used market was hot, so finding a good deal that hadn't already sold was difficult.  I did find one and I left work mid-day to go pick it up.

The guy I picked it up from worked from home.  He had the iPad in a Skadoosh stand on his kitchen island where he read his news every morning.  He was selling it because he planned on purchasing an iPad 2 and couldn't wait.  When I told him that I wasn't really sure what I'd use it for, he related and told me that he was the same way when he bought it but now found it indispensable.  I thanked him and took it home.

I was so excited to dive in to it, I almost wanted to just pull over and start playing with it.  When I finally did get it set up and began trying to figure out what I would use it for, I kept having to hold back thoughts that I'd rather just be on a laptop.  Having a real keyboard seemed to make more sense, especially since I'd seen keyboard stands for the iPad.  I mean, if you want to sit at a table with the iPad on a stand, typing on a real keyboard, wouldn't it just be easier on a real, full function laptop?

Well I eventually did find some apps that I liked.  News360, eBay, Craigslist and ABC player were a few of my most commonly used.  I still sort of preferred just using my laptop though, as I didn't have to worry about what would and would not work correctly on the iPad.  Not long after my purchase of the tablet (maybe 3 months?) I decided that I'd rather just have an 11' MacBook Air (I'd always wanted a small laptop running OSX as you may have seen in my earlier post where I created a Dell 'Hackintosh').  It was about the same size of the IPad but was much more powerful once opened.  I sold the iPad and bought the Air.  I haven't wanted an iPad since.

This didn't end my interest in tablets though.  Android was getting a lot of attention and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  Although I wasn't giving up my iPhone anytime soon, I bought a few other smartphones;  a Dell Streak and a few Android based phones.  I also tried some Android tablets and even bought a Nook Color just to root Android on it.  It's currently a triple boot running Gingerbread, Honeycomb and the original Nook software.  What I learned about Android was that it feels a whole lot like Windows, and battery life sucks.  Android is not for me.

At this point, my feeling (and response when asked) is that tablets are a nice novelty, and great for consuming media, but not a replacement for my daily needs on a laptop.

I knew that HP had come out with a tablet, I think I even briefly played with it once in a Staples store.  The sales rep knew nothing about it, recommending the Samsung Galaxy or Motorola Xoom instead.  I also knew that RIM had a Playbook although I knew (and still know) nothing about it.  The blackberry has always been too business oriented for me and didn't fit my 'iOS' lifestyle.  At $600, the HP tablet was just another Android tablet from another non Apple manufacturer.  You see, I assumed that there was iOS and Android, Android being what all the 'Windows' brands had united together to develop and compete with Apple.  Then the fire sale happened.

I heard about it late, I believe on Dealnews.com.  Apparently prices had dropped Friday night and were already long sold out by the time I discovered it on Sunday morning.  I was able to scurry and place a few orders with different retailers that were all eventually cancelled due to insufficient inventory.  At $99 and $149, the HP TouchPad was quickly becoming the best deal in the world.

I kept watching, holding out for the promised second coming, following the HP employees that were supposed to have updates on Twitter and checking the blogs and random Google searches, but eventually decided that purchasing one off of eBay or Craigslist at an inflated cost was still a great deal.  I purchased a 32GB off Craigslist a few weeks ago.

All I knew about HP was that they were another PC manufacturer that used Windows, and the PC's that they did sell had so much manufacturer junk on them that if given an option, I would choose another brand just to save the time from trying to delete all the junk to get back to a stock Windows machine.  I also wasn't a big fan of their recent laptops, the ones that have the same material for the palm rest and trackpad, making it so you can't really tell where one starts and the other ends.  I've also had poor experiences with their support division recently, having a horrible online representative followed by a stuttering phone rep, neither of which resolved my problem.

The TouchPad came with it's own initial issues.  For one, the USB cable that was included in the box didn't work, not allowing me to charge or sync the device.  HP took care of that, sending a replacement cable at no charge.  There was (is) also a small grid of light towards the upper left of the screen which I thought was a defect, but it turns out it's an internal part that can be seen through the screen, just an unrefined detail.  The speakers sounded blown the first time I tried them but apparently that's an intermittent issue after upgrading the WebOS software which I'm hoping gets fixed soon.

Wait...   WebOS?!?

I had no idea that HP didn't use Android on their tablet.  I didn't know (or care to pay attention) to the fact that HP bought Palm and acquired their WebOS software.  Admittedly, had I known I probably wouldn't have cared because the last time I had experienced Palm was back when they made the Palm Pilot, some folks left and created Handspring, and I think I tried a pre-WebOS Palm based phone once
in a pre iPhone time.  Each of those experiences left Palm outside of my field of vision, even further than the Blackberry.  This all changed when I turned on my Touchpad for the first time.

This definitely wasn't Android, or iOS... and for the first time, that was a GOOD thing.  A GREAT thing!  The software worked so well.  A little sluggish at first but like nothing I had experienced before.  There were things called cards which were so easy to navigate and allowed simple multi-tasking, the slide option on many of the screens was so easy to figure out it seemed as though I'd been using it for years and I immediately couldn't figure out how I had lived without it for all that time.  Everything on the screen just looked really good.  Working with it longer I discovered a great battery life, nice online community, easy browsing and then one day... notifications!  I won't get into the notification system but it's very well thought out.  Showing you what you want to know and giving you an option to dismiss it without disrupting what you already may be doing.  I've heard many others describe WebOS as intuitive.  We'll just go with that.
  
I love this Touchpad and WebOS.  In fact, one day I said to my girlfriend that the only things that weren't so great about the Touchpad were the limited app selection and fact that they didn't have a 3G version.  Then I found out that there was a 4G version that had never been released but was available on eBay; mine is coming in a few days.  I love that WebOS looks great, that it doesn't remind me of Windows and that not every screen looks the same with a bunch of app icons all lined up like on iOS.  But I may have fallen in love too late.

Of course buying the Touchpad after the company had 'given up on it', I expected limited support.  This didn't matter initially as I didn't think I'd own it long, or like it as much as I do.  Now that's a big issue.  Now I'm mad that HP mis-handled WebOS.  I feel that if WebOS were put in consumers hands, if retail employees were more familiar with the product and were able to demo it correctly, it could really give iOS a run for it's money.  Had HP made commercials that distinguished themselves from all the other Android tablets and let me know that they weren't Android, I may have been more interested in trying one out sooner.  Despite what the Staples employee was pushing me towards.

I'm pretty easy to please.  I'm not a huge app user, most of the time I just want to browse where I want to go, but at least give me the big players.  Twitter, eBay, Craigslist, Nook, Netflix, Hulu, ABC Player...  I like my News360 too (I'm not even a Netflix subscriber but at least give me the option).  But these may never be.  Rumors are rampant, and I can't keep myself from searching for the latest news every few hours, which makes it even worse.  The future of WebOS is supposedly up in the air.  One article has the new CEO Meg Whitman mentioning the future of HP tablets in Windows 8.  Another has her saying that they haven't given up on WebOS and that she really likes the software.  As with the many others that I've seen post their feelings online, I'm pulling for WebOS.  I think that it destroys Android, maybe even iOS.  Owning this Touchpad has made me want to swap my iPhone for a Pre 3 (although I'm waiting to hear the future of the software before I commit to losing my grandfathered unlimited data plan on my iPhone to do that) and maybe even purchase an HP laptop if WebOS integrates into that too.

I know nothing about how HP operates, or about business on a large scale such as theirs, but as an end user, I know a great product.  I hope that HP's decision allows WebOS to continue to grow and compete.  It would be great if that future were with the powerhouse that is HP but if it's not in the cards (no pun intended), at least don't just kill it off.  Like everyone else, I'll just have to wait and see, although at this point I'm not very optimistic.

BTW...  I typed this on my Touchpad, using the HP Bluetooth keyboard, with my MacBook air in it's case under my coffee table.  Oh how things change.

So many ideas, such little time.

Every day something happens that I think I'll share on here. But by the time the evening rolls around I never actually get around to posting anything.

Cold Remedy

Hot apartment, meet your match. Here's the solution to my AC blues. Delivered by UPS from Costco.com today, this 110 lb monster is my new best friend. Even though temperatures have dropped and are supposed to remain in the 60's through the weekend, I've already set it up and tested it out. Now I almost can't wait for the temperatures to rise so I can see what this thing will really do.
(cue old western showdown tune...)


It even has a remote so I won't have to break a sweat getting up to turn it on!

Feel this, does my apartment have a fever?

Most of the year I enjoy living in my older apartment building where the utilities are included in the rent (and the rent is reasonable). There's only twice a year, at the beginning and end of summer, when I really question why I live here. Although I have my own thermostat, the building controls when the heat is turned on for the winter or the AC for the summer. Once the switch is made, that's it for the season, you don't get both a heat or AC option at the same time. Living on the 6th floor (7th really, since G is ground level and L is 1), I've never found myself too cold. On the flip side though, I do sometimes find myself very hot. The last two nights were definitely two of those times.

Mmm Mmm Good

I just finished my last cupcake. It wasn't just any cupcake though, I actually drove about an hour away and waited in a two hour line to get that cupcake. Well, not just that one, I think I ate three but that was the only one I took home.


I've heard of cupcake bakeries (like Just Cakes in Bethesda, MD) that make gourmet cupcakes that sell for more than $6 each. This wasn't one of those. In fact, I think this cupcake was baked in a home oven in Massachusetts. I actually got it at an art gallery from a company that doesn't sell cupcakes but has built a million dollar company on them. They have three old style 'bakeries' in premium locations in MA and CA and even have the word 'cupcakes' in their name. Confused? Then, just like me until about a week ago, you've apparently never heard of Johnny Cupcakes.

What does Johnny Cupcakes do if they don't sell cupcakes? They sell T Shirts with cupcakes on them. It sounds silly but in less than 7 years in the business, Johnny was voted America's #1 Young Entrepreneur of 2008 by BusinessWeek magazine. It's now 2010 and he's going stronger than ever. Once I heard about him and the story behind his brand I wanted to attend one of the stops on his 'suitcase tour', where he's touring the US and UK selling T Shirts out of suitcases from the back of his car as a tribute to his early days, and see what all the hype was about.

There was a line well before the event started and Johnny takes the time to have a personal conversation with everyone that shows up so it moved quite slow even when it did start. Of course, he was a nice guy, which is what his business is built on, so I didn't feel bad buying an overpriced T shirt. Besides, the actual cupcakes, lemonade and water were free and so was the story behind the design. I'm actually excited for my next day off so that I can wear my new Johnny Cupcakes shirt.

You can learn more about Johnny Cupcakes here or view the first stop on the Suitcase Tour here.

Random

Economic Times

There has already been a good amount of snow in this area this winter. I haven't really been paying attention to the news recently as I've been keeping busy but I think there's even a chance of more snow tonight. In fact the news in the background is talking about another East Coast snowstorm in the background right now. I received this image in an e-mail with the subject line 'Government Snow Plow'. A Government employee I sent it to called it 'Job Security'.

Tastes Like Chicken. Kung Pao Chicken.

Gilbert Arenas Suspended From... The Washington Redskins?

I know it happens but it's funny when nobody points it out. Fox 5 DC's Dave Feldman reports that the Wizards Gilbert Arenas has been 'suspended indefinitely by the Washington Redskins'.

While the Redskins probably could have used any help they could get this season, I think he meant to say that he was suspended by the Washington Wizards.

The Only Thing That Doesn't Want My Money

I took some money out of an ATM today. It was one of those ATM machines that doesn't require a slip to make a deposit. After I received my cash and card, I realized that I had taken out more than I needed. I re-inserted my card to deposit the extra cash. After inserting the money to be deposited, the machine rejected a couple of the bills. It said something like 'some of your items were unable to be identified, please try again'. After several attempts I gave up and went inside the bank. I thought it was ironic that my money wasn't good enough for the machine that just gave it to me. The teller in the bank didn't.

It May Be Too Early To Be Thinking About This...

The Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 27th - April 11th. Every year I say that I'm going to go but I never do.

I live so close.

This year I'm going.

I think.

Pork Dispenser

Hot Pocket Wisdom

It's all politics... and I'm no Politician

I've lived in the DC metro area all my life. It's a great place to live... I think. I've never actually lived anywhere else so I don't really have anything to compare it to. I've always had this idea that I wanted to move to California even though I've never been there. It just seems that in all the images of California that I've seen, from watching movies about surfing, skating and bmx as a kid, to the movies and television coverage of today, California culture has always seemed more laid back and interesting to me.

I saw this license plate a while ago. I was kind of jealous that I didn't think of it first.

YMINMD? (Why am I in Maryland?)

New Years Day 2010

I had a choice. I could go into work a couple hours early on Monday, or go in for a couple hours this weekend. Since I'm not really good at waking up early, I decided to go in today. I figure it's a Friday and I'd usually be at work anyway so it shouldn't be so bad... right?

Well the drive to the office wasn't bad. In fact, it was almost enjoyable since there was no rush hour traffic to deal with. The fact that I didn't have to be there at any certain time was nice because I didn't have to rush. Even after I got settled in and started to work it was kinda nice. After all, I was working in casual clothes, in a quiet office and I didn't really have any deadlines to meet.

I guess it was just the feeling that I got, for that brief moment, when I first pulled into the parking lot and realized that I'm the only one in my building working today.

Large Johnson's Internet

In the heart of Rockville, on the Pike between Crisp & Juicy and Best Buy, my iPhone picked up this wireless network.


It was the only network connection available and I lost the signal before the phone actually connected. Not that I necessarily would have wanted it to, being that it was unprotected... I mean unsecured (sorry, I couldn't resist).
It wasn't until a few days later flipping through the images on my phone that it made me think. How many people would have to broadcast inappropriate network names before they made it illegal? I guess it would really only take one person to find it offensive, it would just have to be the right one person. If this network were near a popular wifi hot spot like Panera Bread or Starbucks where lots of people could see it on a daily basis, do you think the retailer or a patron could file a complaint?

Happy New Year!

There was a time when I wanted to be in Times Square on New Years Eve. That time is not now. As I settle in to watch a movie then the celebration on TV, I just want my last blog post of 2009 to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

The Blizzard of 2009

It's been 10 days since the record 16.4" snowfall in the DC Metro area. It was the first time my car and scooters have seen snow.

I'll never really understand why everyone rushes to the supermarket when snow is forecast. Maybe I'm an exception to the rule (or maybe I just don't have kids) but I've always had enough food that should I need to, I could probably survive a week or so without leaving the house.
If you watch the news, they always suggest stocking up on bread, eggs and milk. Are you supposed to make french toast while you're snowed in? Judging by the shelves at the grocery store before the snowfall, I guess so.

My Dell 10v 'Hackintosh'

After stumbling across a Gizmodo article about how easy it is to modify a Dell netbook to run the Mac OSX operating system, I decided to give it a try. The netbook I was going to modify was currently running Windows 7, and running it pretty well I might add.
I didn't want to totally lose Windows 7 so I did a little more research and found that you can actually load multiple operating systems on one computer and select which to run when you turn it on. Given this option, who would want just one?
I decided I'd triple boot using Windows 7, Mac OSX and Linux Ubuntu. I've never used Linux and probably don't really have a use for it but it's free and something different so what the heck.
Luckily I didn't hear about this mod until it was already pretty popular so a lot of the trial and error had already been worked through. Following guides in a popular forum, the install went pretty smooth and before you knew it, I had a triple boot netbook. Now when I boot the computer, I can hit any key as it's loading and I'll have a choice of running any of the three operating systems. If I don't hit a key to get into the boot loader, it'll just default boot into Mac OSX.
I guess I didn't fully research the mod before I completed it as I wasn't aware that there where still some minor issues that they're finding fixes for. For instance, in one of the operating systems, the time will be off by 4 hours. If you fix it in one OS then boot into another, it will be off in the one you didn't fix. If you fix that one, it will throw off the other again. Another issue is that the sleep mode doesn't work in Mac OS. If the computer goes to sleep in this operating system, you only have about a 20% chance of it waking up. If it doesn't, you'll have to perform a hard shut down and then restart the computer. Supposedly there are some fixes for these issues that work for some people but they involve changing scripts in places that I'm not familiar with so I'll just deal with these until an easier, fool proof option is developed.
Overall, the system is great. No matter what operating system you're in, it runs like it was made to from the assembly line. You'd never know that two others were waiting and ready.
For the most part, I've been using Windows 7 because I don't have to worry about the sleep issue. If I know that I'll only be on for a short time or that I won't be taking a break and worrying about the computer going to sleep, I actually prefer Mac OSX. I use Linux when I don't have to do anything important, just to familiarize myself with it and play around. Linux is a nice looking OS and for basic tasks it's easy enough to figure out, but you can also tell that it's ready to perform more powerful functions if in the right, computer savvy hands.
The Dell netbook is a fun little machine and has made me find myself paying attention to where the wifi hotspots are. You know, somewhere I can take a break, grab a drink, update my blog and try to justify owning a netbook. In fact, trying to find an excuse to use this thing is one of the reasons I started this blog!

There's an app for that...

As I'm still in the beginning stages of admitting that I'm a blogger (acknowledgment is the first step I'm sure), I've only told a couple people about my new venture.

Side note: It's the week between Christmas and New Years and work is so slow and boring. There's nothing to do and even if there was, I wouldn't feel like doing it during a four day work week. I can start all the non-deadline, tedious work after the new year, right?



Anyway, back to the post:

So in discussing what type of blog I want to create (discussing what to discuss), I've discovered that technically, you can write about anything. After all, I've already written one and a half blogs about what to blog. So now it seems that during anything I do, with anyone that knows about this blog, I hear 'you can blog about it'. It kinda reminds me of that Apple commercial that says 'there's an App for that'.

If I were to blog about everything I did yesterday (thus turning my blog into my personal twitter), here's how it would look:

Woke up and watched Public Enemies on DVD. Ok, actually fell asleep during the movie.

Headed to Blockbuster and returned Four Christmases on DVD. Walked over to the mailbox and sent back Notorious that I rented from Netflix then to Giant to return the RedBox DVD's Terminator Salvation and Night At The Museum 2. I rented a lot of movies for Christmas. The Redbox was busy. As I waited in the long line in front of the machine I realized the advantage that Blockbuster had over Redbox (even though it's much more expensive). Unlike in Blockbuster, I knew that another Redbox machine wasn't going to walk over and help get the line moving. There also wasn't anyone to complain to if I felt the need.

After Redbox, I headed to Best Buy in the same shopping center to return a couple things. I expected the return line to be long with only a couple cashiers processing returns. I've dealt with Best Buy too many times before to expect any more.

Wow! Best Buy was a mess. They had one long line and only one customer service rep. There was a second girl who was doing returns in between helping dot com customers but there were a lot of dot com pick-ups. Luckily, I was prepared for it and didn't mind the wait. The lady behind me? Not as prepared. She started yelling for more help asking if there was anyone else to help then screaming for a Manager. When the Manager arrived, they got into it. It didn't help that another Manager (or Supervisor) also walked up with an attitude. This sparked the guy behind her to join in also. He got really heated and when the Manager suggested that 'you shouldn't have come to do a return two days after Christmas if you didn't want to wait in line' he responded by yelling 'you're the ones not prepared, you only have one return clerk two days after Christmas!'. He then stormed out waving his return in the air and screaming. It was a shame because right after he left, the customer at the checkout was finally done and the line started moving really fast, even though the Manager didn't actually do anything.

So now I'm at Burger King. This place is busy! The entire parking lot is full and people are circling around it looking for a spot. The playroom is reserved for a birthday party and it must be for one of the Obama kids because I don't know who else could draw this crowd. The inside of the restaurant is packed with screaming kids everywhere. I don't see many adults. There is only one table available in the very back corner of the dining room. I settled in and ate my steakhouse burger that I swear they made wrong. For one it had different types of cheese on each side. I had to get up and yell at a kid for hitting me with two spitballs during my meal. I couldn't find another adult to do it for me.

I just got home and I'm restless. I decided to go downstairs and try out the gym for the first time since I've lived here (or the first time I've been in a gym in my life). I've thought about trying out the gym before but let it pass. This time I think I was motivated knowing that 'I could blog about it'. Wishfully thinking I hopped on the treadmill and set it to the 'Alpine Trail' program with a max speed of 7mph and a max incline of 5. I set the time for an easy 20 minutes. Five minutes later after jogging at 7mph at an incline of 2 I desperately reached for the stop button. After a breather I got back on for a regular 1 mile lap at a nice walking pace of 4mph with no incline. I held a ten pound dumbbell in each hand and did reps when I could (about half the time). After the treadmill I did 10 bench presses then hopped on the bike. I rode that for about 20 minutes on 10 (the max setting was 12). When I was done with the bike I did 10 more presses and went back to my apartment. 45 minutes was enough gym time for my first visit.