Too Early, No Meteors, I’m still awake!

Posted on August 12, 2006 by Matt

With the Perseid meteor shower going on right now i’m rather agitated. Considering I don’t usually get up this early but I thought i’d get up a little early and hopefully see a meteor or two, to find out the Grand Valley area has too much light pollution to notice anything bums me out. I had fully intended to try to photograph it with my new digital camera, but the greater disappointment is that I couldn’t even get my camera to focus on even the brightest of stars.

So back to bed with me I suppose. This is in fact a Saturday.

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I’m Venturing Into New Areas

Posted on August 9, 2006 by Matt

Normally I’d leave this sort of thing to the likes of Rolling Stone, or a personal friend Jeff Lakin, but I think it’s finally come time for me to become the music critic as well. So without further ado, the comments and rantings regarding ‘tunes.

First off, Rolling Stone has posted an article about the Mars Volta, who’ve got a new album coming out September 19th. Apparently member Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has stepped away from his previous position as the band’s guitarist to become more of a composer . “This is the role I’ve enjoyed the most — shaping the drums, having a certain sound…�? says Lopez. Lopez according to Rolling Stone aside from a few solos, the main guitar work will be done by Red Hot Chili Peppers member John Frusciante. The album will be a bit different in regards of band composition in that regard, but Lopez also mentions that the band is trying to go into newer directions. From the sound of the article, this album should have some promise, and I’m looking forward to it.

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Are UMPC’s Affordable? or The Vega UMPC and is it Right for Me?

Posted on August 5, 2006 by Matt

Ok first off this needs to be read in the mindset that I’m a college student and I don’t have the type of money to just go out and pre-order a new EO right when it comes out, just hand over the $1000 and be fine. Considering I’ve got to pay for rent, utilities, cell phone and put gas in my car I need to spend my money sparingly. Now while i’ve said since March when the UMPC’s started coming out that i’d get one, I still haven’t. The main thing, honestly holding me back is the price.

Finally the mysterious UMPC Vega has been spotted, thanks to Steve over at Carrypad. 🙂
(FYI: CarryPad is a great site, do spend some time there! They’ve got great bits of UMPC/Origami information.)
So on to the new goodies:

  • AMD Geode LX800 processor
  • Widows XP HOME operating system
  • 256MB of memory
  • 30GB hard disk
  • 4.3 inch LCD
  • measures 160 X 80 X 27.5mm and weighs 480g
  • wi-fi antenna
  • connector for GPS antenna
  • USB to connect remote keyboard
  • DMD reception again using USB
  • available in September
  • Cost of 70 Million Won/about $700

So here’s where I ask, does this little bugger with what I will call sub par UMPC specs (This is biased I’ve never held nor used one of these ever, and based just on paper matchups) be able to withstand the breadth of function currently capable of a UMPC? If so is it worth my money which is looking to be substancially lower than current models. Only time will tell, and once again, I’m interested and want to know.

In other news, I didn’t win the UMPC photo competition, however the winners were rather good. I thought i’d post my picture. Link here.

-MP

Posted in School, UMPC | 1 Comment

New TabletKiosk EO Model!

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Matt

TabletKioskâ„¢Announces the Newest Members of its UMPC Family
Introducing the eoâ„¢i7200 Series of Intel based UMPCs
Torrance, CA, 8/1/2006

TabletKiosk™, a leader in mobile computing solutions, today announced the launch of eo™ i7209 and eo™ i7210 the newest additions to the company�s family of ultra-mobile computing solutions.

TabletKiosk continues to advance the Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) platform by offering innovative features to maximize productivity and encourage on-the-go use. The two new models, powered by Ultra Low Voltage processors from Intel Corporation, are as follows:

eo™ i7210 Intel® Pentium® M 1.0 GHz ULV / 1.0 GB DDR2 RAM / 60 GB HDD
eo™ i7209 Intel® Celeron® M 900 MHz ULV / 512 MB DDR2 RAM / 30 GB HDD

�We are pleased to be working with TabletKiosk on the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) category,” said Brad Graff, Intel’s UMPC marketing director. “These TabletKiosk UMPCs are based on Intel’s low power technology and represent early examples of this category, which is expected to grow significantly over the next few years.”

Featuring the latest advancements in mobile computing, the eoâ„¢ i7200 series incorporates an integrated 1.3 Mega pixel CMOS camera with video capture capabilities, as well as a built-in, 4-in-1 media card reader (supports SD/SDIO/MMC/MS) for taking and sharing digital photos and videos. For easy connectivity to the internet or SOHO networks, both units feature 802.11 b/g wireless LAN and Bluetooth v1.2.

The eo™ i7200 series comes preloaded with Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 with Touch Pack and is certified Microsoft® Windows Vista™ capable.

For ultimate convenience, the eo™ i7200 series features a 7� LCD touch screen with handwriting recognition, an on-screen keyboard, voice recognition, and external control devices, including a full roaming thumb joystick and dedicated left and right mouse buttons.

The eoâ„¢ i7200 series comes bundled with the eoâ„¢ i72DC Docking Cradle which adds features to offer the flexibility and usability of a desktop PC. Sporting four additional USB 2.0 Ports, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Networking Port, S-Video Out and VGA Out with Dual monitor support, the eoâ„¢ i7200 series can be used in conjunction with the most popular computing accessories, including monitor, mouse and optical drive.

�With the launch of the eo™ i7200 series, we are pleased to introduce many of the new features and technological advancements that are bringing greater visibility to the UMPC platform,� said Martin Smekal, president of TabletKiosk. �When presented alongside our previously released eo™ v7110, we now offer our customers a broader range of options to meet their specific mobile computing needs.�

eoâ„¢ i7200 Series Fast Facts:
1.8″ IDE Hard Drive
Intel 915GMS with embedded 3D engine with Full DirectX 9 Compliance
Dual display support
1.3 Mega pixel CMOS camera with video capture capability
4-in-1 Card Reader (supports SD/SDIO/MMC/MS)
802.11b/g Wireless Networking
Bluetooth v1.2 (v1.1 compatible) built-in USB 2.0 compliant module
HD 7.1 channel audio
2x USB 2.0 / Headphones Out / Microphone In
Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack
7� WVGA touch screen display (80 gram)
Dimensions: 8.88� W x 5.67� H x .98� D
Weighs 1.83 lbs. (with battery pack)
Ships with Microsoft Tablet Education and Experience Pack pre-installed
Integrated Computer Stand
Screen rotation supports portrait and landscape mode
Fingerprint resistive casing

To meet the unique mobile computing needs of today�s businesses, TabletKiosk offers and is currently developing a broad range of �Smart Business� accessories for the eo™ i7200 series. These include a portfolio case, ruggedized bump case, outdoor LCD screen and magnetic stripe reader to provide ultimate flexibility in the way that eo™ is used, handled and carried. Many of these accessories were developed originally as custom solutions for our enterprise partners who utilize the UMPC platform to help run their everyday businesses in a whole new way. Now, these accessories are available for the benefit of all of TabletKiosk�s customers.

Pricing and Availability

eoâ„¢will begin shipping by the end of August, 2006. For additional details, pricing and to pre-order, please visit www.TabletKiosk.com.

–information taken from TabletKiosk.com

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