Toys
A few weeks ago, I bought a Dell Mini 9 from ghostfaceposta; it arrived Tuesday. I was kind of busy, so I didn't get around to poppin' Ubuntu on that sucker until today.* I'm really impressed so far - Ubuntu runs smoothly, including nice smooth compiz graphics, and the audio jack is 1000% better-sounding than the crackly, crappy one on my Dell Dimension desktop at work (curious, eh?). It may even sound better than my M-Audio Delta at home.
Coincidentally, I'm working on an iPhone/iPod Touch app at work, so I decided it was probably a wise time to buy an iPod Touch so I could, you know, actually test the app eventually. I found a newer 16GB on Craigslist, met up on campus with the sorority girl seller, and took it off her hands yesterday.
The iPod Touch is pretty slick with all the web browsing and self-location and maps and multi-touch (making it potentially a much better GPS than my GPS) but the fact that I have to either jailbreak it or install iTunes in order to add MP3s makes it a pretty crappy music player.
So as it stands, I'm finding the Dell Mini to be a much better iPod than the iPod. Which is cool, because it's also a better web browser, and a better drum machine. So in conclusion: well, screw you, Apple. You used to be cool, but charging $200-$400 to enjoy vendor lock-in is stupid, even if it has sweet multi-touch.
*: this was my first Ubuntu install from USB stick, and it was amazingly easy. I never noticed that System->Administration->USB Startup Disk Creator item before. This also means I have a bootable Linux USB, hooray!
Coincidentally, I'm working on an iPhone/iPod Touch app at work, so I decided it was probably a wise time to buy an iPod Touch so I could, you know, actually test the app eventually. I found a newer 16GB on Craigslist, met up on campus with the sorority girl seller, and took it off her hands yesterday.
The iPod Touch is pretty slick with all the web browsing and self-location and maps and multi-touch (making it potentially a much better GPS than my GPS) but the fact that I have to either jailbreak it or install iTunes in order to add MP3s makes it a pretty crappy music player.
So as it stands, I'm finding the Dell Mini to be a much better iPod than the iPod. Which is cool, because it's also a better web browser, and a better drum machine. So in conclusion: well, screw you, Apple. You used to be cool, but charging $200-$400 to enjoy vendor lock-in is stupid, even if it has sweet multi-touch.
*: this was my first Ubuntu install from USB stick, and it was amazingly easy. I never noticed that System->Administration->USB Startup Disk Creator item before. This also means I have a bootable Linux USB, hooray!