Toshiba Satellite Pro L450

I was asked by a primary school to select for them a suitable small-office and student use laptop. Their requirement is to word process, basic Excel use, light graphics design and desktop publishing, and internet surfing.

I recommended to them the Toshiba Satellite Pro L450.

The specs I chose are the following:

Intel Celeron 900
2GB RAM
250GB HDD SATA
15.6in TruBrite HD
DVD
LAN/ W-LAN
Web Camera
Win 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

At first I was unsure of the Celeron 900 but using it for 2 days now, I am quite impressed with the speed of the processing. I was running both the machines side by side with our older (but higher spec) laptop and it fairs good with it. The 64-bit OS really does the job.

I like the real estate of the screen, this is given to 15.6in laptops. The keypad is also good - not that noisy, clacky or resistive. It does not have the number pad unlike some 15-inchers. The track pad is fine, however, the buttons are a little hard and noisy. I resort to just tapping on the pad every time.

Well, 15.6in laptops are now the sort-of desktop replacements, so don't expect it to be lightweight if you plan to lug it for long walks or trips. Plus, the battery can last to more than a hour or less than two even if it is a 6-cell battery. But hey, this is not meant to compete with the Acer Timelines.

So there, the school got they want and they are happy with it, with only a small price to pay. The store where we bought it from offered a really good deal.

More Intel WiDi Laptops

One night my father and I was talking about displaying on our LED TV the movies I have saved on our laptop. I told him I can do it using DLNA as this is supported by both our laptop and our Samsung LED TV.

It was fine but he said he wants to see on the TV the live stream of movies on a particular website, (eg. Megaupload). I replied, okay that is possible. I will just need to hook up the laptop to the TV by HDMI cable.

He looked at me puzzled. He asked, it is not just another way of doing it 'TV Out'. I said yes, that is basically the 'TV Out' way. He was expecting more, like doing it with out the cables, less hassle. Of course, you can do it wireless with WiDi, I told him - but it is not possible with our current laptop. So..

To continue my WiDi posts, here are more of WiDi compatible laptops that has been released and will be released this year.

Acer Aspire 5820T
Asus U43F
Dell Studio 15Z
HP Pavilion dv5
MSI FR600

The common specs of Intel WiDi laptops are:

Intel Core i3, i5, i7 Processors
Intel HD Graphics
Wireless Centrino
My Wifi Technology software
Intel Wireless Display software
Windows 7 64-bit

Must Have Ipad Apps

As posted by Gizmodo as must-have apps for the Ipad, please consider this post a summarized repost.

As stated by the site, this is not the ultimate list as hundred of new apps are pouring in everyday, but still here goes the must-have Ipad apps, so far..

Entertainment and Video
1. Netflix
2. ABC Player
3. Marvel Comics
4. iBooks
5. NBA Game Time Courtside
6. MLB at Bat
7. ESPN Scorecenter
8. Yahoo Entertainment
9. Sound Hound
10. Shazam
11. Pandora

Games
1. Flight Control
2. Plants vs. Zombies
3. Fieldrunners
4. Scrabble for Ipad
5. Mirror's Edge
6. Civilization Revolution
7. Labyrinth 2
8. Uno
9. Geometry Wars
10. Smule Magic Piano

News/ Social
1. NYT Editor's Choice
2. USA Today
3. WSJ
4. AP
5. NPR for Ipad
6. Popular Science
7. BBC
8. Bloomberg
9. Stumbleupon
10. Instapaper
11. Newsrack
12. Feeddler
13. Fluent News
14. Accuweather Cirrus
15. Tweetdeck
16. AIM
17. IM+
18. Loopt Pulse
19. Dash Four
20. Craigsphone

Productivity/ Utilities
1. iWork
2. The Elements
3. Dragon Dictation
4. Wolfram Alpha
5. National Geographic World Atlas
6. Dictionary.com
7. Epicurious
8. Kayak
9. wikination
10. Brushes
11. Sketchbook Pro
12. Desktop Connect
13. Bento
14. iDisplay
15. Voice Memos

Guitar Hero on Ipad and Iphone

Further to my previous post, not only will it be Farmville on Ipad but Guitar Hero is also joining it to.

Guitar Hero on Ipad and Guitar Hero on Iphone will be available in the App Store by end of this June. The strumming, tapping, and sliding is headed to your Ipad screens and Iphone screens.

As earlier reported, songs will range from $0.99 to $2.99.

Farmville on Ipad and Iphone

Zynga currenlty offers games for Iphone such as Role Playing, Card and Puzzle Games. And it will only be soon enough that its most popular games will be on the Ipad as well and it is coming pretty soon.

Farmville will be heading on those 9-inch screens on your Ipad. Yup! Farmville on Ipad will be here; Farmville on Iphone too. True to its name, Zynga will be connecting the world further through Zynga games in Ipad and Iphones.

Farmville on Facebook is the one of the most loved (and hated?) games, and it will not remain there. You will be farming on Iphone and Ipad as earlier shown by Zynga in WWDC a few days ago.

This is a big deal to the millions of social gamers out there. You will be hearing more on this as the game is released on AppStore.

Thinkpad Edge vs. Dell Vostro - LCD Stress Test

I have been considering these two laptops in my next IT-gadget purchase. I am in the look-out for a business laptop and I am weighing on The Thinkpad Edge or the Dell Vostro V13.

So when I came across this video posted in Engadget, one laptop brand gained another point for me. Guess which one passed the test, the Thinkpad Edge or the Dell Vostro V13? Which LCD is more robust?

See this:

It was a quick test - pressing two pressure points on the corner and the center of the LCD lid of the laptops in less than 30 seconds.

Question is, were the pressure applied equal on both the laptops' LCDs?

Short iPad Hands On

Last Thursday, a co-worker of mine brought his iPad at work. He is one of the first many who pre-ordered iPad last March. While our workday was nearing an end, we bumped in the hallway. He asked if there is anything I need because he was leaving early. I said to him, 'Yeah, can I?', I was pointing at his fresh from the box Apple iPad.

He left the device with me for a few minutes, and I gladly test run it! Free Ipad hands-on experience, I must say!

So yes, the encounter with iPad was quick.

*A quick picture of an actual iPad on my desk, compared to an A4 paper;
Too glossy of a screen, yeah?

My first impression on the Apple iPad is that it feels solid. Encased in an aluminum body, and a thick glass screen, the iPad is simple yet classy, fragile but solid. It is a minimalist design, in it's face, only the depressed Home button.

Our office was quite cold, and the aluminum device I was holding really felt cold at that time!

iPad has a big screen too. Convenient for reading, surfing, and social networking. However, I think typing on it for a long time is quite awkward. Maybe because I was walking then, maybe typing on iPad is best when you are sitting down.

I browsed, the apps, and photos, videos. As what has been reviewed by many, I strongly agree that iPad is best for content-consumption, and not content-creation.

Well, it was only a good 30 minutes iPad hands-on but I can conclude that my mom will like it.