Disqus - Latest Comments for Dean M.

Re: MSI Wind gets US price and shipping date

Dean M. — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:43:19 -0000

the one thing that is making me hesitant is the placement of the CTRL and FN keys. I know it's not a huge deal, but WHY do so many laptop makers feel the need to switch them??? it's such a major annoyance for me. I know I'd get used to it rather quickly, but COME ON. just being annoying. I can't decide if I'm going to end up with the 901 or this. The OC button is nice, and the curves on this thing are beautiful, but that damn FN key might be the end of it.

Re: Eee PC laptops: 3 models, 3 sizes

Dean M. — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:31:22 -0000

thats a 900, not a 901. You can tell by the location of the power button.

Re: Maybe the MSI Wind isn't so hot after all

Dean M. — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:29:02 -0000

it'd be interesting to see where the 901 falls on that list. I think it would most likely be right above or right below the wind, since they use the same processors, although the case differences might affect it.

Re: Portable computer, not so portable DVD-RW drive

Dean M. — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:38:27 -0000

I've seen so many pictures of netbooks, and I know that the HP is the biggest, but this is the first time I can really get a grasp on how big these things are. Really puts things into perspective, awesome job!

Re: Medion Akoya Mini launches in Europe this week, MSI Wind in September?

Dean M. — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:43:23 -0000

is it just me, or does the logo at the bottom look like an Aldi logo?

Although I'm not planning on getting a Wind, it would be nice to see them out there so it forces other major players (ASUS, Dell) to get a move on. I want my eee 901!

Main thing stopping me from getting a Wind: placement of the FN key. They put it in the corner, where the Ctrl key normally is. Drives me INSANE.

Re: Eee PC 901, 1000(H) to hit the US on July 8th

Dean M. — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:22:56 -0000

agreed. Although when they debuted on June 3rd I made a detailed spreadsheet comparing the two, the eee came out on top. The trackpad, SSD, FN key placement, smaller size, 802.11n, expandability options (from jkkmobile), and now the double capacity battery? Even though it's $120 more, I think in the end I'll be happier with the eee.

I'm really curious to see about the ZIF connector pointed out when they took apart the eee originally. I have my old Zune, and if I could drop that into an eee, it'd sort of ruin the point of SSD, but would be awesome.

Re: Poll results: Which Linux distro is best for netbooks

Dean M. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:15:30 -0000

I've been pretty set on the 901, but still seeing the wind get pushed back again and again is disheartening. I don't think it is MSI's fault directly, more of the battery/Atom shortage. Which means everyone is getting held up. I'm really hoping that July 7/8 date holds up for MSI/Asus because I've been waiting to get a new laptop for far too long.

I don't see why anyone would get the 1000H over the Wind. The battery life is a problem right now, but I'm sure after this shortage blows over they will up it back to 6 cell, creating an eee900 like PR disaster. But really, what are the differences between the 1000H and Wind? Draft-N? I think spec wise that's about it. There are some subtle differences (Dolby Sound Room, keyboard variations) but spec wise it's just the wifi, and now the battery. Even if they offer the 6-cell later, it still won't be 200 bucks.

Re: Asus to release new eee PC models with larger keyboards?

Dean M. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:25:47 -0000

This makes no sense to me. It seemed that with the 900, it was a huge step forward. The largest complaining point with the 701 was the bezel/screen, and now they're aiming to do the same thing again? and timing wise I'm totally lost. They have already 2 announced models that are still largely unreleased, and yet they're looking to push out another?

I think this has to do with a lot of reviewers complaining about the keyboard. I honestly have never used it, but i've heard a lot of people saying that it really isn't that bad. I'm sure journalists and people who type an exorbatent amount won't like it, but that's not the use. It's supposed to be small and portable. They are really muddying the waters by the growing size of the EEE. I think they need to focus on whats here now, the 901 and 1000, and give the 701 a refresh. Make it so the 7 inch screen has no bezel, I think that would be a really powerful idea. Mix that with an Atom, a 200-300 price tag, and then they'd be back on top. and really cut back the pricing of the 901 and 1000, it's a bit ridiculous, especially when compared to the competition (aka the Wind)..

On the eeeuser.com forums today I was looking around and people have started putting hard drives into their 901s. Since it already has a ZIF connector, a user is able to drop an iPod hard drive (or equivalent) straight in. Unfortuantely this disables the larger flash card (8 or 16GB) leaving only the 4 and the hard drive. It's still a pretty good option, seeing as these are fairly low power hard drives and hold up to movement pretty well.

Re: What is a Liliputer? A brief introduction to Liliputing

Dean M. — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:40:45 -0000

first paragraph, liliputian not lilipution

Re: What is a Liliputer? A brief introduction to Liliputing

Dean M. — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:42:29 -0000

I should check my spelling before I report spelling errors, lol. lilliputian.

Re: Liliputing news roundup

Dean M. — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:12:15 -0000

Good to see you back. As an avid Engadget reader, I saw most of these but I like getting it from you. You've got a good thing going here.

I can't believe they pumped the price of the Acer up so high! That was really the only thing it had going for it, now I don't see any reason someone would prefer that one. It is interesting to see the price difference between the windows and linux version. With Asus using their varying SSD size to hide the cost of XP, it's interesting to see a company flat out charge more for Windows.

Like the Eee Monitor, not so much on the 904.

Has there been any word of what the multitouch functions like on Linux?

JKKmobile made me want to throw a touchscreen in my 901 when I get it, since they have the same screen. Good to know the option is there.

Re: Eee PC 901 goes on sale in US, Amazon offers deep discount?

Dean M. — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:29:02 -0000

I ordered mine last week from PortableOne. They said they had them in stock, but unfortunately I did not clarify my question enough. They had the XP verison in stock, but I ordered the Linux version. I was excited, I thought I might have my new EEE early this week, but unfortunately it won't come until next week. I'm bummed, but it looks like no one else has the Linux version up yet anyway, so I'm going to leave my order in with them. They seemed to have their ducks in a row, and when i asked about a shipping date they actually contacted ASUS and I got a reply from them, which was comforting to know they were tight. They said Linux versions are due out this week or early next week.

Re: Asus offers $100 rebate on Eee PC 900, brings price down to $449

Dean M. — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:59:39 -0000

yea, the 900 does have the multi-touch trackpad. Really, the only difference is the Atom and the 20gb of online storage. Also, depending on which model you recieve, you could have a smaller (4400) battery as opposed to the larger one.

I wonder if you could get the rebate on one of the new 16gb 900s that are going for $400, bringing it down to $300. That would be the magical price point for the Eee.

Re: How to install Ubuntu on an MSI Wind laptop

Dean M. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:19:12 -0000

good to see they're putting effort into being ready for the netbooks. I already knew what I was installing on my 901, but this confirms it.

Re: ECS G10IL will hit the US by September, for $399

Dean M. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:19:49 -0000

how do you know?

Re: Belkin intros line of Eee PC bags

Dean M. — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:31:31 -0000

lol, agreed. I actually just got a bag for my eee, which was recommended on the eeeuser forums. Its the Mark VII bag used by the British in WW2, but more notably used by Indiana Jones in all his movies. I haven't recieved it yet, but I'll let you know how my 901 fits in it when they both arrive.

Re: Fujitsu Siemens jumps into the netbook game

Dean M. — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:54:12 -0000

you've been tagged on engadget, congrats.

Re: SD cards loaded with Ubuntu Eee available for pre-order

Dean M. — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:26:02 -0000

Although I do like the logo, I wish it came as an installer, and on a white card. I know I'm being picky but come on, there are all going into little white (or black) eee's, and they should match. Even then, why pay 50 bucks for this? get the card for 5 or 10 and put the stupid sticker on yourself. And from what I've gathered, this is geared towards the 701 and 900, not the 901 and 1000.

I was originally going to drop Ubuntu on right when I got it, but after looking around a bit on there it seems like the 901 is having some problems still. I might wait til Intrepid since I probably won't get my stupid eee til then anyway.

Re: How to install Windows Vista on an MSI Wind

Dean M. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:55:31 -0000

I'd much rather see them try and get 95 up and running. I'm pretty sure it would fly on a netbook. Who needs wireless networking anyway?

Re: How to add a hard drive to an Eee PC 901

Dean M. — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:47:52 -0000

After waiting for the Linux 901 to come out, I bought the XP version on ebay yesterday. I bought it on ebay because I got 20% cashback from microsoft live search, which brought the total price (shipped) to 479. that's where I think the eee should be. Now I'm going to use that extra money and put it back into my eee anyway, get a 80gb 1.8 hard drive and a 16gb sdhc. Plus the internal four, I'll have a 100gb eee. Hopefully I'll have this done in the next few weeks.

Re: MSI Wind update: J&R gets a product page, Brazil gets a clone

Dean M. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:24:57 -0000

Finally! We've been waiting for the Wind in "Romantic Pink."

Re: Almost confirmed: Dell E mini-notebook coming in August

Dean M. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:26:28 -0000

I can't help but wonder if that magical price point will inflate like the EEE, OLPC, etc.

Re: Eee PC 1000H price drop: $550 from Newegg

Dean M. — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:19:01 -0000

this is a weird move by ASUS. It's only been in stock a week! And now it's more expensive to buy a 901? I'm sort of frustrated by this since I purchased a 901. I will be curious to see how this pans out.

Re: Do not adjust your display

Dean M. — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:38:17 -0000

your contact me page, amusingly enough, doesn't work so i couldn't contact you to tell you it wasn't working.

I also wanted to plug ubuntu-eee. I got my EEE 901 Friday and have spent some time putting together a wiki, which might be helpful for some of the readers. If you feel like posting it, the link is http://ubuntu-eee.com/index.php5?title=EeePC_901

Re: Asus announces Eee PC 1000HD, 904HD

Dean M. — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:19:17 -0000

I don't see how they are doing this from a marketing standpoint. People will just get more and more confused, it makes no sense. If it has nearly everyone outside scratching their heads, I really want to know what is going on inside ASUS.

Re: First look at the Eee PC 904

Dean M. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:01:23 -0000

at this price point, what is the advantage of getting the 904? Doesn't the 1000H have better/equal specs in every case?

Processor, screen, wifi. You're paying $10 to get the better version of all of that (Possibly, Asus would probably round it up to 550 anyway), I don't see the logic. Maybe if it was priced a lot lower, but since the 1000 price cut it doesn't jive at all.

Same goes for most of the new models asus has put out. a 901H would make a little sense, but most I've seen don't really make any sense.

Re: Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Mini gets changeable faceplate

Dean M. — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:36:26 -0000

I think this is a lot more valuble then the way you put it. My phone (Nokia 6230) is 3 years old, but it normally looks brand new. Why? I can buy a new faceplate every 3 months online, normally for about 10 bucks. It's a front and back cover, a new shell for the phone. Something like a phone gets scratched to heck through everyday life, and this lets me keep it looking new all the time.

If they made something similar, I think it would be great. Say you drop your notebook, the shell cracks. Just get a new one! no expensive repairs, no living with the damage. I think this could be taken to a higher level with aluminum shells, or something fancy and really durable.

They probably have a different idea than I do, but I would like to see this someday.

Re: Walmart drops Everex Cloudbook price to $299

Dean M. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:21:34 -0000

still not tempted to buy one. First off, it's ugly as sin, and that stupid "trackpad" is a dealbreaker. People want this type of laptop for portability, not to be forced to carry around a mouse.

It's hard to believe, but this makes the bezel on the 701 downright attractive.

Re: It’s official: MSI Wind with 6-cell battery gets a $50 price hike

Dean M. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:27:14 -0000

"running out of STUCK," oops.

I wonder if Asus knew about this. the $100 price cut puts these two neck at neck. Everything would be the same except:
Wifi-N
Multi-Touch trackpad

Although most reviewers put the Wind ahead of the 1000H before, I wonder what they'll say now that the price plane is level. I think MSI made a smart move by this, because all of the reviews are already out, and everyone picked the Wind when there was a $150 price difference. No one's going to re-review their decision now.

Re: It’s official: MSI Wind with 6-cell battery gets a $50 price hike

Dean M. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:15:06 -0000

psh. No one actually reads adsense.

Re: Lenovo netbook coming in September

Dean M. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:19:38 -0000

I have a six year old IBM thinkpad that is still chugging along, and has taken quite the beating. My brother (now 14) has had it (so he was 8 when he got it) and he's prone to breaking things. This laptop has been dropped, kicked, spilled on, you name it, and it's still in great shape. It's missing a few keys, but besides that it's pretty much brand new. I know IBM build quality was top notch, and from what I know Lenovo has carried on that tradition. I would be very excited to see a netbook with the build quality of a Thinkpad. Unfortunately, this would probably carry on the less desired Thinkpad tradition: high price.

Re: How to build a 9 cell battery for the MSI Wind

Dean M. — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:26:55 -0000

yea, it does look a little like a bomb. As unsightly as it is though, it's good to see some mods.

Re: VIA gets ready to take on the Intel Atom

Dean M. — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:12:42 -0000

Via has a special chipset that they normally use that provides a huge boost for video decoding. This has been a feature for a while, but drivers were really difficult. I don't think this necessarily is a great sign, because while it shows that the VIA system can handle it, doesn't actually show anything about the CPU. Just wiki the CN700 chipset and you'll see what I mean. I don't know the exact chipset they are using, but I have no doubts that's what is allowing this level of video decoding.

Re: Will the Dell Inspiron Mini be called the Inspiron 910?

Dean M. — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:22:33 -0000

is this george michael the singer/songwriter? or george michael bluth, no relation?

Re: Dell Nntbook coming in September?

Dean M. — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:28:27 -0000

you need to get more familiar with your spell check button. Or at least preview your post before you put it up. It might take a second to read over, but it's worth it. Are you typing this up on an Eee keyboard? because if so, then I'll accept your errors, because my typing declines rapidly on my 901.

Re: Asus Eee PC 900A won’t take older Eee PC batteries

Dean M. — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:36:37 -0000

I wonder if this is the same connector that is used on the 901/1000, as they have a different battery type from earlier Eees.

Just because the SSD is one unit instead of two doesn't necessarily mean it will outperform the original 900. I know that the 16gb 900 that they released is one drive, and is significantly slower than having the split drivers (JKK did a speed test) I would wait to make any such claims until speed tests of the SSD arise.

Re: A slightly closer look at the Dell Inspiron 910

Dean M. — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:56:03 -0000

I think they might need to examine their business decision on this one. Definitely aimed at the mass market (speaking simply keyboard-wise), they trimmed out all of the keys that computer nerds use. Now we know who will be fixing these computers when the girl across the hall can't get on her wireless, and a keyboard like this is sure to piss people off. So when it comes time for people to buy a new laptop, they ask their local computer nerd. He definitely won't recommend this thing because that keyboard is just bound to piss him off. That's my two cents.

Re: Pick up an Eee PC 4G 701 for just $299 from Geeks

Dean M. — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:58:40 -0000

I'm tempted to pick one up to use simply as a carputer. Throw GPS, touch, and some USB storage and you'd have a killer car system. But since I just got my 901, I'll have to wait a while. I think the screen on this would be perfect for car use, not so much for anything else. I know people like it, but I have a hard enough time with the screen on the 901 (wouldn't want anything smaller).

Re: Asus to launch Eee PC 900HD (with a hard drive)

Dean M. — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:42:22 -0000

I'm fairly sure that the D stands for Dothan, the code name of the Celeron processor used in the older Eees.

Re: How to install Ubuntu Eee on the Eee PC 1000H

Dean M. — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:20:58 -0000

Hey! I wrote most of that wiki on eeeuser. Nice to see it getting used.

Re: Buffalo to release SSDs for Dell Inspiron Mini 9

Dean M. — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:51:02 -0000

Why are these specifically for the Mini 9? Technically shouldn't these work in any of the netbooks that have this type of PCI-E connector? What is to stop me from putting the SSD from my eee into a Mini 9?

Re: NVIDIA CEO: Netbooks are just crippled computers

Dean M. — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:23:00 -0000

hey Brad, nice job throwing a "that's what he said" in there. Very classy.

Re: Haier netbook shows up at Mobile World Congress

Dean M. — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:03:23 -0000

I really like how the space bar actually says 'space' on it... really informative. Thanks for that Haier, I was bewildered by that gigantic blank bar.

Re: How to run HP Mi Edition from a USB flash drive

Dean M. — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:52:41 -0000

I got to step 15 and I got the error: More than one install_devices?

I am installing from my Eee 901 to the SD card, so I had to change the it to sdc1, but that's it. I tried getting rid of the recheck, and that worked, but it wouldn't boot. Any suggestions?

Re: How to run HP Mi Edition from a USB flash drive

Dean M. — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:44:26 -0000

nevermind, it was just something didn't get copied and pasted right. I'm still not able to boot though - I get a flashing cursor, no grub. I tried reinstalling grub, no luck. Any suggestions?

Re: How to run HP Mi Edition from a USB flash drive

Dean M. — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:05:02 -0000

Thanks Brad, but it's still the same problem. I tried changing the menu.lst file on a different computer, removing quiet and splash, same thing. The HDD activity light doesn't flash at all, it just sits. I feel like I must be doing something wrong with GRUB. I tried updating to a different BIOS (thinking my machine was having issues booting USB) but even then, same issue.

Re: 10 inch netbook LCD panel prices falling

Dean M. — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:53:06 -0000

I dunno. I have a 901 (9") and my friend got a 1000H (10"). I really prefer the 9 inch screen, because it seems to make a large size difference to me. The keyboard is a bit more cramped, but I am pretty used to it. I think there is a fairly large difference between the two, I hope both continue to be offered because I really love my 901.

Re: Cheap NVIDIA ION based netbook hits China

Dean M. — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:33:51 -0000

Isn't the N230 the desktop variety of the Atom? Why would they put that in instead of the N270?

Re: Dell Inspiron Mini 11v unboxing – Video

Dean M. — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:38:29 -0000

So is this an 11v or a 10v? Title doesn't match.

Re: 05

Dean M. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:29:29 -0000

is this a wireless receiver for composite video?

Re: Sony introduces Vaio Series X, super-light, probably overpriced ultraportable

Dean M. — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:01:15 -0000

The laptop in the picture and the one in the video are radically different, the picture must be of some other Sony laptop. It has a pentium M sticker and a windows XP sticker. Might wanna fix that.

Also, this laptop might not feature an Atom processor (Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/02/hands-on-son...) so if it costs more than a netbook with an Atom, that sorta makes sense. They aren't sure if it will be Atom or CULV, the latter of which sell for a little bit more.

You won't see this for anywhere near $600, I can promise. Why? It's Sony - there is a premium with the name. I feel like this will sell a lot better than the P, but realistically, they are not shooting for a laptop everyone can buy. It's for an elite group of people who still value the Sony name (do they really even exist anymore?). With that said, it seems like the construction of this laptop is worth around $800, at least based on what's currently out there. I love my Eee, but there is not way it could compare to this on a construction level. That's why it was cheap.

Re: NVIDIA and Adobe to support hardware acceleration for HD Flash video

Dean M. — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:46:50 -0000

I'm most curious if this will ever be available for a non-Windows OS. I would like to see this available for Linux. Flash is definitely improving, but something like this would really be a nice step up for linux.