I’ve been blogging about some pretty serious stuff for the last few months. Time to have some fun, don’t you think?
Have you guys seen the Chris Crocker video on Youtube? It’s basically about this weird guy who’s bawling his eyes out trying to defend Britney Spears from detractors and critics. Crocker, who calls himself the Queen of Ghetto, shows what a rabid fan is willing to do in defense of their favorite — either that or he’s really desperate to get that fifteen minutes of fame. And you know what? In the crazy world of showbusiness, he did get his fifteen minutes. He has appeared in Jimmy Kimmel Live and more recently it was announced that a production company has signed Crocker to do a reality TV show –all on the strength of his kohl-lined eyes, his frosted highlights and his hysterics.
One of the raison d’etres of having a laptop is taking advantage of WiFi and the ability to surf the internet wherever you are. For me, mobile surfing is one of the greatest technological leaps that we have made because it has really made information accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Of course, WiFi still costs money to operate. Yes, there are free WiFi hotzones but that doesn’t mean the operators of the network are not expending money to give you the privilege to look at the latest football scores over your macchiatto. They shoulder not only the WiFi subscription but also the accompanying costs of operating WiFi devices — electricity being a big factor to the overall expense.
Solis Energy claims to have the solution though. The Orlando-based company said that it can employ solar energy to power low wattage devices like WiFi routers, security cameras — even traffic lights and sensors. This is the kind of innovation that is really welcome in our time when global warming really poses a serious threat worldwide. An alternative source of energy that is one hundred per cent green and renewable is the way to go. Al Gore should have reason to smile when he reads about Solis.
I recently visited the buy and sell section of one of my favorite online forums. I periodically do this because I have discovered that some really great bargains could be had from the buy and sell section. I was doing the virtual equivalent of window shopping when I chanced upon an ad posted by one of the forum members. This guy was selling his old iMac G4 20″ desktop PC for about $1,199. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The ad further explained that the G4 had been used for a fe w years and that he initially bought the iMac for $2,800.
If you look at the numbers you’d think that you’re getting a real bargain. The guy must be crazy if he’s selling it at that low price! The seller may think that he’s offering a great bargain price, but in reality, he’s ripping off any prospective buyers. Here is where the iniquity of depreciation kicks in. A cursory look in eBay and you will discover that the highest bid for a used but good condition iMac G4 is $200. Yes, a measly 200 bucks. And to put it in a better perspective, the newly released iMac Aluminum, that marvel of desktop architecture, has a base price of, hold on, $1,199. That’s the price being offered by the seller in that buy and sell section!
Depreciation really sucks especially when it involves items that you paid so much money for. The seller may not have any intention of tricking hapless buyers and only wants to recoup some of his investment on a PC. But the sad reality is, the moment you buy a computer, whether it’s a desktop PC or a laptop, it is already obsolete and have devalued in price.
If you have any intention of recouping your investment in computers. Follow this simple advice: Sell it off after two years. Even then, the most that you can get is maybe half of what you paid for it.
I’ve always been fascinated with modifications made on desktops and laptops. I’ve seen features on how to modify desktops and the inherent benefits of making these changes. I got so intrigued that I actually modded the case of my first PC. I think I was one of the first people to do it where I live because when I brought my PC for repairs all of the technicians and customers milled around my PC, asking questions about the simple intake vent that I painstakingly cut from the side panel of the case.
Now, PC mods are quite common. Vents would never even get a second glance from people because PC case manufacturers now incorporate these on cases. What is making people take notice though are modifications made on laptops.
People who modify laptops are a different breed altogether. These are people with nerves of carbon fiber and balls of steel. Why? It takes a man of courage to actually open a very expensive piece of electronics and then tinker and change something that was not even specified by the manufacturer.
Take this guy, for example. He modified his Apple laptop so that the Apple logo would glow. The modification was a success and the result was quite impressive.
I’m now looking at my trusty Acer notebook in a whole new perspective.
I love music, there is no doubt about that. I’m like a junkie looking for a constant fix of new music and new music genres that I can sink my teeth into. I’ve already built a very respectable CD collection and an ever growing digital music library that is currently about to hit the terabyte level. Unfortunately, because digital music is so much easier to handle, I have not used my CDs that much, in fact, I have not even transferred any of it into a digital audio format and, therefore, have not been able to load my favorite CDs on my iPod.
I have decided that ripping my CDs will be my pet project for the month. I’ve already set up my computer for maximum efficiency in ripping by downloading Exact Audio Copy (EAC) – the digital music connoisseur’s choice for best CD ripper. The funny thing about EAC though is that it has built a reputation for being the best ripper on earth because it is so damn complicated to use. There are just so many tweaks and settings you need to fiddle with in order to get the maximum efficiency for the rip. I bet the casual music fan won’t even be bothered to open the options menu of a strange piece of software when they can just use Microsoft’s built in Windows Media Player to rip their CD of Celine Dion or Beyonce Knowles. But I tell you the difference of the rips from WMP and from EAC are night and day (it’s like comparing Celine to, say, Martha Wainwright or Joanna Newsom). It really is worth the hassle and cursing because EAC’s output has top notch detail and clarity. No muddy quality for this baby. From here on out, I’m EAC’s man all the way.
