RunningClam

A couple of weeks ago Apple have rolled out new MacBook laptops featuring brand new integrated Nvidia 9400M video chip. It was Intel X3100 graphics on the previous models wich was less than acceptable even for running not so demanding games like World of Warcraft. So this time I was very curious about new integrated graphics performance in World of Warcraft. Now the real life tests available. The first one (all settings at high excepty for the new “buffed” shadows):

The other (moderate settings, no new shadows):

New MacBooks with Nvidia 9400M rocks. very good (for integrated graphics) 30-50 FPS in the first case and excellent 50-65 FPS in the second - it’s just the same performance my Windows Vista laptop with dedicated Nvidia 9600GT 256Mb shows.

I have installed OpenOffice.Org 3.0 final release onto the home notebook and the office desktop and tried it a bit, just Writer so far. The first impressions are:

• it’s fast. Start time is much shorter than version 2.3
• icons are great. Both the icons of the document files and the toolbar icons are much more vibrant.

The only thing I don’t like in the new OpenOffice is all that “khmm.. I don’t know what to do with that *.odt file you’ve sent me” people. C’mon guys, get your copy (in your language and for your operating system) of OpenOffice here right now.

Yesterday, mostly spontaneously, I have grabbed the tablet in the nearby computer store. Genius G-Pen 450 cost me $40 including discount.

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A couple of days ago I have bought Samsung R70 for myself too. I was lucky to get it even cheaper. For 900 Euros I got:

• Intel T7250 Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz CPU
• 2Gb RAM
• 160Gb hard drive
• nVidia GeForce 8600 GT 256Mb video card

What I like about this notebook:

• Very sturdy look and nice not cheapo materials
• Very good glossy screen
• Very good keyboard. It’s a pleasure to work with it. The buttons are right size and perfectly shaped
• LAN (Gigabit Ethernet) port on the back side, so no cable at sight most of the time.
• Built-in microphone (and a webcam too but I don’t use it)
• No locks on the cover
• Silence (even in Normal mode, but there is Silent mode If you will ever need it)

And what’s not so good:

• FN button in the lower left corner, before the CTRL button
• RAM could be faster. It’s a system bottleneck acording to Windows Vista “base score” rating
• SD cradreader not comfortable at all. I can’t remove the card without tweezers.

I’ve put my hands on Asus eeePC yesterday. And what I’m thinking about this shiny little thing:

• It looks enormous on the photos. In reality it’s tiny and extremely lightweight. You can hold it with three fingers and tap buttons with the other hand.
• The keyboard is tiny as well but looks pretty comfortable.
• Preinstalled Windows XP runs pretty smooth.
• The 7″ LCD is just too tiny.

I will buy an 8.9″ LCD version (or another manufacturer’s clone) as soon as it will be available.

Windows has an option to display large icons on the desktop for at least ten years for now. AFAIK, it was introduced  in Windows 95 for the first time. Since then it was a loads of software whose icons were too small to look good enough with the large icons settings.

Now the current version of Windows is Vista and it can display desktop icons even larger but nothing changed. The only third-party software with appropriately formated icons  to fit Vista  requirements on my new computer are Creative Zen media player management tool and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0. Any other third-party icons are usually sized with the gray border around them.

Moreover, some of the Windows native icons are not compatible with the new large size also.

On the weekend I have put my hands on Samsung R70 notebook. Surprisingly sturdy and well built machine with 15.4″ glossy LCD bright and crisp. 1000 Euro config is also surprisingly powerful: Core 2 Duo 2GHz CPU, 2Gb RAM and NVidia GeForce 8600GT 256Mb video. Windows Vista Home Premium runs very smoothy and World of Warcraft set up at 1280*800 maximum details runs at 60 FPS! Ethernet port on the back side hides the LAN cable. R70 is almost silent and pretty cool comparing to my old Fujitsu-Siemens. I think Samsung’s latest notebooks are the best value for money here in Europe.

It forces you to splay your arm out at an unnatural angle - and the wider your keyboard, the worse this gets; Via

That is why I prefer notebook. Usually I hold my mouse right behind my notebook screen. That way even after a twelve hours I feel no fatigue in my right arm.