thoughts – Page 22

the notebook dilemma

I have been away from the blogosphere for a while as I am currently sitting for some exams – and spent a great time of the month looking for a decent, well-equipped and mobile notebook/laptop computer.

Remember my post on this Acer Aspire 5652 WLMi? Well, I’ve meanwhile managed to test it for longer and realized it’s actually of such a low quality – things like cheap plastic frames that bend when you hold the machine on one side, too much play between the screen and the bottom piece, and finally a weight slightly over 3kgs are just k.o.-criterias that remove Acer’s 5652 from my very own Top 10 notebook list. And this, although it has almost EVERYTHING you could ever want to have in a notebook in 2006 for a reasonable price (~ EUR 1150,-). But then, 3kgs and cheap materials aren’t good enough for mobile use. No wonder most distributors rate it as a so-called “desktop replacement”.

So I learned from that and realized I should narrow my search down to notebooks (I call them notebooks, but you’re right, they are actually laptops – as in ~ “computers that end up on your laps”…well, JFYIO..) which match the following criteria:

Intel® Pentium-M or – even better – Duo T2300/T2400 etc (1,6 – 2,0 GHz)
80 – 120 GB HDD @ 5400 upm
1024 MB DDR2 RAM @533 or 667 MHz
Gfx either Intel’s shared solution or an ATI X600/700 or even Nvidia GeForce 7600
WLAN a/b/g & BLUETOOTH 2.0 (yes, BT IS important), Firewire!!, USB min. 3x,
internal mic for use with Skype & Co. and good internal loudspeakers
PCMCIA/PC-Card or ExpressCard slot (btw, who uses ExpressCards??)
VGA out, DVI is optional
(Double Layer) 8x DVD Burner
Card-Reader that does at least SD and MMC (though, yes, this could also be achieved by using a PCMCIA Card Reader)
a decent keyboard <== one of the most important interfaces there is
weight below 2.7 kgs
battery runtime of at least 3h or even more
price: EUR 1200,- EUR (~US-$ 1.500) maximum

Now, with this list in mind, I came across a number of interesting notebooks whereby I of course always prefered the ones with the newer Duo Core CPUs and overall good perfomance for the price.
Currently, my list includes the following models

13.3″ & 14,1” TFT @ 1280×800

BenQ S73G
(T2400, 80GB, 512MB, ATI X1600, 2.3kgs, approx. 3.5h battery runtime, ~ EUR 1200,-)
=> the downsides?: no hooks for the display (why??), available as of August 2006
LENOVO (IBM) 3000 N100
(T2400, 100 GB, 1024MB, Gfx shared, Webcam, fingerprint reader, 2.5 kgs, ~ 3.3h, ~ EUR 1100,-)
=> my current favourite, BUT no disengageabooool touchpad + still need to see and feel this one in live action as it is said to be a bit bulky like those ThinkPad Z60m & Z60t….
HP nc 6400
(T2400, 80 GB, 512 MB, Gfx shared, ~ 2.0 kgs, 4-5h, ~ EUR 1.350)
=> the keyboard on HPs is just awesome. I love it! Even, this machine normally sells for EUR 2.xxx but there’s this one model they’ve put down to EUR 1.350 which is still a lot for a normal notebook (ok, it’s a business edition). I might follow this one as the keyboard alone is a great reason to go and get it. Plus the weight and size makes this one really mobile. The RAM can be upgraded and the harddisk is ok at 80 gigs although of course the bigger the better…
MacBook
(T2500, 60GB, 512MB, 2.3kgs, 4h, EUR 1200,-)
==> put a two-button touchpad on a MacBook and I’ll switch to the Mac (like I did when I was using Atari 1040STF back in the early 1990s)

Lenovo 3000 N100 series

Why no Dell 640m or even Latitude D620? Because the 640m/e1405 doesn’t come with an internal mic – a part which costs about EUR 0,30 during production and still isn’t included. WTF, Dell?? And the D620 does not have a Firewire port. In fact, I even called Dell Germany and asked them for some details but their sales staff apparently is just as incompetent as the hinge construction on the Dell C600 series I’ve been talking about earlier. Student’s discount on DELL laptops is 7% on the Latitude series, btw. Might check back on them, although I think their laptops actually fall into the desktop replacement category – even those small ones like the bulky 640m/e1405.

15.0 & 15.4″ TFTs

Acer Aspire 5652
(T2300, 120 GB, 1024MB, Nvidia GeForce 7600, 2.9 kgs, approx 3.5h, EUR 1150,-)
=> as described above – a perfect machine for desktop use but too heavy and fragile

Asus A6J/T series
(similiar to the Acer Aspire 5xxx)
=> no disengageable touchpad, gets quite hot during use, quality is better than Acer but then also way too heavy for mobile use and the 14.1″ Asus notebooks only come with a cheap Core Solo CPU, some Asus notebooks come with a webcam, overall battery runtime mostly below 3h…

FSC Amilo Pi 1536
(T2300, 120 GB, 1024MB, ATI X1400, 3.1 Kgs, 2h, ~ EUR 1.000)
=> FSC Amilo M series used to be great on battery runtime (Mbuzimoja has one with 4.5h) but the current models only deliver 2hrs (which is nothing) and the 4-5 hrs models are either too expensive or too basic.

HP Pavilion 5xxx series
(same as above, lakini with AMD Turion CPUs & Co. , approx 3kgs, 3h)
=> too heavy (desktop replacements) but again, well equipped and with a perfect keyboard.

HP nx7400
(T2400, 100, 1024, only 2.5kgs, 4h, EUR 1100,-)
=> nice business notebook, was a great choice until I realized it doesn’t come with a card reader (well, I could live with that and install the PC Card reader) and other minority extras. Also, features a great keyboard and is very light despite it’s size. No extra security functions like fingerprint reader as featured on other HP & IBM business notebooks but uhhhm, well, is that really important?

HP nx8220
(Pentium M 750, 80GB, 1024 MB (@400MHz), ATI X600, 2.6 kgs, 4hrs, ~ EUR 1000,-)
=> Now this is the best deal for ppl who want a mobile notebook and can’t live with the Samsung X20. The series is out of production, though, so if you’re into this one – rush for it! HP also offers student’s discounts on them. What I like about these business notebooks is their slim line, weight, performance and various equipment they offer – like an extra battery that powers this notebook up to 10, 12 or even 16hrs. However, the CPU & technology is old so I wouldn’t want to spend much on this one. Something like EUR 900,- would be my maximum price on this.

Lenovo (IBM) Z60m
(Pentium M 760, 100 GB, 1024, ATI X600, 2,7 kgs, 4h, EUR 1200,- )
=> Again, an older CPU and 2.7kgs are a bit too much weight – but hey, it’s a ThinkPad! Despite of all the security benefits you get with a ThinkPad, it’s very durable aaaaannnd you can get spare parts in every corner of the world.
Despite it’s older technology it is – among other (better and older) ThinkPads a good choice for those ones who want to be on the safe side. However, some ppl complain about this machine being too bulky – and the Z60t version is said to have a poor lcd scren. The Z60m is also availble with a cheap Celeron CPU @ 1.5 GHz which sells for something like EUR 700,- — that’s like buying a Mercedes S600 with a 1.4 Hyundai motor.

Lenovo (IBM) Z61m
(T2500, 100GB, 1024MB, ATI X1400, 1680×1050 WSXGA+, 3.1kgs, up to 6h, EUR 1500,-)
=> there’s this student edition of the Z61m (successor to the Z60m series) that comes with just about everything in a perfect ThinkPad shell – but lacks Bluetooth. Also, the price is shocking + I wonder who told those IBM engineers to make use of ATI X1400 gfx cards? They are soooo battery consuming… =verdict: too heavy, too expensive.

MSI Megabook M660
(Barebone with T2400, 100 GB, 1024MB, 3kgs, 3h, EUR 1200,-)
=> MSI Computer Inc. sells great hardware but what about their notebooks? There you have it…plus, it’s too heavy and I just can’t trust those given battery runtimes. Even their 14.1″ & 12.1″ range isn’t that great although cheap.

Samsung X20 XVM 1730 V
(Pentium M 740, 80 GB, 1024 MB, 15″ 1400×1050 SXGA+ TFT, 2.4 kgs, 3-5h, EUR 1099,-)
=> a very basic, very thin and light notebook that’s perfect for mobile use + it comes with a brilliant screen at SXGA+ resolution but lacks any extra such as Bluetooth and it’s card reader doesn’t like the MMCard of my Nokia mobile. I had this machine in mind when I started my search for decent notebooks and I know of three people here that own it and are very happy with the machine. After all, with its weight and battery runtime it comes very close to the actual need of having a mobile computer that’s easy to carry and independent. Also, I like the disengageable touchpad (there’s this button right in between the two keys of the touchpad). Make this machine 200,- EURs cheaper and I’ll go for it.

Samsung X60 Chane
(T2300, 80GB, 1024MB, Gfx shared, 2.5kgs, 4-5h, 1500,- EUR)
=> One of the few Samsungs on the local market that comes with a Bluetooth module and still features Samsung’s beautiful industrial design. A nice notebook that costs a lot of money for the performance it offers. Would only go for this because of the weight and the battery runtime (indicated as 6hrs, but who trusts them…) but the price is a knock-out.

Samsung R series
(Pentium M 740, 80GB, 512 MB, etc., EUR 1000,-)
=> nice, but without Bluetooth and with limited extras.

Sony Vaio VGN-FE21M
(T2300, 100 GB, 1024MB, NvidiaGeforce 7600, 2.8 kgs, 3h, EUR 1400,-)
=> a nice, slim, despite it’s weight still portable notebook with a brilliant – the best – LCD display but no disengageable touchpad. And this, a missing function/key to disengage the touchpad on a SONY notebook is a clear no-go! Plus, it is said to become very hot and has some other flaws which it tries to overplay with its beautiful design and awesome lcd screen.

——

The bottom line? There’s no perfect notebook on the market as of yet, and I guess I’ll still have to wait for more and more Intel Duo Core notebooks becoming available which will lower the prices.
The problem, it seems to be, is that those new laptops with the Duo Core or AMD’s Turion CPU consume even more power than those older Pentium M CPUs we have seen on the market for something like 3 years.
Hence, what is needed is a powerful Duo Core laptop that is as power-saving as the Pentium M technology and delivers battery runtime of 4-5 hours. BECAUSE if it doesn’t – and currently most DuoCore laptops only deliver 3h (at the same price range) – it seems to be wiser to stick to Pentium M plattform at the moment.
Now, is that the progress we’ve been waiting for?

Also, I’ve put this up on my blog so that those die-hard Think Pad and HP users out there might convince me to settle for an older ThinkPad (I might have missed out) or even share their experience with the new Lenovo 3000 series & HP nx 7400 / nc6400 series. Thx!

@Mbuzimoja: You know I really envy you on this 4.5h perfomance of your old FSC Amilo M 7400…

p.s.: computers are SUCH a waste of time…

Die Diktatur der Angepassten…

…so I was checking openBC, met some old friends with whom I had been doing the apprenticeship and realized that only those ones who later on went for studies of business administration at a university managed to upload their profile on openBC.

Scary, so scary…

Hakuna inginiiaaaas (engineers)?
How many more lawyers and business folks does this world need?

material culture?

What is wealth? A 2000W stereo system? A TV + VCR set? A new car?

Today I was informed of just another Harambee somewhere in Kenya where influential Kenyans donated money and goods such as a brand-new TV set to a community project.

Material objects must always be seen in context with the humans who created and used them. It is only possible to recognize and evaluate material culture in connection with human thought and behavior. The material world depends on the immaterial one, and vice versa. Neither sphere can exist without the other.
(JARITZ, emotions and material culture, Austrian Academy of Science and Press, 2003)

Ah, ok. Sorry for being so misinformed, I forgot to appreciate the materialism as lived by many ppl around the world. Just like the pastoral people, whose wealth is measured by their cattle, today’s wealth is still measured by the goods you own and money you are able to share with others?
Just as much as I appreciate the Harambee culture, where funds are collected for an individual by a group of (wealthy) donators, I still have problems to understand WHERE all these amounts come from. Or in other words: since ppl are supposed to donate once they are rich, this obligation also works as an excuse for their accumulation of wealth? A justification for their partly corrupt business strategies?

The day I returned from Kenya, a huge supermarket for electronics opened here in GermOney and ppl where literally storming its premises. Waiting in front of that shop as early as 6 am just to strike a good deal. A new tv set, a new digital vcr, a new notebook etc…ppl consume these goods in a way they also buy their food: on an almost daily basis, as if there’s nothing else one could do with the money. The money? Oh, I thought we are having some sort of recession here, a period of time where ppl would rather stick to their hard earned cash instead of spending it on goods. Hmm…

Wealth for me is having the time to communicate with various friends around the world, reading the newspaper, enjoying a sunday afternoon at home doing nothing important and enjoying life without being forced to spend a lot of money (that I don’t have anyways, but that’s another story..). Even my old car, an ’89 Volkswagen Golf, whose “death” I’ve already considered due last summer, still runs fine and was a blessing to drive after these 3 weeks of bumpy roads in Nairobi. All that leg room compared to the small Suzuki Jimny (hey, I am 6,3) and smooth acceleration – hayyiiiiaaaa….I am truly blessed.

Which of course reminds me of those unfortunate ones who do NOT have Kshs. 3m to share with others. Oh, anyone remembers this story of an MP who accidently “lost” his bag containing Kshs. 1m on a flight? What’s the official income of a Kenyan MP again? Is that still a diet or rather a fat meal?

We keep on blaming our politicians and business tycoons for their greedy behaviour and at the same time, I think, we also forget that this accumulation of wealth has always been considered the main indicator of success and public acceptance. Corruption isn’t a Kenyan phenomenon only – it is everywhere in the world, and pointing the finger on those involved isn’t a solution. Instead, I think, it could help to rethink our values and what else there is to satisfy our short-termed desires.

A new TV set, though, won’t feed 100 hungry children in an orphanage. A donation like this one clearly indicates the insensivitivy with which many ppl tend to ignore the basic issues of the poor and how detached the donators are from the rest of the society. In their understanding, their emotional context, the item of course makes perfectly sense.

another view…

Part 2 of Saturday saw us doing it the Nairobi way by switching from the dirt of Waruku to the beautiful view(s) behind Karen – in particular the area next to that KBC transmitter station somewhere on the way to Ngong.
That’s for you, dear Oscar & Zora! :-)

It was already late in the afternoon and we were hungry so our stomaches forced us to cancel any further Kitengela-related plans but instead proposed an improvised and spontaneous picnic at the road-side.
Ok, this is Kenya, there’s no picnic possiboooool as most plots belong to someone, so we ended up driving up to Ngong where we received the message by telephone that some strange Telekom Kenya guys had come to our place in Kigwaru during the day (which is in the north-west of Nairobi) to erect a telephone post (good) and in the process of that hacked the 2 month old water pipe into pieces (bad). Instead of returning home, though, we continued our crazy idea of enjoying our food somewhere in nature and consequently had us driving up Ngong Hills as late as 5.45 pm to reach the gates on top already closed (we met the rangers half way through and continued anyways).

The picnic included some roasted maize from the the road side as well as the unevitaboooool Lucozade Boost which btw still tastes the same as it did “back in those days”.

I tend to think that being able to do such excursions (time, money, transport, etc.) is pure luxury that needs to be enjoyed whenever possible.

I could just sit there all day long and enjoy the beauty of the view…..

Githingithia

Plans for saturday* actually included a visit @ Nani in Kitengela and taking a refreshing bath @ Maasai Lodge, but things turned out completly different. And better.

Waruku (~ New Muthangari), Nairobi, Kenya
I’m leaving on Wednesday and I still wanted to meet my old friend Stephen Kamau wa Gitau who has spent the last 30 years living in Waruku – that area between Kangemi and Muthangari (police station) in Nairobi.

Welcome to Waruku, home of Nairobi River! Imagine I used to catch crabs here while growing up in this neighbourhood…aterere…

As a matter of fact, i recently blogged about him as I was googling for “Waruku” and came across a story in the DN about his son who’d been taken away (and shot?) by the police for no specific reason. The story also featured a pic of him – so I knew they were talking of him. Meeting him on my 3 weeks stay in Kenya immediately became a mandatory task.

The idea was to track him down in Waruku by asking people from places he’d most likely visit: the local bar/pub. Which I did.

I described him to one of the barkeepers (“old man, big belly, funny – Kirima-1970s-hairstyle”, full name) and soon got the desired answer that Kamau actually lives near by.

We hadn’t seen each other for ten yeas and I often wondered what he’d be up to these days.

Someone from the bar showed us the way and when I saw him standing there in the crowd that curiously followed the work of ONE man in a Caterpillar (digging up the road), I just couldn’t believe that he actually lives at the very same spot I assumed him to be during all those years.

Kamau, who’s nicknamed Githingithia (earthquake) due to that Githingithia song he often played, now owns a small duka in the middle of Waruku – some 30m away from Nairobi River. Business isn’t that good, but he somehow managed to survive and considering that he never learned how to read or write, he’s still doing fine with his ~66 years and has remained the same person during all these years: a strong, independent survivor who knows how to feed 15 children and to remain very popular among his neighbours.

Stephen Kamau “Githingithia” wa Gitau in front of his duka
Meeting Kamau “Githingithia” after all these years really made me very happy and I promised to arrange some sort of Harambee for him among those ppl he’s been working for before.

And the best thing: I have the contact details of his most favourite joint – so whenever I feel like getting in contact with him, I can just send a short message or even “assist” him in one way or another as I consider him part of my extended family…

NB: Mama Daktarimbili, the Lady who runs that Medical Office in Waruku next to the bar and who openly fights with those drunkards whose wifes are her beaten-up customers, put this sign on the bench for her customers. She told me that the Somali refugees, who seek assistance at this Somali branch in Waruku every day, normally occupy and vandalise it, so she was forced to teach them a lesson in her own style….

With women like her (yes, that’s her arm :-), I know what Madaraka really means and what kind of daily struggles Kenyans take upon them since Independence…
(*= I wrote this on Sunday, 28th May while staying in NBO…)

the scientific dilemma?

Speaking of “bridging the gap”, I am currently compiling a small paper on the recovery/recyling of nutrients in municipal and industrial waste water – and while searching the internet and other resources for useful information, I often come across huge websites by universities or companies that apparently haven’t really understood the meaning of “applied sciences”.

While I understand that there might be a need to document the modus operandi in order to obtain proper funding, the world – my dear scientists – does not benefit by many of these little papers and documentations, base and feasibility studies as well as assesment reports that apparently have no other meaning than to reconfirm your R&D needs and so often end up in a drawer somewhere.

Instead, what I would like to see realized, is the actual implementation of much more practical work – something that we – the consumers – can work with. As a good example, let me mention this website I found today on a team of two scientists that diligently described on their website how they are going to “search the internet for publications” on a certain subject and compile reports out of these trouvailles…

Hello? Why don’t u guys just sit down, check out free webspace on the internet, download a free and open Wiki or CMS software, install that on your website and put that information right in there? I mean, it isn’t THAT difficult!

Argh….this scientific approach so often bugs me big times. And although I sort of feel them on their documentation needs, I would like to see more interactive information being published – something that takes us from A to B – and NOT just this kind of one-way-information.

Please?

the marketing pool

While googling for the keyword “Eldoret” (a fast inet connection and random keywords make up for perfect time-wasters which of course are always prefered to work which would actually put some food on the table..), I once again realized how many different ngo projects are done in Kenya.

I am SURE many of you can instantly name a few initiatives and NGOs that are dealing with water, energy, health, general environmental issues, IT, social work, etc etc and there sure are many we have never even heard of.
On the other hand, there are many qualified, jobless young Kenyans dying to get a decent job if only they knew where to apply.

To make it short: is there any website or office in Kenya that tries to a) lobby the NGO’s work and b) tries to get all NGOs to round table talks (as a problem seems to be that many NGOs differ in political orientations, funding and other strange variables).

As a start, I am thinking of using a free Wiki software to at least document all NGOs willing to publish their work on a single website. The idea of such an informative website is to get an overview of what has been implemented so far, what kind of policy the GoK has on certain matters, the people’s view and the typical approach strategy NGOs use to get their messages conveyed.
A website that sums up ALL different opinions and gives the public an overview (at least) of how they can be involved. You know, there are active forums like Mashada & Co, or even the vivid kenyan blogosphere, where ppl communicate on a daily basis. Why shouldn’t this be possible on a matter of national interest?

Natujenge taifa letu
Ee ndio wajibu wetu
Kenya istahili heshima
Tuungane mikono pamoja kazini
Kila siku tuwe nashukrani.

Only words?

I found this website that tries to do cover the above mentioned idea – however, did YOU know it?

binary worlds

“There are only 10 types of people in the world:
Those who understand binary, and those who don’t*“

Fellow blogger Mzeecedric recently bought himself a new DELL notebook and if I remember well, the first thing he did after starting his new computer toy was to format the main partition in order to install his own software and preferences.

Having mentioned that, I today came across an older fellow student (born in 1962!) who desperately tried to get her CV and job application letter she’d compiled in MS Works format (*.wps) emailed to a future employer.
Now, that very same woman recently bought a brand new AMD Turion64 notebook (100 GB HDD; 512 MB RAM) with LOTS of additional accessory like this really cool hybrid (digital + analogue) tv tuner + remote control from a supermarket sale for the sum of EUR 999,- …and actually, the only thing she really knows about this machine is how to start it.
I helped her to install the OpenOffice 2.0 suite and showed her how to convert her files into PDFs as well as how to email them via her yahoo account, etc….

During all these years of free computer consultation for others, I’ve often come across typical user statements such as “Oh, maybe I should buy a new computer because the old one has (software) problems” or “Oh, I don’t understand this, it doesn’t work, but I’ve invested a lot of money in it so it should work….”. I am sure a lot of geeks out there have experienced similar stories, and one is often tempted to mention that it isn’t the computer or faulty software to blame, but instead incapable users who on one hand invest a lot of money but on the other hand expect these machines to function with the ease of a simple tv remote control.

And it is not that “we” know computers that much better – there are also a lot of software questions I am having and which I’ve often tried to ignore (like doing comparatively simple stuff in Office suites). It’s just a matter of approaching technical issues, and having an interest to spend some time in front of these machines figuring out how to solve certain problems.
We are having the year 2006 now, computers and their operating systems have come a long way, things may have improved over the years, but at the same time these machines have become more and more complex – and users have often given up trying to understand how things work. Mind you – I am talking about engineers, that is, about people who are supposed to have an analytical approach on technical issues. That above mentioned fellow student is a fully certified civil engineer who has also been working as a carpenter for more than 20 years.

the perfect case mod: computer case BBQ

The reason I am mentioning all this is because I am still flabbergasted at the fact that the industry apparently tries to make computers, cars, mobile phones, PDAs, etc. more and more complex – but at the same time often neglects the fact that users just want to use their systems without worrying about technical details. Sure, there ARE interesting developments on the market – even Windows XP isn’t that bad and simple to use. Cars (except of course for BMWs :-) have simple menu-driven user interfaces on their navi systems, and it won’t take much for future generations for getting used to such systems as they are growing up with mobile phones and other gadgets. BUT! – marketing tells us to get our hands on better & faster machines, to invest again into complex systems that take us one step further away from the initial idea of just using technology for simple needs. In other words: it sort of brakes my IT-shaped heart when I come across such lost users like this fellow student who invested a lot of money in a brand new computer whose full potential she is never going to use.
Is this the progress we’ve been working on?