Tech – Page 10 – Not Content to Crawl

Skins & Cases

Posted onJanuary 15, 2011

Earlier in the week I received the Kindle case I ordered off Etsy. I had bought an ugly boring case at Borders the week before but I started feeling like it didn’t do my cool device any justice, so I took it back and ordered this awesome case instead. It’s really beautiful, well-made, and the perfect size, plus it cost only slightly more than the case from Borders.

Why do companies use finishes on their devices that show fingerprints so easily? The front of the Kindle is great, but the back leaves much to be desired. Luckily Joe bought a skin I wanted for my birthday, from DecalGirl, so it’s not as bad, although it does still show some fingerprints, but they are easier to wipe off the skin. I only used the back skin because I’m not sure I’d like the feel or look of one on the front. And you have to be very careful applying the back skin because if you’re just a little off it affects how the page buttons react when pushed.

Apple has always been a big offender when it comes to fingerprints on the back of their devices, so I always keep my iPhone in a case. I’ve been using the iFrogz Luxe Original cases (I have them in three different color schemes – magenta/black, neon green/black, and purple/black), but lately I’ve been using the Big Bang Theory case Joe got me from ThinkGeek for Christmas. The nice thing about it is there’s a bit of wrap-around onto the front of the device whereas the iFrogz cases don’t feature that, plus it’s easy to grip. The negative is it can be tougher to put in and out of the Golla carrying case I use because it’s so rubbery.

I’ve been using the same Belkin carrying case for my iPod Classic since I got it three years ago (and the device is still going strong with no issues despite daily use), but about a year ago I bought a skin for it from GelaSkins. I like it because it has a Cure-like look to it.

One thing I’ll note – I never use a screen protector on any of my devices, with the exception of my Canon Powershot SD870. I just don’t like them, and I’m careful to keep them face-up or in their respective carrying cases when not in use, so it’s never been a problem. I hope I don’t jinx myself by bragging about the lack of scratches on their screens!

Annoyed by my DVR

Posted onApril 28, 2010

Comcast recently updated their DVR software and I really hate, nay, loathe, the new auto correction feature. It drives me even more crazy every time I use it. So much so, that I e-mailed Comcast about it. I figured I’d also complain about the new history feature too while I was at it.

First, here’s how two of the new features are described in the documentation I found on their website:

Second, here’s the e-mail I sent. I was much nicer than I was feeling considering my husband works for them. I wonder if I’ll hear back, other than some silly form letter.

Please allow users to disable the new DVR Auto-Correction “feature” because it is annoying! I don’t appreciate my DVR assuming it knows where I really wanted to stop when rewinding/fast-forwarding. I want it to stop when I click play. End of story.

Now instead of fast-forwarding once, I have to do it several times while my DVR tries to second guess me and put me at a spot I didn’t want. I really do not appreciate that. Some of us have good reflexes and can stop the DVR where we actually want it to stop. Now it’s a game trying to anticipate where it will rewind to so I can over fast forward to get the desired result. It is frustrating, and not a good user experience. The fact that you forced it on people instead of making it optional is what makes it even worse!

Trying to rewind is even more frustrating. If I am rewinding, why does the DVR fast forward a bit when I press play? It doesn’t make sense to me at all.

Also, the DVR History option is nice, but a bit of a tease. Why can’t it allow you to un-delete something that was deleted in error? Maybe within a given time limit since the data might be overwritten.

Please consider these changes. Oh, and next time a message warning people of the upcoming changes and then after the changes are made would be nice. You send messages for everything else but not something useful like this. I’m sure it would cut down on customer calls too, particularly if you directed users to the document explaining the changes in detail.

Dude, I’m getting another Dell!

Posted onMarch 17, 2010March 17, 2010

I’m getting a new computer!

I know, what has it been, two years since I got my last machine? But I really want Windows 7 and after discussing it with Joe, he felt it made more sense to get a new machine so E can have my old one instead of paying over $100 to upgrade my operating system. E could use a faster machine anyway.

I’ve been dragging my feet on the whole thing, because I love to do that sort of thing when ordering electronics. I’ve been putting computers in my shopping cart and configuring them, but never placing an order. Then when I was finally ready to do it on Monday, the computer had disappeared from my cart! I chatted online with Dell support, but instead of admitting the deal expired, they tried to be sneaky and sell me a different configuration. I told them to forget it. But as these things work, the very next day they had a deal that was even better than my original one, so I ordered my new PC this morning.

The highlights –

Inspiron 560 Mini-Tower, Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz, 3MB)
8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz – 4X2GB
23.0″ Dell ST2310 Full HD Monitor with VGA cable
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
1TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive 7200RPM
Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader
1394a High Speed AV Port
16X DVD+/-RW Drive

Yea, I’m actually going to try a wide-screen monitor. I figure if it’s tall enough, I won’t lose any vertical space like I did with the other monitor that came with my last PC. Also, I plan to get a better graphics card, possibly, after seeing how the integrated one performs.

I’m pretty excited, though! New computers are always fun.

Phone Accessories & Skinning

Posted onFebruary 13, 2010

If you’re looking for inexpensive accessories for your phone, I recommend these recent purchases I’ve made:

Beanbag Cellphone Chair from ThinkGeek. My iPhone loves sitting propped up next to my computer at work where I can keep an eye on it. It’s very important to see Facebook push notifications immediately when they arrive. ;)

Crabble Folding iPhone Stand, also from ThinkGeek. It’s not as nice as the beanbag, but it just fits in my Golla mobile bag which is convenient so I always have it on hand. Would be great for traveling too.

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So I’ve been itching to skin my iPod. It’s scratched to hell on the back anyway, thanks to the wallet-style case I kept it in which obviously allowed debris to get caught inside and scratch it, so I figured, why the hell not? I just can’t decide which design I want. My iPod is black, so I figured I’d get something dark too so if any of the iPod shows through, it won’t look as bad as if I had chosen a light design. Here’s my favorites:

Tweet Dark
Whimsical
Crowd Favorite
Growth

I’m leaning toward the last one as it has a Cure-ish look to it, but I can’t make a decision.

iPhone update & pet stuff

Posted onAugust 20, 20093 Comments

So it’s been just over a month since I got my iPhone and the novelty is beginning to wear off a bit, thank god. Because I really was spending way too much time using it! Now I am back to reading during my lunch break instead of screwing around on my phone and I feel smarter already. ;)

I think the one thing the iPhone has afforded me is more time to keep in touch with friends without being tied to my computer. Last thing I want after working at a computer all day is to be in front of mine at home. There are days where I don’t have to boot up at all. It’s a beautiful thing! Between Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, I can keep on top of what everyone is up to but still have time to relax. Although I must admit the evenings just fly by. I don’t even know what I’m doing since it’s not cooking healthy meals or working out, two things I SHOULD be doing daily. When the Fall shows begin I’m going to be even a bigger lazy ass if that’s possible.

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Is it bad that I don’t want my pets anymore? Don’t worry, I won’t be getting rid of them, because that’s irresponsible, but the work to keep their cages clean is completely out of proportion to the joy they bring. In other words, I am finding them to be more trouble than they are worth and when they go to the hamster wheel and sewer (lol, just kidding) in the sky, that’s it. I’m holding out for a cat.

The rats especially make me question what I was thinking. They are much better than a hamster in that you can actually interact with them, but there’s no good place for their cage and I feel bad that they don’t have a bigger one. In addition, after Joe shampooed our carpeting we don’t want them running around on it anymore so I have to lay out a blanket and surround it with the makeshift wall we created from some boxes. That makes it difficult to interact with them. And even worse is that for whatever reason they are making my house smell like mothballs which is seriously annoying me. I can’t figure out if it’s the litter I’m using (Yesterday’s News) or just them. I have a brand new bag of litter to go through and after that I’m going to see if the smell gets better.

Oh and on top of that, I feel like my breathing has been getting weird lately. It almost feels like I’m developing asthma. If it gets any worse I might just have to find them another home but we’ll see if it comes to that. As much as they annoy me, I think I’d be upset if I got rid of them because they are like relatives – you love them but don’t really like them. That is how I am feeling about the rodents in this house lately.