milkypink [dot] net

So! As you may remember, I am still out one fully functional laptop computer. Ai is a nice stopgap, but she’s really for travel and is less than spectacular for heavy video viewing.
Enter Sony’s CW series – the latest refresh to their C line that caught my attention way back with the ability to have a pink (!) laptop. In the end, I chose the white giant that was Shirayukihime (a customized FZ series) due to various factors and although she died, I’m still, for some reason, considering another Sony laptop. No hope for me, really.
The specs and pricing look good; my current preferred spec set is as follows:

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.80GHz) (6MB L2 Cache! ♥)
• Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional 64bit (choosing this for XP compat ability & also for Fresh Start)
• Poppy Pink (like I would chose any other color, really. if the pink is hideous I might go the white route but I’m hoping it’s okay XD)
• 320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm) (I could go the 500GB route, but to be honest I’d rather have a large external drive than a huge internal one, so)
• 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066 (not overkilling here, I can add more RAM later to suit my needs)
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GT230M GPU (512MB VRAM) (pretty powerful vid card, which means Sims ♥)
• CD/DVD playback/burning (not going with the BluRay drive because, not sure I would use it.)
• Fresh Start (a.k.a. no Sony bloatware, free trials, etc. gunk-free lappy? yes plz!)
• Standard Capacity Battery (VGP-BPS13) (I’m debating whether to go the extended life batt on this, only $50 more for 6hrs vs 4hrs, so. hmm.)

I’m tempted to wait a bit to see if Sony offers any deals with the holiday season coming up, as well as keep an eye out for potential issues with this model – orders just opened yesterday, so no one’s got theirs yet, I think. For that purpose, I stalk the forums at notebookreview.com – they were very helpful with information about the FZ series, and there was even a walkthrough explanation for how to disassemble (which was handy when I wanted to clean out the dust).

In other digi.tech news, I think I’ve pretty firmly decided that until the iPod touch has a camera (which I suspect will happen post-x-mas) I’m not upgrading. I suppose, unless, my current iPod bites the dust, but it’s a pretty sturdy piece of tech, so that looks unlikely :D

And finally, in the most exciting news, Barnes & Noble has released their own ebook reader, called Nook. It’s quite similar to the Kindle, but with some important differences:

• two screens, but, not the way you are thinking. on top, an e-ink screen. on bottom, a capacitive color touchscreen ♥♥ which is spectacular.
• microSD card slot, which means you could have a potentially infinite number of books/files
• pdf support! ahhh… so nice…
• supposedly will use ePub format? which is not too bad (better than Amazon’s format, anyway, DRM still included presumably)
• lending books to friends this, I am SO excited about. I mean, okay, I don’t lend out books a whole lot, but just, the acknowledgment of that’s what people do with books is ♥
• easy switching between Nook, PC, iPod Touch, etc. etc. (the PC addition is important, Kindle’s only got iPod Touch/iPhone)
• wireless provided by AT&T, which, I don’t really care too much about what company does this, but it’s worth noting

Basically? I’m currently stupidly excited about this tech for no easily explainable reason. But I will hold back! and wait for the device to actually SHIP and get used by some early adopters (a.k.a guinea piggies) before seriously approaching the purchasing process. I mean, it’s not even shipping until Nov 30th, so. Naturally, if it’s awesome supply will be short for holidays but I think I will live. I’m thinking it would be most useful for things like my Japan 2010 trip, so there’s enough time between then and, say, July for supply to meet demand. XD

So, it’s been a couple weeks (more?) since I last updated this. I’m pretty sure “Sporadic Updates” would be my middle name, if I didn’t already have one.

Apple did release a 64GB iPod Touch, and I am tempted to buy it. However, because of all of the camera rumors (supported by a disassembling of the new Touch) I think I am ultimately still going to hold off. An image Zannah posted on plurk cemented my thoughts pretty well – making mention to the fact that Apple may be planning to just sell bunches of new Touches only to release one with a camera post-holiday season. (It isn’t as though such a thing hasn’t happened before – the 32GB Touch was released this way.)

So I’m going to wait. And even if one doesn’t come out post-holiday, it’s sure to have gotten at least a bit cheaper by then anyway… win-win really I suppose XD
Getting a new, more functional laptop is most important at the moment anyway. Ai is cute and everything but she has some problems…. and I’m probably working her too hard, realistically speaking. October is my target month, a little after Windows 7 has been released. After that point, it’s just a matter of good specs and the best deal.

In the meantime… I’ll occupy myself making jewelry.

Okay so it’s almost September.

Last time I remember, it was just the beginning of August.

There were, of course, a couple weeks of Family Time in there so that probably sucked up most of the month.



But, September! That is exciting.



If you are wondering why, then you probably don’t have an iPod and/or are not waiting to upgrade your mp3 player to one.



Finally, finally, finally! my desires for a 64GB iPod touch will be fulfilled. The iPhone has increased to 32GB, and on top of that, rumors are flying about the touch getting a camera (?!) and a microphone! I am so glad I waited XD

But I’ll post more about that when it’s released and I buy one, likely in the next couple of weeks.

Instead, I’d like to talk about my experience with my netbook-as-laptop-replacement so far.
In general, it’s not bad. I can still do all of my net stuff, listen to music, and work on creative projects. All good things.
However, there are one or two things that are really bothering me.
1) Video playback is subpar to impossible. Streaming is by far the best method for watching stuff, but even that is laggy.
2) Any form of gaming is pretty much impossible. Lately I’ve been missing the Sims, and wondering about The Sims 3, which, of course would not at all work on this underpowered machine.

So, it’s not perfect, and really, it’s not meant to be a permanent replacement. But I am reaching my limit.
Even though companies like Dell are offering free Win 7 upgrades, that’s not all I’m holding out for.
I’m waiting for technology to move just a little further, for deals to get just a little better, and to find a machine that really makes me feel completely confident that it’s what I want, and will want for the next 2-3 years (at a minimum).

Occasionally I’ll peak at company websites, compare configurations and prices, but nothing’s struck me as perfect yet.
The wait is feeling longer and longer, but maybe some new shiny tech will help tide me over for a while :D

↑This↑ is my laptop. It’s shiny and white, and 1.5 years old.
It’s also a fickle little thing.
I’ve had various hard-drive-connection related problems with it, that annoy me to no end. I’m always lulled back into feeling comfortable with it, but I’m afraid one day it just isn’t going to cooperate anymore, without warning :/
(Well, whenever it throws a fit it’s without warning anyway…)
I’m trying to get better about backing up everything important on my little pink hdd but I can’t back things up every second of every day.
This is yet another reason why I want to have an iPod that can hold all of my music at once…