Taken with Palm Pre

This coffee break is not the kind I usually take. I simply wanted a change of scenery while working, something I recommend all home workers do from time to time. So I’m working in the breakfast nook at home, but I am using the Acer Aspire 8940G. This beauty has the 18.4-inch high-resolution screen that is a joy to use. I can run two programs side-by-side using the Windows 7 Aero drag feature, and neither window requires horizontal scrolling to view everything. It’s also a performance beast with the Core i7 processors on board. Throw in the 4 GB of memory and the 500 GB hard drive and it’s like a high-power workstation. One I can carry into the kitchen to work.

This is not new technology, but as of a few minutes ago it is new to me. I finally swung by the Apple Store and picked up a Magic Mouse of my very own. It took all of 30 seconds to unpack it and get it paired up to my MacBook. I’ve been using it for all of five minutes but I’m already ready liking the way the multitouch gestures work. I had to enable right-clicking in the preferences (what’s up with that, Apple?), and so far I am just using the default gestures.

One of my concerns was how well the Magic Mouse would work with Firefox, but I needn’t have worried. Scrolling works fine with either one or two fingers, and even the swipe left and right works in Firefox. I’ll have to hold off final judgement as to whether it’s worth the $69 I paid for it, but so far it’s been pretty nice. Before anyone asks, yes, you have to remove it from the plastic case before using it.

It’s been a busy day so far getting ready for the opening of the CES tomorrow. We had over an hour to play with some cool mobile gear earlier, including an innovative hybrid, and we should have that video up pretty soon. Meanwhile I have been on a quest to find passable Wi-Fi connectivity somewhere around the Venetian Hotel and the Sands Center. The press room at the Sands is a wash, too many people and the network too saturated to be of much use.

I’m able to keep going just fine with the MiFi, but full bandwidth would be nice. I stopped for coffee in a shop on the edge of the casino and lo and behold the connectivity is free and tasty. Nothing better than a good cup of java and some tasty Wi-Fi, but it sure is strange blogging with slot machines all around.

Oh no he didn’t take the 18.4-inch Acer Aspire 8940G notebook to the local coffee shop. Oh yes he did, and it’s been an adventure from the get-go. First up, I had to find a bag at Mobile Tech Manor that the giant laptop would fit in and close. I must have tried 5 or 6 bags before I realized that if I ignored the special laptop pouch within a giant Targus backpack I have and put it in the main compartment, that it would then fit and close.

Then I had to haul the 10+ pound notebook to the car, and to the coffee shop without breaking my shoulder. Once inside the shop, I had to pass over many tables until finding one that was big enough to actually handle the giant laptop. Once that was done I was all set, and I’m working away with this gorgeous screen. Battery life is looking to be between 2.5 and 3 hours, not bad for such a powerhouse with an 8-cell battery.

The keyboard is delightful, it is a cross between a chiclet style and a “real” keyboard. The keys are flat, but have full travel unlike chiclet keys. Having a 10-key on board is taking me back to the old desktop keyboards, and it’s useful as can be. I am successfully fighting the urge to fire up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, that would be too much for the crowded shop. It sure would be fun, though.

I had an appointment early this afternoon and once that was over I stopped in the local brew shop for some caffeine to get some work done. I decided small and light was the order of the day, so today I’ve got the loaner Viliv S7 convertible UMPC along for the ride. It’s working pretty well — I’m even getting used to the super-small keyboard. I am touch typing, although slowly and surely. I decided to snap a pic of the rig before the Droid decides to screw up the auto-focus again.

It is Friday afternoon, 70 degrees and brilliant sunshine; the perfect excuse to put the top down and head out to work. That I am doing using Windows 7 with great relish. Life is good.

Image taken with iPhone 3G

I am having lunch at the local Denny’s, enjoying the free Wi-Fi while waiting for my salad. The Lenovo ThinkPad x200 is perfect for this scenario. I have it in slate mode, using the touch controls to surf the web, check email and write this post. Life is good.

Taken with HTC Hero

I am working this afternoon at the local Panera Bread. I am firmly entrenched in the college and professional football seasons here in U.S., so today I decided to go long and wide. The big 14-inch screen of the loaner Lenovo T400s was just the ticket, especially given the 1440×900 resolution. And of course there is that great keyboard.

I took the photo with the HTC Hero camera. It has a 5 megapixel camera and I must say, this photo is not as good as those I take with the Pre. The Pre is at home right now, as I discovered it had a completely drained battery, even though it had been sitting on the Touchstone charger. Uh oh.

HP Mini 1000, MS Arc mouse, MiFi

I recently returned the HP Mini 5101 netbook and this morning I realized I only have one netbook at Mobile Tech Manor. The HP Mini 1000 is the only netbook after returning 4 or 5 others along with the 5101. As I was pondering only having the one netbook, a highly unusual situation for me, I noticed that the 1000 was still running Windows 7 RC.

I had installed it when the Release Candidate first appeared, andthe Mini 1000 has run well with Windows 7. I couldn’t keep using a beta version so I set out to install the full blown version of Windows 7.

The install went flawlessly, and the first Windows Update after it completed found all the drivers needed to finish the job. It was the easiest install of Win 7 I’ve experienced yet.

I had to head out for some java and take the Mini 1000 along to break in that new Win 7 install properly, so here I am. The 1000 is running very well indeed.

As a refresher, this Mini 1000 has the following specs:

• Atom 1.6 GHz
• 1 GB RAM
• 16 GB SSD
• 10-inch display, 1024×576
• Wi-Fi

I am trying something with the Mini I haven’t tried on a netbook yet. I have a 4 GB SD card that I’ve been using for additional storage given the small SSD in the 1000. This time I have the SD card set to be totally devoted to ReadyBoost duty to enhance the performance of Windows 7 on the Atom processor. So far it definitely is making a difference.

Mobile desktop

I attended the GigaOM Pro webinar earlier (which was great) and then needed to get out of the office. I am in the coffee shop working away on the loaner Viliv X70 UMPC, now that it’s back running Windows XP after my failed attempt to put Windows 7 on it. I’ll detail that aborted process in tomorrow’s Mobile Tech Manor column.

The X70 is a stellar mobile desktop when paired with the Stowaway wireless keyboard and mouse. It’s so small for transport, yet the 7-inch screen is quite comfortable to use for extended periods on the table. I am flying through stuff with no feeling of compromise at all.

I had a routine doctor’s appointment today and they actually got me in and out early! I can’t remember the last time a doctor got me out of their office even earlier than my appointment start time.

I was prepared though; I had taken the Viliv S5 UMPC along for the ride. I stopped off for a cool beverage (it’s 100 degrees here) and got some blogging done with the little rig. These opportunities are perfect for the little UMPC with the wireless keyboard and mouse.

Windows 7 on the HP Mini 5101 netbook

I am getting more respect for Windows 7 the more I use it on the HP Mini 5101 netbook. The GUI changes made to Windows 7 are tailor-made for small netbook screens, although they are not limited to use on netbooks. Here are my favorite ones:

Window maximize- just dragging a window to the top of the screen maximizes it. Dragging it back down restores it to its previous size. This is incredibly useful on the netbook.

Show desktop- hover the cursor over the far right of the taskbar and all windows disappear until you move the cursor away. This is an easy way to hide the windows and get at the desktop to check something.

Aero peek- hover over an icon in the taskbar and see a thumbnail of the program’s window. This is even more useful if you have multiple instances of something running, the “peek” shows thumbnails of all instances. These thumbnails are live, you can even close them from the thumbnail.

Window shake- when you have multiple windows open at once and need to bring your attention to one of them, “grab” that window’s title bar and shake side-to-side. All other windows will disappear to the taskbar and your window will have your undivided attention. Shake it again when you want all the other windows to come back.

Dock to left or right side of screen- if you need to move a window to the left or right side of the screen and resize it to half the total screen width, just drag it to the appropriate side of the screen.  You can do the same thing with the Windows key + left/ right arrow key.

Make the taskbar smaller- go to the taskbar properties (by right-clicking it) and select “small icons”. The whole taskbar shrinks to fit the smaller icons.

These are nothing new but are the Windows 7 changes that I am finding to be particularly useful for netbooks. Share your faves in the comments.

I have been netbooking all day today, at a few different places, and I am really liking Windows 7. It’s running just as fast as Windows XP but it looks prettier. After just a few hours I have to admit I don’t see what else it adds besides the pretty, but that’s what I like. Other improvements I will surely notice later.  Before anyone asks, here’s the desktop close-up:

HTC Advantage, MacBook (not in L-R order)

I’m hanging out in the local beanery, working away and generally messing with those around me who not only keep asking me about my “tiny laptop,” but are blown away when I tell them it’s two years old. I’m not bad; I’m just drawn this way.

I am sitting in Denny’s with a full tummy, sipping some fresh-brewed coffee from a bottomless cup while working away. No, this is not an ad for the restaurant chain, it is me blatantly using their free Wi-Fi for getting some work done.

I am using the HP Mini 5101 netbook, and the more I use it, the more I feel that it is my favorite netbook so far. I’ve used a lot of them, but the 5101 with the chiclet keyboard and small size is simply a great mobile computer. I am currently working in Google Chrome with seven tabs open, and the performance is decent.

This unit has one GB of RAM and I’m wondering how it will be with two GB installed? I just may have to find out. HP has made RAM upgrades easy to do, with the access panel that requires no tools. Microsoft won’t let HP sell the Mini with 2 GB of RAM with XP onboard, but they can’t stop me from adding it.