UPS…bad…then good…then baaaaad

I have a long history with buying things over the Internet and having them shipped to me.  Because I like to build my own computers and I’m just a general gadget freak, usually the things I want are only available through online retailers because brick-and-mortar stores just don’t have the shelf space to carry much selection.

So, obviously, I’ve come into contact with UPS.  My first real dealings on a large scale with UPS were not good.  I would order several items from NewEgg and they’d be shipped in a few different packages.  I would have packages arrive that were damaged (luckily, just the exterior cardboard shipping box was damaged and not the contents!).  I would have “Sorry we missed you!” notices on my door even when I was INSIDE my apartment and never heard a single knock!  Sometimes, the lazy driver wouldn’t even bother to come to my door.  Because I lived in apartments, UPS can just drop packages off at the management desk and leave.  This is usually what would happen.  I’d go in to the manager’s office to pick up a package that FedEx left for me and the manager would tell me that I had another package there from UPS!  No notice on my door or anything!

Build your own Mac with EFi-X

Several months back, I saw a post on Engadget or Gizmodo (or probably both) about a device called EFi-X.  It’s a small device that plugs into a USB header on your motherboard and essentially turns your plain “beige box” PC into a Mac.  Now, obviously it doesn’t magically transform your case and hardware into a shiny aluminum cheese grater, but it does provide an EFI bootloader so that you can boot and install a plain, unhacked retail version of Mac OS X onto certain PC hardware.

Why should you care?  Well, if you’ve ever wanted the Mac experience but didn’t feel like paying the Mac tax to get super pretty hardware that you can’t modify, this is your chance.  For under $1000, you can build your own Mac, with components of your choosing and space to expand and choices in cases, lights, etc.  It brings the Mac OS to the PC modding community!

So, why am I writing about this?  Simple:  I just got an EFi-X chip and built my own “Mac”. 

Lenovo IdeaPad S10…coolest thing EVER!

Okay, so I got a little extra money this Christmas due to moving to a new company and I decided to splurge on myself a little.  I used to have a laptop and it was very handy to have.  Every time my girlfriend and I went away on vacation, we could bring it along with us and use it to find nice local restaurants or places to visit.  But the laptop I had was a big Apple MacBook Pro with a 15 inch screen.  If you’ve ever held one of these aluminum beasts you know why it isn’t that practical for quick packing up and easy carrying.  It’s pushing 6 pounds if I remember correctly.

Anyway, I long ago got rid of it on eBay.  It was a great, powerful laptop, but just too much computer for my needs.  I really just wanted a light-weight device for quick emails and short-term web surfing.  My cell phone, while powerful, only has a 2.8 inch screen which doesn’t exactly lend itself to surfing the web.

Luckily, Asus saw the need for a simple, low-power, light-weight laptop and produced the Eee PC.  It took off like a bullet and every other company jumped on the bandwagon, including the Cadillac of laptop makers, Lenovo. 

Long time, no write

I haven’t really had much time to write about anything that interests me.  I’ve started a new job so the learning curve there has taken quite a bit of my time.  Plus, with Christmas fast approaching, most of my time online has been spent searching for gifts.

But there will be a flurry of new posts in the next couple of days as I have a few topics I want to jot down while they’re still fresh on my mind.  Specifically, I want to write about the Lenovo S10, the EFi-X chip, and Charlie Weis.

So those will be coming soon.  AWESOME!