A Backpack for the Truly Mobile

Amazon has the Mobile Edge Express backpack on sale for $44.84. This backpack will hold EVERYTHING you can imagine, including:

a laptop (up to 15.4-inches)
a PDA
files/folders
CDs
CD/MP3 player with headphone SoundPort
Heavy-duty Duraflex fittings
Ventilated mesh back-panel
Pens/pencils
Water bottle
Cords/chargers/cables
Mouse
Anything else you can think of...

I really like this bag and so do the people who've bought it (read the customer reviews). If you're looking for a really heavy-duty, all-you-can-carry backpack, look no further.

MacBooks Make the Perfect Campus Companions

Laptops come in all shapes and sizes, from different manufacturers and different countries. However, one notebook truly caught my eye and has become a constant companion in my travels. Apple’s 13” MacBook is, in my opinion, the best laptop for any user, but especially for students. The reasons are many, but the main ones are size, performance, features, and cross-platform functionality. Let’s begin by discussing the dimensions of the MacBook.
The unit itself measures about 13” wide by 9” deep by 1” thick and weighs approximately 5 pounds. The display is a 13.3” (diagonal) glossy widescreen with support for 640 x 480 resolution, and moving all the way up to 1280 x 800 resolution. This notebook is very portable and will not weigh you down while traversing the campus. Slip it in a backpack or messenger bag and be on your way!
As for performance, this little laptop is actually quite a powerhouse. The new models come loaded with 1.83 GHz or 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors and up to 2GB of RAM. Even with 8 apps running at once, this computer is still a speed demon. The one downside is that the graphics card is built into the motherboard, so performance is nothing to write home about and you aren’t able to change/swap it. In fact, most games won’t work well at all on this system. However, if you’re a gamer, you probably have a desktop setup in your dorm anyway and a gaming laptop has never really crossed your mind. Some people worry that with a lot of power comes a lot of noise, but these laptops are really quite easy on the ears. I haven’t had any problems with excessive fan noise or hard drive noise. The one issue I have is that they can get to be a bit hot, so be careful if you’re wearing shorts and surfing the web on a MacBook.
The MacBook’s features are definitely a big selling point because there are just so many to list. These features include, but are not limited to:
a. MagSafe power adapter: Don’t worry about tripping over your laptop’s cord because the MagSafe power cord will automatically disconnect from the device, while leaving your precious notebook safe and secure on the desk. The secret is the magnetic connector that automatically attaches to the unit when the head of the adapter is placed near the port. The power brick on the adapter also has storage for the power cord when you’re traveling.
b. Bluetooth functionality
c. Front Row: the MacBook comes with a little white remote control for using the Front Row software – a collection of apps that make watching movies, listening to music, or viewing photos easy and fun.
d. Built in WiFi
e. Built in iSight webcam with Photo Booth software.
f. FireWire 400 port
g. 2 USB ports
h. DVD/CD Superdrive capable of burning CD-Rs and Dual Layer DVD-Rs.
i. Swappable SATA hard drive: with the simple removal of a metal panel inside the battery bay, you can easily swap out the standard hard drive and put your own 2.5” drive inside. You don’t have to order the 200GB drive from Apple – you can buy one from Seagate or Toshiba and use that instead. The cap for space is 200GB as of right now, but hopefully companies will be coming out with bigger drives in the near future.
And that’s not all! Check out the Apple website for a more complete list of features.
Finally, there’s that whole issue of cross-platform blah blah blah. Essentially, this computer can run both the Mac OS and Windows (either XP or Vista). This is huge because if you were wavering between the two platforms, now you can have both thanks to the Intel chips inside. Run any Windows software that isn’t compatible with Mac on the Windows side and run any Mac software that isn’t compatible with Windows on the Mac side. With this (or any contemporary Apple computer), you don’t have to worry about compatibility on campus.
Remember, these aren’t perfect computers and you’ll have hiccups every now and then, but for the most part, the Mac computers are very stable and very solid. A few tips for those looking to buy one:
a. Beware of fingerprints on the glossy screen
b. Watch out for glare on a sunny day
c. Heat is an issue – don’t burn yourself or burn out your system
d. Keep it protected and keep it safe
I hope this article has helped you in your search for a new laptop or the right Mac laptop. I love Macs because they’ve worked so well for me over the past four years that I’ve never really seen the need to go back to Windows. I am, however, planning to upgrade my hard drive and partition it for use with Windows Vista because there are some apps I need that don’t run on Mac and having both OSs would be helpful. There are three types of MacBooks to choose from and they range in price from $1099 to $1499 (or less with Student discount!), so good luck with your purchases and if you have any questions, drop me a line or check out Apple.com.

Norton 360...Perfect for Students

CNet has a review of Norton's new suite of virus fighting utilities, called Norton 360. Among the perks are:

a. Only what you need, nothing you don't! Norton took everything from it's more robust programs and thinned it out so not only do you get the essentials, it's less work for your processor, too!

b. Inexpensive: The software can be found for around $75-$80. Not bad for a student on a budget. If you order from Amazon (see bottom right) and use the rebate, you can get it for about $57.

c. Because it was designed from the ground up, it doesn't feel like a mish-mosh of programs that just don't work together. This system is very nice and very user friendly.

d. Works with Vista!

For the whole review, visit the link above.

BitTorrent is Back and Worse Than Ever!

BitTorrent recently revamped its site and has now become the BitTorrent Entertainment Network. Many things have changed and not all of them (actually, very few of them) are for the better.

The Good:

It's fast - you're paying for it, so it should be. Even files with no other hosts can download at 1MB/sec or better.

The Bad:

1. Movies can only be rented (not purchased) and viewed on only one device for either 30 days or 24 hours of viewing.

2. TV shows can only be viewed on no more than 2 devices and have to be authorized.

3. DRM!! These files are only in Windows Media format, so us Mac and Linux users have to go elsewhere. If you haven't wanted to go elsewhere yet, you will.

4. Poorly organized store. Many shows are hard to find and seasons are a pain to navigate through.

For more on this, check out Webware. They've got the full article/review.

Hello.

The After Mac has a little blurb on the new Apple iPhone commercial that aired during the Oscars on Sunday night. While the ad definitely gets the point across, my question regarding the device is: Why is a company that has captivated the youth market so astoundingly made a device that said market cannot afford (generally speaking)? To you, dear readers, I pose this and other questions:

1. Are you going to buy one in June and why?
2. What are your opinions of Apple at this point in their history?
3. How will the iPhone affect, not just the cell phone industry, but the computer industry as a whole?

I'm waiting till it works on the 3G network and comes down a little in price (which, it may not, but who knows?)

Ink Cartridges for Less...at Staples

I know some people have certain printers that only use ink manufactured by that company. Dell is a major culprit of this tactic and it's time they were stopped.

What a lot of people don't realize is that they can go to Staples and buy the Staples brand ink instead. These cartridges will work perfectly fine in those hard-to-buy-for printers and for a few dollars cheaper (or about the same) as the ones that were ordered online. Also, Staples offers deals like free photo paper with the purchase of a two-pack of HP inks or money back after you donate your used cartridges. Give them a visit online or in-store and check out the deals.


Staples

Tech Deal Websites

Here is a list of some of the sites I use to get my gadgets and components for cheap. Some of these use a combination of coupon codes and rebates to get the discounts, so you end up getting excellent deals on normally very expensive technology. The best ones are on TVs and video game consoles.

Techbargains

Slickdeals

Woot

Tigerdirect

MyBargainBuddy

Leave a comment if you know of any others! I'm sure I missed a lot that tend to fly under the radar.

w00t!

For those who don't know (but I'm sure many of you do) there is a great site where you can get cool tech toys for REALLY cheap. Woot.com advertises one gadget per day at a steep discount, so check it out for that Roomba your mom wanted or that off-beat MP3 player that does more than the iPod for only $50.

Follow Up: Do You Like Your Carrier?

I've had my issues with T-Mobile, but I want to hear about you. What are some of your worst horror stories with wireless carriers? Did you call the customer service rep a waste of oxygen? Did you threaten to burn their house down? Did they threaten to burn yours? Drop me a comment and let me know!

Question: Do You Like Your Cellphone?

With so many carriers focusing on the aesthetic rather than the functional aspects of cellular phones lately (like the RAZR, Chocolate, iPhone, etc...), I'm wondering if that has hindered the way we use our phones. Have they become more difficult to use because there are either too many or not enough buttons? Are the interfaces trying to hard to be "user-friendly" so they become very unfriendly? Post a comment and let me know:

What kind of cell phone do you have?
What are its good points? What are its bad points?
How is the call quality?
Is it easy to use?

It doesn't have to be huge, but I am curious to hear what people have to say.

REMEMBER: Keep it clean, keep it civilized.

I have the LG-CU500 and I love it. This is the best phone I've ever had and I'm surprised because it does a lot of stuff. It has an MP3 player, 1.3 MP camera (that swivels around!), a number of tools (calculator, voice recorder, measurement converter, etc...), I can watch TV on it, and a ton more. The call quality is quite clear and loud enough to hear almost anywhere. The beauty of it is that it is very easy to use because all the buttons are clearly labeled and make sense as to what they trigger. This phone is offered by Cingular and is definitely worth a look.