Mac Air - up and running

While spent wonderful Christmas with family, I managed to setup my Air for basic functionality. Encrypted emailing, graphics and presentation capabilities. What I like most is this form factor of this computer. It's incredible light and easy to live with, why there is no Linux capable hardware like this?

Macbook Air

After used couple of weeks iPad, I got inspiration to get Macbook Air, 11" model with 64 GB SSD drive. Christmas was partly reason for this, but also the fact that Air is finally something which is correctly sized for various mobile situations. It was also a nice experience to see how well Apple offers mobile me service and ipad and mac got synced together.

Plan is to use this computer to produce various small media things, with iWork 09 and iMovie. Currently we've done those with office showroom mac, which is not so suitable for that. Time tells.

Android and iPad

I met interesting peoples last Friday, really. But before that, I just realized how far Nokia is slipping at the moment. I ordered two Android phones for kids as a Christmas presents and acquired iPad for personal use for me.

Androids are really pushing and my current phone (Desire Z) is offering qwerty for me at last and I just decided to bring family along to Android world. I will offer kids Google Talk and some beaconbase.com service for locating them. These kind of new things are unreachable with Nokia.

And iPad, after I sold my first one back in August - I was forced to get one for project usage and I actually found out that it outplays Samsung Tab. I do not like Apple's ecosystem, I hate itunes and miss Linux functionality - but still, it's marvelous web browsing and emailing tool. Beat that.

Week in middle east

Just returned from Middle East, business trip. Was first thing done without my massive Thinkpad Edge. Survived with Samsung Tab, Nokia booklet and Desire Z phone.

Samsung Tab was indeed very nice, even I couldn't spare to use 3G connection and relayed just over Hotel lobby wlan. Only thing for Booklet (running ubuntu 10.10 of course) was need for encrypted email - all other functions were covered with Samsung Tab. And when not in wlan, Desire Z (yes that android with keyboard) was good. So good that I still wonder why there is no real choices to keyboard models in Android. Strange.

And yes, phone pictured here was found in Mall. Original Intex 6633 dual sim phone for ~70 euros. Not bad Nokia?

Samsung Tab - stability issues

After traveling and experiencing tab with more detailed, I've noticed that it's very handy device for traveling man and applications I want to use when on road. However, I see one issue popping out from time to time. That's stability. Browser, video player, email and attachment handling keeps crashing very often. So often that I find it very annoying. My nexus one wont act like that, so I assume its something specific to android in tab.

Samsung Tab experiences

Samsung Tab arrived today. Few quick points and experiences for hungry fellow gadgeteers;

It's small. Compared to ipad. It's solid, bit slippery but overall very nice. Android works nicely, bit of sluggish on heavily equipped flash pages, but very usable. I found integrated applications very nice, email and calendar are business ready with excellent integration to Google services. I also noticed that Scandinavian keyboard include our domestic charters (öäå) which is great.

There is short video available here.

Ubuntu 10.10 on Nokia Booklet

Just installed latest Ubuntu 10.10 to Nokia Booklet. Installation was a lot faster than before, but screen resolution was still an issue with poulsbo GMA 500 adapter. I just wonder how much better sales nokia would have done, if they have chosen some more standard graphics adapter for this and delivered complete set with Ubuntu?

However I followed instructions in wiki to gain support for GMA500. And now things are looking good again. Thanks to Ubuntu community, only.