Posted by Dan on Dec 11, 2008 in
Lucky Hit That’s the experience with the Inspiron 910 Mini not the mini-experience! Well I am in web design and have been toying with the idea of getting a more lightweight laptop as my old Dell Inspiron from 2003 is as heavy as a brick. My step dad just bought a top of the range Toshiba Portege at around £1,200, but he’s at that time in life where 1,200 quid is affordable, where as I’m still in financial recovery from my last divorce (yes there was more than one!)! So I happened across the Dell Inspiron 910 Mini on the Dell website whilst looking at specs of normal laptops to use when out and about demonstrating our CMS system to potential clients, wow £299 inc VAT and delivery that is a bargain!
There I was credit card at the ready, wrist twitching, hang on I thought, why am I buying this, do I really need it? No, I don’t NEED it I just WANT ONE . [Puts credit card away]
The next day I happen to have to work on my step Dads’ ultra lightweight Toshiba , wow this is lush, so light, I wish I could afford one.
The next day I had to go to a clients with my laptop, and about put my back out trying to put it in the car passenger foot well whilst sitting in the drivers’ seat, hmm decided I do have a NEED for the new dell Inspiron mini after all! It only weights around 1kg. So as I had a management meeting that afternoon I informed my finance manager I would be ordering one and that was that. So Friday October 3rd I placed the order on the Dell website, and on the 8th I got back from a client meeting at B-loony Promo the UK’s largest supplier of printed promotional giveaways to find a Dell cardboard box on my desk, I thought it couldn’t possibly be the new mini as the confirmation email I got said it would arrive on or around the 20th October, but sure enough it really had arrived.
Well I was ecstatic and got it out and started setting it up straight away, you know remove Dell Support Centre and install Avast Anti Virus, that kind of thing. As it has an integrated web cam I also downloaded Windows Live Messenger and had a quick video chat with my girlfriend whilst she was doing her ironing, fantastic!
So I googled ‘mobile broadband suppliers’ and toyed with ordering the USB dongle from Three, as their 5GB monthly allowance is only 15 quid a month so the best looking deal, providing those coverage stories you hear about Three Mobile are not really the case!
Anyway, it was soon time to go and get my daughter from school so I thought yeah I’ll take it with me and even though I don’t have the mobile broadband dongle yet I can continue configuring it in car park if I’m early. I was early, so I turned it on, it said:
Windows could not start because of an error in the software.
Please report this problem as :
load needed DLLs for kernel.
Please contact your support person to report this problem
As we say in England “Computer says no…”
Ah dear, it was great fun whilst it lasted, then followed a 2 and a half hour telethon with Dell support in India 
Apparently they were so quick to ship it to me that my service tag isn’t on their system yet. They suggested I called back in 24-48 hours, well I told them exactly what I thought of their suggestion as I’m sure you can image, but to no avail. I did indeed have to call back today and they have agreed to send me a replacement unit as it is within 7 days of delivery.
I hope the replacement arrives as promptly as the original unit did…
So conclusion? Apart from the fact it doesn’t work (a faulty drive in my opinion) and for the life of me I can’t get it to boot from an external drive or USB key (it doesn’t have a CD or DVD drive you know) it feels really solid, looks lovely, and is nice to handle (sounds a bit like the ideal companion to an i-phone 2.0 doesn’t it!).
Like most reviewers have stated , the keys are small (but blackberry users manage and they are larger than those keys) and the right shift key is tiny and means you can’t type an @ in the usual fashion. But the screen is nice, 3 USB slots, a monitor connector, Ethernet and earphones and mic connectors although it has both speakers and mic internally so you can video conference without having to plug anything in.
On the whole, I would recommend it, providing you get one that boots up! I am also yet to try it with LogMeIn which is my preferred way of dealing with how to access emails, lots of passwords, specialist software and all that kind of thing when you are out and about. Possibly the screen is going to be too small to be able to work with for extended periods of time, but I’ll let you know when the replacement arrives and I have had chance to give it a proper testing, assuming that one doesn’t break on me as soon as I start urm ‘configuring’ it!
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Posted by Dan on Dec 11, 2008 in
Lucky Hit Saving for your retirement is very crucial, and can help you to realize your dreams of relaxation and enjoyment in retirement. Although it can seem complicated, saving for retirement is not really hard. Starting early, however, is very important when assuring a safe retirement later on. Saving for retirement involves some sacrifice, but you will enjoy the later years moreso if these sacrifices can be made at an earlier juncture. There are several means of investment in saving for retirement. When retired, always maintain a constant adult education.
The old mentality when saving for retirement has focused on conservative investing. This “low risk, income only” system of retirement investing was followed largely throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Recently, however, increasing lifespans and inflation have made this conservative technique risky simply because it doesn’t take enough chances. Investing in bonds and safe stock only tends to result in poor dividends that won’t be sufficient for a long and healthy retirement.
More modern retirement plans must take some risk in order to provide for the retirement that everyone wants. Due to inflation, dividends that once may have been adequate now struggle to provide a decent living for retirees. Riskier investments, sometimes via a mutual fund, are needed in order to provide the retirement that you have planned. The real risk anymore these days is that a retiree will run out of money. With a more diversified and risk taking portfolio, higher growth will allow a retiree to live in comfort. If this approach is taken early on, the investor can ride out poor markets and still come out with a significant nest egg. There is always something to learn when related to adult education.
One of the best ways to determine if your approach is working is to work with one of the many online retirement calculators seen on the internet. Calculators such as CNNMoney.com or Bloomberg.com can really help to put your earnings in perspective. Although these calculators are certainly not perfect, they can give you a general idea of whether your investments are going to work in the long term.
Speaking with a financial adviser can also aid in determining the soundness of your saving strategy. There are many critical questions to ask yourself, such as whether you intend on living through income solely, or if you will withdraw from your investment principal. Budgeting for retirement is extremely important, and you must pace yourself financially in retirement.
When retired, consider to keep yourself in a constan learning environment. Follow these simple adult education tips.
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Posted by Dan on Dec 11, 2008 in
Lucky Hit In the same way that locating the right contractor can be a challenge, discovering the best Daytona Beach plumber may present a challenge as well. People bother to look up through numerous sheets of names and numbers in Yellow Pages just to find the suited individual for the job. After you’re done searching the Yellow Pages and have located the right plumber, your savings have just begun. A plumber can help you save money in a number of ways, from their hourly fee to the price of equipment, disposal charges and more.
As you search for the best Daytona Beach plumber , it’s important to ensure that you are getting the most for your money. Like many other trades professions there are plumbers on the market that do not have the experience or qualifications that they claim to have, who also charge a great amount for their services. If you are doing research on a plumber ask questions about licenses and certifications for work they are going to be doing at your home. A mainline plumbing company with hundreds of employees will usually charge more money than most plumbers that have their own business.
Most plumbers can save their customers some money by purchasing the parts they need at wholesale instead of retail prices. Hiring a plumber can save the customer stress and aggravation as well as money, as plumbers know the right equipment to purchase, and have the experience and skill to complete the task the first time. When hiring a plumber, the chance of a project not being completed correctly is greatly reduced. If by chance someone chooses to fix the problem them selves they risk the possibility of more damage to the pipes and or plumbing with a greater chance of increased bill at the end.
If you can reduce the amount of time it takes for a plumber to work at your workplace or at your home, it is definitely going to help the plumber reduce the money he or she was going to charge you. In what way can this be completed? Prior to the time your plumber is set to arrive, go through each fixture and faucet and mark down which drip, leak or need to be unclogged. This enables the plumber to arrive, be introduced, get their equipment, and get to work on problem spots quickly and efficiently. Examining fixtures or faucets for leaks and clogs does not result in extra time or downtime. It has already been taken care of by the customer.
A plumber can save you money in a variety of ways, even with a regular check-up of the plumbing in your residence or place of work. Scheduling a household plumbing inspection by a professional plumber, which takes about 30 minutes, will ensure safe and dependable sewer operation. Ultimately resulting in a lower price for a smaller job,whereby thie means the plumber could fix them now, before they get too large. The end result is that the customer does not have to complete the job themselves, nor spend additional money for further repairs if they cause damage while trying to repair their own plumbing.
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Posted by Dan on Dec 11, 2008 in
Lucky Hit When I spend about half a grand on a cell phone, I’m thinking . . . “i want to get my money’s worth!”
That’s how I feel, anyway — which is why I made it my business to put my new iPhone through the paces from jump street by scouring the web’s most serious iPhone resources for the most useful power tips/ tricks available. The result is this collection of 16 iPhone power tips that will help you get even more enjoyment out of your new favorite toy! Some of these, granted, you’ll need to Google to get the current URL. But, if you want, you can just click the link for the complete article with photos and videos.
1. Unstick a Stuck Slider: if you’re iPhone’s slider ever gets stuck — as in, it simply refuses to do anything when you try to slide it, usually because you want to make the iPhone up to use it — here is a fix from iPhone Atlas (www.iphoneatlas.com): press the Home button once before attempting to move the slider for the first time.
2. Make Skype calls: Up-front disclaimer: We’re not talking about free, voice-over-IP (VOiP) Skype calls here. We’re talking about making SkypeOut calls, which are not free but can drastically reduce the cost of making international calls on your iPhone. Matter of fact, SoonR lets you access Apple Mail files, mailboxes, and contacts. It also lets you grab documents from your Mac for viewing on iPhone, including PowerPoint presentations and all that kinda’ good stuff.
3. Know Where to Go for the 411: Lucky for you, the world has gone iPhone crazy. That means there a lot of excellent sources of info on the latest iPhone developments out there on the web. Bad news: there’s a lot of crap, also. Here’s a short list of our favorite iPhone info sites:
- modmyiPhone.com
– iPhoneFreak.com
– iPhoneAlley.com
– The Unofficial Apple Weblog’s iPhone page
– Gizmodo’s iPhone coverage
– iPhoneAtlas.com
While you’re checking these sites, keep in mind that some sites you might already be visiting on a regular basis have really done a super job of becoming iPhone-friendly, including Digg.com, Amazon.com, FaceBook.com, and Netvibes.com!
4. Play Great Games: You know what Jack says about all work and no play! Not that the web surfing you’re doing on your iPhone is all work-related, yeah right? Games — most of which are free — are starting to pop up for the iPhone, and we’re sure there will be more where those came from. For now, you can just launch the Safari browser when your iPhone and visit these hot game sites:
- MacMost’s collection of iPhone games, including classics like solitaire and minesweeper (free, MacMost iPhone Games).
- mynuMo has 4 iPhone games, including iWhack — a whack-a-mole knockoff where the mole’s replaced by a headshot of Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer — and Blackjack (also free, myNuMo iPhone Games).
- iGiki’s games, which include Hangman and Canyon Crawl — aren’t free, but then, they’re only a buck a pop and might be just what you need when you get tired of the freebies (99 cents per game pack for 99 days, iGiki Games).
- PopCap’s Bejeweled, (free, PopCap Bejeweled).
5. Beat a Shortcut to your Fave iPhone Apps: Handy iPhone apps, like Leaflets (free, Get Leaflets) and Applists (free, Get Applists) put most iPhone apps your fingertips, but if you want to build your own list, just collect the apps you tend to use the most into the same bookmarks folder in Safari on your computer. Then, the next time you sync your iPhone, using iTunes, be sure to check “Sync Safari Bookmarks” on the info tab, under Web browser.
6. Rehang the Wallpaper: If you’re up for a bit of iPhone hacking, you can take any image you find anywhere on the web and turn it into a custom wallpaper.
But there is a much easier way: Download a 320×480 pixel image for free from a variety of online sources, saving them all in the same folder on your Mac. In iTunes, with your iPhone docked, select your iPhone, click the Photos tab, select the radio button next to “Sync Photos From…,” then from the drop-down list, select “Choose Folder…”
Next, browse to the folder you just created, then click “Apply” in the lower-right hand corner. Finally, on your iPhone, go to Settings, Wallpaper, Photo Library to hang your new wallpaper!
7. Take Self-Portraits Because the iPhone camera shutter’s button is a “soft” (i.e., onscreen) button, it’s a bit tricky to take self-portraits with it since you have to turn the phone around so you can no longer see the button. Here’s the solution: with the camera feature selected, place your finger on the camera icon and turn the phone around so you’re facing the lens. Then, smile pretty and let go of the shutter button! You’ll hear the telltale “click” — and, you’ve just taken a self-portrait!
8. Reveal Secret Features: When Apple released the first firmware update for the iPhone on August 1, 2007, it did so with little fanfare, and attributed most of the updates to “security fixes.” The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg discovered a few new non-security-related features on his side phone after the update including:
- Greater capacity in the iPhone module’s Favorites list (used to be 20, is now 50).
– Ability to automatically blind carbon copy (BCC) yourself on all e-mails sent, where previously, your only option was to CC yourself, which alerted your recipients what you were up to…
– Compatibility with some car adapters and external speakers, originally created for the iPod. For more iPhone and tech tidbits, visit Walt’s blog.
9. Just Ditch the Camera Altogether: On the other hand, if you know you’ll never use the iPhone’s camera, you can just remove it altogether. (If you work for or with certain government agencies, you’re iPhone may actually be considered “contraband” on their property because they don’t want you taking secret photos of Bigfoot, Elvis, or (believe it or not) alien spaceships!
10. Get the Official Mod Tool: If you’ve already had to send your iPhone back to Apple for warranty repair or replacement, you may have already discovered something different about the replacement iPhone. First off, it comes in a much thinner box. Second, it comes complete with the “official iPhone SIM card removal tool”: a paperclip! Yup, Apple actually supplies a paperclip with all replacement iPhones, along with instructions for using it to open the SIM card slot and insert your card!
11. Buy Spare Parts: If you’re the type who simply can’t resist trying to take your iPhone apart, here’s where to go to find replacement parts when you go too far: iPhone Parts. Sources of mine told me that Apple charges $300 for a replacement screen, but you can get one from iFixIt for only $199.95.
12. Kill that Annoying GSM Buzz: If you hear a buzzing sound, while using an iPhone cassette adapter in your car stereo, such as Monsters iCarPlay — which claims to be iPhone-compatible (but doesn’t appear anywhere on Monster’s website) — Gizmodo offers a low-tech solution: aluminum foil… Yup, just take a little bit of Reynolds Wrap and wrap it around the cable closest to your iPhone. Doing so eliminates the need to switch to “Airplane mode,” which would be a viable solution if it didn’t send your incoming calls to voicemail!
13. Find Wi-Fi Hotspots in Your Neighborhood: JiWire makes it easy to find the nearest hotspot when your iPhone — so you can rescue yourself from the slow-moving hell that is AT&T’s EDGE data service. Surf on over to iphone.jiwire.com on your iPhone and fill in your location. If you’re a cheapskate (like me), check the box for “Search Free Hotspots Only.”
14. More Wi-Fi Performance Enhancements: Apple has a potentially useful collection of WiFi related iPhone tips in a regularly-updated knowledgebase article on its website. Suggestions include fixing problems like paid WiFi connections that drop off suddenly, weak WiFi signals, and WiFi connections that revert to EDGE due to issues with WEP passwords, or problems with Mac address filtering.
15. “Hack” Your iPhone!: Disclaimer: this tip isn’t for everybody. Some of these “hacks” (i.e., self-made modifications to the iPhone’s default behavior) are intended for people who have experience changing the way their computers behave by accessing the underlying code governing such behavior. You’ve been warned.
- For Macs: iFuntastic and Installer.app.
– For Windows: Installer.app or iBrickr.
Once you’ve installed one of the above helper apps, you can try an ever-expanding array of iPhone mods. With iFuntastic, for example, you can add your own custom ringtones, rearrange the Home screen, and change the AT&T logo. Installer.app goes even further, letting you install and play Nintendo games that feature tactile feedback! The good folks at Gizmodo.com make it easy for Mac users to take advantage of this newfound power over their iPhones with a handy tutorial (visit their site and search for install apps iPhone).
Windows users can also use a helper app called iBricker to modify their iPhone, install custom ringtones, and install third-party apps. But, if all you care about is adding custom ringtones, you might want to try Efiko’s iPhoneRingToneMaker ($10).
16. Just Don’t Be a Sucker!: While searching for the latest iPhone apps, you could run across some websites that’ll offer you instant access to hundreds of the latest apps — all for one-time membership fee of $49.95. These sites include, but are not limited to, www.iphonenova.com, www.iphonecyclone.com, and www.iphonedownloadpro.com. Problem here, is that these sites (IMHO) are scams.
I ponied up $50 for membership to iPhoneNova, for example, which claims to be the “World’s First iPhone Download Service.” Guess what it really is? It’s a BitTorrent-like site for downloading illegal content you can view on your iPhone or iPod.
But, your $50 membership only gets you a BitTorrent client called Tomato Torrent and links for you to download two more already-free apps that help you convert existing videos and ripped DVD content to be viewed on your iPod/ iPhone. You also get links to a mere five (5) web-based iPhone games and a huge, poorly-organized list of illegal movie downloads like “The Simpsons” and “Transformers.” Nuff said; as Napoleon Dynamite would say, “…What a Rip-off”!
Artificial Grass