So much tech, so little time…
Stop what you’re doing right now, and buy both of The Shins‘ albums. These are some of the best rock albums I’ve heard from the past 10 years. They’re wonderfully produced, yet still manage to have a rough, indie feel to them. Their second album, Chutes Too Narrow, is more melodic and poppy than their first, Oh, Inverted World, but both are beautiful to the ears and soul alike. Trust me, buy them.
This has been a public service of Mr Chuckles dot net.
I picked up a Mighty Mouse today, all psyched to have matching gear (laptop, monitor, keyboard) and those cool buttons to bring up Exposé. A few minutes use makes it clear: I hate this mouse.
While Apple pitches it as a two button mouse, it is in fact still the traditional one-button, front-end smasher mouse with new sensors to detect which finger actually caused the aforementioned front-end smash down. To say the feel of this mouse is awkward is an understatement. My instinct with this mouse is to always use my whole hand to press down the mouse. Any attempt to use it in a mouse-button type of way proves uncomfortable. The mouse is also very light-weight, which makes it feel cheap. The textile feedback of the scroll-dot feels like nails on a chalkboard, and the mouse is too small for my hands. That’s saying something, because I have really small hands for a man. Finally, the side-buttons are so hard to press they’re useless.
In short (too late), this mouse is going back to the store. Avoid it.
PS - Title reference
My old Sony Ericson T616 phone was beginning to die over the last few weeks, so I replaced it with a Nokia 6230b from eBay. I’ve had the phone for about 5 days now, and I have to say it’s a very nice device. No doubt this phone is strictly business; most twenty-somethings would probably find this phone dull and boring. However, it meets the needs of a phone better than any other mobile I’ve owned. The call quality on this thing is amazing. The speaker is loud and clear, the mic is perfectly balanced, and it can produce clear calls on even one bar. Speaking of bars, this guy can hold onto a signal where no other phone seems able. Nokia phones are known for their incredible antennas, but I think this phone takes the cake.
The other thing this phone does well is Bluetooth. It picked up my Motorola headset with no troubles, and stays connected for as long as I want it. There is no static on the line when using the headset, unlike my T616, and voice-activated dialing works great. I was able to tether the device to both my Powerbook and Axim with no trouble, and was soon browsing the web via a fast EDGE connection. Very cool.
Other features such as the always wonderful Nokia interface and ease of use, a VGA camera, and EDGE data access round out the package very nicely.
I do have a few dislikes, mostly that the phone will not work with iSync on my Mac. It would seem that this feature is pretty much limited to Series 60 devices, and this is a Series 40. Very frustrating. The screen is quite small, but again the device is really intended to be used as a phone more than anything else.
If you need a good, basic phone with great reception and bluetooth, I can’t recommend this phone enough. That being said, I should note that I’ve already replaced it with an Audiovox SMT5600. I’ll post my reasons, and a quick review of the Audiovox, once I’ve had some time with it. For now, the 6230 will be going to the wife.
I had no idea I was ever a G.I. Joe character. For the record, however, I look absolutely nothing like this guy.
I was a huge G.I. Joe fan as a kid, and yet I have no memory of this character. I watched the cartoon religiously, collected many an action figure, and read the comics for a few years. Funny what you come across on the web these days. In any event, I wonder how long before I break down and the buy the Chuckles action figure off eBay…
I might as well join in with the rest of the interweb and bitch about the Mighty Mouse. Apple finally releases a multi-button mouse, and it’s corded? Come ON. Touch-sensitive buttons, aural feedback? This is a mouse, not an iPod. I want real buttons, dammit!
Okay, back to grown-up land. I don’t think it’s all bad, as this Ars Technica review highlights. It’s still corded, but it’s only a matter of time before they release a bluetooth version.
Now, I’m in the market for a bluetooth mouse for my Powerbook setup at home. The question is, do I wait for a bluetooth Mighty Mouse, or purchase a Microsoft bluetooth mouse. It all comes down to style vs. availability. The MS mouse does just about everything the Mighty Mouse does, but it doesn’t do it with Apple’s flair.