I finally gave in and decided to give Windows 7 a shot on our home PC. I was dreading it for a while because of the huge amounts of data and programs and things that we have on that computer. Alas, I got all the important stuff backed up and did the whole erase and partition for a fresh install of Windows 7.

The install was painless. I didn’t have to go hunting for ANY drivers even though I use a raid configuration and such. I was very happy with this. I must say that I am very excited and pleased with this OS so far! I have had to do minimal training for my wife and oldest kids and when I asked their opinion of the OS, they smirked and could almost care less about it.

I don’t know what I really like most about this OS. I like the Aero themes and eye candy. I like the UI setup and how functional and quick everything seems. It has made the way I use my computer way better…it’s like the way I would have made it, but didn’t know I wanted it this way. HA!

For example, I love the ALT-TAB feature where it actually switches to the window you are hovering over as a preview. I love all the extra things I can do on the start bar with the icons that I have “stuck” there. I love how all the task bar icons are neatly tucked away in their own menu. I love the search tool in the start menu (much like the Spotlight search on my Mac).

I haven’t been this excited about an OS since I upgraded from Windows 2000 to Windows XP the day it came out. I’ve dreaded almost everything about Vista and had a sour taste in my mouth towards Microsoft for ever releasing Vista! Thanks to Windows 7, that sour-ness has been lessened!

Final result? If you are thinking about upgrading, I say DO IT. I could get more used to this PC stuff again. Maybe I will jump on getting my work PC upgraded sooner than later as well…but I will still not be switching from my Macbook Pro as my main machine. At least not in the foreseeable future.

apple, mac, microsoft, OS, upgrade, windows 7

Rooting my Droid was very easy. The hard part was finding the proper files to use for the Rooting. I haven’t really done anything with it that I couldn’t do pre-root. I would love to find a way to turn the device into an ad-hoc network…ultimately turning my Droid into a wireless hotspot. I can see MANY benefits to this.

Right now I am using the Droid most to keep me connected to Facebook and Twitter as well as for taking pictures and video. I still LOVE this phone.

My only gripes about it these days are the ease at which I can slow it down.

I have been keeping my eyes on the Nexus One. I like a lot of what I hear about that device and am impressed with the tech specs. I am with Verizon so I am waiting for it to come to “the network” before I really weigh in on it. I find it funny that Google is talking about selling the phone through Wal-Mart after all the hype about them wanting to take the “direct-to-consumer” route. I do think that they really will have to sell it through various retail channels if they really want to get it to the masses. More to come on this device later!

Droid, Google phone, marketing, Motorola, Nexus One, Root, Technology

I’ve read lots and lots of opinions and discussions about the new Apple iPad and have come to the conclusion that I will have no problem waiting to see what v2 has before getting gitty about this device. Besides that, I can’t afford it. Although if I were to win one or have it gifted to me, I would happily oblige!

I’m looking forward to seeing it more like a computer than an enlarged iPod touch. I’d like to see a camera (to use with Skype or video conferencing stuff), an ethernet port, at least 2 USB port(s), and an HDMI port. If nothing else, I would even probably be okay if it came with an adapter that would allow me to have most of these ports using the dock port. Who knows. I almost thing this version was dumb’d down just so the second version could be so much better!

There’s my word on this item for now.

#notbuyinit, apple, ipad, ipod

I enjoyed the break from work this week…and am glad I still have two days left to relax. Still playing with my Droid and I am pretty happy with it.

No tags

I was finally convinced through various means to trade in my newly purchased LG Rogue for the new Motorola Droid. I have only put down this phone to sleep, eat and drive. It’s got so much to do and use and play with. Overall I am very happy with it. Here are the things that I am struggling with.

• It rebooted itself on my second phone call
• It is sometimes slow to respond when texting or searching for contacts to call or text.
• It does not include a T9 keyboard with predictive text…there are a couple of apps. I tried the Handcent version and it SUCKS! I then bought the Even Better Keyboard and like it a lot but it still needs some work…more on that later.
• So far I have had to reboot the phone at least twice a day to get it to work properly.
• I also have to charge the battery by mid day and again at bed time…EVERY DAY! I feel like I am using this phone like crazy though.
• Some of the functions I had hoped would be quick, aren’t as quick.

I really liked on the LG Rogue that I could flip open the keyboard and start typing and it would begin a text message for me. It was very fast. When I flip open the keyboard on the Droid and start typing, it begins a search…which I like, but it is VERY slow. For example, if I use this method to start and send a text message from sleep mode, I flip open the keyboard…wait for the screen to turn on…slide to unlock…wait…start typing a name in my contact list…wait for it…click the name…wait…wait some more…click the name again…wait…then (IF) the contact info shows up I can click the text message icon to start my message. So obviously this is not the best way to go about sending a text message. For now, after I wake it up and unlock it, I click the messaging icon and then search for the contact, type, then send my message.

When the phone is asleep, you have to push the lock/power button on the top right of the phone and then you have to slide to unlock the screen. I am used to it now, but initially wished I could touch the screen to wake it up or even use any of the hard buttons to wake it up…THEN slide to unlock. I’m okay with it for now like this.

The camera is a bit more sluggish than I hoped. On a fresh reboot, it works pretty well, but after the phone has been on for most of the day, it becomes slow(to me) to use.

Oh and the USB cable that came with it…is too short. I will be looking to find a longer one.

There is more, but this will do for now. I will post more on my experience with this phone as it comes up.

Android, Droid, Motorola Droid