Toshiba Portege Review

PROS

• The handwriting recognition on Tablet PCs is a lot more sophisticated than I expected. I had imagined that it would be something similar to Palm's Graffiti at best or simply replacing pen input for mouse input at worst. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to have actual hand writing recognition that worked not only in Microsoft apps like Word and Notepad but in Emacs and bash as well.
  
  
• Dual mode rocks. I can use it as a laptop at meetings or on flights but can flip it into tablet mode for taking notes when needed. The way the screen automatically detects the switched modes and flips is quite cool.
  
  
• Built-in wireless card means I don't have to goof around with wireless NICs.
  
  
• Shortcut buttons in tablet mode (i.e. for scrolling up and down on the selected window plus CTRL-ALT-DEL shortcut) quite useful.

CONS

• Too heavy to use as a clipboard for extended periods of time. I sat in the dentist's waiting room playing tic-tac-toe and after a few minutes it became quite uncomfortable.
  
  
• Sometimes the screen cannot detect I've switched from Tablet mode back to laptop mode and I end up having to tilt my head sideways while using my laptop. This hasn't happened often but when it has it's been rather annoying.

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Stolen HTML

That Bitch Stole My HTML

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Personal Growth

After a several years long hiatus, I've started reading fiction in my free time instead of just computer books, research papers and blogs. I just finished reading American Gods and recently started on Good Omens. I've loved everything from Gaiman I've read although this is limited to Sandman (the entire series) and Dream Hunters.

The plot for American Gods was very innovative although the end of the story left me dissatisfied. For some reason I drew parallels between American Gods and Alan Moore's WatchMen although the latter had a more unsettling ending in my opinion.

I have a real, live, decorated Christmas tree in my apartment. This almost makes up for the fact that this will be the first Xmas I spend away from any close friends or family. Almost.

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Disclaimer: The opinions in this diary are my own and do not reflect the opinions, thoughts, intentions or strategies of my employer.