Back to the Press

So we are having massive upgrade issues with the dedicated site, so I figured I’d bring things back to WordPress for a little while as we tranition hosting, again.

No updates for several months, but only a handful of things happened. The biggest thing is that Windows 7 retail is almost here and we are excited about that. The PSP Go has been released and hackers are hard at work enabling homebrew. No new toys or anything else really in the last few months. We have mostly been busy with life. Doing standard PC work and helping out family has been the bulk of our time.

I know this was a short update considering the long downtime, but you will just have to trust us when we say not really that much has happened that is worth writing about.

Moving Time

Psst…we have moved to http://creativeinfo.org/ so all future testing, news, and randomness can be found there.

Windows 7 Release Date Correction and E3

Windows 7 will be finalized the second half of July with a General Availability (aka Buy it on store shelves) date of October 22, 2009. The previously leaked date was only a week off, so not too much sweat. This also means people buying PCs with Vista after July 1st will be entitles to a free upgrade to Windows 7. If you are thinking about buying a laptop or desktop for collage or leisure, hold off one more month, the wait will be worth it.

Also, a quick note about E3: Microsoft kicked it off big, exciting, lots of time and effort, suprise hardware (Natal,) and after watching Sony and Nintendo’s keynotes, Microsoft is reigning king of this year’s E3. Other big news ot me is Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition with voice-overs and enhanced HD graphics as well as a NEW Monkey Island game, “Tales of Monkey Island” being released in episodes like the Strong Bad games and Sam and Max games. Wiiware and PC both.

And nothing to do with tech, but IMHO, Conan is doing a fantastic job as the new host of the Tonight Show and is still as funny as he was on Late Night.

–Nick

The Official Windows 7 Release Date

Confirmed by WinSuperSite at the sollowing link: http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_rc_04.asp

“Microsoft also says it will finalize Windows 7 in mid-August and deliver it to the public in time for the 2009 holiday season. I can tell you, however, that the general availability date is a lot more specific than that: You’ll be able to get the final version of Windows 7 publicly on October 15, 2009, according to the current schedule.

Mark your calendar.”

-Nick

Gravity

So I have been swamped with PC fixing and various projects over the last few weeks, but one of the biggest, yet quickest, but most of all funnest projects was recording a Physics video (in HD, with Kyle’s fancy-pants Aiptek ActionHD camera) for a few friends as a school project to replace a final exam. We all laughed, goofed around, and generally had a ton of fun. I don’t have the full thing up yet, but you can check out the blooper reel on YouTube ala Tracy’s username:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us5WsCj_y4Q

Enjoy. PS – YOu can catch some of our crazy Thursday Project Night action on my youtube: http://www.youtube.com/Nickhamm

–Nick

First impressions…the unofficial 1000HE review…Part 1, Design

So Nick said that we would be reviewing the Asus EeePC 1000HE, and while we have not done an official review yet, I have an unofficial review of it. I am going to do this review in parts, and it will probably become the official review when we run some tests on it, and see how well it can handle certain tasks, when compared to other computers around the CI scene.

I have been using the 1000HE for about five days now, and I have to say that I am fairly impressed by it. First of all, if you have never actually been near a netbook, I should warn you that they are small, very small. With that being said, the 10 inch screen on this model is definitely a plus over other netbooks with 8.9 inch or smaller screens. Also, the keyboard being 92% full size is also very nice. When typing, I don’t find myself struggling to hit the right keys, or accidentally hitting more than one key, with the chiclet design. I also like how the 6-cell battery was design to actually fit the overall design. Instead of looking somewhat out of place, like the Acer Aspire One, the 1000HE actually looks out of place, without the battery installed. The last thing I have to say about the design, is that Asus did a nice job of making it look very sleek and professional. The glossy black finish makes it look very professional, despite the fact that it shows a lot of fingerprints. It’s ok though, because Asus has included a microfiber cleaning cloth, to keep the 1000HE looking its best.

–Kyle

Coming Up @ CI

So the last few months have been crazy (at least for me) but with summer coming up there is always a bit of a slow period with technology, so during that hopefully we (me and Kyle) can play catchup with some YouTube videos, projects, and product reviews.

The first of these is actually coming (maybe) sooner than later which is a joint reveiw of sorts of the Asus 1000He netbook and Windows 7 Release Candidate. We are going to test the Super Hybrid Engine, GMABooster, and if it can handle HD playback, gaming, and several other tasks. The netbook should have came in today, so it will be reviewed as soon as tomorrow, but maybe not until Thursday.

Also I am hoping to post a “Just for Kicks” video of Windows 7 RC running on a Dell C610 (PIII 1GHz processor, 512Mb memory.) Hopefully CI won’t be as neglected this summer.

– Nick

Best Netbooks – April 2009

So after looking and eyeballing many netbooks and doing research, I have come up with the top two models that I can reccomend to anyone and not worry about it.

The first is the Asus EeePC 1000HE. This is an improved verison fo the 1000HA, featuring the same 160GB hard drive and 10 inch screen, but it includes the N280 processor running at 1.66GHz, Bluetooth, 802.11n wireless (as well as b and g), and an insane 9.5 hours of battery life. Keyboard claims it is 92% fullsize so it is more comfortable than most netbooks. It comes with the standard 1GB memory, but is easily upgradable to 2GB. The best news though is that it costs less than the price of a previous 160GB 6-cell netbook at $379 direct from ZipZoomFly with free shipping (with $30 MIR to make it $349 if you order by 4/30).

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010057

If you don’t have quite as much cash, or you don’t need something quite as beefy, you can lose the 802.11n, Bluetooth, drop to 5-6 hour battery, 1.6GHz processor and 8.9 inch screen and keep the rest fo the features to make a Asus EeePC 904HA. Price tag? Just $304.99 at ZipZoomFly with free shipping.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009422

Keep checking back, because I am sure when Ion-based netbooks come around we will see the scene change quickly, same with 2GHz Atom processors and 1366×768 screens becoming more standard. Gotta love emerging technology.

– Nick

The way customer service should be

Nick and I have dealt with customer service quite a few times, since we work on a lot of computers. Well, most of the time customer service experiences are less than satisfactory. Usually they tell you to find a box and pay to ship the product to the company, and they will fix it, or they may even charge a fee to repair it, even if it is under warranty. Most of the time, companies use standard ground shipping, so it takes a week to get to the company and another week to get back to you, and 6 weeks or more to fix it.

Recently, Shanna’s laptop stopped working, so Nick called tech support, and they figured out that it was a known issue with the model of laptop she had, so it needed to be repaired. First of all, since it was a know issue, the company extended the warranty on the item. Second of all, they sent the packing materials to send it back for repairs. They even overnighted the packing materials. Inside the box was foam inserts to protect the laptop, a return shipping label, and even two strips of tape to close the box. They also had instructions on how to pack it, and what accessories to include. The return label was also for overnight shipping. So I called Fedex to find the nearest drop off location, only to find out that the company had already paid for Fedex to pick up the package at my house.

Needless to say, I am very pleased and impressed at how this company dealt with the situation. This is the way all companies should treat their customers. By the way, the company I am talking about is Hewlett Packard a.k.a. HP.

– Kyle

Acer is on Fire

So I have not had the best of times with Acer products (except the Aspire we had that ran Winodws 95 with ACE: Acer Desktop Explorer) but I think they are redeeming theirselves.

First on the hit list is the first Ion-based nettop, the Aspire Revo: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-launches-first-nvidia-ion-based-nettop-aspirerevo/

Next up are thin notebooks with 8-10 hour battery life for cheap, the Acer Timeline: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-announces-aspire-timeline-ultralights-699-to-899/

Last up (for now) are some all-in-ones with touch that will be eMachines for the cheap or Acers for the higher end: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-unveils-18-5-inch-23-inch-hd-all-in-ones/

The event isn’t over yet (as far as I know) so there may be more announcements, but color me intrigued, especially at the Revo Ion-based platform. The game isn’t over yet for Acer.

– Nick