bruceb news

Dell has upgraded the specs for the new Vostro V131, the latest version of its standout ultra-thin, ultra-light 13.3” notebook.

The styling is very similar to the Vostro V130 (and the beloved previous generation Vostro V13), but under the hood a number of things have been bumped up – Sandy Bridge Core i3 and i5 processors, USB 3.0 ports, and improved battery life. Getting the specs you want will probably take the price up to about $800, but that’s pretty reasonable for such a lovely bit of hardware. (If you want a 15” screen, don’t overlook the new Dell XPS 15z, which offers the same sleek lightweight styling.)

Why doesn’t everyone get one of these? […] continued

The little device in the picture – about the size of a deck of playing cards, less than half as thick – is an Intel 160Gb solid state hard drive. It has given me a more significant speed boost for my computer than any other single device that I can recall – ever, in all my years of computing. It’s been a more noticeable improvement than years past when I have swapped a motherboard to get Intel’s latest and greatest processor, or added more memory to a system that needed it.

Solid state hard drives are starting to be sold preinstalled in new computers – still rare but likely to be much more visible in the next few months. […] continued

Dell introduced the XPS 15z this week, a new ultrathin 15” notebook for $999. It might be exactly right for many people – a bigger screen than the 13” Vostro V130 and a much more reasonable price tag than the gorgeous Samsung Series 9.

Apple has once again provided the inspiration for the design. Samsung more or less copied the MacBook Air for its ultrathin Series 9, and Dell has copied the MacBook Pro in almost every detail. Engadget has an amusing gallery of photos from all angles of a MacBook Pro and an XPS 15z next to each other and it’s obvious that the new Dell laptop is an homage to the original. […] continued

Previously:
Whining About Wireless

I’ll tell you a story about my own experience. You won’t learn anything and there’s not a happy ending, but perhaps it will give you a little perspective on why I’m not urging you to ditch your wires and set up wireless everywhere.

I’ve had a wireless access point at the global headquarters of Bruceb Consulting for a long time. When my wife and I got our matching Vostro V13 laptops last year, we started to rely on wireless more than ever, so maybe we just began to notice a problem that had existed for a long time. […] continued

When you have a choice between running a cable and relying on a wireless connection, you simply must not consider them to be equal choices. The reliability of a wired connection seriously tilts the scales. I have told my clients for years that the equation is simple: people with wireless connections call me for help; people with wires don’t.

These two things are both true:

• Wireless Internet connections, whether 802.11 or cell carrier networks, are wonderful and useful and fantastic and science fictional.
• Wireless Internet connections can be an incredible pain in the butt.

Can you tell I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of wireless failures in the last few weeks? […] continued

The Samsung Series 9 combines elegant design, advanced engineering, and uncompromising peformance in a stylish ultralight, ultraslim premium laptop. It stands alone at the top of the Windows laptop market. Samsung might not be the first name you think of in notebook manufacturers but the company poured money into developing the Series 9 in the hope that it would draw attention to the entire Samsung notebook line.

That thin sliver in the picture above is less than two-thirds of an inch thick and weighs just over two and a half pounds. Inside is an ultra-bright 13.3 inch display, a full-size backlit keyboard, and a more responsive computing experience than any other computer I own, thanks to the latest Intel Core i5 “Sandy Bridge” processor technology and a blindingly fast solid state hard drive. […] continued

Fountain pens overcame early technical limitations and began to be mass-produced in the 1870s. During the next few decades there was a steady stream of improvements, technical innovations and new materials that caused them to become commonplace items in offices. Luxury pens were prized possessions. Executives would display their best pens in special holders on their desks. New pens would be shown off and handed around for inspection. People kept track of each new development.

In the 1950s ballpoint pens appeared for the first time, with early technical issues and leaking problems. Quickly, though, manufacturers overcame those limitations and began to produce a similarly wide range of models, including expensive models that again became office status symbols. […] continued

Previously:
Bruceb Consulting Offers New Patch Management Service

Yesterday I announced that my monitoring software will also install patches and updates for my clients. Let me give you a few more details about that service.

This works just as well for home computers and laptops. Monitoring a single home computer is easy and effective and just as important as protecting an office computer. I can bill you once for a year of service (separately from the office account, if you like), and have you up and running in five minutes. Drop me a line or give me a call to get started! […] continued

The Consumer Electronics Show is keeping gadget freaks happy in Las Vegas this week. I can’t begin to tell you anything in depth – it is a frenzied scene, with close to a hundred thousand people looking at devices from literally thousands of exhibitors. Only a tiny handful of the items displayed will ever be important enough to come to your attention. Trying to guess which ones those will be is an exercise best left to the young.

Here are quick notes of things that have caught my eye – literally just a few items to give you the flavor.

Dell has released the Dell Vostro V130, pictured at left, a slightly updated version of the lovable, ultralight Vostro V13. A 13.3” screen, 3 1/2 pounds, vanishingly thin, and priced well under a thousand dollars – I can’t understand why everyone doesn’t have one. (We have three in my family.) The new model doesn’t have any big changes – an extra USB port, an HDMI port, some new cooling, and a bright red cover in addition to the traditional silver. More details and pictures here, but really, you ought to just buy one if you’re considering a notebook. […] continued