Entries categorized 'Technology' ↓

Dell Mini BIOS Upgrade without Windows XP Installed

DISCLAIMER: Do this at your own risk, it worked for me. I have experience with this type of update so I may overlook some minute details so BE CAREFUL. One of the things that really bugs me about Dell is their claimed support for Ubuntu Linux but fail at supporting Linux like they do with Windows XP and Vista. I found this recently sent going to the Dell support site for my Dell Mini 9 to try to download new BIOS updates. My Mini shipped with BIOS version A00, where A02 is out and...

Dell Mini Resources

Since receiving my Dell Mini back in September I have found some nice resources pop-up over the past couple months that have been updated on a regular basis and have good community support. I just wanted to share these for folks who may not be aware of them. Ubuntu on the Dell Mini 9 This blog goes into some nice detail how to install and maintain Ubuntu Linux on the Mini. The site also explains how to support various applications on Ubuntu to optimize them for the Mini form factor. http://www.ubuntumini...

Installing Ubuntu 8.10 on the Dell Mini

I ordered a Dell Mini 910 as soon as Dell announced they were ready and I was impressed with it right away . The one I ordered came with Windows XP because Dell did not offer Ubuntu with much RAM or SSD storage. After working with this netbook for a month or so I decided I really wanted something a bit more..well, non-Microsoft. I debated about putting Apple OSX on it as some folks have reported as being able to do but there was also problems reported with this as well. So...

First Impressions – Flip MinoHD

I have been looking for an easy way to record short videos on the fly without having to carry around a big camcorder, which I have and rarely use. I had hoped to be able to use my iPhone but applications like Qik are taking some time to make it to the iTunes Store. I started to hear things about various mini all-digital cameras and began to look at them. The cameras from Flip seemed to be drawing a lot of attention and with the introduction of the high-definition version, it seemed like...

Observation : Rails Consulting Rates Lower Than .NET Rates

I have been an independent developer for the past few years doing all of my commercial work in the .NET platform. In the past year or so I have been doing more Rails development driven by my interest in Ruby. I had the opportunity lately to take on some additional work and spoke to a couple companies about their Rails-based projects and was surprised by what I found. The rates offered by these companies where significantly less than the rates I had been charging for .NET, particularly C# work. The...

The Dell Mini Arrives - First Impressions

I ordered a Dell Mini the day after they were announced and available to order. I had been looking for a small laptop for writing and remote work. Under consideration was the Asus models as well as the Acer Aspire One but when arriving at my local Best Buy and none of the models of the Acer were in stock, well I was out of luck. The Dell Mini was announced the week after my disappointment with Best Buy so I figured I would order one since Dell has a reputation for producing pretty good products for...

Google Chrome Auto Updates

I have been running the Google Chrome browser since it came out last week and I am pleasantly surprised how happy I am with it. I am normally an early-adopter and decide quickly how much I like something and dump it fast. So far so good. One interesting thing I noticed yesterday was the version number of Chrome: Notice the version is 0.2.149.27 and the Official Build is 1583. Today I looked at the same About Google Chrome dialog and now see this: The version is now 0.2.149.29 and the Official Build...

Using Amazon S3 as my Backup Solution

I have been using Mozy for the past year and had been pretty happy with the way their backup software worked both on Windows and the Mac. I have upgraded my systems several times and each time I reinstall a new operating system and backup with Mozy it tells me I need to delete my old machine and create a new one in their system. I have done this a few times and it takes a while to backup 6G or so but my main concern is having a system failure and not being able to attach to my system backup to restore...

Time for a Development System Reconfiguration

The time has come for me to reconfigure my Windows Vista development system after it has been running very well for months. I lately upgraded my motherboard to an ABit IP35 Pro to better support my new Q9300 quad-core processor and upgraded my system memory to a total of 8GB. Since 32-bit Vista can't handle all this memory it was time to install 64-bit Vista and think about a better way to support my personal development and development I do for clients. The picture here is what my office feels like...

Google Chrome First Impressions

Google seems to have surprised us again with the announcement and release of their lightweight browser named Google Chrome . The idea of yet another browser seems like a waste of resources, but I wanted to give it a try. The download from the Google Chrome website was fast and the installation was really quick. When the installation finished after a brief wait, it imported by Firefox bookmarks and browsing history for my use later. The browser loads very fast and reveals a pretty simple user interface...

Subscribe

My Tweets

Popular Posts

Categories

My Del.icio.us Links