Category Archives: technology

Another nice thing about the Chromebook

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A few years ago I purchased a Toshiba laptop (mention in the previous post) on which to learn some Windows/PC software. Didn’t want to defile my MacBook by putting Microsoft crap on it.

The PC laptop comes with tons of useless advertising crap on it. You have to either pay the store (in this case Best Buy) to remove the junk, or spend hours doing it yourself.

The Chromebook, which runs on a Linux-based OS, has none of that shit. Turn it one, sign on, and you are good to go. No frustrating PC-like bullshit.

Enter the Chromebook

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I am typing this entry from my new Google Chromebook, working offline (intentionally) to test its offline document editing capacity.

It seems to work pretty well. I bought this machine a couple of hours ago. Since it is all Flash memory driven, it boots up really fast. It is light, which is why I purchased it — so I’d have a lightweight machine to use for travel. Something that won’t weight down my backpack.

Getting on WiFi is easy enough. There is a slight learning curve, even for technology veterans, in navigating the “desktop”. Unlike most laptops, you don’t really “save stuff to the desktop” on this machine. It is designed to work with Google Drive. Thus far, when I have tested it’s online/offline syncing ability, it seems to work quite well.

The Google Docs app I’m using right now will save in an MS Word format, as well as various other common text formats.

I intend to us this machine while on trips, for uploading photos, doing blog posts, writing, and general web surfing/communication. The apps available for video/audio editing seem limited right now, but not completely absent. The one I was really hoping to use for audio has been discontinued by its maker, which sucks, but I will figure out a workaround. It is rare that I need on the road audio editing. I’ll figure it out.

The screen quality seems pretty good considering this machine only cost $250. It looks a lot better than the full-sized Dell monitor I use at work, and is comparable to a non-Retina Apple monitor. So that’s cool.

The keyboard is big enough to be comfortable for full-sized male hands, and the track pad is fairly good. Not as good as an Apple track pad, but much better than the one on my much-hated and seldom used Toshiba laptop. It is one of those new-fangled trackpads with no discrete click button. The bottom of the pad itself is the button. This entire machine feels superior in its user-interface, keyboard, monitor, and trackpad than any PC laptop I’ve ever used. And at about ¼ or less the price.

Having everything you do show up in a Chrome browser window does seem strange at first, I must admit. Using Google’s apps and Google Drive is also strange to me. As much as I appreciate Google’s various products, it does seem somehow dumb to be giving them even more of my life to store on their servers. But really, they’ve already got it all anyway. If I decide to write a novel that will make me lots of money, I’ll do it offline I recon – and not on Google. Don’t want them coming after my fortune, even though they say in Google Docs that they won’t.

The construction of the Chromebook seems adequate. I wouldn’t call it flimsy at all, but I also wouldn’t say its bulletproof. A nice foam sleeve for travel might be a good idea.

Obviously, the machine works well for web surfing, since it is all based on the Chrome browser.

Importing images to the Chromebook was a bit confusing at first. I took a pic using a standard Canon digital camera, and connected via USB cable. The Chromebook didn’t seem to recognize the connection. Then I remember that the Chromebook has an SD card slot. I popped the SD card in there, and a file manager came right up. You can then drag the images into your “downloads” folder, or any other folder you create.

I’m still trying to figure out how to insert images into this document. There is an option for it in the “insert” menu, but it is grayed out. Will figure that out later. I wonder if it has to do with being offline?  Weird. I’ll also install the Flickr app and see how it works later at home, online.

OK, I’m at home, online, and I figured it out. Images can’t be inserted into the Google Doc unless you are line. Make sense. You have upload the image to Google Drive, where the Doc will always have access to it.

I tried a Flickr app, but it sucked. Better to just go to Flickr.com and use it normally via the brower.  Now I’ll try inserted this old skate image I had on Flickr. Not bad.

IMG_1454

Now, finally, to save this in some format that can be quickly and easily put into my concretelunch.info blog. Let’s see…

I don’t want to “Publish to web”, as this will simply make the Google Doc public on my account.

Simply copying directly from the Google Chrome window and pasting into WordPress worked, but the formatting was just a bit messed up. Really big gaps between paragraphs.

Saving this document in Word format, than doing “paste from Word” in WordPress didn’t work very well.

None of this is surprising. Stuff never pastes into WordPress correctly from other formats/apps.

I have just opted for the 1st choice – pasting directly into WordPress from Docs. I cleaned up the extra space between paragraphs. This is actually pretty common. I’ve not found what I consider a really good offline blog editor. I used to have one for the Mac, but rarely used it. It just didn’t work that well. The reality is that most of the time I am somewhere that WiFi is available, and I suspect that trend will increase in the future. Assuming that civilization doesn’t collapse.

Well, now to finish up this post I’m typing directly into WordPress, like normal.  As I come up with new thoughts about the Chromebook I will collect them and post them. So far I think it is going to be a good option for light weight mobile blogging/social media/word processing.

 

Conflict?

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In my continuing quest for a better life and better ways of living, I have come to cherish my lunch hour. It is a time that I ‘m away from my computer machine, away from the telephone machine, away from my beloved library patrons. Over the last few years I’ve done most of my reading during lunch. I have thought some of my best thoughts during lunch. I have written them down. One of the most enjoyable parts of my week are the days I sit on the sidewalk patio of a local eatery with my rig, relaxing with my thoughts and my books.

Below you will find my “lunch rig”. This is my current lunchtime non-eating equipment. Here, side by side, you find total harmony where there should in fact be conflict. On the left, my newly discovered (just a couple of months ago) Kindle, which I deem to provide the best possible reading experience. Yes, this librarian thinks reading the Kindle is better than reading paper. It is easier on the eye, convenient, and elegant. Granted, I think the Kindle and eReader content in general lacks any real long-term archival quality. No one is going to dig up a Kindle in 3000 years and be able to read it. But for my lunchtime needs it serves admirably.

Existing side by side with the Kindle, in total harmony, much like the often-sung-about Ebony and Ivory, is my actual paper journal and Lamy Safari fountain pen. Yes, while reading on my modern device I often write on good old paper using a fountain pen. Not a keyboard. There is something satisfying and civilizing about the experience of putting ink to paper. It slows me down from my normal pace. I gather my thoughts, relax my shoulders, arms, neck, and face, and smoothly (as possible) form legible handwriting.

I have found that my practice of Aikido has improved my handwriting, once I understood the connection. Relaxation. Centeredness. Awareness of the moment. A desire for elegance and utility, rather than brute force and function. Flow. Yes, flow is important.

Handwriting is personal. Handwriting belongs to the writer.

Technology coexists with the Old Ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More MacBook flickering screen

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So as you longtime readers know, when I originally got a MacBook the screen had a nasty flicker/noise problem. I took it back the next day, and the Apple store replaced it. This MacBook that I’m typing on now has worked pretty well.

However, for that last couple of month’s I’ve notice a minor screen flickering when it is running on battery power. Sometimes it is quite noticeable. Like right now. It isn’t the same problem that the first MacBook had. That was kind of a screen static/noise thing.  This is more like the brightness level goes up and down slightly.

This is a a bummer, because I like Apple products a lot. I would like to say after several years of using this computer I am “delighted” with it. But this screen thing — errrr — well, it makes me un-delighted. It makes me question whether I’d replace this computer with another MacBook. Not sure what else I’d get, but after having 2 apple monitor crap out on me with extreme prejudice in my computer-using past I just don’t have confidence that Apple can do monitors right.

Frankly, I’m not sure this problem is even the monitor. I suspect there is some kind of power management issue, since it only happens on battery power. Still, it sucks.

On the other hand, the Dell laptop my wife had a few years ago lasted only two years before it took it’s final dump and had to be replaced.

Oh well. This is pretty high up on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, so I guess I’ll stop complaining.

MacBook WiFi problem/solution

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Last year my MacBook started having very, very slow WiFi connectivity. So slow, in fact, I almost abandoned the thing. My wife’s MacBook was fine. But my WiFi connection just crawled. Then I read about some MacBook Pros, the new ones with the metal case, having a similar problem.

I was sitting right next to our WiFi router getting super slow connectivity. So I decided to remove the transparent plastic case I’d bought for the machine. It sure did look cool.

As soon as I removed the case (which is made specifically for MacBooks and costs about $30), my WiFi connection improved by about 1000%. In fact, it became normal. No more problem.

So if you have a plastic case on your MacBook, and your WiFi sucks, take the case off.  Amazingly, 2 millimeters of plastic is enough to ruin your signal.