racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

When you close your laptop lid, you’d expect your computer to go to sleep, and perhaps after a few minutes of inactivity go to hibernate mode. This is a default with Apple notebooks—the sleep functionality is so efficient that the computer goes into suspended state in a couple of seconds and wakes up as quickly.

I can’t say the same about Windows, though. Sleep takes about 5 to 10 seconds on my machine. Waking up takes about twice as long. And hibernate? Depending on how large your system RAM is and the speed of your hard drive, you could be looking at a 30 second wait for hibernation and a couple of minutes for waking up.

I’ve assigned the power button on my Presario to be the shortcut for hibernate. I rarely shut down since I prefer to have all my work still open when I turn on the computer—opening up everything after a fresh restart seems too tedious. I only shut down completely when I really have to reboot the system (i.e., after installing applications).

But a few days ago, my laptop almost got burned because of crappy hibernation sequences. So as it was approaching noon—the time I’m supposed to pick up my wife and daughter from work and school, respectively—I hit the power button, closed the lid and stuffed the laptop into my backpack, thinking it had already started with the hibernate sequence.

This time, it did not.

It turns out that there was a glitch with the wireless connection and Windows displayed a prompt that the computer could not go into hibernate mode at that time. Stupid as Windows was, the prompt stayed on, and somehow managed to prevent the computer from sleeping or hibernating. By default, the laptop was supposed to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity and hibernate after 10 more minutes, if on battery mode.

So as we had a quick lunch, the laptop was still running inside the backpack, which I left inside the car. As I was carrying the bag on my back upon arriving home, I kept wondering whether the heat was coming from inside the backpack or just the noontime sun. Boy was I surprised when I opened the bag. I almost panicked because the computer had been so hot I could smell something almost burning inside (the same smell when you’re using soldering lead).

It’s good the laptop survived without problems. I think that incident might have accelerated the laptop’s aging by a few months, though.

And this is one of the reasons I’m not too happy with Windows. If I had brought the PoewrBook, none of this would have happened. Thing is, the work I was currently doing was on the Windows machine, and among the two, it’s the smaller and lighter one, so it’s easier to carry around in quick trips.

Pictures speak louder than words.

The PowerBook Pismo is teh cool!

Let’s put our laptop lid advertising (Sacha, Blogging Pro, bLaptops, the J Spot) concept to the test. I’ll be speaking at the 3rd Techfactors Regional Educators’ ICT Summit this Wednesday, August 30th at the University of the Philippines (my topic is The Learning Preferences of the New Generation). The audience will consist mainly of about 200 educators in the various ICT fields from Metro Manila schools.

Unlike Sacha, who’s selling space by the square inch (or quarter of an inch, even), I think I’ll go in larger chunks, considering the affair will not be as intimate as BarCamp, and I’ll be speaking at front, and not mingling with the crowd (well, mingling comes during the break times). So visibility from greater distances is important in this case.

Okay, I’m interested. How much will it cost?

Considering that my laptop has a relatively larger screen and lid real-estate than Sacha’s ultraportable, we can go in chunks of 4″ x 4″ or even 8″ x 4″. This is a 14-inch widescreen, and the actual area of the lid is about 13″ x 9″. That leaves enough space for six 4″ x 4″ images or three 8″ x 4″ stickers comfortably side by side on the lid with enough free space in between.

The prices:

* US$ 50 for a 4×4 image
* US$ 75 for an 8×4 image
* US$ 100 for an 8×8 image

Okay, we can go smaller, but you’ll have to email me so we can agree upon a price. And, this is first come (or first emailed?), first served. Hey, the 8×8 space is cheap (do the math). You can slash off 100% from the price of four 4x4s if you and three friends are interested in putting up 4×4 ads each.

The Elevator Pitch

This arrangement goes with the standard elevator pitch, meaning if someone asks about the ad, I’ll introduce the product/service/site to them in less than a minute (which is enough to capture the interest of people if done right). This means I cannot possibly pitch stuff that I’m not comfortable using myself, so I reserve the right to turn down unsuitable ads.

Materials, images, URLs, etc.

I’ll supply the materials and do the printing myself, unless you have some need to send me some specialized, embossed, gold-plated, diamond-encrusted logo of your company. Just send me a suitable image in print-size resolution, along with instructions to add a URL or some text, and let’s talk business.

Also, to give proof of your product’s exposure, I’ll email you back pictures from the event with your ads prominently placed on my laptop lid. Heck, I’ll even post them here on my blog.

Contact Me

Get in touch with me via the usual email address – jangelo at racoma dot net. You have until tomorrow evening (August 29th, +0800H GMT) to place your orders, as the event will start early on Wednesday.

I think our PayPal for the Philippines logo should have a spot.

Chris Pirillo did it with his chest–his rent my chest idea seemed quite novel (probably would’ve been better if Chris were a girl ). Andrew Fischer rented out his forehead for ad space. Now Sacha Chua is tempted to sell ad space on her laptop lid, just as Stowe Boyd did with his T-shirts. Apparently, Stowe likes the idea.

There’s actually a business plan in there somewhere. People register with the company, get sent a new sticker every month that covers the lid, and take pictures to show they’ve put in on at the start and that its still there at the end of the month, and they get sent a small check. Fun!

I think it’s quite cool, too. Companies should be sure, though, to target people who frequently use their laptops in public, and not just laptop owners who usually leave their machines at home or on their desk at the office.

I think it doesn’t even have to be revenue-based, but it could be in-kind.

Hey, if someone will sponsor my coffee, snacks, WiFi connection and fare/gas every day just to get me to spend a few hours at Starbucks or Seattle’s Best, I would be all right with slapping some stickers on my V2000. I’ll be able to get some work done, get my daily caffeine fix, satisfy my sweet tooth, and probably get some extra dough.

Imagine if I spent three hours in Starbucks every day with a large “Seattle’s Best” sticker.

At any rate, revenue model or not, I think Sacha got it right that stickers on laptop lids–especially large stickers that shout out a statement–would definitely help in getting people’s attention. Who knows? You can even make friends along the way.

Want to meet interesting but don’t want to have to make the first move? Use the back of your laptop to get people to talk to you. Stickers are a great way to do that. My laptop reads “The geek shall inherit the earth.” I can’t count the smiles, chuckles, and conversations I’ve gotten out of it–and all I have to do is open my laptop!

I used to do this with my old ThinkPad, but I would probably have second thoughts about slapping on a sticker on my new Presario. Okay, it’s more than a month old. Still, the the likelihood of leaving sticky residue on my laptop lid is quite a worrisome thought. Someone should develop laptop-friendly stickers!

Hey, maybe K2 Interactive can do this, along with their regular marketing via blog ads. Or, I’ll probably work on the idea myself!

No, it’s not Manny Pacquiao‘s latest book. It’s what I’m naming* this newest gadget of mine, the Compaq Presario V2617TS. It’s sort of my take on “MacBook.”

I’m sorry to say I had to retire my Thinkpad 390E (look it up–it’s a really really dated model, but that tells you how hardy ThinkPads can be) since it could no longer keep up to my requirements. I do hope it’s now in good hands.

The V2617TS is not top-of-the-line but it sure is a good deal for the price I paid. And it’s good enough for my needs as a writer, pro-blogger, occasional gamer and wannabe-photographer. SRP was PhP 35,950 but I got a discount of PhP 5,000 for paying cash, bringing down the price to PhP 30,950 or approximately US$ 580 (I think this is the price listed online at the Complink website).

It’s a Celeron-M model inside the V2000 form factor, so it looks just like the higher-end V2000 Centrinos and Core Duos, save for some differences which you would only see on closer inspection (and which non-laptop enthusiasts won’t know about anyway).

Yes, it’s teh sexy!

The specs

* Processor: Intel Celeron-M 370 (Dothan core): 1.5 GHz, 1 MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz frontside bus
* Memory: 256 MB DDR (upgraded to 768 MB)
* Chipset: Intel 915GM Express
* Graphics adaptor: Integrated Intel GMA 900, up to 128 MB shared video RAM (dynamically allocated by OS)
* Screen: 14″ Widescreen XGA TFT LCD (very very bright!)
* Hard drive: 40GB 4200 RPM
* Optical drive: Combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-R/RW)
* 10/100 LAN, 56Kbps modem, two 2.0 USB ports, RGB out, S-video out, one Cardbus slot
* Weight: 2.31 Kg
* (OS not included in the package)

I’ve always leaned towards the big brands (such as IBM, HP/Compaq, etc.) and that was my first priority in looking for a new laptop. There’s something about the design of these branded laptops (design meaning not only the style but the overall concept and construction) that gives them an edge over ODM or other BTO laptops. Firsthand experience tells me ThinkPads really are built like tanks. Compaqs and Fujitsus live forever, too. And Macs never lose their sex appeal.

Yes, I know I could have bought something else not badged with the “big brands” but with better specs. But I’m a design freak. What can I say?

And then, of course, you’re paying extra for the after-sales support and online firmware updates. Got that concept from fellow laptop junkies** from Cooltoyz. So what you lose in sheer specs you make up in being sure your laptop’s in tip top running condition.

Celeron?

As for choosing Celeron-M over Pentium-M (which runs the Centrino platform), it’s a matter of price. The Celeron-M is every bit as powerful as the Pentium-M all other things equal (save for L2 cache), but the major disadvantage is battery life, since Celeron-Ms always run on full clock speed. So I usually only get maximum of 2.5 hours on a single charge.

The lowest-priced Centrino V2000 would cost me twice. Go figure.

By the way, I have a knack for pronouncing “Celeron” with a hard C (like K) as in “Celtic.” I don’t know why. Just sounds cool, perhaps.

Photos

Again, pictures speak louder than words, so I’d suggest we go mosy over to my Flickr site for photos of the PaqBook. Here are some thumbnails. You can also hover your mouse over the thumbnails for some descriptions (if you don’t want to view the larger image).

A full review is in order and shall be posted onto bLaptops once finished. For the meantime, here’s a peek into how it feels to go wide (screen) and my review of the Samsonite Inventure laptop backpack I recently got for the PaqBook.

*Corsarius has his Corsarify.
**Trivia: I used to run my BBS on a 386SX Toshiba Satellite. That was in 1995.

Updates, as of June 2007

If you’re interested with the V2000, be sure to check these out:

I was able to have my V2000′s front bezel, LCD and CPU fan replaced at the tail-end of warranty period. Since the new LCD enclosure had WiFi antennae, I was also able to install an internal WiFi mini PCI card.

Also, I decided to protect my touchpad and palm rest with frisket film, since after a year’s use the V2000′s paint had already faded due to contact with my sweaty, acidic palms and fingers.

Recently, I saw low-end V3000 Compaq Presarios (the V3120TU) selling for about the same price I bought my V2000 last year.

Some words of advice

Digital cameras have changed the trends of photography and canon cameras are among the top ones for their best performance. Your ordinary canon powershot camera can not be a match to your canon EOS D2000 digital SLR camera because it brought a revolution in digital photography. Now digital camera accessories are available in open markets and online camera accessories shops worldwide. You can opt for dvd rental to watch documentaries and movies on your digital projector on a big screen or on your televisions if you are really interested in quality of digital recording.

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