I finally got my computer about 2 weeks ago. I was waiting on it for so long that as soon as I got it I had to get right to work. Here it is 6 am and I don’t have a lot of work so I thought I might post a little review about it.

For those of you who haven’t read my previous posts, I have mentioned it’s a Dell m4400.

I will try to NOT include all the other comments from other reviews. You can google them.

When I got the computer I was instantly convinced of it’s durable design. It felt very good in my hands and it has a nice finish to the “paint” that made it feel very nice.

The system was shipped directly to my bosses door and we were able to track the entire trip.

I was supprised to notice that the battery was fully charged when I got it. I liked that. I also noticed you can see the battery status on the battery itself without the computer even being on. Spiffadillio!

There is a nice hardware based wireless/bluetooth switch on the side that I particularly like. I just flip that and my wireless is off. Next to it, is a button of some sort, I pressed it while the computer was off, and it turned blue after a moment. What the heck is this! I think it may be checking for wireless connections even when the computer is off. Very interesting. I will have to look into that some more.

I got the computer without an OS, and I double checked. Sure enough, it simply booted telling me I don’t have an OS. Thank you dell.

What works.

• I installed Ubuntu on it that evening and EVERYTHING seemed to work on the computer. Some of the obscure things that I checked that you may be interested in are:
• The Backlit keybaord.
• The automatic backlit screen adjustment
• The Downclocking of the processor
• Suspend with the Nvidia graphics card drivers installed.
• Dual monitor support

And some of the things I have not checked are:

• The Express card and PCMCIA card slots.
• The Wireless RFID tag reader and the Smart Card Reader
• The SD card slot. (I have never had one not work, actually.)
• ‘External SATA plug

And some Nifty things to note…

• It has 4 usb ports.  2 are normal, one is powered even the comptuer is off (For chanrging things) and the other is a SATA plug at the same time, you can plug USB or sata, even though they are a different shape!  Niftadillio!
• When the laptop is suspended it glows all pretty with a slow pulse.
• The WIFI blinks when data is being sent or recieved. I like it, but some people may not.
• You don’t have to adjust the volume with a key combo. I LOVE that.  Think of many other computers, they have you press the Fn (function) key and then the volume key.  This is dumb as you would have to use two hands!  If I had only one hand free I could use the mouse and it would be quicker.  Dell got it right by just making a button for volume up and down.
• It has three mouse buttons. While not very useful in windows, it’s VERY handy in linux.  Yahoo!
• Markku Sutela really was able to build me something nice.  I like that dell worked WITH ME.  Instead of making choices FOR ME.
• The screen is incredible!  I got the WLED 1920×1200 model and it is truely amazing.  I used the computer in the car and could use it with no problem when the sun glared right into the screen.  The auto adjustment of the screen was quick to turn up the brightness and let me see everything with no problem.
• The screen had 3 dead picels in the corner.  I didn’t mind, but when I just passed that information to dell, they went nuts and had someone come over to my work place the next day and fix it on the spot.  They didn’t take the computer with them, just to point out.  They actually fixed it while I watched, in-absolutely-flipping-credable.  I love this next businessday thing.  And only 3 dead pixels and they fixed it! Very nice indeed.  Most companies don’t fix the screen unless you have more that 6 or 7.
• Call them, Markku Sutela is the guy I worked with, and there are a variety of things that you don’t see on the website that he can get for you with the computer.
• The control key is on the lower left of the keybaord.  Sounds dumb to say it, I know, but my last computer has switched the fn and ctrl key, permenently fixing my pink under my ring finger. (Ok, it was just a cramp.)
• Some people complained about finger prints.  I don’t see how that is possible on this unless your a fat eating tub of lard.  Which I am, and it still didn’t show up!
• Docking station works pretty good.  Everything but…

Things that didn’t work:

• One thing that should be noted is that the audio driver for linux doesn’t switch to the docking station for sound.  And you can turn up one of the inputs (huh?) to get the sound to work at full value.  But it’s not very clear and I don’t know why.  Prolly the driver sucks, but I just plug it into the headset jack on the laptop itself and it works great.
• The Mute button doesn’t seem to work. I mean, it works, I even get a key press in the xev program.  So dell has it working there, but in my current version of ubuntu 9.04 it doesn’t mute even when I set the key in the gnome prefferences.  Meh, That is ok for me.
• I told it to make breakfast, and it said “No, your on a diet.”

Things I don’t like about it.

• I like the keys Home, PageUp, PageDown, and End on the right side of the keyboard near the enter and shift keys.  But they are in a normal keyboard orientation on the top right.  Just a preference, and I am already getting used to it.
• The stickers were on wrong.  They were put on at a slight angle.  I am taking them off anyway, but it made the professional look somehow feel a little off.
• The volume keys are not backlit.  Though easy to find when not backlit, it would have been a cleaner look.
• The top is bumpy.  You will notice with this model that the screen has a “wave pattern” to it.  Though unique, I didn’t like it, I have put a skin over it and it seems to be working over even with the bumps.  We will see in the long run.
• Tincy bit warm at times.  I really don’t mind it, but if it gets a little warm now, could it get worse when dust begins to collect?
• The screen was glossy.  Sad but true. Still, it’s so freaking bright you don’t need to worry about it outside. I checked.
• It came late.  That sucked, but Markku Sutela, the guy I worked with on getting this beauty has given me a deal.  I recommend him to anyone looking for a new computer.

All in all it was very nice to finally get the computer.  I am using it with a dual monitor config so two screens at 1920×1200 and I can now get alot of work done at the same time.

Boy have things been busy.  With two businesses starting, Kone working me hard, and a new job opportunity in Oulu, I sure have my work cut out for me.

My Dell computer is still on the way. Though it is a good computer that is coming if I do all the math right, the computer is ending up 100€ more than I thought it would be.  Think of it this way.  If I can’t load my presentations and proposals fast enough.  Let’s say out of 5 minutes I lose 1 because of speed or a crash. (That’s my current computer slow and touchy.) Then I lose 12 minutes an hour of work time.  Times that by 8 and we have 96 minutes a day lost in poor hardware and slow precessing. That comes to, with my current wages… about 750€ a month. 1.5 hours a day * 20 days a month * 25€  an hour.  That’s money!  If it takes much longer, I should ask for compensation.  Something simple like this… http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Sleeves/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A1285932 the thing is though, if I ask for more hardware they can’t give it without a further delay right?  It’s a horrible situation.  I don’t want to ask for discounts. Maybe another battery or better docking station or speakers.   Well, I will tell you when I get the system.

I don’t blame Dell, it’s just annoying to have to do without so much while I simply wait for my computer to show up.

In other news, I have a new Job in Oulu starting next month.  It’s with a robotics company that needs a GUI program in python.  Dat’s me baby! I have some big plans to really strut my stuff their and it should be a job I won’t ever forget.  It was a good experience at Kone, but when you can’t get a full time job out of it, and something that pays more offers you a permanent job with lots of cool stuff to play with, you can’t turn that down.

I thought it would be hard to FIND a job, not CHOOSE a job.

Years ago now, I said that a computer has finally turned into a tool for me. It actually pays for it self. So now, as payment which I know will pay off. I am getting a new laptop. It’s in the mail soon and I hope to review it here.
Profoundic technologies, the contract company I work for, has asked I select a computer that best fits my needs and I feel this is it.
Here’s the beast…
Precision M4400 : N-Series Intel Core 2 Duo T9800(2.93GHz,1066MHz,6MB)
Base Option : 512MB Discrete nVidia FX770M Graphics Card
Display : 15.4in Widescreen WUXGA (1920X1200) Truelife with RGB LED
LCD Back Cover : RGB LED
Memory : 4096MB (2×2048) 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel
Hard Drive : 320GB (7200Rpm) SATA Hard Drive (Free fall sensor)
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive no software
Battery : Primary 9-cell 85 W/HR LI-ION
Port Replicator : Simple E-Port Euro2 Without Stand
Carry Case : Not Included
Cable : DisplayPort to DVI (Single Link) Adapter
Wireless : EMEA Intel Pro Wireless WI-FI 51
Wireless : EMEA Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth 2.1 MiniCard
Keyboard : Internal Swedish/Finish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard
OS Media : Not Included
Free Dos CD – Drop in the Box
3Yr Basic Warranty – Next Business Day – Minimum Warranty
3Yr ProSupport for IT and Next Business Day On-Site Service

The absolute best part of this entire computer is the fact that I can get this computer WITHOUT windows.  Very nice.  I went to MANY other companies.  HP, Apple, Lenovo, and many others, but they would not give it to me.

This computer is also certified for Novell Linux.  This gives me even more peice of mind, knowing that linux does run on this computer.  Thank you Dell.  It was great doing work with you.

As a sales man, Mr. Suttela did a very good job.  He was able to work deals I never thought about and hit all the things that he and I both felt were good options for me.  The docking station for example was something I never thought of getting, and he did that for me.

Let’s see how well the computer performs when it comes in the estimated 2 weeks.

As for other parts in the computer I am getting…

Saitek Eclipse Gaming Keyboard – It has a blue back light and is rated very well.

Asus VK266H 25.5″ LCD screen – This one has speakers which I don’t expect to be that great and a webcam that they say looks good and works well in Linux. At least on newegg they say it and my brother can attest to a very similar model.

The other computer I was close to getting was this one…

HP EliteBook 8530w 15.4″ WUXGA/T9600/2GB/320GB

But they wouldn’t give me it without the OS. Besides that, dell personally worked the dell out with me and we were able to build something for me.  HP didn’t give me that kind of service.

One thing I can say I didn’t like, was the websites of all the companies in Finland were not very clean.  Ofcourse they has the products but I found lots of broken links and poor labeling of products.

For example no Finnish translations for the product names.  If they are looking for someone to build them a new purchasing system I am up for the challenge.  I could really do something to make it better.

Regards,

Jason Brower

Did you notice the new timezone chooser?  Talk about better, I hated the old one.  You can see it when you install ubuntu.  You know, they should do this all while the copying happens.  It would be a nice time saver.

Not sure if I will ever by a blueray until they have a player for linux.
In looking to purchase a new computer I have thought about Blueray disks as they seem to be the next step in the technology. But in looking into how to play a blueray disc, it seems I have to really make an effort to get it to play.
SAD!
Why do companies have to fight me like this. Just cause a community creates there own tools to do things, they want to control us.
And the worst part is this baby right here…
http://www.aacsla.com/founders
Intel, I understand your a big company, but you should know that one hand is embracing linux, and the other is slapping it in the face. And who like to be held while being slapped?
I choose your products because I know they will work in linux. I always go with intel be I can install linux on it and I know it will work. Please feel free to help get blue ray on linux. Even if I have to pay, I would be happy to get it. I just don’t want to have to by a player, I would like it as part of my computer. (I don’t have a tv.)
IBM:
What the heck. I loved your commercials about linux and how it was this amazing new product. I use eclipse and all it’s tools, where did you get the idea to stop letting people play blueray discs they purchase.
World:
Technology has no boundries. We can communication all they way accross the world using entirely open tools that are create by the community of open programmers. But organizations want to CREATE borders to fight over. They like it when it takes longer or they have a line where they can simply create an “offer” and say it is available for a price different then the other side of the line. Why do you do that?! The Beatles sang about peace and one world. Let’s sell there music but ignore the words.
Did you know that I can’t play my dvd’s that I bought in america on my dvd player in Finland? Why? Because the check where I live, and if it’s not the same as the dvd they turn off the dvd.
Same thing with video games.
Same thing with BlueRay.
There has to be a stop to this filth.
I can’t afford the lifestyle they insist I live.

Sorry for not being around on my blog. It’s been nuts with a new business coming up and working full time on top of it. And to make things even more exciting, my family is moving across town this next week.
Katri has certainly been excited as she has been packing almost every day. We are now down to the bare essential stuff until we have moved. It’s almost a week ahead of schedule so it’s a lot of “Honey, where’s my…” stuff. I don’t mind, WE ARE MOVING! Finally! Let’s hope this dady can bring enough bacon home.
I thought it might be nice to talk about some of the cool features I am finding in the latest releases of Ubuntu. Obviously similar distros will have alot of these features. But Jaunty will be my focus as everyone at least knows about ubuntu, but may not know all the new little changes that make our live in linux that much cooler.
So with that long explanation….
Did you know, synaptic package manager has a screen shot feature now?! That’s right! Pick a package, now click on the screen shot button! Spiffy, let’s hope we can get a large image too, now wait, it can! Just click on the image after it is loaded. It’s nice to see that changes in the interface that focus outside of the basic functionality scope. Keep up the good work guys! The icing would be to put a link so you can submit your own in classig social networking fashion. It would be a great way for someone to contribute to the community when they can’t do art work or develop.

Woah, talk about nice. Knowing that they all work together, Jython, Java, Python, and Web2Py. This opens a wide veriety of features that I could use web2py for.
For example, I use Java and Jython at my work. Imagine being able to pull from the same databases and datasources as I did in my Java application but do it a hundred times faster and easier, and more securely, etc… all with web2py in Jython.
I currently use web2py for a social networking application I am making for my thesis project and it’s a blast to work on. I have to learn a few things, but I am getting there. The great thing about the project is the helpful team found in the mailing list. I have been able to get most of my questions answered withing a day or two there.
In the same breath I want to say that the mailing list is getting a little too crowded. There are a lot of new users of this product and it would be nice to have an area for them and then another for developers of W2P itself.
Another interesting aspect is the new Terminal tool… if you didn’t know, you can do everything you need built right into the browser; even edit all the files with a built in text editor. Don’t worry, you can use other editors too. (I like geany.) Anyway, back to the terminal, though it’s fun to test my different issues I have with python, there is no clear pointer as to how I could test my modules. For example, when I debug, I would love to see the outputs of my print commands in that terminal. Or perhaps have it load the page in an iframe when I call the function and tell information about the page that I just ran. Imaging being able to edit variables and step through a page load.  That could be very helpful.  But a lot of work to program for developers.
Anyway, I love the project, it’s got a lot going for it, and it’s fast and well supported by a great development team.
Go web2py!
As soon as the next book comes out I am sooo getting it.

With ubuntu moving further ahead of my processor power, I have decided to go back to my trusty old WMaker setup. It’s not bad. I will be writing some articles coming up going over how I customized and used this setup. Hopefully it will add some good hip for such a nice Window Manager.

My Screener

I have a job! A rarity for someone coming from my school at the moment. None-the-less I have one for atleast 2 months. I am working under Profoundic Technologies, who make this…http://www.spinxengine.com/index.php and working for Kone, under contract, doing something totally different. Kind of exciting working for a big name like Kone. Lots to learn while I am there, but I doc all that up to experience. If things go well, and I am really lucky, I may get the change to continue. Kone, they make elevators amongst other things. http://kone.com/corporate/en/Pages/default.aspx
They have been around a long time, and they certainly know their stuff. I have some great people I am working with there and they have been helpful in getting me rolling. Thanks guys.

I am no expert at web frameworks, but when I started working with web2py, I started realise that this environment has really got something going for it.
I like how easy it is to setup a development environment. Just download, extract and run. No special settings to worry about. Infact, it even starts up the web browser for you.
Another great aspect is that it teaches what I learned in school, by showing that there is a special areas for the Model, View, and Class.
Last of the great general features is that you can have translations for your site. I thought there would need some way to select the translations, but lo and behold ifmy browsers default language is the same as the language supported in my sites translations, it changes it automatically! I love it!
I hope to start documenting a little bit as I continue to learn how the system works. Hopefully it will compensate for it’s one weakness, little, or very hard to find documentation.
Fortunately the development team is helpful on there mailing list.

I had a GREAT interview. A very serious blast at that interview. Everything I imagined for this job seems to be at this location. If I am placed right, I really feel I could use my skills to make a difference in the Linux community and in the company. They also seemed very happy with how the interview was, and I felt I was able to say everything I thought was needed to express what I wanted.
Time will tell for now, and I still have 1 or 2 more interviews to plug through, but I thought it great to mention them as a credible group.
Guesses on the organization? Saranen Consulting (Out of the blue for me, but you may know them.) These humble folks have really made my week. (And hopefully my career!)
More info to come, wish me luck!
Thanks guys!