I know, I know. You want to speak out here on LaptopMemo. You may also want to find another way, besides comments. Well, here’s a quick poll for you guys, and it’s not very demanding. I’ve been testing different gadgets for over 1.5 years now, starting at 13 then 14. I’ve had tons congratulate my work, and I’ll be there in CES 2011 Preview to hang out with all the other forms of tech media (blah blah blah, we know that already).
But I need to make sure of one thing: Is LaptopMemo’s banner too bright (or too dull)? I’ve been evaluating a few different screens (Super AMOLED, AMOLED, LCD, and LED) and am wondering if the color is too bright, or too dull? Speak out!
My birthday, yes. How old am I now? 14-years-old. Am I born on the same day as my Dad? Yes. Is my Dad much older than I am? Very much so (mid-forties). And am I happy? Heck, yes. Did Darth Vader from Engadget give me Force Lighting cookies? By the means of the Force, yes!
During the course of today I will be checking in on Foursquare, going to have lunch with Mom, and just goofing off on my Twitter handle, @stefanetienne. I’m also currently writing another review, this time on a laptop. Which brings in something I’d like to share: NVIDIA has been having Optimus graphics card issues with Punkbuster, a program designed to rule out hackers in online games, like Modern Warfare 2, Bad Company 2, and possibly the upcoming Medal Of Honor (I’ll be playing the beta starting October 4th as gamertag Stef_LAPTOPMEMO).
Essentially, if you have an Optimus graphics card, Punkbuster thinks you’re hacking, and kicks you out of the game. I’ve re-created the issue, complained to Nvidia’s higher-up reps, and got to make sure their engineers work with Punkbuster. A fix will be outed in about a month of two. I also have a certain Alienware headed to my desk; that should be fun to use too.
I’ll also be starting a video series where my face appears (not frequently) and I’ll see how it goes. Oh, and I’m attending CES Preview 2011 in New York City in the business casual attire as much as CrunchGear’s John Biggs thinks I’ll get fried into a thousand bits, and possibly even CES 2011 Las Vegas itself. Anyways, just subscribe, follow me on Twitter (or the site), and leave a comment, as it really helps me out.
It’s green. It’s just a color. But one stormy night in an old apartment (not the stylish one I’m living in now), I constructed the first logo for the site (with style assistance from my Mom) using Photoshop 9.0. The green that I mixed up from several colors (not disclosing them here of course) turned out to be awesome, just for LaptopMemo.
Not so long after, Engadget began using an exact version of the green for their “randomness” blog, Engadget Alt. I’ll let them get away with it, simply due to the fact that I’m friends with some of the editors (Twitter friends, at least), and I’m not interested into getting a argument like I got with Peter Rojason Twitter.
Off topic: Essentially the argument was about how I’d use the word ‘gdgt’ to describe all “gadget” bloggers, since both words mean the same thing. But he got pissed off saying it was confusing, and he pissed me off by doing so. End of friendly dealings. But I did give him a mea culpa via Gmail, which I’m proud of.
Back on topic: So anyways, that Samsung Fascinate review that I’ve been working on will get posted sometimes this weekend or Monday, and I’ve gone back to Photoshop to tweak the green that I have. Some might say it’s a bit too bright, others might just enjoy it. Anyways, use the sharing buttons below, don’t forget to comment on the interesting posts, and follow LaptopMemo on Twitter. Or you know, you can just, follow me.
Oh, almost forget again: I also have a few more shiny new gadgets coming up this week for review, like the ASUS U35Jc and the Lacie MosKeyto, that tiny 16mm flash drive.
Hey, over here! Yeah, you! If you’re reading this from your cubicle (or whatever), then read this. If you like tech news, reviews of fancy new gadgets, stuff like that, then this site is perfect! Sure, this place may not be WSJ or Wired, but hey, you’d be supporting the new underdog who’s appeared on the front page of Techmeme a few times (and doesn’t post 60 different articles in 5 minutes. More like 20 different articles in 4 days).
And one more thing! This site is written by a 13-year-old. Pretty hard to believe, huh? I’m pretty surprised myself.
Currently, the world of technology news is a bit dry. Don’t worry, there probably will be news later, but in the meantime I’m going to write about only one of many favorite gadgets: The PSP.
First released in 2005, it was a slightly bulky, and slightly heavy portable gaming system. It had a few good games here and there, but the Nintendo DS and DS Lite knocked it off shelves in terms of sales. After having one for a considerable amount of time I must say there was a lot of cons: It caught fingerprints easily, made disc noise, and the buttons were very low, which made it very uncomfortable for gaming.
The original PSP.
Most of this changed with the PSP 2000 Series or PSP “Slim and Lite”. It was lighter, had better buttons, not as much disc noise, and was a better product overall. After owning a silver PSP 2000 (and later selling it due to wanting to get another gadget) I thought Sony was on the right track. The DS Lite still was beating it in terms of sales (which I think was correct since it still was not perfect).
The PSP 2000 or "Slim and Lite"
Then I heard a PSP 3000 Series was coming out. Known to some fans as the PSP Brite due to its anti-glare screen which was brighter, it had a “Playstation Button” like the PS3 controller and a built-in microphone for use with Skype (a feature introduced in the PSP 2000.)
I have never owned this type of PSP, but from the looks it is another slight improvement. After three different kinds of PSPs , Sony should have been done making new a new PSP every year.
The current PSP 3000 series
Nintendo then made the best Nintendo DS ever: The DSi. It has 2 cameras, bigger screens, an SD card slot, music capability, and many more features. A new problem in bad economic times for Sony.
Sony then created the most “interesting’ PSP ever: The PSP Go!. A compact PSP with a sliding screen, 16GB internal Flash memory, and Bluetooth, it will have great titles like Gran Turismo (which will include 800+ cars and 60 tracks!), Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, Little Big Planet, and others. Slated for release on October 1, 2009 (one day before my birthday in fact) will be the second option to buy a PSP, since the 3000 will still be on sale for years to come. I think it will be a very good step to combat the iPhone, DSi, and iPod Touch.
A PSP Go! press photo.
Though it has a lot of bad and good features, it might just work! The cons are: no second analog stick, something everyone has requested, the price tag of $249 USD (a rip off), and an “unusual” design make buyers go away. The pros are: smaller design, better titles, Bluetooth, and internal memory. Although for very strict and smart buyers, this might not be enough to spend a hefty $250.
For all of you anticipating colorful fireworks, Happy 4th of July! Personally, what I will be doing is watching fireworks and posting tech news! What will you be doing this 4th of July?
I have decided to take the day for maintaining my blog and thinking about my readers. Earlier today I announced my blog was available at Blogged and Gdgt. I would now like to annonuce that “Laptop Memo Discussions” is now open! My new social network at Ning.com will allow readers to interact, something I’ve wanted my readers to do in my blog!
