We've kind of come full circle, again. When I was in junior high, the kids who messed with computers used a terminal that connected them to a mainframe somewhere -- probably a university. The terminal was "dumb;" all of the programs were installed on, and ran on the mainframe.
When the desktop revolution hit (the Apple II in 1977 and the IBM PC in 1981) applications moved off mainframes and onto your own personal computer.
This was a revolution because it let us worker faster, freer and more conveniently. You didn't have to book time on a mainframe, sit dumbly at your dumb terminal waiting for the mainframe to carry out the task and otherwise be beholden to some other entity.
Then the Internet took off. At first we just hyperlinked from one document to another. It was neat, but a little limiting. As bandwidth increased and browsers became more sophisticated, people started developing programming languages that used web browsers as sort of an operating system.
(Anticipating this caused Bill Gates to freak out. He saw the potential for web browsers to replace operating systems (like Windows, for instance) and take over computing. That eventually led to the Microsoft-Netscape browser war. Netscape clearly lost, but it's still not clear that Microsoft won).
Web pages stopped being still and started moving a bit using applets written in Java and ActiveX, then JavaScript, AJAX, Flash and more.
That all led to web apps like Zoho, Gmail and Google Docs, Facebook. and what's often called Web 2.0.
This could be considered a return to the old terminal and mainframe idea, but it's a lot better. For instance, your computer (even a netbook) has a lot of processing power. That power works with the online service to give you better features, like speed, universality and the ability to collaborate with other people.
If you early-adopted any of those web services, you probably noticed a couple of inconveniences. For one thing, there was often a time lag between when you did something and the server side responded. You were also out of luck if you couldn't connect to the Internet.
You may not have noticed, but your browser was probably getting bloated as well. It needs plugins to run the apps and when you get enough of them running, plus have a few pages open, your system can get sluggish.
These issues led people to start thinking about running the web apps more from your computer and without using the entire browser.
Mozilla, the developers of Firefox, came up with web runner, which is now Prism. Adobe developed AIR.
As all of this integration between personal computers and the Internet was happening, there was something else going on. Mobile phones were becoming small computers with constant connections to the cloud. (And some computers were becoming a lot like mobile phones with a bigger processor. Netbooks, for instance, and now the iPad).
I use a lot of web apps, especially the Google ones, but I also fall back to regular desktop programs fairly often. For instance, if my internet connection is shaky, or I need to quickly take a few notes, I'll use OpenOffice or Tomboy. I's also found that the web apps, good as they're getting, don't offer all of the features, or the reliability, that I can get on my desktop.
Formatting documents is a good example. If I want tab in, uses images boxes, or include other, even slightly sophisticated, layouts, it's a lot easier in OpenOffice than in Google Docs.
Still, it's great to have the options.
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sony VAIO VPCS111FM
After crushing my Sony VAIO SZ750N, and making it worse by trying to install the wrong replacement LCD screen, I broke down and bought a new laptop.
I got the VPCS111FM. I think it's a scaled down version of the new Z Series, which is apparently the replacement for the SZ Series.
I checked out the new Z Series laptops They're tempting. Thin and light with clear, bright screens and lots of features. They also range from $1,900 to more than $4,000.
The VPCS111FM is a Best Buy-only model that is a lot like the Z Series, but without the dual graphics cards and some other features. It's also just over $1,000. There are some similar thin and light laptops made by ASUS, Toshiba and HP, but they're all missing some features I wanted, like a built-in DVD drive, Bluetooth or a big hard drive. The cost of upgrading them, when it was possible, put them in about the same range, so I went with the Sony.
I hesitated a bit, mostly because Sony always uses some proprietary hardware and doesn't seem to cooperate much with Linux developers. It took we a while to get everything on the SZ750N working with Ubuntu, and then some fiddling to keep it working as I upgraded Ubuntu versions.
People were already making progress on the VPCS111FM, so I figured everything would work out.
I haven't installed Ubuntu yet, so I've only used it with the pre-installed Windows 7. It seems odd that Microsoft has moved past Vista and onto Windows 7 and computer companies are still offering a free downgrade to Windows XP. That's got to be driving somebody in Redmond crazy.
Windows 7, by the way, seems OK. Nothing to tempt we away from Linux, but seems to work fine. My only real complaint is that using the trackpad is awkward. I get used to Linux and whenever I use a computer with Windows I find it irritating that I can't easily switch from moving the cursor to moving the window just my moving my finger to the right side of the pad.
On to the hardware.
The keyboard is nice. Not great when compared to some of the others I tried, like the ones on HP and ASUS laptops, but a lot better than the one on the SZ. That one just felt flimsy and cheap.
It was also loud, which was a problem when I took notes in meetings. Got some dirty looks, and even a comment once, when I forgot to type softly.
This keyboard is the new "chiclet" type. The keys poke through holes in a metal frame. The frame separates them so there's a space between each key, rather than just a slope. I think it's easier to type. I'm less likely to hit two keys at once.
The case is metal. It's a silvery color and shiny. Personally I preferred the flat black on the SZ because it was less conspicuous, but this one is fine really.
The trackpad is metal as are the two button just below it. It feels fine and works well.
The case has substantial rubber bumpers on both the base and the screen bezel. They stick out a good amount and seem to be stuck on well.
That's not something I would ordinarily notice, but on the SZ they were so small that the keys made an impression on the LCD when you closed the lid. The impression became more pronounced over time, especially after the bumpers started falling off.
The heat exhaust is on the left side of the laptop, rather than on the bottom. That's a nice feature. It keeps the heat off your lap, if you use the computer the way the name suggests you would. It also lets the heat escape even if you set the laptop on a soft surface.
(Specs after the jump)
I got the VPCS111FM. I think it's a scaled down version of the new Z Series, which is apparently the replacement for the SZ Series.
I checked out the new Z Series laptops They're tempting. Thin and light with clear, bright screens and lots of features. They also range from $1,900 to more than $4,000.
The VPCS111FM is a Best Buy-only model that is a lot like the Z Series, but without the dual graphics cards and some other features. It's also just over $1,000. There are some similar thin and light laptops made by ASUS, Toshiba and HP, but they're all missing some features I wanted, like a built-in DVD drive, Bluetooth or a big hard drive. The cost of upgrading them, when it was possible, put them in about the same range, so I went with the Sony.
I hesitated a bit, mostly because Sony always uses some proprietary hardware and doesn't seem to cooperate much with Linux developers. It took we a while to get everything on the SZ750N working with Ubuntu, and then some fiddling to keep it working as I upgraded Ubuntu versions.
People were already making progress on the VPCS111FM, so I figured everything would work out.
I haven't installed Ubuntu yet, so I've only used it with the pre-installed Windows 7. It seems odd that Microsoft has moved past Vista and onto Windows 7 and computer companies are still offering a free downgrade to Windows XP. That's got to be driving somebody in Redmond crazy.
Windows 7, by the way, seems OK. Nothing to tempt we away from Linux, but seems to work fine. My only real complaint is that using the trackpad is awkward. I get used to Linux and whenever I use a computer with Windows I find it irritating that I can't easily switch from moving the cursor to moving the window just my moving my finger to the right side of the pad.
On to the hardware.
The keyboard is nice. Not great when compared to some of the others I tried, like the ones on HP and ASUS laptops, but a lot better than the one on the SZ. That one just felt flimsy and cheap.
It was also loud, which was a problem when I took notes in meetings. Got some dirty looks, and even a comment once, when I forgot to type softly.
This keyboard is the new "chiclet" type. The keys poke through holes in a metal frame. The frame separates them so there's a space between each key, rather than just a slope. I think it's easier to type. I'm less likely to hit two keys at once.
The case is metal. It's a silvery color and shiny. Personally I preferred the flat black on the SZ because it was less conspicuous, but this one is fine really.
The trackpad is metal as are the two button just below it. It feels fine and works well.
The case has substantial rubber bumpers on both the base and the screen bezel. They stick out a good amount and seem to be stuck on well.
That's not something I would ordinarily notice, but on the SZ they were so small that the keys made an impression on the LCD when you closed the lid. The impression became more pronounced over time, especially after the bumpers started falling off.
The heat exhaust is on the left side of the laptop, rather than on the bottom. That's a nice feature. It keeps the heat off your lap, if you use the computer the way the name suggests you would. It also lets the heat escape even if you set the laptop on a soft surface.
(Specs after the jump)
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