<![CDATA[Comments from Aaron Stein]]> <![CDATA[Comments from Aaron Stein]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Dealzmodo Hack: Get Some Use Out of Your Useless Old PC]]> i just bought a new zt systems CPU from costco. no monitor, on board video, but 4G ram and a 2.5 ghz quad core processor.

this weekend i plan to take a hot video card out of a previous computer that my son fried with myspace, take a 400G hard drive and a dvd burner out of another one, possibly change the power supply (one comment online is that zt systems units tend to be noisy), add in a creative labs X-fi, and maybe take a trip to best buy to fill in any remaining expansion slots.

when i'm done, it should be a beast, with only $650 out of pocket.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Sprint Loses Another 1.3 Million Customers, $326 Million, Will to Live]]> count me as one who has been happy with sprint for going on 6 years. never a service problem. and i have not had a contract since the first 2 year one ran out. i am still on a $29.99/300 minutes and $15/month unlimited web.

it will be expensive for me if they go under.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on SanDisk's New Flash File System Improves SSD Write Speeds by 100 Times]]> i'm glad it's easy to get to the drive in my dell inspiron mini. by next year apparently i will be able to easily replace it with something much bigger and faster. very cool.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop]]> i bought a fujitsu u810 refurb on ebay. of course it worked perfectly and i couldn't tell it from a new unit. plus, when i decided it was too small, i sold it back on ebay for $20 more than i had paid for it!

yay refurbs

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Palm Treo Pro Coming to US Through Sprint?]]> i guess the next time i upgrade i will have to leave my palm os behind... i know i'm behind the times (currently on my 3rd treo, a 755p) but it still works for me. still, all these new phones do better on the web, for sure.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on 10 Hypnotic Gadgets You Just Can't Stop Looking At]]> here's another one - a citizen Campanola watch that can track the azimuth of the sun and the positions of the constellations. [campanola-timepieces.com]

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Minox Spy Camera Goes Digital, Still Tiny Enough to Please Q]]> i went to the web site and looked at some of the pictures it takes. unfortunately they are pretty bad.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Korean Research Makes Hydrogen Manufacture 30 Times Cheaper]]> we have been seeing more and more of this stuff, from more efficient solar panels to new types of engines. now if only the big oil companies would either get out of the way or realize that they are ENERGY companies not OIL companies and start helping instead of hindering.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Question of the Day: Do You Get a Thrill From Unboxing Gadgets?]]> i'm worried that inflation and other economic headaches will make it harder to afford being an early adopter and cramp my electronic style... if i don't get my unboxing fix every so often, bad things happen.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on HP's Pavilion dv3500t Its First 13.3-Inch Notebook, Appropriately Colored Bronze]]> on the other hand, i have fairly small hands and i feel my dell xps 1210 is the perfect size overall (12.1 inch) but i agree somewhere in this range is the ideal compromise.

though i am also having fun with my new dell inspiron mini...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi, Wireless Audio for Notebooks]]> ditto on the airport express. one unit and itunes can play from any of our computers to my stereo...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Philips To Use Vibration Know-How To Make Vibrators (Sonicooch?)]]> the vibrator goes mainstream. next up, the swarovski crystal edition.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on LG Lotus Hands-On]]> my first smartphone was a treo 300 that folded and i always liked it. this actually looks kinda neat, though i agree with other comments on the frilly colors...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Scan Toaster Prints Text, Photos From the Internet onto Your Bread]]> this is how we know we have too much stuff

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on RIM Bringing AOL Mail, AIM and ICQ to All BlackBerry Smartphones]]> aol is still one of my email accounts and certainly my oldest. i use aol for palm on my treo855 and it works just fine.

i think stuff like this makes sense from the standpoint that there are getting to be enough folks like me who have been around long enough to still use AOL and don't especially want to stop.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Hyundai To Unveil i20, i20 i-blue Concept, ix55 SUV And Santa Fe Hybrid In Paris]]> put me down for a santa fe hybrid. i have an 07 limited and love everything except the mileage...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Available Now: Windows XP $399, Ubuntu $349]]> well, the money from the sale of my fujitsu U810 (too small) has been burning a hole in my paypal account, so i bought one of these. they have some sort of cash rebate going on, and free shipping. i didn't need another laptop so the $99 wasn't for me.

keeping my fingers crossed. they say it won't ship until around 9-19 so the good news is that by then i will have forgotten about it, so it will be a surprise.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Dell Inspiron 910 Gets Release Date: This Friday, September 5th.]]> one of dell's internal blogs had a post about them deliberately NOT releasing this until after school started to avoid losing sales of their more expensive units.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Buy this Camera or Chuck Norris Will Beat Up Your Family]]> how the mighty have fallen... from some of the best cameras in the world to something that appeals to... who? some 50 year old still worshipping his teen idol?

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Quiksilver's The Ray Watch is Confusing, But Eco-Friendly]]> sort of has the look of one of those bakelite plastic radios from the 40's

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Swedes Do $184,000 Worth Of Unholy Things To Toyota Prius]]> i find it sort of refreshing that it's someone other than americans wasting huge amounts of money on something this dumb...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Palm Treo Pro Official]]> i am on my 3rd treo (300, 650, 755P) but still using the palm os so i will be interested to see what happens with that. it's something that, for me, ain't broke...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Detroit News Lists Best From GM's First 100 Years]]> i think i would include the chevette in the 'worst' list as well as the vega.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Aussie Woman Jailed Over Belief In 'God-Given Right To Drive']]> kudos to australia for sticking to their guns. they have had some very interesting things to say to muslim extremists as well, who try to change things based on their perception of religious law.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Leaked: Dell Inspiron 910 (Mini Note) Specs and Release Date]]> i agree, i have a number of dell computers, and my current laptop is a dell xps m1210 that i like a lot. i think i want the linux version in the 8.9" size, mainly for something to check email and read gizmodo without waiting for long boot times.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Qingbar iPod Projector Puts Sub-Par Images On Upright Tray Tables]]> maybe if it costs $50...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Lightning Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X200]]> i agree that 12" is the sweetspot for max usability. i have a dell xps 1210, and after testing it side by side with the smaller sony TX (which seemed much cooler) i found that this is the smallest one on which i could effectivcely touch-type.

i still want something smaller that boots quicker for email checking and stuff, but that won't require as much typing. will probably go for the MSI wind with linux.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Styrofoam Homes Are Typhoon-Resistant, Refillable with People or Coffee]]> very cool.and i would think that a lot of the 'typhoon resistance' comes from their relatively aerodynamic shape. no places for wind to grab a corner or eave and lift, no shingles to rip off...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on E-Passports Can Be Hacked and Cloned in Minutes]]> the system was probably designed by the company that gave the most to the appropriate political party that year

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Lightning Review: Palm Treo 800w Smartphone]]> i dunno. i'm starting to feel a little dinosaur-ish with my treo755p, but it 'ain't broke' so i'm not fixing it.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on GM To Employ Duct Tape, Rush Production Volt To Stage By September]]> FLASH: GM does to hybrids what it did to diesels in the late 70's/early 80's.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on 2009 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Brings Smug to Seoul]]> this gives me hope. i have a 2007 hyundai santa fe which i love, except for the gas mileage. now if they can just get this powertrain into the santa fe, which should not be a big problem considering it's built on this architecture anyway

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on New Eee PCs from Asus Will Have Small Screens, Big Keyboards]]> seems like about every other day asus is announcing new models. like someone has a bunch of index cards with '8.9" screen, white case, XP, larger keyboard' kind of stuff written on them, and every morning they throw them on the table and pick a couple and declare that's their next machine...

maybe they figure if they come up with enough combinations, they will have something for everybody

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Pop-Up Hotel Rooms]]> if anybody is interested in other ideas that have been implemented for temporary emergency shelter for things like katrina, rotary clubs in england started a program (which has been brought to the u.s. by florida clubs) called shelterbox (www.shelterbox.org).

it provides a tent and various supplies for a family of 10 for 6 months, all in one plastic tub. very cool.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on US Cellular Ad Tries Really Hard to Make Yapping On Your Phone in Public a Beautiful Thing]]> and i didn't mean that i AM one, i hardly ever use mine, especially in public.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on US Cellular Ad Tries Really Hard to Make Yapping On Your Phone in Public a Beautiful Thing]]> count me as one of the 'self centered a**holes' camp

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Giz Explains: How the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Will Save the World]]> i'm active in the service club Rotary International. we have had a program since 1985 to eliminate polio from everywhere, working with governments and the World Health Org. the job is 99% done and has developed all sorts of techniques and knowledge that will help in many other ways.

last year the Gates foundation gave Rotary a challenge grant (meaning we have to match it) for $100 million USD. This is serious money and they are really paying attention to who is doing the best job of using it.

kudos to the gates' (including Bill's father who is active on the foundation as well. and Warren Buffett too.

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on New Yorker: Why We Won't Have Fully Conversational Robots]]> though the fact that they are silly to call it impossible, does not in itself make it possible either. wait... its the same with god. OMG!!

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on New Yorker: Why We Won't Have Fully Conversational Robots]]> i wish i had a nickel for everything scientists of a given time said was impossible...

]]> <![CDATA[Aaron Stein commented on Every Peugeot 504 In California Now Crusher Bound]]> and no that last line was not a typo. the car could easily cruise at 70, but got great mileage too. at the expense of power, i guess, but still, it was a very relaxing way to drive :o)

]]>