Lexiphanic and I hit town today to take part in the protests against Stephen Conroy's ISP filter proposal.
The rally was supposed to take place outside Qld's Parliament House. I say supposed to because, as far as Lex and I could see, it didn't happen. There was a protest alright, a well-turned-out and vocal protest for the 'Free Lex Wootton" campaign. But unfortunately, no free-netters were in evidence. I'm still not sure if I should be outraged or disappointed about this. I'm having trouble harbouring both emotions at the moment, so I'm kind of numb about it. Hopefully the rage will set in again in a few days. And, no doubt, you'll all hear about it. My apologies in advance.
In lieu of the protest Lex and I wandered around town looking at computers and discussing various topics of geekery. We visited DSE on Queen St, simply because we were there, and, lo and behold, they have somehow managed to get hold of a Toshiba NB100. Anyone reading my blog lately will know that the NB100 is Toshiba's entry to the booming Netbook, or sub-notebook, market. I've been intrigued by thoughts of the NB100 since I first heard about it, and have been wondering when it'll be released in Oz (it's only out in England and Japan atm). But somehow, DSE in the Mall have one! My poor heart nearly missed a beat when Lex pointed it out!
I waited patiently (actually it was pretty impatiently to be honest) for a browsing tourist to move along and then got to touch a machine that has been nought but the stuff of dreams for months.
And then my heart broke.
It doesn't matter that Toshiba is my favourite brand of computer, or that the NB100 has an option for a factory install of Linux Ubuntu, my OS of choice, or that the ultra-portablity and low cost of the NB100 make it a perfect fit for my lifestyle. Nevermind, in short, that on paper, it seems to be a match made in Heaven, because, in the flesh, I can't use it. Even though Toshiba have done their utmost to keep the keyboard as large as possible, the keys are still smaller across than my fingertips. I physically cannot type on that board without hitting multiple keys at once or tripping over my own fingers.
This is supremely disappointing. This machine has been a minor obsession of mine and now it's been shattered.
So today held two little heartbreaks for me. It wasn't a totoal loss however, as Lex stepped up like a true mate and made it possible for me to pick up another tech-obsession I've had lately; a Bluetooth wireless transmitter/headphones combo for my slightly damaged Gigabeat. I'm charging them now and am very much looking forward to using them for the first time.
I'll leave it there for now. I'm off to try to get over the NB100 by finding a new laptop to obsess over...ciao.
The rally was supposed to take place outside Qld's Parliament House. I say supposed to because, as far as Lex and I could see, it didn't happen. There was a protest alright, a well-turned-out and vocal protest for the 'Free Lex Wootton" campaign. But unfortunately, no free-netters were in evidence. I'm still not sure if I should be outraged or disappointed about this. I'm having trouble harbouring both emotions at the moment, so I'm kind of numb about it. Hopefully the rage will set in again in a few days. And, no doubt, you'll all hear about it. My apologies in advance.
In lieu of the protest Lex and I wandered around town looking at computers and discussing various topics of geekery. We visited DSE on Queen St, simply because we were there, and, lo and behold, they have somehow managed to get hold of a Toshiba NB100. Anyone reading my blog lately will know that the NB100 is Toshiba's entry to the booming Netbook, or sub-notebook, market. I've been intrigued by thoughts of the NB100 since I first heard about it, and have been wondering when it'll be released in Oz (it's only out in England and Japan atm). But somehow, DSE in the Mall have one! My poor heart nearly missed a beat when Lex pointed it out!
I waited patiently (actually it was pretty impatiently to be honest) for a browsing tourist to move along and then got to touch a machine that has been nought but the stuff of dreams for months.
And then my heart broke.
It doesn't matter that Toshiba is my favourite brand of computer, or that the NB100 has an option for a factory install of Linux Ubuntu, my OS of choice, or that the ultra-portablity and low cost of the NB100 make it a perfect fit for my lifestyle. Nevermind, in short, that on paper, it seems to be a match made in Heaven, because, in the flesh, I can't use it. Even though Toshiba have done their utmost to keep the keyboard as large as possible, the keys are still smaller across than my fingertips. I physically cannot type on that board without hitting multiple keys at once or tripping over my own fingers.
This is supremely disappointing. This machine has been a minor obsession of mine and now it's been shattered.
So today held two little heartbreaks for me. It wasn't a totoal loss however, as Lex stepped up like a true mate and made it possible for me to pick up another tech-obsession I've had lately; a Bluetooth wireless transmitter/headphones combo for my slightly damaged Gigabeat. I'm charging them now and am very much looking forward to using them for the first time.
I'll leave it there for now. I'm off to try to get over the NB100 by finding a new laptop to obsess over...ciao.
Mwah. Loves your geekery.