Este es el caso de Apple, empresa de éxito donde las haya y bien reconocida últimamente por su iPhone 3G. En el número de Agosto de MacWorld publican un articulo que les coloca como la primera compañía en servicio post venta con un 81% de satisfacción en PC de sobremesa y un 83% en portátiles.

Muy lejos, en la segunda posición esta la sorprendente Lenovo con un 66% y como tercera Dell con un 56%.

Re-did the charcoal filter on the workstation. Very little dust had gotten in since the filter had been installed. Now, with the new install, the ThinkStation is totally protected with charcoal filters to the extent it can be.  All the air moving in or out passes through a filter.

This modification would be helpful for most anyone that is Multiple Chemical Sensitive (MCS).

Workstations tend to be loaded with heavy metals and flame retardants and who knows what. Plus this keeps the dust out and makes the workstation quieter.

Here is the filter roughed in before using double faced tape where the air comes in.

Here is the filter roughed in before using double faced tape where the air comes out.

How well did this work?

The toxic fumes dropped many fold and made a huge difference. From sore throat level to nearly unnoticeable! We are talking vision blurring fumes here also!

Will this block air flow?

These are air filters, and are unlikely to block much air. Massive amounts of dust on fans and heat sinks definitely block air. This will make the workstation run a little warmer perhaps, but so far the fans have not even sped up any. And yes these fans can speed up, sounds like a jet when the power comes on, then gets really quiet, and even quieter with the filters. There will be some amount of charcoal that gets in but I doubt that will cause a problem.

If you try this yourself do so at your own risk of course.

Side Notes: Also found another used Triplite Isobar surge protector so now the workstation has 12 outlets (total) of surge protection that can hold at bay much higher electrical strikes that the normal cheapo surge protectors. These are really nice protectors. Added another burner and a hot swappable SATA drive.

These workstations are very well made!

Take a look at the installs for the top 15 nations:

It's about a young girl. Let's call her...Chandlerella. Chandlerella was young, enthusiastic, and oh-so-keen to become a published princess. And she had everything a published princess-in-training could ask for including her most prized possession--a completed, polished manuscript in her hot little hands.

Oh, she remembers the moment when she put that last period on that last sentence. There was champagne and merriment until...

She was cast down into a land called Absolute Write Forumia where she had to slave away in the depths of Query Letter Hell. Chandlerella thought she might never escape until one day the king of Query Letter Hell, JClarke, released her, saying that she was ready to go forth unto the world of the publishing industry.

And Chandlerella was glad. Query Letter Hell had only made her stronger and more ready to be a published princess. With her newfound wisdom and a well-written letter she petitioned a handful of Queen Bee literary agents. She hoped one would guide her through the promised land and introduce her to her Prince Charming.

Sure enough, within minutes, a Queen Bee accepted her petition and wanted to learn more about Chandlerella--all about her, in fact. Chandlerella jumped up and down in her brand new Cole Haan's and squee'd for joy.

But life for Chandlerella was not meant to work out so easily. Her best friend and companion, the trusty ThinkPad, betrayed her. A fit was thrown and, rather than see Chandlerella succeed, the pesty ThinkPad decided to shutdown forever. And her work was lost...almost.

After weeks of waiting and spending her precious gold, Chandlerella retrieved her lovely manuscript. But, the Queen Bee had already asked what was taking so long twice. Twice! Chandlerella was so embarrassed that she had not been wise enough to back up her most prized possession, the manuscript.

While the Queen Bee was nice and kind and just, Chandlerella had to go to the back of the line and is still waiting to this day to see if she will ever become a published princess.

For Jay's Take on Topical Tuesday head over Here. 

Status: Just got back to Philadelphia today. I am so, so tired and plan to take a nap right away. There is so much to do. Packing and writing and reading Betrayed because I can't help myself. I went to see The Dark Knight, which I think I might discuss later on today.

I also have a great interview to post this morning!

Сокращение госфинансирования

Компания была основана в 1984 г. В то время проводилась реформа научной сферы, в ходе которой многие научные сотрудники были лишены государственного финансирования — государство недвусмысленно предлагало им найти иные способы зарабатывания денег. 11 сотрудников пекинского Института компьютерных технологий (Institute of Computer Technologies, ICT) при Китайской академии наук решили объединить свои усилия и создать совместный бизнес. До 1988 г. компания носила имя «родительского» института: ICT Co. Ни один из руководителей новой компании ранее не имел соответствующего опыта ведения коммерческой деятельности, и поначалу компания в буквальном смысле слова занималась чем придется (вплоть до продажи роликовых коньков). Но в скором времени направление дальнейшей работы обозначилось достаточно четко: появился заказ с бюджетом в 700 000 юаней на закупку и внедрение 500 иностранных ПК. Этой суммы (примерно эквивалентной 25000 долл. в то время было достаточно для того, чтобы обеспечить уверенный рост компании.

«Китайские карты» и бизнес в Гонконге

Одним из первых оригинальных предложений новой компании была карта расширения для поддержки китайского языка — в то время штатных аппаратных возможностей ПК было недостаточно для полноценной работы с китайскими текстами, и на рынке образовалась ниша дополнительных карт для обеспечения такой поддержки, которые получили название ханька 汉卡 («китайские карты»). В скором времени ICT Co. принадлежала половина рынка таких карт.

Lenovo -- китайский брэнд международного масштаба. (Фотография keso)

В 1988 году компания организовала совместное предприятие в Гонконге, где в то время отсутствовали бюрократические ограничения по производству компьютерных компонентов и откуда легче было вести коммерческую деятельность международного масштаба. Особые финансовые условия и технологические возможности делали его выгодным дополнением к бизнесу пекинского подразделения. Идея оказалась очень удачной: сделка окупилась уже через три месяца. Затем Legend приобрела в гонконге завод по производству компьютерных комплектующих Quantum Design Inc. (QDI).

В 1989 году была организована группа компаний Legend Group Co., в которую вошли как пекинская, так и гонконгская Legend.

Начало выпуска ПК

Наличие собственных производственных мощностей по выпуску материнских плат и карт расширения позволило компании в 1990 году приступить к выпуску собственных ПК для китайского рынка. Узнаваемость торговой марки к тому времени уже была достаточно высокой благодаря популярности «китайских карт», и это способствовало успешной продаже компьютеров Legend.

В 1994 году гонконгская Legend вышла на биржу с сохранением контрольного пакета акций в 38,8% за пекинской компанией.

В 90-е годы гонконгская компания открыла новые направления, связанные с системной интеграцией и производством микросхем. Производственные мощности были размещены в собственном технопарке, который компания приобрела в Хуэйяне, расположенном поблизости от Гонконга и Шэньчжэня.

Создание международного брэнда

Выход Legend на международный рынок состоялся в несколько попыток. Первая, неудачная, была предпринята в 2003 году. В 2003 г. впервые был представлен новый брэнд Lenovo, более удобный для международного бизнеса, поскольку словарное слово Legend во многих странах уже использовалось в качестве торговых марок. Однако попытка 2003 года не увенчалась успехом и не позволила компании увеличить долю международных продаж более чем до 3% от общего объема продаж. Стало ясно, что имеющихся инфраструктурных возможностей Lenovo недостаточно для ведения успешного бизнеса за пределами Китая.

Эту проблему удалось решить в 2004 г. благодаря приборетению подразделения компании IBM по производству персональных компьютеров и серверов нижней ценовой категории. IBM, все более позиционирующая себя в качестве поставщика услуг в области информационных технологий, а также создателя инновационных технологий, стремилась избавиться от все менее профильного бизнеса по производству традиционных ПК уже довольно давно: первое предложение Legend о покупке подразделения было направлено со стороны IBM еще в 2001 г., однако в то время оно было отвергнуто.

В 2004 г. Lenovo получила новое предложение от IBM и на этот раз отнеслась к нему с намного большим пониманием, поскольку было понятно, что самостоятельно справиться на международном рынке ПК компании не под силу. Вместе с подразделением Lenovo получала права на использование торговых марок Thinkpad и IBM (последней — в течение ограниченного периода времени), кроме того, в распоряжение Lenovo перешли исследовательские подразделения IBM, специализирующиеся на персональных компьютерах.

Любопытно, что организация Greenpeace в 2007 году признана Lenovo самой ответственной по отношению к окружающей среде компанией в мире — в этом Lenovo обошла такие фирмы, как Nokia, SonyEricsson, Samsung и другие. Оценка Greenpeace тем более примечательна, что в целом для Китая экологически ответственное производство пока что является скорее исключением, чем правилом.

Большое по этой теме:

• Leiming Bian. The China Advantage - A Competitive Analysis of Chinese High-Tech Industries. Massachussets Institute of Technology Theses, 2005.
• Ying Fan. The Globalisation of Chinese Brands. Market Intelligence and Planning, 2006.

Looking for a good ultraportable laptop? An ultraportable laptop is essentially the smallest and lightest type of laptop you can find. Some ultraportables are even less than 4 pounds in weight - which makes them extremely easy to carry around while you're on the move.
I've come across several good ultraportable laptop computers, and I thought I'd share them with you in this article.

Some of these ultraportable computers might sacrifice certain features (e.g. a built-in DVD burner) to save on weight and bulk. The Lenovo ThinkPad X61s is one example of such a laptop. Others focus trade off screen-size to achieve the same effect (e.g. the Fujitsu LifeBook P7320). You will have your own preferences for that ultraportable, so determine what is your priority and make an well-informed purchase decision.

For now, let's get started with the list of ultraportable laptops which I think are hot in the market right now ...

1. Toshiba Portege R500-S5001X
The Toshiba Portege R500-S5001X weighs in at 2.4 pounds and is less than an inch thick. You will find great computing power and an internal DVD burner. also is an amazingly thin notebook. It comes with the older Windows XP and contains only 1 GB of RAM. However, that may be a blessing given the headaches that Windows Vista gives its users.

2. Lenovo ThinkPad X61s
The Lenovo ThinkPad X61s weighs about 3 pounds and is very thin as well. The chassis of the laptop has a solid feel and computing power (using the included Windows Vista) is as good as the bigger laptops. It does not include a DVD burner though - which is a small issue if you don't need DVDs frequently. The Lenovo ThinkPad brand is also synonymous with reliability and quality, so this ultraportable laptop is a good bet.

3. ASUS W5Fe-A1
The ASUS W5Fe-A1 ultraportable laptop is a lightweight, but powerful computer. The distinguishing feature of this laptop is its support for the SideShow, a feature in Windows Vista. This feature allows a secondary display which shows various bits of information. On the ASUS W5Fe-A1, there is now an external LCD display for this SideShow function - which of course adds to its price.

4. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ150N/B
The Sony VAIO VGN-TZ150N/B is a very stylish ultraportable laptop (which is Sony's speciality in this arena). It is sleek, lightweight and extremely cool. You get a new LED display which significantly reduces the laptop weight and also gives brighter, richer colors. You get great computing power and features in this laptop - but be prepared to pay a premium for that classy look.

5. Fujitsu LifeBook P7320
The Fujitsu LifeBook P7320 is a wonderful ultraportable. If you want a sleek and light laptop, the LifeBook's weight of 3 pounds will fit the bill. You also get a built-in DVD burner and all the trappings of a solid laptop. The only downside is the smaller 10.6 inch widescreen display - which reduces the weight but makes viewing documents more difficult. Still, it is on the whole a very good buy.

Conclusion
I hope the above has helped you understand the various ultraportable laptop models out in the market. If you are looking for such laptops, I'd personally recommend the Toshiba Portege R500-S5001X or the Lenovo ThinkPad X61s (you may have your own preferences). As usual, be sure to shop around and do your research before plonking down the cash. Until next time, good luck and happy computing!

About the Author
Gary Hendricks runs a website about laptops. Visit his website at Best-Laptop-Guide.com to learn more about selecting the best laptops and accessories to suit your needs.

Also, the MacBook has a cleverly built in iSight camera above the screen, which will make keeping in touch with family and friends a lot easier!

I feel a lot better having a laptop to bring with me to Peru. It has been repeatedly stressed to me by different PCVs in Peru currently that bringing a laptop with me will be essential... Here's what one PCV had to say about laptops:

Computer:  The majority of people bring one, and almost everyone that didn’t bring one wishes they did and are having their parents bring them one.  If you are worried about bringing a laptop in an effort to be culturally sensitive, don’t worry about it.  Chances are people in your site will ask you to bring them a laptop when someone visits you.  As for electricity, you will almost certainly have electricity so that shouldn’t be a concern.  Business and Youth volunteers tend to be placed in sites that are a little less rural than the Health and Environment volunteers.  Don’t feel like you need to go rush out and buy one if you don’t have one, but if you are in anyway debating whether or not to buy one, or bring the one you have, don’t hesitate and bring it.  They are invaluable for work reasons, and nowadays most information from the PC office is sent via email.
If you don’t have internet at your site you can still use your computer to write emails, do your work, and then all you have to do when you get to internet is send.  It’s also great for entertainment. There will be down times in your site (i.e. my town shuts down at 7pm), and it’s great to be able to watch a tv show or movie (the pirated movie selection in Peru is extensive).  It’s a great way to organize and store all your photos as well.  Furthermore, there is a chance you could have wireless internet in your site, but if not, there are many places in the regional capitals that have wireless. With a computer you can stay in a hotel with wireless internet and skype your family and friends at home, thus saving money on phone cards.  The newer the computer the better.  If you bring a crappy 6 year old computer it is better than nothing, but it will most likely give your frustrations and headaches.  It’s better if you have hard drive space to spare, or bring a long a portable external hard drive.  They are tiny and lightweight, and pretty cheap nowadays. They are very useful for sharing photos, and downloaded tv shows and movies.  Sorry to write so much about computers but it is something that was debated when our group was coming and I just wish someone would have clued me in on how useful they were so I didn’t debate.

So there you have it... bring a laptop to Peru. And if possible, make sure it isn't a Lenovo, because they are awful.

All of the notebooks are based on the latest Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology.

Four new IdeaPad notebooks – IdeaPad U330, Y330, Y430 and Y530
The new styles, colors and innovations are all about customers and the ways they express themselves and their ideas. The four IdeaPad notebooks come with consumer-focused features including expanded facial recognition capabilities for simple and convenient log-on, One-Key Rescue System to recover your ideas with just one touch, HDMI to connect to the digital world and optional Blu-Ray DVD players on select models for enjoying high-definition content.
<!--more-->
There are two new notebook form factors – the 13-inch widescreen IdeaPad Y330 and U330 notebooks and the 14-inch widescreen IdeaPad Y430 notebook – to the IdeaPad line. Additionally, the new IdeaPad Y530 notebook round out Lenovo’s expanded consumer notebook portfolio.

- Lenovo designed its “U” series to be all about expressing ideas with style. The IdeaPad U330 notebook is a super-slim ultra-light notebook that features switchable graphics. This enables the user to run energy-efficient integrated graphics while on battery power and then switch to high-definition discrete graphics for more powerful performance when “plugged in.”

- The IdeaPad Y330 notebook is designed for strong mobile performance with a built-in DVD burner and camera, up to 4 GB of memory, up to a 320 GB hard drive and the latest wireless connectivity options including Bluetooth.

- The IdeaPad Y430 and Y530 notebooks make mainstream notebooks fun and functional. Available in Bold black or a new Crimson red textured design on the IdeaPad Y430 notebook, consumers may choose between a framed or frameless screen as well as an optional Blu-Ray DVD player.

Like anything else into which a dollop of social media is introduced (politics, international relations, war etc) the authenticity and immediacy of those in the field upstage traditional media. The field can include the battlefield as in this tank commander's blog, or diplomacy. It's Kevin Sites in the hot zones as opposed to Katie Couric in Iraq.

So the move by Lenovo to empower athletes to blog from the 2008 Olympics is an interesting experiment that others will quickly follow. The program called The Voices of The Olympics empowers insiders to give the world a glimpse of the Olympics, while bypassing the mainstream media as the conduits of information. The blogs, some of them in their native language (Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish and English) will not be produced or edited.

Lenovo has defined the blogging parameters well so as to skirt any sponsorship snafus and branding skirmishes. It notes that:

"Lenovo does not regard the blogs of the participating athletes to be Lenovo blogs – nor will Lenovo ever ask for any overt advertising or sponsorship acknowledgement on the athlete’s blogs."

Jennifer Nichols (US archer), and Chilean Pabo McCandless are part of the blogging team covering the games for us. AS NBC and other media outlets parachute into the Olympic village to transmit the best camera angles and terrific close ups, expect to see the human side of the games from the Lenovo-backed bloggers reporting from the other hot zone.

The Rant

About four weeks ago, I spilled a contact lens container full of contact solution (imagine that) onto my laptop keyboard, Lenovo Ideapad Y510. I'm guessing the salinity of the solution hastened the death of the keyboard, because there was very little liquid. After drying for 2 days, 5 keys of my keyboard were dead. Problem: 4 of them were vowels. Replacement time.

I'll spare you the details of customer service calls. This is what I've learned:

1. Lenovo charges $175 to replace this particular keyboard. They don't tell you the price beforehand, but tell you to mail in the keyboard (at least that's free), and they will look at it. If you choose not to fix it, they mail it back free.

2. There is no FRU # for the keyboard, which is used to buy replacement parts. All other laptop keyboards (and other parts), including Lenovo/IBM Thinkpads, have FRUs.

3. There is a Part # for the keyboard, but this is useless without a FRU, and and furthermore, after calling Lenovo the Part # for the keyboard they gave me did not match the one on the back of my keyboard.

4. This LAPTOP (Y510) does not have a model number. It has a "model name", 15303, but that is not a model number, and cannot be used to even identity the laptop you have. One parts supply store suggested that I had a counterfeit computer.

5. This keyboard is NOT the same one as the Chinese Lenovo Ideapad Y510.

6. Lenovo's warranty center customer support is in no way related to the people who actually fix your computer. This is, presumably, to avoid any responsibility for answering your questions, as "the tech people have knowledge of that". Alas, the tech people apparently do not have a phone number. There was no timetable for releasing the FRU. There was no timetable for release of the keyboard for purchase, even from Lenovo itself (which sells all Thinkpad replacement keyboards).

Needless to say, this keyboard does not exist, except in Lenovo's warranty center. The reason I was given for Lenovo not offering replacement keyboards from its own warehouse or from 3rd party warehouses, (paraphrasing): "Lenovo wants to protect customers from damaging their computers by doing the specialized repairs in house."

Umm.

It takes 2 minutes to replace this keyboard. No screws. One cable. You can wedge out the keyboard protector (top part that looks like a music scale, including touch buttons) with a phillips screwdriver in as little as 3 strokes.

How do I know? Because my laptop came back to me with 3 large scratches at the 3 places where the technician had pried open my keyboard. Now, I realize these guys aren't exactly operating with the precision of brain surgeons, but, given their "specialized" knowledge, shouldn't they have an easier time (read: less damaging method) of taking out the keyboard than me?

'Parently not.

The keyboard damage was my fault, and therefore the consequences of the damage are mine to take. Fair enough. However, the punishment must fit the crime.

Pay for a replacement keyboard and install it myself. $50-80 + 2 days shipping time = Fine.

Pay for a replacement keyboard, with installation from Lenovo. $50-80 + labor cost for TWO minutes, a generous $20 + 1 week and a half shipping time = Eh. Alright.

Not be told upfront price of replacement, not be told that the keyboard, unequivocally, is a mythical creature, not being given if or when keyboard available nor compatible models, + 1 week and a half of shipping time, + 1 month of searching = Piss Poor.

The point is, if this laptop had been NOT a Y510, even a Thinkpad, it would have been AT MOST $80 and 3 days to fix. Instead you will get runaround and an Enron-shaming $150 (500%) markup--I'm assuming they pay $30 for the part that I got for $40. Again, me being generous.

The computer is great. The support is trash.

The Fix

1. The EXACT model keyboard is for the F41 Lenovo N100 sold exclusively in...China! If you want to get that, you'll have to bid for it on Chinese eBays, and try to get them to ship internationally. If they won't, you'll have to find a friend to bring it back for you. It will cost anywhere from 140-280 RMB (I'm using convenient numbers here, due to exchange rate), or about $20 to $40. Imagine that someone is selling it for $20 and making a profit, so what is Lenovo getting it for? Anyways...

2a. If you have (1) rudimentary hand-eye coordination and (2) hands, you can replace the Y510 keyboard with a number of keyboards using FRU 42T3338 (one in picture). I am using this keyboard as we speak. This keyboard is compatible with the Lenovo C100, C200, N100, N200, V100 (!!) You can google those for the lowest price, but 42T3338 is what I am using, as it was the lowest I found at the time ($50 with shipping).

2b. The downside to buying a compatible (but not exact) keyboard is purely cosmetic--keyboard mapping is controlled by software. This means that some keys will say one thing and do another on your keyboard. It's not as bad as it seems. For example, if you buy the 42T3338 you will have to change the key caps of the F1-F12 keys, as well as the key caps for the up/down keys. It is really very minor because they (obviously) still go up/down, F1, F2, but the orange Fn response on the keycap will be wrong. You can simply swap out the keycaps with the old ones from your broken keyboard, granted it was water damage and not run over by a truck.

Note: The key caps are kinda meant to be removed. What does this mean? It means they can be removed and replaced, but the plastic innards are cheap and easily breakable. Also, sometimes the mechanism inside will come off with the key cap, in which case you'll need to study the mechanism and put it back together. Know thy own strength of brain and brawn. If you would rather not replace the key caps, it's really not a big deal. The key will still work (even the Fn), but it will be different from the orange designation. I feel its only really useful for the brightness controls (up/down) as thats the only "hardware" way to control brightness, but you can just memorize those 2 keys. If you do replace the key caps, you will have an exact same keyboard as the Y510.

Cheers.

Eine guenstigen Dell mit (verstaendlich) US-Tastatur Layout. Also ab jetzt gibt es keine Umlaute mehr in meinen Blogposts ;-). Dafuer sind mir bestimmte schreibweisen der Amerikaner, sowie die Klammersetzung in der Programmierung verstaendlicher geworden. Ist total auf deren Tastatur abgestimmt.

Und warum ist Vista nun ein Virus? Beim Lenovo ist die Festplatte geschaedigt, bzw. verschiedene Datenbereich und Zuordnungen auf der Festplatte waren auch mit Scandisk nicht mehr herzustellen. Nachdem diese Bereich von Scandisk separiert wurden dachte ich, ich koennte eine alte XP Version aufspielen (ggf. mal eine LowLevel-Formatierung ausprobieren). Bei der XP Installation wurde mir dann mitgeteilt: BootMgr not found. Ich dachte erst an den Boot Sektor, aber dann habe ich festgestellt: Einmal Vista auf der Platte, immer Vista auf der Platte. Eine Festplatte die einmal Vista installiert hatte, laesst XP nur noch zu, wenn die Platte unter XP formatiert wurde... super Microsoft! OpenSuse ging ohne Probleme auf den Lenovo aufzuspielen :).

Befragt wurden die Nutzer zum Beispiel nach Defekten an den Geräten, den Reparaturkosten und ob der Anwender bei Bedarf wieder ein Gerät des gleichen Herstellers kaufen würde. Diese Frage beantworteten 97 Prozent der Apple-Nutzer mit "ja, ganz sicher" oder mit "ja, wahrscheinlich". An zweiter und dritter Stelle der Marken, denen Kunden am liebesten die Treue halten, finden sich laut der Befragung der Stiftung Warentest die Hersteller Lenovo/IBM und Dell.

Die treuesten Kunden haben demnach Apple und Lenovo, die sich zu 97 beziehungsweise 95 Prozent erneut für ein Notebook der gleichen Marke entscheiden würden. Ihre Geräte fielen auch nur bei jedem Dritten Nutzer und damit am seltensten aus.

Den ausführlichen Testbericht können Sie unter www.test.de bzw. http://www.test.de/themen/computer-telefon/test/-Umfrage-Notebook-Haltbarkeit/1617119/1617119/1620176/ nachlesen. Unter anderem steht er auch als PDF Datei zum Download bereit.

System: Lenovo D10 ThinkStation 6427 CTO.

VitalBodies new Lenovo D10 ThinkStation Workstation is now up and running on an Open Source 64-bit Ubuntu Operating System!

The Inside before changes - Click for larger image...

MODIFICATIONS:

Off Gas And Dust Control: Rather than wearing a gas mask for fumes and having lots of dust accumulate inside this brand new workstation, VitalBodies created a charcoal filter for the intake air and another for the air that comes out the back of the Lenovo D10. Charcoal is known for taking many toxins and many kinds of odors out of air and is used in most leading air filter systems.

Ubuntu 64-bit: Ubuntu works out of the box easy on this workstation! No issues to report. Everything is setup except the Nvidia Quadro Proprietary drivers. That will need to happen for doing 3D work.

Open Source: Currently everything this workstation runs will be open source except Flash and Nvidia drivers once 3D work begins. As soon as Gnash is ready for newer versions of flash VitalBodies hope to shift over that software. VitalBodies will also have to choose between running the Sigma Photo Pro program (for editing Sigma SD14 RAW files) or UFRaw or both.

Video Drivers: Video Drivers are the last detail in being totally Open Source. Currently we are using Open Source drivers but will likely need to shift once start using OpenGL while running Blender.

LightScribe: Installed our own DVD burner but have not attempted to setup LightScribe yet in Ubuntu.

Portable Drive: VitalBodies runs the operating system and all the programs off a portable external 250GB drive. This enables any computer to function as a VitalBodies computer by just plugging in the drive (to 64-bit hardware) and booting to the drive. This is great for travel also when you know there is a computer at your destination. Additionally if you do not have time to update your notebook with countless changes since you used it last like bookmarks, email and such you can use the drive as a storage hard drive.

Lenovo è una società internazionale di tecnologie innovative

www.lenovo.com/it

VitalBodies new Lenovo D10 ThinkStation Workstation has finally and is being setup!

Just unpacked...

FIRST USE:

The quality of the is system is amazing. Very solid, very well made. Great engineering.

System: Lenovo D10 ThinkStation 6427 CTO.

Support: Click Here

Ubuntu: Ubuntu works out of the box easy on this workstation! No issues to report.

Eco: Compared to the Dell Inspiron 530 that ships encased in massive amounts toxic Styrofoam, Lenovo did their homework. Packaging is minimal yet definitely enough to protect an expensive investment like a workstation.  The padding is recyclable and all the boxes (keyboard and workstation) are brown card board.

Well Packed: The workstation is shipped double boxed which is important for insurance claims (if needed) or to avoid them with UPS or FedEX.

Dust: VitalBodies would have liked to see some form of dust protection to keep dust from entering the system. Even as an optional feature this would be wise for anything that uses fans and heat sinks for cooling.

Off Gas: Like most new items of this sort, be prepared to wear a gas mask or air out the room while this off gases...

Heavy Duty: That handle on the front is not just for decoration. This workstation is heavy and you will be glad you have both that upper front handle and the extra finger grip Lenovo provides in the back. In fact, it is hard to imagine not having them.

Notable: This workstation is awesome. With that said there are few things I would have liked to see or thought I would mention. When you buy a new computer case you usually get a small pile of things like screws and connectors and such. There is nothing extra provided so be sure to have all the cables and screws and such your hardware needs. Would have been nice to have an eSATA connector if you use external eSATA drives. Once you remove the large locking side door there is a bracket that helps hold the cards in place that swings out for you to insert the cards. This bracket must swing fully open and out the open door inorder to insert a card. You will need to not have anything in the way of the back lower left corner to do so.

So needless to say it was a long amazing beautiful weekend (I already miss the Sherwood Forest). I haven't really done anything Peace Corps related in a while and I should really start, but I just can't be bothered. I really much prefer spending time with my friends while I can.

I got my old waitressing job at Champps back (again) and I start the day after tomorrow. Still miss Jason. This Saturday I'm starting my CPR/bloodborne pathogen/AED certification class, so that'll make me feel productive.

Also, IBM is the devil and I highly recommend never ever ever dealing with IMB/Lenovo if you can avoid it. I sent it my laptop to get fixed because I paid to extend the warranty another year (the fan was running very hot and the CD drive was broken). They called me and told me they saw spill damage so my warranty was voided and it would cost $950 dollars to fix it. I told them to just send it back to me untouched, since I have handy friends and the CD drive just swaps right out. I was supposed to get it back within 48 hours. 6 days later, it arrives. The LCD screen is cracked - which is definitely not how I sent it in and it will not longer get past the BIOS screen. So I call IBM and they more or less tell me to forcibly insert the laptop into my anus. It's not their fault and they can't help me. IBM is the devil. The end.

Ok. I'll write again soon when I'm in a better mood and it'll even be Peace Corps related this time. Long story short - Rothbury was baller. IBM sucks.

Much love,

Sasha

VitalBodies new computer that can handle graphics for creating 3d art has finally arrived!

Click image to see a larger version

FIRST LOOKS:

Eco packaging, solid construction and a real key and lock - Plus wow, this workstation is big!

Need to set it up...

Heres a few links about the D10:

• Video: ThinkStation Tour
• PDF: Spec Sheet
• Web Site: Lenovo ThinkStation

THINKSTATION: This computer can support 2 Xeon 5400 series quad processors for a fast 8-core system. Plus you can add up to 32GB of Fully buffered ram and two graphics cards! You can put 5 hard drives below and there are three 5.25 inch drive bays in the front. Add one 3.5 inch floppy sized bay and you have a fully loaded system. The case is a 7U rack mountable design that can also be used as a tower.

Two 250GB drives as a raid and will run Ubuntu 64-bit Hardy Heron. The data will live on its own front loaded hot swappable removable SATA drive. There will also be a media card reader in the front.

ECO FEATURES: Of course! EnergyStar 4.0 compliant, recycled materials and High efficiency power supply.

QUIET: Another big plus for anyone using this workstation is how silent this computer is.

One real surprise - Iceland is second to the United States in installs with over 3500!  The US was a given since the member base of Citizen Sports is predominantly American but I don't know where Iceland came from.  Interesting.
Lenovo is the sponsor of this app and has really worked to make this a Web 2.0 Olympics.  Check out the blogging project that Lenovo is making possible here.

As a guy who grew up reimagining his future every four years when the Olympics came on, I a thrilled to see the Olympic experience evolve.

Check it out.

• I ordered the laptop on 06/11/08.
• The initial estimated ship date: 07/02/08.
• In around one week they told me that my laptop will be shipped on 06/28/08.
• After 06/28/08 I found out that my new shipping date will be in the week of 07/07/08 or 07/13/08.
• On 07/03/08 the shipping date is updated on Lenovo website to 08/06/08.
• On 07/03/08 I cancel the order.
• After I canceled the order, the laptop is shipped (on on the same date: 07/03/08).
• The laptop was delivered by UPS on 07/07/08 and it works properly.

Long story

On 06/11/08, I ordered a Lenovo Thinkpad R61 laptop from Lenovo.com website. After the order was processed, I saw on the status page that my estimated shipping date is 07/02/08 as you can see in the following screenshot.

After one week (around 06/17/08) I called customer service to check up my notebook status and the lady whom I spoke to told me that the notebook will be shipped around 06/28/08. On 06/30/08 I called again because the status page wasn't updated and I find out that my shipping date was delayed to sometime around the week of 07/13/08. But on Lenovo website the shipping time was the same (07/02/08). After I talked to the lady, I wrote them an email (on 06/30/08) and in the email that I receive on 07/01/08 they told me that they estimate the shipping date around 07/07/08.

Quote from their email:

We apologize for any frustration we may have caused. We have contacted our supply team about this issue and they have updated your estimated ship date to July 7th, 2008.

On 07/03/08 the status on Lenovo website was updated. To 08/06/08. So almost two months after my order. See the following screenshot.

After I saw the new estimated ship date, I wrote them an email in which I canceled my order, but they didn't answer my email. Around 3pm (07/03/08) in the same day I called them and I ask them to cancel my order. They said that it will take 24 hours to confirm the cancellation. Around 10pm (07/03/08) I checked my email and I receive an email from Lenovo in which they told me that my laptop was shipped, even though as I told you, I already canceled the order. See the following screenshot.

So after all these, they were late with my shipment by only one day.

On 07/05/08 I receive an email response to my email in which I cancel my order. The answer at my cancellation was this:

We see that your order has been shipped already with UPS tracking number xyz. You may track the progress of your delivery in the UPS website using the track number provided.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience .

On 07/07/08 UPS delivered me the laptop. Everything was ok with the laptop and it works properly. The funny part is that UPS try to deliver the laptop to apartment #3 instead of apartment #5. Luckily nobody was home and I heard them knocking on the door of apartment #3. I checked to see if they come and they did.

In conclusion, I think ThinkPad laptops are very good, but Lenovo shipping and customer support suck big time.