Geeking Out (!)

‘Nuff said.

I’ve spent the last 17 minutes and 47 seconds watching a video about the Bug Labs “Bug.” This bizarre multi-purpose computer (?) came to me through a video interview conducted by Robert Scoble. Trying to describe it is difficult. In fact, the folks at Bug don’t really say what it is as much as demonstrate what it, with various modules, can do. In short, it’s a tiny Linux computer about the size of a 30 gig Zune. It has four mysterious ports that are actually connectors for modules, the ultimate purpose of the hardware. The available modules will include: touch LCD screens, camera, motion detector, GPS and a few others (I think). However, what they’re really pushing is the more openended idea that people should develop modules of their own. They’re selling basically empty modules that can be configured to be whatever. I love that Scoble (in the 2nd video) suggests that a module be developed that has LEDs, for decorative purposes only. Anyway, in order to “get” this gadget, you’ll have to check out the videos here.
There are two things that I really like about the Bug:

1. It’s meant to be hacked and, in fact, the developers are relying on a vested community of open source coders to do the creative work here.
2. Its foundational ethos is inclusion. They have placed braile indicators on each module, not just so blind gadget hounds can figure out what each module does (that can be done by touching it in general), but rather so they make a statement of inclusion in general.

Some of the ideas behind this totally customizable gadget are delightful, but in all reality I’m not convinced that it will be useful. It’s true that, for example, the OQO (which is twice the price of the Bug) is not customizable. However, if they were to release one with a camera (duh!) and then a user were to download motion sensor software (catspy!), one funtionality of the Bug would be there.. and housed in a device that can easily connect the recorded image to a video editor and uploaded to the web (without, say, removing the touch LCD in order to put another module on, or something like that). Or, better yet, take an Asus R2E that already has GPS and a camera and you’re done.

That said, I’m totally intrigued by this thing. I’ll definitly keep my eye on it and the community that (hopefully) develops around the Bug. The politics, vision, ethos… on that level they have me hooked more than any other tech toy developer I’ve encountered.

[Also posted by moi on tech-toc.]

It’s sort of shocking that more than three years into this series a tablet PC finally graces the screen. I mean, come on… we’re supposed to be wowed by the high tech medical solutions applied to all of the absurd cases at Seattle Grace! It’s about time we see a paper alternative , which (awkwardly enough) is being used in concert with a legal pad.

Since my first posting on this topic (Sept 22nd), my tablet has gone back to Lenovo twice. In the last case, my very own personal contact blew me off for a week and then finally sent me my millionth return for service box. Quite suspiciously, the x61t arrived at my house only two days after I sent it. I was scared to turn it on; I fully expected not only for the problems to have not been repaired but for new ones to have shown up. However, much to my surprise, the unit showed up in perfect condition. The yellow spots on the screen were gone and the bezel appeared (foreshadowing!) to be in tact.

A few days, later I can already see the bezel ungluing itself. According to Tim Supples of Lenovoblogs, the engineers have found a solution to the bezel separation issue. He recommends that we all wait a few weeks before sending units to the depot (or calling onsite), as it will take time to distribute the repair parts.

For any of the curious out there, here’s my attempt at capturing the yellow spots on camera. This picture doesn’t even begin to do it justice… You can kinda see the spot in the upper right corner. Apologies for the blurred depiction.

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OK, the title is ridiculous; I know that.  But I’m now beginning to document my Lenovo trials online as a warning to my fellow consumers.  Hopefully Lenovo will pull through in my case and prove to be a decent company in the end.  Anyway… here the story:

I received my Lenovo x61t in August (well, I ordered it in June… but anyway…).  It worked fine out of the box and was actually a pretty fantastic purchase, so I thought. 

One month later, the bottom third of the screen began to shimmy (shaky horizontal lines) intermittently.  I sent it in for repair and they replaced the LCD.  The new screen had three hazy orange spots in the corners.  So, I sent it to be repaired again.  This time it came back with the hazy orange spots unchanged and the added feature of an unglued bezel.  So, I’ve now suffered from not one but TWO of the widespread Lenovo screen issues: unglued bezel and horizontal lines… AND the pleasure of breaking customer complaint ground with hazy orange spots. 

The customer service people (who have been, by the way, really nice and professional) have elevated my case to some special division.  I’m supposed to hear from them in the next business day or so…  Because two of the three problems were caused by their repair center, I asked them to replace my tablet entirely or send me a check.  We’ll see….

The HTC Shift is available for pre-order through Dynamism.  My source (OK, fine, it’s Rudy our trusty salesman at Dynamism) says that it will probably ship in October,  but hey … at least we have a price ($1499.00) and the ability to earmark some of our available credit for yet another device!  If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend watching Hugo Ortega’s video review of the Shift (he is the luckiest man on the planet).

A while ago I whined about not having access to a WYSIWYG html editor in Ubuntu.  Since then, I’ve gone through the relative hassle of downloading NVU.  (I say “relative hassle” because this one involved using the konsole — oh my!)  I hesitated to do so initially because the apparent halt in new releases and bug fixes.  However, for my needs, the most current edition of NVU is fine!  All that whining and my html editor was right there!  I highly recommend it for seriously light-weight web developers.

By the way, The Perfect Ubuntu Desktop has been an invaluable resource for me as I learn to incorporate Linux into my largely MS world.