BLOGSUNNYSIDE To Cover City Council Issues Starting In 2008

August 23, 2011 by Leave a comment

Dear Reader,

It is with a joyous heart that I inform you that I will begin to attend City Council Meetings, and even weigh in with opinions on issues.  It may come as a surprise to you, as it did to me, that I have not been doing this.  Well, it’s about time I start, and none too soon.

The citizens demand it!

At last night’s City Council Meeting, a citizen rose to speak during the public comments portion of the meeting.  He is a regular attender of Council Meetings, and noted that the incumbents are present.  He said he has not seen any challengers for office at Council Meetings (news to me), and would like them to attend.  He also asked that the community hold a candidate forum for citizens to get to know the candidates better.

Granted, last night I entered the meeting a couple of minutes late, so this gentleman did not see me sitting a couple of rows behind him.  After the meeting was over, we had a chance to talk, and I gave him my phone number.  I am willing to talk with any and all concerned citizens.

As I have done previously, I am available and willing to participate in a candidate forum.  I am not currently aware of any attempts to organize one, but should a local civic group invite me, I will look favorably on being a part of such an event.

There was at least one other candidate for City Council attending in the public seating last night as well.  In addition, the meetings of the City Council are broadcast live on the Internet.  If a person is not able to attend, or listen live, the recording is available via the city’s website to listen to at a later time.

All of this is well and good, and I am pleased that citizens are stepping up and wanting to get to know the candidates for office in the community.

More information regarding my campaign activities will be coming.  In the meantime, look for me to be sitting with my Netbook at the Council Meetings.  It will be easy to spot me.  Only real news professionals and bloggers will be using a laptop in the audience.  That narrows it down to two people at many meetings.  In some cases, it will be just one.

Editor’s note: This blog began in 2008.  I ran for City Council in 2009, and narrowly missed being elected.  In June 2011, I filed to run for City Council in this November’s Election.  I also regularly attend Council Meetings and workshops, and have been doing so for about three years.

About these ads

Filed under 2011 Election, Sunnyside Council, Uncategorized Tagged with , , , ,

Chromebooks Offer Another Portable Computing Option

June 19, 2011 by Leave a comment

The demand for portable computing devices keeps increasing.  Smartphones, tablets, and netbooks have sold briskly in recently years; supplementing traditional laptops for those that have a need to be productive outside of a traditional office space.

Over two years ago, I purchased a netbook, which I wrote about on this blog.  I am still enjoying the netbook today, and am not yet in the market to replace it.  It is very easy to take in my backpack, and useful for checking email, writing blog posts, taking notes at meetings, and more.  It has been a good investment for me.

In the time since I made my purchase however, there has been an explosion in mini-computing options.  I now have a cell phone running the Android operating system from Google.  It is great for reading email, keeping my daily calendar, and doing some limited web browsing.  The small keyboard is difficult for me to type with though.

Notable for its popularity, the Ipad tablet is a popular device in the same price range as netbooks.  One college professor I am acquainted with purchased one over a year ago, but found he needed to plug in a separate keyboard to do the large amount of writing he is accustomed to.

A school district superintendent I know got one for use at work, but says that they do not use it as much as they initially thought they would.  Although I can not say for sure, I believe the lack of a traditional keyboard makes responding to email and the like more difficult than this person had envisioned.

Still, tablets are great for those that do not do a great deal of writing.  They function well for reading and browsing, and certainly fill a niche (as can be seen by the millions of units being sold).  It should be noted that in addition to the iPad, Android based tablets are growing in popularity.

One friend of mine acquired an Android based Ebook reader, and hacked it to make it function essentially as an Android tablet.  He told me that he uses it to do research for presentations he gives on a regular basis with his organization.

Now comes a new device, which in some ways, embodies some approaches that go against the grain of traditional computing.  It is called a Chromebook, and is essentially a netbook running on Google’s Chrome operating system and browser.  Some techies will argue with me that the Chromebook is not a netbook, but it seems to be marketed towards the netbook market, and is in a similar price range, so it is hard not to make the comparison.

I have not seen a Chromebook personally, but am basing my comments on what I have read so far.

After a large test run, Chromebooks are now officially hitting the market.  They have a 12″ screen, which is larger than the typical netbook 10″ screen.  They are primarily set up for use on a wireless network, and do not have a traditional ethernet plug-in available.  They store information almost exclusively in “the cloud”, meaning your documents are stored on a server somewhere.

Word processing, presentations, photo editing, and more are done through Google Apps and other web-based programs.  Google promises that Chromebooks will have the ability to work on these types of documents offline, and will update the server when going back online.  Having not seen one yet, this is one of the greatest concerns I have about Chromebooks.  In the rural area where I live, Internet access is spotty, and inconsistent.

Some Chromebooks have 3G wireless available, but that will come at a higher price.

Having said all that, I look forward to seeing how Chromebooks fare in the marketplace.  They appear to be well-suited for email, web browsing (to include use of social media sites), and more.  For those that want a machine that is energy efficient (lasting several hours on a charge), and capable of doing most of the basic functions of a traditional computer, this is certainly an option.

Related articles

Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Netbooks Continue To Fill A Niche

May 25, 2009 by 2 Comments

A few months ago, I purchased a Netbook for my own personal use.  My expectations were tempered by the fact that it was a little smaller than a conventional laptop, and had a smaller processor, etc. than the regular computers I have been used to.  However, it is great for taking on the go, checking E-mail, doing on-line banking, and even blogging.  The extreme portability and long battery life make it fantastic for doing about 90% of what I personally do with a computer.

At the time, I remarked to my wife that it seems as if cell phones and computers are on converging paths, where they will ultimately be indistinguishable.  As the smart phones get smarter, e-mail, banking, and blogging can be done from cell phones.  There is still a distinction between a cell phone, and a computer; but it is becoming less and less all the time.  In addition, cellular companies are starting to sell more data services, with voice calls generating a smaller portion of revenue on their networks.

While recently surfing the Radio Shack website, I stumbled upon a Netbook being marketed with AT&T 3G Internet service included.  This got my attention!

(Full disclosure here:  although I used to work for AT&T, I am no longer employed with them.  I am not endorsing this product, nor am I being paid to discuss it on this blog.  I have no current affiliation with Radio Shack, Acer, or AT&T.  I do not own this brand of Netbook, nor do I currently have any phone or data services with AT&T.)

Acer® Aspire® One AT&T® 3G 8.9" Netbook (Sapphire Blue) - RadioShack.com
Acer® Aspire® One AT&T® 3G 8.9″ Netbook at Radio Shack

Until stumbling across this product listing, I had no idea that it was available.  It takes the Netbook, which has been out for a little while now, and expands its networking capability by having the 3G Internet card built into the computer!  This means a user would not be committed to only being on-line in a wi-fi area, dramatically increasing the areas where it could be used.  On a park bench, with a mocha, perhaps?

This kind of technology package would have been really nice to have when I was an over-the-road truck driver.  Being able to have such a small machine with networking capability would have been a real plus.
In another twist, the machines, similar to what is pictured here, can not only be purchased for about $350, but if you want to buy your Internet service through AT&T, you can pick it up for only about $50.  They are selling the Netbooks with a service plan, making it a buying experience quite like purchasing a cell phone.  With a two-year agreement for a qualifying data-plan, you can pick up a Netbook computer for a mere $50.  I am guessing that besides truck drivers; college students, and travelling business people may find the offer of interest.  While the appeal for the road warrior exists, it may also appeal to the home user that just wants a basic machine, and does not want to bother with setting up a home network.
Time will tell if this is a money maker for AT&T.  It is further proof, though, that laptops and cell phones are being blended together in ways we would not have expected just a few short years ago.

Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

New Computer And Router For My Home

February 21, 2009 by 1 Comment

This post will be a little different from my usual news commentary.  It is about a new purchase of technology for my home.  I bought a Netbook and a wireless router.  Here is what I got:

For about $400:

MSI Wind 10" Netbook Intel ATOM 1.6GHz 1GB RAM 160GB HDD Windows XP

MSI Wind Netbook

A netbook is a mini laptop, good for web browsing, email, on-line banking, making phone calls over the computer, and other basic everyday type uses.  The one I purchased has a 10″ LCD screen, Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor, 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM, wireless b/g/n, webcam, bluetooth, SD card reader, 3 USB ports, Windows XP, and a 6 cell lithium battery.  It weighs about 2.6 lbs.  I purchased this machine from COSTCO.

As far as Netbooks go, this one carries a higher price than others, but has a few extra features.  The screen is 10″ instead of the popular 9″ you see on comparable machines at Wal-Mart and Target, etc.  It has N band wireless built in, which is supposed to work faster and have better range than the common G band in widespread use now.

The keyboard is “big” for a Netbook, but more compact than a regular laptop.  My wife has no trouble with it, but my big fat butterfingers are still getting used to it.  At home, I have a wireless, full size keyboard, that was being used with my previous laptop.  This full size keyboard is what I am using to write this post.  When on the go, the smaller built in keyboard is a slight inconvenience, but the extreme portability of the machine makes up for it.  The smaller keyboards are the only negative thing I have to say about Netbooks in general, but it is not a showstopper.

The machine does not have a DVD/CD drive, but if I need one, I will get an external one.  I wasn’t using the DVD drive very much on my old laptop anyway.  The bare bones approach to the design is energy efficient, with an advertised 6 hours of use on a battery charge.

At some point in the future, I will get a full size laptop with more capabilities, but this new Netbook should be adequate for most of what I do right now.

Another reason I chose to get a Netbook, is that it has Windows XP.  It is the operating system I have used for several years, and is generally accepted among computer users.  There have been many stories about problems with Windows Vista, which make me a bit gun shy.  I still remember when it was introduced that it did not work with iTunes, giving it a bad name from the get go.

One local blogger, Jim Restucci, put up a post saying “It’s OK To Skip Vista“.  Given these types of lukewarm reviews of Vista, I will give the Netbook a workout for now.  Windows XP is the devil I know, and I am just more comfortable with it right now.

The other item I purchased is a NETGEAR RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Router WNR3500, which was about $130. 

Netgear RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Router

It is a bit higher in price than some other models, but received mostly good reviews from Consumer Reports.  It has 8 internal antennas to maximize performance and range.  I had it setup in about 15 minutes and it is working fine.  My wife’s laptop (with wireless G) is sharing the connection with the new Netbook (wireless N).  We have not noticed any issues with having both G and N band wireless systems running on the same home network.  The advertised claim is that this router is up to 15 times faster, with up to 10 times the coverage of the G band routers.  All I can say is, it works fine in my home.

Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,976 other followers