Product Reviews

It's been a while since I've had Product Review Sunday. I meant to do this yesterday, but the day just kind of played itself out into something entirely different.

I've been teasing you about my new toy. Today, I'll give you the big reveal. It's a Fujitsu Lifebook U810.


I really thought my Asus R2H was "it" for me because it ran full windows applications and the handwriting recognition on the tablet was awesome. That was, until I ran across information about the Lifebook. The lifebook is the best of many worlds. You can use it just like a tablet (not how the screen swivels around in the picture above) and it has the same awesome handwriting recognition as the Asus. Or, you can use it like a mini notebook because it has a full keyboard.

Granted, unless you're a Hobbit, your fingers are going to be too big to type as quickly as you would on a regular keyboard- but it's doable. I find that most of the time I do not need the keyboard because I'm using this little guy to surf the Internet or read books. If I need to type, I have to use the hunt and peck method. Sure, it slows me down but it's awfully convenient.

I love it that it's so light. It weighs half as much as my Asus did and it fits into my purse without taking up too much room. With my aircard, I have Internet access wherever I go. I found a cool video online that goes over the features. One suggestion- turn your sound off because the music gets really annoying.

Even though it's small, it costs more than a regular laptop. Also, I'd NEVER use this as my one and only computer/laptop. It's just too small. But for someone who doesn't like to get bored when they're away from home, this is a perfect little toy.

I've considered buying a few of these and keeping them with me at all times because whenever I pull this guy out, inevitably someone asks me about it and eventually says that they're going to buy one. I really ought to sell them (with a slight mark-up) to make some do-re-me on this if I'm going to get people excited about the product, right?

Unlike my last toy, I think I'll be keeping this one for a good long while. I can't imagine finding a UMPC (ultra mobile portable computer) I'd like better than this one.

• I decided to take a vacation day today. I love it that I can do that. Of course, I'm still kind of working- just not as hard.


• Today is Heidi's birthday. I'm such a bad- bad- bad sister. With all that's been going on, I kept forgetting to get her a card. Now she'll get one of those "sorry I'm late, but really I was thinking about you" cards. Happy birthday sis- I love you more than you could ever imagine.


• Still no news on the job front. I'm pretty sure that I'll either be a transitional employee or kept on by the new company. While speaking my mind about wanting to be a transitional employee, I was kindly reminded that this was not politically correct, we need to play by the rules, and that I'd make a great [new company] employee. Meh. He was right though. I am where I am because I play by the rules. and then some...


• I sold my latest toy and bought a new one. It's the cat's meow and is a keeper. I'll blog about it for product review Sunday.


• Speaking of cat's meow- BJ and I have been hating on our mattress. We've only had it for two years and it's a piece of junk. We both have been waking up with aches and pains every morning and refused to believe it was because we're getting old. We bought a sleep numbers mattress over the weekend and I have to say that I've had two nights in a row with NO shoulder pain in the morning. It'd become a part of my life for the last 6 months or so, and it's nice to see that behind me. If you need a mattress and have lots of money to burn (we really don't-but it was worth it), buy it. I'll give the sleep numbers a three thumbs up after I have an extra thumb surgically implanted.


• My brain is hanging in there- but I'm starting to see the effects of the stress I've been under the past month. A couple of days ago, I starting to jerk again, walk like a drunk, and been having a hard time finding words when I'm talking. I'll either say the wrong word or keep repeating the same word over and over again. I told FCW yesterday to just call me Rainman. The good news is that I know now that this will pass once the stress is over. I've had a really good roll of great brain months. I see my neurologist on Monday for my regular check in and will see if we can up my meds while I'm under the stress. If not, that's OK- it's doable. I'm just happy that I now see the pattern and it doesn't depress me because I know that it WILL get better once the stress subsides. I have some great people at work looking out for me and are being as protective as they can in not passing too much over the fence to me right now. They're also very understanding when the cold engine won't start because I've been honest about why I'm suddenly stupid. I'm glad that I have really supportive co-workers. How lucky am I?


• We're not going to talk about what's going on with my liver right now because ya know? I really want that elephant in the room to go back to the zoo. This too, shall pass. Yay for nausea and pain meds! Oh, and a four day weekend to sleep it off.


• Thanks for all your support, kids. I'm really lucky and I know everything will be fine eventually. I guess that's what counts, eh?

Enjoy your Friday. I've decided to slow down and not use my super espresso maker. I'm using the stovetop expresso maker that Cameron and Kathy gave me for my birthday, and drinking out of one of my special espresso cups. I fell in love with espresso made that way when we went to Italy and it's a special treat for me when I make it this way at home. Sure it takes longer and is more muss and fuss then the automatic, but gosh darn it, I deserve the fuss.

Usual disclaimer: I'm not paid to review these products, I just like to share my good finds with my pals.

I've referred to "my new toy that I've yet to blog about" many, many times so I thought I'd finally come clean about it today.

My new toy is an Asus R2H


This review gives all the details and lots and lots of pictures. If you're really interested in it, I'd suggest visiting that site to read more about it. I'm just going to tell you what I love about it.

You might recall that I used to have a Nokia N800, and I really did like it. But it was limited in features that I wanted. I'd say needed, but nobody really needs this stuff, right?

I wanted to find something that ran full Windows programs, but was portable. I did tons of research and came down to three products before I made my choice of the Asus.

The Asus hasn't replaced my laptop at home, but it could. I've purchased the keyboard and I have an external DVD-R so basically, my computing experience is unlimited if I'm willing to hook up a bunch of stuff.

I mainly use the Asus when I'm out and about. It fits in my purse (well, after I bought a bigger purse) and allows me to hook up to the Internet wherever I am thanks to the Sierra Aircard I've purchased. The Asus can hook up to Wifi or Ethernet, but when you're driving around in your car or sitting in the park- it's hard to find Wifi without being a pirate.

Since this is illegal and I'm in the line of business that frowns on that sort of thing, my hornswaggling days have come to an end. Arrh....

I have a fold-out USB keyboard that I use if I'm writing something more than a few sentences, but it's rarely needed. Since this is a tablet computer, you can 'write' on the screen. I'm really surprised at how good the handwriting recognition is. My handwriting stinks, but it recognizes it anyway. It also has a built in on-screen keyboard, but I find the handwriting recognition to be so good, that I rarely use it.

There are two slots for memory cards, as well as a generously sized hard drive. I think between the three, I have more storage capacity than I do on my laptop. After reading some of the reviews, I decided to upgrade the RAM to make the little guy run quicker. If you read the reviews, you'll find that the speed was a big complaint. It was only 100.00 for more memory and installing it is a snap. That was an easy upgrade for me to do and made a HUGE difference in speed. Well worth doing right away.

There is no end to the entertainment I have on this little machine. I have e-books, drawing programs (I love to doodle and this it's really fun on this machine), Internet no matter where I go (of course), games (full sized window's games), Skype (I've yet to use), built-in video camera (yet to use). Since it runs full windows programs, I have Office Professional running on it so I have my Outlook calendar, etc. always with me. BJ and I played Scrabble on the plane too and from NYC. I also have Monopoly, Boggle, Video Poker, and my own personal favorite- Mahjongg.

The Asus has a built-in GPS system and runs Microsoft Streets & Trips, ensuring that hopefully I'll never get lost again. I have GPS in my car, of course, but I've been in lots of situations where I wasn't in my car, and so I got lost.

I have all of my music stored on one of the memory cards, so with this, I can plug in my earphones and listen to whatever I want when I'm on the train and while at work. The sound (with headphones) is really great.

Now that lots of the networks are putting their episodes online, I can use this little guy to watch shows that I've missed. My MIL shared a new(?) service that Netflix is offering which allows you to watch unlimited streaming movies on your computer. I think I'll check that out because it would certainly make the time go faster on the train if I had movies to watch.

I do believe that I've found my ultimate 'toy'. It's not cheap... with all the gadgets and extra memory and stuff I spent about 1,000.00 on it. For me, it was worth every penny and I think will keep me entertained for at least a couple of years.

I have lots to write about- but am lacking in time. While you wait for me to get my act together, I thought I'd mention this while it was on my mind.

Dear Liz Claiborne no iron button down shirts,

You ROCK my world.

Love,
RG

I kid you not- you take the shirt out of the dryer and it's *crisp* and looks freshly starched and ironed. I don't know how ol' Liz manages to do this- but I'm about to throw my iron away.

By the way? I have size 10 Liz Claiborne no iron shirts in my ebay feeds. Nobody'd better mess with me. You can have any size except 10. Oh- and really wacked colorful stripes. You can have those.

If you like to wear CRISP button down shirts, buy one. You'll thank me.

Kashi, I've counted on you to give me healthy choices, what with your GoLean cereal line and healthy crackers, but as I was grocery shopping the other day it was as if the heavens parted for just a little bit and I could hear the angels singing when I saw a Kashi cereal box labeled, "Cocoa Beach".

I picked up the box and read it:

....start with our heritage seven whole grains

....natural cocoa made from the seeds of the tropical Cacao tree, then baked into chocolaty whole grain clusters

....we added coconut and crunchy almonds for a heavenly retreat

Kashi.... you had me with "chocolaty".

I just had my first bite of this 'heavenly retreat' and have to say that Count Chocula has nothing on you.

So, why the negative title? Well, according to the box, there are about 7 servings at 230 calories each. Let's just imagine, if you will, that someone might have an addiction to chocolate, and happens to love coconut and almonds.

I think we can safely say that someone (not naming any names) might just easily break her 1000 calorie a day limit today.

Kashi, you're a pusher- and the first one wasn't even free.....