My Samsung NC-10 Netbook
Last week I decided to invest in a new laptop, mainly because the screen on the one I already has was swinging by it’s hinges. The decision, as with any electronic device I buy, was never going to be an easy one. The first question I set myself was, can I justify purchasing a Macbook? Then after that, was whether I should go for the all out powerhouse or get something that is portable and can boast exceptional battery life.
The post title says it all really, I went the route of battery life and portability, taking the plunge into the netbook market and getting a Samsung NC-10. These models are really quite cheap but now tend to offer a very clever set of credentials. My netbook comes with an Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor, 2GB RAM (standard is 1GB), 160GB Hard Drive, Integrated Webcam and Microphone with a Windows XP installation. With all this, I am able to exactly what I need to; surf the web, write emails and also update this blog.
Perhaps the best feature of the NC-10 is that is offers on average 6 hours battery life. My previous laptop at best could muster a paltry hour without charge, something that has seen me carry my laptop everywhere I go just because I can.
For those of you who have expressed an interest in this make and model of netbook, please see this as a wholehearted testimonial, for the money it’s hands down one of the top purchases I have made in a long time. Katie is so impressed, she has lined up the pink version for her next laptop replacement.
New Camera
I had been looking for a new camera for a long time, one that was a lot more than just a point and click. I wanted to be able to take good quality photos, where I was able to focus on a decent focal point and play with different settings to gain a sharper and crisper photo.
On Tuesday, I was able to fill this void.
I had gotten home, sat down in front of the TV and was messing on my laptop. I was perusing HotUKDeals when I came across what looked to be one hell of a deal on a camera:
As you might be able to see from the screenshot. it was not quite a DSLR but what can be classed as a “Bridge Camera”. This camera has qualities of both but isn’t quite a DSLR. What it did have was exactly the features I was looking for, great qualities and a fantastic price.
This camera is currently selling for £170 on Amazon, I was thinking of buying a few and hiking them on Amazon but decided against ruining it for people who may have seen the deal locally and made the effort to check instore for this deal.
So, keep an eye out, I aim to update my Picasa and Flickr galleries with fantastic looking images.
The Closing of Woolworths
Hands up who is surprised?!
My only fond memories of Woolworths seem to be back when I was knee height to a grasshopper and bugging my mother to get me some of their Pick and Mix. Since then, I can honestly say Woolworths had become one of those shops you hoped one day would have a good deal, but never really materialized.
The little known fact is, Woolworths was founded by an American, a Mr. Frank Woolworth who came to England after tracing his ancestry back to a little town near Stoke On Trent.
The other little known fact was that Entertainment UK, the most recent owners of Woolworths are one of the UK’s biggest CD, DVD and games suppliers, so when this crisis hit, stores such as Zavvi were left with a very low supply of stock.
Today, Woolworths are launching their closing down clearance sales (I will pop in to see if any bargains are to be had), after losing out in the marketplace to stores like Wilkinson and suffering huge losses in revenue from the digitization of music (their biggest money spinner was selling physical copies of music), it’s sad to see such a big name disappearing from the high street.
Shopping Online
With Christmas only a few weeks away, the world and his wife are no doubt panicking about what they need to get their friends and loved ones. I have been a little more reserved than previous years and have taken to ordering items at a slower pace than in previous years.
Watching TV this morning, it is predicted that 80% of shopping in the festive period will be online. Venturing out last Thursday I can definitely see why. In the bricks and mortar stores, prices have remained consistently high but they have offered more incentives to buy online by way of advantage codes and discount links.
I have been using Amazon and Ebay for most of my gifts, mainly because you can get nearly anything on these websites. Amazon manages to out price their rivals and Ebay allows you to find gifts you wouldn’t necessarily have thought of beforehand.
The only thing I don’t like about ordering online is the fact you have to either wait for the item to be delivered and when it does, you are invariably never in.
I better get my finger out, I need to finalise a lot of the shopping so it gets here in time!
If All Movies Had Cellphones
Imagine if in all your favourite movies, the characters used a mobile phone. Found courtesy of Slashfilm:
Quidco’ing at Work
I have been on and on about Quidco in the past, loving the fact you can get cashback from the purchases you usually make online.
Picture this, I’m at work and my boss comes up to me and asks me to find a new Macbook Pro for the graphic designer and a Windows laptop for her. I immediately hit the internet, looking at where would be the most beneficial place to get a cheap laptop that can also work as my boss would like.
Logging onto Quidco, I see that Apple have upped their cashback rate to 6% on purchases, meaning I can get quite a sum back if I get a new Mac from them. Getting the okay, I simply track the business purchase through Quidco, an order totalling £1200. I return to check the status of the cashback in my Quidco account about an hour later, what do you know? £61 tracked and validated there and then!
My employer is none the worse for me doing this, the price they pay is the same. It just means that with a little bit of ingenuity I can profit (albeit small amounts at a time) from being the person consulted to make the necessary arrangements for the rest of the team!
Bonus.