Derek Hatchard blogs on

I can work in a lot of different environments.  I generally find it quite easy to tune out voices.  I can listen to music, work in front of the TV, work with the radio on, work in a cafe, etc.

Yet it is absolutely impossible for me to focus when my kids are nearby.  The sounds of toys dropping, banging, and clunking plus the high pitch voices are just too much for my mental filters.

That is why I don’t work from home.

The refund cheque for my Dell XPS M1530 arrived yesterday.  Yes, that’s right, I returned the Dell.  The deciding factor was that the chassis seemed to have warped.  It would wobble on a flat surface.  I tried multiple surfaces and tested a few other laptops to make sure.  The front left corner wobbled as I typed.  I could slide at least three sheets of paper underneath the rubber "foot" / bumper with no resistance.

I miss the fingerprint scanner and the dedicated volume controls.  Otherwise I am thrilled with what I replaced it with…  a 15" MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, 200GB hard drive).  The XPS M1530 still has a lot of pros but a few things pushed me over the edge:

• 15" MBP is smaller and thinner (the M1530 is just a bit too thick)
• The small trackpad on the XPS was really bugging me
• Battery life on the M1530 was awful
• I missed the Apple magnetic power adapter
• The headphone jack in front turned out to be a pain
• The backlit keyboard on the MBP is sooooo sweet
• And, of course, the XPS warped!

Attention Canadian entrepreneurs:  Rick Segal (JLA Ventures) is holding a set of VC roundtables across Canada (Halifax, Moncton, St. John’s, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Guelph).  There is a limit of 25 seats at each session.  You must register at the Eventbrite sign up link below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/org/53497882?s=896278

I’m going to be on the west coast when Rick’s on the east coast and back on the east coast after he’s headed out west.  Bummer.  I would have jumped at the opportunity.

Over at InternetDictator.com I am having a little April Fools’ Day contest:

http://www.internetdictator.com/index.php/prize-for-best-april-fools-day-prank/

The best report gets a prize.  The size of the prize will be based on how many people actually participate so spread the word!

After a couple months of procrastinating, I finally took some time this month to pick a new Wordpress theme.  As predicted, I found an existing theme and modified it slightly.  Enjoy!

I have also officially switched from derekhat.com to derekh.com as the primary domain for this blog.

I just did a clean install of my new XPS M1530 laptop.  Here is my current list of must-have software that I install on Day One.  Have other suggestions?  Leave a comment.

• Windows Vista Business
• Drivers (of course) - it would be nice if Dell provided a simple "install all" option on the driver disc
• Mozilla Firefox (my web browser of choice)
• Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate
• Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite
• Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite
• SQL Server 2005 Management Studio and Books Online
• Launchy - keystroke launcher reminiscent of Quicksilver (version 2 is excellent)
• Live Messenger
• Live Writer - the best blogging client I’ve ever used
• Adobe Reader
• Adobe Flash Player
• Zune software - the best podcast catcher (and the over-the-air sync with my Zune devices is brilliant)
• PureText - pastes clipboard contents as unformatted text
• ClipX - clipboard history manager
• SharpKeys - so I can remap keys, which I inevitably do with any laptop keyboard (on the XPS I have the context menu key mapped to Right Ctrl and the Right Ctrl key mapped to Right Windows)
• Vista Battery Saver - automatically switches features off when you unplug power from your laptop
• Adobe Creative Suite 2 (CS2)
• Yahoo! Music Jukebox - for listening to music from Yahoo! Unlimited
• Microsoft Expression Web
• Microsoft Expression Design
• Skype
• Google Talk
• Plaxo Toolbar for Outlook - keeps contacts and calendar synced
• MozyHome backup client

I then head over to the Devcasting episode on Firefox extensions where I grab the links for most of my must-have Firefox add-ons:

• Firebug
• Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer
• IE View
• Web Developer
• MeasureIt
• ColorZilla
• FireFTP

I also install the Alexa Sparky and Live PageRank add-ons for Firefox.  Within a few weeks I install Audible Manager, Audacity, and the ASPX Edit Helper.

That’s my list.  What do you install when you repave your computer?

My 13" MacBook has been on the fritz lately and the warranty is almost up so I ordered a new laptop in preparation for sending the MacBook in for service.  From what I’ve heard, service from Apple can be like a black hole and I need my laptop for work.  Unfortunately my 3.5 year old tablet PC is not up to the tasks I’m doing right now (lots of virtual machine work in the coming weeks).  So…

I ordered a Dell XPS M1530.  I must say it is a good-looking piece of equipment.  I went with the Tuxedo Black shell (just using stock images from Dell here).

This thing looks and feels like a quality machine.  The unboxing experience was mildly exciting (in fact, I ran upstairs to show Sebas pretty much right away).  The laptop was shipped inside a nice laptop sleeve with an invisible magnetic fastener.  It should help pad the laptop inside my new camel leather satchel bag (if it ever stops smelling like a barn, but that’s a different story).

Here are a few initial impressions after a day of use:

Pros

• 1680×1050 resolution is a joy after a year using 1280×800
• Keyboard is very nice (good weight, not too loud, no bouncy area over optical drive).  In my opinion, the keyboard is not quite as nice as the MacBook but nicer than the MacBook Pro.
• Slot load DVD drive (so much nicer than pop-out trays)
• Physical switch for disabling wifi and Bluetooth (for power saving)
• Not much heavier than my 13" MacBook
• Solid chassis (does not creak or bend when you lift it)
• Brushed aluminum palm rest
• Dual headphone jacks - should be great for watching a movie with my wife on the plane this spring.  Not sure when else I’d really use this feature.
• Battery level indicator on the battery pack
• Good graphics card (256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT) that runs the Vista Aero Glass interface on the notebook plus an external 1920×1200 monitor
• VGA, S-Video, and HDMI outputs
• Integrated Bluetooth (a new requirement for me after getting used to a BT mouse and no dongle)
• Eye-catching design with barrel hinge and sloped profile
• Small touch sensitive media and volume controls (no more Fn+F4)
• Fingerprint scanner, which takes a bit of practice but I’m finding to be incredibly convenient.

Cons

• Ships with crapware installed
• Pre-installed anti-virus software crashes (seems to be when using new Vista Sleep feature)
• Vista does not Sleep or Hibernate properly as installed at the factory.  It appears to be a problem with the pre-installed Trend Micro Internet Security (PC-cillin) software.  There’s a patch I need to try, but it sucks that it shipped with software that seems to have serious problems.
• Have had some trouble getting the 802.11n wireless card to come back to life after using physical wifi switch.  Again, it sucks that it shipped with this kind of problem.
• It’s a bit big for my liking (I spent 2.5 years on a 12 inch tablet and a year on a 13 inch MacBook).  I think a 14" screen at 1440×900 would have been ideal.
• It’s too thick.  Although slimmer than pretty much everything except the MacBook Pro, I expected it to feel thinner.  It’s still a comfortable typing height (unlike the Alienware m5550).
• Dell logo    I know that’s superficial, but the glowing Apple was a conversation starter.  A cool backlit XPS logo in place of the tired Dell logo would have been a nice touch.  I may just cover it up with a sticker…  Any suggestions?
• No backlit keyboard (my MacBook didn’t have this either, but it was one feature that almost pulled me to a MacBook Pro)
• Colors other than black look a bit lame (tri-colored laptops… blah).  The two-tone silver-on-black look is nice
• Trackpad is too small - it should be about 30% bigger.
• Volume controls are a bit hard to find in low light.
• Looks like battery life is going to be disappointing. 
• Power adapter is a bit noisy and not nearly as awesome as the magnetic MacBook adapter.

I’m usually picky about keyboards (I’ve ditched Toshiba and Alienware models in the past because I didn’t like the keyboards).  The keyboard on the M1530 is quite good.  Naturally I’m still in the adjustment phase.  I do love the MacBook keys…  What continues to baffle me, though, is why laptop designers screw around with right Ctrl key.  LEAVE IT BESIDE THE BLOODY ARROW KEYS.  Please!

Specs

Here is what I actually ordered:

• Intel T7500 CPU (2.2GHz)
• 3GB RAM
• 56WHr 6-cell battery + extra 85WHr 9-cell battery
• 8x slot-load DVD burner
• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card
• 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD (1680×1050)
• 2MP Webcam
• 200GB Hard Drive (7200rpm)
• Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N card
• Internal Bluetooth
• Fingerprint scanner
• 3-year next business day onsite warranty with CompleteCare

The whole package, including the CompleteCare warranty, came in at $150 less than a 2.2GHz MacBook Pro with 2GB RAM, 120GB hard drive, 128MB video card, and 1440×900 screen.

Other Contenders

If I could have gotten a 13" MacBook with 1440×900 resolution, that would have been my next machine.  Or if the 15" MacBook Pro had been refreshed with the same keyboard as the MacBook and MacBook Air, I would have paid the extra quid for an MBP.

I had great warranty service with my Toshiba tablet PC.  I took it in a couple times to a local depot and was never without it for more than a day.  This experience with the MacBook has bumped warranty service higher up on my priority list.  For good local warranty service, my choices are HP, Toshiba, and Dell (and probably Lenovo, but I’ve never liked IBM/Lenovo notebooks).

Personally I find the business class machines from Toshiba and HP are just plain boring.  Some people think that’s a silly factor when picking out a computer for work, but I like my laptop to have at least a little bit of personality.  I considered buying another Toshiba tablet PC but there’s quite a steep price premium and I rarely used the tablet functionality on my old one.

I briefly considered a 14" Latitude 630.  They are solid machines and can be upgraded to 1440×900.  But frankly Latitudes are just so commonplace that they lack personality.  They do have a superb keyboard and I find they look quite nice when open.

And finally I strongly considered the 13" version of the XPS (M1330).  It is only available with a 1280×800 screen resolution and more screen real estate was a priority for me this time around.  If it came with a 1440×900 option, it would be a fantastic machine.

Final Thoughts

Overall I think the XPS M1530 is a great choice.  If you don’t find the 15.4" size too big, the pros far outweigh the cons.  It is a great machine.

Personally I like a smaller laptop and I will continue to hope for stylish 13" models with higher screen resolutions.  In the meantime, I think I’m going to like my new toy, uh, work computer.

Xobni - it’s inbox backwards.  It’s some kind of email management add-on for Outlook.  It seems to have some compelling features like showing a profile of your email interactions with people and automatically extracting phone numbers from emails.

I was a loyal Lookout user for searching in Outlook 2003.  Outlook 2007 has better search so I haven’t felt the same pain, but apparently this add-on improves on OL2007 search.

I’d tell you more about Xobni but it’s still in closed beta.  Supposedly if you click on the Xobni badge below, they’ll bump me up to the top of the beta invitation list:

Yesterday I launched Internet Dictator, a for-fun site that tells you what to do and then you come back to tell your stories about your "compliance" with the Dictator’s decree.

The Dictator makes decrees on Mondays and Thursdays around 10am Eastern / 7am Pacific (+/- a couple hours).

Hope you enjoy!  Please come join up and start participating.

http://www.u23dmovie.com/

Worth going to. Just saw it at IMAX in Halifax. Intense.