The Four-eyed Journal » Dell

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 coming this October

jhay — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:06:32 +0000

Dell laptop lovers will definitely be happy now that the company has entered the netbook segment with their own Dell Inspiron Mini 9.

Dell Insipiron Mini 9

Atom 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM and 16GB SSD
Windows XP Home or Dell customized Ubuntu-Linux
8.9-inch display screen (1024×600 pixel resolution)
Bluetooth
1.3MP Webcam
Built-in WiFi
2.2lbs

Price ranges from Php20,000 to Php25,000 according to upgrades and various specs. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 will be launched this coming September 17, 2008 at the Ayala Museum in Greenbelt 4. The netbook itself will be available in local stores this coming October.

Here are more photos:

Asus Eee Box or Dell Studio Hybrid?

jhay — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:15:17 +0000

Since late last year, I’ve been mulling over the idea of getting a new desktop PC. Specifically, I’m looking for a new gaming rig, not something that at the top of the line as it will break my budget and force me to drop from school for a semester but something in the middle-range of what a good gaming PC should be.

However, upon doing a lifestyle check, I figured that a gaming rig might disrupt my current workflow and be the end of me as I was once a true-blooded gaming addict who’d spend a minimum of 14 hours a day playing games on the PC. (Curse Diablo II, Sim City 4, the Sims and Ragnarok) So it’s not hard to see myself completely abandoning my workflow and spend hours upon hours playing Call of Duty 4, Civilization IV, the Prince of Persia, RF online while waiting for Diablo III to come out.

So for now, I’ve been keen on just getting a new desktop PC to replace the 6-year-old system now used by my younger sisters. Not a day goes on without them hinting or complaining to me that the old box is now a living relic of the computer world and as slow as a land tortoise.

With a tight budget, the new mini PCs like the Asus Eee Box and the recently released Studio Hybrid from Dell has become attractive choices for me. Still raving for a Mac Mini but that tight budget just kills it.

Anyways, what would I be getting from the Asus Eee Box?

Asus Eee Box PC

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home
CPU: Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz)
Chipset: Intel Chipset
DIMM: DDR2 SO-DIMM 1 GB
HDD: 80 GB
Card Reader: SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro/MMC
WiFi: 802.11n
LAN: 10/100/1000

It sells for Php17, 500 and it comes bundled with a small 16? LCD monitor. However, Yuga drives home a good point that for that same price, one could get a better spec’d PC because the Asus Eee Box has become quite expensive.

As for Dell’s Studio Hybrid, one would be getting the following specs:

Dell Studio Hybrid

Intel Dual Core 1.86GHz to Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz
1GB – 4GB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
160GB – 320 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (5400 rpm)
6x – 8X CD/DVD Writer
Intel GMA X3100
Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Wi-Fi 802.11n (built-in, optional)
5 x USB 2.0
IEEE 1394a port
HDMI/DVI video connector

This one sells for roughly Php19, 000.00 and comes with Windows Vista Home Basic. I’ll have to purchase a separate display which would push up the total cost to somewhere near Php25,000.00 but just like with the Asus Eee Box, I could get the same specs but for a lower price tag and the video card of my choice if I were to build a custom system myself. I’m sure the good folks over at PC-Gilmore could do wonders for me.

So what would it be? The Asus Eee Box is now officially off my list, and it looks like it’s the Dell Studio Hybrid against a custom-built clone PC. Then again I might just spend my money on a Nikon D40. LOL

USC’s Dell Optiplex 320 is alive!

jhay — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:23:19 +0000

It’s either someone from the ITC deparment read my previous blog entry or it just coincided with the completion of the job order but what’s important is that the USC’s new Dell Optiplex 320 desktop workstation is now live and running complete with the softwares we need to carry on our duties and tasks.

At around 3pm the wonderful technicians from the ITC dropped by the USC office and configured the new workstation so that we could start using it. And use it we will. The standard implements of software suites and packages to get our workflow moving are:

Microsoft Office 2003
Adobe PageMaker 7.0
Adobe Acrobat Reader (I forgot which version)
WinZip
Adobe Photoshop 7
TrendMicro Office Scan

and a host of other programs that comes standard with any Windows XP Professional installation. Internet Explorer is a given, but much to my delight, Mozilla Firefox was installed! It’s not the newest version but hey, at least we have a great alternative to IE.

Though we wished for the latest versions of our much needed softwares and programs like Photoshop CS, MS Office XP or OpenOffice, WinRAR, and AVG were installed we were still so much greatful that the new workstation is now finally up and running.

I was among the first to use the new computer and it’s been so long since I last felt the blazing speed and responsiveness of using a totally brand new computer. Photoshop was up and running in less than 15 seconds!! It even loaded a 30 MB PSD file which was the tarpaulin design for one of our upcoming events. The Dell Optiplex 320 handled the file and all the abuses I could throw at it like I was only playing around with MS Paint.

The impressive initial run of the new PC made me even more curious about its true technical specifications, as Jaypee commented a post ago, “Is 256MB of RAM enough?”

So right-clicked on the My Computer icon and took a peek at what’s running under the hood, or rather inside the black mid-tower casing. The specs were quite impressive:

Intel Pentium D @ 3.0Ghz
480MB of RAM
80GB of hard drive space divided into two-40GB hard drives

We’re confident now that the new workstation is alive, more and more tasks would be done quickly and efficiently. Already, the publication team put the new machine to good use as they continued to work on the layout of the USC’s official paper, PERIODICO, and that’s just the beginning of the good things to come.

So once more, tons of thanks to the ITC for finally answering our call and helping the USC in better serving the students of DLSU-D.

Note: I did not write this entry using the new USC computer, personal stuff like blogging is strongly prohibited inside the USC office.

DLSU-D USC’s new tool: Dell Optiplex 320

jhay — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:26:12 +0000

When we took over the USC positions last May, one of the most saddening, troublesome and burdensome problem we faced was a broken computer which we inherited from the previous set of USC officers. There were two actually, but one was busted.

Being frugal as to not waste our fellow students’ money, we requested help from the ITC or Information Technology Center of DLSU-D to have a look at the broken down machine and if possible revive it to a working condition. Unfortunately, they were not able to do so. Instead they salvaged whatever parts that were still working and put it in the other one that is working, barely.

With that, it was decided to dispose of the old dead unit and request for a new unit from the Purchasing department. It was something that was way easier said than done. After filing the necessary paperworks and weaving through the bureaucracy, our request for a new desktop computer was finally approved. It was July back then, and all of us were excited to see and use the new unit as we expected to have it within the month or so.

Frustratingly, after nearly 3 months of waiting and making follow-up calls to the concerned despartments, the new unit was finally delivered to the USC office just a couple of weeks ago. The new rig is Dell Optiplex 320.

Oh what a beautiful thing to look at really. It was all black and shiny just begging for us to use it. Which is what the USC really needs for when you coordinate the various student activities throughout the University, having one computer is no laughing matter.

The Dell Optiplex 320 workstation has the following specs:

Intel Pentium D Dual Core @ 1.6GHz
256 MB of RAM
160GB of hard drive SATA
ATI Radeon X300 graphics
Windows XP

Now these specs are based on CNET.com and I’m sure that the actual unit delivered to us will be a bit different. Nonetheless, it’s something that has created a new excitement in the USC office, a sense of assurance and relief that from now on, more work would be done in shorter span of time. If all goes well of course, but hey, we must continue striving for the best.

The sad part is, the unit still cannot be used because the ITC has not yet configured it to meet the ‘standards’ of the univeristy which includes: Windows XP, system restrictions, using Internet Explorer as the default and only browser (boo!), website filtering, LAN settings etc. So the new unit is just sitting there gathering dust and egging us to crave more for it to be used as soon as possible.

If requesting for a new computer took 3 months, I wonder how long it will take for the unit to be ready for usage? Again, filing necessary paperworks and weaving through the sometimes unecessary bureaucracy can hamper and really slow down the work of USC. In fact, the publication and release of the USC’s official paper, the PERIODICO is still in the drawing board all because the whole council is using one computer for all its paperwork needs. Which is a sad thing and it should not be so. Because for every delay in our work, is a delay in the delivery of services for our fellow students and a delay in meeting their needs.

I know that the ITC handles a quite a lot of IT-related jobs in campus, but shouldn’t the USC take precendence over some other concerns and priorities because it is the highest body of student organization and governance?

If someone from the ITC department down at the MAH building would happen to read this, we’re reminding them that the unit needs to be setup and running in the soonest time possible. Help us in serving our fellow students by doing our jobs properly, efficiently and swiftly.