The HiTech Trucker webZine

Truck Backing “Accident”? You Judge!

Dennis Dearborne — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:34:45 +0000

Ok. Now I’m mad! I’ve been “out of work” since the “Accident” which occurred on the 4th of July. I just found out that my claim was JUST approved today (July 17, 2009). Repairs on my truck won’t even BEGIN until later next week! Covenant Transportation is SELF INSURED! Judge, for yourself, the situation.

The email copied below should be self-explanatory to all but the most ignorant or least attentive! Neither of which I would expect a Vice President of a rather large Trucking Company to be!

From: Dennis Dearborne [mailto:dennisdear@aim.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 6:33 PM
To: coodou@covenanttransportation.com
Cc: dennisdear@ec.rr.com
Subject: Warning shot fired across your Bow!

Please send any email responses to dennisdear@ec.rr.com

To: Mr. Doug Cook, Vice President of Safety at Covenant Transportation Co.

Mr. Cook,

This email is intended, not as a threat, but as a “shot across your bow”. I want this to be your opportunity to “do the right thing”.

On the 4th of July, at 4pm, one of your company drivers (of only 1 month, according to him) backed a trailer into the front end of my truck (that I own). He contacted me at just above the headlight (on the passenger side) and continued tearing his way through my hood. Contact with his trailer didn’t end until my passenger side door mounted mirrors.

He had approximately 100 YARDS of clear maneuvering space in front, and the spaces are EXTRA wide (Pilot Truck Stop in Breezewood, PA – just at the exit of the fuel islands). Your driver (James E. Barker.. truck number 11503), in spite of having all that maneuvering space in front of us, performed a “blind side” approach. I DO have a witness to this “Accident”. Weather was DRY and CLEAR! Your equipment sustained NO DAMAGE WHATSOEVER! I, however, am an Owner Operator and no one is going to be “bailing me out”. Your driver was “released to leave the scene” by your Safety department. He was not detained, was not told to call the police, and was not drug tested! This, on top of being GROSSLY INCOMPITENT/NOT PROPERLY TRAINED to perform one of the least challenging backing scenarios I could possibly imagine!

These are just some facts of this occurrence. Now, the real reason that I have to write you this email!

The incident was reported to both your company and mine! Claim numbers were issued. Police report filed (by ME, since your safety department did NOT direct your driver to report the “accident”). I was given a name and number to call this past Monday (Jan Luttrel). I placed a call, as she directed me to (via verbal communication relayed from your driver) but was put into voice mail. I have called TWO additional times today. I STILL have received NO communications from ANYONE at your company.

My company, whom I lease back to, is a VERY LARGE competitor of yours, and will remain unnamed at this time. Being an Owner Operator, I’m on my own! Subject to having to wait for YOUR company to respond. However, I AM STILL under a Customer Watch load that MUST deliver (to be considered an ontime delivery) TOMORROW evening in Baltimore. Obviously I cannot deliver that load myself! But they are, nonetheless, putting me under some great pressure to give them status (which I DON’T HAVE) of what YOUR company is doing about this situation!

Now… back to the “shot across your bow”, and a fair warning for you to intercede in this mess!

I publish an Online webZine called the “HiTech Trucker”. AND I’m a contributing editor to someone who writes a daily column at the Lexington Examiner. These are NOT just some “casual editorials”, done “once in awhile”! They are done DAILY! I’m also HEAVILY involved in the Twitter, Facebook, Friend Feed, and YOUtube communities (only to mention just a FEW) and well respected there! I have some even greater ties than what I’ve mentioned. But, again, my intent is NOT to threaten, but more to forewarn!

I trust you have at least a small grasp, maybe even greater, of the power of the Internet Mediums. I’m prepared to do a piece that explicitly identifies your company, the apparent lack of proper training, and the way that (at least in MY case) things are handled by your company. This IS, after all, well within my First Amendment rights! I hope that I don’t need to tell you the speed of which these kinds of things are picked up on, and proliferated, by the Internet (Just Twitter alone, if NOTHING else!).

I’m hoping that you can get involved in, and intercede, before I have to resort to doing more than just a warning shot across your bow.

I plan on making only TWO more phone calls to Jan in the morning (7/8/09). I expect that I will only be able to leave yet TWO more voice mail messages. The first will be to inform her of my editorial avenues available. The second call will be to inform her that the articles are READY to be distributed (will only take me a couple of hours!). I’ll give her about 1 more hour…. and then I “push the button”.

Mr Cook, I assure you, from that point the stories will distribute in an unstoppable fashion. Please don’t make it come down to that!

I’m a reasonable sort of guy, and patience IS one of my virtues. But enough is enough! This is going to end up putting me OUT OF BUSINESS if I don’t do something that, normally, I’m not inclined to do.

This letter to you, would ALSO be published, in its entirety.

I thank you, in advance, for anything that you can do to end this travesty.

Sincerely,

Dennis Dearborne Editor, writer, originator of the Hitech Trucker webzine www.hitechtrucker.net

Mr. Cook,

After finally (this morning) getting in touch with your Claims, and Insurance departments, it was brought to my attention that I sent the correspondence (above) to @covenanttransportation.com address instead of @covenanttransport.com. This, of course, means that you did not receive this email last night as I intended. This was my error when filling in the address line, even though I had it written down correctly. Computers are, in actuality, just dumb machines following the orders of we humans.

The appeals I make to you, in the email above, are now rendered moot, for the most part, in that the process is now finally moving forward.

However, I do STILL beseech you to take to heart the portion of this email that DOES fall under your direct purview, those related to Safety AND training of your drivers. I don’t feel that my judgments of the lack of the “backing skills” of this particular driver are without merit. I, as well as others involved in activist areas of the Trucking Industry, ARE watching lawsuits pending (or settled) that your company has been, or is currently involved with. In particular, those that would seem to indicate improper or inferior training of your drivers. I am still going to reserve the right (again, via my 1^st amendment rights, if nothing else) to post articles pertaining to our findings. The public, AND innocent truck drivers (like myself in this case!) need to be protected from incompetence on our highways! Incompetence from the operators of ALL forms of vehicles.

Thank you again, for any assistance you may provide,

Dennis Dearborne

The reply to my email, from Mr. Cook, cannot be copied here as there is a legal statement, at the bottom of his email, which forbids me to do so. However, even though I followed directions conveyed to me (as written in my first email to Mr. Cook), his response indicated that the “slowness of the claim process” was MY FAULT! Citing that I had contacted “incorrect people” in “incorrect departments”. And, also, that any further correspondence should NOT be sent to him! I wonder how he “processed” the parts of the email that WERE directed appropriately — to the VP of SAFETY! They were summarily ignored. And I was “dismissed” with a simple wave of his hand, as some ignorant trucker!

Pretend, for just a moment, that YOU are the VP of SAFETY of ANY corporation. Is this the way that YOU would have handled this issue?

I enclose a couple of pictures to illustrate the “Parking Challenge” their driver had to contend with!

Look at all that “maneuvering space” for a straight line back! Can you imagine how backing could be any simpler?

Parking stalls are EXTRA WIDE. My Grandmother could back a truck into a stall successfully under these circumstances. Imagine this driver, with his obviously lacking training, backing into a “normal” stall in a “normal” Truck Stop row spacing! YIKES!!

Trucker App for iPhone & iPod Touch

Dennis Dearborne — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:43:05 +0000

Ahhh…. the ubiquitous iPhone! It is, indeed, everywhere nowadays.

No! This isn’t going to be yet another one of those iPhone evaluations, urging to you to buy… buy… buy! But, consider this dear reader, the days of the computer, as we know it, has a limited lifespan. Technology marches onward with newer hardware, newer applications, newer form factors, and newer operating systems (we will one day be bidding even the mighty Microsoft a fond “buh-bye”). We are already seeing the Netbook oozing its way into the Laptop sales real estate. Laptops are certainly a move forward in portability, but they are just too big! And one day soon, we will be thinking that the Netbook is also (excepting for its screen size) “too big”.

Enter the Smart Phone! Slowly but surely it’s becoming more competent as a Computing Platform! A far cry from being only a phone with, say, an “extra” like a built in camera.

Smart Phones have some amazing capabilities now. You need to be thinking of them more as ultra-miniaturized computers. Capabilities now include Music, a fairly high resolution Camera/Video Camera, Voice Recorder, Videos, Movies, Photo Albums, Text Editor, Voice recognition, Things to Do Lists, Address Books, and Contact Lists. They also have built in connectivity options like WIFI and Bluetooth. With the current Data Plans you have capabilities of E-mail, “Tweeting”, Instant Messaging, Texting, and Internet Browsing. All of these capabilities used to be things that fell under the purview of COMPUTERS! Now you hold it in the palm of your hand! And your iPhone does even more when you add apps from the App Store.

Apple, via the iTunes Store, has provided yet one more feature to the mix. Application Software! Thousands and Thousands of Applications now exist that can be purchased (most of them for the meager price of $.99), from the iTunes Store. And access to the store is just a simple icon click away! This article, however, is an evaluation of only ONE of those thousands of available Apps for your iPhone. Specifically…. The Very First iPhone application for Truckers!

The First Trucker App on iTunes – The Premier iPhone Trucker App featuring a vast Drivers Resource Page area where you can find information on everything a truck driver might need for his/her job or life on the road.

The creators of the Trucker App are husband and wife team of Aubery “Allen” and Donna Smith. What better way to introduce you to the Trucker tool than Allen’s own words contained in the Application’s intro.

“Welcome to the official iPhone user site – Trucker. As you know, Trucker is the first and premier trucking application for the iPhone. Packed with important features and links related to the trucking industry, Trucker truly is a revolutionary Apple iPhone Application!
Providing links to Government sites and vital trucking resources, Trucker also includes many features established to make the trucking life a little easier and a lot more fun! This first of its kind trucking app has the ability to have content added at any time. Literally, every time you open the Trucker App, there could be new and fresh content, unlike many standard applications which simply remain the same. This application is for you… all the drivers. We urge you to become an active part in the continual development of the Trucker Application.

For example: Have a cool photo that you would like to share? Then e-mail us your photo in .jpg format and we will share it with millions – right on the Trucker App! Have a favorite YouTube video? Send us the URL, and we will review it and post it to the application for everyone to see.

This truly is an interactive trucker application, and it’s just the beginning!”

After the Trucker App has been purchased from the iTunes App Store (again, this remarkable tool is only 99 cents!) and installed on your iPhone (or iPod Touch) your screen will look similar to the photo above. The Trucker App icon will appear, and it will also visually indicate the quantity of any “pending actions” that you might wish to invoke. This dynamic icon will allow you to see if there have been any “new items” posted (News stories, media clips, or Twitter items) without requiring you to even launch the app!

Once you launch the Trucker App you will be able to witness the very Dynamic nature of the application. The “out the windshield view” photograph will change often, as well as any applicable text messages. All areas of the application, invoked by the simple use icons at the bottom of the Home Screen, are equally Dynamic in their individual and ever changing content!

But before I described those areas, let’s look at what Allen calls the “Bloodline of the Trucker Application”, the User Site Resource Page. A simple “click” and you are whisked away to the most useful areas of the application.

NOTE: The very first time that I used the Trucker App, I completely missed reading the Text, directly below the Home Screen Picture, telling me to “click” there. If you “miss” clicking there, then like myself, you will miss out on absolutely the most useful area of the application!

The new screen is presented to you with convenient links to take you to their individual resource sections, without requiring scrolling down to “find them”. Much of the application’s operations are very predictably “browser like” in their behaviors. It’s my feeling that some real attention was paid to the overall design of the application to keep it intuitive and easy to use. Keep in mind that the entire application is Dynamic in nature and can be improved or expanded upon at any time. Also keep in mind that Allen and Donna are listening to Truckers inputs. They genuinely want this to be an application that addresses the needs of truckers.

OFFICIAL LINKS - for example: FMCSA Rules and Regs, Hours of Service Regs, OOIDA, ATA

DOT LISTING – DOT Listings for Each State

TRUCKER SERVICES – Links for finding things like: Lowest fuel prices, Driving Directions, Mileage, Truck Stops, Repair Facilities, Weather, Scales, Truck Washes, Clearances, Load Boards, Motels with Truck Parking, and one of my personal Favorites… A Walmart Locator, With Driving Directions! NOTE: The Walmart Locator, Donna tells me, was recently included after a trucker (Twitter name @markinark) submitted the idea to her.

SECURITY AND EMERGENCY – some examples: TSA, Homeland Security, FEMA, Red Cross

THE DAC REPORT – “Everything You Need to Know About The DAC REPORT – Including a handy link to take you to a location where you can sign the petition to “Stop False DAC Reporting”!

PDF INFORMATION – PDF documents on: HAZMAT Routing, Routes for RadioActive Materials, Driver Qualifications Guidelines, Truck Driving Schools, and info for the CDL Waiver

TRUCKERS HELPING TRUCKERS – Some useful links to other truckers with valued information they’re willing to share with their fellow truckers

U.S. TIME ZONES – ’nuff said?

Most other iPhone applications present a “Done” button selection that quits the app. In the Trucker application, selecting “Done” takes you back to the last section that you accessed.

The ICONS at the bottom of the Home Screen include links to:

NEWS – News stories from various Internet sources

EVENTS – Coming Trucking Related Events

MEDIA – Some informative and even some entertaining Media Links: Music Videos, Video Clips, Pictures, etc.

TWITTER – This selection allows you to view the Latest Tweets from @Truckerapp. The Tweets include a link which can then direct you to the Headline, or optionally, to the full expanded story

Needless to say, as a trucker myself, I love this application. Virtually all of the information that the app provides is available on the Internet, but ONLY after very exhaustive Searches and/or bookmarking! For only $.99 I have purchased a tool that consolidates everything of interest to me (from a trucker perspective) in ONE remarkably easy to use tool, in only ONE location, on only ONE device! FIVE STARS! Allen and Donna – “mission accomplished”! Thank you both, for all that you do!

Allen Smith has been an advocate for bettering the success and careers of truck drivers and CDL students. He has exposed many trucking industry myths and scams within the industry and in doing so has coined the slogan, “Raising the Standards of the Trucking Industry”.

The iPhone Trucking Application “Trucker” was Allen’s vision to coordinate and organize the most important categories and features, all in one place, so that truck drivers can conveniently have all their needed information, links and vital resources available to them at the touch of a button….right on their phone.

ASKTHETRUCKER
Welcome to our interactive AskTheTrucker Blog for Truckers and Students! Here, you will be able to ask Allen questions and interact with one another concerning topics related to “Trucking.” I will be offering articles here also, for your reading enjoyment and enrichment. Post comments, ask questions…….interact!

Allen is a 30 year trucking veteran whose goal and passion is to aid those in the trucking industry, whether they be students or new truck drivers. Allen enjoys writing, flying, playing the guitar, and talking to those interested in raising the standards of the trucking industry.

Allen is the original author of “The Truth About Trucking” e-book and Audio CD’s, which have saved thousands from the scams within the trucking industry…truck driving schools and trucking companies.

Allen also hosts the website GuaranteeMove.com designed to eliminate the horrors within the Moving Industry. No stone is left unturned in his book, “How to Guarantee a Perfect Move” As far as we know, there is not another book like this available to the general public.

Finally, there is the website AubreyAllenSmith.com which briefly describes Allen and who he is; his goals, motivations, and his passions.

On this website are links to many of Allen’s newest websites which are the home of his latest books,

“So You’ve Got Your CDL…Now What?” and “The Best Truck Driving Jobs- A State by State Guide”

For those who would like a review of all 3 of Allen’s Books which have helped thousands succeed in trucking, please visit:

http://www.truthabouttrucking.com/3BookSpecial/index.html

Donna Smith, a medical lab researcher

http://bettertruckerhealth.blogspot.com

A Blog addressing health issues of the Average American, specifically targeting the Over The Road trucker.

About Me

Twitter: @max4health My husband Allen and I have been on a journey during the last 3 years to help truck drivers succeed in an industry filled with scams and deceit. Our 2 main websites: http://www.truthabouttrucking.com and www.AskTheTrucker.com has aided thousands of students and truck drivers become successful in an industry that has a very high turnover and even failure rate. During my time with Allen on this quest, I began my own research concerning the health of truck drivers. Being in the field of research, I wanted to help Allen and other truck drivers relieve and eliminate the many ailments that truck drivers face, including: joint pain, obesity, diabetes, and arthritis…among a few.

Google’s WAVE Application

Dennis Dearborne — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:54:59 +0000

I just completed an Online Seminar (the better part of 2 hours) viewing of the about to be released (sometime this Summer?) Google Wave Application. This seminar was geared towards API (Application Programming Interface) developers. Google’s Wave is “Open Sourced for developers”. Which, loosely defined, means… “Ya’ll Come and help us develop this puppy”.

WHAT IS WAVE?

Google Wave is a new communication service previewed recently at an API Developer’s showing called “Google I/O”. “A wave is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more”. The service seems to combine Gmail and Google Docs into an interesting free-form workspace that could be used to write documents collaboratively, plan events, play games, chat (Twitter for example), or discuss recent news.

FIRST THOUGH, A LITTLE BIT OF “WEB HISTORY”

Two of the most influential successes in digital communications, email and instant messaging, were originally designed in the ’60s to imitate some analog counterparts. Email mimicked “snail mail”, and IM (Instant Messaging) mimicked phone calls. Since then, so many different forms of communications have also been invented; Websites, Blogs, WIKIs, collaborative documents, etc. Computers and networks also dramatically improved along the way.

THEN ALONG COMES A NEW IDEA!

An idea which quite possibly may be the birth of something HUGE, taking us rapidly from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, and completely reshaping the way that we view computer interaction, both in Business and/or Social Networking. Email is now 40 years old, yet still remains the most popular method to communicate. Email came before the internet… before the web. What would email look like IF it were to be invented today?

Email becomes REAL TIME. Instead of simple static documents that need to be created, SENT, distributed, and then REPLIED to, with the same ponderous and static distribution back to the originator. Imagine this whole process occurring in REAL TIME, with all participants of the WAVE making their individual contributions TO that Wave!

Spell Checking also occurs in Real Time as you type your contribution to the Wave. But it’s also so much more than just a “spell checker”. It’s also a “context checker”. Here’s a real example used in the seminar. A demonstrator typed “icland is an icland”. The “spell/context checker” converted this (INSTANTLY) to “Iceland is an island”. Thunderous applause resulted from the programmers in attendance!

WHOSE IDEA IS THIS?

Two engineering brothers (Jens and Lars Rasmussen) created a well known (and well used) application by the name of Google Maps. This also morphed into Google Earth and Google Sky! They then conceived of a new idea/project, which they codenamed “Walkabout”. This idea has morphed into Google Wave!

They started with a set of tough questions:

* Why do we have to live with divides between different types of communication — email versus chat, or conversations versus documents?

* Could a single communications model span all or most of the systems in use on the web today, in one smooth continuum? How simple could we make it?

* What if we tried designing a communications system that took advantage of computers’ current abilities, rather than imitating non-electronic forms?

They then gave developers an early preview of “Google Wave”.

WHAT’S A WAVE COMPRISED OF ANYWAY?

A “wave” is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. Think of a “wave” as something akin to a “thread”. The WAVE starts out simply, gathers participants, and the WAVE builds. It can gather documents, text, graphics,photos, videos, IM’s, WIKI’s, etc as it “builds”.

Wave is an HTML5 App that uses your browser as it’s engine. It’s quite easy for me to imagine the platform being a simple NetBook (or Smart Phone), with it’s internet connectivity, using it’s browser as your “Window” to ALL of your communication needs!

HOW IT ALL WORKS:

Here’s how it works: In Google Wave you create a “wave” and add people to it. Everyone on your “wave” can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly (in REAL TIME I might add, NO waiting required!). It’s concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages (IM’s) as for persistent content — it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use “playback” to rewind the wave and see how it (the thread) evolved. This “Playback” capability allows for Newly added participants to “catch up” with conversations, and other added content that occurred before they were added to “the group”. One mouse click on a button… boom! instant “catch up”. Very, very nice capability indeed!

Google says, “As with Android, Google Chrome, and many other Google efforts, we plan to make the code open source as a way to encourage the developer community to get involved. Google Wave is very open and extensible, and we’re inviting developers to add all kinds of cool stuff before our public launch.” Google Wave has three layers: the product, the platform, and the protocol:

* The Google Wave product (available as a developer preview) is the web application people will use to access and edit waves. It’s an HTML 5 app, built on Google Web Toolkit. It includes a rich text editor and other functions like desktop drag-and-drop (which, for example, lets you drag a set of photos right into a wave). This feature ALONE is incredibly powerful. Have you ever tried to create a photo album that ALL members of a group can add to? And merely by performing a drag and drop operation? ALL members of the Wave are upgraded simultaneously AND instantly! And, again, any added Wave participants can “catch up” by merely clicking the “playback” button! WOW!

* Google Wave can also be considered a platform with a rich set of open APIs that allow developers to embed waves in other web services (Twitter for example), and to build new extensions that work inside waves.

* The Google Wave protocol is the underlying format for storing and the means of sharing waves, and includes the “live” concurrency control, which allows edits to be reflected instantly across users and services. The protocol is designed for open federation, such that anyone’s Wave services can inter-operate with each other and with the Google Wave service. To encourage adoption of the protocol, they intend to open source the code behind Google Wave.

In Wave, what you would think of as an email “REPLY” can be inserted into this “next generation email” scenario as an IM exchange. All of which occurs in REAL TIME. Current IM exchanges (let’s use Skype texting as an example) you spend most of your time watching a “pen scrawl”.. indicating that the other party is typing… typing…. typing…. when, in WAVE, you watch character by character as they are actually being typed. Imagine how much quicker IM’s transpire if you can be reading while they are typing…. and vice versa. This allows you to “formulate” YOUR OWN reply as you read. This can DRAMATICALLY speed up the conversation. BTW, there IS a check box that you can invoke so that others CANNOT see your typing (mistakes and all) until you hit “return”. Have it YOUR way!

This will allow email “type” communications to be combined with IM type communications, all to be combined into ONE TOOL! Once again, new participants can be added to the Wave with a simple mouse click, and a simple function called “playback” allows the new Wave participant to “catch up” to the Wave by adding in prior subject threads, that they, otherwise, would not be privy to.

Private replies (akin to DM’s) can be injected into the threads, and they remain PRIVATE. Pictures can be dragged (from a desktop looking Wave panel,) right into the content of the Wave. Thumbnails appear immediately (as the file transfers of the photos takes place behind the scenes). HTML5 can not support this drag and drop from the desktop quite yet. However it’s, as we speak, being implemented into the new spec. It’s the ONLY part of Wave that isn’t accommodated as yet! Group photo albums can be created quite simply with WAVE, something that remains complex to do with today’s current tools.

This technology is incredibly exciting. I can’t wait for the developers to get busy with API’s and turn Google Wave’s infrastructure into something incredibly flexible and useful. I believe WAVE will SURELY transform the way that we all interact on both Business AND/OR social levels.

Comment I found on the Google Wave forum, to me, pretty much encapsulates my feelings about where the development of this product is headed. I would give David’s full name (for credit to him) but it was not included in his post.

” David said:

I just finished watching the video, and I was blown away. I was amazed at how content-centric this is. Any type of content can theoretically be added to a wave: chats, e-mail, documents, images, spreadsheets, code, video, twits, etc.–anything you wish. Even extensions are exposed as content within waves. This completely breaks down the barrier between different forms of content (and applications) and unifies it all as waves. This means that, theoretically, all of Google’s services can be unified within Google Wave. They wouldn’t necessary have to go away, but their interfaces would be used less, as all their content would be exposed through Google Wave’s interface. Not just that, but any service could be added and exposed as waves, from Google Reader and Gmail to competing services like Flickr and Facebook. Just like RSS feeds pull in the web to us, Wave could eventually pull in all our online activity into one organized place. And we’d rarely need to leave it!

The best part of all this is how open this is. Anyone can offer a competing services, and anyone can theoretically take all his waves with him to a competing service. One could even run a Wave server at home, solving the privacy issues of using a third-party service.

In short, this has the potential to change not just the web, but how we compute in general. I can’t wait to see where this goes.”

Many kudos to all at Google…… Dennis Dearborne The HiTech Trucker

iPhones Overheating After OS3.0 Upgrade?

Dennis Dearborne — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:04:13 +0000

Users Reporting Problems With iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch, since upgrading software to OS 3.0

Apple sold over one million iPhone 3GS units in three days. Of course there are bound to be some problems.

Recently, a discolored overheated iPhone 3GS was discovered and blogged about on blogs like Gizmodo, Engadget, and PCWorld. I’m not 100% sure, but I think that the overheating problem might be being caused by the iPhone OS 3.0 software update and it isn’t affecting the iPhone 3GS only, it’s affecting other iPhone and iPod Touch devices as well. After updating my iPod Touch to 3.0 I did notice that it got warmer whenever I plugged it in to charge it or when playing a game. I just did a quick Google search, and it looks like I’m not the only one who has experienced this. I expect Apple to fix this in their next iPhone update (which will I hope will be coming soon!).

A White iPhone 3GS that has overheated, will discolor the plastic on the back to either pink or brown, due to the device running very hot.

There is an error message that can appear onscreen when the operating temperature has become too hot. This is a result of a built in safety mechanism that protects the components of the device. If this message appears, you should turn the device off, move it to a cooler environment, and allow it to cool before resuming use.

Note: When this message appears, the iPhone may still be able to make emergency calls.

Apple has replied, “Conditions and activities that may activate the Temperature warning message: leaving the phone in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time or using certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for a long time”. An Apple proposed overheating scenario is; using GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight.
Apple recommends Keeping your iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS within acceptable operating temperatures

“Operate iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F)”. 95º F! Has anyone from Apple been in Dallas in the Summer? “Low- or high-temperature conditions might temporarily shorten battery life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly”.

Store your iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS (or iPod Touch) in a place where the temperature is between -20º and 45º C (-4º to 113º F). Don’t leave the device in your car, because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range.

If the interior temperature of the device exceeds normal operating temperatures, you may experience the following as it attempts to regulate its temperature:

* The device stops charging
* Display dims
* Weak cellular signal
“Apple Admits iPhone Overheating Issues — Sort of”

The fact that none of these alleged overheating iPhone users have posted a picture of the warning screen tells me there’s not really an overheating issue. It’s just people feeling the phone get mildly warm, overreacting, or intentionally trying to cause a scandal. Leaving your phone (no matter the brand) in a 113º car is obviously a bad idea, and is no indication of a failure on the part of the hardware.

It’s been noticed one big difference between the 3GS and the original iPhone. The new one is A LOT lighter and seems thinner. To me this means a couple things that might be happening: 1) the faster processor obviously can generate more heat and, 2) The new case is noticeably thinner so more heat is felt by touching it.

It’s been noticed that using the GPS and some other higher intensity apps that the phone gets warm. But so does the original iPhone. It gets very warm! But then the original wasn’t used in a car on the dash with the GPS on. It doesn’t have a GPS

I think, basically, the phones reach the same operating temperatures but the thinner case, and a higher speed processor, is the main reason it feels hotter to the touch.

These reported overheating scenarios are “all over the map”. IMHO I just can’t draw any firm conclussions from all the reported “problems”. Are YOU experiencing any problems with overheating since the software upgrade to Version 3.0? I’m not! How has your iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade experience been so far? Do you have overheating problems because of iPhone OS 3.0?

Eye-Fi™ SD Card + WIFI for your Digital Camera

Dennis Dearborne — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:25:09 +0000

The Eye-Fi™ Card is a wireless SD memory card for your digital camera. It stores photos and videos just like a standard SD memory card. But the Eye-Fi™ Card makes your camera wireless! 2GB SD card priced around $49.99. 4GB products start at around $79.99. See various products listed below.

Yes, there really is Wi-Fi inside that tiny little card. I think it’s going to change the way people take, save and share photos. The Eye-Fi™ Card comes with everything needed to make it simple to set up and connect to your home Wi-Fi network. After you set it up, place the card into your Digital camera and start capturing photos and videos. It stores pictures like a regular SD card, and then uploads your photos automatically as soon as you return to your home network. All you have to do is turn the camera on. Uploads photos automatically from the Eye-Fi™ Card inside your camera. The built-in Wi-Fi connects to your home network.

Built in Wi-Fi helps you organize and share your photographic memories. Specify where you want your photos and videos sent. Select the Wi-Fi networks it can use. Then just turn on your camera to effortlessly transfer photos and video. No cables!

Automatically uploads pictures from your digital camera to your PC or Mac via 802.11b/g WiFi

OVERVIEW

Are the family reunion videos still in your camera? You can effortlessly share your memories with the 4GB Eye-Fi™ Share Video card. It uses your home Wi-Fi network to automatically upload photos and videos straight from your camera to your computer and to one of over 25 popular photo sharing websites, like Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or Picasa.

Easy Set Up
Upload photos automatically to your computer wirelessly!

In just a few minutes, you’ll be ready to share your memories while they are still fresh. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Register your Eye-Fi card
2. Pair the Eye-Fi Card to your Wi-Fi network
3. Choose a sharing web site (if you want)

Now start taking photos! That’s all there is to uploading your photos and videos wirelessly with your existing camera.

Your Eye-Fi Card will now upload new photos & videos you take to your computer and your favorite sharing web site (even if your computer is off).

Technical Details

* Wi-Fi Security: Static WEP 40/104/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK Mac and PC Compatible
* Stores photos and videos like a standard memory card
* Wireless upload of photos and videos via Wi-Fi to your PC or sharing, printing, social networking or blogging web site, even when computer is off
* Upload photos and videos wirelessly from over 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation
* Automatically adds geographic location information (geotags) so you can easily find and organize your memories

Share Video 4GB + Wi-Fi

Requirements and Compatibility

Eye-Fi cards automatically deliver photos to Mac, PC and the Web

* Eye-Fi cards work with 802.11b, 802.11g and backwards-compatible 802.11n wireless networks
* Eye-Fi software works with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X (10.4 and 10.5)
* Eye-Fi software works with Internet Explorer (Windows), Firefox (Windows and OS X) and Safari 3 ( OS X 10.4 -10.5)
* Eye-Fi cards require an Internet connection for setup and a wireless router with DHCP enabled for wireless transfers
* The Eye-Fi cards work with over 700 camera models that use SD or SDHC memory cards.

Compatibility has been tested (by the manufacturer) with cameras from all major camera brands. See below for manufacturer specific information.
Please note that 4GB Eye-Fi Cards (4GB Share Video, 4GB Explore Video and the Eye-Fi Anniversary Cards) are all SDHC format cards. Because SDHC works differently than standard SD cards, this new format is not backwards compatible with legacy SD format cameras. 4GB and above SDHC cards can only be read by SDHC cameras. Please refer to your camera owners manual or your camera manufacturer’s website to check to see if your camera supports SDHC memory cards.

Note: Konica-Minolta cameras are not supported. Sony and Olympus cameras do not accept SD memory cards.

* Canon
* Casio
* FujiFilm
* HP
* Kodak
* Nikon
* Panasonic
* Pentax
* Polaroid
* Samsung
* Sanyo
* Sealife

Canon
Eye-Fi is compatible with Canon SD format models.
Casio
Eye-Fi is compatible with Casio SD format models.
FujiFilm
Eye-Fi is compatible with FujiFilm SD format models.
HP
Eye-Fi is compatible with HP SD format models. Exceptions: Photosmart e327.
Kodak
Eye-Fi is compatible with most Kodak models. Exceptions: EasyShare C330, EasyShareC613, EasyShareC643, EasyShareC713, EasyShareC813, EasyShareC913, EasyShareC1013, EasyShare CD33, EasyShare CW330, EasyShare C875, EasyShare P850, EasyShare DX 6440, EasyShare DX 6490, EasyShare DX 7490, EasyShare DX 7590, EasyShare M340, and the EasyShare M1063.
Nikon
Eye-Fi is compatible with Nikon SD format models. Exception: Coolpix s51
Panasonic
Eye-Fi is compatible with Panasonic SD format models. Exception: Lumix DMC-FX37
Pentax
Eye-Fi is compatible with most Pentax SD format models. Exceptions: Optio S4i, Optio S5i, Optio 450, Optio 550
Polaroid
Eye-Fi is compatible with most Polaroid SD format models. Exceptions: t737, a520
Samsung
Eye-Fi is compatible with most Samsung SD format models. Exceptions: L77, NV24HD, TL34HD.
Sanyo
Eye-Fi is compatible with Sanyo SD format models.
Sealife
Eye-Fi is compatible with Sealife SD format models.

Product Line Information

Home 2GB $49.99

When’s the last time your vacation photos made it out of your camera? Effortlessly save your photos with the 2GB Eye-Fi Home Card. It has built-in Wi-Fi and uses your home Wi-Fi network to automatically upload your memories to your computer.

Share 2GB $59.99

OVERVIEW

No time to share photos with friends and family? Effortlessly share with the 2GB Eye-Fi Share card. It uses your home Wi-Fi network to automatically upload photos straight from your camera to your computer and to one of over 25 popular photo sharing websites, like Flickr, Facebook or Picasa

Share 4GB $79.99

OVERVIEW

Are the family reunion videos still in your camera? Effortlessly share your memories with the 4GB Eye-Fi Share Video card. It uses your home Wi-Fi network to automatically upload photos and videos straight from your camera to your computer and to one of over 25 popular photo sharing websites, like Flickr, Facebook or Picasa. No cables. No hassles. No kiddi

Explore Video 4GB $99.99

OVERVIEW

Love traveling? Are your last trip’s awesome memories still in your camera? Effortlessly upload and share your photos and videos from over 10,000 Wi-Fi HotSpots with the 4GB Eye-Fi Explore Video card. Get a lifetime of automatic geotagging so you can easily find and organize your memories later. And like the Eye-Fi Share Video, it can also use your home Wi-Fi to upload photos and videos to your computer or to one of over 25 popular websites.

Pro 4GB $149.99

OVERVIEW

Streamline your workflow. Enjoy the freedom of Ad Hoc connection capabilities and RAW uploads, plus the best of Eye-Fi Explore, including geotagging, HotSpot Access, selective transfer, and Wi-Fi photo and video uploads to your computer and to one of over 25 online website

Purchase at Best Buy, Frye’s, Amazon (and other online locations)

Another New Category added to webZine! TECHnews

Dennis Dearborne — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:56:53 +0000

This is a new section that I’ve decided to add to my Blog. TECHnews will keep you informed on High Tech News stories that will be shaping the industry, your lives, and how technology will reshape the world!

Look for my first postings VERY soon! (I DO still have to drive this darned truck as my main job!).

TOYS = “Fun” types of goodies!!

Dennis Dearborne — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:46:19 +0000

This is a new category on my webZine. I’ll be making some posts to this category that might include things like; Hidef TV, Bluray players, Movies, Sound systems, iPods, iPhones, MP3 Players, etc.

I’ll leave this category as “open” for the time being… and think a little about some future articles in the near future.

Stay tuned peeps… this category might be come fun!!

Turbo3000D Ongoing Test Results (updated on 11/6/09)

Dennis Dearborne — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:24:37 +0000

NEW UPDATED MILEAGE RESULTS (At bottom of Post, per usual)

I’M BACK ON THE ROAD AND WORKING AGAIN!! (See related story in OpED column “Backing ‘Accident’?”).

I’VE JUST NOW POSTED AN UPDATED MPG FOR MY LATEST FILLUP THIS MORNING. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MPG IS “TAINTED” IN THAT IT INCLUDES 16 DAYS OF APU OPERATIONS WHILE MY TRUCK WAS DOWN AWAITING REPAIRS! FUEL BURNED TO OPERATE THE APU, OF COURSE, REDUCES THE MPG FIGURES FOR THAT FILLUP PERIOD! PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MPG FOR EVEN THAT TANK WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE BASE MPG FIGURE OF 6.097MPG. I’M VERY PLEASANTLY SURPRISED! AS USUAL, GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR THE MPG TEST RESULTS ON A PER FILLUP BASIS. I’M STARTING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT THESE RESULTS!

I’M BACK HOME (IN WILMINGTON,NC) FOR REPAIRS ON MY TRUCK. I HAVE A COUPLE OF NEW FILLUP UPDATES TO POST IN THE INTERIM HOWEVER. LOOK, AS USUAL, DOWN BELOW.

ON THE 4th MY TRUCK WAS SMASHED INTO (While parked at a Pilot Truck Stop)! LOOKS LIKE NO UPDATES ON MILEAGE UNTIL I GET OUT OF A BODY SHOP! LOUD GROANING SOUNDS!!! PLEASE STAY TUNED THOUGH… THIS IS JUST STARTING TO GET INTERESTING (TEST RESULTS THAT IS)!

** This is the ongoing test results page of my review. See “Testing Conditions” in the Turbo 3000D Post below the “Featured” section of my blog site. **

AVERAGED MILEAGE from 915,900 miles on 5/23/07 until installation of Turbo3000D at 135,140 miles on 6/6/09 = 6.097 mpg. This is my “Base MPG”.

Don’t focus too much on the initially reported mpg figures for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we need to give a good month or so until the truck’s computer “adjusts” to the effects of the Turbo3000D. And, secondly, my initial miles (after install) have been some HARD miles! Very heavy loads, and lots of mountainous routes. But, I think, after a couple of months of mpg reports that it should be settling down to something approaching “average operating conditions”. Let’s just see what happens. I think this methodology will be more representative of how YOU would evaluate the “results” of whether you had wasted your money, or if the Turbo3000D is going to pay for itself.

Mileage at 1st fillup = 4.73 mpg 4 days of “sitting” and running APU (right after Turbo3000D install)

Mileage at 2nd fillup = 6.25 mpg At Gross weight load, some grades

Mileage at 3rd fillup = 6.45 mpg At Gross weight load, flat lands

Mileage at 4th fillup = 5.83 mpg At Gross weight load, lots of grades

Mileage at 5th fillup = 7.45 mpg Light loads, flat lands, APU was left turned on (A/C temperature set to turn on at 90 degrees) while is was on “home time) for 10 days though!

Mileage at 6th fillup = 6.85 mpg At Gross weight load, I-95 corridor, between Richmond, Va and Connecticut (’nuff said? lol)

Mileage at 7th fillup = 6.36 mpg Moderately Heavy load, I-80 corridor, NYC to Girard, OH.

Mileage at 8th fillup = 6.01 mpg At Gross weight load, Lots of Grades

Mileage at 9th fillup = 6.94 mpg Moderately Heavy Load, 50% Grades, 50% Flat Lands

Mileage at 10th fillup = 6.73 mpg Light Load weights, Flat Lands, VERY heavy APU use, outside temperature was in the high 90’s-APU set to maintain 80 degrees (See notation at top of this Post)

Mileage at 11th fillup = 6.35 mpg At Gross weight load (80,000 pounds), Lots of Grades

Mileage at 12th fillup = 6.91 mpg Moderate Load weights, Flat Lands

Mileage at 13th fillup = 5.6 mpg At Gross weight load, Flatlands. 4 Days of APU operations during maintenance downtime.

*** Special note*** On 8/14/09 Had routine Preventative Maintenance performed.

Mileage at 14th fillup = 7.53 mpg Moderate weight load, Flatlands

Mileage at 15th fillup = 6.85 mpg Light load but 30% grades/70% Flatland, Moderate Headwinds

Mileage at 16th fillup = 6.34 mpg Medium load, Flatlands

Mileage at 17th fillup = 6.59 mpg At Gross weight load, 10% grades, 25% City driving

Mileage at 18th fillup = 6.53 mpg Heavy load, Flatlands

Mileage at 19th fillup = 7.06 mpg Light load, Flatlands

Mileage at 20th fillup = 6.12 mpg Heavy, 25% Grades

Mileage at 21st fillup = 6.75 mpg Medium load, Flatlands

Mileage at 22nd fillup = 7.44 mpg Medium load, Flatlands

Mileage at 23rd fillup = 6.6 mpg Medium load, Flatlands

Mileage at 24th fillup = 6.67 mpg Gross Weight, some Grades

Mileage at 25th fillup = 6.15 mpg Gross Weight, High percentage were Grades

Mileage at 26th fillup = 6.63 mpg Light load, Flatlands, Headwinds

Mileage at 27th fillup = 6.63 mpg Medium load, Flatlands, Headwinds

Mileage at 28th fillup = 5.6 mpg Medium load, Flatlands, 5 days of just APU ops

Mileage at 29th fillup = 6.67 mpg Medium load, Flatlands, Lots of Chicago ops

Mileage at 30th fillup = 6.25 mpg Heavy load, Flatlands

Mileage at 31st fillup = 6.47 mpg At Gross Load, 50% City Driving, 25% Grades

Mileage at 32nd fillup = 6.0 mpg Medium load, 25% Grades, 3 days of just APU ops

Mileage at 33rd fillup = 6.0 mpg Heavy load, Flatlands, Chicago ops

Mileage at 34th fillup = 6.94 mpg At Gross Load, Some Grades, City

Mileage at 35th fillup = 5.78 mpg At Gross Load, Lots of Grades, City

Mileage at 36th fillup = 6.54 mpg Lite load, Lots of Grades

Mileage at 37th fillup = 7.12 mpg Lite load, Flatlands

Mileage at 38th fillup = 7.07 mpg Lite load, City, Flatlands

Mileage at 39th fillup = 5.53 mpg Lite load, 2 days sitting with APU ops

Mileage at 40th fillup = 6.89 mpg At Gross load, Flatlands

Mileage at 41st fillup = 6.67 mpg Near Gross load, Flatlands, 70mph

Mileage at 42nd fillup = 6.93 mpg Lite load, Flatlands, Fair amount of Stop & Go

I haven’t calculated a new average mpg figure yet (compared to my base mileage of 6.097 mpg) but my “gut” tells me this thing might actually work!! Let’s just keep watching the resulting data for awhile longer yet before drawing any conclusions. I AM, after all, a skeptic when it comes to these “wonder devices” things.

Turbo3000D establishing “test data” for full review (above)

Dennis Dearborne — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:05:59 +0000

**TEST CONDITIONS UPDATE (BELOW). Now include NON-APU vs APU equipped mpg figures. And, a new “Base Mileage” number to compare the Turbo3000D test results against.

PRE-APU mpg was 5.918 mpg. POST-APU is 6.097 mpg — this is my new updated “Base Mileage” for the Turbo3000D test results**

I initially intended to publish only a “bottom line” evaluation of this device. However, I have since reconsidered my approach. I’m now thinking that I would like to do “progress reports” on a per “fill up” kind of basis (go to bottom of this post). That “bottom line” evaluation, to be fair to the “test”, wouldn’t happen for a few months yet!

My over all mileage data for the past 7 years (See immediately below) includes; hot weather, cold weather; heavy loads, light loads; up-wind, down-wind; Non-APU and APU equipped; flat land driving vs mountainous. You get the drift! My total mileage over ALL conditions for almost 1 million miles of ownership of this truck.

AVERAGED MILEAGE, SINCE JUNE 2002 TO DATE = 5.96mpg (includes Non-APU and APU equipped)

Next, I propose, that I give you my overall mileage from 915,900 miles until mileage at install of the Turbo3000D (at 135,140 miles on the odometer after it “flipped over” at 1,000,000 miles) will also be given. This will then be called the “Base mpg” to represent all miles PRE-install of the Turbo 3000D. I will then give you mpg figures for all miles AFTER install. I’ll update the mpg figures for you with every “fill up” so that you can compare what I’m getting against that “Base mpg”.

AVERAGED MILEAGE from 915,900 miles on 5/23/07 until installation of Turbo3000D at 135,140 miles on 6/6/09 = 6.097 mpg. This is my “Base MPG”.

See FULL Review for continuing test results

NOTE: I haven’t been to my house (on the beach in Wilmington, NC) since January. I’ll be there until probably 6/29 so there won’t be any updated mileage on this post until I get back out on the road again. Back out on the road in the morning…. so the “test stats” will start “flowing” again really soon.

FOOTNOTE: I’ve neglected to mention what kind of truck I’m running AND what type of power plant. I have a 1999 Freightliner Classic XL with a Detroit 60. Transmission is Super 10. Truck is Yellow (Old Yeller!) with Vietnam Service Medals Graphic above Visor — Just in case you see me coming at you out on the road!

Dennis

Samsung NC20 NETBook

Dennis Dearborne — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:15:15 +0000

SAMSUNG NC20

12.1″ UltraBrite WXGA (1280×800) Display, 1.3+ GHz VIA Nano U2250 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 5400 Rpm SATA 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, 6 Cell Battery,

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP3

Black (NC20-21GBK) – from $549 (or less online)

SAMSUNG NC20 is the new full size Netbook which balances mobility and convenience. It has a 12.1″ WXGA (1280 x 800) wide screen display like normal 12.1″ notebooks and a larger keyboard.

Shop online, surf the web and chat. Weighing only 3.3 lbs. and with 1 GB of DDR2 RAM (single slot, but easily upgradable to 2 GB), the NC20 Netbook gives you the freedom to accomplish more on the go. Enjoy images filled with bold, vibrant colors on a glossy LCD screen. Yet the NC20 Netbook is an affordable solution for all your online needs.

What will really make this system sing (or virtually ANY Netbook) is to replace Windows XP with Windows 7! Netbooks come with XP installed because they don’t have the “UMPH!” for Vista. Windows 7 is leaner and meaner (in many ways), having significantly lower Hardware requirements than the “bloated” Vista version of Windows. I’ve been using Windows 7 for a couple of weeks now and I LOVE IT!!

PROs:

A 97% full size 102key keyboard is larger than many Netbooks. Better than usual Netbook RAM and 800Mhz FSB (Front Side Bus) with 1MB CPU L2 Cache, make it faster then a typical Atom (Intel) setup. Then there’s the great screen with a very nice resolution for its size.

Battery life is better than modest and more than what’s expected with just over 7 hours with everything on max brightness settings.

Built in 1.3 Megapixel Camera and Microphone.

Built in 10/100Mbps LAN and Wireless 802.11b/g (NO “n” folks!).

3 USB 2.0 Ports

VGA Port

1 mic & 1 Headphone mini-jacks

3-in-1 Multi-memory Card Slot (SD, SDHC, MMC)

Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Front & Side air vents for better than most cooling

CONs:

Lacks the latest N wireless that everyone is updating to.

The speakers sound fine but don’t really get loud at all.

NO eSATA or HDMI ports

The Samsung NC20’s pros out-weigh its cons by a long shot and is a very nice choice for a classy yet very functional Netbook.

Building on the market-leading energy efficiency of the VIA C7® processor incorporating 65 nanometer process technology, the VIA Nano processor offers up to four times the performance over previous generations, within the same power range, for the ideal blend of powerful performance and energy efficiency for a longer battery life.

Product Released on: 04/30/2009

Samsung’s NC20 stands out from the crowd in two very important ways. First, it’s one of only a handful of 12-inch Netbooks. Secondly, it’s the first Netbook tested with Via’s Nano CPU, intended as an alternative to Intel’s very popular Atom processor.

The Atom is found in virtually every other Netbook, so it’s always good to see some competition, and the new Nano managed to tie with Intel, and even beating it in some benchmark tests. Keep in mind though that the Nano was powering a larger screen with a higher resolution.

I’m concerned that the NC20’s 12-inch size, which blurs the line between typical Netbooks (and I’m even hesitant to use that term because of its 12-inch display!) and more full-featured ultraportable laptops. The key to Netbook satisfaction is keeping one’s expectations realistic, and with a larger screen and keyboard, the NC20 looks and feels more like a traditional Laptop. Even so, as all Netbooks do, it labors somewhat with multitasking and video streaming.

As most 12-inch Laptops are high-end ultraportables built around expensive ultralow voltage processors, you may be expecting a slim, highly designed system. But instead you get a thicker, heavier system with a plastic chassis that looks and feels like a larger version of the Samsung NC10 (10.2″ Display with a 1.6Ghz Atom processor).

This low-frills chassis has a comfortable keyboard with a slightly shortened space bar. The large touch pad is a big improvement over the ones I’ve seen on smaller 10-inch Netbooks. There are no media-control or quick-launch buttons, which, while I wouldn’t expect them on a Netbook, are common on more traditional 12-inch Laptops.

The 12.1-inch wide-screen LCD display offers a 1,280×800 native resolution, which is the same as you’d typically find only on a 13- or 15-inch Laptop! That lets you view more of a Web page than the 1,024×600 resolution I’ve seen on most 10-inch Netbooks. Even though it’s the right resolution for watching 720p HD video content, the system showed typical Netbook-style stuttering when trying to stream HD content.

More important is the 1.3GHz Via Nano CPU, which is this system’s main selling point. Nano is based on the x86 architecture, meaning it can run the same software as chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices…Nano may deliver better performance than Atom in some cases.”

The Via Nano holds its own against the Intel Atom. Only in multitasking tests–which has never been kind to single-core CPU powered Netbooks–did the Atom perform notably faster than the Nano.

In pratical use there isn’t any real difference between using an Atom-powered Netbook and the Nano-powered NC20, which indicates that this new CPU could easily find acceptance as an alternative to the widely used Intel CPU.

Alternative Systems worth taking a look at:

HP 2133 Mini-Note
Windows Vista Business Edition; 1.6GHz VIA C7-M Ultra Low Voltage; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB VIA/SG3 UniChrome Pro II IGP; 120GB Seagate 7,200rpm

Acer Aspire One AOD150
Windows XP Home SP2; 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 224MB Mobile Intel GMA 950; 160GB Hitachi 5400rpm

Asus Eee PC 1000HE
Windows XP Home SP3; 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel GMA 950; 160GB Seagate 5400rpm

Consider also the Samsung NC120
Windows XP Home SP3; 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 160 GB – Serial ATA-150 – 5400 rpm;10.1 in TFT active matrix 1024 x 600 ( WSVGA ); 2.8 lbs aprox $100 less than the NC20; Part of Samsung’s second generation of Netbooks, the N120 offers a generous keyboard and some unexpected audio power.