Touch me?

I'm indulging in a new coffee/wi-fi experience today. Since being appraised of the free wi-fi available at Harrogate's Cafe Latino, I thought I'd give it a go. Rather than leeching McDonald's wi-fi through the walls of Costa (with it's understandably low signal strength and bandwidth) I'm currently enjoying a very nice Americano (5p cheaper than Costa) and partaking of the excellent wireless service. I've not been in here before, but I'll definitely be back. The ambience is great, and it's bang in the middle of town. Good discovery!

However, the only thing that I can think of that would make this experience better is if I was typing this on a Apple netbook, rather than this Asus Eee. Don't get me wrong, it's a great machine, and presently it's the best of the bunch at what it does. However I love my Apple kit, and OSX is so much better than Windows. The hardware's better designed and ergonomics and functionality are second to none. I know that Apple already make beautiful laptops (the new Macbook is awesome) but I don't want a full blown laptop, I want something little like this Eee. There's no question that Apple could make one, but will they? Who knows.

My other option - as I'm increasingly discovering - is to give in to the charms of the iPod Touch. I'm sat here listening to my much-loved 4G iPod, and surfing the web on a separate computer. I could be doing both on just one device. I'd also have my calendar and address book to hand aswell, rather than my paper ones.

I'd never replace my Moleskine though. That'd be silly.

Bye Bye Wi Fi - Hello Devolo!

So I've been struggling with exceptionally patchy wi-fi at home for the last couple of weeks. I've had new flooring installed across the whole of the ground floor of the house, and the underlay for this flooring is clad with foil for insulation. Now having about thirty square metres of this stuff is great for warmth and sound-proofing, but absolutely rubbish for a good wi-fi signal. The wireless router is in the lounge on the ground floor and my iMac is downstairs in the cellar, and since the installation of the floor I've got absolutely no signal at all. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I puzzled for a while about how I was going to rectify the situation. Could I move the router? No, because all my wired components are in the lounge. Should I try to get a long CAT5 cable down to the cellar? No, because I've just spent a fortune on new plastering and flooring, and the thought of hacking holes to get cable through was not at all appealing. And then the solution presented itself - Powerline networking.

It's a bit of an expense (£55) but seemed to be the answer, so I ordered a starter kit - two plugs with RJ45 sockets on them. Plug an output from the router into one, and the computer into the other and switch on. And - amazingly for computer components - they worked immediately. No configuration, no nothing. And, pleasingly, the performance is much faster than wi-fi and a good deal more reliable. I can't understand why more people don't use it instead of fighting with wi-fi. I'm certainly converted.

Freebie

So I'm sat here in my local Costa coffee, enjoying a delicious hot beverage and partaking of their free wi-fi. Only it's not their free wi-fi, it belongs to McDonalds which is next door. I could of course use Costa's wi-fi, but it would cost me £4 an hour. Why would I do this when on startup my EeePC quite brazenly tells me that there's free wi-fi to be had here instead?

Admittedly, it keeps me coming back to Costa so it's not a bad deal for them. However, McDonalds aren't seeing the benefit of giving me its bandwidth for free. The way I see it though, I've eaten enough burgers in my time for them to give me something in return.

EDC

Carrying on from my last post, which was about the "What's In My Bag" Flickr group, I've found a site which has taken this concept and built an entire site around it.

Head over to EDCForums (EDC = Every Day Carry) and see just how geeky things can get.

As a result I've started to put together a little selection of "essentials" that are going to go into the Manbag in case of emergencies. I've grabbed a selection of cables (CAT5, USB, iPod connector) and stuffed them into a Ziploc bag, and I've just looked out my TurboFlame lighter and refilled it. I've already got a Leatherman Squirt, a small torch and a mini Sharpie in the Manbag, so I think I should be prepared for most geeky eventualities. Seems as though a length of Paracord and some duct tape are de rigeur too, so I shall need to find myself some of that.

I'll keep you updated.

Strangely addictive

I can't quite explain it, but I find this Flickr group absolutely fascinating - the more photos you look at, the more sucked in you get. It's odd how you can get a picture of someone's life just by looking at what they have in their bag. I really must do a photo of my own.

Eee PC 901

I've just taken delivery of a new toy - an Asus Eee PC 901. This is the latest addition to the ground-breaking Eee PC range, and it's a great little machine. Packing an Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor, 1GB RAM, 12GB SSD, 9" screen, 802.11n wi-fi, Bluetooth and Windows XP, it's a dream to use. It has a really tiny form factor, so you can just stuff it into your bag and go. It's a marked improvement over the first Eee PCs in every way. More speed, better battery life, more storage, bigger screen, better OS. It's my new favourite toy.

You can see why lots of other computer manufacturers are jumping on the netbook bandwagon. But as always, I did my research and this is by far the best machine out of the current crop. There are more and more machines of this type coming out every week, but I can't help feeling that they're becoming too much like "proper" laptops in terms of size, features and price, and that just isn't the point. These things are supposed to be tiny, portable internet devices, not all-singing all-dancing desktop replacements.

Azor - Worth the wait?

I've been anticipating the arrival of the King Of Shaves razor for what seems like years now. I've been religiously checking the website, I signed up for email updates and every time I go to the supermarket I check the men's toiletries to see if it has sneaked in under the radar. So you can imagine how pleased I was when it was finally launched - called the "Azor" - with all the promised contemporary styling, minimalist packaging and low price. Excellent, just what I wanted. I rushed out and bought one - £4.99 for the razor and three blades.

But is it any good?

I'm pleased to report (thankfully) that it's excellent. It certainly seems to live up to its own hype. The blades, as advertised, stay sharp for much longer than my Gilette Mach 3, and the handle is very ergonomic. Replacement blades work out at about £1.19 each as opposed to Gillette Fusion blades that come in at over two quid! Combined with King of Shaves Kinexium shave oil and King of Shaves Ultragel, it's a very pleasant shave. Highly recommended - and certainly a pleasant feeling knowing that youre backing the underdog, not the massive global corporation.

Nice one Will King - I like your style.