Do not cross.
At Toa Payoh for lunch in a small eatery. Graffiti on the wall is nice.
- It's a little smaller than the 680, but as a package when you have it in hands, it really feels small and light. I feel so much more like I'm usually a normal cellphone than a "smartphone", and that's good.
- White... it's not iPod white. There's a metallic texture in the finish. Don't know if it'll be a dirt magnet, but it should be easy to clean off. Just hope that the plastic doesn't turn yellow.
- Keys are rubbery instead of plastic like the 680. Somehow, the choice of materials work because since the keys are tiny, the rubbery material helps to facilitate typing.
- Performance-wise, it does seem snappier than the Treo. Strange considering that the specs for both models are identical. Could be more efficient software or that I did a clean install.
- Versamail works with Gmail IMAP, so that's cool.
- Inserting and removing the microSD card is a bit of a pain. I gotta find an easy way of transferring file to and from the card. Thankfully the Missing Sync works.
- The manual says not to put a screen protector as it already has one in-built. Interesting.
I just read from a Slashdot post that Gary Gygax, the creator of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game has passed away. This news filled me with sadness and a great sense of nostalgia. The influence of D&D is without a doubt far-reaching. Computer games won't be what it is today without the influence of the tabletop game. Come to think of it, would games like Baldur's Gate, Oblivion, and many other gaming classics be without D&D?
I played D&D during my secondary school days. In those days, I had little money to buy the player's handbooks. I borrowed them from my friends, photocopied them, and saved up so that I could buy a set of crystal blue dice. Those were the times when some alarmist folks would view D&D as a "satanic" game. Me? I just thought it was really fun to play a tough fighter or a powerful magic-user.
My fondest memory of a D&D gaming session was one where after battling some enemy (which I can't remember), there was a magical sword set in stone calling out to me. The greedy loot-grabber that I played as, my fighter reached out to grab the sword. Alas, it was a cursed sword and it was stuck to my hands! I then made a decision to actually chopped off my hands so that I won't be penalised with all the "minus" modifiers that came with this cursed sword. Ah, good times!
I would say that D&D contributed to my love of games, sci-fi and fantasy... mainly geeky stuff. It also got me interested in technology because computers started to have RPGs.
Goodbye Mr. Gygax! Thanks for all the dice-rolling memories.
I found a hands-on video on YouTube and you can take a look at the little machine that could and drool.
For me, the main thing about this would be the cost. The 4G Eee PC is an attractive option because of it's low cost. If the increased specs of the Eee 900 pushes up the price to near that of a cheap laptop, then perhaps I'll have to think twice.
In any case, I'm happy with my Eee for now, and probably will be using it for some time before going for an upgrade.
