Peter's Place

Acer Chromebook Plus C515 I've always said Chromebooks are great for most people, but not for me. I need a machine that can handle serious multi-tasking. Well, enter the Acer Chromebook Plus C515 , stage right. This machine finally handles the workload I require. Unlike Windows, ChromeOS doesn't require huge resources, so the 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD are more than sufficient. I routinely run 25+ tabs and 10 or so apps at once, and this lean, mean multi-tasking machine just keeps up, thanks to the Intel Core i3 "oomph." It even has a quiet fan, so it never gets too hot under a heavy processing load. The "Plus" features are what seal the deal for me. The AI-enhanced 1080p webcam controls are built right into the dock and make me look fabulous. But the real value? It includes a free year of Google's Gemini Advanced program. That's over a $250 value (with tax), which means if you get this on sale, the device practically pays for itself! The hardware is ...

OK, so I'm the horrified new owner of a Blackberry Curve 8350i PDA , that I got for the new car service (taxi & airport runs) business that I'm going to be operating/owning out of Yonkers (but that's another story). Yes yes yes, I know that I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't allow my computer/technology/Internet addiction grow to the crackberry but, alas, the Universe directed me in this regard and I was left with little other choice, given the circumstances and needs of the business and what I needed from a phone. There are a lot of great reviews, like this one from Engadget . The service we have is through Sprint Nextel. After using the device for a few days, though, I have a few complaints and, quite honestly, I don't understand why more people don't complain about these things. I would imagine that my complaints are valid regardless of which particular crackberry model you're using. So here are my complaints about the Blackberry (crack...

OK, I've been trying to do this for the past few weeks but things just haven't been in my favour. I'm hoping that today, they are. Actually, I started this tag a number of weeks ago in my #followfriday and #samesexsunday recommendation posts but I just never had the chance to explain it until now. As most of you know, I use Twitter, that wonderful micro-blogging service that where you send status updates in 140 characters (or less) in response to a very basic question: What are you doing? One of the greatest things about Twitter, and what I find most valuable about it, is the ability to connect with people around the world who you may otherwise never come into contact with. I hold daily conversations with folks from the Netherlands, Australia, Europe, Asia, and the Americas (North and South) that I've met -- solely through Twitter. I've formed great friendships, and met some truly wonderful folk. The way to interact with people on Twitter is by following them, or ...

Today is #followfriday on Twitter . In a nutshell, this is the day when Twitter users recommend others to follow. As @Mashable puts it , "The idea is to think of interesting people you already follow and recommend them to others. " My list has grown a bit, so instead of tweeting it, I'm going to tweet this post, and then link to the people I recommend on here. I can also add comments about users here, as well, as that pesky 140-character limit won't get in the way. All of the following Twitter users are people I recommend because they're personable, knowledgeable, helpful, insightful, and good folk. Send them an @ (a directed message on Twitter) and you'll most likely get a response. Additionally, I've also tagged certain people with other twitter hashtags, to denote whether they're, say, a #women2follow , a #mondaymensch , or a #samesexsunday individual. You may also see some people tagged as #techtuesday -- this is I have started and explain in t...

One of the last books that I read during my most recent hospitalization at Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher . I read a paperback version of the novel, which was 505 pages. I began reading Friday evening, but only got through about 15 pages or so. On Saturday afternoon , I began reading in earnest as I was drawn into the story, and then I didn't put the book down until I had finished with it on Sunday evening, a sign to me that my depression was improving as the pace with which I read was more reminiscent of my childhood days, when I wouldn't put a book down until I was finished with it, especially if the story held my interest, which, for some reason, Winter Solstice definitely did. If you're interested in reading the book (which I highly recommend), you can find reviews about it all over the net . There are three pages that I had photocopied, as those passages spoke to me in that certain way that other books have been doing -- therapeutically. Once you get past...