Softan - The Tech Blog

I Have Returned

Sorry I've been away, just very busy since last september.

The Dell never did survive. after buying many parts (and having to return them), having problems with the battery, having problems with the screws and hard drive. I decided that the Vostro was not worth repairing. It would only break on me, again.

In august last year, I purchaced a HP G62. Although it broke during transit in a padded case without being knoked or dropped. The prevuous laptop had problem with wifi reception but the new HP it actually better with wifi than the Dell. :)

So far, the G62 has survived! It's been running as good as new for over 5 month now. It has a few minor problems and design faults but i've got used to them. For example: The quick launch keys cause confusion after using another laptop, the keyboard it not pefrectly level on the left. and the annoying rubber grip residue left on the body every time the lid is close. It has a few plug scratches on the lid but I still have a warrenty and the cost to replace it is currently very high.

I haven't posted a link to a specific review because most blogs have different views on the laptop.

Thats all for now. I'll post soon. I need to make a new title picture, all the tech is outdated.

Trainz 2009 Screenshots (Not mine)

The Hackintosh Lives No More!

The LCD in my Dell Vostro 1510 Hackintosh is faulty. The backlight no longer turns on and the display flickers on and off. I dont know what the problem is but i'll try to get it fixed before christmas. It might cost up to £100! Meanwhile, I have no laptop and posting is harder. I dont think I can get the laptop of my dreams this christmas so I might be stuck with my dell.I'll post later on...

Dell Vostro 1510 Hackintosh

I've had a hackintosh for half a year now and i've never thought of posting an article on it.

Most of it's features work and it has served as a normal laptop. I will not comment on my method of installation.

Macintosh Update - The New iMac

The New iMac

"Now with the ultimate display"

The iMac now comes with huge led backlight displays ranging from 21" all the way to 27"!

It also comes with more memory, storage, better graphics, and is even available with a quad-core processor! It now comes standard with the Apple Wireless Keyboard and the new Magic Mouse.

The Apple Magic Mouse

This is the worlds first multi touch mouse, Apple took the multi-touch technology build into their trackpads and used it in their new mouse. This mouse doesn't have any buttons, or scroll wheels. Instead, it uses multi-touch technology to let you control you computer with simple gestures.

All this for only £949 sounds almost too good to be true. For more information (or to start dribbling...) visit the Apple website.

POST UNDER DEVELOPMENT

Im Back with... Trainz Simulator 2009 - World Builder Edition

I haven't posted for a month, mainly because of school work and other things. But now I'm back with another great review!

Trainz has always been my favorite game, its amazing and I prefer it to other big simulations such as MSTS and Rail Simulator. But now there's a new version, Trainz 2009! I immediately Brought the World Builder Edition for only £24.99 and downloaded it to my laptop (Now a Hackintosh!). Its great! Lets see what Auran have to say about their game...

Quote from the Auran website:

"Trainz Simulator 2009: World Builder Edition delivers a whole new level of realism. With new graphics capabilities, higher detailed terrain and dozens of great new features. TS2009 is the "must-have" version for all Trainz lovers.

TS2009 delivers all your favourite content from past releases plus new content such as the Union Pacific SD40-2 and the high resolution TS2009 track. More content will be released for download over time. It encompasses all features from the Trainz Classics series and solves many of the issues found in previous versions.

In addition to the traditional Driver, Surveyor and Railyard modules, TS2009 also includes new community based options such as the Trainz Online Gallery where users can upload and share their screenshots with others. Also included is Content Manager V2.0 which will help you search, edit and organize all your Trainz content."

I will post a video of the game later on!

Weekly Gadget Review - Samsung YP-Z5

The Samsung YP-Z5 is one in a new selection of flash based MP3's, with memory from 1 to 4GB it is a truly practical MP3.
It has a simular price to the Ipod Nano.

Only once have I used a Samsung MP3 before when my brother owned a flash stick looking one, the controller was on the headphones and had brilliant sound quality. That brings me on to my next point, the sound quality from this Mp3 and its pro headphones is almost comparable with the Ipod's.

This MP3 also looks similar to one of the sides if the Samsung SGH-F300 mobile phone, and like most typical screen MP3's. The player can also display pictures which is cool and even displays a slideshow when your listening to music. It can also be very handy when your listening in bed with it's built in sleep timer, so you don't fall asleep and drain the battery.

Specifications

Colors: Black or Silver
Capacity: 2GB or 4GB
Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM, OGG
Size: 1.66” x .45” x 3.54”
Weight: 1.98 oz
Transfer Protocol: MTP
OS Support: Windows XP
Photo Formats: JPEG
Screen: 1.8 TFT LCD
Rated Battery Life: 35hr Battery
Other Features: Music Subscription, Clock / Sleep Timer

Goodsides

sleek design
smart size
brilliant sound quality
tough casing

Downsides

gets scratched easily
doesn't have features it could

My Conclusion

This is a great MP3 that only has a few letdowns, but the one that troubles me the most is the amount of features it has. It only has a music player and pictures, what happened to the FM radio, E book, Videos,Voice Recorder and games. That straight away makes this MP3 a no go area for a modern technology circled person like me, it makes it normal. I don't like plain normal but for an average person just looking for a decent object that can play music, this is a good MP3 for you. So I personally wouldn't buy this because of that reason, but maybe you would.

For information on purchasing, visit the Samsung website

I'll post a photo of the mobile I mentioned.

Written by John