One reason I got the Pre was the Classic app which runs PalmOS apps in an emulator. I can use my old apps until webOS equivalents are released. I can even browse the old PIM state from my Treo. Unfortunately, the app catalog is quite limited since the webOS SDK has not been released. It sounds like there is enough interest that once it is released that plenty of developers will release apps.

There are a few hardware annoyances. The microUSB port on the side is covered by an annoying, useless, fragile door. The top already rotates slightly side-to-side. The button on the front really should be a trackball.

After two weeks of using it, I really like it. It does require picking up clutter and staging the room. It will eat cables or small items if they aren’t removed. There are a couple of spots like under the futon where it gets stuck. It gets confused by my complicated living room so I divide it half and do each part separately. I have been doing a schedule of one room per day. It doesn’t get everywhere and everything each time but it does a good job of keeping things clean.

The eventual plan is to for all of the programmers to get two 20″ monitors. Until then, some people have been taking the leftover smaller monitors and setting up dual-head displays. I don’t know if two smaller monitors or one big one is better. I think the dual monitors give more space but it is less usable.

The copier function came in handy today. I also used it to print addresses on envelopes. And write the first paper letter in a long time.  I am planning on printing labels for Christmas cards and maybe some photos for including in them.

I also got some wireless network gear to replace all my old equipment. I got a Linksys WRTP45G which is a wireless broadband router and Vonage phone adapter in one. I also got a Linksys WRT54GL to flash with Linux and turn into a wireless bridge. Fry’s isn’t selling wireless bridges any more and the modified router is cheaper in any case. I don’t understand why the wireless bridging isn’t more available. I finally got rid of the phoneline network I was using.

Unfortunately, the really light ultraportable tend to be underpowered, expensive, or both. I really like the Samsung Q35 with Core Duo, but it is expensive (and not available in the US). The Gateway NX100X and Dell Latitude D420 both look nice and are not too expensive but are only Core Solo. The ThinkPad X60 is supposed to be great but is expensive.

I like the Apple MacBook. The keyboard is usable, the screen is good. The extras, like the camera, are nice. And it looks nice; the black one is really nice but the premium is too much. The low cost is also nice. The only problem could be the weight. It weighs 5 lbs, which is at least a half-pound heavier than the competitors. I am not sure if lugging that around will be a problem. I will likely install Linux, either dual-booting or using virtualization.

There are a few contenders at four pounds. The Lenovo 3000 V100 is heavier and cheaper than its ThinkPad cousin. Unfortunately, it only comes in two configurations either cheap and more limited, or expensive and more powerful than I wanted. The Dell XPS M1210 also sounds like a good compromise between power and cost. Dell and Lenovo also have 14″ models, the Latitiude D620 and ThinkPad T60 and Z60t.

It looks like it is all batter, with one that is supposed to last all day. It also seems to be more sensitive than my old Garmin GPS-12XL, and got a signal inside a building, in my pocket, in my bag, and under trees while raining, all places where the old receiver had problems. I had tried connecting my old receiver to my old Clie PDA through a serial cable but that wasn’t practical.

My Treo can connect to it by Bluetooth and programs can get their position. I have been using Mapopolis for mapping, and Cetus GPS for general GPS routes and tracks. The routing and driving directions with Mapopolis seems to work well and it has the ability to reroute from the current GPS position.

I ended up getting a 1 GB xD card. When I got home, I put it in the camera and discovered that my camera won’t recognize the card. Some googling found that my camera, an Olympus C-755, can’t handle the new 1 GB xD cards. How they could produce cameras for a relatively new format that couldn’t handle that size I don’t know.

Luckily, I was able to return it and get a 512 MB card. 512 MB seems to be the largest card that my camera will ever handle. And since xD is a proprietary format only used by Olympus and Fuji, it is likely that my next camera will use a different format. Also, the xD cards are twice as expensive as other formats. For the cost of the 1 GB xD card, I could have gotten a 2 GB SD card. The xD cards are also noticably slower than the SD card I use in my Treo.

I had run into a similar problem with my old Sony Clie SJ-30 and its Memory Stick. The early Memory Sticks were limited to 128 MB and that is the biggest size the Clie I gave to my brother will take.