SLee and Topher

Two Guys on Gaming, Tech, and the World

Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Announced

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On Wednesday, 9/28/11, Amazon announced their new Kindle device, an Android-powered tablet named the Kindle Fire.

Despite earlier speculation of a higher price tag, Amazon is charging only $199 for the device, compared to Apple’s iPad which starts at $499.

Amazon Kindle FireSimilar to other tablets on the market, the Amazon Kindle Fire offers:

  • A color touchscreen
  • Apps and games
  • An email client
  • Web access

Amazon will use its powerful cloud technology to power the proprietary “Silk” web browser and offer free cloud storage for all Amazon content.

The Kindle Fire will allow users to quickly access Amazon’s shop of over 100,000 movies and shows, 17+ million MP3’s, and the millions of books in the Kindle Store.

In addition to the price, the Amazon Kindle Fire is also smaller and lighter than the iPad. It has a 7″ display, compared to the iPad’s 9 inches, and it weighs only 0.91 pounds while the iPad comes in at a heavier 1.33 pounds.

While Amazon is promoting these smaller specs as a feature–making the Kindle Fire easier to hold and carry–the Fire lacks some features that have made the iPad so popular, specifically a camera, microphone, and cellular data connection.

Though early analysts are saying that this isn’t quite the “iPad killer” that they expected from Amazon, it will be a huge competitor to the Barnes & Noble Nook.

For more information on the Kindle Fire and the option to pre-order, click here for all the details and specs through my referral link. First-comers will have their Fire shipped on November 15.

In addition to the Kindle Fire, Amazon also announced a new Kindle for $79 and a Kindle Touch for $99.

The All-New Kindle Family

Linux OS for Mac: Does a Penguin Conquer a Lion?

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Linux OS for Mac

A Ferocious Lion or a Friendly Penguin: Which Would You Choose?

With the release of Mac OS X Lion, the world of Mac owners have yet another chance to throw their hard-earned cash into the virtual hands of Steve Jobs through the ever-so-convenient Appstore. But that’s not the only option. Instead of coughing up $30 bucks, it might be worth your while to consider a Linux OS for Mac.

Why Blaspheme the Deity of Steve Jobs with something as lowly as Linux?

Though it may seem odd, as it certainly does for many hardcore Mac fans, a Linux OS for Mac can be quite a compelling concept. Here are three thoughts to ponder.

A Linux OS for Mac is Free; OS X is Not

With the flashy (albeit well-done) marketing and all the media coverage Mac OS X Lion is getting, it might seem like a no-brainer to opt for the upgrade. And though the cost of entry is low (approximately $30 USD), it’s infinitely more expensive than many flavors of a Linux OS, which will cost you a whopping nothing.

Gain full Mastery over your Computer with a Linux OS for Mac

Despite the fact that Linux and Mac are both based on Unix, they are worlds apart when it comes to modification. Sure you can move some things around or make some minor modifications with Mac OS, but anything deeper than that is pretty much locked down.

Not so with a Linux OS for Mac. Depending on your experience and dedication, you can make Linux do practically anything you want it to, and with its wide fan base, you can almost always find forums or guides to help you. The diversity and enthusiasm of the Linux community is a great benefit over what is offered by Apple, who seems to leave most of its documentation up to third parties like the Missing Manual folks.

Mac is Intuitive?

Apple fans can be quick to boast about how easy it is to use the Mac OS. It might be easy for those familiar with its quirks (no right-click, programs not closing when you close their window, etc.), but for someone completely new to the OS (my wife for instance), these idiosyncrasies can be a turnoff.

Linux, on the other hand, has many flavors (e.g. Lycoris or Ubuntu Desktop) that feel more like Windows than Mac, and are easier for a Windows user to adapt to. So, when my wife, for example, wants to use my computer, it’s more natural for her to fire up and navigate a Linux OS for Mac than it is to use the native Mac OS. If you plan on letting others use your computer, a Linux environment could very well be a better choice.

The Bottom Line

Apple makes great software, but it’s not the only option. You can do a lot of things with Mac OS X, and Apple is cooking up more features all the time; however, a Linux OS for Mac could very well help you take full advantage of your Apple hardware, for free, and allow non-Apple-savvy friends to get some benefit from your machine as well. Disagree? Leave a comment and tell me why it’s wrong to use a Linux OS for Mac.

Password Protect Mac OS X: Screen Saver and After Sleep

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You can easily password protect the Mac OS X screen saver and upon waking from sleep in just a few simple steps. After selling my old MacBook Pro on Amazon, I bought a refurbished one from the Apple Store. It took me a while to remember how to activate this particular password protect security feature on my MacBook Pro, so to help anyone else wanting to increase their Mac security, here is this post.

To password protect your Mac’s screen saver and after sleep, your first step is to open System Preferences. By default, there is an icon on the dock, but if it is not there, you can open it from the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen or from the Applications folder.

System Preferences Security Mac OS XOn the first row in the top-right corner of the System Preferences window, click on the Security icon. This will open your security preferences, where you can change all kinds of important changes.

The security preferences menu should open on the General tab by default. To password protect Mac OS X during the screen saver or after waking from sleep, simply put a check in the first box and select how quickly you want the password protection to go into effect with the drop down menu on the same line.
Mac OS X Security Preferences

That’s it. Congratulations on beefing up your computer security. Thank you for reading this post on how to password protect Mac OS X.

Slow Printing HP PSC 2175

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HP PSC 2175As this little story about my HP PSC 2175 shows, computer peripherals can be either a great convenience or a great annoyance. When they work like they are supposed to, they provide great benefits and functionality. However, when they don’t work, the frustration can be so intense you might be tempted to through your peripherals, your computer, or any other object you can get your hands on out the window.

The Set Up: HP PSC 2175 and Amazon

I use an HP PSC 2175 all-in-one printer, scanner, and copier with my home Ubuntu Server / Desktop, and for the most part, it works fine. With some configuration, it’s useful not only for printing directly from the Ubuntu computer, but also with other computers on my home network. With some even more configuration, I can print things off my home printer while away from home using my HTC EVO and the virtual private network (VPN) I have set up on my home router.

Recently, I’ve been selling some books on Amazon, a nice way to get some extra cash from some books I haven’t read in a long time and don’t plan on reading again or ones that I have somehow acquired over the years and don’t plan on reading. For each order, Amazon graciously generates a packing slip to be sent with the sold items that can (usually) very easily be printed and included in the shipment.

The Event: Suddenly Slow Printing and Packing Slips

Over the weekend, some books I had listed were purchased, and pursuant with the Amazon Sellers’ policy of shipping within two business days of order, I was preparing shipment by printing off some packing slips. The first slip printed off my HP PSC 2175 without a hitch. When I attempted to print the second one, the first fourth of the page printed at normal speed, and then everything went wrong. At first I thought the printer had died, but it started again, stopped again, started again, ad nauseam.  There was approximately a 30-second pause between each line that the printer printed. At this speed, a page that should take about 10 seconds to print was suddenly taking over ten minutes.

The Resolution: Printer Drivers and a New Ink Cartridge

As with most problems I run into, I quickly Googled my issue. Some initial results indicated that there was possible a driver issue. As Ubuntu-users know well, drivers for peripherals can sometimes be hard to come by, but thankfully there is a website specifically geared towards HP printer drivers for Linux. I found that the drivers, known as HPLIP, are usually included with major Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu), so instead of downloading anything manually, I just ran the Ubuntu Upload Manager from the GUI.

While running my updates, I also noticed that there was a message on the screen of the printer to check the cartridge. In a forehead-slapping moment of feeling like a doofus, I remembered that my black ink cartridge had been running low for a while. I pulled out a replacement and swapped out the cartridges while my computer finished its updates.

After restarting the computer, not only did the printer return to its normal, blissful printing speed, but also the GUI on the computer in general was running a lot smoother, no doubt because of whatever else was included in the updates I had installed. This was actually something that had been bothering me ever since upgrading from Maverick Meerkat to Natty Narwhal, so I was quite pleased with the improvement.

In Brief

If you are having trouble with your printer, there are a few easy steps you can take to get resolution. Check for any error messages on the printer itself. Check for driver updates (especially if you are on Linux). Search the internet for reports of similar problems from others. This should get your HP PSC 2175, or any other printer, back up and running in no time.

What’s the worst time you had with a computer peripheral? Share your stories in the comments below.

Additional Language Support: Mac OS X

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日本語I studied Japanese for two and a half years while I was in college and lived in Japan for one of those years as an exchange student. Many of my Japanese friends know English, but sometimes I want to communicate with them in their mother tongue. Thankfully, with my MacBook Pro, adding additional input languages is a pretty simple task. Here’s how to do it:

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Using Amazon’s Kindle App with Ubuntu

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The Amazon Kindle is a good product in its own right, but its functionality is exponentially increased with Amazon Kindle Apps. I have the app installed on my MacBook Pro and on my EVO. My desk isn’t well suited for holding my laptop and my desktop, so I had been trying to use my EVO to read programming books while coding on my desktop. This was pretty frustrating though because despite its 4.3-inch screen the display was still a little bit too small for a setup like this to work. I looked and found this article over at LifeHacker.com about how to get the app to run in Linux. I followed the instructions but am still trying to make it work. I hope you have better luck.