Got a new developer laptop, here are my thoughts on it so far

I work from home and by the end of the day I am done sitting in my home office and am ready to spend some time around the family. I also work on some side projects and take some time to learn new things on my own outside of office hours.

I want to pick up more Kotlin programming so I have been playing around with that. Having a laptop I can use in the family area made a lot of sense to me. I looked over a ton of machines, tried some out at Microcenter then did a lot more research.

There were some initial requirements:
15.6 - 17.3" screen
Touchscreen
16GB RAM minimum (OK with manual upgrade)
256GB SSD minimum (OK with manual upgrade if multiple SSD slots)
Decent video card - nVidia preferred
Keyboard must have numeric keypad along with HOME, END, PG UP, PG DN keys
Back lighting on the keyboard
Ports to support multiple monitors

I started with the ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW. Thought it would be great to have 5121GB SSD, no moving parts HDD. Nice and light as well. The problem? No END key, the power key is in that place. Of course you can turn off the num-lock and use that end key but I use the numeric keypad a lot as well. Plus it had a lot of glare to the screen and the reviews point out the color accuracy sucks especially for yellows. I tried one out at Microcenter and eliminated it but was very sad about that. It also has a pseudo 4K screen that does not play nice with all apps. Windows needs to catch up.

Lots of people liked the MSI models. They require you to use the FN key to get to HOME and END so those were out as well. I looked at various Acer and HP models but each had a fatal flaw. I was getting close on some of the HP models. They seemed to have good screens, keyboards and sound systems. But I just could not do it. Once you starting adding touch screen, the memory and SSD the prices started to jump quickly.

Then I found the Asus G725VL on the Microsoft store for $500 off. Hit all the requirements

17.3" touchsreen
24 GB of RAM
256 GB SSD
1T HD
965M nVidia video card
Full keyboard with numpad, separate HOME, END, PG UP, PG DN keys
Fast charge USB port that even works when laptop is off
Multiple ports for extra monitors
CD/DVD drive

Plus it is the Microsoft Signature Edition so no bloatware. They kept that promise. There was nothing for me to uninstall. Came from MS store with free shipping. Odd thing is they shipping in just the Asus box - no extra padding at all. At least we had to sign for it as it was very obvious what was in the box so you would not want it just sitting on your front steps. At least the Asus box is nice and thick and was not damaged at all.

Machine boots in 10 seconds. Runs like a champ, is nice and quiet. Keyboard has good travel and 3 levels of back lighting. Screen is semi-gloss and looks good in everything but direct sunlight. I really like the touchscreen as well. When I do Android work I can pop-up the emulator and treat it like a real device when it comes to scrolling, tapping, long press and swiping. It does not support pinch zoom. The PC does for Windows but does not for the emulator. It is in Google's list to address.

Using the touch screen is nature in Windows as well. We are all pretty used to using a touch device such as a tablet or a phone so you want to do it on your computer screen as well. Tapping a button or scrolling works great.

I have had no issues with wireless internet connectivity. It also has standard port to hook right in to a wired connection as well.

As stated boot times are quick, starting any program off the SSD is very fast. Android compile speeds with the source code, SDK and tools off the SSD are are top notch in speed as well.

What is wrong with it?

1T HDD is only 5,400 RPM. Wish it was 7,200 but since I can fit all the stuff I want to access quickly I can fit onto the 256GB SDD. I put music, videos, images, utilities, etc. out on the HDD.

It is heavy but I don't plan to haul it all over the place. It may go to an offsite meeting from time to time but that is about it. I would not recommend this for a college student to haul about. The power brick is just that - a brick. Needs to be big to power this beast.

The trackpad itself is responsive but the buttons seems to miss clicks at times. Still trying to get used to that. Track pad is nice and big so you don't have to lift and scroll over and over. Responds to multiple finger scrolling and the like as well. It does show finger prints as well but you tend to slide around so they kind of smear on to the pad.

While the back lighting is good the font used on the keys is a bit much on the Star Trek / gaming side. The font could be more readable. I touch type quickly so I generally and not looking at the font but it is still weird.

Sound is just OK, on the muddy side and full volume is way too low. You can tweak some of it with the Asus Sonic Sound Studio control panel. Headphone volume is great. Good thing there are separate settings for that vs. speakers so  you can set speakers at full volume and headphones at 50%. I was able to get headphones to sound respectable. Still need to work on the speaker side of things.

I know new Pascal based machines are coming out. They cost a whole lot more and were very game oriented. I needed something I could game on but was mainly for Android development. This machine hit all the big items on my list. I am very happy with the purchase. There is space under a one screw to remove panel to add another SSD if I need it. I have a feeling the current configuration will last a pretty long time.

At first I was trying to figure out how to right click on the screen. I thought maybe two fingers or quick taps. Turns out you long press then a rectangle will start to grow from where you finger is then a release will show the right mouse click menu. Windows realizes you use a finger so there is more spacing between the menu items as well for easier tap zones. Would not game doing this but it works fine for doing user interface based interactions.

No regrets on this machine. Doing everything I ask of it. I was not expecting perfect and it is not but it hits the majority of the areas I need, just missing some minor things but none of those things were on my must must have so I don't feel I settled.

Compared to the new stuff coming out this is a B for gamers, it is a A for developers.

Bought a Nexus 7 - my thoughts

NewEgg sent a coupon for 10% off tablets. It was time for me get a Nexus 7. I have a 3 year old Xoom that gets a ton of use around the house but I wanted something smaller, faster and with a better screen.

The Xoom was really starting to show its age. It was heavy and slow. Holding it took two hands. Sure, I would balance it with one hand but then a cat rubbing on my elbow or a kid knocking a knee into it and I would get bonked on the head or have it fall in my lap.

I was using the Nexus 7 (old style) my boss loaned me for some code testing at work. From that I knew it was the right size to be held in one hand. I also got to see how the multiple accounts worked. This is something else the Xoom does not have as they are no longer updating Android for it. I could root it and get something on there but I think I will leave it alone for now.

I had a number of goals for the Nexus 7. I want to read more and not just technical books but some biographies, non-fiction and sci-fi. I have read books on my phone and the Xoom. Again the Xoom is a bit big and heavy to hold for long periods of time plus the screen is just not that great. I grabbed some free books from Amazon via the Kindle app. There are a ton more free books than the last time I checked. It used to be the old classics but now they have a decent selection of newer books.

The screen of the Nexus 7 is impressive. I used the default Kindle font and sepia colors. The device holds in one hand as it just a bit bigger than a normal paperback book as far as height / width but obviously no where near as thick. You don't have to worry about losing your place and having the book close if your fingers slip or you drop it. I found reading on this device to be very enjoyable and plan to read a lot more books on it.

For gaming it is a really good size too. My younger son really likes it over the Xoom. Both devices get used nightly for looking up internet items, checking email, weather forecast, reading books and games. Setting them side by side really shows how much nicer the high resolution and brighter colors shine on the Nexus 7.

Being 3 year newer technology it is a lot faster than the Xoom. Bringing up Chrome on the Xoom and waiting before you can type in your search was painful. The internal browser was a bit easier but it did not share my bookmarks. On the Nexus Chrome starts up quickly and lets me get right to business.

Having multiple accounts is a boon and a bane. I like being logged in as me and only seeing my email and having my home screen look the way I want it. When I install an app it installs to my account. We are not sharing a game so my high score is mine. The levels I complete on games are mine. The bane? I have to install the app under each account if each account is admin based. I just want to pick from a list of installed apps and let them appear under certain users. Not a huge deal.

Battery life is good too. It gets used a ton and holds up well. KitKat installed a few days back. I have not noticed anything super spectacular about it. I did like the old color for the battery and time, not a big fan of white, but otherwise it has not caused any issues.

I enabled developer mode of course. Connected right up to my computer and I have been able to install APK files for the code I am developing.

So far I am very happy with the unit. It is the proper size and weight and the screen is really impressive. It is going to work for book reading, gaming and developing. 10% off was the icing on the cake.

Initial thoughts on iRadio - not overly impressed

I have a Mac at work that I use for both iOS and Android development. I installed the latest iTunes to go along with the latest Xcode and it popped up a reminder about iRadio so I figured I would give it a shot. I have used Pandora in the past and have ripped a good number of my personal CD collection to various formats to listen to on my PC / phone / etc.

As an old school hair metal band lover, which greatly explains my tin ear, I chose Kiss as a radio station. It played the first song from them then played the exact same song again and tried to play it again. I finally got it to skip forward to a new song. So far this has been a one time glitch.

I have used iTunes to listen to a shuffled version of ripped collection at work. It appears iRadio has the same issue that iTunes does which is terrible shuffle logic. Same song can appear twice in a row or with only a few songs between it. You may hear a couple of songs off the same album in a row. Ugly.

I use MediaMonkey on my PC at home and don't have this issue with shuffling. It appears to remember what it played and what album it came off of giving me what I consider a proper shuffle. Apple just does not appear to care as this has been an issue with them forever. They went random song selection without other context around it.

So far every song but one I have heard I also have in my music collection. Which is good in one way, I like them, but bad in that I am not getting exposed to anything else. When I used Pandora it found bands I was unaware of - Iced Earth being one of them - and I bought CDs from that band. I find Pandora's discovery system to be superior. This may be catalog related, I don't know what Apple has to choose from and I am well aware new hair metal is hard to come by.

I was happy to see you are allowed to pick explicit lyrics. I really want to hear the original version of the song, not a censored version. So far only one song has played with obvious explicit lyrics from the land of Ted Nugent.

Ads are short and don't appear too often but I have only heard 4 different ones. I have been told about Neil Diamond and the Nissan Versa way too many times already.

iRadio played "She's only 17" from Winger and had no clue what it was. No album art, no song title or artist. It just showed "Kiss Radio". Heck of a way to sell songs. It has done it twice with that song, there were only two songs in between the plays, stupid shuffle logic.

It got stuck trying to stream a song. I had to hit next song and it played an ad then the next song. So far most of the time I skip forward it decides it is time to play an ad before giving me a new song selection.

You can't go backwards. If you really liked a song and wanted to hear it again you are screwed. You can pause, play and skip. Can't even rewind the song you are on. This is a not an optimal user experience to me.

Underwhelmed at this point. Sound quality is good. No skips or stutters while the music is playing. The internet connection I am on is speedy so that is to be expected. Some glitches but none of them are total show stoppers, just annoyances. Apple has some work to do here.

Switching wireless routers

I had a Linksys WRT54G wireless router that I had been running for a number of years. My family started complaining of wireless dropouts on various devices, PC, tablet, phone, Wii, DVD player etc. I changed channels and tweaked other setting but nothing seemed to fix the issue.

Since you are not in the market for a router very often I polled my other technical friends and decided upon the NetGear R6300. This is a big step us as I tend to be pretty frugal and I have always dealt around the $50 range on a router. Microcenter had this baby on sale for $179. It was highly recommended and appears to have enough features to future proof me a bit so I went for it.

It has worked flawlessly. I have some devices that use the 5G side of things. Set up was very easy and it seems to have all the features I need. I have no idea why the old router was annoyed but I am guessing it was fighting with other routers in the area. Nice to have the problem solved. Not a single drop that has been reported to me at least. Printer hooked right up to it as has every device in the house.

Felt like changing clocks to DST. Run around the house and try to remember where every device is that uses the router and configure them. Was interesting to see which ones saw the 5G side and which did not. My main desktop is hardwired in so I did not have to worry about that, my son's machine or the Dish network wireless access point.