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Retro Gone Too Far? The New Commodore 64
New Facebook Messages System Actually Gets It Right
Have A Gift Card You Won’t Use? Trade It In For Cash
How To Use A Chromium Trunk Build

Retro Gone Too Far? The New Commodore 64

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:30 AM PST

I am a fan of retro computing, and think it’s great when computer hobbyists and hackers do wonderful things with older hardware. When you see a hand-built Z80 processor-powered laptop (yes, that Z80), you totally want that.

I’ve seen some interesting Commodore 64 hacks over the years. There’s the one where an entire computer was built into a 1541 floppy drive, the old-but-done-right 933MHz C64, and some absolutely bitchin’ cool C64 laptops like this one and this one.

Now we have The New Commodore 64:

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Yes, this is a true-blue real "official" Commodore computer and not another home brew hack.

Now I will give credit where it’s due as this is a very well-done new-retro build and is a quality machine. Special attention was given to every part of this box, right down to the keyboard keys. As said on the web site:

The new Commodore 64 features genuine Cherry brand key switches, which provide a feel much better than the original, with a lovely IBM classic mechanism and click sound. The keys are the exact same shape as the original and are color matched. No expense has been spared.

There is however one thing you have to take to heart here: This is an all-in-one PC. It may have the look and feel of the old Commodore 64, but the inside is totally different. And while it’s true the box comes with some decent hardware (Dual-Core 525 Atom CPU with 2GB DDR3 RAM expandable to 4GB), you more or less have to treat this like a laptop, meaning upgradeability is sharply limited.

What’s the operating system? You have two.

You can either boot into Workbench 5 or directly into a C64 emulator for total-retro goodness.

When will it be made available for sale? The site doesn’t say. How much will it be? The site doesn’t say that either. Those pieces of information will be coming soon to the CommodoreUSA.net web site.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Retro Gone Too Far? The New Commodore 64

New Facebook Messages System Actually Gets It Right

Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:00 AM PST

Some of you probably remember all the hub-bub when Facebook had a presentation announcing their new messaging system earlier this year. Many called it a "Gmail killer", but Facebook was very quick to reply with "This is not a replacement for email." At the end of the presentation, it was said the new system would go live ‘soon’ and be gradually rolled out.

Yesterday, I logged into my Facebook account and lo and behold, I get a notice that I should upgrade to the new messaging system. Knowing exactly what this was I obviously clicked ‘yes’.

The new Messages system will mark the first time I’ve ever said something positive about the Facebook site, because it actually does make things easier instead of driving you up a wall.

Previously, the way FB messages worked is that everything was in one huge long list using that forever-scrolling nonsense. Messages are now categorized into two categories, ‘Friends’ (the main view) and ‘Other’. Anything that you have replied to will appear in the Messages list instead of being lumped into that one ginormous forever-scroll thing. This actually works and is genuinely convenient. If you use FB at all, yes you will like this.

I have only two complaints about new Facebook messaging.

The first is something which I honestly don’t know is a system glitch or not. I was assigned an @facebook.com email address (the name you receive follows your username), so of course I sent an email to it from an outside address to see if it would show up in my FB account. It didn’t and bounced. I don’t know if this is because I just activated it, or if the email address can only be used by those that are registered FB users.

The second is something Gmail and Thunderbird (what I use) users have been enjoying for years, tags/labels. FB messaging doesn’t have the ability to do this, although I wish it did. It would be nice if messages followed ‘friend lists’ or ‘groups’, which would be a close equivalent.

Even with my complaints, FB messaging now is far more manageable. The system is as such where you’ll say to yourself, "Finally.. something that isn’t a complete mess in this system."

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

New Facebook Messages System Actually Gets It Right

Have A Gift Card You Won’t Use? Trade It In For Cash

Posted: 30 Dec 2010 02:00 PM PST

Outside of cash, perhaps the most generic gift you can give is a gift card. While I am sure anyone presented with the choice of cash or a gift card to "X" would choose the cash, it is somewhat taboo to give this as a gift so ultimately a gift card is the result. If you would like to convert a gift card to cash then take a look at this article which points out a few avenues to do this.

Of course, you will never be able to fully recover the value of the gift card in the form of cash, if you are not going to use any or all of the value, 90% of the face value isn’t a bad alternative.

On the flip side, however, if you know you are going to purchase something from a particular retailer you can buy one of these traded in gift cards for lower than their face value (i.e. a $100 Target card for $95). If you are especially frugal or looking for an easy way to save some money you on something you know you are going to buy, take advantage.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Have A Gift Card You Won’t Use? Trade It In For Cash