Life Lesson #1

The more you experience, the more you know what you like to do. Go out and experience life. Things won't always turn out the way you may have "expected", but the act of putting yourself out there, and being open to experiencing and living, is what is the key. Its all about the process of living, not just "outcomes".

Dell Home Service Warranty

Background info: My first laptop was a Dell Latitude 1420 which i bought from the Dell outlet. Since it was refurbished, it came with a Dell in-home warranty for 3 years (if i remember correctly).

The problem: Sometimes, when i would close my laptop to put it to sleep / hibernate, the screen would get messed up. When i openned it back up, the whole screen was white and I could not see anything.

The Solution: Luckily, I found I had this problem early on so I went online and talked to a Dell represenative to see what they could do for me. A couple of days later, a nice fellow came knocking at my door. I explained to him what was going on. He took apart my laptop, cleaned / air can sprayed all the dust away and replaced my screen for me, free of charge. Since that day, I never had a problem with my screen again, nor anything else.

Conclusion: I took a risk by buying a refurbished laptop, but I was glad that Dell gave me the piece of mind by backing up their product with free in home service. I thought I was going to have to ship it somewhere, or that the screen wouldn't be covered. Luckily, that was not the case. I am a repeat customer and believe in the Dell brand and build quality and will continue to shop with them for my computer / latop needs. Thank you Dell.

How To Get Rid of Acne #1

How do I prevent from getting break outs?

How can I get rid of my acne / pimples?

What can I do to treat my skin?

Here are a few tips / rules I follow to try and control blemishes:

• - Control your stress level. Anykind of stress makes your skin break out....
• - Stressed from work, school, etc? Take a breather, try and relax more.
• - If you have to use the bathroom, GO. Don't hold it.
  
• - Stressed about your bad skin? try not to be... it will only make it worse.
  
• - Avoid any situations / activities which increase your stress level.
  
• - Dont drink milk (I dont know if this really works)
• - Exfoliate. Do not let dry/dead skin sit on your face.... it will cause blemishes.
• - If you are a guy, hair on your face collects dirt/oil like crazy try and keep your facial hair trimmed.

Dell Vostro 1520 Review

I got my Dell Vostro 1520 about 2 months ago and am pretty happy with it. I wanted something with decent speed and a dedicated graphics card so i could play games on it. The Inspiron line didn't offer any laptops with a good graphics card (only onboard), so i was left with two options if I wanted to get a Dell. I had to go with a Vostro or an XPS. At the time, Dell had a coupon code for $200 off any Vostro over $799, so I bit. The XPS models were too expensive anyways... I got a 15in, C2D (core 2 duo), 2gb ram, 256mb nvidia gfx card for pretty cheap after taxes and whatnot. (I was sad when i saw they had a better promotion a week after i bought mine).

I was switching from my Asus eeepc 1000h, so it was a big difference. Here are some of the Pros and Cons regarding the Vostro 1520:

Pros:

• - Inexpensive
• - Solid Performance (no crashes, etc)
• - Glossy/sleek design
• - Windows XP (not vista!)
• - Multimedia controls located on keyboard
• - Good battery life (8 hours with extended battery)

Cons:

• - A little heavy (my preference)
• - Glossy parts collect dust and fingerprints easily
• - Camera (1.3mp) is not as good compared to Mac's
• - Headphone / microphone jack located in front (personal preference)

Overall, I am very happy with my Vostro 1520. The cons/gripes I have with it are very minor. Its a solid machine which can also be used as a desktop replacement. It also is backed up by dells warranty for a year (send in service) which is good enough for me. I've had a good experience in the past with Dells warranty service and have piece of mind if something does go wrong with my Vostro. Hopefully, I'll never have to call them.

Why you shouldn’t jailbreak your iPhone

So you're thinking about Jailbreaking your Iphone so you can download all the cool/usefull apps which the iTunes store doesnt allow/want you to use. You want to use a different carrier and avoid signing a contract with AT&T. You want to customize your Iphone the way you want it. Who is going to stop you? Although there are many reasons why you would want to Jailbreak your Iphone with redsn0w or whatnot, here are some reason why you shouldn't.

• - It's illegal. (meh...)
• - Bye Bye warranty (meh...)
• - If you get caught, you'll get in trouble with AT&T (if you have a contract with them).
• - The interface gets slower! sometimes when you want to pull up an app, or hit the messages icon.... it takes about 4 seconds for it to load.
• - You can't update the software on your iphone without jailbreaking it again. You have to back it up, erase everything then quickpwn it again... its just a hassle.

Asus Eeepc 1000h Review

Thinking about getting a netbook but dont know if you really need / want one? I had the Asus EeePc 1000h for a few months. It was a great little netbook. However, since it was only a 1.6ghz atom processor, there were some limitations as to what this little guy could handle. Lets weight the Pros and Cons....

Pros:

• - Light weight / Portable
• - Good battery life
• - Good build quality

Cons:

• - Cant handle anything which requires a fast processor (ex: HD video on youtube)
• - 1gb ram standard (you should upgrade to 2gb)
• - Gets hot since everything is so compact
• - Comes with Windows XP
• - Trackpad buttons are noisy and you have to press hard

Conclusion: Well, this is a good little netbook for what its made for..... which is internet browsing, email, social networking etc. You have everything at your fingertips and dont have to lug around a big 15in laptop around... This is not a desktop replacement or mean to edit anything besides text. Here is a list of what this Asus or any netbook would be good for...

• - Taking notes in class
• - Blogging / Word processing
• - Listening to music
• - Casual internet browsing (no HD video/flash)
• - Chatting / Email / Social Networking
• - Anything other activities which can be done in less than 30 minutes