Thank You Acer -- Aspire E 15 RAM and HDD Easy to Upgrade

I recently acquired an Acer Aspire E 15 (model # E5-575-52JF, http://goo.gl/meOXYm) from Best Buy from their "Cyber Monday in July" sale. Saving a $100 and free shipping to the store for in store pickup. I wanted a new laptop for consulting and also wanted a project laptop. And, this fit the bill. More on my built out in future posts.

Reading the reviews, one of the complaints with this model is that it comes with only 4 GB of RAM. While, I do agree that is low for Windows 10, further research on this model shows that it has 2 RAM slots for DDR4 RAM with a max upgrade to 32 GB. More then enough for my project.

Popping on Crucial.com, I bought some compatible RAM even before I turned on the laptop. It was a pleasant surprise to see when I flipped over the Acer Aspire E 15 to find that it was a flash from the past. Only 3 screws will remove the panel that will allow for RAM upgrade and HDD upgrade. Five minutes later more RAM was installed and ready for use. This was refreshing not having to remove the entire bezel or more. I wish more vendors would do this for all their models from low to mid to high. When you have to remove of 100 screws to change out anything in a laptop.... I am talking about you Apple and the MacBook Air, it introduces many, many errors even for the seasoned tech.

Anyway, below are pictures and step of upgrading my RAM. I will upgrade the hard drive to a SSD soon, just deciding on what I want/need. Until then, I will stay with the stock 1 TB 5400 RPM HDD. Slow, I know, but I always tell people to upgrade RAM 1st then HDD. So, I need to follow my own advice.

Step 1:
Turn off the computer, unplug from the power supply and flip over to remove 3 screws with a Phillips screw driver.

Step 2:
Carefully pry open the Hard Drive/RAM compartment

Step 3:
From here you can replace either the RAM or Hard Drive very easily. If you are in an area where there is a lot of static charge, be careful and take precautions to reduce that risk.

Step 4:
After replacement of RAM and/or Hard Drive replace the compartment cover and replace the screws. I found it is easier to start putting the compartment back from the bottom (away from the screws) up.

Step 5:

Flip back over, plug in power supply and give it a go. It is always a good idea to run a memory test for good measure.

Ubuntu 14.04 Server: A Bios Floppy Drive Legacy Problem

I had an older computer that I was repurposing an older workstation. Thought I would make a media server. I threw in a CD of Ubuntu 14.04 and I got this error....

mount: mounting /dev/sda on /media failed: Invalid argument
umount: can't umount /media: Invalid argument

Thinking about this a little, I realized that in the bios the legacy floppy was still enabled. Going into the bios and disabling the legacy floppy drive corrected the problem.

Install completed.

I understand that we can never account for everything, but it having the installer bypassing a floppy drive should be something that should be taken into account.

Dollar Shave Club Update 1 Year Later

So, it has been 1 year since I joined the Dollar Shave Club. The question that I am asking myself, is it worth it? Yes it is. My motivations to join the Dollar Shave Club, had nothing to do with sticking it to the man, or because I hated my razor. My reason was more simplistic than that. I just hated going to a store and have to get razors from "behind the counter" or through some other locked cage. It was it was ridiculous and driving my crazy. Now, in addition to the easy of use, having the razors delivered once a month, they are cheaper, and because of the ease of use, I actually changed them more often in turn having a continued smoother shaving experience. Cheaper, less stress, and properly a little more hygienic sounds like a win/win for me.

In addition, there are some add on products that I have enjoyed. It is nice to try something new every couple of months or so. Check them out here.

But, what about the numbers? Before Dollar Shave Club, I was a Gillette user. Enjoyed the product, but it was costly at the retail store. Below are the savings from a year supply of Dollar Shave Club vs. Gillette at a retail store.

Theoretical
	$/4-pack	Yearly Cost
Gillette Fusion 4-blade refill	$16.99	$203.88
Dollar Shave Club	$6.00	$72.00
	Savings	$131.88

Now lets be a little more honest, before Dollar Shave Club, I never bought razors once a month. So, assuming that I was buying once every 1 1/2 months the realistic number would look more like this.

Realistic
	$/4-pack	Yearly Cost
Gillette Fusion 4-blade refill	$16.99	$135.92
Dollar Shave Club	$6.00	$72.00
	Savings	$63.92

Either way, money is saved. So, I continue to find value with the Dollar Shave Club and will continue their service.

I can not end without saying that they are not the only game in town. Harrys and even Gillette is getting in the game with Gillette Shave Club. There are other options and I might even expand and try one of these options. Go ahead try one of these options too and get a clean blade without all the retail store hassles.

Review: Logitech H800 Wireless Headset

I have a dream… to find the perfect headset that I can use for music, voice/video calls and best if it is Bluetooth/wireless.

This a review of the Logitech H800 Wireless Headset. I picked this up for work specifically looking for a wireless model that I can use for listening to music and for the Skype/gotomeeting conference calls that I do all day. Also, even when I am not using them for sounds, I tend to use headphones to muffle the sounds of an open office. I don't need perfect quite, but I do like to make sure that my attention is not easily diverted, when I am working on a project. In many ways, headphones tell my mind and body to buckle down and get into the zone for a little while.

Anyway, now for the review.

Setup

I use mainly Windows machines at work. So, I didn't expect any trouble with the plug-n-play setup. My machines do have Bluetooth, but I choose to set up the headset with the included nano dongle. Plug-n-play worked like a charm and I was up and running in no time.

Note: I did set this up on my home Mac with the nano dongle, and worked no problem. Bluetooth should work for Windows and Mac just fine.

As for a Linux machine, I would expect that the nano dongle would work on most flavors, but I would guess that Bluetooth, would not work out of the box. I will test that when I get a chance. At this time, I currently am not running any dedicated Linux desktops.

Charging

The headphones did come with an USB charging cable that for charging. The cable is the typical Type-A Male USB Connector at one end and a Mini Type-B Male USB Connector at the other end. I did have enough juice in the headset for some testing, but I would suggest that you give it a little more charge, if you are going to use them a lot right out of the gate.

Fit

The fit seems pretty good. The ear pieces stretch out far on both size and looks to fit a wide variety of head shapes. I have an average head size and shape, so usually the fit of a particular headset is not a problem for me. They are light enough and comfortable to be worn for an extended period of time. Right now, all I can say that I have had them on for 2 hours, and they are still comfortable.

Sound

I am not an audiophile and I do have hearing lose in both my ears. Because of that, I may not be the best to judge pure sounds, but one thing that I tend to look for in a headset is that I can control that sounds and is it is loud enough for me to hear conversation and music in my office environment. I am happy to say that the Logitech H800 does that for me.

I already have the Jabra REVO Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headphones. The Logitech H800 is not the Jabra, but I wouldn’t expect it be the same quality. But if the Jabra had mic like the H800, I would make that my daily headset for phone music and phone calls. But, for now that is not possible.

Overall

I like the Logitech H800 headset. I will continue to use them as my daily work headset. Check them out. You may find them nice alternative to a corded headset.

Nexu 5x 1 month +

It has been a little over a month since I have been using the Nexus 5x as my main phone.  I have been very happy with it.

For full clarification, I currently been using the phone on the Verizon network.

Biggest grips is Voicemail. Out of the box, there is no visual voice mail. Expected, but still think that in today's world, that should be built into the OS and not and add on by the carrier or manufacture or 3rd party app. But, that is my personal opinion. I think honestly, is the biggest weakness for a Nexus phone to go "mainstream". I know that is not really their target market, and I know workarounds that are really better.

Right now, I am using YouMail and have been pretty happy with it. Willing to go pro, but I have not been able to get it reliable alert me when I have a message. Right now, knowing that I missed a called, has alerted me to check the YouMail app for a message. Good, but would rather it alert me all the time itself. Do you have a better app? Let me know and I will put it on the list to try it out.

Another issue that i didn't think I would run into, but have (only a couple times) is I have too many apps open and had it freeze, run out of memory. Once it was enough, that I got impatience and force restarted the phone. So, while, I still think that 2 GB was is a little slim and wish I had a little more. But really only if you are lazy or really trying to tax the system, it is fine. I am just stating a compliant that I have notice a few times. Not crazy and not worth not getting the phone but wanted to do full disclosure.

I still find the finger print reader to be the best on the market. So fast and accurate. The OS, Marshmallow is great!!!

More to come after the New Year!!!

Nexus 5x Mid-Week Review

I received the Nexus 5x on Friday, October 23. I have had it a few days already and I thought that I would give a little mid-week review of some of my first impressions.

As a Google ethos person, it only took a little bit of time loading apps and now I am just feeling out the new Android OS, Marshmallow. I will spare you a video of opening up the package.

Size and Weight

I use many phones. I have the Apple iPhone 5 and Apple iPhone 6. So, Nexus 5x is as you would expect bigger then the iPhone 5. It is also slightly bigger then iPhone 6, but not by very much.

Even though, I read about it from other reviewers, I am still amazed about the weight of the phone. It is light, very light. In fact, I went ahead and got the ADOPTED case for some protection and that didn’t add much weight. The Nexus 5x is feather light and it feels great.

Speed

As expected, Nexus 5x is fast. In my time with the phone, the navigation is smooth and quick even after adding the typical applications.

Camera

I find the camera much improved. Below is an outside shot. I tend to take "beer selfies" so I will include one here too for an inside shot.

Finger Print Reader

I can attest that the finger print reader is indeed quick. Not only in use, but also in set up.

The set up of the finger print reader is straight forward and easy to get started. Following the prompts I was able to quickly able to set up multiple fingers for the finger print reader so that either hand that I pick up the phone and can always unlock with a finger. There are is a couple of different backup methods to unlock the phone. You can choose a pattern, pass code or password. So far the finger printer reader as been so easy and quick, I have yet to have to use my alternative method of unlocking the phone.

Android Pay

Setting up Android Pay is easy following the on screen prompt. If you are not in the Google ethos or did store your credit cards with Google account already, you can just add the cards that you want by taking a picture. The process was fast and accurate.

I used Android Pay for the first time this week. I bought a soda at Lucky's with the express intent of using the Android Pay app. Knowing that I wanted to use my default card, I didn't have to do much. When it was time to pay, I just unlocked my phone with my finger print and held the phone over the POS device. It recognized quickly and the transaction was quick.

Good experience for my first time use.

Battery Life

I would call myself about average in the amount of time that I spend using a smartphone. Some days, I use it a lot; some days not so much (okay, that is rare). Regardless, I find that the battery life on the Nexus 5x is good, but nothing to brag about. I find that my typical use, I would be just find making it through the day, but if I was far from a power source on a heavy use day, I might get a little nervous. But, truthfully, I would have the same feelings for any smartphone. I tend to always have a power source close, either the wall, car, or battery pack. Also, with the Type C charging method. Charging is fast. So a quick charge while getting a coffee or something would more then get you through the day. It would have been nice to have a little more power in the battery, but the trade off would have been the size and weight of the phone. So, it is either this or that. For me that is a good trade off.

Here is a reference of my battery usage from Nexus 5x. I unplugged at 7 AM and took this screenshot right before plugging in at about 1 AM







Likes So Far

There are many things that I like about this new Android OS. Coming back to Android after a little hiatus, I may be mentioning things that have been in a previous version of the Android OS, but I am just finding it out now.

1. Show clock when picking up. I like the "wake" from sleep to show me the clock when I pick up the device. Like most people, I look at my phone for as my main source of "what time is it" and I like the idea that I can find out not having to touch a button. A simple move or pick up the does the trick.
2. The custom rules that you can set up for do not disturb. I really like all the different options I can use for the do not disturb function. The phone as all the normal ones that I have seen on other smart phones, but one I find interesting, is that I can have it set to do not disturb automatically on events on my calendar. This could be really useful, and you will not get that embarrassing ring during a meeting. Great addition, and I think an underrated feature.

Missing

Like everything, nothing is perfect. I wouldn't call these flaws, but it would be nice to haves.

1. Clip board available to all main applications. The Samsung S6 as a great feature of universal clipboard that is available quickly for all the main applications. I don't see that function in this OS. Maybe I just haven't found it yet, but it is a nice to have. Sometimes, I will grab some images or text that I will save on the clipboard and then when I am ready, I will paste it into an email or text message. The cool thing with the Samsung version is that I can "call" up the clipboard and choose what to paste. It is just not the last copy that I did.
2. I have found one app that I like from time to time that is not ready for Android 6. So, being bleeding edge sometimes means that you have to wait on the development cycles of 3rd party apps. Not the end of the world, but still disappointing.

More to come....

The Nexus 5x ARRIVED!!!

This is a quick note to say that Friday was a good day. When I got home, I had my Nexus 5x waiting for me. I spent that evening charging and setting up the phone. Easy since, I have chosen to be in the Google ethos for a while regardless what smartphone I use.

Saturday, I spent time at the Verizon store getting the phone registered to my account. I may write more on this experience later, but briefly, if you need it activated, make sure you deal with the manager. This phone is too new for everyone know how to activate the phone properly. Overtime I am sure this will change.

My overall first impressions -- The Nexus 5x is light and fast. It is a welcome replacement to the original Nexus 5 and worthy upgrade for others that want the pure Android experience at a great price.