Permalink Redirect 0.8.4

I have updated Permalink Redirect plugin to 0.8.4. The main functionality of this plugin has been replaced by WordPress’ redirect_canonical() function since WP 2.3, but somehow some people are still using this plugin for its remaining functions (permalink structure changes, arbitrary path redirect, etc). 0.8.4 fixes an issue with arbitrary path redirect when the old path is now producing 404. It has also overwritten the wp_redirect function (taken from WP 2.5) so 301 redirect works properly on Lighty/Nginx setups.

ESVPopup 1.4

Don’t you love browser incompatibility?! While everyone is trying to crack Acid3, I am still trying to figure out why event.clientX on Safari is different from all the other browsers.

Anyway. ESVPopup 1.4 should work with Safari 3.0.x now.

Btw, this blog has also been upgraded to WordPress 2.5. Nice new dashboard and so far everything works. Finger crossed.

Can’t imagine myself doing it again after 3 years. Argh!

Yes, the ASUS Eee PC 701 with 4GB SSD and 512MB RAM, for a bit over 400 bucks second hand. First impressions:

• Small. Not tiny, but very small. The above picture shows its size comparing to my Dell Latitude D630.
• Booting up and shutting down is fast.
• Very responsive. You don’t feel like its a 677Mhz Celeron.
• Connected to my Wi-Fi at home in less than 2 minutes.
• Keyboard is probably its weakest link. It can be difficult to type on.

Actually it reminds me a lot of my old Psion 5mx — little cute device that is a full functional computer. In fact it actually has a bigger keyboard than the old 5mx so I’ll hopefully be able to touch-type on it after some practise.

Unfortunately I planned to work on my talk for this Saturday tonight so I can’t spend too much time on it. A better review next time.

MacBook Air is ultrathin, ultraportable, and ultra unlike anything else. But you don’t lose inches and pounds overnight. It’s the result of rethinking conventions. Of multiple wireless innovations. And of breakthrough design. With MacBook Air, mobile computng suddenly has a new standard.

Thanks for reminding me that I can’t lose inches and pounds overnight — gotta get back to my exercise plan. However, being “ultraportable” is exactly what Apple is trying to sell MacBook Air at. On the scale it weights 1.36kg, which is almost a whole kilo lighter than its fat brethren MacBook the unportable (2.27kg). At 0.4-1.94cm thin, you will have to buy those notebook bags with 5cm of padding so you won’t accidentally snap it in half when you throw it around.

Its CPU is a tad slower than MacBook at 1.6/1.8GHz. There is no optical drive included, i.e. at cost extra. The hard disk is either a small’ish 1.8″ 80GB or 64GB solid state drive (as an AUD$1,409 upgrade!), battery is not self-serviceable, and RAM is soldered on… It is the price you have to pay when it is designed for the niche market of ultraportable, where rivals like Sony Vaio and Toshiba Portege were used to charge their customers at a premium.

Will I buy one? No way. Starting at AUD$2,499 it is almost a whole big one more expensive than equally equipped MacBook. I know I am getting old but 1 extra kilogram is not a biggie to me. Apple knows how to design a beautiful package, preaching a message not why people will need one, but why you would want one. Being a cold hearted pragmatic, unfortunately Stevie’s distortion field has pretty weak effect on me. That’s probably why I still have not had an iPod.

But let me tell you what other ultraportable notebook has taken my fancy — Asus Eee PC. It is small. It is light. It sold like a hotcake — because it is cheap. You can buy a brand new one from OfficeWorks for $488, or less if you shop hard on eBay. It weights only 0.92kg so you probably won’t even feel it when you throw one into your bag.

Obviously there are some issues, and the Asus’ $488 Eee PC is probably not a good comparison with Apple’s $2,499 MacBook Air.

• 900MHz Celeron underclocked to 667MHz. Don’t expect a speed demon here.
• 4GB SSD is probably not even enough for your photo collection.
• 7″ LCD at an awkward resolution of 800×480 is not good even watching DVDs.
• 21-35mm thickness. Yes it is thick.

• It runs Linux.
• You need to be a midget to type on it.

But at less than $500, it has everything a person need to get work done, i.e. press Ctrl-Alt-T to bring up an Xterm — what else do you need to get work done? :) It has Wifi to access Internet, has a ethernet adapter (which MacBook Air lacks), has a card reader, runs OpenOffice.org, runs Firefox, etc. With the current climate, maybe an Eee PC would be a more prudent decision for ultraportable?

Which ultraportable would you get? Air or Eee?