I Heart: The It's Good to Be a Geek Edition

The Oatmeal - If you like Hyperbole and a Half, you'll love The Oatmeal.  Matthew Inman, a former web designer and programmer, is the artist and writer behind this humor blog.  It's a combination of comics, quizzes, and hilarious stories from Inman's life and work experiences.  He frequently updates the site, so there's a consistent flow of newness to brighten up your day. My personal favorite at the moment are the "Bobcat" comics, a series of panels about two cats who work in an office. 

ThinkGeek's annual "April Fools" products - In past years, the geek mega-webstore has brought the Tauntaun sleeping bag and Unicorn Meat to the geeky masses after first appearing as April Fools jokes.  This year we could see Bonsai Kitty Plushes, Lightsaber Popsicles, Angry Birds Pork Rinds, or the formidable PLAYMOBIL Apple Store playset added to ThinkGeek's permanent catalog.

The gameplay demos for Alice: Madness Returns - They're way more awesome than I was expecting.  Unlike some games (*cough* Duke Nukem *cough*), the game's release date has actually been pushed up to June 14th.  You can pre-order the game through the official website for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and PC download.

Spending the afternoon watching "The Mighty Boosh" - Whenever I'm bored and need a little bit of surreality, I watch this British comedy.  I first saw it on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, but after a little investigating, I discovered that large parts of the show were cut out for commercials.  I remedied that disappointment quickly by buying the DVDs and now I can watch Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) whenever I please.

The March issue of Fangoria - I love reading Fango, but at $8.99 a piece, it can get pretty pricey.  Even so, I had to pick up this month's issue when I saw the cover.  A six page interview with the amazing Richard Matheson?  Yes, please.

Fangoria #301 (found here)

This adorable Hello Kitty pouch - I have the "nerd glasses" version, but how cute are those old-school 3-D glasses?

And finally, in "No freakin' way" news . . . there may be a third Bill and Ted in the works.  Is it my birthday?  Did Christmas come early?  Can you tell how excited I am about this?

What's making you squeal with glee this week?

Geek of the Week: Bonnie Burton

Bonnie Burton

Bonnie Burton is a blogger, author, and girl geek extraordinare.  Several of her books have a Star Wars theme, including How to Draw Star Wars and The Star Wars Craft Book.  Burton wrote for Geek Monthly magazine and is the senior editor at Lucas.com.  She loves retro stuff and sports a Bettie Page haircut, cat-eye glasses, and fiery red lips.  (In other words, a girl after my own heart.)  She's also been paid homage to by the great Len Peralta, who featured her on one of his Geek a Week trading cards.

Visit Burton's website and follow her on Twitter (@bonniegrrl.com)

The Saturday Review: Toshiba Netbook

Toshiba Mini-Notebook (netbook)
10.1" screen
Intel Atom processor N455
2 GB memory (upgraded from 1 GB)
250 GB hard drive
Intel Integrated Graphics
Equipped with: full-size keys, touchpad, integrated webcam and mic
OS: Ubuntu Netbook Edition

As much as I loved Lappy, he was kind of a pain in the butt.  That particular model had webcam issues, so my webcam worked for about 2 1/2 uses and died.  I mounted an external webcam on the top when I needed to use one, but it was very frustrating and often fell off.  The battery had an extremely short life, even in the beginning, and only got steadily worse as time went on.  Then, Sullivan chewed through the power cord and I had to buy a generic compatible one as they no longer sold the actual cord.  This eventually led to Lappy's internal combustion and I was forced to buy my new netbook.

Sullivan looks on in horror as Lappy is gutted for parts.

When Kris suggested I get a netbook, I was against it at first.  I wanted to be able to have computer functionality and my understanding of a netbook was that it only provided the most basic functions and was similar to a smart phone or tablet.  As I read, I found out that this was not the case.  Netbooks have most of the capabilities of a full-size laptop, but simplified and streamlined.

I read up on netbooks and decided on the Toshiba mini-notebook based on positive CNET reviews.  The Toshiba is lightweight and sleek.  Previous models were described as having a bulky and protruding battery, but Toshiba seems to have fixed that issue.  I was able to comfortably use the computer while lying in bed and watching TV, something I was unable to do with my previous laptop.  Battery life is, on average, six hours and it is so nice not to have to be constantly plugged in.  Because of its size, the netbook only has one speaker (mono), but it does have a headphone jack, which allows the sound to be heard in stereo.  It also has a USB port and a SD card reader.

The Nanobot

Most netbooks come standard with Windows 7 Starter, which means very limited access to Windows 7 features (for instance, you can't change the desktop background).  This virtually forces you to upgrade, which can be costly.  Another option is to use the Ubuntu Netbook Edition.  Even though Kris is a die-hard Linux convert, I am not a Linux user by any means.  That being said, the netbook version of Ubuntu is surprisingly easy to use once you get used to it.  There are benefits to using Linux; you deal with less bloatware and unneeded programs and there is less chance of getting viruses.  Most Windows-compatible programs have Linux counterparts or, as in the case of Skype, a Linux beta version. 

Ubuntu Netbook Edition desktop

As far as looks go, the Toshiba netbook is probably the best-looking netbook on the market.  It looks like a very small laptop, and this model comes in some gorgeous colors (turquoise, lime green, bright blue, brown, and orange).  The screen, though small at 10.1", is excellent and arguably rivals any full-size laptop for clarity.

Toshiba Mini-Notebook in blue

The netbook is perfect for what I need and very user friendly.  I would recommend it for people who are looking for a high-quality laptop without a lot of extras or frills.  It's not a good fit for people who use their computer for entertainment (ex: games, watching movies, etc.), but for those who can afford it, it would make an excellent secondary laptop for students or frequent travelers.