Just don’t really ship a laptop in it.

You’re a hip, 21st century gadgeteer so you really shouldn’t be poncing about town with a corporate-looking laptop bag slung over your shoulder. Especially when you can go undercover with the Stealth Laptop Sleeve.

No, your eyes do not deceive you – this ingenious sleeve really does look like a tatty old manila envelope. But that’s where the similarity ends because the Stealth is made from super-strong fabric that’s tearproof and waterproof. What’s more it boasts a plush mock-silk interior that’s padded with PE foam to protect your precious ‘puter! A study in urban nonchalance? Absolument!

More info: Stealth Laptop Sleeve

- What is your earliest movie memory?

What a sucky day!

First I got woken up in the middle of the night because a gigantic crane went by our house since they were finally getting ready to deconstruct the burned down theater behind our house. Sweet with a 4 month delay. So they started today with this:

Nice. This pictures is take from our roof and that theaters was a whole block. We already live in hell but now we have this constant dust coming into our place and don’t get me started on the noise. I mean sweet. How am I supposed to work?

On top of that my Toshiba laptop totally crashed this morning and refuses to start up again. No more warranty and it’s not even 2 years old and I already had to send it in not too long ago for some kind of motherboard problem. MAN!  On my shit list now: Toshiba and Acer!

Great … so the computer dude told me not to expect the laptop back within the next 2 weeks so I finally went to buy a “backup” desktop for only €299!!! Effen cheap. It’s super fast, quite and looks pretty sweet too:

The Acer Aspire X1700 aka U3700A in the USA. WTF … didn’t I just say Acer no more. Well, they had a great deal and me not much money. So .. what the hell. I shopped it.

Specs:

• Box Contents – Acer AX1700-U3700A Desktop PC, Acer USB Keyboard, USB Optical Mouse, USB Amplified Stereo Speakers; Software Bundle – Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition with Service Pack 1, Microsoft Works 9.0SE, Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 60-Day Trial, McAfee Internet Security Suite 2008 60-Day Subscription, 1-Year Limited Warranty
• Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2220 2.4 GHz Processor
• 1 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz Front Side Bus
• 4096 MB DDR2 RAM
• 640 GB (7200RPM) SATA Hard Drive

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

• Hardware Platform: PC
• Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo
• Number of Processors: 2
• RAM: 4000 MB
• RAM Type: DDR2 SDRAM

Hard Drive

• Size: 640 GB
• Type: Serial ATA

Cases and Expandability

• Weight: 19 pounds

So far so good and the price … OMG not beatable. I will keep you posted how it goes with this little dude.

More info: Acer Aspire X1700

So I spent all day to set up the new machine … FRUSTRATING. Oh well, it’s almost all done but I still feel pretty down. Hate days like this. When was the last time you had a day like that?

I’m so in need for a vacation. Didn’t go anywhere for the last 2 years. Our Hong Kong trip was the last time off. But with all the moves in the last years and the probably next move coming up I just don’t see any vacation in the near future. I would be already happy with couple of days here … dream vacation!

Anyone feels sorry for me and wants to sponsor a little vacation for us? Promise we would blog about it. The truth is we do live in a city where other people do their vacation but I would love to see something new for once.

Ok … you don’t have to shell out $$$ to make me happy. But you could make me happy by subscribing to the Random Good Stuff RSS Feed (I’m sooo close to the magic 5,000 subscriber number). Or following me on twitter would do it too. Best though is to recommend RGS to people. That would make my day.

Now … back to work … less bitching and thank you for listening.

Zipping right through security … yeah right!

Designed to meet requirements set by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, this carry-on eliminates the hassle of removing your laptop from the bag and hastens airport security screening. The bag’s laptop compartment folds down, lies flat on the X-ray machine belt, and has a clear plastic window, providing security personnel with the same image quality as a laptop placed in a bin. Ideal for keeping travel items organized, the bag has 20 pockets, including a gusseted compartment with a file divider and nine pockets for storing laptop cords and peripherals.

Easily accessible pockets hold a boarding pass and a passport. A reusable clear, zippered bag holds allowable liquid and gel containers and dual cargo pockets stow metal objects and other items that need to be removed for screening.

More info: Airport Friendly Laptop Bag

- Travel Stuff

This is a guest blog – feel free to email me if you got something to share!

This article was provided by the editors from LaptopLogic.com. At LaptopLogic.com you can find great laptop reviews and read the latest laptop news.

The process of dithering is really quite easy to understand. It’s prominent in laptop displays and yet many laptop users have never even heard of it. However, for those who need color precision, whether graphic designer or photographers, dithering is a hot topic.

When considering LCDs, it ultimately boils down to 8-bit vs. 6-bit displays and how to figure out what your laptop can offer. Not until Apple was sued over this very issue, did the topic become a hot one to the technical masses.

Apple claimed to offer "millions" of colors through their displays. However, if dithering is used through 6-bit displays, this is a mathematical impossibility.

What Is Dithering?

Dithering is the process of juxtaposing two color pixels to create the illusion of a third color. When it comes to dithering through LCD displays, true color and overall clarity is lost.

Dithering requires diffusion, or softening to an image in order to create the illusion that juxtaposing pixels are creating more colors. Ultimately, it’s not an addition of color, but a loss of overall sharpness.

Why Did Laptop Manufacturers Begin Using a Dithering Process?

Computer manufacturers set out to offer the finest product in regards to LCD displays. However, offering top-quality also meant slower reaction time.

This has been a problem with LCD monitors since development. In order to meet with consumer demand, many high-speed displays have been dropped to 6-bit operation.

It all sounds more confusing than it really is. However, if you consider an LCD possessing three layers, and each layer with color capability, you can quickly see how 8-bits of three colors (rendering 24-bit true color) offers an overwhelming difference in the color quality that 6-bits would provide.

8-bit equals 16.7 actual colors, vs. 6-bits offering 260,xxx. Thus, 6-bit LCD displays use a dithering process to meld visual color.

For the general user, again, not that big of deal. However, for those who rely on a visual medium to pay their bills, it is very important.

How to Determine If Your Laptop Uses 6-bit or 8-bit

With the speed associated with the 6-bit LCD panel or display, our eyes are fooled into receiving information. So, there’s your key in finding out if your LCD is 6-bit or 8-bit. 16.2 million (not actual) is 6-bit, and 16.7 million (actual) is 8-bit.

One other way to tell is by the actual image display time. For models at 12ms and faster, you can rest assured it is a 6-bit. Models 20ms and slower are usually an 8-bit LCD.