Acer Aspire Timeline

Here’s the laptop I’m eyeing nowadays… Acer Aspire Timeline.

I’m not sure if it’s available here in the Philippines already so I might be purchasing this in Thailand, though I’m also not sure if it’s available there and I’m still waiting for my techie bro to do the research for me. Meanwhile I am just drooling over the specs. What I really like about it is its slim body and with only 1.6kg, that’s really a come on for those who want portability with powerful specs. 

Processor and chipset: Intel® Centrino® 2 / Centrino® processor technology
- Intel® Core™2 Duo ultra low voltage processor SU9400 or  Intel® Core™2 Solo ultra low voltage processor SU3500
- Mobile Intel® GS45 Express Chipset
- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5100 (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N) Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® network connection, or
- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5150 Wi-Fi®/WiMAX™ dual-mode module

Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
Memory: Dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM support, Up to 4 GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, upgradeable to 8 GB using two soDIMM modules (requires 64 bit Operating System)
HDD: hard disk drive up to 320GB
Storage: 160/250/320/500 GB or larger hard disk drive or 80 GB SSD drive, 5-in-1 card reader, supporting Secure Digital™ (SD) Card, MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick™ (MS), Memory Stick PRO™ (MS PRO), xD-Picture Card™ (xD)
Optical Media driver: 8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive (except model 3810T)
Display:
-15.6″ HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness (200-nit) Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD, 16:9 aspect ratio, Super-slim design (model 5810T)
-14″ HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness (200-nit) Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD, 16:9 aspect ratio, Super-slim design (model 4810T)
- 13.3″ HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness (200-nit) Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD, 16:9 aspect ratio, Super-slim design (model 3810T)
(more…)

Get out and get fit

“My biggest resolution for 2010 is to lose tons of weight.” This is what my friend emailed me and he plans to buy a mountain bike to make his fitness goal more fun as he keeps himself fit while enjoying biking around. Good idea indeed! Aside from having fitness equipment at home and exercising indoors, it’s also good to get out and enjoy nature while getting fit. Whether it’s a long walk or jog, seeing the beauty of the outdoors is a great stress-reliever as well. 

Any TV shows you don’t want to miss?

I’m not really a TV fan but sometimes if I’m not busy at home after dinner, you can see me killing time watching some soap operas or telenovelas. Some stories are the usual rich versus poor, couples with adopted children, some characters having amnesia or lovers being separated by the villains.

I know somebody who’s very much into DMII, and if she misses an episode of this telenovela, she’d readily get updates from those who have watched it. How about you, any TV shows you don’t want to miss?

Does sitting too close to TV damage your eyes?

“Don’t sit too close to the TV! It could damage your eyes!” This would be our usual warning when we see kids watching their favorite show while being seated so near the TV screen. So, what do experts say about this? According to a recent article from the Santa Monica Daily Press, it’s not so much the physical damage to eyes that parents should be concerned about, there are other health problems related to excessive TV watching for kids.

Luckily for many of us and our kids, sitting “too” close to the TV isn’t known to cause any human health issues. This myth prevails because back in the 1960s General Electric sold some new-fangled color TV sets that emitted excessive amounts of radiation — as much as 100,000 times more than federal health officials considered safe. GE quickly recalled and repaired the faulty TVs, but the stigma lingers to this day.    

But even though electronic emissions aren’t an issue with TVs made any time after 1968 (including today’s LCD and plasma flat screens), what about causing harm to one’s vision? Dr. Lee Duffner of the American Academy of Ophthalmology isn’t concerned, maintaining that watching television screens — close-up or otherwise — “won’t cause any physical damage to your eyes.” He adds, however, that a lot of TV watching can surely cause eye strain and fatigue, particularly for those sitting very close and/or watching from odd angles. But there is an easy cure for eye strain and fatigue: turning off the TV and getting some rest. With a good night’s sleep, tired eyes should quickly return to normal.

Debra Ronca, a contributor to the How Stuff Works website, argues that some parents might be putting the cart before the horse in blaming close-up TV watching for their child’s vision issues. “Sitting close to the television may not make a child nearsighted, but a child may sit close to the television because he or she is nearsighted and undiagnosed,” she reports. “If your child habitually sits too close to the television for comfort, get his or her eyes tested.”

Of course, excessive TV viewing by kids can cause health problems indirectly. According to the Nemours Foundation’s KidsHealth website, children who consistently watch TV more than four hours a day are more likely to be overweight, which in and of itself can bring about health problems later. Also, kids who watch a lot of TV are more likely to copy bad behavior they see on-screen and tend to “fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.” Nemours also finds that TV characters often depict risky behaviors (like smoking and drinking) and also tend to reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes.

There has also been much debate in recent years on the effects of TV viewing on infants. A 2007 Seattle Children’s Research Institute study found that for every hour per day infants spent watching baby DVDs and videos they learned six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who never watched the videos. But a 2009 study by the Center on Media & Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston found no negative cognitive or other impacts whatsoever on those infants exposed to more television than less.

Don’t we all agree that too much TV can be harmful not just for kids but for adults as well?