Arena check

I forgot to  mention that, during one of these massively multitasking sessions, Flat Ari is also using her USB/ESATA port to control what is a rather sophisticated little radio. That means pretty much emulating the front of the radio on-screen.

In short, you get a gold star for picking the M15x.

From: Scott Royall [mailto:royall@conchbbs.com]
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 16:20
To: Bernadete_Padua@Dell.com
Subject: RE: Arena check

Uh, well, the furry one is progressing at her own chosen speed. She’s very sweet, certainly, but she’s still not in love with the concept of me or the wheelchair. GSDs are stubborn so this one is observing breed standards, I guess. :/

The electronic Ari has a much better report. No, the keyboard cover can’t fit under the plastic casing because the keyboard itself is a tab-in-slot arrangement leaving no room. We just have to be judicious with double-sided tape. Not pretty, but it works. In fact, Ari’s case suggests she’s run the Baja 1000 a few times. Lots of mileage well logged. The tech who replaced the last screen didn’t fully secure the center bottom panel (where all the Velcro is), it’s loose on one side. Then again, it isn’tbecoming any more loose, and it’s just a little annoying. Otherwise, the M15x version of Ari is doing well and performing feats no laptop has done before. Not many could handle talking on the radio, playing the return audio, and still have the spare horsepower for anything else I want (like streaming Netflix). I sometimes liken specific laptops to military vehicles, but we finally landed on Dell’s equivalent of a M1A2 main battle tank. There are heavier, but none more powerful and resilient at the same time.

From: Bernadete_Padua@Dell.com [mailto:Bernadete_Padua@Dell.com]
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 10:43
To: royall@conchbbs.com
Subject: Arena check

Hi Scott,

Haven’t heard from you lately. How are the Arena’s?

Regards

Social Networking? Yeah, right!

 

I have been paying for a vBulletin license for five years. That’s a web forum scripting package that you pay real money for annually. A “forum” is just Internet-speak for what used to be called a bulletin board system. Even some people who don’t deal with technology much recognize the term, “BBS.” The whole idea was to let people publicly discuss things in messages. This was social networking long before Web 2.0 became the buzzword de jour. The problem with forums has been that they are only as good as the people who inhabit them. This means that, if no one uses your forum, it basically doesn’t exist. Mine certainly doesn’t, even after five years. What am I doing?

 

On the other hand, the Amateur Radio community has started to show interest in Xpress-It. Actually, they have been mostly interested in how I am transmitting so far. Ha! That’s the easy part. Most modern radios (and some “boat-anchors") come equipped for voice-operated keying, VOX. I just hang my hand mike in front of the speakers on my wheelchair and let Xpress-It do its thing. By happy coincidence, my radio, an Icom 706 Mk IIG, seems really fond of the audio properties of my Xpress-It voice, and that definitely helps. Yes, it has occurred to me that Amateur Radio is an aging population, and Xpress-It could help a lot of disabled hams. J