Hard Drive Woes on Thinkpad/Lenovo

Find the error in this equation :  

70GB hard drive - 30GB data = 4GB free space. 

Where is the missing 36GB?  Turns out that Thinkpad/Lenovos have this handy dandy backup utility--ThinkVantage Rescue & Restore--that schedules backups DAILY.  It doesn't take long for that to eat up your entire hard drive.  And the nefarious part?  The space that it uses isn't in some hidden partition where at least you can see it.  It is--for non wizard users--all but invisible.

The problem is described and resolved in various forums but it is still a pain to solve.  I took the easy way out : uninstall the Rescue & Restore in the usual way through the Control Panel.  I am now 36GB richer.

In the process of figuring this out I used WinDirStat, a very nice piece of free software to visualize where your hard disk space is being used.

Mp3 Player Headphones

If you want:

1. Noise isolation (i.e., earplugs)
2. Comfortable to wear for long periods
3. Extremely small and light
4. Good quality sound
5. Low power consumption
6. Inexpensive

Then buy:

Skullcandy Buds Ink'd Earbuds ($15 at Target)

I wanted double-duty headphones for travel and work. My workplace is noisy, yet I need to do creative work. I use earplugs when I fly but it it's nice to listen to music sometimes. Being the weird person that I am, I have an obsessive compulsion to travel VERY light. So those fancy Bose active noise cancellation phones are out for me (though they work very well).

I had never heard of Skullcandy a year ago, but they looked very earplug-like and all the competition had was over $100. How can you go wrong trying something for $15?

These headphones rock. Your ears don't get hot since they sit in your ear canal. They double as earplugs because of the good fit. They sound good and are small enough to fit in your jeans pocket. Finally, they are so efficient at transmitting sound that I can turn down the volume on my mp3 player--this means decreased battery usage (perhaps).

Restaurant Reviews

My restaurant reviews are online.  Most of them are for Fremont, California.

Cell Phone Headset

If your priorities are

1. Highest possible voice clarity (in and outbound)
2. Works in noisy environments
3. Looking cool doesn't matter

Then buy

Blue Parrott B250 (wireless, bluetooth)
Blue Parrott CP100TK (aka CP110?) (wired)

I've used headsets, both wired and wireless and have never been satisfied with the sound quality. When people complained that they couldn't understand me, I would just unplug and go headset-less. Well, that doesn't fly anymore because of California's new law requiring hands-free sets while driving. Even though there is evidence to the contrary that handfree really increases safety.

Thus began my quest for a better headset.

What works : microphones that sit IN FRONT of your mouth. Not near your mouth. Actually in front, so that you couldn't eat with it on. And ideally the boom is made from segmented metal called "gooseneck". That means when you bend it, it stays put.

Anything that has a long boom is made for computers, airplane pilots, or call center operators. So why didn't I buy one of those? The computer and call center units have non-cell phone compatible jacks and the airplane ones are dual ear which are not legal for driving in CA.

Fast forward about 20 hours of web sleuthing. Turns out that TRUCK DRIVERS are my comrades in pain. They have the same problems with noise and--wow!--they don't care about looking cool with cute silver earbuds. The reviews on the Blue Parrott B250 are simply amazing. These are so popular that they are hard to come by. I found one on ebay and it lives up to the reviews. Frankly, I've never seen anything like it and it seems to have none of the issues of Jawbone and other active noise cancellation systems.

The Blue Parrott CP100TK / CP110 is a wired version of the same. If you don't like dealing with Bluetooth and the associated hassle of charging this is the ticket for you.

In the past I've used a simpler model with no noise cancellation. They are cheap and work because the microphone is in front of your mouth. Problem is that the boom is not gooseneck and so it tends to rest almost IN your mouth. Oh, and this one used to break after a few months.

P.S. Their products are associated with "BlueParrott", "Blue Parrott", "Blue Parrot" or "VXI" on the net. Also, be prepared to do a little work to find these for sale--they are so popular, they are often sold out!

UPDATE : 8/10/08

Bought a CP100TK because I like the reliability of wired. Turns out that the noise rejection is also very good, but the quality of the outbound sound is not as good as the B250 . Still, it is better than my Plantronics M110 (an older over the head model)

What? Why?

A friend of mine once told me I was "five standard deviations from the mean [1]." That might have been a put-down to some, but it filled me with glee. I get a perverse sense of validation from being unique.

But being unique also poses some problems. It means that most products are not made with your priorities in mind. It means more work on your part to find the goods and services that are right for you.

That's where this blog comes in. I am hoping that there are a few people out there can identify with my weirdness and benefit from my findings.

[1] Roughly speaking, this means being more different from average/normal than 99.99994267% of all people.