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Posts tagged review
Toy Story 3 Review
Sep 5th
We all know and love the Toy Story films. Buzz and Woody are great and fun characters and now, after 11 years, they are back in a new movie, Toy Story 3. According to Disney this could very well be the last of the series, so I knew I just had to see it.
Today I finally did it and I’m glad I did because it’s a great sequel, and probably the best and most emotional movie Pixar has ever created. It will bring you back to childhood!
So what’s it all about this time? Andy has gotten old and is on his way to college so he has to clean his room. Because they toys aren’t sure if Andy really wants them anymore, they sneak into a box Andy’s mom donates to Sunnyside Daycare. Woody tries to convince them to return to Andy, but the other toys think they would be happier at the daycare, so Woody leaves them alone.
Because they end up playing with small children, they are tortured and played roughly with like small children do, so they decide to escape, but that leads into some serious problems.
It’s hard to say more without revealing important parts of the movie.
The music of the movie is also great. A great soundtrack means a lot, especially in important scenes and of course Pixar knows that. When I almost had tears in my eyes in the end, it was also because of the music. 
So yes, the movie is a very, very great sequel. It’s both fun and emotional, and the ending… I can’t describe it, but in the end the toys will no longer feel like toys, they will feel like someone you actually care about. Toy Story-fans should really love it, and it’s also nice for new people.
I can’t recommend you enough to go watch it. When it ends your heart will feel bigger.
First week with Ubuntu
May 22nd
I’ve been using Ubuntu (10.04 64-bit) for a week new, so I thought… Why not write a post about Ubuntu and what I think? Well, here it is! I guess you can almost call it a very short review.
Ubuntu is a free open-source operating system. It can do many of the same things that Windows and Mac OS X can do, the big difference is just that it’s complety free.
Installation
The installation was a bit tricky for me, because I wanted to make partitions manually. That required some help from a friend, and a few searches on Google.
For normal users, it shouldn’t really be that hard, but it’s not easy either. When you’ve downloaded Ubuntu and burned it to a CD, it’s possible to try it without installing anything. Ubuntu works with many computers without any problems, but you should really try it before installing anything. I had a serious problem myself, more about that later.
Desktop
This is how my desktop looks in Ubuntu.
If you’re using Windows, you’ll definitely notice some things that are completely different. In Ubuntu you use something called ”panels” instead of the start menu. You can easily add new panels with new icons.
It’s possible to resize icons, which I think is one of the nicest features. For example, I’ve made my browser bigger, because I use it all the time.
In Ubuntu, you also have more than one desktop. That means it’s possible to have even more applications running.
Applications
Let me be honest from the start. There are waaaay more applications for Windows than Ubuntu. But the ones that work on Ubuntu, works very well. They also open a lot faster. Applications like OpenOffice and Gimp opens about twice as fast for me, compared to my Windows 7 system. That’s a big difference!
So what do you do, when you want to download applications? The easiest way is to use a built-in application called Ubuntu Software Center. It helps you to download thousands of new applications.
Many apps from Windows don’t work on Ubuntu, be there is an alternative for almost any application! For example, OpenOffice works like Microsoft Office and Firefox like Internet Explorer.
Ubuntu comes loaded with some apps from the start, including OpenOffice, Firefox and more. I think that’s pretty nice, because I actually had most of the apps I needed from the start.
The bad
Ubuntu is pretty great in many ways, compared to Windows, but I’ve also noticed some bad things.
First of all, Ubuntu isn’t really for the normal non-geeky user. It’s a bit tricky to install, and if there are problems, it’s not always easy to fix. Not that it is that in Windows either.
When I installed Ubuntu, my wireless Internet didn’t work because of my Linksys WUSB600N USB network adapter. There were no working drivers in the system from the start. After searching a lot on Google, I found a few solutions. By doing them all, I actually got it working. I couldn’t have done that without a good Ubuntu-friend, so Ubuntu does require a lot of technical computer knowledge or just a good friend, in some cases.
I’ve also had some problems with the panels. Sometimes it doesn’t show my wireless network icon, and sometimes it doesn’t look right. On this picture, it has actually replaced the wireless icon with a new Sound icon.
Also, when I add a new panel, it’s sometimes invisible until I restart my computer. One time, both panels and window frames disappeared.
Wrap-up
So what’s really my opinion about Ubuntu? I like it! In many ways it’s better than Windows, in some ways, lesser. But I can tell you one thing. I’ve been using Ubuntu a lot more than Windows 7 for the past week. I’m not really sure why, but I think it’s because it’s new and different from what I’m used to. It’s also easy on Ubuntu, to do what I normally do on Windows, like browsing the web, writing documents and chatting with friends.
I don’t know if I’ll really switch to Ubuntu, I just like it right now. I think I’ll use both Ubuntu and Windows in the future, but I guess only time will tell.
People with a lot of computer knowledge can try Ubuntu out, but I think it’s definitely not for the average user. Windows is still easier to install and use in many ways. Especially Windows 7.
If you want to try Ubuntu, you can visit the official website for more information about how to download and install it.
Kymera Wand review
Jan 24th
For some time ago, I made a post about the Kymera Wand. I wrote I liked it very much, but at that time I didn’t knew if I would buy it or not. Well… Now I have, and this is my review. I’ve seen other reviews on the internet, but I haven’t really found one which tells you “everything”. This is my attempt to make a nice review.
What is it?
The Kymera Wand is basically a universal remote – as a wand, made by The Wand Company Ltd. It can learn up to 13 IR(infrared) signals from almost everything, which of course uses a IR remote. For instance TVs and music players. All 13 signals are assigned to “gestures”, which are moves you do with the wand, to send out the signal again. For example “Big Swish”, which is a gesture where you make a swish in the air. Here’s a list of all the gestures:
1. Rotate anticlockwise
2. Rotate clockwise
3. Flick upwards
4. Flick downwards
5. Flick left
6. Flick right
7. Tap on top
8. Tap on site
9. Big Swish
10. Push forward
11. Double tap on top
12. Double tap on site
13. Pull Back
When a gesture is performed, the wand pulses to confirm that the gesture was done correct.
My reactions
When I got the wand, I was just amazed about the wand itself, and even the box it came in. The wand ships in a big long white box, and inside that is a smaller black box, which has “Kymera” in gold printed on.
Inside, I found a very nice printed manual, which told me everything very clear. Of course, I also found the wand. It was nicer and more beautiful that I had ever imagined.
The pictures on the internet might show how the wand looks, but nothing can tell you how it truly is to hold and look at, before you hold it yourself! Honestly, I actually thought the plastic would be a bit… cheap. But it isn’t! It isn’t wood, but I think it’s nearly as good.
After removing a small piece of plastic, the wand was ready to be used(batteries are included with Kymera Wands!). It was in “practice mode”, which basicually means I could train the gestures without sending any IR signals out(it hadn’t learned any).
I quickly learned it a signal with the “Big Swish”-gesture, and I made a big smile the first time when I turned our TV on. It didn’t just control the TV, it also gave me a feeling of… real magic, as if I was holding a real wand in my hand. I learned it some more signals, and soon I was controlling everything – volume, channels, on/off etc…
Since then, I have also tried it with a music player, and that also worked very well! Hovever, I think the wand is better for a TV, so I’ll probably use it for that instead.
Overall
So is it worth it? It’s a bit expensive, but I would say yes! The wand is a great remote, and it’s a lot more fun to use than an ordinary remote. I think the wand might be a bit boring to use sometimes, but after a small amount of time, I can’t resist to hold and use it again:)
If you’re now sitting and don’t now if you should buy then wand then… If you love Harry Potter, or just think the idea behind a real wand is great, then buy it – Kymera is definitely the closest thing to a real wand you can get today. It’s also very fun to show to guests and friends.
Otherwise, if you think it’s too expensive for… just a remote, then don’t. It’s only for people who wants a bit more magic into their life.
I bought my wand at http://www.kymera-wand.com/ because they were the cheapest place I could buy the wand, but you can also buy the wand at http://thewandcompany.com/, which is the wand’s official site.
I hope you liked my review! If you have any questions, just post a comment, and I’ll be happy to answer you.
