First impressions: Well, obviously it’s all very… square.
I’ve been prepared for this by the update on my Xbox 360,
making the Dashboard very much square, very much advertisement based. I
guess that’s something actually – there’s no ads here. That can only be a good
thing.
The start menu is now a screen full of squares, as opposed
to the good old desktop with program icons. You can get to the desktop
interface, but only begrudgingly. You can tell the operating system wants you
to use this new display. Never have I seen something changed so drastically. It’s
like they’ve completely torn down the established norm and rebuilt it from the
ground up.
Mac OS and Windows have always been, at the heart of it, similar. Their OS displays have always been pretty user friendly and if you can use one, chances are you'll get the hand of the other pretty quickly.
This just changes everything and throws the ball up in the air. What remains to be seen is if
Microsoft catches it or fumbles and drops it to the ground.
I don’t even know why I’m writing this, here on my new version of Microsoft Office Word. Just trying it all
out I suppose. I’ll probably put it on my blog or something. (And oh look, I did). Or stick it on
this new-fangled SkyDrive thingy and try that out. In fact, you can tell it's
official Microsoft shiz ‘cos Word just corrected ‘Skydrive’ to ‘SkyDrive’. God
forbid I miss out the capital in the middle of the word.
Capitals in the middle of words are one of these new ‘stylish’
things companies implement nowadays, and to me they are equally as horrendous
as all this lack of capitalisation going on. You just do it how it’s meant to
be done okay? Not too much, not none at all. I mean, would it be that hard for
it to be just ‘Skydrive’? Or Sky Drive? Or even Sky-Drive?
Perhaps they don’t want any confusion with skydiving.
The touchpad on this thing is also very new and weird to me.
There is no left or right click button. It’s just the whole thing itself is a button.
I’m used to using two hand, one finger on the left click the other on the pad.
But no, it’s just mouse over something, click and drag – with that one finger.
Gonna take some getting used to.
The display itself does look very clean and crisp, it’s all
sharp edges and, as I said before, squares. Squares everywhere. Forget Orange,
the future is square.
The modern look is very appealing. But then, what is modern?
Anything new and innovative, I guess, so that must be what this is.
Oh, and the damn thing came with Norton. I hate Norton. Not
Edward Norton though, he’s a sound guy. But I can’t help but think of him every
time I see the software and now every time I watch Fight Club or the
Illusionist or the Incredible Hulk all I can see is crappy anti-virus software.
Okay, I’m being unfair. I’m sure the software itself is
brilliant. What I don’t like about Norton is the fact it has permeated the
entire technology sector. It came pre-installed on this laptop, and every other
flipping computer I’ve seen recently. It’s important to have security software
at the very beginning of your laptop’s life, I get that, but I’d like to choose
my own, thanks.
For one company to have such a monopoly on this area really
ticks me off. I got a copy of another security software with my laptop (not knowing
it had Norton), and immediately just got rid of Norton in favour of this newer
more friendly software. When the new security program offered to remove Norton
for me, I joyously clicked the ‘yes’ button. But I was shocked to see that when
I began uninstalling it, Norton threw offers in my face.
‘Are you sure you want to uninstall me? You’ve got sixty
days left of this trial version. Get the full version instead for this price
blah blah blah.’
‘Don’t uninstall me. I’ll be your best friend. I promise.’
No. I wouldn’t call myself the most technologically literate
person you’d ever meet, but I know what I’m doing. I know I don’t like Norton.
Just take it like a man, you silly program, and accept defeat. You’ve gotten so
used to being at the top that for someone to refuse you just confounds you, and it
shouldn’t. Grow a pair, Norton.
The touchpad is very much linking into the new fad of
touchscreenedness (yes that’s a word) found in devices nowadays. Some of the
laptops even had touchscreen built in as well. I’ve got no idea what that would
have been like. Why you would need touchscreen as well as a built in touchpad
and keyboard, I have no idea. They weren’t even the flippy new ones where you
turn the screen round and use it like a tablet.
This touchpad is confusing enough. As stated before there’s
no left and right click. Clicking at the bottom on the left or right achieves
the same effect but it is obviously not intended to be used so. Scrolling is
achieved by using two fingers to swipe across the pad, a feature new to me. In
addition to this, zooming can be accomplished by swiping two fingers together
or apart on the pad, something borrowed from touch devices such as the iPhone.
So overall this new laptop is very much spanglier than my
crappy old one. With this and the new TV I also bought (also Samsung) I feel
very much technologically up-to-date, something I haven’t felt in a long while.
For now, my readers (however little of you there are) I bid
you adieu, and leave to go play with my new toys.
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