I check dealmac.com and dealnews.com.

Seconded.

Ah, excellent. I think gizmodo cherrypicks from either or both of those, actually.

Thanks.

I think Chrome simply stops syncing if you logout. I don't recall seeing synced stuff disappearing.

I'm going to be checking out dealmac and dealnews _again_. Sigh.

I took a risk on the mini mac and it turns out I got screwed and the seller is shining me on.

I didn't want to believe the Geniuses (very long and ugly story) when they said that the motherboard was damaged.

Today, a Verizon tech came to figure out why my internet is hella slow. I had no idea the motherboard could effect such things, but according to his many, many diagnostics, it's the machine and not the connection.

There _is_ a loud noise coming from the box...which I'm told is a precursor to the big demise.

I could just cry. I thought I was doing the right thing.

The seller tells me that he ships computers in post office mailers with a bit of crumpled newspaper all the time without a problem. It would seem that _this_ time, it did not work out and I'm the one to suffer.

Curses.

I just worked out that strange blank page my phone was giving me was the prelude to Google Now. I have no clear idea what difference that is going to make to my life--Jelly Bean is a very understated upgrade.

But I do like gesture search. If it searched documents, like Evernote, it would be even more cool. Maybe even useful, but Contacts is a nice start. However, I cannot get double flip to work. I don't understand why that is complicated.

I have been having a great time reading up on the tablet market. I hadn't thought much about the 7" market outside of the Amazon/B&N offerings. Interesting price points that completely fail to properly exist.

I'm a bit surprised that they seem to consistently have video conference cameras over taking picture of actual things cameras. Is that because everyone has a phone already?

When I think of a tablet, I think of it as the kind of thing I'd be far more likely to videochat on than pull out to take a picture with. I mean, both seem fairly useful (except I don't take pictures, but imagining I did) but if I had to choose one for a tablet I think front-facing is the right choice. I think the opposite for a phone. It has to do with screen size, I think - the larger screen seems just write for couch Skyping.

I am lusting so badly after a Note 2. I think I would love it and squeeze it and call it George. The reviews are ubiquitously stellar and it just seems like they've worked hard to make the stylus USEFUL. If Microsoft updates the OneNote app to show/allow ink, it would be win.

I have big pockets, big hands, and a big head, so the form factor works for me too.

I wonder if Evernote is going to update the Android app to support ink notes...

Has anyone successfully resolved a dispute through Amazon's arbitration program?

I'm waiting until I'm less angry with the seller and I'd like to avoid any pitfalls along the way.

I'm prepared to eat the $400 dollars if I have to, but I just can't do that without putting up a fight.

I haven't used the 3rd party arbitration program, but I've generally been (surprisingly!) impressed with Amazon's customer service when we've had a problem with stuff we've bought directly from them. Definitely be that squeaky wheel!

I video chat a fair amount, but I haven't done it that often on a tablet. I've found that the laptop is easier, since I don't have to hold it or prop it up, and I can also surf the web and share my desktop and send links back and forth during the chats, which is a fairly big part of the experience for me.

On the flip side (uh, so to speak), I take a lot of pictures with the tablet. I took vacation pictures with it a month ago (some of which are making it into an online story on the resort), I take "Hey look at this thing I want to show you!" pics that end up emailed/tumblred/etc. And when I take pictures of myself, they're intended to show my clothes, so they're in the mirror with the rear camera anyway.

The touchpad only has a front facing camera, and it's useless to me.

These low-spec tablets are probably not that good to video chat on anyway.

I have a stylus for my tablet/phones, but since it isn't actually key for anything, I haven't used it months. It's not handy, and if I used it more, I'd probably have lost it by now. So if it were useful, it would be gone by now.

Definitely be that squeaky wheel!

Fear my squeak!