Lenovo IdeaPad Z710 i5-4200M with Nvidia GT745M - Review

The new Lenovo IdeaPad Z710 is equipped with a NVIDIA GT 745M which will be more than sufficient for modern games, a fast Haswell i5-4200 CPU and 6GB of RAM. While the desktop replacement is no longer a term for laptops, as many people only think of computers being laptops, the Z710 has a 17 inch screen and a full HD display.

With regards to performance, the benchmarks of the Z510 are a good indicator that this larger model will perform just as well.

The reviews of the Lenovo z710are scarce for the moment as it has just been made available.

A full size keyboard with number pad. (My photo isn't straight!)

 

 

Ports

USB

2 x USB 3.0
2 x USB 2.0

Video Port

1 x VGA

HDMI

1 x HDMI

Physical Specifications

Dimensions

16.3" x 10.6" x 1.24"

Weight

6.4 lbs.

 

ZORK for the PS4 ?!

Grabbing a book and immersing oneself into a story is just as common as it was 25 years ago. In fact, more people have the luxury to do so.

How would we find exploring the world of Zork today? Would the latest and greatest hardware make it anymore enjoyable?

The other day I picked up "Understanding Media" by Marshall McLuhan. Seeing the yellowed pages and how densely the words are printed, I had my doubts that I would be able to read it. The pages were pleasantly turned one by one nonetheless. Although I consider it a staple of 20th Century literature, for someone who never played the whole of Zelda, Super Mario Brothers or even tried Call of Duty, it would be ridiculous to consider that there are any "must play" games.

Why do single cup coffee makers (ie. Keurig or Tassimo) taste so disgusting ?

The machines have been out for a number of years now. I was initially disturbed by the amount of waste they generate. While it is agreeable to have a fresh cup of coffee to your liking, the awful taste doesn't make up for the personalized coffee drinking experience.

I am trying to convince myself that the bitter taste is from my consciousness. The plastic, paper and aluminum wasted from each serving constructs an image of landfills, incinerators burning dirty fuel, the inefficiency of the factory and the unpleasant factory workers making K-cups that just go to waste all construct the bad taste in my mouth, but no, the coffee just tastes bad.

Why I feel sad for those who get the latest and greatest

The other day, someone showed me his iPad. I have seen and used tablets before, however I know that they fall short of the utility of a desktop or notebook computer. Portability is nice, but the ergonomics of a touchscreen are lacking.

Computers haven't changed that much in the past 20 years. We use:

• e-mail;
• instant messaging or chat;
• write reports;
• read the news;
• search for articles (yes that was possible with Lynx);
• work with media such as compose music or edit videos;
• play music and videos;
• play games; 
• etc.

When we hear about the latest smartphone, or tablet, with the highest resolution, fastest processor or something else, there is in fact very little to be excited about. Most functions were possible with phones about 7 or 8 years old including a camera, voice recorder, synchronize contacts and e-mail. I look at my phone and find only a few apps that I installed. Most of them have never been used.

Nokia Lumia 520 Amber Update for Koodo

One word : Finally!

It seems like it takes a few hours to download and then install.
Go to Settings -> Update Phone -> Check for updates
If you have a data limit, you will want to this on Wi-Fi

Major features include :
Data Sense

FM Radio
Better photos in low light
Burst Mode for photos
Flip the phone to silence ringing.

Enjoy!

Data Sense

 Interface of the FM Radio

iPhone 5s, 5c - still no FM radio

Of all things that I miss on new portable devices, is none other than the FM radio. I should make a correction, most MP3 players had one, so did an earlier Nokia phone. My old Huawei u8350 also had and FM radio. The amber update for the Nokia Lumia series will also bring the FM radio. The Blackberry 9360 that I should have gotten also has an FM radio.


Commercial radio is an annoying waste of time,  do not get me wrong. If you have access to public radio that offers news coverage, documentaries, interviews and other magazines, you will find an FM radio very convenient.

Perhaps this is part of Apple's model:  make everything commercial.When using streaming services you are normally paying for bandwidth.

Virgin Mobile, a subsidiary of Bell Mobility, is a bad corporate citizen

For over a year, I had an account with Virgin Mobile. I do not like to use a phone, but I had to have one. Now in remote areas, I can rarely get coverage. My account had some remaining funds when I found that out. Acknowledging it was a prepaid account, I did not think I could get my money back, I was hopeful that the money I spent wasn't going to waste. 

Unfortunately, Virgin Mobile was of no help. They did not follow up on my communications, that is I had to call back, and then later write an e-mail. In fact I felt I needed to get the message below in writing for completing the task.

Fortunately, I did find a website that listed organisations that can receive donations via SMS.

Mobile Giving Foundation lists a few organisations.

Here was my request:

I contacted Virgin mobile by phone last month to request that the remainder of my balance be transferred to a charity such as the one on the Virgin Mobile website http://www.virginmobile.ca/en/members-lounge/regen.html?itcid=FOT:34

I learnt that most I do not have a signal the majority of the time, and therefore will not be able to use the phone.

The customer service agent said I would be contacted by e-mail with instructions on how to transfer the balance, however I haven't received a message.

Please advise how the remainder of my account balance can be transferred to a charitable organisation.


Thank you, 

Here is Virgin Mobile's response:

A pleasant day to you,
Thank you for taking time to write to us.  This is Melissa from Virgin Mobile.  I will be very glad to assist you on your email inquiry on how you could donate your account balance to charity.
Upon reviewing your account, I do see that you were able to call us  and spoke with one of our Customer Service representatives regarding this matter.

I  was also able to verify that your case has already been escalated to our Billing department for further possible resolution.  In line with this, our Billing team had said that " We have no way to refund your  balance and if they would like to donate it, you will have to use your own resources to find a method to donate (such as a SMS donation).  However with Virgin, weare not affiliated with any as of this time and  this is not a service offered by us.  Sorry about that.
The reference Case I.D. # is  XXXXXXXX.
For further assistance or concerns, feel free to give us a call at 1.888.999.2321 or 611 from your handset and one of our Customer Care specialists will be glad to help you.
We're open from 9:00 am to 9:00   P.M - Monday to Saturday and 10:00 am to 7:00pm (EST) ¿ Sunday.
I hope I was able to assist you with this information.  Take care and have a great day ahead!
Regards,
Melissa
VMC Team