HP Elite X2

My work gave me one of these a couple of weeks back, and so I thought I would give an early review.  In case you cannot tell from the picture, the Elite X2 is a lot like the Surface Pro...the latest one.  I'm not sure what number they are up to, and I don't care.

It's a tablet with a detachable keyboard.  The keyboard is much like the Surface, in that part of can cling (probably magnetically) to the lower edge of the tablet, the part below the actual screen.  This gives it that desired ergonomic, slanted keyboard.  

Now, I have tested a recent Surface with the slanted keyboard, and I did not really like it.  The keyboard is not supported between the screen and the front edge, and on the Surface, this makes the keyboard bounce in a way that I found...disconcerting.  I had an original Surface RT, where the keyboard rested flat on the table or desk, and I got used to the flat keyboard.  I did not really like the new Surface TypeCover for extended typing.

But, you should note the silver upper side (I keep having to avoid the word "surface" to avoid confusion), which is a bit sturdier than the plastic upper side of the Surface TypeCover.  I don't know if it is metal or what, but it is a bit stiffer than the TypeCover, and so typing this review on it is not disconcerting in the same way as the Surface TypeCover.

So, I like the keyboard.  It should be said that I really like laptop keyboards.  I love the feel of not having to move the key more than the tiniest bit.  I feel like I type faster, even though I have no objective proof to back that up.

The screen is very bright, and extremely sharp.  It is a 12 inch screen with 1920 x 1280 resolution, and that is the first problem...at least for me.  That is an extremely high resolution for a 12 inch screen.  That is the same as the resolution on my 24" monitor.  Everything is very small, and for a 61 year old man with less than perfect eyesight, that is a bit much.  And, as anyone who has used an LCD knows...well, at least the ones who have tried to lower the resolution, things can get a bit fuzzy if you lower the resolution.  There are other ways to effect changes in the size of text on the screen, but even they are less than ideal.

I feel like this resolution is a downside to this device.

I like the pen, but I have to admit that I have not used it much.  The kickstand works well, though I have not had a real need to adjust it from a single position.  The kickstand has a first position with what I would call a soft lock.  When you push it out, it goes out a bit and stops.  This position is good for typing.  There is no click at the stop, but the resistance gets stronger, and from that point it simply requires a little more pressure to move it along until the screen is nearly level with the desk surface.  This makes it very easy to snap the kickstand out for writing, and then you can adjust it for other things you might be doing with your Elite.

There is a tiny problem with the keyboard, but it is how close it sits to the bottom of the Windows desktop.  It makes it difficult to touch the icons on the Taskbar.  It is about the smallest of problems, but I am trying to be thorough. 

I have not had a chance to check out the Bang & Olufsen speakers.  Speakers can be a problem in a work environment, especially when you work in a cube with others in close proximity. 

I like the Elite X2.  A while back, I looked at the Spectre X2, which is the consumer version of the Elite.  Now, I want the Spectre, which should have most of the same features at a better price...at least I hope so.

I Have Lost my Voice

I have not done a great job with this blog, and I think I finally figured out why.

I have lost my voice.

Obviously…well, not obviously to my readers, but still obviously, I do not mean that literally.  My speaking voice is just fine.

25 years ago, I graduated from college, rather later than usual for getting a Bachelor’s degree, as I went to three different universities and in between #2 and #3, I spent about a decade working.  During my third set of school days I used to carry around paper notebooks and during breaks I would write in them on all sorts of topics.  I would call those topics philosophical in nature, but it was often about defining certain things, like intelligence.

I have also kept a journal for the last 43 years.  I have several bound volumes and the last decade or so is on computer.

I have done a lot of writing over the years, and yet I cannot seem to keep up with this blog.  I think that the problem is that I have too many distractions.  This ties in with the fact that I do not read as much as I used to.  I used to read between 50 and 75 books a year.  Some years ago, I set myself the goal of reading 100 books in a year and for three successive years I met that goal.  Lately, I have been lucky to top 25 books in a year.

I have games on my phone, games on my tablet, and games on my PC.  I have videos on my hard drive, Netflix, Amazon Prime, not to mention the length and breadth of the internet.  So, I have a vast array of things designed to help me avoid boredom, but it was that boredom that gave me time to think deeply, and then write.

One of the problems is that distraction does not really relieve boredom.  It just masks the boredom.  It delays the boredom.  Then the video ends, or you finish the game and the boredom rushes back in and fills the void.

The real question is what, if anything, I am going to do about it? 

I am not sure that I can eliminate the boredom with writing, but I think it might help, at least a little.