Like most good geeks I downloaded and installed the iPhone 2.0 software yesterday and then downloaded EVERY SINGLE FREE APP AVAILABLE (and one paid app). Special thanks to TechCrunch for being on top of things and posting all downloads and links early. The app store is awesome. So far I’m pretty happy with most apps, especially the AIM, Twitterific, and the Faceobook app.

AND!

[StarWarsGeekGirl]

PhoneSaber! That was the first app I showed Ben. I’ve played with this app far too much. I can’t help it. I chased the cat around this morning and it was an epic battle that ended with him fleeing with his tail between his legs. HA!

Okay, I’ll stop now.

[/StarWarsGeekGirl]

The Facebook app is CRAZY fantastic and the developers should be very proud. It’s like a contact list on steroids. From now on instead of asking for a phone number to put into my phone I’m just gonna say “Add me on Facebook!” I’ve never really gotten fully into the Facebook craze even though I have a lot of friends that use it. Having to log in EVERY TIME I visit and the cluttered feeling have kept me away. Now that this is available, I expect that I’ll be much more active in that community… because, you know, what I really need is ANOTHER online community to become addicted to.

One thing I’d really love to see is a way to push info from Facebook to our contact lists, that would be the ultimate in coolness. GET ON THAT DEVELOPERS! kthxbye.

Twitterific is SO VERY PRETTY. I felt kind of bad for ditching Hahlo so quickly (for about 2.4 seconds) then The Pretty won me over. Twitterific is so easy to read and very well laid out for @replies and the integrated Safari browser with the option to also open in the browser for bookmarking was GENIUS. They really captured what twitter users want, I’d say better than even twitter does.

Now, if WordPress can just get it’s app out, I’ll be the happiest little blogger geek. From what I’ve seen though it will be awesome too. Easy to post, integrate pictures from the iPhone gallery on the fly, etc. It, combined with Typepad’s already available app, will take mobile blogging to the next level. It will be cool to see people doing more real time blogging of events.

I won’t be getting a 3G anytime soon because we close on the house today and we can’t really afford to be spending the money on new toys but a little part of me is happy that I got the App Store 24 hours before the 3G users. And my phone will always have the pretty metal back that I’ll flash around like a badge of geeky honor.

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I bought this laptop November of 2007. I hit refresh on the refurbished Dell website about 562,226,529,526 times and there was ONE laptop that met all the requirements I had. As soon as it popped up I called Ben and tried to act like my brain was not in the process of exploding RIGHT THEN AND THERE because OH MY GOD I WANT THIS LAPTOP and he ordered it for me right away. *swoon*

First things first! Lets get the specifications out there:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
• 160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• 15.4 inch WSXGA+ Notebook Screen with TrueLife (1680 x 1050)
• 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
• 9 Cell Primary Battery
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
• 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
• Intel 4965 802.11a/g/n Dual-Band Mini Card

I seriously love this laptop. So far there hasn’t been a single program I’ve thrown at it that it hasn’t been able to handle. Graphic intensive games like World of Warcraft, Sims2 and City of Heroes play with no problem at all. PhotpshopCS3 loads quickly and even with 3-5 rather large RAW images open at the same time, there are little to no hangups. The only program I’ve run into that causes a bit of lag has been DxO Optics Pro but that is a REALLY memory and processing intensive program.

I wasn’t too sure about the glossy screen at first but for game play and photo manipulation, it’s absolutely perfect and even in outside sunny environments it’s brightness has been enough to allowe me to browse and watch movies.

Of course, this decreases battery life but I opted for the larger 9-cell battery for that reason. I sat at an America’s Tire for THREE HOURS while they worked on my car and played games with Cassidy and surfed the internet at full brightness before I started to get low. The batter does stick out a bit in the back but I’ve not had a problem getting it to fit into a standard 14 inch bag or backpack.

With the 160GB hard drive, DVD read/writer and built in wireless it’s been everything I wanted and MORE. As a matter of fact, it’s been so awesome, that we bought Ben one in black. His and hers.

The best part was that because I got a refurbished laptop, I save over $600 when compared to the same machine built on Dell’s main website. Several people have been surprised to learn that its a refurb because there’s not a scratch or mark on it anywhere. It looks like a brand new unit.

So if you are in the market for a new laptop (or monitor, or desktop, or printer for that matter) anytime soon, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the refurbished Dell website before you make your final purchase.

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