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7.01.09 Featured blogs of the day

University of Calgary Children's Hospital by flickr user futureatlas.com

University of Calgary Children's Hospital by flickr user futureatlas.com

American Independence Day is coming up soon, but we gotta give it up to our neighbors to the north on this July 1st, Canada Day. [Geoff at Mount Allison] gives us some video reflection on the US-Canadian relationship on this day and [GR-E.G] may be American, but is sending her love as well.

David breaks down some dangers for brands on Twitter being too human in dealing with their publics. [The Spinks Blog]

With Michael Jackson’s recent passing it is easy to miss another (through arguably less influential) great entertainer, Billy Mays. [Keg of Wisdom] posts one of their favorite Mays moments. Of course, do be careful in discussions about him. We wouldn’t want nasty narcotics trafficking rumors to start. [In Blog We Trust]

Check out the 8th (blog) Carnival of College and Finance for more blog post compiling goodness. How meta. [College and Finance]

6.27.09 Featured blogs of the day

Bridge glow HDR by Flickr user Aperturef64

Bridge glow HDR by Flickr user Aperturef64

One blogger talks about her experience feeding the Queen’s ducks bread and how much they show respect to the ducks since they are animals. If anything happens to them, there must be a huge fine. [Intelligence Is a Curse]

Would it be better if it was summer and not so hot? One person writes a post about the hottest temperature of one hundred degrees and barely taking the dog out for a normal walk. Whew! That is flaming hot. [The Continued Adventures of Amazing Cheastypants]

The death of Michael Jackson made national news and we all have memories of him in our own special ways. One blogger talks about how magical he was through his hit songs and how he had unique dance skills, another expresses the awkward feelings about this tragedy, and for the least Facebook and Twitter became flooded with the discussion of this death. [Torie Michelle, Nuts & Boalts, iGeneration]

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6.24.09 Featured blogs of the day

Untitled by Flickr user ..lauren..

Untitled by Flickr user ..lauren..

One student shares the adventure being at the self checkout at Walmart as an older lady tries to understand how to use the machine to ring up her ten to twelve purchases. [a tiger With Socks on]

Does the public like Congress and what they do? One blogger talks about how the rating has dipped and the role of how president signs the legislation the public approves of his or her choices. [The Uinited States of Jamerica]

Characteristic such as humanity, motivation, honor, and a few other key pointers that help men and women to be successful and fulfill life goals. [Zen College Life]

6.20.09 Featured blogs of the day

University of Alaska Fairbanks by flickr user jaycross

University of Alaska Fairbanks by flickr user jaycross

Not many people can say that their summer job involves driving a four wheeler, using a chainsaw, and the possible need to take bears out with a hand cannon. God bless Alaska. [We Don't Eat Lint Here]

[Poorer Than You] breaks down the US government’s student bailout in the form of federal loan changes.

In or around Los Angeles? Check out the undoubtedly biggest college blogger event this summer when [HackCollege] hosts a party, The HackCollege Summer Jam Session on June 27. Shotgun a beer for the Student Bloggers crew.

As a public warning from the [Home of a future Starving Artist], we learn how watching Twilight can lead to soul-stealing footprint vampire parties hosted by Miley Cyrus. Or something like that.

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SB reviews: HP dv2z

Back in January after our last computer giveaway, HP invited the bloggers involved with that giveaway to join in on a webinar to review some upcoming notebook releases. One of these was the HP dv2z. Well, recently we were sent a review unit of the dv2z to check out and see exactly what it had to offer. In that initial post, I mentioned that the dv2z looked like it would be an excellent machine for us bloggers to exercise our wares. That does seem to be true. I have only had the chance to use the dv2z for less than a week, so there are undoubtedly more extensive reviews out there if you are getting ready to lay your hard earned down for a machine.

hp-pavilion-dv3t-moonlight-whiteAs mentioned in the January post, the dv2z is about 3.8 pounds/ 1.7 kg. My usual computer is a Macbook Pro, which comes in around at about 5.6 pounds. Two pounds might not sound like much, but it is noticeable when on my back as I’m riding the two wheeler to the coffee shop. While 5.6 doesn’t typically wear me out, after a while I certainly am aware it’s there. This may seem like much ado about the weight, but if you’re constantly traveling with your laptop like I am, you know it means something.

As far as usability goes, the screen and keyboard are much better comparable to other small notebooks. During our giveaway I tried out the HP Mini. I have a friend who has and likes the Mini, but she’s five feet and change with fairly small hands. I’m 6′ 4” with proportionately larger hands. The Mini just doesn’t work for me. At only one pound heavier and two inches bigger screen, the keyboard on the dv2z is very usable for me. After getting used to the key locations I wouldn’t see any problem using this on the regular.

I’m not quite as crazy about the trackpad. It’s very shiny, but some texture would feel better than the smooth metal. The buttons take a good bit of pressure to the point that they definitely slow me down. Fortunately an HP wireless mouse was sent along as well, so maybe they know it isn’t ideal.

This particular unit shipped with 285GB of usable disk space with another 12.6GB already partitioned as a recovery drive, a nice touch for those crazybots trying to live without a separate backup drive. As you can read about in this PC Magazine article, the dv2z ships with the AMD Turion Neo X2 Duel Core Processor as well as 4GB RAM. As we speak(?), I have Firefox open with several tabs, Window Media Player playing (muted), Music Maker 14 playing a demo, and  Excel running as I write in Dark Room. Other than a few skips of the music as I opened Excel and when the computer interrupted me with a registration reminder it seems to be running just fine. This isn’t rendering huge video files or anything, but most users should have no problem.

As far as Vista goes, I have no huge complaints. Don’t get me wrong, I still prefer OS X. In one of those cases of “you don’t miss it until it’s gone,” I do wish I had the menu bar hugging the top of the screen. I also haven’t had enough time with it to see all the foibles. My other complaint is the constant need to approve that applications and things download even if I started the download or the application has run before. I use Quicksilver on my MBP and install Launchy whenever I use a PC because of my irrational need for speed while doing my work, so having to approve this or that 4 times in an hour is no bueno.

On the other side of things, I was pleased with using Windows Media Center. I haven’t used it since my last PC died in 2007 and like the cut of its jib. It has the intuitive navigation of OS X’s Front Row without having to give up my whole screen if I don’t want. Media Center also has built-in Netflix instant viewing as well, making streaming the latest “class-related documentary” that much easier. A plus in Vista’s column. With Windows 7 coming out soon I’d encourage you to look for comparisons between the two.

The dv2z screen’s contrast could be better. I ran the new Sherlock Holmes trailer at HD 720p and the blacks could have been blacker. Otherwise the resolution was fine. It’s not going to make ideal use of the Blu-ray drive that comes in the box, but it will work just fine getting you through a movie while chilling in the airport.

Overall, my original expectations were generally correct. The HP dv2z’s size and general usability makes it a good choice for watching YouTube taking notes in class and blogging over an overpriced coffee. Vista’s media capabilities make this notebook just fine for the everyday user. Those who are looking for top quality HD video capability and the screen to do serious editing probably need to do more research.

Definitely invest in a mouse, as it will make your use go much smoother. You’ll have to carry the external disk drive with you for your Blu-rays, CDs, and the like, though with Netflix in Media Center and Hulu in the Internets you might not really need it anyway. Despite my love of Steve Jobs’ offspring, the $699 starting price tag makes this a good choice for a lot of college students.

6.17.09 Featured blogs of the day

Inside Zest Restaurant, at night by Flickr user Dennis Wong

Inside Zest Restaurant, at night by Flickr user Dennis Wong

One blogger is convinced that Andrew Sullivan provides new journalism that deals with the events in Ian. There is nothing like getting good, quality content and the use of different media such as cell phone pics, e-mails, and other sources that makes his blog different from the mainstream. [Politicoholic]

As one intern says good bye to Six Apart and reflecting his experience with company, he moves into working for Naked Communications Tokyo for in Japan while studying aboard in the country. [Shack in Japan]

Need something to do this summer? Want to give back to the community? You can volunteer for the various organizations and clubs in your local neighborhood. Mostly important go to American Red Cross and  give blood and it will feel like an ant bite, but worth saving three lives. [Some Assembly Required]

6.13.09 Featured blogs of the week – We’re back!

Edit (6/16/09): We’re glad to report that SB will be back twice a week starting Wednesday as editor Kelvin is back in action as well.

Hey ya’ll. Well it seems time for the hiatus to end.SB won’t be coming back daily right away, but just weekly for the summer. Student blogging is typically much lighter during the summer, so this works out. The alumni page has been updated as well. You’ll find all of our beloved SBers who have been pushed out into the craptastic job market. Included in there are two Student Bloggers editors (including yours truely).

We do plan on coming back daily in the fall however, but to do that we need a few more editors. If you are interested in becoming an editor for Student Bloggers come fall, hit me up for more information at alex@studentbloggers.org. It’d be great to have a team of five or so editors to make the work light all around and maintain quality posting.

Finally, I thought that it would be cool to add a page to SB that would be a similar directory of college student Twitter users. But wait! There already is one. A while back, master college blogger Teresa Wu put together a wiki for just that purpose. Go ahead and add yourself or contact her at @resawu. I’ll emphasize that it is not a SB run site, but it seemed like a good thing to link off from here.

So with no further ado… the featured posts of the week:

Arizona Sunrise by flickr user midiman

England’s National Union of Students floated a proposal recently to reduce student costs by instituting a scaled “graduate tax” after you’re out and gainfully employed. Interesting idea. [TheUniversityBlog] breaks down some pros and not-so pros.

Many of us bloggers are fans of other social media as well. Thanks to the mainstream media picking up Twitter, we now about our favorite newspaper’s bathroom habits! Sweet? [Jess and Josh Talk About Stuff]

Speaking of old entities taking to new technology, Tyler brings up the age old question: Do moms love exclamation points or are they just super stoked that they figured out texting? (I paraphrase) [a tiger with socks on] We millenials are much more at home with shiny screens and buttons, but what if we got college credit for social media use? [how good you want to be]

Amy’s first experience living outside Utah is in India this summer. Needless to say, a huge difference and sounds pretty incredible so far. [the old college try] excerpt:

living inside of Utah for my entire life has provided the best blank canvas the colors of India have ever seen. and so far, the colors are bright as well as dark. I am baffled by my experiences so far.

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See you later

Room by flickr user ben.snider

Room by flickr user ben.snider

Student Bloggers is going to be on an indefinite hiatus starting today. This was not an easy decision for us here at SB, but sometimes making progress requires stepping back to look at how everything has been working. In order for the site to keep progressing it would require time and resources that we don’t have at the moment. The fact that a few of us are graduating, hitting the job market, and one is getting married makes this a good time for the transition.

This is hopefully not a goodbye for Student Bloggers, but just a sabbatical of sorts. I started the site as a personal project because it’s something I wished was around for us. After only a year I’ve been able to meet some very cool bloggers, introduce some people to new blogs by fellow students, and give away a few thousand dollars in tech. To get to the next level will require some planning and restructuring how things are done here. I would rather take a step back now than continue stagnantly.

I sincerely appreciate all the love people have given us, the help that some of you gave in building this site, and especially to the editors who joined on at the beginning of the year.

For now we will leave the directory up and continue adding to it if blogs are sent in, but daily updates will stop. I would also encourage people to check out The College Blog Network. Dan over there runs a very cool directory for college blogs. If anyone is interested in developing a filter blog for college students and would like to work with us after the semester, please let me know. Like I said, this project is hopefully not ending, but just stopping for a while.

That’s it. Thanks for the love and I look forward to getting back to my own blogging.

- Alex

4.13.09 Featured blogs of the day

study hard by flickr user stringparts

study hard by flickr user stringparts

Leave it to science to kill the illusion of harmless procrastination. Facebookers have been confirmed to have lower GPAs. [CollegeClickTV]

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New blogs added:

4.13.09 Featured Blogs of the Weekend

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[C.M. Photography] shares her review of a cutting edge canon lens.

[Good Girl Gone Blog] needs help falling asleep…. and a cure for nightmares.

Tony highlights some of his favorite featured blogs on student bloggers.  There’s been some pretty good stuff. [Scholarprenuer]