Has The World Gone Nuts?

Our Insanity is Letting the Terrorists Win

By Sasha Ivanoff

For the Ivanoff Report

Late last week the sheriff of Ulster County, New York proposed every citizen that has a pistol permit to start carrying it as (in my eye) a way of fending terrorists off. The message boards are showing that my fellow Americans are resorting to infantile coping methods. We are much better than this as a nation. If anything, the fact that ISIL can have this much of an effect on this country is a little frightening, and I know that sounds hypocritical coming from me.

Since the Paris attacks and the tragic shootings in Colorado and San Bernadino, California, America has been in a state of panic. When is the next attack going to happen? Is there a way to protect us? (And if you're a Republican, you're probably saying “We told you that President Obama couldn't keep us safe”. Don't remind me that the Democrats are already at a disadvantage going into next year's elections (my dissatisfaction over this nation's perpetual state of campaigning is already something I am far from thrilled with, and that's another blog entry). Well, for those Republicans out there: as far as I read, there was absolutely no indication and no intelligence to suggest such an attack was bound to happen. However, Americans live in a state of fear of even a feather falling on them.

And to add, there are Republicans who are arguing that not only could the attacks been prevented, that the whole notion of insulting people who have been praying for those who have been injured and those who lost loved ones in these massacres is demeaning. However, I am siding with the op-ed writers in this regard. If the GOP wants to propose doing something, how about this? Close off our nation's border altogether. Prohibit foreigners from coming to visit, to study as exchange students, to work on a green card, you name it. (UPDATE: Donald Trump on Monday proposed exactly what I said. Slick move for the Donald).

There is a lot that this nation can do to combat ISIL, and some of it doesn't even involve military action. We can explore the reasons behind ISIL's sudden rise to power and understand how our foreign policy can alienate nations who we call allies.

The Pitfalls of a Cheap Laptop

In middle school I used a device called an AlphaSmart. The AlphaSmart was a handheld word processing device with a tiny black and white screen, a keyboard and room for AA batteries. All being said, the AlphaSmart was a one use device: only designed for word processing. The HP Sttream 11 can do more than just word processing, but I primarily bought it for that purpose. And while die hard gamers would call it a toy, I consider it a computer I would feel comfortable giving a child. In the long term I plan to buy a better ultralight laptop, but for the time being, the HP Stream is a fine device. I have my audio and video on a portable hard drive, so the lack of space doesn't entirely bother me. For the first time in ages, I'm writing again. I love it.

The machine's specs are a 11 inch 1366x768 screen, an Intel Celeron N2840 processor, a non-removable 32GB SSD drive and 2GB or DDR3L RAM. For ports you get a headphone jack, 2 USB ports including 1 USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port (full size to boot) and a full size SD card reader (the 13'' Stream and most of these Chromebook-killers have microSD ports. You also get 802.11 b/g/n networking and Bluetooth. I'm not sure how much everything weighs including the adapter, but it's light enough that my back isn't in excruciating pain when I get back from work.

In my real world usage, I've found that this laptop surprisingly starts up quicker than stated by the major tech websites and magazines. For me, a start takes about fifteen seconds from pressing the power button to the desktop coming up. That's about how long it takes my desktop at home to start and my aging Dell Latitude to start, which is acceptable.

However, the Stream does have its drawbacks, all of them annoying. If you have a huge inbox like I do with Gmail, forget about having an email client on your machine. This is a machine truly designed for streaming, not as an independent unit; however the machine is a bit less dependent on the Internet than the Chromebooks. However, when you include the recovery software and a full Windows 10 install, you're down to less than 10GB of hard disk storage. A nice touch to the notebook is that the keyboard feels really nice, and feedback on the keys is what you would find on a machine twice the price. While the battery life is impressive, it isn't as great as I was hoping, as I don't get much more than six hours out on a charge. That being said, the professional reviewers have said the laptop's battery performs as advertised.

For years, the major tech magazines and news outlets have been predicting the demise of the computer. With a new generation of computers and hybrid tablets on the market, the PC market I think is poised to make somewhat of a comeback. And while all of us (myself included) use the cloud, there are limits to the cloud and I see the home desktop at the hub of the home.

Here begs this question: when can I get another, and one with better specs? There is definitely a market for low-end Ultrabooks. For quick and dirty jobs, the Stream definitely fits the bill. And 

UPDATE: Since I first wrote this article, I bought a slightly faster and better Dell. Slower processor in regards to clock speed, but faster than the older HP. And the black color is WAY more professional. Another USB port couldn't hurt, too! The Dell has it's pros and cons. With the Dell the RAM and battery are removable, but the hard disk is still not upgradeable and its a pound heavier. That pound and very slightly newer hardware does allow for another hour of battery life.

Who would have thought twenty years ago we would have $200 notebooks?

Updates from the Sashmeister

Guys,

Sorry it's been so long since I did an update but I'll have some updates for you guys in the next few weeks.

Sasha