The specifications for the Asus Eee 1215b are as follows.

• AMD Brazos E-350 dual-core processor running at 1.60Ghz
• 2 GB ram
• 350 GB hard drive
• 802.11/n wi-fi
• card reader slot
• 2 USB 2.0 1 USB 3.0
• web cam
• hdmi output
• Radeon 6310 with 512mb
• 10/100 GB ethernet
• 12.1 ” High definition backlit display

The case is quality black plastic with a patterned bottom. The laptop has a well built feel to it. The chiclet keyboard is almost full size and fairly easy to type one. The Synaptic touchpad is large and has a metal bar for right/left clicking. There are 5 Led’s on the front left edge of the laptop to indicate various status’s.

The laptop runs Windows 7 home premium edition. There is not too much bloat-ware loaded and some nice additional software in addition to what comes with Windows 7.  A trial copy of Trend Micro Titanium is provided for anti-virus software. In its capacity as a HTPC I have loaded Boxee software although I am very impressed with the latest version of Windows Media Center.

I have already hooked it up to my Home Theater HDTV and it works very well. I am able to run and stream full 1080p video with no buffering or stuttering. So it is mission successful for its ability to serve as both laptop and HTPC.

The only negatives I have have to do with the placement of a couple of keys and the fact that I have not found a way yet to disable the touchpad while typing. But these are not really flaws with the laptop, just something I will have to become used to.

Overall, I am extremely impressed with the Asus as well as Windows 7. I ran Ubuntu 10.10 on my old Dell and feel no need to replace Windows 7 with it. The laptop itself is a quantum leap over my old Dell. I have not been able to check the battery life but it is rated for a minimum of 6 hours. My research on available laptops in the price range I was looking at seems to have paid off. It is money well spent. I would highly recommend this laptop to anyone looking for a sub $500 laptop.

The bald eagles’ nest at the Norfolk Botanical Garden had its first egg of the 2009 season as of Tuesday afternoon. Most bald eagles lay two eggs, although nests with one or three eggs can occur. Eggs may be laid over the course of several days. Incubation lasts 35 to 37 days. It’s the sixth year a pair of eagles has nested at the garden, successfully raising nine young eagles in that time.

They can be visited at the garden or through the Eagle Cam at www.wvec.com/cams/eagle.html.

Angry Jordanians poured out of buildings in the capital Amman and cried, “You are the cannon, we are the bullets”, some waving the signature green Hamas banners. Protests erupted in Beirut and in Syria. In the West Bank, Hamas’ rival, Abbas condemned the “aggression” and called for restraint. A shopkeeper in Gaza whose son is missing after the attacks shouted for Israel to burn.

I would say to the shopkeeper that he would be better advised to wish for Hamas to burn than Israel as it is Hamas’ fault that his son is dead or missing, not Israel’s. Ever since Israel was declared a state in 1947 it has been trying to live peacefully with its Arab neighbors, who have been trying to destroy Israel ever since. Israel left Gaza in 2005 after a 38 year occupation, but the withdrawal did not lead to better relations with Palestinians in the territory.

When President Shimon Peres was questioned about Israel’s willingness for peace, the president emphasized that it was Hamas, not Israel which was preventing the diplomatic process from moving forward. How do you practice restraint and sue for peace with an organization that will not be satisfied until Israel is destroyed? The only way for a lasting peace to occur in the Middle East is for the people of Palestine to denounce Hamas and negotiate for peace directly with Israel.

If the leaders of the Arab world would condemn Hamas or at least ask them to show restraint then maybe Israel would not have been pushed to respond to the attacks of Hamas. Israel is only defending it’s citizens. Does anyone really think that Israel does not want to have peace with its neighbors? The only ones that do not want to have peace with Israel are terrorist organizations like Hamas. Arab nations need to do more about organizations like Hamas. When was the last time you read of an Arab nation calling on Hamas to show restraint and stop shelling Israel?

Hamas deliberately targets civilians with its rocket and suicide attacks as well as endangering its  own civilians by firing from populated areas and using mosques and schools as bunkers. The Israeli military risks its own soldiers in its efforts to limit civilian casualties. Yet the Arab world always screams about the civilians killed by Israeli attacks but is silent whenever Israeli civilians are deliberately targeted and killed by groups like Hamas.

The Palestinians would have their own state by now if it were not for Hamas and its senseless hatred for Israel. President Peres of Israel stated the truth clearly.

For the past sixty years, a number of wars have been fought, but in recent years we have turned towards peace. I have signed peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, and we have withdrawn from their territory to the very last centimeter. We have withdrawn from Lebanon, and it is possible to say that we have no conflict with Lebanon. Currently we have negotiations with Syria, and we have begun advanced negotiations with the Palestinians.

Yet Hamas continues to rain down a barrage of rockets on Israeli cities and towns. Nothing Israel can do will mollify Hamas. Hamas does not care about a Palestinian state or the peoples of Palestine.  All Hamas cares about is the destruction of Israel. If the people of Palestine want peace as well as their own state, Hamas has to go. The Palestinian people deserve to live in peace in their own state as do the citizens of Israel. As soon as Hamas is disbanded or destroyed that peace will be obtainable. Until then both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples will continue to suffer.

The Face of Hatred

Powered by ScribeFire.