Daniel, the Consumer

Like all of you, my dear readers, I am also a consumer. As a writer, I cannot have bias when it comes to the devices highlighted on this blog. However, as a guy who goes out to buy products, I must have experience if I want to make an educated decision.

So I must be two people: Daniel the consumer and ThoughtFix the journalist. Here are some of my notes:

TabletKiosk:
Asking Daniel, the consumer: They're nice people, accessible, and work with hand-picked partners to get their preferred solutions to market. Once the devices are at market, they work to offer more for the consumer. As a guy who buys UMPCs, I like TabletKiosk. Ask ThoughtFix, the blogger, what he thinks and he'd say the same except whine a bit about the eo dock still not available for purchase.

Dynamism:
Asking Daniel, the consumer: They're a bit expensive, but they track down and supply the rare, interesting, and high-end of both overseas electronics and domestic curiousities. They're also good with support, order tracking, and the like. Ask ThoughtFix and he'll call them the Sharper Image except for geeks - more a boutique of luxury electronics than a store. Except they have a support department.

VIA:
Daniel has a long history with VIA's tiny embedded solutions. While not always cranking at the highest megahertz level, having an EPIA ME6000 file server running Gentoo sitting completely silent for a number of years was neat. ThoughtFix says that their graphics chipsets need a boost with Vista around, but they're certainly giving Intel a run for their money on the UMPC side.

The Origami Team:
Dan likes how they're available in forums. Until recently, this was pretty well unheard of for Microsoft teams. They contribute tips, tricks, hacks, and software to the community as well as monitor all feedback and consider it when enhancing the product. ThoughtFix, however, thinks they need to blog MORE OFTEN and not sit shrouded in so much secrecy about their upcoming developments. However, he understands why they are.