It took me twice as long to be half as interesting, but, by golly, I did it. I used my laptop.

I know what you’re thinking. Spitz using crazy newfangled technology? Clearly, the real Julia Spitz has been abducted by aliens and a lookalike left in her place.

I’d think the same thing.

But these aren’t the old days. I can’t dial the rotary phone and yell, “Get me rewrite,” and expect anything other than stunned silence on the other end. And I can’t expect to cover this inauguration the same way I did last time I was in D.C. to report on the transfer of presidential power: File something when I get back into town and have it run four days after the swearing-in.

Leisurely was fine for Jimmy Carter’s peanut parade, but this isn’t 1977.

There may be familiar rings to the scenario. Democrat without standard credentials elected to replace Republican regime. Americans grappling with a bad economy and a run of high fuel prices. Unrest in hot spots around the world.

We can all hope the four-year outcome will be as different as the technology then and now.

And I can hope what I’m able to send back will be better than my Cavalier Daily coverage of Carter’s inauguration.

Which gives me two weeks to get comfortable with the idea the mouse is invisible, I just have to rub in the right spot, repeatedly, then left click or right click the bars under the invisible rubbing spot to get anything to happen.

Using…

The Samsung NC10 is available with black, white, and blue exteriors, but besides that, the US models don’t have any other options — such as choosing between a HDD and SSD or a Linux operating system versus Windows. An Intel Atom N270 is used by the NC10, which is the most common processor found in today’s netbooks and is clocked at 1.60GHz. This Intel netbook has a 10.2″ WSVGA 1024 x 600 display, Intel graphics, a 160GB 5400RPM HDD, and 1GB of DDR2-800 memory. This netbook also has a 1.3 megapixel integrated web camera, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.0. The dimensions for the Samsung NC10 are 10.2″ x 7.3″ x 1.2″ and the overall weight is 2.8lbs.

We ordered the Samsung NC10-14GB for our testing, which happens to be the blue model. The packaging for the NC10 isn’t flashy like the ASUS Eee PC 901 or some other netbooks, but it’s effective. Inside the cardboard box there was a Styrofoam mold protecting the netbook itself wh…

The new multimedia-centric IdeaCentre A600 features a frameless 21.5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an optional ATI Radeon graphics card, up to 4 GB of DDR3 memory and up to 1 TB of hard drive space. The system also includes WiFi, a 6-in-1 media card reader, a webcam with facial recognition technology, optional Blu-ray, optional hybrid TV tuner, an optional 4-in-1 remote controller and side-mounted USB and FireWire ports. The remote controller can be used as a VOIP handset, a media center/TV remote or as an “air mouse” that can be used to control the screen’s cursor or to play games. The IdeaCenter A600 has a starting price of $999 and it will be available starting in April.

As for the new IdeaPad laptops, Lenovo expanded its Y-series line-up of laptops with the introduction of the 16-inch Y650, the 15.6-inch Y550 and the 14-inch Y450. All three of the new laptops feature glossy 16:9 aspect ratio displays and are configurable with up to 500 GB of hard drive storage space, up to 4 GB of DDR3 memory, optional Bluetooth and optional Nvidia-based graphics. The new laptops also include Lenovo’s OneKey Theater software, Lenovo’s Desktop Navigator software, Lenovo’s VeriFace facial recognition software and a multi-touch touchpad that can be used for resizing images.

Standing apart from the other two laptops though,…

Well, that will change in the very near future. The next telly you buy will be better than the old one in several important ways. It’ll be slicker, sweeter, and perfectly capable of serving up its own shows and movies whenever you need it. The idiot box took some evening classes and is quickly becoming a genius. And you can get rich watching the sea change.

Watch whatever you want, whenever you want it
You already know everything about TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) boxes and digital cable with video-on-demand features. But you still need another ugly box in your entertainment center to take advantage of these handy video streams. Not for much longer, though.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) is already selling LCD TVs that can stream videos from content sources like Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) YouTube, the CBS (Nasdaq: CBS) network, and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) Video On Demand. Actually, you still need to buy a $300 adapter for these sets that connects to the Internet to pull down all these fancy tidbits. But at least it’s tacked on behind the TV — out of sight, out of mind.

And today, LG Electronics takes the stage at the 2009 CES electronics show to present a line of LED-lit LCD televisions that connect to the ‘Net w…