Barb's Connected World

Rumors are flying that this will be officially announced tomorrow. Full frame, here I come.

 

Scan from a German magazine being released tomorrow.

The D-Link DSM-210 Internet Frame really is best of breed. Besides displaying images from various places on my network, or from its built in 1 gig memory, it does a really great job of displaying RSS feed snippets from blogs and such. Or weather reports, or images emailed to my online frame account from invited friends. There’s lots of content available from http://dlink.framechannel.com/ that can be displayed on the frame. Including the ability to view shared photo streams from flickr, facebook, webshots, photobucket, and more. MSNBC had a write up of Frame Media, which provides the online service for D-Link and several other companies.

The DSM-210 displays an RSS feed snippet

As much as I liked the Momento frame that I’ve had for a couple of years, it had a few shortcomings. It didn’t support WPA2 (only WPA) and the remote was a little flaky requiring multiple keypresses at times to enter a character at times.  And it did not see my mixed g/n networks (and couldn’t connect to them even if I entered the SSID and credentials manually). There haven’t been any firmware updates, and the Momento frame really isn’t readily available. It is important to note that the Momento I had here was pre-production, from the floor of CES.

The DSM-210, however, implements WPA2, sees all available networks, and the mini remote is extremely responsive. The frame goes into standby mode at night when I turn off the lights in my living room and starts up again in the morning when I enter the room. D-Link tells me that the frame will be available soon online and in the usual big box stores.

Over the weekend I received a DSM-210 ten inch widescreen format digital frame. While there are a ton of frames available, the only ones I’d consider for personal use must include a bulletproof way to stream content from my network, a way to upload photos to frame memory, and some kind of Internet streaming.

The D-Link frame, part of the Medialounge product family does all the above and more.

I’m pretty impressed. Besides handling the wireless streaming (which you’d expect from a wireless picture frame), the DSM-210 is very network savvy. Autosensing my DNS-323 NAS (which sports a UPnPAV media server) the network settings displayed this server as a media source. When I fired up a computer that previously was not used for media sharing, Window Vista detected the DSM-210 and asked if I wanted to set up Windows Media Sharing. Pretty slick.

The frame has 1GB internal storage and comes pre-loaded with some sample pictures. D-Link has a widget that works with Yahoo Widgets and lets you manage the content in the built in memory. Delete the samples and drop your own images onto the widget and they are quickly uploaded. In fact, the widget lets you manage multiple frames.

I’ve only just begun to explore the Online Content features. You can view photo streams from all the usual places (or set up your own from your hard drive or other RSS capable source). Plus there are channels for just about every interest. And yeah, I’ve got my local weather forecast set up.

I can email images to myself (even from a camera phone) and invite friends to email images to me as well at a special address (jpg format). This works pretty much the same as the analogous feature on the Momento frame.

If you want to keep your DSM-210 frame in your bedroom, you don’t need to turn it off at night. The frame autosenses motion or light and somehow activates itself when you turn on a light or walk into a room. I’m still investigating this feature to see just how it works.

The D-Link logo and some blue LEDs fire up for a bit when you first power on the frame but turn off automatically.

Here’s a quick and dirty picture of the frame right after I started a stream from the DNS-323 NAS box.

 

I like this hardware a lot. More to come as I dive deeper into the features.

  Over the weekend I received a D-Link DSM-210 ten inch widescreen format digital frame. While there are a ton of frames available, the only ones I’d consider for personal use must include a bulletproof way to stream content from my network, a way to upload photos to frame memory, and some kind of Internet streaming.

The D-Link frame, part of the Medialounge product family does all the above and more.

I’m pretty impressed. Besides handling the wireless streaming (which you’d expect from a wireless picture frame), the DSM-210 is very network savvy. Autosensing my DNS-323 NAS (which sports a UPnPAV media server) the network settings displayed this server as a media source. When I fired up a computer that previously was not used for media sharing, Window Vista detected the DSM-210 and asked if I wanted to set up Windows Media Sharing. Pretty slick.

The frame has 1GB internal storage and comes pre-loaded with some sample pictures. D-Link has a widget that works with Yahoo Widgets and lets you manage the content in the built in memory. Delete the samples and drop your own images onto the widget and they are quickly uploaded. In fact, the widget lets you manage multiple frames.

I’ve only just begun to explore the Online Content features. You can view photo streams from all the usual places (or set up your own from your hard drive or other RSS capable source). Plus there are channels for just about every interest. And yeah, I’ve got my local weather forecast set up.

I can email images to myself (even from a camera phone) and invite friends to email images to me as well at a special address (jpg format). This works pretty much the same as the analogous feature on the Momento frame.

If you want to keep your DSM-210 frame in your bedroom, you don’t need to turn it off at night. The frame autosenses motion or light and somehow activates itself when you turn on a light or walk into a room. I’m still investigating this feature to see just how it works.

The D-Link logo and some blue LEDs fire up for a bit when you first power on the frame but turn off automatically.

Here’s a quick and dirty picture of the frame right after I started a stream from the DNS-323 NAS box.

 

I like this hardware a lot. More to come as I dive deeper into the features.

I’ve recently returned from a week in Seattle and the HP TX2000 behaved like a champion.  It is certainly the right size for economy class air travel. I have a chronically bad back. A heavy notebook in a large size backpack has proven hazardous to my health in terms of pain and suffering. I easily traversed airports and did tons of walking and standing while I was away with the TX2000 (and a Nikon D300 w/lens) packed away in a Kata R101 backpack. (And on the plane, it fits nicely under the seat in front of me where I can be sure no one throws it around.)

Before I left home, I recorded a few TV Shows with an external USB tuner I already owned using Vista’s Windows Media Center. (HP does have a tuner for the TX2000 but I have not had the opportunity to see/try it.) The passenger in the middle row seat on my outbound flight asked some questions as I had the TX2000 in tablet mode and was watching some of this recorded TV via Media Center.  He had earbuds and I let him plug into the spare earphone port. The TV in my hotel room was an old CRT tube type and I just can’t watch those after living with LCD’s and Plasma’s. Watching recorded TV on the TX2000 was a much better experience than watching anything on the hotel television.

One of the first travel incidents that happened to me was that I broke off a prong on the Jawbone BT earplug A/C power plug. It’s a two piece deal, USB plugs into the wall wart. I now very much appreciate the three USB ports on the TX2000 (and I’d definitely been scratching my head wondering how I could use three at once). One port each for my Moto RAZR phone, my IPOD Touch, and my Jawbone BT adapter. Obviously notebook has to be powered on to charge up these items, but I found a routine of waking up, plugging in, showering, etc. reading email and doing morning online stuff before leaving the hotel was enough time to charge everything for the day.

Battery life on the TX2000 was pretty decent. Even with the smaller 6 cell battery installed (to save space and weight), I found that by using Power Saver mode coupled with an electrical outlet halfway through the day for a quick drink of energy that I could pretty much get through a day of presentations and meetings (not constant use). Like other true tablet pc’s, the screen can be a little hard to read in bright sunlit settings. A few times where I was sitting in an enclosed courtyard environment with natural bright sunlight I had to move around a bit and turn up the brightness.

Wireless connectivity “just worked” thanks to the built in Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n wireless radio. No matter what SSID I needed to connect to, there were no hassles. I had a chance to use the wired Ethernet as well on this trip and had no issues. Not that I wouldn’t expect this great performance, but I am sure glad that HP did not use the problematic Intel 4965 wireless chipset (lots of driver issues).

After taking some NEF+JPG images with my Nikon D300, I used a Lexar Professional USB 2.0 high speed Compact Flash Reader to get images into the TX2000. While the TX2000 has a built in media reader, it does not handle the larger format compact flash cards (which is true of all other notebooks I’ve seen). I’m pleased to report that some batch processing with Adobe on this 64 bit Ultimate machine with 4 gigs of RAM is very acceptable (as compared to the TX1000 which was quite slow). It was pretty neat to put the TX2000 in tablet mode and play a slide show of the day’s photos for some friends. Speaking of friends, quite a few of them (30 or so) had some hands on with this TX2000 on this trip. Since I’d been talking about it and blogging about it, there was a lot of interest. Even folks I didn’t know (on the airplane and at the conference) wanted to take a look at the machine. Definitely thumbs up from a very discriminating crowd of geeks. Only a couple of friends that are business tablet users felt that it would not suit their specific needs. Even people I didn’t know wanted to take a look at the TX2000. On my outbound trip, TSA at my local airport at the security checkpoint said, “is this a new laptop” and went off to inspect it. I think they were curious and not alarmed. When they handed it back to me, the comment was, “this looks pretty cool”.

All in all, it was a great trip. The TX2000 was a great machine to take on the road, serving all my needs.

Do I now have the perfect “home, multimedia, on the road and around town” mobile notebook/tablet pc? Last year I had a chance to be one of the first to get a look at HP’s TX1000. I liked it a lot (see reviews) but felt that it could be world class with a few improvements. Several months later, I became involved in “Help HP Design their next notebook” along with several other bloggers. I contributed my own wishlist and submitted the entire list of comments and suggestions from readers. Basically, I want it all. I don’t want an all business notebook that is light on features that I need for my digital photography and multimedia needs, but I do want a notebook that lets me attend to personal business efficiently (Office 2007) and is fun to use.

Almost exactly one year after receiving the TX1000 for review, HP contacted me and asked if I was interested in looking at the HP Pavilion TX2000 Entertainment PC. Of course I said yes. And I won't keep anyone in suspense. I REALLY like this notebook. Below are my first and early impressions in detail.

The TX1000 series was not a true Tablet PC and as I wrote a year ago, handwriting recognition was pretty iffy and slow. The TX2000 series is definitely a “real” tablet, with a good active digitizer. It even understands my hen scratches (a tough thing to do since not only has my handwriting degenerated over the years, but because I type 99% of the time, when I do use a pen or pencil, ten minutes after I’ve written something I might not be able to read it myself!)

HP has listened carefully to end users. (And I don’t know of any other computer manufacturer that has gone to this much trouble to solicit feedback, yet alone incorporate it, in a consumer notebook product.) Circuit City is describing the TX2000 as an HP Pavilion TX2000 12.1" Touchscreen Entertainment Laptop. I'm guessing that the word "touchscreen" has less of a "business only" connotation than "tablet", but it is a true tablet pc.

The nitty gritty: The machine I received was one at the top of the line. According to the website (as of April 11, 2008), models start at $899.99 for a base configuration and with HP’s recommended Config, currently cost $1168.99.

The hardware I received:

Turion 64 X2 TL66 (2.3 GHz 512+512 L2 Cache)

4 GB DDR2 System Memory

Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone

Wireless a/b/g/n (draft) + Bluetooth

250 GB SATA 5400 RPM hard drive

LightScribe 8x DVD+/-RW Double Layer

Wireless Remote Control (for Windows Media Center and Quick Play)

6 cell & 8 cell Lithium-Ion batteries

Tablet Pen Digitizer and Cord

12.1” (1280 x800) WXGA Nvidia Go6150 powered graphics (shared memory)

2 sets earbuds

I’m forever converted to x64 computing, so a machine with 4 Gigs of RAM, Vista Ultimate x64 and a dual core AMD Turion loads an impressive deck. (Actually the top processor offered in this series, the AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology Gold Edition TL-68 (2.4 GHz, 512KB+512KB L2 Cache) is one of the faster of its kind.)

Setting up and firing up the TX2000 for the first time was a breeze. HP includes their standard poster for folks that can’t figure out how to insert the battery and assemble the two pieces of the power cord. After powering it up for the first time, the typical OEM Windows Vista setup screens appeared including license acknowledgement and after Windows setup completed, HP’s own registration application. It's all pretty slick as you can see from the shots below. A short video was next and a few screens asking me if I needed an Internet provider. Since I’m a very happy Comcast broadband user, I was all set.

 

 

HP's default wallpaper is shown below. This same design is imprinted (black on a striking piano black finish) on the top pf the notebook.

I “pointed” the a/b/g/n wireless at one of my 802.11n (draft 2.0) networks and was off and running, actually speeding. Windows Vista downloaded a ton of updates while I looked around and worked on personalizing my drive configuration. The 250GB hard drive was configured as a single volume (Drive C) and one of the first things I did was change the hidden recovery partition drive letter to F and then shrink the C drive, create a D drive and format as NTFS. I like to keep my data (including images, videos and music) on a non system drive. Old habits die hard!

Multimedia Powerhouse

There’s no question that the TX2000 is an Entertainment Notebook PC (and is deserving of that label). The stereo speakers (Altec Lansing) are quite good for a laptop. I’ve certainly seen my share of crappy, tinny laptop speakers driven by cheap chips over the years). There are TWO earphone/earbud out ports. Couple this with tablet functionality and turning the TX2000 into tablet mode, watching a DVD on an airplane with a travel companion is a great experience. Both of you can enjoy the DVD while everyone around you can watch the movie offered by the airline that you’ve already seen twice. I carry some great Shure sound isolating high performance earbuds which provide an incredible experience, but entry level inexpensive earbuds are available as options from HP with the TX2000. It’s not a bad idea to carry a set of these if you want to share with someone not carrying their own earbud gear. HP includes Quick Play button functionality (which launches Vista) to give you one button access to your music and more.

Windows Vista Media Center is a powerhouse on its own and is included in every version of Vista Ultimate or Home Premium. For $100, you can order an optional HP USB Digital/Analog Tuner w/Remote for a premium Live and Recorded TV experience. On top of that, HP has added enough additional entertainment features that I was tempted to look for the kitchen sink

Kitchen sink aside, HP includes a link to SlingMedia’s web site for a 15% discount on a Slingbox (and the Sling Media player is pre-installed). StarZ Vongo is also pre-installed. The basic version of muvee autoProducer is pre-installed (along with the option of activating a 21 day free trial of the fully featured version). Cyberlink full version software is also pre-installed: Power Director 6 (for the Steven Spielberg in you), Power2Go v5 (media burner), Label Print and YouCam (webcam effects). HP Photosmart Essentials is also included.

Electronic Arts Trial Version of Sims Life Stories is also pre-installed. It’s not really my “thing” but HP certainly includes a rounded selection of entertainment vehicles.

HP included a lot of other software (loaded to the gills, actually), including a 60 day trial version of Microsoft Office 2007 Student and Teacher (which I am replacing with a full Office 2007 Ultimate and Expression Web). The S&T version may be just right for the average user, but I’m accustomed to the Ultimate version of Office 2007 and I do author PowerPoint decks. Also preinstalled was a 60 day trial of Norton Internet Security. Norton is one of my least favorite apps, and after 10 minutes, I uninstalled it (and substituted Eset’s NOD32 which I like a lot as it is lightweight but strong). I do understand the need to include a working AV product out of the box.

Much of the included software has easy access shortcuts on the default desktop and/or in the system tray, but some only appears on the Programs menu.

The TX2000 is currently shipping with updated drivers and Vista Service Pack 1 pre-installed. This means that out of the box, the machine doesn’t need to download hundred’s of megabytes of updates and fixes and that the drivers are SP1 compatible. (My review unit needed some updates from the HP Support site, including a BIOS update and some drivers, but HP has one of the best systems I’ve seen and their “Softpaqs” are nearly bulletproof. After installing the HP updates, I made a few passes at Windows Update and downloaded and applied a few rounds of updates before SP1 was offered.) After Vista was done downloading about 121 megs, SP1 installed in about 25 minutes.

The networking options for wireless vary, but the higher end selection of a/b/g/n (draft) 802.11 with Bluetooth certainly meet all my criteria. The hard drive choices are 160, 250, or 320 GB 5400 RPM SATA. For an optical drive, HP included a LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support.

Like the TX1000 series, the TX2000 NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 6150 graphics chip drives the display. Video memory is shared and not dedicated (one of the few things I dislike). You can, however, alter the amount of dedicated memory in the system BIOS settings. The Video rating is what drives down the overall Windows Experience rating. In spite of the rating system (which I don't think really represents any real time normal usage), I'm happy with the performance of this notebook.

The TX2000 has 3 USB ports (but no Firewire-fortunately the ExpressCard 34 firewire cards I bought work just fine so I can hook up my Canon HV20 camcorder and import and edit video). Video out is VGA (I’d prefer HDMI or DVI). A 12.1 inch screen runs a max resolution of 1280 x 800. It weighs about 4.5 pounds and at its thickest is 1.5 inches.

After using the fingerprint reader on the original TX1000, I don’t think I’d consider purchasing any notebook or tablet that didn’t include one. I use the TX2000’s fingerprint reader for convenience. Much easier than typing in long passwords on web sites and having it actually encourages me to use different strong passwords for individual websites. One trick I learned living in a changeable climate where outside is 10 degrees and inside is 70 – my fingers when cold don’t register the same way as they do when at normal room temperatures. So on each hand, I’ve registered two fingers at room temperature and two more when I’ve just come inside from colder weather. And I have a warm and cold thumb as well. This insures quick and positive authentication.

While providing business class tablet pc features, the TX2000 is an entertainment centric pc. As I look around at what is available from manufacturers that include true tablet functionality, a webcam, fingerprint reader, media center and music player functionality, the TX2000 stands alone and in a class by itself. This would actually make a great business machine. While I doubt Enterprise IT types would be interested in mass deployment (sadly), anyone with a small or home based business should take a good hard look at this one. I’ve got a friend in the real estate business that would LOVE the TX2000.

Anyway, I’m about to take the TX2000 on an extended road trip. I’ve loaded up both Adobe’s photo processing software and Nikon Capture NX as I plan to do some digital editing of what I shoot with my D300. I’m hoping that the weather cooperates. The TX2000, my Nikon D300 and various necessary odds and ends all fit nicely in my Kata 101 photo backpack. I’ll be posting a follow up on performance (and more) after my return. In the meantime, I see that Circuit City is starting to receive a pre-configured model, so if you want to check the TX2000 out yourself..

 

I've got this great DAP-1555 Draft 802.11n "Xtreme N Duo Mediabridge" that I use to wirelessly enable my Xbox 360. (You can buy these in pairs to add to existing networks. And if you want to use your 360 wirelessly, you'll definitely want "N" speeds.) The device itself supports both the 2.4 and the 5.0 Ghz bands. In my wifi oversaturated neighborhood, the 5 GHz side is truly a neccessity!

My only beef was that the stark white color made the device stick out like a sore thumb. I stumbled on a page on D-Link's web site that showed some skins for the DIR-655 router. Since the form factor for the DAP-1555 is the same, I decided to go for it. I went with a color scheme that sort of matches my Xbox 360.

According to this US Government site, spare batteries should be packed in carry-on luggage only. Here is the table that appears on the official website.

 

GUIDE TO RULES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2008
Type Of Battery/Batteries	In Checked Baggage	In Carry-On Baggage:
Lithium Metal Battery, Installed in a Device (up to 2 grams lithium)	Permitted 1	Recommended 1
Spare Lithium Metal Battery (Not Installed In a Device) (up to 2 grams lithium) (up to 2 grams lithium)	Forbidden	Permitted in carry-on baggage 2
Lithium Metal Battery, Spare or Installed (over 2 grams lithium)	Forbidden	Forbidden
Lithium-Ion Battery Installed in a Device (up to 8 grams lithium equivalent content)	Permitted 1	Recommended 1
Spare Lithium-Ion Battery (Not Installed in a Device) (up to 8 grams lithium equivalent content)	Forbidden	Permitted in carry-on baggage 2
“Special Case” Up to 2 Lithium-Ion Batteries, Spare or Installed (between 8 and 25 grams aggregate lithium equivalent content)	Spare Batteries: Forbidden! Installed in Devices: Permitted 1	Spare Batteries: Permitted 2 Installed in Devices: Permitted 1
1. Although you may carry some devices and installed batteries in checked baggage, carrying them in carry-on baggage, when practicable, is preferred. Whether in checked or carry-on baggage, ensure that devices remain switched off, either by built-in switch/trigger locks, by taping the activation switch in the “off” position, or by other appropriate measures.     2. Be sure to take protective measures to prevent against short-circuits. See the spare battery tips and how-to pages.     Technorati tags: travel tips, airline regulations, gadgets, traveling with extra batteries, batteries

Too bad this one never aired anywhere.

 

Video: Microsoft Home Server HP Commercial

Microsoft has published my column on Vista computers and devices that all work together transparently on my home network.

I've been waiting for a consumer priced OCUR/DCT for Vista MCE CableCards to point people at who want the High Definition experience from US Cable Companies at a low price. This isn't a multi purpose screaming gaming machine/video production machine like the much higher end Velocity Micro machine I use here, but it appears to offer all the pieces necessary for the High Def experience. I don't see any option to order dual DCTs, which is the one drawback.

I priced a machine today, to see if the $$ were more reasonable than the Dell $1700+ for a friend. I was pleased to see that the price is now under $1300. No monitor included. You can beef this up when you customize. No option for no installed crapware though (unlike Dell who doesn't force you to take Norton, etc.)

I've got to say that I have not fallen out of love with the pedigreed racehorse computer that my friends at AMD sent last year. I keep recommending this machine to everyone that asks me "for the ultimate laptop experience". I have never been happier with a laptop. Typically for me, after 6 months of using a laptop, the love fades and I lust for something newer, faster, cooler. But I'm still in love with this machine.

Some of my peers asked me recently how I'd compare this Turion x2 64 bit processor to Intel's Core 2 Duo. Tom's Hardware has some gearhead type comparisons that look pretty decent (sans the Intel Santa Rosa). He used a Ferrari 1000 for his comparison (and that only had a Turion 56 X2 processor as opposed to the 60 in the 5000).

It isn't as simple as that for me. It's a holistic experience that includes the processor, the HD performance, the video performance, and the hardware and peripheral feature set. (Note: the 3945a/b/g wireless on these Intel models sucks beyond belief.) And the performance of my applications is what it's all about. Photoshop is important to me. Benchmarks are theoretical and good marketing materials. I live in the real world.

I've been running Vista Ultimate x64 on the Ferrari 5000 on 2GB of RAM quite happily since I received this machine last November, but my batch image processing seems to be getting larger by the day and I'm wondering if more RAM will make Photoshop happier. It certainly takes advantage of the 64 bit processor.

The last time I priced 2x2GB sticks for this machine, it was like as much as some entire laptop computers. All of a sudden, the prices seem attractive and I'm having a hard time resisting. In fact I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I make the call.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Ferrari+5000+Series pricing is very very very sweet. It will be like a second honeymoon.

Your tax dollars are hard at work. We may never go back to the moon, but this is an expense "need to expand from three to six crew members" at the International Space Station.

I couldn't make up stuff like this if I tried.

 

From the Onion

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released part three of their doomsday reports on greenhouse gas and global warming. If we don't drop back 4 degrees by 2015, then it's the point of no return.

CNN Money's "The Race to save Mother Earth in 8 Years" has the details.

I was intrigued and dazzled by the surface computing technology used in the Minority Report movie where objects and images could be moved around on screens using finger tips to drag them around.

Turns out this was not entirely fiction. Microsoft has unveiled a technology called Surface Computing that has many of the same features. MSNBC is running a really good piece on this new technology.

Pop Mechanics got an up close and personal view. Here's their video:

 

Look for this at T-Mobile stores, Harrah's in Vegas and Sheraton (Starwood) Hotels. It's a mere $10,000 per unit, but when the price comes down, I know what my next living room coffee table will be.

The basis for all of this nonsensical conclusion is apparently some unsubstantiated leap between mobile phone technology and equipment and a theorized similarity to WiFi equipment. Say what?

Someone at Panorama is WiFi phobic. My long standing opinion of the BBC as being grounded in meticulous research and analysis has crashed and there are no survivors.

 

 

If you travel with a laptop and connect wirelessly, you need to take extra precautions. Most public wireless providers and hot spots use no security at all. Everything you send and receive is sent in the clear with no encryption. If you are using a VPN connection to your office, you will have the protection of an encrypted tunnel. There are several methods of implementing VPN. For more information, see Charlie Russel’s column Connect to Your Corporate Network from Home with Windows XP. You can also use the information in Charlie’s column to connect while you’re on the road. If you can’t use a VPN tunnel to your office, consider using a Remote Desktop connection to a computer you’ve left running at home. You can use Vista Ultimate or Business (32 or 64 bit), Windows XP Professional, Media Center Edition or Tablet PC Edition as a Remote Desktop host machine but not Vista Home Premium or Basic and Windows XP Home. Vista Home Premium, Vista Basic, and Windows XP Home, however, can be used as the remote client. If you are going to do this, you really want to use a router/gateway (and honestly, you don’t ever want to connect a computer directly to a broadband modem). You’ll need to forward port 3389 to this computer (see the router docs). To make this easy to do, get yourself a free domain on www.dyndns.com and get a router that has easy transparent support for DYNDNS. I recommend the D-Link DIR655 (Circuit City is stocking these as of 5/1/07) or the older D-Link DGL4300. For details on using dyndns, see:

http://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/howto.html

and

http://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/

Take additional security precautions when using public networks outside your home. Follow these additional steps to make your wireless connection more secure. When connecting to a new public network (hotels, municipal, etc.) be sure to specify Public when prompted.

Configure the Vista or Windows XP SP2 Firewall to be on with no exceptions.

To do this in Vista:

a. Right click the wireless icon in the notification area

b. Select Network and Sharing Center

c. Click Firewall on the lower left

d. Select Change Settings

e. Acknowledge the UAC prompt

f. Select Block all incoming connections

To do this in XP:

a. Right click the wireless icon in the notification area

b. Select Change Windows Firewall Settings

c. Click Don’t allow exceptions and then click OK

Vista users should also turn off all file and print sharing in the Network and Sharing Center window. If you are using Windows XP Home edition, turn off file and print sharing on your laptop when you travel. If you are using any other version of Windows XP, turn off Simple File Sharing.

Don’t visit any website or use any program that lets you send passwords, account numbers or other sensitive information in the clear. Use SSL connections for email. If you don’t know how to configure Outlook Express or other email client for SSL or if your ISP does not support this, it is probably your ISP has a secure SSL based webmail application that you can use. If in doubt and there is a choice for secure or encrypted versus normal or non secure, always select the secure version. SSL sites normally have URL’s that begin with https://

Use online banking with care. Most banks offer SSL online access. Read the fine print carefully.

Only use online merchants who provide a secure SSL site. Internet Explorer and most other browsers will display a padlock icon on the bottom status bar when accessing a SSL secured site.

 

 

One of my few complaints about HP's TX1000 is the 802.11g performance with the embedded Broadcom radio. 802.11a on the same wireless radio is better, but the G side performance was not up to my expectations nor was it as good as other Vista Broadcom chipset/driver combinations.

So, I asked my friends at D-Link for one of their new ExpressCard/34 draft 802.11n cards.

It (DWA-643) arrived this morning. The difference was like night and day. I can copy files over the network at blazingly fast speeds and no dropped connections.

D-Link uses Atheros (as opposed to Broadcom) chips in their draft N gear.

 

A Tablet PC for Joe and Jane Sixpack as well as geeks? (HP TX1000 Review)

HP and AMD were looking for non tablet users to evaluate a new "convertible" tablet pc and I raised my hand. I thought it would be interesting to see if I could adapt my computing lifestyle and become more productive at the same time. Plus, there was the chance that if I could find all the  drivers, x64 Vista might actually run beautifully on the Turion x64 x2 processor. I knew it would ship with 32 bit Windows. I told the AMD folks up front that I'd be installing x64 on the machine. If you order this Tablet PC from the HP web site, one of the options if you customize is an upgrade to x64 Vista Ultimate. Yes, there is hope! This is the first I've seen of an option for 64 Bit Vista pre-installed. Thank you, HP, for making the commitment to 64 bit computing.

The HP Pavilion TX1001xx Tablet PC arrived on Tuesday, March 20th. I've had a few days to experiment, I've spoken to HP a bit about the unit, and this is the first of several posts about my experiences and opinions.

As much as Bill Gates has wanted tablet pc's to become the mainstream choice of road warriors, students, and entertainment aficionado's everywhere, the tablet pc has been a concept that hasn't yet grabbed the attention of middle America. I'm trying to frame my experience both as the target market (students, teachers, entertainment enthusiasts looking for a small machine to travel with is my guess as to the real target) and how it fits in with my own probably higher end needs.

I won't keep readers in suspense. I mostly like this convertible tablet after 4 days of use. But I've used it mostly as a traditional notebook since I'm still trying to train myself and/or the handwriting recognizer.

The unit I was provided is the top of the line model with all the bells and whistles. Specs include an AMD Turion x64 x2 TL-60 with 2 gigs RAM and an embedded Nvidia 6150 video chip with 128megs (shared) memory. It arrived nicely packaged in typical HP style and included the Tablet PC, a regular and extended use battery, power cord, two sets of earbuds, a remote control for the consumer IR (that stores in the ExpressCard/34 slot), a quick setup guide, manuals, etc. I was able to attach the extended life battery, assemble the two piece power cord and plug it in to be charged without reading anything (DOH!).

The computer came with a 160 gig SATA drive in a large C:\ partition with Vista Home Premium 32 bit installed and a small mostly hidden D recovery partition. HP offers a $19 option on their web site with customized orders for actual recovery media. I used Vista's disk manager utility to shrink the partition to about half its original size, and then installed Vista Ultimate x64 as a dual boot. The drivers and bits I needed were actually in a flat folder on the original C drive, except for the software needed for the fingerprint reader. It wasn't available as a restore from the Recovery bits either. HP is sending a CD so that I can install on the 64 bit side.

My initial impression is that the computer is extremely well made. Nice piano black finish (which is HP assured me is extremely durable. This model comes with a touch screen (and stylus) and is easy to convert to tablet mode. The coolest feature is the embedded Authentec fingerprint reader (and accompanying software). I'll have a lot more to say about that soon.

I've calibrated the tablet and more or less can use the stylus in tablet mode, but I scribble faster than the learning mode of handwriting recognition is able to cope with. There are 50 sentences. I've been through them all once and am doing additional training. I'm a Type A personality and it's really hard to slow down and write at a speed that the recognizer can keep up with. When I do slow down, I think that the recognizer does its job. So I fear that I'm the one that has to be trained and not the tablet. I'll need some time to work through this before I have a real verdict. I also have to figure out how to incorporate handwriting in my day to day computing life. I tried a grocery list but it came out in Klingon the first time. I'll keep trying. Personally speaking, my own needs have not generally included scribbled notes. My handwriting has degenerated over the years and is worse than my doctor's and I type 90 wpm. This may take a LONG time.

This machine is to be marketed as an "Entertainment" system and I was disappointed that there was no DVI or HDMI out (plain VGA is the highest quality supported) and that there was no firewire port. I went looking at retail for an ExpressCard/34 firewire card so that I could try video editing on this machine, but struck out completely. Even the local Apple Store didn't have one. I'm thinking about ordering one online. When I asked HP, I was told they hadn't tested any cards like this with this computer, so I'll be breaking new ground.

HP offers a few choices for wireless NICs. 802.11b/g - 802.11a/b/g and a 802.11b/g/draft n. The machine I received had the a/b/g. I had some real issues copying large files over my network wirelessly. The connection dropped out on all my G networks (all Atheros based routers and access points). I downloaded and installed a newer driver from the HP support site (this driver was not present on Windows Update and out of the box, x64 Vista installs an old June 2006 Broadcom driver). I'm chugging along on 802.11a fine with this driver copying over the network (same Atheros on the other end) but G drops out. Note that on my Acer Ferrari 4000, the wireless 802.11 b/g (no A) Broadcom chip has received several updates from Windows Update and has no issues copying over the same network. My friends at D-Link are sending me an ExpressCard/34 802.11 draft N card. I'll report back on how that works.

There was alot of software installed on the 32 bit side, enough to make the Vista desktop look cluttered. HP has a "Quick Play application that handles images and music and videos (included Media Center Recorded TV dvr-ms unprotected files). The included remote works with this app. I much prefer the richness of Microsoft's Windows Media Center which is included in every version of Home Premium and Ultimate. Both a licensed version of Microsoft Works and a trial version of Office 2007 were pre-installed. If you custom order this machine, you can order a licensed version of Office 2007 as well. Office 2007 is my preferred choice over MS Works.

I was not excited to see lots of AOL and Yahoo related software. The homepage was preset to some HP/AOL hybrid. Norton Internet Security 2007 had been pre-installed and it slowed the system to a crawl. I removed it and installed a trial version of ESET's NOD32 (which I run on my own machines) and the performance difference was like night and day. HP states they need a well supported AV solution and I understand that. But I will still recommend removal of Norton and replacement with another less system crippling AV before doing anything else.

HP tells me that the TX1001xx (model number may vary depending on options) will be available widely at retail in early April. While I don't know the specs of what will be at retail, when I priced a customized machine as close as possible to what I received, the price was around $1950. Pricing a model with x64 and a little more customization was around $2050.

 

tx1000

Microsoft has released a Photoshop CS2/3 beta plugin for a file format that they are hoping will replace jpeg.

There is native support in the Vista shell and Windows Photo Gallery to display WDP format (but sadly, none in Windows Media Center).

I actually have been testing the plugin with Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0. Using the default setting of .9 lossy, the file size is about half of saving to a non compressed jpg. Hit the slider and go up to 1.0 on this new format and the size is bigger.  The plugin allows files to be saved as WDP or HDP. HDP is not working for me in the Windows Shell or Photo Gallery (x64 Vista). The files save, but no file association is created. I can open them in PSE 5.0, however.

Screen capture below shows support in PSE 5.0, Windows Photo Gallery, and the explorer shell.

I want one of these to go with my Acer Ferrari 5000.
(Like I have $3000 for a clock radio).
Still, it would look awesome on my night table.

(I can't really whine about this since that spot hosts a Bose Wave radio that I received as a gift several years ago.)

 

 

 

I've had a few adventures at our local Best Buy where an item shown on sale at a good price on the web is more expensive at the physical store. Recently this happened with a leather case I bought for a Zune Player. I argued at the cash register and at the service desk and got no where as the web site they brought up had different prices. I had to go home, print out the web site and go back to the store with a print out and wait for someone with the authority to check the real web site. I got my refund.

The State of Connecticut is helping consumers everywhere by pushing this one hard

 

The Consumerist is reporting that nearly half of the 200+ stores in the US are going to close.

 

 

Why is it that the quality of computer equipment you can buy at retail continues to spiral ever downward? Pretty soon there will be no choices for retail consumers and prices will climb every skyward. I have yet to see a desktop or laptop at any of the bog box stores I'd want for myself.