Barb's Connected World

HP’s TX1000 series Entertainment (Tablet PC Convertible) has one feature that deserves a post of its own. An embedded fingerprint reads (Authentec AES 1610) can be found on the left side of the screen, and coupled with the Bioscrypt Verisoft Access Manager software, this a a very cool and functional convenience tool. Note that I don’t consider this to be a security feature. I think that HP will agree that this was not the intent of including a fingerprint reader device and that their mission was to provide a multimedia entertainment device with bells and whistles to make it really stand out. I think they’ve succeeded.

I love the convenience of not having to store passwords and logons for all the places I visit on the web that demand that you create logins. (And I’m annoyed everyday by websites that force you to create logins which I know serve no other purpose than to generate mailing lists. I use mailinator.com for one time throw away addresses. I receive the “authentication” email there and never use the address again.) The problem is how to keep track of all of these individual and unique logins. Some can be stored (cookies) when a website offers to keep you logged in or offers a “remember me” option. There are lots of ways to handle this, but one thing makes sense: if you’re using a pc in tablet mode, there’s no easier way to login or enter a password than using a fingerprint reader. This is a combination that makes a lot of sense to me. (And it makes sense when using the pc in notebook with keyboard mode, too, especially if you tend to fat finger these things as I frequently do.)

Kudos to HP for including this functionality in a non business entertainment computer. The convenience makes this a must have option. If you decide to purchase a TX1000 series notebook and customize on the HP website, be sure to include this option.

 

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The more I use the HP TX1000 (TX1001xx)) convertible (tablet) entertainment PC, the more I think that this machine is a great all around choice for the mainstream consumer. It’s got just about everything, and the customization choices on the HP web site provide enough options for just about anyone.

I’m still struggling with the Tablet PC handwriting functionality. Without taking extra care to apply pressure to the stylus and write “just so”, I’m still getting Klingon letters. My friends among more knowledgeable tablet pc owners and Tablet PC MVPs tell me that this is due to the difference between the passive technology and the Wacom technology found in other vendor’s offerings. Still, I think that after some additional training, I could get some usefulness (but could never use tablet handwriting full time and give up the keyboard).

I’ve been sampling the entertainment features. The included QuickPlay application interface seems dull when compared to the Windows Media Center interface. QuickPlay doesn’t “see” media on networked drives except using Windows Media Sharing UPnP. I’ve got a lot of media on desktops, so would have preferred the ability within the QuickPlay app to find source media on these drives directly in the same way MCE allows me to. QuickPlay does support Karaoke and .car files. I’m pretty sure college kids will find this a great feature. (If you’ve ever heard me try to sing you will be grateful that I didn’t attach an audio sample to this post.) I’ve heard a rumor that QuickPlay will eventually tie in with Slingbox and asked HP about this. They’ve confirmed this will happen and will show up after an update in the TV source section of QuickPlay.

Speaking of Recorded (and Live TV) while HP makes a TV Tuner that fits older notebooks with an ExpressCard/54 slot, they do not offer one for ExpressCard/34 slots. This is disappointing (although there are USB tuners available). This would be a great accessory add-on and hopefully this is at least on the drawing board.

The TX1000 comes with an awesome mini remote. One real plus (and a great feature) is that the included mini remote control that stores in the ExpressCard/34 slot operates both QuickPlay and MCE. That was a surprise and a pleasant one at that! Equally surprising (and amazing) is that the remote can be used to present a PowerPoint slide show.

Stereo Altec Lansing speakers are mounted below the screen and rotate with the display. This means that when tablet mode is used, the speakers don’t get buried under the screen (and are front and center in every configuration you use). There are dual headphone jacks (good for those airplanes trips when two of you want to watch the same DVD or listen to the same music) and one apparently supports SPDIF if you purchase a special cable.

There were two sets of (really cheap, as in $6.99 for two when you include if customizing the notebook on line) earbuds included with the package I received. I’m a proud owner of Shure E5C’s (http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products/Earphones/ESeries/us_pa_E5c_content ) so I didn't try the earbuds that were supplied.

There are buttons surrounding the rim of the screen that invoke QuickPlay, DVD and buttons behind the rim for stop, play/pause, FFWD, REW, etc. These are accessible in all rotation modes. Clearly well thought out and pretty neat to find. This gives the TX1000 high marks as an entertainment device.

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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.

 

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Just received an email from Chris Morley at Velocity Micro that they are shipping these awesome machines at last!

I'm still enamored of the custom box I received and think it's an awesome Media Center box not to mention a screamer of a Vista machine.

If you've been waiting for the ability to use a cable card and get high def in the US via Media Center, it's finally here.

Here's the computer I have here.

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.

The MS PIX folks have listed the features and fixes.

The folks at Nikon have earned my complete disdain for their unwillingness to support Vista x64.

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