jkOnTheRun

SP3 for XP available. Got problems or did it go smoothly?

Microsoft got SP3 for Windows XP out the door a few days ago on the Microsoft Downloads site, although some folks might have seen it sooner through Windows Update. I haven't got around to the install on the one XP machine I have, but I'll be hitting it up shortly. Here's where you can find the service pack if you need it.

For those that already ran through the upgrade: did you have any issues? I'm asking because one of our readers shared a lengthy and detailed horror story with us; I'm not sharing the info just yet because I didn't ask for his or her permission. The scenario was pretty bad though... the solution will likely end up becoming a full system rebuild, which is about as bad as it can be. Anyway, share your thoughts: positive or negative. Meanwhile, I'm firing up the XP machine to give it a run through myself.

Update: my update took about an hour. No issues to report.

Could we soon see capacitive touch UMPCs?

My premise is a bit of a stretch, but this DigiTimes story today got me thinking. Apparently, Sintek Photronic is in the process of developing 7-inch capacitive touch screens. I realize that non-UMPC devices like in-car GPS modules are a more likely contender for a capacitive touch screen of this size, but it's always possible that some of these are destined to be the face of a UMPC.

Using a screen of this type and not including an active digitizer would certainly preclude any inking within an OS like Windows XP Tablet Edition or Vista, but with many devices in this class looking at alternative environments (read: Linux), I could see a UMPC with capacitive touch and no ink abilities. Again, this just an exercise in thinking on my part, but it makes me wonder: how many of you would give up the ability to ink if you had a UMPC with a capacitive display making for a better touch experience?

SuperTalent launches cheaper SSD drives using MLC technology

SuperTalent is among the first to bring a lower-cost SSD drive to market using MLC or Multi-Level Cell technology, an approach that offers a cost savings over prior products that used Single-Level Cell. Three drive options are available: 30-, 60- and 120-GB, with prices at $299, $449, and $699 respectively. These offerings are external, 2.5-inch drives that use a SATA interface, so you won't buy one of these to pop inside a notebook or UMPC, although I'd bet it can be done once you crack open the enclosure. The pricing advantage of the MLC technology is pretty clear: a 64-GB internal SSD option can easily run you around $900.

NewEgg is already carrying the 30- and 60-GB models if want some fast external storage. According to SuperTalent, they're using proprietary wear-leveling algorithms to extend the life of the SSD; good to know since SLC units have proven to last longer than MLC drives.

(via Electronista)

Vista power management- High performance or Balanced?

As a mobile worker I usually keep my portable devices running Vista or XP with a power management setting of Power Saver.  I'm always trying to eke out the most battery life I can so I don't run the risk of running out of juice.  Sometimes though I set the Vista power management to Balanced in order to get better performance than in Power Saver if I don't suspect that battery life will be a problem that day.  I find my performance is greatly improved under the Balance setting which according to Microsoft is defined as follows:

• Balanced. Offers full performance when you need it and saves power during periods of inactivity.
• Power saver. Saves power by reducing system performance. This plan can help mobile PC users get the most from a single battery charge.
• High performance. Maximizes system performance and responsiveness. Mobile PC   users might notice that their battery doesn't last as long when using this plan.

Logic would tell you how the 3 different settings would affect the performance of your mobile device but according to Jenn Lee of pocketables.net logic doesn't necessarily play a role in this.  She has recently run benchmarks on two ultra-portables, the HTC Shift and the Sony TZ notebook and discovered that on both devices the Balanced power setting provides better benchmark numbers than the High Performance setting.  Say what?  Check out Jenn's benchmark numbers and see for yourself.

Dad's FiOS is rockin' and rollin'

I've spent the morning working at my father's house during his FiOS installation. The technician was very curious about my UMPC setup with EV-DO and folding Bluetooth keyboard and asked me what it was. I gave my typical reply: "That's my office." He got the last laugh on me though: once the FiOS was installed and I connected to it via WiFi, his work blew my EV-DO connection out of the water. You can see by the SpeedTest screenshot that my dad will be enjoying a speedy Internet pipe. What's impressive to me is that this is the slowest and least-expensive FiOS package that Verizon is currently offering in my area. Very nice!

UMPC and sub-notebooks screen-size, resolution: the trend

It's interesting to watch the trend of screen size and resolution in the UMPC and sub-notebook market. Every initial UMPC in 2006 that I can think of had a 7-inch display, which was the standard size defined the Origami Project. Over the next one to two years, designers learned that 800 x 480 wasn't optimal so we've witnessed resolution bumps to a more useful 1024 x 600. The trend-setting Asus Eee PC started at the less than optimal screen size and res, but the next-gen model is already at 8.9-inches and the higher res. The HP Mini is an outlier with an even higher resolution on the 8.9-inch display.

I don't know what's the "optimal" size and res for an ultra-portable device, and quite frankly, that varies for each individual. Still, I'm excited to see that some manufacturers are going just a wee bigger on the display: 10-inches. We've heard of Asus bringing a 10-inch Eee PC to market this year and it wouldn't surprise me to see others follow; Dell and HP come to mind. 10-inches is a nice compromise between usability and portability. Perhaps not as much as an 8.9-inch screen, but certainly more than a lower-res 7-inch screen. I expect that by next year, 7-inch displays are relegated only to UMPCs while sub-notebooks gravitate towards the 8.9- and 10-inch sizes. Some LCD panel manufacturers are already shifting their production lines in this direction and one even expects to manufacture 1.5-million small displays this year. Not a lot when relatively compared to the mainstream 13- and 15-inch market, but quite a bit for a market that was practically unheard of two short years ago.

Going back to the optimal size and resolution preference, I'm torn between 8.9- and 10-inches myself. I'd use either of these at WXGA and probably be happy and productive. How about you? What's the ideal screen-size and resolution on your "dream device"?

Microsoft releases SP3 for Windows XP. Will there be an SP4?

Still running the venerable but stable XP version of Microsoft Windows? Starting today you can make a good system better with Service Pack 3. The 316 MB package is available for direct download if you know where to look. BetaNews has the URL if you want to get the service pack before the official unveiling: a quick check of Microsoft's Windows XP page still highlights SP2. Don't expect any major feature changes; instead, the service pack mostly offers up well over a thousand hotfixes.

I realize that Microsoft is planning to stop selling Windows XP on June 30th (with exceptions for Ultra Low Cost PCs), but one has to wonder if this is the last service pack or not. My gut says that this is it as Microsoft hopes to migrate more and more PC users to Vista. Thoughts?

Update: MS says "not so fast" and has held back SP3 from Windows Update due to a compatibility issue with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System.

(via DailyTech)

Upgrading RAM on the HP Mini-Note- video tutorial

A lot of folks have asked me how easy it is to upgrade the RAM in the HP Mini-Note and fellow Mini-Notester Joanna Stern of Laptop Magazine has produced a video showing it done.  Joanna upgraded the 1 GB stick that came in her Mini to a 2 GB stick and shows the entire process.  It is pretty straightforward although watching her pop the keyboard out to gain access to the DIMM slot made me nervous.  Have a look and see what's involved.

HP Mini-Note meets Windows XP

Last night I decided to see for myself how well the HP Mini-Note runs under Windows XP.  I did a clean install of Windows XP Pro and got my core applications installed.  Today I'm going to give it a test spin and see how much faster (if any) the Mini runs under XP.  Note that I didn't find it ran particularly slow most of the time under Vista Business but I suspect overall it should be snappier under XP.  It was relatively easy to install XP as I found good instructions on the web from those who have found all the HP drivers needed for XP even though HP hasn't released any officially yet.  I had to snap this photo from the install as it seemed eerily prophetic, those XP developers no doubt predicted what was yet to come in Vista:

Dell and Microsoft's big shoving match- XP preinstalls

We've certainly discussed the need to continue using XP on a lot of the mobile computers being sold today.  Consumers and OEMs both are aware that the healthy hardware needs of Vista make the need to continue supplying XP as the OS of choice for these computers a hard reality.  Microsoft has said that on June 30 XP preinstalls are to go away, although recently they seem to be back-pedaling on that a little.  OEMs are now allowed to include XP "downgrades" with new computers as long as they preinstall Vista as Microsoft wishes.  No doubt this is intended to allow Microsoft to keep quoting big sales numbers for Vista, even though many savvy consumers end up replacing the Vista install with the included XP.

Now Dell is flexing its muscles by offering to preinstall XP over the Vista install for select computers.  This is clearly against Microsoft's wishes and it will be interesting to see how this plays out.  Dell's Windows XP Availability web page explains how this works:

When you are configuring your system online or through the help of one of our sales experts, you will have the opportunity to select which operating system you would like on your PC. When selecting your operating system, you will see an option called “Genuine Windows^®  Vista Business BONUS” and “Genuine Windows^®  Vista Ultimate BONUS.”  With these options, you may purchase the licensed rights to Windows Vista but have Dell factory install Windows XP Professional. You will also receive a backup media disc for Windows XP Professional as well as the media for Windows Vista so you can upgrade when you’re ready. Furthermore, with these options Dell will provide technical support for the factory-installed Windows XP Professional image and your licensed version of Windows Vista.

While you are technically buying a system with Vista installed as per Microsoft's wishes, Dell will save you the trouble of having to downgrade to XP yourself by doing it for you.  This is no doubt in anticipation of consumer demand because Dell certainly wouldn't go to this trouble just for fun.  Let's see how this all plays out.

(via CNET)

Toshiba hopes for 512 GB SSD by end of 2009

It's no secret why the adoption rate of Solid State Disk drives is plodding along slower than a Commodore 64 trying to display multitudes of sprites on the same screen. There's two main reasons: high price and low capacity. Actually, if you combine them you get one reason: the price per GB is several factors higher when compared to traditional magnetic hard drives.

News of out Toshiba via Electronista addresses that issue: the electronics giant expects to offer a 512 GB SSD drive by the end of 2009. They're on the right path as their 128 GB SSD unit should be appearing in the next few months. The best news from all this is that they expect to reduce SSD prices by 40 to 50% a year, which helps that price per GB ratio tremendously. Applying 40% to a 64 GB drive that cost about a grand last year means that same drive might run you $360 next year. Still a relatively high cost, but it's a dramatic drop.

Earth Day Tech: Paper note taking

The shortcomings of benchmarks

We do a lot of system reviews here on jkOnTheRun and invariably when we publish one there will be a contingent of readers who want to see raw benchmarks of the hardware components to try and determine how fast a system is.  I understand why some folks find them interesting for comparing different computer systems but I also feel that they are not nearly as useful as some.  That is the reason why I never run nor publish benchmarks in my system reviews, to the chagrin of some.

I find through experience with many different systems, both desktop and mobile systems, that benchmarks never paint an accurate picture of how well a given device will perform in the real world.  There are too many factors in play at a given time that affect the user's experience for a single benchmark to tell the story well.  It really doesn't matter if a given system can compute the value of pi to a million decimal points quickly if it takes too long to open a windows for the user.  The reality is that there are too many factors in play on modern systems for raw power benchmarks to give an accurate indication of how well a given system can perform them.  Today's complicated systems are affected by many factors, CPU power, hard disk speed, memory and HDD caches, graphics subsystems, total installed memory, operating system version, and internal components which all play a role in how well a system performs overall.  Individual benchmarks don't reflect this in my opinion and this is why I don't publish them.

CPU benchmarks aren't the only ones that are often bandied about when a new system hits the market, usually we'll see battery eater statistics too.  These can be interesting but again, real world usage is what really matters, not how quickly a given battery can be run dry.  There is a reason why modern systems have sophisticated power management systems in place and these are the single biggest factor affecting total battery life, aside from how many cells a given battery contains.  This is why I always try to give a real world indication for how long a given battery lasts for me during an evaluation and not a simple benchmark.  It has more meaning in my experience.

Another statistic that is often requested is how long a given system takes to perform a cold boot.  While this can also be interesting I don't put much value in this statistic.  I have come to realize that how long a given device takes to boot is no real indication of how well a system will perform once running.  There are so many factors affecting boot time, especially how many and what utilities are executed during the boot process, that how long it takes to boot is not an accurate indicator of anything.  The speed of the hard drive also comes into play a great deal and this is never considered in these boot time statistics.  Devices that boot slowly can often run quickly and vice versa so I never consider how long the boot time is on one of these devices.  You can't even compare a given system's boot time with other systems because of the factors I mentioned, the numbers don't mean anything if there are different factors affecting the boot times.  I find there usually are such factors too so that's why I take boot times with a grain of salt.  I almost never boot a system cold anyway, these days I always use standby/ sleep and resume exclusively. 

I'm not putting down those who want to see benchmarks, I understand that with a new system people are often clamoring for any information they can get.  I'm just pointing out why I believe these varied benchmarks have little use to me and that they should be taken with a grain of salt, not as hard facts that provide a real indication of how well a system will perform for the user.

Is the Intel Atom going to beef up mobile performance?

There's a lot of buzz about the June release of the Intel Atom processor.  The Atom is Intel's new mobile platform designed to be used in Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and eventually in Ultra-Portable PCs (UMPCs).  I say eventually because according to the blurbs I've seen from Intel the second phase of the Atom, formerly code-named Silverthorne, is the one they claim will run in UMPCs that need more performance  The lower end Atom based on the Diamondville chipset is not recommended for running Vista and Intel has hedged on what it will do running XP.  A lot of excitement is being generated by word that Asus is planning an Atom-based model of the EEE PC later this year and I'm also hearing a lot of similar excitement over the thought that HP will move from the Via processor to the Atom this year too.  While HP has never indicated they would make that switch if they find it in their best interest to do so I'm sure they will.

So what does the Atom buy us in these notebooks over current solutions?  No question the power consumption is much lower with the Atom, that is one of its designed strengths so that's important.  Mobile devices need all the battery life they can get and Atom will sure help out in that area.  A lot of the commentary I am hearing about the inclusion of Atom into these mini-notebooks is about the expected performance boost over current processors and I'm not sure that's what we will get.  I would love to hear from authorities who know about these things but the Atom as I understand it in its initial release is designed for Linux-based MIDs, not Windows-based devices.  I haven't seen any reason to think that the initial Atoms will be able to handle notebook types of devices so I'm not sure that the enthusiasm is a bit misplaced.  Even Intel's own information doesn't mention Vista as a viable OS for the Atom.  I hope I'm wrong about this and the extra battery life of Atom will be great but I don't think we'll see better performance running Vista and maybe not even XP.

Vista 64-bit SP1 upgrade underway

Lo and behold this afternoon Windows Update informed me that SP1 for 64-bit Vista Ultimate was available for the evaluation HP tx2000 Tablet PC and it's downloading now.  I'm going to install it and see if maybe the missing Microsoft application support has been addressed.  Keep your fingers crossed.

HP to consider VIA Isaiah and Intel Atom in HP Mini-Note refresh

This info from Crave surprises me a bit. It's a good article on why HP chose the VIA C7-M for the HP Mini-Note, although I question the opening phrase "HP chose a relatively obscure processor from VIA..." It's only relatively obscure if you haven't been following the UMPC market since inception. Since most consumers haven't, I can see the point being made.

So Crave spoke with Robert Baker, an HP product marketing manger, on why the C7-M. Looks like a matter of timing, cost, and price / performance ratio. Makes perfect sense from a business perspective, but here comes the interesting part: Baker indicates an interim refresh of the HP Mini-Note in about six months.

Looking for Vista SP1?

My last post on Vista SP1 reminded me that I've received a few e-mails about the Service Pack. Namely, questions like has it shown up in Windows Update for me yet on the new Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium and did I run it on the Q1P. Although Vista SP1 availability was officially announced on March 18th, it's actually not appearing in Windows Update yet so you can stop looking. In the announcement it was mentioned that it would roll out to WU in mid-April so I wouldn't expect it for two weeks or so.

If you simply can't wait, you can grab the download directly from Microsoft right here. I did just that last night on the Q1UP although I haven't run the installation yet. I can tell you that I ran the RTM version of SP1 on the Q1P prior to its release and I experience no issues. I saw a wee performance boost in some very limited and high-level testing, but that was a very preliminary experience. Every system is different of course, so as we say: YMMV (or your mileage may vary).

How to save $100 or more on a Vista license

I can't confirm this money-saving method because I have a full Vista license already, but Computerworld mentions a way for Windows 2000 and XP users to get Vista with SP1 at up to $110 less than buying a Vista license alone. Apprently, if you purchase a Vista SP1 upgrade DVD and use it on a computer that's already running a licensed older version of Windows, you can wipe your OS to install Vista without a product key. That makes sense because Vista will run for up to 30 days without a key. Then, using the same DVD, you should be able to install SP1 and enter the product key from the installation DVD. This allegedly by-passes the original Vista purchase to a degree since the SP1 upgrade DVD costs less than a Vista DVD. Again, I can't confirm personally, but it makes sense to me. Even more interesting: Scott Dunn indicates that you don't even need a prior version of Windows on the hard drive for this to work. You can perform the install / upgrade on a clean drive.

HP intros 500 GB Media Vault with remote access capability for $299

HP has a new, middle-of-the-road option if you don't want to go with a full-blown Windows Home Server solution. The new mv2150 Media Vault starts at $299 and provides 500 GB of storage space to backup Windows devices on your network. The vault houses the 7200 RPM 500 GB drive and offers an open bay to add more storage later. Connectivity is provides with 2 USB ports and a Gigabit Ethernet jack; with that, you can hang the mv2150 off a wired or wireless router.

Remote access is provided via TZO Dynamic DNS, which was around $25 a year at last check. The mv2150 is Linux-based and comes with 128 MB of RAM; interesting that it competes with the higher-priced Windows-powered home server solutions from HP.

When trojans invade the PC kingdom

Today has not gone the way I envisioned it, not by a long shot.  It started innocently enough with me grabbing the Fujitsu P1620 out of the dock to get some work done in slate mode while watching the morning news.  It went downhill quickly from there.  The first thing I was confronted with was a dialog box from OneCare that told me it had detected a trojan on my system.  A trojan is one of those malware programs that invades your system by looking like something else and then sets about doing untold harm to your Windows box.  Fortunately for me I had OneCare duly protecting my system and it spotted the trojan right away.  I have no idea how it got into my system as I am very careful about things like that but if it's clever enough I guess it can get in anyway.  I am happy with the way OneCare protects my systems and much more so now that it's stopped this trojan in its tracks.

OneCare asked me if I wanted to clean the trojan off my system and I of course said yes.  I neglected to write down exactly what trojan it had detected but no matter.  OneCare proceeded to clean the offender off my system, a process that took about 10 minutes.  It must have invaded quite a bit of territory in my PC kingdom.  When the cleansing was comnplete OneCare restarted the Fuji and that's when the fun times started.

USB port placement on devices that rotate from landscape to portrait

Now that I've got Vista up and running on the Q1 Ultra Premium, it's time for a Starbucks run later today. I just installed the VZ Access software needed for my USB727 modem so connectivity is tested and good to go. One feature the Q1UP has over my older Q1 and Q1P is that one USB port is on the top of the device. This is just awesome from a form factor standpoint. On the older models, the two USB ports were on the sides of the device, making it difficult to effectively hold and use the UMPC as one of your hands had to deal with the modem sticking out.

With the top USB port, I'm not affected at all in landscape mode. I'd probably face a challenge with the device in portrait mode, but if worse comes to worse, I could put the modem in the port on the right side of the device and rotate the screen counter-clockwise. This would essentially put the USB modem back on the "top" of the device. I hope other small device manufacturers take note of this; putting the USBs on the traditional sides might not make the most sense if the unit is designed to be used in both portrait and landscape mode.

Apple to Windows users- install Safari no matter what we say

Apple has taken a lot of grief for pushing Safari onto unsuspecting iTunes and Qucktime users on the Windows platform and Neowin points to something today that makes that whole situation pretty comical.  It seems the Safari End User License Agreement (EULA) prohibits the installation of Safari on any non-Apple hardware. 

Apple's Safari license says that users are permitted to install the browser on no more than "a single Apple-labeled computer at a time." This means that if you install Safari for Windows on a Windows PC, you're violating the license.
 
According to Jonathan Kramer, a tech-minded attorney with the Kramer Telecom Law Firm, you aren't in any legal danger if you install Safari for Windows on a Windows PC. Apple can't enforce a contract clause that doesn't make sense. "We call this an impossibility issue," Kramer told us. "You can't enforce a term that's impossible."

 

For sale: 256 GB SSD, sacrificing at $6,000, must sell

Well I don't think many folks will be ordering up a $5,950 SSD drive when SuperTalent offers the FSD56GC25H next month. Actually, you probably couldn't even if you wanted to as the 256 GB of storage will be sold directly to OEMs. The big claim to fame here is was in the press release I received last night: it's the thinnest 256 GB Solid State Disk in the world, measuring in at 12.5 mm in height. Truth-be-told, that is pretty thin considering the drives in most UMPCs are around 8 or 9 mm.

This is a 2.5-inch form factor so it's geared towards notebooks. Transfer speeds are pretty solid at 65 MBps read and 50 MBps write for sequential data. The 0.1 ms access time is pretty spiffy too, but really: how many notebook makers are going to offer this as a $6,000 option plus some markup? If you're remotely interested you can catch all of the detailed specs in this product PDF. I'll save my money and pass for now.

What drivers are installed on your Vista machine?

The Windows environment is beholden to those hardware drivers that lets your components talk to the OS.  It's a constant battle to keep these drivers updated as they come from all the different makers of the hardware hidden within your system.  The first step to determining if you're running the latest driver from the manufacturer is to know what version of the driver is currently installed in your PC.  You can determine this on an individual component easily enough in the Device Manager but wouldn't it be good to get a list of all the drivers in your Vista box at once?  There is a utility built into Vista that does just that called DRIVERYQUERY and with the proper tags it can generate a list of all the drivers currently installed on your Vista PC in just about any format you want.  OCMODSHOP has the scoop on this utility along with a list of all the tags and what they do so head over and get intimate with all of your drivers.

Why a .Mac service for PCs could be in the cards

The web continues to quake with aftershocks of "Safari-gate": the Apple Software Update that installs Safari 3.1 for Windows by default. I tend to side with the folks that claim this practice isn't the most forthcoming, but there are numerous examples of other companies doing the same thing for years. In the end, it's up to each individual user to actually examine which check-boxes are activated and therefore, which applications are installed.

Having said that, I started thinking about Safari 3.1 on PCs. Maybe I've been spending too much time writing about file synchronization applications lately, but it got me wondering if Apple is working on a ".Mac lite" service for Windows PCs. We're getting to the point where assuming there are PCs and Mac co-existing in the same household isn't that far-fetched.

Seagate to SSD makers- if you get popular we'll sue

Solid state disks (SSDs) have the opportunity to revolutionize computing technology, especially mobile tech.  The lack of moving parts and the speed of data transfer can make any device a speed demon.  Throw in the elimination of heat that conventional moving hard disks generate and SSDs present a win-win proposition.  The only reason that SSDs haven't already had a mass adoption is the high price compared to spinning hard drives but we've been saying for some time that as higher numbers are reached that will change and in fact we've already seen SSDs drop in price, although not nearly low enough.

This week word has been leaking out that hard drive maker Seagate is threatening to sue SSD makers should sales numbers increase to the point that SSD sales start impacting Seagate's hard drive sales.  Seagate, along with rival Western Digital, have many patents that were awarded to cover hard drive technology and according to Seagate they can be applied to SSDs too.  They've indicated that should sales of SSDs become bothersome for them then they will sue to exercise their rights under the patents they hold.  In other words, you build a better solution that is totally different than ours and we'll go after you if we feel threatened.

A friend of mine works for Western Digital and I've had numerous conversations with him regarding how I think they should be nervous about SSDs because they are such a better solution for consumers.  His response has always implied that Western Digital is not concerned about them because they have a plan.  I am now wondering if that plan is similar to Seagate's and they simply intend to sue SSDs out of existence should the need arise.  I hope not, shutting down this great technology would be a tremendous blow to us as consumers.

Fujitsu Lifebooks, UMPC certified for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

This news out of Fujitsu is interesting: the LifeBook U810 UMPC, LifeBook T2010 and P1620 Tablet PCs and Lifebook S6510 notebook are now YES certified for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. It doesn't appear that you can order these devices with SUSE Linux from Fujitsu just yet; all of the systems are showing with Microsoft Windows XP or Vista. I'm wondering what this will do for to the price of these units since a quick check on the Novell site shows a SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP1 license to be $50 a year; you can get a 3-year license for $125.

Aside from the licensing and cost structure, since three of the four certified devices are Tablet PCs, how much of the Tablet PC functionality is still there? I'm not a SUSE Linux owner, so chime in if you are. I'd be curious to know how feasible this option really is.

(via Laptoping)

Apple enables Time Machine on AEBS, no Flux Capacitor required

After a few Software Updates from Apple earlier today, I was crossing my fingers. I don't think that had anything to do with it, but Mac OS X finally supports Time Machine backups over WiFi to an external drive. When Time Machine was first announced, there was mention of this feature that lets use a hard drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station over USB. Silly me, who bought both components in anticipation of Leopard only to have the rug yanked out from under me.

It's all good now though. The latest update just hit and I've got Barb's iMac across the house now sending bits and bytes to the AEBS and 320 GB drive next to me. And I didn't even have to take the DeLorean out of the garage for Time Machine use.

WiMax module prices nearly double WiFi chip prices

Not huge news here since you typically expect to pay more when you get more in terms of features, but according to DigiTimes, Intel has stated their initial WiMax module pricing. Good to know if you shop for a notebook and are curious as to the resellers markup. It looks like a wireless module that supports both 802.11 a/g/n and WiMax will cost device manufacturers between $43 and $54 each. Similar chipsets with 802.11 a/g/n only? $19 to $30 a piece.

The saddest news of all out of this? What happened to poor ol' 802.11b? Actually, I think 802.11b was just overlooked by DigiTimes based on this PDF overview of WiMax & WiFi direct from Intel. The older and slower wireless standard should still be supported with the Echo Peak WiMax chip. There's plenty more "light" reading in the PDF that should help you for "Trivial Pursuit: The Wireless Edition", so have it.

Q1 Ultra Premium performance: impressions and info

We've got a bridal shower here at house today, so in preparation for that I've had little time this weekend to play with Samwise, the new Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium. However, I have to say that I'm still very impressed with this device; more than I originally thought I'd be. It was hard to get a feel for performance in the few minutes we played with the device at CES. After using the device for less than 10 hours, I think I can form a first general opinion that might help folks decide if this is the device for them:

"If you're looking for a UMPC form factor with the performance of a solid notebook, this is definitely a contender. If you don't need notebook-like performance 100% of the time, then the A110-powered units should be considered".

Intel's Atom: did you know...

... that Intel sees in the Atom in 60 million device units that cost between $100 and $299 by 2011?

... the chip-maker expects another 47 million Atom-powered devices in the $299 to $399 price over the same time period?

.... these sales figures could become a reality because the starting price for the second generation Atom CPU in bulk orders is expected to be only $44. That number will likely continue to drop over time.

.... that 25 Atom-powered notebooks will be available by mid-year, 2008? That's just a few short months away.

... that the target screen size for these notebooks is between 7- and 10-inches?

The Atom might not provide me what I'm looking for under the hood of a portable desktop replacement (or it might, we'll have to wait and see), but there's no doubt in my mind that this push by Intel is no small task at the bottom of a checklist. This is clearly a major initiative in the mobile space. Bigger than I first thought and more than the news out of CeBIT would leave me to believe. Let's check in at the end of 2008 on this and see how Intel did.

WalMart's Jedi mind trick: "These aren't the PCs you're looking for"

There's a disturbance in WalMart this morning. It's as if millions of computers dialed out and then were suddenly disconnected. I've searched my feelings and... actually came up empty. When I searched my RSS feeds however, I found that WalMart retail locations will no longer be carrying Linux-based Everex computers. So much for the low-priced, gOS-powered units like the CloudBook and gPC. You'll still be able to get them online at WalMart.com, but that's it. Apparent Jedi-master and WalMart spokesperson Melissa O'Brian commented on the low-cost Linux machines: "This really wasn't what our customers were looking for." No official word on if she mysteriously waved her hand in the air when making the statement.

The low-cost items were a good fit for WalMart from a value perspective, but I sincerely doubt the majority of retail customers had a clue what Linux even was. I'm not knocking WalMart customers as I'm one myself; my point is that Linux is unfortunately not viewed as a mainstream operating system. Assuming I'm right, how successful could sales of Linux devices be in a mainstream discount store? Selling the devices there is a great idea, but one that the market isn't ready for just yet.

Next CloudBook to use an Intel chipset?

There's no silver lining in this cloud for VIA if the next-generation CloudBook moves to an Intel Diamondville processor. See, the CloudBook is built from a VIA reference design, the Nanobook. The entire hardware platform was built around a VIA processor and every variant built from the design is VIA-powered, as one would expect. I'm shocked that Everex/FIC, makers of the CloudBook, would even consider an Intel chip inside. It's like Intel trotting out some MID prototypes and then finding that a company builds a device from the prototype but uses a VIA chip inside.

The whole scenario is "very tentative" according to Everex, but now I'm scratching my head wondering why they're even considering such a possibility. What's the compelling reason here? I would have expected to hear that the VIA Isaiah was a consideration, not an Intel Diamondville.

Intel's Atom doesn't offer nuclear power: first benchmark

Ah, the tradeoff between processing performance and battery life. It's probably the most challenging compromise that we mobile device users have make. Too many horses under the hood and your battery peters out in two hours or less. Slow down the CPU and you can compute for five hours... at a relative snail's pace. My hope for the Intel Atom chipsets was not too much of a performance hit but greater run-time. Although it's way too early to tell, one of the first performance benchmarks has surfaced on the new Atom and it makes the 900 MHz Intel Celeron look good. Note: shorter bars are better.

Again, far too soon to see how this will shake out once we finally see some devices with the Atom, but it's clear that our age-old compromise isn't going away anytime soon. I should also mention that the benchmark test isn't one that I would have chosen, so when we get our hands on an Atom device running Windows we'll give it our own test.

Internet Explorer 8 beta arrives with two new features

I was just out and about overpaying for an oil change when I caught this video demo of Internet Explorer 8. The main focus of the video shows off two new IE8 features: activities and web slices. Activities looks like a nice way to get more info on a topic in ways ranging from news to maps to social networking. If you're reading about a movie for example and you want to see where it's playing locally, you can do so with an interactive pop-up Windows Live map. Web slices is akin to the Dashboard clipping feature in Safari 3 for Mac OS X. With it, you can monitor specific data on a web page and have a custom shortcut for easy retrieval. A nice feature, but I hope to see it get used outside of the browser; namely, as a custom Gadget for your Vista Sidebar.

As of around 30 minutes ago, the beta of IE 8 became available for Vista and XP SP2 right here so if you want a closer look at it, hop over and give it a download. Bear in mind, the preview is really geared for developers to examine how they can use the new features so don't be too hard on the browser if you run into issues.

Samsung plans 256 GB SSD in 2009

Samsung appears to be wasting no time in the heating up Solid State Disk market. The company indicates plans to double capacity of SSD flash drives on an annual basis and since they have 128 GB samples on the way to vendors this year, that means we'll see 256 GB drives in 2009. Cost continues to be the primary limitation, but my hope is that SSD sales will drive prices down. I'll be keeping an eye on the Lenovo X300 sales figures since there's a 64 GB Samsung SSD drive in every unit.

Another factor to help drop prices: Samsung indicates that the industry will make a move by year-end to multilevel cell SSDs; current technology uses single level cells which cost more. I still don't expect SSDs to be competitively priced for some time when compared to traditional storage on cost-per-GB basis, but the price gap continues to slowly narrow. Capacity keeps trending up as well, but I gather that we'll see traditional storage for several years to come.

Intel re-discovers the Atom, brand name for Silverthorne

Over the weekend, Intel announced the consumer branding for the new Silverthorne chipsets. They give you: the Centrino Atom. Since we've been following the Menlow platform for some time, the news is mainly just one of branding, but in case you've forgotten all the technical goodies or want to brush up on your CPU knowledge for a future Jeopardy! appearance, Intel has a few bits and videos for a refresher. Long and short of it: the small CPUs will power the next generation of UMPCs and MIDs, scaling up to clock speeds of 1.8 GHz while using 0.6 to 2.5 Watts of juice. Don't get too excited or hung up on the 1.8 GHz figure as that's only part of the performance equation. On-board cache is part of it too but there's no info provided by Intel on the press release in terms of cache. Given that the chip is so small, there's not much room for cache memory.

The Fujitsu is almost here!

Gotta love FedEx!  The Fujitsu P1620 only left Japan yesterday but according to the tracking it's almost in my hot little hands:

Brief video to follow its arrival.  :)

Toshiba announces 1.8-inch micro-SATA drives for UMPCs

Two days ago we were hearing that Fujitsu is cramming 500 GB of capacity into a 2.5-inch notebook hard drive, but many UMPC device owners are left out of the upgrade path since most of these devices use smaller 1.8-inch drives. We're still not able to get a half a Terabyte of storage in our handheld computers, but there's a another 120 GB offering just announced from Toshiba.

The MK1216GSG is a new 1.8-inch drive that uses a micro-SATA connector and spins at 5,400 RPM, not the slower 4,200 RPM often found in smaller drives. While the interface is capable of a lighting-fast 1.5 GB per second, the transfer speed is limited to 489 Mb per second, which works out to around 60 MBps if I did my math correctly on no morning coffee. Based on this PDF from the SATA International Organization, drives with this micro-SATA connector are geared specifically for UMPCs. No word on price but these drives start shipping in April. For the budget-conscious, Toshiba will also offer an 80 GB model.

(via Engadget)

Clean up after your Zune, reclaim gigs of PC storage

Since we don't all have 500 GB hard drives in our mobile computing devices, this tip from Zune Boards will help us eek out a little storage capacity when using a Zune. Apparently, when the Zune software converts video files, it leaves a temporary copy on your hard drive that just sits there until you wipe it out. The simple trick to clean out these space-wasters is to view the properties of your hard drive and choose the "Disk Cleanup" option. Along with the usual suspects of temporary files, offline web pages and such, you'll see a selection for "Zune temporary converted files". Looks like they're not too temporary if they keep hanging around!

If you'd rather just remove these in the Zune software, click the Device Settings menu and look for the Conversion Settings option. Here you can set the folder location for the temp files and clear them out with the "clear history" button. Some Zune owners on the Zune Board site indicated that these left-overs were taking up 6 Gigabytes or more on their hard drive. Sounds to me like these should automatically disappear on a regular basis by design...

(via Zune Thoughts)

Fujitsu shoehorns 500-GB into notebook drive

Want to carry half a Terabyte of data in your computer? Fujitsu is delivering just that come May, with their new 500 Gigabyte drive designed for notebooks. The MHZ2 BT is a 2.5-inch drive with a Serial ATA interface, capable of pumping 3 GB a second through the pipes.

You'll be looking at a power drain of around 1.8 Watts during reads and writes, but Fujitsu's press release doesn't offer an idle power draw nor the seek time for data. We'll probably see a price announcement when closer to launch; my best guess would be in the $350 to $400 range based on their current offerings. Given the high capacity and near 2-Watt power drain, I'd look for these in standard notebooks as opposed to UMPCs and sub-notebooks.

Additional accessories for the P1620 on the way today

OK, I'm still waiting for the delivery of the Fujitsu P1620, in fact right now I don't know when it might arrive.  When it didn't arrive on Wednesday of this week I called Fujitsu and they said it shipped that day and would arrive today, Friday.  They also told me I'd receive a confirmation email that had a tracking number but that didn't arrive.  On Thursday since I had no confirmation that the computer was shipped I called Fujitsu again and they told me it shipped that morning.  Since it's coming direct from Japan it would arrive at Mobile Tech Manor on Monday or Tuesday.  Knowing when it might arrive is important because it is shipping with a signature required and I would have to be home to sign for it.  I still have received no confirmation that it shipped from Japan so at this point I am not sure when to expect it.  The online status still shows it as shipped which it has shown since Monday so that doesn't mean too much.

Meanwhile I have ordered some little accessories to use with the Fuji when it does arrive and those should arrive today.  First up I decided I needed a USB 2.0 hub to use with the port replicator of the Fuji which only has 2 USB slots and those will be used up by the DVD drive which has already arrived.  It requires 2 USB slots so it gets enough power and even though one of them is a pass-through connector I felt I would still need several additional USB slots.  I ordered this Belkin hub which is very similar to the one I use with the MacBook Pro and am quite happy with it.  It's a 7 port hub which is plenty but the cool thing is how 2 of the slots are on the top of the hub.  This makes it very handy to plug in memory keys and the like which I just plug in, use, and then remove.  It's also very reasonably priced and like I said I am quite happy with the one I already have.

Next up I decided to take the advice of good friend Steven Hughes and ordered a Patriot 16 GB SDHC card for use with the Fuji.  Steven is using this card with his older P1610 so it should work fine in the newer P1620.  Like Steven I intend to use 2 GB of the Patriot for ReadyBoost and the other 14 GB for movies and the like.  The Patriot was reasonably priced for such a high capacity card and I will get good use out of it I am sure.  I had actually ordered a SanDisk 2 GB SD card to use for ReadyBoost that arrived earlier this week.  For grins I tried to put it in the HP 2710p to try it for ReadyBoost and it wouldn't work, the HP told me it was not fast enough for that usage.  I decided at that point to go with Steven's solution which works for him so I am pretty confident this Patriot card will work fine.

Now if the P1620 would only get here already!  There are few things in life worse than waiting endlessly for new tech to arrive.

Freeware of the moment- Process Lasso

Anyone who has been using mobile devices for very long knows too well the hit and miss scenario caused by multi-tasking.  You have too much running in the background and the CPU grinds up to 100% and it's hard to do much of anything.  Today's Freeware of the Moment is a utility that aims to end that problem once and for all.  Process Lasso sets some rules and runs (with very little resources) in the background and prevents bad things from happening when too much gets going at once.  It watches your CPU resources and when they get tapped out it steps the priority down for processes until the system is running at an even keel.  I have heard many people praise this program but none so well as Steven Hughes of BostonPocket PC who has published a very thorough review of Process Lasso.  Check out the review and then give Process Lasso a try and see how well your older system runs with today's programs.  Note that Process Lasso runs under Windows 2000, XP and Vista and there are both 32 bit and 64 bit versions available.  Be sure and get the right one and you'll be hauling buns in short order.  Don't be intimitdated, while Process Lasso has all sorts of technical settings to give you total control over your running environment the defaults will pretty much sort your system out with ease.

Is an SSD worth $900?

I ran into one of the other regular customers here in the local Starbucks and he had something interesting to share.  He has used an HP tc4200 Tablet PC for over a year although he admits he only uses it as a Tablet PC on flights where slate mode is the only usage form he has room for.  He did say that recently he ordered a 64 GB SSD for the 2710p and put it in his tc4200 and it rocks.  He says the performance gain and extra battery life he gets is worth the $900 he paid for the SSD drive.  That may not be the way a lot of people would see it but he said it was one of the best purchases he has made for his mobile tech gear.  He can't wait until SSDs are offered in "all laptops".

Can an SDHC card compete with an SSD or hard drive?

What a great question and even better set of testing. Folks that have been following flash storage speeds, capacities and implementations likely already know the answer to this one, but mainstream consumers or those new to mobile tech will really appreciate Jerry Jackson's efforts. He's a got an excellent set of tests to compare SDHC cards, traditional hard drives and Solid State Disks. After all, flash memory is flash memory, right? Not so since there are different speed classes and interface capabilities.

The long and short of it: with a fast card reader in your mobile device, an SDHC card offers good value, i.e.: expanded storage capacity that can be accessed quickly, but not written to or read from nearly as fast as a much more expensive SSD drive. Well worth the read for a better understanding of this technology especially since SSD drives are still not cost-effective for widespread adoption. This could really come into play if more manufacturers go with the low-cost, low storage capacity model like the 2-, 4- and 8 GB Asus Eee PCs. Having an SDHC card reader there can go a long way to complement storage in the cloud of the web.

Mtron to deliver 1.8-inch, 128 GB SSD in April

Not satisfied with a paltry 32 GB of storage? 64 GB doubles your capacity but doesn't double your pleasure? How's 128 GB of Solid State Disk capacity grab you? Watch for it in April as Mtron just announced their intent to produce just such a component. The million-dollar question is the price of said storage, but that isn't in the press release. An educated guess tells me that we'll see the first batch come in around $1600, which could be more than the cost of the device it would actually go in.

Price issues aside, this sounds like a great component for UMPCs and sub-notebooks: a 1.8-inch Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) PATA drive capable of 110 MBps reads and 40 MBps writes. Factor in 50% less power used than a traditional hard drive for a little more run time and that $1600 price tag is almost worth it, no? I kid.

Consumers flunk geography per Intel, Montevina to be Centrino 2

Here's a Monday morning brainteaser: name the next California area in the following list. Carmel, Sonoma, Napa, Santa Rosa... Did you say Montevina? Know anyone who did? Neither does Intel who finally gave up on educating the world on California travel destinations. Instead the chipmaker is branding the Montevina platform as the Centrino 2.

I like the designation for more than the obvious reason of consumer awareness. While the Centrino 2 isn't the second-generation Centrino platform (that was Sonoma for you Trivial Pursuiters), it does use Intel's Core 2 Duo and will support WiMax, which you could say is the second coming of Intel's wireless offerings. Plenty more good Centrino history and information awaits you at the Wikipedia; the California city after Montevina, for example. Bonus points if you know it without peeking...

Building a new system- questions answered

The article I posted defining my methodology for building a new system to get it up and running as quickly as possible and with all of my stuff accessible touched a lot of nerves and generated some good questions.  As I went through the questions and gave a lot of thought to them it made sense for me to post my answers here so they will be more easily accessible to the inquiring minds.