Pem’s Tech Blog

For a period of time, I had begun to feel like mobile AMD CPU’s were having trouble competing with mobile Intel CPU’s (I’m specifically talking about mobile, not desktop, not server / workstation).  For example, I had some worries about if there might be a higher likelihood of heat problems (and battery life).  However, the Fusion APU’s completely change that.  laptopmag.com gave the HP Pavilian dm1z with Fusion APU an editor’s choice, and said, “Despite its small size, the dm1z is one of the coolest notebooks we’ve yet tested” and “blows past Atom-based netbooks while providing enough endurance to see you through the day”.  As mobile x86 CPUs and APUs allow smaller devices with low heat and all day battery life…  It might turn out that eventually the ARM tablets (iPad etc) turn out to be a fad.

Pem (Admin) :: 2011/01/23 (Sunday, January 23, 2011) :: Computers / Tech, Hardware, Mobility :: No Comments »

I got a survey from AT&T about the iPad.  Here’s my some of the responses I gave.

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How satisfied? 9/10 because…  I think it’s clearly the best out there, but that’s really only because it was first to market, for this type of oversized tablet device.

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What do you like the most about the iPad?

It’s useful for reading, writing, internet access, video.  The screen size and the thinness is great size for reading web pages, magazines, comics, pdf / doc files, emails, video, etc.  Unlike a netbook, I can leave it on all day, without significant problems with stability or heat.  It’s great to hold and use in hands, or read while laying down, or put on a stand and type with the Apple wireless keyboard.  Having 802.11 a/n and the awesome no contract $15/mo AT&T wireless plan (that you can upgrade to $30/mo only when you need it) is a real game changer.

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What do you dislike the most about the iPad?

1st, I really think there should be a central file system.  It’s fine to give each app its own private file area too.  But there’s a lot of files I want to have in central location, and open with different apps.  For example, I’d like to sync my entire set of DropBox files to one folder (on iPad and iPod).  And I’d like to sync a folder from my Windows computer to one folder (on iPad and iPod).  Then I should be able to open particular files, from the central file system, from each app.  If I want to open the same file from two different apps, I shouldn’t have (and manage) two copies of the file!  The user has to jump through so many hoops with this "think different" lack of a central file system.  It can be really annoying.

2nd, There are two things which make it difficult to suggest for children and people in my family who use computers more casually.  One, even $500 each is expensive, at least if you buy 4 or 5 or 6 of them.  Two, I’m not confident that a person can really use it without sync’ing to a real computer.  If someone, such as a parent with multiple children, has to decide between a laptop or an iPad, it’s probably going to be the laptop first, since the iPad kind of needs a computer (using iTunes).

3rd, Would be nice if the already awesome AT&T no contract data plan included WiFi on planes.

4th, It’s not often, but sometimes an app, or even the OS, will crash or freeze.  I’ve even had the Mail app freeze while I was writing an email, and it didn’t save a draft, so I had to retype the email.  This happens less on other devices…  But since iPad doesn’t multi-task, and doesn’t let me install OS level stuff (like a clipboard manager with clipboard history), it can be more damaging when something does crash.

My 1st and 2nd dislikes are the biggest.

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Did you comparison shop for other devices?  No to iPhone and other smart phones.  Yes to netbook, notebook/laptop, e-reader, other (tablets such as Android).

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I am on the internet more than 6 hours a day.  Duh

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iPad kind of replaces my laptop – but I think that’s only temporary.  I have both a (normal more powerful desktop) and a (mac mini for travel between two residences).  However, as laptops improve in terms of weight, battery life, always-on-capabilities, power…  I am likely to someday carry both a laptop and iPad.  Of course it would help if both the iPad and laptops reduce their weight a little more.

What I’d really like to do is carry one ARM iPad, one keyboard-less x86 laptop tablet, and one keyboard that can easily fast-switch which of the two it controls (and also turn on/off faster, maybe using a switch or a toggle button – instead of having to hold down a button for 3 seconds).  I want to carry one keyboard, not two.  The same bluetooth keyboard should let me fast-switch between iPad and x86 tablet, and to even a 3rd device too, such as my mac mini.  There are some bluetooth headsets that let you pair to more than one device.

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I didn’t say this in the survey…  But it more replaces a netbook or an e-reader than a laptop.  I bolded the text about having a bluetooth keyboard that lets you store multiple profiles (such as 3) and fast-change between them, to switch which bluetooth device you are connected to.  That is really a huge deal.

Overall, I think most people would pick between (a desktop vs. a laptop), rather than (a laptop vs. an iPad).  Though I am looking forward to (more powerful, lighter weight, lower heat, longer battery life) keyboard-less multi-touch x86 Windows 7 tablets (or Mac OS X) (especially with better mobile GPU’s, such as AMD/ATI Fusion products).

Pem (Admin) :: 2010/05/29 (Saturday, May 29, 2010) :: Mobility :: No Comments »

I’m writing this using WordPress for iPad.

Overall, it’s very good news just that it works. Although, it didn’t work instantly, since when I tried to connect to my wordpress blog, it gave me an error relating to the xml rpc xml protocol. This had happened when I first tried WordPress for iPhone, so I knew to try disabling plugins, which fixed the problem. The offending plugin was "Customizable Permalinks".

Unfortunately, the app is pretty bare bones, such as compared to Windows Live Writer (a Windows desktop app).

Sadly, it’s frozen and crashed, and even had the save button disappear while editing a post… All within 5 minutes of using it. Since you can save drafts, it’s not the end of the world, but kind of annoying.

For editing an existing post, it’s only edit mode shows the HTML – no WYSIWYG.

Overall, it’s awesome that there is a WordPress app for iPad, and it at least has the basic functionality working. The functionality is not particularly amazing, but it has some reasonable basic functionality and a nice iPad UI.

If you type "http:", a popup box asks if you want to make a link.

To publish, you tap "Status" and change from "Local Draft" to "Published". You can also choose "Draft", which is awesome, since that syncs to my WordPress blog, which allows me to continue to edit the post from somewhere else (before I publish), such as Windows Live Writer (on Windows 7 desktop OS).

It lets you attach photos, which is great.  Although what I did for this post was attach the photos, then copy/paste them using the Windows Live Writer plugin “Clipboard Image” (Clipboard Capture).  This is so I can more easily use (or tweak) a standard size for (the thumb image and the larger image).

The ability to moderate posts (ie, mark as “Approve” or as “Spam”) is also very useful / convenient.

Finally, the bad news is that disabling the WordPress Customizable Permalinks plugin caused my page’s post links to no longer work… So until I fix that issue, it’s not very convenient to blog from the WordPress iPad app.

Pem (Admin) :: 2010/05/20 (Thursday, May 20, 2010) :: Blogging, Mobility :: 2 Comments »

The iPad supports bluetooth 2.1 keyboards.  But there’s two keyboards in particular that Apple is initially pushing.

The iPad Keyboard Dock has special function buttons on the top row: home button, search button (redundant since you can just press the home button twice?), brightness down, brightness up, picture frame mode toggle, software keyboard toggle, a mysterious unlabeled button, music/video media controls (track left, pause/play toggle, track right), volume mute, volume up, volume down, screen lock.  One thing I like about it is that the bottom left keys are (Control, Option, Command).

However, the deal breaker is that the keyboard is attached to the dock, and the dock doesn’t fold – so this makes it less portable.

When you checkout from the online Apple store with an iPad, the other keyboard they try to sell you is the Apple Wireless Keyboard.  I’ve used one at a Best Buy display, and I think it’s pretty slick overall (in particular, it’s small size).  However, I’m not sure how well it would fit in my laptop bag next to the iPad, with that raised cylinder.  The other concern is whether the F keys work the same as with the iPad keyboard dock.  I am hopeful that they do, even though they are labeled differently.

However, the deal breaker is that the bottom left keys are (Fn, Control, Option, Command).  The position of the Fn key is confusing for shortucts.

A similar thing that may kill me, regardless of what I do, is that, when I use Mac OS X, I remap Command to Control (and Control to Command), so that most Windows shortcuts (like ctrl+X, ctrl+C, ctrl+V – cut, copy, paste) work the same.  I am doubtful about this being easy to do on the iPad.  I know it’s close-minded, but shortcuts like cut copy paste are for my left pinky finger – not my left thumb!!!

For now, I’m waiting to hear more info about specifically how the iPad works with the specific keyboard keys…  And whether they will release another Apple Wireless Keyboard (for iPad) that doesn’t have the Fn key.  Or another iPad Keyboard Dock, that is more portable.

Update: I still don’t like that the wireless keyboard has a Fn key.  And it looks like you can’t remap the keyboard keys (like I do on Mac OS X, swapping control and command).  So you still have to do (Cmd+X, Cmd+C, Cmd+V) for (cut, copy, paste), which is the Windows equivalent of having to do (Alt+X, Alt+C, Alt+V) instead of (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V) – in terms of the hand positioning (muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts).  However, overall, my biggest gripe is that I want an Apple wireless keyboard without that Fn key.  It really bothers me (in terms of muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts), since it means Control is no longer on the very bottom left!  I think I’d be a lot happier if they put Fn key on the right side of the spacebar.

Pem (Admin) :: 2010/04/11 (Sunday, April 11, 2010) :: Hardware, Mac OS, Mobility :: No Comments »

I am interested in the iPad.  The reason is not because it’s awesome (although it is, but so are a lot of other things).  The reason is because they are first to market, and it may be a while before something that is really in the same category comes out.  The general category is, bigger than a smart phone but smaller a laptop.  However, that’s not the entire story.

I’ve pretty much lost interest in single-purpose one-color slow-screen-refresh devices, like the Amazon Kindle, or Barnes and Noble Nook.

Today’s netbooks are still slow, because Intel Atom is slow (and at the same time, Atom’s power efficiency is worse than ARM devices).  There are even some thin keyboard-less Atom tablets (such as Archos 9 PC) (Asus has a rumored Eee Tablet), and convertible Atom tablets (such as an Asus Eee model).  But that’s still a different category – an undersized x86 Windows computer (with an x86 OS), rather than an oversized ARM device (with an ARM OS).

This is the same reason why I would call the upcoming HP Slate PC to still be a significantly different category.  Yes there’s starting to be more overlap in functionality, making it feel somewhat gray.  Yes, there will be a stronger push for x86 keyboard-less tablets too.  But running (Windows 7 on a real x86 computer) vs. running (iPhone OS on an ARM device) is still a completely different experience – even if they are both tablets with screen sizes that are about the same size.  Also, HP Slate PC isn’t out yet (rumors say June).

Another iPad competitor that looked sort of cool is the TouchBook (it’s a small ARM netbook).  And it did come out before the iPad…  But I’m skeptical about the resistive touch screen (it’s also a little thicker, even without the keyboard).  In the end, it’s another ARM tablet that supports Android OS (and other mobile OS’s), although I do love the detachable screen / keyboard design.

The real competitor for iPad (in terms of category) is other similar sized ARM devices.  Later this might include Windows Mobile 7, or even Palm Web OS, or Nokia Symbian (or who knows – maybe even BlackBerry?).  But right now the main known competitor is Android.  That’s in the near future, but not a lot out yet.  Plus, there might be further delays (before we get something that really competes) relating to Android fragmentation and multitouch support?

So I’m definitely considering an iPad myself (for now) – unless I see some really amazing Android Tablet coming out within the next month.  Then, in a year or 2 (or 3), I may also be in the market for an x86 tablet (or convertible laptop).  Maybe a nice x86 tablet with an awesome AMD/ATI Fusion processor

Finally, I would like to admit that the current separation between (x86 with desktop OS: Windows 7, Mac OS X, Linux) and (ARM with mobile OS: iPhone, Android, Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry) may become even more gray.  Because both Android OS and Chrome OS support both ARM and x86.  For example, the WePad is x86, yet it’s going to run Android.

Pem (Admin) :: 2010/04/11 (Sunday, April 11, 2010) :: Hardware, Mac OS, Mobility :: No Comments »

Background
I am both a software developer and a frequent traveler, and I have both enjoyment and productivity uses for portable computing.  This even applies to desktops (ie, portable desktop computers).

There are some really small examples like fit-PC2i and LinTop.  And there is a decent variety of NetTop options, including Asus EeeBox, ASRock Mini PC series, Acer Aspire Revo, and other NetTop computers (Intel Atom, Nvidia Ion).  However, for my personal use, these options are just too slow (Intel Atom is too slow).

So what I’m really looking at is either a Mac Mini or a Mac Mini competitor.  The Viewsonic VOT550 sounds good too, but I think a better competitor for the Mac Mini is the Dell Inspiron Zino HD.

Zino HD vs. Mac Mini
Here are advantages of the Mac Mini (over the Zino HD):
* slightly smaller/lighter: (6.5 x 6.5 x 2 in, 2.9 lb) vs. (7.8 x 7.8 x 3.4 in, 3.5 lb)
* slightly faster CPU (not by much) (uses more heat/power)
* slightly faster memory (DDR3 vs. DDR2) (more expensive per GB)
* official support for Mac OS X (does not require hackintosh)
* 2.5 hdd helps it be physically smaller, but only 5400 rpm and less GB per $
* the $999 server option has a 2nd hdd instead of an optical drive

Here are advantages of the Zino HD (over the Mac Mini):
* more options, broader price range, lower cost per performance/features
* discrete graphics option (ATI Radeon HD 4330)
* eSATA, Blu-ray, HDMI, memory card reader
* supports 8 GB RAM (Mac Mini only claims support for 4 GB?)
* 3.5 hdd is faster, 7200 rpm, more GB, but physically bigger

Mac Mini is 2 inches high, while the Zino HD is 3.4 inches high.  But the Zino HD has eSATA, Blu-ray, HDMI, discrete graphics – making it a better HTPC.  I think the rest of the differences are mostly just minor trade-offs.

To make the Mac Mini smaller, I still wish they would just remove the optical drive.  I definitely like the Mac Mini’s $999 two hdd option.  But even for the Mac Mini, I’d still rather they just have a one hdd option with smaller dimensions (ie, fit it into a smaller case).

Overall, I like the Zino HD’s extra features/options (and lower price per performance/features).  However, some obvious things I would like to see them do to make it smaller are (use a 2.5 hdd) and (remove the optical drive) and (remove anything else that takes up space, such as the memory card reader).  Of course Blu-ray is great for HTPC, but my interest is more about a reasonably powerful PC with high portability (small, light weight, durable, fits in backpack).

My specific situation
Finally, I should mention some details about my specific setup.  My plan is to run all three major OS’s using a KVM switch (one more powerful desktop with Windows 7, one Mac Mini with Mac OS X, and one Linux computer that is similar in portability and performance to a Mac Mini).  I’m planning to run Ubuntu Linux (and/or openSUSE) (maybe Fedora) on this third desktop computer.  And I have a strong preference to portability (hence why I want one 2.5 hdd and no optical drive).

If you’re looking at a Mac Mini because you want to run Mac OS X, then it’s probably a better choice (unless you just think it would be fun to try hackintosh).

If you’re looking at Mac Mini vs. Zino HD for HTPC (Home Theatre PC), then I think Zino HD is clearly a better choice, because it has Blu-ray DVD and a discrete GPU (plus HDMI).  Plus, a 3.5 hdd with two eSATA ports gives you high speed/bandwidth and lots of GB storage for large video files.

For my situation, it’s a more difficult choice.  For my situation, both Mac Mini and Zino HD are bigger than they need to be – because I don’t want an internal optical drive (I’d rather use an external optical drive that I don’t have to take in my backpack).

So far, I’m strongly leaning towards Zino HD for Linux.  One reason is (discrete GPU, eSATA, 8 GB mem).  But I have to admit that it’s also partly just because I’d rather carry around (one Mac Mini with Mac OS X, and one Zino HD with Linux OS) than carry around (one Mac Mini with Mac OS X, and a second Mac Mini with Linux OS).

Pictures: Mac Mini vs. Zino HD

Pictures: fit-PC2i vs. Mac Mini

Pem (Admin) :: 2010/03/28 (Sunday, March 28, 2010) :: Hardware, Mobility :: 3 Comments »

Referencing my earlier post (here), I wanted to carry my boot drive back and forth between 2 copies of my desktop computer.  Rather than dealing with different hardware configs, I made it extra simple by just using a copy of the same hardware (same motherboard model, same graphics card model, same amount of RAM) on both.  So far, everything has worked…

A good bonus is that I’m using a 5.25” SATA enclosure, which goes in a standard CD/DVD disc drive slot.

The only real concern so far has been the Windows Activation notifications.  We’ll see later if it starts to give me problems.

Finally, it’s definitely possible that Windows 7 (and graphics drivers etc) may simply deal better with moving a boot drive to a more significantly different hardware configuration…  Or if not, there may be some work-around.

Pem (Admin) :: 2010/02/17 (Wednesday, February 17, 2010) :: Mobility, Windows OS :: No Comments »

The biggest let-down is the “use less than 100KB/user/month" part, because Kindle doesn’t have WiFi – at least not yet.  Two applications I would most imagine myself using on a Kindle are read it later (or instapaper) and EverNote (or something that can import my OneNote notes), but 100 KB/user/month wouldn’t be enough.  Hopefully the next version of the Kindle will have WiFi, and allow applications that use unlimited data over WiFi.

Since it’s short, I’ll just quote the entire thing from:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&docId=1000476231

KDK Limited Beta Coming Next Month

Submit your e-mail address to get notified when the limited beta starts next month. Participants in the limited beta will be able to download the Kindle Development Kit, access developer support, test content on Kindle, and submit finished content. Those wait-listed will be invited to participate at a later date as space becomes available. The Kindle Development Kit includes sample code, documentation, and the Kindle Simulator, which helps developers build and test their content by simulating the 6-inch Kindle and 9.7-inch Kindle DX on Mac, PC, and Linux desktops. We are excited to see what you invent for Kindle.

Revenue Share

User revenue will be split 70% to the developer and 30% to Amazon net of delivery fees of $0.15 / MB. Remember that unlike smart phones, the Kindle user does not pay a monthly wireless fee or enter into an annual wireless contract. Kindle active content must be priced to cover the costs of downloads and on-going usage.

Pricing Options

Active content will be available to customers in the Kindle Store later this year. Your active content can be priced three ways:

• Free – Active content applications that are smaller than 1MB and use less than 100KB/user/month of wireless data may be offered at no charge to customers. Amazon will pay the wireless costs associated with delivery and maintenance.
• One-time Purchase – Customers will be charged once when purchasing active content. Content must have nominal (less than 100KB/user/month) ongoing wireless usage.
• Monthly Subscription – Customers will be charged once per month for active content.

Active content applications have an upper size limit of 100MB. Applications larger than 10MB will not be delivered wirelessly but can be downloaded from the Kindle Store to a computer and transferred to the user’s Kindle via USB.

Developer Guidelines

Voice over IP functionality, advertising, offensive materials, collection of customer information without express customer knowledge and consent, or usage of the Amazon or Kindle brand in any way are not allowed. In addition, active content must meet all Amazon technical requirements, not be a generic reader, and not contain malicious code.

We will work to refine the above guidelines throughout the beta.

Pem (Admin) :: 2010/01/21 (Thursday, January 21, 2010) :: Misc, Mobility, Notetaking :: No Comments »

I want to have two copies of the same desktop (or workstation) computer hardware, minus the boot drive (which is also the drive with all the programs installed) (all other drives are irrelevant, since they are just data drives).  The exact same motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, with Windows 7.  I would like to use 1 boot drive for both computers.

I have computer-A at location-A (such as my home office), and computer-B at location-B (such as my work office, or it could be somewhere far away).  Let’s assume these two locations are in different states, via a full day plane ride.  Also, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be 3 locations.

I want to be able to take the boot drive out of computer-A, bring it on the plane, fly to location-B, and put it in computer-B.  Such that it is seamless and low-hassle to continue working on computer-B as if it is computer-A.  This would be a routine thing, not just once – if it’s my home and office computer, then it could easily be twice a day.  And a 3rd location could still be out of state.

My goal is that once this is setup, it will be very easy and painless.  Much more easy and painless than actually maintaining two copies of the computer…  Having to redo my program installs, copy svn/subversion diffs, redo svn checkouts, redo my configurations, etc.  I want this to be basically equivalent to if I had transported my entire huge powerful desktop computer on the plane.  Except I just shutdown computer-A, unplug the boot drive, take it to location-B, plug it into computer-B, and boot computer-B.  Simple, and no hassle.

In case anyone is wondering…  No, a laptop is not powerful enough.  No, I don’t just want the data files.

And I think I’d prefer to take the actual boot drive, rather than an external data drive with an image of the boot drive, because I think taking the boot drive sounds faster and simpler?

Some more focused questions:

1) Will it just work, since it’s two copies of the same hardware (motherboard, cpu, gpu)?  Could I just carry the boot drive (from computer-A, to computer-B) after a clean shutdown?  Or, do I need to use sysprep (or something) to generalize (Computer name, Security Identifier (SID), Driver Cache) each time?  Or Windows System Image Manager?  Or repair Windows from the DVD on the destination computer?

2) What hardware would affect this?  Just motherboard, CPU, GPU?  Is it okay if computer-B is missing some pieces, such as a Blu-ray drive on computer-A and no disc drive on computer-B?  Keep in mind, I want everything to just work, and all my stuff to be in full working order, including details like environment variables, registry keys, what SDK’s I have installed, my working copy of an svn code checkout, etc.

3) Any catches / gotchas to my idea?

4) Any specific hardware to make this easier?  I noticed that with some computers, the internal hard drives slide in/out very easy and tool-less.  Though with others, it’s kind of a pain.

I think these are the right answers:

1) It will just work.  Sysprep is only needed if you’re moving it to different hardware.  With sysprep, you could do the same thing, even if computer-A and computer-B were different hardware.  Windows repair would also work.

2) Yes, just the motherboard, cpu, and gpu matter.  The cpu just has to be compatible with the motherboard.  And the motherboard can be different, as long as it uses the same chipsets.

3) My biggest worry is that it will cause Windows activation – every single time I move the hard drive.  So if I move from computer-A to computer-B, then back to computer-A, that would be 2 activations?  Somewhere I read that you only get 5, after which you have to activate by phone?  Sounds potentially annoying…  And I wonder what, if anything, happens after 50 activations?  100 activations?

4) Probably just route the SATA and power cable outside of the case drive.  Maybe there’s an enclosure to help keep it stable and safe.

However, my confidence level is not yet 100%…  Two things similar are: (using sysprep for simple images with massive deployment) and (moving the system drive from an old computer to a new computer, just once, not repeatedly)…  But I was kind of surprised that it was not incredibly easy (via google search) to find other people already doing / trying what I described here.

Pem (Admin) :: 2009/12/14 (Monday, December 14, 2009) :: Mobility, Windows OS :: 1 Comment »

I’ve known about this since the original iPhone release on 2007/06/29, but I wasn’t sure if it was still true today.  Well apparently it still is.

> Adobe has promised betas of a mobile-ready Flash 10.1 for Windows Mobile and Palm Pre late this year, and early next year for Android, Symbian, and BlackBerry phones, as well as NVIDIA-powered netbooks. The only hold-out? The iPhone, of course.
– 2009/10/05, http://lifehacker.com/5374437/flash-arriving-by-year+end-on-every-smartphone-except-iphones

> The iPhone supports neither Flash nor Java.  Consequently, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority adjudicated that an advertisement claiming the iPhone could access “all parts of the internet” should be withdrawn in its current form, on grounds of false advertising.
– wikipedia

Well they have a very popular SDK and app store, which does stuff native, and I can definitely see the argument that by not having Java and Flash, it encourages more native iPhone OS applications, which in some ways provides an overall better experience…  so maybe it’s forgivable O:-)

The disappointment is just because it really does mean that a lot of the web doesn’t work on iPhone OS.

Pem (Admin) :: 2009/10/05 (Monday, October 5, 2009) :: Mobility :: No Comments »