Facebook–Using custom lists to control the visibility of your posts

All along, Facebook have provided a “lists” feature which allows you to group your friends in to categories like “close family”, your “current circle of social friends” or “workmates”. It can even be feasible that one Facebook Friend can be a member of two or more “lists”.

This has been improved so that you can control the visibility of material you post on Facebook so that only certain people can see the material. This is including the ability to make a post “Public” for all to see or “Friends only” just for your Facebook Friends to see.It will remember what setting you used for the last item that you posted.

You can use the custom lists option on the Web user interface as well as the mobile Facebook clients for iOS and Android. At the moment, I don’t know of this being able to  work for other Facebook clients like the TV-based clients or the Pure Sensia Internet radio. This may change when new versions of the firmware for these devices is released.

When you send a friend-request to a potential Facebook Friend, you have the option of classing the friend in one or more of your Custom Lists. Similarly, you can go through your Friends collection and add them to your Custom Lists. Then, when you post a Status Update, Photo, Link or other top-level item on your Wall, you have the option of determining the visibility of this post. Here, you can have it appear “Public” for all to see whether they are Friends or not, “Friends Only” where just your Facebook Friends see the post and “Custom List” where people who are in the Custom List you define see the post.

A question that can be raised with this ability, especially in relation to teenagers, is that you as a parent may want to “Friend” them on Facebook so you can know what is going on and if there is any bullying taking place for example. But this idea may be circumvented by your teenage child setting up a Custom List which encompasses just their mates or the “in” crowd. The teenager’s friends would set up similar Custom Lists for their mates, encompassing your teenager. Then if they want to post stuff that Mum and Dad aren’t to see, they use the Custom List that they have defined. How can you know what’s going on when these Custom Lists are being used.

But it still requires users to be careful about what they post on Facebook and whom to. For example, you should avoid engaging in a confidential conversation on FB using the Wall, rather you send the direct messages to the person involved or use the Chat facility. Infact it is worth paying attention to the reference page that I wrote concerning where to post what in Facebook, and this has become a valuable asset to Facebook newbies.

Making sure your small business is ready for IPv6

Article

HP Blogs – 6 steps for SMBs to become IPv6-ready – The HP Blog Hub

My Comments

There is all the talk of us running out of IPv4 public IP addresses for the Internet, and an increased awareness of IPv6 Internet technology. One major driver for the IPv6 technology is the rolling out of next-generation broadband services; where this feature will be seen as being part of the “next generation” mould.

In the near time, the typical IPv6 network will operate as a “dual-stack” setup where there is an IPv6 network and an IPv4 network operating over the same network space. A device such as an IPv6-ready router will typically bridge the gap between the dual-stack devices and the IPv4-only devices by assisting in the discovery of the devices and transferring data between the two different network stacks.

Outside IT contractors

If you do regularly engage outside contractors for your IT needs such as your POS / property-management technology, it would pay to ask whether the technical staff know about IPv6 and how to deploy it. Most of these contractors may think that small business doesn’t need IPv6 but as the Internet moves to this technology, it pays to be future-proof.

ISPs and Webhosts

It is worth making sure that your business’s ISP and Internet hosted services such as your Webhost are ready for IPv6 or have intentions to roll out a customer-facing IPv6 service.

Most ISPs and Webhosts are likely to have the backend of their services working on IPv6 technology but their customer-facing services like the Web services or Internet service may not be ready. This may be due to the presumption that most customer setups will fail when confronted with IPv6. The exception may be the ISPs that serve a “switched-on” audience that knows their way around the Internet technology; or ISPs and Webhosts that offer customer-facing IPv6 service as a limited-user beta test and they may offer a “dual-stack” setup.

It also pays to check that your domain host supports domain records that are compatible with IPv6 setups. This includes having AAAAA-form DNS records that can resolve your domain name to IPv6 addresses.

Hardware

Computers that run Windows Vista or 7, MacOS X Lion or recent Linux distributions will be ready for IPv6; with Windows XP having support through a downloadable module from Microsoft’s Web site. Relatively-recent computer equipment can be upgraded from prior operating systems to the newer IPv6-compliant operating systems. For the mobile platforms, the IOS (iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch), Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7 platforms do support IPv6. They will typically operate on a “dual-stack” arrangement by being able to service an IPv4 network and an IPv6 network at the same time through the same network interface,

Similarly, most network printers pitched at the business end of the market that were released over the last few years would have support for IPv6 in a dual-stack setup.

As for routers, managed switches, access points and other network hardware, I would suggest that you check for firmware that supports IPv6 for your existing equipment. Keep an eye on the manufacturer’s Website for newer firmware updates that support IPv6.  If you are purchasing or specifying newer network equipment, make sure that it does support IPv6 or has future support for this in a planned firmware update. Most unmanaged switches, HomePlug-Ethernet bridges and devices that don’t use a Web or SMNP user interface would not need to be compliant with IPv6. This is because these devices work at levels below the IP stacks.

In the case of routers, the device should work as a “dual-stack” unit with support for routing between the two different IP network types. It should also be able to cope with working with a dual-stack Internet service especially as the business Internet services that provide IPv6 will do so in a dual-stack manner.

When I review any network hardware including printers, I will identify those pieces of equipment that are IPv6-ready so as to help you know whether the equipment will be future-proof.

Software

As for software on these computers, any desktop firewall software or other network-utility software that you run would need to support IPv6 operation. This is something that recent versions of this software would cater for, but you should make sure of this when you specify new software. It also holds true for any other network-management programs that need to work on an IP level.

The application software that serves office functionality or line-of-business needs wouldn’t be of concern in relation to IPv6 because the operating system would be handling the network-resource requests for these programs.

Conclusion

The key issue with assuring IPv6 compatibility for your small business network is to make sure that your computer equipment works on dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 software and / or there is a router that works as n IPv4/IPv6 bridge on both sides of the network-Internet “edge”. As well, the IT contractors and services that you engage would need to be knowledgeable about IPv6 and the impending rollout for your business.

Product Review–HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus multifunction inkjet printer

Introduction

I am reviewing Hewlett-Packard’s latest business inkjet multifunction printer which is the OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus. This unit is to supersede the previously-reviewed HP OfficeJet Pro 8500a Plus and, as you will see later through the review, will have some improvements over that model, especially the ability to print on both sides of the paper “to the edge”.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus all-in-one printer

Print Scan Copy Fax /
E-mail
Paper Trays Connections
Colour Colour Colour Colour 1 x A4 USB 2.0
Ink-jet Resolution ID copy
Optimised book copy, other special copy features
Super G3 Optional A4 paper tray Ethernet,
802.11g/n wireless
Auto-duplex Duplex automatic document feeder   HP ePrint email-to-print receive   IPv6 ready

Prices

Printer

Recommended retail price: AUD$499

Inks and Toners

  Standard   High-Capacity  
  Price Pages Price Pages
Black AUD$32 1000 AUD$45 2300
Cyan   700 AUD$34 1500
Magenta   700 AUD$34 1500
Yellow   700 AUD$34 1500

The printer itself

HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus all-in-one printer

Distinctly-shaped automatic document feeder

Of course, the feature that makes the HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus identifiable is the single-piece automatic document feeder design. Unlike most multifunction printers which use a removable or fold-over document input tray, this printer implements an integrated input tray, which creates a stylish design and reduces the need to do any further setup.

Setup

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus was very easy to set up and add to the network and can connect to a Wi-Fi wireless or a wired Ethernet network. Like most business printers, it is future-proof with dual-stack IPv6 support, which would certainly benefit businesses who are heading down this next-generation network setup or are considering next-generation broadband.

When I wanted to enable the OfficeJet’s ePrint functionality, the printer failed to download the whole file completely and properly. Typically this was caused by server timeout problems and the printer would take the necessary “anti-brick” procedures too readily. This could be improved through the use of background downloading for the necessary software, especially if the update was part-finished.

Once loaded, the ePrint functionality had worked as expected with the email-to-print functionality and access to the HP ePrint app library. It also worked properly with my Android copy of the HP ePrint Home & Biz app, which allows for greater control over the print output from mobile devices; as well as being able to scan to the mobile device.

Walk-up functions

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus can work as a copier with the ability to copy both sides of a document very quickly, a speed slightly shorter than its predecessor. There is also an ID copy function which is supported by assistance animations on the unit’s LCD.

Of course, the OfficeJet can print from and scan to memory cards or USB memory keys, thus working as a standalone printing appliance. In addition, the printer can scan documents either to an email address or a network folder, but these require the use of desktop software to configure these services for your network. As far as scan-to-folder is concerned, the printer can work with any network-storage setup that uses the standard protocols like SMB, which means that it can scan to a NAS device as well as a server or regular computer.

The unit has an integrated colour fax machine for use with regular telephony services with the ability to forward faxes to email or store them on a network storage. The main limitation with using this function for remote “scan-via-fax” operations is that you are typically limited to 300dpi black-and-white images due to the limitations of the Group 3 fax technology.

Computer functions

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus’s computer software loaded very smoothly and worked as expected for a printer that is to be part of the Windows 7 ecosystem. This included support for the Device Stage functionality and integration with applications that have distinct control over the printer.

The software is still very useable and works well with the operating system in an unobtrusive way. There is the ability to set the printer to scan to the computer or to storage on the network like a NAS. This latter situation requires the use of utility software that is supplied as part of the printer for setting up the scan destination. The same software can be used for setting up scan-to-email destinations. But if you set up a scan-to-computer arrangement, the software’s scan monitor works very unobtrusively.

Useability

HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus all-in-one printer illuminated mechanism bay

Illuminated print-mechanism bay

This printer has its ink cartridges loaded from the front in a similar manner to its predecessor and the Brother inkjet printers. But the similarity stops here. When you drop down the access door to gain access to the cartridges, the print bay is illuminated so you can easily identify paper jams. This makes the printer much more easily serviceable compared to the typical laser printer.

A feature that makes the printer identifiable is the single-piece automatic document feeder design. Unlike most multifunction printers which use a removable or fold-over document input tray, this printer implements an integrated input tray, which creates a stylish design and reduces the need to do any further setup.

Similarly there is a pull-out paper drawer which is easy to load and has a high capacity. There is the option to buy an extra paper drawer for use if you want to keep different media on hand.

Print speed and quality

The OfficeJet Pro 8600a’s automatic duplex printing was a major improvement over the previous HP inkjet printers with this feature in that it could effectively print on both sides of the sheet without requiring a large top and bottom margin. This previous requirement has been a personal annoyance of mine with other auto-duplex HP inkjet printers especially when turning out double-sided “tear-off” flyers to promote this site, and this model was effectively a sigh of relief for this function.

This would be especially of benefit for those of us who place importance on auto-duplex printing for desktop-publishing needs like turning out short-order flyers or previews of documents intended for long-run printing. It can even benefit print runs of custom-shaped documents like door hangers, luggage labels, bookmarks and the like.

There has been an improvement in the duplex print speed with a reduced waiting period while the ink dries, but this could be worked on further. One way this could be looked at is to identify whether the page can be retracted slowly during the estimated ink-drying time.

This HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a was able to complete a large duplex print run without failing and the reduced dwell-time for ink drying had become a bonus in reducing the time it took to turn out the pages.

The document output is very sharp for an inkjet printer, very close to what is achieved for a laser or LED printer. But this printer shone with the photo reproduction, something that a lot of business colour printers that are pitched at regular office use may find hard to do. Here, the photo reproduction has been an improvement over the previous model, the OfficeJet Pro 8500a Plus.

Here, the printer turned out a more saturated and brighter image and when it reproduced the group photo, it yielded proper skin tones for the people. I checked the sample pictures turned out by this machine against the same sample pictures turned out by the Photosmart 7510 which I previously reviewed and the photos were on a par with that printer.

Improvement over previous model

I have noticed that the HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus is a real and distinct improvement on the OfficeJet Pro 8500a Plus predecessor in quite a few ways. It was able to reproduce photographs in an improved manner, which would make it please real estate agents, marketing agencies and similar businesses that depend on proper colour photo output for proofs, short-run colour flyers and similar documents. The auto-duplex printing function was an improvement on the previous model in that the pages were reproduced “to the edge” without a large enforced margin, similar to competing printers.

It also has a slightly-increased theoretical ink yield compared to the previous model, thus effectively making it cheaper to run and less time between restocking the ink cartridges.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a printer could benefit from increased paper handling options like an extra low-capacity tray for use with ad-hoc media like letterhead, labels or plastic film when used for short runs. Similarly, it could benefit from being integrated with single-pass duplex scanning as an advanced feature, thus allowing for quick-throughput reliable double-sided scanning.

The ePrint functionality could be delivered out-of-the-box rather than having the user run a firmware upgrade. While on the same topic, firmware updates could then be implemented in a “block-by-block” fashion so that the OfficeJet doesn’t need to download good firmware when completing an aborted firmware update.

It could also implement T.37 and T.38 IP-based fax endpoint functionality and UPnP printing as extra functions to make for a highly-capable small-business printer. These are functions that could be enabled and managed on the printer’s Web dashboard.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus all-in-one printerI would recommend the HP OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus multifunction inkjet printer as a colour inkjet workhorse for the office. This is more so if you do intend to print photo-based documents like photo proofs and short-order brochures.

Similarly. I would also recommend it for people who also value printer capacity and media flexibility, thus placing it as a more credible small-office-based alternative to an entry-level colour laser multifunction printer.

The NBN and rural Internet is seconded by Indigenous people

Article

Indigenous plea for NBN in remote areas | The Australian

My Comments

I have previously stood for rural access to broadband Internet as an enabler for the rural communities when it comes to commercial or government services. But this latest article underscores my standpoint for rural broadband from the arts and culture perspective and enabling indigenous communities located in rural and remote areas.

This was highlighted by the National Congress Of Australia’s First Peoples who wanted to see increased effort in providing the National Broadband Network to the Indigenous Communities around remote Australia. This is in the form of access to arts and culture for these communities, including integration of urban and rural communities.

The same argument could be iterated in other countries that maintain scattered indigenous-people communities like New Zealand with their Maori people or North American with their Red-Indian communities. Here, they would have their unique cultures enhanced by the technology such as through “large-area” ceremonies or similar activities. Similarly, this argument could be raised for the Gypsy and Traveller communities in Europe when it comes to their access to broadband technologies.

In Australia, the remote communities that are outside the reach of the fibre backhaul would be covered by fixed-wireless or satellite links. But I would also like to see the feasibility of fibre links for community clusters with closely-located households, so as to provide higher-quality service in these communities.

Consumer Electronics Show 2012–Part 3

Network Technology

There are a few major trends that I have noticed for the home and small-business network at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. But the big names like D-Link and NETGEAR had chosen to run private showings of their products in the many hotels around Las Vegas rather than use the Convention Center.

Wireless networking

The 802.11ac Gigabit wireless network standard has been ratified and a lot of the manufacturers are showing prototype chipsets and endpoint devices for networks based on this standard. TRENDNet had shown a router and a client bridge as a proof of concept for a wireless link on this standard and D-Link had registered interest in developing their 802.11ac implementation.

On the other hand, Belkin, D-Link and Engenius ran with premium “N900” routers as their top-shelf models. These are simultaneous dual-band routers that run three data streams on each of the two Wi-Fi bands with a total theoretical throughput of 450Mbps per band. 

As well, TRENDNet had tried their effort at another of those “universal Wi-Fi range extenders” which is a device class that could cause some mistakes.

Coaxial and Powerline Networking

MoCA have brought their TV coaxial-cable network specification up to 2.0 which allowed for a headline speed of 400Mbps with Broadcom showing a system-on-chip that works with this standard. They were pitching it at the set-top-box market, especially for multi-room cable-TV deployments.

On the other hand, HomePlug PowerLine Alliance have made the HomePlug AV2 specification official. This standard, which is interoperable with HomePlug AV powerline network segments can support MIMO / repeater operation for a robust powerline segment as well as allowing for a Gigabit physical-layer bandwidth for this segment. The former MIMO advantage makes it that each HomePlug AV2 node acts as a repeater and can take data from two or more nodes for higher throughput even with ropey mains circuits.

But there have been more of the HomePlug AV 500 devices being exhibited on the floor; including D-Link’s DIR-1565 “three-way” router which supports a network of 802.11g/n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet and HomePlug AV 500.

Also, the IEEE 1905.1 standard has been officialised thus simplifying the setup and management requirements for small networks that use Wi-Fi, Ethernet, HomePlug or MoCA network media or a combination thereof. It also provides a consistent quality-of-service arrangement for data that passes through the different network media.

Routers

Some of the manufacturers were pitching at the idea of “cloud-enabling” their routers. This was to allow for remote management of these devices or to allow the router to become an Internet-enabled file server. There was also some talk about setting up app platforms for routers, but what could this lead to for the evolution of these devices.

D-Link have launched the DIR-505 which is a 802.11g/n Wi-Fi plug-in travel router which also had the ability to work as an access point and file-server.

Network-Attached Storage

TP-Link had used this show to launch their first NAS unit which was a DLNA-capable 2-bay SATA unit with Gigablt Ethernet connectivity as well as 3 USB ports. It even had the ability to copy from USB to NAS at the touch of a button.

Iomega had refreshed their StorCenter NAS lineup by adding a surveillance-camera NVR functionality and making them easy to setup. This also included improving their cloud-storage functionality. They also introduced the EZ Media & Backup Center which was their entry-level home-user NAS which supported easy-setup operation and backup, iTunes / DLNA media serving and support for Iomega’s Personal Cloud and Iomega Link technology.

Broadband Internet

ViaSat, who provide the satellite backhaul for JetBlue’s inflight Internet service, were intending to launch a satellite broadband service for rural America this year. They wanted to use this show to exhibit their proposed service. This service is intended to be speed-competitive with the fastest terrestrial broadband services in the cities and is to be known as Exede.

The throughput is at a headline speed of 12Mbps download / 3Mbps upload and they are offering packages with monthly rates US$49.99 for 7.5Gb data allowance, US$79.99 for 15Gb data allowance and US$129.99 for 25Gb data allowance.

Conclusion

This year, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was about estalishing a connected home lifestyle across all of the main activity centres ranging from the home office to the lounge area and that the TV is now a legitimate part of the connected lifestye.

Consumer Electronics Show 2012–Part 2

Audio and VIdeo

Smart TV

There is still intense interest in the smart-TV platforms where your TV is effectively a computer connected to the Internet. This is more so with the idea of integrating multiple viewing screens ie the large TV screen, one or more computer screens, and the screens on tablets and smartphones.

Sony have been dabbling with the Google TV platform, mainly in the form of network video peripherals rather than a TV, which I will mention below. Of course, they are still maintaining their Bravia platform. They were also to promote this concept in a Las Vegas wedding at the Bellagio Wedding Chapel between “Bravia” (Sony’s Internet TV platform) and “Sony Entertainment Network” (Sony’s online content entity).

As far as the interactive-TV lineup goes, Sony have focused this function across their HX and EX “lounge-room” models with the HX series being ready for Skype once the user purchases an optional camera.

Samsung have devoted most of their press event to the TV being the “smart hub” of the connected home. This is with the use of a connected TV chassis that has a dual-core CPU, as well as building up the “Smart TV” platform around an app store and a video-content-distribution platform. They even are using an Android app as the TV’s remote rather than supplying the remote with the TV set. They even ran a competition for the development of a multi-screen app which makes best use of the TV screen alongside a smartphone or tablet screen.

As well, Samsung put forward an “open-frame” design for TV sets with a user-upgradable computer processor. This is in a similar way to how the desktop computer has been designed and is underscoring the fact that these smart TVs are really large-screen computers in their own right and are expected to last for in the order of ten or more years.

Even Lenovo had come to the fore with a 55” LCD set that is driven by the Android “Ice Cream Sandwich” operating system. This would link to their own app store and cloud services and have the usual “smart-TV” features like Wi-Fi connectivity and ability to use an SD card as storage.

Similarly, a “fork” of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, which was targeted at the Internet-enabled TV set, had been launched at this show.

Ultra-high-definition TV

Another main trend surfacing this year at the Consumer Electronics Show is ultra-high-definition TV, also known as UDTV or 4DTV. This is where images have a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels and is pitched at the very large screens of 103” and bigger.

LG is intending to demonstrate an 84” prototype set which works at this resolution while Sony even had the idea of having some of their Blu-Ray players upscale the 1080p video to the higher resolution offered by this newer technology.

3D TV

The main trends affecting this technology are glasses-free 3D screens where you don’t need to wear glasses to watch the 3D effect; use of cheaper cinema-style passive 3D glasses which don’t need to link to the set or require batteries; as well as standards-based active glasses systems.

Toshiba is launching a glasses-free QFHD 3D TV 

OLED as a TV display technology

LG and Samsung have made efforts to bring the OLED display technology to the living-room TV size. Here, they have proven it by demonstrating 55” TV sets that use this technology rather than the LCD or plasma technologies for their screens.

There were rumours that Sony was to dump OLED technology for TV displays but they wanted to refine it to a cost-effective point for professional and consumer users. They have also shown a “Crystal LED” screen prototype which works in a similar vein to LED screens used in public places but implemented on 55” displays.

Other TV news

Some classic names of respect are using this fair to strengthen themselves in the American market. Westinghouse have launched a 3D TV but none of their sets came with Internet-enabled TV functionality. This was to keep their sets at an affordable price point.

RCA had rebuilt their name on a large run of TVs for the North American market as well as fielding a 55” Internet-enabled TV for the Latin-American market. They were using this show to launch some Android-powered mobile TV sets for the up-and-coming “Dyle” mobile / handheld terrestrial TV platform in North America.

Speaking of Dyle, Belkin and MCV were launching an array of equipment and accessories so that people can benefit from this mobile TV platform.

Home-theatre and Hi-Fi

Samsung had used this show to launch two soundbars with iPod / Galaxy S / Allshare (DLNA) integration with one being based on hybrid valve / digital amplification technology. They also ran with two Blu-Ray-based home-theatre-in-box setups with “Disc-Digital” which is Samsung’s implementation of the UltraViolet “digital video locker” service as well as the 7.1 channel unit being based on the above-mentioned valve-digital hybrid amplification technology. The other 5.1 channel version implements a wireless link for the back speakers and both systems use Wi-Fi to link to the home network.

Samsung even launched a home-theatre soundbar which can become two speakers and could link to sources via HDMI ARC (audio return path from HDMI 1.4-compliant TVs) or Bluetooth A2DP. RCA also launched a similar soundbar that connected to the home network and worked as a network media player for Netflix and similar services.

They are also implementing the “DIsc-Digital” UltraViolet implementation across the Blu-Ray player lineup at this year’s CES. One of the players is a similar size to a Discman and accepts discs through a slot while another of the players is a slimline form factor with HDMI inputs for TVs that don’t have enough HDMI sockets.

Sony have shown two Google-TV-based network video peripherals, the NSZ-GS7 which is a network media adaptor and the NSZ-GP9 which is a Blu-Ray player. As well, they have released two DLNA-capable Blu-Ray home theatre systems with full access to the Bravia Internet TV platform as well as a home-theatre receiver. Sony also released a few “HomeShare” DLNA speakers that connect to the Wi-Fi home network and have audio content pushed to them.

Panasonic have run with a large lineup of Blu-Ray players and Blu-Ray home-theatre systems. All of these connect to the home network and support DLNA functionality but the 3D-capable models and the home-theatre systems provide full access to Panasonic’s Viera Connect smart-TV platform including Skype and the Social Web for your existing TV.

These latest releases by Sony and Panasonic mean that you can use the cheaper and older TVs and have full access to the Internet-provisioned “smart TV” content and applications out there. In the case of the Panasonic 3D Blu-Ray players and home-theatres, add the Skype camera and you have just enabled a Skype-based video-conference setup,

Pioneer also used this show to launch the N-30 and N-50 audio-focused network media adaptors which work with DLNA 1.5 and Airplay network-media setups and the vTuner Internet-radio directory. They can handle 24-bit 192-kHz WAV or FLAC high-grade audio files and are Wi-Fi / Bluetooth ready with optional modules. The N-50 can also work as a high-grade digital-analogue converter for a CD player or MiniDisc deck.

Cameras

Samsung, Sony and Toshiba had launched cameras that were capable of uploading images to cloud-based photo-sharing services without the need for a computer. In the case of Sony, their Bloggie Live and Bloggie Sports cameras were being pitched as an alternative to the smartphone’s camera for Internet work.

Toshiba also exhibited a 3D camcorder with a built-in glasses-free 3D LCD screen so you can preview your 3D images properly. As well, Polaroid demonstrated a smartphone-style digital camera with a “proper” optical zoom lens – something that could be considered a bridge between a smartphone or digital camera.

Personal Lifestyle

Appliances

This show still hasn’t become a North-American showground for domestic appliances in a similar vein to the Internationaler Funkaustellung in Berlin. But LG was using this show to promote their “SmarThing” range of network-connected “white goods” which could be monitored from a computer.

Of course, Samsung also demonstrated a washing machine and clothes dryer that used a colour LCD touchscreen but was able to be controlled via an app on a smartphone. This means that you could track your washing from your phone’s screen.

Home Automation and Security

There has been some activity on this front mainly in the form of network-hardware vendors offering IP-enabled surveillance cameras, with TRENDNet offering a lineup of 12 units with varying features.

Other than that, the “Next Learning Thermostat” which learns your heating / cooling settings through the day was premiered at this show. Belkin also premiered the WeeMo home-automation system which is effectively an appliance-control module that responds to your smartphone.

Personal Health Care

There has been some more effort in developing online personal-health-care equipment which interacts with your smartphone or home network.

Withings, previously known for their Wi-Fi-connected bathroom scales, have released a baby scales which also links with the same network enablement and online health-monitoring setup as these bathroom scales. Similarly iHealth have released a wireless body-fat scales along with a wireless blood-pressure monitor and a “Smart GlucoMeter” glucose sensor for your iOS device. As well, FitBits released the Aria Wi-Fi Scale which is bathroom scales that link to your home network and measure weight, body-mass index and body-fat percentage.

IP Telephony

There has been some activity concerning voice and video Internet-based telephony. This is primarily with Skype being part of most of the “big-name” smart TVs and able to be added on to existing TVs through the use of this year’s Panasonic 3D Blu-Ray players and home-theatre systems. But Samsung also launched a Skype HD videophone unit for TVs and Biscotti launched a similar device for their own service.

RCA had demonstrated their voice-based IP telephony systems for business use while Ooma launched a cordless VoIP phone which has a colour LCD screen and can sync to Facebook for “picture caller-ID” images. $10 a month with the Ooma service provides for conferencing, second-line service and advanced call forwarding.

Tomorrow, in the last of the series, I will be talking about the network technologies that are to link these devices to the home network and the Internet.

Internet telephony on the increase in Europe

Article

Internet-Telefonie in Europa auf dem Vormarsch – Telekom – derStandard.at (Austria – German language)

My comments

From this German-language article published in Austria, I had read that Internet-based telephony was gaining traction in Europe. The article was based on Bitkom’s information which they sourced from Eurostat which is the European Union’s statistics department.

IP telephony was found to be popular in the Baltic states like Lithuania but Germany was third behind the UK and France. Personally, I wouldn’t put it past France to take this technology up due to the VoIP services being part of their “n-box” triple-play Internet

Most setups were based around an existing handset that was connected to an analogue-telephony-adaptor or router with integrated IP telephony gateway. As well certain call classes such as international calls and calls to mobile phones do attract the VoIP users most likely due to cost savings.

But I notice a gap in the information about whether the customers use VoIP at home or at work. This includes whether multi-site workplaces implement VoIP for tie-lines and whether users are using VoIP without knowing it due to dial-plans that are set up for particular call classes.

It is also worth knowing whether most European users really make use of the PABX-style features like call transfer on their home VoIP setups. This is more so as manufacturers implement these features in ATAs, Internet telephones and similar devices.

Consumer Electronics Show 2012–Part 1

This year, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has achieved a record of 3100 exhibitors and has made an opening for newer technology companies. This is through the establishment of the “Eureka Park TrendZone” which had space for 94 of these startups.

For Microsoft, this year was their last appearance as an exhibitor and Paul Allen had given the last keynote speech for that company at the CES. They will simply work alongside their hardware and other software partners at further events.

Trends

The major trends have been taking place with the portable and mobile computing aspect of our lives. This is mainly in the form of more powerful smartphones and tablets as well as an increased number of Ultrabooks – small slim ultraportable computers that snap at the heels of the MacBook Air.

Technologies

Energy-efficient powerful processors

This show is being used to premiere NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 ARM processor, which is an improved processor for mobile devices. This is intended to allow for increased power and longer runtime for these devices. This processor isn’t just intended for the tablets but also for use in the car dashboard as has been demonstrated with the latest Tesla electric supercar.

As well, Intel were premiering their Ivy Bridge “classic” processors which are optimised for improved graphics while being energy efficient. These processors are intended for the upcoming generation of laptops including the Ultrabooks.

New operating environments for the regular computer

Microsoft were also demonstrating the Kinect gesture-driven user interface on the PC and this wasn’t just for gaming like its initial XBox 360 application was. They used this show to promote Windows 8 as being the next computer operating system for tablets and regular computers.

Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready

It was also the year that Bluetoot 4.0 a.k.a. Bluetooth Smart was being promoted. This was a very low-power Bluetooth specification which made the technology work properly with sensor applications due to allowing these devices to run on a pair of AA batteries or a watch battery for many months.

Bluetooth Smart Ready devices could work with these Bluetooth Smart devices and permit them to work in an energy-conserving way. This has legitimised the Bluetooth technology in personal health and wellbeing applications, with this application class being premiered at this show.

Mobile Computing

One technology that is affecting this class of devices is the launch of LTE-based 4G wireless broadband in to most of the USA by many of the US mobile carriers. This is expected to allow for higher data throughput and bandwidth for the data-based services.

Smartphones and Multifunction Internet Devices

One major brand change that occurred over this show was Sony’s handheld-communications identity. This was previously known as Sony Ericsson but is now known simply as Sony Mobile Communications.

Here, Sony had launched the Xperia S Android phone and their first LTE-enabled phone inthe form of the Xperia Ion. These are also to be “PlayStation capable” which allows them to run Sony’s PlayStation games in the manner they are meant to be played. They also released the Walkman Z series which is Sony’s answer to the Apple iPod Touch and the Samsung Galaxy Player multifunction Internet devices.

Samsung had released their Galaxy S Blaze 4G which is their LTE-enabled iteration of their Galaxy S Android phones. LG also released some more of the Spectrum Android smartphones to the US market. Lenovo had launched the first Intel-powered Android smartphone in the form of the K800.

But, for the Windows Phone platform, the big announcement was Nokia’s Lumina 900 which was a Windows Phone equipped with a 4.3” AMOLED touchscreen. Was this a way for Nokia to claw back in to the multifunction smartphone category again?

Tablets

Here, this device class has become more powerful and capable, especially with the spectre of Windows 8 coming around the corner and a strong effort by all to unseat the iPad from its dominant position.

Toshiba had shown a 13” and a 7.7” prototype tablet but were exhibiting their 10.1” Android tablet/ As well, Coby were launching 5 ranges of 7” and 10” Android Ice-Cream-Sandwich-powered tablets with the maximum having 1Gb RAM and 32Gb expandable flash memory.

Acer had launched the Iconia A700 series 10” tablets with Tegra quad-core horsepower, 5Mp rear camera and HD front camera, and driven by Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Asus had launched the Transformer Prime Mini 7” Android 4.0 comverrtible Android tablet which coudl be similar to the EeePad Memo. This Android Wi-Fi tablet was a 7.1” 3D-screen-equipped unit with 5Mp rear camera / 1.2Mp front camera, stylus and 64Gb flash storage.

Samsung had used this show to premiere the Galaxy Note to the US market and premiere the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE which was enabled for the 4G wireless broadband networks.

Sony had launched their S1 Android Homeycomb powered tablet. This one had a 9.4” screen and could work as an electronic picture frame or alarm clock; and was able to work with 4G LTE wireless broadband as well as Wi-Fi. Of course it would work with the DLNA Home Media Network and implemented an “off-centre-of-gravity” position for stability. They also showed the Tablet P clamshell tablet to the US market even though it was available in other markets. They weren’t sure if it would be launched in the carrier-controlled US market.

Regular computers

Ultrabooks and other “traveller” notebooks

This year had been a changing year for the lightweight “traveller” notebook computer. This class of computer had seen the tablet computer appear as a serious competitor and Intel had defined the “Ultrabook” as a new lightweight slimline class of portable hotspot-surfing computer.

ASUS and Lenovo had exhibited convertible Ultrabook computers which could become tablets, with Lenovo’s example known as the Ideapad Yoga which was powered with the Intel Ivy Bridge chipset.

Acer’s next Ultrabook is the Aspire S5. This was claimed to be the thinnest Ultrabook and had an 8 hour battery runtime. It also had a USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt peripheral connect for use with higher-capacity hard disks for example. LG also launched the XNote Z330 Ultrabook as did Toshiba with the Portege Z835 and HP with the 14” Envy Spectre Ultrabook.

Lenovo were exhibiting their IdeaPad U310 (13”) and U410 (14”) Ultrabooks with a choice of processors but with 4Gb RAM and a choice of 64Gb SSD or 500Gb regular hard disk. The 14” U410 variant was also available with 1Gb NVIDIA graphics.

Dell has jumped in to the Ultrabook bandwagon with the XPS 13. This had the standard spec set with an Intel Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor, 4G on the RAM and a choice of 128Gb or 256Gb solid-state storage. The display is typically the 1366×768 resolution with Gorilla Glass screen as well as Bluetooth 3.0. Like the HP Folio 13 Ultrabook, this could be available in a “big-business package” with the business-security and customisation needs or as a regular consumer/small-business package.

Samsung launched their redesigned Series 9 ultrabooks with 13” amd 14” models. These were powered by a Core i5 processor and were equipped with 4Gb RAM and 500Gb hard disk as standard. The 13” variant had a 128Gb SSD as an alternative option.

Of course, the Ultrabook and the tablet had placed doubt on the viability of the 10”-11” netbook. But Lenovo was one of the few who had pushed on with a netbook in the form of the S200 and S206 series. These 11.6” units are available with an AMD or an Intel Atom chipset and  have 2Gb RAM and a choice of 32Gb SSD or 500Gb hard-disk secondary storage.

Laptops

Of course, the regular 15”-17” laptop has not been forgotten about with the calibre of these computers approaching “multimedia” specifications. Most of the 17” units had 1080p resolution and were equipped with Blu-Ray as a standard or option for their optical disks. The hard disks came in the order of 1Tb or, in some cases, 2Tb and system RAM was in the order of 8Gb.

For graphics, most of the laptops on the show floor had NVIDIA graphics chipsets with display memory of 1Gb to 2Gb and able to operate in dual-chipset “overdrive” mode. Samsung even exhibited the Series 7 “Gamer” which was pitched as a thoroughbred clamshell gaming rig.

In-car technology

This year was a chance for new upstarts to integrate the car with the Internet. MOG and Aha by HARMAN have increased their “Web-to-radio” footprint by integrating CBS Radio into their Web content aggregation lineup and partnering with Honda, Subaru, JVC and Kenwood to increase their equipment availability. This is in addition to improving the Aha iOS app and porting this same app to the Android platform this year.

Similarly, Parrot have extended their “Asteroid” Android-driven in-vehicle infotainment platform to three different devices – the Asteroid CK which yields telephony and audio content;, the Asteroid NAV which also provides GPS navigation and Internet access via Wi-Fi; and the Asteroid 2DIN whcih is effectively a car-radio replacement by having integrated AM/FM/RDS tuners.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next instalment of the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 series which will cover the networked lifestyle at home.

Buyer’s Guide–Component Network Media Adaptors

Introduction

Western Digital WDTV Live network media adaptor

Western Digital WDTV Live network media adaptor

There was a trickle of component network media adaptors which provide media playback from the Internet or home network to an existing audio-video system but this trickle has now become a flood over the past few years with equipment being offered at varying functionality and cost points.

For video content, most of these devices including some of the current-model Blu-Ray players may offer “over-the-top” TV services to existing TV equipment and this may avoid the need to buy a “smart TV” for this kind of content. This would appeal to those of us who would rather spend money on equipping our home theatres with a video projector or top-notch high-performing LCD TV rather than buying a “smart TV” to keep up with the Joneses. Similarly, these devices can expose a secondary TV like the one located in the secondary lounge area or master bedroom to the plethora of online content.

Similarly, you may want to invest in an audio-based network media player so you can enjoy Internet radio or music held on the network-attached storage through the hi-fi system. This is becoming more so as high-grade audio files of classic and contemporary albums are being made available for sale and file-based audio content has now achieved hi-fi credentials.

What are these devices

A component network media adaptor like the Western Digital WDTV Live is designed to connect to existing audio and video equipment and show network-derived content on such equipment. Of course, they will work as a gateway to some Internet-hosted media services like IPTV / video-on-demand or Internet-radio services; and a few may work as a terminal for popular interactive Internet services like the Social Web.

If the manufacturer keeps investing in the device’s platform, there may be the ability for newer content services to be added to an existing device. This typically is being achieved through a continual firmware update or an app store that works in a similar vein to a mobile platform’s app store.

 

Sony BDP-S380 Network-enabled Blu-Ray player

Sony BDP-S380 Network-enabled Blu-Ray player

Some of these adaptor devices also have functionality for access to legacy media like a radio or TV broadcast tuner and/or an optical disk player. An example of this is the Sony BDP-S380 Blu-Ray player which I had reviewed. But these devices also have a USB port, iPod dock and / or memory card slot so that content held on any of these locations can be played through the device. Similarly, the Microsoft XBox 360 and the Sony PS3 games consoles are able to serve as component network media adaptors as well as satisfying marathon TV games sessions.

A selection of these devices have an integrated hard disk and are able to work also as a media server. Some of them may allow you to add the media files by “ripping” from supported optical discs or recording broadcast material from an integrated tuner as well as accepting the content from the network or USB memory keys in a similar vein to the typical network-attached storage device.

Two main classes

NAD C446 Media Tuner

NAD c446 Network Media Tuner

There are two main classes of these component devices and the class they fall in to is based on the content they are designed to reproduce.

Video-optimised

A video-optimised network media adaptor is designed primarily to reproduce video or still-image content on an attached TV or projector.

Key identifiers for this class of device include the presence of video connectors for a display device. These are typically HDMI, component or composite sockets alongside the audio sockets.

Another identifier is that there is a very small display on the unit itself which only shows content running time, or no display at all. The user is expected to operate the device using the remote control and looking at the attached video display device for visual feedback. This is common with very-low-end DVD players that don’t have a track/time display and I once saw one of these players in operation at a party and the hosts had the TV on so they know which tracks to play on a CD.

Of course, if they have a legacy media source, it will typically be something like a DVD/ Blu-Ray player or a digital-TV tuner. The online services available to this device would typically be the IPTV / video-on-demand / advanced-TV services and it may also work as a terminal for video-conferencing (with an add-on camera), interactive TV or the Social Web.

Audio-optimised

Linn Majik DS network preamplifier

Linn Majik DS network preamplifier

An audio-optimised network media device is designed primarily to reproduce audio content, especially music.

These devices have no video connections at all or they may use any such connections for a secondary purpose. It is augmented by the device having a display and controls on its front panel for selecting and playing content or a remote control with an LCD or OLED screen as its primary control surface. This means that the device won’t be dependent on the use of an external video display for its operation.

If the device supports legacy content, the will use either a radio broadcast tuner and / or a CD / SACD player. They will also have access to audio-based Internet content sources like one of the Internet-radio directories like vTuner, Pandora or Last.FM.

What to look for

Ethernet connectivity

A component network media adaptor should have an Ethernet connection in order to provide for reliable playback of high-quality network and online content via Ethernet or HomePlug AV. You may get away with Wi-Fi wireless for Internet radio, CD-quality audio content, still images or standard-definition video content.

UPnP AV / DLNA

As well, the device should support UPnP AV / DLNA functionality. The basic level of support for this functionality is to find and play media held on DLNA media servers using the device’s control surface. On the other hand, a better-equipped device is able to play content that you push to it from another UPnP AV / DLNA control point like a lot of smartphone media-control software such as TwonkyMobile.

It also allows your device to be future-proof and is of importance whenever you look towards running specialist media-server equipment such as network PVRs on your home network.

Internet-media services

Most low-end video-optimised equipment will support fewer Internet-video services but the mainstream-priced equipment from the big brands will offer access to the popular TV services in your territory like the catch-up-TV services and the big-time video-on-demand services like Netflix.

If a device has access to online interactive services like Facebook or Picasa, only one person will be able to operate their online service on the device at a time. This functionality may just be useful for showing pictures held on the user’s online-service account but activities like updating the status comment on the service or simply logging in may be very difficult. This is due to the limited user interface that these devices offer as I have previously talked about.

Devices complementing each other

Some of these network-media adaptor devices can complement each other. For example, you may use a newer adaptor that provides access to newer content services while you have an older adaptor that the manufacturers have given up on still able to provide some of the online and network-sourced media that you are after.

Similarly, you could use an audio-optimised network media adaptor for playing radio and music sources while you have an Internet-enabled TV or video-optimised network media player coming in handy for image and video content.

Conclusion

The component network-media adaptor, whether in the form of a Blu-Ray player, set-top box or network-enabled tuner, can expose existing audio-video equipment to the world of online or network-hosted entertainment content.

Guest Post: How Congress’ spectrum bills hurt the tech community in 2011

Getting Congress to agree on anything is a challenge. When it comes to spectrum bills there is disagreement on both sides with how the situation should be handled. In some instances it seems that the tech community would benefit from freeing up spectrum for the wireless industry. Yet with some of the limitations proposed, it could all end up in utter disaster.

The spectrum bills are trying to define who will have access to wireless broadband. In essence television broadcasters are being asked to give up at least part of their spectrum for mobile broadband. It seems like most favor this idea, but as is usually the case, the devil is in the details.

Agreement

One thing everyone seems to agree on is providing both the spectrum and the funding for public safety entities. This national broadband network would make it possible for people to handle an emergency. In the case of 9-11 the network already set in place failed. There were issues with communication that ended up delaying some of the much needed help. With a national network, information would flow smoothly and at a much faster pace if a disaster did take place. Who wouldn’t feel a sense of safety knowing that the people that take care of major issues and crisis have an open source of communication ensuring that they are more efficient in their duties?

Disagreement

The spectrum bills asks television broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum. As an incentive, they would receive a portion of the auction price for that specific spectrum. Here’s where things get tricky. In some instances, Congress is attempting to take more control of unlicensed wireless. While Wi-Fi and Bluetooth operate in this portion of unlicensed spectrum there is a threat to other potential opportunities for advancement. Ever heard of the Super Wi-Fi (also called White Spaces broadband)? There is no guarantee that these plans or ideas would be allowed to proceed under certain spectrum bills. This may close the door to future Wi-Fi developments.

Licensed bidders like several of the big internet service providers have the ability to bid on this open spectrum. While this does generate funds and gives these companies a larger range of access, it is the everyday person looking to take advantage of the wireless system that could lose out. He or she would have to gather together a large number of individuals and attempt to make a single bid as a collective group. Even with the latest technology, the chances of outbidding larger corporations seem slim.

The final oddity in some of Congress’ spectrum bills is the geographic location issue. It is being suggested that people should bid on available spectrum in certain locations. A company may have access in one state and no access in another. It prevents a national system for everyone to take advantage of. Instead there would be a set of disconnected lines that can only be accessed from one specific location.

Progress seems to walk a fine line. On the one hand everyone wants to see improvement. The problem is that everyone wants that improvement to look different. Some internet service providers may want to make a bid for the spectrum, giving them unlimited access. Individual users have concerns that their own Wi-Fi will be hindered as there are regulations and rules for different entities in different parts of the country.

The tech industry needs an environment that is open to new discoveries. It is here that new technology is developed and offered up as progress and improvement to everyone. At this point there is no one spectrum bill that truly benefits the tech community as a whole.

Author Bio : Sam Kirby is a freelance content writer who develops articles on various topics. Sam’s main interest lies however in developing articles realted to Internet services and internet service providers.