Articles

Sony VAIO Duo 13 review: a much-improved take on the Windows 8 slider | Engadget

Sony gives the slider another shot with the VAIO Duo 13: coming June 9th for $1,400  | Engadget

From the horse’s mouth

Sony

European Press Release

My Comments

The Sony VAIO Duo 11 computer has been improved upon this month with a release of a model that uses a 13” screen. This model, known as the VAIO Duo 13 also exposes some useability improvements including an improved slide-out mechanism that is easier to manage. It also has the similar dimensions but uses narrower bezels around the screen and keyboard.

But they have also added a touchpad for those of you who are used to the old laptop trackpad and the keyboard isn’t as cramped as the original Duo 11. This makes for a slider convertible that can appeal to those of us who still like to type out content. There is also a stylus for writing down notes or “roughing-out” drawings.

Of course, there is new horsepower under the hood with the Duo 13 implementing the Intel Haswell chipset. This has an advantage for longer battery runtime with most activities. Sony have also made a GT-like performance edition of the Duo 13 available as part of the lineup, this time with an Intel i7 processor. Sony is also offering integrated wireless broadband as a specification option, most likely with units sold via mobile-phone carriers.

One may think that a 13” slider convertible like the VAIO Duo 13 is a bit too much as a tablet but is the “right size” for creating content. The use of a narrower bezel on the screen and achieving a similar size to the Duo 11 may make the large screen appeal for tablet use while also appealing for typing up those notes when you are on that flight.

It is another example of improved touchscreen convertible laptops appearing on the market as a capable product class for Windows 8/

Article – From the horse’s mouth

Pioneer introduces new-generation media centre systems that play audio and video from a variety of music sources (Press Release)

My Comments

Pioneer has released in to Europe a new lineup of home-theatre media systems with varying capabilities. They have issued two different “ranges”, known as the “advanced” range and the “regular” range. The systems have a “media centre” main unit that is common across their range but have different speaker sets with the high-end model having 4 tall freestanding speakers for the main channels along with a centre dialogue speaker and a subwoofer; the mid-tier model using 4 compact box-like speakers that could be put on shelves or mounted on walls along with the centre speaker and subwoofer; as well as the low-tier unit just having 2 main channels with two slim speakers and the subwoofer. I would also see the latter systems fit well in with people who aren’t used to the idea of speakers surrounding them or for a system that is to work in a small room.

The main consoles in both these system implement 4 of the HDMI sockets and 2 USB sockets that can work with memory keys or hard drives. Of course, they would have a Blu-Ray player and an FM broadcast tuner. The USB ports can allow for transfer of music files between a USB hard disk and a memory key; as well as “ripping” of CDs and recording of FM broadcasts.

One key difference is that there is Wi-Fi ability on the “Advanced” units as a differentiating feature. This extends to the ability to support Wi-Fi Direct operation which works hand-in-glove with laptops, smartphones and tablets for music and video playback without needing an existing Wi-Fi network segment.

There are some questions that need to be asked about this range of home-theatre systems. One is whether the cheaper “regular” systems can be connected to a home network via an Ethernet socket and benefit from all of the network features like Internet radio, DLNA and control via smartphone using the existing Wi-Fi segment with this network connection? The other is whether audio-only network sources like Internet radio or audio files hosted on a DLNA server can be brought up and played without the need to use the TV?

At least there is an effort to create DLNA-capable home theatre systems that support flexible setup across the range by most of the manufacturers.

Article

ASUS intros the Desktop PC G10, packing a built-in UPS and portable battery (hands-on video) | Engadget

Video

Click to view

My Comments

The classic “tower-style” desktop PC could be considered to be losing its market share amongst users other than small businesses and hardcore computer gamers as the laptops and all-in-one desktops gain hold amongst the mainstream PC buyers.

But ASUS have worked on a way to take things further for this class of computer. Typically, a computer like this that is involved in mission-critical work may be hooked up to an external uninterruptable power supply to allow users to properly shut these units down, or to provide continual service when the power goes out. Typically these devices are a loaf-size box that has to reside near the computer and can look very ugly.

Here, ASUS have provided a removable battery pack which doubles as a uninterruptable power supply for the computer or as an external battery pack for a smartphone or tablet. When it is installed in the computer, this pack will charge up and stay charged while the computer is on AC power but will provide half-an-hour’s worth of power to allow you to shut down the computer properly when the AC power is removed. But you can remove the battery pack and use that to run your battery-thirsty smartphone for longer by plugging its USB cable in to one of the USB sockets on the edge of that pack.

This is definitely one way ASUS have thought beyond the norm when it comes to power-supply design and I would like to see this design concept be taken further such as an aftermarket add-on for existing “tower” desktops or with higher-capacity batteries available for this setup.

Introduction

I am reviewing the HP Envy 120 multifunction inkjet printer which is the latest in HP’s “Envy” range of designer slimline multifunction printers. This unit has the same pedigree as the HP Envy 100 printer which I previously reviewed, where it implements a low-profile auto-duplex inkjet print mechanism in a very stylish cabinet reminiscent of home audio and video equipment.

But this model has had a few changes like face-up scanning with a clear glass lid for previewing your originals as well as a swing-open panel for the USB socket and memory card slots. This is alongside the idea of having it finished in an “all-black” housing.

Prices

Printer

The machine’s standard price: AUD$329

Inks and Toners

The printer itself

The Envy 120 printer when it is printing

Like the rest of the HP Envy printer series, this model conveys the kind of operation you would expect from high-end audio and video equipment like the classic Bang & Olufsen Beosystem 5000 Series hi-fi systems. For example, when a document is being printed, the front panel swings up and a small bar comes out in anticipation of that printed document. Then, when you collect the document, the front panel swings down.

Similarly, when you need to load paper in to the printer, you touch the “eject” button on the front and the paper drawer comes out in a manner not dissimilar to a CD player’s disc drawer. Then, when you have loaded the paper, you either touch the “eject” button or push the drawer slightly to close the paper drawer.

Walk-up functions

The printer is able to copy documents placed in the scanner area or print from memory cards or USB memory sticks using the touchscreen control panel. As well, you can use the HP ePrintCenter functionality to print out a wide range of documents ranging from notepaper to newspapers or comics.

It also works with the HP ePrint “email-to-print” function but also has a “scan-to-email” function which is infact an HP ePrintCenter app. This isn’t dependent on the machine knowing a POP3 or IMAP4 email service but through HP’s ePrint service. When you first set this feature up, you would need to enter your email address in to the printer’s control panel whereupon it would send you a PIN number via email. You enter these details in to the printer and can have them stored there. Subsequently, when the printer shows the “sender and recipient” screen, you can touch the “Modify Recipient” button to determine a different recipient. The documents can be sent as a JPEG or single-page PDF.

The USB port (where you can charge smartphones) and the memory card slots behind a swing-down door

The USB socket that is used for walk-up printing from  and walk-up scanning to USB flash drives and similar devices also has been optimised as a device-charging socket. If you connect a smartphone, external battery pack or similar gadget to this socket, it will supply power to the device in order to charge it or avoid compromising the device’s battery runtime. This even happens when the printer is turned off using the on-off button on the front, This socket, along with the SD card slot that serves the same purpose of walk-up printing and scanning is hidden behind a hinged door on the front of the Envy printer.

Mobile-device functions

The HP Envy 120 works properly with the iOS and Android mobile devices using AirPrint (iOS only) or the HP ePrint app for both platforms. This app can work from JPEGs, PDFs or text files and can allow the printer to print both sides for multipage documents.

It does also support UPnP-Print for those devices that are willing to exploit this standard for network-based driver-free printing. At the moment, we don’t see any consumer devices on the market that are willing to exploit the UPnP-Print function but this could be relevant to cameras or interactive-TV applications.

Computer functions

I loaded the latest full-function driver software from HP’s Website and this loaded and installed very promptly without issues.

There is a problem that if the PC comes out of “hibernate mode”, it takes a bit too long to discover the printer on the network for scan-to-PC operation and shows up an error message as if the printer wasn’t there. But it can scan to the computer properly.

For printing, the print driver was very responsive and didn’t show any extra unnecessary information through the print process.

Print quality

The HP Envy 120 was able to turn out documents with a similar quality to other consumer inkjet printers. But when it comes to photos, it can lose a bit of the definition compared to the original Envy 100. Here, it also yields darker images with reduced contrast. Of course, this wouldn’t be a match with the Photosmart printers which yield higher photo quality for HP’s consumer inkjet printers.

When the Envy 120 prints on both sides of a page, there is a slight shift between the front and the back of the page. This can be annoying if you are using this feature for desktop-publishing especially with luggage labels and similar odd-shaped documents.

Scanning

See-through scanner lid

The scanner has the scan head integrated in to the lid so as to provide a “preview” window for how you scan or copy the documents or photos. This can work well for snapshots and single-page documents but can be difficult to use when it comes to working with bound material such as copying out recipes from a cookbook to avoid damaging that cookbook in the kitchen.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

One weakness across the HP Envy printers and the slimline printing mechanism is that they use two ink cartridges – one black cartridge and one “three-colour” cartridge. This can make these printers expensive to run especially if you consider regular use out of them because if you run out of one colour in the colour cartridge, you have to replace that cartridge.

Here, HP could improve on the low-profile auto-duplex print mechanism by using separate cartridges for each colour. It can also allow HP to use photo-grade inks that are used with the Photosmart series of inkjet printers, thus giving the Envy series deluxe credentials in the output as well as the looks.

The other weakness with this model is the scanner design not being able to work with bound material very well due to the it working “face-side-up”. This could be improved with a lid that uses a pantograph-style or “Z-style” hinge so it can lie flat on the bound material during scanning thus achieving best results.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

Like the HP Envy 100, I would see this printer work more as a secondary printer to keep in a living area where you value elegance and aesthetics. This also would appeal to households who want a multifunction printer but use it on an ad-hoc basis and also value the aesthetics. For example, this could exist in a family room, living room or main hallway while a workhorse printer could be mainly used in the home office for the big runs.

It wouldn’t impress people who place value on the price of the printer or the cost to keep it running especially as a primary workhorse machine.

Article (Broadcast transcript)

HACKED! – Four Corners (ABC) Video and transcript through this link

Previous coverage on HomeNetworking01.info

Interview and Presentation–Security Issues associated with cloud-based computing (Interview with Alastair MacGibbon and Brahman Thyagalingham )

Symantec Symposium 2012 – My Observations From This Event

My Comments

I had watched the Four Corners “Hacked” broadcast concerning data security and cyber espionage, which encompassed the issue of the cyber attacks affecting nations as a whole.

The show had touched on a few key points, some of which were raised in the previous events that I attended. Here, it underscored the factor of hacking being part of espionage by nation-states like China. The targets of this espionage were intellectual-property belonging to private-sector companies or government departments, especially where military information was involved.

Example incidents include the recent theft of blueprints for ASIO’s new offices along with a cyber attack against Codan who is an electronics supplier to Australian and allied defence forces. The tactics that were used against Codan included use of a public-access Wi-Fi network to install malware on a laptop belonging to a representative of that company when they visited China, along with a “spear-phishing” attack on their email. It also underscored the fact that it is not the entity’s computer networks that are at risk but the “crown jewels” i.e. the key intellectual property that belongs to the entity.

The same show also underscored the use of malware to target essential-services systems like a nuclear enrichment plant in Iran and an Indian telecommunications satellite. Here, they raised the spectre of electricity grids, telecommunications backbones and similar infrastructure being targeted by sophisticated cyber attacks. This becomes more real as most essential-services systems become computer-controlled and connected to the Internet and I would like to see the issue of these systems designed with fail-safe operation in mind such as working offline and providing the core services at known specifications if things go wrong online.

Later on in this show, Alastair MacGibbon had called for the Australian government to require businesses and other organisations to publicly disclose cyber attacks and wanted this across the board for all entities. This was previously underscored by him through the interview and presentation where he described Australia’s data protection laws as being careless as typical of the “She’ll Be Right” nation.

The Australian Government had improved their data-protection laws by tabling bills that require cyber-attack disclosure on the larger public companies rather than all companies.

As well, the issue of cyber espionage by nation-states was being considered as the equivalent of wartime activities like nuclear war and treatment of civillians and needed to be tackled on an international level in a similar way that other similar wartime activities have been dealt with. Personally, I see the latest cyber-attacks, especially those emanating from countries that were behind the Iron Curtain, as the makings of another “Cold War” and these have to be treated accordingly.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Denon CEOL Series music systems and had a chance to review the CEOL but am focusing on the CEOL Piccolo. Both these stereo systems are “three-piece” micro systems with a main unit and two speakers, and can work with Internet radio, Last.FM, Spotify, DLNA Home media networks and music held on USB storage or an iPod device. The larger CEOL system also has an FM broadcast tuner and a CD player whereas the smaller CEOL Piccolo just focuses on the online sources.

Denon CEOL with CD and FM radio as well

Price

The unit itself:

Recommended Retail Price:

Denon CEOL: AUD$999

Denon CEOL Piccolo: AUD$799

Form Factor

Both systems: Three-piece stereo music system with separate speakers

Functions

Connections

Speakers

The unit itself

Remote control

The Denon CEOL stereo systems come with a comprehensive remote control or can work from a Denon smartphone app available through the iOS and Android app stores. But they can be worked from the units themselves, with the CEOL’s controls on the front and the CEOL Piccolo’s controls on the top of the main unit.

The main units in these systems are equipped with a monochrome bitmapped OLED display which is a delight to use. Here, the display is bright and easy-to-read, which I find is important for older people or those of us who don’t have good eyesight. As well, the bright display also comes in to its own if you are one of those people who like that dim lighting for romance.

Both systems are very easy to integrate in to your home network with them running a “quick setup” when they are first connected to AC power. This same option can be invoked through the Setup menu which is selected as a “source” when you use the Source button. They can work with most small Wi-Fi wireless networks that implement passphrase-based WEP or WPA network security.

The Denon CEOL comes with a tacky piece of wire as its FM aerial (antenna), which doesn’t do the system justice. Here, I would like to see something better like the classic “T-wire” aerial like what most manufacturers use for their receivers and tuners or the “rabbit’s ears” aerials that were always used with portable TVs. Even the Internet radios that I have reviewed used that telescopic aerial that most portable radios use as their aerial. On the other hand, I would recommend users connect the CEOL to the outdoor TV aerial or buy an indoor TV aerial like the classic “rabbit’s ears” if they want to use it for FM broadcast radio.

The USB port on both these systems can only supply power to peripheral while the equipment is fully on, which can be a limitation if you wanted to charge that Android smartphone overnight. It supports “remote IOS” behaviour where you can connect Apple iOS devices to this port and they behave as if they are iOS devices connected to the docking connector on top of the console unit. This is important when you use an iPad, iPod Shuffle or any newer iOS device that uses that Lightning connector for power and data connectivity.

The USB connections on both systems can also work with Mass Storage Devices like USB flash drives but can’t support MTP functionality which is important with some MP3 players and newer Samsung Android phones.

The speakers that come with the Denon CEOL systems are very well-built and have that piano-gloss finish. The grille is of an unusual shape but the cloth is fixed to a removable plastic frame.

Of course, they yield a clear tight sound with that proper bass response that can do a lot of music justice. Here, you could notice that punchy sound through the newer dance tracks or hear the whole of the sound mix with clear vocals.

Also, I have found that I could run the Denon CEOL systems to 80% of the volume level before they started to clip and sound awful. At that point, it is loud enough to fill a medium-size room. This shows that they are very capable for a small music system.

The CEOL systems do work well for Wi-Fi network reception if they are picking up a good signal from the access point. They also have an Ethernet connection which would allow them to be connected to an Ethernet or HomePlug AV segment for more reliable operation.

As for Internet media reliability, they don’t handle things well if the Internet media source isn’t working well for quality-of-service, which can happen at peak times for Internet-radio streams. Here, they give up the ghost on the stream and require you to re-select that stream if you want to continue listening to it again. This is unlike a lot of Internet radios that provide a better allowance for failure by having a longer wait time.

The CEOL systems work properly as a part of the DLNA Home Media Network in that they can either pull up content from a media-server device or can accept content that is pushed to them. The interaction for this feature is very quick, including advertising their presence to a control point.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

I am finding that it is hard to look for limitations that concern the Denon CEOL music systems, especially for the kind of user that it is targeted at. It works to the DLNA standards and is easy to use from your smartphone, remote control or the unit;s control panel.

Like a lot of these systems, the USB port could have a user-selectable mode which allows “always-on” power so it can charge mobile phones even while it is on standby.

Denon could also supply models in to this series with a DAB+/DMB tuner or HD radio tuner for markets where these digital broadcast systems are in situ. This is because I have noticed the Sony CMT-MX750Ni being able to work with DAB/DAB+ broadcasts.

Similarly, they could offer a variant of the CEOL with a DVD or Blu-Ray player, an HDMI input and HDMI output with Audio Return Channel, and “two-speaker surround”. This would be pitched as an answer to Yamaha’s MCR-755 micro A/V system and build out the “quality” home entertainment system for a dorm room, studio apartment or similar application.

Here, this could be a way for Denon to build out the CEOL range as a series of high-quality micro-form-factor 3-piece AV systems.

Conclusion

I would recommend the Denon CEOL or CEOL Piccolo as an option for any  application where you value good sound quality but desire a music system that doesn’t take up too much space. This could range from something that would work well in that nice studio or one-bedroom apartment in the city to something that could work as a personal music system for that master bedroom or den.

Here, I would value the CEOL for anywhere that you place importance on CD playback, FM broadcast radio or “walk-up” device connectivity. This is important with hotels and serviced apartments who want to have a system that best suits their premium offerings. The CEOL Piccolo would be of importance if you just value file-based audio, online audio services like the “new shortwave” as in the Internet radio or want something for that MP3 player.

Article

Telstra Launches 4G USB + Wi-Fi Device | Gizmodo Australia

From the horse’s mouth

Telstra

Product Page

My Comments

I never knew this would happen when it came to the design of wireless-broadband access devices. Here, Telstra had launched a 4G access device that was the size of a typical USB wireless-broadband modem but was able to work as either a typical wireless-broadband modem or as a “Mi-Fi” router.

In the latter mode, you could just plug it in to one of many USB power-supply devices ranging from a self-powered USB hub through a AC-powered or 12V-powered USB charger typically for your phone to even one of the USB external battery packs. This gives it a level of power-supply flexibility on the same par as a typical smartphone, and the supplied AC adaptor can also work as another spare smartphone charger.

In some ways, this “Mi-Fi” could be used along with the Pure One Flow Internet radio and a USB battery pack of the kind used to charge up mobile phones to provide a truly portable Internet-radio solution that is if the price is right for Internet access. It is similar to what may be expected for in-car Internet applications as what BMW, Chrysler and others are proposing.

Who know what can happen for networking and Internet use as we end up on the road with these kind of “sticks”.