Article

Acer unveils bevy of Window 8 devices at Computex | Windows 8 – CNET Reviews

My Comments

With the imminent release of Windows 8 and its Metro touch-based user interface, most of the Asian computer manufacturers are trying at making the touch-screen a mainstream item in the consumer-focused computer.

Previously, as Microsoft integrated tablet and touch abilities in to the Windows operating system, either through a special-delivery pack in Windows XP or as part of the build in Windows Vista and 7, manufacturers tried running with some business computer models that had this feature. This appealed to some usage scenarios like kiosks or point-of-sale / point-of-service applications but didn’t progress further.

Now, through the popularity of the Apple iPad and the Android-based tablets, touchscreen computing has been positioned in to the mainstream. A few manufacturers like HP and Sony have started to make the touchscreen a standard feature of some of their “all-in-one” desktop computers in order to capitalise on its popularity. But they wrote up their own touch-enabled shells and applications to exploit this feature and some of these shells didn’t serve a practical or proper purpose. For example, they didn’t work well with “reading” or similar tasks that are touch-intuitive.

Microsoft have capitalised on this factor by building in the Metro touch user interface in to the Windows 8 operating system, thus making it work properly as a touch-centric user interface. Now this year’s Computex trade show, held in Taipei, has become a point where most of the Asian computer manufacturers are releasing more of the touch-enabled computers for this operating system.

For example, Acer have run with two touch-enabled Ultrabooks which can lie flat as well as two “all-in-one” desktops and two Windows-driven tablets. As far as the tablets are concerned, one of them even uses a keyboard dock in a similar vein to the Android-driven ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime and Lenova ThinkPad Yoga tablets.

Some of us may be skeptical of the idea of consumer touchscreen computing occurring on anything other than Android or iOS devices but as we see the arrival of touchscreen-enabled all-in-ones or laptops running Windows 8, who knows whether this would come to pass.

In my opinion, the Windows-based touchscreen computers would need to work with online bookstores and newsstands so that users can purchase and download ebooks and other content delivered in “electronic hard-copy” formats. Here, the apps that are used to read these ebooks need to support an intuitive reading experience that the touchscreens do offer.

On Saturday, I had been asked by a friend to help her out with her laptop computer and there were problems with her Outlook email client. After a bit of troubleshooting, I had found that I was single-clicking to open emails rather than doublie-clicking. She also mentioned that she was having similar problems with other applications on the same computer.

But what I had done was to check what is happening every time one double-clicks with the mouse by visiting the Mouse item in Windows XP’s Control Panel. The setup was a laptop which was also being used with a wireless mouse. So I selected the “Other Hardware” option which would pertain to the wireless mouse and adjusted the “double-click” speed for that mouse.

This is a problem that can happen with some mice and trackballs especially as they implement switches that have an increased rate of “contact bounce”, thus causing this false “double-click” behaviour.

Adjusting the double-click speed

Windows users should go to the Mouse option in the Control Panel then try double-clicking on the folder icon in that dialog box. MacOS users should go to {Apple]-System Preferences, then click on “Mouse“. Then try double-clicking on the display image in that dialog box.

Mouse Control Panel dialog – Windows 7

Adjust the slider towards “Fast” if the folder opens and closes in one click and towards “Slow” if double-clicking doesn’t cause it to open. Then click OK or Apply to confirm the setting.

This may be a trial-and-error routine as you get the mouse or other pointing device working properly for you. In some cases, you may have to select the device you are using or use its software if you are maintaining two or more devices on the same computer. A common example of this may be when most of you use an external mouse with your laptop computer; or some of you may use two different pointing devices for different purposes such as a trackball and a mouse.

The best practice to do is to play around with this dialog box for your pointing device when you install a new device or acquire a new computer and revisit it to make sure that the double-click speed matches your needs properly.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Kingston Wi-Drive mobile network-attached storage unit which works in a similar manner to the Seagate GoFlex Satellite. This is where the mobile NAS works as an access point and storage device for a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet based on the iOS or Android platforms. The mobile clients require the use of an app available from their platform’s app store to be able to function properly.

The unit iteself

The Kingston Wi-Drive is just about the same size as one of the smartphones it serves

The Kingston Wi-Drive is a small glossy box about the size of a smartphone and runs from its own rechargeable battery when it is functioning as a wireless NAS. This is charged through the USB port, which is also used to connect the Wi-Drive to a computer for transferring files in and out.

When this unit is connected to a computer, it is presented to the host as two logical drives. One is a CD-ROM drive for the unit’s firmware and other essential files while the other is the user storage space. The file transfer speed is typical for a USB 2.0 device which I noticed when I transferred a batch of music files to it to assess multimedia reliability and USB transfer behaviour.

USB socket for connecting to desktop computers or charging the Wi-Drive

On the other hand, the way the Wi-Drive uses the two logical volumes is a limitation if you want to do something like connect it to a media player that has a USB socket. Some of these devices expect a USB memory key which presents itself as one logical volume to be connected.

Network use

The Kingston Wi-Drive NAS presents itself as an access-point for the mobile device, but has the ability to work as a wireless router between an existing Wi-Fi network segment and the network segment it creates. It uses a weird routing setup which is dissimilar to the typical wireless router where you don’t have the ability to pass through ports between client devices and the NAS.

As far as discovering files via the network, it presents a mobile Web page or uses a client app available for the iOS platform or the Android platform to view the files in an interface-native way. The current iteration of the iOS app works in a read-only manner where you can just view files rather than offloading your iPhone’s files to it.

The Wi-Fi functionality works properly with multimedia in the way that it can stream without any jittering or similar problems, which would be important when it comes to playing music or video files. I have observed this with the Wi-Drive loaded with a bunch of MP3s and it streaming to my Samsung Galaxy S Android smartphone via the Wi-Fi link.

The Wi-Drive can work in its network capacity if it isn’t connected to a computer as a USB storage device. This means that it can be connected to a USB battery charger, self-powered USB hub, high-capacity external battery pack or similar device to charge its battery or avoid compromising its battery runtime. It is something I have done with this Wi-Drive where I connected it to a high-capacity external battery pack that I use for my phone so it can run for a longer time.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

The Kingston Wi-Drive could benefit from some improvements as far as network functionality goes.

The network setup routine could work well with a proper WPS push-button method when used with Windows 7 laptops or Android mobile devices. It can then create a secure wireless segment out of the box with these devices without the user falling to the default open-network setup which makes the device’s content vulnerable.

Then , it could be able to work as a Wi-Fi client so that it can share its file resources to an existing Wi-Fi network rather than the network it creates. This can be useful if you are using a “MiFi” router as an existing edge for a mobile WiFi network and you want to simply make files available to that network segment, or simply load this device with files from computers on your home network.

It could subsequently benefit from SMB/CIFS network-file-transfer support using Samba. This means that computers running most desktop operating systems like Windows, MacOS X or Linux can discover the NAS and transfer files to and from it like you can with a regular NAS. This could then make the Wi-Drive a useful wireless file-transfer point for a small mobile network.

Similarly, the Wi-Drive could have native support for UPnP Discovery and DLNA Network Media Server functionality. The former function can allow a Windows XP, Vista or 7 computer to discover it and have quick access to the user interface. The latter function can then allow it to be a mobile media server for WiFi enabled media devices like Internet radios that support this functionality and are used “in the field”.

This is important if we move towards Wi-Fi-enabled car-audio equipment and you want to use this as the equivalent of that old glovebox full of tapes or CDs.

Conclusion

Primarily, I would see the Kingston Wi-Drive as a USB flash-drive storage for use with a regular computer. But it also works well as a network-based “file-pickup” for laptops and mobile devices.

If the software was worked further, the Wi-Drive, like other mobile NAS devices, could serve a greater purpose. As well, I would like to see Kingston innovate rather than imitate Seagate.

Articles

Ultrafast Broadband…It’s A Yes | Appleton With Eaton Parish Website

From the horse’s mouth

Gigaclear

Press Release

My Comments

After success with Hambleton in Rutland which has been previously covered on HomeNetworking01.info, Gigaclear are to set up and service two Oxfordshire villages with real next-generation broadband.

The neighbouring villages, Appleton & Eaton will be using a fibre-to-the-premises setup with buried fibre infrastructure which is to pass 400 homes and businesses in the community. At the time of writing, there were 120 subscribers committed to the service.

The service will yield 10Mbps switched bandwidth but provide access to shared bandwidth at 1000Mbps on a “burst” process. But this allows for a continuous path of improvement and a sense of future-proof design as these villages either become larger or take on a significant employer. The costs for this service would run at £37 per month, with a total startup cost of £185 (£100 connection fee + £85 installation), and the prices include VAT at the current rate.

The main access driver in these villages are the small businesses which operate from home and are driven by one or two people. One of these businesses that put Appleton on the map is White’s Of Appleton who hang the church bells in many of the churches in the UK. How I see this is a way of making it more cost-effective for these businesses to communicate across the country, Europe and the world, thus being able to nail more business or deal competitively.

The key organisations who are behind this include the Appleton Broadband Group and the Appleton & Eaton Parish Council, which is an example of local public money going behind a next-generation broadband effort. It was part of an 18-month improvement effort by the council to keep both the towns on track, along with keeping the local bus service alive and establishing a new children’s playground in these areas.

This is another example of a proactive effort taking place to make sure that small rural communities do have a chance at real broadband Internet, especially next-generation broadband in order to afford them what urban dwellers take for granted.

Introduction:

A common situation I have observed with some retirees and older people who have left the workforce is that they leave their computer skills at the office door. Here, they severely reduce their use of the computer because they associate it with their work life.

This situation can be dangerous when it comes to using the computer for personal use because it can be easy to fall out of practice with the various computing and IT skills.that will come in handy over the life that you spend in this new “free” situation.

Computer activities in this new situation

The computer as a communications tool

If you are deciding to reduce your computing activity after your retirement, it would be a good idea to keep those skills associated with Internet-based communication such as email or Skype alive. This would be important where you have relatives or friends who are located a long distance apart or you consider a move to the country or a nice outer-urban area as part of your retirement plans.

For example, a good practice would be to check email once a day and reply to messages or compose and send messages at least a few times over the week. Similarly using Skype or a similar service at least weekly, if not fortnightly, would work well in saving international or other long-distance telephone costs while being able to see whom you are talking to. Think of situations like seeing and hearing your excited new grandson or granddaughter on your computer or TV screen or celebrating a birthday “across the wire”.

In some cases, the Social Web can be a valuable communications tool through creation and management of online photo albums and online diaries where applicable. As well, most of the Social Web platforms like Facebook have integrated instant-messaging functions so you can use this as an adjunct to email and / or Skype.

The Web as a research and shopping tool

The Web can be used as part of your business, shopping and travel life, whether to find the best prices for particular goods and services or simply to know more about a particular item of interest.

For example, you could use Google as a starting point for research on a topic or item. On the other hand, you could visit online merchants to buy goods or organise services like travel. You can even use this online method of shopping as an adjunct to visiting your local or favourite shops.

Using office applications at home or as part of your hobbies and interests

The office applications like Microsoft Office or Apple iLife can be used beyond the office door. Here, they can come in handy for your personal lifestyle efforts.

For example, a word processor can cone in handy in writing something like a memoir or other “magnum opus”; or documenting that special trip you had done. Similarly a spreadsheet can come in handy for having information in an organised form, for example managing a guest list for that special party. Even that dreaded Microsoft PowerPoint application could be used for creating “title slides” that are to be part of screen-shows or home-video projects.

The computer as a multimedia tool

A common task you will end up doing is to store and manage music, photos and video on your computer. This will be more so as you use your digital camera and / or smartphone to take photos and videos of family events and your travel. Similarly, you may “dump” your CD collection to your computer’s hard drive so you can play it over your home network or create “mixtapes” on to USB thumbdrives or memory cards for the car.

Here, you can still use your computer and associated programs to organise, edit and curate you digital media so you have it how you want it. This can be done using a mix of the popular tools like iTunes, Windows Live Photo Gallery, iPhoto, Audacity or Picasa.

The goal is to engage in the other non-work activities like family, hobbies and travel first but use the computer as a supporting tool for these activities.

Choosing the equipment

Toshiba Satellite L730 full-function ultraportable

If you don’t have computer equipment to use at home after your retirement, you may be in a position to buy new equipment for this period in your life.

When you choose the equipment, you could offer to buy out your company-supplied computer from your previous employer for use at home if you can do so. A possible advantage of this may be that your employer can turn this asset of theirs in to cash that they can use towards a newer more up-to-date computer.

On the other hand, you could buy a decent consumer laptop or all-in-one / low-profile desktop with consumer-priced software. You may also want to consider a “2-in-1” computer which can be a laptop or a tablet. This is important as an more of these “fold-over” convertible or detachable-keyboard computers are appearing at a lesser price premium compared to a traditional “clamshell” laptop. As well, the advantage here may be to “free up” the iPad that one is normally using to watch video content personally or simply have one device for all of your computing activities. This can help you start afresh on new equipment that you fully own. Have a look through the Product Reviews, especially the laptop reviews so you can get a fair idea of what you want to purchase.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 tablet computer

In some cases, if you just want to work with email and Web browsing, you may find that you could get by with just a tablet computer like an iPad, an ASUS Transformer Prime or an Acer Iconia Tab. These can even just work as a secondary computer that you use around the house. Even if you do have a 2-in-1 computer, you may find that a tablet may come in handy as a “spare” secondary computing device for children when they play games for example.

HP Photosmart 7510 multifunction inkjet printer

Similarly, a network-capable consumer inkjet multifunction printer could suit your needs as a hard-copy device. Here, I have reviewed many of these printers on this site, but would recommend those units that use separate ink cartridges for each colour and can print on both sides of the paper if you value a machine that isn’t costly to run.

It is also worth reading my article about equipping the “family house” for broadband as extra guidance on this topic. This has guidance regarding the right broadband plans to choose, especially when you want to take advantage of packages that integrate this service along with telephony and/or multi-channel pay TV.

Seeking assistance from others

You may need to seek assistance with newer computing situations or find that you have trouble remembering a particular procedure that you have started to fall out of practice on. Here, there are many avenues to benefit from this assistance.

Firstly, there will be younger relatives and friends who would be able to help you with these skills and / or keep your equipment in proper shape. Similarly, if you do maintain contact with your former employer and they have an on-site or contract IT team, this team may also help you with these skills or your equipment.

As well, there are plenty of computer-skills courses offered by community organisations like U3A in Australia that are targeted at retirees and similar people. The best place to ask about this is through your local council who will put you in the loop with these organisations.

This is especially if you have to face newer computing environments and practices or simply find it hard to keep certain skills alive within the context of your new life.

Conclusion

The main essence of this article is that those computing skills you acquire through your working life are still valid even as you leave the office for good. Here, they can be used to augment your communications with relatives and friends or sustain your hobbies and interests that you have more time to nurture.

Update – 31 January 2017: I have added to this article a mention about the recent crop of convertible or detachable “2-in-1” laptop computers that can become a tablet with them being at a very low price premium compared to standard laptops.

Article

Editorial: Thin laptops are the new mainstream, but what about battery life? — Engadget

My Comments

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook – suits air travel very well

You expect that you use a laptop, especially an Ultrabook through most of the day on a mixture of tasks ranging from basic data entry / content creation through playing audio and video content to even playing games. Often these tasks require you to be online all the time, thus causing you to use the built-in Wi-Fi network adaptor or a wireless-broadband adaptor whether built-in or plugged in to the machine’s USB port or ExpressCard slot. Here, you expect the battery to last around 6-10 hours on this activity mix with you just plugging the laptop in to its charger and having it on charge for up to 8 hours while you eat and sleep.

This is compared to you having to make sure that you have the charger in your laptop bag when you are out for the day and looking for power outlets all the time after a significant amount of battery-only activity.

A common reality with the battery life on a laptop is that this factor can be easily assessed, measured and reviewed on new machines where the battery would be performing at its best. But as the battery pack ages as you use the machine, the runtime will typical deplete through the repeated charge and discharge cycles. Similarly, the kind of usage a customer throws at a laptop or similar device may not be typical of what a manufacturer or reviewer would observe due to the mixed nature of this use, the laptop’s configuration which may be different from what was assessed with, and the peripherals connected to the machine.

The article talked of the idea of a laptop having the horsepower of a “thin-and-light” like an Ultrabook or the Toshiba Portege R830, but as thick as a regular “standard” laptop. But this extra thickness is taken up with a larger high-capacity battery pack that facilitates a longer runtime. It is a practice that has been tried before with some portable-computer implementations including the Apple iPad.

As well, Sony have implemented this concept with their add-on external-battery-packs that are available for their VAIO S Series and VAIO Z Series that I have reviewed. From the various comments and images that I have come across regarding these accessory batteries and their use with the VAIO laptops, the laptops don’t become obnoxiously weighty or thick when the battery packs are installed.

Nowadays the issue of battery life in the ultra-slim laptops is becoming more important as Intel releases the Ivy Bridge processor range which provides integrated graphics for these computers that can yield high performance for most video and gaming needs. Of course, it may not satisfy the needs of competitive LAN-party gamers or high-end video-editing / graphics needs.

Here, intense graphics-rich activity on these computers, such as a marathon session of Civilization V on the long-haul flight or a long run of video editing and transcoding for that “on-the-road” vidcast may put a strain on the Ultrabook’s battery. If the concept of a laptop equipped with the abilities of a “thin-and-light” but using a high-capacity battery; or a “thin-and-light” working with a high-capacity add-on battery pack was followed through, you could then provide for more room with the battery even after this kind of activity takes place.

Of course, I would still ensure that there is the ability to run these computers on external power as a way of not compromising battery runtime when you are using the computer at your “base”, whether it be your office, hotel room or car.

It is then still worth factoring in long-run battery life in laptop’s design, whether as part of the computer itself or as an optional accessory, especially for those of us who may consider working online and away from power for significant periods.

A major change has been happening for the average desktop computer system. Here this class of computer isn’t just the large box that sat under the screen or the large tower that sat beside the desk. In some ways, these desktop computers are now being welcomed back in to the main living areas of the house rather than being shut out to the den.

System types

There are two major directions that are being made available for this class of computer.

All-in-ones

This style integrates the computer circuitry, the screen and all of the secondary storage in one box about the size of a small flatscreen TV. The keyboard and mouse appear as separate devices that connect to this unit. An example of this style is the Sony VAIO J Series “all-in-one” that I have recently reviewed.

The style was inspired initially by the Apple Macintosh being the most popular of this form factor, but was augmented initially by the “transportable” computers that appeared at various times through the 1980s. Compaq also tried to bring this style in to being in the mid 1990s but with little success.

Some all-in-one variants where the computer circuitry, keyboard and secondary storage may appear but this style has been and could be targeted at the “retro 80s” market. This is because most of the computers that were popular in the early days of hobby and home computing that existed through the late 70s to the late 80s like the Commodore 64, the Apple IIe or the Sinclair ZX computers were based on that design layout even though, in a lot of the early designs, the secondary storage was outside of the system.

Most of these machines now have a touchscreen built in to them so as to make them appeal as interactive terminals. But HP have raised the stakes in this form factor by develop the Z1 which was a high-powered 27” workstation that implements a modular design so that it can be upgraded or repaired more easily.

Low-profile system units

Another direction for the desktop computer is for a traditional “three-piece” system to be equipped with a low-profile system unit. In earlier times a low-profile system unit was a box about the size of a typical video recorder or hi-fi CD player released through the late 80s and was very unreliable due to intense heat build-up.

Now these are units that appear in different sizes ranging from a small book to a loaf of bread to an ordinary two-slice toaster and some may be mistaken for a typical consumer network-attached-storage unit. This may include “pizza-box” designs that are so slim that you don’t know they are there; and the highly-powerful heavy-duty servers that are as big as the classic desktop computer designs.

Common features

The common features with these newer desktop-computer designs include a thermal design that relies less on a constantly-running fan to keep the system cool. In some cases, any system cooling fans that are used in these computers may operate in an “on-demand” manner where they come on if the system is running hot. This then leads to a reduced noise output from these computers compared to the traditional desktop computer.

Similarly, some of these computers will even use an outboard power supply that looks like the kind that would come with a laptop computer. Of course these would be designed to work without the use of a cooling fan.

Depending on the configuration, you may have new-design desktop computers that may suit average desktop computing tasks whereas you may have highly-compact systems like the HP Z1 that can perform heavy multimedia, graphics or intense gaming tasks.

On the other hand, most of these systems may not be as adaptable to newer needs as a classic desktop system. This may be due to a lot of the systems being built around integrated rather than standards-driven modular architecture.

Choosing the right form factor for your needs

If you want to place value on a touchscreen on a desktop setup, you could go for a large-screen all-in-one that has this feature. Similarly, the all-in-one can come in handy for a brand-new computer system where you are starting from scratch.

On the other hand, if you have a display type, size or arrangement in mind, you could value a low-profile desktop units. This same situation can come in handy if you have a screen, keyboard and mouse that is still in good order. In some cases, you could easily hide the system unit behind the screen or a peripheral if you don’t like the look of it.

It is also worth knowing that some of the larger low-profile desktop units may have room for expansion with the ability to add one or two expansion cards such as installing a discrete graphics card or upgrade secondary storage to your needs.

The traditional “tower-style” desktop is still a sure bet if you place your emphasis on expandability, ultra performance or a system that has to suit your computing needs exactly. Here, these should be purchased from a quality independent computer store who can build them “to order” or have one or more systems available “off the peg” at a cost-effective price to start from.

Conclusion

At least this the improvements in the new desktop-computer designs have allowed for the desktop computer system to be considered as a system option for most computing tasks in environments where aesthetics or noise issues do matter.