This is the product that just keeps giving. Man I'm glad Apple didn't make this thing - they'd charge you another 30.00 for each semi-annual upgrade.

Kohjinsha SC3
Wow the atom processor is enabling a whole new class of UMPC. This is another one that won't reach the US, like the Gigabyte M912, but of course you can import it. Maybe it will show up on Ebay buy now so you can leverage MS's live search 25% discount. It is supposed to be available starting today. I've seen two un-boxing videos so far. (I hate un-boxing videos).

I am much more interested in a device like this over the eepc - even though they are not in the same cost category. This is mostly due to the touch screen which allows you to take handwritten notes in meetings. Some really cool features:
1. 1.3 Atom CPU
2. Up to 2G ram
3. 60G HD
4. GPS in high end model
5. Express card slot!
6. 7" convertable, daylight viewable, touch screen.
7. 1.8 lbs.
8. 1 - 1.3" thick.

I still doubt I could type on a device like that, but I'd certainly go for the keyboard if I could for a Samsung Q1 sized device.

I went outside and followed my Ethernet cable from my modem to the living room, where the internets stopped working a couple days ago. My WiFi, 360, XBMC and TiVo had all been interrupted by what I discovered last night was a bad link between my network routers.

As you can see in the picture - it appears the cable was chewed on? It's been installed for years, and actually was tucked under the ledge you see.

So how should I go about repairing it? Short term I'll just bridge the wireless network. 100Mbit is really nice though. Re-wiring will be a big pain and unsightly. I could solder the connections and heat-shrink tube it, but I can't find the materials for htat. Have you seen some crimping or splicing hardware I can use here? It doesn't have to be waterproof really - duct tape should solve that.

Update: Found some telephone line splicers. They work for solid copper lines, from 26 to 22 AWG, so perfect for the 24 AWG Cat5 cable. These cost about $4 at the hardware store, which was about the cheapest and quickest solution I could find. You basically put in two wires and then squeeze with pliers and a metal contact with two slots is crushed down on the wires. I wrapped everything in duct tape, and at least this solution works better than bridged WiFi. We'll see how well it does with COD4. Pictures after the break...

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]]> 593@http://www.nullstream.com/ Humour 2008-06-19T21:15:50-08:00 http://www.nullstream.com/archives/000592.html Netflix jumps on the popular feature removal bandwagon. Starting Sept 1 they are eliminating profiles. Profiles allow you to setup multiple Netflix queues under one account. For example my wife has her own queue with one DVD out at a time. This way she can manage her own list of sappy chick flicks while I fill my own queue with, uh, more important stuff. So much for a good thing. Thanks Netflix.

Well today is potentially the day the new iPhone gets announced - or not. Many, many people are making their predictions. Instead of that I'll give a short, prioritized wish list. This is not a comprehensive list of all the things I think are deficient about the device, but it does reflect my current, top priorities.

1. 3G
2. Tethering
3. Bluetooth stereo headphone profile.

]]> 590@http://www.nullstream.com/ Apple 2008-06-09T09:39:00-08:00 http://www.nullstream.com/archives/000589.html A couple of years ago I replaced a large proportion of the light bulbs in my house with CF bulbs. Almost immediately I noticed the savings on my power bill. I justified the higher cost and almost ridiculous disposal issues by the long term savings I was going to get. After all these things are supposed to last a crazy long time (up to 10 years - it says so right on the package). I eventually replaced nearly all the bulbs in my house.

Well as of now I'm officially changing my mind on that decision. The reason? These things are dying right and left. It seems that for 3 - 4 times the money I'm getting bulbs that are lasting 1/3 the time. In fact the vanity mirror and flood types are only lasting 10 - 14 months on average for me. That is far less than the incandescents they replaced. So much for long life. Now I've got a pile of crazy mercury filled dead bulbs that I'm probably going to have to pay to dispose of. So much for saving the environment.

I think this is another case where the consumer is being sold snake oil.

The setup was easy. I first configured it for my wifi network, then it ask for my Netflix credentials. After that it generated an activation code that I had to go online to Netflix's site and enter. The whole process took less than 10 minutes.

The user interface is about as simple as it gets. When you boot it up, it connects to your 'instant' queue. From there you can select a show, read about it and play it. It supports fast forward and rewind via a thumbnail preview. Once you find the spot you want it can take 30 seconds or so to cache up the data at that location before it plays. You can only select movies in your instant queue, you cannot browse for new movies to watch - this must be done from the PC. Originally I thought that this was a pretty major limitation, but now I think it is a pretty cool feature. I'm treating it like parental controls. If my kids use the box they'll only be able to watch the shows that I 'made available', instead of having instant access to all the R rated content I don't want them to see.

Of course what I really want it just to be able to stream Netflix through my 360. I figured if that ever happens I'll just move the Netflix box to another room. Well my Roku isn't even here yet and as of tonight I'm streaming Netflix through my 360!

George sent me a link today to a media center plug in called vmcNetFlix. This add on only works with Vista Media Center, but it allows fully queue management, streaming, searching, browsing as well as downloading the streams for watching later. It is the Author's first media center application, and it is currently pretty slow and a bit buggy. It is only beta, but it looks very nice, and best of all - it works. It 'copies' your DRM authorization to the 360 so it can play the content without using up another device slot on your account.

As for the Vista part, I guess the timing is right. My XP Media Center machine died last week and I'm in the process of building a new Vista box to replace it anyway. Actually to test this you don't need a full media center setup anyway. You just need Vista Premium or Ultimate - no tuner. You must first make sure your PC can play Netflix content, then make sure the media center app runs. After that get your 360 connected to it. And finally install the vmcNetFlix add on and follow the instructions.

]]> ]]> 586@http://www.nullstream.com/ Thoughts 2008-04-24T09:16:32-08:00 http://www.nullstream.com/archives/000585.html I was reading a random computer article, as I always do, when I came across a classic argument that I must have heard a million times by now. The article was contrasting two different UI approaches to file managers and it concluded that XYZ approach was best because "it seemed easier for new users to learn how to use." I'm not sure why, but it hit me, just who are these 'new users' anyway? I mean we have been using arguments like this in computer debates for so long now, that no one has bothered to notice that there are NO new users anymore. I mean 15 years ago we had entire generations of people to convert to using computers. We also had a small existing computer base to convert from command line to GUI. But what about today, 2008? Anyone in an older generation who has not already learned how to use a computer is not going to learn one now, period. That problem is dying off (literally). As for the truly 'new' users, no one needs worry about them. My kids both were using computers before they could ride a bike, talk or even walk for that matter. They have no problems with UIs that don't somehow map to the physical world of paper and yellow file folders.

The old rules and arguments, just like the old 'new users', no longer apply.

Dvorak - the iPhone is no desktop

His Main Points:

1. Smaller is becoming a problem.
2. Laptop as you only computer means you squint at a small screen and go blind - because they use a laptop at work as their main machine.
3. Because laptops don't get backed up, if it gets lost or broken they are toast.
4. Laptops are delicate.
5. Everyone thinks that the iPhone is going to be the next major computing platform. - What happens if people spill coffee on them?
6. They leave them all over, unlocked and with limited encryption. -Data robbing.
7. Claims that the desktop computer is the best model for computing. for 10 reasons: upgrade, displays, expandability, harder to steal, good input devices.
8, Only uses a laptop for travel.
9. Doesn't want to lug a laptop between home and work where it could break in the car.
10. If he wants data to be portable he'll load it on his 32G thumb drive.

Before I dive into the specifics of why he is an obsolete dinosaur who is nearly always wrong now, let's challenge the premise and then I'll counter his specific arguments. First why would we want the iPhone to be a desktop? What is so sacred about the desktop that it should be the model for all future technology? Next he uses the phrase 'computing' a lot. What is meant by that? What actually IS computing? My guess is that it is something that few people think they are doing, or even want to do. Lets say for sake of argument that the desktop IS the best computing platform (what ever that means), people don't buy an iPhone because they want to compute! The average iPhone consumer doesn't want to 'compute', he wants to find information, be entertained, stay connected with friends and he wants to do that from anywhere he goes.

As for his specific arguments against a laptop. Today's laptops don't have to be fragile. It depends on what you buy and how you treat it. Actually most of his arguments like fragile, not backed up, and easy to steal / lose are all focused on one idea - data loss. This is a solvable problem. Each year, more and more of your precious data is moving to the web. Soon all your important data will be hosted on a server where it is backed up, encrypted, and locked away. This is inevitable and solves all of those supposed problems. If your laptop gets run over by a truck, or becomes subject to terrorist coffee attack - you'll either get it fixed or just buy another and log back into your cloud data. Backups and full encryption are getting easier all the time, but also less relevant as data moves online. Dvorak doesn't see this because he is stuck in time applying an obsolete computing model to every new trend. As for going blind on a small screen, geez, if you ARE sitting at a desk whether at home or at work, just plug in a big friggin monitor. It's not that hard to figure out, and they are very cheap these days. Even a dinosaur could do this.

Regarding the iPhone. What is better then being able to access all of your digital information from anywhere using a notebook computer? Answer: being able to do it without a computer at all. This is the promise and the reality of mobile devices like the iPhone. It is about having the computer blend into the background so completely that you don't even know it is there. When a person can communicate, access digital media, search the entire planet for information, buy products, order tickets, read books etc. from a device that fits in the palm of your hand, and from nearly anywhere they happen to be, how could you possibly convince them they would be better off sitting at a fixed location in front of a desktop? Maybe you could tell them they aren't really doing 'computing', that might work. As for data loss - right, same answer as above. In fact it is the 'computing' and storage limitations of these devices that are accelerating the move to putting apps and all your data on the web. So the problem is solving itself. Regarding the iPhone specifically, I believe its single strongest point is that it offers a nearly full featured browser. With a real browser I can access real web sites, which means I can put more of my data online, which makes my mobile device even more valuable. Rinse, lather, repeat. As for the input / output arguments; many mobile devices today can drive external monitors. Most support external bluetooth keyboards and mice. If you really need to use those things you'll either bring portable versions with you, or you'll find any internet terminal to use to get at your data in the cloud. It only takes a little imagination to see possible ways to solve the small screen problem on a mobile device. There are many startups and established companies working on these problems. I'll give you some hints: micro projectors, retinal displays, folding e-ink screens, wireless vga protocols.

I fail to see how his solution for carrying around a thumb drives solves his theft or loss arguments. I also doubt he is using any reasonable encryption or backing up his data, but he could be. I do agree that Dvorak has no need for a notebook. As he says, why bother hauling it between home and work? And that sums up the problem - lack of imagination. If 'computing' to him, means sitting a desk, either home or work, how could he possibly imagine anyone needing or wanting to do 'it' anywhere else? I say let him sit at home tied to his desk pounding out his stupid column, while the rest of the modern world reads blogs, writes blogs (even rants about his articles), surfs the web, sends and receives texts, IM, emails, and manages their digital lives from nearly anyplace they happen to be. Yes the iPhone is no desktop - why would we want it to be?

After months of agonizing deliberation I found myself at the Apple store asking an overly cheerful associate to bring me the cheapest Mac they sold. At the mention of the word 'cheap' I saw a momentary crack in the facade as a sneer flashed across his face. But it was gone almost as soon as it had come, and he happily trotted of towards the back off the store. Before I knew it he was back and although there wasn't a cash register in sight my card was swiped, and a receipt was produced from thin air as if by magic. When my head cleared I found my self standing back in the mall holding a small white box with Apple logos on it.

I took the Mac mini home with some apprehension. After an hour or so into the relationship, it was clear we were not going to get along. I criticized its OS, it said something about my mother, I called Steve Jobs a name, and it refused to output anymore video. Check mate. The next day I went back to the Apple store and swapped it for one that wasn't set to evil. I got off to a rocky start with this mac too, but after a while we called a truce. Now it sits quietly on my desk, and through the magic of VNC, it happily serves up its bouncy GUI to whatever PC I happen to be using - at home or away. It doesn't complain that is is surrounded by PCs or that it is connected to Microsoft products. I no longer tense up when I look at it. I call it Minime.

So am I converted? No, far from it, but I am learning tolerance and that is real progress. Soon I hope to be ready for step 7. Hi, my name is John, and I'm trying real hard not to be an Apple hater.