#202 - Steve Jobs and the end of an era

My first PC was an Apple II. I was (still am!) a geeky engineer that was fascinated that I could have a computer in my house. I already could program (Fortran, Cobal and Basic) so getting a computer that I could train to do just about anything was amazing. Buying it in 1981 also meant I was at the very beginning of the PC revolution. My Apple II cost about $1200 and I bought it through the mail (none were being sold in Baton Rouge then). It came with a floppy disk drive and 64K of programmable memory. Wow!

I subscribed to 3 Apple magazines that had lots of programs I could type in, learn from and then modify to my needs. I also learned about the two Steves - Jobs and Wozniak. Woz the ultimate techno nerd and Jobs the great promoter. Woz would talk about the future stuff we could do to improve our Apples and Jobs would talk about where the world was heading due to a great technology revolution.

As good and successful as the Apple II was (they made it for over a decade!) The next two Apple PCs - The Apple III and Lisa were economic disasters. Even their successor the venerable Macintosh took literally years to take off. And somewhere in that chain of events, Apple let Steve Jobs go. As we all know he came back to start the "i" revolution. ipod, ipad, iphone...

Steve was always about design before function and design integrated into function. The PCs IBM made were boring, square and very functional. Apple PCs just looked better. So much better that there were Apples in museums of art! The importance of design over function lead the incredible success of all Apple products. They are innovative and usually first in class products. They are also pretty expensive. There is no "cheap" Apple product. Thus their tremendous margins and profitability. All thanks to Steve Jobs vision.

I'll miss the Apple product introductions that Steve was famous for. The demonstrations of products that catch your imagination and set you free from limitations the rest of the technology world impose. Vaya con dios Steve. You will be missed here.

#201 - The new PC

My 4 year old Ultra PC was showing its age last week. Actually it was sounding its age with lots of grinds and hums and fan whines. So what to do? I need a PC to run PCSS. I have accounting and email on the PC that just doesn't work the same on my Mac Mini.

That pushed me to a new PC. Choosing a PC is always a tough decision. What processor? How much memory, What kind of Graphics? So lets see how I visited each of these questions and their answers.

The PC we went with is an HP 6005 Pro minitower PC. It comes with lots of options and flavors so that decision just brought more questions.

Processor did not mean as much to me as some other geeks. The Intel "i" series and the AMD Phenom series are their top end processors. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. For every day computing: Spreadsheets, Word Processing, Internet surfing almost any of the new processors would work. For me it came down to cost per speed. The winner was the AMD Phenom II x4 3.02Ghz processor. This is an upper speed mid range processor. Great multimedia performance with a reasonable cost. I got this processor in the HP desktop for the same price as a slower lower grade Intel processor.

How much memory? The PC came with 4GB of internal memory and a 500GB hard disk drive. Those are plenty for my needs. It came with Windows 7 Professional 64bit edition. I had a spare 2GB memory stick so I put it in for a total of 6GB memory. It seems faster then the Windows XP computer I left with 2GB of memory. Note that Windows 7 - 32 bit edition can only see 3.75GB of memory, no more.

I'm still working on Graphics. The HP PC came with ATI Radeon 4200 graphics internal to the motherboard. I'm going to get a bigger screen (24" vs 19" I have now) so I'll probably need a graphics card that can push more pixels on the bigger screen. The ATI will only do 1280x1024 resolution and I'm sure the 24" display will want 1600x1200 resolution. I'll let you know when I get this worked out.

The PC came with a nice DVD-RW drive with lightscribe printing on CDs/DVDs. I'll add another drive so I can do copies. I'll also put in a media card reader so I can put my camera card in without an add on item.

The tough part is the software. I'm going with Office 2010 (I've been using Office 2003!), Adobe Acrobat 9 (X is the latest version) and Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 7.0 and Google Chrome. Move all the files and favorites, install the AVG antivirus and more. Changing PCs isn't a whole lot of fun. Thank goodness its almost done!

#200 - Ten years later

Its the eve of the 10th anniversary of the al Quida attacks on America. So much has changed in the world in the past 10 years. Just fly once and your life will be impacted by the hate of extremist 1/2 a world away. Lets take a look at the technology and how its impacted our response to being attacked.

We are now scanned, probed and much of our life closely monitored due to the attacks. Heaven help you if your name coinsides with someone on the No Fly List. Computers have a very significant role in deterring similar attacks. The US Armed Forces even has a Cyber Command to actively attack enemies and defend from same attacks. There is great worry that the next 9-11 will be a cyber attack that shuts down our important infrastructure, like power, Internet and communications. Imagine an attack that shuts down our cell phones? Its been tried quite recently.

The recent earthquake and several hurricanes that have hit Virginia have disrupted our power supply and all that means. We are so dependent on power. One week without power is like being transported back to the 15th century. Every time we lose power, I'm thankful for the battery back up system we have that makes shutting things down safer (no damage to valuable systems). I see the US having more of these back up systems in the future. Sales of back up electric generators is at an all time high in Richmond, Virginia. There have been good talks on how to make our power system safer and hardened to prevent terrorist attacks. I hope we move forward with these proposals.

The us of robots in combat has also come about in the war on terrorism. Drone planes routinely run missions in a very dangerous part of the world. Robots are used to diffuse bombs and go into dangerous areas. These technologies will soon move back into the commercial arena. The use of robots or remotely controlled vehicles will become more common later in this decade is my prediction.

The technology for body scanning was first used in medicine, but has had much research dollars spent on it for security purposes. I would imagine this increased spending will also come back to help the medical fields that invented this technology. Imagine a safe simple scan that can identify the vast majority of diseases in a human. You'll go to the doctor once a year for your scan and know immediately of any issues.

Let's remember the losses we were subject to 10 years ago, but lets move forward as a nation (or better yet world).

#199 - Tablet Follow up

We've had the Asus Transformer Tablet PC now for over 3 weeks. The docking station came this week, but we still haven't seen the tablet sleeve cover. I've made a nice bubble wrap home made cover to protect the screen while traveling. We've made the rounds of many customers so that they can have a touch and feel of the tablet. Most are favorably impressed with the size, resolution, brightness and speed.

The remarkable initial impression of the Transformer was how quickly it picked up all my information. After opening the box and charging the tablet the first item you see is to enter you gmail account information. From this information the Transformer automatically updated our contacts, calendar, facebook, android apps, and even our wifi location settings (including passwords!) from our android Motorola Droid Pro phone. We only had to add our AOL email info and then download some specific android Tablet apps.

We've been looking for a better calendar app since the android app is pretty simple. We like to enter appointments in the field and see week/month activities fairly quickly. Both of those tasks are tough with the android calendar app. We found several and are evaluating them now. We also added the Opera Android browser. This is a fast browser that has tabbed windows and has a 6 panel favorite sites (like google chrome) you can quickly switch to. I wonder why there isn't Google Chrome for andoid yet.

The USA Today and the CNBC apps for android tablet are also very nice and I highly recommend them for news and financial updates. We put on several card games and of course Angry birds (regular and rio versions!).

Battery life has been very good (around 8 hours) and now we should get near 16 hours with the docking keyboard. My initial impression of the keyboard is positive. Having a trackpad is a huge help with editing in any app. Also nice are the dedicated keys that just make using the tablet on the Internet very easy.

We've had no problems getting on WiFi sites. The antenna seems strong and we have had very few Internet drops (less them my laptops!). The tablet is about the same speed as my Lenovo Windows 7 laptop. Some sites take a bit longer to load, but that happens on all Internet devices.

If you have any question just comment below or email me!

#198 - Tablet in the house

PCSS now has an ASUS Transformer tablet PC! Shown on the left is the tablet and its docking station/keyboard. The Transformer is an Android Honeycomb tablet PC with the following specifications:
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• NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 1.0GHz dual-core CPU for excellent multitasking & HD video playback
• Android 3.1 Honeycomb O.S. with Adobe® Flash® 10.2 support*2
• Full QWERTY keyboard, touchpad input with Polaris® Office® for mobile productivity
• 16*1 hours long battery life for all day computing with docking station
• Brilliant IPS panel with ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle made from scratch resistant and super tough glass
• One year of Unlimited ASUS WebStorage, two USB ports, SD and Micro SD card readers for easy sharing & storage expandability
• 3D stereo with max bass response with SRS premium sound
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That's a lot to chew over. First question I get is how does it compare to the iPad2? Its bigger (10.1" vs 9.7" screen), faster (Tegra 2 vs A5 CPU), has better screen resolution and can have a great docking station with keyboard that Apple does not make for the iPad2. To beat the iPad you have to be better all round then the iPad. We have put both side by side and the are very similar in quality and design. The Transformer had a textured back panel that makes it a bit easier to hold. Now there is no denying there are way more tablet based apps for the iPad2 then for all of the Android tablets. However the tablets will run nearly all the 200,000 Android apps from the Android Market. So no shortage of games, utilities (yes the bar code reader works!) and Internet browsing. Oh, did I mention that the Transformer runs Adobe Flash so 99% of all the websites can be shown on the Transformer?
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The last difference is that the Transformer costs $399 (Available from PCSS!) for the tablet versus $499 for the iPad2. The keyboard/dock is extra, but the iPad2 doesn't even have an Apple part equivalent.
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We'll be putting the Transformer through some rigorous testing over the next month. If you would like to see it let Nick know and he'll bring it by (Alleghany Highlands & Hawaii customers only!)

#197 - The Good the bad and the Ugly of Tablet PCs

We've had access to two iPods (1 & 2 versions) and my android HP tablet that I got with my latest ink jet printer. Enough time to get comfortable with each and some of the apps that you can use on them. So here goes our first hands on review and if you have more or different experience please leave a comment or email us at pcss4u@aol.com.

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Tablets are the wave of the future. They are selling at record numbers ( estimated 60 million iPads in 2012 alone). Everyone is trying to get into the act. Phone maker Motorola has the expensive Xoom, Monitor maker Viewsonic has the View, Samsung has the Galaxy and yesterday HP introduced its Touchpad. Important in each of these offerings is what Applications (apps) each has to offer. Apple has over 20,000 apps for the iPad. HP has 300 for the introduction of the Touchpad. The others use the Android system and have thousands of apps.

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So what's special about a tablet? Why would you want one? Tablets are the ideal size for a handheld unit. With a 9" to 10" screen most tablets fit very comfortably in your hands. They all have gyroscope/accelerometers that let you view portrait or landscape modes automatically. #1 of importance is being able to get on the Internet. You can see your email, calendar, google the world, read online newspapers and news services. The screens are very readable, but not the best in direct sunlight. Interesting, because of Steve Jobs (Apples CEO) war with Adobe corporation, iPads (using the Safari browser) you can't see any website that uses Adobe Flash Player for animation. The number of sites that use Flash is still over 25%. The Android and HP tablets can all use flash player. The convenience of the small size, nice size screen and portability (they don't weigh much) makes the tablet a very attractive device and thus the huge sale.

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Price wise, they all are in the $500-$600 range with wi fi access. You can also get many tablets with 3G Internet coverage via your cell phone company. Unfortunately that means you have to buy an Internet contract from that cell phone company at $30 per month. Free wi fi access seems to be decreasing in this country, not increasing so the phone companies may be on to a lucrative money maker.

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Its all about the apps with tablets (good luck HP). We just put several new apps on the iPads that are fun and useful. Leafsnap let you take a picture of a leaf on your iPad and then it will suggest what species it is. You have information on the leaf (front & back), bark, flowers, fruit. You can then put the identified tree in your collection based on location. Very fun and informative. The tablets are made for games such as Angry Birds, that take little skill but are addictive to get a better score. Tablet apps to help in shopping or finding prices are everywhere!

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Typing on a tablet isn't too bad. The virtual keyboard is spaced far apart so that my fat fingers can almost touch type. I don't like that you have to switch from alphabet to numeric virtual keyboards. If you use a very secure password such as j1u2n3k4 you'll spend a bunch of time switching between screens and probably will make a mistake. The finger scrolling and gestures are great input devices. Unfortunately, not having a pointing device (no arrows either) makes editing very hard (my fat fingers again).

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So I use our tablets for quick Internet access, some email and playing some games. Could I do away with my laptops for a tablet? Not yet. I'm writing this blog on my Thinkpad and I couldn't imagine doing it on a tablet. The input would take longer and editing would be cumbersome. There is a definite niche for the tablet and at its more affordable pricing many people will own a tablet AND a laptop. Comments?

#196 Windows 8 and will anyone listen?

Sorry for the one month hiatus. I had a death in the family and am just now catching up on work, house and life. We are back to normal and that mean Microsoft announces a new operating system. Windows 8 has been announced, but there is no introduction date. It seems to be Microsofts answer to touch screen tablet PCs. Lots of features similar to the iPad. Microsoft is certainly not known for its innovation, just its marketing.

Now Microsoft didn't ask me what I wanted in Windows 8, but dear readers, let me fill them in via my blog. 1st and foremost I want a safer browser. Although Internet Explorer isn't really part of Windows, it has come with every version of Windows (if it quacks like a duck, must be a duck). Its been a sad excuse for a browser for over 10 years. Its one of the main culprits in malware getting on your PC. The latest version IE9 is better, but it doesn't work on Windows XP which over ½ of the PC world still uses. FireFox and Google Chrome remain better alternatives and PCSS highly recommends them to our customers.

Next would come speed. We have these tremendously fast processors with obscene amounts of memory and it still takes my Windows 7 laptop over 3 minutes to start up and about a minute to shut down. Check out a MAC Microsoft and learn how to start and stop an operating system in an efficient manner. It would also be nice to make it easier to join a network and share stuff. The Windows 7 Home Network (only works with Windows 7 PCs) just isn't universal enough. What business has all the same operating system when a new one comes out? Microsoft supposedly hires smart people. Maybe, but they don't have an once of common sense.

Lastly I would tighten up the rules for programs to run on Windows 8. Make the software people make their programs more efficient and easier to load AND unload. (again take a look at those crazy guys at Apple). Programs do anything they want and generally that isn't good when it comes to loading a program on your computer. Who thought it was a good idea to let any program put files in the operating system folders? ARGH as the pirates would say. Also new programs can take control of resources on your PC and when they close not release those resources. That is just silly.

Ok rant mode off. Those are just 3 items that I'd like to see in Windows 8, but you know they will never see to do them. Nope we'll make a more bloated operating system to try and catch up with the iPad and forget about the 1 billion PCs that exist world wide.

#195 - How fast is fast?

First of all some definitions. Broadband Internet is also called "High Speed" Internet access. The speed of Internet is defined now by MBPS or Megabits per second. There are two directions of Internet speed: Upload and Download. Download is almost always faster and that is the number that most Internet providers give when talking about speed.

Now some context. The first Internet access was done via dial up phone modems. Their maximum top upload speed was rated at 0.056 MBPS. High Speed Internet was originally defined to be greater then 0.256 MBPS. Now I would say High Speed starts at 1MBPS.

There are several competing technologies to provide Broadband Internet for your use. DSL (digital subscription line) is a technology used mainly by telephone companies to provide Broadband over their telephone wires. This is done by sending the Internet at a much higher frequency then voice telephone conversations. The top end download speed for copper wired DSL is about 6MBPS. The other major Broadband provider for your home or office is Cable. Again Cable Internet uses their existing cable lines in your home/business to provide high-speed Internet. The top end download speed for Cable Internet in the US is probably around 30MBPS. One other difference between DSL and Cable is DSL is a dedicated line to your place while Cable is a shared resource. Meaning DSL won't slow down if your neighbor also has it and is on line, but if you both have Cable the more on the system, the slower the Internet.

Two other newer technologies for Internet are Cell phone systems (the 3G & 4G networks) and Fibre Optic. Cell phone Internet is a wireless system that uses the cell phone towers to provide Interet. Existing 3G technology is capped at download speeds of 3.1MBPS. 4G is the newer technology and could possibly go as high as 100MBPS. That is POSSIBLY. Right now the new 4G networks max out around 6MBPS. Fibre Optic is the fastest of all technologies. Using light waves to sent the Internet over dedicated fibre cables, Fibre Optic Internet can now run as fast as 40MBPS.

In our area Shentel Cable provides up to 20MBPS over their Cable network and ntelos is matching them with Fibre Optic system at 20MBPS. We have 3G in all the towns but no 4G yet. ntelos is going to provide up to 6MBPS to all their wired customers.

So what is the importance of speed? If you want to watch seamless Internet videos (no jumps, skips, bumps) you need over 5MBPS download speed. Multitasking videos, surfing, cloud computing all requires 10MBPS. Just like we keep increasing and using more memory in PCs, we'll keep using more Internet speed.

194 - What are those black dots and squares?

The image you see below is called QRbarcode. Its used to code text, an Internet address (URL), or a phone number. You can read it with your smart phone and then go immediately read the text, go to the Internet site or dial the phone number. It has great potential use in advertising! The QR (short for Quick Response) barcode was developed by by Toyota. This two dimensional barcode has quickly been adopted in Japan and South Korea and a bit slower here in the west. Toyota used it for car part numbering. Its 2 dimensional design allowed for a small size. The QR contains more information then a standard barcode (limited to numbers). In fact the QR has been used for all sorts of interesting information coding.

QR codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or on just about any object about which users might need information. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR Code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone's browser. The code in the upper left of this article will direct you to this Blog. The one in the lower left to the PCSS web site.

Recently a real estate client used the QR code to store an URL for more information and placed it on all their hand outs. You could then go to the site that had more pictures and house plan layout. So let your imagination go wild, but first get a smart phone, wireless Internet plan, and barcode reader software. You can make your own QR code at several free web sites. We use: QR-Code Generator Just put in your URL then right click the image to copy the image to your PC.

#193 - The new printer with a tablet thrown in

HP has released a new all in one that caught our attention. The HP Photosmart eStation 510a is a printer, scanner, copier and fax machine with one special twist. The control panel can detach and be an external 7" Android tablet. It runs on wifi and can take print from ipads, ipods and just about any other computer that can send a print document.

The print quality is the best HP makes for an inkjet printer. Top notch photo quality if you use the good photo paper. Ink costs about $45 total for Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Photo Black cartridges that do 300 printed pages. With max speeds of up to 33 pages per minute, this printer is definitely speedy. Because of the wifi tablet you can print to this printer from ANYWHERE! The HP ePrint service lets you print out your expense reports before you get home! You can print from Facebook, Yahoo or even Snapfish. Printing from the web is the new standard in printers and this one has all the rough spots already worked out.

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The setup for wireless printing is pretty easy and soon all your desktops, laptops, tablet or even smart phone can print to the new printer. It can hold 125 pages of 8.5x11" paper and do up to 12 envelopes at a time. It doesn't have a large duty cycle (1200 pages per month) so don't plan on this one being an office workhorse. The scanner is a flatbed (no sheet feed) with 1200x1200 black/white & color operation. It has an SD card slot for data from cameras.

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Now on to the 7" detachable tablet PC. It uses the Android system and comes with Internet browser, book reader, facebook, and other apps. It will be fully Android 2.2 compatible soon and have complete access to the Android market and 175,000 other apps. You get about 5 hours of battery time and just need to put it back on the printer to charge. It can be a digital picture frame, ebook reader or just a web browser.

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Cost for all this? HP list price of $399. $100 less then an iPad. Amazing. Technology at the leading edge.