OneNote on iTunes App Store – pretty slick!
Microsoft has not put very much effort in developing cross platform content for the App Store – but their OneNote application is definitely a step in the right direction.
Background: I was looking forward to testing the cross platform functionality. I have Windows 7 (64-bit) and Office 2010, and have been looking for a simple way to expand OneNote to mobile devices (iPad and iPod Touch). I have used Evernote and other similar programs, so was curious how this integration might compare.
The Good: The Microsoft OneNote app provides standard functionality without messing up notebook formatting.You can edit tasks and notebook contents. The picture integration is usable and works well – I think there is definitely some untapped potential for functionality in using the touch interface more – but for a 1.0 version it works.
The app is free for a “limited” time, but it definitely gives an idea of what’s possible when Microsoft puts even some minor effort into a platform.
The Bad: I had some issues getting the sync to work reliably at first. Did a reinstall and everything has worked normally since. They also pushed out an app update to deal with an authentication issue. No big showstoppers or missing functionality that wouldn’t make the app worth checking out. If you already use OneNote, this is a handy addition – but for new adopters (Evernote converts, etc.) it may be worth seeing what the next major update rolls out.
Cisco umi telepresence demo at Valley Fair…
There was a kiosk setup with live demonstrations of the Cisco consumer telepresence solution “umi” at Valley Fair mall. There were two suites setup for private testing of the device and the demo was very well done. Once we sat down – had a brief introduction to the system and had a 3 minute conversation with a remote magician(it was actually pretty fun). This gave us a chance to have some conversation, get a feel for audio/video quality and the interface.
DISCLAIMER: Per the salesperson on site, the network connection was not dedicated and was part of whatever internet infrastructure was in place at Valley Fair (i.e. not ideal – but probably a decent approximation of a typical home user that has a multiple network devices/users in their home).
Since I have experience using other HD “telepresence” solutions (Lifesize, Tandberg) in addition to the usual consumer products (Skype, Sony PS3, iChat, etc.) – I was interested to see what Cisco had put together with this turn-key consumer solution.
Interface: Lots of boxes (there is a set top box, the camera on the TV and a remote – it gets busy). The visual interface is elegant and simple – definitely designed to be comfortable to as wide an audience as possible. The making/answering call functions were very straightforward (something typical telepresence solutions tend to overlook). I appreciated the simple remote layout.
Audio Quality: Audio and video were in sync – sound was good and conversation flowed well. Was initially stymied by not seeing what video we were transmitting – so it just looked like a video feed magically appeared. I am sure there is some sort of PiP setting for this. The demo suite was enclosed but far from soundproof – and audio quality was still good with voices sounding natural without evidence of compression.
Video Quality: This is by far the most subjective, but since i have used other HD solutions in the past I was interested to see what was possible at this price point in the market.
- Colors: A little washed out – it might have been a simple issue of TV calibration and lighting – but I would assume the demo area had been optimized. When I viewed the picture that we were transmitting – the colors seemed more vibrant – so compression/network congestion could definitely be factors.
- Motion: Since this was a live “magic show” that we were watching – there was some motion – but in very small screen areas. The magician was sitting at a desk and performing some basic sleight of hand tricks. There were some block artifacts that showed up – but they didn’t linger and cleared up quickly. The salesperson assured us that this was most likely due to the internet connection quality.
- Detail: This was the biggest disappointment – and makes me really think about the cost structure (initial hardware purchase AND monthly service charge – not including the upgrade to your broadband connection that most will likely need to use this reliably). The screen detail was good – it was a little better than watching a DVD on your HD set before line doubling – so it looked like the best it was getting was 480p. Of note – we were seated about 7 feet away from the screen – so a further distance may be more realistic for larger spaces – but be ready to increase your broadband capabilities to get the most out of this box.
Overall: I think there is some potential here – but it seems like there will be a learning curve given the network traffic that typical households deal with. It may not be realistic to turn off every network device (wired or wireless) so you can do a video call and have it look good. It will be interesting to see what Cisco can do on the software side to optimize call quality with various video sets. As has been echoed before – the camera module is pretty chunky and takes up some serious real estate on the top of the TV. I am trying to imagine a TV setup with a Cisco UMI, Xbox Kinect and PS3 Eye – you would need a huge screen to fit those.
Finally – the monthly fee. The hardware is not cheap ($600) – so the $25/month PER umi device seems like a steep cost structure (Plan details here). The monthly charge is required for umi to even work (provides for unlimited calls and up to 100 minutes of video message recording) – so that is an interesting approach when the consumer will have to also shoulder an increased broadband connection cost to accommodate their minimum requirements.
I am looking forward to seeing some real world testing with some faster broadband connections to see if the picture is dramatically different. Cisco does have a 30 day return policy, so it may get on the demo list once I find another person with a fast enough connection to test it…the high up front cost and significant monthly costs are tough to justify though for a long term purchase – let alone a gift. We’ll see how the umi target market reacts!
Stats to Know:
- Costs (as of 12/27/2010): $599 up front hardware cost and monthly service charge ($25/mo, there is a discount if you pay up front for the year)
- Bandwidth: 3.5Mbps for 1080p, 1.5Mbps for 720p – these are BIDIRECTIONAL – so when you are looking at your broadband connection – the upstream number will generally be your limiting factor. Any doubts? Test your bandwidth connection (Cisco).
- Features: Autofocus, vertical tilt and zoom, Integrates with Gtalk video chat
For more information – Cisco umi microsite
Windows 7 Ultimate on the Y4
Background
Decided to take the plunge and forget my dual-boot setup. I had done a couple of Windows 7 installs already so I figured that there shouldn’t be any major issues. So far my installs of Windows 7 have been smooth. Smooth enough that I figured I could take a chance with my primary machine (oldie Panasonic Y4).
Installation
I actually followed the walkthrough on my earlier post and made some notes below since some drivers are updated. Don’t get too excited – the Intel 915 chipset is still a liability. I still don’t have Aero support (tried various hacks and nothing) so I am stuck with the basic interface (no Aero Peek and can’t run DVD Maker).
For this installation – I copied the current XP drivers and the Vista Upgrade driver files to an SD card and kept in the internal bay in the Y4. Provided easy access and I was able to reformat the drive and clean up the partition table as well (of course I made a complete backup before doing any of this).
Did a fresh install of Windows 7 Ultimate and deliberately didn’t manually update any drivers after first boot. Ran Windows Update and it downloaded drivers for the Intel WLAN chipset, the Realtek NIC and the Intel 915 chipset. Then performed the following:
- Disable Intel Power Management in the Intel display properties section. Right-click on the Intel systray icon and go to Properties. Go to Display Settings then Power Settings and uncheck the Power Saving box. Starting seeing wonky behavior with sleep mode and this appears to rectify it.
- Install the TPM driver -Infineon chipset for TPM. I downloaded the TPM Vista driver for the Y5 (tpm_d080275 – ~93MB) from Panasonic. Expanded it into a driver folder, but then just updated the driver (i.e. I did NOT run setup).
-
Install the hotkey driver (Update the driver from Device Manager – should be listed as one of the Unknown Devices). Browse for the driver. If you used the default decompression path, it should be located in C:VistaUpdrivershotkey. Update and reboot.
-
Install the touchpad driver. Browse to C:VistaUpdriversmouse. Run setup.exe as Administrator. Install is straightforward, reboot when prompted.
-
Installation of Sigmatel Sound driver. You need to snag the XP driver from Panasonic’s support site, or from your XP install partition. This is a weird one. You have to install the driver’s setup file. Then uninstall the driver via Control Panel. Finally, install the same driver again (Run setup.exe as Administrator). Reboot and sound should be working consistently. Otherwise – sound will work intermittently.
-
Install the Hotkey Appendix. Browse to C:VistaUphkeyapp. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
-
Install the Hotkey Settings. Browse to C:VistaUphkeyset. Run setup.exe as Administrator.
- Install the Misc Driver. Browse to C:VistaUpmiscinst. Run setup.exe as Administrator.
-
If you want the Wireless Switch utility: Browse to C:VistaUpwswitch. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
-
If you want the Optical Disc Power Off Utility: Browse to C:VistaUpopdoff. Run setup.exe as Administrator. This one did not work for me – it said that it could not get access to the “misc driver” – doesn’t appear to hurt anything – just annoying.
-
Finally, install WinDVD. Browse to C:VistaUpwindvd. Run setup.exe as Administrator.
-
The keyboard is recognized as a Japanese 106/109 key layout – but the default is to use the International English key mapping. This is annoying. Open the Language Bar and Add Japanese to the keyboard layout.Set Japanese as the primary keyboard layout and then remove ALL US keyboard entries. Do a final reboot and confirm that the keys are mapped correctly.
Observations
One weird thing has happened with this install – but it’s minor. Two unknown devices have suddenly appeared in my Device Manager. Have no clue what they are and have simply left them alone. Machine stability is not an issue and everything works normally. Not going to worry about it.
Biggest let down of this project was the lack of Aero support. The Intel 915 chipset was popular enough that I figured some Aero goodies would find their way in – but nope. (funny sidenote – my Windows Experience score is a whopping 1.0 because of the video chipset!)
Good luck to anyone that goes for this – performance on the laptop has been solid and performance has been on par or better than XP, so it has been a good switch. I have had to reduce the hardware acceleration to play some videos (had the same problem in XP) – but otherwise things appear to be working well.
Sony PSP – Remote Play with DLNA
Had been waiting for the chance to test a PSP with the PS3′s Remote Play capabilities. Namely to see how audio/video streaming worked – especially with internet content.
The Tests:
Scenario 1: Media playback (photo/video/audio) from DLNA equipped NAS (Promise SmartStor)
Scenario 2: Media playback (video) from PlayOn sources (Mediamall)
The Results:
Both setups worked without a hitch. Connected PSP and registered it via USB cable to the PS3. Selected Remote Play on the PSP and got access to the PS3 interface. Tried this over local wifi and from a local Starbucks wifi.
Scenario 1: Local wifi playback was fine for photos/audio, there was some jitter with video in the first 2 seconds of playback for MP4 video files, but then worked fine. Playback from public wifi was slightly lower quality on video (jitters in the first 10 seconds) but worked fine and cleaned up once the signal stabilized.
Secnario 2: Worked perfectly – was able to watch Hulu, AdultSwim, CBS, etc. All the content streamed perfectly. While smooth, the video quality is not as high (fault of source content obviously) – but on the smaller PSP screen it was noticeable only on action sequences where artifacts would appear. This happens on normal playback of some content anyways (CBS…ahem…) – but Hulu worked pretty well.
Will be interesting to see how the PSP Go works out and what price point is affixed…with rumors of the XMB interface finding a home in new Sony devices, look forward to seeing how far DLNA goes!
Windows 7 RC1 on the Y4
Finally had the chance to get RC1 installed on the Panasonic Y4 and see what the differences were. So far, not a huge difference in performance – a little less hard drive thrashing, but boot/shutdown times are still pretty short. Overall – just feels a little more polished, nothing too different from the Beta.
The big difference was the installation process. While it installed more cleanly, I was able to piece together some nuances from Vista that helped legacy hardware drivers play nicely. So let’s get going!
To start, grab the Vista Update files from Panasonic and put them on a USB drive:
Filenames you are looking for are – links below are direct to Panasonic.jp:
viup1_t4w4y4_h070028.exe
viup2_modem_r4y4_d070324.exe
viup3_w4y4.exe
viup_windvd_y4w4y5w5_061246.exe
I would additionally make a copy of the XP drivers that end up in the C:util folder. You will need the sound driver for sure. Do a fresh install of WIndows 7 RC1 (I did a new partition so I could keep my XP install as well) – you should have a usable system but with no WLAN connectivity by following the usual install process. Now expand the files you downloaded above. Next step is the installation of Vista drivers that will provide the major functionality for Windows 7 to not be cranky.
-
Install the hotkey driver (Update the driver from Device Manager – should be listed as one of the Unknown Devices). Browse for the driver. If you used the default decompression path, it should be located in C:VistaUpdrivershotkey. Update and reboot.
-
Install the touchpad driver. Browse to C:VistaUpdriversmouse. Run setup.exe as Administrator. Install is straightforward, reboot when prompted.
-
Install the video driver. Browse to C:VistaUpdriversvideo. Run setup.exe as Administrator.Install is straightforward, reboot when prompted. Upon rebooting, go to Graphics Properties -> Display Settings -> Power Settings. Remove the checkmark for “Intel Display Power Saving Technology” and click OK.
-
Install the WLAN driver. Browse to C:VistaUpdriverswlandrivers. Double click the iProFifX.exe file (Run as Administrator). The driver installation should complete and WLAN should function normally.
-
Install the Panasonic Misc Driver. Browse to C:VistaUpmiscinst. Run setup.exe as Administrator. Install is straightforward, reboot if prompted.
-
Installation of Sigmatel Sound driver. You need to snag the XP driver from Panasonic’s support site, or from your XP install partition. This is a weird one. You have to install the driver’s setup file. Then uninstall the driver via Control Panel. FInally, install the same driver again (Run setup.exe as Administrator). Reboot and sound should be working consistently.
-
Install the Hotkey Appendix. Browse to C:VistaUphkeyapp. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
-
Install the Hotkey Settings. Browse to C:VistaUphkeyset. Run setup.exe as Administrator.
-
If you want the WIreless Switch utility: Browse to C:VistaUpwswitch. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
-
If you want the Optical Disc Power Off Utility: Browse to C:VistaUpopdoff. Run setup.exe as Administrator. You do not have to reboot at this time.
-
Finally, install WinDVD. Browse to C:VistaUpwindvd. Run setup.exe as Administrator.
-
Do a final reboot and confirm that everything is working and enjoy!
UPDATE: Tracked down the final “Unknown Device” in Device Manager. It is the Infineon chipset for TPM. I downloaded the TPM Vista driver for the Y5 (tpm_d080275 – ~93MB) from Panasonic. Expanded it into a driver folder, but then just updated the driver (i.e. I did NOT run setup). Everything was recognized and Device Manager is much happier. Not to mention think this speeded up boot times.
Memory Upgrade surprise…
The Mission: Track down a 1.5GB RAM upgrade for the CF-Y4. Previous experience had been showing prices at $300 – too high.
The Execution: I knew the specs of the chip I needed – but for some reason, prices were still high! Froogle and Pricewatch were unhelpful, so I started checking out the Google ads…and holy crap. Went to Memory-Up.com and found a “compatible chip” for <$70. Done.
The Outcome: Despite my trepidation (I am always skeptical of cheap RAM) – worked like a charm! New Kingston brand chips and ran multiple tests to be sure. Very happy with it and no shipping, just sales tax. If anyone wants my old 512MB chip – hit me up.
Windows 7 Impressions – Part 1
Installed Windows 7 on a spare partition on the Y4 and found the following “inconsistent behaviors”.
1) Sound isn’t consistent. Used the Sigmatel XP drivers and sometimes the sound works and sometimes it doesn’t. It does alternate – but couldn’t find a consistent reason. blah.
2) Touchpad drivers (Synaptic) were not happy. Not too big a deal – but then you lose the scrolling functionality with default windows mouse driver – lammmme
3) Keyboard driver(s) – was having some funkiness with the keyboard layout (gave me an error that a CF-50 keyboard was not supported by Vista). The buttons worked, but the layout was a little jacked up. Also – Function key drivers were not happy – so changing brightness/sound level was not happening.
4) Video drivers – appeared to work well. Only ran into one issue consistently – video playback was not happy all the time. Regular use had great resolution and the screen looked good. Going to try some updated codecs and see how this goes…
UPDATE: Codecs made no difference in video playback – still broke it. Dug up some more information on the Intel 915 video chipset on the Windows 7 Forum. Does not look like a WDDM driver is coming any time soon…:(
Overall:
So far, so good. The system has been stable with no crashes. IE8 crashed once when I tried opening Google Analytics in IE8. Apparently the missing plugin killed it. Performance is pretty impressive and comparable to XP with more eye candy. The feature improvements are a small step up from Vista – but the implementation is so much better. I look forward to checking out the final release…
Panasonic Laptops – where’s the love?
Right here. I use a Panasonic CF-Y4 (the new ones are the Y7 and up). You never hear about these laptops – but though “old” I have not grown tired of the design.
- Great compact keyboard layout with normal pitch
- FANLESS design for quiet computing
- Extraordinary battery life (still get about 3 hours per charge with screen at 75% and wireless after almost 4 years of daily use)
- 14″ screen with decent color/contrast
- DVD burner flips up on the wristpad area for more compact design
- Resilient – I spilled water on it twice and had a couple rough landings – works great and dries out easily
- 3.4 lbs with a small AC adapter. Still not sure why this is a challenge for laptop manufacturers.
Of course, there are some downsides:
- Limited expansion (60GB HD standard – later models have it easier to remove – mine requires pretty heavy disassembly to replace). It has 512MB soldered to the motherboard with an expansion slot.
- Centrino 1.6Ghz processor – it’s not a slouch, but it is not a speed demon either. I also fully realize that this chip came out in 2003. Editing photos, etc. works well – only had problems with ridiculously large workspaces (was working on a 300dpi 8.5×11 folder layout and it was sloooooow). But it worked
- 2 USB ports – really? They could have squeezed in one more. But I understand.
- Intel Video chipset – it’s not that it’s bad – it’s just not great. I had to update the driver to get it to work consistently with my external monitor. But other than that – pretty stable.
- Not a beautiful laptop by modern standards. It’s not sleek, svelte or sexy. Unless you appreciate Tonka trucks for their industrial design. Then it should suit you just fine. I will say that the design protects the innards quite well. The LAN/modem ports have a sturdy rubber flap that seals nicely and the screen (though it seems bulky) has plenty of protection without getting keyboard marks on the screen from being packed into your bag. I have seen some very nice uber-thin notebooks succumb to this design flaw. It’s great to have a super thin screen – but when the anti-glare coating starts getting rub marks from your keyboard – that sucks.
I got my Y4 laptop from Dynamism in 2005 – great service and was able to get the laptop configured to my specs. I will be checking them out for my next laptop upgrade.
Alas, Panasonic has been making some kick butt laptops for a while – previously I used a CF-L1XR and loved it. Bought in 2000 and retired in 2005 so it served me well. It had a P-III 600, 1″ thick, 4.3 lbs, CD-RW, with dual batteries (would get 6 hours out of it easy). I still use it for playing with Ubuntu.
DLNA – it’s getting there
So took the plunge and decided to digitize our entire DVD collection. I wish I could say that it was a quest to forge ahead in the technical world – but alas, it was just a space issue. We have a bunch of DVDs and they take up space in the tiny place we have. Now they are in plastic bins in the basement, and we don’t miss them at all.
So if you want to take the plunge – here is the easiest way.
1) Backup the DVD into a single file (DVD43 and Handbrake are the easiest – Windows only though)
2) Put the file somewhere on the network that makes sense (I had an old server setup for a while, but then grabbed a NAS and haven’t looked back).
3) Hook up a DLNA compatible player hooked up to your monitor/tv (I snagged an 80GB PS3 – was able to retire my PS2 and get a decent blu-ray player).
4) Browse your media collections (the NAS works with Video, Photos and Music) and enjoy. Worked like a charm with minimal setup. I think this is how it’s supposed to work – awesome.
Find Me Online
