My comments

I have observed other countries like the UK and France push on with next-generation broadband Internet developments and they have taken various initiatives to achieve this goal.

In some cases, most notably in the UK, local communities had set up localised next-generation broadband deployment for villages and other areas which wouldn’t be serviced by this kind of broadband, let alone any broadband service. As well, a lot of European towns are “wiring up” with some form of fibre-based next-generation broadband and there has been efforts in place to assure competitive service to the customer’s door.

Similarly, Finland took the bold step of having broadband Internet with a minimum speed of 2Mbps declared as a universal service in the same manner as a home telephone or mains electricity.

At the moment, we have situations where people in the country cannot get proper broadband service either through issues like distance to the exchange or very old telephone infrastructure; and we have a common situation where people have to count bandwidth used because of ridiculously expensive Internet-access tariffs and quotas. In some cases, we have situations where multimedia Internet like Internet radio or YouTube streaming video cannot be enjoyed especially during the late afternoon in a metropolitan area due to poor bandwidth allocation.

Is the Coalition intending to provide us with a lesser-standard next-generation broadband service or why are they simply doing this? If there is an alternative solution being proposed for an improved-technology broadband infrastructure, it needs to be cheap to maintain, including low failure rate; cheap to adapt to changing demainds as well as being cheap to establish. It also must be able to provide robust always-live broadband-class Internet service to rural and remote households as well as more dense communities. Finally, the service must see a decent increase in value for the amount the customers are willing to pay.

Whoever gains power in the Australian Federal Government should look at what the UK, France and Scandinavia are doing to assure their citizens of proper value for money as far as broadband Internet service is concerned.

Electoral Disclaimer

This comment is based on my observation and research of other countries concerning their provision of Internet access and service and is a viewpoint expressed independently of any political candidate or party contesting the current Australian Federal Election.

The application that was mainly illustrated was to set up a phone call and plan a journey with your hands on the VW car stereo’s touch screen and all of this going via a Nokia N97.

BBC News – Microsoft announces Windows tablet PC plans

My comments

Windows has provided for tablet and touch computing abilities ever since the Windows XP operating system where there was a special “Tablet PC” edition delivered only with computers that used stylus-driven “tablet-style” operation. These computers came in the form of a “slate” where the only user interface was the stylus-operated screen or a “convertible” notebook computer that can be operated as a conventional notebook computer or a “tablet-style” computer just by swivelling a stylus-operated screen 180 degrees. Most of these computers weren’t available in price ranges that most people would consider when it comes to buying portable computer equipment.

They didn’t extend the availability of this operating system to other “tablet-style” or “stylus-driven” setups like interactive whiteboards, “digitizer” tablets or display and light-pen / interactive pointer.

But, when Windows Vista came on the scene, Microsoft integrated touchscreen and stylus-driven “tablet” operation as part of the operating system for all of the mainstream versions. This has opened up the floor for more touch-enabled computer setups or the ability to provide such setups in an aftermarket manner. Windows 7 has extended this further with the support for multitouch screens, again baked in as part of the mainstream versions.

Apple has cast their first “punch” in the fight for commodity-priced touchscreen computing devices with the arrival of the iPad. This has been built on “consuming” material that is normally distributed as print material and, in the case of periodical content, uses client-side “apps” delivered through Apple’s iTunes App Store to “draw-down” the material.

Android and, now, Microsoft have started taking action in providing a platform that does what the Apple iPad does but in a more competitive way for both customers and developers. Microsoft has, on their side, an increasing array of “netvertibles” (netbooks with swivel touch-screens) and low-cost convertible notebooks as a hardware starting point and the touch and tablet functionalities in Windows 7 as a software starting point. They also have been known for establishing an affordable and accessible software-development infrastructure ever since the company started with the BASIC interpreter for the Altair microcomputer in the 1970s, by providing the Visual Studio software-development suite which can allow programmers to write touch-enabled software.

Microsoft could then provide extra “shell” functionality with Windows 7 to enable full touch operation but they will need to work this in so it can work with low-cost hardware in order to make their platform affordable for most. This platform would be like the Android platform where many different hardware manufacturers provide different units that run this operating system.

Personally, the “tablet” computer race will become like what has happened during the late 1980s when there were at least five GUI-based operating platforms on the desktop computing scene. What then happened was that some of the platforms “fell off the branch” or serviced particular user classes, as certain platforms became dominant in mainstream computing life.

As I have said before. there has to be standard interactive “electronic hard copy” platform that permits “publish once, read anywhere” content authoring with the full benefits that these tablet computers offer for the new platform to succeed.

NETGEAR Adds Gigabit PoE Smart Switch – SmallNetBuilder

From the horse’s mouth

NETGEAR GS110TP Gigabit PoE switch product page

NETGEAR GS-110TP Gigabit PoE 8 Port Smart Switch

My comments

The concept of VLANs and quality-of-service functionality is now become increasingly relevant to the home and small-business network now that the “single-pipe triple-play” and “next-generation” broadband Internet services are either here in your market or are coming around the corner to your market.

What are VLANs

The VLAN is a separate logical network path within a physical network medium, such as multiple SSIDs from one Wi-Fi access point serving different networks or a HomePlug setup with multiple Network Passwords for different networks. Most business-grade Ethernet switches offer this functionality in order to have particular Ethernet sockets associated with particular logical networks. It is used in many network applications such as interlinking a business with multiple premises through one multi-tenant building or providing Internet-only “guest access” service to business networks.

Now the VLAN is becoming common in small networks as part of either providing “guest access” or “hotspot service” to the Internet without encroaching on the security of the resident network; or providing dedicated “fast-lanes” for quality of service when it comes to A/V streaming or VoIP service.

NETGEAR’s role in this equation

Now NETGEAR have provided the GS110TP Gigabit Power-Over-Ethernet Smart Switch which is an 8-port switch which offers this functionality and Power-Over-Ethernet to all the ports for US$260. This is similar to how this company offered 5-port and 8-port 10/100Mbps Cat5 Ethernet hubs and switches at prices affordable for most people when the idea of home networking and broadband Internet came on the horizon in the early 2000s. Then a few years later, they offered 8-port 10/100Mbps switches with that had 802.3af standards-based Power-Over-Ethernet supply functionality on four of the ports, again at a price that most users can afford.

It may be easy to think of this unit being a candidate “central” switch when you wire your premises for Ethernet and want to make it future-proof for these new requirements. There have been some concessions to allow it to work properly with “triple-play” by the use of a default VLAN matrix with one VLAN for regular traffic, one for VoIP and one for video traffic. There is some “automatic-transmission” logic that shifts data to the different VLANs based on whether the data was primarily multicast in the case of video or one of a few VoIP protocols in the case of VoIP.

The main problem with this is that this switch wouldn’t work in a “plug-and-play” manner with “edge” devices that use certain VLAN setups or QoS methods to assure video and VoIP quality-of-service. For example, most of the “n-boxes” (Livebox, Neufbox, Freebox, Bbox, etc) used by French “triple-play” service providers as network-Internet edges have one Ethernet port for video traffic and three Ethernet ports for regular traffic. These units would expect you to connect the IPTV box to the “video” Ethernet port and you may end up with QoS or installation difficulties if you used this switch with them.

Limitations with this class of switch

For these switches to become easier to implement in a home or small-business network, there would have to be standards that allow an “edge” device to communicate its QoS and VLAN needs to these switches. This may be important if the “edge” device is managed by the service provider or is part of the provisioning chain that a service provider uses.

This may also include the flexible installation and “at-will” relocation of devices like VoIP handsets or IPTV devices as well as the support for multiple devices of this type across an Ethernet backbone. It also includes the support of multiple cascaded switches such as “regional” switches in other parts of the building or other buildings.

Other benefits to take note of

One bonus that I like about this switch is that it has offered 802.3af-compliant Power-Over-Ethernet across all Ethernet ports which allows the Ethernet cable to be a power cable as well as a data cable.This technology, which I will cover in a separate article on this site, has been pitched at business networks as being suitable for powering Wi-Fi access points, VoIP telephone handsets and IP-based surveillance cameras with one cable and from one point. Infact, NETGEAR have released an 8-port “regional” smart switch that has similar QoS and VLAN functionality but can be powered from this switch or other standards-based Power-Over-Ethernet networks.

Another feature that also appealed to me about this switch is that a unit of this price was equipped with optical-fibre LAN connectivity which can reduce the cost of using optical-fibre as a high-reliability long-distance link between buildings, especially on large properties. 

Conclusion

This is another example of NETGEAR offering technology that is deemed “large business” at prices that home users and small business can afford.

thinkbroadband :: Fibre broadband is coming to Broughton, near Huntingdon

From the horse’s mouth

Vtesse web site

My comments

Previously, I have commented on Vtesse setting up a fibre-to-the-cabinet next-generation broadband Internet service servicing two villages in Hertfordshire. This was based on underground deployment of the necessary fibre-optic links to the cabinets and VDSL2 copper links via “sub-loop” unbundling between these cabinets and the customers’ premises.

Now Broughton, a small country hamlet located near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, has moved towards next-generation broadband with the help of the same company. This has been done with two differences – one using FTTH technology which may be known as “fibre-to-the-premises” technology. The other involves the use of overhead poles used for electricity distribution and telephone service in this area to support the fibre-optic cables.

Through the planning stages of this development, issues have been raised about ownership and control of infrastructure like poles or ducts used for providing electricity, telecommunications or other services and whether competing service providers should have access to this infrastructure if an established service provider set it up in the first place. Issues that could be raised include right of access by the competing service-provider’s technicians and whether a competing service provider’s technicians have access to the lead-in wiring on a customer’s private property up to the point of demarcation where the wiring becomes under customer control.

Another issue worth raising is whether an FTTH setup is more likely to suit larger country properties where the main house is set back further from the road and whether it will suit larger country estates that have many individual-customer households yet remain as a cost-effective next-generation broadband-delivery method.

At least what I am pleased about is that there is action being taken to bring rural Internet access out of the back-waters.

At the moment, it has been mainly deployed by Apple in their recent-issue Macintosh computers and monitors and I have known that the iMac all-in-one computers have the ability to work as a DisplayPort monitor. Now, other manufacturers are releasing laptop and desktop computers as well as aftermarket graphics cards equipped with this connection in to their model lineups. This is also being augmented with a trickle of monitors and “business” projectors that come with this connection and this trickle will turn in to a flood as this connector comes down the model lineups.

Improvements

Small-size connector

There is a standard connector that is similar to a USB plug for applications where space doesn’t matter like display cards or most regular monitor and projector designs. This connector also has a “latching” design that allows for high-reliability connections in applications where this is desired.

Then there was a “MiniDisplayPort” connector that is half the size of this connector and is intended for applications where space is limited like laptop computers, sleek monitors and ultra-low-profile computer housings. This is actually the standard being implemented by Apple in their current-issue Macintosh platform hardware.

Single pipe

This standard, like the SCART and HDMI video-connection standards, allows for a single pipe for high-resolution video, digital audio and bi-directional communications. Some applications like multi-function monitors with integrated sound, Webcams and USB hubs; touchscreen displays and projectors with integrated cursor-control functionality will benefit from this functionality because there is only one cable needed between the host device and the display.

The latest version (1.2) of this standard also allows for multi-display setups from one connection on the host, whether as a daisy-chain or in a “hub and spoke” manner. This then allows for simplifying multi-monitor display arrangements or monitor / projector setups.

It is also worth knowing that the DisplayPort standard also allows for IP-based network connectivity between the host and the display, which could benefit those displays that have some form of network functionality.

Increased performance

High-resolution, High colour depth (digital photo and video)

Increased distance between host and display

The distance between the host device and the display has been increased to 15 metres without the need for repeaters or amplifiers. This would benefit large video-display setups where the display computer would need to be away from the display screen or projector unit, such as meeting rooms, churches, cinemas and the like.

Adaptors available for legacy displays

If you buy a DisplayPort-equipped computer or retrofit your desktop computer with a DisplayPort-equipped video card, you can still connect your computer or video card to your existing monitor. This is feasible through the availability of DisplayPort – VGA / DVI / HDMI adaptors.

Issues to be careful of

Use of DisplayPort – HDMI adaptors

If you want full proper HDMI operation such as “single-pipe audio” with a DisplayPort-HDMI adaptor, you will need to make sure that the DisplayPort host computer is capable of DP++ behaviour. This is to ensure that the proper logic is going to occur between the host device and the HDMI display setup which may include a separate HDMI “sink” device for sound like a home-theatre receiver.

DisplayPort 1.2 multi-display setups

A DisplayPort setup which is established in a daisy-chain fashion requires a DP 1.2 host at the head of the chain and DP 1.2 monitors down the chain, but a DP 1.1a monitor can be used as the last display in the chain. Alternatively, DP 1.1a monitors can be used as the “spokes” displays in a DP 1.2 setup if they are connected directly to the hub.

It is also worth knowing that the DisplayPort 1.2 multi-monitor setups support “multi-streaming” with displays showing different images from one host. This can suit most multi-display applications such as editing environments, “extra-wide desktops” or “operator screens” for projector setups where each monitor must have different video.

What to look for

If you want to make sure that your system can support the display requirements of now and the future, make sure that the display subsystem can support DisplayPort 1.2 with DP++ functionality. This can cater for multi-screen displays, the current crop of HDMI-equipped display and audio hardware amongst other things.

Whenever you buy or specify a DisplayPort monitor for a multi-screen display or as an “operator screen” for your DisplayPort projector, make sure that it supports at least DisplayPort 1.2. You can get by with a DisplayPort 1.1a monitor or projector at the end of a “daisy-chain” setup on as a “spoke” from a hub-based setup with a DisplayPort 1.2 hub.

Conclusion

Once you are aware of the caveats outlined above when buying or specifying DisplayPort hardware, you can be sure that you can benefit from the DisplayPort standard offers.

thinkbroadband :: Vtesse Broadband bring next-generation broadband to Hertfordshire

From the horse’s mouth

Vtesse Broadband – press releases

My comments

The initiative has been taken again to establish full broadband service in the UK countryside. This time, two villages in Hertfordshire, north of London, are equipped with fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband with sub-loop unbundling. The villages, Birch Green and Hertingfordbury, are located too far from the local telephone exchange for guaranteed high-speed ADSL broadband Internet service, so Vtesse have established a fibre-optic backbone for both of the villages and set up the cabinets there.

Another step that has been taken is to have customer feedback to determine where the demand is and where there is poor coverage. The network has been made future-proof so that they can provide fibre-to-the-premises service when the time comes to provide that level of service.

I had a look at the Vtesse website and was impressed with the network-Internet “edge” router that customers would be supplied with as standard. It is a Comtrend ADSL2/VDSL2 wireless modem router that doesn’t just work with 802.11g like most provider-supplied equipment does. Instead, this unit can work with 802.11n Wi-Fi network segments

Again, what I am so pleased about is that this is an example of small companies in the UK have taken the initiative to provide full-ADSL-quality to “next-generation” broadband to the “backwaters” of that country. This then puts farmers and small businesses in those towns on a competitive level with those that have proper broadband Internet service and with the big business operators.

Internet for all, declares Finland | The Age Technology (Australia)

Finland the first country in the world to make broadband access a legal right | Engadget

Is Broadband a Basic Right? Finland Says Yes! | GigaOM

My comments

Previously, I had written a post on this blog about Finland proposing to establish universal access to broadband Internet with a minimum speed of 1Mbps as a basic right. This was in response to the usual blogosphere comments about a legal right to download BitTorrents of movies and similar content in that country when this news was initially broken, and I was stating it as a preparation ground for IP-based video services, VoIP telephony and the ability to use the Internet to do business competitively.

Now this goal has become real with the Finnish government with them establishing certain Internet providers as “universal service providers” who have to provide the service for 30-40€ / month. Another issue that hasn’t been raised in the press coverage is how Finland will finance this universal-service obligation.

This is whether through:

• spending by the government out of the country’s annual budget
• a levy on telecommunications or Internet services (current practice in the US for the universal telephone service)
• annexing the TV-licence or similar audiovisual-service fee used to fund the public broadcast service (UK’s proposed solution) or
• simply letting the universal-service providers charge more for discretionary services (current practice in Australia with Telstra).

One of the articles was also looking at idea of the US adopting a similar “bill-of-rights” method for protecting the standard of Internet service in that country. This is even though there is a lawsuit filed by Comcast against the FCC that is currently in progress concerning Net neutrality and the right if the state to have their hand in the provision of Internet service.

What I see of this is that Finland has led the pack by being the first country to write in their law books that broadband Internet be provided as a universal service in a similar manner to mains electricity or the telephone service. It will be interesting to see who will be the next country to take tbis step seriously.

Fujitsu Lifebook TH700 brings convertible tablet magic at a more affordable price — Engadget

My comments

I had previously mentioned in this blog about a “netvertible” computer design which is a netbook with a touch screen that swivels, being considered an affordable Windows-based alternative to the Apple iPad.

Just lately, Fujitsu have upped the ante with a convertible subnotebook / ultraportable computer that has a “convertible” touchscreen design and have pitched it at a more affordable price. This is showing that the convertible touchscreen is appearing in the netbook and subnotebook / ultraportable classes of Windows-based portable computers which represent affordable implementations of this technology and as the cost to integrate a touchscreen into a laptop-class computer reduces, more of the computers in this class will end up with a swivel-head “convertible” design for a significantly-reduced premium.

Now, the only step that needs to happen for them to convincingly make Apple take notice would be to see e-publishing platforms that are used with the iPad be available for the Windows 7 platform. This is so that publishers can achieve the goal of “e-books”, “e-newspapers” and similar publications in a “design once, view anywhere” manner with their rights protected.

As a blog writer, I would like to see a heterogenous environment exist for tablet-based e-publishing that allows for innovation, competition and affordably-priced user-improvable equipment.

Cisco Unleashes Cius iPad Killer For Business Users | SmallNetBuilder

Cisco unveils Cius Android tablet with HD video capabilities | Engadget

Cisco uncloaks Android video tablet for suits | The Register (UK)

From the horse’s mouth

Press Release

Product Page (PDF brochure)

My comments

There have been a few features that impressed me about the Cisco Cius Android tablet judging from the news articles that I have read. One was that the tablet was able to work as a fully-fledged Android tablet with access to the Android Marketplace in a manner that makes it compete with the Apple iPad. The other one was that Cisco had taken a different market – the business user – and used the Android platform to make a tablet-style computer that fits the market.

This has then allowed Cisco to develop a hardware product that can offer the necessary functionality by adding on microphones, video cameras, an interface to a speakerphone / handset dock amongst other things. They could easily take this unit further with concepts like the “next-generation home phone” or simply make a competing tablet MID based on Android under the Linksys consumer brand.

This can also lead to a Cius tablet having a longer service life beyond the business because of its ability to benefit from the Android Marketplace which could yield many consumer-focused applications like Android ports of applications like Skype or may iPhone apps.

This review unit’s colour scheme reminded me of a similar colour scheme used by Electrolux on a vacuum cleaner sold on the Australian market in the early 1970s where the unit was this same orange colour with black trim.

VAIO alongside woman's wallet

The computer itself

Because the computer is intended as a personal portable computer that is intended to be small and run for a long time on batteries, the specification set will be very minimal, alongside that of a low-end netbook.

Processor and RAM

Like other netbooks, the VAIO P-Series computer is based around the Intel Atom processor which is pitched at this class of computer. It works on 2Gb of RAM with some being used for display memory.

Display

The display is powered by an Intel Graphics chipset and appears on an 8” widescreen LCD display. This can be a limitation for any long-term computing activity due to the way regular-sized fonts come up on this display. It will then require the user to adjust the “dots-per-inch” setting in the Display menu in Windows Control Panel. You may alos have to use Windows Magnifier and / or reduce the number of toolbars running in Web browsers and similar applications.

Keyboard and pointer control

The keyboard uses a “chiclet” style and may look similar to some of the “pocket computers” of the early 1980s. The unit also uses a “thumb-stick” mouse similar to what has been commonly used on IBM / Lenovo laptops with the primary and secondary “click” buttons under the spacebar.

Secondary storage

The VAIO uses a 64Gb solid-state drive which is based on flash-memory technology as its primary secondary-storage space but there is a memory card reader that works with SDHC and Memory Stick cards available for removeable storage.

Connectivity

There is wireless connectivity for 802.11g/n Wi-Fi networks as well as Bluetooth peripherals, which would appeal to this computer’s user base.

Peripheral connectivity is limited to two USB sockets (which you may have to use one of for a 3G wireless-broadband modem) as well as a headphone socket for audio playback applications. There is a dongle that connects to a special I/O connector which provides for connection to Ethernet networks or VGA displays.

I/O adaptor dongle for Ethernet or VGA connections

Observations

During the review period, the woman of the house had shown some interest in this computer because of the orange housing and had wanted to wish-list it to her husband. She also had use of the machine to type up a test document and browse her Web-based email account and found that it can be cramped but was enamoured about it as a “handbag companion PC”.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

One main point of improvement that could be provided for is the default use of a desktop setup that allows for readability on this display. The computer could also benefit from being provided with an integrated 3G wireless-broadband modem with software mobile-phone functionality, which could make it attractive to mobile-phone carriers to sell at a subsidised price with a 3G service plan.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

The small display and the large price tag may put this machine out of the reach of most people. But some people who want a handbag-sized computer with a proper keyboard for doing contact management, e-mail, Web browsing on a fully-functional browser and similar activities may appreciate this unit.

Stream Audio Outputted by Your PC to Any DLNA/UPnP Compliant Device via Jamcast | eHomeUpgrade

Direct Link

Jamcast’s Web site: http://www.sdstechnologies.com/

Support Forums: http://www.sdstechnologies.com/Forum/

My comments

Previously, there have been some computer sound-reproduction setups which comprise a special “virtual-soundcard” program that is running on a computer and transmitting the data via a local-area network to a “network audio adaptor” connected to a sound system. The solutions, which came in the form of the Linksys WMB54G Wireless-G Music Bridge (Wi-Fi 802.11g solution) and the Devolo dLAN Audio Extender (HomePlug solution), capitalised on the idea of moving your computer’s sound to better speakers hooked up to a better amplifier that is part of your main music system. But these all required their own particular driver software for them to work properly.

Now Jamcast have come up with a UPnP AV / DLNA Media Server program that runs on the Windows platform which works in the same vein as these previous devices. But it has another trick up its sleeve beyond just being a regular media server. It can work with the UPnP AV / DLNA compatible media playback device as a “virtual soundcard” like these other devices that I had mentioned previously.

If you used a Windows XP box, you would have to set the device to work with a virtual “stereo mix” recording channel on a compliant soundcard so that all of the PC sound is handled by this software but a Windows Vista or 7 box can handle these setups better because of inherent support for an integrated “stereo mix” recording channel.

There may be some caveats with this kind of setup at the moment such as latency issues concerning game sounds or the ability to provide a discrete surround-sound feed to a surround-capable receiver. From what I hear of the discussion boards at Jamcast’s site, there were issues with “forcing” MP3 output to particular DLNA devices so that they pick up a recognised codec rather than FLAC. Another questions is whether you can have the virtual soundcard being fed wit the same audio stream as the computer’s local sound subsystem and if there is any latency issues with this setup.

Another idea that could be looked at as far as further development work goes would be to port the software over to the Apple Macintosh platform in order to open up that platform to more UPnP AV / DLNA server solutions.

This may yield further applications like use of audio content on a laptop via a sound system that is connected to a DLNA audio device to use with audio services that only work with PC-based software. A good idea for Jamcast to explore would be a “slimmed-down” version of this virtual-soundcard software that can be licensed out to other software developers to make use of DLNA devices as a “virtual sound card”. An example that could come in to its own are the party-hire jukeboxes like the SuperJuke that people hire for major birthday parties and similar events. Here, the music feed from these machines could be fed to DLNA-enabled endpoints on a home network as well as the machine’s local speakers.

What I am pleased about with this is that the UPnP AV / DLNA standards are being taken further to build more innovative hardware and software for the home or small-business network.

The Emergence of Social TV via ‘Check-in’ – The Good and Bad | eHomeUpgrade

My comments

The Web has become increasingly integrated with our TV-viewing habits, whether through the use of “official” or fan-generated Websites for particular shows or events or users using Facebook to post information about shows that they watch from a laptop or netbook while watching TV. Some of the “official” or fan-generated Websites have integrated bulletin boards were people who like the show can chat with each other regarding the show or particular characters / actors.

Recently, there have been various sites like www.epguides.com which provide comprehensive information on many TV serials. In some cases, these can help out with environments where a broadcaster may show some seasons or some episodes of a particular series or simply to know how “behind” an overseas broadcaster is on a TV serial compared to the show’s home country.

Now the social Web is being further integrated with the likes of Miso and Tunerfish which are like a social network based around favourite or currently-viewed TV shows. In some cases, these sites have some form of integration with the main social networks like Facebook.

This has been brought about through the ubiquity of the home network with the attendant arrival of IP-enabled TVs and set-top boxes as well as the popularisation of laptops, netbooks, MIDs and smartphones that are connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi wireless links.

The real issue nowadays is whether many of us are likely to use these sites and are likely to have the laptop, netbook or iPad on the coffee table and logged in to one of these sites while we watch our favourite TV shows? Also would the experience work better if the user interface for these services was integrated in to one of the new IP-capable TVs or set-top boxes like the upcoming Android TV platform?

Now this is showing that the TV and the Web are becoming not just competing media but complementary media in the age of the home network.

D-Link’s Xteme N DIR-685 All-In-One Router Gets DLNA Certification and Some Nifty New Features | eHomeUpgrade

Download link:

D-Link’s support website – DIR-685 downloads

My comments

I had previously mentioned the D-Link DIR-685 Wireless-N Broadband Router / Electronic Picture Frame in this site during my coverage of the CES 2009 show in January 2009. This warranted my attention because of a storage router that also worked as an electronic picture frame because of its colour LCD display.

This router also was part of the DLNA Media Network because it could become a DLNA media server for material held on a user-installed hard disk or an external USB-based storage device. But this functionality has been extended through the latest firmware update for it to become a control point in the DLNA Media Network as well as showing pictures held on other DLNA Media Servers on that same network.

By the same token, the screen can be controlled by other DLNA Media control points such as TwonkyManager or a control point integrated in a smartphone like Andromote (Android), PlugPlayer (iOS – iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch) or the one that part of most of the Nokia phones.

At the moment, the utility of this function is limited to digital images because there isn’t any sound-handling functionality in this router.

This could lead to ideas like a “two-box two-screen” network solution for visual merchandising consisting of this router and a Sony or Samsung DLNA-ready TV with images shown on both the router and the TV. Similarly, this device could be seen as another “screen” for pictures to appear in another area but sharing a common pool of pictures in the network.

Therefore this is another example of a common standard breeding product software innovation rather than an imitative design culture.

Windows PCs take New York | The Microsoft Blog

My comments

Last year, when Windows 7 and Apple MacOS X “Snow Leopard” came out, a lot more Windows-based laptops and “all-in-one” computers appeared that excelled on their aesthetics as well as their functionality. This has been reinforced with a few of the computers that have come my way for review on this site.

The Envy laptop (product review) has a laser-etched “filligree” pattern on the back of the computer’s lid and on the palm rest whereas the ProBook 4520s (product review) has a “brushed” florentine-bronze finish on those same places. Dell had used a “piano-black” gloss finish on the lid of two of the computers – the Studio 15 (product review) and the Inspiron 13z (product review) while their Mini 10 netbook (product review) had that “gloss-white” finish that was common with previous generations of Apple iPods and Macintosh products for the back of the computer.

If you, like me, are a regular viewer of “Top Gear” which is a very funny BBC TV car show which is pitched at the petrolheads and car enthusiasts amongst us , you may have seen the “Cool Wall” segment on this show (WikiPedia article). Here, there is a very large board that is divided up in to four segments – “Seriously Uncool”, “Uncool”, “Cool” and “Sub Zero”. Here, the Top Gear Boys (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May) place photos of various cars on this wall according to how cool they think these cars are. Some of us may have noticed a so-called “Super-Cool Fridge” which was a box shaped like a fridge where pictures of cars deemed to be “Super-Cool” went. The Top Gear Boys tended to vary the definition of “coolness” based on the car’s powertrain, body style or other factors, even on whether certain celebrities and high-profile individuals were driving it or not.

If you thought of a “Cool Wall” existing for laptop computers, it may have looked like this with all of the recent-issue Apple MacBook laptops being considered either “Sub-Zero” or in the “Super-Cool” fridge and all of the Windows-based laptops appearing on the “Uncool” side. This is because of the grey finish with that Apple logo glowing on the back of the computer. What is now happening is that the machines from HP, Dell, Acer, ASUS and Sony are now in a position to fill in most of the “Cool Wall”.

This latest crop of laptops that have been shown in the preview show detailed in the Windows PCs take New York article is now showing that more of these manufacturers are showing up with machines that can look as good as the Apple units. Similarly, there have been people who have used Windows-7-based computers to do creative work including music production and this has led to MacOS X “Snow Leopard” and Windows 7 ending up on an even footing as far as desktop computing is concerned.

Some Apple pundits may think that Apple moving away from the Motorola PowerPC processor platform to the Intel processor platform as well as integration of Microsoft technologies into MacOS X may have denied the Apple Macintosh platform its perceived  exclusivity and superiority over other platforms. This is even though Apple had licensed intellectual property from Microsoft ever since they used the Microsoft BASIC code for the Applesoft BASIC interpreter in the Apple II lineup of computers.

At least there is more activity underway with yielding a functionally and aesthetically level desktop-computing field between the two main players.

I am reviewing the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook which is the first computer of this class that I am able to review. It would be one of these machines that was considered the right machine to own during the heart of the Great Financial Crisis but still has a place in today’s home network as an auxiliary computer.

As with all Dell computers, you choose the specification for the computer when you order it through their Website and the specification that is available on the Website may differ from the one that I am reviewing. The base specification for this computer would cost AUD$449.but there are more expensive specifications available that primarily have the computer prepared for wireless broadband or an onboard TV tuner.

The netbook computer itself

The computer is finished in an “Apple-white” gloss finish on the outside and black around the keyboard and screen escutcheon. The gloss finish may still have the disadvantage of attracting fingermarks during regular use. There isn’t anything that can appear to damage good dining-room tables when the machine is placed on these tables.

My review sample is outfitted with the Intel Atom netbook processor and works with 1Gb of RAM, some of which is shared with the display memory.

The secondary storage is based around a 160Gb hard disk as single logical drive and an SD card slot as removeable storage. The computers that come through the Website will have 250Gb hard-disk space.rather than the 160Gb that is part of the test specification.

The graphics infrastructure is based around an Intel graphics chipset that is optimised for netbooks and yields a 1024×600 resolution on the 10” screen. The only external display connectivity available in this case is a VGA socket.

As well, there are three USB sockets – one on the right-hand side and two on the left-hand side.There is also an Ethernet connection for wired networks and the audio in-out jacks on the right hand side. For wireless connectivity, this unit supports Wi-Fi to 802.11g as well as Bluetooth wireless.

The operating system used in this test specification is the Windows XP Home Edition SP3 but computers that are available for sale come with Windows 7 Starter Edition. It may be still worth upgrading the operating system to Windows 7 Home Premium through an Anytime Upgrade pack if you want better network functionality.

Observations and Experiences

The keyboard is responsive but may appear cramped due to the small size of these computers. The touchpad is very small but works well for navigation. These are situations that are considered typical for computers in its class.

I had watched a few YouTube videos about IT and found that the computer is still good with downloaded video content. As well, I had run it through a round of an action-puzzle game on MiniClip which is a popular casual-game site, and the game was still very responsive. Obviously this wouldn’t be the kind of computer for playing the big-time games but would be good for casual games and similar use.

I haven’t worked out a battery “drain test” yet that is appropriate for computers of this class but as I was working on the computer which was running on batteries, I kept observing the battery meter as I used the computer even while I had McAfee do a virus scan in the background and Windows Update deploy the latest set of updates to XP, the computer doesn’t look like it goes tbattery quickly. I also made these observations with the computer under manufacturer-default conditions.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

I would place this computer as a unit that would be useful as a small-size auxiliary computer for travelling or use around the home such in the kitchen or “Facebooking” in front of the TV. It may work well as something with a keyboard for getting notes on to a file while out and about before you “finish” them on your main computer.

News articles

Ozmo’s WiFi PAN available Q4, is this the end of Bluetooth’s reign of terror? – Engadget

From the horse’s mouth

Ozmo Devices Announces Revolutionary Solution Powering World’s First Wi-Fi Mouse and Keyboard

Related Articles in this site

The Wi-Fi Personal Area Network is getting closer

Ultra-Low-Power Wireless Networking

My comments and questions

Previously I have covered the topic of WiFi technology being used as a “personal area network” for a computer, which comprises of peripheral devices like mice and keyboards communicating to a particular computer via the WiFi technology. rather than that technology being used to transfer data between computers and other devices in a local area network. What has happened is that Ozmo have come up with a real chipset for use in these devices that can use this medium as well as run for a  long time on batteries. At the same time, Ozmo had built reference designs of wireless mice and keyboards that use this technology to communicate with their host devices.

One main question that I have about Ozmo’s effort is whether the same technology can be applied to devices that link directly to a Wi-Fi local area network’s access point rather than a particular computer? One main application that I see here with this technology would be Wi-Fi as a sensor / control network medium with devices like those that Ekahau had made as part of their Wi-Fi-driven real-time location technology, such as the pager tag which I had talked about in this site previously. Another application would be Internet radios, Wi-Fi-connected speakers and similar multimedia terminals that would be able to work on batteries as well as digital cameras that can upload to network storage or Internet sites or present to DLNA terminals without a severe penalty on battery life.

Another issue would be for a dedicated-function device like a set-top box or games console to support this kind of technology, whether as part of integrated Wi-Fi LAN functionality or as a Wi-Fi PAN setup as an alternative to Bluetooth or infra-red as a way of connecting peripherals, especially control peripherals.

It would be very interesting to see what comes of this technology once the silicon becomes fully available.

I am reviewing the Compaq Presario CQ42 notebook computer which is pitched as an “entry-level” notebook computer. This kind of machine is expected to be used for most Web-browsing and email tasks, office tasks or basic multimedia playback but wouldn’t perform well for advanced media creation or heavy gaming. 

The laptop itself

The Compaq Presario is finished in a matte black housing that has a textured pattern on the top of the case and on the keyboard bezel. The display escutcheon is still the black edged type like most of the current crop of laptops and hides a Webcam for video conferencing.

Processor and RAM

This unit is based on an Intel Celeron dual-core processor, another of the processors in Intel’s Celeron “economy-class” processors. Even so, it is capable of providing “up-to-date” performance for most tasks.

It is provisioned with 2Gb RAM, some of which is being used for the display memory like what is accepted for most mainstream laptop computers.

Secondary Storage

The system’s main hard disk is 250Gb with a separate partition for system recovery data and another one for the HP-supplied software. For removeable storage, there is a LightScribe-capable DVD-RW burner and a memory card reader.

Graphics Subsystem

The graphics subsystem is based on Intel hardware and software and can use up to 797Mb of the system’s RAM. This is shown up through a LED-lit 14” LCD display. There is also the ability to connect an external display that uses either a VGA or HDMI connector to the system. Speaking of HDMI, there is support for HDMI digital audio but this comes alive when you connect the laptop to suitable monitor,  HDTV or home-theatre receiver and you would have to make sure that the Intel HDMI Audio driver is your sound device..

Networking and Connectivity

This computer can associate with 802.11g Wi-Fi networks and also has an Ethernet socket for Ethernet or HomePlug network segments. Surprisingly for this day and age, it is equipped with a dial-up modem but this may be the only Internet access type for people who live out in the country.

You also have 3 USB sockets and separate sockets for the headphones and microphone. These aren’t provided as an independent sound feed for use with communications applications,

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard is a smooth flat plastic affair with a light and springy touch which may feel cheap, but it is still suitable for accurate touch-typing.  This is aided with tactile markers on the “F” and “J” keys so you can locate the home row very quickly and easily.

The trackpad is integrated into the palmrest in a manner that may be hard to find for people used to an obvious trackpad. Here, it is just a small area under the spacebar and identified with a accent near the keyboard and the selection buttons as a long bar close to the bottom edge of the keyboard.

Hidden touchpad below spacebar

Software complement

The system is delivered with Windows 7 Home Premium but HP have also supplied software like Norton desktop security software and Cyberlink multimedia software.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

One main limitation would be the hard disk space where the unit has a relatively small hard disk to what is available for most laptops. This may put a limitation on certain user classes like senior-secondary and tertiary students who will have a large amount of work but also run the machine as a jukebox. Here, I would look at providing a version with a 320Gb hard disk but with other features being the same, either as a “product refresh” or a separate model.

Another point of improvement could be to provide wired Ethernet as a Gigabit connection especially as this will be the standard for equipment that is part of “next-generation” broadband.

Other than that, it has the features that would be expected by someone buying a laptop on a budget.

Use experience

I ran a “DVD run-down” test to identify how long the battery would last under pressure and had found that the battery would run for 2hours, 10 minutes with Wi-Fi on and 2 hours, 30 minutes without Wi-Fi on when playing a DVD. This was with me using the Cyberlink DVD player utility rather than Windows Media Player. The graphics have appeared to be smooth through the movie even for a low-end full-size laptop.

Placement

This computer can work best with Web browsing, basic word-processing and other office tasks. As far as multimedia and gaming is concerned, it would work well for most video playback tasks or non-demanding games , especially when on AC power.

Here, I would recommend it as a “first laptop” for secondary-school students, a not-so-good large-screen optical-drive-equipped alternative to a netbook that is used as a secondary laptop or as a large-screen document-friendly“portable computer” for a person who uses a desktop computer as a main computer.

It can also bee seen as a “budget alternative” to a secondhand laptop computer for people who need to “cut their teeth” on computing.

A few weeks ago, I had trouble with the WordPress content management system not showing up posts that I have submitted using Windows Live Writer and other programs rather than the program’s Web-based user interface. I have had to resort to “cutting and pasting” text from Windows Live Writer into WordPress’s “Add new post” data-entry form for those weeks until I had upgraded WordPress to 3.0 – the latest version.

Now I had done a test post which you may have received if you followed this blog through an RSS Webfeed, via email or on Facebook (whether you have me as a Facebook friend or have marked the HomeNetworking01.info Facebook Page as a fan). I had deleted the test post from the main homepage so it doesn’t show up in an awful light. I am sorry about this situation especially if it has cast the site in an amateurish light and this test was to prove that I can still edit offline and publish the articles online instantly or save them as a draft online so I can work on them across multiple computers.

You can still follow the site for new posts as an RSS Web feed, in your email Inbox or  on your Facebook Home Page.

Expect to see a lot more good-quality material including many reviews, feature articles and buyers’ guides to appear on this site soon,

With regards,

Simon Mackay

Accessibility and Usage Notes

The printer has a styling that can look very confusing especially when you see the press photos or see the unit at the shop that you buy it at. It has a large body with a door on the front which is the document output tray. This can be opened manually or the printer drops this open when it starts printing. The top of the unit has a bay which you may think documents for scanning, copying or faxing but this area is where the documents are ejected from after they pass through the automatic document feeder. When you load the automatic document feeder, you have to open the flap in the middle of the top of the unit.

Canon PIXMA MX-350 ready to operate

Don’t think that if you lift up under the control panel, you will get to the inside of the printer as if to replace the ink cartridges. Here, you expose the scanner’s glass surface where you would put bound documents to be scanned. When you change the ink cartridges, you have to open the document tray manually then reach in further to lift the lid for the print mechanism. Here, this printer requires you to pull out a stay to keep the lid open when you change the cartridges.

Network Setup and Usability

I have set this unit up with the Wi-Fi network and had found that when you enter the WPA-PSK key, you have to use a mixture of “SMS-style” and “pick-n-select” text entry methods. It can also support “push-to-connect” WPS routers which should make the connection experience much easier. It can also be connected to an Ethernet network if you value the reliability of a wired (Ethernet or HomePlug) network setup or it is located near the router.

As far as the Wi-Fi network is concerned, it is responsive to print or scan jobs sent over the Wi-Fi network even if the machine had gone to a low-power mode after a period of inactivity. This is unlike some HP Wi-Fi printers that I have reviewed which require you to fully power them up at their control panel so they announce their presence on a Wi-Fi network if they have been in low-power for a while.

You still have network access to printing, scanning and faxing functions, with the last one being in the form of a “print-to-fax” function from other network computers. 

Control panel

Functionality Notes

Walk-up Functions

Like most printers of this class, the “walk-up” scanning, faxing, copying and “print photos” are a button away. As well, the controls are laid out in a logical manner and the unit uses a bright display to help with job-specific configuration.

The menus on the control panel can be very trying to use especially if you use the wrong paper for a particular job. If the unit highlights an error with the paper type that you select for a particular job, it should then “move” you to the option concerning the paper that you select so you have the opportunity to change that option rather than throwing up the error message.

Faxing

The unit supports network-based as well as walk-up faxing for both colour and monochrome jobs but it doesn’t have functions that may be valuable for fax users. It supports user-defined “receive-to-memory” for noise-free operation at night or confidential document reception, but doesn’t support scheduled document transmission in any way.

Quick-forms

This printer supports a walk-up “template-print” function that works in a similar manner to the “Quick Forms” function on the HP Photosmart Premium Fax and other high-end HP consumer printers, where the printer can turn out pre-ruled stationery like graph paper, notebook paper or music manuscript paper. But this one has an improvement that will please the music composers and arrangers amongst us. Here, there is an option to print portrait-style manuscript sheets that have 12 staves rather than 10 which is important for work like “vocal + piano”, quartets or organ music.

The function could be improved on this machine with support for “landscape-oriented” options for some of the stationery like music paper. This function is available only through the unit’s Setup menu as “Template Print” rather than a dedicated button.

Reliability

I have run some large copy and print jobs through this printer and it is reliable enough to handle them. The ADF could handle a 20-sheet scan / copy / fax job properly and the printer can run the large jobs properly although you may have to remove the sheets from the output tray after every 50 or so sheets are printed.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

One main limitation that I have found with this printer is that it uses a single colour ink cartridge rather than separate cartridges for each of the colours. This is a glaring omission because most of the equivalent models that are provided by the competing manufacturers have separate cartridges for each of the colours and would place this model at a disadvantage. The PIXMA MX-870, which has duplex printing, has support for the separate colours and this issue affects how expensive it is to run the printer. If the separate ink cartridge was to be kept as a product differentiator, Canon could provide an aftermarket option kit where the printer could be upgraded by the consumer to work with separate inks at a later date.

Another limitation that I would like to see rectified would be that the printer lid is held open with a stay that the user doesn’t need to handle, whether to open or close.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

If this printer used separate ink cartridges for each of the colours, it could stand a chance of being a serious competitor to the HP Photosmart mid-range network-enabled printers and earn itself a rightful place as a multifunction printer option for home-office or small-business use.