Total Recall Doesn't Recall Totally

CAUTION: POSSIBLE SPOILERS (you've been warned)

Over the weekend I went to see the Colin Farrell-starring remake/reboot of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi hit, Total Recall. It was fun but I prefer the original - Cheezy as Ah-nold might be.

Really, the opening scene kinda lost it for me. It takes place at some point before they insert the "memory cap" and Melina is part of the scene. You quickly find out it's a "dream" but now we've been introduced to the female protagonist. For me, this spoiled the potential for any sort of "what is reality?" scenario. It also ruined any possibility of discovery as the character discovers.

The 1990 movie was an action movie with guns blazing and exploding fake heads but it also had a lot of character development. The resistance went beyond Melina and Kuato. You met and cared about, at least superficially, their friends, mutated by sub-standard habitat domes on Mars and forced to pay, literally, for the right to breathe. You understood what they were fighting for.

The update focuses only on four major and one minor character. You have Quaid/Hauser, Melina, Cohaagen, and Lori (the "wife"). Then you throw in the co-worker(/agent?), Harry. Everybody else is pretty much a plot device or NPC. Heck, about half the cast are security robots. I cared about Quaid, being the protagonist, could have easily dealt with Melina biting it and kept waiting for Ferrell to shoot Lori in the head and say, "consider that a divorce."

As for plot, the two stories diverge widely there. The 1990 version is set on Mars, same as the short story it's based on, and Quaid/Hauser has been convinced to fight against a tyrannical CEO of the company stripping Mars of its minerals. Conditions are reminiscent of how the coal companies used to run mines in the 1930's. Workers were purposely kept impoverished, lived in sub-standard living conditions, received almost no health care, and depended on the company for almost everything. Cohaagen runs Mars in much the same way but, as I stated before, the people literally count on him for the air they breathe.

The remake is more of a political struggle and takes place exclusively on Earth. Chemical warfare has made all but the United Federation of Brittain (the U.K.) and The Colony (Australia) uninhabitable. The two are connected by a tunnel bored through the earth. Travel is accomplished via "The Fall" and takes less than 20 minutes from station to station. Think of it like a giant bank vacuum tube.

The basic scenario is that the people of the UFB are relatively well off - clean streets, shiny buildings, etc. - and The Colony is impoverished and oppressed, comprised mostly of unskilled labor for the UFB. I never did quite figure out exactly what the resistance was resisting but Matthias, leader of the resistance, was being blamed by Cohaagen for various "terrorist attacks" in the UFB.

As the movie goes on the audience is informed that Colony residents are seen as a lower class but it's not really touched on as to why. Were they allied with the losing side in the war? Are they just poor and "dirty"? Is it a matter of national pride for the UFB to hate them? We don't know.

As it turns out, Cohaagen is carrying out the "terrorist" attacks himself in order to justify creating a larger army of his "synthetic" police force. In reality, Cohaagen despises The Colony and wants to invade it, wipe it off the face of the earth and replace the unskilled workforce with robots. We're not really told why. I mean, Cohaagen is an asshole, obviously, but we don't really get the full effect of his assholity (I can make up words if I want!) thus making the entire crux of the plot fall totally flat.

The action sequences were great - especially the car chase and the elevator jumping. The problem was that the movie relies on them to carry it. It's like the plot is a device to get to the next action sequence rather than the action sequences helping to advance the plot.

My recommendation: Wait for it to come out on cable or use a freebie sms code from Redbox.

Stream Your Stuff

Ever wished you could play a media file on your iPad or Android device that was stored on your home computer? Air Playit by Digiarty, the folks who bring you WinX DVD Ripper, will do just that.

I received Air Playit as a bundle with WinX DVD Ripper. I didn't think much of it at first because I don't do much streaming and it pretty much sat there on the desktop. Then, someone asked me to give it a try.

Air Playit consists of two components: The server that you install on your desktop/laptop (available for both PC and Mac) and the player that you install on your iOS or Android device. The server is very easy to set up. Once you have the connection established you tell it what folders to share (or you can import an iTunes playlist) and you're ready to rock!

The portable device setup is just as easy. You search for a computer - the one you just set up should appear as available - and add it to your list. Just tap it and you're connected. All of the shared playlists and folders will be right there for you to choose from. Don't worry about formats or anything because Air Playit takes care of all of that and can convert on the fly if necessary.

Other features include being able to download files to your device for offline playback, stream remotely over the internet (even via 3G or 4G!), web-browser access (I'm still working on getting that one to work), and it works as an offline video converter. The best feature of all? It's FREE! (my favorite four-letter word)

I have some of my wife's "chick flicks" stored on my PC. We haven't been very proactive in getting them copied to her laptop so last night I installed Air Playit HD on her iPad. In less than 5 minutes (including finding and downloading the player) I was playing one of her movies for her and she saw just how easy it was to find.

Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars. They put a lot of thought into the system to make it easy for anyone to use. The only two drawbacks I see are not being able to get the web server portion to work (and I'm a computer guy) and that there's no way to search or jump forward in a list. My movies folder shows 262 files. If I want to watch X-Men, I'm going to be swiping for a while.

iPhone WiFi Sync FAIL

My first "real" MP3 player was a 2nd Gen Microsoft Zune. I also have a Zune HD. Both of these devices have WiFi sync that works without a hitch so I was thrilled to hear that iOS 5 would include WiFi sync. When I first set it up it worked beautifully. Since then, however, it has been hit-and-miss with mostly a miss.

Fail number one: If you leave that checkbox enabled next to "Open iTunes when this iPhone is connected" you will A) drain your battery faster when you're on WiFi with the iTunes host and B) won't be able to make iTunes go away for more than a couple of minutes on the host. What happens is that as long as you're on the same network, these two keep a connection to each other as if you had the cable plugged in but weren't syncing. It causes the phone to constantly tell the host it's plugged in, thus actively using WiFi and draining the battery, and causes iTunes to re-open every couple of minutes because the phone has been "plugged in." The Zune software can distinguish between a wireless and wired connection and only auto-launches on a wired connection. On the Zune, if you want to keep the system available for WiFi sync it's easy enough to do because the Zune software isn't such a RESOURCE HOG as iTunes.

Fail number two: If I go into Settings > General > iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, most of the time the phone doesn't see the host as "online" and can't complete a sync. This occurs even if the aforementioned checkbox is left enabled.

What's the point? Why would I want to leave a feature enabled that rapidly drains my battery, annoys me on the host system and doesn't work most of the time? Apple, I would give you an F for Fail but you did make a good effort to enable the feature so I give you a D for Doesn't Work.

Note: I did not include the iPad in this rant because I sync my iPad with my laptop, which is off most of the time, and do not know if the functionality is similar.

Updating an iPhone 3Gs with iOS5 - Caveats And Cool Stuff

I generally read up on any major iOS updates and maybe even wait a few days to see if any problems arise (i.e. phones being 'bricked') but decided to just jump into the deep end on iOS5. I updated both my iPhone 3Gs and original iPad last night. For the most part the updates went smoothly but there are a few caveats you might want to know about.

When you update to iOS5, iTunes will completely back up your device, clear it, install the new base code, then restore your media files (music, movies, photos, etc.) but it does not restore your apps. Before you go into panic mode it is very easy to overcome this. Go to the device summary in iTunes and select Apps at the top. Make a minor change (move an app to a different page, uninstall an app, etc.) and click Apply. iTunes will faithfully replace all of your apps and folders just like they were before the update with the exception of whatever change you made to get it to allow the sync.

Unless...

At some point, possibly at the 4.3.whatever update, iTunes decided I no longer needed to sync my apps. I only noticed this change recently and had been intending to correct it but didn't want to lose some of my saved data that iTunes sternly warned me I would lose if I should enable this function. In my ignorance I did not enable App Sync prior to updating my iPhone and, therefore, it later showed only the default apps and folders that happened to contain default apps from my previous customizations in the greyed-out graphic. I was able to enable and apply the app sync and get all of my apps pushed back to the phone... in random order... without the benefit of folders. I've been spending my time between calls today getting things back in order.

Now, about the update itself.

My absolute, hands down, no discussion favorite new feature is the ability to select alert tones. I suppose you could call this more of an unlocked feature that has been present on every other smart phone before or since the iPhone was introduced four years ago but I'm still thrilled they enabled it. You can also see your ringtones as an option but they likely won't work (read on). Through a little research I learned how to make custom tones. It's the same process as creating a ringtone but it has to be less than 15 seconds long.

There are several other updates that you can read about in detail on other sites but I'm going to highlight some of the ones I like. The notifications screen is cool (swipe down on a home screen to see it) and it's nice that you can now flag mail but these aren't barn burners.

I have had a couple of Microsoft Zune devices and they've had WiFi sync since day one. Given that the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch have had WiFi since their respective introductions it's nice to see this come to iOS. It's a very handy feature.

iMessage is a nice way to stick it to the evil empire of your service provider. It allows you to send an SMS directly to another iOS5 device. If you have unlimited texting I suppose this doesn't really matter.

iCloud is a nice comfort. It can store your music, photos, documents, contacts and, if you want, device backups. It will be nice to sync contacts and documents between devices. With iCloud you get 5GB on a free account. The cool thing about that is your purchased music, apps, books, and TV shows, as well as your Photo Stream, don’t count against your free storage.

Photo Stream is an iCloud feature that I have decided to turn off. Every new picture you take is automatically uploaded to your iCloud for 30 days up to a maximum of 1,000 pictures. It allows you to sync photos seemlesly between iOS devices.

At first blush this seems really good but consider this: It's all or nothing. Every. Single. Picture. you take ends up in the photo stream. It doesn't matter if you're grabbing a Kodak moment or sexting, it gets pushed to the cloud. I have found no way to delete photos. If you turn photo stream off it will delete all of the photo stream photos from your device but they're still in the cloud (for 30 days, at least). I have also found no way to send photos to the stream from the camera roll nor have I found a way to view (AKA share) photos via the web or other means. Nope, not mature enough and has too many holes in it. It stays off.

There are a couple of features missing from the 3Gs but not much. Safari is supposed to have tabbed browsing now but they aren't present on the 3Gs. There is also simple photo editing in the camera app that is supposedly missing but I saw it in the PhotoStream and Camera roll.

Here are a few things I noticed about some of the new features that are not necessarily clear.

WiFi sync has to be turned on in iTunes. I was wondering why it wouldn't work last night and found the setting this morning. Plug in your device then highlight it on the left side of the iTunes window. Near the bottom of the summary tab you will see a selection that reads ‘Sync over Wi-Fi connection.' Check it and you should be good to go (haven't had a chance to test it, though).

I noticed another setting this morning that I haven't had a chance to investigate. It looks like you can sync (maybe it was backup?) to iCloud *OR* to the local computer but not both. I'll update once I get more info.

The new reminders function/app is supposed to have location-based capabilities. That ability does not seem to be present on my 3Gs. I'll have to look deeper into that as well.

It appears that the NewsStand cannot be placed in a folder. I have tried and the folder keeps running away no matter how hard I try.

NOTE: I was going to try out iMessage and my contacts were GONE!! Luckily I located a fix at http://www.seangw.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/10/ios-5-upgrade-lost-my-contacts/

That's my experience so far. I'll let you know if I run into anything else worthy of note.

Oh, one more thing (yeah, kinda on purpose). Before you update, be sure you backup your device and transfer purchases... just in case.

Why I Still Hate iTunes

I admit it. I drank the Kool-Aid™. I didn't just sip it, either. I took huge gulps. I have more products in my house that start with an i than I ever thought I would. The only one I really don't like, though, is the piece that, in the darkness, binds them: iTunes™.

iTunes is up to version 10 point something and it still, in many ways, sucks. I realize they give it away but Microsoft gives away the Zune software, too, and it puts iTunes to shame. It's put iTunes to shame from day one. So, what is it about iTunes that's so horrible? Let me count the ways...

1. It's a resource hog. At least it is on the PC. For as much as Steve Jobs complains about the resource usage of Flash™, iTunes is pretty bad in this department. The only difference is that it sucks resources only while its running. It doesn't slow down the PC just because.
   
2. It doesn't track folders. If I add music to my collection I have to manually add the track(s) or rescan the folder(s) to get them to show up in my collection. What's up with that? How hard would it be for me to tell iTunes which folders to keep an eye on and have it automatically add new content? It can't be too hard. Microsoft figured it out. (I should note that I do not let iTunes manage my collection. I'm picky about my naming scheme and "01 title.mp3" isn't it.)
   
3. It changes the title in the catalog from "title" to "artist - title" and creates a duplicate entry. Why? Why doesn't it just read the ID3 tag and leave it at that? Where is it getting that information to combine it, anyway?
   
4. It's extremely easy to duplicate tracks on your device and unnecessarily take up space. If you've ever browsed your iDevice you'll notice that the audio tracks are not named in any way you can recognize. iTunes and iOS, apparently, work some sort of file name voodoo and your tracks end up in an indecipherable code. The way around this, from what I've read, is to manage your device through playlists. I got news, it's still easy to duplicate tracks.

For all its iterations and all its bells and whistles, iTunes can still be very cumbersome to use. Hey, Apple. Why don't you study the Zune software and alternative music management software like MediaMonkey and put some of the conveniences of those products into iTunes. This may be a gilded cage I voluntarily climbed into but it could still use a little polish here and there.

UPDATE: I've just added #5 - "iTunes has stopped updating this podcast because you haven't listened to any episodes recently..." What the hell? Why don't you let ME decide when you should stop updating the podcast, you dictatorial bastard.

Review Of A Cheap iPad Case

After much searching and obsessing and agonizing I finally broke down and just ordered an iPad case/cover. I found one on eBay (from seller Gadgettown) that seemed to fit all my criteria. I was looking for something leather (preferably padded) that held the iPad securely, had a closure of some sort, and would function as a stand. I paid $12 for it.

I had read several reviews of various styles and makes of these inexpensive cases and they all pretty much came up the same. Even some of the not-so-inexpensive cases garnered similar ratings. Some loved them, some hated them, some thought they would wear easily and many many reviews talked about the smell of the case.

When mine arrived today I was eager to open the package. At first blush I liked it. The case is lightly padded so as to provide a modicum of protection but not so heavily padded that it is imposing. The "leather" (I have no idea how to tell if it's real) has a nice texture and the interior is lined with a sued-like fabric. The lining isn't luxurious but it's soft enough that I wouldn't worry about scratching up the device. The construction is good enough that it should last me a while and even if it only lasts six months it's cheap enough that I'll just buy another one. As for the smell, go to your local office supply store and sniff a leather portfolio - that's what it smells like (I would advise making sure nobody's looking before smelling the merchandise).

Here's what the case looks like: (click any photo for a larger view)

The strap uses a magnetic snap closure and the back has a tab for the stand feature. The tab is also held by a magnet so it won't flap loose over time (nice touch!).

You'll notice the Apple-case-like crease on the front. This allows this heavier case to operate as a viewing or typing stand.

If you look at the way the cover folds you'll see that it would tend to lean backward when set as a viewing stand which would make it unstable. When I first tried it, the iPad would not stand up. I had to manipulate the main hinge some and place it very carefully to get it to work. My hope is that the fold-y bits will loosen up and self-correct this problem.

Unlike many cases, the iPad slides in from the top

A small strap with a regular snap closure keeps the device from sliding out. You can see it in the picture above as well as in the picture of the back of the case.

The surround allows ample room for all ports and switches

Pros: Versatile case, solid-feeling construction, good balance between ruggedness and lightness, inexpensive.

Cons: May wear quicker than more expensive cases, won't stand on its own out of the box.

The Bottom Line: This case is a good choice for those looking for a case with versatility, is constructed of leather (or close enough), and provides good balance between protection and lightness. Though the construction and materials may not be top of the line, the price makes it worth the risk it won't last.

Here's To A "Spiffy" New Year

2010 has not been a fantastic year for me. It has also not been a terrible year for me. A FaceBook friend said 2011 was going to be "spiffy" so I plan to make sure that it is. (is there a resolution in there somewhere?)

My blogging in 2010 was considerably less than previous years but, surprisingly, I find myself with several ideas and updates running through my head as the new year dawns. I will present them in no particular order since each one finds its way to the front of the line in random and recurring order. Some will be, I hope, eloquent and profound. Others will be random and scattered. Most will probably be the latter.

I will start with my wrist.

Now, see, the job just jumped to the front of the line. It will have to wait since I already mentioned my wrist. I only mention it now to ensure that I come back and give it its turn.

I have had minor problems with my wrists for the last 3-4 years. I'm pretty sure it is the beginnings of Carpal Tunnel or some other repetitive motion injury. It has never been bad enough to go to the doctor and usually only lasts a couple of days.

Shortly after starting the new job I ran down the battery in my car. Someone came along and helped me out with a jump start but I had to push the car out of the parking space so we could access both batteries. After that, my right wrist started hurting bad enough and long enough that I went and bought a wrist brace. I wore it, iced my wrist and took Aleve for about a week and everything settled down.

This week my wrist started hurting again. A lot. I'm wearing the brace again but I really need to get an ergonomic keyboard at work (more on that later - maybe). I think typing on the iPad aggravated it. I will also mention it to my doctor when I see him on Tuesday.

Now for the job. I have read the company social media policy and can, in fact, tell you I am working as an Enterprise Technical Support Analyst for Dell in Oklahoma City. I do phone support for tape backup units of all shapes and sizes. I must, however, tell you that the statements I make and opinions I express do not necessarily reflect those of my employer and the statements and opinions expressed by my employer do not necessarily reflect my own. As a friend of mine puts it: I do not speak for Dell and Dell does not speak for me.

I have been taking calls for about a month now. A lot of it is coming back to me. I sometimes get frustrated when something comes up that I have seen before or that I used to know and can't bring to mind the solution. As predicted, the most difficulty has been in (re-)learning procedures and using the new case management software. I am becoming more proficient every day.

The toughest part has to be the sales tool. technicians are now allowed to prepare quotes for and sell spare parts, warranty extensions, etc. Pretty much anything without a service tag. It's a good idea because I can now give out of warranty customers an answer to the question, "How much is that going to cost?" The problem is a) I am not a sales person and b) It doesn't come up very often. We are encouraged to do a bit of suggestive selling (i.e. I see your warranty is due to expire next month. Would you like me to help you with a warranty extension?) but we're not allowed to push. No means no. The good part is if we prepare a quote and the customer purchases off that quote we get the credit and the commission. The bad part is there is a reason I'm not in sales. Nobody has asked me to make a quota so I'm good with it. I like having the ability to help them all the way through the process.

I'm still loving the iPad. It is sort-of like a giant iPod touch but with more cowbell. I have paid for a couple of apps (one of them being a remote desktop app called SplashTop Remote) and have been hording free apps and paid apps that are temporarily free just like I did do with my iPhone.

The iPad has 3G capability so I can use the cellular network when WiFi isn't available. The problem is that since AT&T dropped their unlimited data plans across the board, I'm afraid to use that functionality for fear of getting raped on data usage charges going over my allotment. An iPad can eat up 250MB easily. I used 352MB on my iPhone last month (thank goodness they grandfathered my unlimited plan) and I don't really use it that much since leaving the last job.

With the iPad I also received a Camera Connection Kit. This is a set of two dongles. One of them has a USB connection on it, the other has an SD card slot. With the USB dongle you can direct-connect your digital camera or your iPhone and the SD slot is self-explanatory. Whichever way you go, the iPad automatically launches a built-in transfer app that allows you to transfer all the photos or to select specific photos to transfer. It is not without its limitations. When connecting the iPhone it will only pick up photos from the camera roll. It does not see any in the photo albums. (this also means that the dongle does not add a functional USB port to the iPad unless you know something I don't) When using the SD card the card apparently has to be formatted from a camera. The iPad does not react if you insert a card full of JPG files. Yet another Apple limitation that seems to have no rhyme or reason.

Speaking of the iPad (still), I have been on the hunt for an iPad case since I got it. When the wife bought hers she also bought one of the Apple cases. We then headed to Radio Shack where she bought a nice leather folio bundled with some other accessories. She used the leather folio for about a day then went back to the Apple case. I have been using the leather folio. This leather folio is actually quite nice. I can't tell you if it's genuine or synthetic leather but it is padded and well constructed. The inside has slots for papers, cards and other small, flat items. There is a leather tab/strap that slides into a slot to keep it closed.

There are a few reasons I have been looking for another case. First, this case does not function well as a stand. I use/wanted the iPad primarily to watch movies on my lunch break and propping it up, even with the strap inserted, I am constantly concerned about it tipping over forward or backward. There is also no "typing angle" available. Second is the way the iPad is held in. It is held in securely but not functionally. On the bottom are two formed, leather corner pieces. The right one partially covers the speaker but doesn't seem to affect the sound. The top is held in with two elastic straps.

From a manufacturing standpoint elastic straps are cheap, functional and easy to install/use. The problem is that they block key parts of the iPad. They always do, it's not just this case. The left strap all but covers the headphone jack and does cover the microphone. It can be pushed out of the way for headphone insertion but shouldn't need to be. The right strap covers the power button which is not a big deal since it can easily be actuated without moving the strap. The right strap also covers the mute switch (formerly the rotation lock switch). The strap has to be removed then replaced to actuate the switch. Sorry, this one's the deal breaker.

At first I thought I just wanted a leather version of the Apple case. These are plentiful on eBay in a variety of colors. Then I discovered something. If I'm sitting in my car (stationary, of course), I can fold the cover back over the top of my steering wheel and secure it in place using the leather strap. Connect it to the AUX audio input on my radio and I have in-car theater! (the photo also demonstrates the full reflective nature of the iPad screen)

This development necessitated a modification of my criteria. My new case needed to be leather, preferably padded, it could not use elastic straps to secure the device, it needed to have the capability to operate as a vertical stand as well as a typing stand, and it needed a closure of some sort to allow me to wheel-mount the iPad. You would think that wouldn't be hard to find. You would be wrong.

Some are WAY overpriced. Some are fun but don't fit the criteria. Some downright suck. Most don't make the cut because of stability issues when using as a stand, cheap materials, or poor quality control. I looked on Amazon. I looked on eBay. I read reviews. I just couldn't make a decision on one that would be right for me without going to the iPad Case Store and touching each one and examining the quality. Unfortunately, there is no iPad Case Store.

In the end, I pulled the trigger on a unit on eBay for $12.00. I figure that way I can see how well the design works for me but I'm not out much if the quality is lacking.

Okay... what else... Ah, Christmas in general.

On Christmas Eve we met my wife's side of the family for our traditional Christmas Eve Dinner at the Olive Garden. This tradition grew out of a desire not to spend my father-in-law's birthday (December 24) alone after his passing. For the last 5 years it has been a fun time of feasting, conversation and remembrance. There has been a lot of controversy on that side of the family over the last year but it was all put aside for the gathering.

On Christmas Day we drove to Kansas City to be with my family. From there we all went to St. Joseph, MO to my niece's house for Christmas Dinner. There was lots of laughter and loudness - just like it should be. It's always good to see my nephews as well. Each one of them thinks very differently from most people and their thoughts and interactions are often amusing to behold.

I, of course, brought my camera and took several pictures - including some group portraits. Using the Camera Connection Kit I uploaded them to my iPad and started showing people pictures of themselves. In short order someone else was holding my iPad with several others gathered around looking at all of the pictures. It was really cool to see.

Well, I've been sitting here for a couple of hours working on this and I think I (and you) have had quite enough. Here's wishing 2011 is as "spiffy" for you as I plan on mine being.

All My Movies - A Review

No, this is not a review of my entire movie collection. This is a review of a nifty piece of software called All My Movies by Bolide Software. From the publisher's web site:

All My Movies™ is a personal movie database and intended for those who are tired of managing their movie collection manually or using difficult-to-use software programs. It is an easy-to-use DVD catalog program. You can use it to catalogue your personal collection of video files (AVI, MKV and other) Blu-rays, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, etc... You do not need to type all movie details; All My Movies™ will download all the details from the internet movie database automatically!

In the past, I created my own movie collection database using Microsoft Access. I put a lot of work into it and created fields for directors and actors and made the database searchable by these fields as well as by title, genre, etc.

The database worked well for my purposes but had two major flaws. The first, and perhaps the most annoying, was that every time Access was updated I had to make corrections to my code. When the need for tweaks became so pervasive that it would be easier to rebuild the database from scratch I gave it up. The second problem was that all of the information had to be entered manually. I spent a lot of time with IMDB on one monitor and my database on the other.

The first problem I solved by ditching the project. The second problem is something that All My Movies handles very well. As it states in the description, "All My Movies™ will download all the details from the internet movie database automatically!" (upon request, it can also search Amazon, blu-ray.com and a few other databases)

The first time I encountered All My Movies was as a Giveaway of the Day. The site, giveawayoftheday.com, features one program every day that a publisher has allowed them to give away. Once the 24-hour period is up, the program won't install and/or won't activate. If you have a hard drive crash you had better hope the program comes around again. The format of the program and the data collected is very similar to what I had put together for myself. It even includes cover art. The best feature of All My Movies, however, is the automatic lookup. Not only can you search by title but also by UPC (there's even a batch mode!). Yep, just punch in the numbers from the UPC and it will find your movie(s).

This was still limiting. It took a fair amount of work to gather a few movies, type in a UPC number, and look up the movie (lather, rinse, repeat). Writing down several numbers was a little less cumbersome but still only put a small dent in cataloging my collection with a half a day's effort. I have found a way around this.

Using the Red Laser app on my iPhone (free) I scan several barcodes and capture the movies, boxed sets, or TV series. I then email the list to myself and when I click the link the resulting web page lists the UPC number that I can then copy and paste into All My Movies for searching. It would be quicker if it just mailed me a list of the codes or included them with the description but I'll take what I can get.

Other notable features of All My Movies include multiple database support, searches by title, director, actor, studio, year, and a whole host of other criteria. Add your own screen shots. Keep track of the movies you've actually watched or create a wishlist. You can even keep track of who you've loaned your movies to.

There are a whole host of reports and statistics you can review and you can even export your database to an HTML file and list your movie collection on the web or just share it with friends.

Summary: All My Movies is an easy-to-use and robust application for cataloging your movie collection. The only limitation I have found is with TV series and collections. It didn't handle the Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy Blu-ray set too well and you have to do a little bit of pruning for an individual season of a TV series. The price is a little steep at $44.95 for a single-user license but now that I've figured out how to use my iPhone to collect the UPC numbers I'm seriously considering shelling out the cash. If you want to try it out, there is a 30-day trial available for free.

Bolide software also publishes All My Books, and All My Software.

UPDATE: I discovered this morning that if you put Red Laser into multiple mode (there is a switch at the bottom of the scan screen) you end up with a list of UPC numbers... just what I was looking for.

It's All About The Accessories

I've been saying this for a long time but nobody seems to be listening to me. If you want to create a successful media device it comes down to one thing: ACCESSORIES.

Why is the iPod so popular? Is it because it reproduces music encoded at 128K into an MP3 file better than any other digital audio player ever made? Nope. Is it because its management software is feature-rich and creates a robust user experience? Not even close. Is it because it has a revolutionary user interface? Okay, I'll give Apple partial credit for that one but think of how easy it is to get the music out of that little device and into almost any piece of audio reproduction equipment.

The dock connector on the bottom of (virtually) every iPod ever made allows you to plug in or dock to a wide range of sound reproduction equipment and control interfaces. The Zune has a dock connector, too, and it works virtually the same as the one on the iPod (as far as the user is concerned). So, why isn't the Zune seriously competitive with the iPod? It plays music just as well. It plays videos just as well and in some cases even better (Zune HD). The Zune software is WAY ahead of iTunes for a user experience. So why isn't it doing better in the marketplace? I'll say it again: ACCESSORIES. The sheer volume and variety of speakers and docks and remotes and cases and interfaces (and applications, but they're not really an accessory) available for the iPod is phenomenal!

So, why am I bringing this up again? Apple has once more made the right move getting a new device to market. The iPad was only introduced a scant three weeks ago. It's not even available for purchase yet and won't be for another 6 to 8 weeks. But you can already but accessories for it on Amazon.com.

I'll repeat that.

The iPad was introduced twenty days ago, won't be available for purchase for another 40 to 70 days and you can already buy accessories for it. Do you want to have a successful media device in today's market? Get lots of accessories to market to compliment it. (getting agreements in place with content publishers wouldn't be a bad idea, either)

Nuke The Site From Orbit - It's The Only Way To Be Sure

This is another Windows 7 entry but this time, I'm not happy.

If you are considering doing an in-place upgrade (where you overwrite the old version and keep all your programs and data intact) from Windows Vista to Windows 7 DON'T DO IT. I'll repeat that. Do not bother trying to do an in-place upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7. It will only cause you stress and test your patience. Back up all your data, gather your program discs and do a clean or custom install as appropriate for your license.

I am testing Windows 7 at work before we start rolling it out to the general public. Normally, I never ever ever do an in-place upgrade. The last time I did was from Windows 95 to 98 and I've learned a lot since then. Basically, I just like to start with a clean slate. Just to see what an end-user may run into, I started an in-place upgrade on my desktop computer at work just before 11:00am.

Normally, an in-place upgrade is a much simpler upgrade. You run the installer, it replaces all of the operating system files, updates drivers as necessary, and leaves your data and programs alone. It generally takes only slightly less time than a basic clean install (just the OS, no programs or updates). Not so with Windows 7.

Microsoft has apparently changed the method they use for an upgrade. Based on the limited feedback I got from the installer and information I learned at the tech briefing, here is what I think happens. The installer copies and encapsulates your files and settings, including the registry. It then clears out the folders where it is going to install itself. Once that's done, it installs very similar to a clean install and, once done, puts your files and settings back where they belong. Easy, right? Apparently, not so much.

First of all, I had to uninstall several programs, including the ATI Catalyst Control Center and Windows Mobile Device Center before the installer would even start the actual installation process. You will want to uninstall your antivirus so it does not interfere with the installation. I managed to do that after fighting the agent for McAfee Enterprise that wanted to put it back every time I took it out.

Once I was underway, things seemed to go pretty smoothly but the installer did seem to be taking its own sweet time. When it got to the point of actually installing, it hung at 21% for quite a long time. The percentage finally started increasing just after noon but there are stories on the web of it sticking at that point for 8 to 12 hours.

When I got back from lunch it was putting my programs and settings back and finished up at about the 3 hour mark. The system rebooted, went through the startup procedures, then exclaimed that it was preparing Windows for the first use. After a bit of waiting, it presented me with the options for automatic updates (i.e. automatic, manual or none). My primary monitor was offline. My secondary monitor had the image. The mouse cursor was in the upper-left corner. The mouse wouldn't move. The keyboard wouldn't respond.

As any good technician will, I rebooted. It went through its dance again and tripped over its own feet at the exact same place. So, I tried safe mode. After much thinking, it rebooted.

When I came up into unsafe mode, it again locked up but the hard drive was still chugging away. Maybe it was doing something? Maybe it had to get to a point where it could respond to the mouse and keyboard. I decided to wait. It is now 4:00pm and I just shut it off. It's been sitting there doing basically nothing for over an hour. The monitor went into standby 15 minutes ago.

My co-worker was upgrading her work laptop. She started at about 2:00pm. She finished about 3:30pm without a hitch. Me? I'm going to have to boot to the install CD and start fresh on Monday morning. Good thing I backed up all my data first.

[Note for those of you who care: The system is a Dell Optiplex GX620 full tower with a dual core processor and was running Vista Business fairly well (though not great)]

Windows 7 - Round 2

I now have Windows 7 installed on my desktop computer. I have all of my standard software reinstalled and have all of my user folders redirected to the non-system partition. I'm ready to get to work.

My desktop is a 2GHz dual core E2180 with 4 gigs of RAM (3.12GB usable because it's 32 bit). I'm running an nVidia e-GeForce 8400GS with dual Dell P990 19" CRT monitors.

The system is running exponentially better than it ever did under Vista but I've had a bit of difficulty with the monitors. Windows 7 wants to put them at a native resolution of 1280 x 1024 at 32bit. I had both monitors running at 1600 x 1200 at 32bit under Vista but Win 7 wants to reduce them to 16 bit color if I push them to 16x12. I managed to setup a custom resolution of 16x12 @ 32bit for monitor #1 but monitor #2 will have none of that. Every time I try, it blacks out both screens until I reboot. I suppose I can live with it.

One aspect of Win 7 I have seen that I don't like is the welcome screen behavior. Every time it sleeps or hibernates it pulls up the welcome screen when you wake it up. This despite the setting for that behavior being unchecked on the screen saver settings. It's not so bad on my desktop where I use a password but I just can't understand it on my laptop where the profile does not have a password. Why do I have to go through the extra step of clicking an icon to get back to my desktop? I'm sure someone will figure that one out. In the mean time, it is again not a deal breaker.

I finally figured out how to re-enable the quick launch toolbar. I was getting upset that they took it out but they just shut it off. Most everything else is very Vista-like. A few settings groups have been split and a few settings have been buried deeper to keep people from accidentally fiddling. So far this is looking like the Vista that I wanted to like.

Windows 7 - The Way It Should Be

I installed the 32-bit Ultimate edition of Windows 7 on my laptop last night. The laptop is a Toshiba Satellite L35 series manufactured in 2006. It has a 1.6GHz Intel Celeron M CPU with 1.5GB or RAM.

It runs GREAT!

Startup time from power button to ready is about 2 minutes, 10 seconds. All programs launch quickly and there is no delay in switching windows, minimizing/restoring, etc. I am suitably impressed.

It's A Beautiful Thing

I spend my days fixing computers. I replace monitors, LCD panels, CD/DVD drives, motherboards and hard drives. When I replace a hard drive, or there is some major software malfunction, I reinstall Windows from the ground up.

Our organization is still primarily standardized on Windows XP. Even so, with each installation I find myself having to find another computer to download the driver for the network card. Once I have that installed, I have to install the drivers for the graphics card, the sound card, the chipset, and possibly several other components. It's a pain in the ass because all it does is take up my time. Even if I already have the drivers downloaded I still have to install them.

Yesterday, I went to a technical briefing for Windows 7. It gave me a lot of useful information about the tools that are available in and for Windows 7. In addition, I, and everyone else who attended, walked out with a complimentary copy of Windows 7 Ultimate edition.

As soon as I had it in my hands I was eager to update my primary desktop system. While I was at work today, I decided it might be a better idea to start on my laptop since it doesn't have as much data on it needing to be backed up, having recently been reloaded because of a hard drive upgrade. My laptop is a Toshiba L35 1.7GHz system with a gig and a half of RAM.

When I got home, I fired up the laptop and headed to the Toshiba support site to download Windows 7 drivers. All the necessary drivers were there but, according to documents on the site, Windows 7 installations are not supported for my unit.

So? I like a challenge.

Once I had all I needed and had transferred it to a flash drive, I popped in the DVD and rebooted. I ran through the installation of Windows 7 without a hitch. I was pleasantly surprised when, while it was still installing, it presented me with a list of wireless networks and asked which one I would like to designate as a preferred connection. In relatively short order and blessedly without any Microsoft propaganda cycling by on the screen, I arrived at my desktop.

The first thing I did was right-click on Computer in the start menu and choose Manage. I clicked on the device manager and saw that every single piece of hardware in my laptop had a driver. I saw the sum total of zero yellow triangles.

I wept with joy.

Zune HD Review

[AUTHORS NOTE: This is a tremendously long and in-depth review. I have tried to highlight what I feel are important and key phrases as well as break the review up into sections. Your comments are most appreciated.]

I received a 16GB Zune HD in the mail about a week ago. It was sent to me as a gift/compensation for creating a new opening for the Geek News Central Podcast. My first impression was that it was thin, light and sleek. I was excited for two reasons. First, it had enough capacity to carry as much content as I had put on my salvaged iPod (that's another story). Second, it is a Zune. I have really enjoyed the experience of my Zune 4Gig (which I coincidentally received from the same source) but I needed something with more space.

After turning it on, I quickly realized that some of the other reviews I read were accurate: The Zune HD is not a direct competitor to the iPod Touch. The Zune HD is a completely different experience. The only things the two devices have in common are that they both play digital media and they both have a touch screen interface.

If you want to read more of my first impressions, check out this post.

This will be an in-depth explanation and review of the major functions of the device. Scroll down to the summary section if you want to skip all the details.

Zune Desktop Software 4.0
Let's start this review with the Zune 4.0 desktop software. The Zune software has much the same look and feel as previous versions but there are two new features/functions that I really like.

First is the mini player. I don't generally use the Zune software for media playback and I don't generally play music directly from my computer but the mini player makes the playback experience much more unobtrusive. It's a bit like a mini Zune HD screen and allows you to shuffle all of your music or play Smart DJ playlists or pinned items. The Now Playing screen echoes the device display as well.

The Smart DJ feature is also a plus. It is much like the iTunes Genius Playlist feature that I like very much. Unlike the Genius, however, the Smart DJ is not configurable. You cannot specify how many songs or what length of time you want to fill the list and you cannot specify whether to pull only from your list or from the marketplace as well (it appears to pull only from your list). Plus, in examining the lists I just created to test it, I am not sure of its accuracy in selecting similar songs to the "key" song.

The second new feature I really like is the Mini-Player toolbar mode. I keep the Zune software open and running all the time so that podcasts are updated on a regular basis. I have a bargain-basement DSL connection so downloads aren't exactly speedy. Previous versions of the software would minimize to the taskbar as would any other program so I would constantly have this 2" wide tab on the left side of my taskbar that said "Zune." Now when you minimize the Zune software it becomes an additional toolbar with simple playback controls. Clicking on the Zune icon restores the software window. The best part of this is that the toolbar is positionable. It now sits unobtrusively on the right side of my taskbar and actually serves a purpose in that mode.

-- The Basics --

Physical Characteristics and Buttons
The Zune HD is 52.7 mm wide x 102.1 mm high x 8.9 mm thick and weighs a svelt 2.6 oz (74 grams). I measured it against my HTC Fuze/Touch Pro and it is approximately the same height and width.

On the top of the device is an on/off button. When pressed, it puts the device into a standby mode or simply turns off the screen if you are playing music. Pressing it again wakes it up. When it wakes up it displays a graphic/photo that you "push" up to the top of the screen to be able to interact with the device. This is designed to prevent accidental activation of any of the functions (more on that later). If you hold down the button for 3-4 seconds, the graphic covers the top half of the screen. If you "pull" it down to the bottom, the device turns off.

On the left side of the device at the top is the media button. The sole purpose of this button is to bring up the media controls of play/pause, prev/next and volume up/down. The only useful scenario for this is that it will bring up the controls over the standby graphic and you can operate them without having to "unlock" the device. On the bottom left side is a cryptic engraving that reads, "Hello from Seattle."

The bottom contains the standard Zune docking connector and what I have always thought was an oddly placed headphone jack. Placing the headphone jack at the top just seems more practical to me. There are no buttons or additional engravings on the right side.

The front face of the device is the 3.3" 480 x 272 OLED display with 16:9 aspect ratio. The screen is touch-sensitive and is the same technology (capacitive if I'm right) as the iPhone/iPod touch, meaning that you cannot use a stylus or gloves. And if the difficulties I have with my left thumb are any indication, callouses may interfere with functionality as well. Just below the screen is the home button which toggles between the main menu and the quick links (more on that later as well).

The Zune HD is light, compact and slim. The back is made of black (on the stock 16GB model) brushed aluminum. Combined with a beveled design (it slopes off to the sides), it gives it a very stylish look and keeps it from being a total fingerprint magnet.

The buttons are well placed and push easily. Because they are all flush, with the exception of the home button which is only slightly raised, it is difficult to push the accidentally. The screen is crisp, clear and bright. It literally wowed me when I first turned on the device (and that was just looking at the menu). It is very responsive to touch although, as mentioned, it seems to have difficulty with callouses. The only drawback, and I don't know how you would avoid this on a touch interface, is that it collects fingerprints that are problematic to photo and video viewing.

Setup and Sync
Most of the functions of the device do not work until you synchronize with the Zune software for the first time. There is a demo video loaded that you can play but that's about it. Loading the driver took a protracted amount of time under Windows Vista Ultimate and the first thing it wanted to do was update the software to version 4.1 before it would do anything else. Seriously? It sounds like someone didn't get their code changes in on time when the final version was rubber-stamped. Other than that, synchronization and interaction with the Zune software is similar to other Zune models.

Audio/Video Support
The Zune HD supports WMA, WMA Pro, WMA Lossless, AAC-LC, mp4, m4a & m4b w/o FairPlay DRM, and MP3 audio formats. Image support is limited to JPG and it supports WMV, MP4, M4V, H.264, DVR-MS video formats.

-- Zune Device Firmware --

Main Menu
When you first turn on the device, the initial home menu shows selections for Music, Videos, Pictures, Radio, Marketplace, Social and "More." Looking at this I immediately noticed that Podcasts was not among the selections. Once I loaded a podcast onto the device it thankfully appeared.

If the device is in standby or the screen has turned off, the device displays a default or user-selectable picture that you have to slide up to get to the menu. This supposedly stops accidental control activations but the way the hardware buttons are designed they are not easy to accidentally actuate so the picture seems to be more eye candy than anything else. This is further reinforced by the fact that the menu sits atop a black screen instead of a background graphic. Of course, the first thing I did was create a custom graphic supporting my college Alma Mater.

Pushing the home button on the main screen toggles between the menu and the quick links. You can also slide your finger left or right as appropriate. The quick links are a set of graphical shortcuts that include the item that is currently playing or paused, Pins (favorites), History (recently accessed), and New (recently added). I have found that they actually come in handy.

One thing they seem to have regressed in the software is that the clock and battery status are not persistently visible and this is not configurable. The way the navigation works, you touch a top portion of the screen that shows an enlarged portion of the menu choice or graphic you selected to move backward through the system. As such I can understand why these items are not visible everywhere but why can't they be shown at the top of the main menu? Plus, the only place the clock shows up is over the "standby" graphic. Why bother?

Music
Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the touch interface. It has certain shortcomings that, to me, make the device more complicated to operate. I was honestly contemplating selling the Zune HD on eBay and buying a 120GB 2nd gen. Zune until I discovered two very cool features just last night.

When you are browsing your music collection by artist you are taken to a screen that lists all the albums you have for that artist on the device. You also have an option of viewing the marketplace discography at the bottom of the list. The discography list appears whether or not tracks are available for purchase (i.e. The Beatles) and it doesn't always get the tracks right. While I was writing this, for instance, I brought up the track list (requires wifi connection) for "The Best of 38 Special" and they're all Christmas Songs. Presumably, you can purchase the tracks right from the device itself. If the tracks are not available for purchase, the titles are grayed out and it says "This item is not available at Zune Marketplace" above the list.

But wait. There's more. Much more. When identifiable and available, the Zune HD downloads additional information about the artists. You will notice that there is a picture of the artist as a background behind the album/song list (it also appears whenever a track by that artist is currently playing). You will also notice that there are additional choices along the top after albums and songs.

You are first presented with pictures of the artist. If there is more than one, they appear in a two-column grid. The pictures are viewable full-size in the picture viewer by tapping them. It would be nice if you could add your own to your device or even select which picture to use as the background for the Now Playing view but that is not an available feature (it has been requested in the forums).

After the pictures is the biographical information. This is the really cool part. It gives you background and in-depth information about the band. The entry for .38 Special, for instance, is eight screens long. They're also very well written. They read like a VH-1 Behind The Music voice-over. Here's an example:

Initially, /38 Special were one of the many Southern rock bands in the vein of the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd; in fact, the band was led by Donnie Van Zant, the brother of Skynyrd's leader, Ronnie Van Zant.

I did not know that.

The last of the artist information screens is titled "Related." This screen lists bands with similarities to the selected artist in, perhaps, a "you might also like" fashion. You have to wonder about some of the selections, though. For .38 Special, for instance, Night Ranger is listed among Charlie Daniels and The Marshall Tucker Band.

These same screens can also be accessed by tapping the artist name in the Now Playing view.

The second "Oh, I'm keeping this!" feature is being able to create playlists on the device. If you hold your finger on an artist, song or album, you are offered a choice of adding it to the Now Playing list. You can also click the + symbol wherever it appears at the top of a list to add all the items from the list. You can then just play your ad-hoc playlist or, if you open the Now Playing list from the playlist view, you can save it as a permanent playlist. This is something the iPod has been able to do for a while. I am glad to finally see it in the Zune.

The Now Playing (playback) window is fairly standard but with a few nice touches. At the top left is a "back" button and on the right is the battery icon and play/pause status indicator. the screen lists the artist and album then the album art. One change from previous versions is that if you do not have album art you get a black square rather than your background image. Immediately below the album art is the time status display then the song title.

Below the song title is a list of the next 3 songs coming up in the playlist. At the very bottom are buttons to toggle shuffle and repeat as well as the favorite status. Even though I still think the favorite marker is too limited, the position of this button allows me to easily mark bad tracks during playback. As a background, where available, is a picture of the band. This stays onscreen as the player goes into a screen saver mode slowly scrolling the artist, song title and other information across the screen in varying sizes of type in various directions. It looks very similar to the funky playback mode the desktop software switches to. The only drawback is that the device stays on and constantly shows the screen saver if the device is plugged in. This includes when it is drawing power from the car kit and the screen saver can be distracting while driving.

To change tracks, you either swipe the album art to the left for next or right for previous or you can bring up the player controls by pressing the media button or tapping the Now Playing screen. The player controls also have a big play/pause button in the center. You can either bring up the controls and tap the button or a quick double-tap on the Now Playing screen will pause or resume playback. Finally, the player controls include volume control. You can either tap/hold the + or - buttons or swipe your finger up or down.

One thing I would change is to add hardware volume buttons. Changing the volume means a series of 3 to 5 gestures. At its most complicated, you have to wake up the device by pushing the power button, swipe off the lock screen, tap to bring up the volume controls (assuming you start in the Now Playing screen), then adjust. In the car, this is overly complicated and distracting. You can also use the media button which will bring up the player controls over the lock screen. Even then, it's a push then a tap or swipe. Hardware volume controls would take out the extra steps (handy if you were blasting through a stereo and forgot to turn it down before plugging in the headphones).

To make the experience more personal, the ability to customize the screen saver would go a long way. Imagine being able to choose which information the screen saver does or doesn't show. Better yet, imagine being able to run a screen saver that has nothing to do with the music being played (Flying Toasters, anyone?). Maybe there will be an app for that. I would also like to see a simplified Now Playing view that shows artist, title, larger album art and the playback timers.

Video Player
The video player is fairly straightforward. Choose your video and it starts playing in landscape mode. You might want to wipe down the screen first. The fingerprints left by all that tapping and swiping tend to obscure the view.

There is one cryptic control for the video. In the upper-right corner is a circle with four arrowheads pointing outward. If you tap it, the arrowheads point inward and the image stretches to fill the screen. Why not just stretch the image to fit and maintain the aspect ratio? Maybe it's just cryptic to me because everything I've transferred to the player so far is in widescreen (16:9) format.

Photo Viewer
Also fairly straightforward. Turn the device to portrait or landscape mode and the accelerometer quickly and smoothly changes the orientation of the image and zooms appropriately.

Speaking of zooming, the photo viewer (and the web browser) include multitouch zooming capabilities. Place two fingers on the screen and move them apart and you zoom in toward the point where your fingers first touched. Squeeze them together and you zoom back out.

There is also a slideshow mode but the timing and transitions are not configurable.

Radio
The HD designation on the Zune HD signifies not only its ability to play 720P HD video (HD dock sold seperately) but also its ability to receive HD radio signals. I am about 60 miles away from any of the stations in my area transmitting HD streams and have had difficulty picking them up. I did finally manage to pick one up by using a set of headphones with a long cable. Unfortunately, the cable had to be stretched out and I wasn't able to listen and watch the display as the HD signal appeared and disappeared.

Also presumably because of my distance from the signal, I originally thought the Zune HD was incapable of receiving RDS (Radio Data Stream) information. This seems to have been in error since, during my HD reception experiment, I was able to pick up station identification (at least) from several of the stations.

Marketplace
Using the marketplace to purchase content from your device requires a WiFi connection. The on-screen keyboard can be a bit clunky so it's nice that the software pops up suggestions as you type. One question, though. What's with the picture of the random rapper dude as the background image for the marketplace? (edit: looks like it changes. it is currently showing me Mariah Carey)

Social
The one other person I know and have contact with that also owns a Zune I am sure does not use this feature. I am also not active in the online experience. I have therefore never used this function. Now that I have two Zunes I do plan to check out the content transfer feature at some point.

Podcasts
This item does not appear on the main menu until and unless you have podcast content loaded on the device. Subscriptions and settings are mostly controlled via the desktop software. I have seen some comments in other reviews and forum posts that podcasts do not automatically sync with the device via wireless. This has not been my experience. The podcast synchronization via wireless works just like it did with my 4gig. Maybe those that have been having difficulty with it have not set up the wireless sync in the desktop software or have not made the initial transfer of the podcast to the device. I don't know but it works just fine and dandy for me.

Internet
It goes (almost) without saying that the internet function requires a WiFi connection. One of the cool things about the wireless radio is that it is only active when you need it. It can be disabled in the settings but it will turn itself on and off.

The browser is very simple. On the bottom are buttons to go to the previous page, open favorites, and view the address bar. There is also a built-in search function (via Microsoft bing, of course). There is no refresh function. There is no flash (sorry, no YouTube) or any of the other add-ons so the experience is limited. The feature is obviously designed to be utilitarian but I'm okay with that.

The web browser responds to the accelerometer to view the pages in portrait or landscape mode. You can double-tap the screen to zoom in on the page or you can use multitouch gestures.

When you bring up the address bar or search or you enter an input field on a page, the virtual keyboard comes up. I'm really terrible and slow at typing on it and I often make mistypes (E and R in particular) but it gets the job done. One nice touch is the addition of a ".com" button when you're in the address bar. Unfortunately, if you turn the device to landscape mode, the keyboard doesn't get any bigger (you might want to address that, Microsoft). Two things I would add are an exit button, although that may have been omitted to avoid accidental activation, and a password bank.

By the way, any music or radio station you happen to be listening to continues to play while you are using the browser.

Apps
The currently available applications are very few (only 9 total at present) and very simple (but they're all free at the moment). I find the weather app and the calculator particularly useful. They add some nice additional functionality to the device. The other seven are games like chess, sudoku and goo splat, whatever that is. New apps are added via the desktop software or the Marketplace link in the main menu. I eagerly await additional applications. It will be cool to see what people do with this device.

Settings
-- Wireless: Similar to previous models. A nice (and necessary) addition is the ability to connect to wireless networks directly from the device. The sync option includes entries for channels and Zune cards (must be related to social functions). It also shows you the MAC address of the device.

-- Display: Allows you to adjust settings for video output, the timeout for going into low-power, screen brightness, tilt on/off and screensaver settings (always, never, only when powered).

-- Music: Includes a worthless EQ setting. Maybe if I always listened to the same kind of music all the time but while it may shape the sound nicely for the current song it invariably distorts the next. The other setting is Artists which includes settings for song and album or album only. I have no clue what this changes. This entire menu option might as well not even be there.

-- Radio: Allows you to set your region for HD radio reception.

-- Clock: 12/24 hour toggle and set time. You cannot view the clock except on the lock screen. What good is it, then? Let's make it visible in other areas. Is there a technical reason it can't sync to the PC clock?

-- Screen Lock: Reset the lock image to the default and enable the PIN to unlock. It should also include a function to select the lock image and disable the lock screen altogether.

-- Internet: Delete history, Cookies on/off, Script on/off. Pretty simple.

-- About: Allows you to view storage numbers and reset the accelerometer. All the other stuff is readme quality.

-- Conclusions / Summary --

To me, any media player is pretty much as good as the next. If all I want to do is listen to music in random order while I drive, an iPod shuffle will work. What makes the Zune HD stand out are the extras that make it go beyond being a simple media player. The desktop software, although not outstanding, also adds value to all of the Zune models.

I'm not a big fan of the touch interface but it is starting to grow on me. In a geeky sort of way it is just plain fun to slide things around on the screen. A sort-of symbiosis between man and machine.

Where the Zune, all of the models, falls short is in accessories. Microsoft started off at a disadvantage to the iPod in this arena and has continued to fall behind the curve. I can walk into almost any store that sells any sort of electronics and find a variety of cases, cables, docks, speakers, portable radios, and portable video systems for the iPod. In the same stores I am lucky to find even the limited selection of overpriced Microsoft-branded accessories and I am usually shocked if I find a single third-party speaker dock for the Zune. Maybe their rarity accounts for their pricing? I managed to find a bargain on a v2 A/V dock pack while I was still using my 4gig Zune. Can you believe that the original MSRP on a set of cables, an IR remote and a docking base was $79.99? Microsoft needs to stop being so proud of their branded accessories and open up the market for third-party accessories.

Right now I own the v2 A/V dock and a v2 car kit with the FM transmitter. The A/V dock is partially compatible with the Zune HD. It powers it and allows it to sync wirelessly. The only functions that work on the remote are play/pause and prev/next. I can accept that because of the differences in the interface. At least it allows me to play content through my stereo. I don't know about video output since I'm pretty sure I never connected that cable in the first place.

The car kit works just like it did with the 4gig. Pretty much all it does is provide power and a line-level out to the FM transmitter so that's not a surprise. I have seen the new premium car kit and think it's a nice update. I would NEVER pay $80 for it but it has some nice features.

In the interim between outgrowing my 4gig Zune and getting the Zune HD, I rescued a 30gig 5th gen iPod video* (I replaced the hard drive) so I now have some experience with the competition. I think the iPod has a serious basic design flaw. When you transfer media to it, the device (or iTunes) changes the file name and places it in a random folder. What this does is open wide the possibility of duplicating media files. Not just duplicating titles, I mean truly transferring the exact same file to the device multiple times. That's just a waste. You can manage your media in a way to minimize this possibility but why should you have to? The Zune wins hands-down in my book for that reason alone every time. That's not to say I'm ready to give up the capacity available in my iPod nor the ability to dock it to my clock radio (see previous accessories rant).

Overall, I like the Zune HD. There are some tweaks and improvements I mentioned above and we might see several of them in subsequent software updates. There are a couple of improvements I did not mention above that I would like to see.

First and foremost, add a bluetooth option or, to keep the same price point, create a bluetooth add-on. The dongle/plugin would need to have A2DP and AVRCP capabilities as well as power pass-through capabilities. This would allow me to operate my Zune HD completely wirelessly via my Motorola stereo bluetooth headset or any of several automotive add-ons (thus making it safer to operate in the car!!).

Make the media button multi-functional. A single press brings up the media controls but subsequent presses could change the display, bring up ID3 tag information or any of a variety of other things. the middle button on an iPod can do it, why can't this?

So there you have my long-winded tour, commentary and review of the Zune HD. Hello? Please wake up.

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*I was originally trolling eBay for an 80 or 120 gig Zune. The only way I could afford it would be to fix a broken unit. The iPods are cheaper to obtain and, through some internet research, I found out that they are much much easier to repair. I therefore purchased and rescued my iPod.

ZuneHD First Impressions

My gift of a 16GB ZuneHD arrived this evening. I took it out of the box, took it out of the plastic and turned it on. I was immediately wowed (I even said "wow") by the clarity and sharpness of the screen. I played the pre-loaded video and was Blown Away!

I fiddled with it a little more and noticed that, unlike previous versions since 2.0, there is no "Podcasts" option on the main menu. I suspect it may show up if I actually load some on there (it did) but can't imagine why it got dropped off.

I took it back to my PC and plugged it in and waited. And waited some more. Then you know what I did? I waited. I waited for Vista to decide what to do about installing a driver. Have I mentioned today that I hate Vista? I can't wait to get Win7.

It finally installed the driver... and told me to reboot. There's another 5 minutes down the tubes.

After the reboot, I plugged it back in at which time it proceeded to install the driver. Say what? Luckily, it must have just been finishing up because it only took a few seconds before it was ready and launched the Zune software (I downloaded the 4.0 software the day it came out). Then I waited about a minute for the Zune software to recognize the device and... tell me I needed to update the software on the device before I could continue. It's only been out a couple of weeks and already there's an update?

I waited ten minutes for my slow-ass internet connection to download 30% of the update and finally decided I was hungry enough that I just left it to do its thing and went to Sonic.

When I got back, the update was complete and I was asked to provide a name for the device. My first Zune, the 4GB I got a couple of years ago, was named Gozer. Like in Ghostbusters. I kept growling out "Zune" like the critter in the fridge growls out "Zuul" so I thought it appropriate. I had no idea what to call this one. I tried a couple and eventually landed on Geektoy but that may change if I (or someone else) comes up with something better.

Once the device was setup, I went to the playlists and commenced it to synchronizing. It's still working on it after about an hour. :)

More later as I discover more of its doo-dads and widgets.

Heroes In The House

Had two great premiers to choose from last night - House and Heroes. The living room DVR was getting Heroes and House was recording in the bedroom. Opted to watch House live but ended up watching most of H before going to bed.

House: LOVED IT! The battle of wills between he and Andre Brauer was great, esp. since Brauer didn't get flustered by House one bit. The season could turn out to be very good or very contrived. The writers are going to have to do something to keep House's edge. And the whole Forman/13 thing - never really cared. Wish her character could just disappear. Amber was more interesting.

Heroes: I never liked where they took Sylar last season except for finding his roots. The meetup with his dad was great. Now they've turned him into Nathan. Why do they keep making him too powerful to be defeated then bust him down? And why do people's powers keep changing (Sylar/Peter)? This could easily be another lackluster season and it wouldn't surprise me if it was the last. We got a glimpse into the future of all of the characters in seasons 1 & 2 but they have deviated so far that it's not even visible. I mean, when does Hiro don the black suit and wield the sword. "Save the cheerleader, save the world."

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p.s. Travel info coming, I promise. There's a draft in the works.

The Best Web Hosting Company EVER!

I have been fiddling around the web for several years now. I started with free services like Geocities and others who's names are lost to obscurity. In order to spread my wings and have more space, I finally moved to paid services.

The first service I used, MidPhase, was $7.95 per month, which was about the going rate for budget web hosting. They were okay but I signed up for an extended contract (buy 12 months, get 3 free) which, in the end, they didn't honor.

My next host was Siteflip. This was bargain-basement shared web hosting. $4.00 a month and, according to the reviews, you got what you paid for. They gave you space but the support was almost non-existent. I didn't much care since I hadn't had much interaction with MidPhase and I was getting a serious upgrade on disk space. Of course, it didn't help that I had to go through a special link to get that price.

When renewal time came around, I was heavily into listening to the Geek News Central Podcast, which is sponsored by GoDaddy.com. Not being entirely comfortable with the lack of support and shady side-deal style of SiteFlip, I checked out GoDaddy. For $4.99/month I could get 5GB of space (which turned into 10GB by the time I signed up) and have up to 10 MySQL databases and unlimited subdomains (subdomain.domain.com). Why some sites charge extra for subdomains, I'll never know. It's simply a pointer that exists in a single file on the server that tells Apache (the web server software) that when someone gets to the site using subdomain.domain.com, direct them to a particular folder. Anyway, I signed up and used the special savings code from Geek News Central (todd20) and saved 20% on my order which brought it down to... $4.00/month.

When I first logged in, I didn't know what to do. As far as control of my account I was at least a level higher than any other service had let me operate. Once I figured out that I had control over any and all domains I may set up through GoDaddy instead of having individual accounts for each, I was impressed.

GoDaddy has an excellent knowledge base to begin with but I have had a couple of occasions where I've needed to contact support. They have been prompt with their responses and, more importantly, they actually answered the questions that I asked.

One of the nice features of GoDaddy is the one-click install of applications such as Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, Coppermine Photo Gallery, SilverStripe and a host of other, mostly free, applications. You click the install link, answer a few simple questions (i.e. where do you want to install, password for the database, etc.), then sit back and let the servers handle it automagically. If an update is available, you can click an update link and the server will let you know when it is complete. You literally don't even have to think about it.

Now here's why GoDaddy will forevermore have my web hosting business.

One of the applications I have installed, SilverStripe, that runs my wav archive had an update available about a month ago. I clicked the update link and the update failed. With another click, I rolled it back and tried again. It failed again with some sort of internal server error so I rolled it back and left it for another day.

Yesterday, I tried the update one more time and one more time it failed. I decided to contact support and see if they had any idea why this was (not) occurring. I didn't expect a response until sometime Monday.

Later yesterday afternoon, I received an email stating that my issue would require additional review and was being escalated to the Advanced Support Team. I figured a front-line soldier looked at it and, not having access to the proper resources, bumped it up the chain. No biggie. The site was up and running and I could be patient until I got another email on Monday either asking for more detail or telling me what was happening.

About 30 minutes ago, my phone rang. It was a support representative from GoDaddy. He wanted permission to have them try the upgrade on their side so they could see if they could get it to work or trace it and find out where the hiccup was.

I never expected to have my issue about installation of a third-party product update even examined over a weekend much less have someone call me personally on a Sunday evening.

Friends, if you are in need of web hosting, I can unequivocolly and without a moments hesitation strongly recommend GoDaddy. Plus, I know some codes (like the todd20 one I used for hosting) that can save you money and let you help keep the lights on at my favorite podcast. Just send me an email and I'll share them with you.

RockBox Done Some Bad Things

I installed RockBox on my iPod this afternoon. RockBox is an alternative operating system for iPod and several other MP3 players.

I really liked it. It had theme support and you could customize the interface. It appeared that it does not change file names (I assume it would solve the song duplication issues). It uses standard .m3u playlists. What wasn't to like?

I was happy with it and ready to start discovering its full potential until I dropped my iPod onto the connector on my clock/radio. The clock reset itself. It's a self-setting clock so it wasn't a big deal but bothersome. I made a quick settings change that I had seen earlier and that fixed that.

I picked up the remote, turned on the radio, set it to iPod mode, pressed play, and... nothing happened. I had wondered about this because if you pause playback and the player goes to sleep and ends up back at the main menu, you have to select 'resume playback' from the menu. You can't just hit play and have it pick up where it left off. Which means that if I ever wanted to set the alarm to start up the iPod, it probably wouldn't work.

Sorry, RockBox, you had to go. :(