Electronics
Apple iPhone Experiences
© Apple
Introduction
After about five months of using nothing but Skype as my sole source of voice communication I broke down and bought an Apple iPhone. There are a couple of reasons for my change of mind:
- The most obvious reason is that it was difficult to be traveling and not be able to stay in touch with family, friends, business contacts, etc. easily and effectively. WiFi is still hard to find and so is trying to make long distance phone calls from those ever elusive pay phones.
- The Skype Wi-Fi Phones are still not good enough to be practical.
- I could not resist buying a device that allows me to combine my iPod, PDA, and cell phone into one simple, elegant, and easy to use device.
The following is a breakdown of what I like and dislike about the phone.
Construction
The construction is elegant and simple. I really like the hard glass cover and well as the smooth rounded edges. I do, however, wish there was a way in which I could record voice notes like other cell phones I have used in the past.
Setup
Setup was a breeze! I connected the phone to my computer, launched iTunes, and then followed the setup instructions provided by iTunes.
I would have liked to have been able to pick from a pool of phone numbers, though. Instead, AT&T assigns a new number to you automatically with no option to choose otherwise.
Applications
SMS Text - I ended up choosing the default or basic AT&T plan. This allows me to send 200 text messages a month. Each conversation is listed by contact/number. It is easy to browse past conversations or delete them. Also each message you send and receive is shown in alternating colored bubbles which makes following the conversation easy on the eye.
Calendar - A great application. I can easily add events to the calendar and give them a location, start and end date/time, have them repeat, set up to two alarms, and provide notes. I am bummed, however, that there are no birthday reminders despite the fact that you can enter birthday information. By the way, the calendar application icon number changes based on the current day. Neat.
Photos - Using iTunes, you can sync photos within a particular directory on your computer to your iPhone and then turn them into a picture show or just scroll through them. You can also access photos taken from the iPhone camera as well. I like how sub-directories are preserved so you can easily categorize your photos. When connecting your iPhone to a computer that does not have iTunes installed, this is the only application that allows you to access the data (in this case pictures) from the computer. The iPhone will appear as an external hard drive with your pictures at the root level.
Camera - Useful for taking quick photos or picture notes. The quality is surprisingly good. I have heard some complain that it should have zoom and flash capabilities but if you want that, then buy a real camera.
YouTube - Entertaining. Time waster.
Stocks - Provides simple data on your favorite stocks. Configure as many as you like.
Maps - This is one of my favorite applications as I can easily find an address or plot a route using start and stop destinations. You can either type in an address yourself or click on an address from your contacts list. The route comes complete with pushpins, highlights, and even text directions. The only thing missing is the ability to track your progress in real time (i.e. GPS capabilities).
Weather - You can add and track multiple cities for current weather. Switches from day and night modes depending on your timezone. Useful as a quick reference.
Clock - Comes complete with a world clock for tracking multiple time zones, an alarm clock, stopwatch, and a timer. I am particularly fond of the alarm clock as it can be configured for different days of the week, uniquely labeled, assigned a particular sound, and have snooze disabled/enabled. Multiple alarms can be configured as well. The stopwatch is also handy, especially when exercising. I should mention that the alarm clock is a tad buggy. When snooze is enabled, it sometimes does not stop ringing. This is because the option to turn the alarm off completely is missing. Sometimes the option appears, sometimes it doesn’t.
Calculator - Simple and and easy to use. Handy to have around.
Notes - Allows you to take quick notes. The first line of each note becomes the label of the note and each note is saved by date and time. Each note can be easily e-mailed as well. This application is too simple, however, and I would like to see this enhanced in the future. My main reason is that one should be able to categorize the notes instead each note added as part of the same list. I like the way you can pull up artists, videos, podcasts, genres, etc using the iPod application so why not bring that capability to the notes application?
Settings - Intuitive and easy to use. This is where you can customize the behavior of the applications. I really love the “Airplane Mode”. With a simple tap, you can have WiFi, phone, and Bluetooth services turned off. I would love to see the “Usage” option fleshed out a bit more. Why can’t I get current stats on how many regular talk minutes I have left as well as how many text messages I have used?
Phone - This is the centerpiece of the phone, obviously, and very nicely done. It is so easy to use and takes very little effort to switch from speaker phone, mute, adding callers, putting a caller on hold, etc. In the past I’ve had to muddle around with funky buttons and would sometimes end up dropping calls because I couldn’t remember the right button sequence. I also love that when listening to iPod music and an incomming call (or I make a call), the music fades out and pauses while I take the call. Then, after the call is over, the music fades up and starts playing again. I really wish this worked for voice mail too. Instead, when listening to music and checking voice mail, the music stops and I’m forced to go back and start my whatever song I was listening to from the iPod application. Boo.
Mail - Being able to have e-mail anytime, anywhere is really handy. I like the fact that you can configure multiple e-mail accounts as well. GMail connectivity, however, is a little buggy. The issue I am facing is that my sent mail ends up in my Inbox. Both Google and Apple are aware of this issue and are working to fix it.
Safari - One of the best web browsing experiences on an small device. Even better if you have WiFi access as the AT&T EDGE (data) network can be rather cumbersome at times. Really handy for quick referencing of information especially when in a store or at some location where you need to do a quick Google search.
iPod - I have been rather fond of my iPod Nano but this takes the cake! I can do everything the Nano did and then some. I especially love the fact that you can delete videos after you have watched them. My only complaint would be that this functionality should should be allowed for not only video but audio as well. For example, after listening to a podcast, I would like to delete it so the next one is at the top of my list (assuming you use play lists that is).
Earphones
© Apple
The iPhone ships with a pair of earphones that includes mic/button on the right earphone wire as shown above. The mic, obviously, comes in handy when you want to talk hands free but the best part is that the mic is also a clickable button. The significance of this is important because it allows you to answer/hang up phone calls as well as pause/skip songs from your music collection. I really enjoy having this capability. Brilliant idea Apple!
I encourage you to read page 20 of the iPhone User’s Guide for more information.
Conclusion
Back in 2000, I bought a Palm V which changed the way I managed and kept information close at hand. I have enjoyed using that device but now I am a iPhone fan and feel it just as revolutionary as the Palm V I bought years ago. It has a few flaws, yes, but the convience and ease-of-use is outstanding.
I am definitely glad I bought the iPhone and would recommend it to anyone who is wanting to simplify their life into one single device. Feel free to ask any questions. I’m sure I’ll update this post over time as I discover new pros and cons.
Logitech Harmony 890
Introduction
For the home theatre enthusiasts in the crowd, I wanted to share some experiences with the Logitech Harmony 890 universal remote. I have been using it for over six months now and absolutely love it! The following is an equipment review that focuses mostly on the software as that is where the real value of this remote shines.
Features
You can read more on Logitech web site but here are the features that stand out for me:
- Excellent Signal Range - In my setup, I have devices on the side walls and back of the room. It reaches them all.
- One Click Operation - With a single click of the button I can be in the following modes: movie, music, game, etc.
- Motion Detection - Detects when it is being picked up, reactivates, and illuminates. While this is handy, I have to admit that sometimes you need to shake the device or hit the “Glow” button to wake it up.
- Customizable - Once the device is connected to your computer, you can set up all kinds of activities, devices, instruction sequences, etc.
Setup
After you have unpacked the device, you need to plug in the cradle, and allow the remote to charge in the cradle to power the rechargeable battery. While that is happening you can install the Logitech Harmony software on your computer, set up a user profile, register your devices, and configure them. For example, here is the login screen which connects to the Logitech network via your internet connection:
Once logged in, you will spend most of your time setting up activities and devices. Activities are like macros that allow you to perform several operations at once. For example, if I want to watch a movie, I would call it “Play Movie”. This then would be available on the main menu of the remote as a clickable button which could perform a sequence of operations:
- Turn on the display.
- Turn on the receiver.
- Turn on the DVD/Blu-Ray player.
- Set receiver sound to Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
- Set video to HDMI.
- Open DVD/Blu-Ray player disk drive for disk insertion.
Main Menus
The following walks through the main menus of the Logitech Harmony software:
Activities Menu:
Devices Menu:
Z-Wave Devices Menu:
Scenes Menu:
Settings Menu:
The background settings, while configurable, are rather limiting in what you can do. The slideshow settings, however, are nice. I ended up putting trip photos on it. The slideshow can be configured to cycle automatically or you can manually force it via the remote.
Adding Activities/Devices
While I am not going to walk through the full activity and device setup, here is a taste:
Adding activities:
Adding devices:
Hardware
The remote comes with a cradle, power cable, IR extenders for setups that require the remote signal to be relayed to a hidden device, Logitech Harmony software, a USB cable for connectivity to your computer, and a few other items.
I find the main buttons such as stop, play, fast forward, volume, channel, number keys, etc. to be big and easy to use. The programmable menu buttons, however, are not as easy to find. They could be a bit larger but that is small nit and not really a big concern.
Issues
The only issue I have had is a couple rare occassions where the main menu locked up on the device. Not sure what the cause was as I was not able to recreate the issue. The workaround was to simply pop out the battery and put it back in again.
Parting Thoughts
This universal remote makes the whole multimedia experience much sweeter. My only regret is that I did not buy it sooner.
HMDI
For those trying to make sense out of the current high definition video and audio wars, DenGuru has an excellent article on the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface worth checking out. Being a home theatre enthusiast myself, all I can say is that you need to hold out for the new hardware components being released this year. The reason is that the HDMI 1.3 specification not only supports video beyond the 1080p high definition resolution but the best part is that it also supports the high definition Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio formats (both support lossless audio formats)! This is important because we finally get a superior upgrade in audio quality which hasn’t happened for some time (that includes the DVD format as it only offered us more channels but audio that was severely crippled by being compressed).
Apple iPhone
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing again this year with Apple’s new iPhone generating a lot of buzz. This is a device that not only is a phone, but an iPod, web browser, e-mail client, camera, etc. I recommend following the iPhone link provided above as Apple has done an excellent job of putting together product propaganda that will give you much more of an idea of how the device looks, acts, and performs. Do not get too excited though, you won’t be able to get your hands on this device until June of this year. For more info, go here:
Skype Wi-Fi Phones
I am currently in the market to buy a new phone and being fan of Skype software I have been seriously contemplating buying a Skype Wi-Fi phone instead of a standard cell phone. The following is a few pros and cons as well as a list of Skype-enabled Wi-Fi phones:
Pros
- You can make phone calls anywhere there is Wi-Fi access (secure or non-secure). For example, it would be easy to use the phone at home, the office, a friend’s house, etc.
- You can easily manage the same contact list at home, work, or anywhere you are connected because your contact list is stored online with your Skype account.
- A SkypeIn phone number, which is a phone number anyone can call you with using any type of connection (i.e. LAN line, cell, VIOP, etc), is roughly $40 a year for a subscription. Oh, and voice-mail is included for free with this subscription.
- SkypeOut calling, which is a call placed from your computer to a LAN or cell phone, used to be free in the United States and Canada but is now moving to a subscription based service where it costs $30 a year to use (although if you sign up before the end of the month you can get a year’s subscription for $15).
- The cost of a standard cell phone subscription is $40/month (approximately). That means that a single person spends a total of $480 a year in subscription fees. However, with Skype (using both SkypeIn and SkypeOut) services you only end up spending $70 a year (or $55 is you act before the end of the month). That’s a savings of $410 (or $425 before end of month)!
Cons
- You can send or receive phone calls only in areas where you have Wi-Fi access.
- Connectivity might be problematic or intermittent due to network traffic.
- Sometimes you can experience delay in conversation due to hickups in the network or connection issues. This is a bit more noticable than cell phone.
- Sometimes you can’t have a conversation with the other person at all due to network traffic and connectivity.
- You can not use Skype in case of an emergency due to the nature of the internet. There are more issues with connections, software, etc. when using telelphony over the internet versus a dedicated LAN or cell line.
Phones
Most manufacturers started developing phones for Skype last year and so this technology is relatively new. Here are a few of the major players:
Sony Mylo - Not only does this support Skype but it supports e-mail, web browsing, pictures, movies, and music. I have to admit that it has my interest and will be keeping tabs on this product. The only thing holding me back is that I wish it had personal information management capabilities like managing lists, calendars, contacts, etc. It does support note taking in the form of text files but that only goes so far.
SMC WSKP100 - A very basic phone with basic capabilities. Nothing to get excited about but is one of the cheaper phones. Supports both 802.11b and 802.11g networks.
NETGEAR SPH101 - A slight improvement over the SMC phone but not by much. Supports both 802.11b and 802.11g networks.
Belkin F1PP000GN-SK - Much like the the SMC and NETGEAR phones but with a better finish and design to the phone. To me this phone does everything correctly. Has all the features needed for using a phone along with the necessary buttons for using Skype, polished and stylized finish, and supports both 802.11b and 802.11g networks. I would buy this phone.
Linksys WIP320 - Similar to the SMC, NETGEAR, and Belkin phones. Supports 802.11b and 802.11g networks.
Conclusion
I have been using Skype for quite a while now and really like it. The ability to chat, call, send files, even share screen sessions with others for tutorial purposes (via a plugin), and host chat/call confererences is really nice. The fact that you can take Skype mobile is even more attractive now that more and more manufacturers are starting to develop new and interesting devices. Obviously, replacing your LAN and/or cell phone with Skype could be a dangerous solution but possibly getting rid of the cell phone and using using both Skype and a LAN phone might work. In my case, maybe I’ll use Skype and the girlfriend can keep the cell phone. Although, I doubt she will find that very amusing…
Neosonik
An American startup called, Neosonik, has developed a way in which to broadcast video and sound wirelessly. You can read more about Neosonik by visiting their web site and reading their documentation and diagrams but here are a few key notes:
- Supports up to 60MB/second throughput of uncompressed video and audio.
- All transmission is digital which helps to preserve original source content (if digital to begin with).
- They claim there is no interference from other wireless sources and the signal can be transmitted through walls up to 200 feet.
- Complete synchronization of all output. In the case of and audio signal where you might have a 5.1 layout (i.e. left and right loudspeaker, center speaker, left and right surround sound speaker, and subwoofer) this means that the signal transmitted is received by all speakers at the same time.
- Since each component in your setup is wireless the need for a centralized power amplifier goes away and is, instead, put in each component. This potentially means that you will need an electrical socket for each component or a lot of extension cords. This displacement of power could be good or bad depending on your environment.
- The initial cost of the entire system is between $6,000 and $15,000 as they expect you to buy their controller, speakers, etc. all from them. On the other hand, a specification is being developed by many key players (like Sony and Toshiba) called WirelessHD which would allow other manufactures to be compatible with this technology.
Thumb Drive Software
I recently bought a SanDisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB Thumb Drive which was reviewed by Gizmodo. It includes U3 compatible software such as Skype, Firefox, RoboForm, and Thunderbird to name a few. I bought this drive as a solution for accessing data in a secure fashion between my home and work computers. However, after playing with the U3 software, I found that I really liked the added capability of running applications off my thumb drive on any computer without ever having to install software on the computers I attached my thumb drive to.
Since the time I originally purchased my thumb drive I have been investigating various solutions for running software off a thumb drive and found the following:
- U3 - For those interesting in porting applications to a thumb drive using the U3 system, take a look at their developer’s kit.
- MojoPack - Check out LifeHacker’s article, Build your “PC on a stick” with MojoPac, for more information.
- PortableApps
This is definitely something worth considering for those who need to access multiple computers but do not want the hassle of maintaining software on each.
IBM ThinkPad T40p
I recently upgraded the networking software on my IBM ThinkPad T40p laptop to fix an issue where Windows XP would crash when switching from wired to wireless connections. Plus, I wanted to take advantage of the new Access Connection software that manages my wired and wireless network connections.
To start, I visited the software support pages for IBM ThinkPads and then selected my model. From there I grabbed the following downloads and installed them in the order listed here:
1. Intel PRO 10/100/1000 LAN Adapter (2005-04-22, Build 94590)
2. IBM dual band WiFi wireless mini PCI adapter (4.1.102.133)
3. ThinkVantage Access Connections
After rebooting the machine each time I installed a new piece of software, I finally had an upgraded machine with no glitches:
Rechargeable Batteries
Here are a few useful articles on what is good and bad in the world of rechargeable batteries:
…and a good source for buying supplies:
Sony VPL-VW100 Projector
Back in 2000 the Sony VPL-VW10HT projector was herald as the best of its class at the time and reviewed by The Perfect Vision, Issue 30, with great enthusiasm.
Fast forward to the present. The video landscape has changed to support HDMI and DVI (all digital formats). Gone are the days of analog video. TVs and projectors have made huge advancements in technology and now, finally, after years of hype, displays are arriving that can finally show true 1080p HD resolution (1920×1080 progressive pixel resolution). Here is where Sony outdoes itself again by creating the VPL-VW100 projector. Again, The Perfect Vision reviews this project in Issue 66 and receives the venerable Product of the Year award to boot!
This is great news for home theater enthusiasts, like me, who are searching for the answer in improving the home theater experience and stepping into the new age of high definition video.
Additional Reviews
Suggestions
- One might think about paring this projector with the Stewart Greyhawk 16:9 screen.
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