Windows 7 WASN’T my idea!

November 27th, 2009
Warning: this post contains some profanity (sorry Mum).

I’ll admit it, I initially thought Windows 7 was OK. In fact, fairly decent. However, the m0re I’ve used it, the more it has disappointed me. Windows it seems, regardless of the version number, will always be Windows…

At first it was all zippy menus and I enjoyed the (admittedly aped from OSX) interface. However a couple of months on, despite installing little in the way of additional software it now runs like a sack of loose shit. Applications launch at a glacial pace - it seems as ever, the only way to keep Windows running truly lean is to re-install every few months: a situation I find preposterous.

I’ll explain the end of my brief ‘like affair’ (’love’ would be way too strong a word) with Windows 7. The part where any modicum of respect for the new OS vanished.

I’d filmed a gig for someone and wanted to knock them together a quick and dirty DVD of the show. I used Windows Live Movie Maker to trim the footage. Here the problems started. Firstly Windows Live Movie Maker won’t let you add a cross dissolve to the end of the footage - only the beginning. Having overcome that odd little hurdle I’d trimmed my imports and opted to ‘export to DVD’. Now things really started going tits up.

To export from Windows Live Movie Maker to DVD Maker it encodes the footage to WMV format. Feck knows why as it will only have to encode again to MPEG-2 to make the DVD (all DVD’s are MPEG-2 based) - hardly economical! What’s more, it took about 12 hours to convert the four files! 12 bloody hours to encode about 100 mins worth of footage - dog-shit! What’s more, you can’t select a few files at once, you have to do them one at a time and ‘baby sit’ the stupid bloody Windows box…

So, long (not to mention tedious and soul sapping) story short the videos arrive into DVD Movie Maker. I choose my menus, label the buttons and tell it to make the video. So, off it sets to encode the WMV files into MPEG-2. Hours (and hours) pass and eventually it fails with some random unintelligible message about the Disc. The message gives a link to ‘more information on this problem’ which leads nowhere (wow - thanks Microsoft) so I click ‘OK’. Thinking it must be a duff disc I opt to retry the burn and here’s the kicker - it has to re-encode the sodding disc all over again, even though that part had been done before it started (attempting) to write to the disc !

What an ill conceived piece of shit! What cruel minded bastard programmed it to work this way? Sadists…

Suffice to say, 20 minutes later the footage is on my Mac and being burned to a DVD. It will work. I know it will because it had nothing to do with Windows.

I like to be able to do things with my computer and have some time left in my life for other things. Because of that, I’d like to make one point plain and clear: there’s no way in hell that Windows 7 was my idea…

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Posted in DV, DVD, Digital Video, Windows 7 | Click here to view/make a comment »

Review of Knomo Stirling Messenger bag: a perfect MacBook carry case?

November 6th, 2009
Knomo Stirling Messenger laptop carry case

Knomo Stirling Messenger laptop carry case

The Knomo Stirling Messenger bag is a premium laptop carry case available in 13, 15 and 17″ sizes. The version reviewed here is the 13″ and it has been tested with the current 13″ MacBook Pro.

I won’t discuss the aesthetics of this bag. If the design of the bag initially appeals but you’d like to be sure if it is for you, I’d suggest visiting your local Apple store as the majority of UK stores stock this item.

Knomo are a premium brand and any doubt over the pedigree or the attention to detail they lavish on their products is dispelled the moment you open the packaging of the Knomo Stirling. Furthermore, the quality of the materials used in the construction of the Knomo Stirling and the manufacturing finish are also beyond reproach.

Quality evident throughout

Two examples that exemplify this are the succinct  ‘Knomo’ branding etched onto the strap buckles and the ability to register your bag with Knomo. On the off chance your back is lost and found, the ID number on the bag can be used and Knomo will provide your details for its safe return. It’s not a geo-tagged solution like some carry cases provide but it’s a welcome (un-advertised) addition.

Not entirely waterproof - but close.

The front leather section of the Stirling Messenger is quite waxy and repels water well, whilst the main body and inner is constructed of a tough canvas. Whilst the canvas sections aren’t waterproof, given that the large leather area covers almost the entirety of the case when worn, I’d imagine your belongings would be safe in all but the most torrential of downpours.

Closures: great aesthetics but questionable practicality

The large front leather  flap fastens shut with magnets, sewn within the body of the case and flap. Visually this is very appealing as there are no visible buttons and it’s also great for the extremely lazy as there is no need to buckle your case shut. However, on the down side the magnetic closure doesn’t give you the security of a true physical buckle; gymnasts and Parkour proponents should perhaps look elsewhere.

Perfect protection for your MacBook Pro

Internally the Stirling enjoys a large padded envelope section to safely stow your MacBook (or any other laptop of similar size). It’s a sturdy thick divide that keeps the laptop snug and it eliminates the need for a separate laptop sleeve to keep your laptop protected. With this 13″ version I could happily fit my MacBook, an A5 diary, some A4 documents, MacBook charger and some odd bits and pieces (pens, earphones etc).

Compartments

Aside from the aforementioned laptop holder, within the main storage area there are two open wallet sized pockets (120mm wide x 120mm deep). On the outside, under the main flap, there is then a further, almost full height open pocket (270mm wide x 270mm deep) on the front with flaps sewn in for a pen and wallet/ID card and a half height zippable pocket (270mm wide x 145mm deep). On the back of the Stirling there is another open full height pocket (270mm wide x 310mm deep), again with a couple of smaller pockets (120mm wide x 95mm deep) sewn in.

Complaints

One notable omission from this bag is any sort of specific phone pocket. For most this will be a non issue as the majority of people tend to keep their phone closer to hand but a separate section would be nice to keep it from scratches.

The strap is a thick canvas, almost like seatbelt material. That’s not meant as a negative, as it’s incredibly sturdy material but some sort of padding for the shoulder area would have been welcome, especially on longer commutes. There’s also a handy little carry handle at the back of the case for carrying the case closer to. When not in use it simply tucks away within the open rear pocket. Neat and functional.

Conclusion

At a retail price of £89 (15 and 17″ variants slightly more) the Knomo Stirling Messenger is hardly a snip. However, for users looking for a premium product, designed and manufactured to exacting standards, it actually represents great value for money. I have no reservations recommending the Knomo Stirling Messenger to anyone looking for a stylish and functional MacBook carry case/bag. The only considerations for potential buyers are the lack of a physical closure buckle, absence of a dedicated phone pocket and the slightly uncomfortable shoulder strap when used under full load for extended periods of time. These reservations aside, the Knomo Stirling Messenger is top class product.

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Posted in MacBook Pro, REVIEWS | 1 Comment »

Wired Apple Magic Mouse?

October 21st, 2009
Bluetooth only and AA battery powered

Bluetooth only and AA battery powered

Like many Mac users I’m looking forward to trying out the new Apple ‘Magic Mouse’. I’ve never been a fan of the previous (now renamed) ‘Mighty Mouse’. However, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d like to see a wired version available rather than the Bluetooth (AA battery powered) one released so far. As good as it looks, at £55 it’s a third of the way towards an altogether more useful input device like a Wacom Intuos 4 (albeit the small size one).

Anyone else holding out for the wired version?

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OSX Widgets not working in Snow Leopard?

September 22nd, 2009

If you’ve recently upgraded your Mac to OSX Snow Leopard (10.6) you may be one of the many people complaining that your desktop widgets are no longer working. Thankfully there is an easy solution.

With the Finder, browse to your home user folder (the one with the little house icon) then go to the Library folder and then the Preferences folder. Find the file called ‘com.apple.dashboard.plist’ and Trash it (right-click and choose ‘Move to Trash’).

Now restart your Mac and they should all be working perfectly.

Note: this will restore your dashboard widgets to their default state so you will have to re-add any new widgets and settings.

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Crucial M225 performance review: what difference does an SSD make to a MacBook Pro?

September 11th, 2009

In this related post, I made the argument that if you wanted to see a noticeable difference in the speed of your Mac or PC you should opt for an SSD drive over a conventional hard drive. If you care about performance there is currently no better value upgrade you can perform on your system.

I’m talking here about a ‘real-world’ difference to everything done on a machine. Because of this, I don’t need to talk about benchmark results, I can write (and show) you a difference that is obvious.

These figures and the videos below were recorded on a mid-2009 13″ MacBook Pro (2.2 processor model).  I was interested in noting the difference in boot times, application launching and application switching as these are the kind of things every user does on a daily basis, the sort of activities that can save you time. Every single time you use your system.

The test was simple but demonstrative of the benefits of SSD: time the boot up into OSX and then, once OSX had loaded to the desktop, time the launch of Mail, then Adobe Fireworks and finally Mozilla Firefox 3.5.

All the applications ran concurrently. Once one had loaded, the next application was launched.

I ran the test 3 times. Each with a different hardware configuration:

Config 1: the standard 5400RPM hard drive the MacBook shipped with and 2GB memory.

Config 2: the standard 5400RPM hard drive but with 4GB memory.

Config 3: 4GB memory and a 128GB Crucial M225 SSD drive.

The Results:

Config 1 (5400RPM HDD, 2GB memory)

Boot Time: 49 seconds. Launch of Mail: 5.6 seconds. Launch of Fireworks CS4: 44 seconds. Launch of Firefox 3.5 to google home page: 20.2 seconds

Config 2 (5400RPM HDD, 4GB memory)

Boot Time: 49 seconds. Launch of Mail: 5.6 seconds. Launch of Fireworks CS4: 44 seconds. Launch of Firefox 3.5 to google home page: 17.7 seconds

Note: the only significant performance difference here was when many apps were open. Switching between apps is also a little quicker with 4GB.

Config 3 (M225 SSD, 4GB memory)

Boot Time: 23.5 seconds. Launch of Mail: 0.9 seconds. Launch of Fireworks CS4: 8.7 seconds. Launch of Firefox 3.5 to google home page: 5 seconds

As you can see by those numbers. The SSD configuration absolutely trounces over the other configurations. To further exemplify, here are two crude videos; one with the SSD and one with the standard 5400RPM hard drive (taken on iPhone 3GS so apologies for quality). Each video lasts around a minute. With the SSD I had booted into OSX, launched Mail, Safari, Filezilla, Fireworks and Dreamweaver. In the same time-frame, with the standard HDD I’d only just got to the desktop…

First the standard HDD: Now with the Crucial M225 SSD:

Hopefully this gives an illustration of the kind of performance increase you can see from a decent quality SSD drive over a conventional hard drive.

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Posted in SSD, Storage | Click here to view/make a comment »

How do I make my PC or Mac faster? A beginners guide to why you need an SSD drive…

September 10th, 2009

Whether it’s a PC or a Mac, it’s fair to say that everybody wants their machine to go faster. As such, I often get asked what the easiest way to speed up a computer is. And there’s a simple answer: buy an SSD drive.

It’s worth pointing out here I’m talking about a real tangible difference. The sort of difference that is obvious to everyone, regardless of their level of experience. Using an SSD (Solid State Drive) rather than a conventional hard drive will instantly turn your machine into a screaming performance monster: faster, more responsive and quieter to boot.

Why?
In layman’s terms an SSD is just a big lump of computer memory. Unlike a traditional hard drive which relies on the speed of its internals (the speed it the platters spin for example) to deliver performance, an SSD has no such mechanical limitation, meaning data can be retrieved in a fraction of the time even the fastest hard drive could perform the same task.

How difficult to install?
SSD’s are available in the same form factor as a standard laptop drive. Physically performing the upgrade is simple. You take the old hard drive out (four or five screws usually) and you replace it with the SSD.
SSD’s use the newer SATA II connection type (like all modern consumer hard drives) rather than the older IDE standard, so if you have an older laptop, check which type you have first.

Which one?

The Crucial M225 SSD

The Crucial M225 SSD

Like all devices, there are good and bad variants. At the time of writing, the best devices in terms of performance and value for money are the Intel X25-M (best performance – opt for the recently released ‘G2’ variants which have G2 at the end of their product code) and the Crucial M225 (best value). There are heaps of others but if you want to cut down on the research: trust me these two SSD’s represent sound purchases.

Cost
Compared to a standard hard drive, SSD’s are considerably more expensive. You get far less storage space for your money. For example, you can easily get a 500GB laptop hard drive for under £100. Conversely, at the time of writing, £100 will only get you a 64GB SSD (the Crucial M225).
However, in terms of the performance difference – we’re talking light and day. Not just a slight improvement you would notice from a memory or processor upgrade.

A new way of working?

The ReadyNAS Duo

The ReadyNAS Duo

If you have a lot of information on your computer, switching to an SSD (and probably losing a lot of the space you would have ordinarily enjoyed) may mean a new way of organising your data. If you have lots of media (music, photos, movies) you may want to off-load that kind of content to an external or NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive. Or, the ultra cautious should just wait until SSD prices fall enough to make a 500GB SSD an affordable purchase for mere mortals.

So what difference, really?
I’ve just upgraded my 2009 MacBook Pro 13” from a 5400rpm internal hard drive to a 128GB Crucial M225 SSD. The difference is unbelievable. Other people’s computers feel like a ZX81 now. Read the full facts and figures and watch the rough videos about that upgrade in this related post…

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Posted in SSD, Storage, WRITING | Click here to view/make a comment »

iPhone 3GS ‘No Service’ on 3G with O2

September 7th, 2009

O2’s 3G is notoriously sketchy, however, there seems to be some inherent issue with selecting 3G ‘On’ with the iPhone 3GS.

Presently, if I leave 3G set to ‘On’ I get a ‘No Service’ message on screen about 60% of the time. In the same location, if I then flick it to ‘Off’ I get a signal (albeit a GPRS one - as expected). By the way, this is unrelated to the much publicised O2 data outages of late. This is cellular, not data related.

The problem is, when a 3G signal isn’t present the iPhone seems to fail to search for the GPRS network, meaning the iPhone spends more time than needed out of signal.

Anyone else experiencing the same problem? iPhone OS 3.1 is due soon so I’m hoping it solves the issue otherwise I’ll be taking a trip to the Apple store…

Update (11/09/2009)

In frustration, I phoned O2 to ask if I could get my device opened to other SIM cards. I was told that even though it was bought as a PAYG phone, it wasn’t possible. Apple had chosen to only allow the devices to be open to O2 SIM cards. Suspecting it may be a network rather than hardware issue I jailbroke and unlocked (using Redsn0w & Ultrasn0w) and my iPhone 3GS.

And guess what? No problems whatsoever using Orange. I don’t see any ‘No Service’ messages, it switches between 3G and GPRS seamlessly. Basically behaves as you would expect.

Now, that isn’t to say Orange is necessarily better than O2. However, if the areas you frequent have poor O2 service you will more than likely see the ‘No Service’ message more often than not. So, until O2 looses it’s exclusivity, it’s either buy a ludicrously expensive SIM free model or opt to jailbreak - something I’d really rather not do given an alternative choice.

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Posted in O2, Orange, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G PAYG | Click here to view/make a comment »

Joke: A rabbit walks into a bar…

August 18th, 2009

Long term sufferers of this blog will remember this email I got sent a while back. It made me chuckle anyway. Here’s another one that came through today that may raise a smile…

A rabbit walks into a pub and says to the barman:

‘Can I have a pint of beer, and a Ham and Cheese Toastie?’

The barman is amazed, but gives the rabbit a pint of beer and a ham  and cheese toastie. The rabbit drinks the beer and eats the toastie. He then leaves.

The following night the rabbit returns and again asks for a pint of beer, and a Ham and Cheese Toastie. The barman, now intrigued by the rabbit and the extra drinkers in the pub, (because word gets round), gives the rabbit the pint and the
toastie. The rabbit consumes them and leaves.

The next night, the pub is packed. In walks the rabbit and says, ‘A pint of beer and a Ham and Cheese Toastie, please barman.’
The crowd is hushed as the barman gives the rabbit his pint and toastie, and then burst into applause as the rabbit wolfs them down.

The next night there is standing room only in the pub. Coaches have been laid on for the crowds of patrons attending. The barman is making more money in one week than he did all last year. In walks the rabbit and says, ‘A pint of beer and a Ham and Cheese Toastie, please barman’.

The barman says, ‘I’m sorry rabbit, old mate, old mucker, but we are right out of them Ham and Cheese Toasties..’.

The rabbit looks aghast. The crowd has quietened to almost a whisper, when the barman clears his throat nervously and says, ‘We do have a very nice Cheese and Onion Toastie.’ The rabbit looks him in the eye and says, ‘Are you sure I will like it?’

The masses’ bated breath is ear shatteringly silent.
The barman, with a roguish smile says, ‘Do you think that I would let down one of my best friends. I know you’ll
love it.’
‘Ok’, says the rabbit, ‘I’ll have a pint of beer and a Cheese and Onion Toastie.’

The pub erupts with glee as the rabbit quaffs the beer and guzzles the toastie. He then waves to the crowd and leaves….

..NEVER TO RETURN!!!!!!

One year later, in the now impoverished public house, the barman, (who has only served 4 drinks tonight, 3 of which were his), calls time. When he is cleaning down the now empty bar, he sees a small white form, floating above the bar.

The barman says, ‘Who are you?’, to which he is answered, ‘I am the ghost of the rabbit that used to frequent your public house.’

The barman says, ‘I remember you. You made me famous. You would come in every night and have a pint of beer and a Ham and Cheese Toastie. Masses came to see you and this place was famous.’

The rabbit says, ‘Yes I know.’

The barman said, ‘I remember, on your last night we didn’t have any Ham and Cheese Toasties. You had a Cheese and Onion one instead.’

The rabbit said, ‘Yes, you promised me that I would love it.’

The barman said, ‘You never came back, what happened?’

‘I DIED’, said the rabbit.

‘NO!’ said the barman. ‘What from?’

After a short pause. The rabbit said…

‘Mixin-me-toasties.’

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Netgear ReadyNAS Duo review and replacement fan suggestions

July 30th, 2009

I plan to switch to an Intel X25-M G2 SSD drive shortly as the main storage on my system. I intend to keep just essential files on the SSD and all my ‘media’ elsewhere. Of course there are external drives but I don’t like the idea of all my digital eggs being in one digital basket. With a single disk to store everything on, if the disk fails I’d be a tad unhappy…

Which lead me to a NAS (network attached storage) drive. More specifically the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo. I’d considered other devices from Western Digital, Qnap, Iomega, Synology and Thecus but the Netgear ticked this most boxes.

Top of my ‘must haves’ were support for Apple’s Time Machine, remote access to the data on the drives and RAID support (whereby the data on one drive is automatically copied to the other so if a single disk fails, the data is still safe, theoretically).

If you’re not familiar with NAS drives the concept is simple. It’s a hard drive that sits on your network. As it isn’t attached locally (by USB for example) you can stick it wherever you want. If you have power socket in your loft and a Powerline adapter it can live happily up there! Furthermore, any other machines on your network can see it and use it simultaneously.

As NAS drives have matured they now enjoy an ever-increasing amount of extra functionality. For example, the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo includes:

  • A Bit-torrent client – add files through the web interface and it automatically downloads them, leaving you able to turn your PC/Mac off.
  • Photo sharing – lets you easily share photos across computers (Mac users note - not iPhoto compatible)
  • Automatic backup – you can specify ‘watch’ folders. When a file changes in the folder the ReadyNAS will automatically back it up.
  • Time Machine support – as mentioned, as primarily a Mac user, Time Machine support was essential. Note: be sure to set the storage on the Time Machine page high enough – I initially left it at default 230GB and it wasn’t enough. I restored the device to factory settings to get around the problem.
  • Printer sharing – attach a standard USB printer by the USB port and you can share that printer with any machine on the network
  • Auto power on/off – set the NAS to turn on and off at set times during the day
  • FTP/HTTP access – upload/download direct to the device

The unit itself is tiny. Form factor wise, it can happily sit on a desk next to your other bits and pieces. Whilst not a triumph of industrial design it’s not so ugly you need to hide it away.

You can buy the unit with or without drives. Netgear have a promotion running until the end of September 2009 to claim a free 500GB drive. I took advantage of the offer and the free 3.5″ 500GB drive arrived two days later.

Switching drives in and out is absolutely fool-proof. Four screws secure the drive to the caddy and it just clicks into place. You don’t need to format the drive first, the ReadyNAS does all that for you. As soon as the disk is in, it starts mirroring the data from the existing drive to the new one. As mentioned, once the device is powered up, you really could stick it anywhere you like as you’ll seldom need to touch it.

Setup and administration of the NAS, like almost all NAS devices these days, is done through a web browser interface (’Frontview’ in ReadyNAS speak). There is a wizard that takes you through setting the ReadyNAS up but some of the options are a tad overwhelming initially. I found myself resetting the device to factory defaults a couple of times and starting from scratch. However, that too is simple enough and more patient users probably won’t encounter the same issues.

Support from Netgear is particularly good. Plus there’s a great user community for the ReadyNAS products. You can get all your answers to common (and uncommon) problems over at www.readynas.com/forum.

Conversely, I was put off the Thecus T0204 as I sent questions about the device to their support teams and left messages on their forums and got no response. Not something that instils you with confidence.

So, the ReadyNAS Duo’s perfect then? Not quite…

For me the Achilles heel of the ReadyNAS Duo is the noise. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like a turbine, but considering the unit is designed for the home, it needs more work.

It uses a standard 60mm case fan (25mm depth) so it’s easy enough to swap the stock fan out. Two screws secure the side panel and another 4 screws allow the fan to be removed. Obviously there are warranty implications with this but as long as the replacement fan has a comparable cooling effect (you can check the temperature of your hard disks from the ReadyNAS ‘Frontview’ browser) there shouldn’t be any problems. I’ve tried both the Fractal Designs Silent Series 60mm and the AcoustiFan DustPROOF 60mm. Both are better than the stock fan but still not perfect. If pushed I’d say the AcoustiFan was the slightly quieter of the two. However, users looking for a silent NAS device should perhaps take a look at the Thecus N0204. That model is allegedly silent but for me lacks the essential Time Machine support (it could however be added with a future firmware upgrade or perhaps NAS support for Time Machine will be addressed in Apple Snow Leopard) and you take your chances with their flakey support staff. I opted to suffer the noise of the ReadyNAS Duo in exchange for working Time Machine support.

In conclusion, the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo is a great piece of kit. In comparison to other dual drive NAS devices, it’s probably the cheapest, plus there’s the current free 500GB drive offer. If Netgear could revise the design to create a fanless model I’d have no reservations. As it stands, if noise is a primary issue, try and get some feedback on other devices before deciding which model to opt for.

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Posted in NAS, Storage, WRITING | 4 Comments »

How to dismantle a Western Digital MyBook Pro Edition hard drive

July 16th, 2009

Western Digital’s ‘MyBook’ range of external drives come in all shapes and sizes. Whilst I could find a ‘how to’ for a lot of models I couldn’t find one that covered dismantling the MyBook Pro edition (the one pictured here). My model was a WD5000E032. Inside the disk itself was a Western Digital (no surprises there) WD5000AAKS drive.

Dismantling is actually a rather simple affair. Alongside a cross-head screwdriver you will need a flat bladed screwdriver (worst case) or a spudger (best case, in case you don’t know what one is, it’s basically a plastic/nylon flat-blade that in this instance will save you from mashing up the plastics when you’re trying to get into the case)

First of all, simply pull the rubber surround from the outside of the case. This doesn’t require the screwdriver, just pull it with your fingers and it will come away from the case.

There are now a series of plastic tabs that hold the outer shroud (the piece of plastic with the WD logo on) to the main part. Carefully, using the spudger/flat-blade screwdriver lever the shroud away. It may help to first release the two you can easily see through the vents top and bottom (there is one top and one bottom) and then gradually work your way around. DO NOT force the case open at this point or you may well split the shroud.

Once the shroud is removed you will need to get the drive from the chassis. There are four cross-head screws one side and four the other. Undo them all and don’t mix the screws up (they are slightly different lengths). You will also need to unscrew a single crosshead that sits at the front of the chassis on the power button board (it’s the one that screws through the metal plate the drive sits on). As you pull it out you will need to pull the foil cover away that covers the SATA connection and unplug the SATA connection (the plastic plug that attached the cable to the drive).

You can now lift the drive out (mine was a 500GB WD5000AAKS drive inside), still attached to the caddy. Just unscrew the four screws either side of the drive to release it.

You can then opt to either add a different drive or simply stick the existing drive into a different device. I opted for the later and used it in a ReadyNAS Duo, which I’ll talk about more in later posts…

With the shroud removed undo the four screws on either side

With the shroud removed undo the four screws on either side

These are the plastic tab that surround the shroud

These are the plastic tab that surround the shroud

The foil that covers the SATA cable has been stuck back on the empty chassis

The foil that covers the SATA cable has been stuck back on the empty chassis

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